Smackdown
Date: April 11, 2008
Location: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Gresham

We are on the road to Backlash and believe it or not, Edge is already getting his rematch after losing the World Title at Wrestlemania. Undertaker isn’t overly pleased and that rarely works out well for anyone else. Other than that, Batista isn’t happy with Raw’s Shawn Michaels, which almost has to be better than the last time he fought someone from Raw. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Great Khali is in the ring with a bunch of dancers and two shirtless guys. Apparently this is a Punjabi Peace Offering to Big Show. One of the men explains the concept and is about to quote Gandhi when Big Show comes out. Show isn’t interested as the ring clears, save for one of the men and the giants.

The offering is some sort of spiritual water, followed by a bottle of the world’s finest scotch. Show drinks it but cringes before being given….a black chicken so he will never be hungry? Finally Show is presented with a goat, so he will never be thirsty. Show says words can’t describe how he feels and he shakes Khali’s hand. Then the big right hand knocks Khali silly. That looked good.

John Morrison/The Miz vs. Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore

How many times are these teams going to fight? Non-title but we do see a clip of Miz and Morrison mocking Yang and Moore on the Dirt Sheet. Moore works on Morrison’s arm to start and Yang comes in with a dropkick for two. It’s off to Miz, who can’t get a belly to back suplex, as Yang kicks him in the face instead. Moore comes back in but gets sent throat first into the middle rope to cut him off. The slingshot elbow hits Moore and Morrison grabs the armbar.

Morrison stomps away as commentary questions Miz and Morrison’s ethical standards. We hit the chinlock with a knee in Moore’s back, which is enough to set up the comeback. Moore gets over for the tag to Yang so the pace can pick way up. The missile dropkick puts Morrison down for two but he’s back up with a kick to the face of his own for two of his own. A blind tag brings Miz back in though and a jumping neckbreaker finishes Yang.

Rating: C+. These teams work well together and it’s a shame that Moore and Yang didn’t get more of a chance. That’s one of the flaws with having a division that is about two teams at most and there just wasn’t room for a makeshift pairing. Miz and Morrison continue to roll though and I’m not sure who could take the titles anytime soon.

Teddy Long watches Edge and Vickie Guerrero get a couples massage. They’re both been so stressed out and Edge is so happy to be here instead of being at the arena.

Finlay vs. Matt Striker

Hornswoggle is here with Finlay and goes underneath the ring at the bell. They grapple against the ropes to start, where Hornswoggle sprays Striker with a water gun. The annoyed Striker kicks Finlay down and starts in on the arm. Finlay fight sup for the Regal Roll, setting up a catapult into the corner. Striker ties him up on the apron and hammers away, as he is known to do. Coach: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone use the apron like that.” Cole: “Then you haven’t been watching Smackdown because Finlay does it every match.” Point to Cole.

Now it’s Hornswoggle with a bucket of confetti (Striker: “Get out of here Sky Low Low!”) but it doesn’t work so well. Another bucket, this one of water, works better but Striker avoids a charge into the post. Hornswoggle’s shot with an inflatable hammer (called a shillelagh but it looked like a hammer) just annoys Striker, who is distracted enough for the real shillelagh shot to knock him cold for the pin.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t exactly there for the back and forth action, with the commentary being the best part. This was much more about having Finlay get back on track after his Wrestlemania loss and he got as much as he could out of beating Striker. It was a nothing match as expected, but Cole burning Coach was funny.

Post match Hornswoggle hits the Tadpole Splash.

Victoria vs. Michelle McCool

Before the match, Victoria introduces us to her new best friend: Natalya Neidhart, so we get a look at Natalya’s father Jim. Natalya says it’s about her and “When you mess with the best, you go down with the rest. Yeah baby.” With that thankfully out of the way, Michelle takes Victoria down and starts hammering away. A basement dropkick sends Victoria outside but she’s right back in with a hard clothesline. Victoria grabs a superplex for two but McCool fights back up. Natalya gets in a jacket shot though and Victoria grabs a rollup, with tights, for the win. Bad ending aside, that was a better women’s match than usual for Smackdown.

Michael Cole is in the ring and talks about how personal the issue between Shawn Michaels and Batista has become. We get a recap of their troubles, which stems from Michaels retiring Flair. Since the wrestling world can’t exist without Flair, Batista is mad at Shawn for not letting Flair win. That’s not what Flair wanted but Batista just wants Flair around (they make it sound like he’s dead). Here are Batista and Shawn to go face to face, with Shawn saying everyone, including Flair, has moved on. Well, except Batista that is, which has Shawn thinking.

Batista’s problem isn’t with Flair, but with Shawn himself. That’s true, and what Shawn did at Wrestlemania opened Batista’s eyes. The blood on Shawn’s hands isn’t getting washed out and Batista doesn’t like how Shawn got to the top. Batista was up front, which Shawn says is a luxury he had at 6’5, 280lbs. Shawn couldn’t do that and yes he did take shortcuts when he had to. He’ll knock Batista’s teeth down his throat at Backlash but for now he has to escape the Batista Bomb. The match will be good but Batista acting like the world is ending because Flair is gone is still a lot to take.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Matt Logan

Kozlov tosses him around and finishes with the reverse DDT in less than a minute. Total destruction.

Back to the spa, where Edge and Vickie have face masks on, complete with cucumbers over their eyes. Teddy Long brings them their drinks and has to take the cucumbers away. They’re even getting matching pedicures! Teddy’s disgusted look is great.

Matt Hardy vs. Chuck Palumbo

MVP is on commentary. As MVP calls out Coach and Cole for being ranked the worst commentary team of all time (with Cole no selling it), Matt reverses a headlock into a hammerlock. With that broken up, Palumbo kicks him in the back and cranks on the neck. Matt fights up and enziguris his way to freedom and they both crash out to the floor. That of course means an MVP distraction so Palumbo can jump Matt from behind and take over.

We take a break and come back with Matt fighting out of another neck crank. Palumbo suplexes him down and grabs a third neck crank, followed by a fourth because Palumbo seems a bit limited in the ring. Another comeback lets Matt grab a Side Effect to take over and Palumbo’s missed charge goes into the post. There’s the middle rope elbow to the back of the head but Palumbo plants Hardy for two. Not that it matters as the Twist of Fate finishes Palumbo off.

Rating: C. Palumbo’s usefulness continues to be putting others over as angry biker only has so much of a shelf life. Hardy is on a bit of a roll and is getting somewhere on the way to his US Title shot against MVP. Taking the title is going to be a bit easier said than done, but at least we are FINALLY getting to that point.

Post match MVP poses at Hardy and walks off.

Jesse and Festus are nervous about the latter’s match against Undertaker tonight.

Backlash rundown.

Undertaker vs. Festus

Non-title and Jesse is here with Festus. Undertaker starts fast with a big boot before going after the arm, including Old School. Festus manages a powerslam for two and hammers away in the corner. Another boot to the face and a clothesline give Undertaker two and they fight to the floor. Festus rams him into the barricade a few times and they head inside, where Festus’ right hands send Undertaker outside again.

Undertaker isn’t having that and sends him into the steps, setting up another kick to the head. Back in and Undertaker hits the running DDT and starts hammering away in the corner. They slug it out until Undertaker has to escape a fireman’s carry and grabs the chokeslam for two. Festus fights up and slugs away but the referee gets bumped. With the referee down, Undertaker grabs the triangle choke and, after a good while, the referee comes back in to say Festus is out.

Rating: C+. Undertaker gave Festus a lot more than I would have expected here, as Festus got to beat Undertaker up for a few minutes. The ending was a good way to make Undertaker’s choke feel dangerous, which is quite the upgrade for someone who is already such a monster. Festus showed something here though, and that is how unnecessary Jesse is to his success.

Post match Jesse runs in and breaks it up to protect Festus. Undertaker looks down at them and doesn’t appear happy before posing to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. They kept this show moving despite very little actually happening. Undertaker being in the ring always feels like something special, even if he was facing someone like Festus. Other than that, Backlash is pretty much set and now we need to just get to the show in a few weeks. Some of the stories still need some more polish though and we could be getting some of that until we get to the pay per view. Not a great show here, but it held things in place well enough.

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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Smackdown
Date: March 3, 2023
Location: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are less than a month away from Wrestlemania and that means it is time to kick the build into high gear. This time around we are going to be seeing something special as Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes will be going face to face for the first time in a very long while. Other than that, I’m sure Sami Zayn will be up to something. Let’s get to it.

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

We’ll start big as here is the Bloodline (still minus Jey Uso) to get things going. After Reigns requests and receives his acknowledgment, here is Cody Rhodes to interrupt. Cody makes it clear that he isn’t here to fight because they can do that at Wrestlemania, one on one. Therefore, unless Reigns needs the rest of his team, they aren’t needed. Reigns sends the team away and asks if that makes Cody more comfortable. Reigns puts both titles down in front of Cody, who says Reigns has been champion for 915 days.

For some, Reigns has become this impossible mountain to climb, but that is kind of Cody’s thing. There is no way Cody could survive Stardust and there is no way 10,000 people will pay to see Cody headline an indy show. The goalposts are always being moved but he is always kicking it through the uprights. Reigns may be impossible for some, but that isn’t the case with Cody. Reigns: “That was good.” He accuses Cody of rehearsing that all week before asking if Cody has ever won the WWE Title. Or even competed for it. Or headlined Wrestlemania.

Reigns has been groomed for this since he was a little boy, both by his own father and by Cody’s father as well. Don’t worry though as he won’t degrade Dusty Rhodes, because Dusty was the one who put the confidence in him. We get the required Dusty impression and Reigns says Dusty knew everything Reigns would wind up doing. You know what Dusty would say about Cody though? Nothing. Maybe when Seth was in there talking to Dusty or something but most of the time, it was like Cody didn’t exist.

Reigns knows Dusty isn’t here anymore, but if there is anything he didn’t teach Cody, Reigns will at Wrestlemania. The handshake is offered though Cody says this isn’t even on the same playing field. Paul Heyman came to Smackdown to tell Cody the truth, and if that is the truth, then one of Dusty’s kids (as in students) was better than Dusty’s actual kids. If that is the truth, then Reigns is the son that Dusty always wanted. If that is the truth, then Cody has to win the title at Wrestlemania. So absolutely, may the better man win, and they shake hands.

This was Reigns showing he can hang with the big talking himself and it’s feeling more and more personal every week. Great stuff here, and Cody is building his own story with Reigns. That had to be done and for once they’re actually making it work. Keep this up and they are going to have something special in Los Angeles.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

Dominik Mysterio is here with Rhea. This is the result of Liv challenging Ripley to a match because it’s insane. Liv takes her down to start but a springboard armdrag is countered into a faceplant. A running knee drops Liv again but she fights back and hits a middle rope dropkick. With Rhea on the floor, Liv tries a dive, which is swatted away for a hard crash.

We take a break and come back with Liv kicking her away, setting up a Codebreaker. A springboard Codebreaker and middle rope Codebreaker Connect for two but the Oblivion is countered. Riptide is countered and an enziguri hits Ripley as well. That’s enough for Ripley, who knocks her down and hits a quick Riptide. The Prism Trap with a knee on Liv’s head gives Ripley the submission at 8:00.

Rating: B-. That might be high but this was a lot more entertaining than I was expecting. Morgan wasn’t about to beat the #1 contender but she got in a lot of offense and had Ripley selling a bit before the finish. What matters here is having Ripley look good and giving Morgan a bit more offense before the win was a good way to go.

The Bloodline is in the back and Roman Reigns wants to know when Jey Uso will be back. Jimmy Uso says Jey needs time, but Reigns is running out of patience. Jimmy will let Jey know, but Reigns implies he’s running out of patience with Jimmy as well.

We look back at Rey Mysterio not being able to hit his son Dominik last week.

Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley run into Santos Escobar, who wants Dominik in the ring right now. He even blows Rhea a kiss for a bonus.

Santos Escobar vs. Dominik Mysterio

Rhea Ripley is here with Dominik. A quick dropkick staggers Escobar to start but he sends Dominik into the corner and tells him to acknowledge the legacy of Rey Mysterio’s mask. Dominik: “NO!” A surfboard has Dominik in more trouble but he breaks that up and sends Escobar outside.

We take a break and come back with Dominik teasing a 619 but opting to choke on the ropes instead. Escobar wakes up though and hammers away, only to have Dominik go to the eyes to escape the Phantom Driver. Escobar is right back with a flying forearm into a standing legdrop for two. They collide for a double knockdown though and Dominik whips out some brass knuckles. The distraction lets Ripley hit Riptide on the floor, with Dominik adding the frog splash for the pin at 8:36.

Rating: C+. Escobar continues to look like someone who could become a bigger deal if he is given the chance. It’s nice to see him getting a chance here and you can almost guarantee that he is going to be in a spot going forward. At the same time, the star here was Ripley, who has so much charisma and feels like a star. Dominik is getting the hang of things, but he is going to be in Ripley’s spotlight for a long time.

Post match Dominik takes Rey’s mask and rips it up. Cue Rey to glare at his son, with Dominik offering to hand it over if Rey will hit him. Rey won’t so Dominik drops the mask and hits Rey from behind.

Sami Zayn was at the airport earlier today and said you could feel the heat. Roman Reigns is feeling the heat too and tonight, he is facing Solo Sikoa. This isn’t about wins and losses, but rather about sending a message. The Sami Zayn problem isn’t going away until the Bloodline goes down. A lot of fans around him know it and the SAMI chants are on. I love it when they go out of the arena like this and Sami felt like a star here.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat and he gets right to the point by calling out Gunther. Cue Sheamus, who says Drew is going behind his back to get to Wrestlemania. Drew knows what winning the Intercontinental Title means to Sheamus and Sheamus isn’t going to calm down. That doesn’t work for Drew, who says he isn’t going to ask Sheamus for permission to do everything.

Sheamus says he isn’t Drew’s parent, but he thought they were brothers. No, instead Drew is just a backstabbing b******. Drew says if we’re telling the truth, the reality is Sheamus lost to Gunther twice….and here is LA Knight to interrupt. If you’re talking about the Intercontinental Title, you have to be talking about him. These two in the ring (who are arguing without even looking at Knight) have gotten every chance….and here is New Day to interrupt.

They mock Knight for saying you can’t have an LA Wrestlemania without him before saying Knight can’t even win a match around here. Cue Karrion Kross (with Scarlett) to interrupt and now the fight is on before they can say anything. Sheamus and Drew clear the ring but Drew dives onto a bunch of people (mainly landing on Kofi Kingston) instead of fighting. Kross sends Sheamus into the post and stands tall.

Earlier today, Tegan Nox and Natalya attacked Ronda Rousey, resulting in her arm being hurt and Shana Baszler making the save.

Shayna Baszler vs. Tegan Nox

Ronda Rousey (in a sling) and Natalya are here too and their entrance songs are used. Baszler starts fast and goes after Nox’s arm but gets kicked in the head for her efforts. Another shot to the arm cuts Nox down and an armbar makes her tap at 2:02. More or less a squash.

Gunther calls the lack of a Wrestlemania challenger a disgrace. He wants a worthy opponent for this great prize in this sacred sport. That’s as much praise as the Intercontinental Title has gotten in years.

Here is Bobby Lashley for a chat. He saw the Bray Wyatt Muscleman Dance on Raw so Bray can come see him right now. Instead, here is Uncle Howdy from behind and the beating is on. Lashley shrugs it off and hits the spinebuster, but the lights go out before the spear. They come back up and Howdy is gone. Well that made Howdy look worthless.

Jimmy Uso comes to see Roman Reigns. He called Jey Uso, who said he needs more time, which apparently is shorthand for “leave him the h*** alone.” Reigns can’t believe this and blames Sami Zayn. He wants Jimmy out there with Solo Sikoa against Zayn tonight. If they get rid of Zayn, Jey will come home. Jimmy leaves and Paul Heyman calls that wonderful. Reigns waves that off and says Jey has one week, which Heyman understands. If Jey isn’t back in a week, Reigns is going to blame Jimmy Uso. That gets the fans’ attention.

Solo Sikoa vs. Sami Zayn

Jimmy Uso is here with Sikoa. They start before the bell with Sami taking Sikoa down and sending Jimmy over the top. Back in and the bell rings with Sami sending Solo outside for a change. A Jimmy distraction lets Solo get in a posting though and Sami is thrown into the timekeeper’s area as we take a break. Back with Zayn knocking Sikoa down but walking into a Samoan drop. A tornado DDT gives Zayn two and a high crossbody gets the same. Sikoa misses a charge in the corner and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Jimmy saves Sikoa from the Helluva Kick though and the Samoan Spike finishes Zayn at 7:47.

Rating: C. That ending was a bit disappointing as Zayn taking another fall so soon after Elimination Chamber feels unnecessary. They could have gotten a better result out of some kind of screwy finish, so this was a little hard to take. The good thing is Zayn didn’t lose clean, but it would be nice if he didn’t have to lose at all here. Now that being said, the numbers game playing against him means he is going to need a friend, and that can only lead in one direction.

Post match Solo and Jimmy grab a chair and beat Zayn down, including putting it around his chair in the corner. Sikoa loads up the running Umaga Attack but Jimmy wants to do it instead. That takes too long though and Zayn grabs the chair, which he launches at Sikoa’s head. The Helluva Kick hits Jimmy and Zayn grabs the chair, only to have Sikoa knock it away. Zayn runs into the crowd as an upset Roman Reigns is shown in the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that had more of an energy and there was a reason to care about almost everything going on. You don’t get that very often and it made for a good show. What matters here is that it felt like they have turned on the Wrestlemania jets and we should be in for an exciting ride over the next month. The Cody vs. Reigns showdown was awesome and if they can keep up that energy, the main event will be white hot. Good show here as they check another step off the Road To Wrestlemania.

Results
Rhea Ripley b. Liv Morgan – Prism Trap
Dominik Mysterio b. Santos Escobar – Frog splash
Shayna Baszler b. Tegan Nox – Armbar
Solo Sikoa b. Sami Zayn – Samoan Spike

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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AND

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Smackdown
Date: February 24, 2023
Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s a crossover night as we have some guest stars from Monday Night Raw. Not only is Rhea Ripley here to confront Charlotte, but Dominik Mysterio is here to meet his dad Rey. In addition, Rey is going to be facing Karrion Kross again, because just beating Kross isn’t enough. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns retaining the World Title over Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber. Kevin Owens came out for the save but he and Zayn are still not on the same page.

Jimmy Uso arrives but hasn’t been able to get in touch with Jey. He has left Jey multiple messages, saying they can meet in the middle of the ring so Jey can get everything off his chest.

Madcap Moss/Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Imperium

Vinci and Moss start things off by running the ropes until Moss shoulders him down. Ricochet comes in with a slingshot hilo but a hard clothesline drops him. Kaiser comes in to send Ricochet hard into the ropes before drawing Strowman in. Some double teaming behind the referee’s back has Ricochet in more trouble, including Gunther dropping him hard onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Ricochet fighting out of a chinlock but Gunther cuts off the comeback. Cue Drew McIntyre to watch from the aisle as Vinci gets to blast Ricochet with a clothesline. Ricochet ducks a clothesline though and it’s a hot tag to bring in Strowman for the house cleaning. Gunther chops and kicks Strowman down so it’s Moss coming in to try his luck. A Kaiser distraction cuts Moss off though and Gunther clothesline Moss down. The powerbomb gives Gunther the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. I can go for a good six man almost every time and they planted some seeds for a possible McIntyre vs. Gunther Wrestlemania match. Gunther needs a big time opponent for the show and none of the three guys in this match are going to be that. Fun match here, with Gunther getting to look like a monster again.

Post match McIntyre stares down Gunther and takes off his jacket but the Viking Raiders jump him from behind. Sheamus comes in for the save with Strowman and Ricochet helping, leaving the good guys to pose. Did Imperium evaporate somewhere in there?

Rey Mysterio is ready to face Karrion Kross tonight but Santos Escobar interrupts. Escobar talks about respect and wants to display it to Rey. Mysterio says that’s mutual but Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley interrupt. Escobar doesn’t like Dominik’s tone and a match seems to be set up for later tonight.

Jimmy Uso thinks Jey Uso is shaken up after Montreal so Paul Heyman suggests Jimmy deal with Jey tonight. Solo Sikoa can stay in the back. Jimmy appears to agree.

Here is LA Knight for a chat. Knight says it’s that time of year, as everyone is talking about wanting their Wrestlemania Moment. The twist though is Knight is going to give Wrestlemania an LA Knight moment. Cue New Day to interrupt, with Kofi Kingston saying that’s not how Wrestlemania works. Kofi Kingston mentions Knight being around for about two and a half months so he isn’t getting everything handed to him. Knight calls them nerds, which Woods says has made them a lot of money. Kofi says he was working for eleven years to earn the Wrestlemania moment, so get a referee out here.

Kofi Kingston vs. LA Knight

Joined in progress with Knight shouldering him down, only to charge into raised boots in the corner. Kofi hits the middle rope splash to the back and a high crossbody gets two. The armbar goes on but Knight powers up and hits him in the face. The powerslam gives Knight two and he sends Kofi hard into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Kofi hitting a middle rope dropkick but Knight knocks him outside. They head back inside with Knight hitting the slingshot shoulder for two but Kofi fights up again. A sunset flip gets two on Knight and the Boom Drop connects for the same. Something like a Rock Bottom gives Knight two of his own but he makes the mistake of going after Xavier Woods. Kofi hits a dive on the floor but gets caught on top. Woods trombones a distraction though, allowing Trouble In Paradise to finish Knight at 12:40.

Rating: C. That’s a bit of a confusing result as Kofi didn’t need the win but Knight need a bit of a rebuild after losing to Bray Wyatt. Knight has everything he needs to be a star and he didn’t get squashed here, but he needs to actually win something eventually. It was a nice TV match, though I could have gone for a different result.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. She doesn’t like Rhea Ripley and brings up the last time they were in the ring together. Cue Dominik Mysterio to interrupt and say that Charlotte is in over her head. No woman has ever entered the Royal Rumble at #1 and won, but Ripley pulled it off. Ripley is a strong woman and when she makes sweet…..and Charlotte cuts him off. Charlotte: “I have a real Latino man at home who calls me mami with a much thicker….accent.”

Dominik says he knows what it’s like being compared to their fathers and being better than them. The fans don’t like that but Dominik says Charlotte will find out she isn’t good enough at Wrestlemania. Charlotte loves her dad, who turns 74 tomorrow, and could beat up Dominik if he was here. Charlotte is here though and gets in Dominik’s face, which draws out Ripley. The staredown is on but Dominik gets Ripley out before it gets physical. They’re building up the drama, but I have no reason to cheer for Charlotte or want to see her keep the title.

Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler

Natalya was cleared earlier today and Tegan Nox offered to have her back to help with Ronda Rousey (here as well). Natalya sends her into the corner to start but Baszler takes her down by the arm to take over. Baszler kicks her in the arm but misses the running knee. A Russian legsweep and basement kick to the face put Baszler down and a German suplex does it again. The discus lariat gives Natalya two but a Rousey distraction lets Baszler hit the knee to the face. An armbar makes Natalya tap at 2:52.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Nox makes the save. Rousey promises pain next week.

We see the Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch Joker/Batman trailer.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House, with everything going red. We cut to Bray Wyatt in what looks like a home studio, watching himself challenge the winner of Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. Lashley didn’t seem scared after winning at Elimination Chamber, so we go to Fun House News, with Bray Wyatt and Ramblin Rabbi. Wyatt says it’s time for the weather, with a makeshift Uncle Howdy saying he is all of us.

Now it’s time toy Can You Keep A Secret (complete with Bryan in a bad wig). Bray: “Well, can you?” We look out the door of the Fun House where various scary images flash on screen, capped off by Bray in his new mask. Bray asks if we can keep a secret and that’s it. This was Bray’s latest rambling without actually saying anything.

Jimmy Uso is worried about confronting Jey, but Paul Heyman says that Roman Reigns will be here next week. If Jimmy handles Jey tonight, Reigns will personally handle Jey next week.

Rey Mysterio vs. Karrion Kross

Scarlett is here with Kross. Rey low bridges him to the floor and hits a 619 to the back of the head in about fifteen seconds. The big dive drops Kross again and we take an early break. Back with Kross in control but getting sent face first into the buckle. Rey hits a top rope seated senton but gets sent hard to the floor in a crash. Back in and Kross takes him to the corner, only to get caught with a super hurricanrana for two. The 619 is loaded up but Rey has to deal with Scarlett, allowing Dominik Mysterio to pop in and break up the 619. The distraction lets Kross hit the Krosshammer and grab the Krossjacket for the win at 8:38.

Rating: C. That evens up the series but this is all about setting up Rey to face Dominik, likely at Wrestlemania. I’m not sure where that leaves Kross though, as he doesn’t seem to have much going on. At least he got a win here though and looked good in doing so, which is a lot better than his first run on the main roster.

Post match Kross and Scarlett leave so Dominik gets in Rey’s face. Dominik tells him to do it but Rey walks off instead.

Here is Jimmy Uso to all out his brother Jey. Jimmy knows that Jey is hurting and when Jey hurts, Jimmy does too. He’ll always be there for his brother and now he needs his brother here. There are some cracks in the Bloodline and Jimmy needs his brother. Cue Sami Zayn through the crowd to stand behind Jimmy.

Zayn keeps hearing Jimmy talking about his brother and that’s what Jimmy used to be to him. Jimmy was the only one who saw value in him and he was the one who made Zayn an Honorary Uce. Then at the Royal Rumble, Jimmy took Zayn down without a second thought and that hurt a lot. Jimmy blames Zayn for making the choice and pulling the trigger when he hit Roman Reigns with the chair. What was Jimmy supposed to do? Zayn says family doesn’t make you test your loyalty every week or manipulate you like Reigns has done to himself and Jey.

Cue Jey in the crowd as Zayn says there is a way out for Jimmy. He doesn’t have to go down with the ship….and Jimmy hits Zayn as he looks up at Jey. Jimmy gets distracted by Jey as well though and Zayn hits the Helluva Kick. Jey has made his way to the barricade and Zayn bails as Solo Sikoa comes out. Zayn looks at Jey and then runs into the crowd to end the show. Jey never said or did anything save for staring. This was a “well Reigns is back next week so we’ll see you then”.

Overall Rating: C+. This was more of a “hold the fort” show as there was no Reigns to move the big story forward very far. At the same time, they moved some other stuff forward, with Rey vs. Dominik looking more and more likely, Charlotte vs. Rhea getting the top of the second hour spot and Drew McIntyre (at least) setting his eyes on Gunther. You have to build some things up other than just the main event scene and that’s what this show tried to do. It worked, though I’m not sure if anything jumped off the page this week.

Results
Imperium b. Madcap Moss/Ricochet/Braun Strowman – Powerbomb to Moss
Kofi Kingston b. LA Knight – Trouble In Paradise
Shayna Baszler b. Natalya – Armbar
Karrion Kross b. Rey Mysterio – Krossjacket

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Elimination Chamber 2023
Date: February 18, 2023
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last major stop on the Road To Wrestlemania and this is all going to be about Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns. In spite of the show’s title, the Elimination Chamber matches are far, far down the ladder in importance from the main event, which should have one of the most electric atmospheres WWE has seen in years. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the Chamber matches, before shifting to the Zayn vs. Reigns main event and treating it like the bigger deal that it is.

Women’s Elimination Chamber

The winner moves on to face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Title at Wrestlemania and there is no word on the length of intervals. Natalya is in first and Liv Morgan is in second to get things going. A shoulder runs Morgan over to start and they trade rollups for a standoff. They go outside with Natalya being sent into the Chamber wall a few times and Morgan kissing her on the cheek.

Back up and Natalya sends her face first into the pod wall over and over with the fans approving of the violence. Morgan’s head goes through one of the squares in the wall so Natalya can crank on her arms. After three minutes, Raquel Rodriguez is in third and gets to slam people around. The all away slam sends Morgan flying and there’s a big boot to Natalya. With Rodriguez holding both of them up, Natalya eventually manages a sunset bomb into the wall.

Back in and all three get knocked down until Cross is in fourth. Cross sends everyone out and pushes Rodriguez’s face up against the wall this time. With Carmella mocking her, Rodriguez gets sent face first into the pod, leaving Cross to climb on top for the very high crossbody onto all of them. Carmella is in fifth and gets two on Rodriguez before going to yell at Asuka. That earns her a chase back into the pod but Rodriguez drives Cross through said pod, with Carmella just escaping. Carmella then runs into another pod, with Rodriguez wisely getting rid of Cross at 11:43 for the first elimination.

One heck of a sunset bomb off the pod plants Rodriguez for two and it’s Asuka in sixth to complete the field. Asuka goes right after Carmella to wreck her for a bit before squaring off with Rodriguez. An Octopus has Rodriguez in trouble but she powers Asuka up to her shoulders. Asuka slips out and superkicks her down, only to walk into Morgan’s missile dropkick for two. Natalya can’t powerbomb Morgan, who hits her with a Code Red. The Oblivion is broken up by Carmella and the Sharpshooter, plus an arm crank from Asuka, knock Morgan out for the elimination at 16:34.

The Sharpshooter has Asuka in trouble but Carmella breaks it up and pins Natalya at 17:33. A quick double teaming gets rid of Rodriguez at 18:18 and we’re down to Carmella vs. Asuka. Carmella hits a superkick for a fast two but Asuka strikes her down. The armbar makes Carmella give up to send Asuka to Wrestlemania at 19:43.

Rating: C. You had two favorites to win and one of them did, after running through most of the field like a buzzsaw. Asuka winning isn’t exactly bringing in someone new, but it’s nice to see her get reheated. She absolutely has the talent, but Belair vs. Asuka feels more like a solid Money in the Bank title match rather than Wrestlemania.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley in a rubber match. Lashley beat Lesnar (with interference from Roman Reigns) at last year’s Royal Rumble and Lesnar escaped with a win at last year’s Crown Jewel. Now the roles are a bit reversed as Lashley is a bit more evil this time around. Also, the winner has to deal with Bray Wyatt, who has said he is waiting on whoever comes out on top.

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

Lesnar wastes no time in taking him into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Lashley gets knocked outside but comes back in with a pair of spears. The Hurt Lock is countered into the F5 for two as we’re not even two minutes into this yet. Another F5 gets another two but Lashley is back up with the spear. The Hurt Lock goes on and Lesnar is in trouble….so he kicks Lashley low for the DQ at 4:33.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but these fast paced, finisher spamming matches are only so interesting. Lesnar came off like a total villain in the end but that isn’t how things are likely to be presented. You can pencil in the big, violent, no holds barred brawl of some sort for WrestleMania, though I wonder where that leaves Wyatt. Entertaining sprint, but it’s nothing new from Lesnar.

Post match Lesnar takes out the referee and F5’s Lashley through the announcers’ table, much to the fans’ delight. The referee gets F5’d onto the remains of the table.

The Wrestlemania movie parody trailers are back! We start with Seth Rollins as the Joker (makes sense), doing the dance down the stairs. Then Becky Lynch, as an unmasked Batman, grabs him to ask what that was. Rollins asks what’s up with her voice, then she puts on her glasses, declares herself the Man, and leaves. Rollins: “She is the Man.”

We recap Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Rhea Ripley/Finn Balor. Edge vs. Judgment Day has been going on since last summer and Phoenix is stepping in to help deal with Ripley so Edge can go for his revenge again.

Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Rhea Ripley/Finn Balor

Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley and Balor. Edge runs Balor over to start and hits a big boot before handing it off to Beth (with her Bull Nakano inspired face paint. Ripley comes in as well for the yelling staredown They trade clotheslines until Beth hits a slightly weird looking running elbow to the face. We hit the test of strength as the fans are all over Dominik.

They fight outside with Ripley being sent into the steps but a Balor distraction lets Dominik crotch Beth on top. Dominik gets chased off but comes back, much to the fans’ annoyance. Beth knocks Balor down and DDTs Ripley but Balor slides under the ring and pulls Edge off the apron. Riptide and the Glam Slam are blocked, as is Rhea’s attempt at a super Glam Slam.

Instead Beth reverses into a top rope superplex for a heck of a double crash and they’re both down. Beth kicks Ripley into Balor and the hot tag brings in Edge to clean house. The Edgecator has Balor in trouble and Beth puts Rhea in the same. Dominik interferes and throws something in, with Beth letting go to chase him off. Ripley headbutts Beth down and hits Edge with what looks to be brass knuckles.

Beth makes the save and heads outside with Ripley. After Balor gets crotched on top, the women powerbomb the men down but Ripley misses a Conchairto on the steps. The Glam Slam plants Ripley on the floor and there’s an Edgecution to Balor. Edge dives onto Dominik but the spear is countered into the Coup de Grace. The shotgun dropkick is cut off with a spear though and a Shatter Machine finishes Balor at 13:48.

Rating: B. I’m a bit surprised by the result here but this did a good job of making Beth feel like a huge star. She was showing off with the power and all of her stuff looked good. At the same time, Edge pins Balor in what should be the big finale for the feud. Then again they seem destined for one more match at Wrestlemania so the result here is a little odd.

US Title: Men’s Elimination Chamber

Austin Theory is defending and Johnny Gargano is in first with Seth Rollins in second. They go with the grappling to start with neither being able to get very far. Gargano misses the rolling kick to the face and the slingshot spear is cut off. The Pedigree attempt is countered with a backdrop onto the outside and Gargano takes him down again for a double knockdown. Theory is in third (before we even reach three minutes this time) and goes right after Gargano.

It’s off to Theory vs. Rollins, with the former getting pingponged back and forth between the other two. Theory thinks that means it’s time to bring back The Way from NXT, but Gargano decks him instead. With that not working for the champ, he tries to hide in the pod but gets double teamed in there as well. Damian Priest is in fourth and gets to beat up both good guys.

A bulldog driver plants Rollins and a lifting Downward Spiral gets two on Gargano. Priest busts out a Killswitch of all things on Rollins before kicking Theory in the head. A running flip dive over the ropes crushes Theory again and Priest knocks down everyone else to stand tall. Priest goes up top but Rollins catches him with the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two.

Bronson Reed is in fifth and the fans seem to approve. Reed Rock Bottoms Gargano onto Rollins (who was standing as well) and hits a running splash in the corner for the bonus. The double Samoan drop hits Rollins and Gargano at the same time, leaving Montez Ford looking a bit worried in the pod. Reed sends Priest into the Chamber and then splashes him against the pod as the dominance continues.

The top rope shoulder drops Theory as well until Ford is in, giving us an ultra rare all six entrance in the match at once. Ford gets to beat up Theory and loads up a People’s Elbow of all things, only to have Reed make the save. Reed puts Gargano in an electric chair and a springboard clothesline turns it into a poisonrana, with Gargano coming DANGEROUSLY close to landing on his head.

Ford climbs up the wall….and then winds up hanging upside down from the roof. A flip dive onto everyone else leaves everybody down and the fans are VERY happy. Reed is back up so a bunch of people hit him with superkicks, followed by One Final Beat, a Stomp before a frog splash gives Ford the pin to eliminate Reed at 17:55.

Everyone starts climbing the wall, with Gargano and Rollins sitting on top of a pod. The other three get knocked down so Rollins chops the heck of Gargano, triggering a fight. Rollins loads up the super powerbomb but Gargano reverses it into a hurricanrana onto the pile for the HUGE crash, leaving Gargano holding his face. Gargano is fine enough to superkick Priest and Ford, setting up One Final Beat to Theory on the outside. Priest breaks up one back inside though and the Razor’s Edge gets rid of Gargano at 22:54.

Priest chases Ford to the top but Rollins pulls Priest into a powerbomb, with Ford adding a top rope Blockbuster for the pin at 24:44. So we’re down to Rollins vs. Theory vs. Ford and everyone needs a breather. Ford wins a slugout with Rollins and starts busting out the flip dives on the outside. A Rock Bottom hits Theory inside but the frog splash hits knees. Rollins adds a Stomp onto the steel and Ford is out at 27:39.

Rollins wastes no time in superkicking him into a sitout powerbomb for tow, as Ford is still down in the ring. The referee needs some help for Ford (his limbs are moving) and medics have to help get him to his feet. Ford is helped outside but actually falls on the steps (he is on another planet right now). Rollins hits a Pedigree on Theory….and here is Logan Paul to hit Rollins with a Buckshot Lariat. Paul Stomps Rollins as well and A Town Down retains Theory’s title at 31:24.

Rating: A-. Some of those spots were insane and they had the place rocking more than once. Paul coming in to cost Rollins is a great way to set up their Wrestlemania match and Theory winds up getting a big win to keep his title reign going. Also, quite the star making performances here for Reed, Priest and Ford, who was knocked completely loopy there near the end. In theory (no pun intended) that could have been a way for Paul to get inside, but I would hope they wouldn’t tease what looked like a rather horrible injury when Paul could have snuck in when anyone was leaving.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. Zayn tried to get into the Bloodline and eventually proved to be a valuable member of the team. Then Reigns slowly changed his mind on Zayn, accusing him of trying to steal the spotlight. Reigns gave him a chance to prove himself but Zayn cracked Reigns with a chair to one of the loudest reactions ever. Now Zayn wants to take the title from Reigns while Reigns just wants to destroy Zayn in Zayn’s hometown. This is one of the best built matches in years around here and the heat is going to be off the charts.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn

Reigns, with only Paul Heyman, is defending and WOW the reactions are off the chart, with Reigns being booed out of the building and Zayn getting an all time ovation (Worlds Apart always helps with that). The bell rings and we get a nearly four minute staredown with Reigns not leaving his corner. Reigns starts walking around the ring and the OLE chants seem to be getting on his nerves.

They finally lock up and Reigns runs him down with a shoulder. Sami’s headlock gets a huge reaction and they go back to circling as we’re nearly seven minutes into this. A low bridge sends Reigns outside and Sami nails the big flip dive. Back in and Zayn rains down some right hands in the corner as Reigns seems to be favoring his ear. A big right hand gets Reigns out of trouble and the apron dropkick has Zayn rocked.

Reigns laughs off some LET’S GO SAMI chants (Reigns: “That’s all you got? A couple of SAMI chants???”) before Reigns goes outside to yell at Zayn’s wife. Zayn gets put on the barricade in front of his wife as Reigns keeps yelling, followed by more shots to keep Zayn in trouble. Back in and a heck of a clothesline drops Reigns and the fans are back into it. A running clothesline sends Reigns outside and Zayn beats him up in front of his wife, who gets a quick kiss for a bonus.

A sunset bomb gives Zayn two but the Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into a release Rock Bottom for two more. The Superman Punch is loaded up but Zayn counters into the exploder into the corner. The Helluva Kick is cut off by the Superman Punch for two and they’re both down again. Reigns’ spear only hits corner though and Zayn exploders him into the corner again.

Zayn hits his own Superman Punch into the Helluva Kick for a VERY close two and Montreal has a city wide heart attack. The threat of another Helluva Kick sends Reigns bailing to the floor, where Zayn’s diving DDT is cut off by an uppercut. Zayn manages to send him through the barricade though and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets another white hot near fall back inside.

Another Blue Thunder Bomb is blocked and the referee gets bumped in the corner. Zayn hits another Helluva Kick but there’s no referee for the visual seven or so count. Cue Jimmy Uso (the waiver must have gone through) for three superkicks to Zayn and a Superfly Splash to give Reigns two from a second referee. They slug it out from their knees with Zayn getting the better of things and stomping Reigns out to the floor (after seemingly missing a ref bump).

Zayn takes Jimmy off the apron and the spear hits….for two. Now THAT brings the fans back into it and Reigns yells about how he was trying to help Zayn. A loud slap hits Reigns and a Superman Punch hits the referee (that seems to be what they were trying to do a few moments ago) so Heyman throws in a chair.

Cue Jey Uso to stand between Reigns and Zayn so Reigns holds the chair out to Jey (like he did to Zayn at the Royal Rumble). There’s no swing though as Jey drops the chair, earning a yelling from Reigns. Zayn spears Jey by mistake, so Reigns unloads on Zayn with the chair. The spear connects for Reigns and a referee comes back to life to count the pin at 32:19.

Rating: A-. This is a match where the emotions are going to play such a big role because that’s what the match was based on. What we got was great and felt epic, but man alive that was a punch to the gut to see Zayn come so close and gets speared down at the end. No matter how you look at it, Zayn was never likely to win as the featured spot at Wrestlemania is going to Cody Rhodes. For now though, this is the next step in the Bloodline Saga, as Reigns gets to move past Zayn, but the Usos might not be so lucky. Heck of a main event with some hot near falls, but the energy and reactions are what mattered.

Post match Jimmy goes after Zayn again but Kevin Owens comes out for the save (….uh…..) and beats Jimmy and Reigns down. Jimmy gets put through the announcers’ table and Owens grabs a chair, so Heyman gets in and pounds on Owens’ back. Zayn gets back up and hits the Helluva Kick on Reigns. Zayn looks at Owens as he leaves and then soaks in one last round of cheers to wrap it up. Owens and Zayn never touched or did anything but look at each other.

Overall Rating: A-. This show looked great coming in and then it delivered even more than that, as they had a pretty outstanding night. The opener is the closest thing to not good and even that was perfectly acceptable. The men’s Chamber and main event carried the show though and it was a pretty incredible show overall. Zayn vs. Reigns was a very good match boosted up to great by the crowd reactions, which can be a very powerful thing. Awesome show and if they can make it feel like this for Wrestlemania, we’re in for something very, very special.

Results
Asuka won the Women’s Elimination Chamber match last eliminating Carmella
Bobby Lashley b. Brock Lesnar via DQ when Lesnar kicked Lashley low
Edge/Beth Phoenix b. Finn Balor/Rhea Ripley – Shatter Machine to Balor
Austin Theory won the Men’s Elimination Chamber last eliminating Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns b. Sami Zayn – Spear

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It’s the last big stop on the Road To Wrestlemania and for a five match card, four of them are big and the fifth includes some Hall of Famers. This show is pretty much stacked with either big matches or the awesome sounding main event. While the show is called Elimination Chamber, the whole thing is about Roman Reigns defending the World Title against hometown boy Sami Zayn. Let’s get to it.

Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Balor/Rhea Ripley

Somehow this is the least important match on the show as Edge’s war against the Judgment Day continues. In this case, he is bringing in the wife to go after Ripley, who is on her way to WrestleMania. This should be a good, long tag match as all four can do well in a spot like this one. That being said, it doesn’t help that this feels like it is only there to set up something at Wrestlemania.

I’ll take Judgment Day here, as Ripley pinning Phoenix would make her look like a bigger deal on what could be her path to the main event of the first night of Wrestlemania. That leaves Edge and Balor to have one more showdown, likely in a big match in Los Angels. The match should be a good way to give us a breather between the bigger matches. The fact that this is probably the smallest on the car is quite a positive sign.

US Title: Men’s Elimination Chamber

So here we have the first Chamber match with Austin Theory defending the US Title. This match hasn’t exactly had the best build but there is quite the varied set of challengers to come after Theory. While I’m not sure if Theory is going to lose the title, they are doing enough to make me think that the title could change hands so something is going right so far.

As for the winner….I’ll go with Theory retaining, but there is more than one option. First off, Gargano and Ford just aren’t going to win. As fun as it would be for Reed to win, he isn’t going to either. That leaves Rollins (always an option), Priest (who needs a win) and Theory, who is likely going to be in a pretty upscale match at Wrestlemania. Theory wins here, and gets the solid boost that it was designed to give him.

Women’s Elimination Chamber

Now this one is a bit more interesting as we have two viable winners and the bigger of the two isn’t anything close to a lock. With six total contenders for the Wrestlemania title shot though, we’ll knock out Liv Morgan, Natalya and Carmella without much thought. Nikki Cross is a dark horse candidate as well but I just don’t think they are going to go in that direction.

That leaves us with Asuka and Raquel Rodriguez and I think I’ll go with the latter. Asuka has been hyped up as the next challenger and while that would be a good match, it doesn’t feel all that interesting. WWE has seemed like they want to get invested in Rodriguez and I think they’ll actually pull the trigger here and give her the chance. Asuka is a very strong possibility and I won’t be surprised if she wins, but I’ll go with Rodriguez.

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

It’s the trilogy match and somehow the winner gets Bray Wyatt after a pretty surprising challenge on Smackdown. This is the first time that Lesnar is the clear face vs. heel Lashley and it offers a unique twist on the match this time around. Lashley is in his suits again and that works well for him, though happy go lucky Lesnar is one of the most weirdly intriguing things I’ve seen in years.

I’ll go with Lashley winning here, if nothing else as the idea of Lesnar vs. Wyatt is something I can’t get my mind around. We should be in for a good power brawl here though and that’s the way a fight like this should be. The two of them can do pretty much everything to each other and that should make for a fun one. I’m still not sure what happens with Lesnar at Wrestlemania, but I don’t think he’ll be dealing with Wyatt.

Undisputed WWE World Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Sami Zayn

We had to get here and dang it I don’t want to. Not that the match won’t be great and the reaction to Zayn alone even better, but I don’t want Zayn’s incredible run with Reigns to come to an end. I don’t think there is much of a secret as to who walks out with the title, but the (somewhat) more interesting question is how WWE goes about having the match end.

Yeah of course Reigns retains here, though I could go with the idea of Zayn winning by DQ, just for the sake of him saving some face. Zayn getting speared down would be a hard thing to see but Reigns losing via DQ or countout wouldn’t do him any damage. Granted it would hurt Cody Rhodes though, and that’s not worth it. Word on the street is that the Usos might be able to be around and them costing Zayn the title could set up what seems to be a likely Wrestlemania Tag Team Title shot for Zayn and Kevin Owens. So Reigns retains and probably wins, but hopefully there are enough shenanigans for a screwy finish.

Overall Thoughts

This show has me rather interested as there isn’t a bad or uninteresting match on the entire card. WWE is cooking at the moment and if they can hold onto that for another six weeks, we could be in for a great Wrestlemania. For now, we could be in for a great Elimination Chamber on the Road To Wrestlemania though and I’ll certainly take that. Just make this stuff work and don’t do anything nutty and it should be an awesome night.

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Smackdown
Date: February 17, 2023
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are a day away from Elimination Chamber and that means this is likely to be the Sami Zayn show. Tomorrow night the hometown boy Zayn gets his shot at Roman Reigns and I think the people might be a bit interested. Other than that we have Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title against Madcap Moss. 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 Usos/Bloodline drama, with Jimmy Uso getting caught lying about Jey Uso and Sami Zayn. Hence Roman Reigns telling the Usos to stay home this week.

Natalya/Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Fallout from Rousey and Baszler hurting both of them. Baszler cranks on Natalya’s arm to start and it’s quickly off to Rousey for another battle over arm control. Shotzi comes in to actually take Rousey down, setting up Cattle Mutilation of all things. Rousey powers out but gets sent outside, allowing Shotzi to hit a pretty hard dive. With Natalya adding a clothesline, Shotzi dives onto both villains as we take a break.

Back with Shotzi still in trouble but managing to send Baszler outside. A scary looking DDT on the apron plants Rousey and it’s off to Natalya to clean house. Natalya German suplexes Baszler and gets the Sharpshooter on Rousey. Baszler makes the save but gets sent outside, leaving Rousey to armbar Shotzi for the tap at 12:05.

Rating: C+. They were working hard here and it showed well. Rousey and Baszler are looking like the next big thing in the tag division (assuming there is one) and racking up wins, even like this one, is a good way to go. They weren’t going to beat Natalya the day before Elimination Chamber so they even got the result right.

Long video on the history of Sami Zayn and the Bloodline. This really has been a pretty epic story.

Here is Hit Row to complain about how Montreal didn’t like them the last time they were in this city. They issue what seems to be an open challenge so here are Bray Wyatt and Uncle Howdy to wipe the team out. Bray: “You’re welcome Montreal.” With that out of the way, Bray talks about….Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley? Whoever wins should run. Well that comes out of nowhere and in a good way.

We look at Madcap Moss becoming #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title.

Emma is proud of Moss for winning and it’s time for people to learn that he is a superstar.

Combat sports journalist and hometown boy Ariel Helwani is in the crowd, saying they are happy to see Sami Zayn return home tonight.

Sheamus/Drew McIntyre vs. Viking Raiders

Valhalla is here with the Vikings. They go straight to the brawl to start with the Raiders being cleared out to send us to a break. Back with Sheamus fighting out of a chinlock but getting choked on the apron instead. A clothesline gets Sheamus out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in McIntyre for the neckbreakers. Everything breaks down and the Glasgow Kiss hits Erik. Sheamus comes in and hits a super Regal Roll to Ivar for the huge crash.

We take another break and come back again with McIntyre planting Ivar and Sheamus adding a top rope knee for two. The Brogue Kick misses though and Sheamus gets powerbombed. Erik goes up but dives onto raised knees, allowing the hot tag to McIntyre to clean house. McIntyre gets caught on top for a super World’s Strongest Slam though and the Superfly Splash gives Ivar two. Ragnarok is broken up by a Brogue Kick though and the Claymore finishes Erik at 17:06.

Rating: B. Sometimes you need four big, strong guys to beat the fire out of each other for a little while and that is exactly what you got here. Sheamus and McIntyre are the kind of team who could be Tag Team Champions one day so keeping them strong somewhat early in their run together is the right move.

We look at more on Sami Zayn vs. the Bloodline, including Sami finally turning on them at the Royal Rumble.

We look at Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar showing respect last week after the show ended.

Mysterio talks about how great that was when Karrion Kross, with Scarlett, comes in. Kross said he once wanted to be a father, but then saw how Dominik Mysterio turned out. If Rey wants to fight again, Kross is ready.

Asuka vs. Liv Morgan

Carmella is on commentary. Asuka takes Morgan down and works on the arm as Raquel Rodriguez comes out to yell at Carmella. Nikki Cross jumps out of the crowd and sits on Wade Barrett’s lap (Barrett: “I am going to be in so much trouble when I get home.”) as Morgan hits a quick Oblivion for two. We take a break and come back with a glare off until Asuka fires off strikes to the head. A springboard Codebreaker looks to set up Oblivion but Asuka goes for the arm instead. The armbar makes Morgan tap at 8:35.

Rating: C. Asuka is looking like one of the favorites to win the Chamber so giving her the win here makes sense. Morgan’s fall from championship status continues as the experiment seems to have come to a rather crashing halt. She still belongs in a #1 contenders match, but Asuka or Rodriguez seem to be the top prospects to go on to Wrestlemania.

Post match all of the women in the Chamber, including Natalya, come in for the parade of knockdowns, with Asuka standing tall.

Gunther promises to keep the Intercontinental Title from Madcap Moss.

Intercontinental Title: Madcap Moss vs. Gunther

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending and Emma is here with Moss. Gunther’s headlock takeover doesn’t get him very far so he comes back with the hard chop instead. There’s the big boot for two but Moss knocks him into the corner for some running shoulders to the ribs. A spinebuster and running shoulder put Gunther on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Moss slipping out of a powerbomb but not being able to hit the Punchline. The sleeper is broken up with a belly to back suplex and Moss hits a hard running clothesline for two more. Moss blocks another sleeper attempt and catches Gunther on top with a super fall away slam for two. Now the sleeper goes on and Moss is staggered, allowing Gunther to hit the powerbomb to retain at 10:20.

Rating: C+. There is only so much you can do in a match where the champion never feels like he is in danger and that was the case here. Moss is becoming a more serious star and that is a great thing for him (just change the first name already) but it is going to take something special to beat Gunther. As far as Moss has come, he was in way over his head here but did fairly well in spite of it.

Here is Sami Zayn to the huge hometown reception and yes he has the old theme back. The ovation goes on for a long time and Sami starts to cry, with the YOU DESERVE IT chants making it worse. The fans give him the OLE chant as Sami has been in the ring for almost five minutes and not been able to say the first word.

Sami finally says that this time of year, everybody points to one thing, because Wrestlemania is the most important show of the year. But for this city, tomorrow night is once in a lifetime. Sami addresses Roman Reigns in French, saying tomorrow night it’s Reigns vs. Sami and the City of Montreal. Reigns is going down. This was incredible and one of the more emotional things you’ll see from WWE. I know Zayn has about a sliver of a chance to win the title, but WWE better have the jet in the parking lot to get the Bloodline out of Montreal after Sami loses before they get ripped to pieces.

Overall Rating: B. Maybe it’s just being fired up by that ending, but I’m wanting to see Elimination Chamber a lot more than I was coming in. The card is stacked and while the Raw side is better overall, the Smackdown half should be rather adequate. This show did a solid job of making me more interested and that is exactly what it was supposed to do.

Results
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Natalya/Shotzi – Armbar
Sheamus/Drew McIntyre b. Viking Raiders – Brogue Kick to Erik
Asuka b. Liv Morgan – Armbar
Gunther b. Madcap Moss – Powerbomb

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: February 13, 2023
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It is the go home show for the Elimination Chamber and that means we need to finalize everything for the red half of the event. We should be in for some hard pushes, including the contract signing between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. There is also the Lita return last week to deal with so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Becky Lynch, with Adam Pearce, for a chat. Becky is happy to be here and says she even dressed spiffy for us. She thanks Lita for her help last week but realizes that she needs a path to Wrestlemania. That sounds like something to do with a title to her, so she wants in the Elimination Chamber.

Cue Bayley, who says she should be in the Chamber, because Lita CHEATED last week. That match should be stricken from the record book, which sends Bayley and Becky into an argument over Wrestlemania credentials. Bayley says Becky lost in her Wrestlemania main event (Huh?) and brags about defending both Women’s Titles there instead.

With that bizarre bit out of the way, cue Bianca Belair to say all this talk about the title should involve the champ. She wants both of them in the Chamber, so Pearce has an idea: a triple threat between the three of them tonight. If Bayley or Becky win, both of them are in and the Chamber, with seven women, starts in a triple threat. If Belair wins, the two of them are both out of the Chamber. I’m thinking that was either worded badly or I misheard it, because that’s some insane booking otherwise. I’m assuming if Becky or Bayley wins, the winner and only the winner goes in?

Judgment Day is ready for their upcoming week, including tonight and at Elimination Chamber.

Judgment Day vs. Street Profits

Priest hits Ford in the face to start and it’s Balor slingshotting in with a stomp for two. A kick to the head rocks Balor though and it’s Dawkins coming in for a double flapjack to Priest. The house is cleaned and we take a break, maybe three minutes after coming back from the previous one.

Back with Dawkins coming in to clean house but missing the spinning splash in the corner. Not that it matters as Ford tags himself in and catches Balor with a German suplex for two. The Doomsday Blockbuster gets two more and Ford hits the big flip dive onto Priest. Dominik gets brought in and Pounced by Dawkins, allowing Balor to hit the Sling Blade. The shotgun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace to give Balor the pin at 7:35.

Rating: C+. The energy was high but my goodness I could go with them not having the breaks in the middle of the match. What does it even help? You have a somewhat hot match here but instead of letting the fans see it, we get about two half of it due to a pair of breaks. There has to be a better way to format this show and it would be nice if they could make the change.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Edge and Beth Phoenix run in for the save. Beth loads up the Glam Slam on Dominik but Rhea Ripley (not supposed to be here) runs in and lays Beth out with the Riptide.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley for a contract signing. Since Lesnar signed last week, Adam Pearce needs Lashley out here, so here is….a bunch of security. Lashley sets up his own table at the stage and says he isn’t sure about this. He has had everyone from his agent to his kids sign and he doesn’t know if he’s going to do it. Lashley calls him Basic B**** Brock so Lesnar goes up the aisle. Security is dispatched and Lashley backdrops (yes backdrops) him on the floor. There’s the spear to cut Lesnar down and Lashley signs. That was a bit uneventful.

Mia Yim vs. Piper Niven

This is fallout from Niven threatening Yim’s friend Candice LeRae last week. Niven runs her over to start and falls on top of Yim in a slam attempt. Yim grabs a fairly scary looking DDT but charges into something like a Rock Bottom out of the corner. The backsplash gives Niven two but Yim slips out of the over the shoulder piledriver. Instead, Niven grabs a swinging Boss Man Slam (the Loch Ness Slam) for the pin at 2:41.

Long recap of the Jey Uso Saga from Smackdown.

Baron Corbin is asked about his fallout with JBL last week….but we need to cut back to the arena because Sami Zayn is in the ring. He isn’t here to hold up the show but he has something to say to someone and he might not get the chance after this week. Zayn wants Cody Rhodes out here right now and his request is quickly granted. Rhodes asks what Zayn wants to talk about, so Zayn brings up Cody saying he thinks it’s going to be himself vs. Zayn at Wrestlemania.

Zayn wants to hear it from his face and yes, Cody did mean what he said. Fans: “THIS IS AWESOME!” Cody says that with all due respect, that’s not what this is all about. Does Zayn believe that he can beat Reigns? Fans: “OLE!” Zayn says that the truth is he doesn’t know. Reigns is telling the truth when he talks about being on another level. Now after 900 days, does he know if he can take out Reigns?

Yes he believes he can do it but he doesn’t know if he can. Fans: “YOU CAN DO IT!” Cody doesn’t know how to take that but says there is distention in the Bloodline for the first time ever and that is because of Zayn. Everything going on right now is because of him and Reigns is just a man. Go crack him open and take him out, because Rhodes is going to be waiting on him at Wrestlemania.

Michael Cole said Cody can finish hist story, but now it is time for Zayn to finish his. Rhodes goes to leave, but says one more thing: he doesn’t want to see Zayn on Raw next week, because he wants to see him at Wrestlemania. This was more greatness and while I don’t buy Zayn having a real chance to win, they’re pushing the heck out of this and it’s starting to feel bigger and bigger every week.

Nikki Cross and Carmella are ready for a six woman tag, with Asuka coming in, complete with clown look, to scare Carmella off. Candice LeRae comes in to see Cross, asking why she has been following her. Cross laughs.

Baron Corbin is sick of being disrespected and at Elimination Chamber, Roman Reigns beats Sami Zayn. Corbin was the last person to beat Reigns, and then Reigns is going to run through Rhodes at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t get Rhodes, who happens to be behind him. Corbin mocks Rhodes’ brother and dad, which is enough to start the brawl. They fight into the arena with Cody, in a suit, saying get a referee.

Cody Rhodes vs. Baron Corbin

They start on the floor with Corbin being sent into the barricade and then the post. They fight onto the announcers’ table before Corbin is sent into the steps. Cody sends him inside for the first time and hits the Cody Cutter, setting up Cross Rhodes for the pin at 2:03. This made Cody look like a killer and it went very well.

Natalya, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez don’t like the Raw women in the Elimination Chamber. They’re not sure about each other either.

Asuka/Carmella/Nikki Cross vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Natalya/Liv Morgan

Rodriguez fall away slams Cross to start so Carmella comes in, earning a Sharpshooter from Natalya. Everything breaks down and the Smackdown women clear the ring as we take a break. Back with Natalya fighting out of a bodyscissors and bringing Morgan in to kick away at Cross. Everything breaks down and it’s an exchange of kicks to the head. Asuka ties up Morgan’s arms for the tap at 7:13.

Rating: C-. They blazed through this (again, with a mid-match commercial) and it was little more than a way to remind you that the match was taking place on Saturday. There are not many potential winners for the Chamber match so boosting Asuka, one of the potential winners, is a good idea. Nothing to see here for the most part, but at least they didn’t do anything ridiculous.

Otis is having a hot dog but Chad Gable doesn’t approve. Gable throws it away and hits the Maximum Male Models, with Maxxine Durpri thinking Otis could be the face of their brand. She gives him a card, with Gable critiquing the design. Bronson Reed comes up and scares them.

Bronson Reed vs. Mustafa Ali

Reed starts fast and knocks Ali outside. A shot off the apron takes Ali down again but he gets back inside for a running kick to the face. They go outside again and Ali is LAUNCHED over the barricade and into a pile of chairs. Ali’s hurricanrana doesn’t get him very far as Reed runs him over. The Tsunami finishes Ali at 3:09.

Rating: C. There is something so fun about watching someone the size of Reed crush someone, as that Tsunami looks absolutely effortless every time. That is what we got to see again here and it absolutely still works. At the same time, it is becoming more and more clear that Ali is never going to be anything more than this around here, but he does seem to still be putting in the effort. That’s more than some will do so good for him.

Here is Miz for MizTV. Miz isn’t happy about not being in the Elimination Chamber but he’d rather talk about his guest. That would be Seth Rollins, who may be a mastermind, but is his mind in the Chamber or on Logan Paul? First though, Miz looks at Rollins’ huge red boots and asks WHAT ARE THOSE!

Rollins says it’s style so Miz moves on to Logan Paul. That’s not what the people want to talk about so we pause for the fans to sing Rollins’ music. If Miz wanted to hear singing, he would listen to Taylor Swift (Miz: “You’re all jealous because I got tickets and you didn’t!”). Rollins talks about having a dream but Paul doesn’t buy into it. All Paul wants is to be a star and that makes Rollins want to kick his teeth in. Miz: “It sounds like you’re jealous.” Rollins: “Come on Mike. We all know you’re stupid but you’re not THAT stupid.” Miz: “I AM NOT STUPID!”

Miz goes on about their accomplishments and gets hit in the face. Rollins hits him in the face with a chair as well but here is Austin Theory to pull Rollins to the floor. The distraction lets Miz kick Rollins in the face but Rollins takes him down. Theory is back up with A Town Down to drop Rollins.

Elias comes up to see Rick Boogs and compares their backgrounds. If Boogs can impress him tonight, maybe there is a collaboration in the future. Boogs: “RIGHTEOUS!” He’s ready to beat up Miz tonight and Elias approves. Sidenote: MVP was seen talking to Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin in the background.

Miz vs. Rick Boogs

Miz is barely able to get to his feet and says the match isn’t happening. Boogs disagrees and jumps him, setting up a pumphandle slam with fifteen curls. The gorilla press World’s Strongest Slam finishes Miz at 1:01.

Chelsea Green comes in to see Adam Pearce and brings up the emails she has sent management. Pearce says he got them and responded to them, but Green wants to be treated like a star. She wants to be in the triple threat match tonight and won’t leave until she’s in. Green feels VERY threatened so Pearce leaves.

Judgment Day promises to win both of their matches at Elimination Chamber. Then Rhea Ripley can go on to win the Smackdown Women’s Title at Wrestlemania. Ripley knows she is going to win and that rise to the top starts at Elimination Chamber.

Elimination Chamber rundown.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Bianca Belair vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Non-title and if Bayley (with Damage Ctrl) or Lynch win, they are in the Elimination Chamber. If Belair wins though, neither goes in. Joined in progress with Belair cleaning house but Bayley fights up to take over. Becky dives back in with a save with Belair having to make her own as well. A double DDT plants Belair and Bayley as we take a break.

Back with Belair dropping Bayley onto the turnbuckle for two but Becky sends Belair into the corner as well. Bayley comes back in and takes Becky down for two each, followed by a top rope elbow for two more on Becky (ignore Belair laying on Becky as Bayley went up, which should have been a pin).

The Manhandle Slam hits Bayley but Damage Ctrl makes the save to pull Becky outside. Another distraction lets Bayley can roll Belair up for two. Cue the people in the Elimination Chamber to brawl with Damage Ctrl, leaving Belair to throw Sky onto the pile. Back up and Belair KOD’s Becky onto Bayley (with Becky rolling off for no logical reason), allowing Belair to get the pin at 15:00.

Rating: D+. I don’t even know where to start with this mess. First and foremost, absolutely nothing has changed as a result. Becky and Bayley weren’t in the Chamber coming in and they’re not in it with Raw over. They were both playing with the house’s money and it changed nothing. Then you had all of the (expected) interference, plus the multiple occasions where there should have been pinfall attempts but the referee either didn’t count or one of them rolled away from a legal cover. Bad wrestling, weird stipulations and pieces that were just a mess make what could have been big into a pretty awful main event.

We run down the Elimination Chamber card again to fill out the rest of the show’s time.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show and a lot of that is due to the Elimination Chamber matches. Neither feels remotely important, as you have Asuka, Rodriguez and….are any of the other four realistic winners? Carmella and Natalya aren’t winning and Cross/Morgan are long shots at best. On the other hand you have the US Title match, which has little heat and feels all over the place. Ford and Priest were in a tag match (granted against each other), Rollins is fighting with Miz and talking about Logan Paul and Gargano wasn’t even on the show.

Now on the other hand, there was some good stuff on here. The Cody/Zayn segment was outstanding and Cody looked awesome against Corbin. You also had Reed feeling like a monster, Niven and Boogs being boosted up and Lashley managing to get one over on Lesnar. There was good stuff on the show, but the bad stuff was bringing it right back down. The good news is that Elimination Chamber is over in six days and we can move on to the stuff that really matters. For now, this was another show that would have been great at two hours but was only pretty good at three.

Results
Judgment Day b. Street Profits – Coup de Grace to Dawkins
Piper Niven b. Mia Yim – Loch Ness Slam
Cody Rhodes b. Baron Corbin – Cross Rhodes
Asuka/Carmella/Nikki Cross b. Raquel Rodriguez/Natalya/Liv Morgan – Armbar to Morgan
Bronson Reed b. Mustafa Ali – Tsunami
Rick Boogs b. The Miz – Gorilla press World’s Strongest Slam
Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch and Bayley – Belair KOD’s Lynch onto Bayley

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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Smackdown
Date: February 10, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are just over a week away from Elimination Chamber and the main portion of the card is set. That is going to include a pair of Elimination Chamber matches, plus Sami Zayn challenging Roman Reigns for the World Title. Odds are the latter will get some focus this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn brawling last week, with Sami getting beaten down but also getting the Elimination Chamber title match.

Opening sequence.

Here is Paul Heyman to talk about Sami Zayn, who is not here this evening. Can anyone imagine Zayn as champion? It’s as insane as Cody Rhodes saying it was personal on Raw. Heyman: “YOU DUMBA**!” These championships are not just titles, but rather the centerpieces of the Island of Relevancy. They are the blood that flows through the veins of the Bloodline. Without these titles, there is no Roman Reigns.

Cue Zayn from behind though and Heyman knows this isn’t good. Zayn holds out his hand for the mic but don’t worry, because he won’t hurt Heyman. Isn’t that interesting? A month ago, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso would have dropped him, but now Heyman is here by himself and Heyman probably knows why. Reigns’ days as Universal Champion are numbered and look at how he is acting. Look at how Reigns is treating everyone else.

Heyman has looked at Reigns for two years and it’s a little creepy. Now Heyman is talking about his days after Reigns so Zayn makes it clear: Reigns has eight days left. Heyman asks for the mic, but Zayn says Reigns doesn’t have to worry about Cody, because Zayn is taking him down first. With Zayn gone, Heyman looks shaken up. This stuff is still fire but dang it is going to be rough seeing it possibly cut off at the knees next week.

Hit Row vs. Sheamus/Drew McIntyre

This is due to Hit Row being made over not getting to face McIntyre and Sheamus as planned last week. McIntyre throws Adonis into the corner to start but Dolla breaks up the Claymore. Sheamus takes Adonis back inside, where a dropkick staggers him. Dolla gets in a shot of his own but Sheamus fights up. McIntyre Claymores Dolla and the Brogue Kick finishes Adonis at 2:52.

Post match we get a video from the Viking Raiders, who seem ready for a fight next week.

Jimmy Uso can’t find Jey, with the Tag Team Title match coming tonight.

Karrion Kross is ready to become the #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title by hurting Rey Mysterio. And two other people.

Lacey Evans vs. Cameron Harris

Evans doesn’t think much of Harris to start and whips her hard into the corner. Some pushups let Evans show off a bit, followed by the Woman’s Right and Cobra Clutch to make Harris tap at 2:05.

Jimmy Uso continues to panic about his lack of a twin brother. Paul Heyman wonders where Jimmy was when the psychopathic Canadian held him hostage in a casino. Jimmy shrugs it off and wants Heyman as his partner since Solo Sikoa isn’t here either. That doesn’t seem to work for Heyman, but Jimmy says it’s cool because his brother will be here.

Sonya Deville isn’t happy with not being in the Elimination Chamber. Chelsea Green interrupts and asks to see the Smackdown manager. Adam Pearce says he’s the Raw manager as well, which has Green accusing him of saying everyone looks away. Pearce is sick of this and puts them in a match together tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Ricochet/Braun Strowman

The Usos are defending, or at least Jimmy is as he comes out with no partner. Well hold on though as we get the Big Match Intros….and Jey comes through the crowd. Jey shoulders Ricochet down to start and then elbows him for a bonus. Ricochet manages a Tajiri handspring elbows for two on Jimmy, who smiles as Ricochet grabs a front facelock. It’s off to Strowman for the winning splash in the corner, with Jimmy needing a breather. Back in and a quick Samoan drop plants Ricochet, followed by a superkick to send him outside.

We take a break and come back with Ricochet still in trouble. He gets in a shot of his own though and it’s the hot tag to Strowman to clean house. Strowman gets sent outside though and a superkick rocks him again. Back in and a high crossbody makes it worse but Strowman gets over to Ricochet. Jimmy gets knocked down and it’s a powerslam into the off the shoulders Swanton for two, with Jey making the save. Strowman runs Jey over on the floor but Jey tags himself in. Ricochet hits Jimmy with the shooting star press, only to bounce off so Jey can hit the Superfly Splash to retain at 13:14.

Rating: B-. Well so much for the drama, as Jey came in before anything happened and they had an Usos match. In other words, it was a match without a ton of drama as the Usos have been presented as so far and away better than any other team. What we got here was good enough for a televised title match and that’s all it needed to be if they weren’t going to have any serious drama.

Rey Mysterio is ready to fight through Karrion Kross to get another shot at Gunther and the Intercontinental Title.

Jey Uso tells Jimmy that he’ll always have his brother’s back. As far as the Bloodline, he doesn’t know yet. Jey leaves and Paul Heyman comes up to ask what Jey said. Jimmy says Jey didn’t say anything and just left, which is fine with Heyman. Question: did we ever get an explanation for why Solo wasn’t here tonight? I know Reigns had faith in Jimmy to get Jey there, but he’s also the kind of person to have all his bases covered.

Here is Natalya to talk about how she took Shayna Baszler’s spot in the Elimination Chamber. That’s because Baszler is nothing more than a Ronda Rousey knockout and Natalya is going on to win the Chamber next week. Cue Baszler to interrupt, saying she is tired of everyone dismissing her accomplishments. Natalya isn’t happy with Rousey….but here is Rousey to beat Natalya down. Shotzi’s save attempt fails as well and Baszler goes after Natalya’s arm to leave her laying.

Jey Uso runs into Sami Zayn, who says Jey has been having a rough time lately. Zayn knows what Roman Reigns can put people through and he thanks Jey for what he did at the Royal Rumble. Jey doesn’t have to go down with the ship and there is a way out at Elimination Chamber. Zayn acknowledges Jey, which gets a head snap. Jey tells Zayn to get out of here with that, but they do fist bump.

LA Knight doesn’t want to talk about the Pitch Black match because it’s all about the future and that is him. We have officially established that Knight is still alive.

Sonya Deville/Chelsea Green vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan

Liv sends Deville into the corner to start and hits a running knee. Deville is fine enough to kneel Morgan out of the air for two but she fights out of the corner. A missed right hand knocks Green off the apron and the hot tag brings in Rodriguez to clean house. Rodriguez brings Green in and sends her into Deville on the apron. The Tejana Bomb into Oblivion into a powerbomb to drop Morgan onto Green is enough for the pin at 4:07.

Rating: C-. Rodriguez continues to feel like one of the next big works in progress and it should be interesting to see where she goes. She still needs to work on some stuff in the ring, but you can’t argue with that size, strength and look. I’m not expecting this to be anything more than a one off, but Morgan as the replacement for Aliyah as Rodriguez projectile could be an upgrade over the hardcore stuff.

Madcap Moss, with Emma, is ready to win the four way. Emma has gotten him some better gear as well so he’s rather confident.

Earlier today, we got a sitdown interview with Charlotte, who isn’t worried about Rhea Ripley. Charlotte beat her at Wrestlemania three years ago and now Charlotte is still saying the same things about Ripley: she isn’t ready for this level. Three years ago, Charlotte taught her a lesson and she’ll put Ripley in her place in 50 days.

Karrion Kross vs. Madcap Moss vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar

One fall to a finish for a future Intercontinental Title show and Scarlett/Emma/Zelina Vega are here too. Moss and Kross slug it out to start before Escobar and Rey come back in to clear the ring. That leaves Rey vs. Escobar, which has Barrett rather interested. A backbreaker gives Escobar two but the 619 is broken up. Rey dives onto Kross and Escobar dives onto Moss as we take a break.

Back with Moss running all three of the others over and rolling Escobar up for two. Rey’s basement dropkick hits Escobar as Kross and Moss come back in too. The Phantom Driver gets two on Rey with Moss making the save. Escobar’s top rope hurricanrana gets two on Moss but Kross sends Escobar outside. Rey 619s Kross down but Scarlett makes the save, allowing Kross to blast Rey in the back of the head. Kross gets pulled outside though, setting up Moss’ top rope elbow for the pin and the title shot at 12:51.

Rating: C+. This was probably the best choice for an ending, as Gunther has already beaten Mysterio and he isn’t going to face Kross or Escobar. That leaves Moss as the next designated victim. At least his look is better now and if he gets a better name, they might have a little something with him. Kross continues to be just kind of there and Escobar is a good hand, meaning the talent was certainly here for this one, though it didn’t get up to that top level.

Paul Heyman comes in to see Jimmy Uso and says Roman Reigns is proud. The thing is, Reigns has an assignment for Jimmy next week: he wants Jimmy to stay home and watch the show on TV, because you get a different perspective from there. Sometimes you even hear things you don’t get otherwise. A slap at the Tag Team Title belt wraps us up. So, finally, after all these years, SOMEONE ACTUALLY WATCHED THE SHOW???

Overall Rating: B-. This show was good enough on its own, but what matters here is they set things up for next week. That is going to be rather helpful, as the Elimination Chamber card is set and there won’t need to be much major work done on the go home show. That is the kind of planning for the future that you did not get under the old WWE regime and it is working well here.

Results
Drew McIntyre/Sheamus b. Hit Row – Brogue Kick to Adonis
Lacey Evans b. Cameron Harris – Cobra Clutch
Usos b. Ricochet/Braun Strowman – Superfly Splash to Ricochet
Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan b. Sonya Deville/Chelsea Green – Powerbomb onto Deville
Madcap Moss b. Karrion Kross, Santos Escobar and Rey Mysterio – Top rope elbow to Mysterio

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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AND

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

Smackdown
Date: February 3, 2023
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and the main event of Wrestlemania is set. That being said, there is a Sami Zayn sized road block on the Road To Wrestlemania and I’m not sure how they are going to deal with it. You can almost guarantee Zayn is getting the Elimination Chamber title shot, but dang it’s going to be a fun right on the way there. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Sami Zayn finally turning on the Bloodline with a chair shot to Roman Reigns, but Jey Uso couldn’t bring himself to help with the ensuing beatdown.

The Bloodline, minus Jey Uso, and everyone but Paul Heyman ignores questions about Jey. Heyman says they cannon confirm or deny Jey’s Bloodline status at the moment.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament: Imperium vs. Braun Strowman/Ricochet

For a future Smackdown Tag Team Title shot. Strowman shoves Kaiser around to start before it’s off to Ricochet for a headlock. A dropkick puts Kaiser down and it’s back to Strowman, who picks up Kaiser on the floor. Vinci hits a big dive onto both of them though and we take a break.

Back with Strowman going shoulder first into the post, allowing the double teaming to begin. Strowman fights out of it though and it’s back to Ricochet with the springboard crossbody. A running shooting star press hits Vinci and everything breaks down. Ricochet avoids the double dropkick in the corner but gets in a staredown with Gunther on the floor. That’s enough for Gunther to be ejected but he gets in a staredown with Strowman on the floor.

Ricochet gets caught in a high/low for two and we take another break. Back again with Ricochet escaping the Imperial Bomb and getting back over to Strowman to clean house. Vinci’s springboard spinning forearm has no effect on Strowman, who blasts Kaiser with a clothesline. The Monster Bomb into a Swanton off of Strowman’s shoulders finishes Kaiser at 16:16.

Rating: B-. What a weird tournament this was, as Ricochet and Strowman, who are at least regular partners, get the win rather than McIntyre and Sheamus, who are such a dominant force that they could conceivably take the belts. Ricochet and Strowman are good enough as challengers, but I’m not sure how much I buy them as a threat to the titles.

We look at Rhea Ripley winning the Women’s Royal Rumble, plus her choosing to challenge Charlotte for Wrestlemania.

Charlotte is ready for Rhea Ripley but Sonya Deville shows up and says she’ll be taking the title. Wrestlemania is in Los Angeles and needs a star.

Rey Mysterio and New Day were at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a promotional appearance for an upcoming NASCAR race. Judgment Day interrupted and started yelling, resulting in…..a car race between the Mysterios. They talk a lot of trash and Rey wins in the end. Of all the cross promotional stuff I’ve seen, this is far from the bottom of the list.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sonya Deville

Charlotte is defending. They start slow with Charlotte taking over and knocking Deville down. A high crossbody connects but Charlotte misses a charge in the corner, allowing Sonya to get in a shot as we take a break. Back with Charlotte fighting out of trouble and hitting a belly to back suplex. The big boot gives Charlotte two but another one misses, allowing Sonya to snap her leg across the top.

A pump kick gives Sonya two and a middle rope knee to the face is good for the same. Sonya tries a Figure Four but gets reversed into a small package for two. Charlotte’s moonsault hits raised boots so Sonya, with feet on the ropes, can get two. Back up and Charlotte gets the Figure Four into the Figure Eight to retain at 10:22.

Rating: C. This felt like the story that we had to get cleared out before we get to the Wrestlemania title matches as Charlotte has a lot more important things to do than beat up Deville. The result wasn’t in doubt here and while the match wasn’t bad, it was little more than a glorified workout for Charlotte. The Ripley match was already set up Monday, so why was this going to be a big deal on Friday?

Video on Cody Rhodes, who came back from a horrible injury and won the Royal Rumble to get a title shot at Wrestlemania.

The Bloodline is in the back and Jimmy Uso hasn’t hear from his brother. Reigns: “Don’t you find that disrespectful?” He isn’t happy with what happened, but asks Jimmy a bit more emphatically if he has heard from his brother. Jimmy says again, he hasn’t heard from him, but Jey will be there next week for the title match. Reigns asks what about the rest of them. Has Solo Sikoa talked to Jey either? It’s Wrestlemania season, and Jimmy isn’t finding Jey on the couch. Find Jey, now.

Black History Month video on Kofi Kingston.

Brawling Brutes vs. Viking Raiders

Ivar and Butch start things off and it’s a brawl early on. A Valhalla distraction lets Ivar send Butch hard into the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Holland throwing suplexes on Erik, who cuts him off with a knee lift. An Alabama Slam plants Ivar but he takes Holland into the corner for some rapid fire elbows to the face. Butch tags himself in and hurricanranas his way out of something off the top. Butch’s moonsault is pulled out of the air though and Ivar picks him up. Holland gets kicked in the face on the floor and Ragnarok finishes Butch at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Another good enough match here, as the Raiders get built up for a likely Elimination Chamber showdown with McIntyre and Sheamus. It’s kind of weird that Sheamus has more or less dumped the Brutes for McIntyre, but he was overshadowing the other two anyway. I’m not sure how Butch and Holland will do on their own, but they’re going to get the chance.

Post match McIntyre and Sheamus come out to bet up the Vikings.

We look at the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match from the Rumble.

Bray Wyatt is in his chair….and Uncle Howdy comes up to him. A jump scare ensues.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Zelina Vega vs. Shotzi vs. Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler

It’s a brawl to start with Vega Code Redding Natalya for two, with Baszler making the save. Baszler drops Shotzi and stands on her head until Natalya makes the save. A knee to the face gives Baszler two on Natalya and we take a break. Back with Natalya’s Sharpshooter being broken up and Baszler Kirifuda Clutching Vega. Natalya breaks that up and has to break out of another Clutch. The Sharpshooter makes Zelina tap to give Natalya the Chamber spot at 7:28.

Rating: C. The second her music hit, you could pencil Natalya in for the spot. I understand that she is going to be in there to walk a lot of people through the match, but dang there is an emotional drop when she comes in. Natalya has talent, but she takes away so much interest because she is the same wrestler she has been for years now.

The rest of the Bloodline can’t find Jey Uso and Roman Reigns says that if they aren’t all on the same page, the Bloodline is done. Paul Heyman has sent catering to the bus so Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso can go eat while Reigns takes care of business.

Here are Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman for a chat. Reigns would rather talk about Cody Rhodes, but the people are insisting that he talk about the past. We can do that, and the story goes back to WarGames. Reigns saw greed in Zayn’s eyes that night, which is the same thing he sees in everyone’s eyes these days. When he goes to a restaurant, Reigns has to deal with everyone using him for something else instead of doing something for him. Now he has to deal with the same thing from Zayn.

The people here can’t ever give back either….and here is Zayn through the crowd to jump Reigns from behind. Heyman hands Reigns a chair but Zayn hits a spear to send Reigns running. Zayn says Reigns is wrong because he never wanted anything from him. Until now, because he is coming for the title. Heyman and Reigns look scared but Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa sneak in for the beatdown. The beating is on and Zayn gets taken down in the corner. Reigns blames Zayn for breaking up the Bloodline. He wants Zayn at Elimination Chamber in Montreal so he can ruin Zayn in front of his friends and family.

This Sami stuff continues to be phenomenal as he’s the hottest thing in wrestling right now. I know it’s still likely Cody’s title to win and yes he might be a bit of a better option long term, but those reactions for Zayn are something else, as he is showing fire like no one in WWE has done in years. It’s going to be tough watching him come up short, but dang it is going to be one heck of a ride.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird show as the ending is by far the best thing, even if the rest of the show was pretty good. Part of the problem is Elimination Chamber is in just over two weeks and that means a very rushed build to the event. What we got was good, but Zayn vs. Reigns is dwarfing everything else and it is showing hard.

Results
Ricochet/Braun Strowman b. Imperium – Swanton Bomb to Kaiser
Charlotte b. Sonya Deville – Figure Eight
Viking Raiders b. Brawling Brutes – Ragnarok to butch
Natalya b. Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega and Shotzi – Sharpshooter to Vega

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.

Smackdown
Date: November 4, 2022
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

It’s time for a taped show as everyone else is already in Saudi Arabia. The main event this week is Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title against Rey Mysterio in a match that has some potential. Other than that, we probably get the final push towards Logan Paul challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title, because celebrity. Let’s get to it.

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

Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville

No DQ. It’s a brawl to start with Deville grabbing some kendo sticks and driving Morgan into the apron. Back in and Deville unloads with the stick but Morgan is smiling. Morgan fights up and sticks her down, meaning it’s table time. That’s broken up and Deville puts the table back under the ring. Back up and Morgan hits a suicide dive to drop Deville and then she does it again. Now we can get the table set up with Liv driving her through it as we take a break.

We come back with a bunch of chairs in the ring and Deville hitting a running knee, followed by a middle rope knee for two. Liv fights back and hits a springboard Codebreaker for two but Deville powerbombs her onto the chairs for her own near fall. Another Codebreaker staggers Deville and Oblivion onto the chairs finishes for Morgan at 13:48.

Rating: C+. Good brawl, though I still can’t get into Hardcore Liv. It’s better than what they were doing with her as champion but it still doesn’t feel like the right way to go. Granted she is still getting reactions and the matches are good enough, so there might be something here if they keep developing the idea. The match was a pretty good brawl, but nothing that hasn’t been done a dozen times this year alone.

We look back at Emma’s return last week as she lost to Ronda Rousey.

Emma is excited to be back but Xia Li interrupts. Li calls her weak and is promptly shoved down.

Logan Paul’s brother Jake Paul will be in his corner at Crown Jewel.

Video on Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul, including a clip of Jake Paul showing up at the press conference.

The Viking Raiders are still coming back.

Ricochet vs. LA Knight

Before the match, Knight mocks the ring announcer’s intro, allowing Ricochet to take him down. Ricochet throws him in and we get the opening bell, with a kick to the back rocking Knight. A few shots take Ricochet down though and Knight loads up a top rope Lionsault, only to crash hard. Ricochet knocks him to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Knight stomping away in the corner and hitting the jumping neckbreaker for two. Knight goes up but spends too much time talking, allowing Ricochet to jump up for a super hurricanrana. The running shooting star press gets two but Knight rolls him up with tights/the rope for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: C-. Hey look Ricochet loses again. That’s just one of those things you have to get used to these days, though I can appreciate Knight getting a boost. Having him cheat in two ways is a good way to go and I like the ending, but the match wasn’t exactly thrilling on the way there.

Sami Zayn hypes the Usos being ready to set the all time Tag Team Title reign but Jey Uso doesn’t like his advice. Jey says they were champions before Sami and they’ll be champions after him. Jimmy: “He’s got a point Sami.” The Usos leave and Sami asks “my dogs” to come back.

Bray Wyatt says he isn’t used to sharing his feelings. It’s new to him and he doesn’t like people playing with him like that. We pause for an interruption from someone with a box and, after the camera gets hacked, Bray talks about getting annoyed at a driver who cut him off. The camera keeps cutting to the Wyatt logo as he rants about how he wants to break things because he can’t handle himself.

Bray wants the guy to reach down into his soul and apologize to him for interrupting. The camera interruption gets a bit longer and the man apologizes, with Bray seemingly accepting and asking him to leave. We see a graphic saying Wyatt will be at Crown Jewel, which was announced on Raw. So are the camera cuts and weird graphics Bray’s inner evil trying to escape as he tries to hold it back?

Here are the Usos for a chat. They are ready to become the longest reigning Tag Team Champions and, after an UCEY chant, we hear about how the next step is getting by the Brawling Brutes. Cue the New Day to say they’re cheering for the Brutes tomorrow but if the Usos retain, the New Day has next. Cue the Brawling Brutes for the beatdown so Solo Sikoa and Sami Zayn come in for the save. Butch comes back up with some shillelagh shots but Sikoa takes him down and the Bloodline stands tall.

Rey Mysterio loves wrestling and is ready to fight back to win the Intercontinental Title.

Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya

Ronda Rousey is here with Baszler. Natalya gets taken down to start but manages to reverse the arm stomp into a rollup for two. Baszler goes right after the arm again though and takes Natalya down, where Natalya is made to scratch her own head. That’s broken up and Natalya hits the discus clothesline, only to get pulled into the Kirifuda Clutch for the tap at 4:09.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash for Baszler as she is heated up again. It would not surprise me to see her as the eventual challenger for Rousey, especially with Rousey as her inspiration. It’s a different direction for Rousey and that is something she has desperately been needing. Now just give Baszler some women to crush and we should be fine.

Post match Natalya gets up and is blasted right back down.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross.

Here is MVP to introduce five unnamed opponents for Braun Strowman. Cue Strowman to run all five over and then chase MVP off. MVP’s cane shot is shrugged off and Strowman breaks it in half. The running powerslam plants MVP as a way to keep him from being at Crown Jewel. No match.

Gunther is ready to beat Rey Mysterio and nothing will change because he will retain his title.

Legado del Fantasma isn’t impressed by Shinsuke Nakamura helping Hit Row last week so it’s time for some revenge.

Intercontinental Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Gunther

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending. The champ starts fast by going with the power and knocking Mysterio outside for an early break. Back with Rey being sent stomach first to the floor but coming back in for a crucifix bomb. Mysterio grabs a sleeper and Gunther is in trouble, so he climbs to the middle rope and crashes backwards to free himself and send us to another break.

We come back again with Rey managing a knockdown and hitting the top rope seated senton. A Lionsault gives Rey two and he counters a powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two. Another powerbomb attempt is countered into a Code Red for two more and Gunther has had enough.

The running dropkick in the corner finally lets Gunther hit the powerbomb….for two, and Gunther is livid. Another powerbomb attempt is countered into a 619 attempt but Gunther kicks him away with a heck of a big boot. The big clothesline knocks Rey silly and retains the title at 18:17.

Rating: B+. These two know how to do the big man vs. little man stuff very well and they made it work here. Mysterio started off as an annoyance to Gunther and then became a threat near the end until Gunther went into beast mode to take him apart. That’s a well told story with talented people doing their thing. What more could you ask for in a TV main event?

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped this show a lot but there was only so much that could be done with a taped show before a pay per view that is all but set and not that great in the first place. Crown Jewel needs to come and go so we can move on to something else, which should be the case after Saturday. This show wasn’t all that great, though Gunther vs. Rey was a rather strong main event.

Results
Liv Morgan b. Sonya Deville – Oblivion onto chairs
LA Knight b. Ricochet – Rollup while holding tights and the rope
Shayna Baszler b. Natalya – Kirifuda Clutch
Gunther b. Rey Mysterio – Clothesline

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.