Royal Rumble 2020
Date: January 26, 2020
Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 42,715
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jerry Lawler, Tom Phillips

Remember when we had crowds? It’s almost weird to see something like this but it’s a nice flashback to a show that feels like it was years ago. I remember the higher points of the show but given how many things have changed since then, it could be rather interesting to look back. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Shorty G. vs. Sheamus

Small guy with a ridiculous name vs. a monster, with Sheamus returning and pretending to save G. but then attacking him for being short. Sheamus shrugs off a single leg attempt to start and pulls G. down by the hair. A shoulder puts him down again but G. sends him outside in front of Green Shirt Guy. Back in and it’s way too early for G.’s ankle lock as Sheamus sends him into the post. There’s the shoulder breaker before Sheamus starts stepping on the fingers.

The armbar goes on and we take a break. Back with the armbar continuing, followed by Sheamus ax handling him in the face. Sheamus sends him to the apron for the forearms to the chest and asks the fans IF THEY ARE NOT ENTERTAINED. Eh it’s been a little slow so far so only kind of. G. slips out of a belly to back though and dropkicks the knee out, allowing him to stomp away on the leg in the corner.

The tornado DDT sets up the moonsault for two on Sheamus and the rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner is good for the same. Sheamus shoves him away and goes up, only to dive into the ankle lock. That’s broken up with a grab of the rope so Sheamus kicks him in the bad arm. The Brogue Kick is good for the pin at 12:37.

Rating: C-. This took some time to get going but the arm played into the finish and Sheamus needed the win to build himself up since he hasn’t even been back for a month so far. It was a slightly longer than usual TV match and unfortunately it saw G. lose again. I know it keeps happening, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Kickoff Show: US Title: Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo

Andrade, with Zelina Vega, is defending in another of about 35 matches between these two. Humberto had been injured by Andrade but came back to save Rey Mysterio on Raw, setting this up. They go to the mat to start for a standoff but Carrillo sends him outside, only to glide over Andrade on the baseball slide again. Carrillo hits the Tranquilo pose on the apron and you just don’t do that, as Andrade gets in a cheap shot to take over.

We take a break and come back with Andrade hitting a basement dropkick to the side of the head. The armbreaker over the ropes has Carrillo’s arm being broken, at least until just before the DQ. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to keep Carrillo in trouble but he fights to his feet. That’s about it for the good though as his high angle springboard armdrag is countered with a faceplant. Carrillo is back up with a spinning springboard crossbody but a moonsault hits knees.

Andrade’s running knees in the corner are broken up and he misses a charge to the floor, allowing Carrillo to nail an Asai moonsault. Back in and Andrade hits Two Amigos but the third is countered into a suplex from Carrillo. Andrade kicks him into the corner though and the running knees connect for two. The hammerlock DDT is countered into a small package for two on Andrade and it’s time for the slugout.

Carrillo scores with a superkick for two as Vega is panicking. Back up and Andrade misses some running elbows to the face but he’s able to catch Carrillo on top with a shot to the jaw. Carrillo is fine enough to snap off a super hurricanrana for two and Vega starts giving fast paced advice. Andrade slips out of a fireman’s carry so Carrillo tries another hurricanrana but Andrade reverses into a sunset flip to retain at 14:18.

Rating: C+. These two might not have been the most interesting but they could have some nice, fast paced matches. That’s what we got here on the bigger stage and the right person won, as usual. Carrillo can do all the moves but he’s a complete hole of charisma. Andrade and Vega worked well together, though the stupid deal with Angel Garza getting involved and fighting with Andrade brought them both way down. Still though, pretty good here.

The opening video features Steve Austin talking about the importance of the Royal Rumble, as everyone is out for one thing. It doesn’t matter if there is one person or thirty, because this is their shot at glory. The other matches, which aren’t quite as important, get a little bit of time as well.

King Corbin vs. Roman Reigns

Falls Count Anywhere, which is hardcore based on the introductions but the former sounds better. This is fallout from the rather good dog food angle, which was the only good part of their months long feud. Reigns doesn’t wait for Corbin to get off of his throne and beats up the handlers to start things off. The brawl is on outside with Corbin bailing over the barricade, only to get knocked back to ringside.

They head inside where Reigns gets two off a belly to back suplex. It’s way too early for the Superman Punch so Corbin grabs Deep Six for his own two. They’re back on the floor with Corbin hitting him in the face with the steps and loading up the announcers’ table. Reigns punches him in the face though and they head over the barricade with Reigns following for more right hands. It’s already back to ringside with Corbin getting in a bell shot to the ribs.

Reigns charges at him and gets chokeslammed through the announcers’ table. It’s back over the barricade now with Reigns being sent into some chairs and then into an anvil case. A Samoan drop through a table gives Reigns a breather and they’re both slow to get up. It works so well that Reigns does it again, this time for two. Back up and Corbin drives him into another anvil case (Neil’s Workbox according to the label) and here are Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler to beat Reigns down.

Cue the Usos to even things up and we cut over to the tag teams fighting as Corbin and Reigns are gone. Roode sets up a barricade but Jey dives off the scaffold to make a save as the people actually in the match pop up again. Reigns throws him into some portable toilets (Cole: “Those structures.”) and then turns it over with Corbin inside. That doesn’t seem to mean much and they head back through the crowd. This time Corbin pulls a cover off of the dugout and hitting a few chair shots. Reigns comes back with a Superman Punch and the spear for the pin at 21:17.

Rating: C. These two just aren’t all that interesting together and Reigns is even harder to watch in this role after seeing what he could do later on in the year. The problem here was that they just walked around a lot and punched each other with some spots in the middle. The interference spiced things up a bit, but you shouldn’t need to spice up a violent gimmick match between two people who can’t stand each other. It’s not an awful match, but it wasn’t an interesting feud at the time and the version without seeing most of the build isn’t that much of an improvement.

Samoa Joe comes up to Kevin Owens, who is really excited about getting to beat up Seth Rollins. That sounds cool with Joe, who is more than willing to throw Owens out. Bickering ensues.

Sonya Deville says she’ll eliminate herself before eliminating Mandy Rose because they’re partners.

In Memory of Kobe Bryant, who died earlier in the day. That was quite the shock.

Women’s Royal Rumble

Ninety second intervals and Alexa Bliss is in at #1 and Bianca Belair, still in NXT at this point, is in at #2. Bliss doesn’t look impressed and they lock up to start. Belair starts fast by driving Bliss into the corner for a shoulder to the ribs. The standing moonsault connects and it’s Mighty Molly in at #3. The posing, complete with cape, draws the flashbacks and Molly hits a high crossbody onto both of them. We get some rather sped up intervals as Nikki Cross is in at #4.

Bliss and Cross have the big hug but get taken down, including the KOD from Belair to drive Cross onto Bliss in a crash. Everyone gets knocked down and it’s Lana in at #5. Lana, in the required Captain Marvel gear, brags about being a newlywed (oh man that nonsense) and finally gets in as Mercedes Martinez is in at #6 to clean house. Lana is almost put out and it’s Liv Morgan in at #7 to get rid of Lana in a hurry. Morgan makes the mistake of going up top though and Lana pulls her off. The catfight is on outside and Mandy Rose is in at #8.

Cross has to kick Rose away and gives her a crossbody as Candice LeRae is in at #9. A missile dropkick puts Martinez down and a Lionsault hits Cross. Molly gets tossed and Rose is sent over as well….but lands on Otis, who happens to be laying at ringside for your comedy bit. Sonya Deville is in at #10, giving us Bliss, Belair, Cross, Martinez, Rose, LeRae and Deville. Mandy and Sonya fail to get rid of Candice but they can get rid of Martinez. Kairi Sane is in at #11 and comes in with her umbrella because Sane is kind of weird. House is cleaned, including a Blockbuster into a top rope elbow on Rose. Mia Yim is in at #12 and Belair knocks Cross out.

Sonya tries to toss Mandy but Otis catches her again. That’s fine with Belair, who throws Sonya onto both of them for the double elimination. Dana Brooke is in at #13 and starts beating up Yim in a hurry. Belair tosses Candice out for her fifth elimination setting a women’s Royal Rumble record. Bliss gets rid of Sane and it’s Tamina in at #14 and she gets to fire off her superkicks. That’s fine with Belair, who avoids a charge to send Tamina out. NXT’s Dakota Kai is in at #15 and kicks Brooke in the face as Bliss knocks Yim out.

NXT’s Chelsea Green is in at #16 and tosses Kai but gets tossed by Bliss in about ten seconds. Belair gets rid of Brooke and we’re down to Belair vs. Bliss again. Twisted Bliss is blocked and they fight to the apron with Belair knocking her into the post for the elimination. Belair is alone and it’s Charlotte in at #17. Charlotte chops away at Belair and sends her flying with a quick suplex. That goes nowhere and it’s the returning Naomi in at #18.

Naomi starts sliding around to avoid some shots, setting up a staredown with Charlotte. Some chops in the corner have Naomi in trouble and it’s Beth Phoenix in at #19. Charlotte and Naomi and Beth and Belair pair off but it’s Toni Storm in at #20 to give us Charlotte, Naomi, Phoenix, Belair and Storm. Charlotte finally throws Belair out to a big reaction and it’s the returning Kelly Kelly in at #21.

Beth manages to send Charlotte over the top and stomp away but Charlotte manages to hang on. Sarah Logan is in at #22….and Charlotte kicks her out in about ten seconds. Charlotte knocks Kelly out and it’s Natalya in at #23. Clotheslines abound and Beth and Natalya powerbomb Charlotte out of the corner. NXT’s Xia Li is in at #24 and starts kicking various blondes. Zelina Vega is in at #25 as they’re flying through these entrants.

A tornado DDT plants Naomi but a bunch of people can’t get rid of Charlotte in the corner. NXT newcomer Shotzi Blackheart is in at #26 and Naomi is thrown over the top….but she manages to land on the steps and dive onto the barricade. Naomi pulls herself back up and crawls along the barricade so she can walk along the announcers’ table and try to figure things out. Carmella comes in at #27 and hits a very spinning headscissors, setting up a double Bronco Buster on Natalya and Beth (who is bleeding BADLY from the back of the head).

Charlotte gets sent shoulder first into the post and calls out to the floor as Tegan Nox is in at #28. Phoenix hits Nox with a Glam Slam….and Santina Marella is in at #29. Beth isn’t happy and glares Santina down, with Natalya joining her. With nothing else working, Santina whips out the Cobra, strikes herself, and is eliminations. NXT’s Shayna Baszler is in at #30, giving us a final field of Charlotte (on the floor), Naomi (still on the announcers’ table), Phoenix, Storm, Natalya, Li, Vega, Blackheart, Carmella, Nox and Baszler.

Shayna starts fast by posting Charlotte on the floor and dumps Li. Nox and Vega are out as well, with Shotzi joining all of them. Naomi has finally gotten the top of the announcers’ table off and uses it as a bridge to the ring for a big reaction (after about ten minutes to get back). Shayna gets rid of Carmella and Storm before dodging Naomi’s Rear View and tossing her as well.

Beth and Natalya grab a quick Hart Attack on Baszler but Beth throws Natalya out. Charlotte comes back in to send Baszler and Phoenix to the apron, setting up the Charlotte vs. Baszler showdown. Phoenix is back in but gets tossed by Baszler. Charlotte hang son and skins the cat into a headscissors to eliminate Baszler for the win at 54:17.

Rating: C+. They were flying through this and while it was nice to see the NXT stars popping in, there wasn’t a lot of interesting in the whole thing. The biggest problem is Charlotte winning, as she certainly didn’t need the win over a newcomer like Baszler. Charlotte was already one of the most successful women in WWE history. Did she really need something like this over a newcomer like Baszler? It makes even less sense when you consider where they both went at Wrestlemania, but again, Charlotte. It wasn’t a bad match at all, but just too fast and not overly interesting.

Post match Charlotte says nothing is stopping her from becoming champion again at Wrestlemania.

King Corbin promises to eliminate Roman Reigns from the Rumble tonight.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Bayley is defending and gets shoved down to start. Some knee drops give Lacey an early two and a slingshot elbow has Bayley in more trouble. Hold on though as Bayley is favoring her knee, which is good enough goldbricking to let Bayley get in an elbow to the face for two. The chinlock sets up a suplex into another chinlock and the comeback attempt is countered into a third chinlock. Points for consistency? A clothesline gives Bayley two and she tells Lacey to “come on mommy.”.

The chinlock goes on again for a few seconds but Bayley misses a charge into the corner. Lacey grabs a slingshot rollup for two and nails a running knee. A slingshot dropkick almost sends Lacey falling out to the floor but she manages to hold on. The slingshot dive misses though and we see Lacey’s daughter and I’d assume husband in the front row. Back in and Lacey grabs a neckbreaker but the double jump moonsault hits knees (that’s what you get for stopping to salute). Bayley grabs a rollup with trunks to retain at 9:25.

Rating: C. Just slightly above a TV level match here but it was too early to take the title off of Bayley just yet. Bayley mocking Lacey was rather good but the amazing part is that Lacey still hasn’t won a title. You would just think she would have gotten one out of however many shots she has had over the years. It didn’t need to be here, but nothing since then? Really?

We recap Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend. Bryan has brought back the YES Movement to fight against the Fiend and now it’s time to challenge for the title in a strap match. Bray Wyatt has brought up Bryan’s time as part of the Wyatt Family and wants some revenge.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

The Fiend is defending in a strap match, but this time it’s pins/submissions instead of the four corners. I don’t miss the red lights but I do miss the severed head lantern (that’s one of those “only in wrestling” deals). As for the custom Fiend title…..eh not so much either. Bryan kicks away in the corner but gets powerbombed out for his efforts. It’s already time to start whipping Bryan in the back but a kick to the face has Fiend on the floor. The suicide dive is swatted away though and Fiend whips him again.

As Cole refers to the Fiend as Reigns, they head back inside with Bryan being sat on top for some more shots to the back. The bright red marks are already starting to appear on Bryan’s back so Fiend laughs a lot. Bryan scores with a quick kick though and the running knee gets two. Fiend gets low bridged to the floor for the big dive, only to send Bryan into the steps. Bryan pulls him into the post over and over though and Fiend is rocked. He’s fine enough to clothesline Bryan inside out and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

Bryan kicks him low a few times to save himself and there’s a DDT onto the table for a thud. Fiend gets whipped for a change and it’s back inside for the YES Kicks, followed by several whips to Fiend for a change. As you might expect, Fiend wants more kicking and whippings so Bryan obliges. The running knee is countered into Sister Abigail (sweet) for two though and Fiend isn’t sure what to do. The Mandible Claw goes on on the top so Bryan pulls him into a triangle choke over the ropes.

That doesn’t work so Bryan pulls him into the YES Lock to….well not much as Fiend escapes and hammers away again. Another Sister Abigail is countered into another running knee for another two so Bryan starts firing himself up. Fiend pops up to his feet and you can see the defeat in Bryan’s face. Bryan’s whips are shrugged off and the Mandible Claw goes on again to finish Bryan at 17:36.

Rating: B. This was the Royal Rumble title defense as there was little doubt about who was going to win and there is nothing wrong with that. It was going to take someone special (or old) to beat Fiend and as great as Bryan is, it wasn’t the right place for him to get the title here. They had a hard hitting match but in the end, Bryan wasn’t enough to stop Fiend and that makes Fiend look a heck of a lot better.

Post match, a very damaged Bryan has to be helped out.

There is a new attendance record of 42,715.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match, with Becky Lynch defending against Asuka. Lynch has been champion since Wrestlemania but Asuka was the last woman to beat her. That has weighed on Lynch and it is time for a rematch one year after the loss to Asuka. Green mist was used so you know it’s serious.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka

Asuka, with Kairi Sane, is challenging. Feeling out process to start with the grappling setting up Asuka’s rollup for two. They roll around a bit until Becky clotheslines her to the floor. The followup earns Becky a shot to the arm but the hip attack misses, allowing the Disarm-Her (in the ropes) to go on. Asuka is right back with a neckbreaker over the ropes to take over and it’s time to kick Lynch in the face a few times. A Shining Wizard connects for two but Lynch comes back with some kicks to the face.

They fight to the apron with neither being able to hit a suplex so Becky release suplexes her to the floor. Asuka is fine enough to hit a knee to the face back inside and a fisherman’s suplex drop (as in she drops Becky down onto the mat) gets two. Asuka takes her to the middle rope, where Becky is back with a super Rock Bottom for two more. Becky can’t follow up so Asuka goes with the cross armbreaker into the Asuka Lock (how she beat Becky last year) but Becky makes the rope.

The Kawada Kicks knock Becky silly so we pause for a bit for the referee to check on Lynch. She grabs the referee’s leg to beg him not to stop it so Asuka hits another big kick to the head. Another Asuka Lock attempt is countered into a failed Disarm-Her attempt so they trade kicks for a double knockdown. They slug it out with the referee almost getting bumped, so Asuka loads up the green mist. Lynch is smarter than that though and kicks it out of her mouth, setting up the Disarm-Her to retain at 16:35.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other with Asuka winning most of the match until she tried to cheat and Becky was ready for her. This felt like Becky surviving until the end and then beating Asuka at her own game because she knew she had to get her win back. I really liked this and they told a good enough story that I got into it without remembering a lot of the details. That’s hard to do but they pulled it off here.

Post match, Becky gives Asuka a knowing look.

Wrestlemania XXXVI is coming to Tampa. My how things change, but the awesomeness of that pirate theme isn’t one of them.

The Street Profits go over the men’s Royal Rumble favorites as only they can.

Men’s Royal Rumble

Non-title and Booker T. is a guest commentator but hang on as Bobby Lashley and Rusev are ruled out due to a huge brawl earlier in the day. 90 second intervals again and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is in at #1 (he wanted a challenge) and Elias is in at #2. Hold on though as Elias needs to call Lesnar a gorilla and Paul Heyman a zookeeper. Elias’ song is about how he is a sacrificial lamb so Lesnar charges to start the beating in the aisle.

They get inside with Lesnar unloading with shoulders in the corner. There’s the German suplex and a guitar shot to the back keeps Elias down. That’s enough for the elimination, which is good as face Elias never worked. Erick Rowan is in at #3 and lasts less than ten seconds. Good because the caged animal deal never worked either. After Lesnar walks around for a bit, Robert Roode is in at #4 and wisely takes his time.

Roode gets a boot up in the corner but walks into the F5 and is gone. More walking around, this time while holding the title up, kills some time until John Morrison (who makes Lesnar laugh) is in at #5. He beats Rowan’s time, lasting a full nine seconds. Kofi Kingston is in at #6 to get his chance at retribution for Lesnar beating him for the title in about ten seconds (Yeah remember that?).

Kofi gets in a few shots but is driven into the corner for another German suplex. Rey Mysterio is in at #7 and that gets Lesnar’s attention. The pace picks up (as you may have guessed) but Lesnar clotheslines them both down and gets to pace a bit. The German suplexes keep both guys down on the floor (not out) until Big E. is in at #8. Big E. rallies the troops and it’s the parade of finishers to rock Lesnar….who tosses Rey, uses Big E. as a launchpad to drop Kofi, and then tosses Big E. with ease.

Kofi is out as well and Lesnar is alone in the ring as Cesaro is in at #9. Less than twenty seconds later and Lesnar is all alone again for Lesnar’s eighth elimination. Shelton Benjamin is in at #10 and Lesnar likes this one for a change. Shelton hugs Heyman at ringside and tells him to go reunite with Lesnar (Booker: “Don’t fall for that!”). They hug and Lesnar German suplexes him, setting up another elimination.

Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (with hype man Sami Zayn) is in at #11 and a spinning kick to the head rocks Lesnar. Then he throws Nakamura out, but he did get kicked down. MVP (in Black Panther gear) makes a surprise return at #12 (Lesnar likes his music) and is out in about 25 seconds. Keith Lee is in at #13 and that gets Brock’s attention (Lesnar: “Big boy!”) in a hurry. They stare each other down and Lee drops him with a shoulder (giving us a shocked Lesnar face), followed by a double knockdown. Braun Strowman is in at #14 and dropkicks Lee to the floor (not out).

Brock suplexes both of them twice in a row and they’re all down for a bit. Strowman and Lee start fighting….so Lesnar dumps them both to tie the eliminations record at 13. Ricochet (who Lesnar beat up on Raw) is in at #15 and gets knocked into the corner. There’s another German suplex to send Ricochet flying as Cole says he doesn’t want to hear anyone talking about how Lesnar doesn’t do anything. Drew McIntyre is in at #16 and there’s the next big staredown.

Lesnar takes the gloves off but Ricochet returns the low blow from Raw and McIntyre Claymores Lesnar out for a HUGE pop. Heyman isn’t sure what to do as the match starts the second half. McIntyre tosses Ricochet and stares down at Lesnar because that’s Wrestlemania. Miz is in at #17 and gets Future Shocked and Claymored for another elimination. McIntyre keeps staring down at Lesnar, who walks off through timekeeper’s area for some reason.

AJ Styles is in at #18 and starts kicking away at McIntyre’s leg. The Calf Crusher goes on for a bit but McIntyre drives AJ’s head into the mat for the break. Dolph Ziggler is in at #19 but would rather hit AJ than double team McIntyre. Karl Anderson is in at #20, giving us McIntyre, Styles, Ziggler and Anderson to tie the most people in the match at once. Anderson and Styles team up but Ziggler gets to make one of his signature Rumble saves (he does those A LOT).

In your shock of the night/show/year, EDGE is in at #21 and looks near tears to be in his first match in almost nine years. Spears abound and absolutely the fans are going nuts as Edge soaks in some cheers. AJ scores with a Pele kick to Edge but gets speared down as well. A banged up King Corbin is in at #22 as AJ seems to be hurt in the corner. Edge quickly eliminates AJ, who grabs his arm/shoulder on the floor.

NXT’s Matt Riddle is in at #23 and kicks away, only to get tossed by Corbin in about forty seconds. Luke Gallows is in at #24 and kicks away as well until McIntyre dumps Corbin (with Cole calling him Humpty Dumpty.). Randy Orton is in at #25 and it’s an RKO each for the Good Brothers. We get a quick Rated RKO reunion as Edge and Orton get rid of Gallows and Anderson and here’s Roman Reigns in at #26 (Cole actually gets in an interesting stat by saying it’s the latest entry to never have a winner).

Reigns goes after McIntyre and it’s Kevin Owens in at lucky #27 (even though the luck is more of cliché these days). Reigns can’t hit the Pop Up Powerbomb and Owens hits him with a Stunner. There’s another Stunner to Orton and it’s Aleister Black (I had forgotten his music) in at #28. Black Mass abounds but no one is tossed as Samoa Joe is in at #29. Owens and Joe, friends at the moment, slug it out until Seth Rollins is in at #30.

That gives us an outstanding final field of McIntyre, Edge, Orton, Reigns, Owens, Black, Joe and Rollins (Ziggler seems to have been eliminated off camera). This time though Rollins has Buddy Murphy and the AOP with him so Owens and Joe go outside to brawl with the team (sweet goodness with all the camera cuts). AOP starts wrecking people but doesn’t eliminate anyone. Murphy gets in a cheap shot on Black to save Rollins though and Black is gone.

Owens throws Rollins over the top but AOP catches him, allowing Rollins to toss Owens as well. Rollins gets caught in the Koquina Clutch but manages to toss Joe as well. Joe, Black and Owens brawl with AOP and Murphy to the back and we’re down to Rollins, McIntyre, Edge, Reigns and Orton (that’s a fine final five). Rollins tries to get on Reigns’ side but takes one finisher after another, setting up the easy elimination for McIntyre.

Edge and Orton agree to team up and the brawl is on again as the fans find this awesome. There’s an RKO to McIntyre and a spear takes him down again. A double RKO plants McIntyre again but Edge catches Orton waiting to turn on him. That lets Edge toss Orton (makes sense) and we’re down to three. The fans tell Edge that he still has it as he slugs it out with Reigns, who nails a Superman Punch. Reigns misses the spear so Edge hits his own and they go to the apron. Reigns gets the better of it and tosses Edge but heads back inside for the Claymore to give McIntyre the big win at 1:00:08.

Rating: B. And that’s how you make a new star, as McIntyre not only slayed the Beast but then won what was pretty much an all star second half to win the whole thing. You don’t see people get this kind of a rub in the Rumble often enough but man alive this worked very well. At least the second half though, which brings us to the 294lb gorilla in the Rumble.

Watching this Rumble back and knowing what is coming made it a bit easier, but the first half is still total overkill as Lesnar could have made the same point with, I don’t know, seven or eight people? I’d like to think that it’s not just to equal Strowman’s elimination record from the Greatest Royal Rumble, but WWE seems to consider that the same as this kind so maybe they are ridiculous enough to consider that a reason. Lesnar was a monster and some of the stuff he did was cool, but we got the point already.

Overall it’s a good enough Rumble and the positives outweigh the negatives, but the Lesnar stuff went on too long. I do like seeing Lesnar be treated like a monster instead of rushing through everything in three minutes, but how many villagers does the monster need to devour to prove his point? The McIntyre stuff made up for a lot of it, though I don’t need to see the two half Rumble structure again.

Overall Rating: B+. Overall, this is a heck of a show, but I can get why watching it with more knowledge of what it would mean would change things a lot. There are some weak parts to the show, but at the same time the big matches all delivered and that’s what you need in a show like this. They also kept it a little shorter than the huge shows and with nothing bad, I’m not sure what else you could want. Well less Lesnar dominance maybe but that might be nitpicking.

Ratings Comparison

Shorty G. vs. Sheamus

Original: C

Redo: C-

Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo

Original: C

Redo: C+

King Corbin vs. Roman Reigns

Original: D+

Redo: C

Women’s Royal Rumble

Original: B

Redo: C+

Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Original: C-

Redo: C

Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

Original: B

Redo: B

Asuka vs. Becky Lynch

Original: B

Redo: B

Men’s Royal Rumble

Original: B+

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: B+

Wait, I really liked the men’s Rumble better the first time? Reigns vs. Corbin being higher this time doesn’t surprise me though as that feud just destroyed me.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

 

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

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

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

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal

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

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

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

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

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

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 0
Raw – 0

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

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

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

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

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
Raw – 0

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

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

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

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

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

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
Raw – 1

And now, the show proper.

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

Women’s Survivor Series Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT – 2
Smackdown – 1
Raw – 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT – 3
Smackdown – 1
Raw – 1

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

NXT Title: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

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

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

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

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

The Smackdown men argue over leadership.

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

Smackdown World Title: Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

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

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

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

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

Men’s Survivor Series Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT – 3
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1

Post match Reigns shows Lee some well earned respect.

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

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

Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT – 4
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1

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

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

 

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal:

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

Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto

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

New Day vs. Viking Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

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

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

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

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles

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

Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

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

The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

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

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

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

Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

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

Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch

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

Overall Rating:

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

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

 

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

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Royal Rumble 2020
Date: January 26, 2020
Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 42,715
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jerry Lawler, Tom Phillips

Remember when we had crowds? It’s almost weird to see something like this but it’s a nice flashback to a show that feels like it was years ago. I remember the higher points of the show but given how many things have changed since then, it could be rather interesting to look back. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Shorty G. vs. Sheamus

Small guy with a ridiculous name vs. a monster, with Sheamus returning and pretending to save G. but then attacking him for being short. Sheamus shrugs off a single leg attempt to start and pulls G. down by the hair. A shoulder puts him down again but G. sends him outside in front of Green Shirt Guy. Back in and it’s way too early for G.’s ankle lock as Sheamus sends him into the post. There’s the shoulder breaker before Sheamus starts stepping on the fingers.

The armbar goes on and we take a break. Back with the armbar continuing, followed by Sheamus ax handling him in the face. Sheamus sends him to the apron for the forearms to the chest and asks the fans IF THEY ARE NOT ENTERTAINED. Eh it’s been a little slow so far so only kind of. G. slips out of a belly to back though and dropkicks the knee out, allowing him to stomp away on the leg in the corner.

The tornado DDT sets up the moonsault for two on Sheamus and the rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner is good for the same. Sheamus shoves him away and goes up, only to dive into the ankle lock. That’s broken up with a grab of the rope so Sheamus kicks him in the bad arm. The Brogue Kick is good for the pin at 12:37.

Rating: C-. This took some time to get going but the arm played into the finish and Sheamus needed the win to build himself up since he hasn’t even been back for a month so far. It was a slightly longer than usual TV match and unfortunately it saw G. lose again. I know it keeps happening, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Kickoff Show: US Title: Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo

Andrade, with Zelina Vega, is defending in another of about 35 matches between these two. Humberto had been injured by Andrade but came back to save Rey Mysterio on Raw, setting this up. They go to the mat to start for a standoff but Carrillo sends him outside, only to glide over Andrade on the baseball slide again. Carrillo hits the Tranquilo pose on the apron and you just don’t do that, as Andrade gets in a cheap shot to take over.

We take a break and come back with Andrade hitting a basement dropkick to the side of the head. The armbreaker over the ropes has Carrillo’s arm being broken, at least until just before the DQ. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to keep Carrillo in trouble but he fights to his feet. That’s about it for the good though as his high angle springboard armdrag is countered with a faceplant. Carrillo is back up with a spinning springboard crossbody but a moonsault hits knees.

Andrade’s running knees in the corner are broken up and he misses a charge to the floor, allowing Carrillo to nail an Asai moonsault. Back in and Andrade hits Two Amigos but the third is countered into a suplex from Carrillo. Andrade kicks him into the corner though and the running knees connect for two. The hammerlock DDT is countered into a small package for two on Andrade and it’s time for the slugout.

Carrillo scores with a superkick for two as Vega is panicking. Back up and Andrade misses some running elbows to the face but he’s able to catch Carrillo on top with a shot to the jaw. Carrillo is fine enough to snap off a super hurricanrana for two and Vega starts giving fast paced advice. Andrade slips out of a fireman’s carry so Carrillo tries another hurricanrana but Andrade reverses into a sunset flip to retain at 14:18.

Rating: C+. These two might not have been the most interesting but they could have some nice, fast paced matches. That’s what we got here on the bigger stage and the right person won, as usual. Carrillo can do all the moves but he’s a complete hole of charisma. Andrade and Vega worked well together, though the stupid deal with Angel Garza getting involved and fighting with Andrade brought them both way down. Still though, pretty good here.

The opening video features Steve Austin talking about the importance of the Royal Rumble, as everyone is out for one thing. It doesn’t matter if there is one person or thirty, because this is their shot at glory. The other matches, which aren’t quite as important, get a little bit of time as well.

King Corbin vs. Roman Reigns

Falls Count Anywhere, which is hardcore based on the introductions but the former sounds better. This is fallout from the rather good dog food angle, which was the only good part of their months long feud. Reigns doesn’t wait for Corbin to get off of his throne and beats up the handlers to start things off. The brawl is on outside with Corbin bailing over the barricade, only to get knocked back to ringside.

They head inside where Reigns gets two off a belly to back suplex. It’s way too early for the Superman Punch so Corbin grabs Deep Six for his own two. They’re back on the floor with Corbin hitting him in the face with the steps and loading up the announcers’ table. Reigns punches him in the face though and they head over the barricade with Reigns following for more right hands. It’s already back to ringside with Corbin getting in a bell shot to the ribs.

Reigns charges at him and gets chokeslammed through the announcers’ table. It’s back over the barricade now with Reigns being sent into some chairs and then into an anvil case. A Samoan drop through a table gives Reigns a breather and they’re both slow to get up. It works so well that Reigns does it again, this time for two. Back up and Corbin drives him into another anvil case (Neil’s Workbox according to the label) and here are Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler to beat Reigns down.

Cue the Usos to even things up and we cut over to the tag teams fighting as Corbin and Reigns are gone. Roode sets up a barricade but Jey dives off the scaffold to make a save as the people actually in the match pop up again. Reigns throws him into some portable toilets (Cole: “Those structures.”) and then turns it over with Corbin inside. That doesn’t seem to mean much and they head back through the crowd. This time Corbin pulls a cover off of the dugout and hitting a few chair shots. Reigns comes back with a Superman Punch and the spear for the pin at 21:17.

Rating: C. These two just aren’t all that interesting together and Reigns is even harder to watch in this role after seeing what he could do later on in the year. The problem here was that they just walked around a lot and punched each other with some spots in the middle. The interference spiced things up a bit, but you shouldn’t need to spice up a violent gimmick match between two people who can’t stand each other. It’s not an awful match, but it wasn’t an interesting feud at the time and the version without seeing most of the build isn’t that much of an improvement.

Samoa Joe comes up to Kevin Owens, who is really excited about getting to beat up Seth Rollins. That sounds cool with Joe, who is more than willing to throw Owens out. Bickering ensues.

Sonya Deville says she’ll eliminate herself before eliminating Mandy Rose because they’re partners.

In Memory of Kobe Bryant, who died earlier in the day. That was quite the shock.

Women’s Royal Rumble

Ninety second intervals and Alexa Bliss is in at #1 and Bianca Belair, still in NXT at this point, is in at #2. Bliss doesn’t look impressed and they lock up to start. Belair starts fast by driving Bliss into the corner for a shoulder to the ribs. The standing moonsault connects and it’s Mighty Molly in at #3. The posing, complete with cape, draws the flashbacks and Molly hits a high crossbody onto both of them. We get some rather sped up intervals as Nikki Cross is in at #4.

Bliss and Cross have the big hug but get taken down, including the KOD from Belair to drive Cross onto Bliss in a crash. Everyone gets knocked down and it’s Lana in at #5. Lana, in the required Captain Marvel gear, brags about being a newlywed (oh man that nonsense) and finally gets in as Mercedes Martinez is in at #6 to clean house. Lana is almost put out and it’s Liv Morgan in at #7 to get rid of Lana in a hurry. Morgan makes the mistake of going up top though and Lana pulls her off. The catfight is on outside and Mandy Rose is in at #8.

Cross has to kick Rose away and gives her a crossbody as Candice LeRae is in at #9. A missile dropkick puts Martinez down and a Lionsault hits Cross. Molly gets tossed and Rose is sent over as well….but lands on Otis, who happens to be laying at ringside for your comedy bit. Sonya Deville is in at #10, giving us Bliss, Belair, Cross, Martinez, Rose, LeRae and Deville. Mandy and Sonya fail to get rid of Candice but they can get rid of Martinez. Kairi Sane is in at #11 and comes in with her umbrella because Sane is kind of weird. House is cleaned, including a Blockbuster into a top rope elbow on Rose. Mia Yim is in at #12 and Belair knocks Cross out.

Sonya tries to toss Mandy but Otis catches her again. That’s fine with Belair, who throws Sonya onto both of them for the double elimination. Dana Brooke is in at #13 and starts beating up Yim in a hurry. Belair tosses Candice out for her fifth elimination setting a women’s Royal Rumble record. Bliss gets rid of Sane and it’s Tamina in at #14 and she gets to fire off her superkicks. That’s fine with Belair, who avoids a charge to send Tamina out. NXT’s Dakota Kai is in at #15 and kicks Brooke in the face as Bliss knocks Yim out.

NXT’s Chelsea Green is in at #16 and tosses Kai but gets tossed by Bliss in about ten seconds. Belair gets rid of Brooke and we’re down to Belair vs. Bliss again. Twisted Bliss is blocked and they fight to the apron with Belair knocking her into the post for the elimination. Belair is alone and it’s Charlotte in at #17. Charlotte chops away at Belair and sends her flying with a quick suplex. That goes nowhere and it’s the returning Naomi in at #18.

Naomi starts sliding around to avoid some shots, setting up a staredown with Charlotte. Some chops in the corner have Naomi in trouble and it’s Beth Phoenix in at #19. Charlotte and Naomi and Beth and Belair pair off but it’s Toni Storm in at #20 to give us Charlotte, Naomi, Phoenix, Belair and Storm. Charlotte finally throws Belair out to a big reaction and it’s the returning Kelly Kelly in at #21.

Beth manages to send Charlotte over the top and stomp away but Charlotte manages to hang on. Sarah Logan is in at #22….and Charlotte kicks her out in about ten seconds. Charlotte knocks Kelly out and it’s Natalya in at #23. Clotheslines abound and Beth and Natalya powerbomb Charlotte out of the corner. NXT’s Xia Li is in at #24 and starts kicking various blondes. Zelina Vega is in at #25 as they’re flying through these entrants.

A tornado DDT plants Naomi but a bunch of people can’t get rid of Charlotte in the corner. NXT newcomer Shotzi Blackheart is in at #26 and Naomi is thrown over the top….but she manages to land on the steps and dive onto the barricade. Naomi pulls herself back up and crawls along the barricade so she can walk along the announcers’ table and try to figure things out. Carmella comes in at #27 and hits a very spinning headscissors, setting up a double Bronco Buster on Natalya and Beth (who is bleeding BADLY from the back of the head).

Charlotte gets sent shoulder first into the post and calls out to the floor as Tegan Nox is in at #28. Phoenix hits Nox with a Glam Slam….and Santina Marella is in at #29. Beth isn’t happy and glares Santina down, with Natalya joining her. With nothing else working, Santina whips out the Cobra, strikes herself, and is eliminations. NXT’s Shayna Baszler is in at #30, giving us a final field of Charlotte (on the floor), Naomi (still on the announcers’ table), Phoenix, Storm, Natalya, Li, Vega, Blackheart, Carmella, Nox and Baszler.

Shayna starts fast by posting Charlotte on the floor and dumps Li. Nox and Vega are out as well, with Shotzi joining all of them. Naomi has finally gotten the top of the announcers’ table off and uses it as a bridge to the ring for a big reaction (after about ten minutes to get back). Shayna gets rid of Carmella and Storm before dodging Naomi’s Rear View and tossing her as well.

Beth and Natalya grab a quick Hart Attack on Baszler but Beth throws Natalya out. Charlotte comes back in to send Baszler and Phoenix to the apron, setting up the Charlotte vs. Baszler showdown. Phoenix is back in but gets tossed by Baszler. Charlotte hang son and skins the cat into a headscissors to eliminate Baszler for the win at 54:17.

Rating: C+. They were flying through this and while it was nice to see the NXT stars popping in, there wasn’t a lot of interesting in the whole thing. The biggest problem is Charlotte winning, as she certainly didn’t need the win over a newcomer like Baszler. Charlotte was already one of the most successful women in WWE history. Did she really need something like this over a newcomer like Baszler? It makes even less sense when you consider where they both went at Wrestlemania, but again, Charlotte. It wasn’t a bad match at all, but just too fast and not overly interesting.

Post match Charlotte says nothing is stopping her from becoming champion again at Wrestlemania.

King Corbin promises to eliminate Roman Reigns from the Rumble tonight.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Bayley is defending and gets shoved down to start. Some knee drops give Lacey an early two and a slingshot elbow has Bayley in more trouble. Hold on though as Bayley is favoring her knee, which is good enough goldbricking to let Bayley get in an elbow to the face for two. The chinlock sets up a suplex into another chinlock and the comeback attempt is countered into a third chinlock. Points for consistency? A clothesline gives Bayley two and she tells Lacey to “come on mommy.”.

The chinlock goes on again for a few seconds but Bayley misses a charge into the corner. Lacey grabs a slingshot rollup for two and nails a running knee. A slingshot dropkick almost sends Lacey falling out to the floor but she manages to hold on. The slingshot dive misses though and we see Lacey’s daughter and I’d assume husband in the front row. Back in and Lacey grabs a neckbreaker but the double jump moonsault hits knees (that’s what you get for stopping to salute). Bayley grabs a rollup with trunks to retain at 9:25.

Rating: C. Just slightly above a TV level match here but it was too early to take the title off of Bayley just yet. Bayley mocking Lacey was rather good but the amazing part is that Lacey still hasn’t won a title. You would just think she would have gotten one out of however many shots she has had over the years. It didn’t need to be here, but nothing since then? Really?

We recap Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend. Bryan has brought back the YES Movement to fight against the Fiend and now it’s time to challenge for the title in a strap match. Bray Wyatt has brought up Bryan’s time as part of the Wyatt Family and wants some revenge.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

The Fiend is defending in a strap match, but this time it’s pins/submissions instead of the four corners. I don’t miss the red lights but I do miss the severed head lantern (that’s one of those “only in wrestling” deals). As for the custom Fiend title…..eh not so much either. Bryan kicks away in the corner but gets powerbombed out for his efforts. It’s already time to start whipping Bryan in the back but a kick to the face has Fiend on the floor. The suicide dive is swatted away though and Fiend whips him again.

As Cole refers to the Fiend as Reigns, they head back inside with Bryan being sat on top for some more shots to the back. The bright red marks are already starting to appear on Bryan’s back so Fiend laughs a lot. Bryan scores with a quick kick though and the running knee gets two. Fiend gets low bridged to the floor for the big dive, only to send Bryan into the steps. Bryan pulls him into the post over and over though and Fiend is rocked. He’s fine enough to clothesline Bryan inside out and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

Bryan kicks him low a few times to save himself and there’s a DDT onto the table for a thud. Fiend gets whipped for a change and it’s back inside for the YES Kicks, followed by several whips to Fiend for a change. As you might expect, Fiend wants more kicking and whippings so Bryan obliges. The running knee is countered into Sister Abigail (sweet) for two though and Fiend isn’t sure what to do. The Mandible Claw goes on on the top so Bryan pulls him into a triangle choke over the ropes.

That doesn’t work so Bryan pulls him into the YES Lock to….well not much as Fiend escapes and hammers away again. Another Sister Abigail is countered into another running knee for another two so Bryan starts firing himself up. Fiend pops up to his feet and you can see the defeat in Bryan’s face. Bryan’s whips are shrugged off and the Mandible Claw goes on again to finish Bryan at 17:36.

Rating: B. This was the Royal Rumble title defense as there was little doubt about who was going to win and there is nothing wrong with that. It was going to take someone special (or old) to beat Fiend and as great as Bryan is, it wasn’t the right place for him to get the title here. They had a hard hitting match but in the end, Bryan wasn’t enough to stop Fiend and that makes Fiend look a heck of a lot better.

Post match, a very damaged Bryan has to be helped out.

There is a new attendance record of 42,715.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match, with Becky Lynch defending against Asuka. Lynch has been champion since Wrestlemania but Asuka was the last woman to beat her. That has weighed on Lynch and it is time for a rematch one year after the loss to Asuka. Green mist was used so you know it’s serious.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka

Asuka, with Kairi Sane, is challenging. Feeling out process to start with the grappling setting up Asuka’s rollup for two. They roll around a bit until Becky clotheslines her to the floor. The followup earns Becky a shot to the arm but the hip attack misses, allowing the Disarm-Her (in the ropes) to go on. Asuka is right back with a neckbreaker over the ropes to take over and it’s time to kick Lynch in the face a few times. A Shining Wizard connects for two but Lynch comes back with some kicks to the face.

They fight to the apron with neither being able to hit a suplex so Becky release suplexes her to the floor. Asuka is fine enough to hit a knee to the face back inside and a fisherman’s suplex drop (as in she drops Becky down onto the mat) gets two. Asuka takes her to the middle rope, where Becky is back with a super Rock Bottom for two more. Becky can’t follow up so Asuka goes with the cross armbreaker into the Asuka Lock (how she beat Becky last year) but Becky makes the rope.

The Kawada Kicks knock Becky silly so we pause for a bit for the referee to check on Lynch. She grabs the referee’s leg to beg him not to stop it so Asuka hits another big kick to the head. Another Asuka Lock attempt is countered into a failed Disarm-Her attempt so they trade kicks for a double knockdown. They slug it out with the referee almost getting bumped, so Asuka loads up the green mist. Lynch is smarter than that though and kicks it out of her mouth, setting up the Disarm-Her to retain at 16:35.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other with Asuka winning most of the match until she tried to cheat and Becky was ready for her. This felt like Becky surviving until the end and then beating Asuka at her own game because she knew she had to get her win back. I really liked this and they told a good enough story that I got into it without remembering a lot of the details. That’s hard to do but they pulled it off here.

Post match, Becky gives Asuka a knowing look.

Wrestlemania XXXVI is coming to Tampa. My how things change, but the awesomeness of that pirate theme isn’t one of them.

The Street Profits go over the men’s Royal Rumble favorites as only they can.

Men’s Royal Rumble

Non-title and Booker T. is a guest commentator but hang on as Bobby Lashley and Rusev are ruled out due to a huge brawl earlier in the day. 90 second intervals again and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is in at #1 (he wanted a challenge) and Elias is in at #2. Hold on though as Elias needs to call Lesnar a gorilla and Paul Heyman a zookeeper. Elias’ song is about how he is a sacrificial lamb so Lesnar charges to start the beating in the aisle.

They get inside with Lesnar unloading with shoulders in the corner. There’s the German suplex and a guitar shot to the back keeps Elias down. That’s enough for the elimination, which is good as face Elias never worked. Erick Rowan is in at #3 and lasts less than ten seconds. Good because the caged animal deal never worked either. After Lesnar walks around for a bit, Robert Roode is in at #4 and wisely takes his time.

Roode gets a boot up in the corner but walks into the F5 and is gone. More walking around, this time while holding the title up, kills some time until John Morrison (who makes Lesnar laugh) is in at #5. He beats Rowan’s time, lasting a full nine seconds. Kofi Kingston is in at #6 to get his chance at retribution for Lesnar beating him for the title in about ten seconds (Yeah remember that?).

Kofi gets in a few shots but is driven into the corner for another German suplex. Rey Mysterio is in at #7 and that gets Lesnar’s attention. The pace picks up (as you may have guessed) but Lesnar clotheslines them both down and gets to pace a bit. The German suplexes keep both guys down on the floor (not out) until Big E. is in at #8. Big E. rallies the troops and it’s the parade of finishers to rock Lesnar….who tosses Rey, uses Big E. as a launchpad to drop Kofi, and then tosses Big E. with ease.

Kofi is out as well and Lesnar is alone in the ring as Cesaro is in at #9. Less than twenty seconds later and Lesnar is all alone again for Lesnar’s eighth elimination. Shelton Benjamin is in at #10 and Lesnar likes this one for a change. Shelton hugs Heyman at ringside and tells him to go reunite with Lesnar (Booker: “Don’t fall for that!”). They hug and Lesnar German suplexes him, setting up another elimination.

Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (with hype man Sami Zayn) is in at #11 and a spinning kick to the head rocks Lesnar. Then he throws Nakamura out, but he did get kicked down. MVP (in Black Panther gear) makes a surprise return at #12 (Lesnar likes his music) and is out in about 25 seconds. Keith Lee is in at #13 and that gets Brock’s attention (Lesnar: “Big boy!”) in a hurry. They stare each other down and Lee drops him with a shoulder (giving us a shocked Lesnar face), followed by a double knockdown. Braun Strowman is in at #14 and dropkicks Lee to the floor (not out).

Brock suplexes both of them twice in a row and they’re all down for a bit. Strowman and Lee start fighting….so Lesnar dumps them both to tie the eliminations record at 13. Ricochet (who Lesnar beat up on Raw) is in at #15 and gets knocked into the corner. There’s another German suplex to send Ricochet flying as Cole says he doesn’t want to hear anyone talking about how Lesnar doesn’t do anything. Drew McIntyre is in at #16 and there’s the next big staredown.

Lesnar takes the gloves off but Ricochet returns the low blow from Raw and McIntyre Claymores Lesnar out for a HUGE pop. Heyman isn’t sure what to do as the match starts the second half. McIntyre tosses Ricochet and stares down at Lesnar because that’s Wrestlemania. Miz is in at #17 and gets Future Shocked and Claymored for another elimination. McIntyre keeps staring down at Lesnar, who walks off through timekeeper’s area for some reason.

AJ Styles is in at #18 and starts kicking away at McIntyre’s leg. The Calf Crusher goes on for a bit but McIntyre drives AJ’s head into the mat for the break. Dolph Ziggler is in at #19 but would rather hit AJ than double team McIntyre. Karl Anderson is in at #20, giving us McIntyre, Styles, Ziggler and Anderson to tie the most people in the match at once. Anderson and Styles team up but Ziggler gets to make one of his signature Rumble saves (he does those A LOT).

In your shock of the night/show/year, EDGE is in at #21 and looks near tears to be in his first match in almost nine years. Spears abound and absolutely the fans are going nuts as Edge soaks in some cheers. AJ scores with a Pele kick to Edge but gets speared down as well. A banged up King Corbin is in at #22 as AJ seems to be hurt in the corner. Edge quickly eliminates AJ, who grabs his arm/shoulder on the floor.

NXT’s Matt Riddle is in at #23 and kicks away, only to get tossed by Corbin in about forty seconds. Luke Gallows is in at #24 and kicks away as well until McIntyre dumps Corbin (with Cole calling him Humpty Dumpty.). Randy Orton is in at #25 and it’s an RKO each for the Good Brothers. We get a quick Rated RKO reunion as Edge and Orton get rid of Gallows and Anderson and here’s Roman Reigns in at #26 (Cole actually gets in an interesting stat by saying it’s the latest entry to never have a winner).

Reigns goes after McIntyre and it’s Kevin Owens in at lucky #27 (even though the luck is more of cliché these days). Reigns can’t hit the Pop Up Powerbomb and Owens hits him with a Stunner. There’s another Stunner to Orton and it’s Aleister Black (I had forgotten his music) in at #28. Black Mass abounds but no one is tossed as Samoa Joe is in at #29. Owens and Joe, friends at the moment, slug it out until Seth Rollins is in at #30.

That gives us an outstanding final field of McIntyre, Edge, Orton, Reigns, Owens, Black, Joe and Rollins (Ziggler seems to have been eliminated off camera). This time though Rollins has Buddy Murphy and the AOP with him so Owens and Joe go outside to brawl with the team (sweet goodness with all the camera cuts). AOP starts wrecking people but doesn’t eliminate anyone. Murphy gets in a cheap shot on Black to save Rollins though and Black is gone.

Owens throws Rollins over the top but AOP catches him, allowing Rollins to toss Owens as well. Rollins gets caught in the Koquina Clutch but manages to toss Joe as well. Joe, Black and Owens brawl with AOP and Murphy to the back and we’re down to Rollins, McIntyre, Edge, Reigns and Orton (that’s a fine final five). Rollins tries to get on Reigns’ side but takes one finisher after another, setting up the easy elimination for McIntyre.

Edge and Orton agree to team up and the brawl is on again as the fans find this awesome. There’s an RKO to McIntyre and a spear takes him down again. A double RKO plants McIntyre again but Edge catches Orton waiting to turn on him. That lets Edge toss Orton (makes sense) and we’re down to three. The fans tell Edge that he still has it as he slugs it out with Reigns, who nails a Superman Punch. Reigns misses the spear so Edge hits his own and they go to the apron. Reigns gets the better of it and tosses Edge but heads back inside for the Claymore to give McIntyre the big win at 1:00:08.

Rating: B. And that’s how you make a new star, as McIntyre not only slayed the Beast but then won what was pretty much an all star second half to win the whole thing. You don’t see people get this kind of a rub in the Rumble often enough but man alive this worked very well. At least the second half though, which brings us to the 294lb gorilla in the Rumble.

Watching this Rumble back and knowing what is coming made it a bit easier, but the first half is still total overkill as Lesnar could have made the same point with, I don’t know, seven or eight people? I’d like to think that it’s not just to equal Strowman’s elimination record from the Greatest Royal Rumble, but WWE seems to consider that the same as this kind so maybe they are ridiculous enough to consider that a reason. Lesnar was a monster and some of the stuff he did was cool, but we got the point already.

Overall it’s a good enough Rumble and the positives outweigh the negatives, but the Lesnar stuff went on too long. I do like seeing Lesnar be treated like a monster instead of rushing through everything in three minutes, but how many villagers does the monster need to devour to prove his point? The McIntyre stuff made up for a lot of it, though I don’t need to see the two half Rumble structure again.

Overall Rating: B+. Overall, this is a heck of a show, but I can get why watching it with more knowledge of what it would mean would change things a lot. There are some weak parts to the show, but at the same time the big matches all delivered and that’s what you need in a show like this. They also kept it a little shorter than the huge shows and with nothing bad, I’m not sure what else you could want. Well less Lesnar dominance maybe but that might be nitpicking.

Ratings Comparison

Shorty G. vs. Sheamus

Original: C

Redo: C-

Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo

Original: C

Redo: C+

King Corbin vs. Roman Reigns

Original: D+

Redo: C

Women’s Royal Rumble

Original: B

Redo: C+

Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Original: C-

Redo: C

Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

Original: B

Redo: B

Asuka vs. Becky Lynch

Original: B

Redo: B

Men’s Royal Rumble

Original: B+

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: B+

Wait, I really liked the men’s Rumble better the first time? Reigns vs. Corbin being higher this time doesn’t surprise me though as that feud just destroyed me.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

 

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AND

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

 

Smackdown
Date: July 16, 2021
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

They’re back. In something that I’ve been waiting to say for well over a year now, we are FINALLY back on the road with a show outside of Florida for the first time since last March. It’s also the go home show for Money in the Bank, meaning we might be in for some last minute surprises. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a special video showing great crowd reactions throughout WWE history, ranging from Hogan slamming Andre to Austin to the modern era. Since this is a WWE history package, it is quite awesome and worth seeing just for the feel of it all.

There are PEOPLE here!

The new set seems to be little more than just a big screen.

We start big with Vince McMahon himself coming out for a chat. Vince: “WHERE THE H*** HAVE YOU BEEN???” End of appearance.

Edge/Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio vs. Usos/Roman Reigns

Reigns gets a rather high pitched pop while Edge gets a MONSTER pop. Jey jumps Edge from behind to start but gets caught with a flapjack. Jimmy comes in and gets armdragged by Rey, setting up a double springboard moonsault from Dominik. That’s about it for Dominik as Jimmy sends him into the corner and hands it off to Reigns, who pulls Dominik outside.

Back in and Reigns gets two with a hand on Dominik’s face. They head outside again and this time it’s a powerbomb onto the announcers’ table to send us to a break. Back with Dominik hitting a DDT on Jey and bringing Edge back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Edge spears Reigns on the floor. The 619 connects but a rollup only gives Rey two. Instead, Jey gets in a cheap shot and Jimmy grabs his own rollup for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: B-. I’m kind of torn on this one as it boosts up the Tag Team Title match, but having the heels go over in the first match back with fans is quite the strange choice. It wasn’t Edge losing to Reigns so it isn’t the worst idea or anything, but they might have wanted to go in a different direction.

Post match the Usos jump the Mysterios but Edge is back in with a chair. Reigns Superman Punches him and grabs the chair but takes too long breaking the bar off. Edge is back up with a spear and the Crossface with the bar makes Reigns tap (as Cole reads his copy about how Reigns might tap on Sunday).

Post break, Edge talks about how he made Reigns tap and how he is going to need to do everything he can to take the title. Seth Rollins pops up behind him to laugh, saying he is going to be Edge’s biggest fan on Sunday. Rollins is going to finish what he started years ago when he had his boot on Edge’s neck and crush him once and for all.

Here is Sami Zayn to say the lights and new set are all just a distraction from the conspiracy against him. For over a year, WWE has tried to hold him down with a conspiracy but now he will have the people in his corner. Sami can’t get a JUSTICE FOR SAMI chant going for him but he isn’t surprised by a bunch of Texas fans. If there was justice, he would be handed the Money In The Bank briefcase right now. This show is not going anywhere until he gets his justice…but here is the returning Finn Balor to cut him off. Sami welcomes him back to the show and is promptly beaten down. The Coup de Grace lets Balor pose after a nice surprise.

Video on Apollo Crews.

Nox/Shotzi vs. Tamina/Natalya

Non-title with Zelina Vega/Liv Morgan on commentary. Nox gets knocked off the apron to start, leaving Shotzi to get beaten down in the corner. The beating continues as Vega and Morgan won’t stop bickering. Shotzi gets over for the tag off to Nox to clean house as Vega and Morgan get in a fight. The Shiniest Wizard gets two on Natalya as Vega is thrown inside. Natalya can’t get the Sharpshooter as Nox small packages her for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: C-. We continue to wait on what should be an obvious title change, which makes me wonder what the point was in having NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles in the first place. Other than that, Vega and Morgan dragged this WAY down by not shutting up for the entire match. That was the focus here instead of the new team and it was really distracting.

Post match Nox and Shotzi leave as everyone else brawls at ringside, with Morgan standing tall.

Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Carmella

Belair is defending and gets a rather strong reaction. A running shoulder puts Carmella down to start but she sends Belair hard into the corner for two. That earns Carmella a running shoulder into the ribs but she manages to post Bianca and we take a break. Back with Belair grabbing a suplex for two and going up, only to have to block what looked like a Stratusphere attempt.

A super hurricanrana brings Belair down for two instead and we hit the pinfall reversal sequence. Carmella grabs a guillotine choke but Belair powers her up for another suplex for two more. With nothing else working, Carmella grabs the hair and takes Belair outside for a whipping. Back in again and Carmella misses the superkick, setting up the hair whip. The KOD retains the title at 11:04.

Rating: C. This was a good way to get Belair in front of a crowd and the reaction was worth the wait. Carmella wasn’t going to be a huge challenger and it was fine to have her out there in a completely acceptable match. Now Smackdown can build up someone else for Belair, though I’m really not sure who that can be outside of bringing someone back in.

Chad Gable talks about how the Alpha Academy is getting used to having everyone be scared of Otis. Tonight he is going to beat Cesaro and they can smell the fear. Cue Cesaro, to say that all he smells is bull from Otis, who beat shim down as a result.

Toni Storm is here next week.

Otis vs. Cesaro

Chad Gable is here with Otis and both guys get quick highlight packages during their entrances. Otis hammers away to start and slugs at the ribs that were banged up before the break. Cesaro slugs back but Gable comes in for the DQ at 1:07.

Post match Cesaro hits the pop up uppercut but Otis breaks up the Swing. The Vader Bomb crushes Cesaro again.

We look at Edge taking out Roman Reigns earlier.

Paul Heyman talks about how Roman Reigns is going to destroy Edge but Big E. comes in

Here is King Corbin for a video on how everything has fallen apart for him. Things have gotten so bad that he might have to give up his house and move in with his wife’s parents. His daughter has to eat spaghetti in a can instead of Ragu beef! He has opened a crowd funding website and all he needs is $100,000. Cue Kevin Owens, with Corbin saying he knows Owens has money and can help him. It’s not like Owens spends money on his wardrobe or anything. That means a Stunner and it’s time for the main event. Corbin FINALLY having the tables turned on him is a nice change of pace and long overdue.

Kevin Owens vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Big E. vs. Seth Rollins

The ring is surrounded by ladders. They start fast with the parade of dives and it’s off to an early break. Back with Big E. hitting the Big Ending on Nakamura with Rollins making the save. The ladder is brought in but Rollins heads to the floor. Owens puts Nakamura onto the announcers’ table for a HUGE elbow, leaving them both down (and taking out a cameraman as well). Back in and Big E. runs Rollins over but a rake to the eyes breaks up the Big Ending. The Stomp onto the ladder finishes Big E. at 8:01.

Rating: C+. What the heck was that? I’m going to assume they ran out of time here as this was an eight minute match with a commercial in the middle. The match itself was very energized and I’d rather they didn’t have some big fifteen minute match which has no bearing on Sunday at all. Let Rollins win and build momentum so we can get to the ladder match and move on.

Rollins pulls down the briefcase to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show gave me a bit of an NXT vibe, as they didn’t try to do anything huge and just covered what they needed to cover. That is a good formula for something like this as I would much, much rather have them put on a nice, solid show than shoot for the moon and blow up on launch. Nothing on here was terribly bad, there were enough things to keep me interested, and Balor was a cool moment. Throw in the fans losing their minds and this was a good Friday night.

Results
Roman Reigns/Usos b. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio/Edge – Rollup to Rey
Nox/Shotzi b. Natalya/Tamina – Small package to Natalya
Bianca Belair b. Carmella – KOD
Cesaro b. Otis via DQ when Chad Gable interfered
Seth Rollins b. Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura and Big E. – Stomp onto a ladder to Big E.

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: June 18, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

For the first time in over twenty years, we’re getting a Hell in a Cell match on free TV, as Universal Champion Roman Reigns is defending against Rey Mysterio. Why you ask? There doesn’t seem to be much of a reason other than “let’s do it on TV”. That is quite the change of pace and I’m not sure how bright of a move it is. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Rey Mysterio vs. Roman Reigns and the setup of their Cell match. That was back when it was taking place at the pay per view of the same name, before the change was made this week.

Here is Rey Mysterio for a chat with the Cell partially lowered. A rather emotional Rey talks about how Reigns attacked him as a father by taking out his son Dominik. Rey remembers seeing the pain in his son’s eyes and he will never forget that feeling. He can’t wait another day so tonight it is time for him to get his revenge inside the Cell. Rey wants Reigns out here right now and the Cell lowers to the floor. Cue Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns, with Roman saying this wasn’t his fault. What happened to Dominik was PG, so is Rey sure he wants this? Rey is sure, so Reigns says not we’ll do it his way.

Video on Commander Azeez.

Apollo Crews is ready for Azeez, his secret weapon, to show Kevin Owens and Big E. true pain.

Apollo Crews/Commander Azeez vs. Big E./Kevin Owens

In the back, Owens talks about how great of a tag wrestler Big E is. Big E.: “Kevin is very good.” Owens: “That’s it?” Big E. gives one of his fired up speeches about how Crews and Azeez are about to feel the power. Sami Zayn comes out for commentary as Big E. drops Crews for the Warrior Splash. Owens adds a backsplash for two, with Sami wondering how legal this is. It’s off to Azeez (in his uniform) to kick Big E. in the face and slam him on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Azeez hitting a suplex as Sami wants more punishment. There’s another suplex (Sami: “That’s good form.”) but Azeez misses the big elbow. Crews comes in and they head to the apron, with Big E. hitting a release gordbuster. It’s off to Owens for a Swanton for two and a Pop Up Powerbomb gets the same. Azeez makes the save and comes back in to run Big E. over on the floor. Owens gets posted and a quick Sami distraction sets up the Nigerian Nail to give Azeez the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. This was all about Azeez and that worked out well. Azeez came off like a total monster and ran over both guys, just as he was supposed to. What mattered here was setting up someone new and making Apollo Crews look that much better by association. Sami being all gleeful about Azeez hurting Owens made it that much more fun.

Sami is rather pleased with the result.

Post break a barely able to breathe Kevin Owens comes in to see Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville, demanding a match with Sami Zayn. Pearce makes it for Sunday.

King Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

It’s the Battle For The Crown and the rubber match after they have traded a pair of wins apiece. Rick Boogs handles the guitar intro and McAfee loses his mind all over again. Nakamura strikes away to start and hits the sliding German suplex. Boogs is rather pleased as we take a break.

Back with Corbin grabbing a chinlock, followed by Deep Six for two. A German suplex gives Corbin two more but Nakamura is back up with the knees to the head. Corbin nails a running clothesline and shouts about it being his crown. That takes a bit too long though, allowing Nakamura to strike away. The middle rope knee connects and another knee breaks up a chokeslam attempt. Kinshasa gives Nakamura the pin and the crown at 9:07.

Rating: C+. It was a better match than they have been having as of late, though that might not be the highest bar to clear. What matters is that we’re done with this feud, which has gone on quite a bit too long. It wouldn’t surprise me if this somehow set up the return of the King of the Ring, which is something that will always work, at least for a few weeks.

Post match Boogs crowns Nakamura as Corbin is crying.

Here is Bianca Belair for a chat. Belair calls out Bayley but no one comes out, leaving her to talk about how hard she has worked to get here. She has overcome all of the odds and is ready to get the last laugh against Bayley. They’re fighting on Sunday, but Belair wants it to be inside the Cell. Belair is going to throw her all over the Cell and Bayley won’t be laughing when Belair retains the title.

Cue Bayley for the brawl but Belair tosses her outside in a hurry. Bayley pulls the hair though and sends Belair into various things, setting up the Rose Plant inside. Bayley holds up the title and the screens turn into the same image again. I’m really not sure if these two need to be in the Cell, but that has been the case with at least one match almost every year since the show debuted.

We recap the Usos’ history with Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio, including Roman Reigns costing them a Tag Team Title match. This has caused some issues between the Usos and Reigns, sending Reigns into a rather emotional rant to Jimmy last week.

Jimmy Uso comes in to see Reigns, who asks about Jey. Jimmy hasn’t seen him this week, but he knows that Reigns is his family. Tonight, Jimmy will have his back but Reigns says he needs Jey. Don’t worry about the match, because finding Jey is more important.

Otis vs. Angelo Dawkins

Or not as Chad Gable and Otis jump Dawkins before the bell and send his bad shoulder into the steps. Dawkins gets laid out with the discus lariat/German suplex so the Alpha Academy can stand tall. No match.

We look at Seth Rollins attacking Cesaro, who returned last week to attack him.

We get a sitdown interview with Cesaro, who thinks Rollins didn’t go far enough. Rollins comes in and Cesaro is ready to fight. That’s not why Rollins is here, so he takes Kayla Braxton’s place as the interviewer. Rollins doesn’t think Cesaro deserves even a single ounce of respect and on Sunday, he will put Cesaro in his place. Cesaro respects Rollins for coming here to face him man to man and he’ll see him on Sunday. Rollins gets shoved out of his chair and is shaking with anger. Not enough to do anything about it, but he is shaking.

Hell in a Cell rundown, with Belair vs. Bayley confirmed for the Cell, plus Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins officially announced.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio

Reigns is defending inside the Cell. Rey grabs a chair to start and knocks Reigns down, setting up a fire extinguisher blast to the face. A toolbox off the head knocks Reigns silly again and we take a break. Back with Rey wrapping a chair around Reigns’ throat and sending it into the Cell wall. That isn’t enough as Rey sends the chair into the post as well, leaving Reigns reeling even more.

Rey sets up a table and avoids a spear to send Reigns through it, but a hurricanrana is countered into a swing into the Cell. Reigns tosses him face first into the Cell and we take another break. Back with Reigns firing off knees in the corner and nailing the Superman Punch (Heyman: “HE’S GOING TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU!!!”).

The spear is cut off with a dropkick though and a 619 connects in the corner. Some chair shots to the back and arm have Reigns down again and the frog splash onto the chair onto Reigns connects….but Rey can’t cover. Rey adds another splash just onto Reigns for two but a top rope hurricanrana is countered into a toss powerbomb over the top and into the Cell (well that was awesome). Back in and Reigns grabs a choke to make Rey tap at 16:02.

Rating: B. It was hard hitting and violent with the frog splash being a nice near fall and that toss powerbomb looking awesome. Reigns wasn’t going to lose here but it was a little more dramatic than I was expecting. It’s not like Mysterio is going to be hurt in something like this either, though I’m still not sure if it needed to be inside the Cell. Heck of a TV main event though, and it would have been fine on pay per view as well.

Post match Jimmy Uso comes out to acknowledge Reigns. That’s not enough for Reigns, who chokes Mysterio out again. Reigns: “HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!”

Overall Rating: B. Pretty solid show here, even if it was a one match night. They almost doubled the Cell card in two hours, which is quite annoying but it is nice to do it on TV rather than over the weekend. The Cell match is the big story here of course and that worked very well, so it is kind of hard to complain about getting this much on a regular TV show.

Results
Apollo Crews/Commander Azeez b. Big E./Kevin Owens – Nigerian Nail to Owens
Shinsuke Nakamura b. King Corbin – Kinshasa
Roman Reigns b. Rey Mysterio – Inverted guillotine

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: June 11, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We are on the way to Hell in a Cell and odds are we have the main event set on the blue side. It looks like we are going to be seeing Rey Mysterio get the Universal Title shot against Roman Reigns, assuming they don’t go nuts and give it to Dominik. Normally I would say there is no way, but have you been watching WWE lately? Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Usos failing to win the Tag Team Titles and Roman Reigns destroying the Mysterios to let off some steam.

Reigns is in the back with Jey Uso, saying the Usos owe him an apology. Reigns knows Jey is with him, but we have to see about Jimmy.

Here’s Jimmy Uso for a chat. Jimmy recaps last week and wants to know why Reigns cost them their second title shot. Maybe Reigns is jealous, because the Usos could be the champs and have some gold of their own. Jey isn’t Reigns’ brother and Jimmy is his brother’s keeper. Tonight, he’s doing something about it.

In the back, Reigns isn’t happy. Reigns to Jey: “He’s not my brother. He doesn’t look just like me. He’s not my twin. Ain’t no one going to confuse me for him.” Jey goes to take care of things.

Post break, Jimmy talks to Jey and asks if he thinks they could have won last week. Jey reluctantly says he thinks they could have been the champs, sending Jimmy into a rant about how this can’t keep happening. They’re twins and Reigns is the one disgracing the family. Jey says his loyalty is with Reigns because Jimmy was out for a year. Now Jey is stuck in the middle with no way out.

Kevin Owens/Big E. vs. Apollo Crews/Sami Zayn

Commander Azeez is here with the villains. Owens and Crews start but Owens would rather throw Zayn into the barricade. A backsplash crushes Crews but he knocks Owens down into the corner. The beating doesn’t last long and it’s off to Big E. to clean house. The Warrior Splash hits knees but Crews charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two. Everything breaks down and Big E. is dropped on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Crews cutting off the tag attempt and bringing Sami back in but a high crossbody misses. That’s enough for the hot tag to Owens so house really can be cleaned. A Cannonball sets up the Swanton for two but Sami jumps over Owens to get over for the hot tag. Crews comes in but walks into the Pop Up Powerbomb from Owens.

Sami dives in with a kick to the face for the save before getting brought back in. Everything breaks down and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Owens. Big E. Cactus Clotheslines Crews to the floor (and lands on him for a scary shot), leaving Owens to Stun Zayn for the pin at 12:50.

Rating: C. Totally fine way to combine a few stories at once while keeping Crews safe. They could go in a few directions for the next title match as Crews is becoming an interesting champion. I’m curious to see where this goes and that is not something I’ve been able to say about the title for a good while now.

Post match Crews says hang on a second and blames Zayn for the loss. How about we do this again next week but with Commander Azeez instead of Zayn? That sounds cool with Owens and Big E., but Zayn gets up to complain. The conspiracy is strong, so Zayn get Nigerian Nailed down.

Chad Gable comes up to the Street Profits in the back and blames himself for Otis taking them out last week. Instead, Gable can face one of them at once, with Angelo Dawkins saying he has this. Actually hang on as Montez Ford says he’s got this instead, with Gable being cool with the move. Otis and Dawkins will both stay out of ringside.

Jey Uso comes in to see Roman Reigns, who isn’t happy with Jimmy Uso not being here. Jimmy has said if Reigns wants to see him, come to the Usos’ locker room. Reigns starts chuckling and asks if he means Reigns’ cousins’ locker room. He’ll go see Jimmy…and things get a bit more serious. Reigns walks off saying “my locker room” and chuckling some more. See? He’s happy!

Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Rematch from last week where Liv lost after getting a pre-match promo and new catchphrase. Liv, in caution tape gear, jumps Carmella to start and stomps her down in the corner. A missed charge only hits the ropes though and Carmella takes her outside to send her into the barricade.

Hold on though as Carmella yells at the commentators to talk about how beautiful she is. After the cameraman falls down while filming the exchange, Carmella takes her back inside for an elbow to the face. That means some more posing until Liv gets in a few shots. A missed charge lets Carmella slap her in the face a few times, but a superkick is blocked. Liv is back with Oblivion for the pin at 2:59.

Post match Carmella insists on being announced as still the most beautiful woman in WWE.

It’s time for Ding Dong Hello, with Bayley welcoming her fellow Grand Slam winner, Seth Rollins. After coming through the door, Rollins has a seat and talks about how much he likes the new set (which isn’t very new). He is rather proud of how much Bayley has been doing as of late, especially when you have Bianca Belair treating her with such a lack of respect.

We see Bayley’s face taking over all of the screens last week as she laughed a lot and Seth finds it great. Bayley has a clip of her own, and we see Rollins attacking Cesaro three weeks ago. More cackling ensues but the doorbell rings. Rollins answers and it’s Cesar, who punches Rollins in the face. The brawl is on and Rollins’ suit is ripped apart. Cesaro throws him into the door to knock it over and Rollins is sent running. The guys leave so here is Bianca Belair to laugh at Bayley’s destroyed set.

We look at Roman Reigns attacking the Mysterios last week.

Rey Mysterio isn’t happy with the way Roman Reigns attacked Dominik last week. He doesn’t care show big Reigns is, because he is coming to fight for his son.

Chad Gable vs. Montez Ford

Gable wrestles him to the mat to start and works on an armbar. Back up and Ford grabs an armdrag into an armbar, followed by an armdrag into an armbar. That’s broken up and Ford’s leapfrog is countered into an ankle lock, only to have Ford lean back onto him for two. They go to the apron and crash down to the floor, sending us to a break.

Back with Gable hitting a belly to back suplex but they both try crossbodies for a double knockdown. We cut to the back where Otis jumps Angelo Dawkins and come back to the ring for Ford hitting a spinebuster. From The Heavens gets two but Otis runs in for the DQ at 9:25 (I wonder if Otis was supposed to break up the cover and was a bit late).

Rating: C. Not a bad match and it’s nice to see that Ford can hang in the ring on his own. The ending wasn’t the best but at least they seem to be setting up a pretty nice tag match. The good thing to see here is the fact that this is a simple yet perfectly effective tag team feud. They aren’t breaking any new ground, but I’ll take something done well over something new being a mess any day.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Angelo Dawkins’ attempted save failing badly.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. King Corbin

We don’t even get the Rick Boogs entrance! The bell rings and Boogs starts playing to distract Corbin, allowing Nakamura to strike away. The middle rope knee connects for two but Kinshasa is countered into Deep Six for two. Corbin strikes away and pulls Nakamura down by the head. A quick victory roll gives Nakamura the pin at 1:52 (it’s as sudden as it sounds).

Post match Boogs runs after the crown but gets decked. Nakamura takes it from Corbin though and throws Corbin over the announcers’ table. McAfee inches over to Boogs, who goes inside (McAfee, seemingly thinking his mic is off: “Oh, I thought we were going to do something there.”).

Roman Reigns says he and Jey Uso can go to “their” locker room.

King Corbin storms into Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville’s office and demands his crown match. Pearce says no but Sonya says they can have a rubber match next week in a Battle For The Crown. For those keeping track, that will be the fifth match in six weeks. So far, they haven’t combined to go fifteen minutes yet.

Roman Reigns and Jey Uso come in to see Jimmy Uso (with Jey standing in the middle for a perfect visual). Reigns holds up the Universal Title and asks what Jimmy is thinking. Jimmy goes on about how he doesn’t care about the title, saying that Reigns has been doing this since they were all kids. Jimmy knows that Reigns is going to the Hall of Fame one day, but he’s going in as a spoiled b****.

Reigns starts talking to Jey about what Jimmy is doing, but Jimmy says Reigns is doing the same thing. Jey says he’s tired of both of them and walks out. Jimmy is ready to fight but Reigns says they aren’t kids anymore. This is their family business and Jimmy needs to start using his head.

Reigns should be able to depend on Jimmy because it is all of them and continue to be the best every single week. That is all he has ever known: being the best. It’s time for Jimmy to make this right with him and his family. Jimmy leaves and Reigns looks serious. Reigns was VERY fired up here and sounded a bit like the Rock when he started talking fast.

Here is Rey Mysterio to call out Roman Reigns so here he comes (with Paul Heyman of course). Rey gets straight to the point by acknowledging Reigns as the rat that he is for putting his hands on Rey’s son. He wants to fight Reigns and he wants it inside the Cell. Reigns acknowledges him…and Rey whips out a surprise kendo stick to hammer him down. That’s broken up but here’s Dominik with a stick of his own to break up the spear. You don’t do that to Reigns, who POWERBOMBS Dominik over the top in a great visual (though you don’t see the landing). Rey dives onto Dominik to end the show on fire.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, this was the Roman Reigns Show, as anything he did was great and everything else was pretty hit or miss. The problem here is the rematches, as we had two matches we saw last week which went about the same (save for the winners). It really does kind of feel like they’re out of ideas to promote the pay per view and are just filling time, which isn’t the best look. The show still has some matches to make for the pay per view so next week should be covered, but this wasn’t a thrilling show.

Results
Kevin Owens/Big E. b. Apollo Crews/Sami Zayn – Stunner to Zayn
Liv Morgan b. Carmella – Oblivion
Montez Ford b. Chad Gable via DQ when Otis interfered
Shinsuke Nakamura b. King Corbin – Victory roll

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: June 4, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida|
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s time for a double title show as the Intercontinental and Tag Team Titles are on the line. First up Apollo Crews is defending against Kevin Owens with Commander Azeez barred from ringside. Next up, likely in the main event, the Usos get their shot against Dominik and Rey Mysterio in what could be a pretty awesome match. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman to get things going. Reigns talks about being direct in how he is feeling, because he wasn’t happy last week. He has had the counsel of a wise man and a week to chew on it though and now he has changed his mind on the Usos getting a Tag Team Title shot tonight.

Reigns may be the centerpiece but he is also a giver. Let’s get the Usos out here right now (Heyman: “USOS’ MUSIC RIGHT NOW!”) because we need to talk about this. Jey is cool with Reigns and Jimmy says it’s time to become the seven time champs. Reigns says bring him the titles when it’s over and drops the mic. The Usos seem cool with that.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Dominik Mysterio/Rey Mysterio

The Usos are challenging. Jimmy shoulders Dominik to start but it’s a dropkick into an armbar to put Jimmy down. Rey comes in and gets powerbombed onto Jimmy for two as Cole says the Usos have somehow never had a match against Rey Mysterio of any kind (I love little trivia like that). It’s off to Jey for a backbreaker, setting up an assisted hot shot for two. Jey gets in a cheap shot from the floor and drops Rey onto the apron to bang up his back.

Back in and Rey manages to send Jey over the ropes to the floor but a suicide dive is countered into a Samoan drop onto the announcers’ table (OW). We take a break and come back with Rey still in trouble, including Jey grabbing a reverse chinlock. Jey hands it off to Jimmy but Rey sends them into each other in the corner. The tag brings Dominik back in to dive onto both Usos at once. Back in and a neckbreaker drops Jey but Jimmy catches him with a kick to the ribs.

A run up the corner sets up a tornado DDT for two on Jimmy as everything breaks down. Rey hits a running seated senton to take Jey down on the floor but walks into a superkick from Jimmy. Back in and Jimmy hits Dominik with one as well but Dominik grabs a rollup to retain at 14:25, thought he replay shows that the shoulder was up at two (with commentary pointing it out several times).

Rating: C. The ending didn’t help things but the rest of this worked out well enough. What matters here is the finish though, as that is going to give Reigns a reason to yell at them. A pay per view rematch wouldn’t surprise me but I can’t imagine that this is done anytime soon. The Usos seem destined to get the titles eventually, and that is probably best for everyone.

Roman Reigns tells Paul Heyman to bring them to him.

Post break, Reigns yells at the Usos (Reigns: “YOU LOST TO A CHILD!”) for calling their shot and screwing it up. Reigns says they better get another shot at this and correct the mistake. He wants this fixed tonight, but before they go, they need to understand his position. They are six time Tag Team Champions and made it to Wrestlemania once. Then Jey closed the show on his own with his head held high for the whole world to see. Jimmy needs to understand, but the way it is going, it won’t matter anyway. Reigns was amazing here.

We get a sitdown interview with Seth Rollins, who is asked about attacking Cesaro over and over. Rollins says he doesn’t owe the WWE Universe anything, including his time or an answer to that leading question. When asked about Cesaro returning to Smackdown, Rollins takes the mic off and slowly throws it at Kayla Braxton.

Chad Gable talks to the Street Profits about how he has not been liking what is on their tapes lately. It is clear that profits are down, with Montez Ford losing about six inches off of his frog splash and Angelo Dawkins’ Sky High looking like a medium. Gable offers to coach them up, but that’s a hard no.

The Usos complain to Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville but Pearce says the result is final. Sonya says they’ll get back to them on this.

Liv Morgan vs. Carmella

Morgan says she thinks it’s cute that Carmella thinks she’s so beautiful. She would give Carmella a 7/10 but a boot to the face would make it a 10. After the Liv Morgan Makeover, everyone is going to want to watch her. Morgan gets sent outside to start but throws Carmella into the barricade to take over. Carmella goes face first into the apron and it’s a Backstabber into a toss into the corner back inside. Not that it matters as Carmella kicks her in the face and grabs the Code of Silence for the tap at 2:30. So Liv gets a singles match, a new look and a catchphrase and loses in less than three minutes. Shocking I know.

The Mysterios are leaving but Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville stop them. They have looked at the tape and the rematch is tonight. The Mysterios aren’t happy but they head back to the locker room.

Here is Bianca Belair for a chat. Bayley has been laughing at her lately but everyone is laughing at Bayley instead of with her. Belair talks about being bullied a lot over the years and even being called mannish. It hurt her a lot, but she just won trophy after trophy and proved everyone wrong. Now Bayley is disrespecting her, so let’s just do this at Hell in a Cell.

Bayley doesn’t come out, but we hear her laughing and she eventually pops up on the screen. She talks about how she is here via satellite and we see her sitting on a couch, surrounded by pictures of herself. The challenge is accepted, and she promises that she won’t be the only one laughing. The video screens in the arena all turn into pictures of Bayley laughing for a pretty creepy moment. Granted it was better a few months ago when Alexa Bliss did it on Raw.

Otis asks the Street Profits if they’re joining the Alpha Academy but they say he should get a refund. That’s a shot to Ford’s face and Dawkins gets driven into an anvil case.

Here is King Corbin to recap his issues with Shinsuke Nakamura. Well at least to introduce a video on them. Cue Rick Boogs to give a royal introduction to Shinsuke Nakamura, the King of Strong Style (complete with Corbin’s crown). McAfee gets up on the announcers’ table to dance to Boogs’ entrance in what continues to be one of the best parts of the show.

King Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Corbin hammers away in the corner but Nakamura kicks him into the corner. The running knee to the ribs gives Nakamura two, earning himself a two arm chokeslam for two. A cross armbreaker sends Corbin bailing to the rope and then the floor, where he drops Boogs with a clothesline. Back in and Corbin pulls Nakamura down by the hair and cradles him for the pin at 1:55.

Post match Corbin grabs the crown but Boogs slows him down, allowing Nakamura to kick Corbin in the head and steal it back.

Kevin Owens is on his way to the ring when Commander Azeez jumps him. The beatdown is on with Apollo Crews looking on approvingly.

Intercontinental Title: Apollo Crews vs. Kevin Owens

Crews is defending and Owens can barely make it to the ring. Crews gets smart by hitting a backbreaker to stay on the bad ribs and a suplex makes it worse. Owens’ chop doesn’t do much as Crews whips him hard into the corner. Somehow Owens manages to send him outside but running the ropes hurts the ribs again. Crews sends him outside and it’s an Angle Slam on the floor to send us to a break.

Back with Crews still in full control, including an overhead belly to belly suplex. Crews snaps off a German suplex but Owens hits one of his own. Owens manages to get up top but has to break up a superplex attempt. A headbutt puts Crews down and for some reason Owens decides to try the Swanton, which hits raised knees.

An enziguri into a German suplex gives Crews two but the frog splash only hits mat. Owens hits a superkick (dig that thigh slapping) and the Pop Up Powerbomb gets two. Crews heads to the apron so Owens goes up again, only to get pulled down into a Death Valley Driver onto the apron to retain the title at 11:58.

Rating: C+. This worked well and there is a door open for Owens to get a rematch later on if that is where they want to go. Crews has done rather well with the title and I’m curious to see where he goes from here. Good match with a better story, and that is not something you get to say very often in WWE.

Post match here’s Sami Zayn to hit the Helluva Kick on Owens, because these two can’ apart for very long.

The Street Profits think Chad Gable is the disrespectful one and it’s time to send Otis back to the dump where he belongs.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Dominik Mysterio/Rey Mysterio

The Usos are challenging and Jimmy takes Dominik down for three straight near falls. It’s off to Jey, who hits a belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker to send Dominik outside. Jey’s dive takes Dominik out again and we take a break. Back with Jey hammering away on Dominik but getting rolled into the corner for his efforts. Rey, in a shirt for an odd look, comes in and hits the springboard spinning crossbody for two on Jimmy. A hurricanrana takes Jimmy down and there’s the sliding splash to crush him on the floor. Back in and the 619 connects and Dominik goes up….but Roman Reigns comes in for the DQ at 8:12.

Rating: C. The ending surprised me but it is cool to see Reigns getting to wreck people. There is a good chance that they do this a third time at the pay per view, which would be a good enough way to have the Usos take the titles. Either way, Reigns continues to be excellent and that is all you need around here for the most part.

Post match Reigns cleans house and yells at Jimmy for embarrassing the family twice. Reigns destroys both Mysterios with stair shots before throwing Rey over the barricade. Dominik gets choked out and Jimmy says that’s enough. Roman finally lets go as Jimmy says it doesn’t need to be like this. Jimmy walks off and calls Jey to come with him. Hold on though as Reigns gets in Jey’s face, leaving Jey confused. Reigns isn’t done with Dominik though as he hammers away and nails a big powerbomb to end the show. Rey vs. Reigns could work for the pay per view title match.

Overall Rating: C+. This was the Roman Reigns Show again as he more than carried everything else. His presence is more than enough to make things that much better and it was a good show mainly due to what he did. There were a few other good parts to it as well though and I liked more of it than I didn’t. Outside of stuff like Nakamura vs. Corbin and Carmella beating Morgan in such quick fashion, this was a pretty nice show as they continue the build towards the pay per view.

Results

Dominik Mysterio/Rey Mysterio b. Usos – Victory roll to Jimmy

Carmella b. Liv Morgan – Code of Silence

King Corbin b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Rollup

Apollo Crews b. Kevin Owens – Death Valley Driver onto the apron

Dominik Mysterio/Rey Mysterio b. Usos via DQ when Roman Reigns 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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Smackdown
Date: May 21, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re done with Wrestlemania Backlash and it is time to start getting ready for the Cell next month. I’m not sure what is next up for some of the people on this show, but the ending to Backlash would suggest more of Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins. Other than that, we have a four way for the Intercontinental Title this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania Backlash if you need a recap.

All of the champions, sans Roman Reigns, are on the stage and here is Sonya Deville in the ring. As you might have heard, WWE is going back on the road in front of the fans in July, starting with Smackdown on July 16. Deville introduces all of the champions on stage, with Apollo Crews promising to destroy everyone tonight to retain his title. With that out of the way, Sonya introduces Reigns, to his old music for some reason.

Instead she gets Paul Heyman, who says this isn’t a parade of champions, because it’s just a parade of title holders. Later tonight, at his leisure, Reigns will be here for the parade of champion, because there is no one on his level. Reigns is the reason that the people are going to buy tickets to those live events because he is the only real champion here.

Sonya tries to wrap it up but here is Bayley to interrupt. She wants to know why she isn’t being acknowledged and mentions everyone champion (Bayley: “Apollo and Azeez, what’s up?”) before getting to Bianca Belair. Bayley insults the hair so Belair comes down….and gets jumped by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. Tamina and Natalya run in and it’s six woman tag time.

Tamina/Natalya/Bianca Belair vs. Bayley/Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler

Joined in progress with Shayna knocking Tamina down and choking on the ropes as Cole explains the Brand to Brand Invitational again. Bayley comes in to take Tamina into the corner but gets dropped with a suplex. The tag brings in Natalya to kick away until Bayley takes her down by the hair. Shayna cranks on the arm and Jax comes back in to put on a chinlock.

That’s broken up with a jawbreaker though and the hot tag brings in Belair to really clean house. A spinebusters puts Bayley down so Belair can go up. The big dive to the floor takes everyone down (thankfully they were nice enough to stand there forever) but Belair grabs her knee as we take a break.

Back with Bayley working on Belair’s knee but missing an elbow drop. A rolling tag brings in Tamina to clean house and it’s Natalya coming in to do the same. The discus clothesline misses Bayley though and a blind tag brings Baszler back in. Everything breaks down and Bayley breaks up Belair’s handspring moonsault. Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch to make Natalya tap at 10:20.

Rating: C. The action was good here, though it seems we’re getting ANOTHER Tamina/Natalya vs. Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler Tag Team Title match. You would think there would be more options than those two, but that’s not how this division works. Bayley getting another shot against Belair is a little bit better, though another rematch isn’t the most thrilling.

Big E. is ready to face the biggest names around and get back his title. It’s time to prove that he is the real Intercontinental Champion.

We get another Aleister Black lesson, as he talks about the Beautiful Plan. This one seems to be about his tattoos, which he uses to hide his deepest and darkest sins. His father always said that there this world is full of cruel thoughts. The people will live proudly in their cesspool of sins because it is all they are. That has become their identity, to become lonesome and blind. They are sick and dying animals and it is time to separate the weak from the strong and cull the herd.

Here is King Corbin for a match, but first we see Shinsuke Nakamura steal his crown last week. Nakamura has been carrying it around with him over the last week, which Corbin says is the most disrespectful thing he has ever seen. Nakamura is no king because a real king drives a Ferrari and has the dogs of war behind him. So now, Nakamura needs to get out here and take his beating from the real King of Smackdown. Instead, here is the debuting Rick Boogs (and yes he spells it) to play the REAL king to the ring. The guitar shredding is on and McAfee jumps out of his chair to jam with him, with Cole looking disturbed.

King Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Boogs is at ringside and we’re joined in progress with Nakamura kneeing away. A big kick is countered into a powerbomb for two as the frustration is already high. Choking on the ropes ensues as Boogs is trying to lead the cheers on the floor. Nakamura fights out of a chinlock but runs into a hard elbow for one.

The real comeback is on with the run of the strikes and an STO to give Nakamura two. Kinshasa misses though and Corbin hits a heck of a German suplex for two. Nakamura knees his way out of a chokeslam attempt though and Deep Six plants him for two more. Then Boogs starts playing Nakamura’s theme on the guitar for a distraction, allowing Nakamura to grab a small package for the pin at 5:18.

Rating: C-. This was pretty much Kofi Kingston vs. Bobby Lashley from Raw, with the power guy dominating until a musical instrument sets up the fluke pin. That being said, I can go for Boogs, as he is a fun guitar guy, as opposed to the rather dull Elias. I’m sure we’ll get some blowoff match soon, though at least now Nakamura has beaten Corbin to validate taking the crown.

Jimmy Uso comes in to see Sonya Deville and wants amatch with the Street Profits. Deville asks if Jey Uso is on board but Jimmy knows he’s good. The match is made for next week.

Kevin Owens talks about being the prizefighter a few years ago and tonight he is winning another prize. He will powerbomb Sami Zayn until he can’t remember what conspiracy means, he’ll hand Big E. a big L and he’ll Stun Apollo Crews as many times as it takes. Either way, he’s walking out as Intercontinental Champion.

We see a clip from the Backlash main event, with Roman Reigns beating Cesaro to retain, followed by Seth Rollins attacking Cesaro again.

Here are Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman for a chat. Reigns considers himself humble and teaches his kids about it every chance he can. Since he is humble though, he needs Paul Heyman to brag about him instead. Heyman goes over Reigns’ time as Universal Champion, including sending Daniel Bryan into Bella retirement. He asks if he can do anything for Reigns, who wants his cousin out here. Heyman: “JIMMY USO! JIMMY USO! PLAY JIMMY USO’S MUSIC!”

Instead he gets Cesaro, who talks about the annoying yapping that he has been hearing. Cesaro says he can fight with one arm (because it’s just a flesh wound) and wants to fight Reigns at Hell in a Cell. Cue Seth Rollins to jump Cesaro from behind and send the arm into the steps. Rollins is sent to the back but comes back to beat on Cesaro again. Referees get him away again but this time Rollins jumps over the barricade and hits a Stomp. Cue the stretcher to get Cesaro out of here.

Post break, Rollins jumps Cesaro on the stretch. They’re hammering this one home.

We look at the Mysterios winning the Tag Team Titles at Backlash.

Here are the Mysterios but Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode cut them off in a hurry. Roode says tonight, bring your son to work day is over.

Robert Roode vs. Dominik Mysterio

Roode suplexes him down to start and then takes him down again without much effort. Dominik fights his way out of a superplex attempt and shoves Roode down again, setting up a high crossbody for two. Dominik’s sunset flip gets two more and Roode it sent post first into the shoulder (as Cole put it). The frog splash finishes Roode at 2:41.

Jimmy Uso comes up to Jey Uso in the back and is excited about next week’s tag match. Jey isn’t happy so Jimmy talks about their success without Reigns. That’s not enough to convince Jey, who walks off.

Post break, Jey Uso comes in to see Roman Reigns and apologizes for the tag match next week. Reigns tells him to take care of it and gives him a hug.

The Street Profits are ready for next week, because they aren’t paranoia. They want the smoke.

Sami Zayn accuses Kayla Braxton of messing with his mind by calling him a former Intercontinental Champion. Zayn isn’t having that and promises to show his documentary soon. Tonight though, he’s getting the title back.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens vs. Big E. vs. Apollo Crews

Crews, with Commander Azeez, is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Owens charges at Sami to start and they fight out to the floor in a hurry. That leaves Crews to punch and forearm Big E. in various places but Big E. gets in his own elbow. Big E. comes back in but gets enziguried, allowing Sami to get back in and stomp on Owens. Sami is sent outside so Big E. can hammer away, setting up the apron splash onto Sami and Crews at the same time.

Owens hits the big flip dive onto Big E. though and we take a break. Back with Crews hitting a big standing dropkick to send Big E. outside. Crews moonsaults off the apron onto Big E. but Sami hits a dive off the barricade. That means some Sami gloating but here is Big E. to drop Owens again. Owens gets two off the Swanton back inside with Big E. having to make a save.

Back in and Big E. hits three German suplexes for two on Big E. Sami’s exploder suplex sends Owens into the corner and a Michinoku Driver gets two. Everything breaks down for a series of knockdowns, including Big E. spearing Crews through the ropes to the floor as we take a break.

Back again with Big E. suplexing everyone else until Sami kicks him in the face to break up the Warrior splash. Owens hits his fisherman’s brainbuster onto the knee but Crews catches him on top. Big E. suplexes Crews as he suplexes Sami, leaving Owens to hit the frog splash on Big E. for the near falls. Owens starts rolling the Cannonballs but walks into the Blue Thunder Bomb from Sami.

Some superkicks put everyone else down and Owens hits the Pop Up Powerbomb for two on Crews. Owens sends Sami into the timekeeper’s area but Sami is right back with a half and half suplex on the floor. Back in and the Big Ending hits Crews but Commander Azeez breaks up the pin. Big E. posts Azeez….and the lights go very bright. Cue Aleister Black for Black Mass on Big E., giving Crews the pin (seemingly as a side effect rather than Black intentionally helping him) to retain at 21:52.

Rating: B. They went with the all action formula here and that worked out rather well. The match certainly didn’t feel like it was nearly twenty two minutes and it was something that kept my attention. Crews retaining works and it also wraps up Big E. vs. Crews as Black can be the new villain. Good main event here, but more importantly it felt big, which is a lot more important.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event carried this show, but the rest of it was mostly positive as well. Above all else, it felt like things happened to move stories forward here, including having some people debut and give us at least one new story. Smackdown knows how to keep you wanting to come back next week, which is a trick Raw really needs to learn. Back on track this week, as last week’s mess feels like a small slip.

Results

Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler/Bayley b. Tamina/Natalya/Bianca Belair – Kirifuda Clutch to Natalya

Shinsuke Nakamura b. King Corbin – Small package

Dominik Mysterio b. Robert Roode – Frog splash

Apollo Crews b. Big E., Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn – Black Mass to Big E.

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: May 14, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania Backlash and the show is mostly set. It seems like we could be in for another of the shorter edition pay per views, meaning there might not be anything else added. That could work out in the end, as some of the matches need a little more seasoning. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jey Uso, who wants an explanation from Jimmy Uso for last week’s disrespect. For now though, Jey brings out Roman Reigns, but first we get a long recap of Jimmy’s return and worries about whose side he was on. Reigns talks about how he respects Cesaro, just like a lot of the boys in the back do. Cesaro is one of the best wrestlers in the world, but Reigns is so much more than a wrestler. Does WWE want Cesaro in his role? Does FOX want that?

We hear about how many World Title matches Reigns has had….and here is Jimmy Uso, in a shirt saying “Nobody’s B****”, to interrupt. Jimmy says Jey is out here acting like Reigns’ b**** but he has a shirt waiting for him in the back whenever Jey gets his head on straight. Yeah Reigns is the head of the table, but he isn’t the whole family. Reigns asks if Jimmy thinks he (as in Reigns) can beat Cesaro, but Jimmy doesn’t think so.

Jimmy says he and Jey could be the head of the table if they won the Tag Team Titles and Reigns lost the Universal Title. That sends Reigns into a mixture of anger and laughter before asking if Jimmy can beat Cesaro. Jimmy calls Cesaro out as Reigns chuckles behind him. As Jimmy asks Reigns if that was good, here is Cesaro to interrupt. Cesaro keeps it simple by saying he accepts the challenge and promises to take the title on Sunday. Reigns was great here, as his little mannerisms and attitude are great.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler vs. Tamina/Natalya

Jax and Baszler are defending and have Reginald in their corner. Jax hammers on Tamina to start so it’s off to Baszler, who gets headbutted across the ring. A catapult into the Samoan drop plants Tamina but Reginald’s distraction means no count. That’s enough for the ejection, allowing Nia to Samoan drop Tamina into the barricade. Back from a break with Tamina down and Jax ramming Natalya head first into the mat.

The running hip attack in the corner crushes Natalya again but she avoids a charge, allowing the hot tag to Tamina. House is cleaned in a hurry until Shayna twists Tamina’s ankle around. Tamina shoves Jax off the ropes and Natalya takes Baszler outside for a German suplex into the barricade. Back in and Jax hits Natalya with the Samoan drop….and then just lays there so Tamina can hit the Superfly Splash for the pin and the titles at 9:28.

Rating: C-. That ending was rather awful and Nia could not have made it look much worse. The rest of the match worked about as well as expected as they have built up Tamina winning her first title. I’m not sure the reign is going to last long, but at least the champions are a fresh pairing for once.

Post match Natalya and Tamina talk about fighting for their dreams and never giving up. Pyro goes off as I’m not sure if this is as big of a deal as WWE thinks it is.

Here is Apollo Crews to present a medal of honor to Commander Azeez, who is standing on some steps in the ring. Crews praises Azeez but here is Big E. on the screen to interrupt. He wants the Intercontinental Title, but here is Sami Zayn, to say he wants the Intercontinental Title. Cue Kevin Owens to go after Zayn and the big brawl is on, with Big E. being left standing tall as Crews and Azeez run.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Dominick and Robert Roode are here too. Feeling out process to start with Mysterio picking up the pace. Ziggler shoulders him down and starts the trash talk, including saying Rey doesn’t have it anymore. Mysterio manages to send him outside though and there is the big dive to take us to a break.

Back with Rey missing a springboard crossbody so Ziggler can take over again. There’s a reverse powerslam for two on Rey and we hit the chinlock with the arm cranked back. The bow and arrow stays on the back but Rey fights up and knocks him away. Rey gets caught on top but manages to knock Ziggler down again, only to miss the 619. Ziggler is back with the Fameasser for two and tries a slam, which is reversed into a small package to give Rey the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C-. Maybe it’s that these two have been around for the better part of ever but I could not bring myself to get interested in this. You know what you’re getting from both of them and they didn’t stray from that whatsoever here. It was a technically fine match, but not something I could get into, much like the upcoming title match.

Cesaro talks about knowing he could be World Champion for so long now and has been telling himself that he knows he can. He isn’t bred for this business like Reigns, but he knows he can beat Reigns.

Rey and Dominick Mysterio promise to win the Tag Team Titles. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode come in to call Dominick a baby, but Dominick says they’ll be calling him baby champ. No they won’t because no one outside of the WWE writers’ room would ever actually say that.

Here is Bianca Belair to talk about how everyone has doubted her for her entire life but she doesn’t listen to them. We see her brawls with Bayley, who pops up on the screen to laugh at Belair. Bayley isn’t here in the building because of Belair attacking her last week, but she’ll take the title on Sunday. Belair promises to be the EST and Bayley laughs a lot so Belair brings up the Bellas throwing Bayley down the ramp at Wrestlemania. You know, the night where Belair was in the main event and winning the title. Bayley promises to take the title and glaring ensues.

King Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura promises to be the only king who survives. Corbin says he can beat Nakamura in a suit and watch, so imagine what he can do now. Nakamura takes him into the corner to start but gets choked on the ropes for the effort. The rapid fire kicks, including one to the head, put Corbin down. Back up and End of Days is countered, allowing Nakamura to grab the triangle choke. Corbin can’t powerbomb his way to freedom but he can stack Nakamura up for the pin at 3:04.

Rating: D+. Another mostly nothing match as the uninspired stretch of the show continues. I have long since given up on the possibility of Nakamura being a long term top star around here so this was hardly some career killer. Instead it was Corbin getting another win, as WWE continues to reheat him over and over due to reasons that I do not quite understand.

Post match Corbin puts the crown on but gets taken down by Kinshasa. Nakamura steals the crown, despite losing clean a few seconds ago.

Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez come in to interrupt Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville. He isn’t happy with the interruptions earlier but Sonya says be nice or Pearce might make him face everyone at once. Pearce says we’ll do that next week, with Crews defending against Big E., Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

Aleister Black talks about how his father taught him about the cruelties of life, which takes us to Chapter Three: The Lesson. His father taught Black that he is a cruel man but he needed to fight through it. Black could teach us that, but we are spectators instead of participants.

Jimmy Uso thinks the Usos are the hottest tag team ever, or at least they can be if Roman Reigns will stay out of it. Now he’s going to get it against Cesaro.

Backlash rundown.

Jimmy Uso vs. Cesaro

Jimmy goes for the arm to start and gets dropkicked down (Cesaro: “WELCOME BACK UCE!”). Back up and Jimmy teases a knee injury, allowing him to kick Cesaro in the ribs and take over. We hit the chinlock for a bit, with Cesaro powering up and hitting a suplex. Cesaro’s charge goes shoulder first into the post though and Jimmy clotheslines him to the floor. There’s the suicide dive but Jimmy grabs his knee as we take a break.

Back with Jimmy superkicking Cesaro out of the air for two. Jimmy goes up top but Cesaro catches him with an uppercut, setting up the top rope superplex. That’s enough for Cesaro to go out to the floor, with Cesaro following with a running flip dive. Cesaro throws him back in but here is Roman Reigns to jump Cesaro for the DQ at 9:33.

Rating: C. Jimmy needed to get his feet wet again and Cesaro can do that with almost anyone. The ending was the right way to go as you don’t want Jimmy taking a fall, yet you also want Reigns to see worried about Cesaro. They couldn’t keep Jimmy out there that long either so this was about as good as it was going to get.

Post match Jimmy yells at Reigns for making it all about himself. Jimmy walks away from Reigns and Jey Uso but Reigns follows him, saying no one cares about this. It’s all about the big money matches, but Cesaro jumps Jey in the ring. Reigns goes in and the Usos have to make the save, leaving Cesaro to Neutralize Jey twice in a row to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was the first major miss from Smackdown in a long time as the show completely hit a wall at about the halfway mark. Maybe it is just how long some of these people have been around, but I had no interest in the Mysterio and Corbin matches. They felt like matches being put out there to fill in the space on the card and that isn’t a good way to go. It was far from a terrible show, but it was very dull and in a lot of ways, that is worse.

Results

Tamina/Natalya b. Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler – Superfly Splash to Jax

Rey Mysterio b. Dolph Ziggler – Small package

King Corbin b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Rollup

Cesaro b. Jimmy Uso via DQ when Roman Reigns 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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Smackdown
Date: May 7, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s time for a special show with a Throwback edition of Smackdown. I’m not sure what that is going to entail but we are going to be seeing at least the old logo. I can’t imagine we’ll be seeing the big fist just due to logistics, but a few cameos should be in order as well. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a Rock montage talking about Smackdown.

The opening video is a collection of all kinds of old school stuff, including Gorilla Monsoon on pay per views.

The (modern version of the) old WWF logo is back and McAfee is in a Vince McMahon blue blazer, while Cole is in the denim shirt.

THE FIST IS BACK! Ok so it’s a digital one but it’s there!

We look at the main event of the first (non-pilot) Smackdown, with guest referee Shawn Michaels cheating the Rock out of the WWF Title.

Here are Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Jey Uso for a chat. After a look back at last week’s war against Daniel Bryan and Cesaro making the save from a post match beatdown, Heyman says he is here to eulogize the career of Daniel Bryan. We get a ten bell salute, with Heyman making the sounds instead of waiting on “Mr. Schmucky Timekeeper.” Reigns says he is a man of his word so you should acknowledge him. He gives everyone what they want, from the fans to FOX to Daniel Bryan.

Last week he smashed Bryan, pinned him (not quite) and got rid of him. If Bryan wanted to be here, all he had to do was acknowledge Reigns. They have replaced Bryan with someone who will acknowledge him….and here is the returning Jimmy Uso. Celebrating ensues but here is Cesaro to interrupt. Cesaro says you cannot replace Daniel Bryan but he doesn’t have time to worry about Reigns when he is facing Seth Rollins tonight.

Cue Rollins to jump Cesaro from behind the brawl is on outside. Referees break it up, but here is Teddy Long, to say that he has been granted the authority to make a decision. Therefore, if Cesaro wins tonight, he will get his shot at Roman Reigns for the Universal Title at Wrestlemania Backlash. Reigns jumps Cesaro from behind so Rollins can send him into the steps. They go inside and take a break as I try to figure out why Cesaro came out in the first place.

Promotional consideration, paid for by the following: ICO-PRO.

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins

The Usos are at ringside. Cesaro, favoring his shoulder, pulls himself up and says ring the bell so Cesaro knocks him to the floor in a hurry. Back in and Cesaro hammers away but Rollins slips out of a gorilla press and kicks the knee out. Cesaro reverses a suplex into one of his own but the Swing is blocked. Instead Cesaro rolls him up for two but the Neutralizer is countered into a backdrop to the apron. Jey Uso offers a distraction so Rollins can hit the top rope superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two more.

Back with Rollins getting to the rope to avoid the Sharpshooter and Crossface but Cesaro puts him on top instead. Rollins comes right back with a buckle bomb but Cesaro comes out of the corner with a hard clothesline. Rollins gets sent outside where Jey checks on him, but Rollins doesn’t want the help and shoves him down. That earns Rollins a superkick so Cesaro dives onto Jimmy. Back in and the Neutralizer sends Cesaro to Backlash at 12:42.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t quite their Wrestlemania match but it wasn’t supposed to be. This was about getting Cesaro to the pay per view and they did that quite well, with the Uso screwup probably getting them in trouble with Reigns. Cesaro is on a roll and it makes a lot of sense to give him the title shot at the pay per view. Good stuff here, and Rollins teasing a bit of a different side could be very good for him.

Post break, we look at what we just saw.

Rollins comes in to see Roman Reigns and asks who he should be mad at. Reigns doesn’t want Rollins dealing with his family, because that’s Reigns’ job. Rollins says fix it or he will.

Classic Smackdown Moment: Steve Austin beats up Booker T. in the grocery store.

Teddy Long and Sonya Deville are in the back when Sami Zayn comes in to say that since Teddy is unbiased, he can give Sami the match that he needs. Teddy: “Tonight you can go one on one with the Undertaker!” Actually, we’ll have a tag match with Zayn/Apollo Crews vs. Big E./Kevin Owens/Street Profits/Shinsuke Nakamura. Zayn complains about the numbers being wrong, so Sonya suggests adding Otis and Chad Gable. Long likes that, and throws in King Booker. Sonya corrects that to King Corbin…..and now Long wants to dance as Sami leaves. Long is either senile or way funnier than I thought. I’ll go with the latter.

Roman Reigns yells at Jimmy Uso for screwing up after only being back for an hour. Jimmy isn’t going to be talked to like that and leaves, with Jey trying to calm things down.

Carmella vs. Ruby Riott

Liv Morgan is here too. Carmella takes Ruby into the corner and dances out but gets shouldered back down. A hair pull takes Riott back down but she headscissors Carmella face first into the middle buckle. An STO gets two on Carmella and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence until Carmella gets in the Cone of Silence for the tap at 2:18. This was just a way to get Carmella back with a win.

Classic Smackdown Moment: Edge and Hulk Hogan win the Tag Team Titles. It still looks weird to see Hogan with that belt.

Classic Smackdown Moment: Big Show and Brock Lesnar break the ring.

Here is Bayley for a chat. She is here to celebrate the great women’s champions of WWE, because they are the women who put their bodies on the line for you. We see shots of Alundra Blayze (Bayley: “She’s no Bayley.”), Jacqueline (who held the title twice, but not as long as Bayley), Lita (Bayley’s childhood hero), Trish Stratus, Ivory, Beth Phoenix, Molly Holly and of course Bianca Belair.

Bayley calls Belair young and excited but naive, because she isn’t on Bayley’s level. She sees insecurity in Belair’s eyes because Bayley is going to be the first and last challenger for the title. Cue Belair who says she is champion whether Bayley likes it or not. The brawl is on with Bayley sending her into the corner and even pulling on Belair’s earring. Bayley says listen to her and hits the bulldog driver.

Jey catches up to Jimmy (who was about three seconds ahead of him and apparently has not stopped walking for the last ten minutes) and asks if Jimmy really meant all of that. Jey explains that Reigns is family but Jimmy doesn’t like Reigns talking to them like that. Jimmy says Reigns would say he doesn’t need them but Jimmy needs Jey. They need to get their Tag Team Titles back and be champions with Reigns if they want to represent the family. It would be weird to have the Usos on the show and not at least going after the titles so it makes sense.

Classic Smackdown Moment: John Cena debuts.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio

Robert Roode and Dominik Mysterio are ringside. Before the match, Ziggler says Dominik is just famous for being Rey’s son so get out of the ring and let the adults handle this. Dominik wants to have the match instead so here we go.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph talks trash to start so Dominik slaps him in the face. Ziggler shoves him up against the ropes and shouts that Dominik doesn’t belong here. Dominik sends him to the floor but gets tripped down, setting up a slam on the outside. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Ziggler a posing two count but Dominik small packages him for the pin at 2:15. Keeping Dominik’s matches short is probably not the worst idea here.

Reginald talks about how Tamina disrespected him last week. Next week, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are going to retain the Tag Team Titles over Tamina and Natalya. For tonight though, it is time to cleanse the bad taste from Nia’s mouth. Nia: “Aw Reggie.”

Promotional consideration paid for by the following: WWF Ice Cream Bars!

Classic Smackdown Moment: Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Roman Reigns tells Paul Heyman to bring him his cousin. Heyman: “Which one?” A glare makes Heyman understand. That was great.

Tamina vs. Reginald

This feels like a random match made by a glitching copy of WWE2K20. Natalya, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are here too. Reginald bails into the ropes to start and then heads outside to continue the stalling. A running clothesline is countered with a standing moonsault and he flips out of a grab of the hair. Tamina puts him on the top so Reginald flips away to land on his feet. That earns him a superkick and the Superfly Splash is loaded up but Baszler shoves Tamina off the top for the DQ at 2:15.

Post match Natalya and Tamina get beaten down, including Tamina being Samoan dropped into the barricade.

Team Apollo Crews is ready, though Sami Zayn seems to be the odd man out.

Team Big E. is ready and Shinsuke Nakamura wants the smoke.

Alpha Academy/Sami Zayn/King Corbin/Apollo Crews vs. Street Profits/Big E./Kevin Owens/Shinsuke Nakamura

Commander Azeez is here with the villains. Dawkins armdrags Gable down a few times and hands it off to Ford. That’s fine with Crews, who comes in and hammers away before mocking the NEW DAY ROCKS clap. Zayn comes in to work on Ford’s arms but Ford backflips away and hits the great dropkick. It’s off to Big E. to headlock Corbin, who drives him into the corner for some cheap shots from Zayn. Owens isn’t having this and the big brawl breaks down on the floor. The bullfrog splash from the apron crushes Zayn and we take a break.

Back with Otis cranking on Owens’ neck and hitting a splash in the corner. Crews comes in but gets enziguried down for a breather. Owens adds a spinwheel kick and the hot tag brings in Nakamura to start cleaning house with kicks all around. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of secondary finishers. Gable German suplexes Owens on the floor but gets Pounced by Dawkins. Ford adds a big flip dive to the floor, leaving Nakamura to hit Kinshasa on Zayn. Corbin tags himself in though and hits End of Days to finish Nakamura at 10:43.

Rating: C+. This could have been worse, even if Corbin getting a win made me roll my eyes. To be fair though, Corbin hasn’t been doing much as of late so reheating him a bit might not be the worst idea. You’re only ever going to get so much out of such a big match like this so it was about as much as you could have asked to see.

Roman Reigns is not pleased with Jey Uso but wants to give Jimmy another chance. Jimmy is going to get a chance to show where he stands right now.

Classic Smackdown Moment: Vince McMahon experiences Eddie Guerrero’s low rider.

Here are Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Jey Uso to wrap things up. Reigns starts recapping things but here’s Jimmy to interrupt. Jimmy recaps Jey vs. Roman Reigns in the I Quit match in the Cell, where Jimmy ran in for the save and got choked out, with Jey quitting to save his brother.

After that tape that they just happened to have laying around, Jimmy says he never would have quit. Reigns can’t believe that’s what this is about because he and Jey have moved forward. He isn’t going back and forth with Jimmy, who needs to fall in line and stand with them. Either that, or go home and watch Reigns and the Uso (singular) with his kids.

Jimmy goes to leave, gets conflicted, and then keeps walking. Jey goes to the floor to talk to him but here is Cesaro to jump Reigns. Despite Jimmy trying to hold him back, Jey runs in for the save but gets beaten down. Jimmy hesitates but comes in to go after Cesaro as well, earning himself the pop up European uppercut. A nearly botched Neutralizer plants Jey and there’s a better one to Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show mainly focused on the Reigns/Usos stuff, which worked out well enough, including the cliffhanger at the end. It isn’t exactly revolutionary and feels a bit like the Young Bucks’ recent issues in AEW, but it’s nice to see the Usos back in some form. The rest of the show was the usual hit and miss variety pack, though the idea of Reginald vs. Tamina still makes my head hurt quite a bit.

As for the big Throwback theme…..well the logos were certainly there. Given that it was a FOX deal that they are doing over the weekend, I can’t get too mad at WWE for not having the biggest enthusiasm for this one. The clips were nice to see (despite having seen them quite a few times now) and the digital fist was better than nothing….I think. WWE can do these things well, but this was more of a bonus feature for some window dressing than an overall theme, so it’s not like there was much of a grand expectation.

Results

Cesaro b. Seth Rollins – Neutralizer

Carmella b. Ruby Riott – Cone of Silence

Dominik Mysterio b. Dolph Ziggler – Small package

Tamina b. Reginald via DQ when Nia Jax interfered

Alpha Academy/King Corbin/Sami Zayn/Apollo Crews b. Street Profits/Big E./Kevin Owens/Shinsuke Nakamura – End of Days to Nakamura

 

 

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