Monday Night Raw
Date: April 29, 2024
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s the second night of the Draft and the first night did not exactly leave them much to top. There were only so many interesting Draft picks as most of them saw people staying on the same show. This week could use some actual shake ups, or at least a nice run of NXT stars. Let’s get to it.

Here is the first night of the Draft if you need a recap.

Logan Paul arrives and is greeted by the Judgment Day and….NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes. Everyone likes each other, including Damian Priest and Logan Paul liking each others’ titles. Well that’s certainly a big time cameo.

Commentary hypes up the Draft.

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. Lynch is proud to be the Women’s World Champion and ready to face a new #1 contender. Cue Liv Morgan to say she can do that, as she did what Lynch couldn’t at Wrestlemania, when she took out Rhea Ripley. This was always the endgame…and here is Nia Jax to interrupt because she needs to be on both shows. Jax finds her reception incredibly rude and should be champion right now.

Jax is going to the other show but she is taking one of them with her. Morgan knocks her off the apron and the match seems likely for later tonight. This was every Jax segment rolled into one. The problem with her comes down to nothing phases her. She’ll take a loss or whatever and then bounce back like nothing ever happened. If the losses don’t matter, why should I be upset when she loses?

Here is Stephanie McMahon for the first picks.

Monday Night Raw

1. Imperium
2. Damage CTRL

Smackdown

1. Jade Cargill
2. Kevin Owens

Of note: Imperium is announced as Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser, with no Giovanni Vinci included.

Xavier Woods vs. Gunther

Kofi Kingston and Ludwig Kaiser are here too. Gunther starts fast and chops away as they head outside. Woods gets dropped onto the apron and we take an early break. Back with Gunther slamming Woods down as we get what appears to be an Uncle Howdy distortion. Woods dares to fire off a chop and gets the soul chopped out of his body (McAfee: “NEW! DAY’S CHOPPED”).

A clothesline sets up more chops but Woods slips out of a powerbomb attempt. Woods is sat up top but knocks Gunther back for a missile dropkick and a near fall. Gunther knocks him into the ropes with Woods’ leg getting tied up (and the audio messing up again, which again appears to be intentional) as we take a break.

Back with Gunther working on the leg, including tying him up in the Tree of Woe to strike away. Gunther goes up and tries the splash but only hits raised knees. Woods can barely stand so his superkick is countered into a half crab. Kofi grabs the towel and teases throwing it in but Woods says he can do it. The towel is thrown into the crowd instead so Gunther turns it into an STF for the tap at 16:30.

Rating: B-. This was more or less a squash as Gunther picked Woods (the reigning King of the Ring on Gunther’s way to the tournament) apart and then made him give up in the end. It was a rather good story as Gunther beats someone with some credibility and looks like a monster doing it. Nice stuff here.

Jey Uso is ready for the pressure of being the #1 overall draft pick. As for Logan Paul being here, he wishes it was the Paul brother with a winning record.

A Kansas City Chiefs fans who survived a shooting at the Super Bowl parade is here in a nice moment.

Here are Logan Paul and IShowSpeed to announce the next picks, but first they introduce Patrick Mahomes at ringside.

Monday Night Raw

3. CM Punk
4. Braun Strowman

Smackdown

3. The Pride
4. Tiffany Stratton

With the picks over, Logan Paul comes to the ring to shout about how Damian Priest will beat Jey Uso, who can’t win anything on his own. Cue Uso, to threaten Paul with some yeeting. Paul says he has been yeeting since 2017 and here is the Judgment Day, with Uso getting beaten down. Patrick Mahomes gives Paul his Super Bowl rings but Paul hits JD McDonagh by mistake. Braun Strowman comes in for the save…and has to be held back from Mahomes in an odd bit.

R-Truth has made a deal with Chad Gable, which is for a title shot tonight in exchange for two things later. Miz comes in and says this is the Draft, with R-Truth thinking they might be drafted to the NFL. With R-Truth gone, Gable mocks Miz and gets jumped by Sami Zayn.

Booker T. is happy with Jade Cargill coming to Smackdown because that’s a game changer (what is changed by having her stay on the same show she was on before isn’t clear). He’s interested in CM Punk being drafted as well so here is Drew McIntyre to point out Booker didn’t like Punk back in the day. Booker has changed.

Intercontinental Title: Bronson Reed vs. Sami Zayn

Zayn is defending and gets chopped/headbutted up against the ropes to start. Reed is sent outside though and an Arabian moonsault drops him again. Back in and Reed knocks him down without much trouble as we take a break. We come back with Zayn getting pulled out of the air and release Rock Bottomed for two. Reed’s sitout powerbomb gets two but Zayn is back up with the Helluva Kick….and Chad Gable runs in for the DQ at 7:51.

Rating: C+. Zayn can do the underdog vs. monster match as well as anyone and that’s what he had going here, but you knew Gable was going to run in after the attack earlier in the night. That’s a fine way to go, though Gable needs to win the title already or this is all a big waste of time. Reed will likely be involved as well though, meaning we’re probably looking at another triple threat match

Post match Gable gets the ankle lock until Reed adds a Tsunami. Reed and Gable then get into it with Reed holding up the title.

We look at Kiana James being drafted from NXT to Raw.

Here are Ron Simmons and John Bradshaw Layfield for the next picks.

Monday Night Raw
5. LWO
6. Drew McIntyre

Smackdown
5. Legado del Fantasma
6. Shinsuke Nakamura

Of note: Carlito is still listed as part of the LWO.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. He might be the only sane person around here because how is he a third round draft pick? Has the APA had everyone around here drinking since Friday? The fans chant for CM PUNK, who McIntyre called part of the establishment. Punk fractured McIntyre’s elbow at Wrestlemania…and here is Punk in a sky box. Punk says he’s here and McIntyre is livid.

Chad Gable is mad at the rest of the Alpha Academy for being hyped up despite not winning. They better go win him a championship.

Bron Breakker is interrupted by Sheamus, who says he’s a big fan. A livid Drew McIntyre storms by.

Candice LeRae vs. Maxxine Dupri

Indi Hartwell and Ivy Nile are here too. Dupri starts fast and kicks her down, setting up a reverse Caterpillar. The ankle lock goes on but Hartwell posts Nile for a distraction. LeRae gets out and grabs the Wicked Stepmother for the pin at 1:47.

We look at Carlito being revealed as Dragon Lee’s attacker and turning on the LWO as a result.

The LWO has unfinished business with Carlito but Dominik Mysterio interrupts. Rey Mysterio mocks his mustache.

Drew McIntyre storms the sky box to find CM Punk but only finds an autographed photo. Instead, here is Punk to the ring for a chat. Punk loves the people here so he won’t waste time, so he sits down and asks for 5:46 to talk about McIntyre. He has had McIntyre’s attention for quite some time, with McIntyre being like the ex-girlfriend that won’t go away.

Punk is happy McIntyre got injured and thought it might have happened when McIntyre was on Twitter because it’s all he is good at. The reality is Punk was drafted ahead of McIntyre because he is better at anything in wrestling. Losers pray for things to happen but winners make it happen themselves. When Punk is healthy, he’s going to ruin McIntyre’s life. Good, fired up promo from the angry Punk here.

Here are Alundra Blayze and Teddy Long for some more picks.

Monday Night Raw

7. Judgment Day
8. Ilja Dragunov (From NXT)

Smackdown

7. Naomi
8. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven

Of note: Rhea Ripley was not mentioned in Judgment Day.

Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax

Jax powers her into the corner to start but Morgan kicks her way out of trouble. Some dropkicks have Jax in more trouble but she knocks Morgan away without much trouble. The Annihilator is broken up and Jax heads outside, where she powers Morgan down again. Tiffany Stratton comes in to watch from the front row as we take a break. Back with Morgan fighting out of a chinlock but getting planted with a Samoan drop for two. The Annihilator is loaded up but Morgan powerbombs her down for two instead. Cue Naomi to brawl with Stratton, allowing Morgan to hit a Codebreaker and Oblivion for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C-. And then Nia Jax will act like nothing bad happened to her and talk down to all the fans because she’s the stuck up monster who acts better than everyone and then loses over and over while being one of the worst things in WWE but HAHAHA her cousin runs the company so GET OVER IT. Morgan was her usual self here: made a good enough comeback with the sloppy moments included. Naomi and Stratton being out there as a distraction helped a bit but this didn’t work, as most things with Jax don’t.

Booker T. is excited about some of the picks. Adam Pearce’s favorite pick: Chelsea Green to Smackdown! He’s almost dancing in happiness as he goes to make more picks. That was hilarious.

We look at Logan Paul accidentally hitting JD McDonagh with Patrick Mahomes’ Super Bowl rings.

Here are the Dudley Boyz for the next picks.

Monday Night Raw

9. New Day
10. Lyra Valkyria (From NXT)

Smackdown

9. Pretty Deadly
10. Candice LeRae/Indi Hartwell

Raw Tag Team Titles: Awesome Truth vs. Alpha Academy

Awesome Truth is defending and we’re joined in progress with Miz getting the tag and cleaning house. Otis runs him over and hits the Caterpillar but Tozawa’s top rope backsplash hits raised knees. The Truth Crushing Finale retains the titles at 1:50 shown.

Damian Priest isn’t surprised that Judgment Day fell to the fourth round. JD McDonagh reveals a HORRIBLE looking bruise from the rings shot.

Becky Lynch congratulates Liv Morgan on her win. With Morgan gone, Damage CTRL comes in to threaten Lynch a bit. They even touch the title.

Here are Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis for the final picks.

Monday Night Raw

11. Final Testament
12. Bronson Reed

Smackdown

11. DIY
12. Blair Davenport (From NXT)

Jey Uso/Ricochet/Andrade vs. Judgment Day

Balor headlocks Andrade to start and everything breaks down, with the villains being knocked to the floor, including Priest being knocked over the announcers’ table, as we take a break. Back with Priest cranking on Ricochet’s arms as McAfee talks about how Priest going over the table set off a life alert on Cole’s Apple Watch.

Balor adds a backbreaker with Priest dropping a leg for two but Ricochet Recoils his way out of trouble. The tag brings in Jey for some right hands (and yeets), setting up a high crossbody for two on Balor. Uso drops Priest and goes up but Priest grabs him by the throat. McDonagh makes the save attempt but accidentally lets Uso get away. That means a superkick to Priest, followed by a spear and Superfly Splash to pin Balor at 10:33.

Rating: C+. Good enough here as Uso gets some momentum for Backlash and McDonagh manages to screw up again. While I can’t imagine Priest loses the title so soon, at least they’re giving us a bit of intrigue. For now though, this didn’t exactly feel like a main event, but it did serve a purpose.

A quick Backlash rundown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a rather bleh show with nothing exactly standing out. The picks were slightly more interesting than Smackdown, which is quite the low bar to clear. The biggest problem of all is nothing felt overly important, as it was mainly about keeping wrestlers who were already around.

There were a few good moves (Valkyria and Dragunov coming up and Strowman being back, but overall it just felt like much ado about not much. Other than that, Backlash is feeling like nothing more than a house show and that is not making me overly interested in seeing it. Not much of a Raw this week, but maybe they pick up again next week with the new normal.

Results
Gunther b. Xavier Woods – STF
Sami Zayn b. Bronson Reed via DQ when Chad Gable interfered
Candice LeRae b. Maxxine Dupri – Wicked Stepmother
Liv Morgan b. Nia Jax – Oblivion
Awesome Truth b. Alpha Academy – Truth Crushing Finale to Tozawa
Jey Uso/Ricochet/Andrade b. Judgment Day – Superfly Splash to Balor

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

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: April 26, 2024
Location: Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

It’s time for the Draft and that means we will be seeing sixteen picks tonight, which could make for quite the shakeup. Only half of the roster is available to be selected tonight with the other half taking place on Monday Night Raw. We are also eight days away from Backlash and the show could use a boost. Let’s get to it.

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

Note that I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper seats, looking straight at a corner post with the entrance on my right.

Here are the Draft Rules:

• Raw, Smackdown and NXT stars are eligible
• Four rounds tonight, Six rounds on Raw
• Four picks per round
• Champions are protected
• Smackdown picks first tonight, Raw picks first on Monday
• The rosters lock May 6

Paul Heyman explains that Roman Reigns is voluntarily pulling out of the Draft because he doesn’t want to hog the #1 spot while he is not going to be around for a good while. That means Nick Aldis needs to make a new star and Heyman is intrigued.

NXT is excited about potential callups.

Corey Graves is in the ring to moderate a contract signing between AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes. Styles says it is time for some Georgia boys to fight. Their paths have not crossed before but Styles respects Cody for making a name for himself outside of WWE, just like Cody did. Styles learned a lot from Dusty Rhodes, including how to carry the title. At Backlash, we find out if Cody can carry it.

Styles signs, leaving Cody to talk about how there is respect between them. But when he signs this contract, it becomes a must win. Cody signs, leaving Styles to say the title reign ends at Backlash. Not much to this, but it’s not supposed to be some big epic story. That being said (and I wish I could take credit for this), at some point Cody is going to face someone who didn’t know Dusty and I have no idea what they are going to talk about.

With Styles gone, here is HHH to announce the first picks, with Cody joining him.

Smackdown
1. Bianca Belair
2. Carmelo Hayes (From NXT)

Monday Night Raw
1. Jey Uso
2. Seth Rollins

Cue Carmelo Hayes, who (after shrugging off some WHOOP THAT TRICK chants, a reference to his rivalry with Trick Williams in NXT) has been hearing Cody talk about how if you come at the king, you best not miss. Hayes never misses, and he’s shooting his shot against Cody tonight. Cody is in and we have a main event.

Legado del Fantasma vs. LWO

That would be Berto/Angelo vs. Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee in this instance. Berto drops Lee to start but Lee is right back up with some elbows to the face. Angel low bridges Lee to the floor though and we take an early break. Back with Rey getting the hot tag and hitting a top rope seated senton. Berto is sent to the floor and it’s the 619 into Project Dragon to give Lee the pin on Angel at 5:26. Not enough shown to rate but it was a quick and to the point match, which really didn’t need a break.

Post match Santos Escobar pops up to say he is not a liar. That’s why he has had Elektra Lopez find the security footage of Dragon Lee being attacked. The footage shows Carlito, of the LWO that is, attacking Lee, and then jumping back in to act like he found him. Carlito lays out the LWO, making him the heel that he should have been a LONG time ago.

Bron Breakker vs. Cedric Alexander

Spear finishes Alexander at 15 seconds.

We look at Tiffany Stratton breaking up last week’s Women’s Title match.

Stratton tells Nick Aldis she should get the next Women’s Title match but Aldis has another idea. Bayley has suggested Naomi vs. Stratton for the title shot, with Stratton suggesting that Bayley be at ringside. Deal.

Here are Michelle McCool and Torrie Wilson for the next picks.

Smackdown
3. Randy Orton
4. Nia Jax

Monday Night Raw
3. Bron Breakker
4. Liv Morgan

The fact that Jax has “former model” as the third fact in her bio tells you a lot. Yes she’s a model, but apparently there wasn’t a third thing about her career worth mentioning.

We look at the Bloodline attacking Kevin Owens last week.

The Bloodline arrives and Solo Sikoa asks Paul Heyman if they have been drafted. Heyman recaps the Roman Reigns issue and says no one has drafted the Bloodline because they don’t know who it includes. Tama Tonga shows up and here is Kevin Owens to brawl with him.

Here is Bianca Belair for a chat. She is ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Jade Cargill to continue ending Damage CTRL. Cue the Kabuki Warriors but Jade Cargill cuts them off. Cue Kevin Owens and Tama Tonga to brawl to the ring, with Solo Sikoa joining them. Randy Orton comes in for the save and the Bloodline bails after a brawl.

Here are the Dudley Boyz for round three.

Smackdown

5. LA Knight
6. Bloodline

Monday Night Raw

5. Ricochet
6. Sheamus

Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi

Bayley is at ringside. Naomi starts fast so Stratton bails to the floor, where Naomi hits a baseball slide. Back in and Stratton hits a running hip attack to the back of the head, only for Naomi to tie her up in the ropes. A jumping faceplant sends Stratton outside and Naomi dives onto her as we take a break. Back with Stratton getting two off a spinebuster but Naomi grabs a headscissors driver for the same. They both grab swinging faceplants for a double knockdown…and here is Nia Jax to jump Bayley on commentary. Naomi goes out for the save and gets sent into the post for the DQ at 6:18.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have much time to get anywhere but the biggest problem is Jax being around. She brought things down on Raw and now she is going to get to do it again here. That is hardly the best news imaginable and it wouldn’t shock me to see her added to the title match at Backlash. Either that or get the next one after that. Either way, it doesn’t give me hope for the future of the division.

Post match Jax leaves and Stratton hits Bayley and Naomi with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

The Street Profits and B Fab are ready to win the Tag Team Titles next week. Cue A Town Down Under, who mock the Cincinnati Bengals, and get scared off by Bobby Lashley.

The Final Testament attacks the New Catch Republic. Karrion Kross promises to continue the violence no matter what.

Here are Teddy Long and JBL for the final picks.

Smackdown

7. AJ Styles
8. Andrade

Monday Night Raw

7. Alpha Academy
8. Kiana James (From NXT)

Here are the final picks:

Smackdown
1. Bianca Belair
2. Carmelo Hayes (From NXT)
3. Randy Orton
4. Nia Jax
5. LA Knight
6. Bloodline
7. AJ Styles
8. Andrade

Monday Night Raw
1. Jey Uso
2. Seth Rollins
3. Bron Breakker
4. Liv Morgan
5. Ricochet
6. Sheamus
7. Alpha Academy
8. Kiana James (From NXT)

Video on Kiana James (which is good, as the fans were silent after her name was called).

James is in NXT and is ready to show what got her this far. Shawn Michaels comes in for the hug.

Nick Aldis announces Bayley defending against Tiffany Stratton and Naomi at Backlash. He brings in Teddy Long to announce the Bloodline vs. Randy Orton/Kevin Owens.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Cody Rhodes

Non-title. Hayes starts fast with a springboard clothesline, only to get knocked outside as we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Hayes escaping a headlock and elbowing Rhodes into the corner. They trade chops in the corner with Rhodes getting the better of things, only to have Hayes come back with a spinning faceplant.

The springboard DDT gets two but Rhodes is back with a Disaster Kick for two. Rhodes goes old school with a running powerslam for two more, followed by the Cody Cutter for the same. Hayes is back with the First 48 (Codebreaker) but they both try springboards at the same time and miss (Rhodes seemed to come up favoring his shoulder). Rhodes has had it and grabs Cross Rhodes for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: B-. The only thing that matters right now is Rhodes’ shoulder, which hopefully is just banged up and not seriously hurt. They went home in a hurry after the landing but at the same time, they were only going to be able to go so much longer. Hayes looked good here, but that has been the case with his previous Smackdown previews. Nice main event here, as Hayes gets to rub elbows with the big star.

AJ Styles comes in after the match for a rather intense handshake but no violence as the show ends.

Overall Rating: C+. Obviously this was a show where the wrestling wasn’t the point, but this was kind of a dull show. They did a bunch of stuff for Backlash and it still isn’t enough to shake off the feeling that it is a glorified house show. The Draft stuff was just kind of there, with Hayes and Breakker feeling important and not much else. I didn’t dislike the show, but I was expecting a good bit more than what we got here.

Results
LWO b. Legado del Fantasma – Project Dragon to Angel
Bron Breakker b. Cedric Alexander – Spear
Naomi b. Tiffany Stratton via DQ when Nia Jax interfered
Cody Rhodes b. Carmelo Hayes – Cross Rhodes

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: April 12, 2024
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

It’s the first Smackdown after Wrestlemania and the big story is Cody Rhodes finishing the story, meaning it is time to find out what is next. That could go in a variety of different directions and after Raw, we aren’t likely to see the Rock anytime soon. I’m curious about where this an everything else goes so let’s get to it.

Here are Night One and Night Two of Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

We open with a quick Wrestlemania recap.

Here is Cody Rhodes to quite the hero’s welcome, including the YOU DESERVE IT chant that delays the start of his chat. Cody talks about how the Rock interrupted him on Raw and it made him think of someone from Detroit. That someone would say “who the h*** told you tonight was open mic night b****?”

After that line from Cody’s wife Brandi Rhodes from a few years ago on AEW Dynamite, Cody apologizes for the swearing and talks about the Rock handing him something we couldn’t see. Cody doesn’t say what it was but says that with Rock going off to Hollywood, he’s in the rear view mirror. That means it is time to get ready for Backlash in France, where he will be facing one of six wrestlers.

Cody goes over the six options (Santos Escobar, Rey Mysterio, LA Knight, AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley and Kevin Owens) and says in some cases you need to find out who the better man is. We are sold out here in Detroit and he is no longer the hunter but rather the hunted. To those six wrestlers, if you come at the king, you better not miss. For those of you don’t know him, he was undesirable, became undeniable and is now undisputed. This was the short form victory speech from Cody, but he moved towards his first challenger so the wheels continue to turn.

The Bloodline finds Cody Rhodes’ dressing room, with Kevin Owens sticking his head out. Solo Sikoa says he’ll take care of this. Paul Heyman says winning and losing matters here and if you want the locker room back, the title has to come back to the Bloodline. That’s from the Tribal Chief, so Sikoa seems to rethink things.

Sheamus is coming back.

LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner faces the winner of another triple threat match for the Backlash title shot. After seeing a clip of Legado del Fantasma saying they didn’t attack Dragon Lee last week, it’s a brawl to start with Lashley taking over. Lashley and Knight head outside, with Escobar diving onto both of them as we take a break about a minute in.

Back with Lashley cleaning house until Knight knocks him to the floor. Knight takes over on Escobar…and here is Legado to beat him down, including a triple powerbomb. Lashley comes back in but gets beaten down as well, with the Street Profits coming in for the save. With everyone else gone, Knight hits the BFT to pin Escobar at 8:34.

Rating: C+. The action was good but there was a lot packed into this and that might not have been a good thing. Having that many people run in made the match feel secondary and that shouldn’t be the case in a match with some actual stakes. Knight winning should be setting up a rematch with AJ Styles next week and that is a good way to go.

The LWO doesn’t believe that Legado del Fantasma didn’t take out Dragon Lee. Rey Mysterio says he’s done a lot in recent years, but he thinks he has one more run as WWE Champion.

Here is the Bloodline for a chat. Paul Heyman talks about how things went badly at Wrestlemania and brings up Seth Rollins being the big problem. Rollins came in and distracted Reigns, who gave into temptation and went after Rollins so the focused Cody Rhodes could end everything. Cody Rhodes is the new undisputed WWE Champion, but like a phoenix rising from the ashes….and Solo Sikoa cuts Heyman off.

Sikoa says loses matter, so there are consequences to losing, right? Heyman agrees, with Sikoa saying consequences need change. Heyman panics, but Sikoa moves him aside to look at Jimmy Uso. Sikoa slowly hugs him, says he loves him, and then steps aside so the debuting Tama Tonga can jump Jimmy. The beatdown is on and Tama poses, with Sikoa pulling Heyman over to them (Heyman: “NO PLEASE!”).

Heyman gets to do the pose with them and tries to call Roman Reigns, but Sikoa knocks the phone out of his hand and stomps on it. Jimmy gets the chair wrapped around his head in the corner, where Sikoa says he loves him and the running hip attack (Heyman: “THIS IS NOT WHAT THE TRIBAL CHIEF WANTS!”) connects. The Bloodline leaves, with Heyman looking terrified/bewildered and Jimmy looking dead. This was tremendous, with Heyman selling things as only he can and a feeling of “when the Tribal Chief is away, the mice will play”. The Bloodline continues, and now we get to see where things go in the new direction.

Cameron Grimes vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker wrestles him around to start and hits the Steiner Line. Grimes manages some kicks out of the corner but goes up and is kind of World’s Strongest Slammed out of the air. The spear finishes for Breakker at 1:19. If Breakker can be healthy, he’s World Champion in a few years.

AJ Styles is ready for Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens and hopes LA Knight is watching.

Here is Bayley for a chat and the fans really seem to love her again. She talks about how good it feels to hear that again and how she has been champion before. This time feels different though because she beat Iyo Sky to get here. It represents the most talented locker room she has ever been a part of, but even more than that, it’s because of all of the fans. The fans never gave up on her and she thanks them so much.

Let’s start this off right by giving someone a new opportunity so here is Tiffany Stratton to interrupt. She isn’t sure why she wasn’t invited to Wrestlemania so she accepts the challenge. Bayley wasn’t talking about “Terry” because she had someone else in mind: Naomi. Tiffany: “NAOMI? She couldn’t win a title if it glowed in the dark!” Cue Naomi, with Tiffany saying she already beat her. Naomi takes the coat off and says Tiffany is trying her on the wrong night. She can’t accept Bayley’s challenge just yet because she needs to beat Tiffany right here and now. Bayley is slipping right back into her old style and that is great.

Paul Heyman checks on Jimmy Uso, when Tama Tonga comes in to say by orders of the Tribal Chief (Heyman is scared again), and Solo Sikoa comes in with the taped thumb. Tonga and Sikoa leave. Heyman: “What the h*** does that mean?” Lost and confused Heyman is working very well.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi

Non-title and Bayley is at ringside. We’re joined in progress with Naomi running the ropes but getting knocked down. Stratton takes her into the corner for some shots to the ribs but Naomi hits a knee to the face. Back up and Naomi hammers away, only to be sent outside for a crash as we take a break. We come back with Naomi hitting a middle rope spinning kick to the head. Stratton drops her again and hits a running double stomp for two of her own. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever misses though and Naomi grabs a rollup for the pin at 9:16.

Rating: C. They needed to give Naomi a win to set her up for her title shot and while I could have gone with it not being against Stratton, this was the right way to go. Stratton is going to be around the title picture sooner than later and it wouldn’t shock me to see her cause some mayhem when Naomi gets her shot.

Grayson Waller and Austin Theory brag about winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

The Street Profits and New Catch Republic are watching the video. Nick Aldis says we’ll find the next challengers next week.

Logan Paul brags about beating a legend in Randy Orton and a dunce in Kevin Owens. It was the biggest Wrestlemania ever and that’s because of him.

Chelsea Green/Piper Niven vs. Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair

This is Niven’s first match in about two months. Belair beats up Green to start so it’s off to Niven, who tries going after the braid. That doesn’t work at all as it’s off to Cargill, who hits Jaded for the pin at 1:22. Yeah that worked.

Kevin Owens takes a Detroit Tigers WWE Title belt and, after shoving a CM Punk shirt off the table, talks about how he’s going to win. Also, Dominik Mysterio sucks.

Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles

The winner gets LA Knight next week for the shot against Cody Rhodes at Backlash. Styles gets sent to the floor to start but he cuts off Rey’s dive without much trouble. Owens knocks Styles down and hits a Cannonball against the barricade. Rey drops Owens and we take an early break.

Back with Styles flipping Rey into a tornado DDT on Owens but being able to block the 619. Owens is back in and Styles is sent outside, leaving Owens to hit the swinging superplex on Mysterio. With everyone back in, Owens German suplexes both of them at once for a rather nasty landing and a triple breather. Rey tries the 619 on Styles but Owens breaks it up and hits a Stunner to send Rey outside. The Swanton hits knees so Rey and AJ go up. Styles hits a Styles Clash to send Rey onto Owens, which is enough to give Styles the pin at 9:14.

Rating: B-. They did some cool stuff in here but Styles was the only winner that made sense here. Styles vs. Knight II for the title shot is a good way to go and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Styles move on. Styles is a perfect choice to be Rhodes’ first challenger, as beating him would mean something but it’s not wasting a big title shot. For now though, nice main event to set up next week.

LA Knight comes out for the staredown with Styles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The Bloodline stuff was the highlight here, with Tama Tonga being added in a good moment. Other than that, they set up a #1 contenders match to get us the Backlash main event and gave us Bayley’s first challenger. Throw in squashes for Bron Breakker and Jade Cargill and this was a fun show which also played off what we saw at Wrestlemania.

Results
LA Knight b. Santos Escobar and Bobby Lashley – BFT to Escobar
Bron Breakker b. Cameron Grimes – Spear
Naomi b. Tiffany Stratton – Rollup
Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair b. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven – Jaded to Green
AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio – Super Styles Clash to Mysterio

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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NXT
Date: April 9, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with Stand & Deliver and it was certainly an eventful show. Trick Williams defeated Carmelo Hayes to win the main event and show that he’s ready to be one of the top stars around here. Roxanne Perez got the Women’s Title back by defeating Lyra Valkyria and Oba Femi continues to show that he is a dominant force in the making. Tonight we start getting ready for whatever is next so let’s get to it.

Here is Stand & Deliver if you need a recap.

We open with a long Stand & Deliver recap.

Here is Roxanne Perez to get things going. Perez can’t believe anyone is surprised because what happened on Saturday was justice being served. She saw Lyra Valkyria’s arm being banged up and took advantage of it. Valkyria said she was honorable but Perez found it stupid. No one can take the title from her because the next time she loses the title is when she gives it up to go to Raw or Smackdown.

Cue Valkyria, with her arm in a sling, saying she wants her rematch tonight. Perez rolls her eyes but Tatum Paxley pops up to say she’s ready. Then Paxley sends Valkyria into the steps and walks off. Perez says we won’t be seeing a title match tonight but here is Natalya (who told Perez she was going to see her tonight) to say she’ll face Perez tonight. That’s a no, but here is Ava to say yes. Natalya getting a title shot just because? I thought this was a new era.

Nathan Frazer and Axiom are getting their last Tag Team Title shot tonight. If they don’t win here, they’re done as a team.

Andre Chase gives Kelani Jordan and Fallon Henley honorary degrees for their win at Stand & Deliver. Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx come in with Jayne revealing why Chase U was in debt in the first place: Chase had put a big bet on Thea Hail to win the Women’s Title at the Great American Bash (where Chase threw in the towel to save Hail) but cared more about her than the school. If Hail hadn’t been such a loser, the school wouldn’t have been in trouble. Chase says it’s true and Hail storms off.

Fallon Henley/Kelani Jordan vs. Kiana James/Izzi Dame

The villains jump them to start but Jordan grabs a headscissors out of the corner to drop James. Dame comes in and gets sleepered for her quick efforts. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside, with Jordan hitting a big slingshot dive. Back in and Dame takes over on Jordan, with James getting in some shots of her own.

Dame’s running elbow gets two and a flapjack gets the same. An abdominal stretch doesn’t last long and Jordan rolls over for the tag off to Henley. The pace picks way up and the spinning superplex puts James down. Henley has to save Jordan from a cheap shot but walks into the 401K to give James the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C+. Henley and Jordan work together fairly well and have gotten to showcase themselves over the last few shows. In this case, it makes sense to have the villains get a win to even things up a bit after losing on Saturday. The match was fairly high energy and it worked well enough here for not having much time in the ring.

Je’Von Evans is ready to go. This is the same video we saw at Stand & Deliver.

OTM is ready to deal with Evans.

The No Quarter Catch Crew (no Drew Gulak in sight) talk about Bloodsport (an independent event over Wrestlemania Weekend where some WWE stars got to compete) but the D’Angelo Family comes in. Insults are exchanged and a match is made.

Je’Von Evans vs. Scrypts

Evans is a 19 year old who has done rather well on NXT LVL Up and the rest of OTM is here with Scrypts. They flip around to start with Evans getting two off a rollup but missing some right hands. Scrypts trips him off the middle rope though and a standing shooting star press gets two. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Evans is back up with a springboard kick to the face. A Cody Cutter gives Evans two so Scrypts bails outside, where Evans hits a big dive. Back in and Evans kicks him down, setting up a springboard spinning splash for the pin at 4:32.

Rating: C+. Evans isn’t someone who is doing something new but he looked good doing what he was doing out there. NXT needs to bring in some fresh names at some point and that is what they are doing here. Yeah it’s just a win over Scrypts but it’s a place to start and that is more than some people get.

We look at Ridge Holland, on the broadcasting team, attacking Joe Gacy on the Stand & Deliver Kickoff Show.

Holland says he lost it but Gacy pops in to mock Holland for his career falling apart. The LWO comes in to say they don’t buy the apology tour. Holland walks by Joaquin Wilde and slams a door on his arm.

Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez is defending and gets taken to the mat to start. They head outside with Natalya hitting a clothesline as we take an early break. Back with Natalya fighting out of an abdominal stretch and grabbing a surfboard. The fight heads outside again, this time with Natalya being sent into the steps.

A bodyscissors keeps Natalya in trouble but she’s right back out with a German suplex for two. The Sharpshooter is broken up and they trade rollups for two each. The crossface doesn’t work for Perez either and Natalya blocks Pop Rox, setting up the Sharpshooter. Perez makes it over to the rope and cue Lola Vice for a cheap shot, allowing Pop Rox to retain the title at 11:28.

Rating: C+. The ending likely sets up something for Natalya and Vice in the future, which should be fine enough. The more important thing here though is Perez getting a win to start off her new title reign. Perez is starting to to feel the heel stuff and if she can turn that into a more long term thing, she’ll be a star for a very long time.

The Wolfdogs still can’t agree if they’re a good team but they know it’s working.

Lola Vice says she’s tired of waiting for her chance so she made it herself. Natalya jumps her from behind and it’s broken up.

No Quarter Catch Crew vs. D’Angelo Family

Kemp takes Crusifino down without much trouble to start and hands it off to Borne. That means Stacks can come in to fire off some knees in the corner as everything breaks down. Charlie Dempsey pulls Borne out of the way of a charge though and Kemp comes back in with a suplex to take over. Stacks rolls away though and it’s back to Crusifino, who sends the Crew into each other. Dempsey is brought back inside for a distraction, meaning it’s a Shatter Machine to finish Kemp at 4:02.

Rating: C. This was a bit of a wild match which didn’t have much time to go anywhere. What matters is the Family getting a win back after Tony D’Angelo lost his big title shot at Stand & Deliver. I doubt this is going to lead anywhere bit for them but it’s better than losing again, with the interference making it a bit more impressive.

Here is Oba Femi to say that while Dijak and Josh Briggs are tough, his dominance was inevitable. Cue Ivar of all people who said he loved seeing those three monsters beating each other up for that title, which is exactly the type of fight that he is looking form. He wanted in the fight because he knows he can chop Femi down and take the title. Femi seems game and the fight is on with Ivar knocking him down and holding up the title.

Meta Four brags about their hosting prowess but Dijak interrupts to complain about their recent skit. This is their one warning.

Jaida Parker vs. Brinley Reece

The rest of OTM and Edris Enofe/Malik Blade are here too. Parker powers her into the corner to start and knocks Reece down as we take an early break. Back with Reece not being able to fight out of an armbar. Parker lets her go and hits a middle rope Blockbuster for two. The chinlock with a knee in the back keeps Reece in trouble but she comes back up with some shoulders. A running clothesline gets two on Parker, followed by a spinebuster for the same. Back up and Parker hits a running hip to the face out of nowhere for the fast pin at 7:53.

Rating: C. Parker continues to feel like someone who could be a star if given the chance and getting a win here should help her move forward. She has a long way to go but every step helps. At the same time you have Reece, who is doing well with being all positive, but she needs to actually beat someone.

Arianna Grace tells Sol Ruca that she’s almost ready to unveil Gigi Dolin but Lola vice comes in to rant. Ruca doesn’t think much of it and sneering ensues.

Tag Team Titles: Axiom/Nathan Frazer vs. Wolfdogs

The Wolfdogs are defending. Breakker works on Axiom’s arm to start but Axiom scores with a quick dropkick. Back up and Breakker hits a heck of a running shoulder so it’s off to Corbin for a choke throw to Frazer. Frazer fights up and the champs are cleared out, with Axiom hitting a big moonsault out to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Corbin hitting a powerslam for two on Axiom. Some kicks get Axiom out of trouble and it’s back to Frazer, who reverses Breakker’s gorilla press into a DDT for two. The springboard 450 gets two more but Breakker isn’t having this. The gorilla pres powerslam gets two on Axiom, who gets back over for the tag to Frazer. Everything breaks down and the Steiner Bulldog gets two on Frazer, with Axiom having to make the save.

Frazer’s dive to the floor is cut off and he gets sent hard into the steps, leaving Axiom to Golden Ratio Breakker. That doesn’t keep him down for very long but Breakker’s spear almost hits Corbin. Axiom kicks them together though, meaning it’s a Golden Ratio to Corbin, setting up the 450 to give Frazer the pin and the titles at 11:34.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t quite as good as the match at Stand & Deliver but it still felt like a big deal, especially with the title change. I’m not usually big on the idea of doing a rematch so soon after the pay per view but maybe this was a way to give Breakker a win on the big stage while avoiding the likelihood that he got a big post-Wrestlemania Raw appearance. What matters is Breakker is freed from the Wolfdogs and can go on to become an even bigger star on Smackdown, as he should be.

Post match the new champs celebrate….and the Final Testament is here to jump them.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here is Trick Williams after his win over Carmelo Hayes at Stand & Deliver. Williams is happy for his win but there is no Hayes here this week. He might not agree with Hayes, but Hayes is Him. That’s why he had to show Hayes who Williams really is, but now we need to know what is next for him. That would be winning the NXT Title by defeating Ilja Dragunov.

Cue Dragunov to praise Williams for his success and charisma. He’s exactly what NXT needs, but Williams says we need these two for the title one more time. That’s going to be a no, because Williams has already had his shot. Williams can go with that and asks who he has to beat next. Dragunov is willing to give him his title shot in two weeks, but if Williams loses, he leaves NXT.

Williams is in so Dragunov goes to leave, but here is Carmelo Hayes to jump Williams from behind, knocking him into Dragunov. Hayes stomps away and says it’s a cage match with Williams next week. He holds up the title to end the show. Williams almost has to win the title given those stipulations, but dang they are moving through that rather quickly.

Overall Rating: B-. It was a fast moving show and it went well, with a quick recap from Saturday and things being set up for the next few weeks. The title change felt like a big deal and there are enough things coming to keep things interesting. The wrestling worked well too and it made for a better show than I would have expected. It’s nice to have what feels like a regular show rather than another big recap with a little bit happening, though I’m not surprised as NXT made it work.

Results
Kiana James/Izzi Dame b. Fallon Henley/Kelani Jordan – 401K to Henley
Je’Von Evans b. Scrypts – Springboard spinning splash
Roxanne Perez b. Natalya – Pop Rox
D’Angelo Family b. No Quarter Catch Crew – Shatter Machine to Kemp
Jaida Parker b. Brinley Reece – Running hip attack
Axiom/Nathan Frazer b. Wolfdogs – 450 to Corbin

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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Wrestlemania XL Night One
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Corey Graves, Michael Cole
National Anthem: Coco Jones

We have arrived. It’s time for the biggest show of the year and in this case, the main event of night one is going to have an impact on that of night two. We have Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins teaming up with the Bloodline, with the winners determining the stipulations for Rhodes’ title shot against Roman Reigns. Other than that, Rhea Ripley defends the Raw Women’s Title against Becky Lynch. Let’s get to it.

Note that I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the upper deck with the stage on my right.

There is a new Then, Now and Forever video, which is rather awesome looking and has a lot of blue.

Coco Jones sings the National Anthem, which is a big change from decades of America the Beautiful.

Michael Cole welcomes us to the show and talks about the main event.

The opening video talks about the greatness of Philadelphia before moving on to the greatness that is Wrestlemania. Alas no Sylvester Stallone, but we’ll have to settle for Meek Mill.

Here is HHH (er sorry: Paul “Triple H” Levesque) for the big opening. He loves this stuff and welcomes us to the show. End of appearance.

We recap Becky Lynch challenging Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women’s Title. Lynch was the biggest star in the world and needs to prove that she still has it against Ripley, who is the best in the world right now. I’ve heard worse ideas.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch

Ripley is defending and is played to the ring by Motionless In White. Lynch counters this by….having strep throat. Ouch. Ripley shoves her into the corner to start but Lynch snaps the arm over the ropes to go after the previously injured wrist. They head outside for a bit, with Ripley firing off shoulders in the corner back inside. A suplex gives Ripley two and she stomps Lynch down, setting up an Eddie frog splash.

The dance takes too long though, allowing Lynch to grab a top rope armdrag. A tornado DDT plants Ripley and Lynch drapes her over the ropes for the middle rope legdrop to the back. Back in and Ripley faceplants Lynch to take over and a knee to the face gets two. Riptide is blocked though and Lynch goes for the cross armbreaker, which is….eventually broken up with three straight powerbombs.

The arm is ok enough for Ripley to kick Lynch in the face for two, setting up the exchange of strikes. Ripley misses a charge into the post and Lynch grabs the Disarm-Her in the corner. That’s reversed into the Prism Trap with a bodyscissors but Lynch stacks her up for two instead. Riptide is reversed into a release Manhandle Slam for two and Lynch is getting frustrated. Another Disarm-Her attempt is countered into the Riptide for two and now it’s Ripley’s turn to be stunned.

They go up top where Lynch grabs a superplex and floats over into the Disarm-Her. That’s countered into an electric chair and they fall over the top to the floor without breaking it up. The electric chair drop onto the floor has Lynch crashing down hard, followed by a frog splash for two back inside. Back up and they head to the top again, where Lynch’s super Manhandle Slam is blocked. Instead it’s a Riptide onto the buckle (that’s a new one) into the regular Riptide to retain the title at 17:08.

Rating: B. This felt like both a rather good match as well as an official passing of the torch. While Ripley had been the biggest star in the women’s division for a good while, she needed to beat the biggest women’s star ever to cement her status. It was a heck of a fight and Lynch certainly made it interesting, but this was about Ripley getting her big title defense and it worked well. Heck of an opener here.

Pretty Deadly preview the six team ladder match, complete with impressions of the teams. These two are always hilarious because they lean into the cheese that hard.

Tag Team Titles: Judgment Day vs. Awesome Truth vs. DIY vs. New Day vs. Austin Theory/Grayson Waller vs. New Catch Republic

Judgment Day is defending in a ladder match, with the two sets of titles hanging up in different places (that sounds splitty to me). They’re going rapid fire with the entrances for obvious reasons, but they go so fast that the Awesome Truth’s graphics are still up for New Catch Republic, with commentary mocking the production team as a result. Xavier Woods is in Consequences Creed gear, which is rather appropriate here.

It’s a big brawl to start (of course) and a bunch of people go after Priest, leaving Theory and Waller to climb a ladder each. That’s broken up as well with a bunch of people going up in a less than successful attempt. The champs come back in and wreck people until Bate torture racks Balor and a ladder for an upside down airplane spin. You know, because he can do that. The Republic goes up top on the ladder at ringside and moonsault down onto a pile of people each.

Back in and Bate goes up so Priest Razor’s Edges Dunne into the ladder for a big double crash down. Miz gets double teamed so Truth….stands on the apron and begs for the tag. Naturally Miz gets away and makes the diving tag, allowing Truth to use initiate John Cena’s finishing sequence on Balor.

The crowd counts the pin off the AA so Truth thinks he won but DIY is back in. Truth has Johnny Gargano tune up the band (because Truth thinks he’s Shawn Michaels) and it’s a superkick to Priest, setting up Ciampa’s Fairy Tale Ending. DIY and Awesome Truth decide to go after a title each but Theory and Waller make the save…and win the Smackdown Tag Team Titles at 7:31.

New Day cuts off Theory from going for the other belts before the Republic throws Waller off a ladder and through another one at ringside (Waller held onto his belt of course). DIY clean house and load up some tables at ringside (oh dear), with Truth setting up another one on another side. New Day is back in and set Ciampa on another bridged ladder, with Woods hitting the Limit Break.

Kofi goes up and Trust Falls onto a bunch of people on the floor but Theory cuts off Woods’ climb. The Republic breaks that up and the Birminghammer drops Theory again. A slingshot DDT through a table takes out Gargano and Dunne, leaving Ciampa to hit an Air Raid Crash off the ladder to plant Bate.

Truth goes up but cue JD McDonagh to pull him down and help Balor climb up. New Day isn’t having that and chairs Balor down, setting up a toss to send McDonagh through the tables. Priest comes back in to wreck New Day until Miz cuts him off. Priest chokeslams Miz down as the ladder is breaking underneath them. A fresh ladder is brought in, with Truth AA’ing Priest to the floor, leaving Truth to climb the ladder and get the belts for the win at 17:32.

Rating: C+. It was a six way tag team ladder match with twelve people involved, plus McDonagh interfering. There is only so much you’re going to be able to get out of a mess like this and they did about as well as possible. It’s a fun match with some big crashes, but the titles being split is what matters most here. I’m not sure they needed to be, but I’ll take this over two people with so many belts at once.

Olympic gold medal winning wrestler Jordan Burroughs is here.

We recap Rey Mysterio/Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar. Rey and Escobar have been feuding since Escobar turned on him in November but Dominik got involved to teach his father a lesson again. Both of them have partners so let’s have a tag match.

Rey Mysterio/Andrade vs. Santos Escobar/Dominik Mysterio

The LWO and Legado del Fantasma are here too. Rey snaps off a headscissors to Escobar to start and it’s quickly off to Dominik. Everything breaks down in a hurry with the villains being sent outside. Andrade goes up so Rey sits on his shoulders and they dive onto the floor for a double crossbody while still being attached. Back in and Dominik breaks up the 619 before sending Rey outside again.

Escobar takes over on the floor and it’s a slingshot hilo to give Dominik two back inside. Dominik elbows him down for two more and a double basement dropkick gives Escobar the same. The seated abdominal stretch goes on as commentary talks about Carlito being unhappy with not being Andrade’s partner here. Rey Code Reds his way to freedom and the tag brings in Andrade to clean house.

Andrade’s running knees hit Dominik in the corner but he neckbreakers his way out of trouble. Rey comes in to beat up on the now legal Escobar as everything breaks down. Some Legado interference lets Escobar hit a super hurricanrana. Everyone else gets in a fight at ringside, including Wilde’s insane slingshot dive to the floor. Dominik grabs a chair but two rather large men in masks grab both the chair and Dominik, who is sent inside. Andrade takes out Dominik, leaving Rey to hit a top rope splash to pin Escobar at 11:00.

Rating: C+. I’m a little surprised that Rey beat Dominik (albeit indirectly this time) for the second year in a row but at least Andrade seems to be getting a push. Carlito might not be happy with it though and that opens up a door. If nothing else, this might be the end of Rey vs. Escobar, which is kind of a shame as Escobar felt like he had potential.

The masked men are former Philadelphia Eagles Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson.

We recap Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso. It’s a battle of the twins, with the two of them being so close for so long until Jimmy decided to side with the Bloodline against Jey. This included Jimmy costing Jey the World Title at Summerslam….and now the match is taking place eight months later.

Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

Jey is rapped to the ring by Lil Wayne and then dives onto Jimmy to start the brawl before the bell. They get back inside for the bell and Jey hits the big dive to drop him again. Back in and a high crossbody gives Jey two but Jimmy grabs something close to a pop up Samoan drop (it doesn’t quite land). Jimmy slowly kicks him down, then does it again a few more times. The Superfly Splash misses so Jey hits a superkick of his own.

They slug it out (YEET/NO YEET) before trading jumping enziguris. An exchange of superkicks goes to Jey, with Jimmy being knocked into the corner. Jey kicks him down and loads up another big one but Jimmy begs off. Jimmy apologizes and Jey (eventually) accepts it, earning the cheap superkick from Jimmy in the process. The Superfly Splash gives Jimmy two but Jey hits a spear into his own Superfly Splash for the pin at 11:09

Rating: D. Oh yeah that didn’t work. Its a mixture of a few problems, starting with the fact that they wrestle such similar styles. You can only get so much out of that many kicks to the face and then a lame fake apology. The other problem is there was zero reason to believe Jimmy was going to win. In the time since Summerslam, Jey has turned into a solid midcard star who can be taken seriously. On the other hand, Jimmy is little more than a comedy goof most of the time.

This is a match that made sense on paper, but it needed to be a much more physical brawl and it needed to come about seven months earlier. As it is, it was a match that should have been a good brawl but instead it felt like “ok they’re having their match so they can say they did it at Wrestlemania.” This was a really bad miss and that’s a shame.

Ad for WWE Experience in Saudi Arabia. This was LOUDLY booed in the stadium.

We recap the Kabuki Warriors vs. Naomi/Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill, which is pretty much “these three women are amazing together” and Damage CTRL are little more than designated victims.

Naomi/Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL

Damage CTRL have a bunch of Japanese women dancing before their entrance, while the other three all step off a scissor lift for individual entrances. This includes Cargill, who has hacked off a lot of her hair. Naomi sends Asuka into the corner to start but gets caught by Sane, who sends her outside. The top rope elbow to the floor hits a standing Naomi and it’s back inside so Asuka can hit Naomi in the face a few times.

Naomi kicks her way to freedom and hands it off to Belair as they’re saving Cargill for the big moment. Belair grabs a vertical suplex while marching around the ring, because of course she can do that. A handspring moonsault hits all three villains for two but Kai cuts off the tag to Cargill.

The running knee gives Asuka two on Belair but she’s right back up to hand it off to Cargill for the big reaction. House is quickly cleaned and an over the shoulder piledriver plants Sane. Everything breaks down and Belair hits the hair whip on Asuka (you could hear that crack at the top of the stadium and my goodness it’s amazing). The KOD drops Asuka and Jaded finishes Kai at 8:05.

Rating: C+. The match was never in doubt and they did this exactly as they should have. This was 100% about Jade getting the big tag at the end and cleaning house to win, which they nailed to perfection. They didn’t risk her doing anything dumb or having the chance to get exposed, making this about as well done as it could have been. Perfect presentation, good enough match.

Post match the winners get the big hero pose and that is something WWE is going to want to push for a good while.

We recap Gunther vs. Sami Zayn for the former’s Intercontinental Title. Gunther is pretty much the most dominant champion of all time and Zayn isn’t sure if he still has it. Chad Gable has given him a heck of a pep talk and training to help him believe in himself, as Zayn is still worried about failing again. Now Zayn is fired up and that’s a threat to Gunther and the title.

Zayn is in the back with his wife and son, the latter of whom believes he can do it. His family leaves and Chad Gable comes in to say he believes in Zayn too, but Zayn is on his own tonight. Oh and he owes Gable a favor later. Zayn does the long walk towards the ring and runs into Kevin Owens, who gives him a big hug. Just play the Rocky theme already. Or one of the catchiest themes in wrestling history.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and Zayn’s wife is in the front row. Commentary is all over with the Rocky references, even saying that Zayn fights great but Gunther is a great fighter. Zayn ducks an early chop and strikes away but gets caught with a German suplex. A big boot drops Zayn again and Gunther lays him on top for the boot choke. Back up and Gunther fires off the chops but Zayn unloads with rights and lefts.

A half and half suplex drops Gunther but he’s back up with a big clothesline. It’s to early for the powerbomb though and Zayn grabs the tornado DDT. The Blue Thunder Bomb is countered and Gunther pulls him into the sleeper in the middle of the ring. With Zayn getting close to the ropes, Gunther drops him with a German suplex. Zayn manages the exploder into the corner but Gunther dropkicks him into the corner.

The powerbomb gives Gunther two and now he’s looking frustrated. Gunther clotheslines him hard again and hits two more powerbombs for two, meaning it’s time to yell at Zayn’s wife. Another powerbomb puts Zayn down and it’s a top rope splash to make it worse. Gunther does it again and still won’t cover, instead yelling at Zayn’s wife again. That’s somehow enough to wake Zayn up so Gunther goes up top again, allowing Zayn to hit a Helluva Kick. The brainbuster onto the buckle sets up a pair of Helluva Kicks to give Zayn the pin and the title in the big upset at 15:05.

Rating: A-. Maybe it’s that I’m a big Rocky fan but they nailed every bit of this. Gunther had been the unstoppable monster for so long and Zayn is about as perfect of an underdog as you can get in today’s wrestling. It was a great story, a heck of a match and an incredible moment when Zayn FINALLY beat Gunther. After such a long reign, Gunther is going to be just fine as he moves up to the main event scene. This was about as perfect as it could have been and I loved it quite a bit.

Here’s a four minute video on how great Wrestlemania really is. I kept waiting for this to go somewhere and it just didn’t.

Pat McAfee recaps the ending of the Rey Mysterio match earlier, complete with telestrator.

Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis thank the fans for the attendance of 72,543.

Celebrities are here.

Wrestlemania Sunday rundown.

We recap the Rock/Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins. Rock has returned and joined forces with Reigns as we have something of a Rhodes vs. Anoa’i Family war, plus the combined efforts to dethrone Reigns at any cost. Rock has made it very personal with Cody, even bringing Cody’s mother into things. The deal here is that while Cody has a shot against Reigns set, the stipulations will be set in the tag match. If the Bloodline wins, it’s anything goes tomorrow, but if Cody/Rollins win, it will be a normal match with the Bloodline barred from ringside.

The Rock/Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins

The entrances are incredibly long, with Rollins wearing something that could be described as clothes and Rock having a theme of reaching his final form and walking through a flaming Brahma Bull logo (while carrying the People’s Title which was given to him at the Hall Of Fame). From the start of the recaps to the opening bell (including Big Match Intros): about 25 minutes.

The bell rings and the four of them stare at each other for about a minute and a half until Reigns and Rollins start things off, with the first contact coming over two and a half minutes in. Reigns powers him down without much trouble but Rollins kicks him in the ribs. Cody comes in for some jabs which don’t get him very far. Rollins tags himself back in and NOW Rock wants in. The slow, dramatic tag does in fact bring him in and the fans are rather pleased with Rock.

Rollins gets shoved down again and hammers away, setting up the running clothesline out of the corner. It’s off to Cody and the fans are behind Rock again. They fight over a lockup and don’t get very far until Rhodes takes him into the corner and strikes away. Some double teaming has Rock in trouble as commentary talks about whether or not the Rock needed to save WWE.

All four get in for another showdown and now it’s time to go outside for a brawl. Rock tells the referee that he’s fired if he counts while they’re on the floor before brawling with Rollins in the crowd. Cody and Reigns fight up to the stage where a suplex drops Reigns again. Rock spits some water in Rollins’ face and Cody is thrown off the ramp (not that far mind you) for a crash. Rollins sends Rock back inside but Reigns takes out Rollins’ knee to turn things around.

Back in and Rock starts going after the bad knee before it’s Reigns coming in to kick at the knee as well. A half crab stays on the knee, followed by a whip into the steps on the floor. They go back inside where Rollins is whipped hard into the buckle, allowing Reigns to fire off the hard clotheslines. The Superman Punch is countered into a neckbreaker but Rock isn’t about to let the tag go through that quickly.

A low blow hits Rollins, with the referee having to apologize to Cody for not being able to do anything about it. Rollins fights back again and sends Reigns outside…where Reigns can cut off the diving tag attempt. Rock grabs the eternally awful Sharpshooter so Cody comes in with the big slap for the break. Rollins hits a superkick and a Stomp but can’t follow up because of the knee.

The tag brings in Cody a few seconds later and house is quickly cleaned. There’s the powerslam into the Disaster Kick to put Reigns down and the Cody Cutter gets two. Another Disaster Kick is countered with the Superman Punch and Reigns is not happy about his nose being cut. The spear misses and a top rope Cody Cutter…is more like a top rope elbow to the jaw instead.

Either way it puts Reigns down for a frog splash to give Rollins two. Rollins’ stomp is countered with a powerbomb for two but Cody is back in for the superkick party. The Stomp into Cross Rhodes gets two with Rock pulling the referee out. A low blow into the spear gives Reigns two on Cody and Rock is ticked. Reigns grabs the guillotine and Rock even holds Cody’s legs down until Rollins is back in with a stomp for the save.

Rock sends Rollins outside and gets the tag (because we need tags again) before bringing out the MAMA RHODES belt. Said Mama Rhodes (at ringside) yells at Rock but Cody knocks the belt away. The Bionic Elbow connects with Rock, who is right back with the spinebuster. The People’s Elbow is countered with the Cody Cutter, only to have Reigns break up Cross Rhodes.

Back up and Reigns’ spear hits Rock by mistake, setting up stereo Pedigrees for two. Rollins dives onto Reigns outside and the other two load up the announcers’ table. Rock gets the better of things and loads up a Rock Bottom but Rollins grabs Cody’s leg, meaning Cody can hit a Rock Bottom through the table. Reigns spears Rollins through the barricade and everyone is down.

It’s Reigns back up with the apron boot to Cody but Cody slugs his way to Cross Rhodes. Another Cross Rhodes connects but Rock hits him in the back with the weightlifting belt. A spear from Reigns sets up the Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow to give Rock the pin at 44:33(!). Cole: “Cody is screwed.”

Rating: C+. The match was good but e pluribus gads they went way too long. This is a match where you could cut out probably close to twenty minutes without missing much. The first twenty minutes barely had anything going on and then they went into the long heat segment on Rollins. Things picked way up near the end though and they did the right ending, but after a long show with the cold, this match felt WAY longer than it needed to be. What matters though is setting up Cody’s darkest hour as he is up against the wall and might need to assemble the Avengers (perhaps with some outside help) to FINALLY beat Reigns.

The winners celebrate and Cody/Rollins know they’re in trouble.

The big highlight package takes us out.

Overall Rating: B-. This is going to be a show where the experience of watching it live is going to be very different than watching it at home. The cold weather was a major factor in this as I spent most of the show trying to stay warm and that makes the show a lot less fun to watch. As for the show itself, you had a good opener, a heck of an Intercontinental Title match and the big epic main event but the rest of the show was lacking in quality. Only the Usos match was bad (and a lot of that was due to how we got here) but it certainly wasn’t a top level Wrestlemania. Overall, pretty good with some great high points, though it wasn’t able to get over the hump.

Results
Rhea Ripley b. Becky Lynch – Riptide
Austin Theory/Grayson Waller and Awesome Truth won the six way tag team ladder match
Rey Mysterio/Andrade b. Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar – Frog splash to Escobar
Jey Uso b. Jimmy Uso – Superfly Splash
Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair/Naomi b. Damage CTRL – Jaded to Kai
Sami Zayn b. Gunther – Helluva Kick
The Rock/Roman Reigns b. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins – People’s Elbow to Rhodes

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

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NXT
Date: April 2, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for Stand & Deliver and the only thing left to do is figure out the Tag Team Title situation. The champs need their last challengers and we’ll figure that out this week. Other than that, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are in the house before their Stand & Deliver main event. Let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Titles #1 Contender Tournament Finals: Axiom/Nathan Frazier vs. LWO vs. OC

For the Stand & Deliver Tag Team Title shot. The OC gets jumped to start fast until Gallows hits Axiom in the mask to take over. Wilde takes Anderson down but Axiom grabs a standing Spanish Fly on Wilde to even things up. Wilde’s umping neckbreaker gets two on Frazier but the OC pulls Axiom and Frazier out of the corner. That leaves the LWO to hit stereo missile dropkicks on Gallows.

We take a break and come back with Wilde hitting a springboard DDT for two on Gallows with a bunch of people making a save. Frazier goes up and dives onto Gallows and Frazier on the floor but Axiom’s dive is shoved away by Anderson. Del Toro hits a dive onto the pile but a Magic Killer puts him own inside. The OC is taken out though and Frazier hits a 450 to pin Del Toro at 10:49.

Rating: B-. Well at least it wasn’t the OC. Axiom and Frazer have been built up as a team for a good while now and it is nice to see them getting a shot after a long time. I’m not sure if they’re going to win the titles, but at least they’re on the big show and in a prominent spot. It’s hard to imagine the Wolfdogs keep the titles much longer so Axiom and Frazier could be in a nice spot if the reign is already coming to an end.

Axiom and Frazier promise to win the Tag Team Titles.

Lexis King isn’t worried about Mr. Stone or Von Wagner because Wagner can’t do anything without Stone, who isn’t here this week.

Ilja Dragunov finds a boot on his car and has to accept a ride to dinner from some D’Angelo Family associates.

Fallon Henley vs. Jacy Jayne

Henley has Thea Hail and Kelani Jordan while Jayne has Izzy Dame, Kiana James and Izzi Dame. They go to the mat with a lockup to start and Booker goes into a ridiculous long rant about…something. Henley gets knocked outside and gets dropkicked in the face to make it worse. Back in and Henley is sent into the buckles a few times for two and we hit the chinlock. Henley fights up so James offers a distraction, meaning the brawl starts up outside. That’s enough to distract Henley so Jayne can knee her in the face for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C. This still feels like the preview for a Kickoff Show six woman tag and that wouldn’t be a bad way to start. Henley was protected here as it took all of Jayne’s friends to distract her enough for the pin. Jayne is still firmly in the midcard, but putting her over a group of women is not the worst idea.

Post match Jayne and company go to the back with Jayne yelling about how she was never Thea Hail’s friend but now she’s back to where she should be. Ava, at the production desk, gets rid of them but hail and company come in. The six woman tag is set for Stand & Deliver. Ah there it is.

Video on Josh Briggs.

Lexis King vs. Von Wagner

Wagner charges in and starts fast with King being sent outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Briggs misses a charge into the corner, allowing King to drop some elbows for two. King’s right hands annoy Wagner but King pulls him down into a chinlock. Wagner fights up and hits a powerslam, followed by a big boot as the comeback is on. They go outside with Wagner setting up the announcers’ table but King reverses a powerbomb into a DDT. Back in and the Coronation finishes for King at 5:53.

Rating: C. This was nothing special as it was more about King getting a win over someone with some status. Granted Wagner’s status isn’t all that high but it means more than beating Mr. Stone. Wagner continues to be in a weird spot as it feels like he is ready for a big push and then something like this happens. Maybe it happens down the road but it’s not working yet.

Ava tells Carmelo Hayes that his match with Trick Williams will have slightly relaxed rules. Works for Hayes.

Natalya coaches up Karmen Petrovic before she faces Lola Vice. Roxanne Perez comes in to say there was a time when she would have listened to Natalya too.

Arianna Grace is ready to make Gigi Dolin over but Wren Sinclair says that might not be a good idea. Grace wants a match as a result.

Karmen Petrovic vs. Lola Vice

Natalya is here with Petrovic. Some kicks miss for Petrovic but she takes over on the mat instead. Back up and Vice takes her down by the leg but can’t get an ankle lock. Vice kicks her down again and we hit the chinlock. Petrovic fights up and fires off more kicks, including a spinning kick to the back for two. Back up and Vice strikes away again, setting up a Sharpshooter (with a glare at Natalya) for the tap at 3:48.

Rating: C. It’s kind of amazing how much the addition of Natalya brings down the interest in a match. That was the case here, as we seem to be coming up on a Natalya vs. Vice match and while that should help Vice, it’s not the most interesting thing in the world. Petrovic has some pieces that could work out well, but it’s not quite coming together just yet.

Ilja Dragunov arrives at a rather scary looking warehouse for dinner. Tony D’Angelo and the D’Angelo Family arrive, with Tony sitting down but no one says anything.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions with Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez as the guests. Perez doesn’t like Valkyria, who says Perez isn’t Women’s Champion because Indi Hartwell can climb a ladder faster than her. Then Lola Vice cost her the title at Vengeance Day by cashing in her briefcase. It’s NEVER Perez’s fault but Perez promises to watch Valkyria fall off her high horse and take the title.

Perez has that in her now and no she isn’t broken. Losing the title only made her more dangerous but Valkyria is already ready for the excuses. Valkyria says Perez will have a lot to b**** about after Stand & Deliver but Perez promises to have a year’s worth of rage ready to go. Then Valkyria puts her through the table and holds up the title.

Video on Dijak.

Oba Femi is ready to crush Josh Briggs and Dijak.

Oba Femi vs. Joe Gacy

Non-title. Hold on though as Shawn Spears jumps Gacy from behind with a chair and tells him to laugh. Gacy wants to fight anyway so the bell rings, with Femi slugging him down and stomping away. Some elbows give Femi two and there’s a running elbow to send Gacy outside. With Gacy up on the apron, Femi hits a clothesline from the floor but Gacy manages a suplex back inside. Femi shrugs it off and hits Snake Eyes before throwing Gacy down with ease…and the referee stops the match at 3:47.

Rating: C. I could go for a monster like Femi who gets one win after another by just wrecking people. It worked well here and doing it again and again could develop quite the reputation. Femi already feels like a monster and beating up Gacy is something that will push him even higher up the ladder.

Tatum Paxley asks Lyra Valkyria what that was about, with Valkyria saying she’ll do anything to keep the title, even if it means not being herself.

Wren Sinclair vs. Arianna Grace

Sinclair rolls out of a wristlock to start and hits a sliding faceplant for two. Grace fights out of the corner but Sinclair goes old school with an atomic drop of all things. Back up and Grace knocks her into the corner, setting up a Boston crab to keep Sinclair in trouble. With that broken up, another Boston crab attempt is blocked, allowing Sinclair to hit a running clothesline. Sinclair misses a charge though and Grace rolls her up, with a grab of the ropes, for the pin at 3:55.

Rating: C. Another short and to the point match here with Grace cheating to win like a good villain should. Grace’s heel push is starting to come together and it’s going to go a lot better when the Gigi Dolin stuff is added. For now, not much of a match, which is the norm for Sinclair, who loses every time she’s out there but does well in defeat.

We run through the Wrestlemania Week schedule.

Stand & Deliver rundown.

We go back to the dinner, where Tony D’Angelo says he fixed Ilja Dragunov’s parking situation. Dragunov thinks D’Angelo will go a long way to make things happen and D’Angelo promises to make this look like nothing at Stand & Deliver. Dragunov says D’Angelo is the Don but he is Ilja Dragunov, the NXT Champion (that was a hero line if I’ve ever heard one). D’Angelo grabs Dragunov’s injured hand and leaves him alone. Enjoy the last supper.

Sol Ruca vs. Blair Davenport

Davenport jumps her to start but Ruca fights back with a rather devastating….uh, armbar. That’s the hold of revenge you see. Davenport fights up but gets caught in a fireman’s carry drop for her efforts. A clothesline puts Davenport on the floor, where she sends Ruca knee first into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Ruca hitting a dropkick but favoring her bad knee. Davenport goes after the knee, only to get suplexed over the top for a double crash out to the floor. Back in and a one legged springboard splash gets two on Davenport, followed by a top rope cartwheel DDT for two. Davenport is back up with the Falcon Arrow and tries the big knee, only to get rolled up to give Ruca the pin at 9:16.

Rating: C+. It was nice to see a match get some time for a change on this show as there is only so much you can get out of another short one. Ruca gets her revenge on Davenport for putting her out of action for so long, though I was expecting something more than just a rollup pin. It should do for now though as Ruca can get away from Davenport and move on to something else.

Dijak and Josh Briggs argue over who will be North American Champion. Oba Femi comes in to say he’ll still be champion after Stand & Deliver.

Ava is proud of the Stand & Deliver card when Joe Gacy, barely able to move, pops up to say he’s fine. She gives him Shawn Spears at Stand & Deliver.

Here are Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams, surrounded by a bunch of security, for a chat. They are the first two black men to main event a Wrestlemania Weekend show ever but Williams doesn’t like that he is going to war with his brother. Hayes says they have come a long way from their Smackdown dark match in Virginia. They argue over whose fault their split was, with Hayes going into an analogy comparing the titles to their girlfriends. Williams lost his title and went after Hayes’ title instead.

Hayes thinks Williams believed the hype and tried to take Hayes’ spot. Williams says his days of taking a backseat are over but Hayes says Williams has been around for six months. Hayes has been around for three years and the people are going to turn on Williams fast. At Stand & Deliver, Hayes will show Williams how it works around here. The fight is on with security being cleared out, leaving the brawl to continue. The locker room breaks it up to end the show. This was pretty by the book as a way to wrap up a go home show but it’s a hot enough feud to overcome most of its problems.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was in a tough spot as Stand & Deliver, or at least the important parts, have been set for weeks. The six woman tag and Spears vs. Gacy are hardly major stories but we got a nice focus on the Women’s Title and the main event. Those matches alone should be enough to carry the show, and now we have the Tag Team Title match set as well. The action tonight was mainly filler and that is going to happen on a show like this. At the same time, they didn’t do anything too bad and enough was advanced so we’ll call this an acceptable show before the big day this weekend.

Results
Axiom/Nathan Frazier b. OC and LWO – 450 to Del Toro
Jacy Jayne b. Fallon Henley – Running knee
Lexis King b. Von Wagner – Coronation
Lola Vice b. Karmen Petrovic – Sharpshooter
Oba Femi b. Joe Gacy via referee stoppage
Arianna Grace b. Wren Sinclair – Rollup while holding the ropes
Sol Ruca b. Blair Davenport – 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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Smackdown
Date: March 29, 2024
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We are just over a week away from Wrestlemania and WWE is already in the northeast for the final push towards the show. That means things are already intense and there is a good chance that we are going to be getting some fallout from the Rock attacking Cody Rhodes on Raw. Jade Cargill is here as well so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick look back at The Rock attacking Cody Rhodes on Raw. More on this later.

Randy Orton/Kevin Owens vs. Pretty Deadly

Owens jumps Wilson to start and drops a quick backlash for an early two. Orton comes in to hammer away on Prince so Wilson tries to tag himself in…but he’s not holding the tag rope so it doesn’t count. Well that’s not something you see everyday. The villains take Orton outside for a drop onto the announcers’ table and we take an early break.

Back with Orton belly to backing his way out of a chinlock and the tag bringing Owens in again. A DDT gives Owens two as everything breaks down. Owens comes back in but Orton is taken outside for a drop onto the announcers’ table. Cue Logan Paul with the brass knuckles to drop Owens, allowing Prince to steal the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C. This was a way to advance the triple threat at Wrestlemania and that is not a bad way to go. Paul is at his best when he’s messing with people or things that that’s what you had here, with Owens getting a pretty humiliating loss to a goofy team. That isn’t going to sit well with Orton and odds are Paul knew that coming in.

Post match Orton pulls Paul out but Pretty Deadly makes the save. Owens breaks that up and Pretty deadly is laid out, with Orton chasing Paul to the back. The chase is on and Paul jumps into a car and drives off.

Iyo Sky talks about how Bayley formed Damage CTRL to leach off of them but Sky made Bayley relevant. Then the team outgrew Bayley so they did what had to be done. Sky stands up to end the interview but gets jumped by Bayley. They destroy the green screen and are finally separated. Good brawl, but we were told what would happen before the break and that hurt things.

Here is Nick Aldis for a chat. He’s happy to bring out Jade Cargill for her first official appearance as a member of the Smackdown roster. The contract is signed and Cargill says there are some talented stars around here, but none of them are here. That woman oozes star power at a level you do not see very often.

Damage CTRL doesn’t like Bianca Belair so Dakota Kai is taking her out tonight.

Nick Aldis runs into Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, who have dropped the witchcraft stuff but don’t say anything. Aldis keeps walking and runs into AJ Styles, who asks if LA Knight isn’t here. Aldis says he asked Knight not to be here, but Styles says Aldis should have told him.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Titles Qualifying Match: Austin Theory/Grayson Waller vs. Street Profits

Ford flips out of a double suplex to start and hands it off to Dawkins, who runs Waller over on the floor. We take a break and come back with Dawkins suplexes his way out of trouble, allowing the diving tag to Ford. A springboard spinning back elbow to the face puts Theory down for two and the Doomsday Blockbuster gets the same. Theory’s rolling neckbreaker is cut off with a sitout powerbomb but we cut to the back where Karrion Kross and Scarlett have taken out Bobby Lashley and B Fab. The distraction lets Theory raise his knees to block the frog splash and pin Ford at 6:21.

Rating: C+. Well what we saw of it was good, but as is the case so often in modern wrestling, there is only so much you can get out of a match that runs less than seven minutes and includes a commercial plus a backstage brawl. This should set up a six man between Lashley/the Profits and the Final Testament, which is a feud that needs to wrap up already as it’s long since stopped being interesting.

Post match the Final Testament comes in for the beatdown with Bobby Lashley making a failed save attempt.

We look back at Dominik Mysterio costing Rey Mysterio a match with Santos Escobar last week.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for a chat. Santos Escobar is here to brag about his win last week. He was hoping for Rey’s knee to get infected and amputated (geez) but he’ll settle for just getting a win. All it took was the help of one man, so here is Dominik Mysterio for a chat. Escobar says Dominik was right and, after Dominik is booed out of the building, promises to ruin Rey.

Cue the LWO, with Rey saying he believed he was done with Dominik. But now Rey has the chance to beat some respect into both of them. The challenge for Dominik/Escobar vs. Rey/a partner of his choosing at Wrestlemania. That would be the newest member of the LWO: Dragon Lee. Cue Lee for the brawl as the match seems likely for Wrestlemania.

Naomi wishes Bianca Belair luck and says she has her back tonight. Belair is rather pleased and they’re in this together against Damage CTRL.

Judgment Day isn’t happy with what is going on with Rhea Ripley not even knowing what Dominik Mysterio was going to do.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Match: New Catch Republic vs. Legado del Fantasma

We’re joined in progress with Dunne in trouble but he gets over for the tag to Bate as house is quickly cleaned. A standing shooting star hits Berto and the ring is cleared, with Bate hitting a big dive as we take a break. Back with Bate in trouble and getting double super gorilla pressed for two. Bate gets over for the tag seconds later though and the Birminghammer gives Dunne the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C+. Just like in the previous tag match, how much can you get out of a match that goes about seven minutes with a break? It doesn’t help that Legado was already beaten down from the pre-match brawl so the Republic doesn’t even look that great for winning. But at least we now have a sixth team for the 12 man ladder match, because we have a 12 man ladder match.

We look back at the Rock beating down Cody Rhodes to end Raw. The beating continued after the show went off the air.

The Bloodline promises to take out Jey Uso next week.

Here is AJ Styles, who says he should have had LA Knight locked up last week. Styles doesn’t buy that Knight isn’t here and thinks he might be the cameraman. That’s a no, but here’s someone coming through the crowd…and that’s not Knight either. One of the security guards is Knight though and even though Styles sees him on the Titantron, the beatdown is on anyway. Styles bails through the crowd.

Video on Tiffany Stratton.

Next week: the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is back.

Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai

Belair starts fast and knocks Kai into the corner for the running shoulder. Some rolling suplexes have Kai in trouble but she knees her way to freedom and we take a break. Back with Belair raining down right hands in the corner, followed by a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster. A Glam Slam into a moonsault gives Belair two but Kai manages a knee to the back for the same. The exchange of forearms goes to Belair but Kai manages to send her to the apron. A running knee only hits post though and Belair grabs a superplex. The KOD gives Belair the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with giving a star a win and that is all they were trying to do here. Kai is the weakest link in Damage CTRL and having her lose to Belair at one of the last shows before Wrestlemania is hardly some career killer. Odds are we’re getting ready for a big tag match at Wrestlemania so we can probably call this a mini preview.

Post match the Kabuki Warriors come in for the beating but Naomi makes the save. The numbers game catches up to her until Jade Cargill comes in for the real save.

Overall Rating: C+. Oh yeah we are firmly in the “we’re almost to Wrestlemania so please do not screw anything up” period. That means we don’t have much time left to wait but at the same time, there is only so much to be gotten out of a show like this one. There was a likely Wrestlemania match set up and two more teams qualified for the ladder match but that’s about it. This is a completely skippable show, but it’s probably the last skippable show for a few weeks and that is a great feeling.

Results
Pretty Deadly b. Randy Orton/Kevin Owens – Brass knuckles punch from Logan Paul
Austin Theory/Grayson Waller b. Street Profits – Knees to Ford’s ribs
New Catch Republic b. Legado del Fantasma – Birminghammer to Angel
Bianca Belair b. Dakota Kai – KOD

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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NXT
Date: March 26, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re getting pretty close to Stand & Deliver and the card seems mostly ready to go. The two glaring spots left are the Tag Team Title and North American Title shots, which we should hear about rather soon. Other than that we are likely going to have more build towards the two main events. Let’s get to it.

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

Dijak vs. Shawn Spears

Dijak starts fast and they fight to the floor, only to have Spears come back with a slingshot splash. Spears sends him back inside but Dijak is right back with a running flip dive to the floor. They get back inside with Dijak unloading in the corner but Spears grabs a swinging neckbreaker. A headbutt cuts off the comeback so Dijak goes up, only to get caught with a release German superplex. They head outside again…where Joe Gacy slips out from underneath the ring to grab Spears’ chair (neither of them saw him).

We take a break and come back with the two of them holding arms and slugging it out until Dijak gets the better of things. The toss suplex drops Spears as the fans are WAY behind Dijak here. The cyclone boot gives Dijak two but he misses a springboard elbow. Spears can’t find his chair so he goes up, only to dive into High Justice for two more. Spears blocks a kick but can’t block the second, setting up Feast Your Eyes to give Dijak the pin at 13:22.

Rating: C+. I’m a little surprised that Spears lost so soon into his comeback but at the same time Dijak is a bigger star and seems on his way to a title shot. The idea of a Gacy vs. Spears feud is…something, and at least it is something for both of them to do. Gacy is already more tolerable since he isn’t talking, though a feud with Spears could be a tall task to pull off.

Roxanne Perez looks at old footage of herself in NXT and is disgusted by what she used to be. Now she’s all about herself and is ready to take the Women’s Title from Lyra Valkyria at Stand & Deliver. She doesn’t dislike Valkyria, but it’s all about the title.

Various tag teams are trying to host Stand & Deliver. We really need hosts for that show?

Thea Hail vs. Jazmyn Nyx

Chase U and Jacy Jayne are here too. Hail jumps her fast to start and grabs a t-bone suplex. Jayne offers a quick distraction and sweeps the leg to take over, setting up an elbow for two. We hit the chinlock and Jayne tries to throw in the towel, with Riley Osborne keeping it from hitting the mat. Apparently that means it doesn’t count but Chase U is ejected anyway. Hail fights up so Jayne slaps her, allowing Nyx to grab a rollup for two. Before they can get back up, Hail grabs the Kimura for the tap at 3:39.

Rating: C. We should be in for a big showdown between Jayne and Hail (sounds like a good Kickoff Show match) and that could make for Hail’s big win now that she’s back as part of Chase U. Hail is still a ball of energy and someone who can do more than enough in the ring to get by, but she needs to win something at some point. We might be seeing that soon.

Hail snaps the arm so Jayne comes in for the brawl. Kiana James and Izzi Dame come in for the beatdown but Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan make the save. Ah, that’s probably the Stand & Deliver match.

We get a long history package on Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes. They came in together as best friends but Trick Williams started to become a star and Hayes couldn’t handle it. Hayes says he brought Trick to the water and let him drink, but Williams thought too much of himself. Williams was nothing but a hype man and his fifteen minutes are up. Even Randy Orton and CM Punk comment on this to make it that much bigger. More on this later.

Alpha Academy is ready to get into the Stand & Deliver Tag Team Title match tonight.

Lola Vice vs. ???

Open challenge and it’s answered by….Natalya. Well of course it is. Naturally she has to talk, saying she sees something in Vice but wants to give her a beating. They start fast with Natalya hammering away in the corner and Vice trying to bail to the floor. That goes nowhere as Natalya throws her back inside, allowing commentary to talk about Natalya’s world records. Back in and Vice kicks her down as we take a break.

We come back with Natalya fighting out of an abdominal stretch and getting two off the basement dropkick. The Sharpshooter attempt is broken up and Vice gets the ankle lock, sending Natalya over to the rope. Back up and Vice hits a spinning backfist for two as Karmen Petrovic comes down to watch. Natalya hits her discus lariat but the Sharpshooter is blocked again. The Sharpshooter is blocked so Natalya settles for a rollup and the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C+. The technical stuff was fine and Natalya can have a fine match with anyone. As usual, the problem is that there is only so much interest to be found in her and hearing that music play was a bit of a downer. Vice losing mostly clean isn’t exactly helpful either, though she should be getting ready for her match with Petrovic sooner than later.

Shawn Spears is leaving and isn’t happy with Joe Gacy, who throws the chair off the roof. Oba Femi steps on the chair and Gacy shouts down at him too.

Sol Ruca talks about starting fast but then Blair Davenport took her out like a crashing wave. She’s back and mad, so next week she’s getting her revenge on Davenport.

Blair Davenport compares Sol Ruca to sand: annoying and she can’t get rid of it. Next week, the torn ACL will sound like a nice memory.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Stacks

Non-title and Riz is here with Stacks. Dragunov takes him down to start but gets dropkicked down for his efforts. They strike it out until Stacks hits a running elbow but Dragunov tosses him out of the corner. The H Bomb is cut off though and Stacks steps on the finger. A tornado DDT gets two on Dragunov as the rest of the D’Angelo Family is watching in the back. Cement Shoes hits the bad hand but Dragunov is fine enough to hit a snap dragon suplex. A powerbomb sets up Torpedo Moscow to finish Stacks at 6:04.

Rating: C. They didn’t waste time here and did everything they needed to in a short amount of time. Stacks did some work on Dragunov’s hand, which could cause him some trouble at Stand & Deliver. There was no need for Dragunov to run through Stacks but he beat him soundly enough to not go too far.

The D’Angelo Family is going to invite Ilja Dragunov to the restaurant for a special moment.

We get part two of the Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams video, with Williams talking about living in Philadelphia. His family will be at Stand & Deliver, meaning his real family and not Hayes, who he thought was family. We see Williams training harder than ever because this is the biggest match of his career. He’s coming for Hayes.

The Wolfdogs argue over tanning beds when the OC comes in to say they want a regular Tag Team Title match at Stand & Deliver. They’ll both work hard to make that happen.

Here is Ridge Holland who has to make an announcement. He thanks everyone who helped him get here and says he can’t risk hurting himself or someone else again. Holland knows what people have been saying about him and he is tired of taking his work home from him. He refuses to let this job take away from being the best dad and husband he can do.

In the last few days, he’s had some difficult conversations and he has come to a decision: he is stepping away from in-ring competition indefinitely. Being in this company is a privilege and he’s sorry that his one last shot at redemption hasn’t worked out. The fans give him a THANK YOU RIDGE chant and he walks off. That’s an emotional way to write him off for now, but him coming back for some reason could make for a nice moment.

Lyra Valkyria talks about how great rivalries come together. She worked hard to get here but now she has to deal with Roxanne Perez, who can’t handle her emotions. The title deserves better than Perez and in another life, they could have been friends. Perez let the title break her and Valkyria will do anything to keep Perez away from getting it back. Making Perez feel like the threat to take the title is a good thing and it makes Valkyria sound like the hero trying to defend the title from evil.

Duke Hudson vs. Josh Briggs

Dijak is on commentary. Briggs powers him into the corner to start but charges into a release Rock Bottom. A running hurricanrana puts Briggs down and a side slam gets two. Hudson sends him outside but gets driven hard into the steps as we take a break. Back with Briggs hitting a splash for two but Hudson fights up for a boot to the face.

The snap jabs set up a backsplash for two on Briggs and a Boss Man Slam gets the same. Briggs hits a belly to back suplex and goes up but gets powerbombed back down. Back up and Briggs hits a hard clothesline to put Hudson down again, followed by a lariat for the pin at 10:30.

Rating: C+. Something about big meaty men doing meaty things. That’s pretty much exactly what they billed this as and then it’s what they delivered. Briggs has been pushing towards the NXT Title shot and it wouldn’t shock me to see he and Dijak either fighting for the title match or getting it at the same time. Chase U losing again is hardly a surprise, but it would be nice for something else to happen more often.

Post match Oba Femi pops up to announce the triple threat title match with Dijak and Josh Briggs getting the shots at Stand & Deliver. Well at least they didn’t waste time.

We get the final part of the Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes video, with Williams coming back for revenge on Hayes for taking him out. Cody Rhodes picks Trick for the win to really add some star power to the hype. Hayes hears what Williams is saying but what does Williams know about carrying a brand for two years? Williams believes he can be the best and it’s time to go to war.

As usual, these things are WWE’s strong suit as they know how to turn a feud into the most epic story possible. Williams and Hayes have been around for a long time now and having the get together for a showdown, likely in the main event of Stand & Deliver, is going to be a big moment. WWE made this feel important and that is a tricky thing to pull off, though they tend to do it every time.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Meta Four has taken over the production truck because they are officially hosting Stand & Deliver.

Arianna Grace has found the perfect dress for Gigi Dolin.

The injured Ilja Dragunov is invited to a pre-Stand & Deliver dinner, but it won’t be at the restaurant. Luca Crusifino gives him an envelope, presumably with the location, and Dragunov seems confused.

Wolfdogs vs. Alpha Academy

Non-title and if the Academy, with Maxxine Dupri, wins, they’re in the Tag Team Title match at Stand & Deliver. Corbin throws Tozawa into the corner to start but Tozawa hurricanranas his way out of trouble. Otis comes in for the headlock on Breakker but it’s right back to Tozawa to hurricanrana Corbin again. The Academy clears the ring as we take an early break.

Back with Breakker running Tozawa over and handing it off to Corbin for a pop up World’s Strongest Slam. Tozawa kicks his way out of trouble and it’s Otis coming back in to clean house. A double backdrop puts the champs down and there’s the Caterpillar for two on Corbin. Everything breaks down and the Academy loads up a Doomsday Device, only to have Breakker powerslam Tozawa out of the air (geez). A double powerbomb off the apron sends Otis through the announcers’ table, leaving Tozawa to get powerbombed into the spear for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. It might not have been a great match and it didn’t exactly change anything, but it did give the champs a win over a main roster team. Tozawa was working hard here but Breakker’s stuff was more than enough to make it feel like he was on another level. Pretty entertaining match here, with the Wolfdogs getting better together every time.

Post match the LWO, the OC and Axiom/Nathan Frazer come in for the big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. With less than two weeks before Stand & Deliver, NXT needed to have the big hard sell show to get things ready. While there is still next week, this show has me wanting to see the show a lot more than I did coming into this week. The Hayes vs. Williams stuff was the highlight of the show and made the show that much better. Good stuff here, and it served an important purpose, which is all the better.

Results
Dijak b. Shawn Spears – Feast Your Eyes
Thea Hail b. Jazmyn Nyx – Kimura
Natalya b. Lola Vice – Rollup
Ilja Dragunov b. Stacks – Torpedo Moscow
Josh Briggs b. Duke Hudson – Lariat
Wolfdogs b. Alpha Academy – Spear to Tozawa

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: March 15, 2024
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

The Rock is here again and that alone makes this feel important. With just over three weeks before Wrestlemania, the show is really starting to come together and there is a good chance that we’ll get a few more adjustments this week. That might include a battle of the Usos being set so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes agreeing to face the Bloodline at Wrestlemania with quite the set of stipulations. Rhodes slapped Rock to end the show, making things a lot more serious.

Here is the Rock to get things going. After a long introduction, Rock says he usually torches every city he’s in, but this week is different. He started his career right here in Memphis on Channel 5 (big pop for that) and then at the Big Top Flea Market. Rock was Flex Kavana back then (he doesn’t get it either but he went with it) and now he is back home. Since this is the home of the blues and country, we’re going to have a little song tonight.

With some musical accompaniment, Rock sits down for a song about what he’s going to be doing to Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes. Rock threatens to beat them both, maybe even with his fanny pack, but he might even go after Mama Rhodes. That leads him into a musical story about how Cody was conceived (complete with a Stardust picture) due to cheap condoms.

As for Rollins, yeah he’s weird but he’s not even as popular as his wife. We get a shot at Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant before mocking the Cody Crybabies. The song ends and the fans cheer for Rock, who just mocked all of them because evil Rock is too good to overcome. Rock talks about the slap from Cody and brings up Cody crying about being able to hand the title to his mother. That brings Rock to Mama Rhodes, with Rock promising to make Cody pay both nights at Wrestlemania.

The only belt Cody is going to get is a weightlifting belt that Rock pulls out, which he is going to use to beat Cody bloody. Then after Roman Reigns beats Cody, rock is going to hand it over to Mama Rhodes and say….what can I say except you’re welcome. If you smell what the final boss is cooking. This was pure Rock charisma and it’s no wonder that the fans were going nuts for him after every mean and horrible thing he said.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Quarterfinals: Legado del Fantasma vs. LWO

Angel chops del Toro up against the rope to start and hands it off to Berto, who misses a charge into the corner. Wilde comes in for a double basement superkick, setting up the double running flip dives as we…don’t take a break for a change. A double elbow and assisted springboard moonsault gets two on Berto and now we take the break.

Back with Berto elbowing del Toro for two and knocking him into the corner. A double middle rope gorilla press slam gets two on del Toro but he’s right back with a Spanish Fly for a breather. Wilde comes in to clean house but Angel throws him into a kick to the ribs from Berto for the pin at 9:10.

Rating: C+. This is one of the good ideas of a series of qualifying matches like this one as you can throw a bunch of established feuds out there with fresh stakes. The match wasn’t anything break but having people flying around all over the place is always a good way to go. It’s the kind of thing that has worked forever in wrestling and it worked well again here.

Here is LA Knight for a chat. After taking the mic from Kayla Braxton, Knight talks about how he’s been looking for AJ Styles, who thinks Knight needs to be humbled. Well he’s standing right here, so why not come out here and humble him? There’s no Styles, which doesn’t shock Knight at all. Styles will go all the way to Australia but he can’t come to Memphis? Knight says if Styles can’t show up here, how about he shows up at Wrestlemania? We get the catchphrase and here is Styles to jump him with a chair and accept. This was checking off a box that was all set to go.

We look at Randy Orton attacking KSI and sending Logan Paul running last week.

Paul comes in to see Nick Aldis and wants to know what kind of punishment Orton is facing after last week. Aldis thinks Paul should request that apology in person, which Paul doesn’t like. How can he expect Aldis to do his job when he can’t even find Paul a Wrestlemania opponent? That’s a rookie mistake if I’ve ever heard of one.

Summerslam is coming to Cleveland.

A fired up Jimmy Uso accepts Jey Uso’s challenge for Wrestlemania.

Randy Orton vs. Grayson Waller

Austin Theory is here with Waller. Orton spends so much time posing that Waller gets annoyed but here is Logan Paul to interrupt/join commentary. Waller jumps him to start but Orton hammers away in the corner, only to be dumped outside. Orton takes over out there as well but stops to glare at Paul, allowing Waller to send him into the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Orton fighting out of a cravate. Orton hits the powerslam and they go outside, where Waller is dropped onto the announcers’ table a few times. Theory’s distract fails and it’s the hanging DDT but Waller bails before the RKO. Instead Orton drops Theory and now the RKO can finish Waller at 7:37.

Rating: C. Not bad here as Orton was never going to be in any serious danger to Waller, even with Theory out there. We’re pretty clearly moving towards Paul vs. Orton, with Kevin Owens possibly involved as well, so keeping Orton looking strong over a goon is a good way to go. They didn’t have a great match or anything here, but they did what they needed to.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kevin Owens makes the save. Cue Nick Aldis to announce a triple threat match for the US Title, with Orton and Owens getting the title shots. Paul: “Oh no.”

We look at Bayley being thrown out of Damage CTRL on the way to her title shot at Wrestlemania.

Dakota Kai is ready to destroy Bayley before she can get to Iyo Sky at Wrestlemania. Damage CTRL runs the show.

Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee

The rest of Legado del Fantasma is here with Escobar. Lee wastes no time in knocking him to the floor for a running flip dive. A running hurricanrana takes Berto off the apron but Lee walks into the Phantom Driver for the pin at 1:58. Remember when Lee was the next big thing earlier this year?

Post match the beatdown is on but Carlito makes the save. He’s taken out as well but Rey Mysterio makes the real save. Mysterio issues the challenge to Escobar for next week and promises to slap the smile off his face.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Quarterfinals: Pretty Deadly vs. New Catch Republic

Bate and Dunne take turns working on Wilson’s arm to start with Dunne shifting over to the fingers for some extra pain. Wilson manages to send Dunne outside though and Prince gets in a cheap shot to take over. Back in and Dunne fights out of trouble without much effort, allowing the tag to Bate for the house cleaning. The very spinning airplane spin has Prince in trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Bate muscling Wilson up with a suplex, allowing the tag back to Dunne to pick up the pace. Prince has to escape an armbar and it’s back to Bate for stereo kicks to the head in the corner. Wilson makes the save and everything breaks down, with the Republic being sent into the post. A middle rope bulldog/face plant combination gets two on Bate but Dunne is back up. The Birminghammer finish Prince at 13:11.

Rating: C+. Good match here with Pretty Deadly getting in more offense than I would have expected. This sends the Republic on to a match with Legado del Fantasma for a spot in the six way at Wrestlemania, which is quite the complicated setup. I’m not even sure how many quality teams there are for such a match, but at least we’ll have one smaller team in there for some impressive looking insanity.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Bayley vs. Dakota Kai

The rest of Damage CTRL is here with Kai. Bayley wastes no time in starting the beating but stops to glare at Damage CTRL. That’s enough for Kai to get in a slap, which earns her a drive into the corner. The fans chant for NXT’s Trick Williams for some reason as Bayley sends her face first into the apron to take over. Kai is down on the floor and gets surrounded by Damage CTRL as we take a break.

Back with Asuka offering a distraction so Kai can get in a standing double stomp out of the corner. Bayley knocks her off the top though and there’s the top rope elbow for two. Sane gets in another cheap shot though and it’s Kai kicking Bayley in the face. A powerbomb out of the corner plants Kai but Sky comes in with the belt for the staredown. Kai grabs Bayley’s leg and Sky decks Bayley for the DQ at 7:33.

Rating: C. That’s a bit of a weird way to go as you would think that Bayley could use a win on the way to Wrestlemania. Kai is fresh back in the ring after her injury but it’s not like she is anywhere near Bayley’s level in the first place. Damage CTRL coming in is a fine way to go, but I’m a bit surprised by the lack of Bayley getting a pin.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is Naomi, who gets beaten down as well. The fans chant for Bianca Belair but have to settle for Sky hitting Over The Moonsault to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well you can’t say they didn’t get a lot done. This show had the rather snazzy opening from the Rock plus three Wrestlemania matches being announced. That’s quite the use of two hours and as usual, it shows that things can go well even when the wrestling was just ok. Wrestlemania is shaping up and now we have a few more weeks to really set things up for Philadelphia.

Results
Legado del Fantasma b. LWO – Kick to the ribs to Wilde
Randy Orton b. Grayson Waller – RKO
Santos Escobar b. Dragon Lee – Phantom Driver
New Catch Republic b. Pretty Deadly – Birminghammer to Prince
Bayley b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Iyo Sky interrupted

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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NXT
Date: March 12, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We are less than a month away from Stand & Deliver and things are getting more interesting. Last week’s Roadblock saw Tony D’Angelo crowned as the new #1 contender, with Trick Williams coming back to deal with Carmelo Hayes. That should set up a heck of a one two punch for the big show so let’s get to it.

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

Roadblock recap.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: OTM vs. LWO

This is the first of three first round matches with the winners going on to a triple threat match for the title shot at Stand & Deliver. OTM jumps them from behind in the aisle and it’s Price taking over on del Toro inside. The LWO fights back and knock the villains outside for stereo dives. Back in and Wilde takes over on Nima, only to get caught on top. One heck of a one armed superplex gives Nima two as Baron Corbin/Bron Breakker are watching from the balcony.

We take a break and come back with del Toro coming in to strike away as commentary talks about the qualifying matches for the main roster Tag Team Titles. Del Toro sends Price into the corner with a bit of a sloppy headscissors, followed by a top rope missile dropkick for two. Everything breaks down and del Toro enziguris Price to the floor. That leaves Wilde to jump onto Nima’s back and WAY into the air for a crash onto Price, who has to run up to catch him. Back in and a springboard 450 gives Wilde the pin on Nima at 10:40.

Rating: B-. As usual, a power vs. speed match works rather well and that was the case here, with the LWO bringing a bit of main roster star power. Watching the high spots and big dives will always be entertaining and Price/Nima were there to throw the LWO around as well. Nice opener here as they didn’t break any new ground but played the formula rather spiffily.

Earlier today, Oba Femi arrived and almost got in a fight with Brooks Jensen (his challenger tonight). A bunch of people break it up, including Josh Briggs, with Jensen not being happy about it.

Thea Hail, with Chase U, is jealous about Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx hanging out without her but she has other friends. Cue Kelani Jordan, who will team with Hail tonight.

Here is Roxanne Perez to explain her actions last week. The sweet, innocent Perez is gone and her attacking Lyra Valkyria last week was the culmination of a year of frustration. She defeated Meiko Satomura last year and then collapsed, mainly because she carried this brand for a year. That came after carrying the weight of the women’s division in all kinds of matches but people would rather talk about Tiffany Stratton or Becky Lynch. Not that it matters as she is the most decorated woman in NXT history at 22 years old. Then she helped Lyra Valkyria but never got the rematch that she deserved.

Now everyone wants to cheer her, but where were the people when Indi Hartwell was holding her title? The NXT fans remind her of little innocent Roxanne Perez. What a difference a year makes: now it’s Valkyria riding away in an ambulance and now it’s time to vacate the title so Perez can be champion again. Cue Ava to say not so fast but here is Tatum Paxley to charge at Perez, only to be quickly broken up. That was a good, angry explanation from Perez, though her small stature and voice make the heel style a bit more difficult.

The D’Angelo Family welcomes Luca Crusifino, who has taken care of some things. Stacks played Trick Williams’ music last week and now Tony D’Angelo is off to Stand & Deliver. Ilja Dragunov comes in and everyone but Tony leaves. Dragunov says Tony has everything but the title and that isn’t changing at Stand & Deliver. D’Angelo says no matter what happens, he likes Dragunov, who is then put in a car and driven away by Stacks and Crusifino.

Lexis King vs. Mr. Stone

Stone slugs away to start and is quickly beaten down, with King working on the ribs. A knee to the ribs and a rake to the back set up an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Stone knocks him off the top, only to get hit in the face. The Coronation finishes Stone at 3:31.

Rating: C. This was more angle advancement than a match and that’s not a bad thing. King messing with Stone and Von Wagner is a way to go for him as he continues to be something of an agent of chaos. At the same time, anyone can get the idea of a villain messing with someone’s family, though it’s likely going to be Wagner doing the beating instead.

Post match the beatdown is on but Von Wagner runs in for the save.

Logan Paul announced Summerslam will be in Cleveland.

Oba Femi is ready to slaughter Brooks Jensen. Dijak comes in to say he’ll be here after Femi is done playing around.

Ridge Holland is training but stops to call his family.

North American Title: Brooks Jensen vs. Oba Femi

Femi is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and Femi shoves him outside, followed by a headlock back inside. Femi beats on him up against the ropes but gets caught with a clothesline as we take a break. Back with Jensen dropkicking him to the floor and hitting an elbow off the apron.

They get back in, where Femi hits a pair of Irish Curses for two as Josh Briggs comes out to watch. Jensen fights up and hits a quick superkick into a powerslam for two. Femi shrugs that off and hits a backdrop, followed by a rather powerful toss. He does it again and Jensen is barely still in this. The pop up powerbomb plants Jensen but Femi looks at Briggs, setting up another powerbomb to retain the title at 11:42.

Rating: C+. This was more about Briggs and Jensen’s odd relationship and that could go in a few different directions. It would seem like they are destined to get back together and it wouldn’t stun me to see them in the title picture around Stand & Deliver. On the other hand you have Femi, who seems to be in for a match against Dijak sooner or later.

Briggs checks on Jensen post match.

The D’Angelo Family lets Ilja Dragunov out of the trunk on a bridge. Dragunov goes up to Tony D’Angelo, who says this wasn’t out of disrespect. The thing is Dragunov can’t just walk into D’Angelo’s restaurant uninvited. D’Angelo talks about bringing people to this bridge and leaving alone, but this isn’t one of those times. He can end everything with a snap of his fingers, so Dragunov tells him to show what he can do. D’Angelo says have a nice walk back and goes to leave, but Dragunov says he always finds a way. The Family leaves and Dragunov looks at the title.

Muhammad Ali is going into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Arianna Grace vs. Gigi Dolin

If Grace wins, Dolin has to be more like her. Grace works on a headlock to start but gets sent outside without much trouble. Back in and Dolin hits a dropkick as Booker wonders why they can’t get along. Grace sends her into the corner and stomps away before dropping an elbow for two. The chinlock goes on until Dolin fights up and hits an STO for two of her own. Grace grabs the tiara for a cheap shot but Dolin hits her low…for the DQ at 4:28 (Grace’s face is rather amusing).

Rating: C-. Slightly odd ending aside, that wasn’t the best match as Dolin’s star has fallen a long way. She’s barely done anything since Toxic Attraction broke up and now she is going to be stuck with Grace for a bit. Grace is slowly growing on me as a heel, but that might be due to her not talking here.

Karmen Petrovic is happy to have Sol Ruca back and Ruca wants Blair Davenport. Lola Vice comes in and gets in an argument with Petrovic. Brinley Reece comes in and is rather pleased with Ruca for breaking that up. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade come in to get Reece away. There was a lot in this one and good acting wasn’t part of it.

Kiana James/Izzy Dame vs. Thea Hail/Kelani Jordan

Hold on though as Kelani Jordan has been attacked so Hail is on her own. Cue Fallon Henley to be Hail’s partner (that’s who I thought she meant by having a friend earlier) and house is quickly cleaned. Henley takes James down and hits a springboard armdrag on Dame. Back up and Dame chokes her on the ropes before grabbing the neck crank.

Cue Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx, which has Hail rather annoyed on the apron. Henley fights up and brings Hail in to clean house as everything breaks down. Hail’s Kimura to James is broken up and Jayne pulls Henley out of the way of a cheap shot but Hail gets hit in the face instead. That leaves Jayne to Bankrupt Hail for the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C. I still don’t get the appeal of James and Dame as a team but at least they’re an established unit. They weren’t the focus here as this was about Jayne messing with Hail, which has to be coming to a head sooner or later. For now, it wasn’t a great match, but Henley was kept strong and that gives me hope for her future.

Post match Hail asks what Jayne is doing because this isn’t who Jayne used to be. Hail thought Jayne was cool and her best friend but Jayne doesn’t seem impressed. Hail ignored the bad things from Jayne and idolized her like a sister. She is done though because this is Jayne, who Hail doesn’t want to be. The old Thea Hail is back and she runs around the ring to the Chase U fight song. Oh this should be fun.

Riley Osborne is rather pleased in the back when the No Quarter Catch Crew interrupts. The Crew isn’t impressed and threaten the Catch Clause. Nathan Frazer and Axiom come in to talk about their success, with Axiom saying he’s close to the first champion (“What ever happened to that guy?”) and vague threats are made.

The Good Brothers are ready to win the Tag Team Titles because they don’t think much of Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin.

Hank Walker and Tank Ledger know no one is taking them seriously so they’re ready to go on to Stand & Deliver against the Wolf Dogs. Corbin and Breakker come in and give them something of a pep talk.

Ridge Holland vs. Shawn Spears

Holland powers him into the corner to start and knocks Spears down a few more times. A missed charge lets Spears chop and punch away in the corner before he sends Holland outside. Holland picks him up for a ram into the post and Spears tells him to do it, which has Holland second guessing himself. Instead Spears posts him and then gives him a lecture as we take a break.

Back with Holland fighting up but Spears ties him in the ropes. Spears yells about how Holland has let everyone, including his wife, down. Holland fights up and hammers away but seems scared of a DQ. Instead he sends Spears outside for a ram into the barricade before loading up the steps. A chokeslam through the announcers’ table leaves Spears laying, which isn’t a DQ. They go inside with Holland grabbing a chair but the referee takes it away and puts it in the corner for no logical reason. The C4 onto the chair gives Spears the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what I just watched. It was like some weird psychological experiment with a match going on in the background. The idea of Spears wanting Holland to embrace his inner violence makes sense, but this was an odd way to go about it. It’s different enough to overcome Spears’ limitations in the ring, but I’m not sure how long that is going to be the case.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here is Trick Williams for a chat. He’s having trouble putting this into words but he wants to know why Carmelo Hayes did all this. Williams went to Shawn Michaels’ office because he wanted to be at Hayes’ level. He had no idea it was going to go like this but Trick Willy was born. Then someone attacked him and Hayes lied to his face about it. Hayes has been lying for a long time and now they are going to have a match at Stand & Deliver.

Cue the Meta Four, with Noam Dar finding this interesting. Williams tells him to stay out of this but Dar talks about how they have both lost something. Dar says he is here to steal Williams’ heat, with Williams saying Lash Legend seems to know Williams has heat too. The match is made for next week and the brawl is on, with Williams stopping to kiss Legend (who does not seem to mind one bit). Williams stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I really wasn’t feeling this show as the opener was the only good match, followed by a bunch of stuff that kind of came and went. The NXT Title match at Stand & Deliver got some build and we’re one step closer to Williams vs. Hayes, but a lot of the rest didn’t feel important. A sizable chunk of this show felt like it could have come at any time rather than less than a month away from Stand & Deliver and that’s off for NXT.

Results
LWO b. OTM – Springboard 450 to Nima
Lexis King b. Mr. Stone – Coronation
Oba Femi b. Brooks Jensen – Pop up powerbomb
Arianna Grace b. Gigi Dolin via DQ when Dolin hit her low
Kiana James/Izzy Dame b. Thea Hail/Fallon Henley – Bankrupt to Hail
Shawn Spears b. Ridge Holland – C4 onto a chair

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