Monday Night Raw
Date: April 15, 2024
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re getting back to normal this week as Wrestlemania is now getting more firmly in the rear view mirror. Last week saw Jey Uso become the new #1 contender to Damian Priest so odds are we’ll be hearing more from them this time. The main event is a big one though as hometown boy Sami Zayn will be defending the Intercontinental Title against Chad Gable. Let’s get to it.

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

Earlier today, people who work here came to work.

Here is Rhea Ripley to get things going and her arm is in a sling. She looks very upset and gets right to the point: she’s out for a few months and has to vacate the Women’s World Title. Ripley blames the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour and promises to come back and have to be put in jail to avoid killing Morgan. Cue Morgan, with security having to hold them apart. Ripley beats up one of the guards.

Post break the Judgment Day gives Ripley a hug and tell her to come back and make Morgan regret it.

Sheamus vs. Ivar

Sheamus, complete with his old theme music, is in shorts now instead of his regular gear. Hitting Ivar doesn’t get very far so they go up top, with Sheamus muscling him up for a super White Noise. We take a break and come back with Sheamus hitting a powerslam, setting up the ten forearms. Ivar kicks Sheamus in the head and hits the top rope splash for two but Sheamus fights out of the corner. A running knee sets up the Brogue Kick to finish Ivar at 8:18.

Rating: C+. Sheamus is back at what he does best by hitting people really hard until the match is over. He’s the definition of a simple character and that is not a bad thing. That’s what he did here against someone who can slug right back with him. If nothing else, having the old theme back freshens things up a bit, which is long overdue.

Video on Chad Gable vs. Sami Zayn.

Here is HHH for a chat, with Pat McAfee making a Terry Ryzing reference. HHH talks about how hot the crowd is tonight before talking about how many changes happened at Wrestlemania. This included the Tag Team Titles changing hands so let’s bring out Awesome Truth. We get a long bit of praise for the champs before HHH (with Adam Pearce) unveils the new World Tag Team Titles.

R-Truth thinks HHH is a magician because those titles just appeared! He doesn’t trust magicians after Little Jimmy…..so he knows that’s really Tommaso Ciampa! Miz calms things down a bit and talks about being in Montreal, thinking the fans want Sami Zayn. Miz explains the idea to R-Truth in French….and that just works. HHH: “Can I just go please?” He swaps the titles, shakes their hands, and wishes Pearce luck before leaving. Pearce isn’t pleased but let’s get to the triple threat #1 contenders match.

I like the new titles (they’re gold, but for some reason they look like WWE themed pizzas) but this felt like a segment designed to have R-Truth out there doing his wacky stuff. That is still entertaining, though it came off a bit forced here. Either way, the new titles are definitely an improvement over the rather dated previous versions.

New Day vs. Creed Brothers vs. DIY

During New Day’s entrance (complete with Xavier Woods doing Buff Bagwell’s strut and pose), we get a weird graphic to interrupt the signal but it isn’t acknowledged. Brutus powers Woods and Ciampa around to start, setting up a double clothesline. We hear about Brutus ripping the handles off microwaves when he was in school as the Creeds’ stereo suplexes are broken up. The Creeds cut off DIY’s dives so New Day hit dives of their own as we take a break.

Back with Julius and Ciampa slugging it out, with Julius getting the better of things. Trouble In Paradise is blocked as everything breaks down again. Project Ciampa gets two on Kofi but the Fairy Tale Ending is broken up. Woods comes in with a tornado DDT and the Honor Roll before having to drop Brutus. The Creeds are back up to clean house, including a pair of double suplexes for a double near fall. Back up and the Brutus Ball is broken up, leaving Woods to hit a top rope elbow on Julius. That takes too long though and DIY hits Meet In The Middle on Woods for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C+. That was certainly a triple threat tag match for a future title shot and I’m not sure what else they were expecting. There’s not much to see here outside of the normal, expected stuff. DIY getting the shot is fine as they have a connection to the champs and are just enough of a threat to possibly take the belts.

We look at Jey Uso becoming the #1 contender last week.

Drew McIntyre won’t say anything about it but seems livid.

Ivy Nile/Maxxine Dupri vs. Candice LeRae/Indi Hartwell

Nile takes Hartwell down to start and hands it off to Dupri for a high crossbody. A fisherman’s suplex gives Dupri two but she stops to yell at LeRae, allowing Hartwell to get in a clothesline. LeRae comes in to stomp away but Hartwell offers a distraction, with Dupri grabbing a DDT. Hartwell offers a distraction though and the referee doesn’t see the tag. That means Hartwell can come in with a big boot to give LeRae the pin at 3:36.

Rating: C-. This story has been going for a few weeks now and while it has been progressing, it isn’t very interesting. Hartwell and LeRae feel like the bottom rung of the division and trying to make them into more of a thing isn’t exactly working. Dupri still needs so much ring time to get better and having her in these short matches on Raw isn’t doing her much good.

Video on Damian Priest’s rise to the top of WWE.

Priest tells the Judgment Day to keep focused even if Rhea Ripley is hurt. Tonight, JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio need to deal with Andrade while Finn Balor needs to take out Jey Uso.

Earlier today, Chad Gable was training with the Creed Brothers in the ring. He’s trained Sami Zayn, but that means he knows Zayn’s weaknesses too.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Andrade

JD McDonagh is here with Mysterio. Andrade starts fast with the corner chops into a crossbody but Dominik is fine enough to reverse the third Amigo. McDonagh offers a distraction though and Dominik gets in a cheap shot as we take a break. Back with Andrade hitting the running knees in the corner, only to miss the moonsault. They head to the apron with Dominik hitting a Canadian (or “this country” according to McAfee) Destroyer for two, only for Andrade to come back with the Message for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C. They lost me a good bit near the end, with a Canadian Destroyer on the apron being such a nothing part of the match. That really should be a bigger deal but the match was over about thirty seconds later. Other than that, Andrade just isn’t clicking for whatever reason. Maybe he needs someone to talk for him, but there’s a piece missing and it’s holding him back.

Post match McDonagh comes in for the beatdown on Andrade with Ricochet making the save.

We look at Tama Tonga joining the Bloodline and taking out Jimmy Uso.

Jey Uso isn’t sure what’s going on but he told Jimmy to come with him. Enough of that though, as he has Finn Balor tonight.

Piper Niven/Chelsea Green vs. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter

Niven runs both of them over to start so it’s off to Green. Carter has some better luck and works on the arm before putting Green in a fireman’s carry. Chance comes off the top, jumps off Green’s back and…is pulled out of the air by Niven. A fall away slam sends Chance flying and a basement crossbody crushes Carter to give Green the pin at 2:11.

We look back at the opening segment.

Liv Morgan says this is karma for Rhea Ripley injuring her and says this is just the beginning of her Revenge Tour. The ending will be her winning the Women’s World Title.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He’s glad to be on Raw despite being a Smackdown guy (don’t worry because he’s not going anywhere) but we can’t talk about Wrestlemania forever. We are on our way to Backlash where this title will be on the line, but he does want to thank Seth Rollins for being his shield at Wrestlemania. The Rock had something to say yesterday when he talked about the training he did, with Cody knowing that Rock has more in him. That brings him to the Bloodline, and here is someone who knows them very well.

Cue Jey Uso, with Cole being amazed at how much McAfee gets into the dance. Cody welcomes Jey and says he’d love to have Jey’s back like Jey had his. Jey appreciates the offer but wants to do this on his own, which Cody understands. Cody: “Until we yeet again.”

Nia Jax doesn’t care about Rhea Ripley and is ready to win the Women’s World Title.

Jey Uso vs. Finn Balor

Balor runs in from behind to jump Jey before the bell and we start fast. The loud chop in the corner has Jey wincing around the ring before Balor sends him to the apron. Some right hands knock Jey outside and we take an early break. Back with Jey hitting an enziguri to leave both of them down, followed by the dancing right hands. The Samoan drop gives Jey two but Balor rakes the eyes to take over again. The Sling Blade looks to set up the Coup de Grace but Jey rolls away, setting up the spear. Jey drops the Superfly Splash for the clean pin at 9:12.

Rating: B-. This was the “here’s a win for Jey to get him ready for the World Title match”. While Jey isn’t likely to win, he’s just close enough that you could buy a fluke win and that’s not a bad thing. Jey has been in enough big matches on his own that something could come of this, though the Bloodline is going to be looming. For now though, a win over Balor means a lot for him, especially when it’s completely clean.

Post match Damian Priest comes out for the staredown but here are Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh to run in for the beatdown on Jey. They head outside and Jey manages to whip two of them together and escape through the crowd. We follow Jey through the concourse (where he shoves a fan away for trying to get in front of him for a video).

Jey runs into Sami Zayn, who is looking up at the building. This is where he saw his first show, and now he’s headlining. We follow Zayn into the arena and he comes through the crowd with a Canadian flag wrapped around his shoulders. Jey leaving until Zayn came into the arena was one long tracking shot and my goodness that was great.

Chad Gable is coming to the ring but runs into Bronson Reed, who is waiting for the winner.

Intercontinental Title: Chad Gable vs. Sami Zayn

Zayn is defending and gets the hometown reception during the Big Match Intros. Gable easily wrestles him down to the mat to start but Zayn takes it to the floor. Zayn’s tease of a dive lets him bounce back into the middle as we take a break. Back with Zayn trying to run the corner but Gable drops him down, with Zayn favoring his knee. The top rope headbutt gives Gable two and Gable works on the knee.

That’s broken up and Zayn hits a middle rope elbow to the head as McAfee keeps trying to speak French. Zayn knocks him to the floor and hits an Arabian moonsault as we take another break. Back again with Gable hitting a super Angle Slam and they’re both down. Gable is up with some rolling German suplexes, only to have Zayn reverse into his own string of German suplexes.

They trade standing switches until Zayn puts him down again for another double breather. Gable charges into the corner but gets caught with the exploder, only to have the Helluva Kick countered into the ankle lock. Zayn tries to reverse into a Sharpshooter (of course) but the ankle gives out before he can pull it on. The ankle lock goes on again, only to have Zayn roll out. The Helluva Kick (limping version) retains the title at 17:24.

Rating: B. Good main event here with Zayn getting the clean win to help make up for some of his loss to Roman Reigns here last year. In theory this should wrap things up with Gable and move Zayn on to Bronson Reed, though it makes me wonder what is next for Gable. It’s a shame to see him drop back down after doing some rather good stuff in recent weeks, but that’s pretty normal for him around here.

Post match Zayn celebrates…and Gable jumps him from behind. Gable puts on an ankle lock in the corner and Zayn is in agony to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They shifted back towards a much more normal Raw this week, though the Draft coming up in two weeks is going to change everything again. What mattered here was starting to set things up for Backlash and we have one match set with some more looking likely. You can’t keep up the Wrestlemania season energy all year but they did enough here to keep the show interesting, which is all you can do after such a big time ends. Nice enough show this week.

Results
Sheamus b. Ivar – Brogue Kick
DIY b. New Day and Creed Brothers – Meet In The Middle to Woods
Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae b. Maxxine Dupri/Ivy Nile – Big boot to Dupri
Andrade b. Dominik Mysterio – Message
Piper Niven/Chelsea Green b. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter – Basement crossbody to Carter
Jey Uso b. Finn Balor – Superfly Splash
Sami Zayn b. Chad Gable – Helluva Kick

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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AND

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Main Event
Date: April 10, 2024
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Blake Howard, Brian James

It’s the first show after Wrestlemania (first taped that is) and I was in the house for it so we’ll take another look. One would think that Main Event after Wrestlemania might be the place to put in someone new for a look but that doesn’t tend to be the case. The action can be good enough though so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark

Baszler drives Carter into the corner to start so it’s off to Chance, who is taken into the wrong corner as well. Chance springboards her way to freedom and takes Stark down, allowing Carter to monkey flip her into Stark for two. Back up and Stark drops Chance onto Baszler’s raised knee (ouch) for two. Baszler starts in on the arm and hands it back to Stark, who gets kicked in the head. Carter rolls over and hits a low superkick on Stark, followed by the springboard spinning legdrop for two. Baszler isn’t having this and stomps on Carter’s arm, leaving Stark to hit the Z360 to finish Chance at 4:46.

Rating: C. The knees to the face were good but the fans weren’t exactly into this for some reason. Baszler and Stark continue to be a team who feel like they should be moving up the ladder but it just hasn’t happened. Then again there isn’t much of a ladder to go up in the women’s tag division, but it’s better than having Baszler doing nothing for so long again.

Video on Cody Rhodes’ path to being WWE Champion.

From Raw.

Cue Cody Rhodes to quite the hero’s welcome. Before HHH leaves, he congratulates Rhodes for ending one of the greatest title runs of all time at the greatest Wrestlemania of all time. On his first night as champion, Rhodes is responsible for a record gate of over 20,000 people. In addition, on his first night as champion, some people in the production office have made a little something for him. There’s no Titantron, so Rhodes has to watch a musical tribute to him on a portable monitor (with HHH making a joke about it).

After some tears are shed, HHH leaves and Cody asks what the fans want to talk about. First, he has Samantha Irvin announce him as the new champion one more time. Two years ago, Cody returned to WWE and announced his dreams, but now those dreams are reality. He and the fans are on top of the mountain and the previous man on top of that mountain has to be acknowledged as well.

That gives us a THANK YOU ROMAN chant before Cody shows us a clip of his daughter telling him to finish the story. Cody wanted his daughter to know that when her daddy goes to work, he’s going to work as champion. He was once undesirable, then he was undeniable, and now he is undisputed.

Cue the Rock and the fans know this is about to get serious. The fans won’t let him talk, with an UNDERTAKER (McAfee: “TOO SOON!”) chant, followed by SHUT THE F*** UP. Rock says he is a lot of things but “sucks” is not one of them. Rock finally gets some words in by saying he is here to deliver flowers to Cody Rhodes but there is another announcement to make: Philadelphia has set the record for the largest gathering of trailer part trash in history. Rock tells the fans they can keep going with their “SHUT THE F*** UP” chants (muted on TV, not in the arena, which is bizarre to hear in WWE).

Rock gets a bit more quiet and talks about their history, including how happy Mama Rhodes was last night. You know who else was smiling? Dusty Rhodes up in Heaven. Dusty was Rock’s hero and their dads ran the roads together. Maybe Rock’s daddy wasn’t happy with what Rock did to Cody….but he doesn’t care.

Rock talks about Cody’s belt and says the People’s Title he has is real too. But maybe….could he hold Cody’s title? He’s held every title, except for that one. Cody says Rock can hold his if Cody can hold Rock’s, so they switch off for a bit. Rock puts the title on his shoulder (fans: “THIS IS AWKWARD!”) and says it feels right before they switch back.

As Cody knows, the Rock has got to go away for a little while, but he loves wrestling and the two of them made it cool again. The fans sing the Goodbye Song but Rock says he’ll be back for Cody one day. While Cody might have beaten Roman Reigns, Rock beat Cody the night before.

Cody talks about Rock being the Boss, but he’s the champion. He’s the people’s champion and the Rock’s champion. Rock agrees and says he has something for Cody. He reaches into his pocket and hands it to Cody without us seeing it. Rock says don’t you ever break his heart again, if you smell what he’s cooking. Rock leaves and we still don’t know what he handed Cody.

And with that, we’re 45 minutes into the show. This was a weird segment as they went on for a long time but didn’t actually say much. It was basically “Wrestlemania was great, thank you fans, Cody is great, Cody talks about how he did it, Rock comes out, says he’s leaving, awkward exchange, Rock gives him something. That was about a fourth of the show and they more or less just teased Rock vs. Cody for later.

From Raw.

Here is most of Judgment Day to brag about the team’s success at Wrestlemania. Cue Rhea Ripley (the fans seem to like her) to brag about retaining her title. With Ripley’s topness confirmed, here is Damian Priest for the big celebration. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” Priest: “You d*** right I do.” The team poses with their titles but R-Truth pops up behind them. He brought the Tag Team Titles back to the team and thinks it’s time to induct Miz.

Cue Miz, who doesn’t want to be in the Judgment Day. He knows R-Truth doesn’t want to be in the team either (Priest: “He’s not in the Judgment Day!” R-Truth: “I am in the Judgment Day!”) and introduces Awesome Truth as the new champs. Finn Balor wants a title shot right now but R-Truth says there are three of them. The challenge is thrown out for a six man, with R-Truth saying they can team with “the guy you can’t see”. Works for Judgment Day, who don’t come off as very bright here.

Judgment Day vs. Awesome Truth/???

Awesome Truth is jumped and sent to the floor as we take an early break. Back with the match (billed as a handicap match) joined in progress and McDonagh kicking away at Truth. The chinlock doesn’t last long as R-Truth is up to avoid a splash in the corner. Miz comes in and kicks away, including a double DDT to Mysterio and McDonagh. The Skull Crushing Finale is broken up and Miz scores with a clothesline to take over.

We take another break and come back with Miz kicking McDonagh away but Mysterio pulls R-Truth off the apron. And here’s John Cena, which somehow only Judgment Day and commentary didn’t figure out. Cena gets the tag almost immediately and house is cleaned, setting up triple Shuffles and triple AA’s for the triple pin on Judgment Day at 10:05.

Rating: C. Oh this was fine with the match being nothing of note until Cena came out there for one of the most obvious reveals in a long time. That being said, this is what Cena is perfect for these days: he can be put in there as a hot tag guy and pop the crowd with his usual stuff. It’s nothing but a cameo but on this kind of a show, he’s the exact right option and didn’t hurt anything whatsoever.

Sheamus is coming back.

Julius Creed vs. Ivar

Brutus Creed is here with Julius. Ivar runs him over without much trouble to start and then hits a boot to the head for a bonus. Julius fights up and gets in a running forearm to stagger Ivar before managing to knock him against the ropes. A fireman’s carry doesn’t work but Julius sends him outside for a slingshot dive. We take a break and come back with Ivar sitting on Julius’ chest out of the corner. Julius’ comeback doesn’t work as Ivar knees him in the ribs but Julius is able to catch him with a dropkick on top.

They head outside with Ivar nailing a big boot, setting up a rather scary flip dive off the apron. Back in and Ivar loads up the Doomsault, only to have Julius jump up top for the top rope superplex. Ivar is right back with a tiger driver for two and Ivar is stunned. With nothing else working, Ivar goes up top but Julius pulls him back down for a rather hard slam. Julius’ 450 misses, though of course he mostly sticks the landing. Ivar kicks him in the face and comes back with a super World’s Strongest Slam, setting up the Doomsault for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match that lets two people get to beat the fire out of each other with one big spot after another. Julius got to show off his insane athletics, but he still needs a lot of work in the personality department. Other than that, you have Ivar who can hit a spinning kick to the face and a Doomsault. What else can you ask for from him?

From Raw.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat before the main event and he is not happy. What happened last night was BS because his moment only lasted 5:46. The fans laugh but he says that’s five minutes longer than most of them last in bed. He respects Seth Rollins but then that bondage Undertaker messed everything up. McIntyre would whip Damian Priest but Priest would probably like it. The reality is that this is all CM Punk’s fault and the next time he sees Punk, it’s time for revenge. He’s going for Punk’s weakest part…which is his entire body. This was hilarious as McIntyre can be funny and angry at the same time.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ricochet

For a future shot at Priest and the World Heavyweight Title. Everyone but Ricochet goes to the floor to start so he hits a big flip dive and we take a break. Back with a table in the corner and Reed dropping an elbow on Uso. Commentary says that this is one fall to a finish despite the introductions saying that this is under elimination rules, so things are already a bit confusing. Uso tries a spear on Reed, who sends him through the table as we take another break, 2:09 after coming back.

We come back again with Ricochet striking away at Reed until McIntyre sends him flying with a release belly to belly. We get the McIntyre vs. Reed showdown until McIntyre gets two off a Michinoku Driver. Uso and Ricochet start firing off the superkicks until Uso spears Reed for two. McIntyre and Uso go up top, with McIntyre doing his situp choke throw to send Uso flying.

Reed plants Ricochet for two but McIntyre breaks up the Tsunami. McIntyre and Reed brawl to the floor with the latter getting posted. Uso goes up but Ricochet kicks him down, allowing Ricochet to hit a 450 off the top through Reed through the table (though he BARELY made it). Back in and McIntyre Futureshocks Uso and loads up the Claymore, only to have CM Punk pop up for a distraction. Uso hits a superkick (mostly), a spear and the Superfly Splash to end McIntyre at 17:40.

Rating: B-. It was a fun match with multiple options to win, with Uso making the most sense. Priest needs a first challenger who can make him look good and that’s what Uso will be for him. At the same time, Punk costing McIntyre the win is exactly what should have happened and it worked well here. I’m not sure when that match is going to take place but they are setting it up as an amazing fight. For now though, Ricochet gets to do his flips and Uso gets the win he needs.

Overall Rating: C+. The opening match was nothing special but the rest of it was more than good enough. Julius vs. Ivar was the best thing from the show, if nothing else due to the fact that it felt fresh. Main Event isn’t meant to be a show of new stuff, but for a recap of a victory lap, it could have been worse.

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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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 18, 2024
Location: PNC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We are less than three weeks away from Wrestlemania and that means things are mostly set in stone. However, we still need some teams for the big ladder match as well as possibly one or two more matches. Odds are we’ll get something more from Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins vs. the Bloodline as well so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jey Uso to get things going and he wastes no time in calling out Jimmy. Much like his brother, Jimmy (with Solo Sikoa) wastes no time in coming to the ring as well. Jey says he knows they have bad blood but he misses his brother. He misses being with his brother and asks him to come back but Jimmy says it was Jey’s idea to leave the Bloodline.

It was Jey going off on his own to be a success and he even won a Tag Team Title without his brother! The biggest moment in Jey’s career is because of Jimmy, but Jey disagrees. The biggest moment of his career will be at Wrestlemania when he knocks the yeet out of Jimmy. That’s enough to bring Sikoa in for the beatdown but Cody Rhodes runs in for the save. That probably sets up the main event but Jey vs. Jimmy needed some attention of its own.

Video on Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax.

Adam Pearce calls someone (presumably Nick Aldis) to yell about the Bloodline being here but Paul Heyman interrupts. The Bloodline’s actions weren’t authorized by Roman Reigns or the Rock but Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa are gone for the night. Heyman has official business here tonight though and it will catch everyone off guard.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Titles Qualifying Match: DIY vs. Creed Brothers

Dang I had almost forgotten the Creeds were around. The winners go straight to Wrestlemania, unlike Smackdown which is a mini tournament. Julius wrestles Ciampa down to start and then does it again without much trouble. A fireman’s carry takeover puts Ciampa on the mat again and it’s off to Brutus to work on the arm. Back up and Gargano comes in off a blind tag though and DIY sends them outside for the stereo dives. DIY applauds themselves and we take a break, coming back with Brutus getting the tag to clean house.

Brutus rolls Ciampa up and northern lights suplexes Gargano at the same time for a double near fall. Despite being down on his knees, Julius picks up Ciampa for a suplex, going from mat to knees in a crazy athletic display. The standing moonsault gives Julius two, leaving Brutus to knock Ciampa outside. Brutus sends him over the announcers’ table and we take another break.

Back again with Ciampa hitting much needed reverse DDT, allowing the hot tag back to Gargano. Everything breaks down, leaving Ciampa to hit a super White Noise for two on Julius. They slug it out until Julius barrels through him and puts on the ankle lock. Gargano tries to make the save and gets powerbombed for his efforts.

Brutus comes in to make it stereo ankle locks but they’re reversed into a Sicilian Stretch and the Gargano Escape. Those are both broken up and the Creeds throw them into each other, setting up back to back moonsaults for two on Ciampa. The Brutus Ball misses though and Gargano superkicks Julius into a rollup to give Ciampa the pin at 17:37.

Rating: B. These guys got a lot of time and it’s rather nice to see DIY getting a chance on the big stage. Odds are they don’t win the titles but it’s better than never being on Wrestlemania at all. At the same time, the Creeds feel like they have fallen into a hole. They were in a big time title match and then just vanished for a bit. I’m sure they’ll be back, but dang they fell down a good ways.

Andrade meets Judgment Day, who might be interested in bringing Andrade aboard. They’ll be watching him next week though. Andrade leaves and Damian Priest comes in to get on JD McDonagh for his losses. Dominik Mysterio has this though.

Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae

Hartwell takes over on Carter to start and takes her into the corner, only to have LeRae miss the step up backsplash. It’s off to Chance to pick up the pace but she bangs up her knee while flipping out of a suplex. The referee checks on her but LeRae decks Carter and grabs a half crab on Chance for the tap at 2:02.

We look at the Rock Concert from Smackdown.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. In less than three weeks, he will be face to face with Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania again. Last week on Smackdown, the Rock referred to himself as a heel, which might be an insider term but we all know what it means. People like Ric Flair was a heel but the Rock is just an a******. Rock said he came back here to save WWE but look at this house without him here. Rock is little more than a whiny b**** who brought up Cody’s mom. That makes it fair so let’s talk about Rock’s mom.

She is a wonderful lady who helped him chop Kevin Owens in a dark match once night. Rock thought Cody’s mom was going to cry when he beat Cody with a weightlifting belt, but Rock doesn’t know Cody’s mom. Cody doesn’t know what is going to happen at Wrestlemania, but what does Dwayne know? Is Rock going to bring the Great one or is it going to be “Little D*** Syndrome”?

Rock calls himself the Final Boss and credit to Brian Gerwitz for coming up with that, but he thinks Rock is just Roman Reigns’ side chick. Cue Paul Heyman to interrupt, saying they have a lot in common. A few weeks ago he tried to bring out some cops to take care of Cody and it didn’t work so Heyman apologizes to everyone involved. Cody wanted to talk about heels and while that might be true of Heyman, Reigns is a Tribal Chief of his words.

They will be going face to face this Friday on Smackdown and the only member of the Bloodline with them will be Heyman himself. If Cody shows up, Reigns will be there, alone. Cody: “Deal.” Heyman says that’s fine, if Cody shows up alone too. Cody: “Deal.” This was Cody getting to make things personal with Rock as well and that should get us some great lines both ways.

Nia Jax promises to break Becky Lynch’s face again and take her place at Wrestlemania.

Jey Uso tells Cody Rhodes he has his back on Smackdown but Cody says he has this. Everything is cool.

Ricochet vs. Dominik Mysterio

JD McDonagh is here with Dominik. Ricochet starts fast but McDonagh offers a quick distraction, allowing Dominik to kick him out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Dominik trying Three Amigos but Ricochet reverses the third to take over. That lets McAfee make a puma reference (Ricochet was formerly known as Prince Puma in Lucha Underground) and Ricochet kicks Dominik in the face. The 450 misses so Ricochet drops McDonagh and grabs the Recoil for the pin at 7:22.

Rating: C+. That’s one heck of a big win for Ricochet as he not only beat Dominik but took out McDonagh on the way there. I wouldn’t have bet on seeing him pull off something like that but maybe it’s time to try something else with Ricochet for a bit. There’s no reason to believe it will last but I’ll take even a little hope.

Post match Ricochet fights off McDonagh again.

Sami Zayn thanks Chad Gable for the match last week but Gable still isn’t happy. It means more to him, but Zayn says he has people he’s trying to make happy too. Gable gets straight to the point: Zayn can’t beat Gunther.

Adam Pearce is in the ring and brings out Gunther and Sami Zayn for the contract signing for Wrestlemania. Gunther cuts Pearce off and asks why Zayn isn’t dressed better for something involving a match of this magnitude. Zayn doesn’t like how Gunther is taking him so lightly, but that has been the case more than once in his career. People didn’t believe he would make it to WWE or main event Wrestlemania but last year he ended the longest Tag Team Title reign of all time. Now he can do the same thing to the Intercontinental Title.

Zayn signs and Gunther tells him to keep dreaming before signing as well. Gunther goes to leave but Zayn says wait. Zayn gets in his face and tells Gunther that he believes. Gunther is now looking into the eyes of the man who is taking him down at Wrestlemania. This was setting up Zayn vs. his Goliath, which is as easy of a story as you can have.

R-Truth is in the back with Miz and DIY, with Miz telling R-Truth to be that serious. Indus Sher comes in and R-Truth is worried for whomever has to fight them. Miz sighs and says he’ll tell R-Truth.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Titles Qualifying Match: Awesome Truth vs. Indus Sher

Sanga scares R-Truth away for the early tag to Miz, who gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. Veer comes in for the big jumping elbow and we hit the nerve hold. Miz fights up and it’s back to R-Truth for the John Cena finishing sequence. The STF has Veer in trouble until Sanga breaks it up. Everything breaks down and the Skull Crushing Finale hits Veer but Sanga makes the save. Miz takes out Jinder Mahal at ringside and Sanga elbows R-Truth….right onto Veer for the pin at 3:09.

Rating: C. The comedy with R-Truth being scared was a nice way to go as there was little reason to get into the match otherwise. Awesome Truth have been dealing with Judgment Day for a long time now and it would be nearly insane to not have them involved in the match at Wrestlemania. Indus Sher continues to be little more than the latest foreign monsters and I can’t see it going much further than it has gone here.

Sami Zayn asks Chad Gable why he thinks Zayn can’t beat Gunther. Gable says Zayn is always crawling through the window like an underdog and Gunther won’t let him do that.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat…but Seth Rollins interrupts him on the way to the ring. McIntyre doesn’t like being cut off but Rollins says one thing McIntyre recently said was correct. The first step on the road to recovery his name is Seth Rollins and he is a spotlight junkie. McIntyre says everything is a joke to Rollins but….we pause for WHAT chants, which McIntyre says means the fans are glad he took out Punk.

McIntyre goes on a rant about Punk but Rollins tells him to shut up. He was telling the truth when he said he was a spotlight junkie and it gets better and better every single time he’s here. The fans sing for him and that is what Rollins has been wanting. At Wrestlemania, he’ll beat Roman Reigns and the Rock on night one and Drew McIntyre on night two. McIntyre talks about how they’ve both been doing this for twenty years and Rollins has the wrestlers’ title. Why can’t that be why they get the biggest spotlight?

All McIntyre cares about is Rollins making it to the ring at Wrestlemania one way or another. McIntyre is not going to get the moment he deserves but rather the moment he has earned. Rollins talks about how McIntyre won in front of no one but he couldn’t do it again when the people were there. At Wrestlemania, the lights will be on again and McIntyre will find out that he’s not that good. They’re saying the right things but this isn’t quite clicking yet.

Becky Lynch promises to be the last woman standing against Nia Jax.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Titles Qualifying Match: New Day vs. Alpha Academy

Otis runs Woods over to start and we hit the stomach gyrations. Tozawa comes in for a kick to the face, followed by a middle rope hurricanrana to Kingston. New Day is sent outside and Tozawa hits a dive as we take a break. Back with double tags bringing in Otis and Kofi with the former cleaning house.

A World’s Strongest Slam plants a diving Kofi and there’s the Caterpillar for two. Woods comes back in for a tornado DDT for two on Tozawa but Otis makes a save. Tozawa’s top rope backsplash gets two on Woods with Kofi making the save this time. Back up and Woods hits a sitout powerbomb to plant Tozawa, setting up the Limit Breaker for the pin at 9:29.

Rating: C+. The Academy got in a lot more offense than I was expecting here and it made the match more interesting. You almost need to have New Day in a big time match like the ladder match at Wrestlemania, but the team isn’t exactly on fire right now. They’re getting stale again and need something to do, which probably isn’t going to happen until a few weeks after Wrestlemania at the earliest.

Liv Morgan wishes Becky Lynch luck against Nia Jax.

Cody Rhodes, with Pharaoh, runs into Seth Rollins. Yes, Cody is going to Smackdown on his own.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax

Last Woman Standing and Jax starts fast by knocking her out to the floor. Lynch fights back and we take a break just over a minute in. Back with a bunch of weapons being thrown into the ring, with Jax hitting a Samoan drop onto a pile of chairs. Lynch is back up and knocks Jax down, only to get chaired out of the air.

ax hits a bunch of chair shots and drops the leg for a near ten. Choking with a chair doesn’t work for Jax as Lynch fights out with a kendo stick for the escape. The apron legdrop misses for Jax and Lynch hits a DDT onto the steps for nine. Jax gets up as Lynch grabs a table and we take a break.

Back with Lynch getting off a table and using a fire extinguisher to get Jax off a ladder. They get back inside where Jax hits a Samoan drop through a table in the corner. That and the Annihilator get nine so they head to the apron. Lynch grabs a Manhandle Slam through a table at ringside but Jax beats the count again. With nothing else working, Lynch goes up and hits a Fameasser to send Jax through the announcers’ table for the win at 18:32.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up for a good while but it wasn’t exactly an entertaining spectacle. Lynch is ready for one of the bigger matches of her career and Jax is the villain she had to get rid of before she can completely focus on Wrestlemania. That made this match more of a formality than anything else, but as long as Jax is gone from the story, I’ll take it.

Rhea Ripley comes out for the big staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual with the last few shows on the way to Wrestlemania, this was mainly about firming things up for the big show. There were some things added to the card with three teams qualifying for the ladder match, but most of the show was built around the talking segments. Those went about as well as could be asked and Wrestlemania is really starting to feel like it’s just around the corner. That’s what Raw needs to accomplish and it’s beginning to happen.

Results
DIY b. Creed Brothers – Rollup to Julius
Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae b. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter – Half crab to Chance
Ricochet b. Dominik Mysterio – Recoil
Awesome Truth b. Indus Sher – Skull Crushing Finale to Veer
New Day b. Alpha Academy – Limit Breaker to Tozawa
Becky Lynch b. Nia Jax – Fameasser through the announcers’ table

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: March 4, 2024
Location: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We are just over a month away from Wrestlemania and the big story coming out of Smackdown saw the Bloodline challenging Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes for night one of Wrestlemania. For reasons unclear, the decision is to be made on Smackdown rather than here, but I’m sure we’ll have some fireworks anyway. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Cody Rhodes challenging the Rock to face him, with Rock coming back by challenging him to the Wrestlemania tag match. Also of note: Roman Reigns requested Rock acknowledge him, which he did, seemingly to a bit of Reigns’ relief.

Here is Rhodes to talk about facing Roman Reigns, but first there is the distraction in the form of the Rock. Cody recaps Rock talking about him over and over last week, including mocking Cody’s dog (this did not please him). Rock had talked to Cody before and tried to convince him that the fans wanted to see Rock vs. Reigns, but the fans said they wanted something else.

Those were the people the Rock referred to as crybabies but then Rock moved on to a certain challenge. That challenged involved Seth Rollins, so here he is. Cody talks about how Rollins has been challenged for Wrestlemania as well but he already has to deal with Drew McIntyre, so Cody gets if he’s busy. Rollins talks about how he and Roman Reigns came in here over eleven years ago and they wanted absolute power. Now we are one win away from Reigns having exactly what he wants.

Rollins isn’t interested in any of that and doesn’t like what the Rock has been saying. Rock threatened to get rid of the World Heavyweight Championship and claims to have made wrestling cool again. The reality is that Rock hasn’t been cool in twenty years, but you know what is cool?

This morning Rollins was 100% medically cleared, so he’ll be at Smackdown to face the Bloodline. He has Cody’s back, so does Cody have his? Cody does, and says he won’t whine for twenty one minutes in a promo (as he’s been in the ring for 15+). They’ll be at Smackdown with an answer. Is there a reason to not give them the answer now?

Dominik Mysterio vs. Gunther

Non-title and JD McDonagh is here with Dominik. We start with Michael Cole bringing up Sting’s retirement and wishing him well (McAfee sounded like he was praising Sting’s match at AEW Revolution but Cole cut that off IMMEDIATELY) as Dominik tries to chop with Gunther for some reason. Gunther easily takes over but one of his chops hits the post. Dominik goes after the hand but Gunther chops away part of his soul as we take a break.

Back with Dominik getting chopped again, with Gunther opening up the shirt to make even more contact. Dominik manages to knock Gunther outside though and hits a dive, meaning it’s time to load up the 619. That just lets Gunther BLAST him with a clothesline, but he pulls Dominik up at two. The powerbomb is countered into a sunset flip for two and the 619 connects. Gunther avoids the frog splash though and hits a heck of a dropkick into the corner. The powerbomb into the Boston crab finishes Dominik at 9:16.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t so much good as much as it was entertaining to see Dominik getting wrecked over and over. Gunther can throw some crazy hard chops and he was having fun beating on Dominik here. It wasn’t exactly meant to be a competitive match and that wasn’t quite what it was, but dang it was fun.

Damage CTRL arrives but Adam Pearce cuts them off. They’re here to scout, but Shinsuke Nakamura interrupts. With Damage CTRL gone, Nakamura wants to talk about the Intercontinental Title. They can do that in Pearce’s office, as he’ll have an announcement about the title later tonight.

Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark vs. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter

Earlier today, Carter and Chance said they wanted to get back into the title hunt because it’s Wrestlemania season. Damage CTRL is at ringside, as in sitting on the announcers’ table, as Baszler blocks Carter’s armdrag to start and stomps on the arm. Stark drapes Carter over the top rope for a running knee from Baszler as we take a break. Back with Carter and Chance hitting a double super Spanish Fly on Stark. Carter superkicks Stark to set up the After Party (and a nasty one at that) for two with Baszler making the save. Stark rolls Carter up for the pin at 6:44.

Rating: C. I still can’t get into this division as it isn’t interesting and these challengers just keep going with nothing really working. Stark and Baszler are no better than anyone else but now they are likely next in line for a shot. The Kabuki Warriors are pretty much the only worthwhile thing in the division but I guess we have to act like this works for another Wrestlemania season.

Post match Dakota Kai gets in the ring to say Baszler and Stark can have a title shot next week (assuming the Warriors retain at NXT Roadblock tomorrow night). Baszler is pleased.

The rest of Judgment Day check on Dominik Mysterio, with Gunther being told he’s going to make things right with Gunther. Andrade pops in to check on Dominik.

Video on Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax.

Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax

Becky strikes away to start but gets driven into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. The springboard kick to the face doesn’t do much to Nia, who is right back with a release slam. Jax’s big elbow gets two but Becky fights up, with the missile dropkick sending Jax outside. The forearm off the apron is countered into a Samoan drop on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Lynch’s superplex being broken up and Jax dropping a middle rope legdrop for two. Jax loads up the right hand that broken Lynch’s nose years ago but Lynch snaps off a headscissors. Jax plants her down again and loads up the Annihilator but only hits mat. Lynch gets the Disarm-Her so Jax rolls out to the floor…where Liv Morgan jumps her for the DQ at 10:16.

Rating: C+. This was getting better near the end but hopefully this is all that happens with Jax vs. Lynch. With Lynch being ready to go on to Wrestlemania in just over a month, she needs to move away from Jax so she can get on to Rhea Ripley. Morgan vs. Jax is at least something different, though hopefully it gets them away from the Lynch and the title picture.

Post break Jax is sent running to the back.

Ricochet wants in on the Intercontinental Title situation but Adam Pearce says trust him. Ricochet heads out but here is Judgment Day to say JD McDonagh wants in on the title scene. McDonagh is ready and we go to break while he’s still talking.

Post break Becky Lynch yells at Liv Morgan and a match is made for next week. Rhea Ripley comes in to laugh at Lynch.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso.

Adam Pearce announces a gauntlet match for the Wrestlemania title shot against Gunther. Next week it’s Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. JD McDonagh.

Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

This is Crews’ first match on Raw in a bit. Feeling out process to start until Crews hits a dropkick. Crews puts him on top and hits a top rope superplex, only for Andrade to reverse into Three Amigos. The spinning back elbow sets up the running knees in the corner. La Sombra (the hammerlock DDT) finishes Crews at 3:20.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point with Andrade picking up the win in his return to Raw. That’s a good way to go as Andrade seems to be someone who could be a big deal if he is given the chance (and stays happy). This was at least a good first step and what matters now is keeping the momentum going.

Sami Zayn knew he would get a path towards Wrestlemania and now this is the only path there. Ivar and Valhalla interrupt and a match is made for later.

In Memory of Butcher Vachon.

Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae want a Tag Team Title shot. Natalya and Tegan Nox think it’s time that they get more serious. Candice likes the idea for herself and Hartwell, but Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri come in to say it’ll be ok. LeRae isn’t impressed but Hartwell says she’ll deal with this. This division could not feel less important is they tried.

Judgment Day vs. Imperium

Non-title and Balor hammers Kaiser into the corner to start. Priest comes in to hammer on Vinci, who escapes a suplex. It’s back to Kaiser, who gets kicked in the face and punched in the corner, with Priest hurting his own hand. Kaiser decks Balor, which is enough to bring him in for an abdominal stretch. Balor gets sent into the post though and we take a break.

Back with Balor hitting a Nightmare On Helm Street but a High Low cuts him off for two. Vinci’s clothesline takes Balor down again and Kaiser seems happy to kick the crowd favorite in the face. Balor manages a Pele kick and it’s Priest coming in to clean house. The Broken Arrow gets two on Kaiser but he escapes the Razor’s Edge. Balor comes back in for the Sling Blade but Kaiser grabs a Death Valley Driver. Another Sling Blade drops Vinci and the Coup de Grace gets two with Kaiser making the save. Priest comes back in for a hard clothesline and the South Of Heaven for the pin at 14:08.

Rating: B-. This was more of a showcase for Priest than anything else and he did rather well with it. Priest still feels like someone who could turn into a big star despite his age and wins like this help boost him up every little bit. It might not be a classic, but seeing the Judgment Day as the good guys is oddly fun.

Paul Heyman is going into the Hall Of Fame.

Drew McIntyre calls Seth Rollins a spotlight junkie and points out how Rollins is always involved with the big comebacks. The World Heavyweight Title deserves better than Rollins and Jey Uso.

Rhea Ripley comes up to Damage CTRL and says stay out of her territory.

Sami Zayn vs. Ivar

Valhalla is here too and Cole loses his mind over the stupid antlers. She even gives him the antlers and McAfee can’t contain himself. Ivar shoves him down a few times to start but Zayn is back up with a toss to the floor. The tornado DDT is blocked back inside though and Zayn is sent outside.

We take a break and come back with Zayn reversing a belly to back superplex into a crossbody for two. Now the tornado DDT connects but Ivar kicks him in the face for two of his own. Ivar puts him up top but it’s a sunset bomb to bring him back down for two. The exploder connects but Ivar hits a seated senton to cut off the Helluva Kick. Ivar’s Doomsault misses though and now the Helluva Kick can finish for Zayn at 10:14.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine match here as Zayn fights back against a monster and wins in the end with his finishing move. That’s as basic yet effective of a way to use Ivar as there is and it worked well here. Not a classic or anything, but it keeps Zayn’s momentum going towards a possible Wrestlemania title match.

Post match Bronson Reed runs in to take out Zayn and crushes him with the Tsunami.

Gunther is ready for any of the stacked field, because they all want the prestigious title. Chad Gable comes in to say this one just means more.

Jey Uso knows Drew McIntyre wants an apology, so here’s an apology for the beating he’s about to get.

R-Truth, DIY and Xavier Woods are playing WWE2K24 when Miz comes in. Miz has an idea of dealing with the Judgment Day: take their Tag Team Titles.

McAfee telestrates Cole’s antlers.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre

Jey starts fast with an enziguri to send him outside but McIntyre gets in a toss over the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with McIntyre kicking him out of the corner for two before hammering away with right hands. McIntyre hammers away in the corner but gets caught with a sitout powerbomb for two. That doesn’t work for McIntyre, who knocks him to the floor and suplexes Uso on the floor as we take another break.

Back again with Uso sending McIntyre into the corner and hitting a boot to the face. Uso strikes away and gets two off a Samoan drop. There’s the running Umaga Attack to send McIntyre outside and Uso follows with the big dive. Cue Solo Sikoa for a distraction though and McIntyre hits the Futureshock for two. Cue Cody Rhodes to take out Sikoa and Uso hits a spar. Now it’s Jimmy Uso for a distraction and McIntyre hits the Claymore for the pin at 16:47.

Rating: B-. Another solid match here as McIntyre continues to build towards the title match at Wrestlemania and Jey continues to seemingly get ready for the match with Jimmy. The idea of Jey finally snapping and wanting to fight Jimmy is going to be a tough way to go but at last they’re starting something here.

Post match Seth Rollins comes out to chase off Jimmy Uso but gets Claymored. McIntyre yells at him to stop being selfish to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did its job in trying to set things up for later as the build towards Wrestlemania continues. The big thing here is that you can see most of the card from a month out and there isn’t really anything major that needs to be started. I’m sure we’ll get some more matches announced soon and some smaller things will have to be covered, but for now WWE is moving steadily along towards Wrestlemania. That’s a lot better than their patented rushing so things are improving.

Results
Gunther b. Dominik Mysterio – Boston crab
Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark b. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter – Rollup to Carter
Nia Jax b. Becky Lynch via DQ when Liv Morgan interfered
Andrade b. Apollo Crews – La Sombra
Judgment Day b. Imperium – South Of Heaven to Kaiser
Sami Zayn b. Ivar – Helluva Kick
Drew McIntyre b. Jey Uso – Claymore

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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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 5, 2024
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

Say it with me: and then everything changed, as Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes said that he would not be challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania. Instead, it appears the The Rock of all people will be getting the shot. While that’s a huge deal, the fans are not exactly thrilled with the change and it has to be addressed this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the Rhodes/Rock/Reigns segment from Smackdown.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going. He does his catchphrases and makes a Rock reference, which gets the fans booing again. Seth: “I sense that you guys want Cody.” Well Rollins does too, so he invites Cody out to the ring. Cody asks what the fans want to talk about and we get a ROCKY SUCKS chant. Cole: “Is it 1996 all over again?” Seth: “I didn’t expect to hear that tonight.”

Rollins talks about how he needs this match with Rhodes as well because he needs to know if he’s better than he was when they did this the first time. He gets right to the point: are they going to fight at Wrestlemania? Before Cody can answer, cue Drew McIntyre to interrupt. McIntyre: “I think I speak for everybody when I say what the h***?” He and Rollins both hate Punk and it was time for the two of them to be talking about going to Wrestlemania.

The fans seem to like that and McIntyre even has a shirt commissioned…..which he reveals as himself laughing at a tombstone for Punk’s Wrestlemania main event (that’s freaking brilliant). McIntyre tells Cody to finish the story and even says don’t let your dad down. Rollins says McIntyre doesn’t have to go that far, but why does McIntyre think he’s getting the title shot if Cody isn’t the challenger?

They’ve done that twice and McIntyre lost. Rollins: “Didn’t you lose to him three times?” McIntyre talks about how it should be the best man winning but does stop to cut off Rhodes. McIntyre headbutts Rollins down and Cody decks McIntyre without much trouble. So they didn’t officially announce anything for Cody, which feels like a way to stretch this out what very well may be false hope to avoid some of the booing (which is already here).

Imperium vs. Creed Brothers vs. DIY vs. New Day

The winners move on to face Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne on Smackdown for the title shot at Elimination Chamber. Ciampa takes over on Woods to start but it’s Kingston coming in with a springboard high crossbody. Woods’ fist drop gets two and it’s back to Kingston to work on Ciampa’s arm. Kaiser comes in for the double dropkick to Kingston and we take a break. Back with Kingston dropping Kaiser and the tag brings in Woods as the pace picks up.

The Honor Roll connects and Woods superkicks Vinci. Gargano tags himself in for the slingshot spar and an assisted Sliced Bread takes down Brutus. DIY hit slingshot dives onto the Creeds and we get the applaud. Kingston dropkicks both of them to the floor but gets beaten down by Imperium, with Gargano making the save. Julius flip dives onto all of them Ciampa White Noises Woods onto the pile to leave everyone down as we take another break.

Back with Ciampa getting the worst of a Tower of Doom, followed by Brutus moonsaulting Kaiser for two. We hit the parade of strikes until Brutus ankle locks Vinci. Julius cuts off some people with belly to belly suplexes, including one to Woods and Ciampa at the same time. A bunch of people make the save and everyone is down again. The Brutus Ball takes out a bunch of people on the floor but Ciampa tags himself back in. Meet In The Middle hits Vinci for the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B. Sometimes the best thing to do is let a bunch of people go out there and do a bunch of wild stuff until someone gets the pin. DIY vs. Bate/Dunne should make for a good match and it could go either way for the title match. Heck of a way to fill in part of the show here though, even if asking us to believe that the referee remembered who was legal for the tag after the melee is a bit much.

Shayna Baszler is ready for Becky Lynch.

Becky Lynch is ready for Shayna Baszler.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler

They fight over arm control to start until Lynch has to escape the Kirifuda Clutch. They go outside where Baszler kicks her in the head and kicks the hand against the steps. We take a break and come back with Lynch striking away despite having a banged up arm. A running knee gives Baszler two but Lynch is back with a missile dropkick.

Baszler goes after the arm again, this time tying it in the ropes and then into Lynch’s gear. That astonishingly doesn’t work and Lynch pulls her off the top so they can strike it out again. Lynch can’t get the Disarm-Her but she can get the Manhandle Slam to put Baszler away at 12:38.

Rating: C. This really needed to be five minutes shorter and the extra length hurt it a good bit. The biggest problem here was there was no reason to believe that Baszler had a real chance straight up against Lynch, which makes the match feel that much longer. The match wasn’t particularly good, but at least it got Lynch into the Chamber for the first time ever (it helps when you’ve been champion so many times).

Liv Morgan says no one is about her business but next week, her qualifying match is about revenge.

Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Cody Rhodes at a live event. Tonight, it’s a bullrope match.

Drew McIntyre has been fined for attacking Seth Rollins and Adam Pearce will double it if he keeps wearing that Punk shirt.

Rhea Ripley calls out Nia Jax but Adam Pearce comes to the ring to say the match has been made for Elimination Chamber. Cue Jax to beat Ripley down.

We look at Bayley challenging Iyo Sky for the Smackdown Women’s Title at Wrestlemania.

Akira Tozawa/Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivar/Valhalla

Valhalla sends Maxxine into the corner to start and Maxxine can’t quite get a sunset flip. She also can’t quite time a handspring elbow either but a double high crossbody puts Iva down. Maxxine flirts with Ivar to no effect so commentary talks about Medieval Times. A super World’s Strongest Slam finishes Tozawa at 2:00. This was really bad.

We look back at R-Truth being kicked out of Judgment Day.

Judgment Day is talking about Rhea Ripley when R-Truth comes in. JD McDonagh wants to jump him but has a match and leaves with Dominik Mysterio. R-Truth thinks last week was a pre-initiation and Finn Balor walks away. Priest does as well, but R-Truth finds a box of shirts that gives him an idea.

JD McDonagh vs. The Miz

Before the match, Miz talks about R-Truth being on the line between genius and crazy. Judgment Day attacking R-Truth was a declaration of war though and it’s time to fight. McDonagh (with Dominik Mysterio in his corner) stomps away in the corner to start and hits a knee to the face.

Back up and Miz knocks him to the floor, setting up a suplex from the timekeeper’s area to the floor. We take a break and come back with McDonagh hitting a standing moonsault for two….and here is R-Truth to throw the shirts to the crowd. The distraction lets Miz get his boots up to block a top rope moonsault and Miz kicks away in the corner. A crossbody gives Miz two and he takes out Mysterio for a bonus.

R-Truth puts a shirt around Mysterio’s arms to tie him up, allowing Miz to get in a big boot. The distraction lets McDonagh hit a headbutt into a moonsault for two so R-Truth whips out McDonagh’s cut of the merch money. Works for McDonagh, who gets hit with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 9:44.

Rating: C. There was a lot to this but it wasn’t exactly great action. What matters here is the fact that R-Truth continues to be one of the most over people in all of WWE today. He gets a reaction no matter what he is doing and it’s great to see him getting this kind of a reaction. I could go for seeing more of Miz/R-Truth vs. Judgment Day, perhaps for the titles in a Wrestlemania match.

Imperium makes sure that everything is prepared for Gunther’s celebration for being Intercontinental Champion for 600 days. Adam Pearce says it’s cool, and here is Bron Breakker for a meeting. Imperium does not look pleased.

We look back at CM Punk having tricep surgery last week.

Here is Imperium for Gunther’s celebration. Gunther says no one should be surprised that we are here for this celebration. He doesn’t know why he’s here though, because every milestone is a formality anyway. The fact of the matter is he is running out of competition so who is left to challenge for this title?

Cue Jey Uso with the full dancing entrance, which Gunther calls a simple gesture for a simple audience. He doesn’t like this disrespect though, even if Jey is one half of the best teams ever. It makes sense too as you get all the glory for only 50% of the work. Uso lists off his resume (incorrectly saying he was in the first tag team to main event Wrestlemania) and says he wants the title shot.

Gunther likes his moxie and threatens to beat Jey back to the days when people couldn’t tell the Usos apart. Gunther: “UCE!” The fight is on with New Day making the save to chase Imperium off. This is a perfectly logical next challenger for Gunther and Jey winning the title does not feel out of the question. That being said, Gunther is adding some great quips on the mic, just in case he didn’t have enough tools so far.

Shinsuke Nakamura wants to hurt Cody Rhodes.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kabuki Warriors vs. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter

The Warriors are defending and Chance goes after Asuka’s bad ribs to start. The champs are knocked to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Carter fighting her way out of trouble and handing it back to Chance. Asuka gets draped over the middle rope in the corner for some knees to the ribs, setting up the After Party for two. Sane breaks up the Keg Stand though and an Insane Elbow/reverse DDT combination finishes Chance at 9:48.

Rating: C. The problem here was outside of Bayley interfering to cost the Warriors the titles, there was little reason to believe they were losing the titles. Chance and Carter don’t feel like they’re on the same level and it was showing here. They can do some high flying stuff, but the Warriors feel like far more well rounded stars, both on their own and as a team.

We get a sitdown interview with Sami Zayn in an empty arena. Zayn talks about getting close but not quite making it. HHH pulled him aside and said he was like Rocky Balboa, which makes him believe that he’ll be a champion one day. It’s about proving to himself and the people that they should have believed in him.

Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Bullrope match and you win by pinfall or submission. The rope is apparently the same one Dusty and Dustin used in their bullrope matches over the years. Nakamura jumps him to start but Cody takes over on the floor as we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Rhodes pulling him into the post but Nakamura uses the rope to break up a springboard.

Nakamura chokes with his boot and hits a running knee to the ribs for two. Cody is back with a dropkick to the knee and the Figure Four goes on, only to have Nakamura use the bell for the escape. We take another break and come back again with Rhodes hitting the snap powerslam.

The Cody Cutter gets two and they slug it out until Nakamura kicks him in the head. There’s the reverse exploder suplex but the Kinshasa is countered into a Pedigree for two. Back up and Nakamura uses the mist but the blind Cody hits Cross Rhodes for two more. Kinshasa is blocked and Rhodes hits him low with the rope, setting up Cross Rhodes for the pin at 16:43.

Rating: B-. This felt like a house show main event and that is likely because they’ve headlined house shows with it for the last few weeks. The good idea here was to have Rhodes get a nice win to give the fans something to cheer about. The fans want to cheer Rhodes right now and it would go a long way to calm them down if he gets to beat up a rival like he did here.

Drew McIntyre runs in to jump Rhodes to end the show. Those two could have a heck of a fight at Elimination Chamber.

Overall Rating: C+. There was a good show in here somewhere but it got bogged down by a lot of the stuff in the middle. That mixed tag was awful and some of the segments really didn’t work. The main event was good though and the Gunther/Uso segment did well too. With that being said, the opening segment and the anti-Rock reaction are what matter the most here, as that press conference could be quite the mess if they go in the expected directions. I’m curious to see what they do though, because plowing straight ahead seems more than a bit risky. For now though, pretty good show that had some rough stretches.

Results
DIY b. Imperium, Creed Brothers and New Day – Meet In The Middle to Vinci
Becky Lynch b. Shayna Baszler – Manhandle Slam
Valhalla/Ivar b. Maxxine Dupri/Akira Tozawa – Super World’s Strongest Slam to Tozawa
Miz b. JD McDonagh – Skull Crushing Finale
Kabuki Warriors b. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter – Reverse DDT/Insane Elbow combination to Chance
Cody Rhodes b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Cross Rhodes

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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AND

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Smackdown
Date: January 26, 2024
Location: Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means it is time for the final push to the show. There’s a good chance we’ll get some more names added to the Royal Rumble matches, as there are less than twenty entrants out of the sixty spots in two matches. The Women’s Tag Team Titles are on the line tonight too so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, with Roman Reigns jumping Randy Orton after the match but getting taken out with an RKO to end the show.

Here is Eladio Carrion, a rapper from Puerto Rico who has released a song called RKO, with the music video featuring Randy Orton. He wastes no time in bringing out Orton, who greets a fan on the way to the ring. Orton knows the fans are surprised he’s friends with Carrion but it’s time to get to serious business. That would be the Bloodline, because Roman Reigns has been World Champion for almost 1,300 days.

It’s almost unheard of and no one can stop him….except maybe Orton himself. After tomorrow at the Royal Rumble, he’ll be a fifteen time World Champion and that is the only number that matters. Cue AJ Styles, who was taken out by Solo Sikoa last week. He hasn’t forgotten about Orton though, because Orton has a receipt coming. Styles is going to step over Reigns, Orton and…cue LA Knight to interrupt.

The fans seem happy to see him, with Knight calling both of them dummy. Knight finds it interesting that he is the only one in tomorrow’s four way who has a match (against Sikoa) tonight. That’s because Paul Heyman sees him as the biggest threat but tomorrow he’s coming for the title and stepping over all of them. Styles Pele’s Orton to give him the promised receipt to wrap this up.

Carlito vs. Santos Escobar

The LWO and Legado del Fantasma are here too. Carlito hammers away in the corner to start but gets sent into the buckle. Escobar sends him out to the apron, with a Legado distraction letting him get knocked outside. We take a break and come back with Escobar getting two off a clothesline. A super hurricanrana takes Carlito down again and we hit the seated abdominal stretch.

Carlito fights up and hits a dropkick, followed by a rolling neckbreaker for two. The running knee lift and a clothesline put Escobar down and everyone gets in a brawl on the floor. Del Toro hits a huge dive and here is NXT’s Elektra Lopez (formerly part of Legado) to jump Zelina Vega, allowing Escobar to grab a rollup for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C+. This was about giving Legado one more member to even things up with the LWO, but again this was all about keeping Escobar warm before his big showdown with Rey Mysterio, whenever it comes up. Escobar is being built up rather well and having Lopez around is only going to make things better for him.

Commentary talks about Raw moving to Netflix in January.

AJ Styles runs into Jimmy Uso and suggests that Styles help the Bloodline get rid of LA Knight tonight. Uso leaves and the OC comes in, with Styles saying don’t worry about it.

NXT GM Ava comes in to see Nick Aldis but Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits interrupt. Lashley gets to draw his Royal Rumble number when Legado del Fantasma come in. Escobar draws his number as well.

Video on Bayley, who creates history and is ready to do it again. Then she formed Damage CTRL and they’re taking over.

R-Truth draws a Royal Rumble number and thinks Nick Aldis is Adam Pearce.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kabuki Warriors vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter/Chance are defending. Carter rolls Asuka up for two to start and it’s Chance hitting a slingshot hilo for two of her own. Chance takes both of them out with a slingshot dive to the floor and we take a break. Back with Chance in trouble but managing to send Sane outside. Carter comes back in and dives onto both Warriors to drop them on the floor.

A springboard spinning legdrop gets two on Asuka but she hands it back to Sane. Everything breaks down but the Insane Elbow hits raised boots. The Keg Stand gets two on Asuka, who breaks up the After Party. Asuka kicks Carter in the head though and the Insane Elbow gives us new champions at 9:03.

Rating: B-. This was a better match than I was expecting but at the end of the day, there was no reason to keep the titles on Carter and Chance. They were pretty much transitional champions but dropped the titles to one of the best teams the titles have ever seen. It was the right way to go and now we get to see where things go from here.

Paul Heyman tells Solo Sikoa to finish LA Knight. Sikoa: “Ok.” With Sikoa gone, Heyman hypes up the idea of Jimmy us winning the Royal Rumble.

Bayley and Bianca Belair draw their Royal Rumble numbers.

Here are Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits for a face to face showdown with the Final Testament. Lashley runs down their resume and calls the Testament out, with the team coming straight to the ring. Only Scarlet gets in the ring though, with Montez Ford calling the team scared. Karrion Kross says the fight isn’t happening tonight…but Lashley disagrees. Scarlet goes after Lashley’s eyes though and the Testament lays everyone out.

Jimmy Uso draws his Royal Rumble number. No yeet.

We look back at Logan Paul on the KO Show, with Paul further damaging Owens’ bad hand. Then they got in a fight at the Performance Center.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Austin Theory

Grayson Waller is here with Theory. A dropkick takes Theory down to start and a springboard spinning clothesline does it again. Theory gets in a cheap shot to put Hayes on the floor though and Waller adds a cheap shot as we take a break. Back with Hayes making a comeback and hitting something like a….reverse reverse DDT (as in Theory is facing up while Hayes is facing away from him). A spinning faceplant gives Hayes two but another Waller distraction sets up Ataxia (Theory loads him up for a powerbomb but flips him backwards into a faceplant). They trade rollups until Theory grabs the tights for the pin at 6:58.

Rating: C+. This was a way to make up after things went really badly two weeks ago. It’s good to see Hayes getting more reps on the show as he seems almost ready to move up to the main roster full time. It’s wouldn’t shock me to see him as a post Wrestlemania call up, but he has to get done with everything involving Trick Williams first. For now though, losing to Theory via cheating isn’t a bad thing and the match went well enough.

Post match Waller comes in for the beatdown but Trick Williams makes the save to a positive reaction. Things still aren’t great with Hayes and Williams though (it’s an NXT thing).

Royal Rumble rundown, with only four matches.

Eladio Carrion wants Randy Orton to win the title at the Rumble but the Bloodline comes in to scare him a bit.

LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa

The Bloodline is here too. Sikoa takes him into the corner to start and hammers away but Knight gets smart by going after the leg. A stomp to the hand slows Sikoa down again and a ram into the steps makes it worse. Back in and a cheap shot takes Knight down again and we take a break.

We come back with Knight charging into a Samoan drop for two but getting a boot up in the corner. The middle rope bulldog takes Sikoa down again and Knight gets to slug away. A DDT only does so much to Sikoa so they crash out to the floor, where Knight can ram him into the announcers’ table over and over. Cue AJ Styles to take Knight out for the DQ at 8:40.

Rating: C+. Not exactly a great match here but I appreciate not giving Knight a pinfall loss, or a loss of any kind, before he head son to the Royal Rumble. It’s important to keep him strong, especially with the real possibility of Knight being there to take the pinfall. The match was a lot of punching and kicking, but Knight going after the hand made sense.

Post match Styles teases teaming with Jimmy Uso against Knight but goes after Uso instead. Cue Randy Orton to take out the Bloodline and hit an RKO on Styles to….not end the show, as LA Knight gives Orton the BFT to really end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a good enough show that focused on the World Title match, which is what it needed to be. There was nothing on here worth going out of your way to see but it also didn’t do anything that made me less interested in the Rumble. The Rumble is such a weird show in that there are only four matches on the card with two of them being a mixture of wrestlers from all three shows. That leaves the US Title match, which got time last week, and the World Title match, which got time this week. Nice, to the point show.

Results
Santos Escobar b. Carlito – Rollup
Kabuki Warriors b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Insane Elbow to Carter
Austin Theory b. Carmelo Hayes – Rollup with tights
LA Knight b. Solo Sikoa via DQ when AJ Styles interfered

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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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 22, 2024
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

This is the go home Raw before the Royal Rumble and while that is big enough, we also have to deal with Seth Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins has suffered a torn MCL and meniscus and that means something is going to have to be done. We’re not sure what that is going to include but Rollins is opening the show this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Rollins (in an amazing lime green suit) with a big knee brace. Rollins talks about how happy he is to be here and recaps the week, including the knee injury. Last week he messed up his knee on a moonsault and had an MRI, which revealed the extent of the injuries. If he has surgery, he’s looking at being out 3-4 months, but we’re taking it one day at a time.

Cue Imperium to interrupt, with Rollins saying if Gunther is going to do it, then do it. Gunther says they have been avoiding each other but he respects Rollins for fighting to bring honor to a championship. Just like him. It’s kind of pulling the rug out from under him because he is sad at the idea of Rollins missing Wrestlemania. Rollins says Gunther and Imperium should have let him finish: he doesn’t care what the doctors say (the fans like that a lot) or how hard he has to rehabs and push his knee. He’s going to keep his promise and take the title into Wrestlemania, where he will do everything he can to keep the title.

Gunther likes that and says he would do the same thing if he was in Rollins’ position. Rollins reminds Gunther of himself, so on Sunday (the show is Saturday but close enough), Gunther is going to win the Royal Rumble and choose Rollins. However, Gunther is going to target his knee and his back and everything that isn’t 100%. Rollins appreciates the honesty but Gunther needs to remember who he’s coming after. Gunther says Rollins better remember who is coming after him. They shake hands to wrap it up…or in theory at least as here is New Day to jump Imperium for their scheduled match.

So there’s your big answer and it makes sense if Rollins wants to do it. At the same time, WWE is going to need a contingency plan in case Rollins can’t go and they need to have a cutoff point so something can be announced in time for Wrestlemania. For now though it is exciting as Rollins is a major star and I don’t want him to miss Wrestlemania, but we have a long time to go before we get there and quite a bit could change.

New Day vs. Imperium

Joined in progress with Woods getting beaten down in the corner. Kaiser comes in to stomp away as well and Woods is sent outside. A belly to back drop onto the apron has Woods in even more trouble and we take a break. Back with Kofi getting the hot tag and cleaning house, at least until Vinci baseball slides him down. They brawl to the floor with New Day being more aggressive than usual. It’s a double countout at 8:48.

Rating: B-. This was a rather aggressive match and some kind of No DQ/street fight rematch wouldn’t surprise me. It’s almost weird seeing New Day being this aggressive but what we got worked well. At the same time, it’s nice to see Imperium having something to do as they have been up and down since coming up to the main roster.

Post match the brawl stays on, with Kaiser and Woods brawling at ringside and the other two going into the crowd. They get back together with Kaiser grabbing a chair but Woods makes a save. Woods picks Kaiser up and teases putting him into the tech area but Vinci makes the save. Kofi has to save Woods from going through the tech area and all our go crashing through a table. This was a hot segment and the fans were eating it up.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest.

Rhea Ripley and Priest argue a big, with Priest accusing her of having a big head for being on the cover of WWE2k24. Priest leaves and Ripley tells them to take care of everything else. She wants to see Finn Balor’s vicious side, which he’ll show her.

Maxxine Dupri is ready for the Royal Rumble, ad her match tonight. The Creeds come in to give her a pep talk.

Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla

There are now some factoids next to the name graphics on the entrances. Valhalla hammers away to start as Nikki Cross is walking back and forth at the entrance (though no one acknowledges her). Nile is knocked outside and dropped again, followed by some ripping at the face back inside. Valhalla sends her to the apron and slowly brought up top, where she hits a top rope bulldog to finish Valhalla at 2:48. This wasn’t very good while it lasted, as both of them looked rather unsure of what they were doing.

Jey Uso interrupts New Day to ask about their issues with Imperium. They talk about how serious they can be and they’ll prove it. New Day wants the big boss, so Kofi wants an Intercontinental Title shot next week. As they were talking, Damage CTRL could be seen walking around in the background.

Here is Nia Jax for a chat. Jax talks about how she squashed Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley, which is why it’s no surprise that Ripley wants to face Lynch. She promises to kill both of their dreams this weekend, but here is Lynch to interrupt. Lynch: “Shut up Nia you dope.” Lynch knows that the only thing people in the locker room can agree on is that they don’t like Jax. She’s probably hurt half of them, so of course she has a target on her back. Lynch is ready to see Jax lose, but here is Bayley to interrupt. She’s going to win the Rumble and point to the Wrestlemania sign, but the brawl is on instead, with Jax cleaning house.

Rumble By The Numbers:

30 entrants
1,310 entrants
34 winners
2.6% have won
20 have gone on to win the title at Wrestlemania
1 woman to enter at #1 and win
20 eliminations for Ripley all time, a record
1:01:08, Ripley’s record time in the Rumble
1:11:40, Gunther’s record time in the Rumble
60% of the winners have come from the last ten entrants
#30 has produced the most winners (5)
3 who have won consecutive Royal Rumbles
3 wins for Steve Austin, a record
3rd time Tampa will host the Royal Rumble (1995/2021)
8 eliminations for Shayna Baszler, the most in a single women’s match

More numbers later.

Becky Lynch is in the back and runs into Rhea Ripley, who wasn’t impressed by what she just saw.

Dominik Mysterio vs. The Miz

JD McDonagh and Finn Balor are here with Mysterio. Earlier today, R-Truth told Miz not to tag in tonight (Miz: “It’s a singles match.”) and to watch out for the Mysterio guys. R-Truth: “Tom and Nick.” Miz: “IT’S ONE GUY!” Dominik starts fast and knocks Miz to the floor, where the whole team gets to pose for a bit. Back in and Dominik keeps up the beating as this is one sided so far. Miz gets sent outside again and we take an early break.

Back with both of them down and Miz firing off some clotheslines. The Reality Check gets two and Miz dropkicks McDonagh through the ropes. A hurricanrana to the floor takes McDonagh down again and a springboard high crossbody gets two on Mysterio back inside. The YES Kicks, including the big one to the head, looks to set up the Skull Crushing Finale but Dominik breaks it up. A Balor enziguri sets up the 619 into the frog splash for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C+. It only kind of works but there is something fun about watching Miz going more aggressive, especially with the high flying. It was nice to see Dominik get a singles win, even with some help, even though he doesn’t have much going on at the moment. For now though, Judgment Day is mainly about whatever R-Truth is doing and that might need to change.

Post match the beatdown is on but DIY makes the save….to almost eerie silence. McDonagh gets out before the Meet In The Middle.

Damian Priest is ready for Drew McIntyre tonight. R-Truth comes in to offer Priest his cut of the merch money but Priest says not now. For now, he’s ready for McIntyre, who couldn’t handle things when people came back. Tonight, McIntyre is getting his punishment.

Bronson Reed wants to face Jey Uso next week.

Ivar vs. Chad Gable

Ivar starts fast with a Tour of the Islands but Gable strikes away and manages a knockdown. The top rope headbutt connects but Ivar suplexes him to the apron, setting up a splash as we take a break. Back with Gable managing a top rope superplex but Ivar grabs a tiger driver for two of his own. Gable victory rolls him into the ankle lock, with Ivar powering out.

Another ankle lock is broken up so Ivar hits a sitout spinebuster for two. The Doomsault misses though and Gable grabs a bridging German suplex for two more. Ivar catches him up top but Gable flips over him and hits a German suplex out of the corner. Cue Valhalla for a distraction though, allowing Ivar to knock Gable down. The Doomsault is good for the pin on Gable at 10:59.

Rating: B. As has been the case for a very long while, power vs. speed is one of those things that is going to work almost every single time. That was the case again here, as Gable was doing everything he could and dealt with a monster like Ivar as well as possible. Ivar has been getting a few wins here and there and it is nice to have a new monster on the show. Rather solid match here with a trade of big spots, which is how you make an entertaining match with people like these two.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat but CM Punk (scheduled to be face to face with Cody) interrupts before he can say anything. Punk talks about how they took different paths to get here and wants to let it sink in a minute. Rhodes asks what Punk wants to talk about, so Punk picks Cody’s dad. Punk tells a story about Cody debuting in OVW and Dusty Rhodes asked Punk to keep an eye on him.

It wasn’t hard as Cody didn’t get into a lot of the vices their fellow wrestlers did but here is Cody as a main eventer. It’s a proud moment for Punk, but on Saturday, it’s going to feel like he’s breaking a promise. In the Royal Rumble, Punk isn’t looking out for Cody, but rather looking for him. Punk promises to go on to main event Wrestlemania, which Cody accepts.

Cody talks about how he’s tried to come here and be a light in the darkness. It’s true that he was a nepotism hire in OVW and Punk treated him like a peer when he didn’t have to. They became friends but that is bittersweet because there are no friends in the Royal Rumble. Punk asks what happens on Sunday morning when the Rumble over. Cody grew up in this business and knows what it is about. Punk talks about how he wasn’t born into wrestling and brings up Dusty’s famous catchphrases….which describe him more than Cody. Punk: “I’m more of the American Dream than you are.”

Cody gets more serious and brings up the Pipe Bomb, which Punk said and inspired a generation (including Cody) but then he left for a long time. Cody did everything Punk talked about doing, which makes him more Punk than Punk. That makes Punk take off the jacket and talk about how he’s the bigger star coming to take everything Cody wants. Cody quotes his dad quoting John Wayne: “Courage is being scared and saddling up anyways.”

The only direction Cody can go is forward into the Royal Rumble, and that includes going through Punk. Cody goes to leave and bumps him, with Punk spinning him around to go face to face but nothing gets physical. This had its moments and there were some very good lines, but this didn’t feel natural, at least partially because they were advertised in advance about being out there together.

We look at Hulk Hogan winning his first World Title forty years ago (tomorrow), before transitioning into a look at the Royal Rumble. Hogan teases being in the match himself.

Candice LeRae/Indi Hartwell vs. Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark

Baszler takes over on LeRae to start before it’s off to Hartwell, who kicks Stark in the face. The villains are in trouble as we take an early break. Back with LeRae getting to clean house, meaning Stark has to make a save. Hartwell is knocked down and the Z360 finishes LeRae at 6:32. Not enough shown to rate but it was pretty short and to the point.

Post match Kayden Carter and Katana Chance come in for the staredown, only to have the Kabuki Warriors (getting a Women’s Tag Team Title shot on Friday) to jump the champs.

Drew McIntyre talks about how important it was to be on top during the pandemic and Damian Priest isn’t there yet.

Damage CTRL runs into Natalya and Tegan Nox and arguing ensues. Adam Pearce comes in to say save it for the Rumble, with Bayley saying they’ll be around more often when the Kabuki Warriors win the Tag Team Titles. With the women gone, Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher come in. Mahal wants to know what Pearce has planned so Pearce says meet him in his office.

Rumble By The Numbers Part 2:

9 two time winners
13 eliminations in one men’s Rumble by Brock Lesnar
Natalya is one of four women to compete in all women’s Rumbles
45 eliminations by Kane over 18 Rumbles, both records
3,653 days since CM Punk has been in a Royal Rumble
34,000,000 social media engagements for the Logan Paul vs. Ricochet clip from last year
9 people have won their first World Title off a Royal Rumble win
60% of winners from the last five years have won the World Title at Wrestlemania

Royal Rumble rundown.

Here’s what’s coming on next week’s show.

Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

Priest hammers him into the corner to start but McIntyre is back with a running clothesline. They’re already out to the floor, with Priest getting caught diving off the steps. An overhead belly to belly drops Priest again but he’s right back with the Broken Arrow onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Priest working on the back until stereo big boots leave them both down. A neckbreaker puts Priest down again but he avoids the Claymore. McIntyre grabs a spinebuster for two but Priest is right back up with a shot to the head. Another Broken Arrow gives Priest two and he knocks McIntyre outside.

A dive takes him down but here is R-Truth to offer Priest his money again. Priest shoves him away but the distraction lets McIntyre hit Future Shock. Truth tries to put the money in the Money in the Bank briefcase but has to ask Priest the password. McIntyre punches Truth down, with the distraction letting Priest hit South Of Heaven. Priest yells at Truth and throws him out, allowing McIntyre to hit the Claymore for the pin at 13:02.

Rating: B-. This was a good hoss match for the most part but then it wound up turning into something of a mess by the end. The R-Truth stuff is hilarious but it didn’t really fit here, which is where having comedy can become an issue. McIntyre getting a win is a good thing and Priest lost via shenanigans, but it was still kind of a jarring twist.

Overall Rating: B. The show was almost all about the Royal Rumble and that’s all it needed to be. That means the majority was rather good, as it made me wonder who was going to win the Royal Rumble, which seems to have several options. It set up some things for the future as well while also giving us the big Cody vs. Punk showdown. Now if we had a good reason for Priest to not cash in on the injured Rollins, it would be that much better.

Results
New Day vs. Imperium went to a double countout
Ivy Nile b. Valhalla – Top rope bulldog
Dominik Mysterio b. The Miz – Frog splash
Ivar b. Chad Gable – Doomsault
Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark b. Candice LeRae/Indi Hartwell – Z360 to Stark
Drew McIntyre b. Damian Priest – Claymore

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: January 19, 2024
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s a big week as Roman Reigns is back, this time for the four way contract signing for the Royal Rumble title match. That alone should be enough to carry the show, though we still have the rest of the Smackdown side of the card to be set up. That should include some new Rumble participants, which can make for some interesting moments. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, with Randy Orton showing up at the end to score the win.

The Bloodline welcomes Roman Reigns, who says he’s here to fix things. With Reigns gone, Solo Sikoa says he’ll fix everything.

Here is Nick Aldis to emcee the contract signing, meaning we get AJ Styles (who signs before anyone else can come out), LA Knight (signs as soon as he comes out), Randy Orton (three signatures) and….well Paul Heyman, who wants to look over the contract before Roman Reigns signs. Aldis says that’s fine, because the three who have signed can wrestle for the VACANT WWE Universal Title.

Heyman gets on the apron to say he admires the mediocre job that Aldis has done. He praises Aldis’ fashion sense but says no one can sell this kind of decision to anyone, because Reigns should be defending the title in a one on one match. Knight cuts it off and says that one on one match should be his, because the Bloodline cost him the title at Crown Jewel. Styles says Knight walked over him to get the title shot and the fight is on, leaving Orton to grab Heyman by the tie. Orton promises to take out Solo Sikoa tonight and then go on to RKO Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Good stuff here and it set up at least one match tonight.

Post break, AJ Styles gets a match with LA Knight made for tonight.

LWO vs. Legado del Fantasma

Zelina Vega is here with the LWO. Escobar bails from Carlito to start, allowing Angel to get in a cheap shot from behind. Del Toro comes in and springboards onto Angel, with Wilde coming in to take over. Humberto comes in and the LWO hit stereo dives to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Wilde in trouble and being dragged into the wrong corner so Garza can hit a running dropkick to the ribs. Wilde manages to flip into the air for a DDT (that was sweet and left Escobar stunned), allowing the hot tag off to Carlito. House is cleaned but Humberto hits a nice springboard spinning kick to Carlito’s face. Back up and Carlito hits Humberto with a chokebomb into the Backstabber. Escobar makes a blind tag though and rolls Carlito up for the pin at 8:25.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving as you might have expected but it still feels like they’re just killing time until we get to the big Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio showdown. Bringing back Legado is a good thing as there’s already a history to the team and we could get a nice variety of matches out of the thing. This was a good start and Carlito can take a bunch of losses without really being hurt.

Pretty Deadly is ready to face Tyler Bate and Butch.

Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits are ready for the Final Testament. Just name the time and the place.

Pretty Deadly vs. Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne

Yes Pete Dunne as the long awaited name change has FINALLY come through. Bate takes over on Wilson to start and hands it off to Dunne for some finger cranking. An armbar and leg stomp have various parts of Wilson in varying degrees of pain, followed by Bate’s airplane spin to the floor. We take a break and come back with Bate getting caught in the corner for a running uppercut. The chinlock doesn’t last long though as Bate gets over to Dunne for the tag to initiate the house cleaning. Bate takes out Wilson, leaving Dunne to give Prince the Bitter End for the pin at 7:22.

Rating: C+. This was all about one thing and it worked well, as this was the more aggressive Dunne, who looked good in his return. It’s not some huge change from Butch but there is a certain edge to him that wasn’t there before. Thankfully they’ve done what should have happened a long time ago and Dunne clearly still knows how to be his old self.

We recap Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens, with Paul threatening Owens with a lawsuit over a shot with the cast.

Pretty Deadly is livid over it being Pete Dunne instead of Butch and swear no more.

Here is Kevin Owens for the KO Show. Owens isn’t happy about it but introduces his guest: Logan Paul. Cue Paul, who says he would be honored to be here but he isn’t. It’s his show now because he is the show. Owens might not know it, but he is the reason Paul is in WWE. We see a clip of Owens Stunnering him at Wrestlemania XXXVII, which made 70,000 people cheer. That was when he realized he needed to show the world he could do this, though Owens says he barely remembers it.

Paul was just one of the people Owens Stunned, but yes Paul did become really good at this. At the end of the day though, Paul isn’t one of them and certainly isn’t a Kevin Owens. Paul: “Thank God!” Paul talks about everything he has done and everything he has accomplished, while Owens is just himself. Owens: “I don’t know what any of that meant.” He calls Paul a joke and that joke will end at the Royal Rumble.

Paul says he wasn’t listening to any of that and we hear about their knockout abilities. He’s ready to KO KO, who reminds Paul of how much punishment he can take. Owens goes to take off the cast but Paul decks him, setting off the brawl. Paul gets in another cheap shot and stands tall to wrap it up. The match and story are already set so it’s nice to see some extra building, with Paul having a motivation of his own.

Roman Reigns yells at the Bloodline but Solo Sikoa steps up to say last week was on him. Tonight, he’ll fix things.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Unholy Union

The Union (Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn) is challenging and Damage CTRL is on commentary. Carter gets jumped to start and a running knee gives Dawn two. A superkick gets the same but Carter gets back up and takes Dawn into the corner. Chance hurricanranas Dawn down onto Fyre for two but Dawn gets in a cheap shot. Fyre’s rollup gets two but it’s a Canadian Destroyer into into the assisted spinning moonsault for the pin to retain at 2:52.

Post match the Kabuki Warriors take the title belts and seem to get a title shot.

We get a quick tribute to Pat Patterson, who started the Royal Rumble and would have turned 83 today.

The Final Testament is ready to hurt Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits next week.

We look at Carmelo Hayes vs. Austin Theory ending in a no contest last week.

Hayes says he’d love to face Theory again so here is Theory to say…well he doesn’t want to do it again next week. Grayson Waller accepts for him, with Theory saying Waller has to quit doing that.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

Knight slugs away to start and hits a quick belly to back suplex. Styles grabs a rather hard headlock on the mat though, with Knight having to send him into the corner. Back up and Styles strikes away, only to have Knight punch his way out of trouble. Knight’s powerslam connects but Styles avoids a running knee in the corner. Styles sends him into the barricade, only to have Knight drive him face first into the announcers’ table instead. Cue Jimmy Uso for a distraction, with Solo Sikoa coming in to Spike Knight for the DQ at 4:45.

Rating: C. They started fast here but the match was more of a way to set up the main event than anything else. You don’t want one of them taking a fall on the way to the Royal Rumble so having Sikoa Spike one of them for the DQ was the smart way to go. Not much of a match, but they’re saving the big stuff for the Rumble.

Post match Sikoa Spikes Styles as well before saying “two down and one to go”. He wants Randy Orton out here night, but we’ll have to wait for a break.

Randy Orton vs. Solo Sikoa

Nick Aldis, with contract, is at ringside. The beating is on fast and Orton is knocked into the corner. The running hip attack connects and Orton is sent outside as we take an early break. Back with Orton throwing Sikoa over the announcers’ desk and hitting the hanging DDT. Cue Jimmy Uso but LA Knight cuts him off, sending Uso running…right into AJ Styles. That brings Styles to the ring, allowing Sikoa to load up the Spike. Orton isn’t having that though and RKO’s him for the pin at 5:18. Not enough shown to rate but the last two matches were pretty much all one big angle.

Post match Knight drops Styles but gets RKO’ed. Styles gets one of his own but Reigns comes in with the Superman Punch to Orton. Reigns signs and drops the contract in front of Aldis. The spear is loaded up…and countered into the RKO to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This definitely wasn’t a week about the wrestling, but the focus on the four way throughout the night was a good way to go and the Dunne reveal/return in the middle was a nice bonus. They threw a bunch of stuff out there in one night, though a good deal of it didn’t quite feel like it mattered. They got the important part though and if they don’t screw anything up next week, the Smackdown half of the Rumble is pretty set.

Results
Legado del Fantasma b. LWO – Rollup to Carlito
Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne b. Pretty Deadly – Bitter End to Prince
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Unholy Union – Assisted spinning moonsault to Fyre
LA Knight b. AJ Styles via DQ when Solo Sikoa interfered
Randy Orton b. Solo Sikoa – RKO

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 1, 2024
Location: Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s the first show of the new year and despite this show being against the College Football Playoffs, we’re getting a stacked show. Drew McIntyre is getting a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship and there are rumors of a former champion making a special appearance. Let’s get to it.

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are in the ring to open things up and run down the card, which is certainly a different way to go. The former WWE Champion is confirmed to be returning tonight as well.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax, which started over five years ago when Jax blasted Lynch with a right hand and hurt her. Then they didn’t do anything about it for years and now we’re having a showdown.

Nia Jax vs. Becky Lynch

Jax powers her around to start and shrugs off Becky’s right hands. A bearhug doesn’t work long for Jax but she easily blocks the Bexploder. Lynch is back up with a missile dropkick for two and we take a break. Back with Lynch getting two off a Molly Go Round but Jax runs her over. The legdrop misses though and they head outside, where Jax punches the post by mistake.

Becky avoids a cannonball against the barricade but Jax beats the count back in. The guillotine legdrop gives Lynch two so she goes for the armbar. That’s countered into a heck of a powerbomb for two so the Annihilator is loaded up. Lynch realizes that might hurt and goes up top, only to have a super Manhandle Slam countered into the super Samoan Drop for two. The crowd is VERY interested in the kickout so Jax sends her face first into the mat, followed by the Annihilator for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: C+. It’s one of Jax’s best matches ever and the fans were way into the near falls near the end. Lynch losing is a rare sight to see and in theory sets up Jax as the big challenger to Rhea Ripley in Australia at Elimination Chamber. That being said, I’m not sure where this leaves Lynch, save for a rematch where she gets her revenge down the line.

Lynch is bleeding from the mouth.

We recap Shinsuke Nakamura’s American Nightmare Before Christmas from a few weeks ago, leading to a brawl with Cody Rhodes.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes talks about how it’s a new year but he is stuck on Shinsuke Nakamura. It’s not because of the poem or the poison mist, but rather because this should be over. Rhodes wants to finish this now, so here is Nakamura on the screen. He’d rather wait a week so he can finish Rhodes’ story and then close the book. Nakamura mists the camera for added evil effect. That should do fine for a main event next week.

Kofi Kingston/Jey Uso vs. Imperium

Kofi is in shorts and sneakers, making me think he had a luggage issue. Kofi flips out of Vinci’s armbar to start but Vinci takes him into the corner anyway. Kaiser comes in and hammers away, including sending Kofi into the corner as we take a break. Back with Kofi dropkicking Vinci out of the air…and the match is stopped at 6:18 as Vinci is hurt. Not enough shown to rate due to the break and the injury but that crash was nasty.

Vinci does walk out after the match so that’s a big relief.

Video on the holiday tour.

Video on Ivy Nile.

Here is Miz for MizTV, featuring the Judgment Day as special guests. Actually never mind as here is R-Truth instead. Truth insists that the team was behind him but they slipped away. Miz asks if Truth is seeing invisible people again, which gets us a Little Jimmy reference. Truth sits down (in the one guest chair despite the whole team being scheduled) so Miz can ask him what exactly he does for the team. It turns out Truth does a lot of things, like trying to make the team more popular.

Cue JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio to say this is over, but Truth brings up McDonagh losing to be thrown off the team. Dominik gets booed out of the building over and over until he eventually asks Miz how bad his 2023 went. Miz talks about the moments he made, while Dominik’s lone moment was being spanked by Rey Mysterio. Then he got whipped by CM Punk over the holidays! Dominik issues the challenge for the tag match, but Truth isn’t sure which team he’s on. He thinks he’s teaming with Miz to turn on him, but then ducks McDonagh’s clothesline. The villains are cleared out and we take a break.

Miz/R-Truth vs. Judgment Day

Joined in progress with Miz taking Dominik down. Truth comes in for the twisting forearm to Mysterio as we talk about Awesome Truth for a change. A cheap shot puts Truth on the floor though and we take a break. Back with Truth getting on the apron next to Judgment Day and Miz sending Mysterio outside. McDonagh gets in a headbutt….and tags in Truth. Judgment Day isn’t sure what’s going on but they go with it anyway. Truth accidentally hits McDonagh though, allowing the Skull Crushing Finale (after Truth says “I’m sorry Miz. I love you.”) to finish for Miz at 7:23.

Rating: C. The match was goofy comedy and they aren’t hiding what they’re doing here. That’s a perfectly fine way to go as well, as Mysterio and McDonagh are hardly serious stars and beating them isn’t going to hurt them in any significant way. I could go for more of Truth and Miz, as the two of them have some very funny moments together.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven invade the club and want a rematch with Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. Instead they get drinks thrown in their faces, because this week is about dancing.

Rhea Ripley is ready to hurt Ivy Nile.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Ivy Nile

Ripley is defending but has to slip out of an early fireman’s carry attempt. That’s not cool with Ripley, who powers out and sends Nile face first into the mat. Nile is back up with a toss out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Nile striking away and hitting a leg lariat for two. Nile slips out of a belly to back suplex but gets caught with a heck of a headbutt.

A missile dropkick gives Ripley two but Nile’s suplex gets the same. Ripley drops her with a facebuster and clothesline, followed by a belly to back faceplant for two. Nile catches her on top though and, after pulling Ripley face first into the turnbuckle, grabs a bottom rope German superplex for two. Nile goes up but gets headbutted out of the air for a nasty crash. Riptide retains the title at 11:54.

Rating: C+. The problem for Ripley is she has so few serious challengers. Nile was trying here but clearly not ready for this level and that made an already obvious result a bit more obvious. The good thing here was Ripley sold for Nile and made her look a lot better than she would have otherwise. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Ripley back in the ring as that isn’t something that takes place very often these days.

It’s time for the return of a former WWE Champion and it’s…..Jinder Mahal. Even he acknowledges the disappointment before bragging about his success. Mahal rants about how divided the UNITED States are right now and goes into Punjabi. He’s happy because everyone is united in booing….their own National Anthem in Punjabi. Mahal talks about how he’s different than foreigners like the Iron Sheik, who exposed America for what it is. We get some more Punjabi but here’s THE ROCK for the big interruption.

After taking some time to get to the ring, Rock says Mahal is in trouble now. Mahal is right about one thing: he isn’t the Iron Sheik. We get a Sheik impression from Rock, before Rock tells Mahal why he sucks. Well hang on though as Sheik talks to Rock and tells him what to say: Mahal is the biggest as***** on God’s green earth. Also, no one likes him and he’s not funny. Rock: “If you were one of the Rock’s movies, it would be Baywatch.” Mahal: “I’ve never seen Baywatch.” Rock: “Well nobody else did either. Shut your mouth when the Rock is talking to you.”

Rock goes on about why America is great and doesn’t want to hear Mahal call himself the Modern Day Maharajah. Instead he calls Mahal the Day 1 Douchebag and gets the fans chanting it for him, bringing back the “this side says this and this side says that”. We get a version of the National Anthem, complete with what sounds like a steroids joke about Mahal, which is enough to trigger the fight. The Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow leave Mahal running off so Rock talks about going to get something to eat after the show. When he goes out, should he sit in a booth, at the bar, or…..at the head of the table?

Well. That happened. This was a long segment that is going to be remembered for six words at the end and that’s just fine. I’m not sure what the Rock is going to do or when he’s going to get in the ring (assuming he does), but there are a lot of interesting options out there for multiple shows coming up and this just made it better. I’m not the biggest Rock fan, but you can feel the energy when he is out there and he makes things seem bigger. Also: Rock’s stuff hasn’t aged well, but Mahal handled himself better than I would have expected here, even if he was little more than a means to an end.

Tegan Nox/Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark

Baszler runs Natalya over to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Nox hitting a Molly Go Round for two but Baszler runs her over. The Z360 finishes for Stark at 5:29. Another match without enough shown to rate, but this was the death spot of death spots.

Natalya does not seem pleased.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Rollins is defending and they go outside fast, with Rollins hitting a forearm off the steps. McIntyre can’t get an Alabama Slam but can hit a belly to belly on the floor as we take a break. Back with McIntyre still hammering away but McIntyre misses a charge into the post to put him outside again.

A suicide dive drops McIntyre again and they get back in. This time McIntyre heads up and gets superplexed back down, only to reverse Rollins’ Falcon Arrow into one of his own as we take a break. Back again with McIntyre hitting a super White Noise, followed by a neckbreaker. The Claymore is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two, followed by a low superkick. The Pedigree gives Rollins two and they both need a breather.

Cue Damian Priest with the briefcase and he blasts Rollins in the face! McIntyre Claymores Priest and drops Dominik Mysterio, followed by a Claymore to Rollins….but the cover pulls Rollins’ foot onto the rope. McIntyre can’t believe it so they go outside, with Rollins hitting a Pedigree onto the announcers’ table. Back in and the Stomp retains the title at 18:03.

Rating: B. I was getting into this one and they had me wondering where it was going with the Priest appearance. At the same time, McIntyre has no one to blame but himself here, which should push him further over the edge. Rollins gets another win to clear out McIntyre and we should be on the way to his showdown with Punk, which could very well headline one night of Wrestlemania. Good main event here, with the match getting some time to develop.

Priest is mad to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show that was more engaging/entertaining than good, as the main event was the only match that really delivered. The opener was good enough, two matches were really short (granted one was stopped early) and Ripley won a match without much drama. The thing is, there was one big moment on here and that is what will be remembered. WWE wanted to start the year off with a bang and that is what they did, delivering a show that might not have been great but did what it was supposed to do, which is more important.

Results
Nia Jax b. Becky Lynch – Annihilator
Jey Uso/Kofi Kingston b. Imperium via referee stoppage
Miz/R-Truth b. Judgment Day – Skull Crushing Finale to McDonagh
Rhea Ripley b. Ivy Nile – Riptide
Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark b. Tegan Nox/Natalya – Z360 to Nox
Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre – Stomp

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 18, 2023
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We have about five weeks to go before the Royal Rumble and the show’s namesake match is starting to come together. That would be due to CM Punk and Cody Rhodes both declaring for the match, which serves as quite the great start. Other than that, it is time to add some things to the card, which might start tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Judgment Day to get things going. The team is ready to defend the Tag Team Titles against the Creed Brothers, who are in for the biggest night of their lives. For the team, it’s just another night at the office. Rhea Ripley threatens violence against Ivy Nile but here is R-Truth to cut off Dominik Mysterio. He didn’t know the team was opening the show off, even though he’s the newest member of the team.

Truth was hurt by the team both physically and emotionally, with JD McDonagh threatening more pain. Truth is ready to fight, like say in a Miracle On 34th Street Fight! McDonagh points out that the match was already announced, so Truth says we need to get started because 34th Street is a long way off. We’ll even make it a Loser Leaves Judgment Day match! Priest approves so let’s go.

R-Truth vs. JD McDonagh

Street fight so McDonagh grabs the candy cane kendo stick. That’s cut off so they fight to the floor, where Truth hits him with a Christmas tree. They head inside and we take an early break. Back with Truth fighting out of a chinlock and grabbing a table. That takes too long so McDonagh gets in a cheap shot, only to be sprayed with a fire extinguisher. The table is set up inside and Truth kicks him down to set up a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Truth puts him on the table and goes up, only to get caught by McDonagh. That’s broken up as well as Truth…kind of hugs him into something like a spinebuster through the table for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C. This was the goofy match that you would have expected and there is nothing wrong with that. I could even have gone for more of the shenanigans with a bunch of silly weapons and Christmas decorations. It’s a Christmas tradition but it’s nice to have something important come out of the ending. Good opener here, even if it was the most basic of a street fight.

Dominik Mysterio knows that was bad, with a great “oh dang” face.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Woop wooping ensues.

Here is Nia Jax for a chat but Becky Lynch interrupts before she can say anything. Jax bails to the floor but Lynch thought she had something to say. Jax says she has more important things to do, though Lynch thinks the fans don’t care. The challenge is laid out, but Jax says no because she would break Lynch, who is the company’s money maker. Lynch calls out Jax being scared because she is always famous for being on someone’s back.

Jax is only famous for hurting Lynch and if they fight, she’s famous for being the one who lost to the best ever. The referee comes out but nah we’ll do this later, with Jax saying Lynch isn’t getting it now. We’ll do it in Jax’s hometown in two weeks at Day One. Lynch’s daughter is going to ask why her mom is uglier than usual so Lynch charges at her to start the quickly broken up fight.

Earlier tonight, Kofi Claus appeared to give fans presents.

Kofi Claus is in the back and asks DIY what they want. That would be the Tag Team Titles, but they’ll settle for a Jey Uso shirt instead. Miz comes in and they’re cool after last week, while Miz is ready to get the Intercontinental Title back.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and this is Miz’s last shot at him. Miz gets powered down to start but comes up looking rather serious. Gunther gets a bit too cocky and gets pulled into a leglock, with Miz mocking the Imperium pose and cranking back. The rope is grabbed so Gunther heads outside, where he hits a hard chop and apron powerbomb as we take a break.

Back with Gunther hitting a big boot, sending Miz out to the apron. Miz’s comeback is cut off by a hard chop, meaning Gunther can call him a nobody. For some reason Miz tries to chop with Gunther and finds that to be a very bad idea in a hurry. The running corner clothesline works a bit better but Gunther pulls him out of the air. Miz gets dropped onto the top rope and Gunther chokes with a boot to send him outside again. This time the big chop hits post and we take another break.

Back again with Miz working on the hand and arm before grabbing a DDT. A tornado DDT gives Miz two and it’s time to stomp away at the hand. Gunther’s legs are fine enough to hit the shotgun dropkick and it’s the powerbomb into the Boston crab. The bad hand gives out though and Miz is able to make the rope for the save.

A quick Skull Crushing Finale gives Miz two of his own and the fans want one more. Gunther isn’t having that though and kicks him down, only to get caught on top. A middle rope Skull Crushing Finale connects but Gunther rolls out to the floor in a smart/soul crushing escape. Back in and Gunther hits a powerbomb into the hard clothesline into another powerbomb to retain at 21:12.

Rating: B+. We’re firmly at a point where it’s hard to imagine Gunther losing, but at the same time, people are getting closer and closer to taking the title. The good thing is that the matches are still awesome and that means it is going to be a heck of a moment when someone finally slays the beast. Gunther is primed for a main event run and the title has grown so much during his reign. At the same time, Miz is a great choice to put in this spot, as he is a successful enough to be a threat but isn’t going to be hurt by the loss. Awesome match.

Video on the Creed Brothers.

Post break Imperium applauds Gunther on his win but he’s tired of the two of them skating by. He’s going to take a few weeks off and he expects them to step up while he’s gone. With Gunther gone, Kofi Claus comes in with presents for both of them: coal! And it’s not even Michael!

Shinsuke Nakamura is sitting in front of a Christmas tree and reads us a special story: the American Nightmare Before Christmas. He doesn’t seem too fond of Cody Rhodes, calling him (in rhyme): a bastard, a cancer, a prancer a nitwit, vomit, stupid and the son of an inbred father. Merry Christmas to Cody, because Nakamura is his last fight. Then Cody jumps him and they fight into the arena. Cody beats him to ringside and takes out security but they break up a Cross Rhodes through the announcers’ table. Good fight, better rhyming.

Akira Tozawa tells Adam Pearce that he wants an unspecified match. With Tozawa down, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven aren’t happy that they have to defend their titles tonight. They leave, so Bronson Reed comes in to talk about an Intercontinental Title shot.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven

Green and Niven are defending. Carter headscissors Green on the mat to start so it’s off to Chance for a slingshot hilo. Niven comes in to run her over but a dropkick to the knee gives Chance a chance. The After Party is broken up by Green though and Niven runs both of them over as we take a break.

Back with Niven splashing Green by mistake, allowing Carter to hit a springboard spinning legdrop for two. Green’s Rough Ryder gets two and frustration is setting in. Niven crushes Carter but she’s back up with a heck of a superkick. The Keg Stand splash gets two with Green making the save this time. I’m Prettier is countered into a Codebreaker and the After Party gives us new champions at 9:37.

Rating: C+. It’s not the worst idea to change the titles as Chance and Carter are at least a regular team for a change. The titles have been a bit of a mess throughout their history and a lot of that is due to having teams thrown together. Odds are the title reign doesn’t last long, but at least it’s something fresh.

The Alpha Academy is warming up when Akira Tozawa comes in to say he’s facing Ivar. Chad Gable isn’t sure about this but we’re on anyway.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are happy with their win so here is Kofi Claus to celebrate with them. Various other women think they should be the challengers as I still want to know what kind of cards Shayna Baszler has every week.

Akira Tozawa vs. Ivar

Maxxine Dupri and Valhalla are here too. Tozawa slugs away to start but his middle rope hurricanrana is pulled out of the air. A spike DDT plants Ivar, who crushes Tozawa to cut him off again. Ivar misses the top rope splash though and Tozawa does the Hulk Hogan shirt rip. The women get into it on the floor and Tozawa’s top rope backsplash gets two. Ivar kicks him in the head but the moonsault is broken up. Instead it’s a middle rope World’s Strongest Slam to finish Tozawa at 4:06.

Rating: C. This was better than I was expecting and I’ll take that most of the time. Tozawa can still go in the ring and when he isn’t making it clear that he is the designated comedy guy of the Alpha Academy, he can still be quite sold. Ivar winning is the right way to go, but at least he had to break a sweat for once.

Long video on CM Punk/Seth Rollins’ showdown last week.

Here is Iowa’s own Seth Rollins for a chat. Things have been heating up around here for him lately and now he is motivated to be the best World Champion in this industry. He’s ready to defend the title against Drew McIntyre in two weeks at Day One…so here is McIntyre to interrupt.

McIntyre says he isn’t here to fight because he likes what Rollins said to Punk last week. He got to go home a few weeks ago and it had him questioning if this was all worth it. Rollins, as well as his wife, know what it’s like to have to sacrifice all kinds of things to chase their dreams. McIntyre needs the title to know that the sacrifices, such as not being there when his mom passed away, were all worth it.

Rollins says no one knows how to feel about McIntyre because his words and actions haven’t lined up. He likes McIntyre wanting to do everything to be champion…except take responsibility. Rollins doesn’t hate McIntyre, because he pities him. The fight is on and it’s an Alabama Slam to put Rollins onto the steps. Rollins is holding his elbow as McIntyre leaves. There’s your story for the title match and that should be a good one.

Cody Rhodes gives the Creed Brothers a pep talk and they’re downright giddy.

Kofi Claus is here to give out more presents but Imperium jump him for a beatdown. Barrett: “IT’S NOT SANTA! IT’S KOFI KINGSTON!” Jey Uso runs in for the save and it seems to be a match.

Jey Uso vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Actually not a tag match for once. Joined in progress with Uso working on a headlock until Kaiser takes him down and hammers away. A reverse chinlock keeps Uso down and Giovanni Vinci’s cheap shot gets two. Kaiser knocks him outside and hits a running elbow as we take a break. Back with Uso enziguring his way out of trouble and firing off the dancing right hands. The running Umaga Attack gets two but a Samoan drop is broken up. Kaiser’s wind up DDT is broken up so Vinci gets in a cheap shot, only to have Kofi Kingston cut him off. A spear into the Superfly Splash finishes for Uso at 10:28.

Rating: C. A good chunk of that was cut off by the break but it was a fine middle of the road match with Uso getting a win. The bigger deal here is likely going to be Gunther wanting to deal with Imperium when he gets back and that is going to be a problem. Uso needs something to do though and it might be a bit before that gets to take place if he’s likely to be just another entry in the Royal Rumble.

JD McDonagh is….still in Judgment Day, at least for now, as Damian Priest isn’t allowed to make that kind of a decision. Rhea Ripley is going to deal with Ivy Nile at Day One so the rest of the team better handle their business tonight.

Here’s what’s coming in two weeks.

Tag Team Titles: Creed Brothers vs. Judgment Day

Judgment Day (Damian Priest/Finn Balor, with Rhea Ripley) are defending and Ivy Nile is here with the Creeds. Julius wrestles Balor down to start but the Creeds clear the ring to start. We take a break and come back with Brutus fireman’s carrying Balor down as Ripley isn’t pleased with any of this.

Priest tags himself in though and Julius is low bridged to the floor. There’s a ram into the steps (Ripley approves) but Julius kicks his way out of trouble back inside. Brutus comes back in to clean house, including a torture rack slam for two on Balor. Priest comes in off a blind tag though and kicks Brutus outside, setting up a heck of a Pounce over the announcers’ table.

We take another break and come back again with Brutus pulling Priest out of the air and eventually suplexing him down. Julius and Balor come in with the former snapping off the suplexes into the nip ups. A running shooting star press hits Balor but Priest breaks up the Brutus Ball. Balor and Julius hit a clothesline each, leaving Ripley and Nile to get in a fight.

The Brutus Ball gets two as Priest makes a last second save. Julius hits a running up the corner flip dive outside onto Priest before taking Balor to the top, only to have Priest make a blind tag. Instead it’s a Brutus Ball to Priest, with Balor making the save off a Coup de Grace. South Of Heaven finishes Julius to retain the titles at 16:13.

Rating: B. I’m fine with the Creeds not winning here as they’re not ready for their big moment just yet. They clearly have the skills to go a long way but putting them over two stars at this level might be a stretch too far. Judgment Day gets a nice win as they go into the new year, though I’m not quite sure who is going to be next for the titles at this point. DIY maybe?

Overall Rating: B. This show was carried by two matches and that is not a bad way to go. The main event and Intercontinental Title match were both very good and there was enough good stuff to get through the rest of the night. What matters the most here is setting things up for Day 1, as next week is a week off (all but announced at this point). That should set the stage for the Royal Rumble later in January and the table has been well set to set the table.

Results
R-Truth b. JD McDonagh – Middle rope slam through a table
Gunther b. The Miz – Powerbomb
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven – After Party to Green
Ivar b. Akira Tozawa – Super World’s Strongest Slam
Jey Uso b. Ludwig Kaiser – Superfly Splash
Judgment Day b. Creed Brothers – South Of Heaven to Julius

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