It’s the last of the Big Four this year and we’re back in a stadium. As usual, it’s all about the WarGames, though at least this time we have two other matches, at least one of which has some potential. This is one of those shows where you have everything built around two matches though, and that’s not exactly leaving much for the remainder of the card. Worse things have worked before though so let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Stephanie Vaquer(c) vs. Nikki Bella

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Bella’s return has been a misfire, as she’s just not that interesting, even after the heel turn. This idea that she’s suddenly some kind of evil, horrible star who is coming for Vaquer’s title is a stretch at minimum and realistically, a vast stretch. Normally I would say Bella had no chance here, but stranger things have certainly happened.

For the sake of my sanity, I’ll take Vaquer to retain here, as the idea of Bella getting even more of a focus would be almost too much to bear. Bella’s most recent big match was quite the mess and I’m almost scared to see what might happen here. While I don’t expect the same disaster, the fact that it feels like a possibility tells you about all you need to know about this match. Hopefully Vaquer retains, as the alternative is almost scary.

Intercontinental Title: John Cena(c) vs. Dominik Mysterio

Dang it’s so weird to write that down after so many years. The other thing that is so weird is that this match could go either way. Cena is going to be gone in about two weeks and pretty much has to lose the title in one of his two remaining matches. There is a very real chance that it happens here, which would be a heck of a moment for Mysterio’s career. The fact that he is a legitimate threat to take Cena out is impressive, as Mysterio really has gotten that good.

While I originally planned to pick Cena as the winner, I think I’m actually going with Mysterio. Beating Cena in his last match is probably bigger than winning the title, so this is about as good as anything else could be. Mysterio getting to beat Cena in his final pay per view match is something that he could milk for years, which is what I’m hoping winds up happening here.

Team Ripley vs. Team Lynch

And then there’s this, which feels like about four or five stories thrown together for the sake of making a WarGames match. While there are some pairings in here which feel like they belong on the big stage, this absolutely comes off like something that would be better as a traditional Survivor Series match. The good thing is we could be getting some rather violent stuff here with a lot of powerhouses involved.

I think I’ll take Lynch and company to win here, as Ripley’s team won last year so it might be time for the villains to get their chance. Lynch and the Disarm-Her should be more than enough to get a submission out of someone (Bliss feels like a strong option) and the feuds can continue from there. Odds are this one is wrong, but Lynch and company winning feels like the more logical way to go.

Team Punk vs. Team Heyman

In case the women’s match didn’t have enough star power, here we have two World Champions, Roman Reigns, a future World Champion and the Usos, plus Brock Lesnar. Now take all of those people and lock them in a pair of cages. That should be quite the battle, though unfortunately it’s a battle that is going to go on for a rather long time. At the same time, it’s also quite the toss up.

At the end of the day, I can’t imagine a team with Lesnar losing to one with Jimmy Uso on the other side so I’ll take the villains winning. Throw in some rather wedged drama between Rhodes/Punk/Reigns and I can’t imagine their team winning. Again, that makes for a better result, as both champions could get new challengers out of this match. It should be wild and violent though, which is entirely the point of something like this.

Overall Thoughts

Well, you can’t say it’s lacking in star power. This show couldn’t feel much bigger if they were trying, and that’s nice to see with Survivor Series. The show has been kind of up and down over the years so the infusion of WarGames, which might not always be the best, has been a great addition. I want to see where this show goes and that is a great feeling to have going into a show where that isn’t always the case.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: November 28, 2025
Location: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the night before Survivor Series and in this case that means we have a Survivor Series match. That’s a nice thing to see, as the pay per view has been taken over by WarGames, leaving little time for the more traditional matches. Thankfully we get one here, plus some Last Time Is Now Tournament matches as a bonus. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at the women’s WarGames match.

LA Knight is told that he’s facing another mystery opponent. This doesn’t sit well with him, as the tournament is starting to get on his nerves. Just say who he is dropping with the BFT, YEAH.

Last Time Is Now Tournament Quarterfinals: Rusev vs. Jey Uso

After Uso runs his entrance back, we’re ready to go. Rusev sends him flying with a suplex and pulls him out of the air for a swinging release Rock Bottom. We take a break and come back with Uso fighting out of a bearhug. Rusev is sent outside for a dive, followed by a spear back inside for one. Uso dives into the Machka Kick for two and the Accolade goes on. The rope is grabbed for the escape and Uso hits another spear, followed by the Superfly Splash for the win at 9:35.

Rating: C+. It’s hard to imagine that the finals are anything but Uso vs. Gunther, so we’ve got some matches to get through on the way there. It should be an entertaining tournament and this was another nice enough stop on the way there. That being said, Rusev getting pinned clean in less than ten minutes, even by Uso, is not the best sign for his future.

Miz begs Nick Aldis to put him in Sheamus’ spot in the tournament. Aldis has to do it himself but R-Truth comes in to do his balls joke. The name is picked…and it happens to be Miz. Truth: “You just couldn’t take my balls could you?”

Damian Priest doesn’t know what Aleister Black and Zelina are talking about with making him break his code. Zelina comes in to mock him and another fight with Black is teased. With Zelina gone, Rhea Ripley comes in to hug Priest and has an idea for him later. Works for Priest.

Here is Chelsea Green, with Alba Fyre, to address the “Patrihots” as the new Women’s US Champion. She thanks the fans and brags about her success but here is Jade Cargill to interrupt and clean house. And then Green’s scheduled pyro goes off in a funny bit.

Rhea Ripley and company are fired up for Charlotte’s advantage match with Asuka.

Jade Cargill has a problem with anyone who runs their mouth. B-Fab comes up for a staredown but doesn’t say anything. Michin thinks something might have to be done about Cargill.

Last Time Is Now Tournament Quarterfinals: The Miz vs. LA Knight

Knight hammers away to start and knocks him down, followed by the stomping in the corner. Miz gets in a knee to get a breather, only to walk into a swinging neckbreaker. They head out into the aisle, where Miz kicks him in the face as we take a break. We come back with Knight suplexing his way out of a sleeper.

Another neckbreaker gives Knight two and a superplex gets the same. The BFT is escaped and Miz’s DDT gives him two of his own. Knight fights back and goes up, only to dive into the Skull Crushing Finale for two. Miz slaps on an STF, with Knight making it over to the ropes. Another Skull Crushing Finale is loaded up but Knight reverses into the BFT to advance at 11:07.

Rating: C+. I’m a bit surprised that Miz lost here but Knight piling up another win is a good sign. I can’t imagine he gets beyond Jey Uso to get a shot at Gunther but at least he’s getting to do something. Knight hasn’t seemed happy as of late so a heel turn could be in the cards, though he likely has at least one more match before he gets there.

Becky Lynch wants the team to follow her lead in WarGames because she’s kind of great at the thing. The team says they have this though, with Asuka being ready.

Video on tonight’s Survivor Series match.

Ilja Dragunov is talking about how he’s ready for Tama Tonga but Tommaso Ciampa comes in. Ciampa took Axiom’s mask next week and next time, it’s going to be the US Title. Dragunov calls him a jackass again.

Charlotte vs. Asuka

For the WarGames advantage. They fight over a rather aggressive lockup to start with Charlotte taking her into the corner for a kick to the head. The fight heads to the apron, where Asuka gets in a head fake and kicks her in the face as we take a break. We come back with Charlotte getting two off a high crossbody so Asuka kicks her in the face. Charlotte’s big boot gets two and the moonsault connects for the same, leaving Charlotte unsure of what to do next.

Asuka gets German suplexed for two more but she comes back with a sliding knee to the head. The cross armbreaker is countered into a powerbomb to give Charlotte another near fall. They head outside, where Asuka loads up the mist but hits the timekeeper instead. Charlotte knocks her over the announcers’ table and rams her face first into it before heading back inside. A quick Asuka Lock attempt is broken up so Charlotte hits Natural Selection for the pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. This was starting to pick up when it just ended, though I’m curious about how the heroes having the advantage will go. That’s something you see a lot more often in modern wrestling, though it doesn’t guarantee much of anything. As for this match, it was two of the best ever getting to do their thing, though it never got to that top level.

Video on the men’s WarGames match.

Team Zayn vs. Team Sikoa

Sami Zayn, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix
Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, Talla Tonga, JC Mateo

Survivor Series rules. Sikoa takes Sabin down to start and hammers away and it’s off to Tama for some chops. A bulldog gets Sabin out of trouble and it’s off to Shelley for a front facelock. Zayn comes in and gets dropped by Mateo, who hits the standing moonsault for two. Sikoa’s chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s off to Nakamura to fire off the kicks. Everything breaks down and most of the villains are sent outside, setting up Sabin’s rapid fire dive.

More dives ensue until Mateo is rolled up for the first fall at 6:17 (giving us a REALLY nice graphic showing Sikoa’s team and Mateo being listed as eliminated, which we somehow haven’t done in nearly forty years of these matches). Nakamura comes in and fights off an invading Sikoa, only to get dropped by Tama. The Cutthroat gets rid of Nakamura at 8:28 to tie us up and Loa’s spinebuster gets a fast two on Fenix. Back up and a hurricanrana gives Fenix the pin on Loa at 10:01 and it’s Sikoa coming in next.

Sikoa misses a Samoan Spike and gets crossbodied by Sabin, allowing the Guns to come in and clean house. Skull & Bones is broken up by Talla, who chokeslams Shelley onto the apron for the pin at 12:25. A clothesline gets rid of Sabin 12:57 (THERE IT IS) so it’s down to Zayn/Fenix vs. Talla/Tama/Sikoa. Fenix kicks away and shrugs off a crotching to hurricanrana Sikoa. Tama runs him over with an elbow though and Fenix is out at 14:34. So Zayn is all alone and starts with Talla, who sends him into the corner. Tama adds a splash but Zayn hits a quick Helluva Kick for the pin at 16:28.

Talla takes Zayn outside and misses a running boot, which is enough for the countout at 17:43. Back in and Spinning Solo gives Sikoa two, followed by Spinning Solo giving Sikoa two. A Superfly Splash gives Sikoa two but Zayn manages a sunset bomb for the same. Zayn exploders him into the corner but the Helluva Kick is countered with a superkick. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two, only for Sikoa to hit a quick Samoan Spike for the pin at 20:59.

Rating: B. It was the fast forwarded version of the match, with Zayn doing his best Shawn Michaels 2003 impression. Zayn did his usual thing here and it went well, though Sikoa winning in the end is a good move, especially with him having the upcoming tournament match. The rest of the eliminations just kind of came and went, which granted is about all you can expect out of this kind of thing. Good enough though for a big warmup for Survivor Series.

Post match the Wyatt Sicks come out for the staredown, with Uncle Howdy giving Sikoa the Sister Abigail to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It was a show that did a good job of setting up the semifinals of the tournament and giving us a push towards the pay per view. That’s more than I was expecting out of this show and it went by rather quickly, which helps with so much more coming from WWE tomorrow. Good show here, and hopefully they can keep that going with the bigger event.

Results
Jey Uso b. Rusev – Superfly Splash
LA Knight b. The Miz – BFT
Charlotte b. Asuka – Natural Selection
Team Sikoa b. Team Zayn last eliminating Zayn

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Survivor Series 2023
Date: November 25, 2023
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

So believe it or not, the focus is going to be on WarGames and in this case it means the good guys need one more star to help fight off Judgment Day. In theory that is going to be Randy Orton, who has been gone for about a year and a half and isn’t quite back yet. Other than that, Damage CTRL is facing another ragtag group of women so let’s get to it.

It’s almost weird to see the old Then Now Together Forever intro after the change at Wrestlemania XL.

The opening video focuses on WarGames, because what else was it going to be?

The cage is lowered.

WarGames recap:

• Two wrestlers start and fight for five minutes.

• After five minutes, the team with the advantage (as determined before the match) gets a three minute advantage.

• The teams alternate until all ten are in and then it’s first pin/submission to win.

Women’s WarGames

Charlotte, Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Shotzi
Bayley, Iyo Sky, Asuka, Kairi Sane

Lynch and Bayley start things off with Lynch sending her into the cage, only to get sent into the buckle. Bayley catches Lynch going up top but Lynch rolls over her and they slug it out. Lynch’s exploder sends her flying but Bayley gets in a ram into the cage. They go between the rings so Bayley can get in a suplex as they’re certainly going with the violence to start. The fight goes into the other ring and Lynch sends her into the cage a few times.

The Disarm-Her goes on but here is Dakota Kai with a kendo stick through the cage to break it up. That’s enough for Bayley to take over and it’s Shotzi coming in, with a ram of the door onto Bayley’s head, to take over. Naturally that means a bunch of chairs and weapons are thrown in, because THE BIG DOUBLE CAGE isn’t enough. Shotzi sets up the chair and Bayley has to climb the cage to get away from some rather painful swings.

They all go up the cage and ram each other into the steel until Bayley crashes down. Stereo forearms from the to take her down again but it’s Iyo Sky coming in to tie it up, complete with a chain. For some reason Lynch and Shotzi don’t see her coming and get beaten down, as WarGames seems to make people a bit slow. A springboard double missile dropkick puts Lynch and Shotzi down again and Bayley is back up. Lynch gets double superplexed down for a crash but Shotzi fights out of the corner, allowing Belair to come in.

Belair whips with the hair and the fans rather approve. A spinebuster puts Bayley down but she and grab the braids, only to get suplexed down. Lynch and Shotzi are back in with a guillotine legdrop and top rope splash before Kairi Sane is in to even things up. Well eventually that is, as she takes her sweet time getting a trashcan lid and then headscissoring Belair anyway.

The sliding forearm against the cage sends Belair into the cage before it’s time to bury Shotzi under some chairs. The pop up elbow drop crushes Shotzi but Belair is back to throw Sane onto Bayley and Sky. Charlotte comes in to complete her team and Sky is sent crashing into the cage. Naturally the fans want tables but have to settle for a top rope double Natural Selection (which Graves has to point out to Cole, who realizes his mistake in a funny bit) to Bayley and Sane.

Charlotte starts climbing the cage but Sky, with a chain, gets o her shoulders and gets all the way to the top. Sky drops the chain to Kai, who ties it around a trashcan so Sky can pull it up (that was clever). Sky puts the trashcan over her head and dives onto the pile (she LOVES that spot), who were nice enough to stand there while Sky took forever to get ready (fair enough). Asuka is in to complete the field and she has some colored kendo sticks. And a table. And a fire extinguisher.

Therefore, a good minute after her clock ended, Asuka gets in and WarGames officially begins. Damage CTRL all grab weapons to hammer on the others, with Lynch and Belair being tied together with the chain like they’re in an old western. Shotzi is back up but gets misted by Asuka to cut her right back down. Lynch is put inside the trashcan and dropkicked down for two and it’s time to set up a table. Belair and Lynch come back with powerbombs out of the corner though and Charlotte goes all the way up top for the huge moonsault to wipe out everyone.

We get the big staredown between Lynch and Charlotte, who hug for the rather positive reaction. The Figure Eight and cross armbreaker go on but Sane is up for the save. Shotzi is back up to drop Asuka for two with Bayley making a save of her own. Bayley Rose Plants Lynch but gets caught with a Sliced Bread from Shotzi. Belair is up with the fire extinguisher and Charlotte spears Bayley. The KOD hits Bayley as well and the super Manhandle Slam through a table finishes her off at 33:37.

Rating: B. It had the carnage and violence with the weapons, but there is always a lack of intensity to these matches that hold them back. Part of it stems from the people coming to the ring but then pausing to get their weapons. Other than that, it was the usual WWE WarGames: a lot of brawling and hitting other people with weapons, with the cage mainly being there to jump off of rather than for violence, which is more than a bit odd.

The winners pose on top of the cage.

Chelsea Green, Piper Niven and the Alpha Academy are enjoying some Ruffles when Pretty Deadly come in to argue over whether they’re chips or crisps. R-Truth comes in to say they’re Ruffles.

Sami Zayn tells Jey Uso that Randy Orton, the last member of their team, isn’t here yet. Jey isn’t surprised and takes the blame because the Bloodline injured him two years ago. Sami says it’s not his fault and things seem to be ok.

We recap Miz challenging Gunther for the Intercontinental Title. Gunther is the longest reigning champion and doesn’t think much of Miz, who wants the title back. To say Miz has no chance here would be an understatement.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and commentary spends his entrance talking about how he is almost unbeatable, even giving Miz’s long shot betting odds. Miz kicks at the leg to start and a chop just annoys Gunther. A much better chop puts Miz down but he’s back up with more chops and some left hands in the corner to actually take over. Gunther gives chase but gets his leg wrapped around the post to slow him down.

The Figure Four around the post stays on the leg, though it’s good enough to boot Miz out of the air back inside. Gunther slows things down a bit and chops away to drop Miz again. A release German suplex sends Miz flying and a big boot lets Gunther pose as the dominance is on. Back up and Miz strikes away at the knee again, with a shinbreaker slowing Gunther down. Some kicks to the chest stagger Gunther into the corner and a tornado DDT gets two.

The Skull Crushing Finale is blocked though and Gunther grabs his powerbomb for his own near fall. The sleeper goes on so Miz goes to the corner, pulling the turnbuckle off in the process. A low blow into the Skull Crushing Finale gets two (with Cole letting us know that “MIZ IS GONNA DO IT!” to ruin the moment) and Miz is shocked. The fans want to see it again but Miz gets caught in the sleeper. That’s reversed into a ram into the buckle so Miz can roll him up for two (with a Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper reference), only to get blasted with a clothesline. The top rope splash into the Boston crab retains the title at 12:19.

Rating: B-. This was about as good as it was going to be as there was just no reason to believe that Miz was going to win. Even his big near fall was only so good, as pretty much no one was on Gunther’s level at this time. Miz going after the leg to slow Gunther down was a good story, as Miz can still wrestle a fine match given the chance. It was a good match, but there was just not much drama and that held it back.

Judgment Day is ready for WarGames and is rather pleased that Randy Orton doesn’t seem to be here. Even if he shows up, he might poison the other team and Judgment Day wins anyway.

We recap Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar. This stems from Escobar turning on Rey Mysterio and the LWO, so Lee is standing up for the team (replacing Carlito, who was also injured by Escobar). Pretty simple story here and that’s not a bad thing.

Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee

Escobar forearms away to start and stomps him down, setting up a quick backbreaker for two. Some running knees in the corner send Lee outside, where he has to escape having his leg crushed in the steps. A running hurricanrana off the apron sends Escobar outside and there’s the big running flip dive.

Back in and Escobar kicks him in the head, setting up a super hurricanrana for two. Like any good rudo, Escobar goes after the mask but Lee is fine enough to tie him in the tree of woe for thee double stomp. Back up and Escobar hits a heck of a superkick but Lee muscles him up into a sitout powerbomb for two. Escobar shrugs that off and his a Canadian Destroyer, followed by the Phantom Driver for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. WWE was doing what they could to make Lee into a bigger deal around this time but it was only going to get so far when he kept losing. Escobar was running through the LWO on his way to a showdown with Rey Mysterio whenever Mysterio got back and he had to beat Lee on the way there. This wasn’t a great match, but it kept Escobar looking strong and it’s nice to have something other than a title or WarGames mach on the show.

New Day is here with a Slim Jim car.

We recap Zoey Stark challenging Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women’s Title. Stark is the new tough star and Ripley needs a fresh victim so the match is on.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Zoey Stark

Ripley is defending and Stark actually double legs her down to hammer away to start. A dropkick sends Ripley outside and there’s the dive off the top to take her down again. Back in and a missile dropkick continues Stark’s hot start but Ripley headbutts her into the next county to cut that off in a hurry. Stark is right back with a DDT onto the apron and a springboard corkscrew senton gets two. They go outside again with Ripley dropping her onto the apron and then sending her into the post to really take over.

Ripley cranks on both arms back inside and then stomps her down before taking Stark up top. What looks to be a super chokeslam is countered into…I have no idea what Stark was doing there but she gets two and screams a lot. Ripley elbows and kicks her in the face, setting up a belly to back faceplant. Riptide is countered though and Stark hits a running knee for two. The Z360 is blocked as well and now Riptide can connect to retain the title at 9:16.

Rating: C. This got a bit sloppy after that whole thing off the top, as even commentary didn’t seem sure about what was going on. Other than that, it was Ripley against someone who only felt like so much of a threat. That’s part of the problem with someone becoming as big of a star as Ripley: you can only have so many realistic challengers to her and that is becoming an issue here.

Randy Orton still isn’t here and Jey Uso still blames himself.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. Judgment Day is the big monster heel stable on Raw and a bunch of people are sick of them, so violence ensued and the match is on. Drew McIntyre is in with Judgment Day for the sake of getting his hands on Jey Uso in a cage. It still isn’t clear if Randy Orton will be here, as he hasn’t been around in about a year and a half at this point.

Men’s WarGames

Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Randy Orton
Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Drew McIntyre

McIntyre and Priest stare each other down on the stage as Balor goes to start with Rollins (who doesn’t have a Randy Orton here yet). They start fast with Rollins diving over the ropes to jump Balor and hammer away. The fight is quickly on and Rollins sends him into the cage a few times and they change rings, where Balor escapes a buckle bomb. Balor sends him into the cage to take over and there’s a Sling Blade to drop Rollins again as a CM PUNK chant starts up.

A superkick gives Rollins a breather but Balor backdrops him onto the plate between the rings. The Coup de Grace misses though and Rollins grabs a quick Sling Blade. Rollins drops him again and it’s JD McDonagh to uneven things, albeit a good bit less than five minutes into the match. Rollins kicks him on the way in but gets hit with a kendo stick for his efforts.

Balor and McDonagh take turns choking with the kendo sticks but Rollins sends McDonagh into the other ring. That’s broken up in a hurry and a middle rope kendo stick to the back puts Rollins down again. Jey Uso is in next (McIntyre gives him a death stare) and chairs McDonagh down before firing off the YEET punches. The dancing spit punch puts Balor down but McDonagh is back up with a running Spanish Fly.

Rollins makes the save and hammers on Balor in the corner as the clock runs down. McIntyre is ready to get in and go after Uso but Priest cuts him off, saying they stick to the plan. Rollins and Uso jump him as he comes in but the other two make the save, allowing Priest to whip out a baton and take over. Priest hits some running shoulders in the corner, followed by a lifting Downward Spiral to Rollins.

A top rope flip dive takes out Rollins and Uso and Balor chairs Uso in the back. Sami Zayn comes in to even the sides, and takes his sweet time doing so. McDonagh, ever the nitwit, swings a kendo stick at Zayn, who takes it away and blasts him with it instead. The table is thrown in, which the fans find UCEY. Zayn is fired up as he stomps away, setting up a Blue Thunder Bomb to Balor. With the villains down, Zayn goes up and grabs a pipe, which is used on various opponents in rather painful ways.

A kendo stick to the back rocks Balor and Zayn throws the stick out of the cage, possibly by accident. McIntyre is in and throws Rollins and Zayn around without much effort. That leaves McIntyre to finally go into the other ring with Uso, who slugs away but gets dropped by a neckbreaker. The rest of Judgment Day is back up to hammer away, but McIntyre’s Claymore runs into a superkick from Uso.

A 1D puts McIntyre down and Cody Rhodes is in, with Cole immediately going into the Dusty Rhodes tribute. Cole: “Cody also invented a big event in this city as well!” And we move on. Rhodes cleans house and suplexes Balor onto McDonagh for a crash. It’s bullrope time (of course) and Rollins joins Rhodes in taking out Balor and McDonagh. Dominik Mysterio is in to complete the Judgment Day and gives Rhodes Two Amigos…and then realizes he’s surrounded.

The big group beatdown has the fans rather pleased and a table being set up in the corner makes them even happier. The rest of the villains save Mysterio and the fans chant for Orton. That’s switched to Punk, followed by silence as McIntyre and Priest hit a triple chokeslam (and a good one at that). McDonagh adds a moonsault, Balor hits the Coup de Grace and Mysterio drops the frog splash.

Priest Razor’s Edges Rollins through a table and the clock ends….but there’s no Orton. Instead here is Rhea Ripley with Priest’s Money In The Bank briefcase, which for some reason is enough to bring Orton out (no cash-in) and egads the fans are happy to see him. Orton gets in the cage (no weapons) and slams the door, which bounces back open in a funny bit. House is quickly cleaned, mainly because Judgment Day comes at him one at a time.

McIntyre gets in a shot on Orton and the big beatdown is on. Everyone else is back up for the save and Orton and company hit quintuple hanging DDTs. Orton teases an RKO to Uso but Uso superkicks Priest to save Orton instead. The RKO drops Mysterio and it’s a parade of finishers to the villains. Everyone goes after McDonagh, who tries to escape but Zayn and Rollins follow him up top. With Orton on the mat, Zayn and Rollins throw McDonagh into an RKO, leaving Rhodes to Cross Rhodes Priest for the pin at 34:22.

Rating: B+. I liked this one a bit more than the women’s version, mainly because it felt more like a fight rather than a big series of weapons spots. The pop when Orton came out was insane and it made things feel special. You don’t see that kind of thing very often and the whole thing was about as violent as this is going to get. Seeing Mysterio and Mysterio get beaten down was a good way to go and this felt like an all-star team coming together to take out a mostly unified opposition. Solid main event here, and while it wasn’t a classic WarGames match, it was good by WWE standards.

The good guys celebrate, the copyright notice comes up….and the impossible happens as CM Punk is back for the first time in almost ten years. The fans take over the IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME and Punk hugs a bunch of fans. This was an absolutely insane moment that I never thought I would see. Even after Punk left AEW, it was hard to fathom and yet here it was. Great way to end the show and dang it worked.

A long recap ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was centered around two matches and those matches both delivered. The other three were just filler to get us from one big match to the next and that’s a fine way to go. The big stories here were the double returns at the end and those worked rather well. It helps that the show was less than three hours from start to finish so they didn’t waste any time. Good show here, with the special moment at the end being worth a look.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Survivor Series 2019
Date: November 24, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 13,271
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

I was thinking about this show the other day and couldn’t remember it very well so it was time for a rewatch. The theme here is the three way fight between all of the brands, with NXT launching a full on invasion for the sake of this show. That should be more than enough to carry things with a bunch of different brand vs. brand vs. brand matches. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck and looking straight at the Titantron.

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal

OC, Revival, Forgotten Sons, Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler, Street Profits, Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins, Breezango, Lucha House Party, Imperium, Heavy Machinery

Only one member has to be eliminated. It’s the usual brawl to start and the Forgotten Sons are out rather quickly. The House Party follows them (thankfully meaning their seconds go with them), as do Hawkins and Ryder in a hurry. Ziggler is catapulted to the apron and pulls Dawson with him for an exchange of headbutts.

Kaiser tries to make a save but it lets Roode knock Dawson out to get rid of the Revival, with Kaiser being eliminated to eliminate Imperium too. Otis stops to dance and gets tossed as they are flying out of here so far. Fandango is sent outside (not out) and manages to catch Breeze, who is eliminated a few seconds later. The Profits dropkick the Revival out and we’re already down to Roode/Ziggler, the OC and the Profits.

Ziggler has to save Roode from the Magic Killer and superkicks the OC out to leave us with two. Roode and Ziggler get the better of things until Ziggler superkicks Roode by mistake. The Sky High lets Ford go up but he gets sent out to the apron. He’s able to get back up and frog splash Ziggler, only to get tossed by Roode for the win at 8:22.

Rating: C. They flew through this and that’s probably a good thing, as this was little more than a way to get things going. It’s nice to see the match just move along so quickly, with Ziggler and Roode being a fine choice to win. Not a good match or anything, but it was a fast paced start.

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 0
Raw – 0

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Lio Rush (NXT) vs. Akira Tozawa (Raw) vs. Kalisto (Smackdown)

Rush is defending. They stare at each other to start until the challengers get together to knock Rush outside. Back in and Rush tries to make a save but is sent to the floor just as fast. Kalisto kicks Rush in the head on the apron but gets kicked down by Tozawa. Rush is back in to strike away at both of them as they’re at a very fast pace to start. Tozawa punches Rush in the face (he’s always been good at that) and a sliding boot to the face drops him as well.

Kalisto catches Rush on top and Tozawa goes up with them for a super….well they all flipped over and they’re all down. It looks like Rush super armdragged both of them, setting off an exchange of strikes to the face. Tozawa’s bridging German suplex gets two on Rush, as does the Salida del Sol, with Tozawa making the save. Tozawa’s top rope backsplash hits Rush as well but Kalisto makes the save this time. Another Salida del Sol hits Tozawa but Rush is in with the Final Hour to Kalisto to retain the title at 8:20.

Rating: B. They went with the fast paced, rather athletic match here and it worked rather well. Rush might have some issues behind the scenes, but the way he can move and fly is rather impressive. There is something fun about watching these people go nuts, even if they didn’t have a ton of time. Another rather good choice for the Kickoff Show.

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
Raw – 0

Kickoff Show: Viking Raiders (Raw) vs. New Day (Smackdown) vs. Undisputed Era (NXT)

They’re all champions but this is non-title. Big E., Ivar and O’Reilly start things off with O’Reilly’s strikes not working in the slightest. Fish comes in and gets tossed with ease, leaving Ivar to slip out of Big E.’s slam attempt. Instead Big E. runs him over with a shoulder, only to get low bridged to the floor by the Era. That leaves the Vikings to beat the Era up until Big E. is back in for a tag to Kingston.

New Day and the Vikings have their big showdown until the Era is back in to break it up. Fish kneebars Kingston with Ivar making the save, leaving Fish to beat on Kingston on the apron. With the other four on the floor, Ivar slams Erik onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Ivar misses a charge into the corner, allowing Kingston to hit a standing double stomp on Erik.

The Midnight Hour gets two, with Ivar making the save. Big E.’s spear through the rope hits Erik but Kingston’s Trouble In Paradise hits the post. That leaves Big E. to get caught with the German suplex/springboard clothesline combination. The Era gets back in and O’Reilly is promptly powerslammed onto Fish to give Ivar the pin at 14:42.

Rating: B-. It got a good bit more time and while it wasn’t hard to figure out the result, it was another fast paced match that made for an entertaining showcase. The Raiders winning is a good way to go, as occasionally the best method is just straight power. It’s rarely great to see a champion lose, but a developmental champion losing to a main roster one makes it a bit better.

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
Raw – 1

And now, the show proper.

The opening video looks at the brand vs. brand vs. brand issue, with the big focus on NXT invading, as it should be. The other matches get some attention as well, which is a nice bonus.

Women’s Survivor Series Match

Smackdown: Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross
Raw: Charlotte, Natalya, Sarah Logan, Asuka, Kairi Sane
NXT: Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Toni Storm, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae

Three in the ring at once, regular elimination rules. Storm, Evans and Logan start things off with Evans knocking both of them down but walking into a double flapjack. Cross comes in and gets knocked down, leaving Logan to cartwheel knee Storm in the back of the head. Everyone gets knocked down and it’s off to Sane, Sky and Carmella, the latter of whom tries to get attention while the other two stare each other down. That earns her some shots to the face so Brooke comes in instead.

A springboard headscissors drops Shirai and it’s Brooke coming back in for some rollups. The handspring elbow crushes Shirai and Sane, followed by a Swanton to both of them. It’s back to LeRae to kick Evans down and strike away in the corner. A middle rope spinning Downward Spiral plants Evans for two and it’s off to Ripley for a heck of a roar. That earns her a cross armbreaker from Asuka, setting off the parade of knockdowns.

Banks clears the ring and LeRae and Shirai are knocked out to the floor for a nasty crash (which comes after they were both in WarGames the previous night). That’s enough for the two of them to be out at around 7:45 so NXT is already down to three. Ripley, Charlotte and Banks come in, with Ripley taunting the other two of them to quite the reception but it’s off to Belair, Logan and Cross without any contact being made. Cross hammers on Storm on the floor, but the distraction allows Belair to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes to pin Cross at 9:38.

Carmella comes in to clean house but walks into a KOD, sending Carmella outside. Logan is back up with running knees from the apron to Charlotte and Storm but gets tossed down by Belair. The handspring moonsault gets two with Natalya making the save so Belair 450s Logan for the elimination at 12:10.

Charlotte comes in to yell at Belair and gets rolled up for her efforts. Carmella is in with a super hurricanrana to send Charlotte onto Belair for two each. Back up and Natural Selection hits Carmella for the pin, allowing Charlotte to mock Banks’ dance. That leaves us with four for Raw and three each for the other two as Banks, Sane and Storm come in. Storm takes Sane down in a hurry and Banks adds the Meteora to get rid of Sane at 16:48. Asuka is in to fire off the kicks, including a huge one to eliminate Brooke at 17:25.

Charlotte forcefully tags herself in and gets in a shoving match with Asuka, who gets shoved down. Evans tries to come in off a cheap shot and gets struck down, only for Asuka to mist Charlotte. Asuka walks out and the Women’s Right gets rid of Charlotte at 19:07. So Natalya is alone for Raw against Evans/Banks for Smackdown and Ripley/Belair/Storm for NXT. Natalya comes in and drops Evans, followed by the discus lariat to Storm. A rollup gets rid of Evans at 19:56 as commentary realizes that NXT is suddenly way ahead. Storm gets caught in a Sharpshooter/Banks Statement for the tap at 20:47.

Belair yells at Natalya and gets caught in a Hart Attack for the elimination at 21:16 to continue the rapid fire eliminations. That leaves us with Natalya vs. Banks vs. Ripley, with Banks quickly turning on Natalya and getting the easy elimination. We’re down to one on one and you can tell the fans are into the idea of Ripley getting this kind of a chance. Ripley stares her down and adds a running dropkick but Banks is right back up with a choke.

Banks sends her into the corner for some running knees, followed by the middle rope Meteora for two. That sends Banks back up, with Ripley kicking her out of the air for two more. The Prism Trap has Banks in more trouble until she flips her way into a Bank Statement on Ripley. Cue Shirai and LeRae to make the save…as I guess they’re still in this.

As I try to figure out if that means Asuka should still be in there as she left without her elimination being announced either, Banks knocks both of them down with a baseball slide. Ripley cuts that off but the Riptide is broken up. Shirai offers a distraction and hits a springboard missile dropkick, followed by Ripley’s Riptide for the win at 27:53.

Rating: B. The kind of confusing ending aside, this was one heck of a coming out party for Ripley, who came off like an absolute star throughout and that’s exactly the point. Other than that you have Charlotte and Asuka’s issues continuing and Belair looking like a star as well. The fans get to cheer for NXT though (especially in Ripley’s case), and that’s exactly what needed to be done for this crowd, who are certainly more behind them than anything else.

NXT – 2
Smackdown – 1
Raw – 1

We look back at Kevin Owens making a surprise return to NXT last night at Takeover.

Seth Rollins comes up to Owens, his Raw teammate, and asks what was up with that. Owens says NXT doesn’t need him like Raw does, so tonight he’s on the red side. He does however find it interesting that SETH ROLLINS of all people is talking about disloyalty…and he mocks the Shield pose.

Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown) vs. Roderick Strong (NXT) vs. AJ Styles (Raw)

Battle of the midcard champions with a dancing Sami Zayn here with Nakamura. Styles gets kicked down to start and a knee to the ribs drops Strong as well. Strong is back up to clean house and send Nakamura outside. Styles knocks Strong to the floor as well, followed by a hard knee to the head. Nakamura is back up with a suplex to Strong and a knee drop to Styles, with Zayn looking rather pleased.

Back up and Strong stretches Nakamura over his back before swinging him into a gutbuster. Styles sleepers Strong down, which doesn’t last long as Strong is back up to strike away at both of them. The running forearms in the ropes have Styles in trouble, as does a belly to back faceplant. Nakamura sends Strong into the corner though and kicks Styles down for two more. A sliding knee gets two on Strong with Styles making the save. Strong kicks Styles down to break up the Clash to Nakamura, who is pulled outside by Zayn.

Back in and a tiger driver gives Strong two before Nakamura drops him. Kinshasa is broken up by Styles, who is cut off by Zayn. That leaves Strong to knee Nakamura down for two but Nakamura is back up to clean house. Strong is knocked outside so Nakamura tells Styles to COME ON, meaning it’s time for a strike off. The Landslide gives Nakamura two and he blocks the Styles Clash attempt. Instead Styles settles for the Phenomenal Forearm, only for Strong to steal the pin at 16:48.

Rating: B+. I didn’t remember liking this one as much but they were all working hard and it didn’t get dull despite getting quite a bit of time. In addition to NXT getting yet another win, there was something great about Zayn on the floor as he was giving it his all out there. Solid match here and a rather nice treat.

NXT – 3
Smackdown – 1
Raw – 1

Daniel Bryan is warming up when the Miz comes in. Miz talks about feeling the evil of the Fiend and wants Bryan to put an end to him for the sake of themselves and their children. Bryan: “Get out of my face.”

NXT Title: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and is really banged up after being in WarGames last night. Dunne works on the arm to start, which is quickly broken up. They fight outside with Cole getting in a shot and starting in on Dunne’s bad knee. Dunne fights up and moonsaults over Cole in the corner, setting up an enziguri. The release German suplex sets up a big kick to the head, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two as they take a bit of a breather.

Dunne’s moonsault to the floor drops Cole again but another one hits raised knees back inside. The Last Shot gives Cole two and he brainbusters Dunne onto the knee for the same. The Boom misses and Dunne grabs the Bitter End for another near fall. They trade kicks to the head until Dunne goes up, only to have his moonsault superkicked out of the air (that always looks awesome) for two.

Dunne powerbombs him down for two more and Cole bails out to the floor. They head out to the apron, where Cole grabs a Panama Sunrise for a near countout. Back in and Dunne slugs away but the Bitter End is spun around into another Canadian Destroyer (and it didn’t look bad). The Boom retains the title at 14:06.

Rating: B. At this point, it was feeling like Cole was never going to lose the title no matter what happened, as he was coming in banged up from the night before and still hung in there to beat someone as good as Dunne. It’s still a good match, but seeing Cole retain without even having to cheat is a bit much to take. Yeah Dunne wrestled the night before as well, but Cole took the big bump in WarGames. That should mean a bit more.

The Smackdown men argue over leadership.

We recap the Fiend defending the Smackdown World Title against Daniel Bryan. The Fiend won the title at Crown Jewel and is all evil and such, even attacking Bryan, who was a heel at the moment. It seemed that the Fiend wanted to push Bryan into bringing back the YES Movement so he could kill it once and for all, which is quite the fiendish thing to do.

Smackdown World Title: Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

The Fiend is defending. Bryan fires off the dropkicks in the corner (under the red lights) until Fiend hits a running clothesline. Fiend slugs away and knocks him to the floor for a ram into the barricade. A hard posting drops Bryan again and there’s the backsplash on the floor. The release Rock Bottom drops Bryan back inside and a toss suplex makes it worse. The nerve hold goes on for a bit before they head outside again.

This time Fiend’s running knees hit the steps, followed by a posting from Bryan. Fiend gets taken down by a running knee from the apron, plus a big dive from the top. Back in and Bryan kicks away at the head, with Fiend getting up over and over. The stomping to the head has Fiend down and the running knee connects for two. Fiend does the big scary stand up so Bryan grabs a rollup, only to get caught in the Mandible Claw to retain the title at 10:01.

Rating: B-. This was about the Fiend running through one of the biggest heroes WWE has ever seen because the Fiend is one of the biggest monsters around. It made for a nice story, though it was hard to believe that Bryan had much of a chance here. Even with the alleged return of the YES Movement, it didn’t feel like much of a threat to beat the Fiend, certainly not so soon after he won the title.

Rey Mysterio is going to be more violent against Brock Lesnar and hopes his son Dominik is watching up close.

Men’s Survivor Series Match

Raw: Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton
Smackdown: Roman Reigns, King Corbin, Shorty G, Braun Strowman, Mustafa Ali
NXT: Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Walter, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle

The fans are VERY behind Walter (who you might know better as Gunther) as we figure out who is starting. Ciampa, Rollins and Strowman start things off, with Ciampa being shoved down. McIntyre and Walter come in, with Walter being more than happy to have a hoss fight. A running clothesline drops Strowman and McIntyre gets crushed with a seated senton.

Walter German suplexes McIntyre but can’t do the same thing to Strowman. Instead it’s a running dropkick to send Strowman into the corner, only for McIntyre to Claymore Walter for the pin at 2:57 in one heck of a middle finger to the fans. Priest comes in and strikes it out with McIntyre as the fans are ticked off about Walter. Strowman misses a charge into the post, allowing G (Gable, in case you had blocked out this stupid idea) to moonsault Priest. Riddle comes in and gets into a wrestling match with G, which doesn’t seem like a good idea.

The grappling goes to a standoff so Ricochet comes in with a springboard moonsault to G and McIntyre. Owens gets the tag and picks to frog splash G for the pin at 6:27. Owens goes outside but gets caught by Ciampa with the Willow’s Bell for the pin at 7:46. Orton comes in to stare Ciampa down but Ciampa is smart enough not to walk into the RKO. Instead they get up and brawl, with Orton grabbing the RKO a few seconds later. Priest tags himself in though and tries to roll the dice, only to get reversed into the RKO for the pin at 10:16.

Riddle comes in and has to escape an RKO attempt, which he counters into a rollup to pin Orton at 10:29. Riddle celebrates the huge win and walks into an RKO, allowing Corbin to get the pin at 10:54. Lee comes in and the fans are VERY pleased, only for McIntyre to take him down with a cheap shot. It’s back to Strowman, who takes them outside for the running shoulders….and then does it again for a bonus, only for Lee to cut him off in a massive crash.

McIntyre adds a Claymore to Strowman, who is counted out at 13:18. So we’re down to Rollins, Ricochet and McIntyre for Raw, Reigns, Corbin and Ali for Smackdown and Lee and Ciampa for NXT. Ricochet comes in to clean house but walks into the End Of Days for the pin at 14:30. Ali (hometown boy) comes in to clean house, including a sweet pop up X Factor to Ciampa. The tornado DDT drops Rollins and Ciampa gets posted. Corbin pulls Ali back to the floor though and yells a lot, which is enough for Rollins to hit the Stomp for the pin at 16:10.

Reigns yells at Corbin and McIntyre plants Ciampa with the reverse Alabama Slam for two. The Claymore is cut off with a spear though and McIntyre is done at 17:33, leaving Rollins alone. Rollins jumps Reigns but the suicide dive is knocked out of the air. Willow’s Bell hits Reigns, who counters the Fairy Tale Ending into a Superman Punch. With both of them down, Corbin comes in to knock Lee off the apron, though he’s also smart enough to drag Reigns over for the tag. Corbin yells at Reigns but a chokeslam to Ciampa doesn’t work, leaving Reigns to spear Corbin and Ciampa gets the pin at 19:55.

That leaves Reigns vs. Rollins vs. Ciampa/Lee with Reigns and Rollins getting together on Ciampa before doing the same to Lee. Rollins throws Ciampa outside but Lee is back up to cut off the TripleBomb through the announcers’ table. Back in and Ciampa’s running knee and Project Ciampa get two on Rollins but the Fairy Tale Ending is escaped. Ciampa avoids the Stomp but can’t avoid Reigns’ Superman Punch. The Stomp gets rid of Ciampa at 24:00 and we’re down to one each. The fans start to sing for Lee, who gets serious as he heads back inside.

Lee runs them both over with shoulders and sends Rollins flying, followed by a slingshot crossbody to take both of them out. Rollins escapes the Big Bang Catastrophe and kicks Lee down, setting up a frog splash for two, leaving commentary stunned. Back up and the Big Bang Catastrophe gets rid of Rollins (and Raw) at 26:34.

Reigns is back up with some Superman Punches for two on Lee, who kicks out, even as the referee hits the mat for the third time. The spear is countered into the Spirit Bomb for two more and my goodness the heat on that near fall. Lee goes up but misses the moonsault, allowing Reigns to hit the spear for the pin at 29:55.

Rating: B+. This was a lot more like it, as it felt like NXT had a chance to shock the world. Lee came off like an absolute star here and Ciampa more than held his own. At the same time, it might have been a bit of a stretch for NXT to be able to beat all star teams like this, even with their issues. The good thing is that NXT held its own here, and that’s exactly how you make it feel like a genuine third brand rather than just developmental. The Walter nonsense aside, this was a good performance from NXT and the fans went nuts all the way.

NXT – 3
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1

Post match Reigns shows Lee some well earned respect.

Becky Lynch is tired of these fights with Shayna Baszler because Baszler has been training while Lynch has been going around the world. It doesn’t matter though as Lynch knows there is nothing Baszler can do to take her down. Then there’s Bayley, who made Lynch come looking for her. Now she’s going to hurt her.

We recap Brock Lesnar defending the Raw World Title against Rey Mysterio. Lesnar beat up Rey and then attacked his son Dominik (almost unrecognizable compared to what he would be a few years later) to make it personal. Rey brought in former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez to go after Lesnar, which went pretty horribly, so now Rey is fighting for himself.

Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, is defending and anything goes. Mysterio gets smart by grabbing a lead pipe to start, sending Lesnar to the floor. Back in and Lesnar runs him over with some clotheslines, sending Mysterio outside. Mysterio gets sent flying over the announcers’ table and then rammed hard into the post as the slow beating is on. Another posting is broken up though as Mysterio sends him into the post instead, only for Lesnar to German suplex him onto the pipe.

Lesnar gets in another German suplex but here is Dominik Mysterio with a towel. Lesnar grabs Dominik so Rey gets in a low blow, as does Rey. Some pipe shots have Lesnar in trouble and Dominik adds a chair shot, followed by a double 619. Dominik and Rey hit a frog splash each…for two, and you can feel the air go out of the place. Lesnar is back up with a German suplex to Dominik before pulling Rey out of the air for the F5 to retain at 6:55.

Rating: B. The good thing about Mysterio is that you can put him in a spot like this and the fans will believe that he could pull off a miracle. The false finish with the double 619 was great but after that, you knew it wasn’t going to happen. They were smart to keep this short and action packed, as there was only so much of a way to believe that Mysterio was going to be a threat long term.

We recap the women’s triple threat. Becky Lynch is still arguably the biggest star in WWE but Shayna Baszler isn’t scared of her. Bayley has to be there too because of the triple brand thing.

Bayley (Smackdown) vs. Becky Lynch (Raw) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT)

Non-title again. Bayley rams Baszler into Lynch but Lynch fights out without much effort. A clothesline puts Lynch down, leaving Baszler and Bayley to brawl to the floor. That’s broken up and Baszler is knocked outside, leaving Bayley to sunset bomb Lynch into the corner. Baszler takes Lynch’s place and gets beaten up again, only to come back with a stomp to Bayley’s arm.

Bayley is back up and knocks Baszler outside before unloading on Lynch in the corner. A Stunner over the ropes cuts Baszler off again but Lynch knocks Bayley down to take over. Lynch plants both of them and drops the top rope legdrop for two on Bayley. Baszler is back up as well, only to get kneed down by Bayley, who takes Lynch out as well. The Bayley To Belly gets two on Baszler, who is right back with a gutwrench faceplant.

Baszler fireman’s carries Bayley, which is broken up by a missile dropkick from the returning Lynch. Bayley breaks up the slugout and gets choked by Baszler, with Lynch making the save. Lynch powerbombs Baszler out of the corner but gets choked as well. Baszler is sent into Bayley for the save and Lynch gets the Disarm-Her, which is broken up too. Bayley pulls Baszler outside but hurts her own leg, allowing Baszler to take both of them out. Baszler plants Lynch on the announcers’ table but gets suplexed by Bayley back inside. That’s shrugged off and the Kirifuda Clutch gives Baszler the win at 18:03.

Rating: B-. They were working hard and it was far from a bad match, but there was very litter crowd energy for this. At the end of the day, the crowd was just done after the Lesnar/Mysterio and Men’s Survivor Series matches. You can’t take that much energy out of them and then expect a match which doesn’t mean a ton (NXT was at worst tying here) to feel special. It’s not bad, but the show needed to be laid out better.

NXT – 4
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1

Post match Baszler poses over Lynch, who knocks her onto the announcers’ table. Lynch puts her through said table (with a chair falling on Baszler’s head to make it even worse) and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Excellent show here, with NXT feeling like they had arrived and actually winning with a pretty dominant performance. There’s nothing close to bad on the whole show and the crowd carried it to another level. I had forgotten how good the matches were throughout and the three way competition actually worked all night. Find a better way to finish and it’s that much better, but this was awesome stuff.

 

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal:

Original: D
2020 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C

Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto

Original: C+
2020 Redo: C
2025 Redo: B

New Day vs. Viking Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

Original: B
2020 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B-

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Original: B-
2020 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles

Original: B
2020 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B+

Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Original: A-
2020 Redo: B+
2025 Redo: B

The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B
2020 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B-

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Original: B+
2020 Redo: A-
2025 Redo: B+

Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+
2020 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B

Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch

Original: D+
2020 Redo: C
2025 Redo: B-

Overall Rating:

Original: B+
2020 Redo: B+
2025 Redo: A-

The main event was a lot better than I gave it credit for before, as was the tag team battle royal. All around, an outstanding show.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 13, 2025
Location: RAC Arena, Perth, Australia
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re done with Crown Jewel and still in Australia so this is airing twelve hours earlier than usual. Seth Rollins and Stephanie Vaquer won the Crown Jewel Titles and John Cena and AJ Styles had an incredibly special match. It’s time to start getting ready for next month’s Survivor Series and WarGames so let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

Long Crown Jewel recap.

Here is the Vision for a chat. The fans are not happy to see Seth Rollins, who calls them a bunch of “w******” before hitting his usual catchphrases. Rollins praises each of the members, including giving Heyman a kiss on the head, and saying that Breakker and Reed are being incredibly successful. Rollins asks the fans who is the greatest World Heavyweight Champion of all time. The reality is that he has beaten CM Punk and Roman Reigns on his own. He didn’t need the men in this ring but rather he chose all of them. Rollins is the greatest of all time and has proven it, so here’s a lot of pyro.

Penta runs into Rusev, who is facing the winner of tonight’s Intercontinental Title match. If that’s Penta, Rusev recommends prayer because pain is coming. Dominik Mysterio is coming up from behind, sees Rusev, and leaves.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio is defending and fires off a quick superkick. That earns him a hurricanrana to the floor, where Penta gives him a backdrop onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Mysterio being sat on top for a kick to the head. A springboard spinning crossbody gives Penta two, followed by the slingshot dropkick in the corner for two more. Mysterio is able to send him outside for a suicide dive, allowing Mysterio to do the Penta strut.

A running dropkick in the corner gets two and we take another break. We come back again with Mysterio missing a slingshot hilo and being sent outside for a big top rope dive. Penta gets in two Amigos but Mysterio suplexes him for two instead. The Penta Driver gets two but Mysterio reverses the Canadian Destroyer into a Michinoku Driver. Cue Rusev, who gets taken down by Penta. The distraction lets Mysterio grab the title and the timekeeper’s hammer. As expected, the referee gets rid of the belt but Mysterio hammers Penta in the knee. A 619 into the frog splash retains the title at 15:38.

Rating: B. They started to roll at the end there and Mysterio continues to roll as his rather awesome title reign keeps going. The fans are even getting into him cheating, which gives his future that much more potential. He’s likely going to hold the title for a good while and that could make for some very interesting moments. The fact that the match was good makes it even better.

LA Knight is ready to face CM Punk tonight and then he’s moving on to go after the World Title. Punk comes in to say Knight isn’t beaten him tonight, with Knight disagreeing.

Asuka yells at Kairi Sane for losing at Crown Jewel so Sane offers to talk to Iyo Sky. That’s not what Asuka wants, but rather for her to face Rhea Ripley tonight. This surprises Sane, even though the match was announced earlier tonight. Sane shows off a big bruise on her head and gets slapped as a result.

Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane

Iyo Sky and Asuka are here too. Sane rolls away from her to start and gets in a slap, which doesn’t seem to be the best idea. A crossbody is pulled out of the air though and Ripley muscles her up for a suplex. Sane sends her outside with a running headscissors, where Ripley knocks her out of the air. Asuka’s distraction brings Ripley outside but Sky goes after Asuka instead. Sane gets in a shot of her own on Sky though and we take a break.

We come back with Ripley fighting out of a chinlock and running Sane over for two. The headbutt sets up Riptide, with Sane slipping out and taking it to the apron. Ripley is sent outside for a dive off the apron but she’s fine enough to hit a Razor’s Edge toss. A running kick to the face gives Ripley two and she puts Sane up top. The top rope double stomp in the Tree Of Woe gives Sane two so she goes up top again. A top rope hurricanrana is countered into a faceplant so Asuka offers a distraction. Sky kicks her down and Riptide finishes Sane at 16:00.

Rating: B. It’s nice to see Ripley get another win and it makes sense for that to take place in her native Australia. This story has been going on for a pretty good while now and Ripley is starting to look more dominant, though at some point the Warriors need to get a big win of their own. For now though, Ripley beating Sane is a good result for the short term.

Post match Ripley goes after Asuka but Sane makes the save with a kendo stick shot. Asuka DDTs Ripley onto the announcers’ table.

The Usos are in the back, with Jimmy not getting why Roman Reigns is mad at them over trying to help him. Jey says they have to worry about their own business, with Jimmy not liking the tone. He’ll deal with Bronson Reed on his own.

Bronson Reed vs. Jimmy Uso

Uso slugs away to start and gets cut off just as fast. Reed misses a charge and gets sent outside where Uso fires off some right hands. Back in and a World’s Strongest Slam plants Uso, who loses his shirt to reveal some taped up ribs. We take a break and come back with Reed missing a backsplash to give Uso a breather. Uso enziguris him into the corner and hits a Whisper In The Wind for two. Due to reasons he “he’s not very bright”, Uso tries a Samoan drop and collapses. Reed drops a backsplash and hits the Tsunami for the win at 9:17.

Rating: C. This was about what you were expecting, as the former Bloodline’s issues continue to mount. There is only so much that you can do when Uso is banged up in the first place and is facing someone whose whole offense is built around getting to injure someone’s ribs. Reed’s big run continues and that is rather nice to see given what he has been doing in recent months.

Post match Bron Breakker shows up for a Super Spear but Jey Uso runs in for the save before the around the ring version can connect. Jey fights back and the villains run off. Jimmy seems to appreciate the help but Jey doesn’t look happy with him.

Lyra Valkyria isn’t sure if she can trust Bayley against Judgment Day and says this is a one time thing. Bayley laughs it off.

Bayley/Lyra Valkyria vs. Judgment Day

Valkyria takes Perez down by the arm to start and it’s quickly off to Bayley to send the villains into the corner. The WHOA running elbow connects and Valkyria is sent into them as well. Rodriguez sends Valkyria flying into Bayley though and Perez comes in for a Russian legsweep/big boot combination.

We take a break and come back with Perez sending Valkyria into the corner to crotch Bayley, who gets planted with a slingshot suplexed. A double springboard moonsault gives Perez two but Bayley manages to get over for the tag. Valkyria comes in and cleans house but slaps Bayley to wake her up a bit, which makes Bayley laugh. Bayley goes nuts and wrecks the villains, with the top rope elbow into the Rose Plant finishing Perez at 11:10.

Rating: C+. I can go with Bayley having two different sides to her as long as they drop the whole voices thing. Her just losing control and snapping is fine, as it’s giving Valkyria more TV time and it seems to be working. I don’t know how long it’s going to last, but it’s working well for now.

Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman talk about how great things have been and how great they will be going forward. Rollins knows something amazing is on the horizon. Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker come in, with Rollins saying they are this close to the top of the mountain. Nothing can stop them.

AJ Styles comes up to Adam Pearce and says Crown Jewel was amazing, though it would have been better if he had won. Dominik Mysterio comes in to ask where his attention is and says he’s the only champion defending his title. Styles agrees and thinks he and Dragon Lee should get a Tag Team Title shot next week. Works for Pearce, who says Mysterio can tell the champs.

Here is Stephanie Vaquer for a chat. She’s happy to have won her fourth title in a year but here is Judgment Day to interrupt. They both say they should be champion, so Vaquer tells them to do something about it. Perez says she’ll do it on her own time.

The attendance for the three days is 40,503.

Jey Uso vs. LA Knight vs. CM Punk

For a future shot at Seth Rollins. Knight stomps Uso down in the corner to start but gets sent outside. Knight gets to beat on Punk outside, only for Uso to hit a suicide dive. We take a break and come back with Punk hitting the running knees in the corner but Uso sends him into the corner. The Umaga Attack hits Knight but Punk neckbreakers Uso to cut him off. Punk drops the top rope elbow on Knight, who escapes a GTS attempt. Knight hits a double top rope elbow for two each and we take another break.

We come back with Uso and Punk slugging it out until Knight is back in. Knight superplexes Punk but gets Superfly Splashed by Uso for two. Uso is sent outside and the BFT hits Punk, with Uso breaking up the cover. Back in and the Superfly Splash hits Punk’s raised knees and the GTS gives Punk the win at 13:30.

Rating: B-. Punk winning is a good way to go as him getting to face Rollins one on one should makes for a big match whenever it happens. At the same time, it’s nice to see Knight not take the fall for a change. Uso already has something else going on with his family so this could have been a lot worse.

Post match Punk celebrates but here is the Vision, with Breakker hitting a spear each for Jey Uso and LA Knight. Punk gets beaten down as well and Rollins talks a lot of trash. And then Breakker spears Rollins. Breakker says something to Reed as Heyman looks stunned. Reed gives Rollins a Tsunami and Heyman is forced to hold up Breakker and Reed’s arms, with Breakker holding up the title to end the show. That’s one heck of a twist and I did not see it coming, though dang it’s pulling quite the trigger.

Overall Rating: B+. The ending boosted this one up a lot, though I’m scared that it’s Reed and Breakker turning on Rollins for the sake of playing mind games with Punk before the title match. The crowd was hot all night (though I could go forever without hearing that Will You Be My Girl song again) and it feels like the stakes have been raised now that we are done with the Crown Jewel stuff. Just keep that energy going though, as we have a long way to go before Survivor Series.

Results
Dominik Mysterio b. Penta – Frog splash
Rhea Ripley b. Kairi – Riptide
Bronson Reed b. Jimmy Uso – Tsunami
CM Punk b. Jey Uso and LA Knight – GTS to Uso

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 6, 2025
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the last Raw before Crown Jewel and that means it’s the last Raw without anything important involving the World Title. Seth Rollins continues to have doubts about whether he can beat Cody Rhodes, which is probably a fair issue to have. Odds are we’ll get some more towards that and everything else here, with the possibility of another match or two being added. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns returning last week.

Here is Reigns to get things going and yeah the fans still seem to like him. He takes a bit to soak in the cheers before allowing Dallas to acknowledge him. With that out of the way, here are Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed to interrupt. They stare at each other and Reigns asks if Heyman has something to say. Heyman doesn’t know who has been wisemanin Reigns since he broke Heyman’s heart and tells the fans to acknowledge the Tribal THIEF.

Heyman knows that Reed is the one man that Reigns fears as Reed is the only person to ever cause Reigns to leave on a stretcher. Not in WWE, not in college football, not in the drunken Samoan barbecues where a battle royal broke out. Reed talks about how Afa and Sika were never stretchered out, so how would they feel to see it happen to Reigns at Reed’s hands. Reigns says Reed didn’t know Afa and Sika, but Heyman did.

What does Reigns think Sika would say? That would be “fight him now”, which Reigns is ready to do, but Heyman says not so fast. Reigns knows what Heyman is saying about waiting, but the reality is Reigns is levels ahead of Reed. Just pick the time and the rules because Reigns will be there to show why he’s the Tribal Chief. Heyman says it’s going to be an Australian street fight and goes to leave, but Reigns says they’re walking out like a couple of b******. That brings Reed back to the ring for the brawl, with Reed being knocked over the barricade before they’re separated. Good enough here, if a bit long.

We recap the Kabuki Warriors vs. Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky.

Asuka is not happy and demands that Adam Pearce makes Sky vs. Kairi Sane tonight. Pearce needs a drink and Sane is upset about having to do the match. Asuka yells at and slaps her in the face.

Becky Lynch vs. Maxine Dupri

Non-title. Dupri takes her into the corner to start and slaps her in the chest a few times but Lynch is back with a knockdown. A Thesz press and some bad right hands have Lynch in trouble, followed by a dropkick to….somewhere on Lynch sends her outside. Dupri hits a dive off the apron but Lynch Bexploders her into the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Dupri hitting some knees and clotheslines. Dupri takes the straps down and grabs an ankle lock, only to be sent into the buckle. Some right hands in the corner have Dupri in more trouble until she comes out with a sitout powerbomb for two. Lynch’s cross armbreaker is countered but so is Dupri’s ankle lock. A spinning kick to the head gives Dupri two and the fans are WAY into this.

Lynch’s rollup with trunks gets two so Dupri grabs her own rollup and puts her feet on the ropes for two of her own. They go outside, where Lynch taps her with the big Prime bottle. Lynch sends her into the announcers’ table a few times and stops to yell…but forgets to get back inside and Dupri wins by countout at 13:45.

Rating: B-. To be clear, no, the wrestling here wasn’t particularly great and yes Lynch did most of the important work here, with Dupri being in over her head in this spot. What worked here was the fans getting into the story of the match, as it’s something anyone can appreciate. The idea here was an underdog is in there fighting for all she’s got against a champion who doesn’t respect her. Dupri didn’t so much beat Lynch as much as catch her making a big mistake and that’s a great way to finish this. I got into this after not wanting to see it at first, so well done on having this go so well.

Roman Reigns runs into the Usos, who say they have his back at Crown Jewel, though they both say it individually rather than as a team. Reigns says that Jey should be focused on the opportunities that are available. Jey says CM Punk is talking at the top of the hour. Reigns: “Not you.” Jey leaves and Reigns asks Jimmy why Jimmy doesn’t like Jey taking Reigns’ advice. Jimmy doesn’t say anything.

Bayley scares Lyra Valkyria and asks to be in her corner tonight. Valkyria is a bit scared but agrees.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez

Bayley and Raquel Rodriguez are here too. An early slap wakes Valkyria up and they go into the corner with Perez having to fight her way out. A head shove puts Valkyria down but she grabs an armbar. Perez can’t armdrag her way out of the armbar but she sends Valkyria into the corner. A springboard knee to the arm has Valkyria in trouble and Perez stomps said arm in the corner.

We take a break and come back with Valkyria fighting back, though she can’t hook the leg on a fisherman’s suplex due to the bad arm. Rodriguez offers a distraction but Bayley holds Valkyria on top. That leaves Perez to crash down and Valkyria’s splash gets two. Rodriguez kicks Bayley in the face, leaving Perez to hit a diving tornado DDT to the floor. That sets up Pop Rox to pin Valkyria at 9:25.

Rating: C+. This was another step in the story between Bayley and Valkyria and odds are we’ll see the four of them in a tag match sooner than later. That being said, I have no idea where they’re going with this as Bayley being all over the place is a bit of a strange one to come back from no matter what they do. Also, at what point do we acknowledge that Judgment Day has been beating these two for a long time now and are getting nowhere as a result?

Post match Bayley grabs Valkyria by the hair and takes her to the back, saying they need to get them.

Video on AJ Styles vs. John Cena, which does have quite the history.

Styles is asked about the match with Cena but the Judgment Day interrupts. Dominik Mysterio mocks the idea of Styles beating Cena and Finn Balor says he’s heard rumors of Styles and Dragon Lee wanting to team up to challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Styles says he’ll find a third guy and we’ll have a six man tag tonight.

CM Punk is on his way to the ring and passes an arguing Rusev and Adam Pearce.

AJ Styles and Dragon Lee recruit Penta, who happens to be here in his full gear. Before he can answer, we cut to a fight between Bayley/Lyra Valkyria and the women of the Judgment Day. Adam Pearce comes in and blows a gasket again.

Here is CM Punk for a chat. After singing a Texas song (yep), Punk thanks the fans for giving AJ Lee a welcome return to WWE. We’re coming up on Crown Jewel and while he has a lot of things to deal with involving Seth Rollins, but he is going to let Cody Rhodes finish up with him first. Punk has beaten Rollins this year and he’s going to get his title back, just like a sign in the crowd says he should.

Cue LA Knight to interrupt and says he hasn’t gotten the World Title shot that he deserves. Knight agreed with some of what Punk was saying but there were some omissions. Punk is the creator of the Pipe Bomb, but lately he’s been known as a husband. That’s not an insult and everyone needs love (Punk gives a great “where is this going” face). While Punk is a great husband, he’s a pretty bad champion.

Punk was champion for five minutes and then Rollins pinned him at Summerslam. Then he did it again at Clash In Paris, which has never happened to Knight. Punk says that’s the same guy who has never been World Champion. Knight admits that’s true and says he’ll be the next man to pin Rollins, but here is Jey Uso to interrupt. Uso gets to the point by saying he’s the next challenger for the World Title.

Knight isn’t impressed and mocks Jey’s loss last week, which brings out Jimmy Uso. Knight says that’s not what he was trying to say and Knight turns to look at Punk, only to get superkicked by Jey. Punk assumes that he’s cool with Jey and he’s cool with Jey wanting the title. Punk wants Jey to stick with the tag stuff, because he likes Jey, but doesn’t like Little Roman. Jey tries a superkick but Jimmy cuts him off. Punk drops Jey but walks into a superkick from Jimmy. This is one of the best things to have in a title story: people fighting to get a shot, because that’s what matters the most.

Iyo Sky talks about her history with the Kabuki Warriors and how she and Kairi Sane looked up to Asuka. Then Asuka changed and everything went bad. Asuka has helped her, but she isn’t the only reason Sky became champion. They are not family anymore and is ready to fight at Crown Jewel.

Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane

Asuka is here too and Sky dives onto her before the bell. That has Sane breaking it up and Asuka tells her to get back inside. The bell rings and Sky takes her down with a headscissors before they try dropkicks at the same time. Sky’s dropkick sends Sane outside for an Asai moonsault and we take a break. We come back with Sane putting on an upside down triangle choke in the ropes.

Sky fights up and hits some palm strikes into a flapjack. The missile dropkick sends Sane into the corner and allows Sky to do her crazy dance. A nice bridging German suplex gives Sky two but Sane slips out of a sitout Pedigree. Sane slams her down and tries the Insane Elbow, which hits raised boots (and thankfully doesn’t break Sane’s legs). The running knees in the corner connect but Asuka breaks up the Over The Moonsault. Sane grabs a rollup (and Asuka’s hands) for the win at 9:45.

Rating: B. They had a good, hard hitting match here as Sky is on her own against two women, which is enough of a good way to protect her with the loss. The tag match should be big enough, as Ripley adds in some nice extra drama. Asuka being able to be such a force without even wrestling here makes it all the more impressive.

Post match the beatdown is on, including the Insane Elbow. The fans chant for Rhea Ripley, though it has been established that she is doing media in Australia and therefore isn’t here.

We get another video on Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins, this time focusing on how they came together to take Roman Reigns down but have since split up and gotten in a variety of fights of their own. Now Rollins doesn’t think Rhodes will be able to lead this company. It’s a big story, but it’s still hard to buy that this match is important.

Seth Rollins is all focused while Becky Lynch rants about Maxxine Dupri, Adam Pearce, the refereeing, and pretty much everything else. Lynch leaves and Rollins says he and Paul Heyman should talk. Rollins says he has to win on Saturday, which Heyman says will happen. Rollins asks what happens if he doesn’t win. Heyman: “But you will beat Cody Rhodes.” Heyman finally gets to the point and explains what happens: Rollins loses the locker room, everything he has built with the Vision, and shows that the Netflix Era has been built around a fraud while only being a secondary champion. So don’t lose.

Rollins pulls him back and asks what it means for Heyman if Rollins loses. Heyman says if Rollins loses, he has to ask why he picked Rollins in the first place. That gives Rollins something to think about. This was good stuff from Heyman as usual, but at the same time, I’m going to need to see one of these matches have any real consequences before I can buy this sort of a promo.

Jey Uso is ranting to Roman Reigns when Jimmy comes in. Jey wants to know why Jimmy was out there because now they have to face CM Punk and LA Knight tonight. Is Jimmy protecting Punk? Jimmy needs to decide whose side he’s on. Jey is gone and Jimmy tells Reigns that he sees everything is going on. Reigns has Jey thinking a certain way and needs to accept that the Usos are nothing like him. Reigns says Jimmy should listen to this: when Jey won the World Title, he became more like Reigns and less like Jimmy. If Jimmy wants to help Jey, sometimes he should get out of Jey’s way. As the Bloodline continues to turn.

Penta/AJ Styles/Dragon Lee vs. Judgment Day

Balor headlocks Styles to start but gets caught with the drop down dropkick. Everything breaks down and Judgment Day is cleared out to the floor, meaning it’s time for some quick dives. The good guys get to do a triple Penta strut and we take a break. We come back with McDonagh getting sent into the wrong corner, with Lee grabbing a dragon screw legwhip. McDonagh fights out of trouble though and it’s off to Mysterio, to quite the reception. Mysterio takes Lee down and McDonagh elbows him as we take another break.

We come back again with Lee still in trouble but getting over to Penta for the tag. A Spanish Fly drops McDonagh and the big tag brings Styles in for the house cleaning. Mysterio manages to send him throat first onto the top…but cue Rusev to cut off a 619 attempt. That’s enough for the Styles Clash to finish McDonagh at 14:05.

Rating: B-. The match was fine, but this felt like a way to get Styles on the show for the sake of reminding you that he’s facing John Cena on Saturday. At the same time, Rusev seems to be coming for Dominik Mysterio again, which should be a fine way to go, but I’m still not sure I can picture him winning the title. It’s not a bad story at all, though Lee continues to feel like the most “he’s there too” member of the roster these days.

Post match Styles says his match with John Cena doesn’t need a story because it writes itself. They will leave it all in the ring and it will kick a**. Yeah that’s fair for this one.

Crown Jewel rundown.

CM Punk and LA Knight agree that they don’t want the match but they’ll do it anyway. Knight tells him to not get pinned.

LA Knight/CM Punk vs. Usos

Knight and Punk charge in to start the brawl and we settle down to Knight stomping Jey into the corner. The running knee connects and Knight basically chops Punk for a tag. Punk works on the arm and then gives Knight the same kind of tag. It’s off to Jimmy, who gets hit in the face before Jey comes back in. Jey sends Knight into the steps and we take a break.

We come back with Knight still in trouble with Jimmy hitting a running forearm in the corner. A Demolition Decapitator drops Knight again and the running Umaga Attack connects. Knight finally gets in a shot of his own though and it’s off to Punk to make the comeback. Jimmy superkicks him right back down though and Jey’s Superfly Splash connects, with Knight making the save. Everything breaks down and Jey spears Punk but Knight is there again. The GTS hits Jey, only for Knight to tag himself back in and steal the pin at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was more of a storyline advancement than a big time match, which isn’t a surprise given who was involved. It still feels big to have Punk in the ring and he’s going to have something to say to Knight going forward, which is where the magic should come from. At the same time, I could still picture Knight turning heel rather soon and there is a good chance that it leads to him getting something big in the near future.

Punk is not pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The good action and some focus on things outside of the Crown Jewel Title matches helped this one a lot and it wound up being pretty good. The Women’s Title didn’t get any attention at all and Rollins had the best promo in the whole build towards his match with Rhodes. Other than that, the rest of the card got some attention and that was rather needed. Now just get done with Crown Jewel and let the top stars do something with their titles and it should be even better.

Results
Maxxine Dupri b. Becky Lynch via countout
Roxanne Perez b. Lyra Valkyria – Pop Rox
Kairi Sane b. Iyo Sky – Rollup with assist from Asuka
AJ Styles/Dragon Lee/Penta b. Judgment Day – Styles Clash to McDonagh
LA Knight/CM Punk b. Usos – GTS to Jey

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 15, 2025
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Wrestlepalooza and we’re on an hour earlier, likely to avoid the second Monday Night Football game of the evening. John Cena is here tonight and we’re fairly close to his hometown, so things should be interesting. Other than that, AJ Lee and CM Punk are here to meet up with Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of the Vision beating down LA Knight and Jimmy Uso, with Jey Uso making the save, only to take Knight out as well as he’s getting a bit more devilish.

The Usos arrive and Knight goes after him. Jimmy Uso and Adam Pearce break it up, with Pearce threatening fines if this keeps going.

Here is John Cena to a hero’s welcome. Cena talks about how he spent a lot of time in this city, playing football at Springfield College. He played on the offensive line, meaning he never got his name in the paper and he would get beaten up every day and then have to come back the next day and do it again. That’s what got him ready for WWE and now he’s here in front of friends and family.

After saying hi to his niece (on her birthday) and saying he’ll see her this week, Cena talks about getting ready to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza. He’s done that more than a few times and it’s really hard, so maybe he should consider backing out of the match because he’s only got six appearances left.

We get a THANK YOU CENA chant and that’s why he’s saying yes to Lesnar. He has never fought one battle backstage because he’s always fighting in front of these people. Of course he’s scared of Lesnar but he’s taking the fight to the Beast because that’s what he does. This was a good speech (and you could tell how special it was for Cena), but it still feels like Cena and Lesnar are on different planets on the way to the match.

We go to Adam Pearce’s office where Jey Uso and LA Knight are still arguing. Pearce wants to keep things calm so he asks Knight to pick his partner against the Vision. He’ll take Jimmy Uso, which doesn’t sit well with Jey.

Roxanne Perez vs. Lyra Valkyria

They go with the grappling to start before Valkyria slams her down to take over. Perez gets a rather nifty rollup for two but Valkyria is back with a crossbody. She seems to be favoring her back though, allowing Raquel Rodriguez to trip her down. That’s enough to get Rodriguez ejected, leaving Valkyria to kick Perez to the floor.

Back in and Perez trips her off the top for a nasty crash, followed by some screaming pounding as we take a break. We come back with Valkyria hitting a sitout powerbomb for two. Perez cuts her off on top and grabs the crossface, only for Valkyria to power up into Nightwing for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of comeback win that Valkyria needs as she hasn’t been doing much lately and was coming off a loss. It’s a weird way to go with Valkyria trading wins, though I’ll take her getting back on track this fast. The real story is still with Bayley though and that’s going to be….I have no idea yet.

Post match Rodriguez comes back in for the beatdown but Bayley returns for the save. Bayley runs over and hugs the commentators and ring announcer as Valkyria is stunned. This is giving me 3 Faces Of Foley vibes.

Stephanie Vaquer and Iyo Sky have signed the contract for Wrestlepalooza and show respect before the title match. The Kabuki Warriors come in and Asuka wants Vaquer to face….Kairi Sane tonight. Adam Pearce makes the match and Sane does some shadow boxing in a hilarious moment.

LA Knight comes in to see Jimmy Uso and wants to make sure Jimmy won’t screw him over like Jey Uso. Jimmy says Knight has put him in a tough spot and he’ll need to find another partner.

Kofi Kingston vs. Penta

Xavier Woods and Grayson Waller are here with Kingston. Penta starts fast and knocks him out to the floor, only for Kingston to kick him down. The Shadows Over Hell drops Penta again and we take a break. We come back with Penta hitting the handstand dropkick in the corner for two.

Penta hits one of the loudest chops I’ve heard in a bit but Kingston is back with a knockdown for two. Trouble In Paradise is blocked by a superkick (which doesn’t exactly connect) and they trade strikes to the face for a double down. Woods offers a distraction so Waller can come in, only for Penta to come back with a springboard Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 7:32.

Rating: B-. Much like Valkyria, Penta needed a win like this as he doesn’t have much much going on in the way of momentum. It’s nice to see him getting a win with a cool finish, which he hit in a unique way. I’m not sure what New Day is doing at the moment, but that’s been the case for a long, long time now.

Jey Uso is on the phone and saying he has some issues. Jimmy Uso comes in and asks who was on the phone. Jey brushes that off and says Jimmy has to turn LA Knight down for tonight. That doesn’t work for Jimmy but Jey talks about how they have the Vision at Wrestlepalooza. Jimmy tells him to change his tone, because there’s no ula fala around his neck.

Post break, Jimmy tells La Knight that he’s in. Works for Knight.

Here are Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch for a chat. The fans chant for CM Punk and Rollins says that as a result, he’s ignoring them. Rollins addresses the fans on Netflix and then introduces Lynch, who wants to talk to AJ Lee and Punk in person, because unlike Punk, she doesn’t insult people behind their backs.

Cue Lee and Punk, the latter of whom introduces himself as her husband. Punk talks about how he’s known for his talking and asks which one is the team captain. They can’t even get on the same page and we had to listen to two bad songs. He has no problem with putting Cult Of Personality on the shelf and lighting it up with his wife (AJ seems to say “good job”). The fans get on Rollins so Lynch stands up for him, before Rollins says he’s going to give Punk credit (Punk’s eyes bugging out is funny).

Rollins says AJ Lee is the best decision Punk has ever made (Punk seems to agree). Fans: “NO ONE LIKES YOU!” Lynch: “I like him!” Rollins means in Punk’s personal life, because bringing AJ in is a bad professional move. AJ calls Rollins “sweet cheeks” and says Rollins started this by using Lynch as a human shield. Punk has said he cared about himself, his wife and the title.

Lynch brings up Lee having a bad neck (as she mentioned in her book) and points out Punk got into a blood feud over a bracelet with his wife’s name on it. That makes AJ a liability instead of an asset. AJ: “Well Becky thank you for reading my book. I didn’t read yours.” It’s true that she has a bad neck, but seeing Lynch’s “constipated face” made her see red. Lee: “I’m a Puerto Rican from New Jersey. Sometimes I shank a chick.” She’s ready to hurt Lynch, but Rollins calls Lee “little girl”. Fans: “SHE WILL KILL YOU!”

Rollins brings up Lee and Punk both leaving and suggests Punk will leave her too. That’s good for a slap to the face, with Rollins saying he would never put his hands on a woman. He knows someone who would though….but Lynch bails. Lynch says Rollins got them into this and leaves, but it’s a ruse to get Punk to chase Rollins, leaving Lynch to Manhandle Slam Lee. She throws in a slap to Punk for a bonus. This was a long segment and they only said a few interesting things, but the fans and the one liners were both great and carried the thing to the finish line.

Video on Worlds Collide, including Dominik Mysterio winning the AAA Mega Title.

Mysterio doesn’t want to talk about El Grande Americano because he is the Mega Intercontinental Champion. Hold on though as there is sounds of a fracas and we run over to see New Day having attacked Penta with a chair. The War Raiders run in to chase New Day Off.

Dragon Lee vs. El Grande Americano

Lee starts fast with a shotgun dropkick but Americano fights up without much trouble. A TKO gets two on Lee and Americano hammers away, including a crazy loud chop. Lee is right back up with a hurricanrana to the floor so Americano lays on the announcers’ table. Lee gets a running start for a running flip dive to crush him again as we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of loud chops until Lee grabs a sitout powerbomb. Lee’s top rope Tree of Woe double stomp gets two but cue another Americano for a cheap shot though, which draws out AJ Styles to give chase. Styles takes out the other Americano but a third pops up for a tornado DDT to take drop Styles on the floor. The distraction lets the original grab a choke with knees in Lee’s back for the win at 10:14.

Rating: C+. The best thing I can say about the Americano story is that I’m curious about where it’s going. Having the original Americano replaced and then having multiple clones going out there as well is interesting, though we could be waiting a good while before we get any kind of a reveal.

Americano is confused but rolls with it.

Lyra Valkyria is about to go talk to Bayley about what happened but hears a lot of shouting. She goes inside and Bayley is alone, leaving Valkyria even more confused. Bayley says she might have been changing or had company but Valkyria just barged in (she did knock). Oh yeah this is Bayley being all wacky, though how surprising was her return if she had a private dressing room with a name plate ready.

Rhea Ripley tells Stephanie Vaquer that she’s coming for the next champion. Works for Vaquer.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Kairi Sane

They go to the mat to start with Vaquer winning the grappling, only for Sane to plant her down for a fast two. Sane tries a sunset bomb but gets double stomped as we take a break. We come back with Vaquer dropkicking her away and hitting the running knees in the corner.

The SVB is broken up though and Sane hits a forearm, setting up the top rope double stomp. A dragon screw legwhip out of the corner takes out Vaquer’s knee but she’s fine enough to come back with a big dive to the floor. The Devil’s Kiss rocks Sane back inside and the SVB finishes at 12:02.

Rating: B-. Vaquer is on the way to a title match on Saturday so it’s nice to see her getting a win to boost her up on the way there. At the same time, Sane deserves some credit for what she has been doing, as her mannerisms have been outstanding as of late. It helps that it was a good match too, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the participants.

Post match Asuka glares at Vaquer but Iyo Sky runs in to break it up. Asuka bails and Sky and Vaquer shake hands.

The Vision is ready for the Usos on Saturday and Jimmy Uso and LA Knight tonight.

Iyo Sky asks the Kabuki Warriors to let her do this by herself, with Asuka (who is being held back by Sane) angrily agreeing.

Wrestlepalooza rundown.

The Judgment Day toasts Dominik Mysterio for winning the AAA Mega Title but Finn Balor isn’t sure about the victory lap. He points out Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez having a rough night but Rodriguez says it’s ok. Balor still doesn’t buy the whole deal with El Grande Americano again and leaves. Rusev comes in and offers a handshake but Mysterio says his hands are full. Rusev wants the Intercontinental Title.

LA Knight/Jimmy Uso vs. Vision

Uso chops away at Breakker to start and Knight comes in to punch Reed down. The running hip attack connects for Uso and a double clothesline sends Breakker outside as we take a break. We come back with Reed pulling on Uso’s hair and Breakker adding an overhead belly to belly. Uso manages a boot to the face and hits a Whisper In The Wind, which is enough for the tag off to Knight.

A jumping neckbreaker takes Breakker down but he’s right back with a jumping knee to the face. Everything breaks down and Knight’s top rope elbow into the Superfly Splash gets two on Reed, with Breakker making the save. A dive to the floor is cut off but Reed gets speared back inside. Breakker drops Knight on the floor and Reed cuts off the Superfly Splash, setting up the Jagged Edge for the pin on Uso at 12:03.

Rating: C+. I don’t think the result was ever in any real doubt here as a makeshift team shouldn’t be beating the top heel team. What matters the most is getting the Vision to look strong, but at the same time, Knight and the Usos aren’t exactly getting along. That sounds like we’re going to be seeing a match of some sort in Australia next month and this week was a step there.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Jey Uso runs in with the chair for the save. Reed knocks the chair away but gets sent outside. Knight picks the chair up but Jey looks at him. Knight shakes Jey’s hand….and then lays him out with the BFT to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did a nice job of setting up the pay per view, as there was quite a lot to cover. Most of the matches got some time and that’s nice to see, especially with so little time left. The wrestling was decent enough, but the focus here was on getting ready for Saturday and I’m more interested in the show than I was coming in. I’d call that a success.

Results
Lyra Valkyria b. Roxanne Perez – Nightwing
Penta b. Kofi Kingston – Springboard Canadian Destroyer
El Grande Americano b. Dragon Lee – Choke with knees in the back
Stephanie Vaquer b. Kairi Sane – SVB
Vision b. Jimmy Uso/LA Knight – Jagged Edge to Uso

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: July 11, 2025
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the last show before a rather busy weekend, which will see both Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution. That means we are probably going to be getting the last push towards both shows tonight, which should keep things busy. Other than that, we have the Wyatt Sicks getting their shot at the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is LA Knight to get things going. Knight says predictions and spoilers are common themes in wrestling, including coming out of Paul Heyman’s mouth. Heyman seems to control some power like Seth Rollins, who needed some backup. Knight gets serious when he talks about Rollins ordering his goons to try to take him out.

They’re fighting at Saturday Night’s Main Event. He wants dignity, he wants justice, and he wants to hurt Rollins. Just because Rollins isn’t scared, it doesn’t mean he won’t get a beating. Cue Heyman, who talks about looking into the future for himself and his guys. Their future is the future of this entire industry. As for Knight, Heyman sees nothing, because he has no future.

Cue Solo Sikoa and company, which has Heyman a bit confused. Sikoa talks about how nothing has really changed for Heyman, who needs to get out of here before he goes through a table again. That’s enough for Heyman, who walks out. Sikoa mocks Knight before saying he’s gotten rid of Jacob Fatu. Knight is offered the same chance but won’t leave, with the MFT’s surrounding the ring.

Cue Jimmy Uso to throw Knight a chair though and the save is made, with Uso and Knight standing back to back with a chair each. Nick Aldis comes out to make the tag match for later tonight. Knight being treated as more of a main event star is a good thing, as he can certainly back it up on the microphone.

Alexa Bliss comes up to Charlotte (dressed as a cowgirl) and they seem to be on the same page. Bliss doesn’t think Charlotte would be a great cheerleader, though Charlotte says she cheers for herself.

Roxanne Perez vs. Sol Ruca vs. Kairi Sane vs. Alexa Bliss

Their partners are here too. It’s a brawl to start with Sane clearing the ring, only to get dropped by Perez. Back up and Ruca hits a big flip dive onto everyone and we take a break. We come back with a Tower Of Doom putting everyone down. Ruca gives Perez a running knee but Sane catches Ruca on top.

The top rope double stomp connects on Ruca but she’s back up with a double Sol Snatcher (an inverted flipping cutter, which always looks impressive). Raquel Rodriguez breaks up the cover though and the seconds get in a brawl on the floor. Charlotte cleans house and Bliss gets her feet up to block the Insane Elbow. The Sister Abigail DDT finishes for Bliss at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Bliss continues her successful streak since returning and that’s a good thing to see. The fans are going to react to whatever she does and it would be dumb of WWE to not try and capitalize on it. At the same time, I’m hoping this doesn’t lead to Bliss and Charlotte winning the titles, as it’s hardly the most interesting option.

Evolution rundown.

Tag Team Titles: Wyatt Sicks vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending. Dawkins drives Gacy into the corner to start and gets a rather crazy laugh. Gacy elbows his way out of trouble but Dawkins is right back with a Sky High. Ford (looking like he’s in 1997 Shawn Michaels tribute gear) goes up top but Lumis pulls Gacy outside. Ford’s mocking of Lumis’ crawl takes us to a break.

We come back with Ford getting in a sunset bomb for a needed breather, allowing the tag off to Dawkins. House is quickly cleaned and Dawkins hits the big running flip dive. Back in and Dawkins hits a Swanton for two on Gacy, who is right back with the Upside Down clothesline. Lumis sends Dawkins into the announcers’ table and we take another break.

We come back again with Dawkins getting over for the tag off to Ford. A spinebuster cuts him off in a hurry for two but the Doomsday Blockbuster gets the same on Gacy. Cue Erick Rowan to take Ford out though, earning himself a Pounce into the timekeeper’s area. Ford’s frog splash misses though and an assisted sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Ford to give us new champions at 17:23.

Rating: B. What a weird world as Gacy and Lumis have titles in WWE. This was the right way to go, as the Wyatts needed to do something to validate everyone being so afraid of them. Someone is going to have to rescue the titles, despite the Wyatts not really doing anything wrong. Good match here too, with the Profits getting to show off their impressive athleticism.

The tag division doesn’t think that’s good, with DIY saying this wouldn’t happen if they had just listened to them. Rey Fenix and Andrade come in to mock DIY, which sends Ciampa into another tailspin.

Video on Goldberg vs. Gunther.

Here is Jelly Roll to perform a song live but Logan Paul cuts him off. Paul doesn’t like celebrities and influencers coming into their world, because it’s disrespectful to wrestlers like him. Paul starts talking about his podcast signing a new deal but Roll cuts him off. Roll says no one cares about the podcast, but Paul calls Roll an outsider.

Cue Randy Orton, who goes on one heck of a rant about how Paul is the real outsider. Roll deserves respect but here is Drew McIntyre to Claymore Orton. McIntyre is taken out by security so Paul jumps Orton, with Roll making the save. Paul is taken out by security but stops to break Roll’s instruments. They might as well announce the Summerslam tag match from here.

Post break, Roll says he’ll be at Saturday Night’s Main Event to watch Orton vs. McIntyre.

R-Truth vs. Aleister Black

Black misses a running boot to start but slips out of a suplex. Some strikes puts R-Truth in the corner but he comes back with the Lie Detector. Black rolls outside and gets sent hard into the post, meaning it’s time to grab a chair. That’s taken away and R-Truth grabs a rollup for the pin at 2:08.

Post break Damian Priest cuts off Black from wrecking R-Truth. Black wrecks Priest instead.

Here are Tiffany Stratton and Trish Stratus for a face to face meeting. Stratton says she picked Stratus because she has beaten everyone else. Why wouldn’t she want to face one of the best of all time? Stratus says she doesn’t need to win to be the best ever, but when she does, Stratton will leave with nothing. Stratton says she learned about Trish on those VHS tapes, with Stratus asking if she heard that on TikTok. Stratus praises her but says she’ll be winning the title. Cue Naomi to tease a cash in but Jade Cargill runs out to jump her from behind.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

Jimmy Uso/LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa/JC Mateo

Knight stomps Sikoa down into the corner to start but he fights his way out of trouble. Uso gets caught in the wrong corner, only to drop down with the uppercut for a breather. Sikoa pulls Uso out to the floor though and hits the Samoan drop onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Sikoa hitting a running Umaga Attack in the corner, only to miss the second attempt.

Uso flips out of a suplex though and hits an enziguri, allowing the diving tag to Knight. The jumping neckbreaker out of the corner drops Mateo, followed by the jumping top rope elbow. Sikoa’s Superfly Splash gets two, with Sikoa making the save. The fight goes outside but here is Paul Heyman with his phone. The distraction lets Tala Tonga kick Knight in the face…as Uso rolls Sikoa up for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C+. The ending was a way to set up Sikoa vs. Uso for the US Title at Saturday Night’s Main Event and I’ve seen worse ideas. At the same time, Knight gets to deal with Heyman again, as this was a rather nicely put together deal. The action was fine enough, but what mattered here was advancing two stories at once and they made it work.

Post match Knight drops Sikoa with the BFT but gets speared down by Bron Breakker, followed by a Tsunami from Bronson Reed.

Overall Rating: B. Solid show here, as they set up some stuff for both upcoming major shows, while also having some good action of its own. That’s more than I was expecting on this show, but dang it’s great to see what happens when this show drops down to two hours. I want to see where these stories are going and that’s the right feeling with a pair of major shows coming up this weekend.

Results
Alexa Bliss b. Kairi Sane, Sol Ruca and Roxanne Perez – Sister Abigail DDT to Sane
Wyatt Sicks b. Street Profits – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Ford
R-Truth b. Aleister Black – Rollup
Jimmy Uso/LA Knight b. Solo Sikoa/JC Mateo – Rollup to Sikoa

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 7, 2025
Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re coming up on a major weekend as we have both Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution coming up. While Saturday Night’s Main Event is mostly covered, there is still some space to fill on the other show, which is feeling more than a bit thrown together. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Various people came to work today.

Here are Seth Rollins and company to get things going. Bron Breakker talks about how Paul Heyman has a vision of Breakker as the top star of WWE for the next twenty years. Breakker has his own vision of WWE, and that is one without Sami Zayn. Breakker doesn’t like Zayn’s music, he doesn’t like how he looks and he doesn’t like anything about him. He doesn’t understand why people cheer for someone who looks like they never go to the gym or never play sports. If Zayn comes out here tonight, Breakker will take him apart. Rollins: “You good Breakker?”

The fans sing Zayn’s song as Bronson Reed takes the mic, saying that Breakker is a tough act to follow, but so is he. Reed is the one who gave Rollins six Tsunamis, which was enough to get him into this group. He’s ready to find a way to get rid of CM Punk. Paul Heyman says he’s not going to try to follow that promo but he knows that Roman Reigns isn’t brave enough to come back and fight them.

As for tonight, Seth Rollins is facing Penta, with Heyman insulting him in Spanish. Rollins to Reed: “Did you know he spoke Spanish?” Heyman has no idea what the hand signals mean, but after tonight, Penta won’t be able to do them anymore. Rollins hits the catchphrase and they’re out. Breakker was the highlight here, as he went off the hinges for a bit there.

We look at the Judgment Day winning the Tag Team Titles last week.

In the clubhouse, Roxanne Perez has set up a tribute to Liv Morgan, though Raquel Rodriguez reminds Perez that Morgan isn’t dead. Rodriguez wants to retain the titles and they’re off, with Dominik Mysterio being happy with the Get Well Soon Dominik cake….which is from AJ Styles. A cabinet moves and Styles is watching him, causing Dominik to grab his doctor’s note to chase after him. This was hilarious in multiple ways.

Roxanne Perez vs. Kairi Sane

Raquel Rodriguez is here with Sane. They run the ropes a bit to start with Perez grabbing a rollup for two. An exchange of rollups gets two each until Sane hits the Cutless. Sane knocks her to the floor and nails a big dive off the apron for a knockdown. Perez gets in a shot to the arm though and we take a break.

We come back with Sane striking away and hitting a neckbreaker. Perez gets in a running shot to the back of the neck though and adds a Lionsault for two. Something like Penta’s Sacrifice keeps Sane in trouble and a DDT on the arm makes it worse. The cartwheel knees to the head hit Sane but she knocks Perez off the top. A dive takes out Rodriguez and a backslide gives Sane the pin at 11:12.

Rating: B-. It’s good to see Sane get a win, though unfortunately it had to come at Perez’s expense. At the same time, Perez is freshly in the title scene thanks to Liv Morgan’s injury and it’s a bit annoying seeing her lose. At least it wasn’t in a tag match though, so it’s a bit more excusable.

Post match the beatdown is on but Asuka runs in for the save, including a bunch of strikes. Sane gives Perez the Insane Elbow. Odds are we have the Raw team for Evolution.

We look at Karrion Kross injuring Sami Zayn last week, resulting in him losing in the main event. Jey Uso made the save to prevent a further beating.

Zayn says he isn’t managing all of this and he would love to deal with his ribs or Kross or the revenge he’ll be getting on Kross, but he has to think about Bron Breakker. Zayn leaves, with Scarlett coming in…and saying she has nothing to say.

American Made is confused about El Grande Americano being in action tonight, with Brutus saying “but Chad Gable is hurt”, earning himself a smack in the head. Ivy Nile is put in the Evolution battle royal and the team leaves. Asuka and Kairi Sane come in to say they want in the Women’s Tag Team Title match and Adam Pearce makes it happen. I’ll take it over another qualifying match.

Nikki Bella didn’t expect to get in a fight with Liv Morgan, who then got hurt. She wants to be back in the ring so she’s in the battle royal.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn

Actually never mind as here is Karrion Kross to jump Zayn with a pipe. Post break Zayn insists that he can wrestle so here is Breakker, with Paul Heyman, to do the thing. Breakker drives him into the corner for the shoulders to the bad ribs before shouting that HE’S A BUM. The tape is ripped off the ribs and a gutbuster has Zayn in more trouble. Zayn tries to fight back and gets knocked out of the air for a nasty crash. The Super Spear hits on the floor, followed by another one for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: C. This was more a storyline advancement than a match, as Zayn was basically destroyed here. There is only so much he can do when he’s attacked before the match and then gets smashed by Breakker. Zayn is going to be back for revenge later on and that requires him to be knocked down on the way there.

New Day is in black with flowers because they are in mourning. They want their rematch for the Tag Team Titles but Adam Pearce isn’t sure. Becky Lynch comes in to show them support.

Here is Lynch to complain about having to defend her title in a triple threat. The odds are against her and that isn’t fair when she’s the biggest star in women’s history. She should get to pick her own opponent, like Tiffany Stratton and Iyo Sky got to do. Maybe she could pick a woman in the front row and beat her in about a second.

Cue Bayley to interrupt but Lyra Valkyria comes out before she can say a word. Valkyria says Lynch has completed her transformation into a total raving lunatic. She wants the title back but Bayley blames Valkyria for her loss a few weeks ago. Valkyria: “She’s really speaking to me!” Bayley rants about it a bit and Lynch is impressed.

Lynch mocks Bayley for finally having a backbone but Valkyria brings up that Lynch called her after attacking Bayley to take her place at Wrestlemania. Valkyria says Bayley finally admits she doesn’t care about friendship when it comes to being a champion, which makes Bayley just like Lynch.

On Sunday, she has to regain the title from two failures. Bayley talks about being there every step of the way for Valkyria, including when she raised Lynch’s hand like a b****. Valkyria swings but hits Lynch by mistake. The brawl is on and Bayley is sent outside, only for Valkyria to give them a Nightwing each. Valkyria mockingly raises Lynch’s hand again. Valkyria still feels in over her head, but she’s still giving it all she’s got and it’s far from a disaster.

We look at Rusev beating Sheamus last week.

Bron Breakker is annoyed that Karrion Kross helped him because it suggests he can’t do it himself. Seth Rollins says that’s nonsense but Paul Heyman comes in to say that Zayn is out of action indefinitely. Rollins wants Bronson Reed to do something similar to Jey Uso, which works for Reed.

Bronson Reed vs. Jey Uso

Paul Heyman is here with Reed. Uso gets knocked down fast to start and the big elbow crushes him again. A superkick gets Reed out of trouble though and the suicide dive sends him into the announcers’ table. Reed gets superkicked in a chair…which he throws at Uso for the DQ at 3:17.

Rating: C. Again there was only so much you can do here, as it was similar to the Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn match. Reed gets to go through Uso and there is a good chance of a big beatdown coming after the match. It’s been the divide and conquer night so far and that’s a story that is working rather well.

Post match Reed hits a pair of Tsunamis to leave Uso laying.

LA Knight wants revenge on Seth Rollins, who sent Bronson Reed after him but Knight was back in one week. This weekend, Knight will take him out at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Video on Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley, focusing on Ripley never being able to defeat her.

El Grande Americano vs. Dragon Lee

Americano snaps off an anklescissors to start but a headscissors does the same to put Americano down. Cole thinks Americano used to be Chad Gable, with Graves saying Cole probably thought Giant Machine was Andre and the Midnight Rider was Dusty Rhodes. They fight over wrist control as commentary agrees that the referee should be wearing a mask. Americano sticks the landing on a monkey flip but gets knocked to the floor as Cole makes claims about missing tattoos on Americano.

Lee gets pulled outside and sent into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. We come back with Lee getting two off a sitout powerbomb. Lee goes for the mask (rudo) before settling with a knee to the face. Lee’s slingshot kick to the mask rocks Americano again and a running basement dropkick gets two. Americano gets tied in the Tree Of Woe for the top rope double stomp and a near fall. Back up and Americano loads up the mask, setting up a running headbutt for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: B. I’m curious about where this is going, but there is something rather interesting about keeping the story going with Chad Gable out. There are a few ways that this could go and that’s a good sign for the story. Lee is still someone who can go out there and work with anyone, including a great luchador like Americano.

Paul Heyman comes in to see Penta, setting up an argument in Spanish. Bron Breakker comes in to say he doesn’t know what Penta said, but watch your tone. Breakker and Heyman hate those hand signals.

Video on Stephanie Vaquer.

Here is Gunther to say that Goldberg is afraid of him but cue Goldberg in a snazzy car to interrupt. Goldberg wants to fight right now and knocks the mic out of Gunther’s hand. The threat of a spear sends Gunther running. That’s probably better, as spearing someone wearing a big gold belt isn’t advised.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

Evolution rundown.

Penta vs. Seth Rollins

Penta wastes no time in superkicking him to the floor but the chop hits the post. Back in and Penta sends him into the corner but it’s too early for the slingshot dropkick. Instead Penta clotheslines him to the floor for the big flip dive. We take a break and come back with Rollins wiping his forehead with the tie from Penta’s mask. Penta fights out of a waistlock and hits the reverse Sling Blade, followed by a Backstabber for two.

Rollins is back with a fireman’s carry gutbuster into a frog splash for two of his own but Penta catches him on top. Penta’s running anklescissors brings Rollins back down and the Penta Driver gets two more. Rollins is able to hit a buckle bomb, only for Penta to snap back with the Canadian Destroyer for another near fall as Rollins grabs the rope. Back up and a low blow slows Penta down and the Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 13:35.

Rating: B. The important thing here is how smoothly Penta has been slotted into the upper midcard scene. No he isn’t winning here, but he also doesn’t feel like he is in over his head. That is quite the accomplishment for someone who debuted about six months ago and it shows how far talent can get you. The match was another good showing, with Penta making a top star like Rollins sweat.

Post match Rollins tells Heyman to call someone so Heyman summons Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. Here they come but cue LA Knight to give Rollins the BFT to end the show. Sidenote: Cole says Rollins and company had a clean sweep. That’s true, except it’s not.

Overall Rating: B. I can always go for a show with a story running throughout and that’s what we got here, as Rollins and company smashed through most of their competition. That makes Knight surviving at the end and getting to Rollins all the better, as it sets up their match on Saturday perfectly well. Other than that, we got a bit of a last minute push towards Revolution, which fits the fairly thrown together feeling the show has had. This was a good week for Raw as they accomplished quite a bit going into a very busy weekend.

Results
Kairi Sane b. Roxanne Perez – Backslide
Bron Breakker b. Sami Zayn – Super Spear
Jey Uso b. Bronson Reed via DQ when Reed used a chair
El Grande Americano b. Dragon Lee – Loaded running headbutt
Seth Rollins b. Penta – Stomp

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 30, 2025
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Night Of Champions and about a month away from Summerslam. That means it is time to start setting up the card and some of the bigger matches are set. Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill won the Of The Ring tournaments and will be getting title matches at Summerslam. There is more that needs to be set though so let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

Long Night Of Champions recap.

Here is Rhea Ripley to get things going. After welcoming us to Monday Night Mami, Ripley is cut off by Iyo Sky. Ripley isn’t pleased but Sky says she needs to defend the title at Evolution. That includes against Ripley, who says she respects Sky and she’ll stop at nothing to get the title back. The match is on for Evolution. Well they go to the point quickly this time.

Dominik Mysterio gives the Judgment Day a pep talk but AJ Styles comes in. Dominik says he’s still injured so there’s no title match yet. Styles even puts on his glasses, which let him know that the doctor’s note says Dominik is a “punk a**.” Threats of violence are made but Dominik holds up the doctor’s note.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Judgment Day

New Day is defending. Balor and Kingston start things off with Kingston offering Balor some bread because he hasn’t had carbs in such a long time. Commentary argues about whether or not Graves likes the New Day as Balor hits a basement dropkick to rock Kingston. It’s off to McDonagh, who gets draped over the top rope for Woods’ top rope stomp to the back. Woods gets in a strut as we take a break.

We come back with Kingston hammering on McDonagh, who counters a powerbomb with an X Factor. Kingston can’t prevent the tag and it’s Balor coming in to clean house to quite the positive reaction. The running double stomp hits Balor but it’s back to McDonagh vs. Woods. McDonagh gets to clean house but a moonsault hits raised knees.

The Coup de Grace hits McDonagh by mistake and the Midnight Hour gets two on Balor. A belt shot gets two more but Woods gets crotched on top, setting up McDonagh’s super Spanish Fly for two more. Balor hits the Sling Blade on Kingston on the floor and it’s McDonagh’s moonsault into the Coup de Grace to pin Woods for the titles at 12:23.

Rating: B-. They needed to change the titles here as New Day’s reign was just dying. There’s nothing for them to do and it was becoming more and more obvious week after week. Judgment Day might not be much better, but at least they’re something fresh for a change. The match started slowly but got better, with the last few minutes being rather good. If nothing else, it was bizarre to hear the fans that into Judgment Day.

We look back at Lyra Valkyria costing Bayley the Women’s Intercontinental Title last week.

Bayley isn’t happy when Valkyria comes in. Valkyria doesn’t know who Bayley is anymore and they argue about not knowing each other anymore. Adam Pearce breaks it up and announces he has made a match between the two of them. The winner challenges Becky Lynch.

Video on Goldberg, from his time in WCW to his first WWE run to his multiple returns.

We look at Penta attacking Chad Gable last week, including injuring Gable’s arm.

Earlier today, Gable, with his arm in a sling, told American Made to hold the fort while he’s gone. Adam Pearce comes in to say we won’t be seeing El Grade Americano either. The team isn’t sure what they’ll do without Gable, who tells them to listen to Ivy. Of note: Ludwig Kaiser could be seen watching them from behind.

Judgment Day meets with Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce, who need to make a decision about the Women’s Tag Team Titles. The solution is to give Raquel Rodriguez a new partner, which can be Roxanne Perez. Works for the GM’s, but they think Perez and Rodriguez need to prove themselves in a title defense at Evolution against teams from Raw, Smackdown and NXT.

Sheamus vs. Rusev

They fight up against the ropes to start and Rusev knocks him down. Sheamus is back up with a shot of his own and grabs the Predator (Dublin Smile) to keep Rusev down. Rusev knocks him to the floor but a dive is countered into a powerslam and we take a break. Back with Sheamus fighting out of a chinlock and firing off the ax handles.

The Irish Curse plants Rusev but Sheamus doesn’t cover as the referee stops to talk to Rusev. It’s ok enough for Sheamus to drop a top rope knee for one and Rusev is back up with a spinwheel kick for two. A superplex drops Sheamus again and we take a break. Back with the slugout from their knees, followed by another one from their feet.

A tilt-a-whirl powerslam drops Rusev again and the ten forearms put him down. The running knee rocks Rusev and gives Sheamus a near fall. Back up and Rusev superkicks him into the Accolade, with Sheamus managing to power up and crash through the ropes for the break. Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick on the floor but Rusev beats the count at nine. Back in and they slug it out on the apron, where Rusev sends him into an exposed buckle. The basement superkick finishes for Rusev at 20:22.

Rating: B. These guys know how to hit each other really hard and that’s something that is always going to work. They advertised this as these two beating the fire out of each other and Sheamus is exactly the one you call for this kind of a match. That being said, I’m really not sure what Rusev is going to be doing anytime soon, as he’s just kind of floating around most of the time.

Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce announce an Evolution battle royal with the winner getting a title shot in Paris.

Ivy Nile is ready for the battle royal….but El Grande Americano walks up and poses. Nile and American Made is stunned and go follow him.

Karrion Kross jumps Sami Zayn and demands that he SAY IT. Kross hits him in the ribs with a steel pipe, so a bunch of officials and Scarlet come in to break it up.

Here is Gunther for a chat. He liked the dominance and destruction he was in the Goldberg video, but the whole thing was just like his matches: summed up in three minutes. Goldberg has said that he doesn’t like bullies but he has run into the biggest bully of them all. After he exposes Goldberg, the question is who is next for Gunther…and here are Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman.

Rollins says he hasn’t seen Gunther since he won the briefcase but he was only there at Night Of Champions to prevent CM Punk from winning the World Title. Cue Punk to chase Rollins off and call him a coward before shoving Gunther down. Rollins runs into the crowd, where LA Knight jumps him from behind. They into the concourse where Rollins throws a beer in his case and runs off.

Judgment Day is happy with their titles but Raquel Rodriguez isn’t happy with Roxanne Perez just being handed her title, despite Liv Morgan working so hard in rehab. They have a vote, with Balor and McDonagh being in and Dominik giving an alleged yes, though he’s not sure how Morgan will like it. Rodriguez really doesn’t seem convinced but agrees, meaning Perez is officially part of the team.

Kairi Sane is still a pirate and wants all of the treasure, in the for of championship gold. I can always go for more pirates in wrestling.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley

For a future shot at Becky Lynch. Feeling out profess to start with Bayley taking Valkyria into the corner. Bayley takes her down for an early Boston crab, before both of them try crossbodies. The stereo crashes sends us to a break and we come back with Bayley grabbing a superplex. Valkyria rolls outside so Bayley elbows her off the apron for two.

Back up and Valkyria grabs a swinging neckbreaker for two of her own but Bayley rolls her up for the same. Valkyria’s sitout powerbomb gets two but they ram heads coming out of the corner. The Rose Plant and Night Wing are both blocked and they go into an exchange of rollups for a double pin at 10:12.

Rating: B-. They might as well have had a big countdown to the draw here, as that was all but guaranteed to happen once the prize was announced. The match was good enough as Valkyria is fine bell to bell, but I’m still not sure if this is bringing her up to that next level. That being said, WWE is certainly trying and it’s not a total failure, so points for doing the right thing.

Post match the brawl stays on and they fight into the crowd where it has to be broken up.

CM Punk tells LA Knight to get to the back of the line to fight Seth Rollins. Knight says Punk can have Rollins six nights a week, but not on Saturday, because it’s Knight vs. Rollins at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Penta makes sure that the banged up Sami Zayn is ready for the main event. Zayn is game.

Sami Zayn/Penta vs. Bron Breakker/Bronson Reed

Zayn has heavily taped ribs. Breakker shoulders Penta into the corner to start but everything breaks down in a hurry. Zayn comes in to knock Reed outside and stereo dives to the floor take out the villains as we take a break. Back with Zayn fighting up to knock Reed outside, with Breakker being sent out as well.

Zayn’s Arabian moonsault takes both of them down and Paul Heyman is worried. Back in and Zayn’s sunset powerbomb gets two on Reed but he’s back up with a Death Valley Driver. Breakker comes in and puts Zayn on the announcers’ table for the clothesline and we take another break.

We come back again with Zayn sending Breakker to the floor and avoiding a backsplash from Reed. Penta comes back in with an enziguri to Breakker and a slingshot dropkick in the corner. The Sacrifice snaps Breakker’s arm but the Penta Driver is blocked. Breakker’s gorilla press is countered into a DDT for two but Heyman offers a distraction. That’s enough for Reed to get in a cheap shot, allowing Breakker to hit the super Frankensteiner.

Reed sitout powerbombs Penta for two with Zayn making the save, only for Breakker to cut Zayn off with a clothesline. The Super Spear is cut off with a kick to the face but Reed makes the save this time. Penta and Breakker go to the floor and Zayn suplexes Reed, only to get speared by Breakker for the pin at 18:26.

Rating: B+. These guys really got going near the end and it was one of those matches which could have gone either way, which is often one of the best things that you can see. I had a great time with this and Zayn’s ribs being banged up give him a bit of protection with the loss. Also, points for Penta already feeling like he belongs at this level, which is more than some stars who have been trying to make it work for years with less success.

Post match Breakker and Reed go after them again but Jey Uso makes the save with a chair.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a show that hit the ground running after Night Of Champions and the road to Summerslam is off fast. What matters the most is that they are already setting things up for both Summerslam and Evolution, the latter of which has gone a long way in such a short time. We also had a title change and four good to rather good matches. That’s a heck of a use of a Monday night and I had a really good time with this one, which covered a lot of ground.

Results
Judgment Day b. New Day – Coup de Grace to Woods
Rusev b. Sheamus – Basement superkick
Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria went to a double pin
Bron Breakker/Bronson Reed b. Penta/Sami Zayn – Spear to Zayn

 

 

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