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

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

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

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

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

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

Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on the Usos’ Tag Team Title reign.

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

New Day vs. Maximum Male Models

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

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

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

Braun Strowman vs. Otis

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

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

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

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

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

Dakota Kai vs. Raquel Rodriguez

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

Los Lotharios jump Hit Row, who swear revenge.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Brawling Brutes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ricochet vs. Sami Zayn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT North American Title: Solo Sikoa vs. Madcap Moss

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Smackdown
Date: September 9, 2022
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

Clash At The Castle has come and gone and that means it is time for the setup to Extreme Rules. The show is in less than a month and since there is not likely to be a Roman Reigns match, we’ll need a new main event. That could go in a few different ways and we might get an indication of that this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash At The Castle if you need a recap.

We open with a look at Solo Sikoa costing Drew McIntyre the World Title at Clash At The Castle.

Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium

Kaiser knocks Holland into the corner to start so it’s off to Vinci, who gets elbowed in the head a lot. Butch works on Vinci’s fingers before Gunther comes in for the big chop. We take a break and come back with Holland being taken into the corner so Vinci can come in for a suplex. Gunther comes in for some chops but Holland busts Vinci’s spine, allowing the tag to Butch. Everything breaks down and it’s Gunther vs. Sheamus on the floor, which is broken up rather quickly. Back in and Vinci pulls Butch into a hard clothesline to send us to another break.

We come back again with Butch fighting out of Gunther’s Boston crab but not being able to make a tag. Gunther and Sheamus have their staredown but Butch gets in a shot of his own, allowing the tag to Sheamus. Vinci and Kaiser are taken down, setting up the twenty five forearms to the chest and related areas on Kaiser. The Irish Curse and Brogue Kick hit Vinci, who isn’t legal, allowing Kaiser to grab a rollup for two.

Holland comes back in for the big lariat on Kaiser but Gunther chops him in the back of the head. Sheamus and Gunther get in the big fight and the fans are really happy. Everything breaks down and it’s a triple fight until Holland suplexes Kaiser down HARD, with Kaiser landing on his knee (uh oh). The knee is fine enough to hit the European Bomb to finish Holland at 19:02.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here, as they seem to be building up to another Sheamus vs. Gunther showdown. Those two can beat the fire out of each other as often as they can and it probably wouldn’t get old for a long time. I’m not sure what kind of a brawl they could have at Extreme Rules, but hopefully it doesn’t get too gimmicky as that doesn’t fit for Gunther.

Condolences are given to Queen Elizabeth II.

Here are the Usos and Sami Zayn for a chat. Sami is rather fired up to be here and Jimmy seems pleased too, but Jey just glares. Jimmy talks about how deep the Bloodline runs and introduces Solo Sikoa (with a highlight package from his time in NXT because WWE is finally learning). Solo says if you create problems, he’ll finish them and he is here to stay. Cue Drew McIntyre to clear the ring with a chair, with Sami taking a shot for Sikoa.

Aliyah/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Toxic Attraction

Non-title and Toxic Attraction praises Rodriguez on the way to the ring. Jayne: “Aliyah…uh you’re pretty!”. Jayne kicks Rodriguez in the ribs to start but Rodriguez takes over without much trouble. Aliyah comes in and gets thrown at Dolin for two but gets pulled into the corner so the double teaming can begin. A running backsplash hits for Aliyah for two and Jayne cranks on both arms. Aliyah ducks a clothesline though and rolls over for the hot tag to Rodriguez. A spinning side slam drops Dolin and the twisting Vader Bomb elbow gets two. Aliyah breaks up the double suplex and the Tejana Bomb finishes Jayne at 4:58.

Rating: C-. Just like on Monday, you can’t help but feel like the titles are already in jeopardy and there is a good chance that they are changing hands next week. That is why the champs get a win here to boost them up a bit, though Aliyah continues to be little more than a person who happens to be in Rodriguez’s corner while she wrecks things. Even Toxic Attraction’s pre-match promo made it clear that Aliyah means very little, and that might come into play during the title match next week.

We recap Adam Pearce snapping on Ronda Rousey last week, with Rousey ripping his arm apart as a result.

Xia Li vs. Natalya vs. Sonya Deville vs. Lacey Evans vs. Ronda Rousey

Elimination rules for the Extreme Rules title shot against Liv Morgan (watching in a sky box). Everyone goes after Rousey to start until Natalya tries to Sharpshooter Li. That’s broken up and Rousey armbars Natalya for the tap at 1:19. Li breaks up Rousey’s armbar to Evans and Evans has to do the same for Evans.

Deville is back up for a choke to Li and Rousey armbars Evans for the stereo eliminations at 2:20. That leaves Deville vs. Rousey with Rousey taking her down and hammering away. Piper’s Pit is countered into a choke and they crash out to the floor but they’re right back in. Piper’s Pit hits Deville and an ankle lock with a grapevine finishes Deville at 4:31.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to make of this one, as Rousey just wrecked most of the Smackdown women’s division in less than five minutes. If you want to make Rousey the champion again then do it, but don’t have Morgan get destroyed at the pay per view and then keep the title on some fluke. This sets up the title match, but I’m worried about what they’ll do when they get there.

The Usos fire up Solo Sikoa when Sami Zayn interrupts for a staredown. Solo thanks him for the help out there and accepts Roman Reigns’ endorsement as proof of Sami’s status. Jey still isn’t convinced and says Solo needs to do his thing tonight. Sami is ready to go but Jey says everyone is going on there.

Shayna Baszler tells Ronda Rousey to take Liv out. That seems to work for Rousey, who seems to think she can do what Baszler couldn’t.

Maximum Male Models/Los Lotharios vs. Hit Row/Street Profits

Mansoor gets in trouble to start and the good guys chase everyone else off the apron and we take a break. Back with Adonis in trouble but Humberto accidentally takes Angel out. The hot tag brings in Dawkins to clean house as everything breaks down. Humberto breaks up the big dive so Dawkins backdrops him to the floor. Dawkins hits his own big dive and Top Dolla loads up his own, only to have Maxxine break it up. B Fab isn’t having that and the brawl is on, leaving Mace to take the Heavy Hitter for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C. They do seem to be doing something with Hit Row as the team is being treated as a threat, though having them around an established team like the Street Profits is only going to work for so long before they feel overshadowed. Granted it doesn’t help when they’re beating a team like the Models, who are little more than jokes. Los Lotharios aren’t much better, but a little variety would be good for them.

Here is the Alpha Academy for a chat. We hear about how great the team is and the catchphrase is demonstrated before Chad Gable talks about how annoyed he is at the returning Braun Strowman. More bragging and threats ensue until Strowman storms the ring and wrecks them both, including a powerbomb to Otis. That seems to work.

Drew McIntyre says Clash At The Castle should have been the greatest moment of his life but it wasn’t because of Solo Sikoa. Now it is time to face the consequences and Sikoa isn’t going to like them.

Drew McIntyre vs. Solo Sikoa

The Usos and Sami Zayn are here too. McIntyre starts fast and knocks Sikoa around without much trouble. The Futureshock connects early and Sikoa bails outside for a meeting. We take a break and come back with Sikoa holding a nerve hold. McIntyre fights up but gets knocked into the corner for the running Umaga attack. Back up and McIntyre gets in an elbow to the face but has to drop the Usos.

Sami breaks up the big flip dive and the distraction lets Sikoa hit the superkick for two. McIntyre is sent outside for the beating from the Usos but the Street Profits run in for the save. Ford hits the big dive, leaving McIntyre to Claymore Sikoa to the floor. The dive is loaded up but Karrion Kross comes in with the KrossJacket to choke McIntyre for the DQ at 10:30.

Rating: C+. They had me worried at the end there and then saved it with the interference rather than Sikoa taking the Claymore for the pin. I get that you don’t need Sikoa to get a pin over McIntyre straight off and it would be too far, but they did a nice job with finding a way out of the clean loss. Sami and the Usos continue to be a great wildcard and it could be a lot of fun to see Zayn be the one who breaks the Bloodline apart from within.

Kross chokes McIntyre out to end the show (with the camera fading to black and commentary screaming for someone to help McIntyre in a great feature).

Overall Rating: C+. Much like Raw, I’m curious about how much of this show went down this way because of the travel fatigue. They were coming off of a weird run of shows over the weekend and that might explain why this one was a bit off. They did take some steps towards Extreme Rules and you can probably guess some of the card from here. Certainly not a bad show, but nothing that has me wanting to see what is next all that badly.

Results
Imperium b. Brawling Brutes – European Bomb to Holland
Aliyah/Raquel Rodriguez b. Toxic Attraction – Tejana Bomb to Jayne
Ronda Rousey b. Xia Li, Natalya, Sonya Deville and Lacey Evans – Ankle lock to Deville
Hit Row/Street Profits b. Maximum Male Models/Los Lotharios – Heavy Hitter to Mansoor
Drew McIntyre b. Solo Sikoa via DQ when Karrion Kross interfered

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

New Day vs. Viking Raiders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Karrion Kross vs. Drew Gulak

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

Then Roman Reigns smashed more people.

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

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

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

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

Hit Row vs. Maximum Male Models

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

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

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

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

Happy Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

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

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

Connor’s Cure video.

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

Butch vs. Ludvig Kaiser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Smackdown
Date: August 26, 2022
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We are eight days away from Clash At The Castle and most of the card is set. There are still some things that need to be covered though and odds are we can get some of that this week. That would mainly include pushing the rest of the build to the matches we already have set, while probably adding in something else. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ricochet vs. Happy Corbin

Ricochet starts fast and knocks him outside before backflipping into the superhero pose. Back in and a dropkick sets up a standing shooting star press for two on Corbin. The fast starts continues as Ricochet loads up a springboard, only to get knocked out of the air. Corbin pounds away a bit but gets knocked down for another flipping dive as we take a break.

Back with Corbin hitting something like a World’s Strongest Slam onto (not through) the announcer’s table before hammering away inside. Ricochet tries a handspring and is forearmed right back down as the power keeps working for Corbin. A spinning DDT gets Ricochet out of trouble and it’s time to kick away. Deep Six gives Corbin two but Ricochet kicks him down again. The shooting star press finishes for Ricochet at 12:13.

Rating: B-. This worked well because they followed a pretty simple formula of power vs. speed. Ricochet is able to fly with the best of them and it is great to see him getting a win here. Corbin losing again is a great thing to see and it is nice to see these emotional roller coasters that he lands on so often. Good start here and the rise of Ricochet is nice to see.

Post match, Corbin stays down in the corner, leaving McAfee to bust out the telestrator to explain what a horrible person he is.

The Street Profits meet Hit Row and seem rather cool with each other.

Long video on Drew McIntyre talking about the path his career has taken to get here. This includes a bunch of really cool footage of the early days of McIntyre’s career and his rise through the ranks, from the UK to FCW. McIntyre talks about his mom getting sick and hitting rock bottom when he was fired from WWE. More on this later.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett aren’t impressed because Kross could put his elbow through McIntyre’s head at anytime.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Natalya/Sonya Deville vs. Shotzi/Xia Li vs. Tamina/Dana Brooke vs. Doudrop/Nikki Ash

This is a one fall to a finish Last Chance match as Toxic Attraction was injured and a replacement was needed. Tamina superkicks Natalya off the apron to start and hits a Samoan drop on Deville, with Doudrop having to make a save. Li comes in to suplex Nikki into the ropes before dropping her throat first onto the top. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of everyone being knocked down. With a big pile on the floor, Dana superplexes Nikki onto everyone else, with Nikki’s leg landing REALLY awkwardly. Sonya immediately throws her inside for the pin at 3:13 as I’d be shocked if we didn’t have a bad injury.

Rating: F. This was pretty terrible and I’m not even sure where to start. The biggest thing is Nikki’s leg, as she crashed hard at the end and very well might be in trouble. Other than that, Li looked lost and the match was an eight woman cluster with no one getting to shine. This was a total wreck and I’m not sure how much worse it could have been.

Video on Shayna Baszler.

Here are the Brawling Brutes, with Sheamus promising to beat the sauerkraut out of Gunther at Clash At The Castle to become the Ultimate Grand Slam Champion. Cue Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser, with Sheamus cutting Kaiser off because no one can understand him. Sheamus’ issue is with Gunther, because Sheamus is a ring general himself. Sheamus has beaten all kinds of stars around here and has won almost everything there is to win.

There are a lot of similarities between them and now Sheamus wants what Gunther has. Gunther says Sheamus is a man to be respected, but to protect the title, Gunther will teach him what violence really means. The staredown is on, even as Butch and Kaiser get in a fight. Ridge Holland is knocked outside and Kaiser and Butch are both knocked down, with Sheamus and Gunther not breaking their stare. Eventually they each grab their boys and leave, after one of the more amusing staredowns I can remember in a long time.

Sonya Deville and Natalya are ready for their semifinal match. As they talk, Nikki Ash and Doudrop are in quite the heated argument.

We look at the end of last week’s show with Sami Zayn taking the Claymore from Drew McIntyre to save Roman Reigns.

Zayn goes to see Reigns but finds the Usos instead. The Usos aren’t cool with McIntyre still walking but Reigns tells Zayn to come in. Reigns says Zayn lost but he appreciates what Zayn did to help him out. That’s something family would do and now, Reigns needs another family. He needs McIntyre distracted, which is cool with Zayn as he and McIntyre are facing each other tonight. Zayn says he has this and suggests making it a team effort. Reigns thinks this is all about Zayn though, which he can make work.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Raquel Rodriguez/Aliyah vs. Natalya/Sonya Deville

Bayley, with Iyo Sky/Dakota Kai behind her, is on commentary and Michael Cole looks crushed. Of note: the trio came to the ring before a break and the Zayn/Reigns stuff, meaning I was worried we would come back to them standing there. Instead, we came back to them at commentary, which was such a great relief that WWE stopped that dumb concept.

Anyway, Sonya gets knocked to the floor to start and Aliyah hits a Meteora off the apron. Natalya Michinoku Drivers Aliyah on the floor and we take a break. Back with Natalya breaking up the corkscrew Vader Bomb and kicking Rodriguez in the head. Rodriguez powers out of a choke but Aliyah has been knocked off the apron so Rodriguez knocks both of them down instead. The running splashes in the corner connect and there’s the corkscrew Vader Bomb to Deville. Rodriguez has to take out Natalya and gets kneed down by Deville for two. A big kick misses though and the Tejana Bomb finishes Deville at 8:13.

Rating: C. This was more or less a handicap match for Rodriguez and she continues to roll over just about anyone in front of her. That might be better to keep Aliyah away from the longer matches and let Rodriguez do just about anything. I can’t imagine they win the titles, but the title match should work out well enough.

Post match Sky and Kai come in for the staredown.

Maximum Male Models are having a photo shoot but Hit Row’s bus starts blaring music. No worries though as Maxxine has an idea.

Here is New Day, with Xavier Woods in a wheelchair (with his legs covered with a blanket) for their big return. They’re a bit serious here and talk about how they need to face reality: the Viking Raiders have been beating them up week after week. Then last week, the Raiders burned a bunch of their stuff and that has them thinking….that they’ll be interrupted by the Raiders.

Erik says this is pathetic because the New Day was giving a proper sendoff and yet here they are sniveling. The one thing a viking despises more than anything else is weakness and this groveling makes them sick. Violence is threatened but Woods whips the blanket off and the kendo stick underneath the blanket knock the Raiders outside. This could have been worse, but the feud needs to end already as it is already going too long.

The Maximum Male Models have painted HIT ROW SUCKS on the side of their bus, but Hit Row comes in to say it isn’t their bus. The Street Profits come out and glaring ensues.

Jey Uso yells at Sami Zayn to handle his business and never disrespect Jey in front of the family again.

We get the second half of the McIntyre video, featuring his return to WWE and rise to the top. Now he needs to get back to the top defeating Roman Reigns again. He promises to kick Reigns’ head off his f****** body. I’m not sure how this is going to work, but they almost have to change the title after setting up McIntyre this well.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

Zayn bails to the floor to start before catching McIntyre on the way back in. McIntyre knocks him outside though and it’s time to slug it out on the floor again. Back in again and Zayn kicks the rope into McIntyre’s leg, allowing him to hammer away. Zayn chokes away on the rope but McIntyre is getting annoyed. McIntyre unloads in the corner and there’s the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to put Zayn down again. Back up and Zayn manages a sunset bomb out of the corner to send us to a break.

Back with McIntyre snapping off an overhead belly to belly before snapping off an overhead belly to belly. There’s a neckbreaker to drop Zayn but here are the Usos for a distraction, allowing Zayn to grab the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. McIntyre shrugs that off and hits the Claymore for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C+. This was almost guaranteed to be at least pretty good and that’s what we got here. McIntyre winning is no surprise as he has a major title match coming up. Zayn on the other hand is on a roll right now and doing some of his best work in years. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him change sides sooner rather than later, perhaps teaming up with Kevin Owens to go after the Tag Team Titles. Nice main event here though, and that’s all it needed to be.

Post match Roman Reigns comes in and the big beatdown is on, with the spear setting up a bunch of chair shots. McIntyre gets sent into various things on the floor, followed by Reigns guillotining him back inside. Reigns puts a chair over McIntyre and sits down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show was up and down, with the main focus being on the World Title match and everything else being a pretty hard step down. Other than a nice opener and the awkwardly amusing Sheamus/Gunther faceoff, there wasn’t much of value on the whole show. That four way women’s tag was just awful on every level and one of the worst TV matches I’ve seen in a long time. The show as a whole was ok enough, but the bad part was dreadful and the good didn’t bring it to a higher level.

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

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

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

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

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

The police car pulls away and Roman Reigns arrives.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns.

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

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

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

Liv Morgan vs. Shotzi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shinsuke Nakamura is ready for Gunther.

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

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

Brandon Scott/Trevor Irvin vs. Hit Row

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

Post match Hit Row reintroduces themselves.

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

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

Gunther promises to make Shinsuke Nakamura suffer.

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

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

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

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

Drew McIntyre/??? vs. Usos

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Gunther.

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

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

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: July 29, 2022
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

This is going to be a weird one as it’s the go home show for Summerslam so there won’t be much in the way of moving forward to the show, but there is a #1 contenders match for the next major show. At the same time, this is the first television show with no influence from Vince McMahon following his departure from the company. Let’s get to it.

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

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

Donnybrook match, meaning street fight, and the winner gets a World Title shot at Clash At The Castle. Sheamus jumps McIntyre during his entrance and they start fast with McIntyre being thrown inside for the opening bell. A Michinoku Driver gets McIntyre out of trouble and it’s time for the Shillelagh. That doesn’t work yet so McIntyre grabs a table, only to be sent into the steps (near the makeshift bar).

They get back inside with Sheamus whipping out the cut Shillelagh from last week to beat on McIntyre even more. Twenty forearms to the chest rock McIntyre even more and they go back to the floor. This time Sheamus’ suplex through a table is countered into a suplex from McIntyre, who whips him into various objects to make it worse. Sheamus gets whipped through some barrels and we take a break.

Back with Sheamus hitting a powerslam but McIntyre sends him into the corner. Some belly to belly suplexes and a neckbreaker before piling up some chairs. White Noise is countered into Futureshock onto the chairs for a near fall. That’s enough for Ridge Holland to come in for a cheap shot on McIntyre, who beats the fire out of Holland.

A belly to belly suplex sends Holland through a table at ringside and we take another break. Back again with McIntyre in the Tree of Woe but sitting up for something like a belly to belly superplex. McIntyre gets back down, earning himself an Alabama Slam to give Sheamus two. They head back outside with Sheamus being sent into the bar, knocking down photos of Sheamus’ grandparents.

Butch dives off some barrels to take McIntyre down (because of course he does) and Sheamus breaks a bar stool over McIntyre for a big crash. White Noise gets two, so Butch brings out a REALLY BIG Shillelagh. McIntyre gets in a Glasgow Kiss to knock it out of Sheamus’ hands though and house is cleaned, including a Claymore to Butch. The distraction lets Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick for a rather close two and frustration sets further in. Another Brogue Kick is countered into a powerbomb through a table, setting up a Claymore for the pin at 26:35.

Rating: B+. You can tell if Sheamus gets into a match by how badly his hair gets covered in sweat. This was like a pay per view match the night before a pay per view as these guys beat the fire out of each other. Even if McIntyre was all but guaranteed to win here, it was a very good fight on the way there, which is pretty obvious when these two are in the ring together. Awesome fight and the extra time helped it a lot.

Post match McIntyre thanks the fans and promises to win the title from a part time champion…and then gets jumped by Theory with a briefcase shot.

We look at Happy Corbin jumping Pat McAfee last week and their ensuing brawl.

Corbin has a ticket and sits in the front row, complete with a bag of popcorn and a sign with McAfee’s face and the word LOSER. McAfee has to hold himself back.

We look at Seth Rollins attacking Riddle, resulting in Riddle being pulled from Summerslam due to injury.

We run down the Summerslam card, with McAfee complaining about Corbin throwing popcorn at him the entire time.

McAfee gets in Corbin’s face but officials come out to hold them back. Corbin throws the bag of popcorn at him and jumps the barricade, where he kicks McAfee low when McAfee’s back is turned.

Theory knows a lot of people are after him, but he doesn’t care because he’s winning the US Title and cashing in Money In The Bank at Summerslam. Paul Heyman comes up and the two go off for a chat.

Aliyah vs. Shotzi

Shotzi jumps her to start and pounds away, setting up a Boston crab. That’s broken up with a grab of the rope and Aliyah starts striking away. Aliyah knocks her outside and hits a Meteora off the apron but Shotzi knocks her down again. Back in and Never Wake Up finishes Aliyah at 3:27.

Rating: D+. This felt like filler but I’ll take Shotzi getting some TV time. It’s better than having Lacey Evans do the same thing over and over again and if Shotzi gets a chance, good for her. Nothing match of course, but were you expecting anything more from Aliyah? I get why she’s there, but at some point she needs to be able to do something other than smile.

We look at Sonya Deville complaining during a commercial last week and getting beaten up by Ronda Rousey.

Rousey and Liv Morgan are glaring at each other in the back when Natalya comes in to mock her. Deville comes in and cuts them both off….and Rousey just leaves so the other three can keep arguing. Morgan starts talking and we cut to the ring where Shotzi is running her mouth. Rousey comes out and beats her up before taking the mic. Rousey to a fan: “YOU SHUT UP AND YOUR MOM FAILED YOU!” After that great line, she calls out Morgan to show these people why they’re fighting tomorrow night.

Liv Morgan/Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya/Sonya Deville

The audio sounds very different for some reason. Natalya takes over on Rousey to start but gets knocked into the corner for the tag off to Morgan. Deville comes in as well, with Morgan taking her down rather quickly. Rousey is back in and yells at Morgan, who has to duck Deville’s clothesline. The ankle lock is broken up though and it’s back to Morgan, who gets tossed to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Deville hitting a running knee for two on Morgan and the villains taking turns with the beatdown. An enziguri gets Morgan out of trouble as she and Deville are both down. Morgan won’t tag out though and gets discus clotheslined to give Natalya two. Natalya gets sent into the corner for a breather but Morgan still won’t tag. That’s fine with Rousey, who tags herself in and cleans house as everything breaks down. Oblivion to Natalya sets up the ankle lock to make Deville tap at 11:40.

Rating: C+. They had a story here as Morgan is still trying to prove herself despite being the champion. That is the kind of thing that has been lacking from a lot of WWE matches in recent years, as there was enough of a spin on this to get what they were going for while keeping things fresh. Now just don’t screw things up and have Rousey get the title back or have Charlotte take it from Morgan in a month and we might be somewhere.

The staredown is on post match.

Here are the Street Profits and the Usos for the official instructions from special referee Jeff Jarrett. Jeff cuts off the near brawl and says he wants to lay down the law. The Usos ask if it’s a DQ to punch Montez Ford in the face or hit them with the belts. The Profits ask if it’s a DQ if they hit Jey so hard that he comes back with his face paint back on, or if the Usos’ bodies are left laying on the mat with the Profits are the new champs.

Jarrett thinks they’re creative but says he’s not there to contain them tomorrow so get it out of your system now. The brawl is on with Jarrett failing to stay out of the way. Jimmy fires a superkick and hits Jarrett by mistake, which has him realizing he screwed up. Jarrett shoves the Usos away and the Profits clear the ring, setting up Ford’s big flip dive. It’s interesting to put Jarrett on one side, but I don’t know if I can see the Profits taking the titles.

Maxxine Dupri introduces the Maximum Male Models Summerslam Beachwear Collection, which is a bunch of beach gear with Summerslam logos. Max Dupri pops in to say they’re still looking for clients to titillate the juices. He sounded a bit more like his old self here so that might be a good sign.

New Day vs. Viking Raiders

Erik shrugs off Woods to start so Kingston springboards in with a high crossbody for one. Kingston gets driven into the corner and sent outside, where Ivar crushes him against the barricade. We take a break and come back with Kingston hitting a quick SOS, allowing the tag to Woods. A tornado DDT gets two on Ivar and there’s the dive to Erik. Everything breaks down and Ivar kicks Woods in the face for two. A double powerbomb finishes Kingston at 9:43.

Rating: C. The Raiders needed to dominate here and that is what they did for the most part. New Day has been beaten up time after time in the feud and there was no reason to mess with that this time. Just let the Raiders be built up as the next big deal, possible for the Street Profits if that is the way they go, because we could use a long break from New Day and the Usos.

Post match the Raiders beat up New Day again and Pillmanize Woods’ ankle. That might be part of the New Day break.

Here is Paul Heyman for the big push towards Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. After waiting for the crowd to do his entrance, Heyman talks about how Reigns is approaching 700 days as heavyweight champion, which has not been done in 35 years. Now Lesnar wants to play spoiler and that isn’t happening over Heyman’s dead body. Lesnar will be put down for a ten count and that will be it for him in WWE.

Cue Lesnar and Heyman knows this isn’t good. Lesnar takes his time circling Heyman but here’s Theory with a briefcase shot. That’s shrugged off and Theory is sent outside, where Drew McIntyre pops up with a Claymore to end the show. That alone is more intrigue than they’ve had to end a show in a good while and it’s not even anything great.

Overall Rating: B-. They haven’t completely shaken things up since Vince left, but you can tell that things have changed enough. There is more of a focus lately and the show was missing any of the really goofy stuff that often drags a show down. It’s the theory of “what you’re seeing now is what’s important” and that has been lacking for a long time. This was an enjoyable show and I’m wanting to see Summerslam, so nice job on doing what needed to be done this week. The big changes can come later, but this show worked out rather well.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Sheamus – Claymore
Shotzi b. Aliyah – Never Wake Up
Liv Morgan/Ronda Rousey b. Natalya/Sonya Deville – Ankle lock to Deville
Viking Raiders b. New Day – Double powerbomb to Kingston

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 8, 2022
Location: Dickie’s Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Money In The Bank and have just over three weeks before Summerslam, but because this is WWE, we need to build towards Clash At The Castle too. This week will feature Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus for the shot at Roman Reigns at the show in Wales in September. Let’s get to it.

Here is Money In The Bank if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Theory losing the US Title but then becoming Mr. Money In The Bank later in the night.

Here is the Bloodline to get things going. After their full entrance, Theory pops up on the stage, with Cole asking if he’s going to cash in Money In The Bank now. No Cole, he isn’t. After a break (meaning nothing of note has happened in nearly fifteen minutes on the air), Roman Reigns talks about how happy he is to be here, including saying that he’s hearing some mixed reactions from the fans.

As long as God wakes him up every day, he can handle anything. Now he’s here and seeing the Usos and his Special Counsel….and the Counsel looks like this. Heyman looks terrified but Reigns says it’s ok, even as he hands Heyman the microphone and asks what’s wrong. Heyman says that he loves his Tribal Chief but the problem is Brock Lesnar.

We hear about the things that Lesnar has done over the years and Heyman is worried that we’re going to have to see the savage Reigns. Putting Lesnar down for ten seconds in Lesnar’s final title shot is going to be near impossible and Reigns is going to have to do everything he can. Heyman believes in him and takes a knee, but here is Theory (who left the arena and is now coming back) to take a lap around the ring. And nothing else. This was every Reigns vs. Lesnar promo you’ve ever heard warmed up in the microwave with WWE hoping there is a bit of flavor left in it.

Video on the Viking Raiders.

Viking Raiders vs. Jinder Mahal/Shanky

Gee, I wonder if Shanky is going to dance and Jinder will get in trouble because of it. The bell rings and Shanky goes to the floor to dance, leaving Jinder to get beaten down and hit with the powerbomb for the fast pin at 1:08.

Post match the Vikings beat up Jinder again but New Day comes out. Yes the Vikings have beaten them up in recent weeks, but those were unsanctioned beatings. Therefore, New Day has cards for OFFICIAL A** BEATINGS and charges the ring. The brawl is on with New Day being destroyed in short order.

We look back at Happy Corbin jumping Pat McAfee and beating him down after Money In The Bank went off the air.

Here is Gunther for an Intercontinental Title open challenge. Ludvig Kaiser doesn’t think there is anyone worthy of this shot while Gunther says it is foolish to defend a title against someone when you don’t know they’re coming. Cue Shinsuke Nakamura to say that if Gunther isn’t ready, he’ll face Kaiser. Of note: Happy Corbin is on commentary to prove he can do what Pat McAfee can do. As Nakamura comes out, Corbin and Graves get on the announcers’ table to play their air guitars as Cole looks like he’s ready to jump off a building.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ludvig Kaiser

Nakamura takes him down but goes to yell at Gunther, allowing Kaiser to get in a cheap shot as we take a break thirty seconds in. Back with Nakamura kicking Kaiser down as Corbin talks about football. Kinshasa finishes for Nakamura at 5:35. Nowhere near enough shown to rate but this should set up the Summerslam title match.

Post match Nakamura leaves and Gunther yells at Kaiser, who gets chopped as punishment.

We recap Liv Morgan’s wild ride at Money In The Bank, resulting in her winning the Smackdown Women’s Title.

Here is Liv Morgan for a chat with Michael Cole, but first we get the YOU DESERVE IT. Morgan is rather emotional and talks about how she is going to fight to keep the title. Cue Natalya to interrupt and says she wants the title but Ronda Rousey (limping badly) interrupts as well. After sounding like she forgot where we are, she offers to kick the “credit” (yes credit) out of Natalya. That earns her a cheap shot but Natalya gets chased off as we take a break.

Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya

Rousey is in what passes for street clothes and kicks Natalya outside. Natalya teases limping out but Rousey is right back to kick her in the leg. The ankle lock on the apron sets up an ankle lock in the ring to make Natalya tap at 2:18. What in the world was the point of that?

Here is Max Dupree to introduce his Maximum Male Models tennis collection, with Mace and Mansoor modeling the gear and Dupree listing off various descriptions. And yes, they are taking applications.

We look at Theory taking a lap around the ring earlier.

Theory is ready to cash in on either Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. With Theory gone, Madcap Moss comes up to say he’d love to shut Theory up.

Aliyah/Lacey Evans vs. Shotzi/Shayna Baszler

Lacey comes to the arena, doesn’t get the reception she wants, and then does it again to a louder reaction. Then she does it a third time just to make sure. Hold on again as Lacey grabs a mic and says that was a disappointing reaction. The fans know who she is because she poured her heart out on live TV and she gets that kind of reaction? She’s an American hero and calls a bunch of the fans fat. Lacey goes to leave but stops to punch out Aliyah. No match, with Shotzi and Baszler never appearing.

Usos vs. Los Lotharios

Champions Contenders match and we’re joined in progress with Jimmy being sent into Angel’s boots. Los Lotharios get the Usos knocked outside and switch places a few times to amp up the frustration. Back in and Humberto gets shoved off the top, setting up a superkick. The 1D finishes Humberto at 2:02 shown.

Post match the Usos are shown the Street Profits getting a shoulder up at Money In The Bank. There is going to be a rematch at Summerslam, with rumors of a special guest referee. The Usos are happy with that, depending on who it is….which we don’t know yet.

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

The winner goes on to get the title shot at Clash At The Castle. Hold on though as Sheamus is coughing a lot and thinks he might have a touch of the Covids. He can’t wrestle tonight because he needs to get tested, so Butch can take his place.

Drew McIntyre vs. Butch

Butch goes for the arm to start but Drew slips out. The Claymore finishes for McIntyre at 1:28.

Post match Drew beats up Ridge Holland and holds off Sheamus with the sword. He cuts the ropes, ala Wrestlemania, for a bonus, to end the show. Ignore the sword bending.

Overall Rating: D. I really wasn’t feeling this show tonight, as it felt like it was thrown together at the last minute with a bunch of short matches and little that actually mattered. Heck the New Day even acknowledged that they were basically doing the same thing they had done for the last few weeks. None of the matches got any time and it was mainly a bunch of short action and talking, most of which meant nothing. Throw in the bait and switch main event and this was a pretty horrible night.

Results
Viking Raiders b. Jinder Mahal/Shanky – Powerbomb to Mahal
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Ludvig Kaiser – Kinshasa
Ronda Rousey b. Natalya – Ankle lock
Usos b. Los Lotharios – 1D to Humberto
Drew McIntyre b. Butch – Claymore

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.