Smackdown
Date: September 23, 2022
Location: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We are just a few weeks away from Extreme Rules but WWE is already focusing on Crown Jewel a month later. The big story is that Roman Reigns will be defending against Logan Paul in Saudi Arabia in November, which could open up more than a few interesting situations. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is the full Bloodline for a rather slow motion entrance. Roman Reigns eventually allows the crowd to acknowledge him before Paul Heyman can’t figure out what to call people from Utah. Eventually he settles on Salt Lake Cidiots before talking about how Reigns has run over everyone. This includes Drew McIntyre, who now has another bridge to Kross. As for Solo Sikoa, he isn’t the idea of Heyman, Reigns, or anyone else (seemingly a nod at Sami Zayn) but rather being sent by the Samoan dynasty.

Sikoa is the enforcer who leaves the Usos to pursue greatness. The Usos are ready to retain the titles tonight, because everyone else is the two’s and they the …..and Reigns wants the microphone before they can complete the catchphrase. Reigns says the elders may have sent Sikoa, but he answers to Reigns now. Acknowledge him, which Sikoa does.

The team goes to leave, but Sami says hang on a second. Sami understands he isn’t blood, but Reigns doesn’t get this. Why does Sami have a Bloodline shirt on? Why is he tagging along? Reigns wants the shirt off and Sami’s explanation doesn’t get him out of trouble. Jey rips the third off, with Reigns saying Sami is never wearing a Bloodline shirt again. Instead, Reigns has a new one for him, which says “SZ: HONORARY UCE”. Sami acknowledges Reigns and is Very happy, to the point of hugging Roman. That was a great moment for Sami, but him vs. Reigns down the line could steal all of the shows.

Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan

Non-title and Lacey now has part of her forehead painted. Morgan takes her down to start but gets kicked HARD in the chest. Evans gets in a kick into the corner and we hit the chinlock. A slingshot….something misses for Evans but she sends Morgan into the post as we take a break.

Back with Evans kicking her down again and grabbing a headscissors with some pushups thrown in. Morgan kicks her way out of trouble so Evans grabs a kendo stick. Because of course she does. Morgan isn’t having that though and hits a Codebreaker, setting up Oblivion to finish Evans at 8:39.

Rating: D+. Yeah this didn’t work and I’m not exactly surprised. Evans has never quite been a ring general and trying to have Morgan be more extreme (as commentary kept talking about) didn’t go very far either. Morgan isn’t working as champion and trying to spice her up for her next match with Ronda Rousey isn’t going to work well either.

Post match Morgan grabs the kendo stick and beats on Evans, followed by a Russian legsweep into the barricade. Morgan puts her on a table and climbs onto the post, setting up a backsplash through the table. To show she’s ready for Rousey you see.

Hit Row is going to be watching tonight, and so are the Street Profits, who pop up. Then Shinsuke Nakamura comes up and they all drink.

Sami Zayn is annoyed at catering being gone and even more annoyed when Madcap Moss and Ricochet come up to mock him for the Bloodline stuff. The insults continue but here is Solo Sikoa to beat Ricochet and Moss down. Zayn: “I was just about to do that.”

Video on the Usos’ Tag Team Title reign.

And now…..a Royal Rumble Classic? Ah tickets are on sale next week. Anyway, Shawn Michaels won in 1995 by going coast to coast.

New Day vs. Maximum Male Models

Mansoor gets rolled up to start so Mace comes in to kick woods in the face. Hold on though as Maxxine steals a camera and takes some pictures. A backdrop to the floor isn’t enough for Woods to make the hot tag as Mace comes in to kick Woods down. Not that it matters as Backwoods gives Woods the pin at 2:39.

Post match Max Dupri snaps on the team and storms out, even throwing down his jacket.

Back at Hit Row’s party and more wrestlers have shown up. Los Lotharios show up to hit on B Fab, seemingly much to Sonya Deville’s annoyance. Hit Row and the Profits (and Drew Gulak) chase them off.

Braun Strowman vs. Otis

Chad Gable is here too. They fight over a lock up to start until Strowman shoves him away. Otis gets dropkicked to the floor so Strowman loads up the run around the ring. Gable ducks though, which is enough to distract Strowman. That’s enough for Otis to get in a cheap shot, setting up a discus lariat for two back inside.

Strowman fights up and that means a meeting with Gable on the floor. You don’t do that to Strowman, who pops up and runs both of them over without much trouble. Back in and Strowman can’t hit the powerslam as his knee gives out, allowing Otis to hit the World’s Strongest Slam for two. The Vader bomb gets the same but a middle rope headbutt misses. The powerbomb finishes for Strowman at 5:30.

Rating: C-. I have no idea why Otis is being protected so much against a returning former World Champion but they certainly gave him a lot this time. Strowman did win in the end and the powerbomb looked good, but this should have been a lot closer to a squash. Otis is someone they need to protect that much? Really?

The Brawling Brutes are ready for the Tag Team Titles tonight. As a bonus, Sheamus is ready to win the Intercontinental Title in two weeks when it’s Sheamus vs. Gunther II. Tonight is about the Tag Team Titles though and they’re ready to have banger after banger.

Here is Drew McIntyre to call out Karrion Kross for jumping him from behind again and again. McIntyre has a strap in his hand and a surprise for Kross: a strap match, so Kross can’t sneak up on him. Cue Scarlett on stage for a distraction but McIntyre is ready for Kross this time. Kross is sent into the post and McIntyre straps them together. The beating is on until Scarlett gets in to beg off for Kross’ sake. Then Scarlett throws something like a fireball at McIntyre to no avail. With that not working (because it missed by about two feet, so good for McIntyre for not selling it), a low blow cuts McIntyre off and Kross Krossjackets him.

Dakota Kai vs. Raquel Rodriguez

The rest of Damage Ctrl is here with Kai, whose history with Rodriguez from NXT is explained. Rodriguez starts fast and blocks an early Scorpion Kick but the rest of the team offers a distraction. Now the Scorpion kick can connect, setting up the running boot from Kai in the corner. Bayley gets in a cheap shot but here is Shotzi to take Bayley and Iyo Sky out. The distraction lets Rodriguez grab a rollup at 1:19, which saw three interferences.

Los Lotharios jump Hit Row, who swear revenge.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Brawling Brutes

The Brutes are challenging with Sheamus and the rest of the Bloodline here too. Butch works on Jey’s hand to start but is fine enough to drive Butch into the corner. That doesn’t matter much as everything breaks down and the Usos get taken out. Stereo forearms to the chest drop Jimmy but Jey is back up with a cheap shot. The Usos drop Butch for two and we take a break.

Back with Butch fighting out of trouble and bringing in Ridge to clean house. A shot to the face knocks Ridge back into the corner for the tag to Butch though and a Shining Wizard get two on Jey. Everything breaks down and Butch gets to clean house, though Jey tags himself in blind. Butch’s moonsault gets superkicked out of the air (that looked good) for two and Jimmy isn’t sure what to do. 1D is broken up and it’s a finger snap to allow the tag off to Holland.

The Alabama Slam is countered so Holland backdrops both of them at once. The kick to the head/Norther Grit combination gets a VERY close two with Jimmy making the save. Zayn grabs a chair and goes to slide it inside but Sheamus breaks it up. Cue Imperium to go after Sheamus with Gunther kicking him in the head. The Usos are back up with superkicks to Butch and Holland, setting up 1D to retain the titles at 14:10.

Rating: B. This match did one thing that mattered more than anything else: it made me believe that an upset, as illogical as it would have been, was possible. There was a point where I believed they might do the unthinkable and change the titles and that is a great feeling. Not that the titles might change, but that I was able to believe something was possible. WWE does not get to make that work very often but they sure did it here.

Overall Rating: C. The main event was much better than I would have bet on but some of the other wrestling dragged it down so much. Wrestling isn’t the most important thing on a wrestling show, but it did need to be better than what we got here. There wasn’t much to see here outside of the main event, but they are setting some things up for later that should have some outstanding payoffs. For now though, check out the main event and the opening segment, but not much else.

Results
Liv Morgan b. Lacey Evans – Oblivion
New Day b. Maximum Male Models – Backwoods to Mansoor
Braun Strowman b. Otis – Powerbomb
Raquel Rodriguez b. Dakota Kai – Rollup

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Smackdown
Date: September 16, 2022
Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

As has been said multiple times lately, and then everything changed. Over the course of the week, Roman Reigns started focusing on Logan Paul, which seems to be a likely Crown Jewel main event. That is the kind of thing that seems hard to fathom, but here we are with a big segment needed to make it work. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Logan Paul to get things going. After commentary recaps Paul’s issues with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman this week (Reigns went on Paul’s podcast and had an interview, then after Reigns left, Paul said he could beat him), Paul says he has done it again, meaning he has made someone mad.

We get some hardcore WHATing before Paul talks about how he has challenged people like Floyd Mayweather before, so tomorrow there is going to be a press conference in Las Vegas. If Reigns is man enough, he can show up and meet him face to face. Cue the Bloodline, minus Reigns, with the returning Paul Heyman getting to say exactly what you would expect. Heyman gets inside, as per Logan’s invitation, and tells the team that he has this. He sees Logan as one of the few non-WWE guys who could be a Paul Heyman Guy. Logan is the one who stood up to fight Mayweather and never went down.

Logan asks what Heyman is getting at so Heyman praises the Paul Brothers’ fighting abilities before suggesting that Logan is in over his head. That doesn’t shake Logan, who asks what Heyman is afraid of with a press conference. Yeah Reigns would probably smash him, but what if Logan hit that one lucky shot and won the Undisputed Universal Title? That makes Heyman back up a bit, so he has Solo Sikoa get in the ring.

Logan thinks he could knock Heyman out before Solo could get in the ring, so Sami slides in first. Sami thinks Reigns should have let him handle things, so Heyman throws the mic down and says do it. Logan drops him with one shot, drawing in the Usos and Sikoa to chase him off. Cue Ricochet for his scheduled match. Logan vs. Reigns is an out of nowhere match that needed to be set up fast. They did what they could here but there are only so many ways to make it work and I don’t think it quite came together, especially with all the focus on the boxing stuff.

Ricochet vs. Sami Zayn

Sami works on the arm to start and wristlocks him to the mat. The chinlock is quickly reversed into a headlock as Cole actually name drops Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Ricochet fights up and knocks him to the floor but Sami is right back in with a shot to the face. A middle rope elbow to the head sets up a chinlock but Ricochet fights back up again. What looked like a springboard is broken up, sending Ricochet ribs first as we take a break.

Back with Sami going up top but getting dropkicked out of the air for a crash. Ricochet starts kicking away and hits a running hurricanrana into a high crossbody for two. The Recoil is blocked and Ricochet’s standing moonsault hits knees, causing Heyman to make a mess of the announcers’ table. A superkick looks to set up the frog splash but Jimmy Uso offers a distraction, allowing Zayn to hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for….nothing due to Logan Paul.

The Benedryller is broken up but Ricochet knocks Jey Uso off the apron again. Sami snaps off a half and half suplex but Jey’s angry charge distracts the referee. That’s enough for Zayn to yell at the Usos, allowing Ricochet to hit a big dive onto them. Back in and the shooting star press finishes Zayn at 13:06.

Rating: C+. These two know what they’re doing and as usual, it is always nice to see Ricochet getting a win where he can. That hasn’t happened often enough for a very long time but it’s working more in recent weeks. Throw in Zayn getting to do some more stuff and this was rather nice to see, especially with the time they had.

Post match the Bloodline looks ready to strike but Madcap Moss runs down with a chair to cut it off.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett are looking forward to choking out Drew McIntyre so he’ll stay down. McIntyre fought, but like everyone else, he eventually went down. Kross is going to leave him in an endless loop of suffering.

The Dupris introduce the Maximum Male Models with their Back To School Collection, but Braun Strowman runs in to take them apart (with Mace giving a great OH NO look when the music hit). The powerbomb plants Mansoor hard but cue the Alpha Academy to go after Strowman. Otis manages a World’s Strongest Slam but Strowman pops back up. The Academy wisely runs.

Here is Damage Ctrl for a chat. Bayley laughs about being back and introduces the rest of the team as the new Women’s Tag Team Champions. That means they can go anywhere they want, which Bayley describes as power. They took the titles and put Aliyah on the shelf. Cue Raquel Rodriguez to call them powerless bullies.

Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez

The rest of Damage Ctrl is here so Rodriguez goes outside to throw Kai into Sky. The distraction lets Bayley get in some shows of her own though and the stomping ensues outside. Back in and Bayley is knocked into the corner, setting up a big boot to drop Bayley again. The Vader Bomb elbow is broken up via a distraction though and Bayley ties Rodriguez’s leg in the ropes.

A running knee to the tied up knee gives Bayley two and a running clothesline to the back of the head gets the same. Rodriguez fights back up with some fall away slams so the rest of the team offers another distraction. That’s fine with Rodriguez, who slams Kai onto Bayley to set up the corkscrew Vader Bomb elbow. Sky rakes the eyes though and it’s the Rose Plant for the pin at 6:26.

Rating: C. It’s weird to see Rodriguez lose but it did take three people and a bunch of cheating. That’s a good enough way to protect her, which is a good idea given what kind of a force she has been lately. Bayley seems set to go after Bianca Belair so Rodriguez is going to need a partner not named Aliyah to go after the Tag Team Titles, at least in theory.

Post match the beatdown is on until Shotzi runs in for the save.

We get a sitdown interview with Ronda Rousey, who wasn’t worried about Liv Morgan last time and still isn’t this time. Liv comes in and sits down, where she says that Rousey uses more useless words than anyone else. Rousey doesn’t buy it but Liv says she is the only person to beat her twice. Liv is used to the lack of respect and knows she has to do it again, so let’s make it an Extreme Rules match. Rousey says it’s Morgan’s funeral and leaves. I’ll take it over a straight match.

Drew McIntyre is on the commentary table to say Karrion Kross has his attention. It seems that if Kross isn’t jumping him from behind, he won’t face McIntyre like a man. McIntyre says the only countdown Kross needs to worry about is 3, 2, 1, lights out. It was short and to the point, but having McIntyre pop up and stand on the table made it feel more spontaneous, or at least different.

The Usos fire up Solo Sikoa, but he says he has this because Jey Uso was off earlier. Sami Zayn can come though.

NXT North American Title: Solo Sikoa vs. Madcap Moss

Sikoa, with Sami Zayn, is defending. Feeling out process to start until an elbow to the face drops Moss. Back up and Moss runs him over as well, setting up a running clothesline to put Sikoa on the floor. Sami offers a distraction though and Sikoa whips Moss into the barricade to take over. They get back inside where Sikoa can hit a spinwheel kick, followed by some glaring.

A belly to belly plants Moss again and the running hip attack connects, but Moss fights up and hits his forearms to the face. Something like a Rock Bottom gives Moss two, followed by Sikoa’s Samoan drop for the same. Moss grabs a fall away slam but Sami pulls Sikoa to the floor. The chase is on, allowing Sikoa to hit a superkick into a swinging Rock Bottom for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: C-. This picked up a bit near the end but it was clear that neither was ready to lead a match. They’re both athletic and can do the moves, but they don’t quite seem to know when or where to do them. It was disjointed rather than bad and that often shows just as much if not more, which was the case here.

Hit Row vs. New Day vs. Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium

For the #1 contendership with B Fab, Gunther and Sheamus at ringside.. During the entrances, we’re told that Erik of the Viking Raiders has suffered a foot injury, hence the team’s absence. Butch and Kaiser slug it out to start before going outside for the brawl. Top Dolla throws Ashante Adonis onto the two of them, setting up back to back flip dives from New Day to send us to a break.

Back with Kaiser putting Butch in a neck crank but Butch escapes and starts twisting on the fingers. Holland comes in but gets caught in Imperium’s corner, with Vinci armdragging him into an armbar. That’s broken up though and Dolla comes in to suplex Holland. Adonis comes in for an assisted splash and we hit the chinlock. Holland fights up so Kofi tags himself into pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Imperium hits their double dropkick in the corner as we take another break.

Back again with Holland fighting out of trouble, allowing the hot tag to Woods to clear out Imperium. Holland is back in to clothesline Woods but Butch tags himself in and gets to clean house as well. Dolla kicks him down before putting Butch and Woods on his shoulders, plus catching Kofi in a World’s Strongest Slam at the same time.

All three are planted but Holland comes in with an Alabama Slam for two. Kofi hits a heck of a suicide dive onto Dolla, leaving Kofi to hit the top rope splash to Adonis’ back, with Butch having to make a save. Imperium breaks that up and drops Kofi with the Imperial Bomb but Holland tags himself in to steal the pin at 18:55.

Rating: B. This was the kind of insanity that you are supposed to get with a match like this and that was a good thing. It felt like there were multiple times where any team could win and it’s nice to have that kind of drama. The Brutes winning is a surprise and while I can’t imagine them taking the titles, they’re fresh challengers for the Usos so it’s a step up.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped and while I wasn’t wild on the Logan Paul stuff, it is something different as they take a side tour on the road to Extreme Rules. This was an easy to watch show save for maybe Moss vs. Sikoa, which wasn’t even that bad. The main thing continues to be a slightly different way of presenting the show and that is what WWE has been needing for far too long now.

Results
Ricochet b. Sami Zayn – Shooting start press
Bayley b. Raquel Rodriguez – Rose Plant
Solo Sikoa b. Madcap Moss – Swinging Rock Bottom
Brawling Brutes b. Imperium, New Day and Hit Row – Imperial Bomb to Kingston

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Clash At The Castle
Date: September 3, 2022
Location: Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the first stadium show in the United Kingdom in over thirty years and that means it is time for one of the biggest WWE shows of the year. The main event is a showdown between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title, with McIntyre almost having to win. Other than that, Sheamus vs. Gunther should be a heck of a hoss fight. Let’s get to it.

The stadium looks very good as the place is massive and looks packed.

Kickoff Show: Street Profits/Madcap Moss vs. Alpha Academy/Austin Theory

Dawkins and Gable run the ropes to start and it’s an armdrag to take Gable down. Ford comes in and gets his ankle locked but Theory sneaks in for a cheap shot to take over. Gable grabs an armbar but Ford hits a double DDT for the escape. Moss comes in to clean house until Dawkins tags himself in to do the same.

Everything breaks down and the American Automatic gets two on Dawkins. Otis gets fall away slammed by Moss and Dawkins saves Ford from getting German suplexed off the apron. That leaves Ford to hit a running flip dive Doomsday Blockbuster (GEEZ) to drop Gable onto the pile. Back in and the frog splash finishes Gable at 6:30.

Rating: C+. Exactly what you want out of an opener as they flew through everything and didn’t let the fans get bored. Ford continues to be amazing to watch and showcased himself very well, with that Blockbuster being an incredible thing to see. Dawkins is on quite the level himself and doesn’t get the attention he deserves and that could serve him well when Ford becomes a solo star.

The opening video looks at various shots of Wales, plus everything on the six match card.

Alexa Bliss/Asuka/Bianca Belair vs. Bayley/Dakota Kai/Iyo Sky

Bayley doesn’t like the fans singing to her to start and decks Asuka on the apron. The six way brawl is on until we’re down to Bayley vs. Belair. Bayley gets dropped but Kai and Sky break up the handspring elbow. The villains come in for a double suplex attempt but all six get back in, with Belair and company hitting a trouble suplex. Belair’s handspring moonsault hits Sky and Kai, sending the two of them outside for a conference with Bayley.

Back in and we settle down to Bliss taking Sky down for the Insult To Injury. Sky takes her into the corner though and it’s time to start the alternating stomps. Bliss manages a drop toehold though and it’s Asuka coming in for a bulldog. The middle rope missile dropkick hits Bayley but Sky comes in with the springboard missile dropkick. The slingshot knees in the corner get two but Asuka gets up and manages the hot tag to Bliss.

A running flip dive takes Bayley down outside, only to have Sky hit a running dropkick into the barricade. Back in and Bliss gets beaten down in the corner, with Kai even mocking Belair’s kiss it deal. There’s a flapjack to Bliss but she Code Reds her way out of the corner. Kai isn’t having that though and kicks Bliss in the face, allowing the tag back to Bayley. Everything breaks down and Bliss is able to get over for the hot tag to Asuka. House is quickly cleaned but the numbers take Asuka down, with a sliding lariat giving Bayley two.

Asuka Codebreakers her way to freedom though and the next hot tag brings in Belair. The pace picks up and it’s a spinebuster into the standing moonsault for two on Bayley. Belair throws Kai into Sky bu*t misses a charge into….Bayley’s legs as she sits on top in front of the post. Asuka/Bliss are right there though and base off Belair’s back for the double superplex to bring Bayley crashing down.

With Asuka and Bliss outside, Sky hits a heck of a moonsault to take them both down. Back in and Kai misses the running kick in the corner but Sky breaks up the KOD. Bayley grabs Belair’s hair to hold her in place for Kai’s running kick, setting up the Rose Plant into Sky’s Over The Moonsault to give Bayley the pin at 18:41.

Rating: B-. Good way to start as Bayley gets set up for the next title match, as she should be. Belair needs a fresh challenger and this is about as good of an option as she has at the moment. They kept this moving and didn’t bother letting things slow down, which is a good idea for an opener. Nice stuff here, even with the villains winning.

Tyson Fury wishes Drew McIntyre luck.

We look at the main event of Summerslam 1992.

Bret Hart is here.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Sheamus

Gunther is defending and has Ludvig Kaiser in his corner and introduces Giovanni Vinci, as Imperium is back for a big debut. The rest of Imperium and the Brawling Brutes get in a fight as the other two have the staredown ala last week on Smackdown. Butch moonsaults onto Imperium and they all brawl to the back as the bell rings to start the slugout. Forearms and right hands set up the big boot to drop Sheamus but he’s right back with a suplex.

The forearms to the chest are broken up and they head outside with Sheamus sending him into the steps. Back in and Sheamus pulls himself to the top rope, only to have Gunther blast him with a chop to the floor. Gunther slams him onto the steps and takes it back inside for the chops. A big boot sets up more chops and Sheamus is rocked again. The Boston crab goes on to send Sheamus to the ropes, leaving Gunther to chop him in the back.

Sheamus fights up anyway and the slugout is on again with Gunther getting the better of things. They fight to the floor with Sheamus being thrown over the announcers’ table but coming back with the ten forearms to the chest. Back in and the more traditional forearms to the chest put Gunther in more trouble until he falls back out to the floor. That’s fine with Sheamus, who puts him over the barricade for even more forearms to the chest.

Back in and Sheamus’ top rope knee gets two but the Irish Curse is blocked with some elbows to the head. The sleeper is countered into White Noise for two and Gunther hits most of a powerbomb for two, leaving both of them down. Sheamus catches him on top and hits a Razor’s Edge for two for a double knockdown. The Brogue Kick doesn’t work as Sheamus’ back gives out, setting up the powerbomb for two. Back up and Gunther BLASTS him with a clothesline to retain the title at 19:31.

Rating: A-. This was exactly as advertised and they beat the fire out of each other with one hard hitting shot after another. Gunther getting to retain the title over a big star is a great way to go and they did what you would have expected. Sheamus isn’t going to be hurt whatsoever by a loss like this and Gunther can move on to whoever is next. Awesome fight here and that shouldn’t be a surprise whatsoever.

Post match Sheamus gets the standing ovation as he pulls himself up.

We recap Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler. Morgan cashed in Money In The Bank to win the Smackdown Women’s Title and has come off as a bit of a joke champion since. Now she is getting the chance to right the ship a bit, while Baszler is promising to do various painful things to her.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler

Morgan, in white for a change, is defending. Commentary talks about Morgan training with Riddle to prepare for the MMA style and takes Baszler down into a choke to start. Back up and Baszler goes after the bad arm, including taking her outside for a whip into the barricade. Baszler hits a German suplex into a kick to the chest for two as Morgan is rocked.

Morgan manages to get to the middle rope for a dropkick and a springboard spinning Codebreaker gets two. Another trip up top goes badly for Morgan as Baszler knees her out of the air, meaning the big stomp can be loaded up. Morgan pulls that into a cross armbreaker but Baszler powers out. A hard knee to the face gets two on Morgan and the Kirifuda Clutch goes on. Morgan slips out so Baszler grabs it again, only to to have Morgan roll back to escape. The Codebreaker into Oblivion retains the title at 11:01.

Rating: C+. They told a nice story with Morgan fighting from behind and surviving until the end, but my goodness this Morgan reign is not exactly working. They haven’t helped themselves by having her feel like an afterthought and adding her to the long list of people to beat Shayna Baszler isn’t the solution. They did the underdog thing here, but I can’t bring myself to care about Morgan anymore.

Adrian Street and Miss Linda are here for your legends moment.

We recap Edge/Rey Mysterio vs. Judgment Day. The team has gone after Edge and the Mysterios for months and it’s time for the big showdown. The wild card is Dominick Mysterio not seemingly being intimidated/controlled/something else by Rhea Ripley. It doesn’t help that Dominick seems annoyed about Rey picking Edge as his partner so there is some tension afoot.

Rey Mysterio/Edge vs. Judgment Day

Dominick Mysterio is here with Rey, while Edge wears a mask during his entrance. Rhea Ripley is here with Judgment Day to….well I would say even things out but would anyone put Dominick on Ripley’s level? Balor chops at Rey in the corner to start but a headscissors gets Rey out of trouble. Priest comes in and drops Edge with a single right hand but Rey blocks a whip into the corner, allowing Edge to hammer away.

Balor tries to do the same thing but Edge whips Priest into the other corner to keep him in trouble. Rey comes back in and gets caught in the wrong corner, with a backbreaker/running legdrop combination giving Priest two. We hit the chinlock before Priest kicks Rey in the head to cut off a comeback attempt. Balor hits one Amigo but stops before trying a second for a bit of a troll job.

The chinlock goes on for a bit but Mysterio fights up and takes it to the floor. Balor is sent over the barricade but Rey has to crotch Priest on the barricade, giving us a VERY over the top sell for a chuckle. Back in and the hot tag brings in Edge to make the comeback, including an Edgecution to Balor. Edge hits a 619 (not great but he tried) and Rey adds the springboard splash for two, with Priest making the save.

That earns Priest a spear through the ropes and out to the floor but Balor throws Rey outside. Balor Sling Blades Edge but Dominick offers a distraction, allowing Rey to hit a super hurricanrana. Ripley beats up Dominick but Rey dives onto both of them for the save. Dominick trips Balor back inside, setting up a 619 into a spear to give Edge the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here, which shouldn’t be a shock. I’m not wild on Edge getting another pin over the team but that is just how things go for him. The lack of a Dominick turn isn’t exactly a shock either as they have been teasing it for so long now, but it would be nice to actually get to the point with it. Judgment Day needs to start wrapping up if they aren’t going to get a big win though, as this isn’t doing anyone involved any favors.

Post match Dominick celebrates with Edge….and then kicks him low. Then a clothesline drops Rey, much to Judgment Day’s approval. Dominick leaves on his own and Edge and Rey get the big ovation. Yeah but it’s still Dominick.

The attendance is 62,296.

We recap Riddle vs. Seth Rollins. They were scheduled to fight at Summerslam but Rollins injured him beforehand. Since then Rollins has made it personal, including insulting Riddle for his family splitting up. Riddle has promised revenge.

Riddle vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins has flame themed attire, plus heart sunglasses and wings. The bell rings and Riddle goes right after him, setting up some rolling gutwrench suplexes. Rollins gets in a few shots before avoiding a charge to send Riddle crashing throat first into the ropes. They head outside with Rollins hitting a barricade bomb, setting up the suicide dive to put Riddle onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Rollins takes him down again, setting up the Falcon Arrow for two.

Riddle manages to get away and heads up top, only to get crotched back down. The superplex into the Falcon Arrow is countered into a fisherman’s buster to leave both of them down. Riddle catches him with a t-bone suplex to the floor, setting up the penalty kick into the springboard Floating Bro. Back in and the Bro To Sleep into a powerbomb into the Final Flash knee gets two on Rollins, leaving them both down.

The Floating Bro hits knees but Riddle is fine enough to pull him into a triangle choke. Rollins hits a Bro Derek for two but Riddle is back up with some kicks to the head. An enziguri into a Pedigree gives Rollins two and they’re both down again. Rollins shouts about Riddle being a loser, which is why his wife left him and now his kids are going to know it.

That sends Riddle over the edge but Rollins uses the anger to kick him in the face. Rollins loads up an RKO but Riddle pulls him into a choke. The beating is on, including Rollins being bounced off of the announcers’ table. They head back inside where Rollins hits a Stomp, followed by a middle rope Stomp to finish Riddle at 17:16.

Rating: B. This felt like a fight between two people who wanted to hut each other and that is how it should have gone. They played into the emotion at the end with Riddle’s anger costing him and likely setting up a rematch next month at Extreme Rules. What we got here was good though and came off like two angry men hitting each other, so points for getting the feeling right.

Tyson Fury talked to Roman Reigns earlier and is in the crowd.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett are in the crowd as well.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre in the big title showdown. Reigns has been champion for two years and McIntyre is the home kingdom boy, meaning the titles are in jeopardy.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre is defending and gets a BROKEN DREAMS montage before he comes to the ring. They fight over a lockup to start with Reigns grabbing a headlock. A shoulder doesn’t do anything to McIntyre so Reigns bails out to the apron for a breather. Since there is no one outside with Reigns, he has to think about it on his own, which is quite different for him. Back in and Reigns hammers away, only to be taken back outside and whipped into the steps.

Hold on though as Karrion Kross and Scarlett pop up in the front row for a distraction, allowing Reigns to get in a cheap shot. Back in and Reigns hits the corner clotheslines, which knock McIntyre outside again. McIntyre gets back in and is dropped by a jumping clothesline for one, giving us the signature fast kickout. Reigns starts talking trash and knocks McIntyre down to cut off a comeback attempt. They fight over a suplex until Reigns knocks him down again….and gets a mic.

Reigns wants Cardiff to acknowledge him, allowing McIntyre to come back with the Glasgow Kiss. Back up and McIntyre starts the comeback, including the neckbreaker into the nip up. A running corner clothesline sets up a superplex but McIntyre gets knocked into the Tree of Woe. That’s fine with him, as he pulls up and hits the belly to belly superplex. Reigns bails to the floor at the threat of a Claymore before coming back in with a Rock Bottom for two. McIntyre fights back up and tries the Claymore, only to have it cut off with a Superman Punch for two more.

Back up and the spear connects for another near fall and Reigns isn’t sure what to do. The guillotine goes on and McIntyre’s ram into the corner doesn’t break it up. McIntyre breaks it up and posts him to the floor, where Reigns is speared through the barricade for a change. Back in and another spear gives Reigns another two and they’re both down again. Reigns stops to yell at and threaten the referee, allowing McIntyre to hit a Claymore from behind.

That’s enough to send the referee outside….and it’s Austin Theory time, with a second referee. The cash in is loaded up….and Tyson Fury knocks Theory cold from the front row (that was clever/great). Reigns grabs a chair but McIntyre hits the Claymore for a very near fall. They slug it out from their knees and then their feet until McIntyre hits another Claymore for two….and someone pulls the referee. It’s Solo Sikoa, which is enough of a distraction for Reigns to hit the spear to retain at 30:38.

Rating: B+. I believe the term here is “bold choice” as Reigns wins again. I’m not sure where he goes from here, but he is going to need something big to follow up. McIntyre gave this everything he had and the Sikoa debut was a nice surprise, but my goodness this was a surprise. Heck of a fight as these two work well together of course, though I’m not sure what the heck is supposed to be next for either of them.

Post match Tyson Fury gets in the ring and shakes Reigns’ hand. Reigns and Sikoa leave and Fury helps McIntyre up. Fury gets a mic and says McIntyre did his country proud. The fans were chanting for him and then Fury sings his signature American Pie song. McIntyre joins in on the chorus, including a guy in a shirt saying “Better Dad Than Chris Benoit”. McIntyre puts over the fans and sings Sweet Caroline before posing with Fury.

A highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A. This was a great show with one awesome match after another, though the lack of anything major actually happening was a weird way to go. You can probably see a lot of the card for Extreme Rules from here and it should be good, but you would think something bigger would happen on a show like this. What matters here though is that they blew the roof off the place with an excellent show and it felt like a major event. This is worth the look, though the ending is going to be quite the sore spot for some.

Results
Bayley/Dakota Kai/Iyo Sky b. Bianca Belair/Asuka/Alexa Bliss – Over The Moonsault to Belair
Gunther b. Sheamus – Clothesline
Liv Morgan b. Shayna Baszler – Oblivion
Edge/Rey Mysterio b. Judgment Day – Spear to Balor
Seth Rollins b. Riddle – Middle rope Stomp
Roman Reigns b. Drew McIntyre – Spear

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This is one of those special shows as WWE will be holding their first stadium event in the United Kingdom in over thirty years. You would think this would mean a huge card but while the main event is a big deal, there are only six matches on the card. A bonus match would not surprise me but WWE is not exactly known for some very last second changes. Let’s get to it.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan(c) vs. Shayna Baszler

We’re not starting with a good one here as this feels like either character rehabilitation for Morgan or the end of a short and unsuccessful reign as champion. Morgan has been more or less a disaster since her cheat code title win and subsequent tap out in the next match. The charm is long gone and WWE continues to think that her just holding a belt is enough to make her a big deal.

I’ll take Morgan to retain here, just so she can have a clean win. That being said, how in the world has Baszler never won a singles title in WWE? I know she was stuck with Nia Jax for the better part of ever, but you would think there would be at least a token win in there somewhere. I would love to see it happen here, but unless WWE has completely given up on Morgan, that isn’t going to be the case.

Edge/Rey Mysterio vs. Judgment Day

Now this is one of those stories where you can see where things are going and that isn’t a bad thing. WWE has all but hit you over the head with the fact that Dominick Mysterio is turning on Rey here and since that has been teased since LAST YEAR’S Summerslam, I would call it well overdue. Whether it is because he enjoys being beaten up by Rhea Ripley isn’t clear, but the turn is going to happen.

Naturally Judgment Day takes this and hopefully they’re done with the Mysterios for now. I don’t think I can see Dominick joining the team and that’s probably a good thing, but ultimately they need to move on and fight someone other than Edge/Rey/Dominick. They could also use a win as a team and that is where this probably comes in, which should at least be a good match despite the lack of shock over the turn.

Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins

Yes Matt, as he got his first name back this week. This is a feud that has been going on for a few months now but they haven’t actually had a match yet. The good thing is that they have made it more personal this week on Monday Night Raw with Rollins’ lines about Riddle’s divorce. That should make things that much better, and now we get to see how the violence goes down.

As much as it seems like Rollins is probably going to win here, I’ll take Riddle to give him a victory and some personal revenge. That is a smart way to go as Rollins has been a made man for years and Riddle could still use a few more wins under his belt. If nothing else, just having the full name back makes him a bit more serious of a star and that is a nice thing to see after so long.

Bianca Belair/Asuka/Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley/Iyo Sky/Dakota Kai

Can we officially name the heels yet? The Control thing has been thrown around multiple times but it has never been used by anyone on TV. Anyway, this is a match that the villains need to win after Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah won the Women’s Tag Team Titles on Monday for whatever reason. The good thing is it seems WWE believes in these three so there is some hope to be had.

I’ll take Bayley and company to win, likely with Bayley pinning Belair to set up the next title match. Asuka and Bliss are still a team (I guess?) because we need to have a division to fight for the titles, meaning they can be set up against Kai and Sky down the line. For now though, this is Bayley’s chance to get a big win now that she is back in the ring and pinning Belair would certainly qualify.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther(c) vs. Sheamus

Of all the matches on the show, this one feels like the most fun. They aren’t trying to hide what they have here, as this is going to be nothing but two big strong men beating the tar out of each other. Gunther wants to face elite competition and Sheamus wants to win the one title he needs to complete the Ultimate Grand Slam. This isn’t complicated and it doesn’t need to be.

I’ll go with Gunther to retain in his hardest match to date. As someone who needs one title to complete the collection in WWE, I would think it’s safe to say that Sheamus doesn’t need the win. While I could see them giving him the win for the sake of history, I don’t think they want Gunther losing so soon so he should hold onto the title here. He’ll be rather banged up, but he’ll still be champion.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Drew McIntyre

I believe you would call this shaky ground for WWE, because one thing has become clear in the last few weeks: McIntyre has to win this. The last time I felt like a star needed to win a title this badly was James Storm at Lockdown 2012 and that went very badly for both Storm and TNA when he didn’t. There is no reason to not pull the trigger here, even if it is for just one title (through some shenanigans) or even if he loses it soon thereafter (either to Austin Theory, Karrion Kross (stop laughing) or Reigns again). McIntyre could lose all four limbs and still needs to win this and that brings us to the problem.

Therefore, I’ll go with the logical step and say McIntyre wins the title, or at least part of it, here. Maybe something happens after, but WWE has put too much into the build of the once in thirty years deal and McIntyre in general to have him be the next name on Reigns’ list. WWE needs to be smart here and go with the corner they have booked themselves into and I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt by saying McIntyre wins.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about this card, the bigger it feels, though it wouldn’t surprise me to see one more match added in to boost things up a bit. The show being a six match card doesn’t really sound impressive but having the World Title change hands over there would make up for some of the problem. Either way, we should be in for a good show as we see the first event with time to be built off the new regime. I’m interested, and that’s a nice thing to be able to say.

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Smackdown
Date: September 2, 2022
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We’re on a rare taped show this week as the roster has already head over to Wales for tomorrow’s Clash At The Castle. This week is focused on Roman Reigns reaching two years as Universal Champion and that means we are likely to see Drew McIntyre pop up too. Other than that, there is a chance we could see something else added to the card, as there are only six matches so far. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

New Day vs. Viking Raiders

This is a Viking Rules match, meaning falls count anywhere and there is a bunch of viking themed stuff around the ring, including a big wooden mast of a ship extending from the ring into the aisle. New Day starts fast and stomps away in the corner, with some of the shields (yes shields) being knocked off the apron. The Vikings are sent to the floor so the big running flip dives take them down again. A running dropkick sends a shield into Erik’s face and Kofi adds a splash off the barricade for two.

We take a break and come back with Ivar hitting a running crossbody into the barricade for two on Woods. Back in and Kofi kendo sticks Erik, who hits a kind of Boss Man Slam for two of his own. Kofi knocks Erik to the floor and grabs a New Day themed mallet, which cracks Erik in the head for another two, because a mallet to the head is the same as a cover off a clothesline. Back up and the Vikings remember that it’s time to use the ship, with Kofi being slammed down hard onto the deck. A super World’s Strongest Slam gets two on Woods with Kofi making the save and we take another break.

Back again with two tables stacked up at ringside and Woods hitting a dropkick through the ropes. A discus forearm drops Erik and it’s a double stroke to send him through a chair. Ivar makes the save with a splash to the back (further crushing Erik in the process). Another super World’s Strongest Slam is broken up and Ivar misses a moonsault. Kofi’s top rope splash to the back sets up Woods’ rope walk elbow for two. They slug it out on the floor and Kofi is sent into the ship. The Vikings start swinging the shield to take over and Woods gets powerbombed through the two tables for the pin at 22:12.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and while there were goofy themed weapons included, they were having a serious fight. That makes almost anything like this work and it was a rather good match as a result, The other good thing is that the Vikings get the big win, which more or less leaves nothing for them to do but face the Usos. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem likely, but maybe they have something else in there.

We take our first look back at Roman Reigns’ time as Universal Champion, starting with the title win and alliance with Paul Heyman.

We look back at Sami Zayn trying to endear himself to Roman Reigns over the last few weeks.

Sami Zayn is ready to be the emcee for Roman Reigns’ two year celebration as Universal Champion. Jimmy Uso approves of the efforts but Jey doesn’t like that Zayn couldn’t help him against Kevin Owens.

Shayna Baszler promises to win the Women’s Title by making Liv Morgan suffer. Morgan comes in to say not only will she not tap out, but Baszler is going to tap. Baszler is amused.

Killer Kross is ready to hurt Drew Gulak, just like he hurts everyone else. Tick tock.

More on Reigns’ reign, including his sixteen pay per view main events.

Karrion Kross vs. Drew Gulak

Kross powers him into the corner, kicks him in the face, hits the Doomsday Saito and finishes with the KrossJacket at 1:15. Total dominance.

Then Roman Reigns smashed more people.

Here is Ronda Rousey with a piece of paper. The paper is an official statement from WWE and she wants Adam Pearce out here to hear it. Pearce comes out and says the suspension was never personal. The letter reads that Rousey has gone too far but nothing she did was criminal. She has paid the fines so while she is on probation, she is no longer suspended. Pearce is ticked off and says he would have fired Rousey, who laughs at the idea of the Board taking his side over her.

Rousey goes to leave but Pearce goes on a rant about how no one cares what happens to him while he runs two shows a week 52 weeks a year. He has to take care of two shows and a bunch of whiny stars like Rousey. Pearce has no problem with the Board but he has a big problem with her.

Heaven forbid everything doesn’t go her way so she isn’t the Baddest Woman On The Planet. No, she’s the single biggest b**** that Pearce has ever met. Rousey loads up the death stare and Pearce begs off, only to get armbarred in short order. The fans were way behind Rousey here, which WWE seemed to understand with Pearce not exactly endearing himself to the crowd.

Sami Zayn gets a delivery for Roman Reigns: a bouquet of black roses with a note saying TICK TOCK.

Hit Row vs. Maximum Male Models

B Fab and the Dupris are here. The Models are cleaned out to start but here are Los Lotharios for a distraction. B Fab kicks them both in the face, leaving the Models to take Adonis down. Mace walks over Adonis’ back and drops an elbow for two. Adonis is back up and gets over to Dolla for the hot tag. House is cleaned, including a running splash in the corner to Mansoor. The Heavy Hitter finishes for Adonis at 2:59.

Post match Hit Row gets beaten down but the Street Profits come in for the save.

Happy Corbin is tired of losing so it’s open challenge time.

Roman Reigns has beaten a lot of people in different kinds of matches.

Happy Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

In case McAfee couldn’t get any more excited. Nakamura starts fast and kicks him into the corner, setting up the choking. Another kick to the face looks to set up Kinshasa but Corbin reverses into Deep Six for two. End of Days is countered so Corbin tries the slide under the ropes, only to charge into Kinshasa for the pin at 2:18.

We look at Raquel Rodriguez winning the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament on Raw.

Connor’s Cure video.

Happy Corbin is in the back when a limo, with horns, comes up. A voice that sounds a lot like JBL asks what happened to Corbin and tells him to get in. They ride away together as commentary confirms that was JBL’s voice.

Butch vs. Ludvig Kaiser

The rest of the Brawling Brutes and Gunther are here too though Butch is in his Pete Dunne gear for a bit of an upgrade. Butch hammers him into the corner to start but Kaiser fights his way out and steps on Butch’s hair. Back up and Butch hits a clothesline before starting in on the arm. Butch cranks on the arm but gets taken into the corner for a slap to the face. Kaiser’s middle rope European uppercut is forearmed out of the air and falls outside, where he uppercuts Butch down hard as we take a break.

Back with Butch stomping on the fingers and kicking him in the head for two. Some forearms to the head keep Kaiser down but he catches Butch with a kick to the head in the corner. A reverse t-bone suplex gets two but Butch slams him down and hits a big kick to the head. There’s the finger snap and the Bitter End finishes Kaiser at 9:01.

Rating: B-. Sometimes you need two people put in the ring to beat on each other really hard. That is what you got here, as Butch and Kaiser can both hit hard and have a good match at the same time. It also lets them build up Sheamus vs. Gunther by proxy and I’ll absolutely take that over either of them losing.

Post match Sheamus is ready to fight Gunther but we’ll save that for later.

We look at Roman Reigns having the sixth longest World Title reign in company history.

Sami Zayn is ready for the big moment but Jimmy Uso has to keep Jey Uso and Sami from having more problems.

Here are Sami Zayn and the Usos for the big celebration, complete with blown up pictures of some great Reigns moments. Zayn starts his speech but Jey takes over and says how much Reigns has dominated over the last two years. After telling the people to be ready, we cut to the back where Reigns arrives….and is promptly Claymored by Drew McIntyre.

Now it’s McIntyre in the arena and cleaning house, setting up the big running flip dive over the top onto all three. Zayn gets a chair Claymored into his face and the Usos are put through the announcers’ table/the barricade. McIntyre says he isn’t going to stop and promises to kick Reigns’ head off of his body, leaving McIntyre looking up at the new Undisputed Champion.

Overall Rating: B. The energy continues around here as they did a heck of a job building to Clash At The Castle on a taped show. The opener was very good and McIntyre looks like a killer on the way to Cardiff. Throw in the JBL/Corbin stuff which has me a bit interested and I liked a good bit of this show. Rather strong go home show, and if they can stick the landing tomorrow on the big stage, WWE is doing a lot better than they have been in a good while.

Results
Viking Raiders b. New Day – Double powerbomb through two tables
Karrion Kross b. Drew Gulak – KrossJacket
Hit Row b. Maximum Male Models – Heavy Hitter to Mansoor
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Happy Corbin – Kinshasa
Butch b. Ludvig Kaiser – Bitter End

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: August 19, 2022
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We’re north of the border for the 1,200th episode and odds are that is not going to be the biggest deal. We are only a few weeks away from Clash At The Castle and now we should be in for some build to the show. There is a lot that needs to be done for the card and maybe we can get some of that done tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary talks about the 1,200th show, with McAfee name dropping Jim Cornette doing commentary on the first show (or at least the pilot).

Ronda Rousey walks in front of commentary and gets in the ring where she says her fine is paid so Adam Pearce needs to get out here and lift her suspension. Cue Pearce, with security to say that’s above his pay grade, so he asks her to leave peacefully. Pearce says that’s what she did last week and now it’s time to get violent. Security gets in the ring and gets beaten up. That’s too far for Pearce, who has the police come out and arrest Rousey. As she is taken to the back, she asks if this is on Pearce’s pay grade as she is put in the car.

The police car pulls away and Roman Reigns arrives.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Natalya/Sonya Deville vs. Toxic Attraction

Zoey Stark is hurt so Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin/Jacy Jayne) from NXT is taking her and Nikkita Lyons’ place. As a bonus, Bayley/Iyo Sky/Dakota Kai sit in the front row to yell at commentary. Natalya rolls Dolin up to start and it’s off to Deville for a spear of all things and a near fall. Jayne comes in and misses a charge into the post, allowing Jayne to hit a running flip dive to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Jayne loading up a Sharpshooter but getting knocked away by Deville. It’s back to Natalya, whose Sharpshooter is broken up as well. Deville is sent into the barricade in front of Bayley and company for some yelling as Jayne tags herself in. Natalya doesn’t notice and puts Dolin in the Sharpshooter, allowing Jayne to grab a rollup (clever) for the pin at 9:59.

Rating: C-. That’s how the match should have gone as there is no reason for one of the most successful NXT tag teams ever to lose to a makeshift team like Natalya and Deville. Not much of a match, but they did the right thing with Toxic Attraction moving forward. At the same time, it does make me wonder why they weren’t in the tournament in the first place.

Sami Zayn (hometown boy) goes in to see Roman Reigns, who asks how things have been going. Zayn talks about his recent issues with the Usos, especially Jey, who has been telling him to LEVEL UP. We hear about how Zayn took a Claymore for him last week and calls Jey ungrateful. Sami knows he went too far….until Reigns agrees with him. Reigns gets up and his phone rings, with Jey on the other end.

Reigns tells Sami to answer it, which doesn’t seem to go well with Jey. Sami says he’ll take care of it before hanging up. Apparently Jey was yelling about trouble at the border so the Usos won’t be here tonight. That has Reigns looking nervous, but Sami offers his services. He does have a #1 contenders match for the Intercontinental Title tonight and Reigns thinks that title would look good in the Bloodline.

Sami goes to warm up but Reigns asks about Kevin Owens. Sami says they’re still tight so Reigns says to tell Owens that Reigns doesn’t owe anyone anything. As Sami leaves, Reigns glares a bit. This was interesting and some good character stuff, which you don’t get enough of around here.

We look back at Gunther retaining the Intercontinental Title over Shinsuke Nakamura last week. Max doesn’t like the interruption so Hit Row clears the ring quickly. Rapping ensues and goes on for a while. The good thing here is that Max is basically LA Knight instead of that not so great stuff he was doing for a few weeks.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett talk about what Drew McIntyre said about him on Raw. He still has his eye on Roman Reigns too. McIntyre and Reigns are his chosen ones.

Ricochet vs. Sheamus vs. Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin vs. Sami Zayn

For the Intercontinental Title shot at Clash At The Castle. The fans are WAY behind Sami with the OLE chants. The ring is cleared out to start, leaving Ricochet to hurricanrana Zayn. Corbin (in a t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, likely for reasons of a lost bag) cuts off a dive with a chokeslam to Ricochet and we take a break. Back with everyone brawling on the floor until Corbin takes Ricochet back inside.

Corbin hits the slide under the ropes clothesline on Moss and then knocks Zayn off the apron (Cole: “Sami looked like El Generico there.” McAfee: “Oui.”). Ricochet is back up with a springboard crossbody to Corbin and a springboard dropkick to knock Zayn off the apron as well. A running shooting star press gets two on Corbin as we see a NASTY bruise/cut on Sheamus’ thigh. Sheamus’ leg is good enough to hit Irish Curses on Moss and Zayn, though he does come up limping.

The ten forearms to the chest have Moss and Corbin in more trouble, followed by seventeen forearms to Ricochet’s chest. Zayn jawbreaks his way to freedom though and low bridges Corbin out to the floor. The big flip dive drops Sheamus and Corbin on the floor as we get some old school Sami for a change. Back in and a Michinoku Driver drops Ricochet and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Moss.

Sheamus is back up to take out Ricochet though and a super White Noise sends Zayn outside, holding his arm. Moss gets in his own run but Ricochet cuts him off as Sami is helped to the back. Corbin Deep Sixes Sheamus and Ricochet clotheslines Moss, leaving everyone down as we take a break.

Back with Corbin pounding on Ricochet and dropping him with a torture rack neckbreaker. Corbin and Sheamus slug it out until Corbin gets clotheslined to the floor. A jumping knee gives Sheamus two on Moss but the Brogue Kick is countered into something like a Boss Man Slam. Ricochet Recoils Moss to the floor and hits a shooting star press for two on Sheamus, with Corbin making the save. Cue Sami for quite the reaction and a t-bone suplex on Ricochet. The Helluva Kick hits Ricochet but Corbin pulls Zayn out. Sheamus is back in with the Brogue Kick to finish Corbin out of nowhere at 22:22.

Rating: B-. The time helped here as it allowed the match to be built up instead of rushed. That allowed everyone a chance to show what they could do instead of flying through everything and trying to get a bunch of stuff in. The Zayn injury gives him a bit of an out instead of jobbing in his hometown so it was nice to see them cover that side. At the same time, it’s good to see Sheamus winning, as he and Gunther could have a heck of a hoss fight. I could even see Sheamus getting the title so we might even have some drama.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns.

Video on the Viking Raiders. They have torches and face paint because a great battle awaits. Then they burn a bunch of New Day stuff.

We recap Liv Morgan and Shayna Baszler signing the contract last week.

Morgan’s arm is out of the brace and into just tape but she isn’t worried about Baszler. She can’t start playing it safe now because she needs to get in the ring.

Liv Morgan vs. Shotzi

Non-title. Before the match, Shotzi talks about how Morgan is getting too emotional and calls this match a bad decision. Liv slugs away to start and staggers Shotzi a bit, only to get knocked back with a shot to the face. Shotzi knocks her outside and we take a break. Back with Liv fighting out of trouble, setting up a brawl from their knees. Morgan hits a quick Codebreaker and Oblivion for the pin at 6:02. Not enough shown to rate but Morgan fighting through the pain and winning is the right way to go for her.

Post match Shayna Baszler comes in and knees her down before teasing the stomp on the arm but stomping and kicking Morgan down instead.

Ronda Rousey has been released on her own recognizance and Adam Pearce won’t be pressing charges.

Drew McIntyre finds Karrion Kross’ hourglass in his locker room and rolls his eyes.

Here is Roman Reigns (alone), who takes his sweet time getting into the ring. After being handed the microphone, Reigns talks about how he isn’t here every week, meaning every once in awhile, people are going to come out here and say something stupid. If anyone ever comes out here and says they’re the face of this company or the main event and it isn’t him, they’re LYING. The same thing is true if someone says they carry this company, including Drew McIntyre, who is beneath him.

Cue McIntyre to interrupt, saying that since Reigns isn’t here very often, he doesn’t represent the titles and doesn’t deserve to be champion. Reigns is aghast but McIntyre says it’s easy when Reigns has Paul Heyman and the Usos. Right now though, McIntyre sees fear in Reigns’ eyes because Reigns is just a man and a man who McIntyre can tear apart.

The fight is on and Reigns gets suplexed but the Claymore hits…..Sami Zayn, who runs in to take the shot. Reigns hits the Superman Punch but the Claymore cuts off the spear (despite the camera angle showing that McIntyre COMPLETELY missed by a good four inches) to end the show. McIntyre vs. Reigns feels like a main event, but I’m not sure I can see McIntyre taking the title off of him, even in the UK.

Overall Rating: B. There were only three matches but one of them was about ten minutes long and the other was over twenty so there was a nice amount of action on the show. Other than that, you had some good talking and character development, plus some stuff being added to or boosted for the pay per view. They did well here, with nothing dragging the show down and enough to make me want to see what happens next. Rather good show, and it’s nice to be able to say that more and more often.

Results
Toxic Attraction b. Natalya/Sonya Deville – Rollup to Natalya
Sheamus b. Happy Corbin, Ricochet, Madcap Moss and Sami Zayn – Brogue Kick to Corbin
Liv Morgan b. Shotzi – Oblivion

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: August 12, 2022
Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

It’s time for a title match as Gunther is defending the Intercontinental Title against Shinsuke Nakamura. What matters here is that they are treating the title like it matters and that is more than you could say about most WWE shows for a long time. Other than that, we are probably going to get more about the returning Karrion Kross so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Women’s Tag Team Titles First Round: Raquel Gonzalez/Aliyah vs. Xia Li/Shotzi

Gonzalez sends Shotzi to the apron to start but gets rolled up for a fast two. A front facelock is shrugged off without much trouble as Natalya and Sonya Deville pop up to scout from ringside. Aliyah comes in with a high crossbody and we take a break. Back with Aliyah getting dropped on her head for two and Shotzi adding a bulldog.

Aliyah finally breaks away and brings Rodriguez back in to clean house. Shoulders and fall away slams abound and the spinning Vader Bomb hits Li. Shotzi manages a hurricanrana into the corner and Sliced Bread gets two. A double Russian legsweep is broken up by Aliyah’s spear and the Tejana Bomb finishes Li at 9:31.

Rating: C. This was a nice workout for Gonzalez and Aliyah, which more or less meant Gonzalez cleaned house and Aliyah did one thing at the end. Odds are they lose in the second round but at least they had a chance to get in a win here. Li and Shotzi were little more than cannon fodder here but the match could have been a lot worse.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns, with Karrion Kross debuting last week to interrupt the proceedings.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett call that the rebirth of a darkened soul. Kross waited for the perfect time to strike the chosen ones. Now you are going to see the new timeline, because everybody pays the toll. We hear Drew McIntyre’s music and it turns out this speech was taking place near him.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. He is looking forward to Clash At The Castle but first of all, there is Karrion Kross. Last week, Kross returned after a year away and took out the #1 contender and stared down Roman Reigns. That’s a problem because that #1 contender is Drew McIntyre. Kross’ options are knockout, hospital or graveyard, so he needs to watch what’s coming at Clash At The Castle.

As for tonight, shock and awe, Reigns isn’t here tonight. McIntyre was watching at Summerslam and saw Reigns need his family, weapons and tables to beat Brock Lesnar. Well McIntyre beat Lesnar with his bare hands, so what is he going to do with Reigns? Cue Scarlett to interrupt (meaning black and white lights) and the Usos come in from behind to jump McIntyre. The 1D leaves McIntyre laying.

Video on the Intercontinental Title, similar to the video on the US Title that has been airing on Raw. This is a great idea, especially given how badly the title has been treated for most of the last few…..decades?

Shinsuke Nakamura is ready for Gunther.

Ivar (of the Viking Raiders, who are no longer new or vicious) comes to the ring for a singles match but Kofi Kingston jumps them from behind. That doesn’t last long as the Vikings beat him down and leave him laying. Well what did you expect man?

Sami Zayn knocks on Roman Reigns’ door (Why does he have a dressing room when he isn’t here?) but gets the Usos. Before he can get too far into his apology, Drew McIntyre jumps them from behind and promises to do this every week they get in his business. McIntyre goes looking for Sami, who escaped.

Brandon Scott/Trevor Irvin vs. Hit Row

The team (Ashante Thee Adonis/Top Dolla with B Fab) is back with Cole saying there was “controversy” when they left. Top Dolla runs Scott over to start and sends him into the corner, where Adonis hits a slingshot dropkick. Irvin tries to come after Dolla so it’s a World’s Strongest Slam to Scott and a Wasteland to Irvin at the same time. A dropkick/belly to back suplex combination (the Heavy Hitter) finishes Scott at 1:35. Total dominance and the team still seems cool.

Post match Hit Row reintroduces themselves.

Video on Gene LeBell, who passed away recently. There’s a legendary name you don’t hear much about on WWE TV.

We look at Shayna Baszler becoming #1 contender to Liv Morgan’s Smackdown Women’s Title.

Gunther promises to make Shinsuke Nakamura suffer.

We’re ready for the contract signing between Shayna Baszler and Liv Morgan….and here is Ronda Rousey coming over the barricade, with a bag. Rousey says she was suspended and fined, so she pours out the money from the bag. That’s double the fine, because she’s going to get fined again since being the baddest is expensive. Cue security, so Rousey beats them up and then leaves, where Baszler is waiting on her. Baszler says you can’t do that and Rousey says Baszler used to be a killer before leaving.

With that out of the way, Baszler gets in the ring and promises Liv is next on the list. Baszler signs and tells Morgan to get out here right now. Cue Liv, who says Baszler is a bootleg Rousey, which Liv would know because she beat the real thing twice. Liv signs and the fans remind her that she tapped out. The beating is on, but Morgan manages a springboard bulldog through a table and escapes. The YOU TAPPED OUT chants at Liv show you where she is at the moment.

The Usos come up to Sami Zayn and yell at him for leaving, but Sami says he was going to get security. That doesn’t work for the Usos, who are going to call out Drew McIntyre.

Here are the Usos to call out Drew McIntyre and any partner he wants.

Drew McIntyre/??? vs. Usos

Non-title and non-partner for Drew to start but he beats up both Usos anyway. The numbers game starts getting the better of McIntyre but here is Madcap Moss for the save and McIntyre has a partner. This seems to work for Drew and house is cleaned as we take an early break.

Back with Moss exploding out of the corner to drop Jey and the double tag brings in McIntyre and Jimmy. Cue Sami Zayn for a distraction so a superkick into the Superfly Splash can get two on McIntyre. Moss pulls Jey outside and they fall into the timekeeper’s area. The Glasgow Kiss into the Claymore finishes Jimmy at 9:05.

Rating: C+. The Usos almost have to be close to losing the titles if they are losing a nothing non-title match like this to a makeshift team. By “almost have to” I mean “probably won’t but should”, because this reign just keeps going. Maybe Hit Row can give them a challenge, but that might not be for a bit. Moss is moving up the ladder nicely, and I certainly didn’t have that coming a few months ago so well done on the improvement.

Post match Jey goes after Drew but gets Futureshocked but Sami takes the Claymore for him.

Maximum Male Models are in a photo shoot when Los Lotharios interrupt. They should be the models and hit on Maxxine, which has Max annoyed as Los Lotharios leave.

Video on Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Gunther.

Ricochet laughs about beating Happy Corbin last week and gets jumped by…Corbin, believe it or not.

We meet Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark, who like to fight. And dance, at least in Lyons’ case.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Gunther, with Ludwig Kaiser, is defending. They go with the grappling to start and Nakamura goes with a headlock. Uppercuts and chops drop Nakamura though and the Boston crab has Nakamura in trouble. That’s switched into an STF as Cole talks about Gunther wanting to face people like John Cena and other elite stars. A cross armbreaker doesn’t work very well for Nakamura so he starts kicking away at the arm. The arm is good enough for a huge chop to put Nakamura down and we take a break.

Back with Gunther favoring his arm so he kicks Nakamura in the face. Gunther’s top rope splash is countered into a triangle choke but he muscles Nakamura up. Nakamura switches into an armbar, which is reversed into a butterfly suplex for a breather. A hard knee to the face rocks Gunther and Good Vibrations makes it worse.

There’s the sliding German suplex, with Nakamura landing in front of Kaiser for some yelling. Back up and Gunther hits the shotgun dropkick in the corner but Nakamura escapes the powerbomb. Kinshasa is loaded up….and knocked away by a hard clothesline. Nakamura goes after the arm again so Gunther dropkicks him in the back. The powerbomb retains the title at 13:06.

Rating: B. They did have a hard hitting match here and that’s what you would expect from something like this. Gunther seems primed to hold the title for a long time and now he has beaten someone with a bit stronger resume than most of his previous victims. Nakamura didn’t seem likely to win the title here, but he can beat people up well and he made Gunther sweat here, which was entirely the point.

Overall Rating: B-. The important thing to say about this show was that it had energy. It didn’t come off like a show that was all about one match and they had stuff going on throughout the card. The show felt like it was building towards something in the future and I’m wanting to see what happens next week. Much like on Raw, it didn’t need a bunch of surprises popping up, but rather people feeling like they were trying. That is what we got here and it was a good show as a result.

Results
Raquel Gonzalez/Aliyah b. Xia Li/Shotzi – Tejana Bomb to Li
Hit Row b. Brandon Scott/Trevor Irvin – Heavy Hitter to Scott
Drew McIntyre/Madcap Moss b. Usos – Claymore to Jimmy
Gunther b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Powerbomb

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: August 5, 2022
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re done with Summerslam and well on the way to Clash At The Castle, which should make for an energized few weeks. WWE seems to want to make this show into something special and they have the ability to do so. The main event is already set and now we get to see what else they have. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Summerslam, unfortunately set to that song about Nashville being a crazy town.

The Bloodline arrives (with the Usos driving in what can’t be a good idea).

Pat McAfee gives us a telestrated recap of him kicking Happy Corbin low at Summerslam. We see the impact about ten times before cutting to the back, where a bunch of people are laughing at Corbin. Ricochet laughs a lot and gets a match with Corbin tonight as a result. The telestrator gag went on so long that it became funny.

Ricochet vs. Happy Corbin

Corbin throws him into the corner to start but Ricochet kicks him in the face, setting up the big flip dive to the floor. Back in and Ricochet’s springboard is broken up but he’s fine enough to block Corbin’s slide under the ropes. Corbin has to dodge the apron moonsault and posts Ricochet as we take a break.

Back with Corbin holding a chinlock before hitting a backdrop for two. Ricochet fights up and hits a handspring elbow, setting up a springboard clothesline. The running shooting star press gives Ricochet two but a moonsault is countered into a torture rack neckbreaker (that was nice). A sunset flip out of the corner gives Ricochet two but Corbin is back with a heck of a Deep Six for two. Ricochet goes up but gets shoved off onto the apron, leaving Corbin to go up and stare at McAfee. The distraction lets Ricochet hit the Recoil into the shooting star press for the pin at 11:46.

Rating: C+. This was a power vs. speed match and that is going to work every time. It’s very nice to see Ricochet getting a big win as Corbin’s bad luck continues. I’m not sure where that is leading, but a motivated midcard Corbin is a nice thing to have as it fits him well. Leave him around here doing things like this and he’ll be fine.

Post match McAfee throws Ricochet a football, which Ricochet throws back. McAfee signs it and punts it into the crowd for a nice moment.

Sami Zayn knocks on Roman Reigns’ door. Post break the Usos open the door but say it’s not a good time for Reigns. They’ll text him.

We look back at Liv Morgan beating Ronda Rousey at Summerslam, albeit with some controversy.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ludwig Kaiser

If Nakamura wins, he gets an Intercontinental Title shot next week. Kaiser sends him into the corner to start but Kaiser blocks a kick. Good Vibrations has Kaiser in more trouble but he grabs a tilt-a-whirl faceplant as we take a break. Back with Nakamura hitting a running knee on the apron, only to have Kinshasa broken up with an uppercut. Kaiser suplexes him down for two but has to stomp his way out of an armbar. Nakamura hits a spinning kick to the head and Kinshasa connects for the pin and the title shot at 8:46.

Rating: C. They kept this one pretty much to the point and it worked well enough. I don’t need to see the match again, but they built Kaiser up a bit by giving him a win over Nakamura so this one meant a bit more. Nakamura vs. Gunther should be a heck of a match and it can work well as Gunther’s first test.

We look back at the Viking Raiders taking out Xavier Woods.

Kofi Kingston isn’t used to being alone around here but he promises revenge on the Vikings.

Sami Zayn knocks on Roman Reigns’ door again but gets the Usos. Sami asks if he didn’t get the text because of bad reception but he is sent to the production truck to make sure Reigns’ entrance goes well.

Here is Liv Morgan, with her arm in a brace, for a chat. The fans don’t seem to like her but that is why she is here. She wants to address the elephant in the room, but we first pause for the YOU TAPPED OUT chants. Liv appreciates being called out and says the title means everything to her. It is why she got through the armbars, and yes she tapped, but only once she thought the referee counted three. Cue Sonya Deville to interrupt and mock Morgan before promising to take the title at Clash At The Castle. Why WWE felt the need to have Morgan tap out in her first title defense and then talk about it is beyond me.

Gauntlet Match

The winner gets a Smackdown Women’s Title shot at Clash at the Castle. Sonya Deville is in at #1 and Aliyah is in at #2. Deville wastes no time in taking her down for a chinlock. Aliyah fights up but gets pulled into a reverse DDT (Deville’s Advocate) for the pin at 2:16. Raquel Rodriguez is in at #3 and Deville goes right after her knee to take her down too. The chinlock goes on again but Rodriguez powers up with a side slam. The spinning Vader Bomb elbow sets up the Tejana Bomb to get rid of Deville at 4:43 (total).

Shotzi is in at #4 and we take a break. Back with Rodriguez powering out of an abdominal stretch and hitting another side slam. Another Vader Bomb elbow sets up another Tejana Bomb for the pin at 10:06 total. Xia Li is in at #5 and starts working on Rodriguez’s leg in the corner. A half crab puts Rodriguez in more trouble but she breaks out and hits a fall away slam. The spinning elbow sets up another Tejana Bomb to eliminate Li at 12:57 total.

Natalya is in at #6 and goes right after the knee, including a chop block. The legs are tied up on the mat with Natalya getting to punch Rodriguez in the head for a bonus. Somehow Rodriguez rolls through and muscles her up for two off a suplex. Natalya is right back with the Sharpshooter but a rope is grabbed. Some right hands in the corner have Rodriguez in more trouble but she Tejana Bombs her way out for the tap at 15:35 total.

Shayna Baszler is in at #7 to complete the field and we take a break. Back with Rodriguez fighting out of a leglock but getting her knee stomped to cut her off again. Rodriguez makes another comeback and tries the spinning elbow but gets caught in the Kirifuda Clutch. Rodriguez tries to flip out but Baszler rolls her up and gets the pin for the title shot at 22:05 total.

Rating: C+. Oh yeah things have changed around here and that is a good thing. Baszler is someone who seemed ready to move into the title picture years ago but she was stuck with Nia Jax for the better part of ever. This match was set up well, with Rodriguez getting the superhero push before getting caught in a rollup after surviving the holds. Nice job here, and the result is rather nice.

Sami Zayn bothers the Usos again but this time is told he’s not seeing Roman Reigns tonight. Now either get it together or lose the Bloodline shirt.

Viking Raiders vs. Jim Mulkey/Tommy Gibson

As I chuckle at the jobbers’ names, Ivar slams Erik onto Gibson (who Cole doesn’t think is any relation to Hoot). A super World’s Strongest Slam plants Mulkey and a spinebuster sets up a double pin at 1:28. Total dominance.

Post match Kofi Kingston charges the ring and beats the Vikings up with a kendo stick.

Kofi Kingston vs. Erik

Erik wastes no time in catching a kick and planting Kingston hard. Kingston gets up and hits a high crossbody for two but Erik grabs a full nelson slam onto a knee for two more. Back up and Kofi knocks him to the floor for the over the top dive but he has to avoid an Ivar kendo stick shot. Back in and Kofi rolls Erik up for the pin at 3:44.

Rating: C-. This was kind of a weird one as the Raiders have been unstoppable monsters for a few weeks and here they lose despite having a numbers advantage. There I no shame in losing to a former World Champion so it’s hardly some shocking upset, but it’s a bit of an odd way to go. The interesting thing for Kofi is that he is so associated with the New Day that it was pretty much impossible to imagine someone else coming out there to save him.

A tournament for the Women’s Tag Team Titles starts on Raw. I THOUGHT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER NOW!!!

Video on Gunther.

Here is the Bloodline (minus the recovering Paul Heyman) for a chat. After getting his acknowledgment, Reigns talks about how he respects Brock Lesnar but Lesnar put Paul Heyman in the hospital (yes hospital). Cue Drew McIntyre who says he’s ready to fight Reigns right now….but then everything goes black and white. A woman appears in the entrance and Karrion Kross returns to take out McIntyre. The woman, Scarlett, brings her hourglass to the ring and Kross stares at Reigns to end the show. Kross is pretty polarizing, but leather jacket/hair Kross instead of whatever the old Raw version was could work.

Overall Rating: B-. The most important thing about this show is the general feeling of fun. It has an energy to it and it feels like something different might happen. That was the case on Raw too and while I don’t know if it is going to last, it makes a world of difference here. Good show, with a pretty decent amount of wrestling and some stuff set up for the future. That makes for a nice evening, and that is what they had here.

Results
Ricochet b. Happy Corbin – Shooting star press
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Ludwig Kaiser – Kinshasa
Shayna Baszler won a gauntlet match last eliminating Raquel Rodriguez
Viking Raiders b. Jim Mulkey/Tommy Gibson – Double pin
Kofi Kingston b. Erik – Rollup

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

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AND

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Summerslam 2022
Date: July 30, 2022
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s time for one of the biggest shows of the year and that means we are in another stadium. The show is going to be interesting for a few reasons, including the fact that it is the first Summerslam ever not under Vince McMahon’s watch. That means we might be seeing something new this time around so let’s get to it.

The opening video features a country song about Nashville and how it’s a crazy town. The rest of the video looks at the major matches, with Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar not getting that much of a focus above the rest.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Belair running her over, only to have Lynch snap the arm to take over. Back up and Belair backflips away, setting up a release Glam Slam. A standing moonsault gives Belair two but Belair’s arm is banged up. They head outside where a KOD drops Lynch onto the barricade but she holds the arm and slams Belair into the barricade as well.

A legdrop to the back of the neck makes it worse and they head inside with Belair in trouble. Belair gets sent into the corner for a kick to the back before getting taken down into a weird armbar. With that broken up, Lynch dropkicks her to the apron but another middle rope legdrop is countered into a powerbomb (that’s a new one). Belair knocks her outside for another Glam Slam onto the apron and a suplex on the floor drops Lynch again.

Back in and Belair’s arm gives out on a slam attempt, allowing Lynch to bust out Diamond Dust for two. Lynch goes to the hair but Belair pulls her up into an old Big Show Alley Oop of all things. The KOD is countered into a failed Disarm-Her attempt so they roll outside with the KOD connecting on the floor. Back in and another KOD is blocked so Belair hits a spinebuster. Lynch is back up to pull her off the top though and it’s the Manhandle Slam for two. This time it’s Lynch going up but a Spanish Fly brings her back down. The KOD retains the title at 15:03.

Rating: B. The problem here is that it’s a rematch from one of the better things WWE has done in a very long time. There was nowhere near the same level of urgency or anything close to it and that is because the feud ran out of steam. It’s still a good match and these two feel like some of the bigger stars in the division, but you’re only going to get so far with a match we saw done bigger and better less than four months ago.

Post match respect is shown….and then Bayley is back. Bayley walks down the aisle….and then Dakota Kai does as well. And so does Io Shirai. The trio gets in the ring and stares down Belair, but Lynch gets back up and a staredown sends Bayley and company leaving, with Bayley putting her arms around them. Well there’s your big start.

We recap Logan Paul vs. The Miz. They teamed together at Wrestlemania and won, but then Miz attacked him. Paul has since signed and now he wants revenge.

Logan Paul vs. Miz

Ciampa and Maryse are here with Miz, who gets a chant about the size of his anatomy. Miz has has a Polaroid around his neck of him attacking Paul in a nice touch. Paul gets taken down but is ready for the basement boot to the face. Instead, Miz kicks him down a bit more slowly and mocks Paul, who doesn’t look pleased. Paul takes him down and teases a YES Kick before shifting to the boxing.

Back up and Miz pulls him off the middle rope and hits a Codebreaker. After a cheap shot from Ciampa and a chinlock that doesn’t last long, Miz misses the running clothesline in the corner and Paul has an opening. A Blockbuster and powerslam give Paul two each and he fires off some YES Kicks. The Figure Four rubs it in to Miz a bit more but he makes the rope. Ciampa gets in another cheap shot and is ejected, only to have him sit down in a chair.

Cue AJ Styles to jump Ciampa, leaving Paul to hit a not so Phenomenal Forearm for two. With nothing else working, Paul takes him outside and loads up the announcers’ table for a heck of a frog splash (that got some serious distance). Maryse offers a distraction so there’s no count, Miz loads up the Polaroid but has to pause before hitting Maryse. Paul grabs a Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 14:13.

Rating: C+. All things considered, this was pretty good, with that frog splash being a major highlight that is going to be shown for a long time to come. Paul has a good look and the athleticism to back it up, meaning he could have a future in this business. Miz was put there because he was going to guarantee a safe match that he could keep together and he pulled that off well here. Not a great match, but for a celebrity in his second match, Paul looked rather good.

The Maximum Male Models shill Pure Life Water.

US Title: Theory vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is defending after taking the title from Theory at Money In The Bank. Theory jumps him from behind with the Money In The Bank briefcase before the bell but Lashley says ring the bell. Some forearms to the back keep Lashley in trouble but he’s right back with a big spinebuster. That’s enough for Theory and he tries to leave, only to have Lashley cut him off. Lashley swats away a toss of the briefcase and takes things back inside, where the spear hits the post by mistake. He’s fine enough to load up a gorilla press and then drops Theory into the Hurt Lock to retain at 4:38.

Rating: C-. This was near dominance for Lashley, who shrugged off everything Theory threw at him and then won in the end. The briefcase shots can only get you so far and the rest of the match was pretty much downhill for Theory. I’m still not sure why they needed to do this match again, but Theory continues to fall apart after being thrown into a ladder match for his lone big win in a rather long time.

Judgment Day vs. Mysterios

No DQ and Rhea Ripley is here with Judgment Day. They start fast with Dominik hitting a big suicide dive on Balor, leaving Rey to Lionsault Priest. An armdrag out of the corner rocks Balor again but he’s back with some choking on the ropes to slow Dominik down. Priest and Balor start taking turns on Dominik until he gets in a shot of his own, allowing Rey to come in and pick up the pace.

Balor throws in a chair but Rey takes it away and starts swinging, at least until Priest drops him with a superkick. Rey fights back and tries the 619 but Balor makes the save, only to get caught on top. The double 619 is loaded up but Rhea Ripley pulls Dominik outside and drops him on the apron. Priest gives Rey the South of Heaven chokeslam but here is the returning Edge to spear Balor. Edge helps set up a 619 into the springboard splash to give Rey the pin on Balor at 11:05.

Rating: C. I wasn’t interested in the match before it was announced and I wasn’t interested in how it went. These teams have fought each other time after time now and there is little reason to get interested in them again. The Edge return was a nice moment, but it would have been better to have him appear on Raw rather than here to avoid doing the tag match again. Oh and thank goodness Balor took another fall, just in case you hadn’t gotten the point yet.

We recap Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin. McAfee is happy to be on commentary and laughed at Corbin for losing. Corbin jumped him and wants revenge, so it’s time to have a match on the big stage. There is a personal connection here too, as they were roommates when they played in the NFL.

Happy Corbin vs. Pat McAfee

McAfee has a choir interrupt Corbin’s entrance by singing BUM A** CORBIN for an interesting way to go. Corbin talks trash to start and gets superkicked, setting up a hurricanrana out of the corner. A clothesline puts Corbin on the floor so McAfee puts him on top but gets shoved into his moonsault. That’s fine with Corbin who dropkicks him into the corner so the beating can begin.

Some forearms and right hands send McAfee outside where Corbin whips him into the barricade. Back in and Deep Six gives Corbin two so he tries the slide under the bottom rope (Cole: “Shades of the Boss Man at Summerslam 1991.”) but gets kicked in the face. McAfee hits a dive but gets sent onto the announcers’ table, with Corbin talking trash to Michael Cole.

Back in and Corbin goes up, with McAfee charging the corner and superplexing him back down for two. A missed charge sends Corbin into the post and outside, leaving McAfee to go up top. After almost falling, McAfee flip dives onto Corbin (Cole: “The Swan-Tone Bambini!” Graves: “THE WHAT?????”) and they head back inside. The referee gets bumped so McAfee kicks him low (with Cole pointing out that it was payback for last night when Corbin did the same), setting up a middle rope Code Red (and not a great one, as it might have been a botched Canadian Destroyer) for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: C. Yeah they missed a bit here, as McAfee wasn’t quite on par with his previous performances. They had some very near botches (that slip before the flip dive could have been terrible) but they pulled it together well enough. Much like Miz, Corbin is the kind of guy who is there to walk McAfee through the match, even if Corbin in control isn’t the most fun. McAfee was off tonight, but remember that this is his fourth or so career match. It’s going to happen at some point.

We look at Drew McIntyre beating Sheamus to become the new #1 contender.

Here is McIntyre to talk about being ready to challenge Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar at Clash At The Castle. McIntyre: “Let’s talk about Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! Uh…..in Nashville! In a last man standing match! In front of…..what’s your name?” Fan: “Colt!” McIntyre: “IN FRONT OF COLT, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!” Anyway, he’s ready to win and gets some fireworks.

We recap the Usos vs. the Street Profits. The Usos won at Money In The Bank but Montez Ford’s shoulder was up. That and some other screwy decisions meant that a guest referee was needed so….Jeff Jarrett was brought in. Sure.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Street Profits

The Profits are challenging and come to the ring with the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders. Dawkins and Jimmy start things off with Jey coming in rather quickly. The top rope Demolition Decapitator gets two and Jey grabs a chinlock to keep him down. The Umaga attack in the corner connects and the Usos get to do the NUMBER ONE thing. Another Umaga attack misses though and Dawkins’ enziguri allows the tag to Ford so house can be cleaned.

A running Blockbuster gets two on Jey with Jimmy making the save. Jey is back with a pop up neckbreaker on Ford but he’s back up to send the Usos outside. Dawkins hits the big running flip dive onto both of them, setting up the lifting swinging neckbreaker for two on Jimmy. Everything breaks down and some superkicks set up the Superfly Plash to Dawkins for two.

Ford comes in but gets dropped again, allowing the Usos hit hit the stereo Superfly Splashes on Dawkins. That’s broken up as well and everyone is down for a breather. Dawkins is back up with a spinebuster into Ford’s frog splash for two, meaning Ford stops to yell at Jarrett. Ford hands it back to Dawkins but loads up a dive to the Usos, who kick him in the knee to cut him off. Double superkicks on the floor and in the ring drop Dawkins, setting up the 1D to retain the titles at 13:21. Jarrett was barely a factor here.

Rating: C+. What in the world was the point of that? They built up the Profits as the kingslayers and then they just lose like they have before, with the guest referee meaning nothing? I’m not sure where this is supposed to go, as the Profits have nothing left to do and the only team worth going after the Usos is the Viking Raiders. The Usos are beyond stale as champions and much like Reigns, they’re out of challengers, so what are we supposed to do now?

Riddle runs through the crowd and wants Seth Rollins out here for a fight right now. Security tries to get rid of Riddle but here is Rollins anyway. Cue Rollins so the fight is on, with Rollins hitting another Stomp to leave Riddle laying.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match with Liv Morgan defending against Ronda Rousey. Morgan won Money in the Bank and cashed in on the same night on a banged up Rousey. Tonight, Morgan needs to prove she can do this.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey

Morgan is defending and gets kicked down to start. The ankle lock is broken up and Morgan is back with a Codebreaker. Oblivion is broken up and Rousey goes for the armbar, which is reversed into the Rings of Saturn. A crucifix bomb gives Morgan two but Rousey gets another armbar in the ropes.

Back in and the armbar goes on again but this time Morgan makes the rope. Another armbar sends Morgan rolling to the ropes again and we pause for the doctor to look at Morgan’s arm. Morgan insists that she can go but Rousey pulls her into a cross armbreaker. That’s stacked up for a pin on Rousey at 4:35….with Morgan tapping at the same time. Morgan retains, even though the tap came first as shown on replay.

Rating: C-. I had a bad feeling they would pull something like this, as Morgan won but only after getting wrecked by Rousey for a few minutes. As usual, WWE is hesitant to add someone to the main event scene and it makes for some lousy moments like this one. Either let Liv get the big win or give it back to Rousey, but enough of this “well we’ll see” stuff. Rousey looked good and will probably get a rematch, but my goodness the halfhearted push is annoying.

Post match Rousey goes after the arm again and beats up the referee for a bonus as we seem to have a heel turn.

Kane is here to announce the attendance of 48,449. I understand he has some questions about that count.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. They’ve fought a lot before and now they’re doing it again, this time in a Last Man Standing match, which is billed as their final match. Theory is also lurking around with the Money In The Bank briefcase.

WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Reigns is defending in a Last Man Standing match…..and Lesnar rides to the ring in a tractor. Lesnar cuts off Paul Heyman’s entrance and does his own, while standing in the….whatever you call the part of a tractor that holds stuff. Lesnar dives out of the tractor to start and Reigns is knocked outside, setting up a big overhead belly to belly. They fight over to the lighting structure and knock each other into it, with Lesnar getting the better of things again.

A German suplex sends Reigns flying again so it’s table time. Heyman begs enough for a distraction, allowing Reigns to Samoan drop Lesnar through the table. Reigns puts him through another table and takes it back inside for a pair of Superman Punches. The spear keeps Lesnar down for a bit but a second attempt is countered into a failed F5 attempt. Reigns gets sent outside in a heap so Lesnar goes to the tractor.

With that going nowhere, he hits Reigns in the head with a piece of the table for about six. Lesnar throws Reigns into the bucket of the tractor, raises him up, and then drops him down into the ring. With that not working, Lesnar rolls some German suplexes and hits an F5 for nine. Another F5 is countered into a guillotine, which Lesnar reverses into one of his own. Reigns is mostly out but dives back to the ropes to break the count at nine.

Lesnar gets back in the tractor….and starts ramming the ring. Then he lifts the ring up to send Reigns sprawling out onto the floor but here are the Usos for the save. Lesnar dispatches them so Heyman tries to call it off, only to get F5’ed through the announcers’ table (they’ve been teasing that for a LONG time). Reigns is back up with a spear and they’re both down…so here is Theory to cash in.

A briefcase shot drops Reigns but Lesnar F5’s Theory onto the briefcase. The Usos are back up with a double superkick for nine, followed by a spear for nine more. Reigns unloads with the briefcase for nine more, followed by a belt shot, but Lesnar gets up again. A shot with the other belt knocks Lesnar down and the Bloodline piles a bunch of stuff onto him before standing on top of it to retain at 22:44.

Rating: B-. This is going to be the really divisive match of the night and that isn’t a surprise. They did a lot of stuff and the match was a total spectacle, but they lost me at the end with Reigns knocking him down for nine over and over. It’s a good example of a match that needed to be trimmed down by a few minutes to hammer the point home better. At the same time, I’m sure the fans on the other side of the ring loved looking up at the video screen, because those front row tickets are pretty worthless when the ring is halfway on its side for the last seven minutes of the match.

The other problem here is simple: who in the world is supposed to be able to stop Reigns? Drew McIntyre is the next big challenger, but is that their solution? McIntyre has already had his time and while you can’t really gauge things from the pandemic, I don’t know how much of a success it was. Reigns has cleared out the company by this point, and they are going to need something special to get the title off of him, whenever they finally do it.

Reigns and the Bloodline celebrate for a long time to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was kind of all over the place, with a good first half, a pretty lame second half, and a main event that will probably have a lot of people mad. The best part was the overall feeling though, as it did feel more loose, with commentary sounding like humans instead of buzzword machines. The show didn’t go too long and was over in less than four hours, but it didn’t have anything great and not much really happened. Not an awful show, but if this was supposed to be the big relaunch, they’re only a little bit of the way there (and that was mainly after the first match).

Results
Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch – KOD
Logan Paul b. Miz – Skull Crushing Finale
Bobby Lashley b. Theory – Hurt Lock
Mysterios b. Judgment Day – Springboard splash to Balor
Pat McAfee b. Happy Corbin – Code Red
Usos b. Street Profits – 1D to Dawkins
Liv Morgan b. Ronda Rousey – Rollup

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

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AND

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It’s one of the biggest shows of the year and that means it is time for a bunch of rematches, because that’s what Summerslam has become this year. Now that being said, we very well may be in for one of the biggest changes in WWE in a VERY long time as this will be the first major show under the new regime. That means we could be in for some surprises and I’m much more interested in what we are getting now that things have changed. Let’s get to it.

United States Title: Bobby Lashley(c) vs. Theory

It’s a Money In The Bank rematch and the match has barely gotten any attention because Theory has Mr. Money In The Bank stuff to focus on instead. That hasn’t left much time for these two to do much, but at the same time, what kind of a story is there to tell with them? Theory seems destined to move up to the top level and Lashley is just one of the biggest stars on Monday Night Raw. It could be an interesting match, but that isn’t what WWE is doing here instead.

There is no reason to have either of them lose, but I’ll go with Lashley retaining here, even if Theory shouldn’t be taking another loss. The problem is I don’t see a need for him to be US Champion again, though that might be a hope spot for the sake of getting rid of the briefcase. Theory is a good smarmy heel, but he isn’t winning here without a lot of cheating so we’ll go with Lashley to retain, perhaps by DQ.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan(c) vs. Ronda Rousey

Now this is an interesting one, as it depends on what WWE wants to do with Morgan. She used the Money In The Bank cheat code to become champion in the first place so it isn’t like she has proven she can hang with the top stars in the division. If WWE wants her to be a thing then they need to have her win here, but I’m not sure if that is what they are going to do.

I’ll go with the false hope and say Morgan retains, but even if she does, there is the shadow of Charlotte’s return hanging over everything. Morgan is not going to go anywhere until she can get away from the top stars and I don’t think that is happening anytime soon. I can go with Morgan retaining here, but I can’t bring myself to believe that WWE is going to actually let someone into the main event club.

Mysterios vs. Judgment Day

This is another rematch that we have seen a few times already, but this time it’s No DQ so it makes things all the better. For some reason WWE thinks that teasing a Dominik Mysterio heel turn and split is interesting, to the point where this is the second Summerslam in a row where the Mysterios have been having issues coming in. If they’re going to do the turn then do it already so we can continue to not be interested in whatever Dominik is doing.

Since they need it a lot more, I’ll go with Judgment Day winning here. The team is in far better need of a win than the Mysterios so go with what makes sense. Normally that wouldn’t make a ton of sense, but maybe we get something new under the new regime. This is one of the least interesting matches on the card and I don’t see them overcoming that problem between the bells.

Logan Paul vs. The Miz

This is the celebrity match on the show but at least Paul is someone who has shown some abilities when he gets in the ring. I’m still not sure how much crossover there is going to be between Paul’s fans and WWE, but it does make sense to try to cash in on his audience. Putting him in there with the Miz means things should be safe, which means this has potential to be something.

I don’t see any reason for Paul to lose here, as you don’t want the celebrity to come back in and lose, especially in a match built on his revenge for Wrestlemania. Paul is going to be a semi regular and it makes sense to have him come in for special events. That interest involves him winning here, as beating Miz will give him just enough credibility. The match should be ok, but I’m not getting my hopes up here.

Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. Street Profits

For the sake of star power, Jeff Jarrett is guest referee, as the New Generation is the best option that we have these days. There have been multiple singles matches between the teams and a lot of them have turned into brawls, so it’s time for something a bit more physical. The question now is if it is time to take the titles off of the Usos, and that might be where they are going.

I’ll go with the Profits winning here, as otherwise, I have no idea what they are supposed to do. The Usos have dominated for so long and someone has to take the titles from them eventually. It makes enough sense to have the Profits win here, if nothing else for the sake of only the Viking Raiders being around as challengers after. I could use a break for the Usos, and hopefully that is the case for WWE as well.

Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin

It’s a battle of former roommates, because there is an actual backstory to this thing. McAfee is someone who has done incredibly well every time he has been given the chance and Corbin is someone who can carry anyone in the ring if necessary. They have put in some effort to build this up and now we get one of McAfee’s special appearances, which should go well.

Of course I’m taking McAfee here as you don’t put Corbin in a match like this to have him win. McAfee is a star and having him brag about the win on his podcast can get WWE some extra attention. That is one of the reasons you put him on a show like this one and it helps that he is pretty awesome at everything he does. Now just go and have the match without doing anything too wrong.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair(c) vs. Becky Lynch

This match isn’t doing much for me and that is because it feels like something that has been hammered into the ground. WWE has done very little to make me care about the Raw women’s division because it tends to be the same group of people over and over. Belair is great as the champion, but I’m over seeing her face off with Lynch. I’m sure the match will be good, but they both need to move on after this.

Give me Belair to win here, though I have no idea why she is supposed to face next. Raw has a great top half of the division, but it has been used so often now that there is almost no reason to get interested in this stuff again. These two had an epic showdown at Wrestlemania earlier this year, but I’m not sure if they are going to be able to do it again. Belair should win though, and stay from Lynch for good after.

WWE Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Brock Lesnar

It’s Last Man Standing, because WWE had to give us a little something over having the same match that we have seen far too many times. It’s their second Summerslam main event (third if you count their four way in 2017). Lesnar continues to be one of the only people who can give Reigns a run for his money, but, again, forgive me for not getting excited over watching these two fight one more time.

I don’t see any reason for Lesnar to take the title so I’ll go with Reigns to retain, probably with some kind of interference. They’ll beat each other up, but if Lesnar isn’t interested, this could be a bit of a slog. Hopefully Theory cashes in to get rid of the briefcase already, but something tells me they find a way out of what they have been teasing for the last several weeks. Reigns retains here, and gets out to face Drew McIntyre at Clash At The Castle.

Overall Thoughts

It’s kind of interesting and appropriate that this is the first major show under the new regime, because you can feel how old and tired this show is looking. There are parts of the show that could go well but the question now is what kind of changes you could make. I don’t have the highest expectations for the show, partially because I’ve seen a lot of the matches before, but maybe they can mix enough good action with some fresh ideas to make it a nice evening.

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

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

AND

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