IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble 2011
Date: January 30, 2011
Location: TD Bank Garden Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Matt Striker, Jerry Lawler

Well we’ve finally, and I do mean FINALLY arrived. This is the first 40 man Rumble and while I’m still not behind the idea it could be good I guess. There are only 4 matches tonight: the Rumble, a Divas match and the two world titles. It should be fun as WWE has been on a straight up roll recently. Let’s get to it.

Smackdown World Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Edge

Well you can’t say they’re going easy to start. And Edge’s pyro doesn’t go off. Remember that the Spear is banned here and if Edge uses it then Ziggler loses the world title. Vickie comes out to do the intro and tries to start a Spear chant which is kind of funny. We get big match intros too which is always nice. Lawler: “Ziggler is just like Santa Claus. Everywhere he goes he takes that old bag with him.”

Dang Edge goes from winning the match to starting the show the next year. Quite a drop…yet he has a title here. I love logic or whatever you call it in wrestling. Striker is doing a great job of tossing softballs up for King to get good lines off of. Lawler has always been a guy that needs someone to set him up but once he gets a start he’s fine.

Edge controls a lot early on with some basic stuff. We hit the floor and it’s all Edge. Ziggler gets a kick to the side of Edge’s head as they come back in to get his first advantage. Off to a chinlock now as the LET’S GO EDGE chant gets going. Sunset flip is blocked for two. More chinlock and this time a longer version of it. Big elbow drop gets two.

Dolph gets a running charge to send Edge out to the floor and into the barricade. Back in that gets two. Hey look it’s a chinnlock! Edge fights up and a double cross body puts both guys down. Stinger Splash in the corner misses by Zigs. Ziggler gets that Downward Spiral into a Stunner for two. Edge counters the Fameasser into a sitout powerbomb for two.

Uncharacteristically for Edge he goes up top but Ziggler beats him to the punch. Cross body off the top is rolled through for a VERY close two by Ziggler. Dropkick gets two on Edge. Zig Zag is blocked and Edge busts out the Edgecator (modified Sharpshooter) for two. Edge misses a charge at the ropes and the Fameasser hits for two.

Big Boot puts Ziggler down and Edge sets for the Spear in the corner. Vickie like an idiot, yells at him to not do it. Ziggler wants the sleeper but gets caught in the Edgecution but Vickie grabs the referee. She and Edge get into it and Kelly of all people comes out to beat on Vickie. As Edge is watching the catfight a Zig Zag gets two and that more or less seals the ending here.

Dolph gets the sleeper and Edge is fading fast. Oh of course he fights it off. He manages to get a big jawbreaker out of it instead and down goes the referee. Vickie is down as well so there’s the Spear. Edge pulls an Eddie and lays down too. Cole: SOMEONE HAD TO SEE THAT! He’s totally right you know. Edge uses an Unprettier of all things to end it.

Rating: A-. This was a solid back and forth match, but I really don’t like the Spear in there. Striker calls it the Unprettier which is supposed to be the Killswitch I believe? Anyway this was a very good match with Ziggler getting some very close near falls out there. It’s your regular Rumble match that had a challenger who simply wasn’t going to win but Dolph looked great. Very good opener indeed.

Mania is 63 days away! Naturally we have the Chamber in there which is going to take away a lot of that time.

We recap Miz vs. Orton which goes back to Miz cashing in. That’s still sweet and was perfectly done. DEMON CHILD!!! Also Miz beat the tar out of Orton on Raw.

Miz and Riley say Miz will win and insult Boston.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. The Miz

Cole talks throughout the WHOLE entrance and then in the ring he says that this is a big match for Miz. Thanks for clearing up that defending the world title on PPV against one of the biggest stars of all time is a big match. Miz chant to start as it’s all Orton early on. Back in the ring as Orton stomps away and Lawler and Cole get into it as always. I’m still thinking that results in a Mania match which it should. Lawler deserves a match at Mania.

Orton beats him down in the corner and Cole says this is unfair to him. Nice flashback to Heenan in 92. Riley interferes and here comes the Champion. Orton fights back but misses a charge in the corner to give Miz the advantage back. The Miz is a Triple crown winner. Let that sink in for a bit. Ok he kind of is at least. Corner clothesline gets two. More beatdowns and a knee to the ribs get two.

Orton is able to get back in there with a kick and up the ropes we go. Superplex gets two as Cole talks about Riley. Elevated DDT is countered by a backdrop and we hit the floor again. Back in Miz gets two. Miz goes up and a double axe gets two. He throws on a chinlock as it’s all champion here. Back to the floor one more time and Orton eats the post.

He beats the count at 9 and the beating is on again but this time with Orton in control with the Thesz Press. Powerslam sets up the stomping. Orton sets for the powerbomb but Riley distracts him. Miz gets that backbreaker/neckbreaker combo he’s been using lately for two. Angle Slam hits so Miz wants to get the title and leave. Instead Orton kills him with a clothesline.

Since we’re looking at a split screen replay we miss what Miz hits to get two out of nowhere on Orton. Miz misses a kick and Orton grabs a rollup for two. Elevated (called Suspension by Striker which works also) gets two. He sets for the RKO and HERE THEY COME! It’s the New Nexus minus Punk who stare down Orton. As the referee is distracted Riley gets in and in an AWESOME spot, Orton picks up Riley and LAUNCHES him over the referee and onto Nexus. Riley was AIRBORNE! There’s the RKO but Punk runs in with a GTS and Miz retains! Cole jumps up and down like a little girl in celebration.

Rating: B. Good match but definitely not as good as the previous one. The thing is that with a show like the Rumble, everything besides the one big match is pure bonus. The two title matches have been rather good so this show is already looking up. This was very good stuff for the most part here which is pretty much expected. If nothing else it gives us some new direction. Not bad at all here and a pretty good match.

Cody Rhodes gives a prepared statement while we can’t see his face which is always funny.

Divas Title: Natalya vs. Laycool

Just before the match starts we get an E-Mail, making it a fatal fourway and he adds….Eve? Uh…ok. Oh and the GM makes fun of Cole and all the people that complain about him. No tagging here of course. There isn’t much to say here as it’s an insane spot fest for the most part. Natalya gets the double Sharpshooter on Eve and Layla which is a great visual. Layla gets the neckbreaker on Natalya. There isn’t much to say here like AT ALL. Michelle kicks Layla, Eve wins the title with a moonsault. Natalya might have pinned Michelle at the same time.

Rating: D. This was pretty bad overall. It was a mess of a Divas match which is bad as usually they have some good stuff going for them and certainly have been recently. This was bad and it was the epitome of a bridge to the Rumble. Speaking of which, let’s go to that.

Bellas/Gail/Bryan segment. It’s stupid and the same thing from Monday but with the Bellas pretending to be nice with flowers.

Rumble By the Numbers.

Royal Rumble

Punk is #1 to the shock of no one, and to no one else’s shock, Corre has a member in at #2 but they all surround the ring. Punk gets beaten down by everyone until Nexus comes down for the save. Cole gets an E-Mail which says STOP IT! Everyone but Punk has to leave and only Punk is in at the moment. LOUD Punk chant and #2 is Bryan. The IWC just orgasmed loudly.

Bryan speeds things up and takes Punk down with some nice shots. It’s dueling chant time as Bryan hits the top rope dropkick. In at 3 is Gabriel. Gabriel beats Punk up with ease but misses the 450 and Bryan tosses Justin easily. The timing is absurd already as you expected it to. Number 4 is Zach Ryder. He gets both guys down in the corner and manages to get a Rough Ryder on Punk. Bryan throws him out with ease as I hope we’re not going the 95 route.

Regal is in at #5 and he cleans house which isn’t very dirty at this point. Lots of suplexes all around. Regal and Bryan slug it out with European uppercuts which surprisingly Bryan wins despite not being, you know, European. Bryan kicks both guys with ease and we get #6 in the form of Ted DiBiase. Backbreaker for Bryan and dropkicks to him and Regal. Down goes Punk to the following clothesline.

Bryan vs. Regal and DiBiase vs. Punk for awhile which gets us nowhere. Seventh is Morrison to a BIG pop. Springboard kick puts Regal down and Morrison cleans house, including with his eternal rival in Punk. C4 to Bryan. I had Morrison as a dark horse but methinks that’s out the window. He gets thrown by DiBiase but lands on the apron. Morrison gets launched to the railing and GRABS THE WALL like freaking Spiderman, climbs up to the apron, tightrope walks it to the steps and gets back in. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not going to be topped tonight.

Tatsu is #8 and he does nothing at all. Ninth is Husky Harris. Regal went out somewhere in there that I missed when I was dying from Morrison’s wall grab. Harris immediately gets in front of Punk for defense so Morrison and Bryan try to kill him. He’s 23 and the youngest person in this Rumble. That’s rather impressive. We get to ¼ of the way through this with Chavo.

Seven people in there now as Gabriel, Ryder and Regal have been eliminated so far. Three Amigos to DiBiase but Punk cuts him off. And never mind as he takes three of his own. Punk’s get broken up so it’s suplex time to Morrison. Here are some for Bryan as well. He must have done ten suplexes in like 30 seconds. This is kind of cool actually. FINALLY he gets the third in a row.

Number 11 is Mark Henry to clear out some dead weight. There go Chavo and Tatsu. Punk beats Henry down a bit as it’s time for JTG to be #12. This portion of the Rumble brought to you by not Michael Hayes. JTG, Henry, Punk, Harris, DiBiase, Morrison and Bryan in there at the moment. Hey I’ve actually got this up to date! Number 13 is Michael McGillicutty to give Punk some backup.

Punk tells him to HURT EVERYBODY. There goes JTG as we’re getting a bit cluttered here. Granted a lot of that is Henry and the midcard is well represented. Harris and McGillicutty put out DiBiase to make room for Masters at 14. Masterlock to Punk but he can’t get him out as McGillicutty makes the save. Bryan hammers on Masters as #15 is Otunga. That makes four members counting Punk in there at the moment.

Bryan is out almost immediately and Masters joins him soon. Nexus cleans house and gets Morrison out too. Over to Henry now and yep he’s gone too. Just Nexus left in the ring now. Tyler Reks is the sacrificial lamb at #16. How long can he be unknown for? There he goes of course. So are we just waiting on Cena now? I think that’s pretty clear. In at 17 is Kozlov who has history here.

Why not just wait on the floor and wait for like five people to get together to at least have even odds? Vladimir is out with ease. Punk gets all meditational on us and it’s Truth in as the Rumble is now legal. Striker agrees with the whole wait it out. This is a great way to run through some of the weaker guys though. Punk gets the corner clothesline and bulldog. In between, he looks at the camera and raises the roof shouting WHAT’S UP in a sarcastic voice. Funny stuff.

Truth is gone. And here’s trouble in the form of the Great Khali. He chops them all down and gets rid of Harris to break up this blockade. GET BETH PHOENIX STAT! Naturally in next is Mason Ryan (20). India vs. Wales goes to the darker skinned ones until Ryan gets him out. BOOKER T IS NUMBER 21!!!!! SCREW YOU MAIN EVENT MAFIA!!!!! Epic pop for him too and Booker looks awesome.

Kicks all around and a Book End to McGillicutty. SPINAROONI! SPINAROONI! OH MY GOODNESS A SPINAROONI! Punk charges but Ryan makes the save. Booker is out but that was insanely awesome. My screen froze on Booker’s eyes bugging out. You knew it was coming. John Cena is in next and the fight is on. He takes everyone down with basic moves and there goes Ryan to a low bridge. Otunga and McGillicutty to a double clothesline and it’s down to Cena and Punk!

Cena charges into a corner elbow but Punk can’t get GTS. Double clothesline puts both men down ala Hogan and Warrior in 1990. Number 23 is…..it’s Hornswoggle. The look on Punk’s face is hilarious. More or less it says “no…..freaking….way.” Punk gets up and drills Horny but goes after Cena instead. FU TO PUNK AND HE’S OUT! Cena is left with Horny as #24 is Tyson Kidd. Headscissors to Kidd by Horny sets up an FU and there he goes. Ok no he doesn’t yet as Horny wants to do it. Horny gives him an FU and there goes Kidd.

Twenty fifth is Slater who takes a low blow from Horny and a super Stunner which actually looked pretty cool. Double You Can’t See Me. Tadpole Splash and there goes Slater. It’s Kofi Kingston at 26 and this could be awesome. Cool moment as they stare down and look at the Mania sign. I totally buy Kofi as a threat to Cena here which is a very good sign. Kofi beats on him a bit but it’s really a standoff. Swagger is 27^th and takes down the weakened guys.

Vader Bomb to Cena and one for Kofi as well. And now….dude go for the midget already. Swagger goes after Horny but Kofi kills Jack with a cross body. Double Boom Drop as Horny is a bridge for Kofi to jump off of. 28 is SHEAMUS. Oh yes. This guy is a, and I will never ever say this again, a dark horse to win this. Sheamus cleans house and goes after Horny. Cena saves him AGAIN and it’s another Tadpole Splash coming. Never mind actually as Sheamus KICKS HIM IN THE HEAD to eliminate him.

Rey is #29. We have Kofi, Cena, Swagger, Sheamus and Rey in there at the moment. Trouble in Paradise to Sheamus but Swagger takes him down. Rey was on the corner and Swagger tries the running belly to belly. Rey ducks and knocks him to the apron and a 619 takes him out. Barrett is 30 as this is FLYING by. Wasteland to Kofi is blocked by a kick to the knee by Rey.

Cena vs. Barrett goes to Wade in the form of a Boss Man Slam. That could so be a finisher for someone. Maybe Ryan? The first #31 in history is Dolph Ziggler??? Oh crap man, that could be a shock. He hammers away on Sheamus as Barrett is in trouble. Dolph, Sheamus, Barrett, Kofi, Cena and Rey at the moment. Cena is in trouble and the crowd reacts BIG.

32 is DIESEL???? OH WOW! The crowd pops HUGE. I can’t get used to hearing him called Diesel. Drew is 33^rd. Nash looks kind of awesome in there. Drew and Sheamus hammer down Diesel who is all of a sudden getting a HUGE chant! Dude sign this guy up! 619 to Diesel which I can’t believe I just typed.

34^th is….the Miz??? Oh wait it’s Riley. He slides in and Cena just drills him. Striker got cut off mid sentence in a laugh. Barrett puts Diesel out. ANOTHER big Diesel chant as he leaves. Miz sits in on commentary for a bit. Big Show is number 35 and it’s time to clear out some guys. Show and Diesel look at each other. Oh dang there’s some history there. The Celts jump Show as he comes in which doesn’t go well for the UK guys.

Miz sounds like he has a cold. There goes Ziggler at the hands of Show. I want to know who #40 is. 36 is Big Zeke. Uh oh. Show puts Drew out. Zeke puts Show down and OUT on his own! There are four entrants left. Who isn’t out here yet? Rey, Zeke, Cena, Kofi, Barrett and Sheamus at the moment. Santino is 37^th and gets a solid pop. He goes right at Sheamus of all people. And now he goes for Zeke who growls at him.

Santino gets knocked to the floor under the bottom rope. Alberto is 38 and I completely forgot about him. Ricardo does the intro! No one else has gotten an intro but no one else is Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio takes his sweet time and isn’t in before Orton is 39^th. ONE MORE TO GO! RKO to everyone and there goes Kofi. Sheamus is out too as is Drew. And then, it’s Cena vs. Orton. The crowd just went SILENT and in the awesome way I mean.

They stare it down with the Mania sign between them and there’s the clock. And it’s Kane. Uh, kind of anti-climactic but ok. So it’s Kane, Cena, Orton, Santino, Rey, Del Rio and I think that’s it. I likely left someone out though. Oh and Zeke and Barrett. Zeke beats up Kane with relative ease after Kane cleans some house. There goes Zeke. Ok now we’re down to Barrett, Kane, Cena, Orton, Rey and Del Rio. Kane is put out by Rey! Barrett puts out Rey! I LOVE YOU BARRETT!!!

Final four are Barrett, Orton, Cena and Del Rio. Cena and Del Rio are in trouble but both hang on. Randy and John (sounds weird calling it that) stare it down again to another hush. There they go with the punches. Both finishers miss as FU is broken up by Barrett for no apparent reason. Maybe he’s the new Corre member? Del Rio vs. Cena and Barrett vs. Orton at this point.

FU to Del Rio but here comes Riley again for no adequately explained reason. MIZ ELIMINATES CENA!!! LET THE INTERNET ERUPT!!! Blast it not Orton again. Is Santino still in? Orton busts out a bunch of his basic stuff and there goes Barrett! DEL RIO PUTS OUT ORTON TO WIN THE ROYAL RUMBLE!!! Wait Santino is back! COBRA!!! THEY WOULDN’T!!!!! Oh thank goodness Del Rio threw him out to officially end it.

Rating: A. I was wrong. I thought this would be overblown but it felt more epic this way. HUGE props to WWE for putting someone new in there. That is absolutely huge for WWE as they are actually giving someone the huge push and the momentum to do it with. He’s a glorified midcarder and he won. This is exactly what they needed to do with this and it worked wonderfully. Mania has matches set up for it now and we got some great surprises. Epic Rumble although maybe just a step beneath next year. GREAT ending though.

Overall Rating: A. This was a great show indeed. The Divas match was the only bad thing all night and on a card with four matches you can’t argue that in the slightest. They’re setting Mania up very early this year and that’s nothing but good. This was a great show as WWE now has two big wins in a row. I’m freaking pumped up for Mania now as this was great stuff indeed. Loved it and bring on Elimination Chamber baby!

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also -available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: December 13, 2019
Location: Firsev Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for TLC and I’m going to assume that at least three more matches will be added to the card tonight. We also have the big angle between Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin, though for once I actually liked what they were doing last week. Granted I have no confidence in them to continue such a streak. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Corbin vs. Reigns.

Here is Corbin on his throne, complete with security around the ring and Dolph Ziggler waiting on him. Ziggler says he can’t get away from the stench of dog food and Corbin goes over his accomplishments over the year. Corbin is ready to become the new star of the company and isn’t worried about Reigns being off the leash tonight.

Last week Reigns was put in his place and Ziggler is going to speak for the locker room when he says Reigns got what he deserved. Reigns says a new day is dawning so here is the New Day to interrupt. They don’t like Corbin using the term “new day” but Corbin brings up Kofi losing to Brock Lesnar in six seconds. Kofi: “It was more like eight seconds.”

Kofi brings up Corbin talking about his year so far, so remember when Kofi won the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania and then defended it against Corbin’s court jester Dolph Ziggler? It’s true that Kofi lost but then he came back and became a Tag Team Champion again. Corbin laughs it off so Kofi slaps him in the face. That’s not cool so Corbin promises to humiliate him later tonight. This really didn’t need to be nearly fifteen minutes long to set up either a single or tag match (or maybe both) later.

We recap Bray Wyatt targeting the Miz and his family.

Corbin and Ziggler find two backstage people out cold and their locker room ransacked. Oh dear.

Bliss and Cross give an interview from backstage but Mandy and Sonya run in to jump them from behind and start the fight on the stage. They get the ring for the opening bell and Bliss is sent outside. Cross gets beaten up in the corner and it’s a double suplex being loaded up, only to have Bliss pull Mandy to the floor. The Purge (which the camera misses at first) finishes Deville at 1:37.

Sami Zayn runs into Heavy Machinery and Otis has a Secret Santa present for him. It’s some Milwaukee ham, but Sami is disgusted because he’s a vegan. Sami yells at him for the mistake so Otis gets mad, only to have Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura come up to take care of things. They’ll fight later. Cesaro throws the ham on the ground and Otis shouts. Now I want ham.

Shorty G./Mustafa Ali vs. Revival

Wilder trips and falls down during his entrance. Gable gets sent outside to start as Revival takes over early on. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Gable gets in a few rollups for two. Wilder drives him into the corner but Gable suplexes his way out of the powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination. Ali hurricanranas Wilder to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Gable flipping out of a moonsault and grabbing a belly to back suplex on Dawson, with Ali adding a top rope double stomp for two. Dawson grabs a tiger driver for two on Gable but he’s right back with Rolling Chaos Theory. Wilder dives in with a frog splash for the save but Ali hits a 450 on Wilder to put everyone down again. Ali goes up again and dives straight into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. They were starting to roll here with the technical stuff against the flying and it was getting entertaining. Revival wasn’t going to lose two days before a title match but they were still having a good match as a result. It’s ok to know the way a match is going to go if they are making things work and that’s what they did here.

Bayley complains about Lacey Evans not being entertaining and brags about her and Sasha’s high level of awesome. We hear some guitar though and it’s Elias serenading Dana Brooke, which doesn’t sit well with Bayley. She yells at him so Elias sings about Bayley wanting a threesome with him and Banks (seriously) but she looks too manly after the haircut. Anyway, Bayley vs. Brooke later.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

Non-title. Bayley slaps her to start so Brooke knocks her outside for a handspring elbow against the barricade. Another one connects back inside but Bayley elbows her in the face for two. Bayley loads up a superplex but gets reversed into a sunset bomb for two. Brooke gets sent into the corner though and that arm trap bulldog driver gives Bayley the pin at 1:52.

We look at Miz/Wyatt from last week again.

Sheamus is still coming.

We get a sitdown interview with Miz at his home in Los Angeles. Miz hasn’t seen Bryan and doesn’t have much to say to him. We see the near legendary promo battle on Talking Smack and Miz says he thinks it’s finally time for him to do the right thing. Last week Bray took a step too far because family is what matters most.

We hear Maryse scream from somewhere else and Miz runs over to hear. Bray has hacked a tablet and the Firefly Fun House puppets are in their daughter’s crib. Miz and Maryse run upstairs to check on her and everything seems ok, though Willow is a bit scared. There’s a Bray doll in her crib and Miz tells the cameras to get out. I know it’s rushed and I know the match isn’t going to work, but they’re trying with these two and the promos have been good.

And now, the Firefly Fun House with the Bray doll sitting on the table. Bray was just trying to be nice and she told him a long time ago that no one likes a snitch. Miz was so busy trying to defend Bryan that he ended up exposing himself. Bryan is with, ahem, him, but Miz is with Bray. See, Bray has taught himself that pain is just a chemical reaction and you can train yourself to not feel pain at all. He bangs his head into the table and smiles, saying you can train yourself not to feel love either. All you have to do is let him in. Oh and Marine 5 was FIRE! See you at TLC!

Corbin and Ziggler find the throne toppled over and more people down.

Heavy Machinery vs. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Tucker dropkicks Cesaro to start and hits a spinning middle rope crossbody for a bonus. Otis comes in and shoves Nakamura down before sending Cesaro outside as we take a break. Back with Tucker fighting out of a front facelock as the fans want Otis. Tucker rolls him away and brings in Otis for the gyrating but Nakamura breaks up a charge in the corner. Nakamura’s sliding knee gets two but Kinshasa is broken up. So is the Compactor though, leaving Otis to send Nakamura outside. The Caterpillar is broken up but Sami offers a distraction, allowing Nakamura to blast Tucker with Kinshasa for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C. Just a match here and I continue to be surprised by how long the Caterpillar has stayed over. The fans are just digging it every single time and that’s a cool situation to have. Otis and Tucker shouldn’t have a lot of staying power but Otis’ ridiculous charisma is enough to keep them fine enough. Not a bad match, and again the right team won after breaking a sweat.

Batista and the NWO are going into the Hall of Fame.

Kofi Kingston vs. King Corbin

Kofi kicks at the ribs to start but gets shouldered down in a hurry. Corbin is knocked outside and Kofi drops him again as we take a break. Back with Corbin shoving Kingston off the top and driving him into the barricade a few times. Corbin takes him back inside for more shots to the ribs, followed by a big boot for two. End of Days is countered into the SOS for two but a Ziggler distraction breaks up Trouble in Paradise. That’s good for an ejection but he comes back to the ring for the brawl with Big E….and the double DQ at 10:21.

Rating: C. Yeah yeah just ring the bell for the tag match. They might as well have had a big sign up saying this was coming and there was no way they were going to do anything else. I can appreciate them not doing a clean finish here but it was a bit annoying waiting around for the ending that they telegraphed like no other.

New Day vs. Dolph Ziggler/King Corbin

Joined in progress with Ziggler hitting Big E. with a Fameasser for two and it’s off to Corbin for some choking. The belly to belly gets Big E. out of trouble and it’s off to Kofi for the top rope chop to the head. Ziggler is sent outside but Corbin clotheslines Kofi to cut things off. Ziggler busts out the handcuffs to tie Kofi up and that’s a DQ at 2:39.

Post match Kofi gets tied up ala Reigns last week and here’s the Revival for a Shatter Machine to Big E. Corbin brings out the dog food so here’s Reigns (who was so ENRAGED that he waited until the match was over and Corbin had a huge numbers advantage at the end of the show) to wreck everyone. Reigns gets the scepter but Ziggler superkicks him down. Big E. saves him from a ladder elbow through the table, allowing Reigns to throw him through the table instead. Reigns frees Kofi as Corbin bails to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. They really can’t help themselves with Corbin. He starts getting a little traction in the King role and then he’s all over the show AGAIN, which is what caused so many of his problems in the first place. WWE does this every time and it never works, which is why we’re so likely to see it happen again and again. That’s going to headline on Sunday too and Corbin will keep getting a push as WWE fails to see why it isn’t working. The rest of the show didn’t seem to matter but it was all about Corbin with Reigns thrown in at the end.

Results

Revival b. Shorty G./Mustafa Ali – Shatter Machine to Ali

Bayley b. Dana Brooke – Arm trap bulldog driver

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Heavy Machinery – Kinshasa to Tucker

Kofi Kingston vs. King Corbin went to a no contest when Big E. and Dolph Ziggler started brawling

New Day b. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler via DQ when Ziggler used handcuffs

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: November 7, 2019
Location: Nassau Coliseum, New York City, New York
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Mickie James

It’s more of the weekly recap and I really am running out of ways to say I don’t know what is coming. Raw and Smackdown are such swings and misses most of the time anymore and I’m not sure how much better it is going to be in a short form version. At least this is before we went to the UK as the international slog continues. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Shelton Benjamin

Jose dances out of an early wristlock and dances again to put on a headlock. That means more dancing as we might be seeing a one note character here. Shelton catches him with a kick to the face in the corner and we hit the chinlock. Jose shakes his way up (I’ll call that dancing) and the clotheslines connect. The Dragon Whip misses and Jose hits a Backstabber. The pop up right hand is blocked and it’s Paydirt to finish Jose at 5:11.

Rating: D+. Standard Main Event match here as Shelton has joined its ranks, meaning his main roster career is either over or he’ll be WWE Champion in a month. Jose on the other hand is doomed to walk the airports forever as he goes to Main Event after Main Event, likely answering questions about the NWO along the way.

Video on the NXT invasion.

From Smackdown.

Here’s the Miz for MizTV. After sucking up to the Buffalo crowd, he talks about how he was going to be interviewing Bray Wyatt, who won the Universal Title last night. We see a package of the win but since Bray isn’t here, we’ll move on. Miz talks about all the NXT talents in the building tonight, with Riddle and Lee beating up Sami being his favorite.

Miz can’t wait to see what happens next….so here’s Tommaso Ciampa to a huge reaction. Ciampa talks about how Miz likes to pretend that he’s a star while Ciampa is literally breaking his neck for wrestling. Miz likes acting so while he’s acting the part, Ciampa is playing the part. That’s something Miz has heard for fifteen years and he’s so tired of hearing it that he’s ready to fight right now.

Miz vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Miz’s headlock doesn’t get him anywhere so he slides between Ciampa’s legs for a sunset flip. Ciampa gets sent outside but is fine enough to send Miz into various things, allowing him to sit on the apron and applaud himself. Back in and Miz’s Reality Check gets two but Ciampa beats him up again to take over.

The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up and Miz gets in a shot to the knee to cut Ciampa down. The shot DDT gives Miz two and it’s the Figure Four going on, only to have Ciampa glare at him and escape. Miz tries it again but gets small packaged for two. Ciampa’s half crab doesn’t get him very far as Miz hits the running corner clothesline. Miz gets kneed out of the air though and the Fairy Tale Ending finishes Miz at 7:41.

Rating: C. Ciampa is an interesting case as he is more than capable of hanging on the main WWE roster (if not thriving) but he seems tailor made to be an NXT lifer. Maybe it’s his size, age or history but he screams perfect for NXT and that’s all he needs to be. This was an important win for him, though I can’t imagine him being a big deal on the main roster, at least not one Vince controls.

Video on Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar.

From Raw.

Here are an annoyed looking Lesnar and Heyman to open the ring. Heyman explains Lesnar quitting and THEY’RE ACTUALLY EXPLAINING THE WAY OUT. The week of the Draft, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were sent to Smackdown for future considerations and here’s Lesnar as those future considerations. Heyman makes it clear that Lesnar is better than everyone here and wants to know where Mysterio is so either get out here or Brock will go slap everyone in this audience. Tonight, someone is going to say where Mysterio is so Lesnar can destroy him. Heyman gives Rey’s career the last rites and they’re out.

In the back, Brock looks for Rey and beats up a backstage worker for not answering fast enough. Post break another backstage guy says Rey is in that car over there so Brock breaks into a car to find….not Rey. Brock breaks the door to vent some frustration.

Immediately after the match, Lesnar and Heyman come out to demand Mysterio’s whereabouts from commentary. Heyman says Lawler knows everything going around here so either say where Mysterio is or Lesnar will kill him and there will be no bringing him back to life this time. Maddin gets up and stares Lesnar down, earning himself an F5 through the table. Cue Mysterio with a pipe to whack Lesnar in the knees over and over. A running belt shot leaves Brock laying.

During the break, Lesnar couldn’t stand and nearly crawled to the back.

Rey says he’s fighting fire with fire and coming for the WWE Championship. The challenge is on for Survivor Series.

Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins vs. Eric Young/Erick Rowan

Rowan? Really? Young hammers on Ryder to start so Ryder makes the comeback with some clotheslines. Hawkins comes in to work on the wristlock as the actual team takes over. A toss to the floor lets the villains take over and we go to a break. Back with Ryder slugging away in the corner but getting sent over to Rowan to cut that off in a hurry. A pumphandle backbreaker keeps Ryder down and we hit the neck crank. Rowan’s charge hits boots though and that’s enough for the tag off to Hawkins. Everything breaks down as Hawkins cleans house, setting up a rollup to finish Young at 9:38.

Rating: C-. I’m almost stunned here, but at least they let the hometown guys win a match, even if it doesn’t matter whatsoever. Hawkins and Ryder are the kind of guys who seem like they’re both trying and having fun out there at the same time and what more can you ask for than that? I can always appreciate something like that and that is more than the case here.

Video on Adam Cole.

From Raw.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is defending and Cole is out with HHH. Cole gets driven into the corner and knocked to the floor to start, allowing Rollins to hit the slingshot dive. A few rams into the barricade take us to a break and we come back with Cole kicking him in the face. An enziguri staggers Rollins but he’s right back with the low superkick for two. Rollins goes up top but dives into a heck of a superkick for two more.

Rating: B. You could feel the interference here but that’s the logical way to go here as you have stable mates for just such a situation. The match was as entertaining as you would have expected from these two and it makes sense to not have Rollins take the title here. If nothing else, Cole hung with Rollins for a match that got a little time, which is how you make someone look good in an invasion like this.

Post match the NXT and Raw locker rooms come out for the huge brawl with NXT getting the better of it due to the numbers advantage. Ricochet hits the big springboard shooting star onto the pile and everyone is down. Keith Lee one ups Ricochet with the huge flip dive to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe it was the England shows but I had a good time watching this one and looking back at the pretty awesome NXT invasion. They’ve got something with that and while it has all but died due to the NXT talent not being in England, it was something fun for a week and I could go for more of that. Just anything with a spark please, which has been lacking from WWE for a long time now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: October 24, 2019
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Dio Maddin, Mickie James

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

Opening sequence.

Mojo Rawley vs. No Way Jose

Hold on though as Mojo grabs a mic (on THIS show?) to insult the members of the Conga Line. There is a grown man in a cheeseburger costume and they’re following Jose? They need a real athlete and someone who earned his MBA at 21 years old. They slug it out to start until Mojo gets hiptossed to the floor. Back in and a high crossbody gives Jose two….but Mojo is right back with the running right hand in the corner for the pin at 1:28. What the heck was that? You’re cutting a MAIN EVENT match short? Normally I would have some hope for a story around here but I’ve moved on from something like that.

Post match Mojo says the Conga Line needs a real leader but he beats up the cheeseburger man for not following him. Mojo orders everyone else to leave and they eventually go. Dude did they just do an angle on this show???

Video on Bayley’s heel turn.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for MizTV with special guest Bayley, flanked by Sasha Banks, the latter of whom surprises Miz. Bayley and Sasha brag about the title change last week and we see a clip of Bayley’s new attitude, setting up the win over Charlotte. Thankfully the viral clip of the child crying is included. Miz asks Bayley what was up with that but she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. Miz: “Are you Brock Lesnar? Is this your Paul Heyman?”

Banks brings up Miz being a fifth rounds draft pick, which Miz laughs off because he’s always relevant. Bayley talks about crying after losing the title to Charlotte but no one was there to hug her. She has put herself second for years to be a role model but they weren’t there when he needed them. The reality is that Bayley has outgrown these people so here’s some reality: life sucks and then you die.

Video on Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman.

We look at the OC jumping the Street Profits.

From Raw.

Street Profits/??? vs. OC

The Profits do their big, high energy entrance and the fans….don’t seem to care. It gets a bit better but this thing was tailor made for a small place like Full Sail and it doesn’t work here. There’s no mystery partner so the OC mocks them, suggesting that he’s invisible or imaginary. We see a clip of the brawl that set up the match and take a break. Back with….no one as a partner so AJ is on the floor to start.

The Profits waste no time in clearing the ring so it’s gallows coming in for a big boot. Everything breaks down and Ford comes in to clean house, only to get thrown over the top for a crash. Anderson hits a running knee from the apron to take him down again and we take a break. Back with Ford not being able to dive over and get the tag to Dawkins so the beating can continue. The chinlock goes on but Ford fights up and hits a double clothesline. Anderson gets a blind tag but gets sent outside, allowing the hot tag to Dawkins.

House is cleaned but Gallows pulls Anderson out of a Doomsday Device. Anderson’s spinebuster gets two on Ford but AJ gets yelled at for interfering. That means an ejection…..and here’s Kevin Owens to fight AJ, presumably being the third man. Anderson is so stunned that he backdrops Ford to the floor, with Dawkins making the tag on the way through the air. The big frog splash finishes Anderson at 13:03.

Rating: C-. They put WAY too much into this at once as you had a crowd who didn’t know the Profits and then the focus was taken off of them twice. This was spent looking to see who the partner was going to be, wondering why it was then a regular tag match and then having Owens come out to get the attention off of the Profits again. Giving them the win was the right call and the match wasn’t bad, but it was too much going on to showcase them properly.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Natalya vs. Sarah Logan

Natalya is no Dana Brooke. They take turns going to the mat for some early grappling until Natalya gets in an armdrag and strikes a pose. A rollup gives us an early standoff so Natalya grabs a quick abdominal stretch. Sarah smiles so the leg is picked up to make it even worse. The basement dropkick gives Natalya two but Logan kicks her to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Natalya fighting out of the chinlock but getting choked on the ropes for her efforts. The chinlock goes on again so Natalya fights out again for a double clothesline. The belly to back faceplant sends Logan to the apron and she gets in a kick to the face. Natalya blocks the Cloverleaf and kicks her away, setting up the Sharpshooter for the tap at 9:48.

Rating: D+. This is one of those matches that was technically fine but still not something that was going to be anything beyond a standard match. Logan has had nothing to do since the Riott Squad broke up while Natalya will be around WWE until the end of time. She’s going to be on and off of Raw every week and while that is acceptable, it may not be the most thrilling thing.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. the Fiend, starting in the Cell and moving on to Rollins lighting the Firefly Fun House on fire.

Here’s Rey Mysterio, still with his arm in a sling, for a chat. Rey thanks everyone for the love and support he and his family have received since Brock Lesnar took him out. He was thinking about retiring but now he has a new way of thinking because he wants to see Cain Velasquez take the WWE Championship and put another scar on Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman pops up on screen to ask if Mysterio would say the same things if Lesnar was there in person.

Mysterio thought he had the perfect choice to go after Lesnar but Brock has spent nine years waiting for that day. Rey yells in Spanish but here’s Shelton Benjamin to ask how Cain got a title shot. Just for defending Rey’s kid when Rey couldn’t do it? Shelton and Brock are friends too because they roomed together at the University of Minnesota. Rey says Shelton has it all wrong but Shelton wants to know what happens if he shoves Rey around. Maybe one shove is a US Title shot and two is an Intercontinental Title shot.

Shelton asks where Cain Velasquez is….and here he comes, with Shelton realizing that he’s screwed up. Shelton can’t take him down so Cain tosses him to the mat a few times and hammers away, eventually choking Shelton for a quick tap. That….wasn’t very impressive and the fans don’t seem to care all that much.

Overall Rating: D. I can understand the idea of recapping a lot of the stuff from Raw and Smackdown but this show did little more than to remind you just how uninteresting Raw and Smackdown have been as of late. The stories haven’t worked and it’s like there is nothing to get excited about. Putting big wrestlers against outside athletes isn’t something that is going to get me fired up and the rest of the main stuff is looking towards Crown Jewel, which has a set of problems all its own. Bad show here, as somehow the Mojo Rawley thing interests me more than anything else.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Summerslam 2015
Date: August 23, 2015
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

There was no match on the pre-show.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

Some fans won a contest and got to do cool stuff.

Tag Team Titles: Prime Time Players vs. New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores

Jon Stewart is in the back with Stephen Amell and Neville. Stewart is a big fan but is really here for Undertaker, who passes by the three of them, silencing all three.

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Lana left Rusev for Ziggler so Rusev injured Ziggler, triggering this match. Also Rusev has Summer Rae in his corner, who is now dressing as Lana. To counter, Lana is dressing like Ziggler. Got all that? Rusev starts fast and stomps Ziggler down before choking on the ropes. He kicks Dolph in the ribs and puts on a bearhug for a good while before the swinging Rock Bottom plants him again. All Rusev so far.

The guys keep fighting post match but Summer comes in, triggering a catfight. This almost has to lead to a mixed tag.

Stardust/King Barrett vs. Neville/Stephen Amell

Barrett comes in for a kick to the ribs though and Amell is in trouble. Stardust comes back in but gets caught by an enziguri, finally allowing the hot tag to Neville. Everything breaks down with Neville cleaning house, including a middle rope Phoenix splash to Barrett, but Amell gets the dive off the top to drop Barrett and Stardust. The Red Arrow puts Barrett away at 7:37.

Video on Summerslam week.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Big Show vs. Ryback

Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose

We recap Rollins vs. Cena. The video has Cena narrating about how awesome New York is before Rollins starts talking about the knee, setting up the title for title match. They really started playing up Cena winning his sixteenth title near as Summerslam got closer.

WWE World Title/US Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is World Champion and Cena is US Champion with both on the line. Seth is all in white here. Cena grabs a headlock to start and the fans are entirely behind Rollins. Back up and we get a “Ce-na Sucks!” chant, followed by a Blockbuster from Seth. Three straight suicide dives make Rollins an even bigger hero but he has to get to the ropes to block the STF.

Preview of upcoming WWE Network shows, including Edge and Christian on the Stone Cold Podcast, plus Lesnar at another house show at Madison Square Garden on October 3.

The pre-show panel talks as the fans thank Stewart.

Team BAD vs. Team Bella vs. Team PCB

BAD: Naomi, Sasha Banks, Tamina

Bella: Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox

PCB: Paige, Charlotte, Becky Lynch

Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker

Brock remembers he knows submissions and puts on the Kimura but Undertaker is in the ropes, meaning he can hit the Last Ride for another two. Brock is up first for a second F5 and another near fall. Now Lesnar is getting frustrated and the third F5 is still only good for two. That gets it past the ending at Wrestlemania.

And remember: the first Wrestling Bundle ends at midnight tonight so go check it out!

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/23/sunday-is-the-final-day-for-wrestling-bundle-1/

Results

Sheamus b. Randy Orton – Brogue Kick

New Day b. Prime Time Players, Los Matadores and Lucha Dragons – Kingston pinned Fernando after a Clash of the Titus

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler went to a double countout

Stephen Amell/Neville b. Stardust/King Barrett – Red Arrow to Barrett

Ryback b. Big Show and Miz – Ryback pinned Miz after a KO Punch from Big Show

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose b. Luke Harper/Bray Wyatt – Spear to Wyatt

Seth Rollins b. John Cena – Pedigree onto a chair

Team PCB b. Team Bella and Team PCB – Pumphandle slam to Brie Bella

Kevin Owens b. Cesaro – Pop Up Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 23, 2019
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, David Otunga

Depending on what you thought of last night’s Raw Reunion, this show either has a lot to live up to or a very easy path to being the best show of the week. We’re less than three weeks away from Summerslam and that means we could be in for an eventful night as the card gets filled in. If nothing else, we should be hearing about Kofi Kingston’s opponent, which shouldn’t be hard to figure out. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens over the last few weeks.

New Day is on commentary instead of the advertised Shawn Michaels, who will be on MizTV instead.

Here’s Shane to open things up. He talks about getting to see some old friends last night but he was glad to not see Kevin Owens. Speaking of Owens, he has challenged Shane to a match at Summerslam. Shane accepts, and shows us a clip of Owens quitting on Raw last year in a story that went nowhere. That’s what Shane wants: if Owens loses at Summerslam, he’s gone from WWE.

Cue Owens (Xavier Woods: “I don’t like him but I want to see him beat Shane up!”), to say Shane was smart to find that footage. That was the low point of Owens’ career and he’s a different man today. Owens knew Shane would accept because Shane loves the spotlight. The match is on but Owens isn’t quitting because he’ll beat Shane for good. Owens wants to fight right now but Shane cuts him off and says not until Summerslam. Tonight, Owens can fight Roman Reigns instead.

Post break, Elias and Drew McIntyre are very happy with Shane’s decision but Shane thinks it needs to be more special. That’s why Drew will be the guest referee and Elias will be guest timekeeper. Elias: “I always wear my watch. I got this.” Shane can be guest ring announcer too.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title. Crews shoulders him down to start as New Day interrogates Tom about whether or not Crews will get a title shot for winning here. We get a crazy long delayed vertical suplex, with Crews walking around for a bit before finally dropping Nakamura after thirty seconds. Nakamura gets set outside and taken down by a big flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Crews getting kicked in the head and taking the sliding German suplex. Kinshasa is blocked with a kick to the head and an Olympic Slam gives Crews two (I bought that because that’s what would happen to the new champ). Crews gets caught on top though and it’s the running knee to the ribs. Kinshasa is blocked with a pop up face plant but the standing shooting star misses. Now Kinshasa can connect for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. This seems to be Crews’ sweet spot: the athletic performances where he impresses but never wins the big one. That’s not a terrible place to be as Crews can do a lot of very impressive things in the ring. At the same time though, what does it say that Nakamura surviving against a jobber to the stars nine days after he wins the Intercontinental Title is a relief?

Post match Nakamura hits another Kinshasa to leave Crews laying as New Day wants someone to come help him.

Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville get a match against the IIconics next week and if they win they might get a title shot.

Ali talks about how he has to change the story around here. He was on track to being a star but then he got injured. Now he needs to restart his story and become WWE Champion. No one is writing his story and it ends with him achieving his goals.

It’s time for MizTV. After a quick plug for Miz and Mrs., here’s a package on Raw Reunion. Back in the arena, Miz introduces his guest tonight: Shawn Michaels. New Day nearly has a fit singing Shawn’s music, with Big E. playing the belt like a guitar. Miz talks about Shawn being on Raw Reunion last night, with Shawn saying he’s been on both sides. He understands what it’s like to be a young guy who wants those ol…..legends to get out but like Steve Austin said, they’re all family.

Shawn talks about inducting Seth Rollins into DX/the Kliq (Miz: “Thanks for the invite.”) and moves on to the Summerslam match with Brock Lesnar, only to have Dolph Ziggler interrupt. Miz wants to punch him in the face again but Ziggler has something to get off his chest. A lot of people used to idolize Shawn but he keeps coming back time after time to wave to the crowd. Ziggler: “It was as embarrassing as Goldberg in a wrestling ring.”

Last November, Shawn broke Ziggler’s heart when he came back to wrestle last November because he embarrassed himself. Shawn won’t disagree with him but what’s more embarrassing is working your whole career but being known as a second rate Shawn Michaels wannabe. Ziggler calls Shawn a Shawn wannabe so Miz tells Ziggler to do something about it. Ziggler goes to leave but Shawn grabs his arm and has to duck a punch. It hits Miz by mistake and since this is an angle, Miz goes down from one right hand. Ziggler superkicks Shawn and leaves.

You really could feel the energy go away when Ziggler’s music hit. Shawn is absolutely right about Ziggler doing the same stuff for years and just being known as a Shawn wannabe, but Shawn was famous for one show stealing performance after another. Ziggler is known as being the guy who just stays around and sucks the life out of any angle he’s in. Feel free to leave anytime.

Charlotte vs. Ember Moon

Charlotte knocks her down but here’s Bayley for the distraction into the rollup to give Moon the pin at 47 seconds.

Post match Moon throws Bayley in to Charlotte, who kicks her in the back of the head. Moon Eclipses both of them. Please, not a triple threat.

Michael Cole replaces New Day on commentary.

Here’s Kofi Kingston to announce his Summerslam opponent. Before he gets jumped from behind though, he wants Randy Orton out here right now. Orton comes out and Kofi talks about their history from 2009. That would have been in Madison Square Garden when they were in the ring together and the fans were chanting Kofi’s name.

We see a clip of the huge Boom Drop through the production area which should have made Kingston the next big star. That’s not what happened though and Kofi accuses Orton of holding him back. It didn’t work though and now Kofi is WWE Champion. Orton admits that he help Kofi back because he wasn’t ready then. He’s still not ready now though and that title is a fluke.

Orton has been on top for eighteen years and he never had to work hard a single day. He’s gotten where he is by being Randy Orton and hasn’t had to throw pancakes or fake a Jamaican accent. Orton takes credit for Kofi getting a title shot at Wrestlemania because he injured Ali before the Elimination Chamber so Kofi could take his place. Kofi wants to prove himself at Summerslam and Orton agrees to the title match at Summerslam. The RKO will be waiting for Kofi. This was a heck of a segment and them bringing up the history was a very nice surprise.

Samoa Joe vs. Kofi Kingston

Non-title and Orton is at ringside. They fight over arm control to start with Joe grabbing the ropes to give us a standoff. Kofi goes right back to the arm and has to fight out of the corner with some chops. A dropkick puts Joe on the floor and that means the big dive over the top. Back in and Joe hits a hot shot, followed by the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two. We take a break and come back with Kofi fighting out of a neck crank and hitting the Boom Drop. Trouble in Paradise is loaded up but Orton comes in for the DQ at 7:37.

Rating: C. This was more of a storyline segment than a match and there’s nothing wrong with that (and Joe actually didn’t get pinned). Kofi vs. Orton is suddenly a lot better than it was looking and Kofi hanging with Joe and not beating him is a good way to help set things up. Kingston is looking a lot stronger these days and the match with Orton could look be quite a good one.

Post match Orton can’t hit the RKO on Kingston so he hits it on Joe instead, leaving Kofi to hit Trouble in Paradise on Orton.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. We look at Bray Wyatt returning to attack him last week on Raw with Balor saying that he can’t explain the Fiend. He isn’t scared of Wyatt though….and it’s the return of the Firefly Fun House. Wyatt says he and his friends are fans of Finn but the Fiend doesn’t like him, no matter how many times they tell him how super duper he is. The Fiend has accepted Balor’s challenge for Summerslam. Things get more serious though with Bray saying the Fiend isn’t so nice because the Fiend is power. Let him in. The Fiend appears on the screen and growls the same thing.

We recap last night’s wild ride of 24/7 Title changes.

Charlotte wants to know why she was left out of the title match or off of Summerslam in general. She’s going to wrestle at Summerslam and she’ll have a better opponent than Ember Moon.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Shane is guest ring announcer, Elias is guest timekeeper and Drew McIntyre is guest referee. Shane does his own rather insulting versions of Big Match Intros but Owens grabs the mic to say he’ll drop Shane tonight no matter what. Reigns takes it away and says he’ll take care of Owens tonight. McIntyre breaks up some early lockups in the corner so Reigns punches him in the face and sends him to the floor. The match is thrown out at we’ll say 1:00.

Post match the fight is on with Shane and company getting the better of things. Owens breaks up a spear from Shane though and it’s superkicks a go go. A spear drops McIntyre and a Stunner drops Elias. Shane tries to escape but gets caught with a Superman Punch and a Stunner. Another Stunner drops Shane again and Owens promises to hurt him even worse at Summerslam to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Fans who didn’t like last night’s show probably enjoyed this one a lot more. They announced three matches for Summerslam as the rapid fire build continues. What matters here is they started getting the card ready after last night’s big detour. Summerslam is looking good, though they have a lot more buildup to take care of first. This felt a little more serious than previous weeks, though it certainly didn’t feel like an all new show or really anything close to one. It was good though and these shows are blowing away anything that WWE was doing in the last few months.

Results

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Apollo Crews – Kinshasa

Ember Moon b. Charlotte – Rollup

Kofi Kingston b. Samoa Joe via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns went to a no contest when Elias and Shane McMahon interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 8, 2019
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re in the second week of the Paul Heyman era around here and so far, things have been rather successful. What matters most coming out of last week was how different things felt in the area of the show just feeling more energized. It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules, and hopefully we get something that can overcome the Baron Corbin Effect. Let’s get to it.

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

Andrade/Zelina Vega vs. Becky Lynch/Seth Rollins

Elimination rules for the sake of the commercials. Becky takes Vega down without much trouble to start but gets caught in a DDT. Another toss sends Vega into the corner so it’s off to the men for a change. Andrade works on a wristlock but gets armdragged down as the announcers talk about the personal and professional damage that could take place should Becky and Seth lose on Sunday. Rollins sends him outside for the suicide dive, leaving Becky to Dis-Arm Vega for the tap at 4:57. Hang on though as Becky goes into the crowd to fight Lacey Evans and we take a break.

Back with Andrade stomping away as Becky isn’t allowed in the match anymore. So….the elimination rules are pretty much worthless no? Andrade goes up top and knocks away a superplex attempt, setting up the top rope double stomp for two. Seth is fine enough to hit the springboard knee to the head for two but Vega, still at ringside, gets in a headscissors.

Becky dives onto her until Andrade breaks it up. Seth freaks out but Andrade runs Becky over by mistake. The distraction lets Andrade hit the running knees in the corner for two but Becky goes after Vega again. That distraction is enough for the Stomp to finish Andrade at 14:13.

Rating: D+. I don’t remember the last story and feud that I can remember that was this much death for everyone involved. I don’t know who benefits from this or who thinks this is a great idea, but egads it isn’t working. Both Rollins and Lynch feel like they’ve lost a bunch of energy and Corbin brings down any segment where he appears. Find something fresh after Sunday, because my goodness this is a disaster.

Post match Baron Corbin jumps Rollins so Lynch goes after Corbin, allowing Evans to pop back in with the Woman’s Right. Paul Heyman comes out and we take a break.

Post break Corbin and Lacey say that was easy and wonder how Rollins and Lynch are going to be when they lose their titles. Their relationship is purely professional because caring about each other would be a liability.

Back in the ring, Heyman talks about how there is going to be an event on Sunday which is all about being extreme. And it’s in Philadelphia, where he knows what it means to be extreme. This Sunday, Brock Lesnar will cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and that is a spoiler. Now Heyman has never lied about a spoiler, which makes it all the easier for him to lie about it now. Only he and Lesnar know the truth. Good grief we’re going to have to put up with this until Wrestlemania aren’t we?

We look back at the exploding set from last week and Bobby Lashley’s promo about sending Braun Strowman to the morgue next time. They’re in a Last Man Standing match on Sunday.

Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre ask a trash man to be Roman Reigns’ partner tonight.

Usos/Miz vs. Revival/Elias

Say it with me: 2/3 falls. Dawson takes Jimmy into the corner to start and Elias plants him with a slam. Wilder comes in and everything breaks down with Miz sending Elias into the barricade. The chase leaves Jimmy to take the Shatter Machine for the first fall at 3:02. Back from a break with Jimmy ducking a charge from Dawson as Elias has left the Revival down 3-2.

Jimmy fights out of the villainous beatdown and brings Jey back in for an enziguri to Wilder. Dawson comes back in with a brainbuster but it’s back to Miz for the Skull Crushing Finale and the second fall at 10:58. A double superkick to both Revivals sets up the Superfly Splash for the pin at 11:38.

Rating: D. How in the world is this supposed to be better than missing four minutes in a commercial and coming back with a chinlock? This is far more annoying than the Wildcard Rule, but I still wonder what the fans who don’t know about the rule are thinking. Is there a reason Miz has had four 2/3 falls matches in about two weeks?

We recap Renee Michelle and Drake Maverick’s honeymoon, which took place in the same city they live in. Drake kept taking pictures of himself with the title, mostly holding it in front of her face.

In the arena, Drake promises to give her a great honeymoon after the title stuff is done. That’s fine with Michelle, who says once it’s over, they can consummate the marriage. Drake is very happy and then runs away from the mob.

Here’s Rey Mysterio for his return to the show after six weeks off for a shoulder injury. He’ll get straight to the point: it’s an open challenge to anyone in the back.

Rey Mysterio vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley goes with the power to start but Rey gets in a tornado DDT. A dropkick to the back sets up a 619 but Rey dives into a lifting Downward Spiral. The spear finishes Rey at 1:53. Ok then.

Post match Lashley drags Rey to the top of the stage and teases gorilla pressing him through the set. Instead he throws Rey onto some referees and promises to be the last man standing on Sunday.

AJ Styles says he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for the Club getting back together last week. The Good Brothers follow suit.

Cesaro vs. No Way Jose

Cesaro takes him to the floor before the bell so Jose manages a whip into the barricade. We start the match proper with Jose hitting a backdrop but getting run over again. The Sharpshooter finishes Jose at 1:13.

The Street Profits are here again to say that you should never cross Cesaro. They plug Extreme Rules and promote a few individual matches before making their predictions on McMahon/McIntyre vs. Undertaker/Roman Reigns. Dawkins thinks Undertaker and Reigns but they’re not sure about what will happen to Reigns tonight. Ford: “We’re out of time. KERWIN! IN THE TRUCK! TRANSITION!”

We look back at Maria Kanellis revealing that she is pregnant last week.

Mike Kanellis brings Maria some flowers and they say they love each other. Maria says she loves ice cream and it takes Mike a few seconds to get the hint. He finally offers to go get her some (with pickles). Mike: “Non fat ice cream it is.” Maria: “SO NOW YOU’RE SAYING I’m FAT???” That man is in so over his head.

We get a split screen interview with Bayley and Nikki Cross. Nikki is so thankful to Alexa Bliss but Bayley calls Bliss out for lying. Cross doesn’t want to hear this but Cole interrupts and explains tonight’s Beat the Clock Challenge. Bayley is facing Sarah Logan and isn’t afraid of the chaos Logan brings. Nikki, facing Dana Brooke, knows that she is overpowered and outsized but she’ll beat Dana for Alexa.

R-Truth and Carmella are hunting for Drake Maverick. Truth is worried that Drake is going to show his baby some scary movies. This turns into a chorus of With My Baby Tonight as Drake and the mob run past them. The chase is on….with Truth and Carmella running the wrong way.

Viking Raiders vs. Colin Justin/Devin Justin

Powerbomb into a big splash gets two with Ivar pulling Devin up. It’s a powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam combination into the Viking Experience for the pin at 1:21. Total and complete squash.

Post match it’s Drake and the Mob running into the ring with Heath Slater being destroyed. Truth thinks better of it and runs away with Carmella on his back again.

Roman Reigns isn’t worried about tonight’s tag match.

Ricochet vs. Luke Gallows

Non-title. Before the match, Ricochet talks about AJ Styles turning on him and the beatdown from last week. He knows that’s going to happen this week as well so all three of them can get out here. That’s exactly what happens too but AJ grabs a mic of his own. AJ tells Ricochet to appreciate the moment because Gallows is about to give him another beating. Speaking of appreciating the moment, here’s a clip from last week’s beatdown.

Back in the arena, Gallows wastes no time in hitting a big chokeslam. The chinlock goes on and Gallows turns him inside out on a clothesline. AJ is very, very pleased with this beating. Gallows loads up a fall away slam but Ricochet slips out and reverses into a sunset flip for the pin at 2:59.

Hang on though as AJ says Ricochet can leave or fight Karl Anderson RIGHT NOW.

Ricochet vs. Karl Anderson

Non-title again. Anderson runs Ricochet over this time and gets two off a clothesline. The chinlock goes on again as AJ is rather pleased again this time around. This time the comeback is cut off with the spinebuster and Gallows adds a right hand. Ricochet nails him with a flip dive, followed by the middle rope moonsault to Styles. Back in and Anderson hits the post, leaving Ricochet to hit the 630 for the pin at 4:30.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere and while I like the idea of Ricochet getting some momentum, I could have gone without having him beat both Good Brothers in a row. That being said, they didn’t have many other options and at least the first one looked more like a fluke. Anderson and Gallows will be fine as big lackeys anyway.

Post match AJ hits a brainbuster on Ricochet, followed by the Magic Killer. AJ says he’s a good guy and leaves, but Ricochet gets up so it’s a Phenomenal Forearm for his efforts.

Ad for Saturday’s Evolve ten year anniversary show.

Drake comes up to Michelle and says he survived the night. Truth and Carmella pop up out of a case and the chase is on again.

Shane and Drew offer a janitor $5000 to be Reigns’ partner. They’ll even give him a mask. That’s fine with him as long as he gets the $5000.

Bayley vs. Sarah Logan

Beat the Clock Challenge with whoever gets the fastest time getting to choose the stipulation for Bayley vs. Bliss. Bayley hits a quick high crossbody for two but Logan hits a pop up headbutt. A baseball slide puts Bayley on the floor and it’s back inside for Logan to crank on the leg. The CM PUNK chants begin as Bayley escapes but the comeback is cut off by a clothesline for one. Bayley fights up again and this a sunset bomb into the corner for the win at 4:32.

Rating: D. Can you blame the fans for being bored? This was the match that gets to be set against the other match with the winner of that getting to pick a stipulation for a title match with someone involved who isn’t in either of these matches. Just name a stipulation and stop coming up with excuses for short matches. It’s ok to have them, but one excuse after another comes off as dumb and the fans are going to get sick of it, especially under these circumstances.

Dana Brooke vs. Nikki Cross

The time is set at 4:32. Dana bails to the floor to start and hugs Bayley, who is fine with the collusion. Back in and a slingshot dropkick gives Nikki two but Brooke grabs a rollup for the same (and for some blatant spot calling). Dana slams her down but misses the Swanton, only to small package Cross for two. Not that it matters as the Purge finishes Brooks at 2:42.

Post match Cross wants Bayley in the ring to say something to her face. For weeks, Bayley has been trying to tell Nikki that Bliss is out to stab her in the back so Nikki is going to show her what friendship is. It’s going to be a 2-1 handicap match on Sunday with Nikki helping Bliss win the title back. Nikki suggests that Bayley find a friend to slap some sense into her, so Bayley slaps Nikki and hits the Bayley to Belly. Bayley even drops the top rope elbow. They’re teasing the heck out of Sasha Banks here and please….no.

We recap Corbin and Evans beating down Rollins and Becky earlier tonight.

Rollins and Lynch don’t like being asked about their personal lives about Sunday. They’re walking out as champions, just like they’re walking in. Rollins: “Uh, yeah. What she said.”

We look back at Kofi Kingston and Samoa Joe’s brawl on Smackdown.

The Street Profits predict some more matches but Dawkins has to tell Ford not to imitate the Rock. Dawkins picks Corbin and Evans to win and Ford stares blankly at the camera. Dawkins: “GOT HIM!” He really picks Becky and it’s time to sing about wanting the smoke.

Shane McMahon/Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns/Gary Garbutt

Before the match, Shane promises to destroy Reigns on Sunday. Drew says Reigns has no respect for anyone but he’ll beat some into Roman on Sunday. Shane introduces Gary with a list of accomplishments and we’re ready to go. Gary, in a mask and full body suit, is limping to the ring and holding his stomach so things aren’t going to go well here. Drew starts fast with a headbutt to Reigns but gets knocked into Gary for the tag.

Gary manages an enziguri but botches a springboard clothesline. The Neutralizer has Cole wondering who he is as Gary, the guy of Cedric Alexander’s size does Cedric Alexander’s offense (Is this some kind of a rib on Rhyno appearing at Slammiversary last night?). A big running flip dive takes Drew down and Gary hits a springboard crossbody on Shane. Drew comes back in with a Claymore though and Shane gets the pin at 2:13.

Post match Reigns unmasks Gary and of course it’s Cedric. That’s quite the non surprise to end the show. Sidebar: is Reigns hurt or something? Since Stomping Grounds he’s barely been in the ring and his appearances feel like they’re being kept short every time.

Overall Rating: D+. This was some weird hybrid of Heyman and Vince’s Raws and the end result was not pretty. There were ten matches on this show (including a 2/3 falls match) and more than half of them were too short to rate. I prefer a bunch of short matches, but don’t make it so obvious that you’re trying to have short matches and need a bunch of ways to get there. The no wrestling during commercial thing continues to be more annoying than useful but you know how Vince can be when he gets stuck on an idea.

The bigger problem continues to be the lack of a good top story. They have got to get past this mixed tag/Seth vs. Corbin thing in a hurry because it’s killing what could be an otherwise entertaining show. Throw in Shane and Drew hunting for a bad partner (Again, an acceptable enough idea, but where it the benefit in having Cedric under the mask if he’s going to lose just as fast as anyone else would have?) and it was hard to get behind the big stuff tonight. There were a lot of nice little things going on, but it felt like throwing as much as possible against the wall and seeing what stuck.

I can’t blame Heyman for how things are going yet because he still has to deal with the two top stories that just don’t work. Corbin and Shane are still the same problems they’ve been for months and Eddie Graham in his prime would have trouble making people care about them. Until they’re gone, it doesn’t make much of a difference what Heyman does. This show was better than a few weeks ago, but the same problems have have been around for weeks were around here again and there aren’t many ways around that.

Results

Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch b. Zelina Vega/Andrade – Stomp to Andrade

Miz/Usos b. Revival/Elias – Superfly splash to Dawson

Bobby Lashley b. Rey Mysterio – Spear

Cesaro b. No Way Jose – Sharpshooter

Viking Raiders b. Colin Justin/Devin Justin – Viking Experience to Colin

Ricochet b. Luke Gallows – Sunset flip

Ricochet b. Karl Anderson – 630

Bayley b. Sarah Logan – Sunset bomb into the corner

Nikki Cross b. Dana Brooke – Purge

Shane McMahon/Drew McIntyre b. Roman Reigns/Gary Garbutt – Claymore to Garbutt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: December 11, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Renee Young, Vic Joseph, Michael Cole

We’re finally at the finals as the winners of tonight’s two matches are heading to TLC this Sunday. Unfortunately you can pretty clearly see who is winning based on what is already booked for the pay per view so there isn’t much mystery, but at least we’re finally done with this thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division Finals: Bayley/Apollo Crews vs. Jinder Mahal/Alicia Fox

Crews is the replacement for the ill Finn Balor, because we can’t go a week on this show without a replacement. Mahal headlocks Crews to start until Crews comes out of it with a backslide for two. It’s off to the women with Bayley rolling her up a few times for two each, sending Fox outside for some quality shouting. Back in and Fox’s suplex is countered into a small package for two more and it’s already back to the men. Well to be fair it’s not like Bayley was pinning her. Crews jumps over Mahal in the corner and flips forward a bit until Mahal knees him in the face.

More knees keep Crews down and we hit the required chinlock. Apollo comes up with the jumping enziguri and it’s back to the women to pick up the pace again. Everything breaks down and Bayley hits the Stunner over the middle rope for two with the Singh Brothers making the save. Fox and the Brothers take Bayley to Bellies but Mahal superkicks Crews. After the melee, Bayley goes outside to get Fox but walks into a big boot to give Fox the unlikely pin at 9:35.

Rating: D+. Well you knew that was coming and there was no way around it. As soon as Bayley and Balor made the Raw finals, there was no way Mahal and Fox were losing. It’s the usual WWE idea: have a team that only they want to go on to win something win it, just because….whatever they see in Mahal. Anyway at least it’s not exactly in an important match.

Mahal and Fox take credit for the win in their own unique ways. Asuka comes in and laughs at them a lot.

Smackdown Division: R-Truth/Carmella vs. The Miz/Asuka

Miz and Asuka argue over who should start until Asuka finally gets the nod. Now why couldn’t Carmella or Truth start and make the decision for them? Miz demands to be tagged in so Asuka chops him for the tag. Truth shoulders him down and hops around in a circle, followed by the hip thrusting. With Miz on the floor, DANCE BREAK! Asuka even joins in on a second edition and since Miz is annoyed, Truth hammers away in the corner. That’s finally enough for Miz, who kicks Truth down and slaps on a chinlock.

The announcers are so bored that they talk about Mike Chioda refereeing. Miz’s short DDT gets two and a heck of a clothesline takes Truth down again. Truth gets in a shot of his own though and the hot tag brings in Carmella. That means a lot of screaming as Asuka loads up a German suplex.

Some knees to the chest have Carmella in trouble but Truth comes in with a Lie Detector to Miz. Carmella loads up the superkick on Miz but he pulls Asuka in the way like a true jerk. The Little Jimmy gets two on Miz, who pops up and throws the good ones to the floor. Asuka isn’t happy though and FINALLY snaps on the cheating Miz, kicking him in the head and walking away. An Unprettier gives Truth the pin at 11:38.

Rating: D+. Yeah this was obvious last week and there wasn’t much doubt a few weeks back either. As soon as Asuka was announced for the TLC match, there was no way she was making it to the finals. I’m not a fan of the things but points to Truth and Carmella for getting some crazy mileage out of the dance breaks. It’s gotten them a pay per view match, which is about 10,000x more than it should have done.

Overall Rating: D. And thank goodness it’s over. The Mixed Match Challenge is something that can work, but PLEASE take it back to the format from the first season. This was a nightmare with a bunch of matches that didn’t go anywhere because they had nothing to fight over and the two teams who only got into the playoffs on the last week making the finals. Just have things go the way that actually worked and things can be better, unlike this season.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 6, 2018
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

We’re in England again for the final big show on the long international tour. This show is going to be almost all about the fallout from Crown Jewel and the build towards Survivor Series, which is a mere twelve days away. Expect a lot of people being added to the card in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Paige to get things going. She wastes no time in introducing Shane McMahon, though the fans are NOT happy to see him. After a quick clip of the ending of the tournament and a photo op with the cup, Shane says he isn’t the Best in the World. That trophy doesn’t belong to him, but it does belong to everyone here on Smackdown. He reacted by instinct on Friday because he couldn’t handle the idea of Smackdown not being considered the best.

That brings him to Survivor Series so we run down the champion vs. champion matches. What matters most though are the elimination matches so here’s the captain of the men’s team: Daniel Bryan. After soaking in some cheers, Daniel says Shane deserves some cheers for not saying he’s the Best in the World. That’s quickly cut off by the Miz, who comes out with a slight limp.

Miz doesn’t like the idea of Shane coming in to steal his trophy, because 2/3 of it should belong to the man who won the first two matches. So how are they splitting this up? Does Shane come live at his house? Shane says if things had gone the way they should, Miz would have been fired. Miz doesn’t buy that, because he’s never been too injured to compete.

Based on his performance at the World Cup, he should be the captain. Shane agrees, but Bryan is captain too. My goodness they overbook the heck out of things like this one match. It puts the focus on the battling teammates instead of the story, and then the Raw vs. Smackdown stuff means nothing because there’s still no reason for them to be fighting. Just do Team Miz vs. Team Bryan and Team Corbin vs. Team Angle with some of the people in the champion vs. champion matches included.

Post break Miz and Bryan are bickering when Shane comes in to say they bring out the best in each other. That’s what he’s counting on to win at Survivor Series. By the end of the night, they need to pick their other members. Miz picks Shane and Bryan agrees as Shane leaves. Bryan will get to pick the next member at some point.

New Day vs. Usos

The winners are the captains, because there are totally five Smackdown teams to pick from. After New Day throws a bunch of pancakes into the crowd, Kofi and Jimmy start things off. The Usos are sent outside in a hurry and it’s off to Big E. as Woods plays the trombone and Kofi vibrates on the ropes, allowing E. to run Jimmy over. That was so odd that we need to take a break.

Back with Big E. coming in off the hot tag and throwing some suplexes. The Rock Bottom out of the corner gets two and there’s the Big Ending for two with Jimmy making a very last second save. Kofi tags himself in as Jey avoids a charge to send Big E. outside. Big E. is fine enough to drive Jimmy HARD into the barricade, only to be sent over it himself. With everyone else on the floor, Kofi dives onto both Usos (Graves: “That was falling with style!”) and throws Jey back in for two.

The SOS gets two, followed by a high crossbody for the same as we take a break. Back with Big E. saving Kofi from a double suplex to the floor by spearing Jey through the ropes. Trouble in Paradise hits Jimmy on the apron but the delayed cover only gets two. A superplex is broken up as Jimmy superbombs him down in a huge crash. The Superfly Splash gives Jimmy the pin at 16:14.

Rating: B. Another good match from these guys and it’s nice to see the Usos do something for a change. I still don’t get why they can’t be sent to Raw, just for the sake of having them rock the house with the AOP. It’s not like that show has many teams to go around in the first place and the Usos are too good to have sitting on the sidelines.

Post match the Usos offer New Day a spot on the team. But they’re not CAPTAINS are they?

Miz is on the phone plugging the new Marine movie, but apparently the talk shows want Becky Lynch instead. Bryan comes in to pick Rey Mysterio for his next spot on the Survivor Series team. Miz isn’t impressed, so Bryan lists off everything Mysterio has done since he came back. However, Miz will agree if Mysterio impresses him tonight against Andrade Cien Almas. For the third man, they can each pick someone who will have a match for the final spot.

We see Ronda Rousey’s comments about Becky Lynch on Raw.

Here’s Becky to respond. Ronda has said that she’s the last woman on earth to provoke, but who is Ronda to tell the champ what to do? It’s true that Ronda holds a championship but she’s not a champion. A champion wills herself to keep going but Ronda has never been tested. The truth is that Becky is the man, and that’s why she’s a champion and Ronda isn’t. At Survivor Series, Ronda’s titanium body will be let down by her weak mind.

Lynch has kept fighting every day and is the most relentless person that Rousey has ever met. Becky wasn’t handpicked like Ronda but here she is. The fans cheer her again as Becky says she’s not coming to Survivor Series for Ronda’s respect, but rather the arm. Ronda might be the baddest b**** in the world, but Becky is making Ronda hers. Becky is so fired up that she wants to fight right now. Cue Sanity with Nikki Cross of all people to say she wants to play. I have no idea how this is supposed to make Becky come off as a heel, but I’m sure it’s just going over my head.

Nikki Cross vs. Becky Lynch

Non-title. Becky takes her down to start so Nikki gets up and screams a lot. The fans are behind Nikki as she headscissors Becky to the floor. Some forearms and stomps have Becky in even more trouble on the floor but she trips Nikki onto the apron. Becky whips her into the barricade a few times and it’s time for the chinlock back inside.

A dropkick gives Becky two and the Bexploder has Nikki in the corner. She’s right back with forearms to the chest and the running clotheslines put Becky down again. A high crossbody gives Cross two and a falling reverse DDT gets the same. Becky finally sends the arm into the rope and the Disarm-Her makes Cross tap at 5:36.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure if Nikki is going to be up here full time or not but it’s a nice sign to see her getting in some offense against the champ. She got to show off the insanity well here and even if this is just a one off cameo, at least she’s had the chance to make an impact. Good little match too, even if the ending wasn’t in doubt.

Bryan and Miz pick Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe for the final match tonight.

Shinsuke Nakamura promises Seth Rollins will take a knee to the face.

Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade Cien Almas

No Zelina Vega, instantly making this less interesting. Mysterio, all banged up from World Cup, flips him down to start but gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. Almas gets two off a kick to the chest but misses a running knee in the corner. The running seated senton off the apron is caught though and Almas swings him into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Mysterio hitting the springboard seated senton and kicking Almas in the head for two.

Rey takes too much time going up top though and gets punched in the face. Almas hits a pair of running knees in the face for two but his moonsault hits knees. The 619 is broken up as well though and they head outside with Mysterio on Almas’ shoulders. That means a hurricanrana into the apron and a sliding tornado DDT (he almost lost Almas but it could have been worse) makes things even worse. Back in and the 619 into the springboard splash finishes Almas at 8:22.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine match here as Mysterio is certainly getting in some big matches on his return. That’s the reason you bring someone like him back, though I’m sure the losses where he puts people over are coming. I could go for more of Almas, but that doesn’t seem to be what WWE is looking for at the moment.

Post match Randy Orton runs in for an RKO on Mysterio.

Bryan and Miz watch on and Miz agrees that Mysterio can be on the team. If that goes badly though, it’s Bryan’s fault.

Video on WWE partnering with Girl Up.

AJ Styles talks about winning the WWE Championship a year ago right here in Manchester. Now he’s coming up against Brock Lesnar again at Survivor Series. Last year he gave Lesnar everything he had but it just wasn’t enough. Maybe it ends the same way this year, but it’s not easy being a WWE superstar. At Survivor Series, he’s going to beat Lesnar and that’s a spoiler.

Here’s Paige to announce the women’s Survivor Series team. That would be Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka and Charlotte, each with their own entrance. Well save for Charlotte, who doesn’t come out. Instead here’s Mandy Rose to say she might not be the blonde you’re looking for but she’s an upgrade. Paige says she won’t be taking Charlotte’s place but Mandy isn’t sure about her decision making. If you remember, Mandy eliminated Sonya from the Evolution battle royal but Sonya is on the team anyway.

Mandy insults everyone, including saying Carmella’s dance breaks are like her title reign: short and meaningless and asking if even Jimmy Uso is still feeling the Glow. That’s too much for Naomi so the fight is on with Sonya pulling Mandy off. Mandy stares Sonya down before storming off.

Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe

The winner is on the team and Miz and Bryan are on commentary. Joe goes straight at Hardy in the corner to start and even shouts trash talk at Bryan. Jeff is right back up and tries the Twist of Fate but Joe bails to the floor. Back in and Joe runs him over with an elbow and we take a break. We come back with Joe peppering him with right hands in the corner and the enziguri getting two.

The neck crank keeps Jeff in trouble until Joe takes him outside for a whip into the barricade. This serves as a backdrop for Bryan and Miz’s latest argument, meaning they ignore Jeff walking the barricade for the clothesline. Back in and the basement dropkick gets two on Joe, followed by the Twisting Stunner. The Swanton hits knees (in a great looking crash) and Hardy taps to the Clutch at 9:27.

Rating: C-. This was just going through the motions until the ending and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially given the story here. Joe is the better choice for the spot here, though that landing on the Swanton alone should give Jeff something. Maybe a nice back brace or a full body cast at this point.

Post match Joe talks more trash to Bryan and the fight is on. Miz breaks it up so Bryan beats him up as well, only to have Shane come in for the save. Bryan flips him over, not realizing who it was. Shane is incensed as Bryan walks off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good tonight but my goodness that was one of the most heavy handed shows I’ve ever seen with the battling over being captains taking over the whole show. I still have no idea how I’m supposed to care about this but it’s the same thing on Raw: battling teams with more focus on who is in charge than who is actually in the match. That was the whole focus on this show and it got really annoying, especially when it means we’ll have to hear about bragging rights all next week. Good show wrestling wise, but really tiresome storyline wise.

Results

Usos b. New Day – Superfly Splash to Kingston

Becky Lynch b. Nikki Cross – Disarm-Her

Rey Mysterio b. Andrade Cien Almas – Springboard splash

Samoa Joe b. Jeff Hardy – Koquina Clutch

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: September 25, 2018
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Vic Joseph

It’s week two and we have the reigning champions in action for the first time. Last week’s show was more than entertaining enough and hopefully that’s the case again here. We also have R-Truth and Carmella, who have become one of the most entertaining acts in WWE, together tonight so the pieces are in place for success again tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers run down the two matches and show us how to use Facebook Watch.

Raw Division: Mickie James/Bobby Lashley vs. Jinder Mahal/Alicia Fox

So yes we really do have to watch this one, though it includes Mickie James in that red gear of hers and I find that to be more than sufficient to make up for it. Lio Rush comes out to handle Lashley’s entrance, who happens to be very over in his home state. The guys start things off with Lashley cranking on a wristlock and then leapfrogging Mahal twice to show off the agility.

Hang on though as Mahal wants a pushup contest. Lashley obliges and the women even sit on their partners’ backs. The Dino Bravo/Earthquake tribute segment goes just fine until Sunil Singh sits next to Fox and Mahal collapses. The ticked off Mahal gets powerslammed for two with Fox having to make the save. Mickie comes in with a top rope Thesz press but Alicia is right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

We hit a bodyscissors as Bayley and Finn Balor comment about the match. The chinlock goes on as Miz and Asuka are warning up in the back. Mahal comes in without a tag for a distraction and Fox kicks her in the face for two. A clothesline allows the hot tag to Lashley and everything breaks down, including the managers getting in a fight. Lashley hits the delayed vertical suplex for the pin at 7:53.

Rating: D+. The pushup thing was fine and it’s always nice to see Mahal getting pinned clean instead of main eventing pay per views but this was little more than a comedy match. To be fair though, what else were they supposed to do? Look at these pairings and show me a path to a competitive match. This was about as good as it was going to get and that’s fine.

Bayley and Balor are ready to face Jinder and Alicia next week.

Jinder and Alicia panic and Fox Singh isn’t invited next week.

Smackdown Division: R-Truth/Carmella vs. Miz/Asuka

The announcers recap the issues on Smackdown to help set things up a bit. Before the match, it’s a MIZTV vs. TRUTHTV battle of the chants until the women start things off. They circle each other until Miz tags himself in, allowing Truth to take him down and dance. There’s a hiptoss and DANCE BREAK, with Carmella joining in this time. Asuka comes in and dances as well, sending Miz into a frenzy. He wants to show off his moon walk and proceeds to walk around like he’s on the moon in a funny bit. Truth superkicks him to the floor though and Asuka sends Carmella out to join him.

Some moon walks into the splits have Asuka and Miz upset and another TRUTHTV chant makes it even worse. Back in and Miz kicks Truth in the face to take over but Truth punches him out of the air. The double tag brings in the women with Asuka hitting a running dropkick. A running hip attack gives Asuka two and a Shining Wizard is good for the same. Carmella gets her own two off a superkick with Miz making the save. Truth gets low bridged to the floor and it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap at 9:59.

Rating: C. Of course it was another comedy match and that’s the best idea they’re going to have around here. This was another case where it’s hard to buy one team as a threat as Truth isn’t beating Miz and Carmella isn’t champion anymore so she’s not beating Asuka. The fans were into it and that’s what matters most, so just let them have some fun.

A preview for next week’s show wraps things up.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s hard to get mad at a show that is about half an hour long and features to fun comedy matches. There’s only so much you can do on a show like this and this is about as good of an idea as they can have. Later on we can get into some more serious matches when teams are more in need of wins, but for now just let their personalities be turned up a bit and let them show off.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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