Wrestlemania XXVII
Date: April 3, 2011
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 71,617
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Josh Matthews
America The Beautiful: Keri Hilson
Host: The Rock

So the big story here is the return of the Rock, who is back for the first time in a good many years and serving as the show’s host. That is already bleeding into the main event, which features John Cena challenging the Miz for the Raw World Title. Other than that, we have the worst Wrestlemania match of all time so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: US Title: Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan is challenging in a lumberjack match and I think you know where this is going. Also, this wasn’t your traditional pre-show match, but rather a DVD extra. Sheamus starts fast and knocks him into the corner but Bryan gets in the moonsault into the running clothesline. Bryan fires off the kicks to the chest and Sheamus is sent outside, with Mark Henry throwing him back inside.

Back in and Sheamus hits a hard clothesline before knocking Bryan outside. Bryan is sent back inside and we hit a crossface chickenwing of all things. The comeback is cut off with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two but Bryan slips out of the High Cross. Sheamus is low bridged to the floor and the lumberjacks have to be dispatched. The big brawl is on and the referee throws it out at 4:19.

Rating: C+. This was pretty clearly designed to set up the pretty obvious Wrestlemania battle royal, which is something that happens almost every year. At the same time, that doesn’t exactly make the people in the match feel overly important, which isn’t a great way to go. I like that the title is involved in some way, but dang this wasn’t the best use of the US Title.

Post match the brawl is on and here is Teddy Long to…well dance a bit, and then make the battle royal

Battle Royal

Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Yoshi Tatsu, Evan Bourne, Ted DiBiase, Drew McIntyre, William Regal, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, R-Truth, Zack Ryder, Chavo Guerrero, Jey Uso, Great Khali, Jimmy Uso, David Hart Smith, JTG, Trent Beretta, Tyson Kidd, Johnny Curtis, Chris Masters, Mark Henry, Primo

Non-title. Sheamus isn’t even in the ring to start and Khali throws out Reks and Hawkins in a hurry. Tatsu is out and things slow down a bit as the brawling on the ropes ensues. Khali chops Masters down in the middle of the ring and R-Truth is low bridged out. Henry gets rid of the Usos so a bunch of people get together to toss him. Khali tosses Primo and Ryder is out after him. McIntyre and Guerrero go to the apron with McIntyre eliminating him and Hart Smith being chopped out after him.

JTG gets the same treatment and Sheamus kicks Khali down, which doesn’t seem that smart. Bryan eliminates Kidd and McIntyre does the same to Beretta. Curtis is gone as well and for some reason Masters grabs the Masterlock on the apron. Naturally he’s knocked out and it’s Bourne hitting Air Bourne on McIntyre. Regal unloads on DiBiase but misses a charge and gets eliminated. McIntyre kicks DiBiase out and gets thrown out by Bryan. That leaves Bryan, Sheamus and Khali, with the non-Khali guys going to the apron. Sheamus knocks Bryan out and goes after Khali, who clotheslines him out for the win at 8:28.

Rating: D+. As you can guess, this is the “get everyone on the show” match and that’s not a bad thing. Unfortunately it was a mostly bad match, with the string of people being eliminated that almost always happens in these things. Khali winning is fine, but the US Title being used to set up this less than important match isn’t a great sign of where the title was at this point.

Keri Hilson sings America The Beautiful.

Here’s the Rock to get things going, naturally with a big over the top introduction. This is a pretty big deal as he hasn’t really don anything important in WWE since around 2004. Rock hits his catchphrases and says we’re making history with all kinds of things tonight. He has the fans say MANIA when he says WRESTLE and then mocks John Cena with the Fruity Pebbles stuff.

Then he pauses for a bit and has some of the people’s water as this is not exactly going well. He has the fans get involved with a YABBA DABBA chant then hits some rhymes about how big this show is going to be. It’s bigger than Christmas, though there’s no offense to Santa. The big catchphrase wraps everything up after….pretty much nothing.

The opening video mostly looks at the history of Wrestlemania and hypes up the Rock’s return, plus the biggest matches.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio

Del Rio is challenging (after winning the Royal Rumble) and has Ricardo Rodriguez doing his custom entrance, as usual, plus bodyguard Brodus Clay. Edge has Christian with him to even things out a bit so there are quite a few people here. There is also a giant cube that comes down over the ring and plays Edge’s logo (plus I’m assuming others later throughout the night, otherwise it’s kind of odd).

They lock up into the corner to start before Del Rio starts in on the (previously injured) arm. A backdrop sends Del Rio outside for the big crash but he sends Edge arm first into the barricade. Back in and we hit the armbar before Del Rio bends the arm around the rope. Another armbar is broken up and Del Rio misses a charge, sending him crashing out to the floor. Del Rio is fine enough to grab a super armdrag for two, followed by some basic right hands to the head.

Edge manages a spinwheel kick to leave them both down until Edge is able to grab the flapjack. The Edge-O-Matic gets two but Del Rio manages to get the cross armbreaker. Edge is right into the ropes and goes up, where it’s a jumping enziguri to bring him down for two. Clay and Cage get into it on the floor, with Edge grabbing a rollup for two of his own. The spear doesn’t work and Clay sends the bad arm into the post. The cross armbreaker goes on again but Edge switches into the Edgecator as Christian tornado DDTs Clay on the floor. Del Rio goes to the arm for the escape but Edge spears him down to retain at 11:08.

Rating: C+. It’s a fine enough way to go, though Del Rio winning the Royal Rumble and then just losing the title match feels like quite the downgrade. Edge was doing well enough but it felt like a setup for a tag match, which is kind of a weird way to go for the Wrestlemania World Title match. It’s not bad, but felt more like a big Smackdown main event and that’s about all.

Post match Edge and Christian destroy Del Rio’s Rolls Royce. Del Rio cries a lot and the Canadians celebrate as Cole wants them arrested. Then Edge would retire eight days later and vacate the title, because that’s the right way to go rather than putting Del Rio over here.

Cole taunts Lawler before their match later tonight. Oh….can we just not?

Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio

Rhodes is in his Dr. Doom phase here, as Mysterio injured his Dashing face and left him with emotional scars after the facial surgery. This was an outstanding character run for Rhodes and the first time I saw the star power and potential in him. Mysterio’s awesome superhero outfit this year is Captain America, sending Cole into a big rant (as usual around this time). Mysterio strikes away to start and hits a quick top rope hurricanrana.

Rhodes headbutts him down though and puts Mysterio in the ropes for a running headbutt. A running kick to the head sets up the one armed camel clutch but Mysterio is back up with something like a Black Widow. That’s reversed into a Hardcore Holly kick to the rather low stomach, followed by the Alabama Slam for two. Rhodes peels up Mysterio’s tights to expose the knee brace (how Rhodes was injured in the first place) before grabbing a nerve hold.

Mysterio fights up and sends him outside for a dropkick through the ropes. Rhodes is sent into the apron, followed by the top rope seated senton back inside. A wheelbarrow suplex drops Mysterio again but he’s right back with a headscissors. The 619 is blocked though and a catapult sends Mysterio throat first into the ropes.

Mysterio is back up with a 619 and pulls Rhodes’ mask off, which he puts on over his own mask. Some running headbutts put Rhodes down and a top rope headbutt gets two. The mask is removed so the referee takes it away, leaving Rhodes to hit Mysterio with his own knee brace (which was taken off somewhere in there). Cross Rhodes finishes Mysterio at 11:58.

Rating: B. These guys worked well together, and I still love the Dr. Doom period for Rhodes. It might not have had the longest legs, but this was the big win that he was needing. This felt like Rhodes getting his revenge and winning one of his biggest matches to date, which I’ll certainly take from both of them. Good stuff here and a nice way to have some hope for Rhodes’ future.

Big Show/Kane/Kofi Kingston/Santino Marella vs. Corre

Kingston is replacing an injured Vladimir Kozlov, who was taken out by the Corre. Marella goes after Slater to start but gets taken down, allowing Show and Kane to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and we get the parade of knockdowns, including a great looking Trouble In Paradise to Barrett. The Cobra and WMD finish Slater at 1:33. Just a “get these people on the show” match.

The Rock meets Eve Torres and lets her feel his arm. Rock talks about the magic of Wrestlemania and offers to create magic with whomever comes around the corner next. It’s Mae Young, who wants the People’s Strudel. Rock makes some jokes about Young being old and Eve escorts her out (with Mae pinching Rock as she leaves). Rock says it couldn’t have been anyone else….and Steve Austin pops in. The fans get quiet as they know this one is important and they seem to show some respect while saying they remember each other at Wrestlemania. Austin coming in was pretty obvious but these two together is always special.

We recap Randy Orton vs. CM Punk. Orton was challenging for the World Title when Punk and his New Nexus interfered to cost him. As it turns out, Punk was mad at Orton for costing him the World Title TWO YEARS EARLIER and was finally getting around to going for revenge. Orton was fine with getting violent and we’re ready to go.

Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

New Nexus is barred from ringside. Punk goes for Orton’s injured (at Punk’s hands) knee to start but Orton knocks him outside. A dropkick to the steps knocks them into Orton’s knee though and Punk takes over, with a high crossbody getting two back inside. Punk gets cocky and hits a kind of Stunner onto the knee out of the corner, followed by a drop down onto the knee for two.

A top rope double stomp knocks Orton out of the Tree Of Woe for two but the GTS is countered. The RKO is countered as well though as Punk kicks him in the face for two. Punk gets caught up top though and it’s a superplex to bring him back down. Punk is fine enough to wrap the bad knee around the post, followed by the Hartbreaker for a bonus. Back in and Punk ties up the leg again and starts ripping at the bandage, only for Orton to punch him in the face for the break.

Orton starts the comeback but Punk goes right back to the leg and grabs the Anaconda Vice. They finally roll over to the ropes for the break and Punk heads to the apron, where Punk sends him into the post. The hanging DDT drops Punk and Orton gets all angry, only for the leg to give out on the Punt attempt. A desperation RKO attempt is shoved away so Punk tries a springboard…and dives into the RKO (that looked AWESOME) for the pin at 14:45.

Rating: B. This was a perfectly acceptable match with Punk working on the leg for a long time but getting a bit too cocky and walking (or diving) into the RKO. The ending looked outstanding, as Orton’s Wrestlemania RKO’s tend to do, and it came at the end of a good match. Sometimes you need a match between two good hands with some time and that was the situation here. Nice job.

Gene Okerlund is with the Rock and praises him for going well so far. Rock says John Cena’s #1 fan is here and….it’s Peewee Herman. Rock insults him and the payoff is Okerlund in Cena gear. This is as funny as you would expect.

We get the Hall Of Fame Class Of 2007:

Abdullah The Butcher (makes sense in Atlanta)
Sunny (yeah about that….)
The Road Warriors (nonsense that they weren’t in already)
Drew Carey (sure why not)
Bob Armstrong (perfectly fine in Georgia)
Jim Duggan (yes his 2×4 has a bowtie)
Shawn Michaels (eh he’s ok)

Oddly no highlight package this year.

We recap Jerry Lawler taking out Jack Swagger and going after Michael Cole, who threw a drink in his face to make Lawler hate him even more.

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole

Let’s get this over with. Booker T. and Jim Ross come out to join commentary, Jack Swagger is with Cole and Steve Austin is guest referee. Cole has been a full on heel for months now and has tormented Lawler for a good while, including costing Lawler the WWE Title. Therefore, it’s time for revenge. Ross comes to the ring but Cole cuts his entrance off to talk about how Ross and Lawler are overrated and over the hill.

Cole says this is his first Wrestlemania match too and after he gets rid of Lawler, Ross will be back to making bad barbecue sauce and Cole will be the new Mr. Wrestlemania. Austin rides out on his ATV and almost runs Swagger down, as only Austin could get away with doing. After the entrances alone take the better part of ever (including Cole hiding in his Cole Mine), we’re FINALLY ready to go. Lawler jumps Swagger to start and sends him into the barricade before going after Cole in the Cole Mine.

Cole immediately begs off and apologizes, with Lawler accepting a handshake. Lawler then pulls the arm through the hole, with Cole’s face getting stuck against the wall in an actually funny moment. Lawler climbs into the box and pounds on Cole before throwing him inside. Swagger gets in a cheap shot and Cole baseball slides Lawler down. The ankle lock has Lawler tapping on the floor, and we begin the meat of the match: Cole badly working on Lawler’s ankle.

Cole tries to stand on the ankle while leaning on the ropes but can only get his toes to reach it. A punt to the ankle is a bit better but Cole can’t get a Vader Bomb to work. Instead he does a bottom rope version for two as JR can’t believe it was a near fall. Cole takes the straps down and puts on the ankle lock but Lawler kicks him away. Lawler stomps him in the corner so Swagger throws in the towel, which Austin doesn’t seem to like.

Austin towels himself off and throws it back before giving Swagger a Stunner. Cole begs Austin for mercy but Lawler punches Cole down and hits the dropkick. The middle rope punch connects but Lawler pulls him up and grabs the ankle lock. Cole taps and Austin makes VERY certain that he’s giving up, slowly asking a few times before FINALLY calling for the bell at a mind numbing 13:48.

Post match beer is consumed, with Booker T. getting in for a Spinarooni and getting Stunned as well. Everyone is happy…..and we get an email from the Anonymous Raw General Manager. Since the Raw GM has authority over Wrestlemania, the GM says that Austin overstepped his bounds and Cole wins by DQ. Josh Matthews, who read the email, gets a Stunner of his own. A ticked off Austin rids away on his ATV and Lawler joins JR on commentary.

Rating: -F. Hokey smoke it’s worse than I remember. This is, without a doubt, the worst Wrestlemania match of all time. Where do you even start? Well first of all, the match ran the better part of thirty minutes when you add in the before and after. This should have been “Swagger distracts Lawler, Cole gets in some shots, Lawler Hulks Up, punches, dropkick, piledriver (if Cole would take it) or a flying fist drop, Lawler wins in about four minutes and we celebrate.

Instead, it’s Cole working on the ankle (which is a weird enough thing to do) in a “funny” way for far too long as the joke is run into the ground. That’s in addition to Lawler already tapping on the floor (fair enough as it’s to someone like Swagger, but it didn’t need to be there at all) and making him look like a loser right out of the blocks. The match itself is abysmal, but somehow that’s nowhere close to the biggest problem.

At the end of the day, all of those problems can be weakened a bit with Lawler getting the win in his first Wrestlemania match and wrapping up the Cole arc for good. That wouldn’t be a good way to go, but it would have at least been something position. BUT WAIT! Why do that when we can have Cole not only win, but win again at the next pay per view before Lawler FINALLY got his revenge at the end of May by beating Cole in about three minutes.

But why do that when you can kill the crowd instead? That stupid email sound going off guaranteed that things were about to go from bad to worse and there was no way around it. You could practically see Vince McMahon in an otherwise silent Gorilla Position cackling about how “THAT’S GOOD S*** PAL!” while everyone around him realizes that this was the dumbest thing they could have done. This was the dumbest finish to a Wrestlemania match ever and it’s in the running for worst finish to any match anywhere in history.

We look at Wrestlemania Week. All the charity stuff they do is cool.

We recap Undertaker vs. HHH. Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels last year and ended his career, so HHH is out for revenge and to end the Streak. That’s about all you need here, plus a Johnny Cash song of course.

Undertaker vs. HHH

No Holds Barred. HHH gets the big entrance behind a wall of shields and has Metallica’s For Whom The Bell Tolls, while Undertaker goes with Johnny Cash’s Ain’t No Grave. The bell rings and HHH pounds him into the corner, only to be thrown over the top for the early crash out to the floor. Undertaker sends him into the steps and then loads up the announcers’ table.

That takes too long so HHH spears him through the Cole Mine and goes back inside, where Undertaker comes back in for the slugout. The jumping clothesline drops HHH but Old School is broken up. They crash out to the floor and Undertaker is whipped into the barricade to bust it (and him) up a bit. HHH loads up the announcers’ table this time but the Pedigree is countered into a backdrop onto the floor. The slow stand up allows Undertaker to hit the big dive and they’re both down for a bit.

Undertaker loads up something onto the steps but gets spinebustered through the other announcers’ table instead. Back in and Undertaker hits a quick chokeslam for two but HHH rams him into the corner. For some reason HHH hammers down right hands and gets caught in the Last Ride. Thankfully he knows what will happen because Undertaker did it to him about ten years ago and slips out.

Another spinebuster gives HHH two and it’s time for the chair. One heck of a chair shots to the back has HHH in trouble, only for him to come back with a sudden Pedigree for two more. For some reason HHH tries to rain down right hands in the corner AGAIN, this time getting caught in the Last Ride for two and leaving Undertaker ticked off in the process. The Tombstone, complete with tongue, gets two and Undertaker grabs the chair.

Another Tombstone onto the chair is broken up and HHH hits a DDT onto the chair to leave them both down. They very slowly pull themselves up and it’s another Pedigree for another near fall. Another Pedigree gets another two and they’re both down again. Back up and HHH hits eight straight chair shots to the back but doesn’t cover, seemingly out of exhaustion. Or dramatic intensity.

Somehow Undertaker gets back up and it’s a chair to the head to knock him back down. That’s only good for a two so HHH hits his own Tombstone for two. This is treated like the biggest kickout ever and…yeah I still don’t buy it. I remember watching this live and actually saying out loud “you’re not Kane, that won’t work” and not being surprised at all by the kickout. With nothing else working, HHH grabs the sledgehammer but gets pulled into Hell’s Gate. The hold stays on for a good while and HHH drops the hammer before wearily tapping out at 29:24.

Rating: B+. Here’s the thing: it might not have the drama of the Michaels matches (it doesn’t) and it might not have the action of the Michaels matches (it doesn’t) but it’s still a heck of a fight. They didn’t bother with the wrestling side of things here and instead just beat the living daylights out of each other.

The problem here though is that despite everything that Undertaker went through, I never really bought the Streak being in jeopardy. It was more “how much is he going to survive” rather than “how much can he survive” and that brings it down a notch. Still though, it’s quite the fight and set up the much better rematch the following year.

Post match HHH is able to get out on his own and Undertaker slowly follows…but falls down on the way out of the ring. A golf cart has to come out and take Undertaker to the back, which is quite the exit for the winner while HHH walks out. Undertaker wouldn’t be back until January to set up the rematch.

John Morrison/Trish Stratus/Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler/Laycool

Vickie Guerrero is here with the villains. While it isn’t mentioned anywhere here, this is the result of Snooki gust appearing on Raw and arguing with Guerrero, who helped Laycool beat Stratus that night. Snooki helped Stratus fight and the men were added shortly thereafter, setting this up.

It’s a brawl before the bell with Ziggler and Morrison having to break it up, with Ziggler earning a slap from Snooki. Stratus chops at McCool to start but she’s right back with a knockdown. The Faithbreaker is countered into a faceplant and Stratus slugs away some more. The Stratusphere is blocked and they crash to the floor, where Stratus has to cut off an invading Layla.

Stratus hits a Chick Kick on McCool and Morrison knocks Ziggler outside, setting up the Starship Pain to the floor. Snooki comes in for a handspring elbow and cartwheels over for a falling splash and the pin on McCool at 3:17. Snooki might have been in the ring for thirty seconds, which I believe is about thirty seconds more than Layla was legal.

Rating: D+. This was designed to have Snooki and WWE appear on various Hollywood shows and TMZ. That’s all it was going to be and while Snooki seemed to be putting in the effort, it wasn’t exactly much to see. Then again they were only out there for a few minutes so it couldn’t get that bad. Just not something that held much interest outside of the celebrity involvement, which is acceptable enough.

Tonight’s entertainment record for the building: 71,617. This is about 9,000 lower than a college football game, which isn’t entertainment and WWE isn’t a sport, at least for the sake of their record this time around.

We recap the Raw World Title match, which is one of the better videos WWE has ever done. Miz is standing with his back to the camera watching a bunch of monitors, showing videos jumping between clips of classic main eventers and Miz’s slow rise up WWE. Eventually he won the World Title (hi Miz Girl) and we see his face, with the song kicking in to say that he can’t stop now and you can keep hating him.

Miz talks about how you can hate him for what he is, which he’d rather be over something he isn’t. Like him or not, he’s the face of the WWE and he’s not stopping. Here’s the thing: no, Miz isn’t an all time star in the ring. No, he isn’t the best heel ever. No, he doesn’t feel like he belongs in the main event of Wrestlemania. The problem with that? He made it here, after starting with the wrestling equivalent of American Idol.

Miz put in the work and got SO MUCH FURTHER than anyone would have ever believed possible. That deserves all kinds of praise and while he’s a third wheel here, he’s defending the World Title in the main event of Wrestlemania. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t a wrestler or whatever the insults are about him this week.

Raw World Title: The Miz vs. John Cena

Miz, with Alex Riley, is defending and Cena got his shot by winning the Elimination Chamber. As a bonus, Miz and Riley walk through a series of balloons that spell out AWESOME and you can tell Miz is fired up. Cena’s Wrestlemania entrance is being sung out by a gospel choir, complete with a prayer over clips of Cena growing up and eventually becoming the huge star.

After the Big Match Intros, Cena shoves him down and grabs a hiptoss before we calm down a bit. Miz is able to knock him into the corner and stomp away, followed by the running corner clothesline. Cena grabs a gutwrench suplex and the top rope Fameasser for two each, only to miss a charge into the corner. Miz kicks him down for two and avoids the flying shoulder to send Cena outside.

Back in and Cena fires off the shoulders, which actually connect this time, followed by the Shuffle. It’s too early for the AA though and Miz’s short DDT gets two. A turnbuckle pad is pulled off so the referee replaces it, meaning a Cena small package doesn’t get a count. The pad is still not on but Cena blocks a ram into the buckle and grabs the STF. Miz makes the rope so Riley sends Cena into the buckle, setting up the Skull Crushing Finale for two.

The referee gets bumped, just before Cena hits the AA, meaning there’s still no count. Riley comes in with a briefcase (he has a briefcase) shot to give Miz two so Miz grabs the briefcase, only to hit Riley by mistake. They go outside and Cena clotheslines Miz over the barricade. That’s not enough as Cena tackles Miz over another barricade, with Miz’s head bouncing off the concrete (yes he had a concussion and no he doesn’t remember anything about the match). They’re both down and it’s a double countout at 14:40.

The fans are not pleased but here is the Rock…who is cut off by an email from the Raw General Manager. JR and Lawler both offer to read the email but Rock has them sit down. Rock reads the email, which starts with “I think” but Rock doesn’t seem to care. As the host of this show, Rock is restarting this match, No DQ (Lawler should be ticked off as Rock didn’t get involved earlier but we can just add that to the dumb things about that mess). The bell rings, Cena throws Miz back inside, Rock gives Cena a Rock Bottom, Miz retains at 19:40 total.

Rating: D-. And no. They were trying with some of the shenanigans to get Miz in there, but it was a stupid finish, despite the legitimate concussion. Have Miz get disqualified for cheating or something, but come up with something a bit better than this. The ending didn’t help either, as having Rock just come out and restart the match came out of nowhere, though I guess it’s better than the GM overturning a match. Miz was trying but the chemistry wasn’t there and the ending was awful, so there was only so much they could do, which didn’t wind up working.

Post match Miz is clearly somewhere over Pluto but Rock goes in to beat him up anyway. The spinebuster sets up the People’s Elbow and Rock celebrates to end the show. Cena wouldn’t be happy and the next night, Rock vs. Cena would be set up for a year later, which they actually stuck to, much to my shock, and yeah the build was incredible, despite a not so great start.

The long highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C-. There are parts of this show that work, with Mysterio vs. Rhodes, Punk vs. Orton and of course the HHH vs. Undertaker match, but that’s not enough to overcome the gaping holes that are the main event and Lawler vs. Cole. Rock didn’t do much here, save for the stuff at the end and that’s not exactly enough. The show isn’t the worst Wrestlemania ever, but it has two really big problems and those are enough to bring it down. Just watch some selected matches here and move on, because it’s not a great Wrestlemania.

Ratings Comparison

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2026 Redo: C+

Battle Royal

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2026 Redo: D+

Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio

Original: C+
2013 Redo: C+
2015 Redo: C+
2026 Redo: C+

Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio

Original: B
2013 Redo: B-
2015 Redo: B
2026 Redo: B

Corre vs. Kane/Santino Marella/Kofi Kingston/Big Show

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2026 Red: N/A

CM Punk vs. Randy Orton

Original: B-
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B-
2026 Redo: B

Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler

Original: C
2013 Redo: D-
2015 Redo: D
2026 Redo: -F

Undertaker vs. HHH

Original: B
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: A-
2025 Redo: B+

Snooki/Trish Stratus/John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler/Laycool

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D
2026 Redo: D+

Miz vs. John Cena

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D-
2015 Redo: D-
2026 Redo: D-

Overall Rating

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: C-
2026 Redo: C-

Yeah pretty much the same as last time, which is a rarity.

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: April 3, 2026
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore

We could be in for a big one here, as we are in Randy Orton’s hometown and Orton has teased what we’ll be finding out who has been calling him lately. That opens up a bunch of options, but hopefully it gets the fans to actually boo him. Unfortunately, the whole “it’s Orton’s hometown” might make that difficult. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Stephanie McMahon slapping Cody Rhodes on Raw, warning him that he needs to wake up before Randy Orton knocks him into tomorrow.

Here is Orton to quite the hometown reception. After picking something off the microphone, Orton talks about how this is his hometown, but he’s not doing it for everyone here. He’s doing this for the six people right here in the front row, meaning his family. At Wrestlemania, Orton is winning his fifteenth World Title and bringing it back to St. Louis while Rhodes loses empty handed.

Rhodes gave him permission to listen to the voices and now Rhodes has no idea what is waiting for him. Orton saw him at the Garden with Stephanie McMahon on Raw and McMahon was absolutely right about what this is going to mean. Cue Rhodes for the fight and beats Orton down in the corner….but Pat McAfee comes in and kicks him low. Yes that McAfee.

The big beatdown is on, with Orton beating on Rhodes with a chair while McAfee insults the St. Louis sports teams. McAfee talks about how he said he felt WWE passed him by but Orton called him to talk about how things should be. The reality is that McAfee is sick of modern wrestling and watching 5’5 guys have an Iron Man match while RANDY ORTON is available.

There are tickets still available for Wrestlemania while Orton is on the card and we’re coming off the lowest rated Smackdown in a long time. Rhodes is leading this company in the wrong direction and at Wrestlemania, Orton is going to save it. The beating continues with McAfee confirming that he’s been the one on the phone and the villains leave as Nick Aldis and company come in.

We see them going back through the gorilla position as Rhodes is helped up. I have absolutely no idea how this is seen as their best option, as the idea is McAfee is standing up for the good old days? As in the McAfee who has been the biggest WWE cheerleader imaginable? It doesn’t make much sense and the fans really weren’t booing Orton at all (shocking in his hometown) so I have no idea what this accomplished.

Post break Orton and McAfee leave in McAfee’s truck (which is of course a Dodge Ram, which is the big logo in the middle of the ring).

Rhea Ripley vs. Michin

B-Fab is here with Michin. Ripley powers her into the corner to start and here is Jade Cargill as Ripley hits a fall away slam. Michin’s German suplex takes Ripley down and Michin hammers away as we take a break. We come back with Ripley still in trouble but she fights up with some clotheslines. The belly to back faceplant sets up a basement dropkick and a not great Razor’s Edge. The running knee gives Ripley two but Michin is back with a poisonrana. A sitout powerbomb gives Michin two but Ripley knocks her down again. The Prism Trap finishes Michin at 9:15.

Rating: C. This was WAY too much offense from Michin, as the win didn’t make Ripley feel like a big star ready to come after Cargill but rather made her look a lot weaker. At the end of the day, Michin and B-Fab have been made to look rather ineffective in recent months and Ripley should be running through either of them. I’m not sure what they were thinking here and Ripley’s finisher did look good, but this wasn’t the right way to go.

Post match the villains are in for the beatdown but Iyo Sky runs in for the save as the numbers even up a bit.

Matt Cardona is getting his wrist looked at when Aleister Black and Zelina come in. Black suggests that Cardona deserved this and a match is set for tonight.

Solo Sikoa says Uncle Howdy wants to fight for the lantern tonight but Sikoa isn’t letting the lantern out of his sight. So who is stepping up? Tama Tonga asks why they’re fighting for the lantern when it’s so much of a problem. Sikoa tells him to go face Howdy and don’t screw this up.

Rhea Ripley is glad to have Iyo Sky here because she needed backup and they are bloody unstoppable.

Tama Tonga vs. Uncle Howdy

Howdy pounds him into the corner to start but Tonga is back with some right hands and headbutts in the ropes. We take a break and come back with Tonga mocking Howdy but diving into the Mandible Claw. That’s broken up and here comes Sikoa, which is enough of a distraction for Sister Abigail to finish Tonga at 7:15.

Rating: C+. There was barely any time here and the point of the match was to further the issues between Tonga and Sikoa more than anything else. At the same time, this feud has been going on for a long time now so it’s time to wrap it up already. I’d rather they do something like this than have a huge showdown at Wrestlemania, though that might still be happening.

Post match Sikoa and Tonga argue over the lantern but Howdy gets it back.

Kit Wilson is complaining about his bad luck to Miz, who insists there is no curse. They run into R-Truth, who is insisting on how water in the hot tub in the new Judgment Day clubhouse. Wilson and Miz don’t like him because he keeps getting lucky despite never taking anything seriously. They want him to take one thing seriously….and Truth accepts their challenge for a Tag Team Title shot tonight. Granted they didn’t ask, but they’ll take it. Miz/Wilson: “Master, inspire, zone-in.”

So we…wait. Master, inspire, zone-in. In today’s “I’m an idiot”, I never before realized that spelled MIZ.

Jacob Fatu is ready for Drew McIntyre. Yes he has a criminal past, but he’s ready to get violent at Wrestlemania.

Sami Zayn talks to Nick Aldis and is ready for the US Title celebration…but Trick Williams’ music kicks him off.

Here is Williams, along with rapper Lil Yachty. Williams talks about how he brought out his own star power because he’s ready to take out the ginger at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t want any ginger ale, ginger tea or ginger snaps. For now, he wants Zayn’s pyro (which Zayn was so happy about), which goes off, but comes complete with Zayn interrupting

Zayn thinks Williams is getting a bit too excited and that he’s never been about the over the top reactions. At Wrestlemania, he’s going to humble Williams’ a**. Zayn: “I think ginger snap is pretty upset.” Williams says he’s the reason Zayn won the US Title, which brings out Carmelo Hayes to interrupt. Hayes says he and Williams have a long history and they’ll deal with that later. Zayn did something last week that Hayes didn’t like and Hayes isn’t letting Zayn get into the endzone after Hayes did the work.

The fans here want Melo instead of Zayn and he wants his rematch. Zayn says he thinks the world of Hayes, but the Wrestlemania match is set. They’ll just have to do this after Wrestlemania. Williams: “AWW COME ON GINGER ALE!” Zayn says he thinks he had Hayes beat last week but we’ll never know because Williams got involved.

The reality is Zayn has called out a bunch of people for taking advantage of things. Hayes tells Zayn to do the right thing so Zayn eventually agrees to the rematch tonight. Works for Hayes, who leaves. Williams says “Ginger Snap” could have said that a long time ago so Zayn clotheslines him to the floor. Williams continues to have so much charisma and comes off as such a star.

Solo Sikoa yells at Tama Tonga about losing the lantern but Tonga wants the team to get back to getting all the titles. Sikoa agrees and says they should finish the Wyatts and then get back to business. Tonga agrees and they seem good.

Aleister Black vs. Matt Cardona

Zelina is here with Black, who gets armdragged down. That banged up Cardona’s bad arm though and he can’t hit a backdrop. Black goes after the arm and takes over, including a legsweep to knock Cardona off the apron. We take a break and come back with Cardona fighting back, but Black escapes a double underhook….something. A neckbreaker drops Black and the Reboot gives Cardona two. Cardona manages a double underhook powerbomb for two but Black goes after the arm again. Black Mass takes Cardona out at 9:51.

Rating: C+. You’re only going to get so far with Black against an injured Cardona, as Black is treated like a much bigger star most of the time. If nothing else, Black Mass is something that can wipe out anyone and it looked good again here. I’m not sure how far Cardona is going on Smackdown but he’s fine enough in this role.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria don’t think Charlotte and Alexa Bliss are real friends as they haven’t been through the same issues.

R-Truth talks to Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, who are ready to get back to normal at Stand & Deliver. The two of them leave and Damian Priest comes in to ask why R-Truth gave a random team their first title defense. R-Truth: “They’re cursed!” And he thinks Asuka did it! Priest points out that Asuka is on Raw, but R-Truth says it was the little girl with the facepaint running around. Priest: “….you mean Danhausen???” Anyway, R-Truth thinks it should be an easy title defense and Priest eventually gives in.

Drew McIntyre talks about how he had everything ready for him but then Jacob Fatu ruined it all. Fatu is just a filthy convict and he’s only here because of his family. You can’t outrun your past and next week, McIntyre is showing everyone who Fatu really is.

Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

Valkyria takes Charlotte down to start fast but Charlotte sends her into the corner. Bliss comes in with a less than smooth tornado DDT and we take an early break. We come back with Valkyria still in trouble. A crossbody gets her out of trouble and it’s back to Bayley to take over on Charlotte.

Bayley knees her in the head and Valkyria helps knock Charlotte off the top. The top rope elbow gives Bayley two on Charlotte and it’s back to Valkyrie, who dives into the Figure Eight. Bayley breaks that up and Valkyria pulls Bliss out of the air. Nightwing is broken up though and Bliss tries the Sister Abigail. That’s blocked as well so Bliss hits her running Blockbuster to pin Valkyria at 10:30.

Rating: B-. This got better near the end and I’ll take this over another big run in and everything falling apart. The story makes sense for the titles and the division at the moment, though the title match has the potential to be quite the mess. Bayley and Valkyria still feel like underdogs, but hopefully they can do something other than just take the fall at Wrestlemania.

Post match the Irresistible Forces run in to beat down both teams.

Miz and Kit Wilson are ready for their match and Miz insists that there is no curse. Danhausen pops in with his jar of teeth, saying he’ll be at ringside with them tonight. Wilson calls him a spooky little goblin and toxic. Danhausen says he can come to the ring with them and uncurse them, which has Wilson interested. Miz isn’t having this but Danhausen disappears.

Tag Team Titles: Miz/Kit Wilson vs. Damian Priest/R-Truth

Miz and Wilson are challenging. R-Truth takes over on Wilson to start so it’s off to Miz, who gets caught in the Cena finishing sequence. Miz breaks that up and sends him outside for a running elbow from Wilson as we take a break. We come back with R-Truth escaping a Skull Crushing Finale attempt and handing it off to Priest. Everything breaks down and Priest drops Wilson on the floor.

Back in and Miz and R-Truth clothesline each other…and here is Danhausen. He gets on the apron to offer Miz a tag but Miz isn’t doing this. R-Truth however will dive over to tag Danhausen in (Priest is lost watching this) so Miz glares at him…and the referee gets cursed by mistake. Miz loads up the Skull Crushing Finale on Miz but the lights go out and Danhausen escapes. Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on R-Truth but the referee suffers a crippling injury at two. South Of Heaven pins Miz (with the referee using his good arm to count) at 9:47.

Rating: B-. This was a case where the match itself was nothing special or even notable, but it was a lot of fun because they rolled with the joke. The Curse thing is working well and while it might not last very long (though it could), they’re getting a lot of value out of the thing. Hopefully Miz and Wilson interact with him some more, because it’s working rather well thus far.

Post match here is Cody Rhodes to take out Kit Wilson and yell about how he got dressed up to find out who Randy Orton has been talking to. It was Pat McAfee, which would be like the Third Man being Disco Inferno instead of Hulk Hogan. McAfee is a stoner, grifter and Logan Paul without muscles and he has a receipt coming and can kiss Rhodes’ a**. If you don’t like that, fire him. It sure worked out for you the last time.

He needs to be a bad guy to beat Orton but he doesn’t know if he can do that anymore. Rhodes talks about every record WWE has been setting with him on top. Yes he was wrestling Roman Reigns and John Cena but they were wrestling him too. Now the voices are talking to him, but you don’t want to hear what they’re saying. Rhodes was showing fire here but this whole story is just spiraling right now and it might need to be reset hard before Wrestlemania.

We look at Roman Reigns and CM Punk on Raw.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Classic Wrestlemania Moment: Kevin Owens vs. Steve Austin. Yeah that qualifies.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. Carmelo Hayes

Zayn is defending and Trick Williams/Lil Yachty are at ringside. Hayes blocks an early leapfrog attempt and hits a dropkick, followed by some chops in the corner. Zayn fights up and hits a clothesline, only for Hayes to hit a springboard clothesline of his own. The Fadeaway connects for Hayes and the running flip dive to the floor takes Zayn out. Hayes comes up holding his leg though and we take a break.

We come back with Hayes’ leg banged up and Zayn hammering away in the corner. Hayes is able to get in a knockdown of his own but the First 48 is blocked. Zayn exploders him into the corner but charges into a superkick. A top rope splash gives Hayes two, only for Zayn to reverse into a rollup for two of his own. The Blue Thunder Bomb is countered and Hayes goes up, where he misses Nothing But Net. The referee checks on the bad leg…but Zayn fires off the Helluva Kick for the pin to retain at 10:55.

Rating: B-. That ending feels like a step towards Zayn going evil, which wouldn’t be the biggest surprise. He wants to go to Wrestlemania no matter what and that’s what he seems to be doing after that win. The match worked out well enough, though I’m hoping Hayes finds a way onto Wrestlemania somewhere.

Post match Yachty gets in to promise that Williams will win. Williams jumps Zayn and lays him out with the Trick Shot. The villains pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a situation where the overall rating could have been just about anything and it would have been appropriate. The thing here is there are two sides to this show: the Orton/Rhodes/McAfee stuff and everything else. For the most part, the “everything else” wasn’t exactly thrilling, but it was ok. The US Title stuff has my attention and R-Truth/Danhausen were rather funny. While some of the matches were just ok (or misguided in the opener), they were acceptable enough to a bit closer to Wrestlemania. It’s not great, but it’s ok enough.

The problem though is the show doesn’t end there. I have absolutely no idea what WWE was expecting out of the McAfee reveal/segment, but it just did not work. Orton has been cheered since the beginning of this story and…well why wouldn’t he be? Rhodes told him to go all aggressive and evil and that’s exactly what Orton has done. Orton is easy to cheer and while Rhodes has his fans, it’s really hard to get more excited about Rhodes right now. We’ve covered him as champion for a long time now and Orton would feel fresh.

Unfortunately that brings us to the issue of how we’re getting here. Unless there is some wacky double turn coming, the match at Wrestlemania could be an absolute circus. I really do not know what they are going for here and unfortunately I’m not sure I can believe WWE knows either. This was the kind of train wreck segment that really seemed to go opposite how WWE was hoping and I have no idea how to get around that situation. Not a great show overall, but the opening segment and the rest of the show are on different planets.

Results
Rhea Ripley b. Michin – Prism Trap
Uncle Howdy b. Tama Tonga – Mandible Claw
Aleister Black b. Matt Cardona – Black Mass
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss b. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria – Running Blockbuster to Valkyria
Damian Priest/R-Truth b. Kit Wilson/Miz – South Of Heaven to Miz
Sami Zayn b. Carmelo Hayes – Helluva Kick

 

 

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

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

Smackdown
Date: March 13, 2026
Location: PHX Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We have a Smackdown main event for Wrestlemania, as Randy Orton is now set to challenge Cody Rhodes for the World Title. Rhodes took the title from Drew McIntyre last week, which should set us on a clear course for Wrestlemania in about five weeks. That leaves some openings for other matches around here and we should see some of them coming together soon. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Rhodes winning the title back last week, with Jacob Fatu helping to cost Drew McIntyre the belt.

Nick Aldis is looking over the contract for the Wrestlemania title match but Drew McIntyre storms into the arena and demands that Aldis come out here and make this right. Aldis says there is nothing to correct because McIntyre should be looking at the consequences of his actions. McIntyre calls Aldis a corporate stooge who had to get the title back on his corporate champion.

Aldis isn’t having that and says it’s clear why McIntyre didn’t want Rhodes to get a shot: the first time he did, he won the title. They go face to face but here is Jacob Fatu to interrupt. Fatu asks what McIntyre needed fixed and says he’s the reason McIntyre was champion in the first place. Last week Fatu fixed the situation so McIntyre is no longer champion. McIntyre can point all the fingers he wants but Fatu is the one who did it, so what is McIntyre going to do? McIntyre: “I quit.” And he walks out.

Solo Sikoa is happy with how things are going and leaves the lantern with Tama Tonga while he’s off for a tag match. The team leaves but Shinsuke Nakamura comes in to ask Tonga when he’ll be his own man. Sikoa comes back in with a threat to Nakamura.

Jacob Fatu is mad about Drew McIntyre leaving but Trick Williams comes in, saying he’s the only person who can whoop that. Nick Aldis makes Williams vs. Fatu and Williams panics, with threats of his firing.

MFT’s vs. Wyatt Sicks

Non-title. Rowan and Talla start things off for the big man fight with Talla getting in a shot to stagger him. Sikoa comes in to knock Wyatt around and they head outside with Howdy being sent into various things. We take a break and come back with Talla’s Samoan drop getting two on Howdy and Sikoa coming back in. Sikoa loads up his own Sister Abigail, which is broken up with a belly to back suplex.

Rowan is back in for a running DDT to Talla, followed by a dropkick into the corner. A middle rope elbow gives Rowan two but Sikoa comes back in off a blind tag. Sikoa’s splash hits raised knees though and Howdy comes in, where he is promptly Samoan Spiked. Rowan makes the save as the rest of the teams start brawling on the floor. Back in and Sikoa loads up another Spike but Nikki Cross grabs the lantern. Howdy uses the distraction to grab Sister Abigail for the pin at 10:40.

Rating: B-. It’s nice for the Wyatts to get a win here and odds are they’re set up for some kind of a big group title match at Wrestlemania. If nothing else, it’s a good thing for the titles to feel like they’re actually being used, as that hasn’t been the case for long enough. Granted the lantern is the more important thing right now, but the titles are a nice secondary prize.

Post match Howdy gets the lantern back but Tama Tonga runs in for the Cutthroat Driver to steal it again.

R-Truth thinks the MFT’s are the Judgment Day but Damian Priest says it’s about the titles. Los Garza come in to say they’re the reason R-Truth and Priest won. Priest is ready to fight tonight instead.

Kiana James and Giulia laugh off the idea of Tiffany Stratton winning the Women’s US Title.

Jade Cargill vs. Michin

Non-title and Michin jumps her from behind to start the fight fast. Cargill is sent outside but comes back in with a pump kick to take over. Some choking in the corner has Michin in trouble but she avoids a charge to send Cargill outside again. Michin’s crossbody off the steps is easily countered into a fall away slam as we take a break.

We come back with Michin escaping Jaded and hitting a tornado DDT for two. Eat Defeat sends Cargill out to the floor but the running flip dive misses. That lets Cargill send Michin crashing into the barricade, followed by a chokeslam back inside. Jaded finishes Michin off at 8:23.

Rating: C. This was all it should have been, with Michin feeling like absolutely nothing and being beaten down pretty easily here. It wouldn’t stun me to see Michin and B-Fab wind up as Cargill’s future lackeys as it’s not like they have anything else to do. Cargill is already going to have her hands full at Wrestlemania so maybe she needs the help. Well as much help as Michin and B-Fab can be.

Post match Cargill says she isn’t scared of Rhea Ripley and that isn’t starting today. She’ll show why she’s always on top but here is Ripley to interrupt. Cargill runs off, with Ripley saying she’s going to make Cargill her b**** at Wrestlemania.

Cody Rhodes tells Nick Aldis that the contract is fine when Sami Zayn comes up for some congratulations. He hopes Rhodes wins at Wrestlemania. Rhodes doesn’t want this to be a thing but he knows Zayn said the same thing to Randy Orton. If Zayn just wants a title shot that’s not hard to get, but Zayn says he doesn’t look up to Rhodes like he does with Orton. Rhodes says that’s fine and points at the title before leaving. Aleister Black and Zelina come in to suggest that the title picture might not be the right place for him. Zayn says stay far, far away from him.

Rhea Ripley and B-Fab console Michin, who doesn’t want the pity.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Irresistible Forces

The Forces are defending…but before they come out, here are the Bellas instead because this has to be a thing. They’re next in line for the titles and are going to watch from ringside. My goodness you could feel the energy go out of the air when they showed up. It’s a brawl to start with the Forces being knocked outside, where Legend knocks a diving Charlotte out of the air.

We take a break and come back with Bliss fighting out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Charlotte. The no rope Buckshot Lariat cuts Legend down but Jax is back in with a Samoan drop. The Annihilator misses though and Charlotte hits a moonsault for two, with Legend making the save. Bliss DDTs Legend and Charlotte posts Jax but accidentally kicks Nikki Bella. Back in and Charlotte kicks away at Jax, setting up Natural Selection. Twisted Bliss is loaded up but Brie Bella runs in to jump Jax for the DQ at 8:08.

Rating: C+. The match was getting going but you knew the Bellas were going to come in at some point. I’m sure they bring some kind of quote unquote star power to the title picture but it just seems incredibly forced to have them involved. Hopefully they don’t win the titles at Wrestlemania, though that definitely feels like the inevitable.

Post match the Forces lay out both teams.

Jelly Roll congratulates Randy Orton, who tells him to beat up Miz on MizTV.

Charlotte and Alexa Bliss run into the Bellas, who are apparently next for the titles. Yeah I know they have fans but good grief I do not want to see the Bellas, especially in a big match at Wrestlemania.

Damian Priest/R-Truth vs. Los Garza

Los Garza jump them to start fast but Priest rises up with a double clothesline. R-Truth comes in but gets choked on the ropes to put the villains in control. A running knee to the head has R-Truth in trouble and a quick comeback attempt is cut off. Stereo moonsaults to the floor take out R-Truth and Priest as we take a break.

We come back with Angel jumping over Berto to land on R-Truth in the corner. Angel makes the mistake of mocking You Can’t See Me though and gets a Stundog Millionaire for his efforts. It’s back to Priest to kick away and the Old School crossbody hits Berto. A cheap shot puts Priest down and Angel’s moonsault gets two, but Priest knocks Berto away. The Razor’s Edge drops Berto and the South Of Heaven and AA get the stereo pins at 11:01.

Rating: C+. It’s kind of sad that Priest, who was World Champion less than two years ago, and R-Truth, who was supposed to be more serious, can only do this. At the same time, it’s even worse when this is what the Tag Team Titles have come to with the other talented teams around here. At least it’s something for them, but it’s only so much.

Alex Shelley and Candice LeRae try to wake Johnny Gargano back up, with LeRae and Gargano wheeling away. Chris Sabin comes in to ask why Shelley is still doing this and has gotten them a match next week.

Danhausen has a shirt for Miz, who can’t believe that Danhausen already has one. He can even wear the show on MizTV with Jelly Jam! Then Danhausen can get his own show with celebrity guests! Miz isn’t doing that…so he is cursed.

It’s time for MizTV but the mic doesn’t work. With that fixed, he brings out Jelly Roll as this week’s guest. Roll is here because of the Road To Wrestlemania and Miz is happy to have him. Miz suggests he mentor Roll, but that isn’t going to happen. Miz brings up the time Roll did something at Summerslam, where he was so heavy that Miz had to help him up. Roll can’t believe Miz is taking credit for him losing 250lbs because he’s the one who was doing the work. Miz: “I liked you better when you were fat!”

The brawl is teased but here is Kit Wilson to interrupt. Wilson talks about Roll’s face tattoos and criminal history and accuses him of being FAT PHOBIC! Roll is toxic so he and Miz try to deck Wilson, only for Roll to hit Miz by mistake. Eh, Danhausen warned him. Weird segment here, as I’m not sure who I was supposed to like.

Apollo Crews and Ilja Dragunov appreciate that when Carmelo Hayes comes in. Hayes understands what Dragunov said last week about not wanting the open challenge but Dragunov says this is the only way he knows. Hayes thinks there might be another reason they aren’t fighting and Dragunov isn’t happy.

Tiffany Stratton, after shoving Chelsea Green’s wheelchair away, promises to take out Kiana James and come for the Women’s US Title.

Kit Wilson yells at Miz and is ready to get a match. Danhausen comes in to offer Miz some teeth if his lost one, but there is one thing he has to do to reverse the curse. Miz insists there is no curse but Danhausen is gone.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James

Stratton sends her into the corner to start and flips over her but has to avoid a Giulia trip. James gets in a Stunner over the ropes and Stratton is sent into the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Stratton hitting a handspring Stunner for two as Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre are here to watch. James can’t get her up for a powerbomb so Stratton gives her a Regal Roll. Giulia pulls James outside so Stratton hits her with a dive. Back in and James kicks Giulia by mistake, setting up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to give Stratton the pin at 7:39.

Rating: C. There is only so much you can get out of a sub eight minute match with a break in the middle, but Stratton was always going to be beating Giulia’s (talented) lackey. That’s a classic way to set up the match, even with Green and Fyre being involved. Stratton vs. Giulia should be fine, as it’s nice for Giulia to remember that she’s actually a champion with a title to defend.

Next week: Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll.

Trick Williams isn’t happy about Jacob Fatu, but Sami Zayn comes in to complain about Williams jumping into the main event. A fight is teased and is likely coming later.

Jacob Fatu vs. Trick Williams

Fatu slugs away to start but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Williams to send him into the buckle. That goes as expected of course and a McGillicutter (yeah the McGillicutter) has the same effect and Fatu knocks him outside. We take a break and come back with Fatu fighting out of a chinlock and sending him hard into the corner.

Fatu’s Whisper In The Wind connects but the Trick Kick cuts off a running Umaga Attack. A flapjack drops Fatu again and the release Rock Bottom gets two. Fatu is back with a pop up Samoan drop into a Swanton for two more. Williams bails outside and gets taken out by a suicide dive…with Drew McIntyre running in to post Fatu. A pair of Trick Shots give Williams the pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. Williams’ rise continues and it would be nice to see him getting something big at Wrestlemania. Like say, the US Title. Other than that, we’re all but guaranteed to see McIntyre vs. Fatu at Wrestlemania and that should be a heck of a fight, as they’ve certainly set up the feud to be quite the showdown. Williams getting a win here is a big deal, and in a way it’s nice that Fatu isn’t invincible, as it makes him more relatable.

Post match McIntyre gives Fatu the Claymore.

Jelly Roll is back at ringside.

Nick Aldis is in the ring for the Cody Rhodes/Randy Orton contract signing, but first: Drew McIntyre apparently didn’t quit so he can face Jacob Fatu next week. Anyway here are Orton (who has changed shirts from earlier) and Rhodes face to face. They shake hands and Rhodes talks about his history with Orton and how things have gone well.

Rhodes wanted to be like Orton and left, only to come back on his own. He’s not Orton’s brother, but he’s always been proud to be his boy. Rhodes signs and Orton goes to as well but doesn’t do it. Orton says he needs the title and this was supposed to be easy with Drew McIntyre in there. Rhodes is fine with that because he wants the Orton with the voices in his head and the Legend Killer.

After the match is over, Rhodes will always love him. Orton signs (with Rhodes applauding) and then kicks him low. The big beatdown is on with Orton hitting him in the head with the steps to bust him open. Rhodes is beaten onto the announcers’ table and Jelly Roll comes over the barricade, only for Orton to shove him down. Rhodes’ head is laid on the steps so Orton crushes it with a chair before sitting in the ring with the title to end the show. They needed to do this, as Orton vs. Rhodes was feeling like a great main event….for Summerslam. Now just have Orton win the title, as he needs to.

Overall Rating: B-. The show is still far too long, but the ending segment helped and Trick Williams continues to rise up the card in an impressive fashion. They’re starting to set up the card for Wrestlemania, though it only feels so good right now. Hopefully they have something extra to spice it up a bit in the near future, because they’re rapidly running out of time to make it work. It’s a good show here, but this is only going to be enough for so much longer.

Results
Wyatt Sicks b. MFT’s – Sister Abigail to Sikoa
Jade Cargill b. Michin – Jaded
Irresistible Forces b. Charlotte/Alexa Bliss via DQ when Brie Bella interfered
Damian Priest/R-Truth b. Los Garza – Double pin
Tiffany Stratton b. Kiana James – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Trick Williams b. Jacob Fatu – Trick Shot

 

 

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

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

Smackdown
Date: March 6, 2026
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Elimination Chamber and Randy Orton is the new #1 contender and on his way to Wrestlemania. However, his opponent is up in the air as this week will see Cody Rhodes challenging Drew McIntyre for the Smackdown World Title. That’s not a main event you often get around here so let’s get to it.

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

We open with an Elimination Chamber recap. As a bonus, we get what was almost a fight between Nick Aldis and Drew McIntyre, with Aldis making tonight’s title match.

Here is Randy Orton to get things going. Orton swears he was on time getting here today and the Wrestlemania sign was already up. He’s been at twenty Wrestlemanias but he’s only main evented twice. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done but you’re never guaranteed a great spot.

There are people who have put him in the category of the all time best and looking at the locker room today, it makes him proud to still be this high up. He doesn’t know who he’s facing at Wrestlemania but either way, it ends with an RKO. Cue Trick Williams to interrupt, saying he’s not happy with Orton calling him less than 6’5. Williams gets in, keeps talking, and is RKO’d.

Earlier today, Carmelo Hayes came in to see Nick Aldis, who has a surprise challenger for the US Title. Hayes doesn’t want to know who it is.

US Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. ???

Hayes is defending against…AAA’s El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. (whose AAA Latin American Title isn’t on the line). After a quick look at Wagner (nice touch), he dropkicks Hayes into the corner for a cannonball. A missile dropkick gets two on Hayes but he’s back up with a dropkick of his own. Hayes knocks him into the ropes for the Fadeaway and we take a break.

We come back with Wagner hitting a hard clothesline to leave them both down. Hayes hits a springboard clothesline of his own, followed by La Mistica for two. Wagner comes back with a powerbomb for two of his own but dives into the First 48. A top rope version misses though and Wagner is back with a spin into a sitout powerbomb for two. Wagner goes up but misses the moonsault, allowing Hayes to hit Nothing But Net to retain at 10:11.

Rating: B-. Remember all those other times where Hayes has beaten a random challenger for the title? This was the most recent instance. I’m not sure what to think of this as these two have no history together and Wagner isn’t likely to be around. As usual, it was good but that’s about it, which only gets you so far.

Ilja Dragunov says he isn’t going to be accepting a US Open Challenge because he isn’t being enough of a warrior at the moment. Miz comes in to mock him but Kit Wilson pops in to say Miz is being toxic. Dragunov says he’ll have to see them in the ring, but it isn’t clear which he means.

Damian Priest has been told he’s in a match tonight but doesn’t know who he’s facing. Nick Aldis is about to answer but R-Truth comes in to reveal that they’re a team in Tag Team Turmoil. Works for Priest.

Drew McIntyre comes in to see Aldis and asks if Aldis has come to his senses. Aldis says defend the title or forfeit, so McIntyre is ready to fight.

Here are the Irresistible Forces to celebrate winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles last week. They brag about their win and promise to face anyone. We get a toast, but here are Charlotte and Alexa Bliss to interrupt. Bliss says Jax finally found a coattail to ride all the way to the top and a fight is teased. Cue Kiana James and Giulia, with James bragging about her recent successes. Aldis, tag match, next.

Giulia/Kiana James vs. Charlotte/Alexa Bliss

We’re joined in progress with Bliss armdragging Giulia and bringing in Charlotte. House is quickly cleaned, including a flipping dive off the apron. James posts Charlotte to take over though and Giulia drops an elbow for two. Charlotte kicks James down and it’s back to Bliss, who basement dropkicks Giulia. James catches a dive off the apron though and Giulia adds a kick to the head as we take a break.

We come back with Charlotte putting both of them down, setting up the moonsault for the double two. Giulia’s belly to back suplex puts Charlotte down for the same but she’s back up with a boot to the face. Bliss’ running DDT hits James and Natural Selection finishes Giulia at 10:12.

Rating: B-. Another nice match here, with Bliss and Charlotte getting that much closer to the titles. That very well could be a Wrestlemania showdown, though I would expect them to have some kind of a multi team match (ladders wouldn’t stun me either). At the same time, Giulia and James have turned into a perfectly nice team, though I’m not sure how much Giulia needs to be US Champion.

Jelly Roll will be here next week.

Cody Rhodes says he wants to point at the sign and that means winning the title back tonight. Sami Zayn comes up and says it’s crazy that Rhodes has this title match. Rhodes: “What’s crazy about it Sami?” Well, Rhodes didn’t win the Elimination Chamber and he’s getting a title shot while Zayn isn’t getting one. Rhodes thinks Zayn is trying to get a title shot at a title Rhodes hasn’t even won yet but Zayn isn’t sure what he’s doing. He wants Rhodes to become champion. “Again.”

Trick Williams was on The Breakfast Club and talked about how awesome the fans have been since he made the main roster.

Tag Team Turmoil

For a future title shot and there are five teams with the Motor City Machine Guns in at #1 and Fraxiom in at #2. Shelley and Frazer start things off and, after a handshake, trade wristlocks. Frazer sends him outside but moonsaults back in rather than firing off the dive. Axiom comes in to take Sabin out of the air off a leapfrog and the rapid fire tags are on. Fraxiom hits some dives to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Frazer getting the tag and hitting a running flip dive to the floor. Sabin rolls him into the corner, where Axiom comes back in with a dropkick. Shelley puts the boot on the rope…but it’s a three count anyway for the elimination at 8:04. Los Garza are in at #3, with Axiom having to make a quick save. Garza gets superkicked into a brainbuster for two with Berto making the save. Axiom goes up and gets caught with a super faceplant. MTY gets rid of Fraxiom at 10:23 total and the Wyatt Sicks are in at #4.

We take a break and come back with the Wyatts in trouble with Lumis getting powerbombed out of the corner. Gacy makes the save and everything breaks down. Cue the MFTs for a distraction, allowing Berto to get a rollup for the pin at 18:18. Damian Priest and R-Truth are in at #5 and, after a break, Priest comes in to clean house.

The Pounce sends Garza over the announcers’ table but Berto is back up with a springboard spinning kick to the head. A nice moonsault gives Berto two but it’s off to Truth (in Cena gear) for the Cena finishing sequence. Garza breaks up the STF so Priest tags himself back in and it’s an AA/South Of Heaven for the double pin on Los Garza at 25:40.

Rating: C. This is where WWE causes its own problems. The issue here is that a lot of these teams (save for the one who was assembled an hour ago) were doing nothing but standing around backstage for weeks. WWE has made it clear that these teams do not matter around here, so why should I want to see them for the better part of half an hour? It isn’t that the wrestling was bad, but the interest wasn’t there and that’s not on the wrestlers.

Sami Zayn comes up to Randy Orton and asks how Cody Rhodes is ok with Orton dropping him with an RKO. Orton says you have to be selfish occasionally, but Zayn asks him if that makes him a bad person. Orton doesn’t know about all that, but it does make him a fourteen time World Champion. He believes in Zayn, who might need to listen to the voices. With Orton gone, Aleister Black and Zelina come in to say that’s just the nature of the beast.

Here is Rhea Ripley for a chat. Ripley has heard that Jade Cargill has something to say to her so come say it to her face. Cargill comes out and offers a handshake out of respect. She respects the work that Ripley has put in but she isn’t impressed. Yeah Ripley has big arms and legs, but Cargill’s are better. She’s more worthy to be champion and Ripley can do nothing about the beating that is coming for her at Wrestlemania.

Ripley appreciates the honesty and yeah Cargill might be stronger. The thing is, Ripley isn’t staying down from Cargill’s best shot. But if Cargill takes Ripley’s best shot, she isn’t getting up. Cargill’s body is built for show, while Ripley’s is built for fighting. There’s nothing Cargill can do about what Ripley has in mind at Wrestlemania because Ripley is that b****. This wasn’t exactly Punk vs. Reigns, but it’ll do.

Alex Shelley and Candice LeRae are worried about Johnny Gargano but Chris Sabin comes up to ask why Shelley is doing this. Sabin says Shelley didn’t save him during the match. Shelley says he did and they’re off to talk. LeRae tells Gargano to get up and he does so, saying they’re off to the ring.

Uncle Howdy calls out Solo Sikoa, saying he’s going to get back what Sikoa stole. Soon there will be nothing to do but run.

Here are Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae for a chat. Gargano says it’s time for everyone, including him, to remember that he is Johnny Wrestling. The open challenge is on and I think you know who’s coming.

Oba Femi vs. Johnny Gargano

A string of running uppercuts in the corner and the Fall From Grace finish Gargano at 1:02.

Michin and B-Fab want Jade Cargill, who will face Michin next week.

Nick Aldis runs into Danhausen, who wants to be in the Hall Of Fame and a mentor. Aldis says that isn’t his responsibility, and then assigns Miz to do it. Danhausen wants to be WWE Champion and his own TV show, threatening a curse if he doesn’t get it. Danhausen: “Remember what happened to Dom.” Miz goes to yell but Danhausen vanishes.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look back at Drew McIntyre beating Cody Rhodes to win the World Title in January. Then McIntyre eliminated Rhodes from the Royal Rumble and cost him the Elimination Chamber, so now Rhodes gets his show anyway.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre is defending and rolls outside while the bell is still echoing. The brawl starts in the aisle with Rhodes knocking him over the barricade. A drink to the face has McIntyre in more trouble and they head inside for Rhodes’ drop down uppercut. McIntyre manages a kick to the face and there’s the release belly to belly suplex. They go outside again where Rhodes sends him into the steps, only for McIntyre to cut off the dive.

A side slam drops Rhodes onto the apron and a suplex gives McIntyre two back inside. Rhodes fights back but can’t hit Cross Rhodes, with McIntyre rolling outside again. McIntyre rams the arm into the post a few times and starts working on the arm back inside. A Codebreaker to the arm sets up a big stomp but Rhodes is able to catch him on top with a superplex. Rhodes starts in on the leg but McIntyre grabs the rope to get out of the Figure Four.

McIntyre is already back on the floor, where the suicide dive takes him down again. The announcers’ table is loaded up but McIntyre fights out of Cross Rhodes. The table collapses anyway so of course the fans want tables. They get one set up on the floor, with McIntyre powerbombing Rhodes through it almost immediately. Back in and McIntyre hits a Cross Rhodes for two, so naturally Rhodes hits a Claymore for the same. The referee almost gets bumped a few times so McIntyre pulls him in the way of the Disaster Kick to make sure the bumping ensues.

Rhodes manages Cross Rhodes so another referee comes out, only for McIntyre to score with a Claymore for a very near fall. McIntyre is livid at another referee coming out so he drops said referee with a Glasgow Kiss. The chair is loaded up but here is Jacob Fatu to take it from McIntyre. The Claymore misses though and it’s a Cody Cutter into the Cross Rhodes to make Rhodes a three time champion at 20:40.

Rating: B+. This took its time to get going but wound up being rather good. I do like that they let McIntyre’s reign end off a pay per view quality match, but there wasn’t much for him in the title picture at Wrestlemania. Rhodes vs. Orton is automatically bigger, though making it a four way wouldn’t stun me either. Either way, solid match here and the right move for the title picture.

Rhodes celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show really does not need to be three hours a week. That’s about all I think by the end of these things, as the shows feel drawn out and a lot longer than they should be. Again, it’s part of the problem of having so many people just standing around in backstage segments: at some point they have to get in the ring and carry the fans’ interest but that wasn’t on display in the 25+ minute match.

Now, there were certainly good parts for this, with Charlotte/Bliss and Rhodes getting closer to what are likely Wrestlemania title matches. Ripley/Cargill’s segment was good enough too and I like the main event situation far more now than I did coming in. It’s certainly not an awful show, but it feels every bit of those one hundred and eighty minutes.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. – Nothing But Net
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss b. Giulia/Kiana James – Natural Selection to Giulia
Damian Priest/R-Truth won Tag Team Turmoil last eliminating Los Garza
Oba Femi b. Johnny Gargano – Fall From Grace
Cody Rhodes b. Drew McIntyre – Cross Rhodes

 

 

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 2, 2026
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re officially out of big stops before Wrestlemania as we are done with Elimination Chamber and the Wrestlemania title matches are set, at least for now. That leaves us with about six weeks before Wrestlemania and we have a title match to get through here, as Penta challenges Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

Long recap of Elimination Chamber.

Here is the Vision to get things going and Paul Heyman is not happy. Heyman says this is where someone is supposed to welcome us to the show but they are here to talk about Seth Rollins, who returned at Elimination Chamber. Rollins is the single biggest thief…and we pause for the fans to sing.

Heyman talks about how he can’t stand that song before talking about how Rollins keeps stealing the main event of Wrestlemania from people who don’t deserve it. He threatens Rollins before handing it off to Austin Theory, who says Rollins stole the victory from Logan Paul. That leaves Paul to talk about how the last person to eliminate three straight people in the Chamber was Brock Lesnar because that is the kind of company he keeps.

Paul threatens to hold the show hostage until Rollins gets out here but here are Adam Pearce and security to cut him off. Pearce says this can’t happen because Rollins isn’t cleared to compete, but here is a masked man over the barricade. Security gives chase and here’s another masked man to draw out Paul. A third masked man draws Theory away and Heyman suddenly realizes he’s all alone.

Cue another masked man, this one through the entrance, but a fifth pops up from behind and unmasks as Rollins. A Roman Reigns style chair shot to the back puts Heyman down and Rollins hits a Stomp. Cole says that was Heyman getting his a** stomped out but I’m pretty sure it was his head. Rollins leaves through the crowd and medics come in to check on Heyman, who is bleeding from the mouth.

Post break we watch what we saw before the break and Heyman is taken away in an ambulance but Jimmy Uso pops out of a car to jump Austin Theory, apparently believing that the Vision attacked Jey Uso. With Theory down, Jimmy goes to the cab of the ambulance…and LA Knight drives it away.

Gunther vs. Dragon Lee

Lee jumps him in the aisle and hits a dropkick through the ropes. Gunther is back with a great looking backdrop into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. We come back with the match joined in progress with Gunther slowly hammering away, including going after the mask a bit. Some choking on the ropes has Lee in more trouble but he fights back with some kicks and manages to knock him outside. A dropkick connects with Gunther again but Gunther chops the heck out of him and we take a break.

We come back with Lee chopping away and hitting some running clotheslines. Gunther goes for the mask again but gets kicked in the head, allowing Lee to hit the running dropkick in the corner. Operation Dragon is countered into something like an Emerald Flosion for two and we slow back down. The powerbomb plants Lee again but Gunther picks him up at two. They head outside for an apron powerbomb and then another onto the announcers’ table, leaving Lee looking mostly done on the floor.

That’s good for an eight before Gunther tries another powerbomb, which is countered into a Code Red. Lee is back up with a suicide dive to knock Gunther over the table and Operation Dragon gets nine as Gunther beats the count. Back in and Lee actually drops him with a clothesline but Gunther pulls him into the sleeper. Gunther isn’t playing here and rips the mask off (with the camera getting a clear shot of the uncovered face) so Lee immediately taps at 12:22.

Rating: B-. Lee still being alive after those powerbombs might have been a stretch and I’m rather sick of the “rip the luchador’s mask off” finish, but they hit another gear there at one point. If you’ve got me thinking there was a chance for Lee to actually beat Gunther (even by countout), something is going right. I liked this way more than I was expecting and that is nice to see.

Asuka yells at Kairi Sane over not winning the Elimination Chamber but Sane says Asuka complimented her last week. That earns Sane even more yelling before Asuka leaves. AJ Lee comes up to check on Sane, who is almost in a trance (Lee: “Blink twice if you need anything.”) until Asuka shouts for her.

Demolition is going into the Hall Of Fame. That’s about as overdue as you can get.

Here is AJ Lee for a chat. She’s back to do more than snatch the hair off of Becky Lynch’s big head. She thanks the fans for having her back and remembering her when others wanted her to be forgotten. Now she’s the Women’s Intercontinental Champion after beating Lynch and having the scars to prove it. She’s exactly who she thought she was and Wrestlemania is in front of her. We’re not waiting for then though and she’s going to be a fighting champion. She mentioned a bunch of women she wants to fight so come at her.

Earlier today, Penta ran into the Original El Grande Americano, who wished him bueno suerte. Americano wants the first shot when Penta wins the Intercontinental Title, with Penta saying cero miedo. With Penta gone, Los Americanos came in, with an argument over which of them is the real version. Apparently they’re fighting at Rey de Reyes, but Original wants to fight one of them tonight.

Liv Morgan talks about being ready to face Stephanie Vaquer and prove herself again. Morgan lists off her resume and is ready to take the title at Wrestlemania.

Original El Grande Americano vs. Rayo Americano

The other Americanos are here too. Grande goes after the arm to start but Rayo fights back, almost out of desperation. La majistral gives Grande two and a frustrated Rayo bails to the floor. Bravo dances a bit for a distraction but Grande knocks Rayo outside for a flip dive off the apron. Another distraction lets Rayo post Grande though and we take a break.

We come back with Grande hitting a rolling kick to the head, followed by something like a reverse Angle Slam. The ankle lock goes on but Rayo flips him into the corner. Rayo goes up top, where Grande belly to belly superplexes him back down. Grande tries for the mask so Bravo offers a distraction, allowing Americano to hit the (presumably) loaded headbutt. Rayo’s Swan Dive gets two so he goes after Grande’s mask, which has Grande fighting back. Americano’s interference doesn’t work so it’s a rolling Chaos Theory to give Grande the pin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. This whole Americanos thing is some of the goofiest stuff I’ve seen WWE do in a long time but what matters the most is hitting a big blowoff. Doing that at Rey de Reyes has me wondering just how crazy they’re going, because it could be a lot of fun. The wrestling itself is good, but put this in front of the right audience and a mask vs. mask match could be excellent.

Penta is ready to win the Intercontinental Title.

We look at Oba Femi wrecking Miz on Smackdown.

Here is Rusev on the announcers’ table to call out Femi for a fight right now. Cue Femi, who says come in here and make something happen. They go face to face and actually slug it out with Femi getting the better of things to clear Rusev out.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria talk about having a bad run lately but Valkyria wants to make sure Bayley gets to Wrestlemania. Valkyria suggests the Women’s Intercontinental Title but Bayley says she cost Valkyria a title match already so they should both go. They get to Adam Pearce’s office but Iyo Sky is walking out at the same time.

Jimmy Uso vs. Austin Theory

Uso jumps him to start but gets dropped with a spinning right hand. Back up and Uso knocks him to the floor for the suicide dive and it’s time for the announcers’ table. A superkick puts Theory on the table but Uso has to dive on Logan Paul. Theory gets back in and the double teaming is enough for the DQ at 2:40.

Post match Jey Uso is already back to make the save, complete with crutches.

Adam Pearce is on the phone with Nick Aldis but runs into Danhausen. He has some demands, like a Hall Of Fame induction, his face on the trucks, and something about a camera boy. The paper is wet as he dropped it in a toilet so Pearce isn’t pleased. Judgment Day comes in (Pearce is off to drink) and Danhausen doesn’t know JD McDonagh’s name. They don’t like him, with Dominik Mysterio saying that no, he can’t have the Intercontinental Title. That earns Mysterio a CURSE and Mysterio is gone.

Here is Rhea Ripley, with Iyo Sky, for a chat. Ripley talks about how bad things have been for the two of them, but then everything changed on Saturday. She thanks Sky for being everything to her and getting her out of a dark place. Sky is proud of her and says she’ll be ok on Raw, while Ripley can go win the title at Wrestlemania. Ripley looks into the camera and says she’ll be at Smackdown and leaving Wrestlemania as champion.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio, with Judgment Day, is defending. They start fast with an exchange of kicks and Penta sends him to the floor for the early running flip dive. We take a fast break and come back with Penta kicking him in the back of the head for two. Mysterio grabs an Edge-O-Matic (which I believe he has named the Mullet-O-Matic) for two and they go to the apron, where Penta gets planted with a DDT for two. Penta tries to kick back but gets sent to the floor for a big step up dive. A running crossbody sends Penta over the barricade and we take another break.

We come back with Penta kicking away in the corner, including the slingshot dropkick for two. The Backstabber out of the corner gets two more but Penta charges into a Michinoku Driver. The 619 connects but Mysterio dives into the Sacrifice. A Penta Driver gets two more and a ticked off Penta stomps away in the corner.

The charge misses into the post though and Penta has hurt his shoulder. Mysterio tells McDonagh to get the bell hammer but Balor cuts it off, saying Mysterio needs to do it himself. Penta’s big running flip dive takes Judgment Day out and the Mexican Destroyer gives us a new champion at 16:25.

Rating: B-. This was kind of a slow paced match for awhile but Penta getting the big upset win is a great thing. He’s been the kind of guy who has been around the title picture for a long time but hasn’t won anything, so it’s nice to see it actually happen. Mysterio feuding with Balor is a fine way to go, especially if he gets the title back so Balor can get a big win of his own. It’s not like Mysterio is going to lose his heat anytime soon.

We see a clip from after Elimination Chamber, where Nick Aldis had to be held back from Drew McIntyre. As a result, McIntyre is defending against Cody Rhodes this Friday on Smackdown. McIntyre came out to yell and Aldis even took his jacket off before being held back.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat and after a break, he hits the catchphrase but gets cut off by CM Punk. He does the one finger and points out that he’s acknowledging Roman, which is all Reigns wants. Reigns brings up a tweet he sent out about Punk, who says he isn’t bothered by it because he doesn’t get mad at what people say about him on podcasts and such. Punk says he’s got to put up with Reigns’ bulls*** for seven weeks and the first stop on the Road To Wrestlemania is here in Indianapolis.

This is where the Shield debuted because Punk brought them up. Reigns: “You brought the other two. Not me.” Punk talks about how he’s under Reigns’ skin and it’s translucent because he can see right through Reigns. It’s true that Reigns hates him but what Phil is missing is that if he didn’t have the title, Reigns would be indifferent to him. Punk is back to entertain the 38-40 year old virgins who still live with their parents. Or maybe to sell some t-shirts and draw a house in Chicago. But being champion?

That’s above Punk’s pay grade because he’s a liar. Reigns says Phil has people believing that he’s a locker room leader who has some great time. Every second that Punk is b******* and moaning back there, Reigns’ cousins are telling him about it because Punk is just a punk a** b****. When Reigns wins the title, he’s putting Punk on a John Cena retirement tour. Then Punk can go down to NXT to teach these people how to do what they do and then they’ll come up to the main roster where Reigns smashes them.

Reigns goes to leave but Punk stops him, saying they have to cover some things. Punk wants to know what Reigns means by “we” because Reigns is all alone. There are no more Samoans or even a wise man because Punk took the wise man away. Reigns is the one chasing him because Punk runs things around here.

Yeah he’s hanging out with Reigns’ cousins and the reality is Reigns can’t get it done by himself. Punk doesn’t care if Reigns doesn’t love him but Reigns will respect him. That puts Reigns on the list, because he’s not just getting beaten but he’s getting buried. Then he won’t be all alone anymore, because Punk is going to bury him next to his father. Punk leaves and Reigns is not happy with how personal that just went.

This worked rather well, as it had me wondering how much of this was a story and how much was two people airing some grievances. I want to see where it’s going from here and I have no idea how the Wrestlemania match is going to go, which is one of the best feelings you can have for a match, especially one of the biggest of the year.

Overall Rating: B+. You may like where things are going for Wrestlemania or you may not. What matters is that WWE seems to have a card in mind with a month and a half to go. Right now you have the four main singles title matches and there is a good chance you can pencil in Usos vs. Vision and Rollins vs. possibly Brock Lesnar. This show did some serious work to get us there and I’ve heard worse cards. It would be nice to have Smackdown doing the same, which very well maybe the case this Friday. Raw did well this week, though there is still a long time before Wrestlemania.

Results
Gunther b. Dragon Lee – Sleeper
Original El Grande Americano b. Rayo Americano – Rolling Chaos Theory
Jimmy Uso b. Austin Theory via DQ when Logan Paul interfered
Penta b. Dominik Mysterio – Mexican Destroyer

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: February 27, 2026
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore

It’s the night before Elimination Chamber and the show’s namesake matches are finally set. This week’s Raw saw the final two qualifying matches and that means we can get to the last bit of the buildup. Other than that, the Women’s Tag Team Titles are on the line so let’s get to it.

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

Jey Uso has been attacked and is being taken away in an ambulance (that’s how they get around him qualifying when he wasn’t supposed to). Jimmy Uso says he’ll find out who did it, though Trick Williams says that’s one down. While it doesn’t seem that he’s saying he attacked Jey, Je’Von Evans doesn’t like it.

We cut to Drew McIntyre in the arena, saying he didn’t do it. Cody Rhodes, on a split screen, doesn’t like it so here are Nick Aldis and security to get rid of McIntyre. Rhodes comes in to say let’s fight right here and right now, but McIntyre says no because it’s no benefit to him.

Rhodes shouts that McIntyre is “disengaging” and that he has run away his entire title reign but here is Randy Orton to interrupt. Orton wants to be in the main event of Wrestlemania, which draws out Williams to interrupt as well. He brags about getting mentioned by Bruno Mars and says that since we’re in the KFC arena, he can add something to the menu.

Cue Evans, who says he’s here to beat Orton’s record as youngest World Champion. Now it’s LA Knight interrupting, saying everyone here, including McIntyre, belongs to him. Williams: “WHOOP THAT TRICK!” Knight thinks that’s a good idea and the brawl is on, with the two of them fighting to the back and an RKO dropping Evens. Orton and Rhodes stare each other down but don’t get physical.

Tiffany Stratton is ready to win the Elimination Chamber but Asuka, with Kairi Sane, interrupts. Stratton is ready for Asuka and the match seems likely.

Solo Sikoa vs. Uncle Howdy

They lock up to start and Sikoa shoves him out of the corner. A slugout doesn’t go anywhere so they head outside, with Sikoa’s Samoan Spike hitting the post by mistake. Howdy sends him into the timekeeper’s area but stops to look at the lantern. Sikoa gets in a knockdown of his own and we take a break.

We come back with a Samoan drop getting two on Howdy and the nerve hold going on. Spinning Solo and a Superfly Splash give Sikoa two more as the fans are behind Howdy. Sikoa loads up his own Sister Abigail but gets the Mandible Claw as a result. That’s broken up with the Samoan Spike but the hand is too banged up. Sikoa charges into Sister Abigail for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: C+. This was another step in a long feud between the two families and that’s an interesting enough way to go. As has been the case, this fits Sikoa far better than the big boss of the top heel stable and it’s making things a lot easier. Howdy winning clean is a surprise, but it’s probably his biggest win on the main roster, which is nice to see.

Post match Howdy gets the lantern back and of course the MFTs jump him to take it back. The Wyatts come in just too late for the save.

Nick Aldis has Drew McIntyre leave when the Vision (all three healthy members) comes in. Paul Heyman is here to volunteer Logan Paul to take Jey Uso’s place in the Chamber. Aldis finds this all very convenient but he’ll make some calls.

Video on the Women’s Tag Team Title match.

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are ready for tonight but then they’re ready for Ripley to win the Chamber tomorrow night. Jade Cargill comes in to say Ripley is on her own tomorrow night.

Jacob Fatu comes up to Nick Aldis and accuses Drew McIntyre of taking out Jey Uso. Fatu wants in the Chamber, but Aldis doesn’t say yes.

Video on Damian Priest’s time in NXT and how it helped him get ready for the main roster.

Jelly Roll is here.

Asuka vs. Tiffany Stratton

Chelsea Green is on commentary but hang on, as Asuka says she’s resting before the Chamber so Kairi Sane can do this instead.

Kairi Sane vs. Tiffany Stratton

Chelsea Green is still on commentary as the switch didn’t make her wheel off. Stratton flips away from her to start and hits a hip attack, only to get distracted by Asuka. Sane rams Stratton into the buckle and we take a break. We come back with Stratton flipping into an Alabama Slam for two but Sane breaks up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

Sane’s top rope double stomp gets two but Stratton is back with a running basement dropkick. They go to the apron where Sane hits a quick DDT, only for Stratton to break up the Insane Elbow. Sane is sent flying onto Alba Fyre before missing Stratton and knocking Green into her wheelchair. Back in and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever finishes Sane at 10:21.

Rating: B-. The Green stuff was funny as usual, as she knows exactly how to do what she’s been up to lately. I’m expecting her to cost Stratton the Chamber tomorrow and that could set up a nice showdown. Sane as Asuka’s servant is still fun and it makes perfect sense for Asuka to have Sane to her dirty work here.

Nick Aldis finds the Vision in his office and Logan Paul is indeed in the Chamber…if he wins his qualifying match…against Jacob Fatu. Paul Heyman isn’t happy but Logan says he can do it.

Miz vs. Oba Femi

Miz says they don’t have to fight but Femi takes the mic from him and says get your own. Miz talks about being in developmental in this very city but not listening to the locker room leaders. Now he wants to be Femi’s Undertaker. Femi: “You do look like a dead man to me.”

Miz can get the fans chanting OBA, which they do, though Femi says that means he can do it on his own (not exactly). The fight is on and Femi knocks him out of the air but misses a charge into the corner. The Fall From Grace finishes at 4:48, though the physical part of the match was barely a minute.

Rating: C-. Ok so not much of a match, but Femi did just squash a former multiple time WWE Champion in short order. That’s how you make Femi feel even more like a monster and this was a total destruction. You don’t see someone brought in like this very often and it’s working well thus far, though those last two words are the key.

Carmelo Hayes still wants Ilja Dragunov to take up the US Open Challenge but Dragunov is in a suit. Hayes tells him to take the shot before someone beats him to it.

US Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. ???

Hayes is defending against…Matt Cardona. Feeling out process to start with Hayes ducking a clothesline but running into a dropkick. Cardona grabs a headlock before ducking a dropkick from Hayes for a change. Some choking has Hayes in more trouble as this is a more aggressive Cardona than usual. Hayes knocks him to the floor but misses a dive into the announcers’ table as we take a break.

We come back with Cardona’s running boot in the corner connecting and a knee to the face putting Hayes on the floor. Back in and Hayes catches him in the ropes for the Fadeaway and a springboard clothesline drops Cardona again. La Mistica gets two on Cardona, who is right back with a tiger bomb for the same. The Rough Ryder is countered into a superkick for two but the second Rough Ryder gives Cardona two of his own. Hayes hits a quick First 48 to retain at 11:51.

Rating: B-. Cardona continues his return to WWE and is still doing about the same thing. By that I mean pretty much nothing important other than being a slightly more serious than usual star, which isn’t much of an upgrade over his Zack Ryder days. Hayes adds another title defense to his reign, which is fine, but it feels like another day of waiting before we have the big match with Dragunov.

Post match respect is shown.

The tag teams look at the crate and R-Truth teaches them how to use the ESPN app. Johnny Gargano is wheeled in but Candice LeRae has to get to the ring for her match. Kit Wilson comes in and calls the guys toxic, which they find hilarious.

Jordynne Grace vs. Candice LeRae

Johnny Gargano, actually on his feet, is here with LeRae. Well at least he is before the break. Grace takes her down to start fast but gets enziguried for an early two. The chinlock doesn’t last long and they fight over a rollup for a bunch of ones. Grace catches her up top with a delayed vertical superplex but the Grace Driver is blocked. Gargano is at least sitting up now but goes to leave, which is enough of a distraction for Grace to grab a pumphandle suplex for the pin at 3:47.

Rating: C+. Well at least they’re finally doing something with Gargano, who is starting to cause all kinds of issues for LeRae. It’s certainly something different and hopefully leads to something better, as he hasn’t exactly been doing much in recent weeks. Grace doesn’t have much going on either, though at least she won.

Raquel Rodriguez thinks Judgment Day could get both Women’s Title shots at Wrestlemania but Jade Cargill comes in to cut her off. They bicker a bit and here are Michin and B Fab to threaten Cargill again. Can she please just wreck both of them already and get this over with?

We look at AJ Styles’ tribute from Raw, capped off by his Hall Of Fame announcement.

Cody Rhodes says he hopes it’s Jacob Fatu in the Chamber and walks off to see Sami Zayn. They shake hands and nothing is said. Zayn goes over to Fatu and asks how Jey Uso is doing. Apparently not too well, which has Zayn thinking Fatu might have done it. Fatu threatens violence and doesn’t like this, but Zayn goes on a rant about how he might have done it. That’s shot down as well, with Zayn telling Fatu to go win and then get upset about everything.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Irresistible Forces vs. Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky

Ripley and Sky are defending and Legend blocks Sky’s early sunset flip attempt. Ripley comes in and gets kneed down but hands it back to Sky, who dropkicks Jax. The champs are cut off on the floor though and swung into the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Legend kicking Sky down for two, followed by Jax’s cheap shot getting the same. Sky comes back up with a kick to the head and it’s back to Ripley to strike away at Jax.

A missile dropkick gives Ripley two and Sky and Legend send each other into things on the floor. Ripley breaks up the Annihilator and powerbombs Jax out of the corner for two. Jax is sent outside for a cannonball off the apron as we take a break. We come back with Jax’s headbutt dropping Ripley and a Samoan drop putting her onto the announcers’ table.

Back in and Legend’s chokeslam sets up a middle rope legdrop to give Jax two but she misses a charge into the post. Sky comes back in to kick away at both Forces but legend launches her at Jax for…I don’t actually know, though it did put Jax down. The Bullet Train hits Legend and Over The Moonsault gets two, with Jax making the save. An Annihilator gets two on Sky with Ripley making the save. Back in and Riptide drops Jax but Ripley’s back is hurt, allowing Legend to hit the Lash Extension for the pin and the titles at 18:16.

Rating: B. This got pretty awesome at the end and that was cool to see, with Legend getting the big moment of pinning Ripley for a title. I do like this a lot better with Ripley on her way to a big singles match tomorrow, as there is little reason to have a tag champion in that kind of a match. Legend and Jax as monster champions could do well as they’ve been a nice pairing thus far. Good match here with the right result.

Charlotte and Alexa Bliss are not happy with the title change and Charlotte eats ice cream to get over Bliss possibly going to Wrestlemania without her. Giulia and Kiana James come in to mock them but Jade Cargill shows up to wish them all some sarcastic good luck.

Solo Sikoa and the MFTs want Nick Aldis to do something about the Wyatt Sicks. Aldis saw Sikoa lose clean, so it’s time to find some new #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles, which we’ll find next week. Works for Sikoa.

The Irresistible Forces are very happy with their win and Cathy Kelly is NOT invited to their title party.

We get the opening to Elimination Chamber, which does indeed focus on Chicago and CM Punk. He’s used to the sides closing in, which is why he isn’t bothered by the Chamber.

Randy Orton runs into Aleister Black and Zelina. Black thinks the Black Mass woke him up but Orton promises to find him after the Chamber. That’s just what Black wants.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Logan Paul vs. Jacob Fatu

The rest of the Vision is here with Paul, who fires off a running elbow in the corner to start fast. Some clotheslines and a backsplash have Paul in trouble though and Fatu fires off headbutts in the corner. A running splash in the corner puts Paul down again and Fatu scores with a suicide dive as we take a break.

We come back with Fatu’s splash hitting the post but Paul misses a frog splash. A superkick and handspring moonsault give Fatu two but his Swanton hits raised knees. Paul is back with a Blockbuster and a Lionsault which overshoots Fatu for two. The Paulverizer is blocked though and Fatu hits the running Umaga Attack in the corner. Heyman gets up for a distraction, which lets Paul hit Fatu low. The big right hand and frog splash get two and Heyman can’t believe the kickout.

Cue the Masked Man to go after Austin Theory but Paul decks him and steals the mask to reveal…just some guy. Even commentary says they’ve never seen him before as security takes him away. Back in and Fatu hits the pop up Samoan drop but cue Drew McIntyre to knock him into a rollup to give Paul the pin at 11:21.

Rating: B. This was another wild one with all kinds of shenanigans as they had to find a fast way out of Jey Uso getting the spot. Paul getting the spot over Bronson Reed (who seems to have been the original planned winner) is just swapping in one member of the team for another, which is a perfect way to go. The Masked Man (apparently played by Seth Rollins (among others) student Don Furio) definitely feels like it’s going to continue, which is probably for the best as they need some time to figure all of this out.

Overall Rating: B-. The last two matches boosted it up a lot, but the middle hour definitely felt like a section that would have been cut from a two hour show. They had a lot to cover this week and most of it worked, but those US Open Challenges are starting to run out of steam. The good overpowers the bad here, though everything is going to change next week with only time before Wrestlemania.

Results
Uncle Howdy b. Solo Sikoa – Sister Abigail
Tiffany Stratton b. Kairi Sane – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Oba Femi b. The Miz – Fall From Grace
Carmelo Hayes b. Matt Cardona – First 48
Jordynne Grace b. Candice LeRae – Pumphandle suplex
Irresistible Forces b. Rhea Ripley/Iyo Sky – Lash Extension to Ripley
Logan Paul b. Jacob Fatu – Rollup

 

 

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

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Even More Incredible Battle Royals
Commentators: Booker T., Josh Matthews, Michael Cole, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, Lord Alfred Hayes, Ron Trongard, Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett, Randy Savage, Lee Marshall, Bill DeMott, Nigel Sherrod

Oddly enough, I’ve had a lot of fun with the previous two entries in this series, as they’re just fun to watch. The best part is that a lot of these haven’t been seen in a long time, so they’re not exactly famous. That leaves you with some surprise entries and winners, which hopefully is the case again here. Let’s get to it.

From Smackdown, July 3, 2012.

Battle Royal

Alberto Del Rio, Kane, Jack Swagger, John Cena, Tensai, Damien Sandow, Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Brodus Clay, Great Khali, Big Show, Ezekiel Jackson, Zack Ryder, Christian, Santino Marella, Justin Gabriel, Cody Rhodes

Teddy Long introduces this one, as the winner will be GM next week and that is a stacked lineup. Gabriel is out in a hurry and Show dumps Clay out as well. Tensai gets rid of Jackson and a bunch of people get rid of Khali to clear out a lot of the ring. There goes Sandow and Marella is out as well. Show shoves out Rhodes and Kingston at the same time and we take a break.

We come back with Slater and Swagger put out during the break before Punk’s crossbody gets rid of Bryan…and himself as well. Kane starts wrecking people, including a chokeslam to Show but he doesn’t bother getting rid of anyone. A bunch of heels go after Cena, who fights back and gets rid of Del Rio. Tensai goes after Cena but gets tossed, with Show throwing Cena out instead.

Ryder goes after Show for some dumb reason and gets hit with a spear. Kane tosses Show and Ziggler at the same time, leaving us with Ryder vs. Kane, which fits as Kane ruined Ryder’s life late last year. Ryder slips off the shoulder but gets kicked in the face, only to come back with the Broski Boot. The Rough Ryder is cut off but Ryder low bridges him out for the win at 10:49.

Rating: C+. They had some star power here and that helped a lot, but it was nice to see Ryder actually winning something for a change. The good thing is that Ryder only had to pull the rope down to get some revenge but that’s better than nothing. The bigger names were pretty much cleared out without much of a second thought, but that’s one of the perks of a match like this. Nice enough job here.

From Madison Square Garden, October 20, 1986.

$50,000 Tag Team Battle Royal

Moondogs (Rex/Spot), Rougeau Brothers (Jacques Rougeau/Raymond Rougeau), Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake/Greg Valentine), The Indians (Steve Gatorwolf/Chief Jay Strongbow), Hart Foundation (Bret Hart/Jim Neidhart), Mike Rotundo/SD Jones, Islanders (Haku/Tama), Nikolai Volkoff/Iron Sheik, Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell/Brian Blair), Machines (Super Machine/Big Machine), British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith/Dynamite Kid), King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd

If one member of a team is eliminated, their partner is out as well. The Moondogs are out in about ten seconds and it’s already time to slow down for the weak elimination attempts. Sheik has to save himself from a fireman’s carry and Beefcake is sent to the apron but not out. Studd is almost out but Bundy cuts that off in a hurry.

Rotundo and Jones are out, as are the Indians (and yes, that’s what their graphic said) to clear the ring a bit. Sheik is backdropped out and the Harts/Bulldogs go out, naturally brawling on the floor as they leave. The Machines are almost out, though the Bees are entirely out as things are managing to slow down even more.

Studd backdrops Jacques out and Beefcake follows him, leaving us with the Machines, the Islanders and Bundy/Studd. Bundy and Studd get rid of the Machines though and we’re down to two. Well four but whatever. Tama gets crushed by the Avalanche, which leaves Haku fighting two monsters on his own (I feel sorry for them). Haku slugs away at Studd but Bundy misses a charge and hits his own partner to knock Studd out, giving the Islanders the win at 10:33.

Rating: C-. So the action here was the usual drek, but DANG it was nice to see some actual tag teams for a change. The 80s was just loaded with tag teams and some of these would go on to be among the best of their era. This would have been even better like a year later, but this was a fun one for the names alone. Not a good match for the most part save for the hot ending, but fine for a house show special attraction.

From the AWA. There’s no date given but this would likely be late 1982 (it’s definitely after October 9, 1982 as Otto Wanz is billed as a former World Champion).

$50,000 Battle Royal

Jerry Blackwell, Ken Patera, Buck Zumhoffe, Greg Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Baron von Raschke, Bobby Heenan, Kevin Johnson, Tom Lintz, Jim Brunzell, Jacques Goulet, Brad Rheingans, Rick Martel, Bobby Heenan, Adnan Al-Kaissie, Ray Stevens, Adrian Adonis, Bobby Duncum, Otto Wanz, Nick Bockwinkel

Hogan is listed at 335lbs, which is huge for him. Also, since everyone got an individual entrance, I had time to think about something. This is billed as a $50,000 battle royal, with 18 entrants. Commentary said that the participants had put up money for the big prize. But then there was a surprise, as it was now a twenty person battle royal. Now at 18 entrants, $50k breaks down to about $2,777 each. So did the last two entrants have to pay as well and the prize was really about $55k? Or did they get in free? Or did the AWA just pocket the extra entry fees? No wonder they didn’t last.

Commentary says the battle royal is underway, then a few seconds later the bell rings, then a few seconds later the ring announcer says it’s begun. Geez people we can see the concept. Hogan is in early trouble as Andre beats on Patera, who is on the floor but I don’t believe out. There are multiple people on the floor but commentary is not exactly great at telling us who is out.

We get the five minutes in call at less than four minutes as this company can’t get anything right. Adonis hits Andre in the back for some annoyance as we’re told everyone is still officially in. Stevens is finally the first one out and Lintz is out, though Heenan manages to save himself. Patera dumps Johnson as we’re told it’s ten minutes in before it’s even nine. Goulet is out and Adonis goes up top to forearm Raschke, which is quite the odd pairing. Raschke is out soon after and Zumhoffe joins him (good) as Gagne and Adonis fight on the floor without being eliminated.

Rheingans is out and Adonis goes up top again for some reason, with Andre slamming him down. Wanz is out, as is Adonis (billed as the Golden Boy, which is so bizarre given what he would become) and we get a bunch of people almost going out on the same rope before getting back in. Martel is out and things slow down again. We settle down to Heenan and company against the good guys, with Hogan and Andre picking up Gagne and Brunzell to kick various villains away (that’s a visual).

We’re told it’s fifteen minutes in (no) as Brunzell is tossed by Blackwell and Duncum. There goes Gagne and the villains split off to triple team Hogan and Andre in different corners. Hogan is sent through the ropes to the floor, where the beating continues. Andre fights out and gets rid of Blackwell and Al-Kaissie, plus Duncum.

Heenan comes off the top with an ax handle to save Bockwinkel and eliminates himself to avoid Andre… who goes over the top to eliminate himself as well. That leaves Patera and Bockwinkel to double team Hogan, who sends them into each other. Hogan backdrops both of them out to win (and jump up and down in celebration) at 19:52.

Rating: C. I’m not a big AWA guy for the most part, but they have a certain charm about them that was on display here. If nothing else, having Heenan running around trying to run things and then eliminating himself with quite the athletic jump was a great bonus. This had the usual share of standing around, but it’s fun to see such a different version of this kind of match from a promotion that doesn’t get a lot of attention.

From Monday Night Raw, February 15, 1993 (this was on the Invasion Of The Bodyslammers Coliseum Video, albeit with different commentary, so I’ve seen it far too many times).

Battle Royal

Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Kamala, Kim Chee, Shawn Michaels, Iron Mike Sharpe, Bob Backlund, Typhoon, Razor Ramon, Damien Demento, Berzerker, Terry Taylor, Skinner, Tito Santana, Tatanka

It’s a big brawl to start and for some reason almost everyone is on one side of the ring. Michaels backdrops Ware out (in a great bump) as commentary talks about Tatanka beating Michaels on Superstars (which I actually watched earlier tonight). Typhoon gets rid of Skinner and Demento is out as well as this is not exactly flying thus far. Berzerker gets rid of Hart but is tossed out by Backlund.

Chee helps Typhoon eliminate Kamala, which just seems like a bad idea. Indeed as Kamala goes back inside to chop Chee and chase him through the crowd and into the concourse as we take a break. We come back (it’s kind awesome that we get to see the stuff in the break on the Coliseum Video) with Kamala chasing Chee through the balcony. Back in the ring, Typhoon gets backdropped over the corner for the elimination and we’re down to Michaels, Ramon, Santana and Tatanka, which breaks down into one heck of a tag match.

Michaels unloads on Tatanka in the corner and Ramon seems to knee Santana low. Santana is back up with the flying forearm and Michaels hits Tatanka with a dropkick. Michaels is sent onto the corner and the good guys kick him out at the same time to get us down to three. And here’s the Giant Gonzalez to knock Ramon through the ropes and throw the other two over before leaving. Ramon climbs back in and wins at 13:32.

Rating: D+. I love the tape and I’ve seen it quite a few times, but yeah this isn’t very good. It’s a few stars with a bunch of filler names and then Gonzalez coming in to wreck everyone at the end. The Kamala chase was funny, but that’s about the only entertaining part. It’s not a terrible match, but it’s pretty boring (until the final four) and that’s worse.

From the AWA, Saint Paul, Minnesota, February 7, 1989.

AWA World Title: Battle Royal

Sgt. Slaughter, Larry Zbyszko, Tom Zenk, Ken Patera, Steve Ray, Greg Gagne, Colonel DeBeers, Ricky Rice, Wayne Bloom, Wahoo McDaniel, Pat Tanaka, Mike Enos, Manny Fernandez, Akio Sato, Derrick Dukes, Mike George, Paul Diamond, Tommy Jammer

For the vacant title. It’s the usual start and there are no entrances here so good luck figuring out who all is in this. This means a lot of choking and brawling near the ropes, with the only interesting note being Diamond Dallas Page on the floor as a manager for apparently three or four people. Jammer is out and Enos (with his very 80s jeans) is as well, followed by I believe George (commentary is useless).

Fernandez is knocked out and a running clothesline gets rid of….someone commentary doesn’t bother to name. Patera is out and Fernandez is back in, as commentary apparently doesn’t get the difference between IN and OUT. DeBeers can’t get rid of Slaughter but someone can get rid of Sato. Fernandez is actually out and a bunch of people are tossed at once. We’re down to Zbyszko, Zenk, Gagne, Tatanka, DeBeers and Slaughter, with Gagne going up top like a moron and missing a top rope stomp.

Gagne is thrown out shortly thereafter and Zenk is on the floor but not out. Slaughter gets rid of Tanaka and DeBeers but gets tossed by Zbyszko. So we’re down two Zenk and Zbyszko as DeBeers brawls with Slaughter. And apparently this is now a regular match, as Zenk hits an atomic drop for two. Zbyszko slams him for two but gets sent hard into the corner. The referee gets bumped (oh sweet goodness) and Zenk hits his dropkick for an incredibly delayed two. A suplex gets two more but Zenk’s crossbody is thrown over the top rope to give Zbyszko the title at 15:38.

Rating: D-. This was a perfect illustration of why the AWA was dying. You had a bunch of people who didn’t feel like stars having an awful battle royal with the ending not really making sense. There was nothing to see here and it was a total mess, which explains the AWA in a nutshell: yeah it existed, but why would you want to watch it?

From the Global Wrestling Federation (early 90s promotion in Dallas), sometime in 1992.

$2000 Bunkhouse Battle Royal

Alex Porteau, Stevie Ray, Booker T, Chaz, Johnny Mantel, Gary Young, Black Bart, Shawn Summers, Rod Price, Scott Putski, Steven Dane, Tug Taylor, Maniac, Dewey, Terry Sill

You can win by over the top or pinfall and….my goodness this place does not have the best looking roster. Price is thrown out and pulls Young with him to get us down to thirteen. Chaz and Dane are both out and Booker beats up Tug Taylor as the Maniac (he’s a bit off) eliminates himself. Booker pins Dewey (I think?) before Summers, Taylor and Putski are all out. Mantel chokes Ray in the corner until Booker makes the save as Bart eliminates Sill. Porteau is out and we’re down to four as we take a break.

We come back with Booker and Ray in stereo chinlocks (in a BATTLE ROYAL) but they fight up…and get pulled back down into the chinlocks. Those are broken up so Ray grabs his own chinlock as I’m amazed at how bad these people are at this stuff. Bart fights up and ties Ray in the ropes while Booker skins the cat to save himself. Ray is back up and tosses Bart and Mantel…meaning Ray and Booker both win at 10:14.

Rating: F. Chinlocks. Multiple chinlocks. In a battle royal. I have no idea how this is the best way they could go, but it offers a good illustration of why this promotion is not exactly remembered positively. This was absolutely nothing and I don’t even get the ending, which wasn’t explained in any way and made a bad match even worse.

From Deep South Wrestling, the disaster of a developmental territory which did produce some good WWE talent, likely in 2005.

Battle Royal

Mike Mizanin, Mike Knox, Mike Shane, Todd Shane, Freakin Deacon, Palmer Cannon, Eric Perez, Nick Mitchell, Roughhouse O’Reilly, Antonio Banks, Mack Johnson, Derek Neikirk, Damien Steele, Kid Kash, Ryan Reeves, Mike Taylor, Joe Slaughter, Johnny Slaughter, Ray Gordy, Tony Santarelli, ???

For a bye in the first round of the Deep South Title tournament and one of the twenty one entrants are never named. Everyone goes after the Regulators (Shane and Shane) to start as commentary is rather hard to understand. One Shane saves the other from a group elimination and Roughhouse O’Reilly (Konnor of the Ascension) has to save himself. Todd Shane is thrown out and Mike Shane follows him as we’re now able to focus on anything else.

The Deacon (Luke Gallows) gets in front of Cannon as everyone tries to charge, with the Deacon eliminating four people in a row. Cannon bails to the floor so Deacon dives onto a bunch of people at once. A bunch of people get rid of Deacon as Cannon is now hiding underneath the ring.

We take a break and come back with Cannon hiding on the floor again as the brawl continues inside. A man in green gets enziguried out but chases Cannon back inside rather than leaving like he should. Well no wonder Cannon ran from that rulebreaker. Everyone looks at Cannon, who dives over the top to eliminate/save himself. Banks (the future MVP) is out and we get down to a bunch of brawling on the ropes. Johnson and Mitchell are eliminated and we take another break.

We come back with nine entrants remaining and the fans behind Reeves (the future Ryback) as someone not important enough to name is tossed. Steele sends Kash to the apron, only for Kash to dump him out. Neikirk has to save himself from being very close to an elimination and O’Reilly is put on the apron. Neikirk and Kash get together to eliminate Reeves and O’Reilly and we’re down to five as we take another break.

We come back with Miz and Taylor staring down with Team Elite (Neikirk, Kash and Knox). Miz gets double teamed in the corner but Kash turns on Knox with a hurricanrana. That earns him a boot to the face from Knox, allowing Taylor and Miz to…not eliminate him. Knox is back up with one heck of a chop to Miz in the corner and they pair off again. Taylor’s hurricanrana takes Kash to the apron but not out, leaving Miz to DDT the other two at the same time.

Taylor and Kash hit a double clothesline and everyone is down. Miz and Taylor are back up to take over on the villains but Taylor misses a charge and gets booted out. That leaves Miz on his own against the three villains, who quickly sends him to the apron to start. Miz manages to pull Kash halfway down though and the other two toss Kash out to get us down to three. Kash grabs at Miz from the floor so here is Taylor to go after him as well. Knox and Neikirk double team Miz but he skins the cat and headscissors Neikirk out. Knox pump kicks Miz in the face for the win at 40:30.

Rating: B. Well DANG that came out of nowhere. I was expecting absolutely nothing here and they wound up having one heck of a match in the end. The last ten minutes or so with Miz and Taylor fighting against the monsters worked great and I wanted to see how they were getting out of it. The time made it work well too, as this had no reason to go this long but they made it work and did something rather good. Nice job here and FAR better than I was expecting.

Overall Rating: D+. Well the winning streak ends at two, as the Deep South match wasn’t enough to make this work. That stretch of the 1993 match, the AWA mess and the horrible Global match dragged this WAY down. There wasn’t much to see here, with the opener and finale being good but not worth your watch. Go and check out the other two entries in the series as they’re a good bit better.

 

 

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

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

ECW On Sci Fi
Date: October 7, 2008
Location: Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington
Commentators: Todd Grisham, Matt Striker

We’re done with No Mercy and Matt Hardy is still the ECW Champion, having survived Mark Henry. The following night didn’t go so well for Hardy, who was pinned by Kane in a tag match on Raw. That could open up a few different options and we could be seeing more of Kane around here. Or it means nothing. Let’s get to it.

Here is No Mercy if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Finlay/Tommy Dreamer vs. Mike Knox/Jack Swagger

Hornswoggle is here too. Finlay and Knox start things off with Finlay going straight to the elbow to the head. The running seated senton allows the tag off to Dreamer and a bulldog drops Knox again. Swagger gets knocked to the floor for a clothesline from the apron but Knox is back up with a pump kick.

We take a break and come back with Knox’s suplex getting two on Dreamer and a cheap shot knocking Finlay off the apron. Swagger comes in and misses the Vader Bomb, meaning Dreamer can come in to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s a Tadpole Splash into a shillelagh shot to give Finlay the pin on Knox.

Rating: C+. Totally standard tag match here and that’s a fine way to go. Well, as far as you could get with Knox involved. He’s just turned into such a nothing name around here but the show is in such a need for bodies that he has to stick around. Finlay is also fine for a midcard name and that’s all he needs to be, making him a fine example of how to use a veteran of his status.

It’s October so Tiffany is a devil and Teddy Long is a vampire (I think). Jamie Noble comes in and says he’s dressed as the greatest wrestler of all time. Tiffany: “You’re dressed as Shawn Michaels!” Anyway Tony Atlas and Mark Henry interrupt, with Noble making the mistake of standing up to Henry. A match is made.

The Boogeyman is coming back. Uh…good? I think? They need people, but I’m not sure how far he’ll get them.

Mark Henry vs. Jamie Noble

Henry runs him over to start and steps on his back for some loud screaming. Another knockdown has Noble in more trouble but he avoids a charge in the corner. The right hands in the corner look to set up a high crossbody, which is pulled into the World’s Strongest Slam to give Henry the pin.

Rating: C. Just a squash here as we establish that Henry is in fact still a monster. That was pretty much covered last night on Raw but they needed to do it here as well. Thankfully it didn’t last long, as there was no reason for it to go more than a few minutes. Henry knows how to smash through people and he did it well here.

Post match the beatdown stays on so Matt Hardy runs in with a Twist Of Fate. Unfortunately it’s to Tony Atlas, leaving Henry to wreck Hardy.

Raw Rebound.

CM Punk/Ricky Ortiz/Kofi Kingston/Evan Bourne vs. Miz/John Morrison/Cody Rhodes/Ted DiBiase Jr.

Manu is here with the villains. Rhodes and Bourne start things going as Striker actually explains the rules of an eight man tag. I…sure why not, as it’s not hurting anything. Bourne starts in on the arm and it’s quickly off to Punk to stay on said arm. Morrison comes in and gets taken into the corner, where Ortiz drops a leg. It’s back to Bourne for a running hurricanrana and the villains are cleared out as we take a break.

We come back with DiBiase chinlocking Bourne, apparently thanks to Manu interfering during the break (he has to do something). A big clothesline cuts off Bourne’s comeback and Morrison comes in for the armbar. Miz grabs a cravate and the rapid fire tags continue with Rhodes hammering away.

It’s already back to Miz for a front facelock, with Bourne reversing into a small package for two. Bourne is up without much trouble though and Punk comes back in to strike away. Everything breaks down (yep) and it’s time for the series of dives. Manu’s distraction saves Morrison from the GTS though and DiBiase knocks Punk into the Moonlight Drive to give Morrison the pin.

Rating: B-. The rapid fire tags helped a bit here as it let the people get in there rather than waiting around as much. At the same time, the less Ortiz does the better, as there is just nothing there. I know he has the big hair and the towel and all that, but that’s not enough to carry him. Hopefully WWE realizes that soon, as it’s getting harder to put up with him. Finally, my goodness Punk has fallen rather quickly after losing the World Title, which tends to be the case too often with MITB title winners.

Overall Rating: C+. ECW continues to exist, with the title feud kind of on hold this week and guest stars being there to fill in the gaps. As usual, I’m not sure how much this needs to be a regular hour long show, but WWE has done dumber things before. The main event was ok, though it’s not worth going out of your way to see. Just wait for Smackdown, as is often the case around here.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 6, 2008
Location: Key Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

We’re done with No Mercy and the big story around here is that Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels in an outstanding ladder match to retain the World Title. That should wrap up their feud for good as we move on to Cyber Sunday. Jericho is going to need a fresh challenger and as luck would have it, Batista became #1 contender last night. Let’s get to it.

Here is No Mercy if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Chris Jericho to get things going. Jericho talks about how Mike Adamle will not be here tonight due to a meeting with the McMahons, so Jericho is in charge tonight. He’s still sore from last night and has a banged up tooth, which he has to live with for the rest of his life. Every time he sees that, he will think of Shawn Michaels, which ironically will make him smile. Jericho knows Michaels is here tonight and wants revenge, so tonight Michaels can face Lance Cade, anything goes. Now you have to admit that he is the best in the world, but here is Batista to interrupt.

Batista tells him to pick the number of days until their title match. It could be seven days, fourteen days, or two-day. Jericho doesn’t back down because he knows he could beat Batista, who needs to get out of this ring right now. Batista laughs that off and plants him with a spinebuster. Simple and to the point here and it worked fine.

During the break, Jericho announced that Batista will have to beat JBL again tonight to remain #1 contender. As a bonus, Jericho himself will be guest referee.

Mickie James/Jamie Noble vs. Beth Phoenix/Santino Marella

William Regal and Layla are at ringside. Before the match, Marella says he is trying to become more American, so he has adopted a new NBA team: the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is the recently departed Seattle Super Sonics. Eh it’s one of those classic heel moves that always works.

James elbows Phoenix in the face to start and it’s off to the men, with Noble kicking away in the corner. Everything breaks down and James dropkicks Phoenix out to the floor, leaving Noble to grab a sunset flip for two. We settle back down and Phoenix grabs Noble from the apron, allowing Marella to roll him up for the fast win.

Post match Noble and Regal get in a fight, likely setting up another mixed tag.

Shawn Michaels is tired, sore and in pain and he knows Chris Jericho feels the same. Lance Cade is supposed to take Michaels out but tonight Michaels is going to show that he still has gas in the tank.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ted DiBiase Jr.

Cody Rhodes and Manu are here with DiBiase so here is CM Punk to even things up a bit. Kingston leapfrogs him a few times before hitting a jumping back elbow. DiBiase is right back with a knockdown of his own and we hit the quickly broken chinlock. Back up and Kingston strikes away, including the jumping dropkick. Manu’s distraction doesn’t work though as Kingston knocks him down and gives DiBiase the Russian legsweep. Punk goes after a distraction Rhodes but DiBiase grabs a Million Dollar Dream into a Russian legsweep of his own for the fast win.

Chris Jericho talks to Randy Orton and says tonight, he’s going to work.

Video on John Cena, who is working on getting better after neck surgery.

Kane, Mark Henry and Tony Atlas have no interest in meeting Dolph Ziggler.

Rey Mysterio/Kane vs. Matt Hardy/Rey Mysterio

Tony Atlas is here with the villains. Mysterio slugs away at Kane to start but can’t get very far. Instead he manages to get Kane into the corner so Hardy can help with the mon…well the taller monster, but Kane cuts that off rather quickly. Henry tries to come in but gets taken down by the leg, with Hardy and Mysterio hitting a double dropkick.

We take a break and come back with Hardy in trouble but he gets away for the tag to Mysterio. That means the pace can pick up, including a springboard legdrop to Henry. Kane gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and comes in to stomp away in the corner. Henry’s headbutt drops Mysterio again but Kane misses his top rope clothesline. Hardy comes back in as everything breaks down, with Mysterio hitting a 619 to Kane and Hardy going up top. Henry gets creative by throwing Mysterio at the ropes though, knocking Mysterio into the chokeslam to give Kane the pin.

Rating: C+. Pretty run of the mill power vs. speed match here and it worked about as well as usual. If nothing else, it was nice to see a pair of feuds tied together to give us something fresh. Henry is probably coming after Hardy one more time and it’s pretty clear Mysterio vs. Kane isn’t done so this was a nice use of time.

Shawn Michaels vs. Lance Cade

No DQ and Cade actually drops him with an early clothesline. They go outside with Cade hammering him down some more and loading up a table. Michaels gets put through it as this is quite the one sided beating thus far. Cade grabs a chair but Michaels takes him down and hammers away. A chair shot to the head drops Cade and Michaels just unloads on him with the chair for the pin.

Post match Michaels beats on Cade with the chair even more, much to the fans’ delight.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring and announces that the fans will get to face Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Title at Cyber Sunday. You can pick from Roddy Piper, Goldust or the Honky Tonk Man. Throwing Piper in there does offer a bit of a mystery winner, as otherwise this should be Honky Tonk Man in a walk.

Here is the Great Khali to interrupt Lilian Garcia. Runjin Singh says Khali is not happy with Jackass’ Johnny Knoxville (this isn’t where I saw this going). We see a clip from an interview between Knoxville and Khali, with Knoxville asking about the proportions of a certain part of Khali’s anatomy. This results in Khali storming off and then inviting Knoxville to Raw next week. To show that he’s a fun loving guy, we get the Khali Kiss Cam, with Khali kissing Garcia, who isn’t sure what to think.

Here is Jillian Hall to sing some Nirvana, which doesn’t go well.

Jillian Hall vs. Kelly Kelly

Miz and John Morrison and Cryme Tyme are on commentary for a lot of bickering. Kelly gets sent to the apron to start and is knocked outside just as fast. Hall rams her into the apron as Cole cannot get a word in as the other four have not stopped arguing. Back in and Hall throws her down by the hair as commentary is throwing out Chris Jericho related insults. Miz says something about a bowl of chili as Hall works on a backbreaker. Lawler FINALLY gets in a word and talks about Hall beating on Kelly but the argument is right back on. Kelly gets a victory roll for the pin.

Rating: C. Ok, so the match was absolutely nothing, but the commentary was a blast, as it was basically “how long can you guys argue without taking a breath?”. It almost turned into a game as they just kept going and it wound up being really funny. This was totally different than what you usually get around here and it was really fun as a result.

Video on John Cena’s recovery from surgery. The doctor was astounded at how he recovered, including going to the arena the day of the operation. Yeah Cena is not normal.

Batista vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

For the #1 contendership and Chris Jericho is guest referee. Actually hold on as we also have William Regal as guest timekeeper and Randy Orton is guest commentator. Batista powers JBL into the corner to start and runs him over with a shoulder for a rather delayed one. A shinbreaker of all things sets up the Figure Four and JBL reaches for the rope…with a brief touch counting as a break.

JBL is back up to hammer away in the corner and a big clothesline gets (a somewhat slow) two. Batista is back up with a suplex but this time Jericho won’t even count. That earns Jericho a run to the floor, allowing Regal to jump Batista from behind. Back in and JBL grabs a full nelson and then a sleeper, with Batista jawbreaking his way to freedom. The running shoulder in the corner is tripped down by Jericho so Batista hits a spinebuster on JBL. Regal and Orton try to come in and it’s a triple spear to take the villains down. Cue Mike Adamle to send another referee down so the Batista Bomb can give Batista the pin.

Rating: C. I mean, it was better when Vince Russo turned it into a thing, but JBL isn’t quite Mick Foley and while Batista is a big star, he isn’t Austin. At the same time, it didn’t help that they were rushing through things and the villains only interfered so much. It’s a good idea, but they did the Cliff Notes version here and that didn’t quite work.

Post match Adamle says Batista gets his title shot at Cyber Sunday, with the fans getting to pick the guest referee. The choices are Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels or Steve Austin, meaning Jericho knows he’s in trouble to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. They set up the big title match at Cyber Sunday and that worked well, though there was only so much to be gained with the stuff they got ready. Jericho vs. Batista is a fresh match, but it’s a pretty big step down from the awesome Jericho vs. Michaels feud. The rest of the show was pretty much the run of the mill stuff Raw has been doing recently, meaning this show was about as mediocre as it gets.

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: January 30, 2026
Location: Riyadh Season Stadium At KAFD, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means we should have a hot crowd. Since we have less than one day to go before the show, odds are we’ll get some more names added to the Rumbles. That’s on top of Sami Zayn officially being next in line for Drew McIntyre and the World Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Saturday Night’s Main Event recap.

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going, with the fans being rather happy to see him. It’s the night before the Royal Rumble and he doesn’t think Drew McIntyre has gotten the point of being champion yet. It would make all the sense in the world for Rhodes to win the World Title for the third time and challenge McIntyre. Maybe it won’t even be McIntyre though, as Sami Zayn might win it anyway (ROAR). Or maybe he’ll challenge CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Title. He’s going into the field as a two time winner and that puts him in a unique spot.

Cue fellow two time winner Randy Orton to interrupt and yes they are singing along with the music. Orton sucks up to the crowd a bit before saying he and Rhodes are brothers. The thing to remember though is there is nothing more dangerous than a Viper searching for #15. Orton will throw anyone over the top, but here is Jey Uso to interrupt. Uso is ready to run it back and go on to Wrestlemania to get the World Heavyweight Title back. This brings out Sami Zayn to quite the reaction, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

After greeting the fans in Arabic, Zayn says he’s ready to win the title tomorrow night. He has never lost a match in Saudi Arabia and that’s going to continue as he beats Drew McIntyre for the first time. Cue the Vision to interrupt, with Paul Heyman saying he sees talent but no vision whatsoever. It will not be any of their nights, but it will be his night.

Heyman tells the people to shut up but realizes that was Spanish before saying tomorrow is Bron Breakker’s night. Orton tells the Vision to stop listening to Heyman and get in this ring for a fight. Nick Aldis, eight man tag, main event (though he does at least acknowledge that everyone knows where this is going).

US Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Rey Fenix

Hayes is defending in another open challenge. They start fast with Fenix sending him outside for an early corkscrew dive and we take a break. We come back with Fenix getting two off la majistral, followed by a springboard elbow for two. Hayes is able to get up top for a middle rope DDT (ouch) but the First 48 is countered into a rollup for two more. The MMB is countered into a small package to give Hayes two of his own and they knock each other down for another break.

We come back with both of them on the top rope and both facing the ring, with Fenix hitting a springboard stomp to the back of the head. A springboard moonsault press gets two but Hayes’ La Mistica gets the same. The springboard DDT gives Hayes two more so Fenix grabs a rolling DDT for two of his own. Fenix rolls into the First 48 though and Nothing But Net retains the title at 14:04.

Rating: B. As usual, it was a hard fought back and forth match with Hayes getting another win under his shiny belt, but there was no build to it and the match came and went. In theory the Miz will be the more traditional challenger, though it would be nice to get there. For now, I’ll take this as the latest edition of these only so interesting title matches.

Miz and Ilja Dragunov argue in the back, with Dragunov blaming him for the loss to Hayes last week. Tonight, Miz will pay.

Brock Lesnar called into the Pat McAfee Show to say he’s in the Royal Rumble.

R-Truth and Nick Aldis do their ball jokes when Damian Priest comes in to draw his number. It appears to be one of the earlier ones, with Truth apologizing, but Priest says it’s just more time for him to throw people out.

Drew McIntyre mocks Sami Zayn for getting in such a dangerous match the night before his title shot. He’ll do whatever it takes to beat Zayn at the Royal Rumble.

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky say they’ll be friends after the Rumble but Giulia and Kiana James come in to say Ripley and Sky won’t win. Nia Jax and Lash Legend come in to say they’ll win the Rumble and the Tag Team Titles. Bickering ensues.

Here are Charlotte and Alexa Bliss for a chat. Charlotte says she’s going to win the Rumble, with Bliss saying the same, but with one slight change of winner. They bicker a bit and Bliss takes her hand, saying everything isn’t about her. After a tease of the two tossing each other out, here is the Judgment Day to say they’ll win. A match is teased and Nick Aldis comes out to make it happen.

Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Judgment Day

Raquel Rodriguez is here with the villains. Perez avoids Charlotte to start and slaps her in the face, which doesn’t work well. Morgan comes in so Charlotte suplexes both of them at once. Bliss baseball slides them out to the floor but it’s Perez coming back in to stomp away in the corner. Morgan’s running knee gets two and Rodriguez cuts off a comeback attempt, allowing Morgan to get in a boot to the face. Perez comes in for some shots of her own before Morgan’s basement dropkick gets two.

We take a break and come back with Bliss fighting back and the two of them rolling around for a small package. Charlotte and Perez get tags with the former cleaning house in a hurry. The Buckshot Lariat drops Perez and a moonsault hits both Perez and Morgan for two. It’s back to Bliss, who gets caught in a Codebreaker into a Russian legsweep. Cue Stephanie Vaquer to cut off Rodriguez as Sister Abigail finishes Perez at 12:35.

Rating: B-. Pretty run of the mill tag match here but they did a nice job of tying a few stories into one display. Charlotte and Bliss teasing distention is normal for them but hopefully they aren’t split up anytime soon. On the other hand, Vaquer vs. Rodriguez should be a good title match for the Raw after the Rumble.

Jordynne Grace is ready to win the Royal Rumble but Jade Cargill runs in for the brawl.

Axiom vs. Johnny Gargano

Hold on though as Nick Aldis stops Gargano and Candice LeRae in the back to say that LeRae is barred from ringside. Also if Axiom wins, he gets his mask back. Nathan Frazer is here though as Gargano grabs a headlock to start. Axiom is knocked down and Gargano gets to pose a bit. The comeback is quickly cut off and Gargano is knocked to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Axiom kicking him in the head, followed by a standing Spanish Fly for two. Gargano is sent outside for a moonsault from Axiom but Gargano manages a Deadeye for a breather. Back up and Gargano rips off the mask, which sends Axiom over to the corner for the stolen mask. That’s enough for Axiom to hit the Golden Ratio for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: B-. This is a way to wrap up the stuff with Fraxiom and the now non-existent DIY. Gargano can either move on to some solo efforts or find a new partner. Either way, there is something for him to do and having more of Candice LeRae around makes things a bit better for him. Fraxiom could be moved into the title picture, as there is always room for a high flying team.

Carmelo Hayes apologizes to Ilja Dragunov, who doesn’t seem to want to hear it. After this is over though, they’ll be fighting again.

Here is AJ Styles for a chat. The fans are rather happy to see him as he tries to explain that he has a big match tomorrow at the Royal Rumble. Don’t worry about him tomorrow because he’s going to beat Gunther and start the One More Time tour. That means matches with Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and, as the fans request, CM Punk. Cue Gunther to interrupt, saying he’ll make Styles tap, which Styles says Gunther already did. The fight is teased but Gunther bails instead.

Trick Williams is ready to win the Royal Rumble.

Tama Tonga asks Shinsuke Nakamura what has happened to him. Maybe it’s time for Nakamura to start on his own retirement tour. Nakamura calls him a little boy and the match is set for next week.

The Miz vs. Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov spins out of a wristlock to start and cranks on Miz’s arm, followed by a chop to blow Miz’s eyes out. A running boot sends Miz outside but he blocks the apron superplex. Instead Miz sends him crashing to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Dragunov fighting out of a chinlock so Miz gives him the reverse DDT backbreaker.

Back up and they strike it out, with Dragunov sending him into the corner. A chop in the corner just makes Dragunov mad and the Constantine Special drops Miz for two. The rolling German suplexes drop Miz but the H Bomb is countered into the short DDT. Miz’s running corner clothesline connects but Dragunov headbutts him out of the air. Now the H Bomb can finish Miz off at 11:40.

Rating: C+. As usual, Miz can make for some entertaining matches when he’s putting in additional effort, which was the case here. His usual stuff is fine but you can tell when he’s cranking it up a bit. Dragunov is likely coming for the US Title sooner than later, though I could go for Miz getting another reign with the belt.

Solo Sikoa, with the MFTs, brag about winning the Tag Team Titles but they’re for his family. Next up though: winning the Royal Rumble. The Wyatt Sicks hack the feed and promise to get the lantern back. Sikoa’s greed will be his downfall.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Oba Femi is coming at the Royal Rumble.

Vision vs. Randy Orton/Sami Zayn/Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso

Paul Heyman is here with the Vision, who jump the good guys before Rhodes is here. Rhodes sprints down the ring and the fight is on to start, with Zayn and Uso hitting running flip dives as we take a break. We come back with the match joined in progress and Rhodes working on Breakker’s arm. The tease of a tag to Orton takes too long though and Breakker runs Rhodes over. Theory comes in to hammer away and choke on the ropes, allowing Reed to knock Rhodes outside. A ram into the barricade has Rhodes in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Rhodes still in trouble as Reed elbows him to give Breakker two. Paul misses a charge into the corner but Reed is smart enough to knock Uso and Zayn off the apron. Unfortunately he leaves Orton on the apron though and Rhodes avoids an elbow and brings Orton in for the house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and we get a timely parade of people being thrown over the top. The RKO to Theory gets two with Paul making the save. Cross Rhodes drops Breakker so Reed runs in to drop Rhodes, earning a tornado DDT from Zayn. Cue Drew McIntyre to pull Zayn to the floor for the DQ at 16:30.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty standard house show style main event with the bigger names getting together to fight the evil group. That’s an idea that has worked since the days of the Horsemen and it worked again here. McIntyre running in at the end was a good thing as his match with Zayn could use a bit more focus. Given that the match is tomorrow, they didn’t have much of a better option.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jacob Fatu runs in to jump McIntyre. Rhodes takes Fatu out but gets decked by McIntyre, who eats a Helluva Kick from Zayn. He goes to pick up the title but Rhodes grabs it as well to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well, the point of this show was one final push towards the Royal Rumble and that worked well enough, though it might be a bit too little too late. The good thing is that the Rumble has quite a built in energy so it doesn’t need the same kind of effort as other shows. Having people talk about wanting to win is a good thing, but this show only got so much accomplished. Hopefully tomorrow works, but it’s got a lot of work to do.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Rey Fenix – Nothing But Net
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss b. Judgment Day – Sister Abigail to Perez
Axiom b. Johnny Gargano – Golden Ratio
Ilja Dragunov b. The Miz – H Bomb
Cody Rhodes/Randy Orton/Jey Uso/Sami Zayn b. The Vision via DQ when Drew McIntyre interfered

 

 

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

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