Wrestlemania XXXIII
Date: April 2, 2017
Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 75,245
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield, David Otunga, Tom Phillips

This hasn’t been quite a year yet but I have a feeling it’s going to be a very long night. Like a few years before, I was in the stadium for this show but haven’t seen it since I reviewed it last year. This is a show that was well received at the time and it could be interesting to see how it holds up a year later. Let’s get to it.

The set is one of the most intricate they’ve ever done, with a big Wrestlemania globe (ala Universal Studios) and a roller coaster next to it (I think you get this). There’s also an inflatable ring atop the structure above the regular ring, which I somehow didn’t notice until about an hour and a half of being in the stadium). The theme was the Ultimate Thrill Ride and the visual certainly works. It’s really cool looking and worked very well. Unfortunately the stadium isn’t the best looking in the world and it made the whole thing feel a bit out of place. Oh and the CRAZY LONG RAMP, which is something like seventy yards long.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Austin Aries vs. Neville

Aries is challenging after Neville has dominated the division for months and needs someone fresh to challenge him. The fans are behind Aries, which isn’t that surprising though Neville was nothing short (ok he was always short) of awesome at this point. Aries takes him down with an armbar but Neville is right back out with a headscissors. Back up and Neville has to bail to the floor so Aries has a rest on the top rope. I know it’s a Shawn Michaels spot but Aries sells the heck out of it.

Neville comes back in and eats a basement dropkick, followed by the middle rope elbow to the back for two. The suicide dive is blocked with a kick to the head though as the back and forth continues. A missile dropkick gives Neville two and we take a break. Back with Neville holding a chinlock (They even do it on the Kickoff Shows!) but taking WAY too long to glare at the crowd before trying a middle rope Phoenix splash (makes sense given his King thing).

One heck of a backdrop puts Neville on the floor and Aries is right back after him with the suicide dive. You can hear the fans getting back into this and that’s a good result from these two. The main reason to put something like this on is to get the fans fired up for the real show and it’s a great place to put them in.

They come back in with Aries blocking the superplex and nailing his own missile dropkick (looked awesome too) for a near fall. A snap German suplex plants Aries though and Neville takes over again. Another suplex gets another two and Neville is starting to look annoyed. With the technical stuff not working, Neville just kicks him in the face in the corner.

Aries is fine enough to reverse the Rings of Saturn attempt into a rollup and now the Discus knocks Neville hard to the floor. Back in and Aries hits a top hurricanrana and the 450 (with a really annoying crowd reaction shot) gets two. The Last Chancery goes on but Neville rips at the eye (which was recently reconstructed) to break the hold. Aries is writhing in pain and it’s the Red Arrow to retain the title at 15:40.

Rating: B. I remember hearing that this would be on the Kickoff Show and being very relieved as I didn’t think the main show would allow it nearly the amount of time that it needed and deserved. I’m glad to see that I was right here as they had a heck of a chess match here with both guys getting in everything they could and showing how back and forth the whole thing was. Neville cheating to win in the end fit him well, as he finally had someone who could match him and had to take a shortcut. Really good stuff here as Neville continues his unbelievable roll.

If the pay per view started here, it would have been a perfect Kickoff Show. But nah, we need two more matches.

Kickoff Show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Killian Dain, Sin Cara, Luke Harper, Kalisto, Sami Zayn, R-Truth, Chad Gable, Konnor, Braun Strowman, Curt Hawkins, Apollo Crews, Titus O’Neil, Curtis Axel, Goldust, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Big Show, Simon Gotch, Aiden English, Tyler Breeze, Heath Slater, Epico, Bo Dallas, Fandango, Big Show, Rhyno, Primo, Viktor, Jason Jordan, Tian Bing, Jey Uso, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry

Rob Gronkowski, a friend of Mojo Rawley, is in the front row. Big Show’s music plays everyone but Braun Strowman to the ring. Braun tosses Primo two seconds into the match as the ring needs some serious cleaning out. Kalisto and Simon Gotch are tossed as well and Strowman eliminates Slater. Jimmy Uso and Goldust follow them out as they’re not wasting time here.

There goes Konnor but it’s time for the Show vs. Strowman showdown. Everyone stops to watch but Sami jumps Braun due to reasons of general stupidity. That goes nowhere so it’s Strowman dumping Show. Everyone goes after Strowman but he gets rid of Viktor in the process. Strowman is eliminated, making him look like a loser/afterthought in the process (oh….just wait). Hawkins is out and Ziggler gets to do his usual false hope spot. We get into the required “everyone hits everyone but doesn’t really try to win” portion as things slow down.

Ziggler low bridges Truth out as I manage to remember that Truth is employed. There goes Rhyno and Ziggler is thrown over the top, only to hang on again. There goes English, followed by American Alpha dropkicking English out. Jey Uso and Jason Jordan are tossed, followed by Chad Gable as the ring is really thinning out. Tian Bing gets rid of Fandango and Breeze, followed by Henry eliminating Sin Cara (in some sweet Wrestlemania gear). Henry is out next as there’s nothing between these eliminations.

Ziggler superkicks Bing out and that’s about it for Tian’s career accomplishments to date. Sami’s Helluva Kick gets rid of Epico and we’re down to nine. It’s been too long since Ziggler was nearly eliminated so Harper chokes him on the apron this time around. Mojo dumps Bo and Mahal eliminates Crews, followed by Rawley tossing Ziggler. Harper is out next and we’re down to Mojo, Jinder, Titus, Dain and Zayn.

A running clothesline gets rid of Titus but Dain eliminates Sami, completely sucking the life out of the crowd. Why you ask? Well we’re left with Dain, Rawley and Mahal. How excited would you be? Jinder gets clotheslined down and we get a Dain vs. Mojo showdown. A Pounce drops Dain but Jinder pulls Mojo through the ropes and out to the floor. Jinder follows him out and sends Rawley into the barricade, right in front of Gronkowski.

That means a drink going into Gronkowski’s face and here he comes over the barricade. This gives us the funniest part of the show as a security guard runs over to stop him, only to have a ringside guy tap her on the arm as some referees come over and allow Gronkowski to get in. Gronkowski runs Mahal over (your future WWE Champion everyone) and Mojo’s running right hands get rid of Dain. Another running punch to Mahal gives Rawley the win at 14:09.

Rating: D-. And this just LAUNCHED Mojo to the moon right? I know the idea here was to get Gronkowski involved (possibly as a substitute for Shaquille O’Neal) but Sami Zayn was RIGHT THERE to get the big win but nah, let’s go with the nothing guy winning the match. This wasn’t the best result for the battle royal but at least they were trying with Rawley, who took the time to talk to an entire group of fans when I saw him walking through Axxess that same weekend. Hopefully he gets somewhere in the future. The rest of the match was terrible with everyone being thrown out in short order and a bad ending.

Kickoff Show: Intercontinental Title: Baron Corbin vs. Dean Ambrose

Ambrose is defending and I have no idea why this was on the Kickoff Show. Corbin crushed Ambrose underneath a forklift to set this up, giving us the hilarious visual of the referees trying to LIFT IT UP despite the key being in the ignition. They waste no time in fighting to the floor with Dean getting the better of it and heading back inside.

That earns him a hard whip to send Ambrose’s ribs into the post and give Corbin a nice big target. Or 24 of them in this case. A choke shove puts Dean down for two and Baron whips him into the barricade for good measure. We hit the chinlock for a few moments before Dean avoids a charge to send Corbin shoulder first into the post. Corbin avoids the top rope elbow and blocks Dirty Deeds for good measure. That earns him a trip to the floor but Baron knocks him out of the air on a slingshot dive.

The top rope elbow puts Corbin down again though and Dean gets two off a swinging neckbreaker. These two aren’t exactly clicking so far. Deep Six gives Corbin two and works on the ribs a bit more. The Rebound Lariat runs Baron over again but he’s right back with a powerbomb to stay on the ribs. That’s about it for Corbin though as Dean jumps up and hits Dirty Deeds to retain at 10:44.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one but the bigger issue was with the ending, as Baron winning the title would have made the most sense. Making it even worse was the fact that Baron won a street fight non-title rematch two days later but none of that matters as the Superstar Shakeup changed everything a week later. The match was nothing to see either as they didn’t go into the brawl that would have suited them best.

And now on the main show, which is FIVE HOURS AND TEN MINUTES LONG. Sweet goodness and they wonder why it’s hard to make new fans.

Tinashe, who looks like a low rent Beyonce (still very attractive though with a great voice) sings America the Beautiful. This includes the Air Force flyover, which will nearly knock you off your feet.

The opening video is about how everyone wants to come here, either as a fan or as a wrestler. This is the biggest show of the year and it is the ultimate thrill ride. The video turns into a roller coaster, starting with some historic moments and going into clips of wrestlers on tonight’s show. It’s continuing the theme and that’s a good thing when so many of these shows only have a loose theme at best. Ignore the fans cheering for Miz and AJ Styles and booing the heck out of Roman Reigns of course.

Here are your hosts for the evening: the New Day, in Final Fantasy inspired gear, with Kofi riding in on their bicycle powered ice cream cart. I still have one major question: HOW DID THEY NOT HAVE ICE CREAM FOR SALE??? They teased that for weeks and NOTHING. I was looking forward to it but for some reason it just never happened. After some dancing and gyrating, Xavier says there were a lot of options to host the show. Fans: “WOO!” It was your boys the NEW DAY who got the call though and they get to tell us about all the action that we’ll be seeing tonight.

It’s time to officially pulls their levers (making Kofi and Xavier cringe) and Big E. starts sending the smiling glances over to Woods as he freaks out. This was just after the sex tape fiasco, which was hinted at but never mentioned on WWE TV. In other words, this was a nice little inside joke for the fans while not giving away anything that would be un-PG. Well done and the way this needed to be handled. New Day’s level of rock is confirmed and that’s it, wrapping up this year’s installment of an unnecessary addition to the Wrestlemania card.

We recap AJ Styles babysitting Shane McMahon. AJ lost the Smackdown World Title to John Cena at the Royal Rumble and Daniel Bryan/Shane put him in the Elimination Chamber instead of giving him a one on one rematch for the title. That’s not cool with AJ, so he beat up Shane to set up this year’s “Shane can totally wrestle if you give him one of the best performers in the world” match. They’ve attacked each other a few times each since with Shane’s punches somehow getting a little worse since last year.

Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles

Shane’s kids are at ringside because what would Wrestlemania be without them? AJ isn’t interested in throwing punches so a quick standing switch sends Shane into the ropes. A headlock and snapmare have Shane down as AJ is toying with him to start. Shane gets in some armdrags and takes Styles down for a rollup, giving us some frustration to send AJ outside.

Back in and AJ punches him in the face as it turns into a boxing match. You know you don’t have to ask Shane to do that twice so we let the suck fly, followed by an elbow to AJ’s face. One heck of a baseball slide sends Shane over the announcers’ table as control goes hard to Styles. Back in and a knee drop rocks Shane again but of course he can shake off the Phenomenal Blitz.

The Phenomenal Forearm is broken up and Shane starts his dance that was stupid back in the 90s so today it’s awesome (like everything in the Attitude Era). An Angle Slam gets two on AJ but he’s right back with the Calf Crusher. Shane reverses into a rear naked choke, a cross armbreaker and something like the Rings of Saturn. He trains MMA you see. AJ shrugs them off and drops Shane again but the springboard 450 is countered into a triangle choke. That’s reversed into a one armed Styles Clash, and of course Shane is up at two.

They slug it out and the fans are entirely behind AJ, even more than you might have expected them to be. I know he’s going to be the favorite coming in but this star treatment of Shane is making it even worse. The ref gets bumped (well duh) and it’s trashcan time. AJ loads up his own Coast to Coast but Shane throws the can at him (with AJ having to pull up on the dive, making it look horrible). Phillips: “AJ has stepped into Shane’s world now!” You mean high flying wrestling?

Shane’s Coast to Coast gets two and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. The big elbow misses but of course Shane is fine enough to counter the Phenomenal Forearm into a Maiavia Hurricane. That’s not enough from Shane though as he gets to try the shooting star, which only hits mat. The Phenomenal Forearm connects to finally put Shane away at 20:31.

Rating: B. Well that was Shane, with some Shane on the side and then more Shane to wrap it up. AJ looked awesome but that’s all he supposed to be. This was all about Shane getting to counter and hang with AJ, which doesn’t do Styles any good. A 40+ year old who doesn’t wrestle shouldn’t be hanging with a guy who was World Champion less than three months ago. But hey, Shane, right?

James Ellsworth is having issues working out so Ric Flair comes in to give him a Snickers. Then Ellsworth becomes Charlotte. Uh, yeah.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens. Their friendship had been having some issues of late so Jericho put together the Festival of Friendship, an over the top celebration of all things Owens and Jericho. At the end of it, Owens turns on Jericho and beat the heck out of him. Jericho came back and cost him the Universal Title at Fastlane so Owens is coming for Jericho’s Universal Title. The question became could Owens win without Jericho and now we get the chance to find out.

US Title: Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is challenging. Jericho’s entrance brings back the countdown for a nice touch. Throw in the light up scarf and a big List of Jericho on the stage and this is advantage Chris. They slug it out to start with the Walls going on less than thirty seconds in. That sends Owens bailing to the floor and a top rope forearm to the head drops Owens back inside. Owens kicks him in the face and hammers away to take over.

We hit the chinlock, with some horribly obvious spot calling, followed by the backsplash for two. They head outside for the third time with Jericho backdropping his way out of the apron powerbomb. Jericho chops away and gets two off a super hurricanrana but gets clotheslined down. The frog splash misses, the Lionsault hits knees, and the Swanton hits knees as well to give us a slow down stretch.

Now the Lionsault connects for a delayed two but Owens gets in his own Walls of Jericho. A rope is grabbed so Owens tries the Cannonball, only to be reversed into the Walls. Kevin grabs the rope for the break and is right back with the Pop Up Powerbomb for two. Another Pop Up Powerbomb is countered into the Codebreaker but Owens touches the rope with one finger for the save. That’s a sweet heel touch. Owens rolls outside and superkicks the knee, setting up the apron powerbomb to give him the pin and the title at 16:46.

Rating: C+. Not bad but they never cranked up the violence that you would have expected after seeing the Festival of Friendship. These two should have been ready to destroy each other and instead it’s just a match with Owens working the ribs and looking for a powerbomb. They accomplished the goal of making Owens look like he can win on his own, but this isn’t the way they should have gone about it.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match. Charlotte and Sasha Banks had raised the women’s division to entirely new levels and Charlotte needed a new challenger. Enter Bayley, who won the title on Raw in a big surprise, completely defeating the purpose of her character and leaving her with nothing to do. This problem would plague her for the next year and still does to this day. Nia Jax was added to the other three because you need to have as many people in Wrestlemania matches as possible.

Raw Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending under elimination rules. The tube men are at ringside for a special change of pace. Sasha rides in on the back of a chauffeured car because that’s what Sasha does. Charlotte gets a crazy amount of pyro, making her look even more like a star than usual. Everyone goes after Nia to start but she wrecks them in increasingly short order. A Banzai Drop crushes Bayley and Nia throws Charlotte off the apron onto both Bayley and Sasha. There’s something about people being thrown around like weapons.

All three get together to go after Nia with Sasha wisely grabbing the leg to keep her in place. Charlotte boots Nia in the face for a double German suplex for two in a painful looking crash. Nia is back up and tries a second Banzai, only to get TripleBombed out of the corner for the elimination at 4:08.

As usual, Nia chokes in the big match because that’s just how she rolls. Charlotte pulls Bayley to the floor and it’s Sasha hitting a flip dive to take the champ down. As you might expect, it’s the corkscrew moonsault from the top to take Bayley and Sasha down again in a huge crash.

Back in and Natural Selection is countered into a failed Bank Statement attempt. Instead Charlotte gets two off a backbreaker and rips off a turnbuckle pad in frustration. Sasha’s top rope double knees are good for two of her own and the Bank Statement goes on. Sasha goes with a rollup and the kickout sends her face first into the buckle for the elimination at 8:10.

Bayley comes back in and gets her knee rammed into the exposed buckle. The moonsault, with the wind blowing Charlotte’s hair around, only hits mat to give Bayley a near fall. Charlotte is fine enough to go after the knee and grab the Figure Eight. Bayley gets to the rope so Charlotte takes her into the Tree of Woe, only to get backdropped from the top in a big crash. The big elbow is enough to retain the title at 12:04.

Rating: D. Why can’t they get these big matches right? This was completely backwards with Nia being thrown in there at the last minute and lasting all of four minutes. Then it’s Bayley not really overcoming the odds and just pinning Charlotte after shrugging off some of the offense. It’s not some come from behind win or a big moment, but really just a match where Charlotte happened to lose.

Video on the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Hearing Jim Cornette’s voice in WWE is just wrong.

Diamond Dallas Page. Nice reaction and WELL deserved just for his stuff with Hall and Roberts alone.

Rock N Roll Express. WAY overdue.

Rick Rude. See the Rock N Roll Express.

Teddy Long. I defy you to not smile at this.

Eric LeGrand. Warrior Award and that’s fine.

Beth Phoenix. Fine enough if a female entrant is required.

Kurt Angle. Yep. Moving on.

Support the Boys and Girls Club! Fair request actually.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Anderson and Gallows vs. Sheamus/Cesaro

No real story here as this is they’ve just been feuding and it’s time for a title match. Anderson and Gallows are defending and this is a ladder match because we have to have one. Enzo and Cass’ speech is short this time as they say they’re climbing every rung to win the titles. We’re ready to go….and here’s New Day. Yeah remember them?

Anyway they’re in wrestling gear here but first, an announcement. This is now a FATAL FOUR WAY with one more team to be added. That would be the HARDY BOYZ, making a shocking return and giving us a legitimate Wrestlemania moment. Before the music hit, I stood up and said “they wouldn’t”, which was aided as I couldn’t see that New Day was in ring gear. Amazing moment here and the twenty six million YouTube views suggest that it’s quite the popular idea. Cole says thinks are about to be BROKEN and Matt does the DELETE pose.

It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) and the Hardys waste no time with Poetry in Motion to Gallows. Enzo and Cass are taken down as well as the fans are entire enamored with the Hardys all over again. A Whisper in the Wind takes both Sheamus and Cesaro down and it’s time for the first ladder. Jeff goes up but it’s Gallows making a pretty easy save. Cesaro comes back in and climbs onto Gallows’ shoulders for a double stomp onto Anderson’s ribs. Well that worked.

This time it’s Enzo and Cass coming in, just to make sure that everyone gets their turn in you see. That goes nowhere so the Hardys bridge the ladders between the ring and the apron but Cesaro and Sheamus slam them together. With a little too much Sheamus on offense, Cass launches Enzo over the ladders like a cannonball to take him down.

Back in and Sheamus hits the ten forearms to Gallows while Cesaro Swings Anderson. Despite what Cole thinks, that’s not exactly working together. We hear about the Tag Team Titles not changing hands at Wrestlemania in SIXTEEN YEARS (that’s inexcusable) until Sheamus Brogue Kicks the heck out of Cass. Enzo shoves the ladder over to drop Gallows and Sheamus and goes up, sending Graves into hysterics over the horrible possibilities.

Sheamus and Gallows come back in for the save but don’t bother to knock him off the ladder. Instead it’s Anderson climbing the ladder and knocking Cesaro into the ladder. There’s a Magic Killer to Cesaro but Matt hits them both with a Twist of Fate, including a big one off of the ladder to Anderson. Jeff hits the required Swanton off the ladder to drive Cesaro through a bridged ladder, leaving Matt to pull the titles down at 11:05.

Rating: C+. There’s only so much you can get out of a ladder match like this with almost nothing to it other than the big Hardys return. That being said, they absolutely got the ending right as there was no other way to go here. Enzo and Cass weren’t going to work after something as special as the Hardys showing up so don’t even try. There wasn’t much to this in the way of high spots either, but this was ALL about Matt and Jeff, as it should have been.

Jimmy Fallon is here.

We recap the Miz/Maryse vs. John Cena/Nikki Bella, which is mostly about Nikki and Cena teaming together for the first time ever. The idea is that Cena won’t marry Nikki so Miz and Maryse are better, meaning we’re just waiting on Cena to pop the question here. In the show stealing moment of the year though, Miz and Maryse did some parody videos of Cena and Nikki and Total Divas/Bellas, giving us some of the funniest things WWE has ever done.

They nailed the ridiculous nature of the shows to perfection and made Miz look like the guy who should be ready to break through every ceiling above her. Oh and Maryse as Nikki Bella: sweet GOODNESS that worked on about a million levels. Finally though, a year later with Miz and Maryse now as parents, Cena’s jokes about Miz “firing blanks” are pretty much dead.

Jerry Lawler is on commentary.

Nikki Bella/John Cena vs. Maryse/The Miz

Al Roker is guest ring announcer for absolutely no reason whatsoever other than having a celebrity appearance. This is Maryse’s first match nearly six years and she doesn’t look like she’s lost a step. Cena and Nikki run down the ramp and we see a wide shot for a cool visual. Cena’s mom is in the front row and he seems shocked to see her, which would be a heck of a surprise.

The women start and there’s no contact for a minute so let’s bring in the guys instead. Miz poses on the ropes and then bails to the floor to start a chase. Back in and Miz finally stomps away as we finally make contact nearly two minutes in. Maryse gets in a poke to the eye so Miz can fire off a left hand. Cena and Nikki have had no offense so far. The fans are very pleased with Miz’s beating of Cena, mainly because they realize how awesome those Total Bellas parodies were.

Miz misses the running clothesline in the corner but Maryse breaks up the hot tag attempt by pulling Nikki off the apron. A DDT gives Miz two and he slowly does Daniel Bryan’s pose (How amazing is it that the match could ACTUALLY HAPPEN?). The YES Kicks keep Cena rocked but Miz makes the mistake of telling Nikki that she can’t see him.

A big slap puts Miz on the floor and a diving tag brings in Nikki. Some bad forearms to Maryse’s arms (Shane could do better than that) don’t do much damage so Nikki runs Miz over instead. Back in and Nikki’s big forearm sets up stereo Five Knuckle Shuffles. The AA and a Rack Attack 2.0 give us a double pin at 9:38.

Rating: D-. What in the world was that? Miz beat Cena up for about eight minutes and then it was hot tag Nikki to put the villains away Hogan style. After all the work and amazing promos, this is Miz’s Wrestlemania reward. I’m so glad this is what they went with instead of Cena vs. Undertaker, which was likely possible at this show. But hey, Total Divas and Total Bellas got a plot out of it.

Post match Cena says this is what Nikki wanted when she was rehabbing her neck. He tells a downright creepy story about Nikki being groggy before going inf or surgery. Apparently Cena asked if Nikki knew he would marry her one day. She said yes, and today is that day. Cena proposes and we get the big moment as she says yes. I’m SO glad this is what Cena, in the final few years that he has in WWE, is spending one of them doing this. It’s a sweet moment, but my goodness do this on Total Bellas where the fans want to see it.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. HHH, in another dumb story. So Rollins was HHH’s big ace in the hole a few years back and everything was all evil and great. Then Rollins tore his ACL and had to vacate the World Title, which HHH took as not being good enough to be the top guy. Let me repeat that: HHH said that leg issues were signs that someone wasn’t good enough to be the man in WWE. HHH then cost the returning Rollins the title to turn him face but now it’s time for revenge with a fired up Rollins wanting to burn the place down to destroy HHH.

Seth Rollins vs. HHH

Anything goes and, as usual, HHH gets the coolest entrance of the night with a big motorcycle and a police escort, plus Stephanie as a CRAZY HOT biker chick. Seriously, I know she can be irritating but she can rock the heck out of some leather pants. He gets the biggest entrance every year and it takes up a bunch of the spotlight but I can live with it if she’s in outfits like that.

Rollins’ entrance involves holding up a torch and touching it to the ground, sending digital flames down the ramp. I get the burn it down thing but it’s rather lame, along with coming after the really cool entrance. Well done again HHH, as he continues to be smarter than most wrestlers today.

They waste no time in slugging it out with Rollins getting the better of it (therefore I must remind you: HHH once won a slugout with modern day Brock Lesnar) to knock HHH outside. A dragon screw legwhip takes Rollins down by the knee that wasn’t hurt in the first place. Rollins shrugs it off and punches him away, followed by an enziguri back inside. The suicide dive sends HHH into the barricade and it’s already time for the announcers’ table. As usual, Rollins tries a Pedigree onto the table but gets countered with a DDT which doesn’t break the table.

HHH cranks up the violence with a chair to the knee before bridging Rollins’ knee between the ring and the table so he can drive his own knee into Rollins’. Back in and the slow knee work continues, because that’s how HHH loves to work on a show this big. Rollins tries the sunset bomb but hurts his knee all over again. It’s fine enough to hit the Buckle Bomb and a hard whip sends HHH over the corner to the floor. With HHH staggered, Rollins goes up top (Graves: “He’s screwed if he hits this or not.”) and scores with a high crossbody to the floor.

Since it’s an anything goes match, Rollins loads up a pair of chairs and a table on the floor instead of just bashing HHH with the chair. A frog splash to the back keeps HHH down but he kicks the knee out to cut Rollins off again. HHH takes forever to get up top though and gets a chair pelted at his head, setting up the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two. You know, on the bad knee.

Stephanie breaks up the Phoenix Splash by pulling the knee onto the ropes and we hit a reverse Figure Four. That’s reversed into a Gargano Escape of all things but HHH goes smart by punching him in the knee. The reverse Figure Four goes on outside so Rollins reaches underneath the ring to find weapons. Naturally this includes the sledgehammer but HHH lets the hold go.

Back in and Rollins’ knee is fine enough for a low superkick to the face, followed by an enziguri to really hammer the point home. Stephanie takes the hammer away from Rollins though and a Pedigree gives HHH two. The fans barely even reacted to that one and I can’t say I blame them.

HHH channels his inner CM Punk and loads up a super Pedigree but gets backdropped down (already done by Bayley earlier). Now the Phoenix Splash gets two but neither can hit a Pedigree. Instead HHH hits him in the knee but walks into a superkick, which knocks Stephanie off the apron and through a table. That wakes the fans WAY up just in time for the Pedigree to give Rollins the pin at 25:25.

Rating: B-. This is an interesting one I was bored out of my mind watching it live but it flies by watching it back. That being said, the constant knee work got very dull, especially when it wasn’t even Rollins’ bad knee. As usual, the Stephanie bump got by far the strongest reaction of the night because it’s something you don’t see very often. It’s not a bad match at all but you EASILY could have chopped off ten minutes and no one would have missed a thing.

Pitbull performs the theme song and eats up way too much time.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt for the Smackdown World Title. Orton joined the Wyatt Family after becoming tired of being beaten down by the team. Then he won the Royal Rumble and promised to never cash in the title shot on new champion Wyatt. It wound up being a ruse though and Orton used his newfound access to the Wyatt Family compound to destroy the whole place. Then Bray poured Sister Abigail’s ashes over himself and gained her powers as this story got REALLY stupid. There was also something about Luke Harper nearly becoming #1 contender that went nowhere but warrants a quick mention.

Smackdown World Title: Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Orton is challenging and has a viper go down the ramp, which he himself called stupid. We get the Big Match Intros and Orton takes him down with a Thesz press and some right hands. They head to the floor for more right hands but Bray goes caveman with a running headbutt back inside. And then the lights go out (which I thought was a blackout) until the mat is covered with a projection of maggots. We’re about two minutes into the match and this is already in the pantheon of dumbest ideas ever.

Bray runs him over again and this time it’s worms on the mat. The referee jumps out of the ring, possibly because he wants to go work for a sensible company like TNA. A Rock Bottom into a backsplash gives Bray two but Sister Abigail is countered into a rollup for two. I mean, it doesn’t matter as they’ve completely lost the fans after that stupid, STUPID idea but never let that stop WWE.

They head outside again with Bray diving off the apron and straight into a dropkick. Sister Abigail into the barricade drops Orton again but he’s back up with an RKO to knock Bray silly on the floor. That’s only good for two back inside and Sister Abigail is countered into the backbreaker. Orton’s hanging DDT looks to set up the RKO but this time Sister Abigail connects for two. But hang on because let’s hit those roaches to complete the trio of stupid! Orton is finally done with all this nonsense and hits the RKO for the pin and the title at 10:13.

Rating: F. You are the winter, fall and spring. You are the sun that summertime brings. You are the stars in the nighttime sky. You are my girl and I’m your guy. You got me all tied up in knots and I’m lovin’ you lots and lots. I’m just lovin’ you lots and lots. I’m lovin’ you lots and lots.

That doesn’t make sense? Neither does what we just saw. Moving on.

The pilots from the flyover are here. That’s kind of cool.

We recap the Universal Title match, which all started because of a video game. Goldberg came back at Survivor Series to face Brock Lesnar in a rematch of the nightmare that was Wrestlemania XX. In a shocker, Goldberg won in about a minute and a half. Then it was decided that Goldberg could win the title again. He went on to eliminate Brock from the Royal Rumble and then won the Universal Title in about thirty seconds at Fastlane. Lesnar needed to defeat Goldberg once and for all so we’re having the match for the title tonight. This is all narrated by Paul Heyman, who talks about fantasies coming to an end in a nice touch.

Here’s the thing: you could do this same story without the title. Have Lesnar put up his career to get one more shot at Goldberg (it’s not like there was any doubt on the winner here anyway) so let us have the original plan: Owens dropping the title to Jericho (who never won the World Title as a face) and then Lesnar winning it the next month. Nah. We need GOLDBERG winning the title in a nostalgia moment for whatever reason.

Universal Title: Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Goldberg is defending and gets the long walk to the ring which might as well be the long walk to the gallows. Lesnar wastes no time and hits three German suplexes in nineteen seconds. In a great visual, the camera is on Lesnar when Goldberg cuts him down with a spear. A second spear sends Lesnar bailing and the third spear takes Lesnar through the barricade. That’s the first MINUTE of this match as they’re certainly starting fast.

Back in and both finishers are escaped, setting up another spear to Lesnar. The Jackhammer gets two, making Lesnar the second person to ever kick out (the other being Hogan, who only did it because of a missed cue). That means another spear (Heyman: “HE’S IN POSITION AGAIN!”) but this time Lesnar leapfrogs him and Goldberg hits the buckles. More suplexes (make it ten total) set up the F5 to officially conquer Goldberg at 4:47.

Rating: B. This was PERFECT for what they had to work with. Goldberg wasn’t going to be out there for a long match (he didn’t in his prime either) and they went with the right path. This was as action packed of a nearly five minute match as all you could have done. That first spear looked awesome and Goldberg gets to go out on his big moment. I’m pleased, though not as much as Goldberg, who probably made a ton of money for less than ten minutes combined of wrestling time in his comeback.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Mickie James vs. Natalya

Alexa is defending and this is the most thrown together match that I can remember in a good while. They’re also rushing through the entrances due to the time issues. You know, because NOW they care about time issues. Naomi is the hometown girl and MY GOODNESS the Glow entrance is a sight to behold in a stadium. There are no tags of course so it’s a big brawl to start.

Naomi gets sent to the floor for a double suplex from Natalya and Carmella. Back in and Becky kicks the two of them down but James Ellsworth (Remember that?) grabs Becky’s foot to take over. Bliss breaks up a cover and screams at Carmella to get out of her ring. The DDT gets two on Natalya but Becky breaks it up this time, only to have Ellsworth come in. No Chin Music is countered into a Bexploder and it’s Naomi coming back in this time.

Naomi slingshots in to sunset flip Natalya, who German suplexes Becky at the same time. Speaking of the same time, Natalya tries a double Sharpshooter on Carmella and Naomi but can’t get the legs up. Well, not surprising, but it’s so bad that the camera cuts to her back. Naomi comes back in for a Rear View to Bliss and a big dive to take everyone out. Back in and Naomi’s reverse Rings of Saturn makes Bliss tap for the title at 5:33.

Rating: D. The timing issues KILLED this and there’s no way around it. Much like the ladder match earlier, there’s nothing you can do when you have five minutes and six people in a match. Naomi winning the title back is cool, but I still have no idea why her winning it back in her hometown is supposed to be some huge deal. Yeah it’s cool, but it’s not like this is some great moment.

Wrestlemania XXXIV is in New Orleans. Those songs will drive you crazy by the end of the weekend.

New Day comes out to thank the fans for the record attendance of 75,245. The team is still funny but egads they could have been cut out of this whole thing and not been missed.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker. Reigns eliminated him from the Rumble and now we have a match to determine who is the real Big Dog.

Jim Ross is out to do commentary for the main event. That’s even more impressive when you consider his wife died days before this show.

Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns

No holds barred, first announced before the entrances. Reigns is booed out of the stadium, as has become a custom. In a smart move, Undertaker rises from the middle of the ramp (with a cool visual of smoke building up and clearing to reveal him standing there). I completely missed this as I was looking at the stage and then glanced down to the ring and saw him climbing the steps.

Undertaker slugs away in the corner to start and knocks Reigns to the floor. Back in and Reigns knocks him over the top as well, with Undertaker landing on his feet. Reigns hammers him down to take over and they head outside so this can be more of a brawl, which is the only way to go. The apron dropkick (to a standing Undertaker) puts Undertaker down again but he wins a slugout back inside. Reigns hits him in the face and Undertaker just looks mad.

Snake Eyes and the big boot set up the legdrop for two. The threat of a chokeslam sends Reigns outside again and this time the apron dropkick is punched out of the air. Another dropkick staggers Undertaker but it’s a chokeslam onto the announcers’ table. They climb onto the other tables and it’s a spear to drive Undertaker through (almost in a running spinebuster) for the double knockout.

Reigns is the only one back in….and Undertaker sits up. Back in and Reigns does the corner clotheslines into the corner right hands, meaning the Last Ride (an AWFUL one at that with little impact and more Undertaker dropping Reigns than slamming him down). It’s chair time but Undertaker takes it away and beats him down instead. A quick Superman Punch knocks Undertaker into the ropes but another is countered into a chokeslam onto the chair.

The Tombstone gets two and the fans, who are supposed to be smart at Wrestlemania, seem shocked at the kickout. Off the first Tombstone. In a Wrestlemania match. Who’s the smart one here? Another Tombstone is loaded up but this time Reigns backflips….and just can’t lift Undertaker for the counter. They try a few more times but just stop for the sake of embarrassment with Reigns trying a Superman Punch instead.

The spear connects but Undertaker is fine enough to put on Hell’s Gate. The rope is reached for a break (erg) and Reigns unloads with the chair. Another spear gets another two and another spear gets another two and another Superman Punch (Undertaker sits up and falls over) sets up another spear to give Undertaker his second Wrestlemania loss at 22:57. That last sequence took nearly five minutes.

Rating: D+. It’s not terrible, but Undertaker looked like an old man who should have hung it up a few years ago. The problem here was the crowd being completely dead and it showed really badly. There’s only so much energy you can have in an academic match at the end of a seven hour show. Reigns winning makes complete sense but it was a bad match (the botches and CRAZY amount of time spent standing around didn’t do it any favors) and there’s no way around that.

Reigns gets the big pyro display behind him as he stands on the ramp (great shot) but we’re not done yet. Undertaker slowly sits up and we go to a bunch of replays. Back to live and it’s Undertaker standing in the ring with the hat and coat on. I use that term loosely as it looks like Mark Callaway standing there dressed as Undertaker. For the first time, it seems like we’re seeing the real person instead of the character, which is a MAJOR change for him.

He looks around to the crowd, takes off his gloves, coat and hat and folds them up in the ring. With the fans applauding, he goes outside, kisses Michelle McCool, and walks up the ramp. Undertaker stops, looks back one more time, raises the fist, and lowers down through the ramp, fist still in the air, to end the show with the gong sounding one more time. There was no commentary for the last ten minutes, without even a goodbye (appropriate here).

That’s about as perfect of a sendoff as WWE has ever done. It was emotional, it felt special, and it came off like the real thing. Undertaker is the last vestige of that older generation and him breaking character for the first time ever and leaving is incredible to see. It’s why I don’t want to see him wrestle again and why it makes me sad to think that he will. Incredible stuff, and Thank You Taker.

Overall Rating: C+. There’s no way around it: this show is way way way way way way way WAY too long. I got through an hour of the show a few days back (you know I’m not watching this in one sitting) and looked down at the bar in near horror of how little space I had covered. Five hours, plus TWO HOURS of a Kickoff Show is just too much, especially when there’s stuff to be cut. What could be cut? Well off the top of my head:

AJ vs. Shane (move AJ to ANYTHING else and drop Shane) entirely or at least cut it down by about eight minutes

Corbin vs. Ambrose (I know it’s the Intercontinental Title but on a show this huge, it’s understandable)

Smackdown Women’s Title (it’s just nothing and felt like total filler)

Five to ten minutes each off of Reigns vs. Undertaker and HHH vs. Rollins (those combine for nearly fifty minutes total)

Pitbull

AT LEAST get this down to four and a half hours of main show. That can’t be too much to ask, right?

Other than the timing issues though, the show is mostly solid. There’s a ton of good stuff up until the mixed tag and then things start to fall apart. The Universal Title match was as perfect as it was going to be get but there’s just so much bad around it (Bray vs. Orton, Reigns vs. Undertaker, HHH vs. Rollins in that match that is still going on somewhere, with HHH still working the knee) that the good is dragged down.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to the timing issues as there’s almost no way to make a show this long work. It’s too much to sit through and it becomes a chore at the end. Just cut this down by a good hour (or two) and things are much better, but bigger is better for WWE and that’s not changing anytime soon. As it is, the show works more than it misses but it’s still not a classic by any means.

Ratings Comparison

Neville vs. Austin Aries

Original: A-

2018 Redo: B

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Original: D

2018 Redo: D-

Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin

Original: C+

2018 Redo: C-

Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles

Original: B

2018 Redo: B

Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho

Original: B

2018 Redo: C+

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Charlotte vs. Nia Jax

Original: C-

2018 Redo: D

Hardy Boyz vs. Anderson and Gallows vs. Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Sheamus/Cesaro

Original: B

2018 Redo: C+

John Cena/Nikki Bella vs. The Miz/Maryse

Original: D

2018 Redo: D-

HHH vs. Seth Rollins

Original: C+

2018 Redo: B-

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Original: F

2018 Redo: F

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

Original: B

2018 Redo: B

Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Mickie James vs. Natalya

Original: D-

2018 Redo: D

Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns

Original: D+

2018 Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: B

2018 Redo: C+

Yeah I overrated a lot of this the first time around. It’s good, but not that good.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/04/07/wrestlemania-xxxiii-a-long-wait-for-a-long-show-with-a-long-ramp/

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

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

AND

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

 

ECW On Sci Fi
Date: October 16, 2007
Location: NEC, Birmingham, England
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

We’re still in England and things are not going so well for ECW World Champion CM Punk. Last week saw the return of John Morrison, who beat up a banged up Punk in the main event. At the same time, Punk has to deal with Big Daddy V, who seems like he wants the title too. Or maybe to use Punk as a pizza topping. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary gives us a quick welcome and hypes up a handicap match main event between CM Punk/a mystery partner vs. Miz/John Morrison/Big Daddy V.

Opening sequence.

Before the handicap match, here is John Morrison to ask if we can hear the buzz. The fans make the matches for Cyber Sunday and the fans are going to want to pick him to face Punk at Cyber Sunday. His time has come so dream, love and scream Morrison. In case you need more proof, here is a clip of Morrison beating Punk last week. So go vote for him! Cue the Miz to interrupt, saying that Morrison is a former ECW Champion so people will vote for him…but the Shaman of Sexy?

Miz gets so many girls that he is bored with them. Women want him and men want to be him, so people are going to vote Miz. Morrison: “And I thought I was vain.” Morrison says he is bigger than everyone in ECW…so here is Big Daddy V, with Matt Striker, to interrupt. Striker hypes up V, who says the title is his. Cue CM Punk for the handicap match, but first he puts over V and Morrison as legitimate threats, but no one likes Miz. That’s at Cyber Sunday, but he has a partner for tonight.

Miz/John Morrison/Big Daddy V vs. CM Punk/Kane

Well that works. Punk, with the taped up ribs, takes Morrison down to start but a shot to the ribs cuts him off. A monkey flip out of the corner sends Morrison face first onto the mat and it’s off to Kane for some elbows. Punk comes back in with a slingshot hilo but Morrison goes back to the ribs. Miz comes in for some shoulders to the ribs before V stands on Punk’s back. More Miz stomping on the ribs sets up an abdominal stretch as you can’t fault the villains’ logic.

A clothesline puts Punk on the floor and we take a break. Back with Morrison driving Punk hard into the corner as commentary talks about a new business deal between Smackdown and ECW (which explains how Kane can be here). Miz comes in for a bodyscissors but Punk suplexes his way to freedom, allowing the hot tag off to Kane. V comes in as well and misses a charge in the corner, leaving Kane to chokeslam Miz for the pin.

Rating: C. Assuming Kane is sticking around, this is one of the best things that could have happened to ECW. Kane is instantly the biggest name in ECW and someone who could be slotted into the title picture immediately. That’s a smart move for ECW as it isn’t like Kane was doing anything important on Smackdown.

In the back, John Morrison yells at Miz for costing them the match, which might cost Morrison the title match. Morrison challenges him for tonight so Miz knocks him down and accepts.

We recap Miz punting Balls Mahoney’s teddy bear into the crowd last week.

Mahoney can’t believe this is happening because it is so unfair. Kelly Kelly comes in and, after thinking for a second, asks Mahoney out. They leave to make plans.

Vickie Guerrero and Armando Estrada discuss their new deal, with Vickie wanting to know that ECW wrestlers will be on Smackdown. Armando says yell, with Vickie saying that she has a tag team here too. Jesse and Festus come in so Armando gives them a match for tonight.

Jesse and Festus vs. Elijah Burke/Nunzio

Jesse explains Festus again and says ring the bell, which leaves Burke looking scared. There’s a shoulder to drop Burke so it’s off to Nunzio vs. Jesse. That means Nunzio is driven into the corner, where he can bring Burke back in. Jesse gets beaten down for a change and some forearms to the chest give Burke two. Back up and Jesse gets in a few shots of his own, allowing the hot tag off to Festus. Dominance ensues in a hurry and a rocket launcher shoulder gives Jesse the pin on Nunzio. Just a step above a squash as the new team continues to get established.

We look back at Kane’s ECW debut.

Raw Rebound.

Miz vs. John Morrison

Both guys are rubbing their chin on the way in. They go straight to throwing fists to start and the fans say they both suck. Morrison gets the better of things and kicks Miz in the chest but misses a charge into the corner. That lets Miz hit his running corner clothesline but Morrison is right back with a handstand enziguri. They’re both down….and here is Big Daddy V for the no contest, despite him not doing anything before the referee calls for the bell.

V crushes everyone to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Now that is the kind of change that has been severely lacking around here. ECW has been dying for some fresh blood and throwing in some Smackdown people is a great way to go. I’m not sure how many ECW names need to go to Smackdown, but ECW has been needing the new people around. This is a good day for ECW and I’m more interested in their future than I was coming in.

 

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

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

AND

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

 

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 21, 2022
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton

There are two Raws left before Wrestlemania and that means WWE needs to really hammer things home. That is how it should go at least, but you never can tell with what this company is going to do. I’m sure Seth Rollins will be all Wile E. Coyote with one dumb idea after another on his way to his ultimate goal of doing anything at Wrestlemania so let’s get to it.

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

We open with the glass shattering and it’s….Kevin Owens, in an Austin shirt, jean shorts, and a bald cap. Owens does a good enough Austin impression as he insults the crowd for falling for the gag and promises to destroy Austin once and for all at Wrestlemania. Then the glass shatters again, but fool me once and all that, as Owens gets to laugh at the people.

After another threat to Austin, Owens calls for some beers (Steve Austin lagers of course) but can’t catch them. Therefore he yells at the guy to bring them into the ring and Stuns him before pouring some lager over him. You could write this step by step from the second the glass shattered and that’s how it should have been. Sometimes you need to play it by numbers instead of going nuts and screwing something up and they got it as right as they could here.

We look back at Seth Rollins going a bit nuts last week and losing to Kevin Owens for the rights to interview Steve Austin at Wrestlemania.

Rollins doesn’t like the suggestion that he isn’t going to Wrestlemania and starts laughing maniacally. Ignore the CODY chants as he steals the microphone.

Mysterios vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Miz is on commentary as Dominik grabs a springboard wristdrag out to the floor. Back in and a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination puts Dominik down so Rey comes in for the save attempt. The Mysterios clear the ring for stereo dives to the floor and….here’s Seth Rollins. He wants a Wrestlemania spot and he is going to get one, even if his mic keeps giving out out.

Rollins wants the biggest thing at Wrestlemania that will live forever but since his mic gives out, we take a break. Back with Rollins gone and Rey fighting out of a superplex attempt. Dominik comes back in with a high crossbody to Roode, who is right back with a spinebuster for two. The frustration sets in, allowing Dominik to hit a 619 into the frog splash for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C-. You can only get so much when a large section of the match was spent on looking at Rollins fighting with the microphone. The Mysterios are a team that should make sense on paper but they just aren’t clicking no matter how WWE presents them. That is a problem that WWE is going to have to deal with somehow, but I’ll take it over Dominik getting a singles push at this rate.

Post match Ziggler hits Rey with a superkick and Miz grabs a Skull Crushing Finale on the floor. Miz even steals the mask and the fans freak out as Rey covers his face with a towel.

Seth Rollins is with Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce and explains that he wants to do something at Wrestlemania. Pearce says this isn’t the way to go about it but maybe there is something he and Deville can do. Rollins laughs and walks off.

Miz is on the phone when he is interrupted to be asked about stealing the mask. It turns out that Logan Paul was a big Rey Mysterio fan growing up and he just wanted a mask. The lesson Paul needs to learn is to never meet your heroes, because they can be horrible. Now it is time for Paul to beat up his heroes at Wrestlemania, but first, Miz dares Paul to wear the mask next week on Raw.

Smackdown Breakdown, this week all about Brock Lesnar trying to destroy the Bloodline.

Omos vs. Apollo Crews/Commander Azeez

Crews and Azeez jump him before the bell but Omos grabs them by their throats on the floor. They get back in for the opening bell, with Omos hitting a one armed slam. The chokeslam to Crews sets up the double pin at 1:45.

Post match Omos promises to dominate anyone at Wrestlemania.

Video on Edge’s recent trip over the, uh, edge.

Here is the returning AJ Styles for a chat. AJ talks about how he has been gone for a few weeks and that much time is a dangerous thing. He has been watching that clip of Edge attacking him over and over and now he has to see Edge with his mood lighting, asking why. Styles doesn’t care because all he wants to do is kick Edge’s teeth down his throat. Instead, he gets Seth Rollins, who, after hearing the CODY chants, says that rumors don’t make moments.

Rollins has an idea: AJ stays at home for Wrestlemania and Rollins ends Edge’s career instead! Styles passes on the idea, saying that if he can walk, he’ll be facing Edge. This is just like last week when Styles wanted to take Kevin Owens’s spot, sending Rollins into a rant about how he’s running out of options. Styles isn’t cool with everything going on with Rollins right now so here are Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to interrupt. Pearce says Rollins is getting one more chance at Wrestlemania, because if he can beat Styles tonight, he can face Edge instead. Styles clears Rollins out in a hurry.

Carmella is on her phone again when Queen Zelina interrupts. Zelina doesn’t think Carmella is taking their Wrestlemania title defense seriously but Carmella blows her off. Instead Zelina throws the phone away and tells her to get her head in this. That’s good for a slap and the brawl is on.

AJ Styles yells at Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville about their decision but promises to win anyway.

Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler/Natalya

Ripley takes Baszler down to start and it’s off to Morgan, who gets pulled into the wrong corner. Natalya comes in and drops Morgan down, allowing Shayna to crank on the arm. Cue Carmella to cry to Corey Graves about what happened to her as Morgan fights out of the corner. Baszler pulls Ripley off the apron though, leaving Natalya to hit Morgan with the discus lariat. The Hart Attack gives Baszler the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C. This is where the title match at Wrestlemania is going to fall apart (because it means so much in the first place): since there are so few teams in the division, they are going to have to face each other and knock one another down, leaving no one worth anything once we get to Wrestlemania, where Zelina and Carmella likely retain anyway.

Post match Carmella beats up Baszler and Natalya before posing with Queen Zelina, who approves so hugging can ensue.

We look at Becky Lynch injuring Bianca Belair last week.

Here is Becky for a chat. She sits in a chair and asks what it profits a man to gain the world but to lose his soul. Becky went fifteen months without the Raw Women’s Title and it is worth it to give given up her soul to get the title back. This week she was going to go after Belair’s hair but Belair is injured too. It’s a throat for a throat and Becky would sell out over and over again if it meant keeping her title. At Wrestlemania, she’ll show Belair what profits she has gained. This felt like an explanation for a heel turn that took place seven months ago.

We recap Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory.

Theory is ready for the dumb jock McAfee and he wants to make Vince McMahon proud..

Veer Mahaan is coming on April 4.

Aust….WAIT WHAT??? THEY SET A DATE??? Somebody get my medicine.

Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor

Non-title and here is Pat McAfee to join commentary. An early rollup gives Balor two and he’s back with a basement dropkick. Theory gets kicked out to the floor, where McAfee mocks him with some weird dancing. The distraction lets Balor hit a shotgun dropkick against the barricade and we take a break.

Back with McAfee cheerleading Balor to his feet for the comeback, only to have Theory knock him outside. Balor sends him into the announcers’ table over and over, setting up the shotgun dropkick into the corner. The Coup de Grace misses though and Theory takes Balor down, drawing McAfee up to the apron. The ATL is broken up but Theory is right back with a brainbuster onto the knee for two. Another McAfee distraction cuts Theory off though and the small package gives Balor the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C. This was all about McAfee vs. Theory as the US Champion was left out there in a feud that has nothing to do with him. I’m still not sure why this is McAfee vs. Theory instead of Theory going after the Intercontinental Title, as Ricochet has nothing going on and it isn’t like McAfee is being brought in especially for this show. The match was good enough while it wasn’t focused on the announcer, but that was the case most of the time.

We look at the Raw Tag Team Title situation, which is leading to RKBro defending against Alpha Academy and the Street Profits in a triple threat at Wrestlemania.

RKBro vs. Alpha Academy

Non-title. Before the match Chad Gable promises that the Academy is winning the titles at Wrestlemania. Gable cranks on Orton’s arm to start but Orton brings him into the corner. The assisted Floating Bro gives Riddle two but Gable sends him into the wall that is Otis. Riddle fights back with some running forearms, only to be knocked outside for the running Otis clothesline as we take a break. Back with Riddle making the hot tag to Orton (big reaction for that) and house is cleaned. The hanging DDT hits Gable for two as Otis makes the save. Riddle comes back in and jumps Gable, setting up the Bro Derek for the pin at 7:49.

Rating: C+. RKBro continues to be the most popular act on Raw and they continue to put on some of the most consistent matches on the show as well. It makes sense to keep them together this long and I’m not sure where they go from here. For the first time in forever, I want to see a team stay together and it is going to be a big deal when they finally split up, because they have gelled that well.

Post match the Street Profits run in and take out both teams.

Dana Brooke was attacked by Akira Tozawa earlier this week but manages to escape with the title again, as Tozawa continues to screw things up.

Dana Brooke/Reggie vs. Akira Tozawa/Tamina

Non-title. Earlier today, Tamina choked Tozawa and demanded to get the 24/7 Title. We start with a game of chicken but Tozawa can’t hold Tamina up. Instead he gets on her shoulders and locks up with Dana until Tamina kicks Reggie in the ribs. Tamina and Tozawa are sent into the corner, where Tamina falls face first into a low blow on Tozawa. The running flipping seated senton gives Reggie the pin at 1:04. This is a thing that continues to be on Raw every week.

We recap the opening segment.

AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins

The winner gets Edge at Wrestlemania. Styles grabs a headlock to start but gets knocked down by a running shoulder. A Pedigree attempt is countered though and AJ sends him over the top and out to the floor. The slingshot forearm takes Rollins down again and we take a break. Back with Styles fighting out of a cravate but missing a charge into the post. That’s good for a nine count on the floor so Rollins chops away in the corner back inside. A running dropkick in the Tree of Woe (that was nasty) gives Rollins two but AJ fights back again.

Rollins breaks up a springboard though and AJ goes crashing back to the floor. Rollins’ suicide dive connects and we take another break. Back again with Rollins letting go of a cravate and screaming about how he needs this to Styles. The slugout goes to Styles, including the running forearm in the corner. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives AJ two and a belly to back faceplant gets the same.

Styles can’t hit the Styles Clash as Rollins escapes and grabs a Falcon Arrow for two of his own. We hit the pinfall reversal sequence until AJ suplexes him into the corner. AJ takes him up top but Rollins slips off and bangs up his leg, allowing Styles to grab a torture rack swing into a powerbomb for two more. The Phenomenal Forearm is superkicked out of the air though and Rollins hits the Buckle Bomb. AJ slips out to the apron and loads up the Phenomenal Forearm but Edge comes in with a chair to Styles for the DQ at 22:44.

Rating: B. Again, what would you expect from two guys of this caliber getting this much time in a featured match? That is the kind of thing that you do not see very often and it is special when it does, as both of them got to look good. I don’t think there was much doubt about the result, but the match being rather good makes up for that.

Post match Rollins snaps and says the show doesn’t happen next week unless he gets what he wants. Things are broken at ringside to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. What mattered here was it felt like the show was taking things seriously (24/7 Title stuff aside) and the talking segments worked better than in recent weeks. They helped advance some things towards Wrestlemania, with Owens’ segment working out well. I’m not sure how we get to what should be the pretty obvious end game for Rollins but they put it in the prime spot this week and it felt bigger as a result. I liked this show, though it felt like a fluke rather than a change of pace.

Results
Mysterios b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Frog splash to Roode
Omos b. Apollo Crews/Commander Azeez – Double pin
Natalya/Shayna Baszler b. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley – Hart Attack to Morgan
Finn Balor b. Austin Theory – Small package
RKBro b. Alpha Academy – Bro Derek to Gable
Dana Brooke/Reggie b. Tamina/Akira Tozawa – Running flipping seated senton to Tozawa
AJ Styles b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Edge interfered

 

 

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: October 9, 2007
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

ECW didn’t get to do much at No Mercy, as the ECW World Title match lasted about a minute and a half and ended with a lame DQ. That didn’t stop the ECW announcers from having to sit at ringside for about three hours though, because WWE is a bit weird like that. Maybe things are a bit better this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the ECW World Title match and Big Daddy V crushing CM Punk after Punk retained the title, even though it might have been more effective to just show the whole match.

Opening sequence.

Big Daddy V vs. Tommy Dreamer

Before the match, V (with Matt Striker) promises to show no mercy. Dreamer gets stomped down in the corner to start and V elbows him in the face. A chop puts Dreamer on the floor but he comes back in with some ax handles. V runs him over again though and hits the Samoan drop. The big elbow completes the squash.

Kevin Thorn vs. James Curtis

Joey’s voiceover about the Divas Search is edited out here. Curtis gets knocked into the corner to start but comes out with a middle rope dropkick. That isn’t cool with Thorn, who takes him down and cranks on his neck to take over. A kick to the back puts Curtis down again and Thorn rips at his face in the corner. Thorn misses a charge though and Curtis hammers away but Thorn pulls him into….I have no idea what the heck that was supposed to be but Thorn follows it up with the Original Sin for the pin.

Rating: D+. That botch was pretty terrible and it was smart to go home as soon as possible. Thorn continues to be someone with a good look and cool finishers but that’s the extent of his value. When you have something that is a little goofy like being vampire or whatever it is supposed to be, the few positives are only going to carry him so far. Thorn reached that point awhile ago.

We look back at Miz revealing that he controls Kelly Kelly’s contract, meaning that if she goes on a date with Balls Mahoney, she’s off the team and out of ECW.

Miz asks Kelly Kelly what she sees in Balls Mahoney but she can’t really answer. Either way, she’s in his corner against Mahoney tonight.

Miz vs. Balls Mahoney

Miz has a rather annoyed Kelly Kelly in his corner. Mahoney, with the teddy bear he gave Kelly, starts fast and hits a running forearm to stagger Miz but misses a charge in the corner. Some shots to the face give Miz two and the cravate goes on. That’s broken up and Mahoney hits a suplex, only to get knocked off the apron and hard into the announcers’ table…for a countout.

Rating: C-. This felt like a way to continue the story without actually doing anything. Miz beating Mahoney by countout doesn’t make either of them look that much better and we will continue with what they’re doing next week. While it’s a bit odd to see Kelly interested in Mahoney, this is at least something for both of them to do.

Post match Kelly goes to check on Mahoney so Miz kicks the teddy bear.

Video on John Morrison, who is back tonight after a month off.

Raw Rebound.

Video on Cyber Sunday.

John Morrison vs. CM Punk

Non-title and Punk has very bad ribs coming in. Morrison gets smart by going after the ribs to start with some knees putting Punk in early trouble. A kick to the head makes it worse but Morrison misses his break dancing legdrop. Morrison goes right back to the ribs (smart) and we hit the abdominal stretch. Punk is back up with a running clothesline to the floor and follows Morrison out, only to get dropped ribs first onto the steps.

We take a break and come back with Morrison pulling on an arm and a leg at the same time. A Rock Bottom onto the knee is countered into a sunset flip attempt, which is broken up with a kick to the bad ribs. You can’t fault the logic here. Punk gets knocked outside again and the ribs are sent into the apron. There’s a gutbuster for two and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Punk’s back.

That’s finally broken up and Punk knocks him to the apron for a shot of his own. Back in and Punk manages a slam with the bad ribs, setting up a leg lariat for two. The GTS is loaded up but Morrison grabs the ropes, meaning Punk has to send him to the apron. Morrison’s springboard kick to the head gets two but Punk knocks him backwards again. Punk goes up, where Morrison crotches him down, setting up a reverse superplex for the pin.

Rating: C+. It was a logical match with Morrison taking apart Punk’s bad ribs, though it is a rather odd thing to see the champion getting pinned clean. This would have been a good place for the countout, though we just saw that in the previous match so it was out for this one. Morrison is someone who would make sense as a challenger to Punk, but we’ve kind of done though so often that it doesn’t work very well. This win should get Morrison one more shot, but I could have gone for a way other than Punk getting pinned.

Overall Rating: C-. Not the most interesting show here, as only the main event felt like something interesting and even then it felt like a bit of a trip back in time. V is still dominant, Miz vs. Mahoney hasn’t moved forward and Punk has to deal with the same guy he had to deal with a month ago. The show wasn’t bad on its own, but it didn’t exactly make things feel interesting going forward.

 

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NXT
Date: March 15, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We have just over two weeks to go before Stand & Deliver and the big story coming out of last week’s show was Dolph Ziggler winning the NXT Title from Bron Breakker by pinning Tommaso Ciampa in a triple threat. That should be setting up the rematch at Stand & Deliver with Ciampa left out so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Dolph Ziggler winning the NXT Title last week.

Here is the special guest star the Miz for MizTV. The fans seem happy to see Miz, who hypes up his Wrestlemania match. With that out of the way, here is Dolph Ziggler, with Robert Roode, as this week’s guest. Ziggler is rather happy to be champion and we see a clip of Bron Breakker not being allowed into the building earlier.

Roode and Ziggler brag about how much money they have but here is LA Knight to interrupt. If Breakker can’t come in and challenge him tonight, he’ll be the one challenging Ziggler instead. Ziggler says he only faces superstars so thanks for coming. Knight says he’s a megastar and Ziggler says he only fights in the main event, so Miz makes the title match for tonight (because he can do that).

Cora Jade doesn’t like Toxic Attraction, who have put Raquel Gonzalez out of action for four to six weeks. Somehow she has all three of their title belts though and it seems like she has plans for them.

North American Title Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Santos Escobar vs. Cameron Grimes

The rest of Legado del Fantasma is here and Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Grimes jumping over Escobar’s legsweep and telling him to do something to his grits. Grimes’ wristlock doesn’t get him very far as Escobar takes him down against the ropes and stomps away as Barrett says he is bout it bout it. Grimes sends him outside but a Legado distraction lets Escobar take out the legs as we take a break.

Back with Escobar kicking away but getting sent to the apron. Grimes gets kicked in the head though, allowing Escobar to go up. Escobar hits a top rope ax handle to the head for two but Grimes is back with a running forearm. A trip to the floor lets Grimes hit a big flip dive to drop Escobar again. Back in and Grimes’ high crossbody is countered into a gutbuster for two. Grimes is back up with a superkick and loads up the Cave In, which is countered into the Phantom Driver to give Escobar the pin at 11:24.

Rating: C+. Another solid performance from Grimes, even though he loses again. At some point you need to let him win something that matters (the Million Dollar Title seems like forever ago) or the spark is going to die. Escobar going into the title match is fine, but I could have gone without Grimes taking another fall.

Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray are ready to win the Dusty Classic.

Wendy Choo loves orange soda (Is it true?) but Dakota Kai will pass. Toxic Attraction comes in to ask about the titles but yell at Choo and Kai, who should be thanking them for their Dusty Classic win. Toxic Attraction is off to find the titles, with Choo and Kai saying they’re hot but weird.

Video on A-Kid.

A-Kid vs. Kushida

The winner gets a North American Title qualifying match next week and A-Kid doesn’t get an entrance. They go with the test of strength to start and hit the mat with Kushida flipping out of a headscissors. Back up and it’s an armdrag into a dropkick before taking Kushida down by the arm. The threat of a double arm hold sends Kushida over to the ropes and he’s right back with a Boston crab. With that broken up, A-Kid snaps off a German suplex and a northern lights suplex for two. A springboard moonsault DDT finishes Kushida at 4:59.

Rating: C+. A-Kid looked good enough here and that should be enough to give him something worthwhile in the next few weeks. I don’t know if he’s here full time or just for a few matches but it’s nice to get some fresh blood around here. He is going to need a bit more of a character (and perhaps a name change) but he has the in-ring skills to hang with a lot of people.

Santos Escobar brags about being the greatest luchador of all time….when the Mysterios come in. The rest of Legado seem to be in awe but they mock Dominik, setting up a match.

Video on Tiffany Stratton vs. Sarray.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Sarray

Stratton jumps Sarray in the aisle, prompting Joseph to say “Sarray didn’t even have the chance to transform.” With that out of the way, Stratton stomps on her in the corner but has to avoid the dropkick against the ropes. A handspring splash in the corner sets up the corkscrew Vader Bomb to give Stratton the pin at 52 seconds.

Gunther doesn’t respect LA Knight for using his mouth so much but Knight doesn’t care. Watch him win the title.

Cora Jade has strung up one of the Tag Team Title belts so Jacy Jayne comes up to pull it down, triggering a cage to close behind her. Jade comes up and mocks her as I try to figure out A, where the camera was in the cage that films Jade mocking her and B, why we actually just had a trap rigged up backstage.

Here is Tommaso Ciampa for a chat. He talks about how he has been at this for seventeen years and has always wanted to find a place that he can call home. That is what he found in NXT and the fans seem appreciative. Ciampa talks about some of his high points in NXT but knows we can’t recap the last seven years.

He always had his fans with him and sometimes he even thinks back to NXT New Orleans where he came out to no music and received a chorus of boos. It was clear that they were making something special and that he could be that guy. Fans: “YOU’RE THE GUY!” It has been a long journey of ups and downs and setbacks and from black and gold to 2.0. The one thing that stuck was he never left and the people never left, which sets off a PLEASE DON’T GO chant.

Ciampa isn’t sure what is next for him but he has been thinking about his perfect fairy tale ending. Walking into a show like Stand & Deliver over Wrestlemania weekend as NXT Champion sounds like a perfect ending. The fact of the matter is that he didn’t capitalize on that, just like he didn’t get to walk in to Brooklyn as champion three years ago.

These last seven days, he keeps wondering what is next for him. He isn’t sure about where this is going, but here is Tony D’Angelo, who throws down his crowbar. D’Angelo has been thinking about who he needs to beat to put in the history books. The match seems to be set for Stand & Deliver and they shake hands, with D’Angelo kicking him low. D’Angelo promises to become the new Don of NXT. I’m not sure if this is it for Ciampa, but having D’Angelo as his last match isn’t quite inspiring.

Persia Pirotta vs. Indi Hartwell

They seem to be cool with each other to start before Pirotta shoves her down. Pirotta goes for Hartwell’s wedding ring, which just annoys Hartwell. Pirotta: “HE DOESN’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!” Cue Duke Hudson to ringside but Dexter Lumis pops out from underneath the ring. The distraction lets Hartwell slip out of a fireman’s carry and roll Pirotta up for the pin at 2:33.

Post match the guys get in and the couples engage in a kiss off contest, leaving all four of them on the mat. I eagerly await the mixed tag.

Gigi Dolin has to climb onto a dumpster to get her title back, but then the dumpster is closed, with a forklift going on top of it. Cora Jade pops up to mock her through the roof.

Joaquin Wilde vs. Dominik Mysterio

The rest of Legado del Fantasma and Rey Mysterio are here. Dominik anklescissors Wilde to start but Wilde sticks the landing, leaving Dominik staring up at him. A very springboardy wristdrag takes Wilde down but he pulls Dominik off the middle rope for a crash. Mysterio is back up with a headscissors (which isn’t quite on the head) but an Elektra Lopez distraction lets Wilde get in a kick to the head. Cue Fallon Henley for the staredown with Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen backing her up. The distraction lets Dominik hit a 619 into a frog splash for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: B-. This was a good, action based match with the interference and distractions serving as a fine enough way to go. Dominik looked better than usual here, as he belongs on a smaller show like this until he figures out something other than being Rey’s son. He can do enough in the ring to have a decent match, but he needs matches like this to let him grow.

Scott Hall tribute video.

Cora Jade still has the Women’s Title and some spray paint as she heads over to Mandy Rose’s car. Mandy is in the back though and jumps Jade, screaming about the tricks that Jade has been playing. A running knee knocks Jade silly and the title match seems to be set for Stand & Deliver. Mandy spray paints Jade’s back for the Scott Hall tribute.

Here are the Creed Brothers, who demand to know who attacked them last week. Cue MSK, who says they didn’t do it (Barrett: “LIARS!”) but the Brothers don’t seem to buy it. Now it’s Imperium popping up on the platform to laugh at both of them. The challenge is made for Stand & Deliver so let’s have a triple threat match. Yes I said a triple threat match for the Tag Team Titles, believe it or not. Imperium says they fear no one so the match is on.

Cameron Grimes is tired of losing over and over but now he is going to be watching Stand & Deliver from home. The last thing he told his father was that he signed to NXT but now he’s still here and disappointing everyone.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade are in the back to explain to Malcolm Bivens why they attacked Toxic Attraction’s waiters last week. That is their alibi for not attacking the Creed Brothers, followed by the Grizzled Young Veterans saying they didn’t need to take the Brothers out. The Creeds vs. the Veterans is set for next week.

NXT Title: LA Knight vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler, with Robert Roode, is defending. Knight shoulders him down to start but gets taken into the corner. A snapmare sets up a chinlock from Ziggler before he comes back with some right hands to the head. Knight flips out of a suplex though and a neckbreaker gets two. Ziggler is sent outside as Knight seems to be favoring his ribs, though he is fine enough to snap off a powerslam as we take a break.

Back with Knight fighting out of a sleeper with a bodyscissors, even driving Ziggler into the corner. Knight counters the Fameasser into something like a powerbomb and the stomping is on in the corner. There’s the jumping elbow for two as we cut to the back where Bron Breakker comes inside. Knight takes him up top for a top rope superplex, followed by a Burning Hammer for two, with Ziggler getting a foot on the rope. BFT is blocked though and Ziggler hits the superkick to retain at 11:50.

Rating: B-. I say this a lot but when you take two talented guys and let them do their thing for a somewhat extended amount of time, you are going to get a good match. That is what happened here and it was entertaining stuff, as Knight was a good foil for Ziggler, even if he had no chance of winning the title. The good thing about having Ziggler go over some people is they aren’t getting beaten by someone who is beneath them, so it isn’t like Knight takes a big hit from the loss. At the same time, Ziggler gets to look good, making this a smart move all around.

Post match here is Bron Breakker to say he wants the rematch at Stand & Deliver. Roode is dropped and Ziggler says it’s on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The show still had problems, but it was WAY better than last week, with good action and a lot of things being set up for Stand & Deliver. You had three matches set for the show, some of which sound interesting, to make the card mostly come together. At the same time though, stuff like Jade hiding the titles was a bit much, along with the Indi vs. Persia stuff that started off silly and then got even worse. I like the guest stars coming in too, if nothing else just for the sake of offering some bigger names to pull the others up a hair. Much better show here, and that is a nice relief.

Results
Santos Escobar b. Cameron Grimes – Phantom Driver
Tiffany Stratton b. Sarray – Corkscrew Vader Bomb
A-Kid b. Kushida – Moonsault DDT
Indi Hartwell b. Persia Pirotta – Rollup
Dominik Mysterio b. Joaquin Wilde – Frog splash
Dolph Ziggler b. LA Knight – Superkick

 

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 14, 2022
Location: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton

We have less than three weeks to go before Wrestlemania and WWE still has a lot of work to do before the show. The big story coming out of last week was Kevin Owens challenging Steve Austin to meet him at Wrestlemania, with Austin accepting the next day. Other than that, it’s time to hear about how wrestlers have no path to the show. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Scott Hall. That one is going to hurt for a long time.

We open with a look at Kevin Owens’ challenge and Steve Austin accepting.

Here is Kevin Owens, who opens with a Hey Yo. He is the happiest Canadian right now because he is going to the main event of Wrestlemania Saturday night. Owens used his superior Canadian intellect to get what he wanted. This draws a USA chant, with Owens saying that everyone, including the USA, will get to see Owens take Austin out. The only can that will be opened is a can of Canadian beer after Owens kicks him from one side of Texas to the other. Owens hits a Stunner on the cameraman and walks out. This is where Owens can shine on the way to the big showdown and his talking will always work for him.

Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest

Non-title but hold on as here is Austin Theory to interrupt. After looking at a clip of Theory’s issues with Pat McAfee, Theory joins commentary because the world needed a four person booth. Balor hits his shotgun dropkick in the corner, followed by some shoulders to the ribs. The standing double stomp misses but Balor hits another basement dropkick. Priest is right back up and takes Balor outside for the big release Razor’s Edge onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Priest cutting off another shotgun dropkick with a kick to the head. Balor slips off the shoulder though and hits another shotgun dropkick, only to have Theory break up the Coup de grace. An enziguri puts Priest down, but Balor dropkicks Theory instead of going after him. Back in and Priest hits the Reckoning for the pin at 7:29.

Rating: C. This is an interesting one as Theory already has something to do at Wrestlemania but seems to be getting into things with Balor as well. I’m not sure where that is going but maybe they are going to have Theory and Balor work both nights of the show. I would certainly take that over pulling in more people to throw onto the show, though Balor losing so soon into his reign isn’t a good sign.

Post match Theory hits the ATL on Balor, setting up the selfie.

Seth Rollins has nothing to say about his lack of a path to Wrestlemania.

Omos vs. Commander Azeez

Apollo Crews is here with Azeez. We get the big lockup to start and they shove each other around. Omos knocks him outside and then clotheslines him over the top as well. A Crews distraction lets Azeez snap Omos’ throat across the top rope but Omos counters a suplex into a suplex slam. The chokeslam finishes Azeez at 1:54. Again, keeping Omos’ matches short and dominant is the best idea they have for him.

Post match Omos chokeslams Crews for a bonus.

Kevin Owens comes up to Seth Rollins and talks about how he needs to come up with something else. Owens talks about the things that Rollins has done at Wrestlemania and offers to help him get to Wrestlemania. Rollins cuts him off and seems to have an idea, though he leaves without saying a word. Owens thinks he helped.

Liv Morgan vs. Queen Zelina

Rhea Ripley and Carmella are here too. Before the match, we see a clip of Zelina telling Carmella to focus on the titles instead of the risque reality show. Zelina grabs a crossarm choke to start but Morgan is right back with a sunset flip. We’ll make that a tumbleweed for two more, followed by the tumbleweed going backwards for the same as Zelina is a bit dizzy. Carmella offers a distraction in the corner though and it’s a powerbomb to bring Morgan back down. Ripley scares Carmella over to Graves, leaving Zelina to get caught with Oblivion for the pin at 2:50.

We look at Roman Reigns destroying Brock Lesnar at Madison Square Garden and Lesnar chasing off Paul Heyman on Smackdown.

Seth Rollins comes to the ring immediately after and he has his announcement. After a long recap of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, Rollins talks about how excited he is for his idea. He wants Kevin Owens out here to hear this so a rather happy Owens joins him and seems interested in hearing whatever the idea is.

Rollins has an idea of his own: he could have a talk show at Wrestlemania! Like the Freakin Speaking With Seth Freakin Rollins! Or the Rollins Report! He could have Steve Austin as his guest! Owens says not so fast because that’s his thing, but Rollins thinks they could have a match tonight, with the winner getting to host Austin on their talk show. Sonya Deville comes out and makes the match, leaving Owens aghast.

We recap the Mysterios vs. Miz/Logan Paul.

Kevin Owens asks Sonya Deville what she is thinking.

Mysterios vs. Hurt Business

Hold on because here are the Miz and Logan Paul to join commentary. Dominik gets knocked to the floor to start and it’s a waistlock to keep him down back inside. That’s broken up and it’s off to Rey for a headscissors as Miz explains why Paul will be awesome at Wrestlemania. Paul: “I’ve been doing a lot of pushups. And situps!” Rey hits a tornado DDT for two and it’s a double 619 to Alexander. The frog splash gives Dominik the pin at 3:24.

Rating: C. This was just a quick one with the Mysterios getting in the ring so Paul and Miz could run their mouths on commentary. Both teams are capable of more, but how much can you get out of a match that doesn’t even make three and a half minutes and is there to set up another match down the line? At least the Mysterios got some momentum back.

Post match Paul and Miz come in for the beatdown but Miz gets sent to the floor. Paul goes after Dominik but Miz has to save him from the double 619.

We recap Edge being all mysterious when he explained his attack on AJ Styles.

Queen Sharmell is going into the Hall of Fame.

Here is serious Edge, now with a new theme song (complete with “You think you know me? You never did.”) for another serious chat. Edge talks about how no one has ever gotten what he does so he’ll put this in terms anyone can understand. He is better than everyone, including all of the people here. What he means is that he is better than everyone in this entire industry but he hasn’t shown that since he has been back.

The real Edge wouldn’t let Randy Orton injure him or let Seth Rollins invade his home or let the Aquaman cosplayer Roman Reigns stack him up at Wrestlemania. Edge won’t be judged by any of us, including AJ Styles. He will be passing the verdicts around here and if AJ Styles can make it to Wrestlemania, Edge will be passing the sentence.

We look at Bianca Belair using her hair as a weapon over the last few weeks.

Bianca Belair says the hair is part of herself and the real advantage is that Becky Lynch isn’t running her mouth these days. Tonight, she is going to focus and use Doudrop to give Lynch a Wrestlemania preview.

Veer Mahaan is coming.

Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop

Nikki Ash is here with Doudrop. Belair starts fast with a dropkick but misses another one. Doudrop misses the backsplash though and they head outside. That lets Doudrop toss her into the barricade, only to miss the Cannonball as we take a break. Back with Belair having to slug away and hitting a jumping kick to the chest. Belair drives her into the corner, tells Doudrop to kiss it, and backflips over her out of the other corner. A spinebuster drops Doudrop and the KOD finishes Doudrop at 7:58.

Rating: C+. We’ve seen it before but there is something amazing about seeing Belair throw Doudrop around the ring like that. It is a power display you don’t get to see very often and Belair manages to make it look pretty easy. That being said, they might want to find someone else for Belair to beat up, because it is going to turn into the law of diminishing returns, ala John Cena giving Big Show the AA over and over.

Post match here is Becky Lynch to pull Belair outside and the beating is on again. Becky wraps a chair around Belair’s throat and pulls her into the post by the hair to leave her laying. Lynch says it’s the hair next week.

Smackdown Rebound.

Here is RKBro for their Championship Celebration, complete with an oddly themed set and balloons. Riddle talks about how he feels like he is in a time vortex as he keeps playing last week’s victory in his head. Orton talks about how this is going to be his 18th Wrestlemania appearance and the first time he has gone in as a Tag Team Champion. It is also the first time that he has come in with a partner and he decorated the ring on his own.

It might not be his specialty, but Riddle is happy that Orton remembered his birthday. Sure it’s in ten months, but that is the Viper Mentality. Orton has him popcorn from the concession stand (Riddle’s favorite!), some gum (they’ll share), and something in a bag….but here are the Street Profits to interrupt.

Riddle welcomes them to the party, only to have the Profits get to the point: they beat RKBro a few weeks ago and want the title shot at Wrestlemania. Orton says they had to jump through every hoop and put in the effort to get there, so the Profits get no shot. That doesn’t work for the Profits, who aren’t just asking.

Orton doesn’t like being told what to do in this ring and threatens to listen to the voices and make them leave. Riddle tries to calm things down, saying that the Profits did beat them and they have to defend against someone. Riddle talks Orton into the match and it is officially accepted, but the Profits insult the celebration. That’s not cool with Riddle, who wants to face Ford right now. Sure.

Montez Ford vs. Riddle

Ford takes him down to start but the standing moonsault is countered into a triangle. That’s escaped in a hurry and Riddle is sent into the corner for a back rake. Riddle shrugs it off and rolls some gutwrench suplexes for two. It works so well that Riddle tries it again but this time Ford sends him outside. The big dive to the floor is pulled out of the air but Ford backflips out of a German suplex. Ford hits his own dive to take Riddle down as we go to a break.

Back with Ford getting two off of a splash but missing the frog splash. Riddle hits his running forearms in the corner, setting up an Orton powerslam (which draws Orton up to the apron to applaud). There’s the hanging DDT and the RKO connects but here is the Alpha Academy to jump Dawkins and Orton. Otis pulls Riddle to the floor for the DQ at 8:59.

Rating: C+. The sigh I let out as soon as the Alpha Academy interfered told me everything I needed to know about this story. You have a fine match with the Profits vs. RKBro, but the Academy is added in as well. Yes that makes sense and they should get another shot at the belts, but my goodness I’m sick of triple threat matches. The fact that these three pretty much are the tag division (at least what matters of it) isn’t a good sign either and the match is likely going to be bogged down by trying to fit in so many people. The Profits were acting a bit more villainish here though, which is at least something different.

Post match Alpha Academy beats Ford down, because WE MUST HAVE A TRIPLE THREAT MATCH!!!

We get the Scott hall tribute video. Dang that’s a hard one to see.

Long recap on Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins, as they are still friends but now Rollins wants Owens’ spot at Wrestlemania.

We look back at Bianca Belair being attacked by Becky Lynch, resulting in throat trauma.

Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

The winner gets to interview Steve Austin at Wrestlemania and the bell rings at 10:43, FIFTEEN MINUTES after Owens’ music started (two commercials, the recap, and the Belair update). Owens shouts about it being his spot at Wrestlemania and hammers away in the corner. Rollins reverses and does the same before taking Owens down for a kick to the back. Some shots to the leg get Owens out of trouble and he kicks Rollins’ knee out. A leglock goes on but Rollins slams his head into the mat to escape.

They fight to the apron with Rollins hitting a backdrop. Owens catches the dive though and hits a (Razor Ramon) fall away slam into the barricade. The backsplash crushes Rollins and we take a break. Back with Owens hitting the Cannonball in the corner for two and kicking Rollins in the knee. Rollins is right back with a Downward Spiral into the corner and the Sling Blade.

The top rope knee sends Owens outside for the suicide dive, followed by another one over the announcers’ table. Back in and a superkick into the frog splash gets two but Owens is back with the spinning superplex for two of his own. The Stunner is blocked and Owens is almost ran into the referee in the corner. That sends the referee outside, meaning Rollins’ rollup only gets two. Rollins yells at the referee so he misses the Stomp and bangs up his knee. The Stunner lets Owens keep what he already had at Wrestlemania at 14:46.

Rating: B-. It was a good match but this story is so annoyingly stupid that I can’t bring myself to care about what they are doing. Rollins wasn’t this distraught about losing a World Title but he might not get on the biggest show of the year, despite some people just adding themselves to it (like OWENS for example) for the last few weeks. Owens gained nothing from this and now we get to see them do something similar next week, with Wrestlemania being less than three weeks away. Not quite the Mega Powers exploding.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s kind of amazing to see what happens when you don’t have a World Title story to build towards on a show. Instead of focusing on something else, they’re dragging out the idea of the Road to Wrestlemania rather than Wrestlemania itself. The rest of the show isn’t going as badly, but it still feels like they are filling in time before we actually get to the point. That’s a bad sign with less than three weeks to go before Wrestlemania, but it is how WWE has worked over the last few years. Not a good show this week, as we continue the slow, dry build to Wrestlemania.

Results
Damian Priest b. Finn Balor – Reckoning
Omos b. Commander Azeez – Chokeslam
Liv Morgan b. Queen Zelina – Oblivion
Mysterios b. Hurt Business – Frog splash to Alexander
Bianca Belair b. Doudrop – KOD
Riddle b. Montez Ford via DQ when Otis interfered
Kevin Owens b. Seth Rollins – Stunner

 

 

 

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: October 2, 2007
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Tazz, Joey Styles

It’s time to find out who is going to challenge CM Punk for the ECW World Title with the finals of the Championship Chase. That being said, Big Daddy V seems primed to be the next big monster challenger. The problem is I’m not sure what he can do outside of a short title shot. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Vince McMahon to open things up with a major announcement: John Cena has suffered a torn pectoral muscle and we see a clip of last night’s match with Mr. Kennedy where Cena was injured. We also see Randy Orton attacking Cena after the match, which is where Vince says the injury took place (makes sense). As a result, Cena will be out of action for six to twelve months, so the WWE Title is officially vacant. That won’t last for very long though, as the new champion will be crowned on Sunday at No Mercy in a way to be announced.

Here is CM Punk for a chat of his own. Punk says we are five days away from No Mercy and he should be ready for whoever becomes #1 contender. Instead he can’t get his mind off of Big Daddy V, who laid him out last week. Punk respects V, who also has his attention. Matt Striker and V pop up on screen, with Striker saying V’s message is clear: he wants the title. As for Punk, good luck on his upcoming match.

CM Punk vs. Mike Knox

Non-title. Punk starts cranking on the wrist to start and takes him to the mat for a hammerlock. Knox punches away and hits a dropkick before grabbing a hammerlock of his own. Some knees to the arm set up a hammerlock slam but Punk is up with a running dropkick for a breather. We take a break and come back with Knox snapping Punk’s throat across the top rope for two and putting on the chinlock. A hard clothesline sets up another chinlock but Punk fights up and hits a dropkick. The running knee connects in the corner but the bulldog is blocked. That’s fine with Punk, who picks him up for the GTS and the pin.

Rating: C. I know they’re trying something with Knox, but there are only so many ways around him being a generic villain. He has some size and some power but that’s the extent of anything about him. He’s fine as a guy who is there, but on a show with only an hour a week, you need something a little more than basic villains and wrestlers.

Video on Tommy Dreamer.

Here is Balls Mahoney, who would like an answer from Kelly Kelly on their proposed date. Kelly comes out and, after being asked again, says yes. Cue Miz and the rest of Extreme Expose, with Miz mocking Mahoney. He tries to get to Kelly, but Mahoney knocks him to the floor. That doesn’t bother Miz though, as he owns Extreme Expose’s management contract. If Kelly doesn’t come with them right now, she is off the team and out of ECW. Kelly reluctantly leaves with them.

Video on Elijah Burke.

No Mercy rundown.

Elijah Burke vs. Tommy Dreamer

For the No Mercy title shot. Dreamer, in the dew rag, goes with the early rollup for two before tying Burke in the Tree of Woe. The running dropkick connects for two and Dreamer throws him outside. We take a break and come back with Burke grabbing a chinlock. Dreamer fights up so Burke punches him down, only to get caught with a flapjack. Burke is back up with a whip into the corner and there’s the headstand elbow for two but Dreamer is right back with the DDT for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: C-. This felt really fast and ultimately, neither option was all that interesting. Burke vs. Punk has been done several times and Dreamer getting a title shot is only there for nostalgia. It actually would have been more interesting to have Stevie Richards in this spot, though I can get why WWE would not want to go there.

Post match Armando Estrada says the Elimination Chase isn’t over, so Dreamer has to beat one more man to win the title shot.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Big Daddy V

V slams him down and hits a falling headbutt before standing on….the ropes near Dreamer. The closeup showed that V wasn’t actually touching Dreamer, showing that closeups are not always a good idea in wrestling. V tosses Dreamer again but misses a headbutt, allowing Dreamer to strike away. That doesn’t matter as V hits a big boot and a Samoan drop, setting up the big elbow for the fast pin. I’m not wild on them throwing in a last second curve like this but it means Dreamer doesn’t get a feature match so things are looking up.

Overall Rating: C. Other than the Miz/Mahoney/Kelly Kelly stuff, this was all about going to the more logical title match rather than Burke or Dreamer. It might not make sense for what they have been doing over the last few weeks, but it is the right call for what they have available. Not a great show, but it dragged them to the better option for No Mercy.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 7, 2022
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We are less than a month away from Wrestlemania and that means we are probably going to start some of the harder pushes to the show this week. In theory we should be getting some more matches set for the show, as probably about half of it has been set. There is also a Tag Team Title match this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with clips from Madison Square Garden where Roman Reigns and the Usos laid out Brock Lesnar and left him bloody to end the show.

Opening sequence.

Here are Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins for a chat before their Tag Team Title shot. Rollins is fired up and Owens talks about how the deck has been stacked against them all year. Tonight though, they’re taking the titles and going to Wrestlemania! That’s great, but they have to compete in the dump known as Dallas. Being there with Rollins will make it more bearable though and we look at some clips of how we got to this title match. Owens goes on a rant against the other team, including saying that Shorty G. and Otis suck.

Cue Alpha Academy, now with a SHHHHHHHUSH at the start of their entrance. Chad Gable lists off his resume and throws in a THANK YOU regarding how they are going to retain their titles. We cut to RKBro in the back, where the team is rather fired up to get their titles back. Riddle digs it.

Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens vs. RKBro vs. Alpha Academy

Alpha Academy is defending, there are three people in the ring at once and you can only tag your own partner. Rollins takes Riddle and Gable down to start and hands it off to Owens to take over. Owens steps on Riddle’s bare foot and hits a DDT for two before running Gable over as well. A Vader Bomb elbow gets two on Gable and it’s back to Rollins with a top rope crossbody to Riddle and Gable.

The two of them are sent outside so Rollins can hit a suicide dive, followed by Owens’ Swanton for two on Gable as we take a break. Back with Otis getting to clean house, including a splash for two on Riddle, with Otis pulling him up. The neck crank goes on for a bit before Otis has to hammer Riddle down to break up the comeback. The Vader Bomb misses though and the hot tag brings in Orton to clean house on Gable and the returning Rollins.

A double hanging DDT takes the two of them down but Gable counters the RKO into the ankle lock. That’s broken up and Orton hits the RKO on Rollins, with Owens making the save. Orton drops Gable and Owens onto the announcers’ table, and RKBro combines to drop Otis onto it as we take another break.

Back again with Riddle hitting the Floating Bro for two on Rollins with Owens making the save. Otis gives Orton a World’s Strongest Slam and it’s a Vader Bomb into Gable’s moonsault for two as Rollins makes the save. Gable slips out of a Rollins’ superplex attempt so let’s just make it a Tower of Doom with Owens sending everyone down instead. Everything breaks down and it’s a big brawl to send us to a third break.

Back again with most everyone on the floor and Riddle going up top. Rollins breaks that up and gets two off an Alberto double stomp. Riddle gets Rollins into a triangle choke but it’s Gable making the save this time. Gable hits rolling German suplexes on Orton, Rollins and Riddle before going up top for the moonsault….which Orton catches in an RKO for some AMAZING timing. Rollins and Owens break that up though and it’s a buckle bomb to Gable into a Stunner into the Stomp but Riddle throws Rollins out and steals the pin and the titles at 27:02.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time (a crazy amount of time for a Raw match) and the title change actually shocked me. After that RKO to Gable, it would have been almost a letdown if they didn’t get the titles here so this is a nice surprise. Good match, though that is assuming you can ignore “HOW WILL THEY GO TO WRESTLEMANIA IF THEY LOSE?????”, which is a dumb story even by WWE standards.

Owens and Rollins are devastated, with Rollins walking off in a trance and Owens talking to himself. Orton talks about how he has never had this much fun in twenty years and he will actually call Riddle his friend. THEY’RE GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA!

Post break, Owens is still in shock.

24/7 Title: Dana Brooke vs. Tamina

Brooke is defending and has Reggie in her corner, while Tamina has Akira Tozawa. Earlier today, Brooke asked Reggie for a good luck kiss and got just that. On the other hand, Tozawa asked Tamina for one and was kissed hard into a wall for his efforts. Tamina clotheslines her down to start but gets caught with the handspring elbow in the corner. Another clothesline takes Brooke down again though and we hit the Boston crab. Brooke finally powers out and grabs a bad looking rollup to retain at 1:45. Believe it or not, Brooke survived in her hometown.

Post match Tozawa says Brooke cheated and says the winner of the match is the love of his life, Tamina. Tozawa preps for another kiss but she walks by him, teases coming back, blows him a kiss, and then leaves.

Seth Rollins still can’t talk.

We look at Roman Reigns attacking Brock Lesnar at MSG again.

Here is the Miz for a chat. Miz says he’s home and says that the cheers he receives are respect. We see Dominik Mysterio insulting Logan Paul, who is Miz’s special guest this week. Cue Paul, who says it is good to be home and he is honored to be going to Wrestlemania as Miz’s partner. Paul talks about growing up in Cleveland and went to high school here, with Cleveland making him the man he is today.

They don’t like Dominik riding on Rey’s coat tails because that isn’t how they do it here in Cleveland. Speaking of Cleveland, here is another Cleveland native: Jerry Lawler. After a rather nice reaction, Lawler lists off some Ohio towns where he lived over the years and thanks Miz for inviting him here.

Lawler looks at the Wrestlemania sign and thinks it would be great to have the show right here in Cleveland. Miz doesn’t think much of that idea because Cleveland isn’t exactly a Wrestlemania city. Miz: “YOU WERE JUST CHEERING ME AND NOW YOU’RE BOOING ME???” This city couldn’t even handle the pyro without the lake catching on fire. No one stays here, just like when the Browns or LeBron James left. Miz says he and Paul can go on to a real Wrestlemania city and leaves, with an unsure Paul following. This was kind of a weird segment as I’m not sure what it accomplished other than having Lawler out there.

We look back at Dolph Ziggler’s recent issues with Tommaso Ciampa.

Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa are here to face Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in a rematch of last week’s NXT. Breakker is excited and ready to go before defending the NXT Title against Ziggler and Ciampa tomorrow night.

The Street Profits are asked what they think about having no path to Wrestlemania but point out that they beat RKBro last week.

Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Breakker shrugs off Roode’s headlock to start and muscles him up for a suplex. It’s off to Ciampa for a clothesline and a chinlock before being driven into the wrong corner. That’s enough to send Ciampa outside and we take a break. Back with Ciampa in trouble and getting caught with a double back elbow.

Ciampa manages a jumping knee and it’s back to Breakker to clean house. Ziggler knees Breakker in the face for a breather but the gorilla press….is broken up by Roode. A rollup gives Ziggler two but Breakker charges into the post. The Zig Zag connects for two with Ciampa making the save. Another jumping knee sends Roode outside and the gorilla press powerslam finishes Ziggler at 9:37.

Rating: C+. Breakker getting to debut on Raw is a nice touch as it’s clear that he’s just here as a guest star. I like the idea of presenting some NXT wrestlers on Raw every week, if nothing else just for the sake of building up some of what they’re doing. Good match here, as Breakker looked composed enough on the bigger stage.

Post match Ziggler says that was one win and promises to take the title tomorrow night when Breakker crumbles.

Video on Omos.

Omos is asked if he has a path to Wrestlemania (OH SHUT UP ALREADY!) and asks how many people he has to dominate.

Omos vs. Apollo Crews

Commander Azeez is here with Crews and Omos says he’s next. Omos runs Crews over to start and we’re already on the double arm crank. The rather slow paced Omos forearms Crews off the apron and out to the floor in a crash. Back in and Crews hits a jumping enziguri but gets chokeslammed for the pin at 2:42.

Post match Azeez comes in to check on Crews so Omos laughs at him.

We look back at AJ Styles accepting Edge’s Wrestlemania challenge, sending Edge into a rage and crushing him with two Conchairtos.

Here is Edge, but his entrance is very different this time, as his music cuts off and a dark spotlight comes on him as he walks to the ring. After taking his sweet time getting into the ring, Edge says “you think you know me?”. Tonight he is going to talk to AJ Styles but make sure you put the kids to bed first. Edge did what he did last week to bring out the real AJ Styles.

It was a new Edge too, as he pealed back his head and saw the real him, which he had never seen before. That is an Edge that he has fallen in love with and now he feels in control of everything that happens in this ring. Edge is standing on the mountain of omnipotence and the view is phenomenal. A closeup of Edge’s face wraps it up. The entrance was good but it felt like this got cut off before he got to the point.

Kevin Owens never wants to feel how he felt after that loss again. He just had an epiphany and it is the idea that is going to change his entire Wrestlemania future. There are details to iron out, but he has a plan that he will reveal later tonight.

We look at the Reigns/Lesnar MSG clip again.

Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley vs. Carmella/Queen Zelina

Non-title but if Morgan and Ripley win, they are added to the Wrestlemania Women’s Tag Team Title match. No entrance for the champs here as Morgan sends Carmella into the corner to start. That just annoys Carmella so Ripley comes in and cleans house until Zelina hits a tornado DDT. Carmella superkicks Ripley into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Vega cranking on Ripley but she kicks Carmella in the face (with a Munsters reference on commentary), allowing the hot tag to Morgan. Everything breaks down and Graces gets off commentary to check on Carmella. Zelina kicks Morgan in the face but there is no Carmella to tag. Vega yells at Carmella, who is talking to Graves, allowing Morgan to….not really hit the Codebreaker. Ripley comes in and hits Riptide for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: D. It was sloppy, it was long and the ending was about promoting WWE’s newest stupid reality show. This was one of the more annoying things I’ve seen WWE do in a long time and it sets up the “let’s throw everyone in one match at Wrestlemania for the most worthless belts in the company” deal, because that’s easier than putting in some work to make a better story.

Vader is going to the Hall of Fame. In his words, it’s time.

Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor

Non-title and after a video on Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee, we’re ready to go. Theory takes him up against the ropes for some shots to the back to start but Balor gets in a few shots of his own to take over. We take a break and come back with Theory in control and knocking Balor down again, but ATL is escaped. A running dropkick into the corner knocks Theory silly but here’s Damian Priest to break up the Coup de Grace for the DQ at 8:36.

Rating: C. This was just kind of there and that isn’t a great sign for the start of Balor’s title reign. Priest vs. the Demon is the kind of Wrestlemania idea that writes itself and odds are that is where we’re going. I’m not sure how well the match will go, but at least both Balor and Theory have a likely Wrestlemania match set up.

Post match Priest powerbombs Balor and Theory adds the ATL for the sake of picture taking.

Bianca Belair (now in a Don’t Touch The Hair top) is ready to put the EST in Wrestlemania. Of note: Becky Lynch was said to be injured during an incident with Belair the previous night and isn’t here.

Here is Kevin Owens for his big Wrestlemania idea. He doesn’t have a match to Wrestlemania so he needs a path to get to the event. That’s why he is going to have the biggest Kevin Owen Show of all time, but that means he needs a special guest. He needs someone from Texas, so maybe he could have JBL. Nah, as the horns on his limo are more interesting. Booker T? The guy who spent most of his career as part of a tag team called HARLEM Heat? Shawn Michaels is a proud Texan…but Owens is a proud Canadian so on behalf of Bret Hart, SHAWN MICHAELS IS NOT INVITED!

That leaves one Texas legend and he is someone who is probably drinking a lot of beer. When he was in WWE, he had to wear knee braces to get through his matches. Owens would love to have this guy come here so he can give him a Stunner and then pour out a glass of milk. He finally gets to it and challenges Steve Austin to Wrestlemania. You knew that was coming in some way so this is about as good as it’s going to get.

Overall Rating: C-. Most of the wrestling was good, but a few of the big talking segments (Miz, Edge) kind of flopped. They did set up/advance some things for Wrestlemania, but this HOW WILL THEY GET THERE stuff is dreadful. It treats fans like they have never watched Wrestlemania before as there is no reason to believe that most of these people won’t be on the show in some way. There are other ways to set up a Wrestlemania match and hearing the same thing over and over again all night got old fast. There were some good parts here, but it felt like WWE was overthinking the build to the show more often than not.

Results
RKBro b. Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens and Alpha Academy – Stomp to Gable
Dana Brooke b. Tamina – Rollup
Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Gorilla press powerslam to Ziggler
Omos b. Apollo Crews – Chokeslam
Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley b. Queen Zelina/Carmella – Riptide to Zelina
Finn Balor b. Austin Theory via DQ when Damian Priest interfered

 

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: September 25, 2007
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Tazz, Joey Styles

Things are in a bit of a weird place at the moment as CM Punk is the ECW World Champion but doesn’t have the best crop of challengers. The Elimination Chase is still going, but none of the three involved are the most interesting. The good sign is that the Chase gives us some other story outside of what Punk is doing so maybe there is some hope. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Elijah Burke vs. Kevin Thorn

Whoever takes the fall is eliminated from the Elimination Chase To No Mercy. Thorn elbows Dreamer out to the floor and slams Burke for an early two. Burke is back with a hiptoss as Dreamer finally gets smart by letting the other two fight. That lasts all of a few seconds before Dreamer goes back inside to beat on both of them. Back up and Thorn sends Dreamer shoulder first into the post before they go to a pinfall reversal sequence. Burke comes in to trade covers with Dreamer as well and we take a break.

We come back with Dreamer slugging away at Thorn, who takes him down into a chinlock. Dreamer gets knocked outside and dropped, leaving Thorn to beat on Burke. An over the shoulder backbreaker gives Thorn two but Burke hits him in the face. Dreamer comes back in to put Burke in the Tree of Woe, only to have Thorn cut Dreamer off. Burke hits Dreamer in the face but Dreamer goes up top for a super sunset flip on Thorn. The Texas Cloverleaf has Burke in more trouble until Thorn makes a weird save. The DDT plants Thorn, only to have Burke throw Dreamer outside to steal the pin on Thorn.

Rating: C+. I’m still not sure why one of them didn’t just walk to the back at the bell and leave the other two to fight it out. That being said, I don’t think there is going to be much drama in next week’s #1 contenders match, though I think I’d rather have Dreamer get in there over Burke, just for some variety. They did keep the match moving here so at least it wasn’t boring on the way to a not that shocking result.

CM Punk talks to some backstage workers but runs into Matt Striker with Big Daddy V. Striker accuses Punk of being truant and suggests he goes back to school. Punk says he liked school, so Striker threatens him with Big Daddy V. Punk doesn’t seem scared.

Raw Rebound.

Nunzio vs. Mike Knox

Knox throws him around without much effort as this seems like it could be a bit one sided. Nunzio gets knocked outside before it’s a backbreaker, with Nunzio’s back being bent over the knee back inside. An elbow and legdrop get one as Nunzio gets to show some heart. Knox misses a charge in the corner though and some kicks to the leg take him down. Back up and Knox kicks him in the head for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. Just a step above a squash here and that isn’t the most interesting moment. Knox isn’t exactly coming off as someone who is going to be a big player, but at least he has the slightest bit of name value. Maybe they can come up with something for him as ECW could certainly use some new, or at least fresh, stars.

SAVE US video.

Miz vs. Silas Young

Extreme Expose is here with Miz, including Kelly Kelly with Balls Mahoney’s bear. Young grabs a hammerlock to start so Miz elbows him in the face. Some choking keeps Young down in the corner and the Reality Check gives Miz the fast pin.

Post match here is Balls Mahoney to ask Kelly Kelly out again. This time she gets a microphone, but Miz takes it away and says Kelly will give him an answer. Miz decks Mahoney with the mic and the other two girls have to drag Kelly away from him.

Steve Austin signed copies of the Condemned DVD.

Elijah Burke comes up to Tommy Dreamer in the back and laughs off the idea of Dreamer being able to hang with him next week. Dreamer says he has heart, which is more important than athleticism. Eh not really.

Matt Striker vs. CM Punk

Non-title and Striker has Big Daddy V in his corner. Punk grabs a headlock to start and then hits a hard shoulder. A legdrop gets an early one before a charging Striker is backdropped out to the floor. Punk stops to look at V though and gets his arm sent into the steps. Back in and Striker clotheslines him down for two and we hit the top wristlock to stay on the arm.

Striker dropkicks him down again and we’re back to the top wristlock. The bad arm is sent into the rope before Striker gets two off a running knee. Now it’s time to bend Punk’s fingers apart, including Striker saying Punk is a Big Daddy V fan. That’s too far for Punk as he makes the comeback, including a bunch of clotheslines. The GTS finishes Striker clean.

Rating: C-. There wasn’t much on this one but was anyone going to buy Striker as a serious threat to Punk? This was more about V being the big monster that is probably coming for Punk on Striker’s orders. Striker can do some basic stuff well enough but that is about all you’re going to get out of something like this.

Post match Big Daddy V comes in to Samoan drop Punk to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Well, they are starting to get some more stories going but most of them still aren’t all that interesting. The show just does not have the star power to keep me drawn in most weeks and that is a problem. Maybe John Morrison coming back next week could help, but the show needs some more names than just him. Not a bad show, but also not an interesting one.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: February 21, 2022
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

With Elimination Chamber out of the way, it is time to start making the final preparations for Wrestlemania. We now even know the main event (or one of them at least) as new WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will face Universal Champion Roman Reigns, winner take all. They might want to work on finding anything else that matters somewhere in there. Let’s get to it.

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

Long Elimination Chamber recap.

Here is the new WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to get things going and the fans seem rather happy to see him. After thanking the fans, Lesnar is cut off by Paul Heyman, whose signature line is cut off almost immediately. Heyman manages to say that he represents the one true champion around here and says Lesnar might not get to Wrestlemania as champion.

Lesnar still has to defend the title at Madison Square Garden on March 5 against Bobby Lashley, but if Lashley can’t make it, Heyman will find a better opponent. Lesnar says he’s doing just fine without Heyman and says he’ll be on Smackdown, complete with a Heyman impression.

Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens are ready to beat RKBro tonight and be added to the Tag Team Title match. Then they can defend the titles at Wrestlemania, maybe even against the Usos in a champion vs. champion match. Either way, Owens doesn’t want to have to be in that horrible city of Dallas.

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Non-title. Dawkins takes Gable down to start and it’s off to Ford for a good dropkick. Otis comes in to run Ford over with the straight power. Everything breaks down though and the Academy is sent outside. Ford gets pulled out with them, but it’s Dawkins hitting the big flip dive onto the pile as we take a break.

Back with Ford fighting out of Otis’ neck crank but getting cut off again with a clothesline. Gable comes back in and counters a sunset flip attempt with a northern lights suplex. An armbar doesn’t last long though as Ford fights up and brings in Dawkins to clean house. Everything breaks down and Dawkins is taken outside for a ram into the barricade. Back in and Otis comes in off a blind tag so Ford tries a slam, with Otis falling on top of him. Gable holds down Ford’s foot and Otis gets the pin at 9:07.

Rating: C+. The Profits continue to be one of the most entertaining teams to watch while the Academy are nailing this formula very well. Gable is the loudmouth who has a monster in his back pocket but can still do things on his own, while Otis is the monster who crushes everyone. It’s an effective combination and they had a good match here against worthy opponents.

NXT’s Tommaso Ciampa says he’s ready to face Dolph Ziggler any night of the week, including Mondays. He even has the perfect partner to team with against Ziggler and Robert Roode. Cue Finn Balor, who knows he is on Raw now but will never forget where he came from.

Finn Balor/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Ciampa only gets half of an entrance as we come back from a break. Roode starts with Ciampa and gets dropkicked down, setting up Ciampa’s headlock. That’s broken up and Ziggler is brought in, with commentary saying that this is Ciampa’s Raw debut (it isn’t) and Smith saying he remembers Ciampa facing Walter (which Graves quickly corrects to Gunther) in NXT. Everything breaks down and Balor dives outside onto the other two as we take a break.

Back with Ciampa and Ziggler slugging it out until Roode slips in for a cheap shot. Ziggler slaps on a front facelock but Ciampa fights out of that as well. The hot tag brings in Balor to clean house as everything breaks down. Ziggler and Ciampa are sent outside, leaving Roode to plant Balor for two. The Sling Blade drops Roode though and it’s off to Ciampa for the knee to the face. The Fairy Tale Ending is countered but Ciampa is right back with a rollup to put Roode away at 9:16.

Rating: C. It’s still strange to see Ciampa on Raw but he is a talented veteran who can make anything work anywhere. This helped set up his showdown with Ziggler, which is likely a way to set up Ziggler for the Wrestlemania weekend NXT Title shot. Balor being back is a good sign as well, and now maybe he can do something better going forward.

Wrestlemania rundown.

It’s time for MizTV, with Miz complaining about Rey Mysterio. Rey uses everything he can to get the upper hand, including using his son Dominik to beat him at Elimination Chamber. That’s because the people need Rey and will forgive everything he does. Miz knows better than to trust the people, so he has his own partner. He is someone from a fighting family and he is dashing.

Before we get to meet him though, here are the Mysterios to interrupt. Rey says he knows everyone here hates Miz’s guts so it doesn’t matter who Miz has found. Bring them out there so they can get rid of him and give the Wrestlemania spot to someone who deserves it. Miz asks if Dominik deserves a WWE contract or did his dad just get him one?

Dominik says his dad brought him into wrestling and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep him here. Threats are made but Miz mocks the idea. A tag match is proposed for Wrestlemania, with Miz bringing out Logan Paul as his partner. Paul says he has pool toys bigger than Rey and Dominik accepts the Wrestlemania challenge. The fight is on with the Mysterios getting taken down and then sent into the posts.

The Alpha Academy isn’t worried about RKBro or Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens.

Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki Ash

Yes, it continues. Nikki talks a lot of trash to start, with Rhea eventually snapping and tossing her into the corner. A delayed vertical suplex drops Nikki again so she heads outside to rant to commentary. This time Rhea sends her face first into the announcers’ table, setting up Riptide for the pin back inside at 2:43.

Undertaker Hall of Fame video.

Damian Priest vs. Shelton Benjamin

Non-title and Cedric Alexander is here with Benjamin. Priest gets thrown outside to start, where Cedric gets in a hard shot to make it worse. Back in and Benjamin gets two off a suplex and we hit the chinlock. Priest fights up with a series of kicks of his own and there’s the South of Heaven chokeslam. The Reckoning finishes for Priest at 3:10.

Rating: C. This is the kind of win that can get Priest back on track. Benjamin isn’t going to be a threat to win the title and has nothing to lose, so have him put Priest over and get a nice win. Priest is starting to put things back together and he keeps holding onto the title, but at least now he isn’t losing most of his matches. It’s nice to see them make that kind of a correction for once.

Post match Priest says he has beaten a bunch of guys and now he wants more competition. Cue Finn Balor to say he’ll come take that title next week.

We recap Reggie turning on Dana Brooke to take the 24/7 Title back last week.

Here is Reggie for a chat. He has something to say and promises that there will be no 24/7 shenanigans for the moment. First though, he would like Dana Brooke out here, so here she is to join the chat. Reggie says that he got emotional last week and took his shot, but for now, he wants to make it up to her. He asks for and gets a referee before laying down on the mat. Dana covers him for two but Dana kisses him for the pin and the title. Post match here are the goons, with Reggie helping Dana escape. Akira Tozawa winds up inn Tamina’s arms but gets dropped when asking for a kiss of his own. The chase is on.

Video on the women’s Elimination Chamber match, with Bianca Belair earning the Wrestlemania title shot.

Here is Bianca Belair for a chat. She is the EST of WWE, which she explains again. Belair main evented last year’s WWE and now it is time to do it again. Cue Becky Lynch to remind Belair of what happened, six months ago to the day, at Summerslam. Becky promises to take her down at Wrestlemania but Belair isn’t convinced.

Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop

Becky Lynch is on commentary. Doudrop runs her over to start but Belair takes her into the corner for some kicks to the ribs. Back up and Belair sends her to the apron, where Belair hits her handspring kick to the face. Belair stops to yell at Becky though and Doudrop hits a crossbody as we take a break

We come back with Belair hitting a belly to back suplex but again stopping to yell at Becky. That makes Lynch take off her jacket as Doudrop crushes Belair in the corner. The Cannonball misses though and Belair manages a powerbomb out of the corner (leaving Becky speechless). Doudrop misses a charge in the corner though and it’s a KOD to give Belair the pin at 11:06.

Rating: C. There are certain things in wrestling that almost defy belief and Belair being able to throw Doudrop around is one of them. You don’t see someone with that kind of power, not to mention athleticism, very often and it is always impressive. It’s the same thing that made John Cena look like a star and WWE would be smart to push Belair, who has the charisma to back it up.

Post match, Becky and Belair stare each other down.

Here is Edge for a chat. He has a seat in a chair and asks if the fans can smell it. It isn’t him reeking of awesomeness, but rather the smell of Wrestlemania in the air. His first Wrestlemania was Wrestlemania 3 and he listened to the results on the radio. He heard about Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre the Giant and doing the impossible and he was so excited.

Then he was brought in for his first Wrestlemania at Wrestlemania XIV (Edge: “Yeah that’s how old I am.”) but he didn’t get in the ring until two years later. Edge talks about some of his best Wrestlemania moments, including TLC II (no other teams mentioned), the first Money in the Bank ladder match, the match with Mick Foley and coming THIS CLOSE to beating the Undertaker. Now he needs Wrestlemania again, just like Wrestlemania needs Edge. He needs someone to step up and fight him, because he’ll make you live forever.

RKBro vs. Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens

If Owens and Rollins win, they’re added to the upcoming Tag Team Title match. Riddle and Owens grapple a bit to start before colliding on an exchange of shoulders. Rollins comes in to take over on Riddle, who snaps off a gutwrench suplex to take him down as well. Orton gets to stomp on Rollins as a result and it’s a backdrop to the floor. The belly to back drop onto the announcers’ table is loaded up but Owens makes the save, with Orton being sent over the table instead.

We take a break and come back with Orton fighting out of Owens’ chinlock and making the hot tag to Riddle. A bit of house is cleaned, at least until Owens catches him on top to tie him in the Tree of Woe. Rollins hits an Alberto double stomp for two and Owens adds a brainbuster onto the knee for two more. The Stunner is blocked so Owens hits an enziguri setting up a Swanton.

Rollins adds a frog splash for two and the shocked face is on. Back up and Riddle rolls underneath a clothesline, allowing the hot tag to Orton. The double hanging DDT connects but the RKO is shoved off, with Orton landing in the corner to tag Riddle. Rollins knocks Orton outside for a Stomp on the floor, leaving Riddle to take Owens down again. Riddles’ RKO is countered into a Buckle Bomb though and it’s the Stunner into the Stomp for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: B-. This was an energized match as both teams can bring it when they are given the chance. Adding Owens and Rollins to the title match doesn’t take anything away from RKBro, but their time seems to be coming to an end. I’m not sure how wise that is as they are the most over thing on Monday Night Raw, but that has never stopped WWE before.

The Alpha Academy isn’t pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The best thing about this show is that it felt like they were starting to plan for Wrestlemania. It came off like the wrestlers were into their individual stories and are moving in some kind of a direction. Granted some of those directions aren’t clear yet, but the show felt more focused and like more things had been planned out. That is nice to see for a change and you could feel it as a result.

Results
Alpha Academy b. Street Profits – Rollup Gable holding Ford’s leg
Finn Balor/Tommaso Ciampa b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – Rollup to Roode
Rhea Ripley b. Nikki Ash – Riptide
Damian Priest b. Shelton Benjamin – Reckoning
Bianca Belair b. Doudrop – KOD
Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens b. RKBro – Stomp to Riddle

 

 

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