Beast in the East
Date: July 4, 2015
Location: Ryugoku Sumo Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton

This is one of those times where the WWE Network shows how amazing it really is. Instead of a pay per view or TV show, they’ve basically sent cameras to film a major house show and we get to watch it because we’re lucky that we have the Network in our lives. The main draw is of course Brock Lesnar in a rare match as he faces Kofi Kingston in what could be a lot of fun. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the only two things that matter: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens and Brock Lesnar. Does anything else matter?

It’s a really basic set with a short aisle and a square Titantron. I like that.

Neville vs. Chris Jericho

That’s quite the opener. The fans are mainly behind Jericho but the LET’S GO NEVILLE chants sneak in there. Feeling out process to start with Jericho working on a wristlock but getting sent out to the floor for his efforts. Back in and we hit a bow and arrow hold on Neville, only to have him flip over into a cover for two.

They’re working a nice technical style to start here. Cole talks about their histories and my mind is blown as we hear about Dragon Gate and FMW on WWE programming. Back up and Neville tries some flips, only to be sent out to the floor. The springboard dropkick puts him down again and the fans are eating up some Canadian hero.

We hit the chinlock back inside as Jericho is working a very simple heel style while still being a face for the crowd. An enziguri gets two on Neville. Cole: “And now Neville may be the one heading back to the locker room.” So is Jericho just going to stand out there if he wins? It’s not the worst idea in the world but as usual, Cole doesn’t think before he speaks. Neville fights back up and goes to the top but Jericho is right there waiting to knock him down. Very nicely done there as you can see the story they’re telling here.

Jericho’s superplex is countered but he has to roll through a Red Arrow attempt. A try at a hurricanrana goes even worse as Jericho counters into the Walls for a very solid reaction from the crowd. The ropes are quickly grabbed though and Neville hits a quick dropkick and standing shooting star for two. Jericho forearms him down and hits the Lionsault for the same. The Codebreaker connects but Jericho takes his time covering so we keep going. Neville pops back up with the delayed German and a superkick but the Red Arrow hits knees, setting up the Liontamer (yes Liontamer) for the submission at 16:13.

Rating: B. Huh? They spent the entire match setting up Neville’s big comeback to beat Jericho and then they have him win? I’m not sure on that one but at least Neville looked great in there. I was really digging the story they were going with here Jericho being one step ahead of Neville and cutting him off at every turn while treating him as someone beneath him with all of his cockiness. Good match with a questionable result but the fans dug the heck out of the Liontamer so points for giving them something to cheer for. Jericho was the heel here, but it was very basic at best.

Brock is here.

Divas Title: Nikki Bella vs. Tamina vs. Paige

Nikki is defending and it could be interesting to hear how the fans treat this one. Cole, ever the genius, calls the former Women’s Champion Bull Nakana (it’s Nakano, as Byron Saxton corrects him. Yes, Byron Saxton is the smart one on this team). Paige takes over to start but actually works with Nikki to suplex Tamina. You know, because Tamina is so big that you can’t suplex her.

Nikki takes over as you can hear some very loud spots being called. The champ loads up a superplex but the referee is nice enough to tell Tamina to get back in so she can do the Tower of Doom. Tamina gets sent outside again though because she really has no reason to be here other than likely taking the fall later. The Rampaige gets two on Nikki because she killed that move during one of their title matches. It’s Tamina in again though with a superkick to Paige but Nikki rolls away from the Superfly Splash, setting up the forearm to retain at 7:13.

Rating: C-. This was fine and basically a Raw Divas match. Nikki is pretty clearly getting the Divas Title record because it’s going to make us forget about AJ Lee or something like that, because only WWE really cares about these things. You can see the other Divas having to take it back a notch to let her keep up, but Nikki is a lot better than she used to be.

Brock Lesnar video, which might as well be Kofi’s last rites.

Kofi Kingston vs. Brock Lesnar

Just Kofi here and surprisingly no Heyman. For some reason I don’t see him as being a big deal in Japan. Kofi is smart enough to bail to the floor to start and we’re told that New Day’s tag match took place before the show went on the air. I was wondering how they were going to be able to fit the whole seven match card in two hours, but did anyone really need to see New Day vs. Lucha Dragons? Cole mentions Brock being the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, which is always interesting to hear in WWE.

The chase is on for a few seconds but the inevitable beating quickly begins. Kofi’s cross body works as well as you would expect it to work and a dropkick to the back just annoys Brock even more. Kofi flips out of a German and goes after the knee for as much effect as it’s going to have. There’s the first German though and the Japanese fans chant SUPLEX CITY. German #2 makes Kofi’s hair bounce in a good bit. The fans try to cheer for Kingston so Brock just destroys him with the F5 for the pin at 2:58. This was exactly what it should have been.

Brock throws in a few more Germans because he can, followed by some F5’s to an invading New Day. Again, this is exactly what it should have been.

In case you’re wondering about the other two advertised matches, Cesaro beat Diego by submission and the Lucha Dragons pinned the New Day in dark matches.

Quick recap of the NXT Title match, which should be main eventing but instead we’re getting a lame tag match because that’s how WWE works. Anyway, Finn Balor made his name in Japan and is coming back home as the Demon to take the title from NXT Champion Kevin Owens. Kevin simply said it’s not going to happen.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

We get the Demon entrance and oh yes it’s still glorious. For a bonus, the camera changes to an arena shot at the crescendos of the music. To make it feel even more special, we get the full on flower presentation from geisha girls (Owens throws his into the crowd of course) and streamers for both guys. Get this through your head ROH: doing the same thing for every match doesn’t make it feel more special. Hideo Itami is shown in the front row and we’re ready to start. Balor has more paint than ever with his face, torso and left leg covered.

Balor charges at the bell and loads up the Coup de Grace in the first ten seconds. Owens rolls outside so Balor nails a big dive as the NXT chants start up. He tries to bail again and eats a baseball slide as Balor is all over him. Back in and Owens hammers away to take over for the first time. Owens: “AND THAT’S WHY I’M THE CHAMP!” We hear more of Balor’s accomplishments in New Japan as Owens takes some bows.

It’s off to Chinlock City before a forearm breaks up Balor’s springboard. The slow pace is working for Kevin here and it fits him very well. Finn beats the count back in but takes the backsplash for two. Back in and Owens snapmares him down and runs the ropes….before stopping for a chinlock. Owens: “Are you not impressed? I don’t care. I hate this country and all its stupid people!” Balor fights back again with a middle rope forearm for two so Owens does Cena’s finishing sequence, complete with an attempted AA.

Balor is afraid of a lawsuit over gimmick infringement (only Kurt Angle can steal that many finishers) and slips out twice in a row. Bloody Sunday is teased (and the fans gasp) but it’s a Pele Kick to put Owens down instead. Owens takes a big flip dive and a top rope double stomp to the back, followed by a reverse Bloody Sunday (not called that of course) for a VERY close two. The Coup de Grace misses though and Owens’ Cannonball gets two. The package piledriver slam gets the same but Balor hits a quick Sling Blade.

Another Coup de Grace is countered so Balor kicks him in the head and FINALLY connects with the stomp….for two. Dang I thought that was it. Owens can’t hit the swinging fisherman’s superplex so he settles for a middle rope Regal Roll for two. That looked great. Kevin’s Swanton hits knees and the real Bloody Sunday gets an even closer two. They’re trading bombs here and it’s getting awesome. Owens makes the eternal mistake of slapping a hero in the face and saying the hero can’t beat him. Balor dropkicks him into the corner, hits a running corner dropkick and a second Coup de Grace for the title at 19:30.

Rating: B+. Was there ever any doubt that this was going to be awesome? Owens is one of the best heels that I’ve seen in years and he does everything he can do to make you hate him. The fact that he can go as well as he does in the ring makes him even better, which is saying quite a bit as he’s that good as a character.

Tatsumi Fujinami comes in to congratulate the new champion. Owens of course refuses a handshake because he’s a true heel.

Kane/King Barrett vs. John Cena/Dolph Ziggler

Here’s a match that no one wants to see because it’s lame even by house show standards band WWE didn’t think this stuff through. And Lana isn’t even here, though to be fair she wouldn’t make sense out there with Cena. Ziggler shoulders Barrett down to start so it’s off to the power guys, meaning Kane gets to bore main event crowds in a new country. Cole: “Cena has restored credibility to what many would admit was a rather stagnant United States Title.” Oh yeah Vince isn’t listening.

Cena slugs away at Kane for no effect, just as he’s done about 194 times over the years. Maybe if we’re lucky Kane will break a hole in the ring and be a demon/monster again. Barrett chinlocks Cena before it’s back to Kane, who bores the announcers so much that they start name dropping Japanese wrestlers and co-promoted shows. Cole: “It’s amazing to know that COO HHH is watching this show live.” No Cole, it isn’t.

Barrett comes back in for some big right hands as the announcers keep trying to find ANYTHING to talk about here. Another Barrett chinlock slows things down even more but Cena comes back with an AA to a very limited reaction. Kane breaks up the tag but can’t hit a chokeslam, so Cena, ever the genius, tries an AA. Since it’s against Kane though, the powers of history and Cena’s strength don’t work because Cena can usually do that on Henry and Big Show but can’t handle the 100lb lighter man.

ANOTHER chinlock makes the match drag on even further but Barrett misses an elbow to finally allow Ziggler to get the hot tag. Dolph cleans house….and gets taken down again so this match can keep going for reasons I do not understand. Just let Cena AA Barrett for the pin already. We hit the double arm stretch on Dolph before Winds of Changes is countered into a crucifix for two. The FIFTH chinlock of this match is followed by Barrett’s apron knees and yet another chinlock.

Winds of Change stops Ziggler again and Kane does the old Arn Anderson drop down onto the back until he crotches himself. Now usually that would mean a hot tag, but why do that when you can have Kane hit a big boot and a double back elbow from the heels to keep this going? The chokeslam is countered and Ziggler finally hits the jumping DDT for the hot tag. Cena AA’s Kane with ease (because this match has erased the last ten minutes from history) and hits another on Barrett for the pin at a mind numbing 23:52.

Rating: D. The match wasn’t even horrible but you could have cut out at least ten minutes of this and done the exact same match. Rusev would have made a lot more sense than Barrett but for some reason they didn’t change this match to ANYTHING else. The time was the real problem here as it went on forever and the chinlocks killed any interest there might have been here.

A big celebration ends the show. Cole: “You and I actually trended on Twitter tonight!” Is there really any other way to end this? Thankfully the last shot of the show is Balor holding up the title.

Overall Rating: B. Here’s the thing: this show had two goals to take care of: Brock Lesnar being all destructive and a good NXT Title match with Balor getting the belt. They nailed those two things to near perfection, so anything else was a bonus. Luckily there was a good opener and a fine Divas match, but that main event killed a lot of the energy the show had. They really should have aired one of the other matches in its place, because that was the completely wrong choice to end the show. This should have ended with Balor pinning Owens, not a lame tag match. Still though, really fun stuff for a glorified house show.

Results

Chris Jericho b. Neville – Red Arrow

Nikki Bella b. Paige and Tamina – Forearm to Tamina

Brock Lesnar b. Kofi Kingston – F5

Finn Balor b. Kevin Owens – Coup de Grace

John Cena/Dolph Ziggler b. Kane/King Barrett – AA to Barrett

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

I’m back…..eventually.  I join NorCal about ten minutes in to talk about TNA’s latest woes, ROH, the Beast in the East and Battleground.  Plus Dimension X.

http://mightynorcal.podbean.com/e/wwp-16-we-start-off-with-a-solo-effort-that-turns-into-a-kb-run-in-we-cover-beast-in-the-east-battleground-mock-tna-even-a-roh-segment/

Things are changing in WWE as we’ve come off the spring series of rapid fire pay per views and it’s now time to get going towards Summerslam. Lesnar is back and hunting for Rollins and the title, despite the fact that Rollins is now all alone. Let me emphasize that line, because the logic is about to go flying out the window. Let’s get to it.

The show opened with Lesnar and Heyman coming out for the big face turn interview, even though he’s been a face since the night after Wrestlemania. There wasn’t anything special here, but Brock is going to suplex Rollins a lot because Rollins is the chosen one and Brock is the Beast. He also apologized to Cole and JBL to wipe those things off the books. Yeah it’s stupid, but I’ll take that over just throwing something up on WWE.com.

Rollins’ distraction let Kane pin Dean Ambrose. Somehow their solution to Ambrose getting white hot again is to have him lose to Kane, even if there was some interference. This felt like some reason to keep Rollins vs. Ambrose going or maybe move up to the idea that Ambrose had no one helping him, but the main story is what I’ll get to at the end of this.

The Prime Time Players beat the Ascension. That’s all there really is to say here.

Sheamus beat Roman Reigns via DQ when Bray Wyatt distracted him with the idea of having a tea party with Reigns’ daughter. This was a nice power brawl but the big story here was that they kept Sheamus looking strong after his Money in the Bank win. That’s not something you often see, especially with them adding in the build to Reigns vs. Wyatt. Speaking of which, how nice is it that Wyatt has a point to all of his talking? Now if Reigns’ daughter doesn’t actually appear then it’s a big waste of time, but that could be said about so many of Wyatts’ stories.

Neville beat Kofi Kingston in another pretty nothing match. I’ve already written a column on the whole idea of having stars beat jobbers to the stars, and in short, I really hope it continues as it’s an idea that works very well.

King Barrett beat Zack Ryder in the same match that Prime Time Players and Ascension had. That’s kind of the theme tonight: short matches that really don’t change a lot.

Cena did his usual promo, but threw in some French and whatever Chinese dialect he spoke to talk about Owens being a foreign heel. Of course there’s going to be a title match at Battleground, but these two are really starting to run out of things to say to each other. Maybe, just maybe, they should have waited a little while between their matches, but that would go against the only logic and storytelling style WWE knows how to do these days.

We’re going to skip the Authority promos for now.

The Bellas beat Tamina and Naomi in a lame tag match. This felt like making the Bellas faces again, and if that’s the case, I give up on the Bellas. There’s a chance they could be interesting characters, but these constant heel/face turns are driving me insane. That being said, this might just have been a heel vs. heel match and that would make things acceptable. Not interesting mind you but acceptable.

Ryback beat Mark Henry in another theme match of the night. There’s not much to talk about here but Ryback beat up Big Show in the back post match. The key thing here though was they talks about Ryback’s parents speaking for the first time in fifteen years because he won the Intercontinental Title. Again, see the column for more details, but this was a great thing.

Dolph Ziggler beat Adam Rose and Lana is still nothing after being insanely over for a few weeks. She did however take her hair down (into a ponytail) and Summer Rae consoled Rusev because this story is still going for reasons I can’t fathom. I’m less angry about it now, but that’s because I’m resigned to how much of a waste the Rusev vs. Cena feud really was.

Now let’s get this over with. You might know that I don’t really care for the Authority because I find them to be horrible heels most of the time because it turns into a vanity project for them and Stephanie is untouchable and we must hear her take on everything from her charity of the week to the Ultimate Warrior to how John Cena is disrespecting Andre the Giant by wanting to be in his namesake battle royal because Andre the Giant was HER friend (and no, I still have no idea what the point of that was).

However, this story got on my nerves because the story makes no sense. So the Authority wanted to teach Rollins a lesson by taking away his help and making him fight on his own. They brought in Brock Lesnar and smirked at him, then suggested that he go and get the Authority back together……and then they let the team reform to fight off Lesnar, MAKING THIS ENTIRE STORY A WASTE OF TIME.

Their solution to Rollins being cocky is to take away his help. Their solution to him not having help is to give the help back. Someone explain how this makes sense to me. This whole thing continues the lack of logic behind the Authority story and serves no real reason other than to let HHH and Stephanie be the King and Queen that everyone must bow down to and ask for sage advice because how can anyone do anything on their own without those two helping? I don’t even want them gone (thought it would be nice) but at least let them be well written.

This show was fine outside of the main event stuff, which is just a badly written story with less of a plot hole and more of a few walls holding up the plot ceiling missing. The way they moved the midcard stories forward while not wasting a big match was a nice touch and overshadowed the Authority stuff, but I really need an explanation for why Kane and Mercury are helping Rollins again after the Authority made it clear that they weren’t going to be helping him.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: June 24, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

We’re getting closer to the big July 4^th showdown for the title and that means Finn Balor needs to rack up a few wins. Up first we have the second half of the big sitdown interview with Balor, which is likely focusing on his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Other than that we might get some fallout from Joe vs. Owens from last week. Let’s get to it.

We open with the roster on the stage and HHH talking about the loss of Dusty Rhodes. Dusty was family to everyone on this stage because he thought they were his kids. HHH, barely able to keep his voice together, asks for a moment of silence as the bell rings ten times.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Hideo Itami for his first comments since being injured. He acknowledges that he’ll be out another 3-4 months due to his shoulder injury but promises to come back and win the NXT Title. This brings out Kevin Owens, who is glad Itami will be in Japan for the July 4 show, but it’s cute to hear Itami imply that Owens won’t be leaving Japan as NXT Champion. Owens slips up on the word delusional but makes up for it by saying he sounds like Itami trying to speak English.

However, there are two things Kevin wants to make clear. First of all, he didn’t hurt Itami because if he did, there’s no chance Itami would be standing there. The other reason is because Owens wants an apology for Itami implying that Owens attacked him. Itami calls him a terrible human being, so Owens thinks that if he’s going to be accused of hurting Itami, he might as well do it. Kevin comes to the ring but Balor comes out for the save, only to have Rhyno jump Balor and knock him off the stage.

Balor vs. Rhyno later tonight.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Jason Jordan/Sylvester LeFort

The entrance sounds a bit faster this week but Enzo makes up for it by saying he sees two mushrooms from Mario’s world in the ring: they’re about to get flattened. Cassady’s part didn’t sound very smooth but he got the lines out well enough. I had been wondering what happened to LeFort. Colin puts Sylvester down to start and slams Enzo down on top of him for two, only to have Jordan tag himself in and catch Enzo in a slam. LeFort’s cobra clutch doesn’t get him very far so it’s quickly off to Jordan, who gets rolled up for the pin at 2:32.

After last week’s main event, Joe talks about hearing the people chant LET THEM FIGHT. He got the fight he wanted but he didn’t get the fight he wanted (not a typo) because Owens is still walking. Joe wants Owens again.

Dana Brooke vs. Cassie

Brooke has Emma in her corner and Cassie is K.C. Cassidy. A quick rollup gets two on Brooke and a headscissors puts her down again. That’s enough for Dana as she throws Cassie down and gets two off a slam. Dana cranks on an arm and leg at the same time while advising Cassie to tap. Cassie comes back with something like a Thesz press and some clotheslines but Dana Whiplashes her off the top for the pin at 3:36.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t quite a squash as Cassie got to show some spunk, which means she’ll probably be pushed as something more serious when she gets some more ring time. Brooke is still definitely a work in progress, but if there’s one thing NXT has shown it can do, it’s take their girls and improve improve them about ten fold overnight.

Charlotte isn’t worried about Dana.

It’s time for part two of Balor’s sitdown interview, which starts with some clips of Sami Zayn hanging out at his house. Balor likes to put jigsaw puzzles together (amen brother) and still plays with Legos while watching old pay per views. Suddenly I’m digging the heck out of this guy.

NXT head trainer Matt Bloom (actually called that here instead of Jason Albert) talks about meeting Fergal Devitt in Japan about eight years ago. We get some pictures of them hanging out over the years, including Bloom pulling Devitt’s pants down as they posed for a picture. Bloom explains the concept of a young boy and we see some stills and videos of Fergal’s time in new Japan. Prince Devitt was someone obsessed with trying to master the Japanese style and he felt more like Prince than Fergal over there.

Then WWE came calling right around the annual Tokyo Dome show and Fergal wasn’t sure if he could do it or not. He had to try though because there was nothing left for him to prove in Japan so here he is, with Sami Zayn and Mojo Rawley sitting on his couch in the background. He calls it an incredible journey but it’s still continuing. Next week: the NXT days.

Bull Dempsey has been trying to get in better shape without much success. This is shown through a series of Instagram shots of Dempsey falling asleep while trying to train. So he’s narcoleptic instead of just fat?

Hype Bros vs. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins

That would of course be Rawley and Zack Ryder. You know what? Why not? It’s not like Ryder has ANYTHING better to do. Mojo runs Dawkins over to start and it’s off to Ryder for a nice dropkick to Fulton. Back to Rawley for HAMMER TIME, allowing the amateur guys to take over with the old Benjamin jumping over Haas’ back onto Mojo’s back spot. A backdrop ends Angelo’s offense and it’s off to Ryder for all his usual stuff. The Broski Boot gets two and everything breaks down. Rawley holds Dawkins up for a middle rope Rough Ryder and the pin at 4:00.

Rating: C-. Ryder and Rawley have a weird chemistry together and I’ve always been a fan of Zack so it’s cool to see him do something other than losing to Rusev in 45 seconds. Fulton, Dawkins and Jordan seem like the perfect choice for a stable along with Chad Gable but for some reason the Shoot Nation stable was called off. They’re still fine for roles like this though and you can easily rally them together later.

Eva Marie wants a match but Regal needs proof that she has more than charm.

Finn Balor vs. Rhyno

Kevin Owens comes out and shoves Byron away from his chair to do commentary. Balor takes it to Rhyno to start and slugs him down in the corner. Rhyno gets sent out to the floor as Owens denies attacking Itami again. A big flip dive puts Rhyno down again and gets two back inside. Owens promises to win on July 4, even though he doesn’t know what it is. “I’m Canadian so it doesn’t mean anything to me. Independence Day? Will Smith? Good movie.”

Rhyno gets in his first offense with a spinebuster and puts on a bearhug. Owens has completely taken over commentary by ripping on Brennan, because Kevin doesn’t believe that Brennan has talked to anyone on the roster. “I’ve seen them running away from you.” Owens now has his arm around Saxton and has pulled Byron’s head onto his shoulder. We take a break and come back with Balor fighting out of a second bearhug.

Owens is annoyed at all the questions Brennan is asking him as Balor gets two off a dropkick to the side of the head. That earns him a northern lights suplex but Balor staggers him with a Pele Kick. The Coup de Grace is loaded up but Owens comes down for a distraction, allowing Rhyno to hit the belly to belly. The Gore is countered by a kick to the face though and the Sling Blade sets up the Coup de Grace for the pin at 11:40.

Rating: C+. This was fine. The idea behind Rhyno is that he’s intense enough to lose every big match he’s in, beat some jobbers, and then come back for another loss to make someone look good. There’s awesome value in that and it’s something you can never have enough of. Balor vs. Owens is going to be awesome, especially if the demon shows up.

Owens comes in and double teams Balor until Samoa Joe comes in for the save, likely setting up a tag match next week.

Overall Rating: C. Not their best show this week but they did a good job of setting up Balor vs. Owens in less than two weeks. Other than that they have enough feuds and stories going on to set up a big non-Takeover show before we get to the REALLY big stuff down the line. Good effort this week, even though it was mainly a placeholder outside of the main story.

Results

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Jason Jordan/Sylvester LeFort – Rollup to Jordan

Dana Brooke b. Cassie – Whiplash

Hype Bros b. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins – Middle rope Rough Ryder to Dawkins

Finn Balor b. Rhyno – Coup de Grace

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 22, 2015
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

Things have started changing again in WWE with Brock Lesnar returning last week to go establish himself as the new challenger for Seth Rollins and the World Title. Other than that we still have Sheamus waiting in the rings for the title shot, which could be the case for a long time to come. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with the Beast himself and Heyman gives us a recap of what got Lesnar suspended back in the spring. This includes Rollins running from a title rematch and of course shows us Stephanie ripping off Brock’s balls because Heaven forbid we forget that. In order for Lesnar to officially return, he has to apologize to Cole and JBL. Lesnar of course doesn’t seem interested in doing so but eventually shakes JBL’s hand and rubs Cole head before shoving him into his chair.

Heyman would also like to issue an apology in advance to the chosen boy Seth Rollins. Seth was the first NXT Champion (“Gee I wonder how that happened.”) and has since been heavily protected. Now we have what’s beast for business (yes beast) because Rollins has a first class ticket to Suplex City. Brock is the once and future champion and he’s taking his title back at Battleground. This felt like the face turn promo, but it wasn’t really a turn as he left as a face.

Dean Ambrose vs. Kane

As this feud continues. Kane grabs a suplex to start and punches Ambrose in the face, followed by stomping him around the ring. Kane certainly doesn’t subscribe to the concept of mixing it up. A cross body puts Kane down and Dean follows him to the floor, only to be throw right back in. Kane sidesteps a dive and throws him into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Kane putting on a chinlock followed by a running DDT for two. Ambrose finally grabs a neckbreaker but has to stop for a nap after Kane has put everyone to sleep. Kane charges into the buckle and gets low bridged to the floor. That goes nowhere so Dean hits the rebound clothesline for two but here’s Rollins for the distraction, allowing Kane to load up the chokeslam, only to have Dean escape and hit a suicide dive. Dean goes up top and gets chokeslammed back down for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: D. So Rollins is trying to get recruits onto his side before he has to fight Lesnar and we have to sit through a boring ten minute Kane match to get the point across. Kane is just so slow and repetitive that it’s hard to stay focused during the match, let alone be entertained. Also, you couldn’t have this be a countout instead of Ambrose being pinned again?

Stills of Cena vs. Owens II.

Post break Kane sees through Seth’s plan and turns it down.

Recap of Wyatt vs. Reigns.

Prime Time Players vs. Ascension

Non-title. Titus throws Konnor around to start but everything breaks down. Viktor is tossed outside as New Day is shown watching in the back. The double teaming begins in the corner as Titus is in trouble. Konnor puts on a lame chinlock and gets suplexed down for his sloppiness. Darren gets the tag and cleans house with a northern lights suplex getting two. Titus and Konnor head outside, allowing Young to hit the Gutcheck for the pin on Viktor at 4:10.

Rating: D+. This still wasn’t anything worth seeing but it’s cool to see the champions getting a win instead of just losing every few weeks and then acting like we should still be impressed because they have the belts. The match was just there, but it’s nice to see the old formula instead of the same stuff they do all the time. Also, points to Young for really starting to become a more entertaining guy in the ring. He’s still not all that interesting but at least he’s a few steps ahead of where he used to be.

Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns

Sheamus pinned Reigns on Smackdown after Wyatt interfered. They drive each other up against the ropes to start because they’re both hosses. A slam sends Sheamus outside and Reigns slugs away back inside, only to get caught with four forearms to the chest. Sheamus throws Reigns down again and we take a break. Hopefully the break gives them some rest as this show’s action has felt like it’s in slow motion so far. Back with Reigns fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a running clothesline to wake the fans up a bit.

The apron boot is countered with a clothesline in a unique spot from Sheamus. He throws Reigns back first into the barricade and now Sheamus has a target. After a quick chinlock, three straight Irish Curses are good for a near fall. The Cloverleaf goes on but Reigns is quickly in the ropes. A belly to back stuns Sheamus and Reigns throws him to the floor for a whip into the table. Reigns gets back in but Wyatt pops up on screen in the middle of a tea party. He talks to someone off camera and tells Reigns to come find him. Roman bails on the match and that’s a countout at 16:40.

Rating: C+. This got going more with the back stuff at the end to give the match a story. I like that they’re giving Sheamus some wins, which really aren’t a stretch. Yeah he’s not what he used to be, but he’s still a former multiple time World Champion and a good brawler who can step up without a big stretch. Reigns is handling himself well in these longer matches too.

The camera pans back to show that Wyatt is talking to an empty rocking chair, meaning someone might have just gotten out of it.

Post break Reigns is looking for the party and finds the room, with a high group of pictures of Reigns on the wall with the eyes cut out and ANYONE BUT YOU painted on the wall. Bray can be head singing I’m A Little Teapot.

Rollins can’t get the Stooges on his side. They remember those Dumb and Dumber comments of his.

Kofi Kingston vs. Neville

Kingston jumps over Neville a few times to start but gets pulled into a headlock to slow things down. A shot to Neville’s ribs sets up a top rope ax handle as Xavier steals a camera for some pictures. Kofi is sent to the floor and knocked off the apron, drawing New Day over to go after Neville. This brings out the Prime Time Players to even things up but all four are ejected, allowing Neville to kick him in the head and hit the Red Arrow for the pin at 4:30.

Rating: C. Neville is now getting his own showcase matches as this was just about giving Neville a TV win instead of much anything else. He’s a full on midcard guy now and it’s amazing to see how smoothly his transition has gone. Kofi will be fine because he’s Kofi Kingston and is incapable of falling from his spot on the card.

King Barrett vs. Zack Ryder

Cole says that R-Truth has been thinking he’s King since beating Barrett last week. It would actually be the night before but be glad he got it that close. Ryder starts with a flapjack and corner clothesline before quickly fighting out of a chinlock. Barrett runs away from a Broski Boot but gets taken down by a baseball slide. Back inside and Ryder gets crotched on the top, setting up the Bull Hammer for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D+. So we officially know that Ryder is beneath Barrett on the totem pole. I know it should seem obvious, but when you’re losing back to back matches to R-Truth, how clear is it? I’m all for seeing Ryder on TV more often as he’s still a fun character who can fire up the crowd, even though he loses every time he’s out there.

Owens says he was born to be in a WWE ring and wants to hurt Cena.

Here’s Cena for the first time after his attack by Owens at Money in the Bank. He holds up the title and calls it a symbol of excellence of which he is very proud. Cena recaps their feud and talks about Owens attacking him at Money in the Bank and then laying out a defenseless musician last week. Now Owens wants a US Title shot at Battleground and Cena has a choice. He could run like Owens did, or he can fight like a champion will. The answer seems to be a yes but here’s Owens to interrupt.

Kevin has been called a lot of things over the years, ranging from overweight to out of shape, but he’s someone who gets what he wants. He wanted to beat John Cena and he did, and he wanted the NXT Title and he got it. Now Owens wants the US Title and he’s going to get it, assuming Cena agrees to the title match. Owens calls himself an evil foreigner and speaks French, but Cena says the people are indifferent to Owens (no they’re not) and speaks French and Chinese. The match is on and the champ is here.

Rollins goes to the Authority to try to get some backup but HHH tells him to find it himself. Stephanie suggests getting the band back together, but HHH thinks it might cost him the title. Seth is perplexed.

Bella Twins vs. Naomi/Tamina

The Bellas have Alicia Fox in their corner. Brie takes Naomi into the corner to start so it’s quickly off to Tamina to work over Brie early on. Naomi knocks Nikki off the corner to break up a tag attempt but Brie gets over for the hot tag, meaning the Bellas are clearly wrestling as the faces here, because WWE has no idea how to book the Bellas these days. Brie hits a middle rope dropkick to Tamina, only to walk into the Rear View. The second Rear View hits Tamina by mistake, setting up the Rack Attack for the pin on Naomi at 3:44.

Terminator Genisys clip with Roman Reigns spliced in.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

Non-title and Big Show is on commentary. Ryback throws him down to start and takes it outside right in front of Show. Henry tosses Ryback into the barricade, much to Show’s approval. Back from a break with Ryback shrugging off a chinlock and hitting the Meat Hook, followed by a top rope splash for the pin at 6:24. Not enough shown to rate but this was another match designed to set up the big match down the line. The splash looked good too.

Show glares at Henry post match.

Tough Enough preview.

Ryback is ready for anyone in the triple threat match but the title means everything to him. His parents hadn’t spoken in 15 years but his title win brought them together, even for one night. It doesn’t matter if the entire world comes after his title, because he’ll just say feed me more. Big Show comes in and mocks Ryback’s speech but Ryback is ready to fight. Ryback actually leaves him laying, shouting that Show isn’t so big now. That was a good speech by Ryback and the details he adds are a good way to make the fans connect with him.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Adam Rose

Lana is such an afterthought since she joined Ziggler. Before the match, Rose rips on the crowd and says we don’t get real art, or true love like he and Rosa have. Adam takes his time kissing Rosa and gets dropkicked in the face as Rusev is watching in the back. The referee tells Ziggler to get off Rose in the corner, allowing Adam to take him down and drop some elbows. A sleeper goes nowhere and Ziggler drops his own elbow for two. Rose goes up top and dives into a superkick for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: D. Well the match was nothing so I want to talk about Lana some more. Remember like two months ago when she was getting some of the loudest pops of the show? Well now she’s just there and does nothing during the match because we’re destined to get the same thing from Ziggler until the end of time. Rose is good in a role like this though.

Ziggler takes Lana’s hair out of the bun and kisses her, freaking Rusev out again. He throws his crutches and falls down because of the bad ankle. Summer Rae of all people comes up and hands him a crutch.

The Authority has a meeting in the back with Noble saying he and Mercury are wise like Yoda. HHH says the Stooges know Rollins better than anyone and Stephanie wants the two of them and Kane to hear Rollins out.

Here’s Seth to try to get his backup back. He calls out Kane and the Stooges, but insists that this has nothing to do with Brock Lesnar. This is about the three of them and family. Rollins apologizes to all three of them and asks him to be part of his family again. Kane gets a special apology because he isn’t a dinosaur (Seth: “They’re extinct and you’re alive and well.”) and is Seth’s favorite WWE Superstar of all time.

They don’t seem to accept so Seth gets close to begging until Lesnar interrupts. Kane loads up the elbow pad and Lesnar jumps to the apron, but the three of them leave Seth all alone. Kane and the Stooges try to go after Lesnar but they’re easily fought off because they’re Kane and the Stooges (I knew they should have gone with Iggy), leaving Brock to bust out the Germans to a huge face reaction.

Kane breaks up the F5 with a chokeslam but it’s time for the Big Bald to take a German of his own. This time it’s a Kane chop block breaking up another F5 to Rollins, who adds a chop block of his own. They bend the knee around the post and crack it with a chair to finally have Brock in some trouble. Brock tries to fight back but Mercury comes in to leg dive him, allowing Kane to put him back down. The springboard knee to the head sets up another chokeslam, followed by a Pedigree to leave Lesnar laying as the show ends.

Overall Rating: C. I really liked the way this show was laid out for the most part. A lot of the matches were bigger names getting wins over lower level acts, which doesn’t hurt anyone involved and lets you advance stories a few more steps without blowing something big or making anyone look weak. Ascension, Ryder and Rose losing does nothing to hurt them but the people that beat them get to look successful. That’s smart, logical booking.

The rest of the show was……well it was there. It wasn’t bad or anything but this felt like a very long three hours. There are a lot of issues in WWE and to be fair to them, you can tell when they’re trying and just run out of ideas/get bogged down by the time. That’s what happened here as they really didn’t have three hours of meaningful television in them and the show would have been much better at two hours. There was enough good to carry this show though and that’s a big improvement over some of the stuff we’ve been getting in recent weeks.

Results

Kane b. Dean Ambrose – Chokeslam from the top rope

Prime Time Players b. Ascension – Gutcheck to Viktor

Sheamus b. Roman Reigns via countout

Neville b. Kofi Kingston – Red Arrow

King Barrett b. Zack Ryder – Bull Hammer

Bella Twins b. Naomi/Tamina – Rack Attack to Naomi

Ryback b. Mark Henry – Top rope splash

Dolph Ziggler b. Adam Rose – Superkick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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After all the pay per views in the span of a few weeks, this show marks the beginning of a recently unthinkable FIVE WEEK build to Battleground. The big stories are Sheamus now holding the Money in the Bank briefcase and fellow heel Seth Rollins retaining the World Title last night in a long ladder match against Dean Ambrose. This means that Rollins won a major match on his own. I wonder if we’ll hear about that tonight. Let’s get to it.

Before we get started, there was one last tribute to Dusty Rhodes. Yeah it’s the same one, but Dusty deserves as many as WWE wants to give him.

The main story throughout the night was the Authority picking the next challenger to Seth’s title. This means that people were trying to impress them all night, because the Authority are the king and queen of WWE and the wrestlers are all just their playthings, sent out there to dance and perform at the Authority’s will. Throughout the night there were people having regular matches which for some reason meant more, even though it’s almost never someone you see earlier in the night because WWE has gotten very, very stale in its format. We’ll get to the next challenger at the end.

Rollins came out for his big victory speech and bragged about being that much better than Ambrose. They’re doing a great job of keeping Ambrose from beating Rollins and when he finally does, which he will one day, it’s going to be a big moment. As Rollins took all the credit (literally thanking himself over and over in a great heel touch), Ambrose came out and cleaned house, saying he wasn’t leaving the ring until he got another fight against Rollins. This went on for awhile until Sheamus came out for a fight, eventually losing to a rollup. Why would you ever want to win something in WWE? It almost guarantees a losing streak.

Case in point: R-Truth beat King Barrett for the second time in two days, this time in about twenty seconds. Barrett beat him down post match and talked about how serious this was to him. I’m picturing Barrett running around talking about how TOTALLY IMPORTANT it is that he’s a king while everyone else laughs at him, because that’s how interesting wrestlers are treated around here.

Kevin Owens bragged, Dolph Ziggler challenged him to a non-title match, Owens beat Ziggler in the same match Ziggler has had for the last year. In case you can’t tell, I really, really do not care about Dolph Ziggler. Word on the street is that he was about to leave the company and I can’t say I’m complaining.

Paige tried to get the Divas to help her fight the Bellas but this somehow tied into the Authority and the rest of the division not wanting to get on their bad side. This is pretty clearly setting up some NXT callups and I’m terrified of what might happen to them. The Bellas beat Paige in a handicap match later in the show.

Sheamus helped Kane beat Orton in a nothing match. This was supposed to make me think Kane is a viable contender to Rollins. That’s hilarious, if not a bit stupid.

With an unintentional assist from Ryback, Miz beat Big Show via countout. This was fine as a quick help to the three way feud.

Roman Reigns wanted to fight Bray Wyatt, but Bray did his usual freaky promo before holding up a picture of Reigns playing with his daughter. See, that’s at least that’s a specific thing for Wyatt, who usually only speaks in riddles. It’s a baby step, but at least a step.

Machine Gun Kelly, a rapper I’ve only heard of through WWE, rapped for the better part of eternity and was then beaten up by Kevin Owens. That alone made the way too long performance worth it as Owens is one of the coolest heels in a very, very long time.

Neville/Prime Time Players beat the New Day in a fun six man. It’s good to see Neville added into a feud so he has something to do instead of just floating from match to match.

The big reveal was, of course, Brock Lesnar, which opens up a ton of storyline plotholes but his Suplex City/Exit F5 shirt more than made up for it. A few of these plot holes:

1. Cole’s lawsuit, which isn’t so much a plot hole as they addressed it on WWE.com, but they really need to mention it on Raw. It just needs to be a quick line of “we settled it out of court” but it needs to be said on TV.

2. After Stephanie freaked out of Lesnar and sent him away because she hadn’t captured a good set of balls in a long time, they’re just bringing him back to beat up their guy? Is this supposed to be a test? Or are they dumping Rollins to go with Lesnar, who was all insane and violent and nowhere near as controllable as Rollins?

3. What if Rollins wins? Is he supposed to just say “yeah it’s cool Authority. I don’t mind you throwing the biggest, baddest monster ever. What are we doing for dinner tonight?”

Overall this show was about setting up Battleground, which again has the potential to be one of the more entertaining shows in a long time. Granted a lot of that is due to Brock, but that’s why you bring him in. I wasn’t wild on the story of wondering who the opponent was going to be because Lesnar really wasn’t all that shocking. Still though, good enough show which wasn’t the same old repetitive stuff we’ve seen time after time. There are some plot holes that have to be addressed however, but you can do that in just a few quick promos.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Money in the Bank was always going to be a different kind of show as they had to fly through the build do to the lack of time. However, it was also helpful as we didn’t have to sit through a month of people just fighting each other for no reason other than they would be in a contest determined by completely different means of winning. Let’s get to it.

We’ll get the biggest deal out of the way first: this show took place just a few days after the passing of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes. The show opened with a touching tribute as the roster came on stage to have the bell rung ten times, followed by Dusty’s famous theme music being played one last time. This is one of the few wrestling deaths that actually got to me, which is surprising as I never cared much for Rhodes over the years. However, it’s always good to see WWE give their heroes the kind of treatment they deserve.

However, there’s also some really stupid stuff to get through, starting with the pre-show match. R-Truth beat King Barrett because that’s what almost everyone does to Barrett. In theory this leads to Truth as the self professed King and Barrett running around saying “NO! I’M THE REAL KING!”, because he hasn’t been embarrassed enough yet. I’m not sure when we reach that point, but I’m scared to think of how bad it could get for him.

They started the regular matches off fast with the Money in the Bank ladder match, consisting of Sheamus, Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, Neville and Kane. Sheamus won in what was actually a pretty big surprise, meaning it was time for people to criticize it. However, let’s take a quick look at why Sheamus was at worst the second best option to win.

Neville – Not ready

Kane – Will you be serious?

Kofi Kingston – The longest of long shots but never a real contender

Dolph Ziggler – Dead in the water for months if not years now and potentially leaving in the near future. This would have been the weakest choice imaginable as Ziggler isn’t a main event guy anymore.

That leaves us with three options.

Randy Orton is always a possibility, but we’ve seen Orton vs. Rollins how many times now? He would have been a good fall back option, but it feels like something we’ve seen so many times now that there’s nothing to rehash.

Roman Reigns was definitely the heavy favorite but let’s imagine the reaction if he wins. “Man, WWE never mixes things up anymore.” “Reigns wins, just like everyone knew he would.” “Can we get a surprise for once?” Well that’s what we got, as Bray Wyatt remembered he had a reason to be mad at Reigns and interfered to cost him the match.

That leaves Sheamus, nearly through process of elimination. He may not be the most exciting option, but at least he’s a former World Champion and has been doing well enough in the new heel role. If this leads to him taking over the Authority enforcer role from Big Show/Kane, it’s certainly a plus. If Sheamus wins he’ll be little more than a transitional champion, but he gets a recharge out of it. I see little problem here, but I’m sure I’ll be told why he’s so boring and all that, meaning I’ll point out why doing the obvious Reigns win wouldn’t have been much more interesting.

The match itself was the expected good Money in the Bank match, but as usual there were too many people in there. It lead to a bunch of sitting around for people, with Ziggler especially taking long rests outside on the floor instead of going for the briefcase. I could go for taking this down to five people or so and letting there be some drama instead of just piling the same spots we see every time. It’s still entertaining though.

Nikki Bella beat Paige to retain the title with that big forearm after the referee caught the Bellas cheating because that’s how the match was scheduled to end instead of having the ending that actually follows the rules of wrestling. The match was actually good stuff as they had the longest title match since 2006 and the match worked accordingly. That’s a telling sign going forward, but that being said, how many Divas would be able to survive a five minute match, let alone over eleven? Nikki is getting better but this Bellas storyline is long past its expiration date.

Ryback and Big Show did an average power match until Miz ran in to make it a three way feud, which is clearly what they’ve wanted to do the entire time. Why they didn’t just MAKE IT THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE is anyone’s guess, but I’d assume it has something to do with wanting to stretch feuds out for the sake of stretching them out because they think just waiting means building a story.

Cena vs. Owens II was outstanding, just as you would expect it to be. I liked it better than the first match but I won’t put up much of an argument if you liked the first one better. The key here though was Owens’ post match attack on Cena, as he continues to be the best heel in the company by just being a jerk that thinks he’s better than everyone else. Yeah he’ll run when it’s not his time, but when the bell rings, he’ll go toe to toe with anyone.

That’s what makes all the chicken heels annoying: it’s clear WWE knows how to book another style but they just don’t. Owens could be in the title picture tomorrow if they wanted him to be, but I’m sure it’s time for a gimmick match with Cena because that’s what they do.

The Prime Time Players took the Tag Team Titles from the New Day in a surprising upset. However, the more you think about it, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. This was the first time New Day was in a standard tag match (due to Kofi’s injuries in the ladder match) and they lost the belts. It makes sense, which is why it’s so surprising that WWE actually went with it.

The main event saw WWE World Champion Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose in a very, very long ladder match. This was a very solid option for a main event, but I’m hoping they take a break from Ambrose vs. Rollins for a while. It was a long, brutal match but the comebacks got a bit too much to handle near the end. They could have cut five minutes out of the match to make it a bit better, though it was still an excellent match with some great drama. When you can make me believe that something I know won’t happen might happen, you’re having a good match.

Overall, Money in the Bank was exactly what I was expecting it to be, which made for an entertaining show. The ladder matches were always going to be fun, meaning they were more than carrying the show. That leaves you with anything else as a bonus, which consisted of a fun Divas match and an outstanding rematch between Owens and Cena. For a show thrown together in two weeks and the third in seven or so weeks, that’s quite impressive.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Smackdown
Date: June 18, 2015
Location: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler

The ending of Monday’s show saw the return of Brock Lesnar as the Authority’s big surprise to deal with Rollins, ignoring the history of Lesnar hurting HHH and then Stephanie freaking out on him the night after Wrestlemania when Lesnar destroyed everything and injured Cole, which hasn’t been mentioned on TV yet. Let’s get to it.

In memory of Dusty Rhodes.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Sheamus to get things going. Sheamus holds up the briefcase and laughs at the fans for saying he looked stupid. He feels like a million dollars and promises to be the next WWE Champion. I know it’s not a popular opinion but I wouldn’t be opposed to that. Sheamus has been making plans to get around Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar, which would leave everyone out of his way to make him champion.

This brings out Dean Ambrose to remind Sheamus that he pinned him on Monday. Why should that matter? Money in the Bank is a shortcut around silly things like wins and losses and just lets the company put whomever they want in the title scene without putting in the effort. Anyway, Ambrose says the briefcase belongs to Reigns and Dean would have no problem getting it back to its rightful owner. Sheamus wants to fight right now but Kane comes out to uneven the odds. The match is on.

Kane/Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is smart enough to drop to the floor at the bell before he runs back in to low bridge Kane outside. The top rope elbow is broken up though and the double teaming begins. Reigns sneaks in from behind, because somehow he knew Sheamus would be waiting in the normal spot, for the DQ at 1:29.

After a break, the tag team main event is announced.

Roman wants Bray to know he never runs.

Brie Bella vs. Paige

Paige gets a jobber entrance but we’re lucky enough to get BRIE MODE. No Nikki here for a change. Brie goes after her to start but Paige drops down as you do when someone is running the ropes, only to have Brie trip over her. Paige’s superplex is countered into a sunset bomb (good looking one too) for two as we take a break. Back with Brie putting on a chinlock with her knees in Paige’s back before Paige takes her into the corner for some elbows to the jaw. Paige goes up top but Alicia Fox runs out to shove her down, setting up the Bella Buster for the pin and another BRIE MODE at 7:28.

Rating: C. Considering Brie was in there and can’t seem to handle running the ropes, this was better than I was expecting. There’s something interesting about the Divas going after Paige and her needing reinforcements (say from NXT?) and at least Alicia is 14% more competent than most of the other Divas.

The Bellas pose on the stage and Alicia is given Bella gear.

Stills of Cena vs. Owens II and then Owens attacking Machine Gun Kelly on Monday.

Owens mocks Renee Young for possibly being a Machine Gun Kelly fan but blames Kelly for putting his hands on Owens first and on Cena for not being there to save him. Kevin doesn’t need to pander to the crowd and likes it when people earn title shots, meaning there will be no open challenge. This brings in Cesaro, with headphones around his neck, who would love to get in the ring with Owens tonight. He even puts him hands on Owens’ shoulder to make sure Owens gets the point.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Bo Dallas

Before the match, Dallas calls Lana a rebound girl. She’s broken Rusev’s heart and is now with Ziggler, who definitely should have made her swipe left (online dating thing I guess). Ziggler dropkicks him at the bell but Bo grabs a cravate. Rusev is watching in the back as Ziggler ducks a right hand and hits the Zig Zag for the pin at 1:12.

Rusev freaks out over a post match kiss.

Tough Enough stuff.

Xavier Woods vs. Neville

Woods takes over fast and stomps Neville about 20 times in a row. We’re already in the cobra clutch for a bit before New Day tries to get involved, drawing out the Prime Time Players to even the odds. Back in and a kick to the head looks to set up the Red Arrow but Kofi offers a distraction to break it up. Everyone on the floor gets into it and a dropkick sets up the Red Arrow to give Neville the pin at 2:57. I’m getting into this six man feud.

Here’s Seth Rollins with something to say. After looking at a clip of the end of Raw, Rollins brags about being the biggest star in WWE. However, he’s under constant scrutiny and always being disrespected by these fans. That’s what happened this Monday on Raw, as people are instantly thinking Lesnar will be the next WWE Champion. Rollins was shocked when he saw Brock but at Battleground, he’s going to get to prove that he really is the diamond and he can’t wait.

We recap Bray’s promo on Reigns from Raw.

Ambrose asks Reigns how long it takes Sheamus to do his hair but Reigns is focused on Wyatt. Dean asks about Bray but Reigns doesn’t want to talk about it. Just handle business tonight so he can get home to his family.

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Non-title and Owens pops Cesaro in the jaw to start. Cesaro does just the same to knock Kevin outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Cesaro can’t get him up for a suplex so Owens sends him face first into the post as we take an early break from a promising power brawl. We come back to a chinlock of course because how else do you expect to come back from a break? Owens finds it boring as well as he jumps to the middle rope and spins into a tornado DDT for two.

Cesaro comes back with his reverse Angle Slam for two of his own. That earns him snake eyes (a move that hasn’t been seen in a while) and the Cannonball for two, shocking Owens, because he’s a good heel who can’t believe that someone could kick out of any of his offense. A dropkick knocks Owens off the top and both guys are down again. Is there anything Cesaro can’t do? I’d bet he’s a world class knitter. Owens crotches him to break up the apron superplex and the Pop Up Powerbomb is good for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B. Owens continues to master the power brawling style and hopefully this leads to a singles push for Cesaro. The guy is incredibly talented and the multiple languages should get WWE some international help if they let him go to some other countries for publicity. This was a fun, hard hitting match though as both guys got to throw each other around, which is always entertaining.

Time for Miz at the Movies where he talks about all the movies starring wrestlers this year. Tonight’s movie: Vendetta, starring Dean Cain and Big Show. Apparently Big Show was a jerk and Miz should have had the role, as well as the Intercontinental Title. Miz rants about his resume and wants to know why he isn’t being treated like a superstar.

Dusty Rhodes tribute video.

Sheamus/Kane vs. Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns

Ambrose and Sheamus get things going with the latter stomping away in the corner. Dean comes back with chops and punches as they’ve forgotten the whole wrestling thing so far. Everything breaks down for a bit and the Shield brethren clean house to take us to the early break. Back with Dean hitting the dropkick against the ropes on Kane but Sheamus pulls him outside to take over.

Some knees get two for Sheamus back inside and it’s off to Kane to work on the knee that was destroyed in the ladder match. Smart man that old giant. Sheamus slaps on a Brock Lock for a bit before it’s back to Kane, who gently lifts Dean throat first into the bottom rope. It’s called a catapult but that’s being more generous than it is to call Kane interesting. Dean gets in some right hands and the top rope elbow, finally allowing for the hot tag despite the bad knee.

Reigns comes in off the hot tag and cleans house with a series of clotheslines to Kane and a Samoan drop to Sheamus. The Superman Punch is broken up by Kane grabbing both Shield guys by the throat but the rebound lariat breaks it up. Dean dives on Sheamus but here’s Wyatt with the picture of Reigns and his daughter as he sings I’m A Little Teapot. The distraction lets a Brogue Kick connect for the pin on Reigns at 12:57.

Rating: C. This was fine for a long way to build up the Reigns vs. Wyatt story. There was little chance that Wyatt wasn’t going to get involved somewhere in here and that wasn’t the worst way in the world. I could go for a more sinister Wyatt who gets inside your head instead of just saying he’s scary of whatever he meant in the last few months.

Bray says Happy Father’s Day and the picture is next to Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this better than I was expecting to as they gave us a good match with Owens vs. Cesaro (no real surprise there) and nothing bad. That’s a major key to a good show these days, especially with so much stuff packed in: nothing on here was really bad. Some stuff was better than others, but everything was either quick enough to not be bad or good enough to be acceptable. Solid show this week and it went by fast.

Results

Kane/Sheamus b. Dean Ambrose via DQ when Roman Reigns interfered

Brie Bella b. Paige – Bella Buster

Dolph Ziggler b. Bo Dallas – Zig Zag

Neville b. Xavier Woods – Red Arrow

Kevin Owens b. Cesaro – Pop Up Powerbomb

Kane/Sheamus b. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose – Brogue Kick to Reigns

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: June 17, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan

It’s a big week here in NXT as last week saw Samoa Joe challenging Kevin Owens to a title shot but getting turned down because he hasn’t racked up enough wins yet. Fair point said Commissioner William Regal, so it’s a non-title match tonight instead. This is probably just filler until we get to July 4 in Japan but NXT filler is still good stuff. Let’s get to it.

As you would expect, this show is dedicated to the American Dream Dusty Rhodes.

We open with the Dusty tribute video, which is still awesome stuff.

Opening sequence.

Blake/Murphy/Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella/Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

Enzo’s speech this week is about Star Wars but he keeps it short. Carmella wants a piece of Alexa Bliss, and Cass is nice enough to spell out the one word that describes Blake, Murphy and Bliss. There’s a new ring announcer who sounds like he has no idea who any of these people are. He has a good, deep voice though. The fans think Blake and Murphy look stupid but switch to BONAFIDE STUD/CERTIFIED G.

Blake and his headlock slow Enzo down to start before a shoulder puts him on the mat. With nothing else working, Enzo opts to dance and hits a very unique cross body where he doesn’t actually jump but takes Blake down anyway. Everything breaks down and the Long Island guys (and Carmella) clean house.

Back from a break with Enzo slugging Blake down but getting dropped from behind by Murphy. We hit the headlock on the mat for a good while before Cass gets dropped off the apron. Enzo avoids a charge in the corner though and makes the tag off to Carmella, meaning Alexa has to come in. Carmella dominates in a hurry as everything breaks down again. Cass plants Blake with the side slam, setting up the Rocket Launcher for the pin at 10:22.

Rating: C-. This was fine, but there’s a major point that caught my eye here. Since turning heel, Alexa has been wearing more revealing attire and Carmella was wearing even less than usual tonight. However, other than Enzo calling Carmella hot during the entrance, their looks or attire are never addressed. The lack of comments from Lawler or the girls ripping on each other for their appearances and just fighting because they hate each other. I love that about NXT and it continues to show how lame and behind the times the Divas division really is.

Stills of Cena vs. Owens II and the aftermath.

Joe is here to deal with Kevin Owens but more than that he’s here because he wants to wrestle in places that are cutting edge. That explains the departure from TNA as I doubt they could even cut paper. As for Owens, his running away last week told Joe that he didn’t want to fight. Tonight though, the NXT World Champion (that’s a new one) is getting what he deserves.

We get the first part of a look at Finn Balor, mainly due to a sitdown interview. First question: who is Fergal Devitt? Balor talks about growing up in Ireland and how his dad built his way up from a cleaner to a train engineer in a cool story. One day a show called Superstars came on his TV and he was instantly hooked. We get some really cool clips of him in some tiny independents as well as Insane Championship Wrestling (Scotland) and Revolution Pro Wrestling UK.

Becky Lynch cries talking about how Fergal (her word) opened a wrestling school in Ireland and got her into the business as a result. She lied about her age to get into the school and so that Fergal might ask her out, which apparently he did. There are some really cool pictures of the two of them going through school and starting their careers, including stuff like being in the ring or just listening to music together so you could tell they were close.

There are clips from Insane Championship Wrestling with him in the demon paint where the announcers praise him for being amazing. Next up was New Japan but he said he’s be back to Ireland. This was about eight minutes long and totally awesome as it made me care about Balor more than I even have before. Part two is next week.

Charlotte vs. K.C. Cassidy

A headscissors takes Cassidy down to start but she comes back with a quick rollup for two. That goes nowhere as Charlotte kicks her in the face and chokes with the boot when asking the referee about the speed of the count. Charlotte’s cravate doesn’t work very well as K.C. comes back with a cross body for two, only to have her eat a spear (good selling too). The Figure Eight makes Cassidy tap at 3:50.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here to remind us that Charlotte is awesome before she gets back into it with Barrett and Emma for the big feud. That spear looked good and could be a good power finisher for her as Charlotte is tall and strong enough to make it work well. Cassidy has potential but is clearly not that experienced.

Dana Brooke says she’s misunderstood because she’s a current fitness competitor who isn’t scared one of Charlotte. She’s replacing Charlotte because she’s the total diva and not using her family name to get into NXT. I have no idea what Carmella was looking at that was just a foot or so off camera but it made her look really weird. She makes up for it just a bit by coming back to pat Devon on the head.

Kevin Owens vs. Samoa Joe

Non-title. The crowd going silent when Joe’s music changes tells you all you need to know about how horrible it really is. Owens bails to the floor to start but Joe goes right after him and gets in the champ’s face. Back in and the fans already think this is awesome. Not so fast kids. Owens: “THE CHAMP IS HERE!” That earns him a right hand to the face and a big chop to the head as Joe gets in the first offense.

A back elbow drops Kevin again as the fans are quieter than you would expect. The corner enziguri sets up the Facewash and the big running boot to the face to send Owens outside for a break. Back with Joe missing a charge in the corner, allowing Owens to hit a Cannonball, almost out of desperation. A chinlock keeps Joe in trouble and the second version slows things down even more. Fans: “HEADLOCK CITY!” It’s a chinlock but points for creativity.

The hold is finally broken and Joe drops his own backsplash for two. Something like a running enziguri gets the same on the champ but he fights out of the Muscle Buster. They fight to the floor but Owens can’t powerbomb the baron of the buffet. The referee gets shoved down and that’s a DQ at 14:39.

Rating: C-. This was more of an angle than a match but that chinlock in the middle killed everything they had going. I have a feeling they’ll move on to Balor vs. Owens for now before Joe gets his big title match, or maybe just a non-title match against Owens instead. Fun power brawl while it lasted, but that chinlock went on way too long. It was much more of a preview than a showdown.

They do the big brawl with security not being able to hold them back post match. Owens shouts that the champ is here to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It was another of those setting the future shows, which are often some of the best episodes NXT puts out. The Tag Team Title rematch is set, Charlotte looked dominant and Brooke is ready to fight her, there’s a reason for Joe vs. Owens II and you top it off with the really awesome Balor video. That’s quite an impressive use of 53 minutes as you have four stories set up, which could cover a month of upcoming TV. It’s back to efficient for NXT and that’s what they do best.

Results

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady/Carmella b. Blake/Murphy/Alexa Bliss – Rocket Launcher to Blake

Charlotte b. K.C. Cassidy – Figure Eight

Kevin Owens vs. Samoa Joe went to a double DQ when they both shoved the referee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 15, 2015
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s time to start the build towards Summerslam as a lot of stuff was wrapped up last night. Rollins successfully defended his World Title against Dean Ambrose in a very close ladder match and John Cena evened the score against Kevin Owens, only to be powerbombed on the apron after the match. With Sheamus as Mr. Money in the Bank, it’s going to be interesting to see where things go from here. Let’s get to it.

We open with the ceremony from last night in Dusty’s memory, followed by the video tribute.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Seth Rollins with something to say. After a break, he thanks us all for coming out here tonight to Monday Night Rollins. He gets right to it and talks about Dean Ambrose coming so close to winning the title last night but coming up just a bit short. Ambrose’s A game is very good, but it’s not as good as Seth’s. Last night he took back what was his but it took a great team to get him where he needed to be.

Rollins has a list of people to thank, starting with Seth Rollins, followed by Seth Rollins and Seth Rollins. Oh wait and just so he doesn’t leave them off: Seth Rollins, Seth Rollins and Seth Rollins. He didn’t need Dumb and Dumber or the devil’s favorite dinosaur or HHH and Stephanie, because that’s how good he is. After last night, he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame and parents all over the world are going to be naming their children after him.

He holds up the title and says Johnny idiot face over there (Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel in the front row) isn’t bringing this city a title and neither is LeBron James. He didn’t even acknowledge the Indians, and as a big Indians fan……I can’t say I blame him. Cue Ambrose for a brawl in the aisle but Dean is limping badly. Seth goes for the knee but winds up leaving when Dean won’t go down. Dean gets a chair and the mic and says he isn’t leaving until Rollins gets back out here to fight him like a man.

We come back with Dean still sitting in the ring and Rollins talking to the Authority in the back. Rollins asks if they’re just going to let Ambrose sit out there all night but Stephanie doesn’t like that Rollins seems to think he’s still in the loop. HHH says that the next challenger for the title will be determined by the end of the night and it very well could be Ambrose.

Back in the arena with Sheamus coming out to talk to Ambrose. Both of them made bold predictions last night and Sheamus actually lived up to his promises. That’s enough to make Dean throw the chair away and it’s time for a match.

Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is ready to fight but gets taken into the corner where Sheamus wisely goes for the knee to start. The knee is slammed into the apron to put Dean in even more trouble but he just dives at Sheamus and hammers away, only to be knocked back to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sheamus holding a Brock Lock to stay on the knee but Ambrose fights up with chops and punches against the ropes. There’s no way he can run the ropes though and Sheamus chop blocks him down.

Back up and Dean’s bulldog out of the corner gets him a breather and it’s time to go up top. Again it takes too long and Sheamus slams him down, setting up the Cloverleaf. Dean gets a rope to annoy Sheamus but he takes too long on the ropes, allowing Dean to hit some forearms to the chest of his own. Now the top rope elbow drop connects for two but Dirty Deeds sends Sheamus running to the floor. Cue Orton for a distraction, allowing Ambrose to grab a rollup for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: C. Logical match but my goodness I don’t want to see Sheamus vs. Orton again. Having a match twice isn’t a good way to make me want to see it at third time, at least not when the first two matches weren’t very good. Also, who thought it was a good idea to have Mr. Money in the Bank get pinned in his first match with the briefcase?

Orton beats Sheamus up but can’t hit the RKO.

Rollins brags to the Stooges about the win last night but asks if they know who the Authority is picking for him. Noble says they haven’t heard but wouldn’t say anything if they did. He thinks it should be Joey Mercury though, which Rollins laughs off. Mercury thinks Seth is afraid of him because Rollins is all alone.

Video of Dusty pinning Harley Race to win the NWA World Title in 1979.

R-Truth vs. King Barrett

Truth comes out in a homemade king outfit, consisting of a paper crown, a bed sheet and a plunger. He sits in on commentary but JBL tells him that he has a match to get to. Truth: “What you talking about Willis?” Barrett slugs him down and gets rolled up for a pin in 21 seconds.

Barrett lays Truth out and says this is serious. All hail King Barrett.

The Divas and some low level guys talk to Machine Gun Kelly before his performance later.

Here’s Kevin Owens to brag about John Cena not being here tonight. The only man to blame for that is John Cena himself because Cena forced him to do what he did last night. When Cena offered him a handshake last night, Cena said Owens belonged in this ring. How dare Cena tell him something he already knows and talk down to him like that. Cena was a bad winner last night because Cena always has to be the big man. Owens deserves one more match, but this time he wants the US Title. As for tonight though, how about an open challenge?

NXT Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens

Ziggler gets a kiss from Lana to motivate him before we get going. Before the match, Dolph says he’s going to be the one to give Cleveland a championship right here and right now. We get the big match intros but Owens cuts Lillian off and says he never made this a title match. Ziggler goes right for him to start and gets thrown to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock but getting draped ribs first over the top rope. Owens talks some trash until Ziggler comes back with a Cactus Clothesline (popular move recently) and they slug it out on the floor. Dolph is thrown over the barricade (with a very nice jump) but crawls over everyone to dive back in at nine. Back in and the backsplash misses, setting up the running DDT to send Owens outside and us to a second break.

Just like last time we come back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock and nailing a superkick for two (with Dolph laying on the legs for a cover). The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered and the Fameasser gets two. A wicked release German gets two for the champ but Ziggler escapes another Pop Up Powerbomb and hits the Zig Zag. He can’t cover immediately though, allowing Owens to finally hit the powerbomb for the pin at 15:35.

Rating: C+. Dolph has to change. There is nothing here that we haven’t seen a dozen times before and it stopped being interesting a long time ago. I have no idea why Lana being with him is supposed to help him, but Ziggler needs to change something up or there’s little need to have him around.

Paige tries to rally the Divas against the Bellas but they can’t trust her. She has a handicap match against the Bellas tonight but no one will team with her. The twins come up and Nikki implies she’s champ because she’s friends with Stephanie. None of these other Divas would want to fight against the Authority would they? Everyone leaves and Paige is all by herself.

Randy Orton vs. Kane

Kane takes Randy down to start and slaps on an early chinlock, followed by the side slam for two. Back up and Orton nails a clothesline but here’s Sheamus before the elevated DDT can connect. Kane grabs a mic and makes it no holds barred. Sheamus comes in to make it 2-1, allowing a Brogue Kick to give Kane the pin at 4:19.

Rating: D. Given that the match was just four minutes long and a good chunk of that was spent on Sheamus coming out and Kane’s announcement. At least they kept it quick instead of letting this drag out when it was almost a guarantee that Sheamus was going to come out there. Oh and now we get a feud between two losers. Nice job guys.

In the back, Rollins flags Kane down and brags about winning last night but Kane reminds him that he has to win night after night after night, all on his own. If Rollins doesn’t understand that, he isn’t an architect but rather an idiot. Rollins says Kane has always had someone holding his hand, but a mention of Paul Bearer and Undertaker gets Kane all fired up. Rollins wants Kane to be the next opponent.

Clip of the Dust Brothers inducting Dusty into the Hall of Fame.

Big Show vs. The Miz

Ryback is on commentary. The sunglasses removal is broken up by a charging Big Show but Miz gets in a boot as they get back in. That sends Miz running away again as there isn’t much to do against a guy that big. Back in and Show is limping, but it’s all a ruse so he can chop Miz’s chest in half. Show charges into a boot in the corner, only to casually throw Miz outside again for another loud chop. He throws Miz at Ryback and the staredown allows Miz to beat the count back in for the countout win at 2:55.

Big Show runs from a Meat Hook post match.

Here’s Roman Reigns to find out what happened last night. He wants to fight Wyatt right now but gets Bray on screen instead. Bray talks about one star telling the truth and the other telling lies. Roman: “Shut your mouth and get out here right now.” Bray says the briefcase should have been his so he could be the beacon of hope that the world needed but Reigns took it away from it. It’s Reigns’ ego that makes him so dangerous and it reminds Bray of someone he knew. It was someone who believed he would be the chosen one to lead his people.

That man had been chosen but the other was cast aside, and it was clear that the people were wrong. Just look outside and you’ll see that they made the wrong choice. The two of them are opposites who balance everything out. They need each other and last night Bray was the justice that Reigns always promised to be. Bray will ultimately destroy Reigns, but not tonight. What sort of an example would that be with Father’s Day right around the corner? Bray holds up a picture of Roman playing with his daughter, saying their fun is just getting started. Run.

Bella Twins vs. Paige

Handicap match. Nikki does the jumping jacks but gets punched in the face. Some knees to the chest on the ropes have Nikki in trouble until Brie trips Paige up to take over. It’s off to Brie for a chinlock followed by the BRIE MODE knee for two. Back to Nikki for a kick to the back and figure four headscissors, complete with pushups to put Paige face first into the mat.

Paige sends the Bellas into each other and does her clotheslines spot to Brie before kicking her in the head in the corner. Brie is sent into her sister again and the Rampaige gets two with Nikki diving in for the save. The big forearm and the Rack Attack finally put Paige away at 5:33.

Rating: D+. As JBL put it: the Bellas win again. This is almost all we see these days and I have no idea why I’m supposed to care anymore. We know that they’re going to hang on for a few more months to make Nikki the greatest Diva of all time so they can have another storyline on Total Divas, so just get us there already.

Machine Gun Kelly performs for a long, long time. Kevin Owens comes out to congratulate him but Kelly’s offer of a handshake earns him a powerbomb off the stage. Like two feet off the stage but still. The fans don’t seem that upset.

Here’s a clip from Terminator: Genisys.

New Day vs. Neville/Prime Time Players

The New Day is positive that they’ll get the titles back because, after all, today is a new day. Woods and Young get things going by running the ropes until Darren just hits him in the face. A neckbreaker gets two and it’s off to Kofi, who has some very taped ribs. A single kick to the bandages sends Kofi over for a tag to Woods, who is knocked down just as quickly. Titus comes in and suplexes Darren onto Woods before a big backbreaker plants Kofi. Neville adds a big flip dive to take New Day out and we go to a break.

Back with Woods holding Young in a cobra clutch before it’s off to Big E. as New Day keeps cutting off the ring. Darren pops up and dives over for the tag off to Neville, who turns on the jets and kicks away at Woods. Xavier escapes the German but charges into a boot to the face. The Red Arrow is loaded up but Neville dives at Kofi instead, allowing Titus to plant Big E. with a spinebuster. Kofi offers a distraction and Woods hits a Downward Spiral on Neville with Darren making the save. Kofi’s reverse suplex is countered and Young hits the double knee gutbuster, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: C. This was fine and I love that the champions didn’t just lose immediately after getting the belts. Also, nice touch on having Young’s finisher play into the rib injuries. New Day can be back with a simple promo and cheating to win so there’s little lost here. It’s also nice to see Neville continuing to be pushed as something special, even though he’s probably going to slip into the midcard where he belongs.

We look at Owen’s actions over the last 24 hours.

Ambrose is throwing darts at a picture of Rollins when Kane comes in. Dean laughs at the idea of Kane being the #1 contender and brings up Kane’s days as the monster. It’s just a job for Kane but this is Ambrose’s life. Dean says he needs the title and walks away.

One last batch of Dusty clips.

Here’s the Authority to say that Owens will be disciplined because it’s best for business. It’s time for the #1 contender though, and it’s not going to be Noble, Mercury, Kane or Ambrose. Rollins comes out to say there’s no one on the roster that can beat him. HHH agrees that Seth has beaten everyone put in front of him. Stephanie thinks Rollins has something left to prove because Seth has pushed them a bit too far.

They’ve invested a lot in the future and now they need to take a step back and look at the investment they’ve made. Is the investment worth it, or is it just another cost? The real test is to see if a lump of coal turns into a diamond when you put it under pressure. I believe that’s what HHH said to Orton back in the Evolution days. The pressure is on……and HERE’S BROCK, complete with a Suplex City (Cleveland, Ohio, Exit F5) license plate shirt.

Heyman shakes hands with the Authority and everyone leaves. Rollins looks as terrified as you would expect and Brock very slowly backs him up against the ropes. The champ wisely leaves and walks away to end the show. Maybe he’s off to try to figure out why Cole has completely forgotten that he was suing Lesnar for breaking his neck or whatever it was.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show for the most part but again they really need to cut this down to two hours. It’s cool to see Owens hurting lame rappers but do we really need to sit through a five minute performance to get there? They’re firmly into the summer season though and it should be cool to see how we get from here to Summerslam. Lesnar being back immediately picks things up though and we should be solid going forward. Good show but man alive it needed to be trimmed down.

Results

Dean Ambrose b. Sheamus – Rollup

R-Truth b. King Barrett – Rollup

Kevin Owens b. Dolph Ziggler – Pop Up Powerbomb

Kane b. Randy Orton – Pin after a Brogue Kick from Sheamus

Miz b. Big Show via countout

Bella Twins b. Paige – Rack Attack

Prime Time Players/Neville b. New Day – Red Arrow to Kingston

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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