IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 31, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’ll wrap up Canada week here with the highlight package show. This week has been better than most for WWE as the followup to Summerslam has actually been pretty strong. The promos and stories have all been good and we’ve even had some nice matches to go with them. Hopefully the short form versions are good as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Tyler Breeze

Please don’t turn Breeze heel. Breeze armdrags him down to start and lays on the top, only to have Jose dance at him in return. Some right hands in the corner have Breeze in trouble so he takes out the knee to put Jose down. A half crab stays on the knee until Jose kicks him to the floor. That’s broken up after Breeze pulls him back to the middle but a dropkick to the knee makes things even worse. Jose is fine enough to catapult him into the corner and the pop up right hand is good for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: C-. Breeze is an interesting choice here and he was “aggressive” here, which sounds like the start of a heel turn. It’s not like he has anything else going for him at the moment but I still don’t want to see it happen. He’s rather amusing with the Fashion Police thing and I’d love to see them go somewhere when Fandango comes back.

Clip of Shield reuniting to cost Braun Strowman his Money in the Bank cash-in.

Clip of Strowman saying he was cashing in for a Cell match and agreeing to team with Reigns to face Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre on Monday.

From Raw.

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman

Roman and Ziggler start as it’s already after 11pm. A clothesline puts Ziggler on the floor and Strowman approves. The apron dropkick rocks Ziggler but McIntyre kicks Roman in the face to take over. Back in and Ziggler gets two off the running DDT, followed by the sleeper. The big jumping elbow gets two and it’s right back to the sleeper.

Reigns finally shoves him away and the big boot drops Ziggler. The hot tag attempt is broken up by McIntyre, who throws Reigns with an overhead belly to belly. Reigns Superman Punches Ziggler out of the air and Strowman gets the hot tag….but doesn’t get in. Reigns gets stomped down as Strowman watches from the apron. The referee disqualifies…..I’m not sure actually but the match ends at 8:50.

Rating: D+. Just an angle and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s something wrong with wasting the last year plus on Strowman for the sake of having him be Reigns’ first victim, but that’s another rant for another time. As usual McIntyre looks better in ten second than Ziggler looked working most of the match, but that goes without saying.

Post match Strowman says he’s not finished with Reigns and beats him down. Ziggler and McIntyre join in until Ambrose comes in for the failed save. Rollins runs down and gets beaten up as well. A bunch of powerslams leave the Shield laying and Strowman poses with his new friends to end the show.

From Raw again.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Rollins is defending and Owens is still rather popular here. Feeling out process to start with Rollins hitting a clothesline to put Owens on the floor. Back in and Rollins hits a slingshot Fameasser onto the middle rope. A clothesline off the steps puts Owens down and we take a break.

We come back with Owens holding a chinlock and getting two off a backsplash to the arm. The armbar goes on and Rollins starts to scream. They head outside with Owens missing the Cannonball into the barricade, allowing Rollins to chop away. Back to back suicide dives have Owens in trouble but he blasts the third attempt with a right hand. Rollins hits the other dive anyway and we take a second break.

We come back with Rollins hitting the frog splash, stopping to shake his bad arm, and then getting two. Owens sends the bad arm into the post and puts on a Crossface. As Rollins crawls to the ropes, Owens turns it into something like a camel clutch to keep Rollins in trouble. A foot on the ropes gets Rollins out of trouble and frustration is setting in. Some right hands to the face just annoy Rollins and he jumps over the Pop Up Powerbomb. A low superkick rocks Owens but he counters the Stomp into a Stunner of all things for two.

The fans are WAY into this and Owens takes him up top, only to get reversed into a running buckle bomb. Owens no sells it and superkicks Rollins for a hot near fall and they’re both down. It’s Owens up first but Rollins catches him on top and they slug it out. Rollins gets shoved down and lands on the arm but is still able to avoid a moonsault. The Stomp retains the title at 22:11.

Rating: B+. Heck of a fight here and I was actually buying the chance that the title was going to change. Owens is someone who can bring the great stuff when he’s given the chance and that’s what happened here. It’s amazing how much better Rollins is when he doesn’t have Ziggler doing the same stuff every week as this was a nice change of pace.

Post match, Rollins nods at him in respect.

Back from a break with Owens sitting in the ring in a chair. He says he quits and leaves, taking the tape off his hands as he goes.

Pay per view rundown.

Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riott

Moon headlocks her to start but gets legsweeped down. A right hand doesn’t have much effect on Moon as she flips over and wristdrags Riott, only to get distracted by the Squad. Riott forearms her off the apron and we take a break. Back with Moon shrugging off a cravate and hitting a butterfly suplex. The front flip forearm in the corner gets two but another distraction lets Moon miss a corner charge. Riott gets two off a falling middle rope backsplash but walks into a gutbuster. The Eclipse is loaded up but the Squad offers another distraction, allowing Ruby to Riott Kick her down for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C. They actually had a story here with the Squad interfering over and over until Moon couldn’t stop them anymore. Riott has been a nice surprise in the last few months but egads what has happened to Moon? She was one of the big surprises on the post Wrestlemania Raw and now she’s jobbing on Main Event less than five months later?

Legends give their predictions on Undertaker vs. HHH.

From Smackdown.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Carmella

Charlotte is defending and they have a lot of time. Carmella gets two off a rollup as the fans are already asking for Becky. A headlock keeps Charlotte in trouble so she suplexes Carmella down, which at least quiets the BECKY chants for now. The moonsault takes too long to set up though and Charlotte gets shoved into the barricade. Carmella hits the suicide dive for two and we take a break.

Back with Carmella hitting a headscissors and shouting a lot, as is her custom. Charlotte gets kicked in the chest but rolls through a high crossbody for one. The champ goes up but gets pulled back down in a pretty good looking super hurricanrana. Carmella slaps her in the back and screams a lot, followed by a pair of not very superkicks for two. Charlotte shrugs it off and hits a spear, followed by Natural Selection. The Figure Eight goes on and Carmella finally taps at 13:02.

Rating: D+. As usual, I have no reason to buy Carmella getting in any kind of offense on Charlotte but that’s what we’re stuck with. Thankfully Carmella lost clean here and we can get away from her for a bit. She’s fine as a short term champion but the four month title reign and seeing her ruin Asuka was WAY too much from here. Now we can move on to the better stuff and I think you know what’s coming.

Post match here’s Becky to jump Charlotte (to some loud cheers) and says she’s getting the title back at Hell in a Cell, “you b****”. Becky leaves and we get a bunch of replays to fill in the show as it feels like they went home way too early. That was more full on heel from Becky (and it went about as well as the other stuff) so I’m not sure what was up with that edited promo last week.

Overall Rating: C-. Well so much for Smackdown. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe can’t get time, but we can hear predictions on a legends match six weeks from now? There was good stuff on Raw but they can choose how much is shown from each clip. You can’t cut some of that out and get in one more thing from Smackdown? I know it’s standard around here but egads man.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 23, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

Here are Summerslam results if you need a recap.

No Way Jose vs. Mike Kanellis

Mike headlocks him to start as we hear about Maria Kanellis injuring her wrist but trying to get back by Evolution. That’s one of the first times we’ve heard any specifics about her status. Jose pops up without much effort and grabs a hiptoss, only to miss a charge into the corner. Showing some intelligence, Mike stomps away on the arm but spends too much time blowing a kiss, allowing Jose to avoid a charge of his own. A fireman’s carry flapjack gets two but Mike snaps the arm across the top rope. Kanellis’ superkick gets two but he’s slow going up, allowing Jose to punch him out of the air for the pin at 5:16.

Rating: C-. Better than most Main Event matches and that’s always nice to see. They were trying something with the arm and Kanellis was a little better than usual here. I get why Jose stays on Main Event so often as his energy is going to be more than enough to get the crowd going at the start of the night. Mike though….just hope Maria gets back soon.

From Raw.

The women’s division is around the ring (including the Bellas) for the presentation to Ronda Rousey and here’s Stephanie strutting to the ring to soak in their applause. After putting over Evolution, we see a package on Rousey destroying Alexa Bliss last night to win the title. Stephanie is proud of Rousey because this never would have happened without Stephanie’s business prowess. She shined Rousey up like a diamond and now everyone around the ring wants to be like Stephanie and Ronda.

Here’s Rousey but Stephanie wants to know why the fans aren’t chanting for her. Rousey says this isn’t about Stephanie for once and wants to know why the women aren’t all in the ring. They get on the apron and Rousey cuts Stephanie off again, saying that this is about everyone instead of just one person. Rousey puts over Natalya as the cornerstone of the division and the Banks vs. Bayley match from Takeover a few years back. She’s not Brock Lesnar because she’s going to be a fighting champion.

Stephanie says it’s true that Rousey isn’t Lesnar because this isn’t the Rousey who wanted to break people’s arms. Just look at poor Alexa Bliss, like in this clip where Rousey dislocated her elbow. Rousey wants to break everyone’s arm and take all of the spotlight. Actually that’s not true as Rousey is only going to break the arms of those who deserve it.

Stephanie gets her arm barred again (with the elbow being regularly bent, meaning it shouldn’t hurt that much) and since it’s not Wrestlemania, it works just fine. The face women, including the Bellas, pose with Rousey and it’s a big group hug because they’re all sisters or something. I’m not sure why this was necessary but at least it ended well.

From later in the night.

Stephanie is getting her arm looked at with Corbin and Bliss in the trainer’s room with her. Angle comes in and Stephanie yells at him, saying he needs a vacation. Stephanie makes Corbin the new acting General Manager. If that means one less boss, fine. I’m so sick of this story anyway that I’ll take any change at this point.

We get a clip of the Becky Lynch promo and subsequent brawl with Charlotte from Smackdown, but I’m not going to copy it from the old review as usual because it’s rather different. The version aired here doesn’t include Lynch ranting against the fans or really anything to suggest that she’s a heel. In other words, it’s made to look like she’s a fired up woman who got ripped off, suggesting that they’re changing the entire story. That might not be the worst idea, though it’s a pretty hard about face.

From Smackdown, unedited this time.

Miz and Maryse open things up with Miz looking rather serious until the Daniel Bryan chants start up. Miz says he was able to close his eyes and feel that in a way he never could before. Two nights ago, something happened at Summerslam and now he has a family to think about. Maryse is hugging Miz as he looks near tears and says that with a heavy heart….hang on as he needs to cry some more. He announces his retirement and there’s a YES chant.

Actually it’s his retirement of ever facing Daniel Bryan again because Sunday was a satisfying conclusion. Miz did exactly what he promised to do when he beat Bryan in front of a sold out Barclays Center. The 100 punches from Bryan didn’t equal one Miz punch because he has the hardest punch in this entire arena. Bryan promised to punch him but when Miz did it, he got the pin. Miz praises Maryse and plugs Miz and Mrs. but here’s Bryan to interrupt.

Bryan calls Miz a coward over and over again as Miz hides behind Maryse. It doesn’t matter what Bryan calls him because the record books will always say that Miz got the win at Summerslam. Bryan asks him to shut up for once because Miz is just hiding behind things, like the makeup he’s wearing right now. On Sunday, Bryan got to do what he wanted: expose Miz as a wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a wrestler.

Maryse tells Bryan to change his name to Daniel Bella but here’s Brie to punch Miz in the face. Miz and Maryse bail and Bryan announces a mixed tag for Hell in a Cell. Good thing Maryse chose now to bring Brie into it. I can go with this as A, Brie was always less annoying than Nikki and B, this isn’t the kind of match that should be in the Cell so having it move forward in another way is the right idea.

From Smackdown again.

Renee Young brings out AJ for an interview on the platform. AJ isn’t happy with what happened at Summerslam but he wouldn’t change a thing. He has a promise for Joe: the next time Joe mentions his family’s name, he’ll rip Joe’s heart out. Joe trips AJ from behind and pulls him down off the platform for the Koquina Clutch knockout. Joe: “OH WENDY!” AJ can’t come home and tuck in the kids because he’s already gone to sleep.

Stills of New Day winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

Rhyno vs. Mojo Rawley

Mojo grabs the rope to get out of an early armbar attempt and we take a very abrupt break. Back with Rhyno fighting out of a chinlock and a collision staggering Mojo. The running shoulder in the corner sets up a belly to belly for two but Mojo chop blocks the knee. A running right hand in the corner sets up the sitout Alabama Slam to finish Rhyno at 6:52 in a match that had a lot clipped out in the middle.

Rating: D+. That clip in the middle didn’t do them any favors and I’m curious about what they did in the middle. Rawley has completely stopped meaning anything on Raw after his short push came to an abrupt ending, which is kind of a shame as he’s not a bad heel. Rhyno is the same guy he’s been for the last ten years and that’s why he’s still got a job to this day.

From Raw to wrap things up.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor

Reigns is defending and runs Balor over to start. Balor does his jump over the top to avoid a charge but gets punched in the face to send us to a break. Back with Balor fighting out of a chinlock (good grief come up with something else) and kicking Reigns into the barricade. The running apron kick is broken up and Reigns drops him onto the apron. A hard whip sends Balor into the corner and Reigns yells at him a bit.

Balor takes him down though and scores with the double stomp to the chest. That’s all for the comeback as Reigns takes him into the corner for the clotheslines but Balor knocks him to the floor again. A good looking running flip dive has Reigns in trouble and we take a break. Back with Reigns hitting an uppercut but getting caught by a Pele. Balor gets all fired up and stomps away with an aggression you don’t often see from him. Reigns is right back with a sitout powerbomb for two but the Superman Punch is countered into an Eye of the Hurricane for a very hot two as the fans are completely into this one.

Rating: B+. The fans helped carry this one and they had me believing that a title change might happen. I mean, that went away as soon as Cole kept saying “HE’S GONNA DO IT!” but they had me for a few seconds. Reigns needs a win like this and as usual, when he’s putting in the effort, the match was very good. Really strong main event and the post match stuff is going to be a big deal.

Post match Strowman is in the ring and kicks Reigns down as the cash-in is…..hang on a second as we’ve got Shield music (and no bell, meaning the cash-in didn’t take place). Cue Rollins and Ambrose in the Shield gear as the fans are VERY pleased. Strowman goes after Reigns but the triple beatdown is on. The trio knocks Strowman outside but he fights off the TripleBomb, only to get speared down. Now the TripleBomb connects to end the show.

I’m not sure what the thinking here is, but Strowman looked like a face with the cash-in and Shield looks like heels by thwarting the cash-in, but since Shield won’t be booed, they’re going to wind up being the faces no matter what. It should be fun seeing WWE try to twist Strowman into a heel, especially when he was willing to fight Shield on his own and Reigns welcomed the challenge of a cash-in.

Overall Rating: C+. The talking carried this show (again) as the promos have been on fire as of late. This was an interesting week for WWE as it felt like they were more worried about keeping the Brooklyn crowd from taking the shows over, but that made for some very good television. I know it gets boring at times and I’m right there with those making the same complaints, but when WWE turns it on, they can still do some great stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 16, 2018
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for Summerslam and that means we’re in for a lot of talking, which is usually the best way to go around here. The wrestling was far from strong on Raw and Smackdown so why bother wasting time on them? Then again it’s not like this show’s scheduling makes the most sense in the first place. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Jim Neidhart.

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Curt Hawkins

Percy and Tom dance to Jose’s song and Nigel is having none of it. Apparently Hawkins has found a weakness in Jose and knows he can win this week. An early dropkick has Jose in trouble and he goes into the buckle to make things worse. Jose is right back with some right hands and the conga line is rather pleased.

Hawkins school boys him into the corner though and stomps away, meaning it’s time to pose a bit. The chinlock goes on twice in a row and Hawkins takes forever going up top. He’s fine enough to shove Jose off though and the top rope elbow gets two. Hawkins goes up again and dives into a right hand to give Jose the pin at 4:47.

Rating: D. This was ever Jose vs. Hawkins match, which we’ve seen probably half a dozen times now. We’re now to the point where Hawkins can be in control for a good four and a half minutes and then loses to a single right hand. What more can possibly happen to him? I mean to be fair, Jinder Mahal lost all the time on this show and wound up being WWE Champion.

From Raw.

Here’s Roman Reigns for his last big speech before Sunday. Reigns says every day he tells himself to leave a place better than he found it. He can’t do that with Brock Lesnar still around though and Lesnar needs to go. Reigns is sick of hearing about him and seeing him so it ends at Summerslam. On Sunday, he’s taking back his Universal Title (which he’s never held) and sending Lesnar so far back into the UFC that his head will be stuck inside Dana White.

Cue a perky Paul Heyman to say it’s a new day, yes it is. If he was going to steal a line from someone on Smackdown though, it would be the Usos, who are the future of the tag team division. He doesn’t actually steal an Uso line, but he’s looking at the future of another division in Roman Reigns. Roman: “This is gonna be good y’all.” After being accused of crying on command, Heyman says Reigns can make history right here, right now. He brings up what he was about to mention last week in the interview: he’s willing to tell Reigns each and every single one of Lesnar’s secrets.

Reigns thinks he can beat Lesnar on his own, but with Heyman in his corner, he’s GUARANTEED to win the Universal Title. Heyman extends his hand and that gets a big YES chant. Reigns says he knows all those secrets already because he won in Saudi Arabia and would have done it a lot faster without Heyman. That’s true and Heyman hopes his sins won’t be held against him. Heyman sees himself as the new advocate for Reigns next week and offers his hand again.

Another YES chant gets turned down as Reigns talks about his father teaching him to swim with the sharks. He also knows how to see someone who is drowning, like Heyman. The thing is Heyman isn’t worth saving so the answer is no. Heyman talks about riding with Reigns’ father Sika and speaks some Samoan, which gets Reigns’ attention. Heyman even has an agreement written up, which Reigns can answer on Sunday.

As Reigns looks at it, Heyman pepper sprays him and leaves. Cue Brock Lesnar to beat Reigns up and put him out with a guillotine choke. Lesnar and Heyman walk up the ramp but Lesnar goes back for an F5. So did Heyman and Lesnar make up or was two weeks ago a big ruse? I ask rhetorically because I don’t expect an answer from WWE. Heyman was great here as usual and Reigns sounded good for a change. I still don’t want to see the match, but they did a nice job here.

Summerslam rundown.

Quick clip of Dean Ambrose returning.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Ascension

Slater and Viktor get things going with a running forearm rocking Viktor. It’s already off to Rhyno so Viktor rolls over to give us the power vs. power match. This goes a bit better for Konnor as the chopping begins, only to have Rhyno and Slater clean house as we take a break. Back with Slater working on Konnor’s arm until Konnor runs him over. Viktor grabs a chinlock until it’s back to Konnor for a legdrop.

The double teaming continues with Konnor hitting Slater in the face as this is getting more time than I expected. Konnor misses a charge in the corner and eats a neckbreaker, allowing the hot tag off to Rhyno. Everything breaks down and Rhyno gets two off a belly to belly suplex. Konnor and Slater are sent outside, leaving Viktor to take the spinebuster for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C-. Slater and Rhyno continue to be a completely entertaining team and that’s all they’re supposed to be. There’s something fun about a power/speed team and Slater/Rhyno are perfectly competent in their role. Ascension has been sad for years and there’s no changing that no matter what happens.

Long and great video on Miz vs. Bryan.

From Smackdown.

Here’s AJ Styles for the big closing segment. He talks about his time in this business, which has allowed him to travel the world and face the best in the world. Sure there’s pressure to being WWE Champion, but Samoa Joe hit his pressure points. We see a clip of Joe attacking AJ and signing the contract, followed by Joe talking about AJ’s family cheering for Joe at Summerslam. That was too far for AJ, who was ready to take Joe out until he saw his family. AJ’s wife told him to not lose his cool and AJ is ready….to be cut off by Joe.

With a piece of paper in his hand, Joe says AJ knows that’s not true. The paper is a letter from a fan which AJ needs to hear. The letter says that Joe’s comments a few weeks ago made the person physically ill. Not because he was wrong, but because what Joe said was true. Now it’s clear that AJ never wanted kids or a wife, which is why AJ is such a great champion: he’ll do anything to stay away from his family. The fan hopes Joe wins because he lost AJ a long time ago. Signed Wendy Styles (AJ’s wife). Well that worked. Very well actually.

Overall Rating: C. As I thought (it’s not like it was that hard), the recaps were much better than the wrestling but when you have the same matches over and over again, that’s just the way things are going to go. This wasn’t much of a show, but the Bryan vs. Miz video stuff is always worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 9, 2018
Location: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re coming up on Summerslam and since he was on Raw last week, there’s no Brock Lesnar to be seen this time around. There is however Roman Reigns, who I have a feeling we’ll be hearing from here. Hopefully there’s some more stuff from Smackdown though, as that show was great. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Curt Hawkins

Jose has the Conga Line to make him look a little better. Hawkins’ shoulder doesn’t do much good as Jose headlocks him and grabs an atomic drop. A shot to the ribs puts Jose on the floor and Hawkins is rather pleased. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a snap suplex into the second chinlock. Hawkins misses the elbow though and Jose slugs away, followed by a fireman’s carry flapjack for two. The Pop Up right hand finishes Hawkins at 5:30.

Rating: D. I’m not sure how many times we can see this match but I’m sure WWE is willing to try and find out. Hawkins losing over and over, at least in this form, stopped being interesting a few months ago and until things actually change up, there’s not much interest to be had in him. Granted the same is true for Jose, but that’s a little less surprising.

From Raw.

We get a sitdown interview with Reigns to talk about his match with Lesnar. We go through their whole history, including the great Wrestlemania XXXI match, the pretty bad Wrestlemania XXXIV match, the stupid Greatest Royal Rumble match and then last week’s Lesnar segment, which really had nothing to do with Reigns. He’s sick of Lesnar using WWE and disrespecting the fans, so Lesnar is learning a lesson at Summerslam.

This was a long recap of their story, and did little more than tell us that it’s been going on for a very long time. Your stat of the night: Lesnar has held the title 487 days. He’s had five televised title defenses and three of them have been against Reigns. Two of them have also involved Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman. In total, four different people have gotten title shots in 487 days.

From Raw again.

We get a sitdown interview with Paul Heyman, who doesn’t know where he stands with Brock Lesnar. Brock has disconnected his phone number and won’t respond to intermediaries. Heyman looks like he’s about to burst into tears as he says Lesnar is just going to get annoyed at this interview. He considers Lesnar a friend and this isn’t how he pictured it ending.

They had talked about riding off into the sunset together with the Universal and UFC Heavyweight Championships on his shoulders. Heyman starts crying but says just do it. When asked about any potential new clients, Heyman says it would be inconceivable just a week ago, but doesn’t say year or no. He still picks Lesnar, because he’s never been so angry. Reigns doesn’t stand a chance. This was the best thing on the show tonight, mainly because it was actually different.

From Smackdown.

Byron is in the ring to interview Miz, who pops up on screen instead of coming to the ring. He calls Byron a bad announcer and plugs the success of Miz and Mrs., which doesn’t have a single bad review on Rotten Tomatoes. Byron keeps asking about the match with Bryan but Miz ignores him to plug the show. Tonight he learns CPR, which would be a good idea for Bryan because he needs to resuscitate his career. Miz finally mentions it, saying he’s become a star while Bryan has been working in a garden.

Bryan needs this match while Miz needs to be recognized as WWE Champion. Miz is here night after night while Bryan has been off in bed crying. He’s not hiding from anyone and at Summerslam, Bryan is getting exposed as being beneath Miz. Go talk to Bryan about it because he’s probably off eating kale and talking about his wife. Bryan runs into the room, beats up security and punches Miz a few times until a potted plant to the back of the head lets Miz escape. The string of good promos continues tonight, but that kind of goes without saying for these two.

Heath Slater/Rhyno/Chad Gable vs. Ascension/Mike Kanellis

Slater forearms Kanellis down to start and it’s Gable tagging himself in to crank on the arm. Viktor comes in and gets his arm twisted around as well, followed by Gable spinning all over the place into a crucifix. Everyone comes in and the good guys clean house as we take a fast break.

Back with Kanellis kicking Gable in the face for two, followed by Viktor dropping a fist for the same. Gable dives over Konnor but still can’t get over for the tag. Konnor knocks Slater off the apron so Gable rolls underneath the clothesline to tag Rhyno. Everything breaks down and Kanellis tries a rolling German suplex, only to be reversed into the Rolling Chaos Theory for the pin at 9:05.

Video on Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss, including Rousey going nuts and getting suspended. They meet for the title at Summerslam.

From Raw again.

Ronda Rousey vs. Alicia Fox

Natalya and Alexa Bliss are the seconds. Before the match, Bliss is asked about Rousey and mocks the interviewer for not being able to come up with something better. Fox shows a clip of herself beating up Rousey last week and talks about how great Rousey is at everything else. Was she the captain of the Raw Survivor Series team? Bliss cuts her off and thanks Fox for everything she’s done. Rousey can deal with what’s left of Rousey in Brooklyn and here’s Rousey to cut her off.

We get the Big Match Intros and Fox chills in the corner at the bell. Rousey isn’t impressed by the trash talk and shoves her to the floor. Back in and Fox bails right back to the floor again. A Bliss distraction doesn’t work very well as Natalya cuts her off, only to be posted. Fox tries a charge at the distracted Rousey but the referee stops her for some reason.

Fox pounds away in the corner….and there’s the death stare. The rights and lefts have Fox rocked and the judo throws have Fox rocked. Fox bails for the third time but Rousey follows her for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Fox gets suplexed with ease, followed by the armbar (with a lot of shouting to Bliss) for the tap at 3:47.

Rating: C+. The stuff where Rousey was smashing Fox was fun but this would have been better served as bell, armbar, bell. To be fair though, it’s kind of hard to complain when Rousey beating the heck out of people is some of the most entertaining stuff WWE can do. Maybe not as fun as WWE trying to turn Fox into something worthy of the spot but still fun nonetheless.

Post match Rousey gets interviewed by Bliss tries a sneak attack. Rousey flips her over and gives Bliss a look saying “are you kidding me?” Bliss bails and Rousey promises to win the title.

Overall Rating: C-. The talking was strong with this one and that’s the best thing that could have happened. This week’s TV was better than usual with the promos being entertaining and making me want to see Summerslam. On the other hand you have the pretty worthless original matches but at least they kept those short so they didn’t waste much time. Check out Smackdown instead of watching this though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 2, 2018
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

You never know what you’re going to get around here and that’s one of the reasons that makes this show interesting. Well as interesting as it’s going to be. This week’s TV was the usual up and down so it all comes down to the match and segment selections, plus whatever new stuff they have. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Nikolai Volkoff and Brian Christopher.

Opening sequence.

Zack Ryder vs. Mike Kanellis

Didn’t we see this last week? Ryder starts fast with a faceplant and flapjack as the announcers talk about him being only a single win away from being a Grand Slam winner. Egads what a thought. Kanellis sends him face first into the middle buckle though and fires off some shoulders in the corner. We’re already off to the chinlock but the Woode Awakening gets Ryder out of trouble. Ryder goes to the middle rope, only to drive into a powerbomb for two. A good superkick gives Kanellis two but Ryder catches him on top with a super hurricanrana. The Broski Boot sets up the Rough Ryder for the pin at 5:44.

Rating: C. This match had no right to be any good but they worked hard and got a good match out of it. Kanellis could be worth something if they gave him a better gimmick and had Maria to get him some heat. Ryder continues to be great at what he does, but it would be nice to have him actually get the chance to do it every now and then.

From Smackdown.

Renee Young brings out Becky Lynch for a chat. Becky knew she would get back to the top of the mountain if she kept fighting. She hasn’t had a title match since Wrestlemania XXXIII nearly a year and a half ago. Now she’s back and just has to beat Carmella again to become Smackdown Women’s Champion again. Becky wants to go into Evolution as the champion but here’s Carmella to interrupt.

Carmella admits that she lost fair and square last week and that scares her. Becky has worked her way to the top and has been there to mentor Carmella every step of the way. She was the first woman to be drafted to Smackdown and Carmella was literally the last person drafted. With some tears in her eyes, Carmella talks about having to block out all the haters who say she’s not worthy of the title.

Now she’s getting to go into the biggest match of her career against her idol and they’re going to kill it. We’ll ignore why Carmella would want to have a great match rather than successfully defend her title but here’s James Ellsworth’s music. The distraction lets Carmella jump Becky from behind (as you knew was coming) and load up a chair. Cue the returning Charlotte for the save.

From later in the night.

Charlotte vs. Carmella

Non-title but if Charlotte wins, the title match at Summerslam is a triple threat. Before the match, Carmella says her fashion sense is just as flawless as her wrestling abilities. Charlotte may not want to admit it but Becky is rooting against her. Carmella moon walks away to start so Charlotte shoulders her down and says all night baby.

A t-bone suplex into a nipup puts Carmella on the floor but Charlotte misses the slingshot dive. Carmella sends her into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Charlotte missing a moonsault and getting sent outside so Carmella can stomp away. Carmella takes her down with a chinlock and things slow a bit.

Charlotte fights up and hits a big boot before sending Carmella outside for a moonsault off the barricade. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two but the Figure Eight attempt is broken up. Carmella’s superkick gets two and she can’t believe all these kickouts. For some reason Carmella tries the Figure Four but gets reversed into the Figure Eight for the tap at 12:46.

Rating: C-. You know, I really could go for something other than putting two challengers over the champ to set up a title match. Granted I could also go for the lack of triple threat matches. It’s cool that Charlotte is back and there’s nothing wrong with putting her right into the title scene, but egads I’m over the triple threat title matches, especially if Carmella retains and we go on to Becky vs. Carmella one on one like we could have had in the first place.

From Raw.

Alicia Fox vs. Natalya

Bliss and Rousey are the seconds. Natalya goes aggressive to start and tries an early Sharpshooter but Fox gets to the floor and pulls Natalya into the ring skirt. After beating the heck out of a tied up Natalya, Fox grabs the chinlock inside. That goes as long as you might expect but an abdominal stretch lasts a lot longer. Fox even one ups it by jumping up and wrapping her legs around Natalya’s waist (that’s a new one). The bridging northern lights suplex gets two and Fox goes after Rousey, allowing Bliss to get in a cheap shot. Fox’s running big boot is good for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D+. There’s something likable about Fox and it’s good to have her back. If nothing else another person on the roster lets you keep some matches fresh instead of burning through the same ones over and over again. The match was more storyline than wrestling but Fox looked better than she did in most of her pre-injury matches.

Post match Rousey goes after Fox and hits the spinning Samoan drop. The numbers get the better of her for a bit but the villains get chased off.

From Smackdown again.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to plug Evolution (this is why I wanted to wait for after Summerslam, as Evolution is getting almost as much if not more attention) because it makes him think of his wife Brie Bella. Brie was in the ring when the Give Divas A Chance campaign started. The two of them have fought for respect for years now but every time they’ve taken a step forward, it’s been two steps back.

We see a clip from last week of Miz throwing the fake baby at Bryan and beating him down. That bothers him because Miz taunted him for two years while hiding behind the wall of Bryan’s injury. But then Bryan was cleared and Miz had to find a new way to hide. Last week Maryse and the baby were the new wall because Miz knows he would get destroyed in a fight.

Miz pops up on screen with security around him. He doesn’t want to hear this from Bryan because we’re not in the indies. If Bryan wants to fight, call Miz’s agent because he’s on the set of Miz and Mrs. right now. Bryan calls him a coward again so Miz brings up the Talking Smack segment from 2016. This right here, the eternal conflict, is all Bryan wants because it’s what furthers Bryan’s career. It took Bryan ten years of fighting on the indies to get noticed but Miz just yelled at Bryan for five minutes and got famous.

Bryan says that’s the difference between the two of them: Bryan is in this for the passion and Miz just wants fame. It’s been done before and better, but Miz is never going to be the Rock or John Cena. If Miz needs a big stage, come fight Bryan at Summerslam. Miz laughs it off and says the YES Movement is dead because everyone has moved on. No one wants to hear from Bryan because all the fans see when they look at him is this, and the screen is filled with pictures of crying babies. More great stuff from these two as there’s a natural chemistry there and I’m fine with waiting on the match announcement, as it’s not like it’s a secret.

Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze takes him into the corner to start as Percy talks about seeing Breeze wearing Crocs. Hawkins scores with a knee to the ribs and blocks a sunset flip. A whip to the corner has Breeze down and we take a break. Back with Hawkins elbowing him in the face but missing the top rope version. The Stroke gives Hawkins two and a heck of a clothesline is good for the same as frustration is setting in. Instead of taking his time, Hawkins goes over to Breeze and eats a Supermodel Kick. The Unprettier gives Breeze the pin at 8:50.

Rating: D+. Breeze is someone who could have been something special on the main roster but they had to reset everything once he got to the main roster because NXT serves no real purpose as a developmental program most of the time. At least he got somewhere with the Fashion Police thing but I had a great time watching him in NXT and now this is a big night for him.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Samoa Joe with a message to AJ. He puts a stool in the ring and talks about how much he respects what AJ has done for the title, making it the most prestigious in WWE (the fans gasped a bit on that). AJ has put the title in front of what he wants and even in front of his own family. Last week AJ came out here and told a story about being able to talk to his daughter about being anything she wants to be.

The truth is that AJ is barely home long enough to hug his child, let alone look her in the eye. AJ is more comfortable living out of a suitcase than being at home with his family. He’s a great champion, even though he’s a failure as a father. Come Summerslam, AJ’s family will be cheering for Joe because it means they’ll have daddy back but Joe will be WWE Champion. This was more great stuff and as usual, it’s not about what Joe is saying but rather the intensity with which he says it. In a word, Joe comes off as real and that’s something most people can’t do in wrestling anymore.

We look at Paul Heyman trying to get Brock Lesnar to go to the ring on Monday. That meal he listed still makes me a bit hungry, save for the medium well steak.

From Raw again.

Here are Angle and Corbin to address Heyman and Lesnar. Heyman does come out with no energy, knowing what’s about to happen. The fans greet him with the Goodbye Song and Heyman says Lesnar isn’t coming out here tonight. That sends Angle over the edge into a rant about what a champion does, like doing charity work, reaching out to the community, and DEFENDING THE TITLE. Angle: “BROCK LESNAR MUST BE THE WORST UNIVERSAL CHAMPION OF ALL TIME!” Fans: “YES!!!”

Heyman actually agrees and says he tried to rehabilitate Lesnar because he’s one of the few people Lesnar tolerates. Kurt doesn’t buy it but Heyman says take this out on Lesnar because Brock doesn’t respect anyone. However, Heyman thinks the world of Angle and would like to have a better working relationship with him. Angle fires him anyway, sending Heyman diving to Angle’s leg.

Cue Lesnar to give Heyman the greatest relief of his life. Lesnar finally gets in and hands the belt to Heyman before grabbing a mic. That’s rarely a good idea. He asks if Angle and Corbin have a problem with him….and there’s an F5 to Angle before a word is said. Corbin immediately leaves and Heyman slaps Brock on the back. Brock grabs him by the face and makes Heyman look at Angle. The fans want Strowman (or maybe Roman) but get Brock leaving to end the show. So yeah, that’s it and no, this isn’t going to get the result that the company wants, especially in New York.

Overall Rating: C. The opening match was good and the rest of the show did its job of recapping the rest of the week. Summerslam continues to not be the hottest build in the world as there’s a lot going on and not enough time to focus on most of it, but that’s the case for a lot of the big shows. Lesnar vs. Reigns is one of the least interesting main events in a long time and while the fans are starting to boo him, they’re not exactly thrilled with Roman (I’m still not sure if the cheers were Roman or Strowman on Monday). That’s the biggest story and with that on top, there isn’t much time for the rest.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 26, 2018
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

Hopefully things pick up a little bit this week as last week’s show was basically the shortened version of Raw. I have no idea why WWE thinks there’s no need to focus on Smackdown, especially when it’s going to become the bigger show next year. Maybe this week will be different but I don’t have the highest hopes. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Zack Ryder vs. Mike Kanellis

I saw this one at a house show two days earlier and hopefully it’s better. Ryder hits an early faceplant for one but gets choked in the corner to slow things back down. Nigel quotes Power of Love to make things a little more pleasant as Kanellis puts on a reverse chinlock. Ryder fights up and sends him into the corner, setting up a running knee. The Broski Boot misses (as it so often does) so Ryder goes with a dropkick through the ropes instead. Back in and Kanellis catches him on top, setting up a superplex. A superkick gets two but Ryder slips out of a suplex and hits the Rough Ryder for the pin at 5:39.

Rating: D+. Ryder is always going to get some kind of a reaction but Kanellis is just a good theme song and another reminder that Maria isn’t here. He’s just a warm body at this point and that’s not going to get him much further than what we have here. At least Ryder got the crowd going, which is why you put him in a spot like this.

We take a very quick look at Stephanie’s announcement from Raw.

From Smackdown. It’s nice for a change.

Carmella vs. Becky Lynch

Non-title but Becky gets a Summerslam title shot if she wins. Becky goes straight for the arm to start but Carmella hits her in the face. A trip to the floor goes badly for Becky and we take an early break. Back with Becky starting her comeback, meaning it’s time for clotheslines. There’s the Bexploder but Becky misses the top rope legdrop. Carmella kicks her in the face for two and frustration is setting in. Not that it matters as the Disarm-Her sends Becky to Summerslam at 7:10.

Rating: D+. I really could go for eliminating the “here’s a match to set up the same match” booking trope. Becky getting the title shot makes sense and I could certainly go for her winning the title, but they need to have a slightly better match next time. Then again, that’s not likely with Carmella in there.

From Smackdown again.

Here are Miz, Maryse and their daughter to wrap things up. Miz says we’re here to talk about the future instead of relics like Daniel Bryan. He introduces Maryse, who claims that the evolution started with her. Miz introduces his daughter, who has accomplished more in her life than Daniel Bryan (Graves made the same joke about Saxton). The fans chant for Monroe but the mere mention of Bryan has put her to sleep.

We get a clip of the show, which is a highlight of bad moments in Miz’s life and career. Bryan pops up on screen to apologize to Miz but then realizes he should do this to Miz’s face. Here’s Bryan in the arena to beat up Miz’s security but Miz throws the baby to him, revealing it to be a doll. That means a Skull Crushing Finale and a rant from Miz about how the baby earlier was an actor. Like he’d bring his real daughter to a city like this and if you want to see Monroe Sky, watch the show.

Video on WWE winning the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Award.

Chad Gable/No Way Jose vs. Ascension

Gable spins out of Viktor’s wristlock to start and slaps on an armbar. Konnor comes in and plows through Gable as we take a break. Back with Gable getting dragged into the wrong corner so a spinebuster can get two. Gable fights out of a chinlock and brings in Jose as everything breaks down. Konnor breaks up a cover but goes to the floor with Gable, leaving Viktor to take the pop up right hand for the pin at 8:16.

Rating: D+. What does it say when you’re losing to a make shift team of jobbers to the stars? Neither Jose nor Gable have anything going for them at the moment other than being thrown into a match here or there and now Ascension is losing to them too. I’m not surprised, but I am rather sad about seeing them fall so far.

Video on Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns.

We look at James Ellsworth being fired, allowing Samoa Joe to attack AJ Styles and become #1 contender.

From Raw.

Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner gets Lesnar for the title at Summerslam. Reigns starts fast with the clothesline for an early two and they fight to the floor. The apron dropkick is countered into an overhead belly to belly suplex to put Reigns down and send us to a break. Back with Lashley nailing a spinebuster and grabbing a surfboard.

Reigns gets up and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. They slug it out with Reigns getting the better of it and lifting Lashley to the apron, only to charge into a hard clothesline. Back in and Lashley counters the Superman Punch into a full nelson, followed by a headlock on the mat. Reigns fights up again and sends him shoulder first into the corner, meaning we get the multiple clotheslines.

Lashley is right back with a spinebuster but the spear is countered with….I’m not sure as it looked like it was supposed to be a leap frog but Reigns kneed/thighed him in the face instead. The Superman Punch gets two and Lashley rolls outside for a breather. Reigns slowly follows but can’t get the belly to belly. Instead Lashley throws him back inside for the spear and a rather near fall in a call back to Extreme Rules. Another Superman Punch rocks Lashley and the spear sends Reigns to Summerslam at 18:04.

Rating: B. I mean, is it really even surprising at this point? They’ve gone around the horn so far now that Reigns winning so often has gone from surprising to not surprising to surprising again and now back to not surprising. Who cares if this match makes Reigns 1-1 vs. Lashley? It gives Reigns another chance to fight Lesnar in the most non-epic epic feud that they’ve ever put together.

Lashley and Reigns shake hands and Lashley can barely stand in the aisle. A lot of posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s amazing how much better this show is when we ca get a balanced look at Raw and Smackdown. The show was perfectly watchable and covered the biggest stories of the week, with only a little bit from the Stephanie announcement. The lack of hearing about it every ten seconds made this week that much easier to listen to and this served as a rather good recap of what happened. As usual, blue makes things better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 19, 2018
Location: Keybank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

The road to Summerslam has begun and we’re getting a better idea of what’s coming on this year’s show. That means we can start the build towards the show, meaning a lot of things would be set up on this week’s TV. Hopefully Main Event reflects the upgrades so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Curt Hawkins

Hawkins throws him down to start and stops for a little dance, which is straight up gimmick infringement. A shoulder puts Hawkins down and now we get the real dancing. There’s an airplane spin and Hawkins does a funny stagger into the fall but pops up to knock Jose off the ropes. Back in and a suplex gets two on Jose, followed by the chinlock. Jose fights up with a flapjack and middle rope crossbody, followed by the pop up right hand for the pin at 5:30.

Rating: D+. This is about as good of a place as Jose is going to be in for the time being as he got to hype up the crowd to start the evening and then wins an easy match. I’m a little annoyed that they dropped the push for Hawkins to win a match on Raw as it’s back to the usual for what he’s doing. It does say something that he has something on Main Event, which doesn’t exactly have much continuity.

We get a very abbreviated version of Monday’s opening segment between Kurt Angle and Paul Heyman with Nigel narrating about everyone coming to the ring to set up the triple threats.

From Raw.

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor

McIntyre chops both of them to start but Balor knocks them both to the floor for a big flip dive. Back in and McIntyre takes over again, including a big boot to the corner on Reigns. Balor gets knocked to the floor and McIntyre hammers on Reigns as he’s been by far the most dominant so far.

We come back from a break with McIntyre still in control but Reigns makes the fired up (well the Raw version of Reigns being fired up) comeback. The apron dropkick hits McIntyre but Balor stomps him down. McIntyre follows it with a big flip dive over the top so Balor double stomps him as well. Back in and the Coup de Grace is loaded up but McIntyre chairs Balor off the top. Reigns gets sent into the post and we take another break.

Back again with Reigns’ Superman Punch being countered into a spinebuster for two. Balor is back in with the chair to McIntyre though and then unloads on Reigns with the chair. Instead of covering him though, Balor goes outside to dropkick McIntyre, who gets speared through the barricade. Back in, Reigns Superman Punches Balor for two but Balor dropkicks him into the corner.

The Coup de Grace gets two with McIntyre making a last second save. Reigns and McIntyre mistime a sequence where the Claymore was supposed to be Superman Punched, instead making it McIntyre stopping to get punched. The spear ends Balor to give Reigns the pin at 22:01.

Rating: B. I’m trying really hard to believe that Reigns won’t be getting the title shot and while I’m still not convinced that he will be, you never can put it past WWE. I do like the idea of McIntyre moving up to the main event scene, even if this is just a one off time. At least he didn’t take the pin and it’s not like anyone buys Balor as a top star anymore. Reigns winning was pretty obvious though and while it’s annoying, you have to know it’s coming.

Video on Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax from Extreme Rules.

From Raw.

Here are Bliss and Mickie James to brag about beating Jax again last night. Bliss says it wasn’t hard to outsmart Jax last night and she has now beaten everyone in that locker room. Ronda Rousey doesn’t count because she’s suspended and therefore not in the locker room. Cue Rousey through the crowd to cut them off before they can leave though, meaning it’s the spinning Samoan drop to James.

Bliss pulls her away from the armbar just in time but Rousey isn’t done and jumps onto the two of them and the referees. That means an armbar for Bliss but Angle comes out to calm things down. Angle tells her to go home and sit out her suspension so here’s Corbin to say make a decision. Kurt extends the suspension by a week but Corbin freaks, saying he’ll call Stephanie RIGHT NOW. Well he will once he finds his phone. Angle has the phone and says Rousey can have the match with Bliss at Summerslam for the Women’s Title, provided she doesn’t attack Bliss again before then.

Stills of Braun Strowman throwing Kevin Owens off the cage to give Owens the win. If you don’t want Strowman to lose, don’t book a match like this.

Video on the B Team winning the Tag Team Titles and their long celebration.

Chad Gable/Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Revival/Mike Kanellis

Slater headlocks Kanellis down to start and it’s a quick six man staredown. Gable and Dawson come in to fight over a wristlock before Gable easily wins a mat sequence. Everything breaks down and the villains are cleared out as we take a break. Back with Gable fighting out of a chinlock and shrugging off Wilder for the hot tag to Rhyno. Slater and Gable are sent outside and the Shatter Machine finishes Rhyno at 7:37.

Rating: D+. This felt like it was missing a good bit, likely due to time constraints. It’s always nice to see the Revival get a win though and it’s not like Rhyno taking a fall is going to hurt him. Gable needs something to do though as he’s WAY too talented to be stuck doing nothing like this.

We see the very end of Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton’s brutal post match beatdown on Hardy. That ear thing was sick.

From Raw.

Seth Rollins vs. Elias vs. Bobby Lashley

Elias jumps Rollins on the floor before the bell but Rollins says start it up anyway. Rollins sends him outside so Lashley headlocks Rollins down. That goes nowhere so Elias gets knocked off the apron again, leaving Lashley to send Rollins to the floor. The springboard is kicked out of the air, only to have Elias come back in with a jumping knee. Another knee gets two on Rollins and we take a break.

Back with Elias getting beaten up by both guys until Lashley snaps off a belly to belly. Rollins and Elias are sent to the floor with Lashley following, only to be sent into the post to slow him down for the first time. Elias gets two off a top rope elbow and Rollins follows with the frog splash.

Lashley rolls outside, leaving Elias to counter the superplex attempt. There’s no followup though as Lashley takes Rollins’ place on top, only to get buckle bombed by Rollins. Now the superplex into the falcon Arrow can get two on Elias so there’s the delayed vertical suplex on Rollins. The spear hits post so Rollins rolls him up for two. The Stomp is loaded up but Elias pulls Rollins to the floor. That delay allows Lashley to spear him down for the pin at 17:36.

Rating: C+. Much like in the first match, they got the ending right and Lashley vs. Reigns should be good again. I mean, assuming they don’t go with the triple threat, which wouldn’t be a surprise in the slightest. Rollins has been on enough of a roll that he deserves a chance, but I could see him facing Ziggler in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title.

Overall Rating: C-. Why do they even pretend that Smackdown matters? This show was about 90% Raw, with the both original matches and most of the clips are from there as well. They’re just having a Raw recap show at this point, which isn’t really surprising given that Smackdown didn’t even make the Summerslam poster. The triple threats more than carry this one but my goodness it’s sad watching the Smackdown crew working so hard and getting no respect whatsoever.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 12, 2018
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home week for Extreme Rules and my goodness that doesn’t exactly bode well for the things they’ll be recapping here. This show has been one of the weakest builds in recent memory and while Smackdown was better this week, Raw was its usual horrid self. How often do I have to say something like this anymore? Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Titus Worldwide vs. Authors of Pain

Crews does what he can with Akam but gets tossed into the corner, followed by Rezar tossing him right back out of said corner. It’s back to Akam for a cobra clutch and a t-bone suplex but Crews sends him into the corner as well. The hot tag brings in Titus to show off some power, including a powerslam for two on Akam. Not that it matters as the Last Chapter is good for the pin at 4:22.

Rating: D+. Actually not too bad here as they kept it moving and the Authors got to look good. The important thing here is to have the Authors establish themselves on the main roster and beating up teams like this is a great way to start that process. It’s nothing great and it won’t mean anything, but at least they’re getting the idea right.

Video on Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns.

From Raw.

Lashley and Reigns are in the back, arguing about Reigns going to the ring. Lashley wants Reigns to call him out as a DANIEL BRYAN chant drowns out some of whatever they’re saying. Lashley steps to the side and tells Reigns to carry on.

Here’s Reigns in the ring for a chat and he wastes no time in calling Lashley out. Before anything can happen though, here’s Kurt Angle, flanked by Baron Corbin, to interrupt. Angle wants them to save it for Sunday but the brawl is on anyway. A bunch of midcarders can’t break it up and the fight breaks out over and over again. Reigns is finally taken to the floor as Finn Balor gets in a shot on Corbin for a nice bit of continuity.

The fight keeps breaking out with even more people coming out and failing to separate them. Lashley keeps punching and throws Reigns inside but is finally pushed to the back. Reigns isn’t done though and hits the BIG dive over the top to take out about twenty people at the same time. Reigns’ music plays but he comes back AGAIN and dives at Lashley. Really, really solid segment here but it’s going to be annoying when this headlines again over the World Title. Also, they need to bring this intensity to the match instead of the boring match Reigns and Samoa Joe had at Backlash.

Again from Raw.

Nia Jax/Natalya vs. Mickie James/Alexa Bliss

Natalya wastes no time in trying a Sharpshooter on James but gets kicked away, allowing the tag to Bliss. The same Sharpshooter attempt sends Bliss bailing to the floor so Natalya baseball slides both villains down. Back from an early break with Natalya being sent into the corner so Bliss can hit her running slap. We hit the chinlock so IT’S TIME FOR AN INSET PROMO FOR SUNDAY! Sweet, I was worried that we wouldn’t get these stupid things again. Back to full screen with Natalya getting over for the hot tag to Nia, who starts wrecking Mickie. The splash in the corner sets up the big leg to give Nia the pin at 8:09.

Rating: D. Well what we saw was decent, but the inset promo felt like a second commercial. That and Nia just running over everyone has been done, especially since it’s a near guarantee that she loses on Sunday, allowing Bliss to go to Summerslam and hang with Ronda Rousey for a long match. Just not enough content here to make it work.

Immediately after the pin, Bliss hits Jax in the back with a kendo stick. The stick is quickly taken away and broken as Bliss runs away in a hurry.

Video on Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman.

Curt Hawkins vs. Chad Gable

Hawkins takes him down with a wristlock and actually gets a LET’S GO HAWKINS chant. Gable easily wins the second wristlock battle and armdrags him into an armbar. A monkey flip sends Hawkins flying but he rams Gable throat first into the rope. Back from a break with Hawkins getting two off a Michinoku Driver in a near fall. A powerbomb is loaded up but Gable slips out and sends him into the corner for Rolling Chaos Theory and the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C-. I know it’s not likely to go anywhere anytime soon but Hawkins is getting closer to actually winning a match. I’m not sure if they’ll ever actually pull the trigger and have him win something but at least they’re not having it be squash after squash. Hawkins can put on a good enough match and that’s what he did here, with Gable getting to look good in the end.

We see the big brawl that opened Smackdown and set up the main event.

New Day/HELL NO vs. Bludgeon Brothers/Sanity

In kayfabe, that’s some pretty awesome timing for the production staff to know when the match is going to grind to a halt so these videos can air. Back to full screen with Dain hitting a backsplash, just in time to go to a commercial. We’re not even nine minutes into this match and we’ve had two commercials and an inset promo. I know this is crazy for a fan to say, but I’d actually like to watch the match instead of an ad every three minutes.

Back with Woods still in trouble and Harper’s Michinoku Driver getting two. New Day makes the save, allowing Woods to hit his springboard tornado DDT on Harper. The hot tag brings in Bryan to hammer on Young as everything breaks down. We hit a parade of secondary finishers until Big E. spears Dain off the apron. Back in and Bryan knees Young down for the pin at 16:41.

Rating: C+. Well what we saw of it was good. A match that isn’t even eighteen minutes long doesn’t need two breaks and an inset promo as a mini break, but WWE has too much stuff to advertise to do a match like this uninterrupted. If nothing else Sanity getting this kind of push (two months after being announced) out of the shoot is nice, and odds are they win on Sunday.

And from Raw one more time.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

If Rollins wins, Drew is banned from ringside on Sunday. McIntyre powers him into the corner with ease to start, allowing McIntyre to do his kneeling pose. A dropkick has almost no effect and McIntyre runs him over with a shoulder. It’s off to an armbar with McIntyre in full control so far. A chinlock keeps Rollins in trouble and McIntyre chops him back down to set up another armbar.

McIntyre drives him back first into the apron and we take a break. Back with Rollins flying off an overhead belly to belly and some stomps to the arm setting up yet another armbar. Rollins fights up and finally gets a breather by sending McIntyre face first into the middle buckle. McIntyre heads to the floor for back to back suicide dives, followed by the middle rope Blockbuster for a near fall of his own.

A charge in the corner goes badly for Rollins though as McIntyre grabs a reverse Alabama Slam, sending Rollins face first into the mat on a nasty looking landing. A sitout powerbomb gets two more but McIntyre gets caught up top, allowing Rollins to kick him into the Tree of Woe. That’s fine with Drew, who sits up and superplexes Rollins back down.

The Claymore is blocked with a superkick into the Falcon Arrow to rock McIntyre. It doesn’t rock him enough though as McIntyre scores with a headbutt, which seems to fire McIntyre up all over again. Rollins is fine enough to hit a Buckle Bomb and low superkick, followed by a curb stomp to an invading Ziggler. The distraction is enough for McIntyre to hit the Claymore for the pin at 21:06.

Rating: B. Now that’s more like it as this show was needing a long, good match to really boost things up. Thankfully they seem to have started planting the seeds for McIntyre to split from Ziggler but that needs to happen around Summerslam or so because Ziggler is already getting way too much focus by comparison. At least McIntyre won here though, as a loss would have been a rather bad idea.

Overall Rating: D+. Holy sweet merciful goodness what has happened to Smackdown? I mean I know it’s just Smackdown being Smackdown but egads this was basically the Raw highlight show with Smackdown being thrown in at the end. That was the case with Extreme Rules as well and it’s becoming more of a problem every week. Just pretend it matters. Is that too much to ask.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 5, 2018
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

Oh come on already. Do I really need to watch Monday Night Raw all over again? Anything related with that show is going to be a chore at this point but that’s what we have to work with here. Well that and the Smackdown stuff which was perfectly watchable, although not exactly great. In other words I’m not sure what to expect here but it might not be the best thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ascension vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno

The ECW chants start up but switch to HE’S GOT KIDS in a hurry. Viktor can’t do anything with Slater so it’s off to Rhyno vs. Konnor for a power battle. A flying shoulder puts Konnor down but Rhyno charges into the buckle to put him in trouble. The fans get behind Rhyno but Konnor’s running splash into Viktor’s jumping knee doesn’t make things much better. The belly to belly gives Rhyno a breather and it’s back to Slater off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Rhyno is sent to the floor, leaving Slater to take the Fall of Man for the pin at 5:07.

Rating: D. Just a Main Event match, but that’s the first time Ascension has won a match since February 7, 2017 in a twelve person tag. It’s their first two on two tag win since Superstars in February 2016. That’s getting up there in Curt Hawkins territory and I have no idea why they weren’t given at least a mini push at some point. Make them a one off challengers for the titles or something but don’t let them sit around doing nothing. What’s the point of calling them up in the first place?

From Raw.

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre

Ziggler and Rollins start with an early cradle getting two on Seth. Another rollup gets the same so Seth dropkicks him into the corner. Drew comes in to run Rollins over and a shove by the throat puts him down again. It’s off to Reigns who is powered into the corner so Drew can punch him in the head.

The Samoan drop is broken up and McIntyre runs Reigns over again. A superkick gives Ziggler two but one heck of a right hand knocks him out of the air. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Rollins as the pace picks up. A suicide dive hits McIntyre and an apron kick into the frog splash gets two with McIntyre diving in for the save. Rollins and Ziggler exchange rollups until Dolph is sent to the floor.

That means a dive off the post to both villains and we take a break because the match needs to keep going instead of going home after a hot ten minutes. Back with Rollins fighting out of Ziggler’s sleeper and sending him into the corner. McIntyre is right around the other side to pull Reigns off and break up the hot tag, so Rollins kicks him in the face. Now it’s time for the hot tag but the Revival pulls Reigns off the apron for the DQ at 15:49.

Rating: C+. Good match here and they got the ending right. You don’t want the champ, McIntyre or Rollins taking a fall here and Reigns isn’t going to lose so the DQ is as good of an idea as you can get. This was starting to rock before the break and would have been great if they just wrapped it up there but I’ll take what I can get.

Post match the Revival beats Reigns down as Rollins takes the Claymore/Zig Zag combo. Reigns takes a Shatter Machine for a bonus.

From Raw again.

Revival vs. Bobby Lashley/Roman Reigns

Reigns and Dawson start things off with Roman powering him into the corner. Dawson takes a breather on the floor and Reigns refuses to tag Lashley in. Back in and Dawson punches away at Reigns’ ribs, which were banged up earlier tonight. Some stomps set up a bodyscissors to keep Reigns in trouble as he can’t get anything going.

A gutbuster gives Wilder two and another shot to the ribs cuts off Reigns’ comeback. There’s a hard whip into the corner to cut Dawson off but Reigns still won’t tag. Instead it’s Lashley coming in without a tag for a pair of spinebusters but Reigns shakes off the offer of a tag. Revival unloads on him in the corner and that’s a DQ at 7:11.

Rating: C. It was much more about the angle than the match but I’ll take the Revival not looking like a pair of losers for a change. I could go for a lot more of the Revival, but that just doesn’t seem to be in the cards around here. Reigns vs. Lashley should be fine and if they make Revival look a little more valuable in the process, so be it.

Post match Lashley walks away while Reigns takes another Shatter Machine and a top rope splash. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!”

From Smackdown.

Usos vs. HELL NO

If the Usos win, they’re added to the Tag Team Title match at Extreme Rules. Bryan drop toeholds Jimmy down to start and puts on the surfboard. A corner dropkick seems to wake Jimmy up for some reason so it’s off to Jey, who gets dropkicked as well. Kane comes in and misses an elbow but shoves both twins over the top at once. They pull Kane out with them though and it’s back to back dives to drop Bryan and Kane as we take a break.

Back with Bryan speeding up things up and hitting another running dropkick on Jey in the corner. There’s a super hurricanrana and the YES Kicks have Jey in even more trouble. The Usos finally get their stuff together and take Bryan down with Jimmy stomping away in the corner. A backbreaker/middle rope chop combination gets two and the Usos make a wish on Bryan’s legs.

Back up and a double clothesline allows the hot tag to Kane but he’s kicked to the floor without much effort. Jey charges into an uppercut but it’s time for the superkicks. Back to back double superkicks put Bryan down and get two on Kane and it’s time to go up. The Double Us is caught by the throat, allowing Bryan to knee Jey down and Kane to chokeslam Jimmy for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C. Kane looked REALLY bad here, barely able to move and not doing much of anything other than being knocked back a few steps and signature stuff. The guy is 50 years old and barely even wrestles part time anymore, but his talking and character stuff is still more than enough reason to have him around. Bryan worked most of the match and was his usual self, but the important thing was they got the finish right.

Bryan and Kane do the YES pose and hug, only to be cut off by the Bludgeon Brothers. A big staredown ends the show.

Quick look at Rusev attacking AJ Styles on Smackdown.

Jinder Mahal vs. Zack Ryder

Mahal works the arm to start but walks into a dropkick to put him on the floor. Back in and Ryder’s backslide gets two but Mahal kicks him in the face. A faceplant and corner forearm look to set up the Broski Boot, the threat of which sends Mahal bailing to the floor as we take a break. Back with Mahal choking in the corner and grabbing a chinlock. Mahal’s suplex gets two and it’s right back to the chinlock. Ryder fights up with the usual, including the middle rope dropkick. A Sunil Singh distraction breaks up the Broski Boot and the Khallas gives Mahal the pin at 10:13.

Rating: D. I’m not sure why it took over a year for WWE to figure out but this is pretty much Mahal’s comfort zone: boring matches against lower level competition with no chance of elevation. He’s just not that good and having him in a prominent position on television doesn’t work for anyone but him. I’m hoping the experiment is over, just for the sake of my sanity.

We look at Braun Strowman wrecking Kevin Owens’ car.

From Raw.

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Owens gets shoved down, rolls outside and runs away for the countout at 51 seconds.

Strowman gives chase so Owens runs into his car, only to not have his keys. Instead, he hides in a well placed portable toilet as Strowman arrives. The fans try to tell Strowman where Owens is as Strowman looks into the car window. He teases going back inside but puts the pieces together. Using a falsetto voice, Strowman asks if anyone is in there and Owens gives himself away.

Strowman wraps duct tape around the thing to seal Owens inside before dragging the toilet and Owens back into the building. We watch as Strowman drags him all the way back into the arena (which takes a good few minutes) and up onto the stage. Of course it’s knocked off the stage and Owens emerges covered in blue liquid. If you listen carefully, you can hear Vince dying with laughter about Owens being “COVERED IN BLUE STUFF” for the next five hours to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh now you knew they were showing the whole ending to Raw here. For them that’s comedy gold and while I have no idea how that can be seen as the best idea, there’s a good chance that we’re going to be hearing about it more over the next few weeks. This was a dreadful show after a dreadful Raw with even the clipped version not being worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: June 21, 2018
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

We’re FINALLY at a fresh set of stories as Money in the Bank is done, which is one of the best things in the world that could have happened. Things hit the ground running this week as we only have four weeks to go before Extreme Rules. This was a big week of television and there’s a lot to cover so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

Nese throws a right hand and poses so Metalik hits him right back, sending Nese into the corner. That earns Metalik a legsweep but he avoids a Lionsault. Nese bails to the floor and pulls him face first into the apron though as they’re not exactly doing anything major at the moment. Back in and a bodyscissors keeps Metalik in trouble but he’s right back up with a high crossbody to rock Nese. Metalik goes up again but has to crotch Nese to avoid some pain. The Metalik Driver is broken up and Nese’s running knee in the corner is good for the pin at 5:01.

Rating: D+. Again, I have no idea what I’m supposed to get out of seeing the same cruiserweights fight every week. We know they’re there and they’re on 205 Live every week, so it’s just two shows where I don’t have to pay much attention to either person. It’s not a bad match, but I’ve already forgotten a good chunk of what happened. There’s nothing that makes them stand out, and this is no different.

We look at Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey from Sunday.

From Raw.

Kurt Angle is in the ring to introduce Bliss, whose title is sitting on a table. He hands her the title and announces that Nia is cashing in her rematch at Extreme Rules. Bliss thanks the fans for giving her the opportunity to rub it in our faces, which draws a WE WANT RONDA chant. It’s all about Bliss now so cue a ticked off Ronda but Angle gets in her way. Alexa laughs all of this off because everything she did was perfectly legal.

It’s obvious that Ronda is upset because the stories were all about Bliss last night. Now, Rousey is just irrelevant. That’s enough for Rousey, who runs over Angle and hits Bliss in the back with the briefcase. She beats Angle up with it as well and takes out some referees for good measure. One heck of a powerbomb drops Bliss through a table.

Post replays, Angle suspends Rousey for 30 days.

Post break, Rousey promises to be back in thirty days to take care of Bliss, champion or not.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Carmella to get things going in the arena. Carmella talks about having self esteem issues when she was growing up because she never felt good enough. Then she started writing her own story and she saw something in herself that no one ever saw. Everyone out there needs to look in the mirror and repeat these words: Mella is MONEY! Why would someone like her ever have self confidence? She’s been moon walking and trash talking since she was a baby so everyone needs to just give up. Carmella brags about all of her accomplishments, which she has done completely on her own.

Cue Asuka, or at least James Ellsworth in Asuka gear. Ellsworth says no one was ready for Asuka and offers some praise to Carmella, saying she’s better than several women, including Trish, Lita, Rousey, and Mother Teresa. Now it’s the real Asuka, without robe or mask, coming to the ring to take Ellsworth down. Carmella uses the distraction to deck Asuka and wrap things up. I’m so glad they brought Ellsworth back for this role when there are probably a dozen people on the roster with nothing to do.

From Raw again.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about how far Elias took him last night. That’s what Seth wanted though, because it’s what it means to be the Intercontinental Champion. Let’s keep that going right now with an OPEN CHALLENGE.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is challenging and there goes some of the energy. Rollins knocks him to the floor and we take a very early break. Back with Ziggler throwing him back inside and kicking at the knee. A whip into the corner turns Seth upside down for two and we hit the chinlock. Rollins fights up….and the USA Network goes out. The feed comes back in a commercial so we eventually come back to Ziggler taking the Fameasser.

A superkick gives Rollins two but Ziggler heads up top. Rollins catches him again and rolls through a high crossbody. The buckle bomb connects but Drew McIntyre offers a distraction, allowing Ziggler to roll him up with tights for the pin and the title at 18:26. Too much was missed by the outage but this was the same match you would expect from these two.

Quick look at the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

Authors of Pain vs. Breezango

Oh yeah the Authors still exist. Akam shoves Breeze around to start but gets kicked in the face to put the big man on the floor. Rezar comes in but the double belly to back is broken up as well and it’s off to Fandango. That’s about all the good things there are to say about Fandango at this point as the middle rope stomp/backbreaker combination has him in trouble. Back from an abrupt break with Breeze Supermodel Kicking Akam, only to walk into the Last Chapter for the pin at 6:05. Not enough shown to rate but it was a squash.

We wrap it up with a very shortened version of the Smackdown gauntlet match, just looking at the eliminations and AJ Styles coming out to stare down Rusev to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, this show almost completely depends on what you get on Raw and Smackdown, so this week was a pretty easy sit. They were smart to keep things short with the gauntlet match as it could have covered the length of this show. The original content on here was nothing special, but with two short matches it’s hard to get annoyed. Completely fine show, but really just a recap hour.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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