WWE Vault Grab Bag IV
Commentators: Marc Lowrance, Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura, Abraham Washington, Byron Saxton, Brett DiBiase, Matt Martlaro, Jim Ross, Chris Russo

This has become one of my favorite things to do lately as I’ll be looking at a totally random collection of matches from the WWE (or possibly WCW) Vault YouTube channels. You never know what they’re going to drop and it could be something even I’ve never seen before. We’ll be looking at another eleven matches here so let’s get to it.

From WCCW in Dallas, Texas, February 26, 1983.

Von Erichs vs. Freebirds

Lumberjack match. Hayes bails to the floor to start, which isn’t the most logical way to go in this kind of a match. Kerry and Gordy start things off and trade some fists until it’s quickly off to Hayes for the strutting. Hayes sends him into the buckle but gets punched down for two, meaning it’s off to David vs. Gordy.

David takes over rather quickly and hands it off to Kevin for the nice barefoot dropkick but Gordy sends him into the corner. Roberts comes in to choke on the rope and a pull of the trunks keeps David in trouble. A knee drop gets two and it’s back to Gordy to drive him into the corner. David gets a foot up to cut him off and it’s back to Kerry for the big hot comeback.

A snapmare into a knee drop has Gordy rocked but Roberts is right back in. Kerry gets dropped into a hammerlock and Hayes snaps the arm over the top rope. Hayes gets two off a hammerlock backbreaker and Kerry is sent outside where the lumberjacks…throw him back in without getting violent. Kerry manages the tag off to David and everything breaks down. Kerry and Roberts fight to the floor, leaving Hayes to come off the ropes with an ax handle. Kevin breaks up the cover though and David pins Gordy at 11:41.

Rating: B-. As usual, the match itself was only ok, but what mattered the most here was the crowd’s reaction. Make no mistake about it: nothing came close to getting this much heat in wrestling at this point, which is why WCCW is so fondly remembered to this day. It was the hottest feud in wrestling and that was the case for a very long time. Not great, but very entertaining.

Post match the Freebirds are ticked off before leaving. The Von Erichs thank the fans and want the World Title.

From Evansville, Indiana, February 3, 1998 in a dark match before Raw.

One Man Gang vs. Flanagan

The Gang gets quite the nostalgia pop and is a good bit slimmer than he was back in the day. Gang jumps him to start and chokes with a jacket before hammering away in the corner. Flanagan (Flash Flanagan, a longtime OVW star) comes back with a missile dropkick for one and some clotheslines, only to charge into a side slam. Gang splashes him in the corner but Flanagan is back with the usual assortment of strikes. Flanagan charges into a boot in the corner though and a huge clothesline puts him down again. The 747 finishes Flanagan off at 6:10.

Rating: C-. Oddly enough, the Gang didn’t look terrible here. He was out there doing his thing and looked decent doing it. The match wasn’t particularly good of course as Gang wasn’t great on his best day, but this was far from Earthquake’s disaster of an out of nowhere dark match. The other interesting thing is that Gang was only thirty seven here. It absolutely would not have been insane for him to still be going for a few more years so this was definitely worth a shot.

From New York City, New York, September 23, 1985.

Andre The Giant vs. King Kong Bundy

Yes this is the Colossal Jostle, which is a takeoff of Colossal Tussle, which was the planned name for the show that would eventually be dubbed Wrestlemania. Lou Albano and Jimmy Hart are here too. Andre powers him into the corner for the choke to start, with Bundy bailing out to the floor. Back in and Bundy hammers away in the corner but gets dropped with a quick headbutt. Bundy kicks him in the chest and boots him out to the floor for a change. Back in and Andre grabs an armbar and cranks away. Then he cranks some more.

Then they go to the mat with the cranking continues. We’ve been in this same hold for over three minutes now and there is just nothing happening. Wait, they turned over and rolled into the middle of the ring. Bundy FINALLY gets out of it after about four minutes and is headbutted outside for a heck of a bump. Back in and Andre wins a slugout before…well they might be loading up a tango. Bundy knocks him into the corner for more choking on the ropes but Andre cuts off a charge with a raised boot. Andre sits on Bundy’s chest but Big John Studd runs in for the DQ at 13:52.

Rating: D. Oh sweet goodness no. This was one of those matches where they were trying at the start and they could have done better if it was, say, eight minutes shorter. Having Andre work on the arm for almost a third of the match was quite the choice and it was hardly worth watching. They started fast and it was fun for a few minutes, but then reality set in and it got bad in a hurry.

Post match Andre rolls outside and grabs a chair, which he breaks over a table and chases the monsters off. Given that a ticked off Andre was a terrifying sight, I can’t blame them.

From WWC in Caguas, Puerto Rico, August 6, 1993.

Madusa vs. Luna Vachon

I believe that’s the date, as these two fought a few times in Puerto Rico around this time. They go to the mat to start with Vachon working on a hammerlock but getting reversed into a headscissors. That’s broken up and they head outside, with Madusa being sent (a long way) over the barricade.

Back in and Madusa grabs a slam but gets pulled into a nerve hold to put her back down. Madusa fights up and slaps her in the face a few times, setting up a chinlock. Vachon reverses into one of her own but that’s broken up as well, with Madusa grabbing a superplex for two. Back up and the missile dropkick misses for Madusa, allowing Vachon to get the quick pin at 7:30.

Rating: C-. Not exactly great stuff here, but women’s wrestling in 1993 was a very different universe. You could see the talent in there though and they were absolutely trying. It would have been nice to see things had they done this years later, but for now it’s certainly an interesting look at a rather different wrestling universe.

From New York City, New York, July 7, 2017.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

Styles is challenging at a house show. Owens stalls a lot before the bell and we’re clipped to more stalling, though the bell singes to have rang. The threat of a wristlock sends Owens bailing to the floor, with Styles following him out. Back in and Owens hammers away but his ram into the corner is blocked. Styles sends him into the buckle instead and they go outside, with Owens being sent crashing down.

Back in and the Phenomenal Forearm misses, allowing Owens to score with the superkick. Some right hands in the corner let Owens load up the Cannonball but Styles rolls outside, leaving Owens to chill on the top rope instead. A clothesline gives Owens two and we hit the chinlock.

We’re clipped to Styles getting pulled back down into the chinlock but he fights up again. A jumping enziguri puts Owens down as well and Styles hits the seated forearm. The belly to back faceplant gives Styles two but Owens bails from the threat of the Styles Clash. Instead Styles goes with the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two and they’re both down again. Another superkick gives Owens two but the Swanton hits raised knees. The Styles Clash gives Styles two and the Phenomenal Forearm connects to give Styles the pin and the title at 13:04 shown.

Rating: B. It’s no surprise that these two had solid chemistry together, but it’s also fascinating to see something like this happen at a house show. That really wasn’t the case most of the time but as usual, the Garden was just different. They had a good match, and Styles winning the title (even though he wouldn’t hold it long) is an easy way to go as Styles can make just about anything work.

Styles gets to celebrate for a long time and spends some time with the fans on the way out for a good moment.

From FCW in 2010/11. This is a bit different as it’s a look back at an entire rivalry with a few matches.

 

Queen Of FCW/Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Naomi Knight

From FCW TV, August 29, 2010. Winner take all and that would be the FCW Divas Title, not the main roster version. There are a bunch of Divas watching at ringside too. Lee shoulders her down to start but runs into the Rear View. A backslide with the splits gives Naomi two as commentary is having WAY too much fun looking at these two. Lee flips her over and hits a running knee for two but Naomi blocks a headscissors on the floor. They crash out to the floor and slug it out until it’s a double countout at 2:31.

AJ Lee vs. Naomi Knight

From FCW TV, September 29, 2010 and a non-title lumberjill match. Naomi grabs a headlock to start but gets kicked to the floor, where she is rather aggressively thrown back inside. Lee grabs the chinlock but Naomi sends her outside, where the lumberjills throw her back inside as well. Washington: “That kind of turns me on.” Sweet goodness this guy is insufferable. Back in and a Rear View drops Lee again but she’s right back with a tornado DDT for two. Lee goes up but gets leg lariated out of the air to give Naomi the pin at 3:23.

Rating: C. Not much to see here, but this was a VERY different time for women’s wrestling. These two weren’t exactly given much time (as we’re at less than six minutes over two matches) and while it seems there is a story, it definitely feels like FCW saying “here’s a women’s match”. You need a bit more than that, though this was on the higher level of women’s wrestling at this point.

Divas Title: Naomi Knight vs. AJ Lee

From FCW TV, January 23, 2011 and Naomi is defending. Lee takes over to start and sends Naomi outside. Back in and Lee grabs a chinlock but Naomi fights up without much trouble. A spinning kick to the head gives Naomi two but a slingshot rollup is broken up. Lee knees her in the face for two, followed by the yet to be named Black Widow. That’s reversed into a backbreaker for two more but Lee is back up with a standing Sliced Bread #2 for the pin and title at 5:04.

Rating: C. This got a bit more time and that did help, but there is still only so much to get from this kind of a match. At least they were able to fit in a bit more with Lee evening the series. They’re also getting the chance to showcase their talents more each time and that was a great thing to see, as it was basically a preview of the coming years.

Divas Title: Naomi Knight vs. AJ Lee

From FCW TV, March 13, 2011 and Lee is defending. Lee takes her down into an early Fujiwara armbar. The Rear View connects but Naomi misses a big crossbody into the ropes for a heck of a crash. Lee is right back on the arm but Naomi kicks her down again. Naomi fires off more kicks, only to get kicked down out of the corner. The standing Sliced Bread #2 finishes for Lee at 1:34. Well that was pretty definitive.

From Portland, Maine, July 21, 1992. This is a dark match from a TV taping (they taped shows for different series that day), including the first ever WWF ladder match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.

Undertaker/Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair/Berzerker

Holy Lethal Lottery match! Paul Bearer, Mr. Perfect and Mr. Fuji are here too and this actually aired on a German WWF show later in the year (plus on a Randy Savage Unreleased DVD). We get the big staredown to start until Savage (the WWF Champion) grabs the mic for an OH YEAH. Savage and Flair start things off as we’re over two minutes in with no contact yet.

Flair does the hand slap and then slicks back his hair, meaning it’s finally time to lock up with about two and a half minutes burned off. Savage’s headlock is quickly reversed but he’s right back with a hammerlock. Flair bails to the rope so Savage slaps him in the face to make it more serious. Another slap has Flair down on one knee, with Perfect not exactly happy with any of this.

Flair does a rare leapfrog before getting dropped with a clothesline, meaning it’s off to Undertaker. The forearms and chops in the corner have as much effect as you would expect so Undertaker hits a gorilla press (and seems to stumble a bit as he slams Flair down). It’s off to Berzerker, who gets choked into the corner but knocks Undertaker outside. That’s fine with Undertaker of course, who sends Berzerler’s hands into the steps for some rather hilarious staggering selling.

Back in and Savage’s top rope ax handle gets two but Berzerker tosses him into the corner to take over. Flair comes in for a running chop and we hit the chinlock. Savage is tossed outside for a cheap shot from Perfect and Berzerker gets to toss him outside as well. The ring mats are pulled up and Savage gets caught underneath them for a bit of a weird spot. Back in and Savage gets tied up in the ropes but gets out and crawls over to Undertaker for the big tag. We don’t waste time as it’s a Tombstone to Berzerker, a clothesline to Flair and the big elbow to pin Berzerker at 13:37.

Rating: B-. Oh of course this was fun. There was pretty much no way that they weren’t going to have a good time out there, as it was the always effective idea of combining two feuds into one. I had a good time with this and it’s the kind of rarely seen match that is worth looking at all these years later. Come on. Savage and Berzerker? Undertaker and Flair? What’s not to like?

From Hartford, Connecticut, August 27, 1986, a dark match from a Wrestling Challenge taping.

Hulk Hogan/Junkyard Dog vs. Paul Orndorff/Adrian Adonis

Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart and Bob Orton are here too as Lord Alfred Hayes is ring announcer, which oddly works. Orndorff charges at Hogan and hammers away to start but Hogan fights back with right hands of his own. Hogan clears the ring of all the villains, both the legal and illegal ones, before hitting a jumping knee of all things to Orndorff. They fight out the floor with Hogan hammering away even more, followed by Dog coming in for right hands of his own.

The all fours headbutts have the villains down again and the crowd is going insane for all of this. There’s a bunch of trash thrown in and we settle down to Dog vs. Adonis (which thankfully allows Orndorff to fix his trunks, which were riding up). Dog wastes no time in sending Adonis outside, where Orton gets in a cheap shot to take over. Hogan isn’t having that but gets choked by some kind of a belt to put him down again. Back in and Dog headbutts Adonis, who flips around in quite the bump.

A double clothesline drops Adonis again but he’s able to come back with the sleeper. With Dog down, Orndorff adds a top rope fist drop and draws Hogan in like a moron. The chinlock goes on but Dog fights up and a double right hand puts both of them down again. Adonis is right there to cut off the tag though and a jumping elbow hits Dog. That doesn’t do much good though as Dog is up for the tag to Hogan a few seconds later, meaning right hands can come flying. Everything breaks down and Hart’s interference doesn’t work. Instead it’s the big leg to finish Adonis at 9:18.

Rating: B-. More entertaining stuff here, with Hogan of course being over like free beer in a frat house. You could pretty much put anyone with him and have them feel like a huge star, with the Dog already being a big deal on his own. That’s a pretty good situation to have and it worked again here. At the same time, Orndorff was absolutely white hot at this point and the best villain going, with Adonis being more than able to hang in there with anyone. Fun match.

Post match, a lot of posing ensues.

From the NXT pilot at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, December 7, 2011.

Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus/Daniel Bryan

Rhodes is the Intercontinental Champion and says tonight they have defied time because this is tomorrow’s superstars today. This makes you wonder what happens if tomorrow never comes, so what about the current champions? Rhodes asks the people if they know who he is, because he may be the ugly duckling of the Legacy but he is the future of the WWE. He’s ready to define Daniel Bryan but here is Bryan (with banged up ribs and his Money In The Bank briefcase) to cut him off.

With Rhodes’ future wife Eden Stiles out of the way, we’re ready to go. Rhodes shoulders Bryan down to start but gets kicked in the chest for his efforts. That earns Bryan an elbow to the bad ribs, allowing McIntyre to come in and stay on those ribs. Sheamus comes in and gets knocked into the corner by McIntyre. That doesn’t last long as McIntyre is knocked to the apron for the ten forearms. Rhodes is sent outside as well and Bryan adds a running knee from the apron.

We take a break and come back with Bryan giving McIntyre a dragon screw legwhip but McIntyre goes to the ropes to save himself. Back in and Rhodes goes after the ribs, only to get pulled into a surfboard. Rhodes gets rolled up for two and rolls outside, going all the way into the crowd. Sheamus comes in and unloads with forearms to Rhodes’ back, followed by a forearm to knock Rhodes out of the air. McIntyre gets a blind tag and boots Sheamus in the face for two as we take another break.

We come back with Rhodes’ front chancery setting up McIntyre’s suplex for two on Sheamus. It’s back to Rhodes to stomp away in the corner as JR says that Rhodes has the X factor and will be WWE Champion one day. Fair enough actually. Sheamus picks Rhodes up for a toss and it’s back to Bryan to back up the pace, including the running dropkick in the corner. The Swan Dive misses though and Bryan is sent outside for a drop onto the barricade.

Bryan is thrown back in for an abdominal stretch from Rhodes, which includes an elbow to the ribs. McIntyre’s gutbuster gets two and the abdominal stretch goes on again. This time it’s broken up with a hiptoss and they hit stereo crossbodies. Bryan slides through McIntyre’s legs and it’s back to Sheamus for the powerhouse comeback. The Irish Curse gets two on McIntyre with Rhodes making the save as everything breaks down. The Brogue Kick finishes McIntyre at 25:27.

Rating: B. The time helped here as they were able to tell a lot more of a story, which is always appreciated. At the same time, this is a situation where you have four talented wrestlers who were given the chance of showcasing their skills, which was a big deal on this kind of a show. I got into this one and it was indeed worth a look.

Overall Rating: C+. This started slowly but ended well and that made things good enough. The good thing here is that there was a wide variety of matches, which granted is always the high point of these things. It’s another great mixture of what you can see from the Vault and I had fun with it again, which hopefully continues for a very long time.

 

 

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

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Royal Rumble 2024
Date: January 27, 2024
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Attendance: 48,044
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s time for the look back at last year’s show which set up one of the biggest WWE events of all time. This show is designed to set up the main events of WrestleMania LX and that means it is time for Roman Reigns to get a new challenger. Speaking of Reigns, he is defending the title in a four way match. Let’s get to it.

Today, various people scheduled for the show did in fact come to the show.

Hulk Hogan narrates a video about how important this area is to wrestling. You have to be RUMBLE READY because it is time to start the Road To Wrestlemania.

Earlier today: even more people came to work.

Pat McAfee comes out for commentary, with Corey Graves going on a hilarious rant about how much he hates this happening two years in a row.

Women’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals, Natalya is in at #1 and Naomi (in a surprise return) is in at #2. We get a handshake to start before Natalya takes her down, only to have the step over dropkick cut off. They hit stereo crossbodies and Bayley is in at #3. The Rear View puts Natalya down and Naomi drops Bayley, only to have them sit there so Natalya can hit a double basement dropkick (that looked awful). Candice LeRae is in at #4 and gets in a few shots to leave everyone down.

TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace is in at #5 and doesn’t get much of a reaction but she looks like a star. Grace cleans house and you can tell McAfee is impressed. We get a hug between Naomi and Grace (who beat Naomi to win the title) and the brawl is on. That doesn’t mean any eliminations yet though as Indi Hartwell is in at #6. LeRae and Hartwell team up as Cole says that we’ve never had two winners in a Royal Rumble, save for that time when we did.

Asuka is in at #7 and teams up with Bayley, who looks rather nervous. Hartwell and Asuka go to the apron with Bayley getting rid of Hartwell for the first elimination. Ivy Nile is in at #8 and impresses McAfee with her rather impressive strength. Katana Chance is in at #9 and anklescissors LeRae. Nile and Grace have a delayed suplex off before Nile hits a loud enziguri.

Bianca Belair is in at #10 and the place is rather impressed. We have Natalya, Naomi, Bayley, LeRae, Grace, Asuka, Nile, Chance and Belair, with the latter getting to clean some house, including a double Blockbuster to Bayley and Asuka. As usual, Belair gets to show off for a bit until Kairi Sane is in at #11 to give us three members of Damage CTRL. The three of them get to beat up various people but not actually toss anyone as the ring is getting way too full. LeRae sends Asuka and Sane to the apron, only to have Bayley make the save and toss LeRae in a big crash.

Tegan Nox is in at #12 and wrecks some people but Grace cuts her off. Natalya makes the save and gives Grace a discus lariat. Natalya goes to throw Nox out but gets tossed instead, with Bayley getting rid of Nox as well, leaving them both stunned on the floor. Katana Chance is in at #13 and is so distraught at losing the Women’s Tag Team Titles last night that she stops to dance.

Sane is sent over the top and one of her feet touches and she tries to hang on to the apron, only to fall down for the elimination (I’m not sure if that was the plan). Asuka is kicked out a few seconds later and Bayley yells at the rest of the team for being eliminated. Chelsea Green is in at #14 and is immediately sent to the apron twice in a row before hitting a Zig Zag on Belair. We get the Grace vs. Belair slugout and they go to the apron, where Belair hits a KOD for the elimination.

Piper Niven is in at #15 and catches Green as we get a set of nifty time counters for various entrants. A bunch of people get together to beat on Niven and it’s Xia Li in at #16. Li racks Green, who kicks at Niven by mistake for a not so great result. Zelina Vega is in at #17 and has what must be some weird cosplay deal. Vega gives Niven a tornado DDT as there are far too many people in there and the pace has slowed down a lot. Maxxine Dupri is in at #18 and does her SHOOSH before dropping to the mat to hide from Niven.

Vega and Belair team up for a Code Red to put Niven down. A bunch of people can’t get rid of Niven, who eliminates Carter. Nia Jax is in at #19 so Li goes after her, only to get knocked out in a hurry. Nile is out as well and Niven accidentally splashes Green. Jax does it in purpose and then gets rammed into Green in the corner for a funny bit. A bunch of people go after Jax, who then charges at Niven, with Green getting crushed between them. Naomi hits a springboard enziguri to Jax who, say it with me, falls onto Green as well.

Shotzi is in at #20, giving us Naomi, Bayley, Belair, Chance, Green, Niven, Vega, Dupri, Jax and Shotzi as the ring is WAY too full again. A bunch of people get together to go after Jax, who shrugs them off. Bayley gets rid of Dupri and Jax tosses Green and Niven. Chance is tossed out onto the pile as well and it’s Becky Lynch in at #21.

Lynch goes right after Jax and DDT’s Vega and Shotzi at the same time. She throws Jax into Bayley as Green is back in, apparently not being thrown out. Lynch knocks her out without much trouble so that was nothing, especially after her hilarious bit earlier. Alba Fyre is in at #22 and hits a double Gory Bomb on Shotzi and Vega. Ignore that Vega didn’t actually hit anything on the way down. With no one else out, Shayna Baszler is in at #23 to start going after arms.

Valhalla is in at #24….and here is R-Truth to take her place and enter the match by mistake. Jax throws him out anyway as Adam Pearce is here to say Valhalla is in and R-Truth is out. Then Jax throws Valhalla out without much trouble. Michin is in at #25 and goes after Fyre before Rock Bottoming Bayley onto Baszler. Naomi is up with a hanging Pedigree to get rid of Fyre as things slow down again.

Zoey Stark is in at #26 with a missile dropkick on Michin. The brawling continues, with Baszler blocking a hurricanrana fr Vega, who is kicked out in a heap. NXT’s Roxanne Perez is in at #27 and snaps off a headscissors on Stark. Bayley jumps Perez but can’t get rid of her as Jax throws out Baszler and Michin. Shotzi is tossed out and Jax is the only one left standing…..but Jade Cargill is in at #28. She gets one heck of a reaction and slugs it out with Jax, whom she picks up for a one armed Widowmaker. Cargill throws Jax out and even Lynch realizes that was awesome.

Cargill’s charge hits the post though and everyone is down as Tiffany Stratton is in at #29. She immediately flip dives onto a bunch of people and hits an Alabama Slam on Perez. The returning Liv Morgan is in at #30, giving us a final grouping of Naomi, Bayley, Belair, Vega, Lynch, Stark, Perez, Cargill, Stratton and Morgan. The pace is picked up until Stark kicks Morgan in the face, only to get knocked out without much trouble.

Stratton kicks Perez out so everyone surrounds her, only to split off and start the brawls. Cargill and Belair have stereo gorilla presses and then drop Morgan and Lynch for the mega showdown (the fans approve). Naomi gets spinebustered by Cargill, who tosses Lynch and Naomi in quite the moment.

Morgan and Belair are sent to the apron, with Stratton being pulled out with them. A Codebreaker staggers Stratton but she grabs Belair’s hair for the save. Bayley kicks both of them out, leaving us with Bayley, Cargill and Morgan. They all wind up on the apron and Morgan eliminates Cargill, only to get kicked out by Bayley for the win at 1:04:57.

Rating: C+. This was only so interesting as there isn’t quite enough depth to get all the way to thirty entrants in this kind of thing. The top spots were good with Bayley getting a long awaited win, but other than that there were some long stretches which were needing something better. Get rid of some of the dead spots in the middle and it’s better, but this only got so far.

Come to St. Petersburg!

We recap the four way for the Smackdown World Title. Roman Reigns pinned LA Knight about two years ago so now Knight, Randy Orton and AJ Styles want the title.

Smackdown World Title: Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns, with Paul Heyman, is defending. We get a long staredown to start before all of the challengers go after Reigns in a smart move. Styles and Knight get in a fight of their own though, leaving Orton and Reigns to brawl out to the floor. Knight and Styles join them, with Knight sending Styles face first into the announcers’ table. Orton drops Reigns onto the same table and then goes after Knight as it’s time to switch off.

Knight gets the better of things, only to miss a charge and get dropped onto the table for a big crash. Orton takes Reigns back inside for the circle stomp before stopping to powerslam Styles. Knight is back in to stomp Orton down though as the back and forth start continues. Orton and Styles go outside, leaving Reigns to clothesline Knight in the corner. Reigns drops Styles as well and the fans certainly seem to approve.

It’s Knight getting back up with a DDT to Reigns and a slam to Orton, setting up a middle rope bulldog. The jumping superplex brings Styles back down and there’s the BFT to Reigns to get the crowd up again, only for Styles to make the save. Styles fights up and strikes away with the Styles Clash hitting Reigns for two and Knight making the save this time. Back up and Reigns tries the Superman Punch but Orton RKOs him out of the air in a sweet counter for another near fall, with Solo Sikoa pulling the referee out.

Sikoa isn’t done as he Samoan Spikes Orton and Knight before stacking Knight onto Orton (which doesn’t seem overly bright). The running Umaga Attack against the barricade misses Styles though and Sikoa is down. Styles comes back in with a Phenomenal Forearm to knock Reigns onto the other two before getting a triple cover for two, even though that normally means the first person getting a cover (Knight in this case) wins.

Styles grabs a chair and beats on Reigns, then does the same to Knight. Orton breaks that up with a low blow but gets speared out to the floor. Knight goes after Reigns but the BFT is broken up, which breaks up the Styles Clash as well. With Knight down, the spear to Styles retains the title at 19:24.

Rating: B. Rather nice stuff here with everyone going in there and trying hard, with the time flying by. Reigns winning wasn’t exactly in doubt with a milestone Wrestlemania on the horizon, but at least he had to put in the work to get there. If nothing else, it’s nice to see the other three getting a chance, as it has been awhile for most of them.

We recap Logan Paul defending the US Title against Kevin Owens. Paul is the rather braggadocios US Champion while Owens is here o shut him up. They’ve taken turns attacking each other and Paul has injured Owens’ hands.

United States Title: Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul

Paul is defending and offers a handshake but Owens chops him down instead. They’re quickly on the floor and Owens sends him hard into the barricade. Back in and a rather big chop sets up a release German suplex, meaning it’s time to go back outside. Owens drops a backsplash but Paul gets smart by going after the bad hand. Back in again and a high crossbody takes Owens down.

An armbar goes on but Owens elbows his way out of an Octopus. With nothing else working, Paul goes simple by punching Owens’ bad hand. Paul misses a 619 though, allowing Owens to hit a hard clothesline. Another backsplash hits raised knees though, as I continue to love watching someone learn during a match. Back up and Owens stomps away in the corner, setting up a pair of Cannonballs. The frog splash connects but a Swanton hits Paul’s raised knees.

Paul misses a Swanton of his own though, only to hit a Buckshot Lariat. A frog splash gives Paul two but he tries a superplex, which you just do not do to Owens. The swinging superplex gives Owens two but the Stunner is blocked. Paul’s big right hand drops Owens for a near fall and now it’s Paul’s turn to be shocked.

One of Paul’s goons tries to bring in some brass knuckles but the referee cuts it off and has said goon ejected. Cue A-Town Down Under for a distraction though and Paul gets the brass knuckles…which Owens takes away and uses to knock Paul out. The referee sees said knuckles though (McAfee: Oh NOW the referee has 20/20!”) and that’s a DQ at 14:01.

Rating: B. It was a good fight and there is something to be said about a bit of a twist ending rather than Paul just getting the pin. If nothing else, Owens is at his best when he’s upset about something and the ending should fit in well. Paul gets to keep bragging about being champion too and that is good for just about everyone. Well mainly Paul but you get the idea.

Post match Owens puts Paul through the announcers’ table. Then he takes a cough drop.

Hulk Hogan really wants you to come to St. Petersburg.

Elimination Chamber is in Australia.

Wrestlemania is in 70 days.

The attendance is 48,044, a new stadium record. Uh, yay.

Rumble By The Numbers!

30 entrants
1,310 entrants
34 winners
2.6% have won
20 have gone on to win the title at Wrestlemania
1 woman to enter at #1 and win
20 eliminations for Ripley all time, a record
1:01:08, Ripley’s record time in the Rumble
1:11:40, Gunther’s record time in the Rumble
60% of the winners have come from the last ten entrants
#30 has produced the most winners (5)
3 who have won consecutive Royal Rumbles
3 wins for Steve Austin, a record
3rd time Tampa will host the Royal Rumble (1995/2021)
8 eliminations for Shayna Baszler, the most in a single women’s match
9 two time winners
13 eliminations in one men’s Rumble by Brock Lesnar
Natalya is one of four women to compete in all women’s Rumbles
45 eliminations by Kane over 18 Rumbles, both records
3,653 days since CM Punk has been in a Royal Rumble
34,000,000 social media engagements for the Logan Paul vs. Ricochet clip from last year
9 people have won their first World Title off a Royal Rumble win
60% of winners from the last five years have won the World Title at Wrestlemania

Men’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals and Jey Uso is in at #1 and Jimmy Uso is in at #2. They stare each other down to start until Jimmy is punched out to the apron. That’s not enough for an elimination as Jimmy is back in to strike away, but the jumping enziguri misses. Jey superkicks Jimmy down but the Superfly Splash hits raised knees to leave them both needing a breather. Grayson Waller is in at #3 and naturally he runs his mouth about how awesome he is. Jey knocks him of the apron before he can get in, only to come in and team up with Jimmy for some double teaming.

Andrade returns at #4 and cleans house (or as much as you can with two heels in the ring) but can’t get rid of anyone. Carmelo Hayes is in at #5 and we get a three way staredown with Hayes, Andrade and Jey. That’s broken up and Hayes gets rid of Waller without much effort. Shinsuke Nakamura is in at #6 and the fans sing his song. Jimmy seems to approve and gets kicked in the head as a result. The freshly heel Santos Escobar is in at #7 and we get straight to a showdown with Andrade. They hug and pose but Andrade isn’t interested in a Legado del Fantasma pose.

Karrion Kross is in at #8 and everyone goes to the general brawling. With that not going anywhere, Dominik Mysterio is in at #9 and the fans are not happy. It takes a good while for him to get in and he is quickly taken into a corner for some not so near eliminations. Carlito is in at #10, giving us Jey, Jimmy, Andrade, Hayes, Nakamura, Escobar, Kross, Mysterio and Carlito at the one third mark. Carlito goes after Escobar who bails to the floor, leaving Carlito to load up the apple. Escobar gets it in the face and is then tossed out to clear some of the ring.

Bobby Lashley is in at #11 and starts throwing some not great looking spears. One of them is enough to get rid of Kross so here are the AOP for a distraction, allowing Kross to pull Lashley out for the elimination. The big bawl is on with the Street Profits running out to even things up. They all go up the aisle and brawl to the back as Ludwig Kaiser is in at #12. He goes after Dominik for a bit of a weird one and everyone pairs off until Austin Theory is in at #13. The flipping Downward Spiral plants Jey and more brawling ensues as we need someone to clear the ring a bit.

Finn Balor is in at #14 and Hayes is tossed in a hurry. Cody Rhodes is in at #15 and this should pick things up a bit. The Cody Cutter gets rid of Theory but Balor takes Rhodes down and they slug it out. Bronson Reed is in at #16 and gets rid of Andrade. Nakamura and Rhodes slug it out with Nakamura hitting a spinning kick to the face as Kofi Kingston is in at #17. A Disaster Kick and Cross Rhodes get rid of Nakamura and Kaiser is out shortly thereafter.

Gunther is in at #18 and chopping ensues, setting up the staredown with Gunther. That’s broken up and Kingston gets Gunther out to the apron, earning Kingston an elimination (no special save this time). Ivar is in a #19 and hits a powerslam, setting up the slugout with Reed. NXT’s Bron Breakker is in at #20, giving us Jey, Jimmy, Mysterio, Balor, Rhodes, Reed, Gunther, Ivar and Breakker.

A spear immediately hits Jimmy and a running clothesline gets rid of him. Another spear gets rid of Balor and it’s time for Gunther vs. Breakker, which has the fans’ interest. Gunther slips out of the gorilla press but Breakker gives him the spear to quite the reaction. Omos is in at #21 and takes his sweet time getting to the ring. House is quickly cleaned and Reed is knocked out with a big boot. Breakker spears a springboarding Ivar out of the air and gets rid of him before staring up at Omos.

Pat McAfee is in at #22 and looks more than a bit surprised at the news. He sees Omos and Breakker waiting on him and eliminates himself in a funny moment. McAfee has claimed that he didn’t know this was coming and I’d believe it. McAfee: “HOW BIG IS THAT THING IN THERE????” Breakker dumps Omos and Mysterio knocks Breakker out (after a star making performance), with Cole and Graves making up trash talk that Breakker said about Omos.

JD McDonagh is in at #23 and gets speared by Breakker on the floor before he can get in. Cody and Gunther fight some more as R-Truth is in at #24 (the same number he entered the women’s match in for a nice touch). He throws McDonagh in so McDonagh can be properly eliminated, only to stand on the apron or a tag to Mysterio. Naturally Mysterio tags him in (because) and he goes after Omos to little avail.

Miz is in at #25 for an Awesome Truth reunion but Truth saves Mysterio. Gunther breaks that up and Mysterio gives Miz a 619 as Damian Priest is in at #26. Truth is out in a hurry and Priest cleans house, including South Of Heaven to Gunther. CM Punk is in at #27 and gets to do a bunch of running knees in the corner. Mysterio is tossed but Priest decks Punk with a discus forearm.

Ricochet is in at #28 and gets to fly around a bit as Gunther tosses Miz. Drew McIntyre is in at #29 to make things a bit bigger. A bit of house is cleaned, including a heck of an overhead belly to belly to Ricochet. Jey superkicks Gunther almost to the apron but gets pulled out himself to end a rather long run. Sami Zayn is in at #30, giving us a final grouping of Rhodes, Gunther, Priest, Punk, Ricochet, McIntyre and Zayn. The pace picks up as Zayn goes after McIntyre, who recently beat him up pretty badly.

Priest avoids being tossed out but Ricochet can’t do the same as we’re down to six. A variety of suplexes and kicks ensue until Sami gets rid of Priest, only to be dumped by McIntyre. We’re down to Rhodes, Punk, Gunther and McIntyre and everyone needs a breather as Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns watch from a sky box. Gunther and Rhodes pair off as McIntyre chops away at Punk in the corner.

The Cody Cutter seems to wake Gunther up as he hits a hard clothesline to Rhodes. We get the McIntyre vs. Gunther staredown but they go back to what they were doing instead of fighting. A neckbreaker puts Punk down but the Claymore misses. The GTS is blocked and it’s the Glasgow Kiss to drop Punk again. Gunther sleepers Rhodes but gets Claymored by McIntyre. Another Claymore hits Rhodes and McIntyre is the only one standing.

There’s a Claymore to Punk to complete the set but McIntyre would rather yell at Punk than get him out. That’s enough for Punk to toss McIntyre, who looks absolutely crushed. Gunther dropkicks Punk and gives him a powerbomb before sending Rhodes to the apron. Rhodes pulls Gunther to the apron as well though and Gunther is out, leaving us with two. They slug it out and then slug it out some more with Punk getting the better of things.

Rhodes gets in a powerslam but the Cody Cutter is countered into some rolling German suplexes. That’s broken up but so is Cross Rhodes, allowing Punk to put him on the apron. Back in and Cross Rhodes connects, only for Punk to get in a desperation GTS. Punk gets him out to the apron but Rhodes is right back in, meaning it’s a Pedigree to take him down again. Another GTS is blocked though and Rhodes throws him out for the win at 1:08:16.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a Rumble with some entertaining spots throughout and a bunch of good stuff. The last bit felt epic and, despite Punk’s big injury (as he tore his tricep while fighting McIntyre), the final two had a heck of a showdown. Cody winning is the right call as he is on the way to his destiny in Philadelphia and he had to get there from here. I liked this one a lot as they kept things moving and I wasn’t bored at all.

Rhodes celebrates for a good while and points at Roman Reigns in the sky box (yeah don’t bother teasing that Rollins stuff as there is zero point in this case). Reigns holds up the title and looks a bit nervous.

The big highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B+. The Women’s Royal Rumble was the only thing close to a weak spot and even then it was good enough. The rest of the show was one hit after another as we are starting to get exactly what we need out of WWE. I liked this a good bit and you can feel the energy around here, which is rather nice to see. Heck of a show here, with Wrestlemania on the horizon as the really big prize.

Ratings Comparison

Women’s Royal Rumble

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton

Original: B-
Redo: B

Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul

Original: B
Redo: B

Men’s Royal Rumble

Original: B-
Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B+

I totally shortchanged the Men’s Royal Rumble the first time around as it’s way better than that.

 

 

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Survivor Series 2024
Date: November 30, 2024
Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s time to put some people in a cage big enough to wrap around a pair of rings. That’s pretty much all you need to know here, as you have Roman Reigns and the Bloodline facing Solo Sikoa and his version of the same thing. Normally I would say what else is going on here, but it’s not like anything else really matters. Let’s get to it.

Since we’re going to have two of them, here are the WarGames rules:

Two wrestlers start and fight for five minutes.

After five minutes, the team with the advantage (as determined before the match) gets a three minute advantage.

The teams alternate until all ten are in and then it’s first pin/submission to win.

The opening video looks at WarGames, mainly focusing on the men’s version. Nothing outside of WarGames is even mentioned.

The cage is lowered.

Team Ripley vs. Team Morgan

Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Naomi, Iyo Sky, Bayley
Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton, Candice LeRae

Bayley and Jax start things off with Bayley firing off the forearms. Jax charges into a boot in the corner and Bayley knocks her into the space between the rings. Some more forearms have Jax in trouble and Bayley gets smart by taking off part of her gear for some whipping. Unfortunately Jax takes it away and whips her right back to take over. The running hip attack rocks Bayley and Jax runs her over for a bonus.

Another hip attack crushes Bayley against the cage and it’s Naomi in….wearing a birthday hat and grabbing a colorful kendo stick…and a toilet seat. Oh here we go. Anyway Naomi strikes and kicks away at Jax and Bayley is back up as the fans chant HAPPY BIRTHDAY, which kind of takes away the violent thing. Jax is sent into the corner, where the toilet seat is put around her neck for the hips to the face from Naomi. Because of course.

Stratton is supposed to be in to even it up but LeRae comes in instead. She throws in a bunch of chairs before getting in herself, though thankfully everyone was standing around waiting on her anyway. That’s broken up rather quickly and the chairs are set up with another one bridged between them. Jax is back up and lays Bayley onto them for a very save moonsault from LeRae.

Belair is here to get the advantage back and she grabs a trashcan…and then gets a fire extinguisher. She’s STILL not in as she also finds a table, because we need about eight weapons in the double cage. That’s not enough either as she grabs another chair (because the five or so inside weren’t enough), which believe it or not somehow doesn’t let the villains take over. Instead Belair FINALLY gets in and helps beat Jax down, with the stomping slowly ensuing. Since it took Belair so long to get in, it’s already time for Stratton, who gets a trashcan and lid.

Belair gets clocked with the lid and Bayley is catapulted into Jax’s vicinity for a clothesline. Naomi gets crushed by the big legdrop and a middle rope G9 hits Belair. Some chair shots have Jax down and it’s Sky…running all the way over to the other side of the ring to find a purple trashcan. It comes with a rope attached so she can climb up with the can on her back, but LeRae is there to meet her.

Sky tries a sunset bomb but can’t make it work, eventually landing in the ring nearly two minutes after her entrance. A missile dropkick cuts LeRae down and it’s a flip off between Sky and Stratton (“I can do that too!”). The Bullet Train connects in the corners until Jax runs Sky over. Rodriguez is in to even things up again and she pulls out a table, which she leaves on the floor. Thankfully she gets in because NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING.

Jax and Rodriguez powerbomb people into the cage and onto each other until it’s Ripley in to complete her team (with a horned facemask as a bonus). Ripley brings the table in and gets to clean house as her partners get up. Jax and Rodriguez are knocked into the corner with weapons, including the toilet seat and Bayley using Belair’s hair as a whip in a great spot. LeRae and Rodriguez get in a few shots, but it’s Ripley standing alone as Morgan is supposed to come in, only to be scared to death instead.

Morgan teases leaving but comes back with a baseball mat and gets inside, meaning the match is officially on and can end at any time. Ripley takes off the facemask and says bring it, before easily disarming Morgan. The Riptide is broken up though and Ripley is held for some baseball bat shots to the ribs. That’s broken up and we hit the parade of knockdowns until Jax Samoan drops Bayley for two.

Sky and Stratton both head up, with Sky putting on the trashcan, before they both flip dive onto a pile of people in different rings. There’s your big spot, and it allows Stratton to pull out…the Money In The Bank briefcase, as both Jax and Morgan (the reigning champions) are both down. Sky breaks that up with a blast from the fire extinguisher and Ripley handcuffs Rodriguez to a rope.

Jax cuts Ripley off though and drops a leg on Belair for two. Bayley vs. Sky is teased but quickly cut off by Jax, who doesn’t like the idea of fun. The Annihilator is loaded up but turned into a double powerbomb through a table. Riptide is broken up by the handcuffed Rodriguez and Morgan Codebreakers a chair into Ripley’s face. They go up top and Ripley fights back, with a super Riptide through a table finishing Morgan at 38:05.

Rating: C-. Yeah this hasn’t gotten any better in a year, as it was much more about getting in spots than anything else. There were so many sections that were little more than waiting around for someone to come in, which just made the match feel long. It had a few moments, but forgive me for not getting into stuff with a toilet seat and Belair taking so long to pick out various weapons. Cut out a lot of time and it’s better, which is rarely a good sign.

We recap LA Knight defending the US Title against Shinsuke Nakamura. Knight is the popular champion but Nakamura returned and attacked him, setting up the title match.

US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight

Knight is defending and backs away from some early kicks. Nakamura takes him down for a kick to the back but Knight is right back with the stomps in the corner. They go outside with Knight ramming him into the apron, followed by a ribs first drop over the top back inside. Nakamura goes simple by kicking him in the face for two and the slow kicks have Knight in more trouble.

Knight pops back up and blocks a spinning kick, setting up a Burning Hammer of all things for two. They go up top, where Knight slips a bit, allowing Nakamura to kick him back down. A belly to back superplex flipped into a faceplant gives Nakamura two but Knight knocks him right back down. The jumping top rope elbow connects but Nakamura bails from the threat of a BFT. They fight between the rings, where Nakamura manages a reverse DDT. Kinshasa gives Nakamura the title at 9:47.

Rating: C+. I couldn’t quite get into this one, as they never got out of the low gears. Knight losing is a bit weird as well, as he was on fire at this point and Nakamura just popped up and won the title. If nothing else, it does give Knight a fresh target, but it’s kind of a weird way to get there.

We recap the Intercontinental Title triple threat. Bron Breakker is the unstoppable monster, Sheamus is the old fighter wanting the title and Ludwig Kaiser is here to make it a triple threat.

Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Breakker is defending. Kaiser gets smart by heading outside, leaving the other two to slug it out. That doesn’t last long as Kaiser comes back in and gets planted so Sheamus Irish Curses Breakker. Kaiser breaks up a powerbomb and wedges a chair into the corner, earning himself a double beating. Breakker isn’t about to let Sheamus hit the ten forearms but Kaiser breaks up the running spear.

Sheamus is dropkicked into the steps and rammed into the announcers’ table, only for Breakker to suplex Kaiser on the floor. Back in and Breakker knocks Sheamus down again, meaning it’s time for the Scott Steiner pushups. Sheamus fights back so Kaiser makes the save and they all go outside. Sheamus and Kaiser fight on the announcers’ table, with Breakker diving off the apron for a double clothesline.

Kaiser breaks out of a gorilla press with a rake to the eyes….but Sheamus rises up (great visual) for the ten forearms to the chest. Breakker tries to cut it off and gets forearmed as well. Sheamus’ double clothesline off the barricade drops them both so Kaiser grabs the shillelagh. You never take another man’s shillelagh so Sheamus clotheslines him over the barricade and throws it down, leaving him to go after Breakker.

Sheamus gets the better of the brawl and hits a Celtic Cross for two but Breakker catches him on top with the super Frankensteiner. Back up and the Super Spear hits the chair in the corner, allowing Sheamus to hit the Brogue Kick. Kaiser pulls the referee though and Sheamus is not pleased. Back in and Sheamus knees Kaiser down but Breakker runs Kaiser over. The Super Spear to Sheamus retains the title at 14:25.

Rating: B+. I can always go for a match that is exactly as advertised and that’s what we got here. This was about three people beating the fire out of each other and they didn’t do anything else. Even Kaiser, who isn’t known for his power offense, was getting his stuff in against the monsters. It was a lot of fun and Breakker is thriving in this style.

We recap Gunther defending the World Title against Damian Priest. Gunther beat Priest for the title with an assist from Finn Balor at Summerslam. Now it’s a rematch, with Gunther calling Priest street trash, which doesn’t sit well with Priest, as you might expect. Gunther is also coming off a loss at Crown Jewel, with Priest suggesting that Gunther is losing his aura.

Raw World Title: Damian Priest vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending. They take their time looking at each other until Gunther’s early headlock takeover doesn’t get him very far. Priest’s armdrags into armbars have Gunther in trouble and the threat of a spinning kick to the head sends him bailing outside. Back in and Priest runs him over with a shoulder, followed by something like a flapjack. Priest comes up favoring his shoulder though and you know Gunther knows what to do with that.

Gunther rams the arm into various things, followed by a hammerlock for some knees into the arm. The first big chop drops Priest again and Gunther cranks on both arms at the same time. Priest fights up and they hit big shots at the same time for a double down. Priest gets up and hits a running elbow in the corner, followed by a lifting Downward Spiral for two. Gunther tries a crossface chickenwing but Priest pulls him into a triangle choke, using his still fine legs.

That’s broken up so Priest tries the Razor’s Edge, which is reversed into a sleeper. The powerbomb gets two and Gunther goes up top, only to get caught by Priest. A super hurricanrana brings Gunther back down and the Razor’s Edge gets two, as Priest can’t hook the leg. The chokeslam doesn’t work as the arm gives out and Gunther pulls him into a Kimura.

Back up and Priest hits a heck of a clothesline before going up top. Gunther knocks him down and Priest seems to have hurt his other arm. Cue Finn Balor with a Coup de Grace off the steps to Priest. Gunther kicks him down as well, followed by the powerbomb and an arm trap sleeper to retain at 19:30.

Rating: B. It was good, though it was hard to buy that Priest had any kind of a chance to win here. The idea here was to have Gunther get his win over Priest without the interference…and then it was basically the same thing as Summerslam. The arm work was good stuff and Gunther knows how to pick an injury apart, which was exactly what we got here. Good match, though the ending was a bit disappointing.

We recap the men’s WarGames match, which is basically original Bloodline vs. Solo Sikoa’s new Bloodline. Bronson Reed joined the villains, but Paul Heyman brought in CM Punk to even it up, though he owes Punk a favor as a result.

Team Reigns vs. Team Sikoa

Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, CM Punk
Solo Sikoa, Bronson Reed, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa

Sikoa and company get in their cage so Punk reaches in for a shove, as he knows how to keep things interesting. Tama and Jey start things off after some rather lengthy introductions. The lengthy continues as they stare at each other for over a minute without making contact. Eventually Tama wins an early slugout and hits a quick slingshot splash for a cover, only to realize it doesn’t matter yet.

The fans tell him that he censored up, which seems a bit harsh. There’s no need to swear. Jey knocks him back into the corner for the running Umaga Attack and it’s Bronson Reed coming in for the evil advantage. Reed brings in chairs, which Jey throws at him, only for Reed to knock out of the air. Jey gets knocked down and crushed with a backsplash so the double teaming can ensue.

The fans want Jimmy and get him a few seconds later, with Jimmy being smart enough to run in and start slugging away instead of looking for weapons and allowing the villains to beat Jey down even more. Man, when JIMMY USO is the smart one, you’re in trouble. Something like an extra spinny Whisper In The Wind drops Reed and Tama as the Usos get to fight back. The stereo ten right hands in the corner have Reed and Tama staggered some more and Reed gets sent into the cage.

Loa is set to come in next but Sikoa sends in Fatu instead, as the fans know things just got serious. Fatu runs both Usos over, with Fatu hitting a handspring body block to send Jimmy into the cage, setting up a moonsault to Jey. Tama is back up to flip a lifted Jey down for a slam as the dominance is on. CM Punk is about to go in next, but Reigns cuts him off and sends Zayn in instead. You can imagine how well this goes with Punk, though thankfully Zayn is also smart enough to ignore the weapons (again, because they’re REALLY NOT NEEDED).

A clothesline drops Tama and Zayn punches Reed down in the corner as Punk is looking ticked off in the cage. Fatu pulls Zayn out of the air but Jimmy makes the save with a superkick. Reed is back up to start pounding away though and things even up a bit. Loa is in next and, since his team is mostly in control, he throws in some tables. The Usos and Zayn get caught in the corners for quite the beatings and Reigns is set to go in next, but Punk goes in front of him, which is pretty much in line for him.

Most of the other team is waiting on him so Punk steps back down and grabs a tool box, which is bounced off four straight heads. A bulldog sends Fatu onto the toolbox but he pops right back up and hits Punk with the pop up Samoan drop. The brawl heads towards the area between the rings and Sikoa is in to complete his team (albeit after saying something to Reigns).

Sikoa slams the door on Zayn’s head and then does it again to the Usos. With Sikoa inside, the Tongas lay out the Usos again and it’s a moonsault from Fatu into a Tsunami from Reed as the destruction continues. The clock is almost down so Sikoa uses a padlock and chain to lock the door. Reigns is freed from the cage and Sikoa and company stop to look at him, which doesn’t seem to be the best idea.

Reigns looks around the outside of the cage to find a way in and eventually realizes there’s no roof on the thing and goes up the side. Quite the collection of punches allows reigns to get in and a high crossbody off the top takes out all five of them at once. Reigns goes over to help his teammates up (not Punk) and gets in a big staredown with Punk, but here is Paul Heyman to cool things off. NOW we get the announcement that WarGames have officially begun, as apparently the last two minutes didn’t count.

We get the big ten way staredown and the ensuing fight as everyone pairs off. Sikoa’s Spike misses Reigns, who spears Punk (holding Fatu at the time) by mistake. Now the Spike connects with Reigns to give Sikoa two, leaving him looking stunned. Fatu and Reed go after Punk but Fatu seems to injure his knee on a moonsault attempt. Zayn and Jimmy are back up but get taken right back down, allowing a table to be set up. Reigns fights back but gets knocked onto the table…and Reed goes up.

Make that all the way up, as he climbs to the top of the cage for the Tsunami but Punk pulls Reigns out of the way. The crash results in Reed breaking his ankle, which would keep him out of action for a LONG time. Sikoa is back up with another Spike to Reigns but Jey makes the save with a superkick.

The 1D hits Fatu, which actually keeps him down for a change. Fatu is laid on a table but Jey gets sent into the cage. Zayn cuts Tama off with the Blue Thunder Bomb and Jimmy goes up to the top of the cage for a Superfly Splash to crush Fatu. With everyone else down, Sikoa is left alone against everyone else and it’s finishers a go-go, including a GTS into Reigns’ spear for the pin at 41:56.

Rating: B. The best thing I can say here is that it felt like a fight. This came off like two teams, even with one of them makeshift, going into a battleground and fighting until one of them was defeated. It did go too long, which you know is coming with one of these matches, but at least it wasn’t full of a bunch of weapons. They definitely needed to trim it down again as a lot of the early stuff feels worthless by the time you get to the huge brawl, though that’s all you get with modern WarGames matches. Good stuff here, though not without the usual issues.

Post match the winners get the big celebration and Punk and Reigns seem ok, though Punk doing the GTS pose while everyone else does the point is great. Punk hugs Heyman and Reigns looks at Heyman and they all go to the entrance to pose again, with Punk again doing a different gesture in a funny bit to wrap it up.

The long highlight package finishes things off.

Overall Rating: B. The thing with a show like this is that it is basically two matches with three others, including a nearly twenty minute World Title match, feeling like bonus features. The men’s version was pretty awesome but the women’s match was quite the misfire. Throw in three other matches which were good enough to bring the show up a bit and we’ll call the whole thing a solid enough event. Just fix the women’s match.

 

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

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Survivor Series 2018
Date: November 18, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,325
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the second redo of the year and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. I remember this one a little bit better than some of the more recent shows for some reason and I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. It’s hard to say how well these things hold up but that’s kind of what I’m going for here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Teams vs. Raw Tag Teams

Smackdown: Usos, New Day, Sanity, Anderson And Gallows, Colons

Raw: Bobby Roode/Chad Gable, Revival, B-Team, Lucha House Party, Ascension

Kofi Kingston, Alexander Wolfe and Gran Metalik are the odd members out here. New Day, with blue pancakes this time, handles the Smackdown introductions to stretch things out a bit more. Kalisto and Epico start things off with Kalisto kicking at the legs and trying his handstand hurricanrana…which he leaves short so Epico has to kick him in the ribs instead.

A suplex gives Epico two as the apron looks ridiculous with so many people up there. Hold on though as Kalisto injures his knee so it’s off to Dorado for a quick splash. Kalisto comes back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down, allowing Primo to come in and hit a basement dropkick. Primo is sent into Epico and knocks him off the apron by mistake. Dawson makes a blind tag through and it’s a quick Shatter Machine to get rid of the Colons at 3:10.

Anderson comes in to clothesline Wilder and hits the Rocket Kick in the corner. Axel comes in to stomp on Anderson…and Metalik has taken Kalisto’s place, which we’re just allowing to happen because no one listened to Monsoon and Ventura explain the rules. Stomping in the corner ensues but Axel spends a bit too much time fist pumping, allowing Anderson to roll Dallas up for the elimination at 5:02.

It’s off to Dain vs. Gable after we nearly got Gable vs. Big E. in the match I didn’t know I needed to see. Dain hits a quick Divide for two so it’s Young coming in for two of his own off a neckbreaker. Roode makes the save and it’s a neckbreaker/moonsault combination to finish Young at 6:32. Konnor comes in to kick Big E. in the face but gets pulled into the spanking abdominal stretch. It’s off to Woods, who gets tossed with a fall away slam in short order. Viktor grabs a chinlock but Woods fights up for a discus forearm. Just to show off, Woods lifts Big E. onto his shoulders for a splash to finish Viktor at 8:48.

The Luchas try to go after Gallows and it goes as well as you would expect. Dorado has to slip out of the Magic Killer and it’s a Stunner to Gallows. Anderson gets hurricanranaed into the ropes and it’s the Luchas hitting stereo Asai moonsaults onto Anderson and Gallows. Back in and a rope walk Swanton gets rid of Anderson at 10:40 as the apron is finally clearing out a bit.

We’re down to the Usos/New Day vs. Roode/Gable/Revival/Lucha House Party so Jimmy comes in for the first time. Dorado chops him into a rollup for two and a Lionsault gets the same. Jey comes in off a blind tag and comes pretty close to catching Dorado in a Samoa drop for the pin at 11:57.

It’s Dawson coming in to grab Woods and a Wilder distraction lets him get in a cheap shot to really take over. Dawson misses a charge though and Woods hits a dropkick, allowing the double tag to Big E. and Wilder. Big E. clotheslines Dawson outside but gets rolled up for two, allowing Gable to come in for a suplex. Rolling Chaos Theory into a neckbreaker gets two on Big E. and everything breaks down with Wilder hitting a tornado DDT on Woods on the floor.

That means the dive from Big E., leaving Roode and Gable alone in the ring. Roode backdrops him onto everyone else but Jey superkicks Roode down. Jey does the GLORIOUS pose and dives onto the pile rather than, you know, covering the knocked silly Roode. Just to get nuts, Gable German superplexes Jimmy onto everyone else for the big crash. Back in and Woods hits Roode with the Honor Roll, leaving Big E. to catch Gable’s moonsault. That means UpUpDownDown to finish Gable at 18:33 but Dawson sends Big E. outside.

Woods goes up for the rope walk….undetermined move that is countered into the Shatter Machine to tie us up at 19:31. It’s the Usos vs. Revival and a slugout goes to the non-brothers. A reverse powerbomb/top rope clothesline (felt like a Steiner Bulldog with some miscommunication) gets two on Jey so Jimmy enziguris Dawson. Wilder is back up though and we go old school with a PowerPlex for two as Jey has to make a diving save. The Shatter Machine is broken up and it’s a bunch of superkicks to set up the Superfly Splash (with a Roman Reigns fist pump on the way down) for the pin at 23:15.

Rating: C. It was fun once they got down to the last bit but sweet goodness there was too much going on here. There is only so much you can do with enough people for a nice battle royal at first, plus seconds on the floor. It’s an idea that makes sense but when so many of these teams are looked at as jokes, they would have been better off cutting this in half and doing individual eliminations. Still though, perfectly watchable, especially once they got rid of the dead weight.

The opening video focuses entirely on the battle for Brand Supremacy because that’s all this show is about anymore. Even the huge champion vs. champion matches are just part of Raw vs. Smackdown.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Bayley, Sasha Banks

Smackdown: Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Asuka

The injured Alexa Bliss and Naomi are the captains, which is Naomi comes out second for her team. This is fallout from the moment of the year with Becky Lynch and Smackdown invading Raw, setting up Nia Jax punching Becky in the face and putting her on the shelf, setting up the main event of Wrestlemania and changing their careers forever. It’s funny how that works somehow no?

Naomi and Tamina start things off as the fans want Becky. A dropkick sends Tamina into the ropes and everything breaks down in a hurry. Naomi’s Disaster Kick puts Nia on the floor but Tamina hits a superkick to get rid of Naomi at 1:21. Carmella is right back in to roll Tamina up and get us down to 4-4 at 1:32. The fall leaves Carmella alone in the ring so DANCE BREAK.

Nia comes in behind her and Carmella’s rollup has no effect, as expected. Therefore it’s off to Mandy, who gets taken down with a single knee. That means it’s Mickie coming in for two off a neckbreaker but Mandy is right back up with an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up in a hurry though and it’s off to a quickly escaped Muta Lock. Asuka comes in to face Mickie, which Cole says is a match everyone would want to see. Then watch it from Takeover: Toronto on the Network!

Asuka starts with the hip attack into the dance, setting up the Octopus Hold. Sonya comes in to charge into Mickie’s boot and a snapmare takes her down. Bayley tags herself in and Mickie is rather annoyed, even as Banks comes in for the double knees in the corner. Now it’s Mickie tagging herself back in for the super Thesz press but Sonya knees her in the face. That should finish but Mandy tags herself in and steals the elimination at 7:38.

Sonya doesn’t know what to think, even as Bayley runs in for two off a rollup. The Moon Walk DDT lets Carmella mock Banks but she walks into the Bayley to Belly for the elimination at 9:12. Mandy comes in and stomps away at Bayley as the announcers get into their usual bickering session that has nothing to do with the match. Bayley kicks her away and brings in Banks to take over in a hurry, including the Bank Statement for the tap at 10:49.

Asuka comes in and takes over on Banks, allowing Sonya to grab a bodyscissors and shout a lot. That doesn’t last long either as it’s Banks getting up and bringing in Bayley for the waving running knee in the corner. A spinebuster gives Sonya two with Jax making the save and earning some of the loudest booing of her career.

Jax goes shoulder first into the post and Asuka kicks her to the floor, only to get caught by the Meteora from Banks. Bayley and Sonya tackle each other to the floor and it’s a Bayley to Belly….but neither can beat the count at 15:18. That leaves us with Nia/Sasha vs. Asuka with Banks coming in for the team. Asuka knocks her down and shows off the Smackdown top before hitting a knee to the face. A heck of a German suplex puts Banks down and a hip attack knocks Jax off the apron.

Banks trips her up to send Asuka into the apron but she’s right back with a missile dropkick for two. The Asuka Lock is broken up and the running knees in the corner crush Asuka again. Banks goes up but Nia shoves her off the top for some reason, meaning it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap at 19:36. Nia comes in and drops a bunch of legs before finishing with the Samoan drop at 20:15.

Rating: C. You have to remember that Nia was public enemy #1 at this point and pushing her as the monster like this made sense. Normally I would complain about pushing someone who has a history of injuring people and who is hardly interesting in the first place, but WWE has shown their love for Jax for a long time and no amount of complaining is going to change a thing.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 0

Stephanie McMahon, in that instantly irritating way of speaking, tells Acting General Manager Baron Corbin that he better win the rest of the matches if he wants to have the job permanently. Shane McMahon and General Manager Paige come in and suggest Raw will be feeling blue. More trash talk ensues with Shane looking forward to Corbin being fired. This kind of banter is just horrible and feels so forced, which is why it almost never goes away in WWE.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw (Intercontinental) vs. Smackdown (United States) champion vs. champion here. Yes Nakamura is wrestling in the blue shirt over his jumpsuit, because A BIG BLUE JUMPSUIT doesn’t tell you which brand he is on. Rollins goes after the arm to start but Nakamura slips out and invites Rollins to COME ON. The wristlocking is back on as they seem to have a lot of time here.

A way too early missed Kinshasa attempt lets Rollins do his own COME ON. The threat of a ripcord knee sends Nakamura to the apron and Rollins onto the top for some lounging. Nakamura sends him to the apron though and it’s the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes to put Nakamura on the floor. That means the suicide dive, but since that is the most obvious move ever, it gets cut off with a kick to the face instead.

Back in and Nakamura works on a double chickenwing, plus a front facelock to mix it up a bit. Rollins fights up and sends him into the corner, setting up the Sling Blade for a breather. Nakamura gets thrown outside for the back to back suicide dives but two is a nasty number in wrestling so there’s a third. The springboard clothesline gets two back inside and things slow down a bit. Rollins’ suplex is escaped and Nakamura kicks him in the face, followed by the running knee to the ribs in the corner.

A Backstabber….doesn’t do much for Nakamura as Rollins is right back up with a superkick for two. Rollins slugs away but his clothesline is countered into a triangle. Since it’s Rollins, the traditional powerbomb counter is swapped for a Buckle Bomb instead, which at least gives us some variety. The ripcord knee is broken up again and Nakamura’s Landslide gets two. In a bit of a rare move, Nakamura goes up top, earning himself the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for a nice near fall.

They slug it out with Nakamura daring him to swing harder so it’s a reverse exploder to drop Rollins. Kinshasa misses though and it’s the ripcord knee for a close two. The frog splash misses though and Nakamura’s running knee to the back of the head gives him his own two. Nakamura still can’t hit Kinshasa so Rollins superkicks him, only to miss the Stomp. Kinshasa misses again though and it’s the Stomp to give Rollins the pin at 21:27.

Rating: B. It was very good though I was left wanting and expecting more. These two can be great against each other, though it is another case of Nakamura never rising up to that next level. He is still very entertaining and someone worth watching almost every time, but his big matches always feel a bit disappointing. Still though, rather hard hitting back and forth match, which is exactly why these two were out there. It’s rather good, just not great.

Raw – 2

Smackdown – 0

Braun Strowman doesn’t like his partners on the Raw men’s team and he doesn’t even know who Bobby Lashley is. If they don’t help him win tonight, they’re getting these hands. Drew McIntyre says he’s in charge and violence is about to ensue so here’s Corbin to remind Strowman that he can’t touch him. Instead, Strowman throws Lio Rush at Corbin to let off some steam. Cue R-Truth for the pep talk, until he is reminded that he’s not on the team. Confused R-Truth may be one of my all time favorite gags.

The Bar vs. AOP

Smackdown vs. Raw in a battle of the Tag Team Champions with Big Show and Drake Maverick as the thirds. Rezar throws Sheamus into the corner to start as Byron accuses Drake of drinking….cuckoo juice? The Bar gets in some double teaming on Akam and, after the catchphrase, the Swing has to be broken up. Akam takes the Swing instead, only to have Rezar come back in for the backbreaker/middle rope stomp combination to take over.

The chinlock goes on before Akam just powers Cesaro down and hammers away. Rezar knees Cesaro in the face for two so Sheamus tries to come in, allowing Cesaro to grab a rollup for….well nothing actually as the referee is with Sheamus. Not the best plan there man. Cesaro’s uppercuts don’t do much good as Rezar takes him right back down and grabs a chinlock.

That’s broken up as well and it’s the springboard uppercut to allow the tag to Sheamus. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the Brogue Kick to Rezar with Maverick putting the foot on the rope. The chase is on until Cesaro knocks Maverick down, allowing Show to grab him. Maverick is so scared that he, ahem, relieves himself in fear. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Sheamus at 9:04.

Rating: D+. This was a pretty boring power match with both teams only going in spurts until the big joke of an ending. There is only so far you can go with that as the big joke and you can imagine where things are going to go as a result. I mean, the fact that this show is now a year old makes it easier to figure out, but that doesn’t make it better.

Raw – 3

Smackdown – 0

The Miz has Shane McMahon fire up Team Smackdown. R-Truth is here as well to talk about getting on the Smackdown roster. He already is, which is a relief as Raw is a mess.

We recap Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight Title. Ali won a match to become #1 contender and now we have the title match. The idea here is the champ vs. the never will be champ as Ali tries to grab the brass ring again. Sometimes it really can be that simple.

Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali is challenging. They start fast with Murphy’s power not exactly working as he drives Ali into the corner, only to have him flip over the champ. That means a dropkick to the floor into the big flip dive but Ali’s back is banged up. The second dive is blocked with a shove off the top into the barricade, followed by some rams into the apron. A heck of a backdrop sets up the chinlock with a knee in the back until Ali jawbreaks his way out of trouble.

The rolling X Factor is countered with a show to the floor though and Murphy hits his own running flip dive. Back in and Ali scores with a superkick into a tornado hanging DDT (awesome) for his own two. The 054 (I miss that) is broken up with a shove to the floor and this time it’s Ali’s face hitting the apron on the way down.

Murphy loads up the announcers’ table but Ali hits a Spanish Fly down to the floor again because he’s crazy and can do stuff like that. Back in and Murphy is fine enough to hit a superkick into a pair of powerbombs for two before kneeing him out of the air. Murphy’s Law retains the title at 12:20.

Rating: B-. It was entertaining, it was hard hitting, and almost no one cared because there is little reason to be interested in 205 Live. The wrestling can be very entertaining and some of the matches are great, but the show is as important as a bicycle to a fish. That has been a problem since the show debuted and it isn’t going to get better in the future.

When asked about his recent heel turn, Daniel Bryan….just smiles.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Raw: Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler

Smackdown: Shane McMahon, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy

Corbin (at ringside but not on the team) and M are the captains. Strowman and McIntyre nearly get in a fight before the bell but Strowman gets to start….until McIntyre tags himself in after about three seconds. The Koquina Clutch has Drew in early trouble but he backflips out and Claymores Joe for the pin at 37 seconds. I’m going to assume Joe was hurt (again), or we need Shane to get more ring time.

After a quick meeting, Hardy comes in second with the fans going to the DELETE chants in a hurry. Jeff tries running around a bit, earning himself a hard clothesline so Ziggler can come in. Shane tags himself in for a rematch of Crown Jewel, because that nightmare needs to be touched on again. A dropkick rocks Shane, who is right back with some armdrags. The Fameasser gets two but Shane scores with a spinning elbow. The jumping elbow is countered into the Zig Zag but Miz makes his own save.

Strowman comes in but McIntyre tags himself in again, meaning it’s on in a hurry. For some reason Smackdown breaks it up so they can gang up on Strowman, who isn’t having it. Rey manages a 619 though and they head outside with Strowman getting knocked onto the announcers’ table. The big Shane elbow knocks them both out, because WE NEED TO GET THAT IN. Back in and Miz kicks Drew down for one as we see Paige and Stephanie watching backstage. As long as they don’t talk, I’m good.

McIntyre gets away to go over for the tag….but he won’t do it, even as Balor yells at him to make the tag. Instead McIntyre smacks Miz in the face, allowing Balor to tag himself in. Balor kicks McIntyre down before kicking Miz in the head, followed by the baseball slide. Back in and the Sling Blade rocks Rey and a dropkick puts him in the corner. The Coup de Grace misses though and it’s a 619 into the springboard splash to tie it up at 12:04.

McIntyre is right there to deck the eliminated Balor so Lashley tags himself in to throw Rey into the corner. The delayed vertical suplex is delayed too long though as Rey rolls out and hits an enziguri. It’s Ziggler’s turn to tag himself in so Rey faceplants him and brings in Hardy. Everything breaks down and Hardy tornado DDTs McIntyre on the floor, allowing Ziggler to grab the running DDT for two on Jeff. The rapid pace comeback is on for Jeff, but the Swanton hits raised knees.

For some reason this hurts the knees this time so Mysterio is able to bring Miz in. The beating is on in the corner and it’s Shane coming back in for Coast to Coast to eliminate Ziggler and cement Shane as Best in the World (remember he beat Ziggler in the finals) to make it 4-3 at 18:10.

Lashley is back in to suplex Shane right over to Miz, who gets beaten up this time around. Miz gets in a few shots of his own to set up the running clothesline. It’s back to Shane for ANOTHER Coast to Coast, though thankfully Strowman chops him out of the air. Strowman comes in and wastes no time with the powerslam to eliminate Hardy at 20:45. That leaves Strowman/McIntyre/Lashley vs. Mysterio/Miz/McMahon, and the powerslam takes Mysterio out at 21:26.

Miz starts to panic (Graves: “Does this mean there won’t be a Marine 7”) and it’s another powerslam for the pin at 22:27. Shane is alone against the monsters and you can feel the fans panicking from here. Shane pulls himself up to face Strowman and says bring it on, so Strowman dropkicks him into the corner (Graves: “A T-REX DROPKICK!”) and hits the third powerslam for the pin at 24:01.

Rating: D+. This doesn’t hold up as it’s another Shane showcase, with one big spot after another and Shane getting to go out there and look like the toughest man in the company. Raw winning was more confusing than anything else as it already guarantees them the night, but they did have me believing that they might have had Shane pull the miracle. Consider that great selling or really sad.

Raw – 4

Smackdown – 0

Post match Corbin jumps Strowman and poses with McIntyre and Lashley.

Here’s how to help victims of the California wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Seth Rollins has been focused on Dean Ambrose as of late but for tonight, he’s due for an ice bath and some cold ones. Charly tells him that he has to defend the Intercontinental Title against Ambrose at TLC. Rollins likes the idea because Ambrose will have nothing left to hide behind.

We recap Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey. This was supposed to be Becky Lynch vs. Rousey but then destiny happened in the form of the mega brawl on Raw and Becky’s face being broken. Becky picked Charlotte to take her place, which was out of left field but they didn’t have another option.

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte

Raw vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion so we get the Big Match Intros. Rousey (with the ridiculous eye makeup) starts swinging early so Charlotte grabs her by the ropes and throws her down. The armbar is blocked and Charlotte has to flip out of Piper’s Pit to get us to a standoff. Charlotte grabs a headlock and sends her face first into the bottom buckle to really take over for the first time. It’s time to start on the leg as Rousey is bleeding from the mouth.

She’s fine enough for an enziguri to get a breather and what looked like a triangle over the top has Charlotte in trouble for a change. Charlotte crotches her on top but Rousey is right back with a triangle. That’s reversed into a Boston crab but Natural Selection is blocked. The armbar is blocked again so Charlotte goes up, only to have the moonsault hit raised boots. Rousey spends too much time yelling though and gets speared in half for two.

The Figure Four goes on until Rousey turns it over, with Rousey managing to talk trash while screaming at the same time. They roll to the floor and Rousey is all fired up, meaning it’s time to start striking away. Some chops knock Rousey into the corner and Rousey looks shaken for the first time.

Another chop is blocked so Charlotte gets two off a big boot. Rousey is right back with a hurricanrana and Piper’s Pit but Charlotte gets away from the armbar again. It’s time for a breather on the floor and Charlotte is smart enough to break the count for an extra break. Rousey isn’t waiting so she goes out after her, only to walk into a kendo stick shot from Charlotte for the DQ at 14:10.

Rating: A-. This felt like the main event level match that they were hoping for, which is all the more impressive given Rousey’s complete lack of experience. She knows how to feel like a big deal and Charlotte having to use her natural abilities to counter all of the submissions was a great story. Charlotte snapping and admitting that she can’t beat Rousey worked perfectly too and I had a great time with this all around.

Raw – 5

Smackdown – 0

Post match the beating is on with the referee having to take the chair away from Charlotte. She isn’t done though and it’s Natural Selection onto the chair to knock Ronda silly. Charlotte beats up the referees trying to make the save and wraps the chair around Rousey’s neck. Pillmanizing ensues and Charlotte’s eyes are bugging out. Fans: “THANK YOU CHARLOTTE!” Rousey takes a long time to get up but does it on her own, because PILLMANIZING SOMEONE’S NECK IS A FIVE MINUTE ANNOYANCE!

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan, which is a rapid fire change as Bryan only turned heel and won the title five days before this show. Therefore, the entire video is about Bryan’s turn, setting up the match here. It was annoying, but since WWE didn’t want AJ losing to Brock, they had him lose to Bryan instead. That is the kind of logic only WWE can go with and no, it still doesn’t sound like an intelligent idea.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

Battle of the World Champions with Brock trying to complete the Raw sweep. Bryan mocks Lesnar during his entrance and smiles a lot. A running dropkick to Lesnar’s knee starts things off as the mind games are on. Bryan heads outside for a run around the ring so Lesnar follows him, only to have Bryan run back inside and mocks Brock’s bounce. Brock comes back in and hits Bryan in the face as things change in a hurry.

The first German suplex has Bryan nearly done on the apron so Brock starts a SUPLEX CITY chant in a great heel move. The second German suplex has Heyman worried and the third has Bryan rocked again. An overhead belly to belly puts Bryan on the floor and Lesnar even gets to pose with the title. Brock throws him hard into the barricade and we hit the bearhug with Cole saying this isn’t about brand supremacy anymore. Then what the heck is it about now Cole? And what has the last hour and a half been about?

More suplexes ensue and the fans are not happy with the repetitive Lesnar offense. The second bearhug makes it even worse and Brock throws another overhead belly to belly. The F5 connects (Brock: “Goodnight everybody!”) but Brock pulls him up at two. Bryan kicks him in the face twice and, after a ref bump, gets in a low blow. The running knee connects for two (how Bryan won the title) so Bryan kicks away to put Brock down in the corner.

A bunch of stomps to the face have Brock stunned and Bryan low bridges him to the floor. The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air but Bryan slips out and posts him. Bryan tries the suicide dive though and gets posted hard to cut off the big rally. The steps are picked up but only hit the post, allowing Bryan to hit another knee. Back in and another running knee gives Bryan another two as Heyman is losing his mind.

Bryan switches gears by going after the knee with a chop block and a wrap around the post. Lesnar is sent into the corner for the running dropkicks (or a running knee and a running attack from Cole) but he pulls Bryan into the F5….as the knee gives out. The YES Lock goes on but Bryan makes the mistake of switching to a triangle, which is reversed into the F5 for the pin at 18:43.

Rating: B+. It’s nearly a copy of the same match that Brock had with AJ last year but it was still a heck of a fight with Bryan coming close to picking up the upset. That being said, it’s still the brand new WWE Champion losing clean five days after he won the title. I know WWE MUST DO THE BRAND SUPREMACY deal but was there really no better option for something like this? Like AJ vs. Brock II with a countout or something? Annoying, but at least it came after an awesome match.

Raw – 6

Smackdown – 0

Bryan smiles at Lesnar to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well they threw the Brand Supremacy stuff out the window at about the halfway point, leaving the wrestling to carry the rest. As luck would have it, the last two matches were awesome and left me wanting more so well done all around there. Some of the matches aren’t that great with no particularly good Survivor Series matches, but what we got for the rest of the show was quite entertaining, even if the core concept was lost.

Ratings Comparison

Raw Tag Teams vs. Smackdown Tag Teams

Original: D+

2019 Redo: C

Smackdown Women vs. Raw Women

Original: C

2019 Redo: C

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

AOP vs. The Bar

Original: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Original: C+

2019 Redo: D+

Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey

Original: B

2019 Redo: A-

Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: A-

2019 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2019 Redo: B

The two main events almost swapping is interesting but, other than the men’s Survivor Series match, this is all in the same ballpark or identical.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/18/survivor-series-2018-layeth-the-smackdown-down/

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

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

AND

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

More Awesome Battle Royals
Commentators: Michael Cole, The Miz, Antonio Cesaro, Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, Kaitlyn, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield, Gorilla Monsoon, Lord Alfred Hayes, Chris Cruise, Larry Zbyszko, Roddy Piper, Jim Ross, Les Thatcher

See there are battle royals, and then there are awesome battle royals, but these are the battle royals that were awesome, but not quite awesome enough to make the original batch. Yeah there isn’t much to say about a set like this, but that’s the case with most battle royals. I have no idea what they can do to fill in nearly two more hours of this stuff but let’s get to it.

From Main Event, December 26, 2012.

Battle Royal

Brodus Clay, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Darren Young, Drew McIntyre, Epico, Great Khali, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Justin Gabriel, Primo, Santino Marella, Ted DiBiase Jr., Titus O’Neil, Tyson Kidd, Wade Barrett, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder

For a future US Title shot against Antonio Cesaro, on commentary. A bunch of people go after Khali to start so he tosses Tatsu without much trouble. Primo is tossed as commentary discusses battle royal strategy. The Prime Time Players go after Khali, which goes as well as you would expect. Cesaro and Miz argue about their accomplishments, with Miz listing off his rather impressive resume, which would only get bigger.

Things slow WAY down until McIntyre (a good 40lbs lighter than he would later become) is out, but he pulls Kidd out as well. Gabriel and Mahal are out too, triggering a brawl at ringside and a likely tag match. We take a break and come back with Jey Uso being tossed and Regal going out after him. Marella tries to hammer on Epico in the corner but gets sent to the apron. That just lets Marella skin the cat and pull Epico out, leaving Clay and Khali to slug it out. Khali kicks him in the head and tosses him out. Some big chops have O’Neil in trouble and Jimmy Uso is out as well.

More chops have more people in quite the agony as we take another break. We come back with the Prime Time Players circling Khali and they get him on the mat, which is a rather dumb idea in a battle royal, with Cesaro pointing out the idiocy. The Players finally annoy Khali too much so he dumps both of them, plus Rhodes (with a nasty chop) and Sandow.

We’re down to Marella, Ryder, Barrett and Khali, with Marella hitting the Cobra on Barrett. Ryder goes after Barrett but Marella tosses Ryder out. Barrett gets rid of Marella, leaving Barrett and Khali. A big boot puts Khali down and Barrett hammers away but Khali shrugs that and chops him out for the win at 18:16.

Rating: C+. Khali was oddly motivated here and put in more effort than I’ve seen from him…maybe ever really. I love seeing this kind of thing as it’s such a nothing, random battle royal that it made me wonder who was going to win. That’s a nice feeling to have and it didn’t feel anywhere near as long as it came off. Nice job.

From Saturday Night’s Main Event XXIX.

Battle Royal

Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts, Tanaka, Shawn Michaels, Kato, Earthquake, Jimmy Snuka, Marty Jannetty, Warlord, Mr. Perfect, Haku, Greg Valentine, Tugboat, Jim Duggan, British Bulldog, Hercules, Paul Roma, Big Boss Man, Texas Tornado, Barbarian

It’s a brawl to start with Hogan choking Earthquake in the corner, with Roberts helping him out. Jannetty gets rid of Roman, who knocks Jannetty out as well. We settle down to a bunch of slow fighting, with Perfect being brave enough to go to the middle rope for a right hand to Boss Man. Hogan and Valentine take turns elbowing Perfect in the head as Bulldog is tossed out.

Kato is sent out and Roberts follows him, only to get the snake out and basically bring the match to a screeching halt. We take a break and come back with Tugboat and Hogan slugging out it, which is broken up by Warlord, earning him some praise from fans everywhere. Hogan dumps Warlord and Tornado is tossed as well. Earthquake gets rid of Duggan but gets tossed by Hogan. Kato is eliminated but Tugboat gets rid of Hogan in a surprise.

Hercules and Tugboat are tossed as well and it’s suddenly a midcard match. Boss Man slugs away at Perfect, who dropkicks him into a backdrop from Barbarian for the elimination. Michaels dropkicks Haku out and we’re down to Michaels, Perfect, Valentine and Barbarian. A dropkick staggers Perfect but Michaels is sent out, leaving us with three. Valentine manages to get rid of Barbarian and gives Perfect a heck of a chop. Some elbows let Valentine send Perfect to the apron but Perfect sends him out for the win at 12:31.

Rating: C. As was the case with the other Saturday Night’s Main Event battle royal, the match just DIES when Hogan is eliminated. It doesn’t help that Hogan was eliminated by Tugboat of all people, as that made for a rather pathetic moment. Perfect winning is fine, but this was disappointing to say the least.

From Monday Night Raw, April 22, 2013.

Divas Battle Royal

AJ Lee, Aksana, Naomi, Tamina Snuka, Layla

Yeah five women for a future Divas Title shot. AJ jumps into Tamina’s arms to start and gets kicked in the face for her efforts. Layla (who should be the crowd favorite as we’re in England but receives no reaction because…well look at the match) kicks Aksana out and Naomi/Layla hip attack Tamina. Naomi is out as Kaitlyn jokes about Layla’s gear being flag themed, with Cole trying to avoid various commentary. Layla kicks Tamina out and AJ is still out cold off the superkick. She picks the dead weight AJ up…and AJ tosses her out to win at 3:19.

Rating: D. If you only have five women for a battle royal, just don’t have the battle royal. This was in that weird period for the women where they had some people who were trying but it was still not exactly being taken seriously. Hence a five woman battle royal which lasted about three minutes and featured one of them being laid out for a good while.

From WCW Saturday Night, November 8, 1997.

Lucha Libre Battle Royal

Lizmark Jr., Super Calo, Villano IV, Villano V, Silver King, Hector Garza, El Dandy, Ciclope, La Parka, Halloween, Psychosis, Damien, Juventud Guerrera

Ok then. It’s a brawl to start and Dusty Rhodes is having WAY too much fun with this. Halloween is out and Damien misses a running dropkick in the corner. Lizmark moonsaults onto Damien and Rhodes is THRILLED with El Dandy being involved. The Villanos take over and Psychosis tosses Ciclope for a NASTY crash on the floor. Damien is out and Guerrera punches his way out of a powerbomb from Lizmark. Dandy tosses Lizmark (more like Lizmark tosses himself), sending Dusty into “ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! EL DANDY IS STILL IN THERE!”.

The Villanos are both out at the same time (Rhodes: “They’re kin. They might as well go out together.”) and King is dropkicked out as well. Garza is backdropped out and Dandy gets rid of Calo, only to be kicked out by Parka (Rhodes: “Bless his heart. He did good!”). Guerrera monkey flips Parka and hits a heck of a springboard spinwheel kick. Psychosis gets Guerrera in an electric chair but Parka chairs Guerrera in the back and they’re both out, giving Parka the win at 7:00.

Rating: C+. Dusty Rhodes was the absolute star of this thing as he was having an absolute ball with the match. There are very few things as fun as listening to an energized Dusty Rhodes doing commentary when he gets to have fun and that was on full display here. The match was nothing, but dang the commentary was a blast.

From sometime in the mid to late 80s (possible December 1, 1986 in Fayetteville, North Carolina).

Bunkhouse Stampede

Ricky Morton, Bobby Eaton, Bill Dundee, Jimmy Garvin, Robert Gibson, Jimmy Valiant, Manny Fernandez, Italian Stallion, Krusher Khrushchev, Dennis Condrey, Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, Paul Ellering, Animal, Ivan Koloff, Tim Horner, Bobby Jaggers, Don Kernoodle, Barry Windham

I’m not even going to try to list everyone here as the audio isn’t great and the camera angles miss a bunch of the entrances anyway. It looks like we have about twenty in there but there is no commentary so it’s even more confusing. Some trashcan lids are brought in to make things even more violent though there are only so many elimination attempts. Fernandez and….someone go outside and seem to be out as Animal trashcan lids Koloff.

Horner (I think) is out as the ring is still way too full for much of note to go on. Jaggers is out and so is Khrushchev, who pulls someone with him. There goes Kernoodle as Anderson chokes Morton and Ron Garvin is out. Morton is tossed as the ring is finally clearing out a bit. Morton helps Gibson get rid of Rude, only for Gibson to be eliminated as well. Valiant is out and there goes Jimmy Garvin, followed by Ellering. We’re down to Anderson, Eaton, Animal, Condrey and…I think it’s Barry Windham.

Either way, Animal gets rid of Anderson and Condrey is tossed, followed by who I believe was Windham. That leaves Animal to hit Eaton with some kind of a whip plus a dropkick. Condrey gets in a cheap shot from the floor but Animal fights back and gets rid of Eaton for the win at 12:48.

Rating: C+. You can only get so much out of something like this as it’s just a wild brawl, but that’s the entire point. The idea was something like “come as you are” so a lot of them were in street clothes to make it feel more authentic. Then again there were also a bunch of trashcan lids involved so it could only be so serious. Good, fun brawl here though and a nice hidden surprise.

From Prime Time Wrestling, July 6, 1992.

Battle Royal

Beau Beverly, Blake Beverly, Virgil, Skinner, Koko B. Ware, Kato, Owen Hart, Brian Knobbs, Duane Gill, Jerry Sags, Tito Santana, Texas Tornado, Joe Mato, Tatanka, Jim Brunzell, Bret Hart, Barry Horowitz, Ron Starr, Sgt. Slaughter, Rick Martel, Ted DiBiase, IRS, Bret Johnson, Berzerker, JA Gooden, C. Martinez, Bob Bradley, Bob Knight, Bruce Mitchell, Gary Davis, Joe Holland, Jim Powers, Al Hunter, Scott Palantonio, Barry Hardy, Nick Ganger, British Bulldog

I got at least seven or eight of those jobbers’ names wrong, though they did at least get individual entrances. Berzerker is on the floor and pulls one of the jobbers out and beats him up, leaving Hayes to mock the guy for getting this kind of a match. Various jobbers are tossed out as commentary has no idea who these people are thus far. Berzerker finally gets inside as Powers is tossed out.

We take a break and come back with Martel and Gill being tossed out. Skinner dumps Tatanka and Santana does the same to DiBiase, followed by IRS going out. Owen and Virgil are gone too and the Beverlys and Bret are out as well. There goes Kato as the ring is suddenly FAR less full.

Sags is tossed and we’re down to Skinner, Bulldog, Berzerker, Santana, Ware and Tornado. Ware and Santana are tossed out rather quickly and Skinner actually gets Bulldog out. We’re down to Berzerker, Tornado and Skinner, which is one of the weirdest final groupings I’ve ever seen. Tornado slugs away at both of them but Berzerker comes back for the double elimination and the win at 9:58.

Rating: D+. Yeah not much to this one, with a good chunk of the entrants being jobbers who commentary couldn’t even identify. The idea here was to just have a spectacle of a match and that went well enough. They didn’t do anything special but again, the whole appeal was in having that many people involved at once, which went fine.

From New York City, New York, July 12, 1986.

Battle Royal

Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, King Tonga, Jimmy Hart, Billy Jack Haynes, Harley Race, Lanny Poffo, Iron Mike Sharpe, Pedro Morales, Brutus Beefcake, Tony Atlas, Moondog Spot, British Bulldog, Dynamite Kid, SD Jones, Johnny Valiant, Sivi Afi, Moondog Rex, Tony Garea, Big John Studd, Bobby Heenan, King Kong Bundy

A bunch of people go after Studd to get rid of him as Hart hides underneath the ring. Bundy is out as well, followed by Heenan (oh man seeing Heenan and Hart trying to have a match could have been great), who stops to yell on commentary for a bit. There goes Jones, followed by Sharpe and valiant.

Garea is tossed and Race is gone as well to get rid of the rest of the Heenan Family. There goes Afi and the Bulldogs dropkick the Moondogs out, leaving Dog and Haynes to lock up. Beefcake dumps Kid as Hart is still hiding underneath the ring. Morales is out and then Beefcake goes as well, leaving Valentine against five good guys.

Valentine manages to toss Hayes and Tonga, leaving Valentine, Dog, Bulldog, Poffo and Hart underneath the ring. Poffo and Bulldog are both tossed with Dog being sent through the ropes, where he finds Hart hiding. Dog throws Hart back inside and gets in a fight with Valentine. The two of them go over….and Hart wins at 12:57.

Rating: C. Call this one goofy fun, as it was a bunch of people doing their thing until Hart could come in and steal the win like a cowardly heel should. Hart would be able to brag about this for the better part of ever and that’s exactly how it should have been done. I had a good time with this, even if it was just a countdown to the obvious ending.

From WCW Pro, November 18, 1995.

Battle Royal

Dave Sullivan, Nasty Ned, Disco Inferno, Cobra, Mark Starr, Frankie Lancaster, Barrio Brother Ricky, Barrio Brother Fidel, Buddy Lee Parker, James Earl

Why? It’s a standard brawl to start and yes Disco wants to check his hair. They fight around the ropes until Lancaster is gone, followed by Cobra and Starr. A quick series of eliminations leaves us with Parker and Earl (regular partners) to beat on Disco, who fights up and tosses both of them for the win at 5:03. Disco is more annoyed at his hair getting messed up.

Rating: D+. The thing that interests me the most here is how many shows WCW had and kept running for YEARS. Pro went on until 1998 and was basically forgotten unless you happened to catch it at random. Case in point, any match where Disco Inferno is the biggest of the ten stars is not exactly a high level match, but it was a feature here.

From Superstars, February 16, 1991.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Nasty Boys, Power & Glory, Rockers, Legion Of Doom, Demolition, Bushwhackers, Orient Express

For the Wrestlemania Tag Team Title shot and only one member of a team has to be eliminated. They start the usual exchange of punching, with McMahon saying it’s too much action to call. Demolition loads up the Rockers in a double gorilla press but Marty pulls Shawn down in a smart move. A double superkick eliminates Smash and Demolition is out, followed by the Bushwhackers being thrown out.

Marty accidentally knocks Shawn out and we’re down to Power & Glory, the LOD, the Express and the Nasty Boys. Hawk dumps Kato to get rid of the Express and Animal gorilla presses Tanaka out for a bonus. Roma is sent through the ropes so Animal throws him back in (Piper: “No Animal! The other way!”). Hercules throws Roma at Animal, who pulls him out of the air and easily tosses him. We’re down to the Nastys and the LOD…but Roma crotches Hawk on top and dumps him out 6:19.

Rating: C. I’ve seen this one a few times before and it’s one of those ideas that works rather well. I’ll take it over some of the other ways to set up a title match and it was cool to see a bunch of teams getting to mix it up. The LOD were clearly the smashing machines here and it shouldn’t be a surprise that they would be champions in about six months.

From Smoky Mountain Wrestling TV, January 28, 1995.

Battle Royal

This seems to be more of a Royal Rumble with Robert Gibson in at #1 and New Jack in at #2. Jack kicks him in the face to start so Gibson grabs a small package, with commentary pointing out the instincts taking over. Chris Candido is in at #3 and teams up with Jack on Gibson with a string of elbows. Gibson manages to survive in the corner and it’s George South coming in at #4. The slow brawling ensues and it’s Boo Bradley (Balls Mahoney) in at #5 to go straight after Candido and toss him out. Buddy Landel is in at #6 and they start pairing off and Tommy Pitner is in at #7.

We take a break and the Dirty White Boy is in at #8 to chase Landel out and then go after him as well. So that’s two out, with Bryant Anderson in at #9. Anderson grabs an armbar on Bradley until Mustafa Saed (Jack’s partner) is in at #10. Saed and Jack collide for a double elimination as Bradley chills in the corner for a bit. The Wolfman is in at #11 and goes after Bradley, which doesn’t go well. D’Lo Brown is in at #12 and helps toss Gibson.

Scotty McKeever is in at #13 and Anderson is gone. Bradley and Brown are both out and it’s Unabomb (later known as Kane) is in at #14 for a bunch of powerbombs. Unabomb clears the ring and is left alone until Ricky Morton is in at #15. Morton strikes away as well as he can until Eddie Gilbert is in at #16. Gilbert wastes no time in throwing powder in Morton’s eyes for the elimination and apparently Gilbert and Unabomb both win (good for $5000) at 14:35.

Rating: C+. This was the Unabomb show and they clearly knew they had something special with him. He was huge, he could move, and he had a great look. Don’t bother trying to make it any more complicated than that and it should work. The rest of the match had some fun moments, but Unabomb stood out WAY above everyone else. And not just because he’s tall.

Overall Rating: C. Battle royals are hard to do in the first place, but I liked what they did here as it was a nice mixture of stuff. Rather than just having one battle royal after another, this featured different kinds of matches rather than the same wrestlers doing the same battle royals. It’s a set that was well set up and I’ll absolutely take that.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: August 18, 2025
Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re under two weeks away from Clash In Paris and the big story coming out of last week is that CM Punk, LA Knight and Jey Uso are all getting a title shot against Seth Rollins, which doesn’t have the Vision overly happy. The rest of the show is probably starting to come together and that should start getting developed even more this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event tag, which set up the four way World Title match at Clash In Paris.

Here is the Vision to get things going. We’re in Philadelphia so Paul Heyman brags him status in this city and how no one is greater than him around here. That makes him the GOAT, but the Vision is full of GOAT’s. Heyman praises each member of the team, including the one who took Roman Reigns’ shoes.

After insisting that they’re chanting PAUL E. rather than OTC (and the fans switch chants in a hurry), Heyman talks about how many times Seth Rollins has taken Reigns out. Before Rollins can speak, cut Jey Uso in the crowd, with some fans saying YEET in a great moment. He’s not afraid of any of those people, including Bron Breakker. Rollins accuses Uso of disrespecting Breakker’s family, including calling his dad and uncle FATA****!

Breakker is ready to go into the crowd but Heyman cuts him off and goes into an amazing rant about how people used to handle things in a Bingo hall not far from here. He lists off some ECW greats, including “the late great Tommy Dreamer. Yeah I know he’s not dead yet but he should be!” Breakker: “HE’S STILL ALIVE???” After one of the hardest laughs I’ve had in a very long time, it seems we have an Extreme Rules match tonight. That line about Dreamer was hilarious, as was Breakker getting annoyed at Uso allegedly mocking his family. Good segment here, with Heyman’s love of ECW shining through.

We recap Iyo Sky’s issues with the Kabuki Warriors last week.

Sky and the Warriors seem to make amends, but Sky wants to do this by herself.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Iyo Sky

Rodriguez powers her around to start, including an early headscissors. Sky snaps off a headscissors but Roxanne Perez trips her from ringside, allowing Rodriguez to hit a heck of a big boot. We take a break and come back with Rodriguez missing the spinning Vader Bomb, allowing Sky to hit the missile dropkick. Rodriguez blocks the running knees in the corner though and gets caught with the spinning Vader Bomb for two.

A hard clothesline gets two more but Sky is back with a tornado DDT. Sky dives onto Perez and then does the same to Rodriguez…who pulls her out of the air. Rodriguez drops her hard onto the apron but the Tejana Bomb is countered into a headscissors into the corner. The running knees in the corner set up Over The Moonsault to finish Rodriguez at 10:20.

Rating: B-. Sky can work well with anyone, but Rodriguez has turned into quite the star in her own right. She is figuring out how to do the power game rather well and that was on display here. Good match, with Sky showing that she can win on her own and overcome the odds, which won’t sit well with the Kabuki Warriors.

Post match the beatdown is on until Rhea Ripley makes the save.

CM Punk interrupts LA Knight in the back and suggests and alliance until Clash In Paris. Knight doesn’t buy this at all because of their fight last week and says he’ll win the title. Knight: “YEAH!” Punk: “No.”

We look back at AAA TripleMania XXXIII.

Rhea Ripley checks on Iyo Sky in the back, with Sky being grateful for the help. The Kabuki Warriors come in to yell about how they can’t help her but Ripley can. Sky yells at them to stop arguing and runs off screaming. Asuka tells Ripley to stay out of their business.

Xavier Woods vs. Penta

Penta strikes away to start but Woods cuts him off rather quickly. Woods shouts CERO DINERO and drops him hard onto the apron as we take an early break. We come back with Woods kicking him in the head for two but Penta hits the Sling Blade. A backbreaker sends Woods outside for a big dive, followed by a slingshot dropkick back inside. The Penta Driver is countered into a reverse suplex to give Woods two. The Honor Roll is countered into the Penta Driver for two, with Kofi Kingston putting the foot on the ropes. Back up and the Canadian Destroyer finishes Woods at 9:48.

Rating: C+. Good enough stuff here, though WWE has seemed to completely give up on the idea of New Day being a regular team and turning them into…whatever they are now. It does help that Penta is getting a win, though I’m not sure what he is going to be doing anytime soon. Just find something for either of them to do though, as they’re big enough stars to have something better than this.

We look at AJ Styles costing Dominik Mysterio the Mega Title.

Dominik yells about Styles when Rey Mysterio comes in to mock him.

Judgment Day vs. Dragon Lee/Mr. Iguana

Non-title and Dominik Mysterio is here with Judgment Day. Lee and McDonagh lock up to start with McDonagh backing him into the ropes. Some chops in the corner have McDonagh in trouble but Lee misses a charge into the corner. Balor comes in to take over on Iguana and snaps off a suplex for two. That doesn’t get him very far as everything breaks down, with the Judgment Day being sent outside. Big flip dives take them down and we take a break.

We come back with McDonagh getting caught in a sitout powerbomb for two. Iguana comes back in and uses the puppet to take over, including a big dive to the floor. Lee plants Balor but gets caught with the Sling Blade. Back up and Mysterio distracts Iguana, allowing Balor to hit the dropkick to the back. The Coup de Grace finishes at 10:05.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here, as it’s nice to have the Tag Team Champions actually doing something involved with a tag team match. It’s not like they have anyone else to come after the titles so just have them face a random lucha team. If nothing else, I’m sure WWE will make some money off the Iguana stuff so it could be far worse.

Post match the beatdown is on but El Hijo del Vikingo (AAA Mega Champion) comes in for the save. Vikingo goes after McDonagh but gets caught with a belt shot to the back. The villains stand tall.

We look back at Becky Lynch beating Maxxine Dupri and attacking Natalya last week.

Lynch denies attacking Natalya and says she was provoked. Tonight, Lynch will prove herself.

We get another video from Bayley, who still seems to be going insane, with a voice talking about how she hasn’t been making sense in a long time. Bayley starts talking back to the voice, which seems to want her to be evil. She isn’t sure what she needs, but the voice offers her a hug.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Natalya vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is defending and Natalya has the Academy with her. Natalya tries the power to start and they’re quickly on the floor. That’s fine with Lynch, who sends the arm into the post and we take a break. We come back with Lynch working on an armbar until Natalya does the powerbomb counter that is used fairly often. Natalya hits the discus lariat for two but Lynch goes right back to the arm. The Disarm-Her retains the title at 7:41.

Rating: C+. As usual, it’s fine from a technical perspective, but was there going to be any drama over Natalya taking the title? She doesn’t win titles these days and Nikki Bella is already waiting in the wings for Lynch. At least they didn’t make this into a long, stretched out match, as there was no reason to go in that direction.

Post match the beatdown is on but Nikki Bella runs in for the save.

Sheamus talks about his rivalry with Rusev, who interrupts and wants to fight again. Adam Pearce comes in to make the match for Clash In Paris in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook. Rusev says he’s going to beat the Irish curse out of Sheamus and Pearce needs a drink.

CM Punk comes in to see Jey Uso and says he has Uso’s back tonight. Uso says no disrespect but he’s got this himself. Punk says he’s just trying to get Uso to Paris but Uso doesn’t want to owe anyone any favors. Everything seems to be cool but Punk seems to think Uso is making a mistake.

Here is Naomi to make a big announcement about the future of the Women’s Title. She says this is hard for her and shows us a clip from Stephanie McMahon’s podcast, where Jimmy Uso reveals what was expected to be the announcement: Naomi is pregnant. Adam Pearce is ready to take the title from her but Naomi says this isn’t going to happen because her hormones are jumping and she isn’t giving him s***.

She tells him to get to stepping and thanks Big Jim for loving to Netflix and chill (there’s a BIG smile at that line) because otherwise, she would have beaten up the women’s division all year. The fans chant YOU DESERVE IT and Naomi seems to be touched. Naomi: “On the bright side, I guess the Bloodline continues baby!”

We get quite the maniacal laugh and an OTC chant before Naomi lays the title down. The division has nine months and some change, but she’ll come back and win the title again, even if she’s breastfeeding at the time. Whomever has the title next, proceed with caution. It’s sad to see the title vacated when Naomi is doing such great work, but this is far more important than anything she’s doing in the ring.

Judgment Day doesn’t know where Dominik Mysterio is but find him talking to El Grande Americano. Mysterio tells the team that he’s just making sure the team always stays on top. Everyone else is fine with this, but Finn Balor doesn’t seem to like it.

Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker

Extreme Rules and Paul Heyman is here with Breakker, who comes out with a shopping cart full of weapons. Uso slips away from the power to start and hits a clothesline to send Breakker legs first onto the shopping card, which is about as dumb of a thing as I’ve seen in wrestling in a LONG time. Uso takes a good while to give Breakker a chance to make sure his leg is ok while setting up a table.

The suicide dive hits Breakker and we take a break. We come back with Breakker seemingly ok and the ring full of weapons. A chair is loaded up in the corner but Uso sends him into it instead. One heck of a Steiner Line drops Uso though and Breakker drops him ribs first onto two open chairs. The clothesline over the announcers’ table connects as well and we take a break.

We come back with Breakker hitting the super Frankensteiner but spending too long taking the straps down. Uso’s spear gets two and another spear into the Superfly Splash connects, only for Bronson Reed to pull the referee (AND STEAL HIS SHOE!). LA Knight runs in for the save but Seth Rollins cuts him off.

Cue CM Punk to brawl with Rollins, who gets jumped by Knight. Rollins escapes the GTS though and sends Punk into Knight, who crashes through a table at ringside. Punk shrugs it off and chases Rollins through the crowd, leaving Breakker to pull out another table. That takes a good while….and Roman Reigns is here. The spear drops Breakker and a Superfly Splash puts Breakker through the table for the win at 20:26.

Rating: B. This was the kind of wild brawl that it should have been, with all of the interference and violence making for a main event that was better than I was expecting. It did feel extreme with a lot of ECW overtones (without going too far) and Uso getting a big win on his way to the title shot in Paris. At the same time you have Reed stealing another shoe, which is more of a crime than anything else, but it’s rather funny anyway.

Post match Reed tries to get some more shoes but Reigns tells Reed that he’ll see him in Paris. Cole thinks that means Clash In Paris, though he isn’t sure to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. What mattered here was they got the momentum going on the way to Clash In Paris. The main event was about doing some wild brawling to hype up the four way at the pay per view, which worked well. The rest of the show was kind of messy, but they’re hyping up the Paris show and the next Worlds Collide at the same time. Get through next week and we should be fine, though Clash is pretty one sided on the Raw half. If they can keep the four way hot through next week though, it very well could work out.

Results
Iyo Sky b. Raquel Rodriguez – Over The Moonsault
Penta b. Xavier Woods – Canadian Destroyer
Judgment Day b. Dragon Lee/Mr. Iguana – Coup de Grace to Lee
Becky Lynch b. Natalya – Disarm-Her
Jey Uso b. Bron Breakker – Superfly Splash through a table

 

 

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

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Summerslam 2025 Night Two
Date: August 3, 2025
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re back for the second half of the show after yesterday’s pretty snazzy first half. In this case we’re headlined by Cody Rhodes challenging John Cena for the Smackdown World Title. Cena seems to have seen the light again and that could make for a big change of pace. Other than that, Solo Sikoa is defending the US Title against Jacob Fatu in a cage. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at last night’s highlights, along with that Druski guy talking about how this is another chance to shake up the world. The regular opening video again features various reaction shots.

Here’s HHH to fire up the crowd with a “you ain’t seen nothing yet”.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky vs. Naomi

Naomi is defending and is played to the ring by….her dad. Well that’s awesome. Naomi drops to the floor to start but is thrown back inside and surrounded. Ripley kicks Sky in the face by mistake so Naomi drops Sky across the top and bites Ripley’s thumb for a change of pace. A hanging X Factor drops Sky and Ripley gets knocked into the corner. The Blockbuster puts Sky down and Naomi sends her outside.

Ripley is back up with a belly to back faceplant to Naomi and Sky is back up with the springboard missile dropkick. Sky’s 619 into a German suplex sends Naomi outside and it’s time for the big showdown. Sky small packages Ripley into a quickly broken crossface, followed by a poisonrana. Naomi is back in and goes to the floor with Ripley, allowing Sky to Asai moonsault both of them.

Back in and Sky’s Over The Moonsault is broken up so Sky goes up again and hits Ripley. Naomi rolls Sky up for two and everyone is down. Ripley is back up for Riptide on Naomi, with Sky making the save. Sky and Ripley kick Naomi out to the floor before Ripley flip dives onto Naomi on the floor. Sky follows them outside and powerbombs Ripley onto Naomi for the nasty landing. Back in and Ripley catches Sky on top for a super Riptide, only for Naomi to come in and roll Ripley up with trunks for the pin at 16:23.

Rating: B. Good start to the show here, as Ripley’s frustrations continue to mount. At the same time, Naomi has been on a roll as of late and it’s great to see her getting a chance like this. She’s won me over in recent months and that’s a nice feeling. Ripley might have to do something drastic soon and I’m not sure how that’s going to go. As for Sky…well she’s Iyo Sky, which is quite the praise.

The Dudleys and Hardy Boyz are here for the TLC match.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Wyatt Sicks vs. DIY vs. Andrade/Rey Fenix vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Street Profits vs. Fraxiom

The Wyatts are defending in a TLC match. The challengers jump the Wyatts to start and it’s time for the parade of dives to the floor. Fraxiom brings in a ladder, with the Guns picking it up, only to have it dropkicked back against them. The Wyatts cut Fraxiom off from climbing and go up, with the Profits making the save. The Profits backdrop Gacy at a ladder….but completely miss it, so they try it again to make sure they get it right (nice reaction for that).

Some more tables are set up at ringside but Andrade and Fenix come in, with Fenix climbing onto Andrade’s shoulders and touching the belts (the fans are impressed). That’s broken up and it’s time to set up a bunch of tables around ringside. Lumis dives onto Ford and then Fenix hits a dive of his own through Fraser. Dawkins goes up but gets taken down by Axiom’s super Spanish Fly through some tables.

With everyone else down, Candice LeRae, B Fab and Nikki Cross go up for the belts but get pulled back down. LeRae goes up again and gets knocked down through a bridged ladder for a terrifying crash (her knee looked like it landed badly). Gargano goes up but gets pulled down by Ford, with Rowan coming in to kick him in the face. Rowan cleans house until the Profits send him through a table in the corner.

Ciampa goes up but the Guns move the ladder. Frazer tries a spear off the ladder but Ciampa pulls himself up onto the belts to send Frazer crashing (that was NUTS). DIY goes up but Uncle Howdy comes in to shove them both down, with DIY going crashing through a pile of tables at ringside. Fraser goes up but gets caught in Howdy’s Mandible Claw. Andrade dives up with a sunset bomb to bring him back down but the other Wyatts go up, with Gacy pulling down the titles to win at 16:03.

Rating: B. This was a total spectacle and stunt show, with that Ciampa sit up spot being an all time highlight. At the same time, this didn’t have the flow of the classic TLC match from earlier this year, partially due to how many people were involved. This one felt more like it was about going viral than having a great match and the segment in the middle where people dove off the posts to the floor summed up the issue. While they were getting ready to dive, the ring was empty and a ladder was set up. Why was no one going for the belts? Yes it’s a spotfest, but at least try to look like you want to win.

We look at Seth Rollins cashing in last night….in various languages.

We recap Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Title. They won the Women’s Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania but lost them on the following Raw. Lynch turned on her and then won the Intercontinental Title while basically saying she used Valkyria as a stepping stone. Now it’s Valkyria’s last chance and anything goes. There’s also the Bayley factor, as she isn’t happy with being left out of Summerslam.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria

Anything goes, Lynch is defending and she comes out to new music. Valkyria knocks her outside to start but Lynch takes over, allowing her to whip out a kendo stick. Valkyria isn’t worried as she comes out with a metal crowbar, which knocks the stick away. A crossbody off the barricade drops Lynch and Valkyria sends her…well right into a photographer actually. That doesn’t seem to do much damage as Valkyria sends Lynch into the post and then over the announcers’ table.

A table is pulled out but Lynch uses the delay to whip out a chain. Said chain is wrapped around Valkyria’s mouth as commentary gets into it about whether Valkyria is a threat to Lynch without having beaten her. Cole: “She has beaten her.” Lynch knocks her down again and grabs a toolbox, with a hard shot getting two. Lynch finds a zip tie in the toolbox and ties Valkyria’s hands together so the beating can continue.

The chairs are loaded up…but Valkyria slips her arms around Lynch and gets a belly to belly. Valkyria gets back up (ignore the camera showing the zip tie coming undone and having to be reset) and manages a moonsault with her hands tied together. The turnbuckle pad is taken off but Lynch sends her to the floor, where Valkyria (hands still tied) comes out with a fire extinguisher blast. Valkyria uses the edge of the fire extinguisher handle to cut herself free and unloads with a kendo stick.

A fisherman’s suplex gets two and they go back outside, with Valkyria hitting Nightwing off the stairs for a nasty crash. Back in and Valkyria misses a charge into the exposed buckle, setting up a Manhandle Slam onto some open chairs….for two. Lynch ties her up in a chair and kicks away, including ramming Valkyria into the announcers’ table.

Lynch grabs the crowbar but cue Bayley to take it away and beat on Lynch around ringside. Bayley misses a running knee but Valkyria is back up with a legdrop to send Lynch through a table. Back in and both finishes are countered…and Bayley accidentally knocks Valkyria silly with a chain. The Manhandle Slam finishes for Lynch at 25:07.

Rating: C+. On one hand, this was a heck of a fight with some creative spots and Valkyria getting to show off some incredible athleticism when her hands were tied. It also helps that despite here interference being pretty obvious, it didn’t feel like a countdown until Bayley showed up. At the same time though, MY GOODNESS this did not need to be so long. It’s a great example of a match that could have been ten minutes shorter and improved as a result. That’s on top of the main event being a street fight, with this one making that one feel less unique. Good parts to it, but it desperately needed some cuts.

We recap Solo Sikoa defending the US Title against Jacob Fatu in a cage. They were close, then Fatu turned on him because he was tired of Sikoa taking advantage of him. Sikoa stole the US Title and tried to get Fatu arrested so it’s time for a cage match to ensure that it’s 1-1.

US Title: Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is challenging in a cage and knocks Sikoa down to start. A running elbow drops Sikoa but he sends a charging Fatu into the cage. The slow beating continues but Fatu is back up with a hard clothesline. Sikoa sends him into the cage…and Fatu shrugs it off. A pair of moonsaults connect to give Fatu two so cue the MFT’s. The distraction brings out Jimmy Uso, who gets taken out without much trouble.

Fatu has to hold off the MFT’s, who start to climb into the cage. That’s broken up, but one of them manages to handcuff Fatu to the cage (in case the tied hands deal in the previous match wasn’t enough). Sikoa goes to the door but Fatu pulls the cuffs apart and makes the save. Talla Tonga slams the cage on Fatu’s head though and Sikoa escapes to retain at 12:05.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t much to see and the problem comes down to the fact that it didn’t feel like any kind of big moment. Instead it was just the two of them doing stuff until the interference started. It wasn’t an interesting match and Fatu only got to do so much. Sikoa keeping the title is fine, but they could have found a better way to do it.

Post match Uso gets back up and goes after Tonga Loa and JC Mateo. They’re thrown inside and Fatu takes both of them down. The moonsault off the top of the cage takes both of them down to show off that Fatu is awesome. And that’s kind of the problem with this whole story: win or lose, they’re going to keep fighting, which makes this match feel kind of unimportant.

We recap Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Title. Styles has been wanting a title shot but Guerrero has claimed an injury to avoid having to defend against him. For some reason Styles put on a bunch of costumes to….I’m really not sure why as it was about waiting for Mysterio to get healthy. Anyway, the match is on.

Intercontinental Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles

Styles is challenging….and comes out in a low rider (with his son next to him), a STYLES HEAT shirt and does the Eddie dance. Styles hammers away to start fast and takes over on Mysterio in the corner. A missed charge sends Styles crashing out to the floor though and Mysterio puts him on the top. The super hurricanrana is countered into a failed Styles Clash attempt, leaving Styles to hit a diving tornado DDT.

Styles slips on a Phenomenal Forearm attempt and charges into a Michinoku Driver as the Fireflies come out for some reason. The Three Amigos are loaded up but Styles reverses the third into a brainbuster. Styles can’t hit a brainbuster but can reverse Mysterio’s frog splash into the Calf Crusher. That’s broken up and the referee gets dropped, so Mysterio goes to grab a chair.

Mysterio throws it to Styles and drops down, but Styles wraps it around his own neck and drops too. The referee gets up but didn’t see what happens so they keep going. Styles goes for the Calf Crusher again but pulls the boot off so Mysterio can escape. The referee has to duck a swing so Mysterio boots Styles in the head, setting up the frog splash to retain at 10:35.

Rating: B-. This one is going to depend on your tolerance for Eddie Guerrero tributes. I’ve been over them for years, so seeing just about every Eddie reference possible in one match was a bit much. That being said, it was a much more lighthearted match and that made for an easier match to watch. If nothing else, it was so different from the other violent/car crash matches on the night and that’s what it needed to be.

Stephanie McMahon announces the attendance: 60,561, for a two night total of 113,722.

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena. Rhodes lost the Smackdown World Title to Cena at Wrestlemania when Cena hit him low, but now Rhodes wants a shot at the REAL Cena. This caused Cena to turn back to the good side, as he needed someone to remind him what he used to be.

Smackdown World Title: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes

Cena is defending in a street fight. Rhodes gets a special entrance with a Dusty Rhodes quote (“The view never changes.”) appearing on the screen. Cena gets quite the strong reaction and does his old run to the ring. They do the Big Match Intros and stare each other down with Cena giving him a hug. The brawl is on fast and they go outside, with Cena grabbing NBA star Tyrese Haliburton’s crutch for a shot to the back.

Cena throws the steps inside but gets knocked onto them, only to pop up and knock Rhodes off the top. The steps are thrown over the top onto Rhodes’ head but he’s right back up with a Disaster Kick. Back in and Cena sends him over the top for a crash, allowing both of them to grab chairs. Rhodes knocks Cena’s out of his hands and gets in a shot to the back for two. Cena fights up again and initiates the finishing sequence but Rhodes is back up with a Cody Cutter. The AA gets two but Rhodes hits the top rope moonsault.

Another Disaster Kick gets two on Cena, who is back with an electric chair for two more. Back up and a piledriver gives Rhodes another near fall but we have to pause to check on Cena. That’s goldbricking though and Rhodes walks into an AA, followed by the STF (STFU as Cole calls it), sending Rhodes to the apron (remember ropes don’t matter here) for the break. Cena is back up with a microphone to the head, followed by a Code Red on the floor. The AA through the announcers’ table knocks Rhodes sillier but he gets back up anyway.

A quick Cross Rhodes gives Rhodes two but Cena knocks him down again. The top rope Fameasser into another AA gets two so it’s time for a table. Another (yes another) AA takes too long though and Rhodes reverses into a DDT. Said table is put up in the corner but they go outside to fight into the crowd. Cena grabs a piece of barricade and shoves it in Rhodes’ general direction before Rhodes suplexes him onto it instead. They go underneath the stage and come up the elevator Rhodes uses for his entrance with Cena holding him in the fireman’s carry (that was GREAT).

One heck of an AA sends Rhodes onto the ramp (Cena LAUNCHED him) before Cena picks Rhodes up and they go back to the ring (heck of a carry job by Cena). Back in and Rhodes sends him through the table in the corner and hits another Cross Rhodes for two. A chair to the head knocks Cena silly and Rhodes takes the turnbuckle off. The shot to Cena’s hands in front of his face thankfully doesn’t get a cover and another big shot connects, with the fans not liking this version of Rhodes.

The third shot is loaded up but Cena pulls him into the STF with the rope. That’s reversed as well so Rhodes hits back to back to back Cross Rhodes for two, leaving Rhodes stunned. With nothing else working, Rhodes grabs the belt but misses the big shot, allowing Cena to hit back to back AA’s, followed by the super AA for two. Another table is loaded up but Rhodes reverses a super AA into a Cody Cutter through the table. Cena is up in about five seconds and another Cross Rhodes gives Rhodes the title back at 37:33.

Rating: B. I’m not even going to try to defend this match, as it was a totally insane and ridiculous match (eight AA’s if you lost count) with nothing but ridiculous spots and kickouts. That being said, I was laughing my head off at some of this stuff, as they were leaning into the ridiculousness. That’s what it should have been and I liked it far more than I should have.

Post match Cena hands Rhodes the title and says something to him, which seems to mean a lot to Rhodes. With Rhodes gone, Cena soaks in a THANK YOU CENA chant….AND BROCK LESNAR IS BACK. Cena looks like he has seen a ghost and gets F5’ed to end the show. That’s certainly going to raise some eyebrows, and I do wonder if that had something to do with the abrupt Cena face turn.

Overall Rating: B. It definitely wasn’t as strong as last night, but I had a good enough time with this show. The problem here was having way too many gimmick/violent matches as it was so much of the show. The cage match wasn’t very good and the Valkyria vs. Lynch was too long, but I had a good time with most of the rest. Not an all timer, but for a three hour and forty five minute shot, I had a good time.

Overall Overall Rating: B+. The best thing I can say about this was it wasn’t dull. They had a long, drawn out weekend with a bunch of stuff taking place and some memorable moments, even if some of the matches might have been a bit lacking. I can absolutely see why Summerslam is going to be a two night event going forward and if this is what we’re getting every year, it’s going to be fine. Strong overall showing from WWE, though it would have been even better if they mixed the cards up a bit.

Results
Naomi b. Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley – Rollup with tights to Ripley
Wyatt Sicks b. Andrade/Rey Fenix, Motor City Machine Guns, Fraxiom, Street Profits and DIY – Gacy pulled down the titles
Becky Lynch b. Lyra Valkyria – Manhandle Slam
Solo Sikoa b. Jacob Fatu – Sikoa escaped the cage
Dominik Mysterio b. AJ Styles – Frog splash
Cody Rhodes b. John Cena – Cross Rhodes

 

 

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

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It’s time to do the other half and since we’ve never actually done that before with Summerslam, it’s hard to say what we’re going to be getting here. We have the same amount of matches as last night so everything should be balanced equally, though the star power kind of varies a bit from one night to the other. This could work well too though so let’s get to it.

Intercontinental Title: Dominik Mysterio(c) vs. AJ Styles

When did Mysterio become one of the best things going in WWE? His stuff with Styles has been all over the place but rather funny at the same time, with Mysterio doing everything he can to avoid Styles. The good thing here is Styles is going to be able to make Mysterio look great here and that’s exactly why they’re being put into this match on this stage. Mysterio is on a roll, and I’m curious to see how far he can go.

Of course I’ll go with Mysterio retaining the title here, as Styles isn’t someone who needs any kind of gold or accomplishments at this point in his career. Let him go out there and make Mysterio look even better than usual. I’m not sure what is next for Mysterio, but at least he’s getting this kind of a spot, as he can more than hold up his own end in the ring by now.

Raw Women’s Title: Naomi(c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky

Now this is one of the bigger surprises in a good while, as Naomi has absolutely nailed the heel run and is feeling like a star every time she’s out there. That’s rather impressive after she was destroyed by Jade Cargill multiple times. She’s gotten the PROCEED WITH CAUTION deal over and I could go with seeing where she goes from here. At the same time, you have the awesome Ripley and Sky, who have to merge with Naomi to make this work.

So how well will it work? Well I’ll go with Naomi retaining the title, as it feels too early to take it off of her so far. Other than that, Ripley and Sky should both be able to nail their usual stuff and carry the action. At some point they’ll have their singles rematch later on to carry on from their classic at Evolution, but this is more about Naomi retaining as she can get a big win.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Lyra Valkyria

This is anything goes as well as Valkyria’s last shot at the title, which feels like it’s setting up something for the ending. Valkyria has been trying as hard as she can to make this work and is getting close, but it really isn’t working yet. Lynch has been her usual good self, though it still feels more about making the title feel important. There’s one more factor to mess with the whole thing though and that might be enough to sway the result.

I’ll take Lynch retaining here, likely with the recently distraught Bayley interfering to cost Valkyria the match. That’s the story they’ve been setting up and it’s something Bayley might be needing. For now, it should be enough to give us another Bayley vs. Valkyria match and I could go for seeing how that goes. Lynch can move on to someone else though, as she’ll retain the title here.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Wyatt Sicks(c) vs. Street Profits vs. Andrade/Rey Fenix vs. DIY vs. Fraxiom vs. Motor City Machine Guns

This is the big six team TLC match as they’re trying to recreate their instant classic from earlier in the year. That is going to be one heck of a trick to pull off but I can’t blame them for trying to pull it off. This is going to be the total car crash match of the show and there is a good chance that it works. I’m not sure if it’s going to get enough time to really get that far, but at least they’re doing the logical thing at this point.

As for a winner, there’s never much of a way to predict these things but I’ll go with the Wyatts winning to retain. The idea is supposed to be that the division is getting together to deal with the evil Wyatts, but it would be a much better result to have one of the teams take the Wyatts out. That can happen later on when more of the hope is lost, which only comes if the Wyatts retain here.

US Title: Solo Sikoa(c) vs. Jacob Fatu

In a cage, which should make for a nice spectacle. Obviously the question hers isn’t whether someone will interfere but rather when and how many. That’s exactly what should be happening here, as the idea of Sikoa being able to hang with Fatu one on one is nonsense. Instead this is about whether or not Sikoa has enough backup to hold Fatu off, which is far from easy.

This feels like a way to keep Fatu from getting the title back while giving him an out so I’ll take Sikoa to retain. You could easily have him slip out of the cage to escape while Fatu is attacked or distracted somehow, which would show Fatu that he needs more help. Fatu is likely going to get his win back down the line, but this feels more like a way to keep the title on Sikoa, which should be the case at the moment.

Smackdown World Title: John Cena(c) vs. Cody Rhodes

Finally we have this one, which was turned completely on its head during this week’s Smackdown. Cena seemingly turned back to the side of good after months of being evil, and that opens up the field quite a bit. There are several ways this could go, and unfortunately I’m not exactly feeling most of them. Now we just need to see which direction they actually take.

The more I think about this, the more sense it makes for Rhodes to get the title back here, but now we have to wonder about how. There is always the chance that Rhodes takes Cena’s place as the Corporate Champion, which opens up a bunch of weird options. I’m not wild on that idea, but I’ll absolutely take it over Cena swerving us to keep being a villain. The Cena heel run has been weird to say the least and I’d much rather they just abandon it for his last five months in the ring.

Overall Thoughts

This night is rather stacked and the action should be very good, but I’m almost afraid of how they’re going to get out of that main event. What matters is, at least for now, they seem to have dropped one of their weakest ideas and are moving in a new direction. That’s what we get to see in the main event, and if the rest of the card lives up to it, this has a lot of potential of its own.

 

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 28, 2025
Location: Little Caesars Center, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last show before Summerslam and that means we’re likely in for a mixture of talking and tag matches. At the same time, there is always the chance that we are going to get a lot more tributes to Hulk Hogan, as there was only so much time to get things ready on such short notice last week. Let’s get to it.

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

The roster is on the stage for the ten bell salute to Hogan.

We get another tribute, different from the one that aired on Smackdown. To be fair, you could go on for a long time with famous moments from his career.

Here is Jey Uso for a chat but Paul Heyman interrupts. Heyman doesn’t think much of Uso, but is smart enough to get out of the ring from that look in Uso’s eye. He also backs up, saying “I know that you can dive really fast.” Heyman can’t believe that Uso has accepted Roman Reigns’ offer to team with him against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. And he’s doing this in the name of family.

Where Heyman comes from, family is always going to let you down. That’s not a prediction but rather a prophecy. Heyman asks if Uso’s mother said Santa Claus left the presents under the tree. That means your mother lied to you, just like everyone’s mother here. Did Uso’s father (Rikishi) tell Uso that he wanted him to be more iconic than him? Rikishi lied! Reigns didn’t pick Uso to be next in line as Tribal Chief. How did that work out for the family? Heyman is saying this out of love for Uso, just like family. YEET!

Uso says his family is why he’s here and Heyman needs to keep them out of his mouth. The reality is the family has done things together and Heyman’s family is nowhere to be seen. Heyman and company have cost them all kinds of things and at Summerslam, Heyman is paying. This was an interesting idea, but it’s feeling like they have no idea where this is supposed to go and they’re just saying things to fill in time before the match.

AJ Styles/Kabuki Warriors vs. Judgment Day

Asuka kicks Rodriguez down to start and hands it off to Sane for some kicks of her own. A high crossbody is pulled out of the air and it’s off to Perez for a headscissors. Sane grabs….I think a running Blockbuster (didn’t quite work but it could have been far worse) but Mysterio pulls Perez out of the way of a charge in the corner.

We take a break and come back with Perez hitting a moonsault for two but Sane gets in a shot in the corner. Rodriguez pulls Asuka to the floor though and the distraction means the referee doesn’t see the tag to Styles. Back up and the tag brings Styles in a few seconds later, meaning house can be cleaned. Perez gets in the way of the Phenomenal Forearm though, leaving Styles to launch Sand onto Rodriguez. The Phenomenal Forearm finished Mysterio at 11:46.

Rating: B-. Perfectly fine way to go here as Styles gets the win before he likely loses the title match at Summerslam. It’s still a good setup for the showdown though and that’s all it needed to be. At the same time, you have the Kabuki Warriors coming after the Women’s Tag Team Titles and that makes as much sense as anything else.

Sheamus is happy with his win over Rusev last week. Grayson Waller and New Day interrupt, with Waller making the mistake of challenging Sheamus, meaning the match is set for later tonight. New Day suddenly disappears.

Sheamus vs. Grayson Waller

Sheamus powers him into the corner to start and hits the big powerslam. The Dublin Smile has Waller in more trouble and the Regal Roll on the floor makes it worse. The ten forearms to the chest rock Waller but Rusev pops up on the apron for a distraction. Waller rolls him up for two, only for the Brogue Kick to finish at 4:10.

Rating: C. The only way Waller was going to win here was if Rusev cost Sheamus the match so they had a fine enough tease. At the same time, we are probably coming up on a big rubber match between Sheamus and Rusev, so there was no reason for Sheamus to lose here. Granted there is pretty much no reason for him to lose to Waller most of the time.

Post match Rusev beats Sheamus down with the shillelagh. The Accolade leaves Sheamus laying.

Naomi isn’t worried about defending the title in a triple threat match because she can fly high too.

Various wrestlers talk about Hulk Hogan’s star power.

Paul Heyman talks to Bronson Reed, saying with Seth Rollins on the shelf, they are a group without a leader. Bron Breakker comes in to say Reed is going to crush Jey Uso and the team will reestablish dominance over WWE. Reed leaves and Breakker says he has a plan. Heyman is confused.

Here is Lyra Valkyria for a chat. She has her Becky Lynch stopping shoes on (they’re rather elevated) and recaps her issues with Lynch. Cue Lynch’s music and she pops up behind Valkyria, who takes her out with a dropkick through the ropes. Valkyria beats her down with the kendo stick and Lynch runs off. Well that was quick.

Earlier today, Sami Zayn was doing a sitdown interview about Karrion Kross, when Kross and Scarlet interrupted. Kross said he could attack Zayn again, but he didn’t because he is all about making people show their true colors. Zayn won’t do it though, and it’s starting to tick Kross off. That’s why after Kross beats him at Summerslam, Zayn is going to admit that Kross told the truth and then he can go on to become World Champion. Zayn agrees, but when he beats Kross, he wants this to end. See you at Summerslam. Kross smiles as Zayn leaves.

Bayley is upset that she’s missing Summerslam, just like she missed Wrestlemania. She isn’t sure where she’s going from here.

Naomi/Chelsea Green/Secret Hervice vs. Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley/Nikki Bella/Stephanie Vaquer

Naomi and Ripley start things off, with Naomi getting knocked out to the floor. It’s off to Bella, who clotheslines Green down to take over. They head outside before Fyre gets in a superkick to drop Bella. Niven adds a bottom rope elbow for two and we take a break. We come back with Bella getting in a kick to the face, allowing the tag to Sky. A backflip splits up a double clothesline attempt so Green kicks Sky in the face for two instead.

Naomi’s hanging Pedigree plants Sane and Fyre hits her Swanton as everything breaks down. Niven Boss Man Slams Ripley but Sane and Fyre knock each other down. Vaquer comes in to clean house and Bella adds the Bella Buster, which has Naomi walking out. Sky sends her back in for a springboard dropkick and Ripley gives Niven Riptide. The SVB finishes Green at 14:35.

Rating: B. I had a heck of a time with this one, as they were all out there going nuts for a good while. At the same time, it’s about as perfect of a use of Bella as you can have. She gets to do her big entrance, get the pop, do her stuff, and then pose at the end. That’s a fine way to go and the fans still love her, so let her do her stuff in small spurts.

Finn Balor gives Judgment Day a pep talk, telling them that they can get past the loss earlier. Perez gives Dominik a new gaming system to play WWE2K25 and Raquel Rodriguez isn’t impressed.

The winning team from the 8 woman tag celebrates but Sky stops Ripley for a chat. Sky says Ripley has never beaten her and never will. Ripley says they’ll see about that.

Tag Team Titles: LWO vs. Judgment Day

The LWO is challenging. Wilde takes Balor down to start and hands it off to del Toro for a slingshot sunset flip. That’s rolled through into a basement dropkick and McDonagh comes in to send del Toro into the corner. The champs take over, with a springboard moonsault giving McDonagh two. Del Toro gets up and brings Wilde back in for the big dive to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Wilde still in trouble but he catapults McDonagh into Balor on the apron. The tag brings del Toro in to clean house, including a triangle dropkick to knock Balor off the apron. Everything breaks down and a phoenix splash gets two on Balor. Cue El Grande Americano so here is Dragon Lee to pull him off the apron. Del Toro kicks McDonagh (with a belt) off the apron and Wilde hits a heck of a flip dive to drop him again. Cue another El Grande American to pull del Toro off the top so Balor can hit the Coup de Grace and retain at 11:16.

Rating: B. This got some time and I’m interested in where the ending goes, as having a second El Grande Americano makes for a curious twist. If nothing else, it could open a door for someone who doesn’t have anything else going on (Butch or Tyler Bate could be interesting) and there is always room for a good masked man mystery. Other than that, the action worked well with the LWO being their usual good selves, though there was no reason to believe the titles were changing hands.

Here is Gunther for a chat. He calls last week’s exchange with CM Punk a clean victory for him because he went face to face with the best talker in the business. The fans remind Gunther that he tapped out until Gunther says he left Punk speechless…and here is Punk to interrupt. Punk says he was more dumbfounded than anything else. He doesn’t want to be World Heavyweight Champion but rather he needs it like he needs air. Or like the Red Wings need a 12th Stanley Cup.

Wrestling is his addiction and he wants to hold the title above his head as a thank you to the fans. Punk is the best in the world and he’s ready to prove that at Summerslam. This isn’t apples to apples and he puts his hand over the mic when Gunther tries to cut him off. There are levels to this, and Gunther will find that out at Summerslam. I wasn’t quite feeling this one, but the match should be good.

Summerslam rundown.

Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed

Uso walks through the entrance rather than going through the crowd, which makes sense as doing two of those a night sounds exhausting. Reed is back up with a knockdown of his own and it’s time to choke on the ropes. The World’s Strongest Slam plants Uso again and we take a break. We come back with Uso slugging away to knock Reed outside. The dive drops him again but here is Bronson Reed to spear Uso for the DQ at 7:01.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to do much, though I do always appreciate the big plan being “and then I hit the guy”. I’m also glad that we didn’t see anyone lose a fall here, as you don’t want to do that so close to a major Summerslam match. Not much of a main event, but it feels like they have something else in mind.

Post match the beatdown is on but here is Roman Reigns for the save so the good guys can clear the ring. Stereo spears are loaded up but Reed and Breakker actually knock them down (points for the surprise there). The big beatdown is on, with Uso getting Tsunamied and reigns getting clotheslined from the apron over the announcers’ table (Breakker jumps from the floor to the table to pose to show off). Back in and another Tsunami crushes Reigns as Breakker shouts that everyone here works for him. Breakker spears Reigns and Uso through the barricade and Reed STEALS REIGNS SHOES to end the show. This was better than the opening segment and got me a lot more into the match.

Overall Rating: B. Good action, a nice build towards the pay per view, and decent enough talking to get us to Summerslam. I liked the ending a good big and the eight woman tag was a lot of fun. They covered a lot of stuff here and it made me more interested in seeing Summerslam than I was coming in so I’ll call this a rather successful show.

Results
AJ Styles/Kabuki Warriors b. Judgment Day – Phenomenal Forearm to Mysterio
Sheamus b. Grayson Waller – Brogue Kick
Nikki Bella/Rhea Ripley/Stephanie Vaquer/Iyo Sky b. Secret Hervice/Chelsea Green/Naomi – SVB to Green
Judgment Day b. LWO – Coup de Grace to del Toro
Jey Uso b. Bronson Reed via DQ when Bron Breakker interfered

 

 

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 21, 2025
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re closing in on Summerslam and the big issue is Roman Reigns, who returned last week after his latest months long hiatus. Reigns is going after Paul Heyman and company, which doesn’t include Seth Rollins at the moment. We still need to build some things up for Summerslam as well so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap looks at last week’s gauntlet match and the return of Roman Reigns.

Judgment Day arrives and AJ Styles is the valet, though he tosses the key over his shoulder.

Here is CM Punk to get things going. He’s happy to be here tonight and talks about his goals in WWE. This includes main eventing Wrestlemania, which he’s done, but he also wants to be World Champion. Last week he won a gauntlet match to become #1 contender to face Gunther at Summerslam. Punk knows Gunther is one of the best in the world and promises to give it everything he has. Gunther is a monster but he is CM PUNK.

This brings out Gunther, who is drowned out by the crowd for a long time. Gunther says they’re both here to win titles and make money. Gunther knows he has a big ego, but unlike Punk, his isn’t based on the fans. That’s worthless, so his is based on results. Punk listed off all of Gunther’s accolades and Gunther knows that he’s that good. At least Punk will have the fans chanting for him. That leaves Punk with something to think about. The story here was fine but they didn’t get the big line it felt like they were looking for in the whole thing.

Stephanie Vaquer is asked about the Secret Hervice. Naomi comes int to say she’s the champ, which Vaquer seems to know. Naomi is ready for her triple threat at Summerslam and then beat Vaquer at Clash In Paris. Vaquer doesn’t seem impressed.

Sheamus vs. Rusev

The threat of a Brogue Kick sends Rusev bailing to the floor early and Sheamus rams him into the barricade. Back in and Rusev catches him with a kick to the head before it’s time to slug it out. A clothesline puts Sheamus down again but he’s back up with one of his own. Some more shots put Rusev on the floor and Sheamus goes up, slips off the top, then goes up again for a clothesline. After mocking his slip, Sheamus walks into a fall away slam over the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Sheamus winning a slugout. The Irish Curse and ten forearms to the chest rock Rusev but he counters the Brogue Kick into a powerbomb for two. Rusev’s superkick is cut off with a knee to the face for two and they’re both down. Sheamus pulls himself to the top but dives into a superkick, setting up the Accolade.

Rusev rips at his face but can’t keep Sheamus away from the ropes for the break. Naturally Sheamus tells him to bring it, even as Rusev stomps him down. Back up and Sheamus fights back but Rusev goes to unhook the turnbuckle. That earns him a ram into said turnbuckle (how Rusev beat Sheamus three weeks ago), setting up the Brogue Kick for the win at 12:51.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up rather well and odds are we’ll get a trilogy match between them sooner or ladder. Rusev is already feeling like he’s in the middle of the card, which is where Sheamus has been for a long time now. It’s a good example of the two of them beating each other up and that’s exactly what it should have been.

El Grade Americano speaks some heavily accented Spanish but Dragon Lee comes in to say Americano is fake. Americano calls Lee basura (trash) and the fight is on.

Trailer for WWE Unreal.

Lyra Valkyria comes up to Bayley and is stunned that she has gotten then a Women’s Tag Team Title shot tonight. Bayley says forget about what has happened and just focus on tonight. Valkyria is a bit stunned.

New Day vs. LWO vs. Creed Brothers

For a future Tag Team Title shot. Brutus throws Wilde around to start before it’s off to Julius for a double suplex to New Day. Back up and Woods cleans house and struts, setting up the Unicorn Stampede (not stomp Cole) on Julius. We take a break and come back with del Toro cleaning house, allowing the tag off to Wilde running through everyone.

A backslide to Woods and a cradle to Kingston at the same time (that was awesome) gets two each but Ivy Nile shoves Wilde doe. Cue Dragon Lee so El Grande Americano comes out to cut him off, which the Creeds don’t like. Del Toro hits a bit dive and Wilde rolls Kingston up for the pin at 9:31.

Rating: B-. This was better than I was expecting and it’s a nice result, with the LWO being some unlikely challengers. That being said, there is always room for a talented luchador team and that’s what we got here. If nothing else, New Day getting to be all depressed again should be a better use of their time.

The Kabuki Warriors want the Women’s Tag Team Titles back and Iyo Sky will retain the Women’s Title. The Warriors leave and Stephanie Vaquer comes in to say she’s ready for Sky. They’re ready to face each other in Paris but Sky wants to fight tonight. Vaquer is in.

We look at Paul Heyman turning on Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania.

Adam Pearce wants Dominik Mysterio to go get his injury evaluated but he has to go help Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. Mysterio turns around and AJ Styles is a janitor (because that’s just something you can do) so Mysterio runs off. Styles keeps cleaning and tells New Day to be careful of the wet floor. New Day loses it over everything being weird around here lately and thinks it’s time to change things. Grayson Waller comes in to say that Austin Theory is hurt so he’s a free agent to join the team. New Day seems intrigued.

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. She should be in New York City for the premiere of Happy Gilmore 2 but instead she’s here in Houston. She can’t believe Lyra Valkyria is being so selfish to need two titles. Granted it’s not the same as when she was Becky Two Belts, but for now she wants Valkyria out here.

Cue Valkyria, with Lynch saying that Summerslam is Valkyria’s last shot at the title. That’s fine with Valkyria, who wants no countouts or disqualifications. Works for Lynch, who rants about how Valkyria better now respect the match and her. Lynch wants a handshake but Valkyria is ready for the cheap shot and plants Lynch with a manhandle slam. I’m sure that won’t be a problem at all.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Judgment Day vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

Judgment Day, with Dominik Mysterio, is defending. Rodriguez shoves Bayley down to start but Bayley pops up for a slap to the head. Valkyria comes in but Rodriguez suplexes both of them down in quite the feat. It’s off to Perez for some shots of her own but Rodriguez comes in and gets kicked in the face. Bayley seems more interested in cheering than tagging in, allowing Perez to get in a neck snap across the top.

We take a break and come back with Rodriguez hitting a slingshot Jackhammer into Perez’s moonsault for two. Valkyria fights back and brings in Bayley for the sunset bomb into the corner. Rodriguez comes back in for another slingshot Jackhammer into the moonsault but Bayley gets her knees up. Corey Graves’ chair breaks at ringside as Valkyria hits a top rope ax kick for two on Perez.

They fight up to the top and Valkyria powerbombs her down so Bayley can hit the top rope elbow. Rodriguez breaks up the cover so Bayley throws Valkyria at her. Mysterio’s distraction lets Perez roll Bayley up for two, leaving Rodriguez to kick Mysterio in the face by mistake. Back in and medics come out to check on Mysterio and yeah of course it’s AJ Styles. Cue Becky Lynch to send Valkyria into the steps but Bayley rolls Perez up for two. Rodriguez tags herself in and hits a quick Tejana Bomb for the pin at 13:48.

Rating: B. The idea here was that Bayley and Valkyria weren’t clear in what they were doing, as Bayley might have wanted to cost Valkyria but she might have wanted to win the titles as well. The drama at the end was good and Styles having another costume was funny for a nice bonus. Lynch costing Valkyria is a good way to go so it made perfect sense.

Sami Zayn is ready to get his revenge on Karrion Kross.

Dominik Mysterio is looking for AJ Styles but finds Judgment Day, who tell him to calm down. Adam Pearce comes in to tell Mysterio that he’s either getting evaluated tonight or he’s losing the Intercontinental Title. Balor: “Get some lollipops!”

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

Kross slugs away to start and takes over on the banged up Zayn. Back up and Zayn fights out, including a bunch of right hands in the corner. A clothesline puts Kross on the floor, setting up the Arabian moonsault to drop Kross again. The ribs are banged up though and Kross goes after them as we take a break. We come back with Kross staying on the ribs as the Fireflies are out for some reason.

Kross gets in a shot of his own and climbs the corner for the tornado DDT and a near fall. Zayn gets caught on top, only to come out with a sunset bomb. With both of them down, Scarlett whips out the steel pipe but can’t hand it off at the moment. Zayn exploders Kross into the corner, which is enough for Scarlett to hand off the pipe. Scarlett grabs the leg, which is enough for the referee to get distracted. Kross hits Zayn with the pipe for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C+. This felt like a step in a bigger story, as Zayn is going to have to do something to get Kross off his back once and for all. You can’t do much when you have banged up ribs so Zayn was limited with what he could do. It was a good enough match, with Zayn selling like few others can do, but Kross winning makes sense in this spot. And he even took a bump!

Adam Pearce and AJ Styles ask about Dominik Mysterio’s status but Mysterio jumps Styles from behind. Mysterio will see Styles at Summerslam.

Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Feeling out process to start with neither of them getting very far early on. Vaquer smiles before they trade double arm cranks. They lock hands and roll around a bit until Vaquer vets a cross arm choke. That’s broken up so they trade rollups for two each. Back up and they slug it out, with Sky grabbing a rollup for two more. Vaquer spins around into a rollup before Sky dropkicks her to the floor.

A big suicide dive takes Vaquer out again and we take a break. We come back with Sky possibly hurting her leg as she comes off the top. The double underhook Codebreaker gets two on Sky but she pulls Vaquer into the crossface. With that broken up, Sky hits a 619 into a headscissors driver onto the apron. Back up and Sky’s Asai moonsault connects and she stomps on Vaquer’s ribs back inside.

Vaquer avoids the running knees in the corner but Sky German suplexes her down. A sunset bomb to the floor is blocked though and Vaquer grabs a quick Devil’s Kiss on the apron. Another one connects inside for two and the running knees connect in the corner. Sky is fine enough to hit her own SVB for two and the Bullet Train connects in the corner. Vaquer manages a reverse superplex to drop Sky on her face and they’re both down…so here is the Secret Hervice. Vaquer fights them off but Chelsea Green runs in to jump Vaquer for the DQ at 15:08.

Rating: B+. It’s still amazing that Vaquer has been in WWE for so little time and already feels like she belongs on top of the division. She was going move for move with Sky here and it felt like a big match, which thankfully didn’t have a finish. They had some expectations here and wound up going beyond them, which is rather impressive.

Post match Vaquer and Sky fight the three of them off but Naomi comes in from behind and sends Sky into Vaquer. The big beatdown is on until Rhea Ripley runs in for the save (to a ROAR). Ripley, Sky and Vaquer clear the ring.

Summerslam rundown.

Here are Paul Heyman, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker before Roman Reigns comes to the ring. Before Heyman can get very far though, here is Reigns, which doesn’t sit well with the villains. After the very lengthy entrance, Heyman says he never wants to be disrespectful or rude…and we pause for some crowd chanting. Heyman mocks the Texas fans and gets to the point: Seth Rollins is injured for a long time and that means there is a leadership spot available. They’re always better together than apart, but first Reigns asks the fans to acknowledge him. Heyman does the pose but Reigns says Heyman isn’t a wise man anymore. Reigns: “You’re just a dumba**.” Bron Breakker is ready to jump Reigns, who says Heyman will turn on him one day too.

Reigns has head a lot of people trying to take credit for the Tribal Chief but the only reason that happens is the people still acknowledge him. Heyman helped Reigns become the champion but the Usos, Solo Sikoa and even Sami Zayn helped him keep the title. Then he lost the title one day, but he went home to help raise the future Bloodline. The team is family, though Heyman only sees them as another wrestling faction.

What really bothers Reigns is that he made Heyman part of the family and then betrayed the family for a “best friend”. Heyman is the one who ruined the Bloodline, which has Breakker wanting the mic. Breakker says Reigns was a big deal five years ago. Breakker knows Heyman won’t turn on him because he has value in this place. Reigns is worthless while Breakker is the big dog around here.

So Reigns can do what he does best and leave. Reigns says he didn’t hear any of that because the mic wasn’t working. He throws Breakker the mic and hits the Superman Punch before going after Reed. Breakker is back up with a spear to Reigns but Jey Uso comes in for the save to a crazy reaction. Uso and Reigns hit stereo spears to clear the ring to end the show. You could do Reigns vs. Breakker but I’d save that for down the line. Do the tag match and play it safe.

Overall Rating: B. Good show here, which focused on getting us ready for Summerslam. That was in addition to a pretty good collection of wrestling and a nice exchange between Reigns and Heyman to end the show. They needed this kind of a show that helped get us ready for the pay per view and they made it come together well. Next week is going to be a tricky one, but at least this week was a success.

Results
Sheamus b. Rusev – Brogue Kick
LWO b. Creed Brothers and New Day – Rollup to Kingston
Judgment Day b. Lyra Valkyria/Bayley – Tejana Bomb to Bayley
Karrion Kross b. Sami Zayn – Pipe to the ribs
Stephanie Vaquer b. Iyo Sky via DQ when Chelsea Green interfered

 

 

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

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