Survivor Series 2017
Date: November 19, 2017
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Booker T., Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

I could go for more of this idea of shows turning from kind of uninteresting into stacked. This is a double main event with Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown, plus AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar in a non-title match. That might not sound like much but when you have John Cena, HHH, Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a match, there has to be something right. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Elias vs. Matt Hardy

Bonus match. Feeling out process to start with Matt working on a headlock before grabbing a Russian legsweep. Back from a break with Elias pull Matt’s throat into the top rope and then sending the shoulder into the apron. Elias stays on the arm with an armbar and right hands to the shoulder. We hit the armbar as this isn’t exactly setting the world on fire yet.

A double underhook shoulder breaker (basically a Pedigree lifted into a shoulder breaker) keeps Matt in trouble until he grabs a Side Effect on the apron. The rams into the buckle and a bulldog set up a regular Side Effect for two. The Twist of Fate doesn’t work though and Elias posts the bad arm. Drift Away gives Elias the pin at 9:10.

Rating: D+. The arm work was fine and I’m rather glad Elias won after not having much to do as of late, but what was the point in adding this? It’s a nothing match in front of a mostly empty arena that adds nothing to the show. The guys are trying to have a good match and they might as well be in a flea market for all the people they have watching. Just do the match on Raw where it belongs.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore

Amore is defending after they’ve traded the title. Before the match, Enzo talks about Kalisto sending him into the cake on Tuesday. Then he woke up and looked in the mirror, where he wished upon a star. Tonight, he wants to give Kalisto a beating and fry him up like a chicken so Enzo can be the only Chick-Fil-A open o a Sunday.

Enzo starts fast with some shoulders in the corner but Kalisto grabs a sunset bomb for two as we take an early break. Back with Enzo pulling him out of the corner into a side slam for a near fall of his own. A running forearm in the corner gets two and we’re off to the chinlock. Kalisto fights up with a headscissors though, followed by a Death Valley Bomb. The Salida Del Sol is blocked but so is a Jordunzo on the apron. Back in and Enzo sends him face first into an exposed buckle, setting up the Jordunzo to retain the title at 8:54.

Rating: D. For those of you keeping track, that would be back to back matches where the heel sends his opponent into something metal in the corner to set up their finisher. That’s bad agenting and I’d expect more out of WWE. I also expected nothing more than Enzo retaining here as Kalisto looked like a pretty lame duck challenger for the most part. Now we can get someone else to scare Enzo a bit before he cheats to retain the title. We’re just lucky that way I guess.

Kickoff Show: Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Breezango

Bonus match. Before the match, Owens and Sami talk about how ridiculous it is for them to be on the Kickoff Show. If Breezango wants to solve crimes, they should be looking at why Owens and Sami aren’t leading Smackdown to victory tonight. They’re not happy with being caught in the McMahon sibling rivalry…but here’s Breezango to cut them off. Breeze thinks Sami and Kevin’s facial hair should be at least ten different violations, which sound like fighting words.

Fandango dropkicks Owens outside to start and it’s time for some fashion tickets. It’s also time for a break less than forty seconds in. Back with Fandango chopping Sami but Breeze gets caught in the wrong corner. The chinlock doesn’t last very long so Owens comes in and grabs one of his own. Naturally it’s a long one because no one breaks his chinlock. Breeze fights up with a DDT and the hot tag brings in Fandango. Everything breaks down and Fandango misses the Last Dance, allowing Owens to hit the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: D+. I can’t imagine we won’t be seeing Owens and Zayn again later, which is exactly what the story calls for in this case. They’re major thorns in Shane McMahon’s side and it would be the right call. This match gives them a logical reason to be in the building and unfortunately it comes at Breezango’s expense. The Fashion Files haven’t been on in a few weeks and I’m not sure where Breezango can go without them. They’re good in the ring but those segments made them into much bigger stars. Just let them wrestle a win a bit though.

The opening video looks at all of the show vs. show matches, which is really the only way to open up a show like this.

New Day vs. Shield

Now that’s an opener. Before the match, New Day accuses Shield of ripping off their invasion idea. Shield might be the big dogs but New Day is about to go Bob Barker on them. The dogs are going to bite themselves as we get closer to Wrestlemania season. New Day would never do that because New Day rocks. Before we get going, here’s another video on the Sieges for reasons of WWE needing to make sure to play it as many times as possible.

Dean and Kofi get things going with Ambrose getting the better of it and handing it off to Rollins. Big E. comes in as well but since Rollins isn’t over losing the NXT Title to him a few years back, he brings Reigns in instead. A shoulder puts Reigns down but he’s right back up with a leapfrog into a Samoan drop.

Ambrose tags himself in though and everything breaks down with Shield getting the better of it. New Day gets clotheslined out to the floor until Woods is dragged back in for a Unicorn Stampede. The hot tag brings in Kofi for some chops and the Boom Drop on Ambrose. The real Unicorn Stampede has Ambrose in trouble and Woods’ dropkick in the corner makes things even worse.

Everything breaks down again with Cole saying a brawl would go to New Day. Big E. spears Ambrose through the ropes as Rollins and Reigns just kind of stand around. Back in and Ambrose breaks up a belly to belly superplex, allowing the hot tag to Rollins. A quick Blockbuster takes Kingston down and a Sling Blade gets two. Reigns comes in for a running clothesline, followed by a Superman Punch to Woods.

Dean makes a blind tag and it’s the wind-up knee into Dirty Deeds for two on Kofi with Big E. making a save. Everything breaks down again and Big E. breaks up the TripleBomb. Reigns gets sent into the steps and Trouble in Paradise drops Rollins. Back in and Big E. gets on Woods’ shoulders so Kofi can jump over them for a splash. Big E. is dropped into a second splash but they have to cut Rollins off instead of covering.

In a scary power display, Big E. scoops up Ambrose and Rollins for a double Midnight Hour, only to have Reigns spear Big E. into his partners for the save. Both teams go to a corner and come out swinging, leaving Ambrose to hit Dirty Deeds on Big E. on the floor. The spear cuts Kofi in half…..and Roman goes up? A SUPER TRIPLEBOMB ends Kofi at 21:33.

Rating: B. Oh yeah it worked. Shield winning is far from shocking but New Day got in some serious offense. It makes sense to have Shield get the win here as they don’t actually have the big win since reforming. They were beating the heck out of each other here and that’s how this show needed to start. Good stuff.

Stephanie (of course) gives the Raw Women’s Team a pep talk. Basically she wants every member to be awesome.

Raw Women’s Team vs. Smackdown Women’s Team

Raw: Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Asuka

Smackdown: Becky Lynch, Carmella, Tamina, Natalya, Naomi

Asuka gets an especially big entrance, which is exactly what she deserves. Becky and Alicia start things up with Fox being sent into the corner and dropped face first onto the buckle. Bayley makes a blind tag though and comes in to grab a rollup on Lynch for the pin at 2:34. Tamina comes in and drives Bayley into the corner, only to have Asuka come in and fire off some kicks.

Alicia tags herself back in and the beatdown commences. A hard shot finally knocks Bayley into the corner but she knocks her way free without too much trouble. Carmella gets in a superkick to drop Bayley though and Tamina’s top rope splash is good for the pin at 5:22. Nia comes in to face Tamina in the hoss (What’s female for hoss?) battle, including the big headbutt exchange.

Tamina gets powered into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs, only to have Nia rip her Raw shirt off. A big charge runs Tamina over for two but a Lana distraction lets Tamina hit back to back superkicks. Naomi dives onto Nia and a third superkick keeps her on the floor. Tamina adds a crossbody from the steps and beats the count to get rid of Nia at 8:55. It’s off to Naomi to slug away on Fox but she misses the split legged moonsault. Instead it’s a sunset flip for two, which the referee counts as three anyway, for the pin at 10:30. Banks comes in for the Bank Statement to get rid of Naomi at 10:55.

So it’s Banks/Asuka vs. Natalya/Carmella/Tamina, which better wind up as an Asuka showcase. Asuka comes in with a series of strikes and the hip attack for two on Carmella. A quick Bronco Buster stuns Asuka but Carmella makes the mistake of slapping her in the face. One heck of a kick to the head gets rid of Carmella at 12:51. Banks comes back in and grabs a Bank Statement on Natalya with Tamina making a save. The Sharpshooter gets rid of Banks at 15:07 and it’s Asuka vs. Natalya/Tamina.

The double teaming begins in a hurry but Tamina misses the top rope splash. Asuka slaps on a cross armbreaker to make Tamina tap at 17:28 and the Sharpshooter is quickly reversed into a kneebar. That’s broken up with some kicks to the ribs but Asuka kicks her in the head. The Asuka Lock is good for the final submission at 18:18.

Rating: D. And that’s being generous. This was a complete mess with the first six or so eliminations (out of nine remember) being there for the sake of being there. Asuka should have eliminated four or even all five members but instead let’s have Tamina look awesome (for some reason) and people like Becky and Bayley treated as afterthoughts (again). Terribly booked match here and unfortunately, I’m not all that surprised given how this division tends to go.

Stephanie and Daniel Bryan bicker, drawing up memories of Wrestlemania XXX with Stephanie talking in that way that ONLY SHE EVER TALKS. This goes on way too long (after a way too long WWE Network ad) as it’s almost like they’re filling time on a four hour show.

Baron Corbin vs. The Miz

Non-title but this is US Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion. Miz’s wife Maryse is in the front row and Corbin looks down at her, sending Miz into a frenzy. They fight outside with Miz sending him into the barricade, only to have Corbin do the same. Of course the announcers completely ignore this to talk about the wrestlers trying to fire up their brands backstage.

Corbin gets in a right hand but Bo Dallas clips his knee and Miz takes over again. The Figure Four is broken up in a hurry and a one legged Deep Six gives Corbin a near fall. Corbin pulls Curtis Axel inside but has to kick out of a rollup. The short DDT gets two more and it’s time for the YES Kicks. Miz hits the running corner dropkick but charges into End of Days for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. Better match than I was expecting here and I’m rather glad given the effort they actually put into the build. There wasn’t much of a story here but they did what they could to put one together. Corbin needed the win more than Miz did, even though I’m never a fan of a champion losing clean like this. Good match too.

Corbin says he just shut Miz up.

Paul Heyman isn’t worried about AJ Styles being phenomenal. AJ may be the most phenomenal wrestler of this generation but he’s up against a conqueror.

The Bar vs. Usos

Same deal as Miz vs. Corbin but with tag teams. Before the match, the Usos say if Sheamus and Cesaro are the Bar, they’re pole vaulters. Sheamus, now with white tips on his mohawk, drives Jimmy into the corner to start but the twins take him down without much effort. As Graves and Booker argue over Booker winning Tag Team Titles (as usual, I have no idea why this is going on), Cesaro comes in with an uppercut.

Jimmy knocks both of them off the apron but gets caught in a Regal Roll on the floor. Cesaro slaps on a chinlock as Cole compares Sheamus’ hair to the Red Rooster. Oh come on man that’s low. Sheamus gets two off the Irish Curse and Cesaro kicks Jey off the apron to prevent a hot tag attempt. The hot tag works a few seconds later though and Jey comes in to clean house.

A running Umaga Attack gets two on Cesaro but Sheamus cuts Jimmy off. That means a jumping uppercut to Jey and we hit the Cesaro Swing into the Sharpshooter. Sheamus Brogue Kicks Jimmy down so Jey has to crawl over to the ropes for the break. That just means a super White Noise for two as Jimmy dives in for the save. Cesaro loads up a powerbomb and Sheamus goes up, only to have Jey grab him for a Samoan drop as Cesaro plants him.

That’s good for two on Sheamus as I’m still trying to figure out why Cesaro would do that. An enziguri finally allows the hot tag to Jimmy, who cleans house in a hurry. He dives over the top onto Cesaro but tags out on the way, leaving Jey to hit the Superfly Splash for the pin on Sheamus at 15:55.

Rating: B. This was good (albeit maybe a bit less than you would have expected) but SWEET GOODNESS stop acting like Raw vs. Smackdown is life and death. No one cares about this save for one month out of the year and it’s just obnoxious to hear for the whole show, especially with the announcers acting like their lives are on the line with every near fall.

Jason Jordan isn’t happy with not being on Team Raw but hopes they win. After HHH is eliminated that is.

We look back at Charlotte winning the Smackdown Women’s Title on Tuesday.

Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss

Champion vs. champion again. Bliss bails to the floor to start and then hides in the ropes to avoid a right hand. Charlotte gets her arm snapped down off the apron and Bliss takes over for the first time. Back in and we hit the armbar with a stomach claw but Charlotte reverses into a rollup. The kickout sends her hard into the corner, only to have Charlotte hit something like a fall away slam into the corner.

Bliss sends her into the corner again though, setting up a top rope double knee drop to the back for a scary landing. Code Red gives Bliss two but she can’t grab the DDT. Instead it’s a guillotine choke with Bliss nearly crying as she tries to make Charlotte tap. Charlotte powers up into a Batista Bomb for two more, followed by Natural Selection for the same.

The moonsault misses though and Bliss’ DDT gets another near fall with Charlotte getting her foot on the ropes. A bad looking spear drops Bliss for no cover so Alexa comes back with a dropkick to the ribs. Twisted Bliss hits knees though and the Figure Eight makes Bliss tap at 15:40.

Rating: B+. I know Bliss is considered one of the weaker workers but sweet goodness she’s gotten a lot better in the ring as of late. Bliss looked like she belonged in there with a proven star like Charlotte and that’s a lot more than anyone would have believed was possible a year or so ago. Really good match here and a big surprise.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles in the final champion vs. champion match. Styles won the title less than two weeks ago while Lesnar has held his since Wrestlemania. There isn’t much of a story here but the question is can AJ overcome the monster.

AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

Non-title in an idea you should get by now. Heyman handles Brock’s Big Match Intro as only he can do. The fans are split here as AJ is smart enough to not rush in. That’s fine with Brock who scores with the shoulders in the corner. Styles gets knocked down in the corner again so Lesnar drags him across the ring by the hair. One heck of a suplex has Styles rocked again and the German suplex makes things even worse.

AJ gets dumped over the top in a heap and Lesnar throws him into the announcers’ table. Back in and Brock hits another release German suplex as this is completely one sided. A running knee in the corner keeps AJ rocked and a shot to the face drops him again. Brock: “FIGHT ME!” AJ slugs away to no avail as a knee cuts him down. The F5 is escaped though and Brock misses a knee in the corner. AJ scores with a DDT and gets a much needed breather.

They botch a tornado DDT with AJ being shoved off and both guys are down again. The Pele puts Lesnar down again but Brock is right back up with another German suplex. AJ sends him outside though and the slingshot forearm has Lesnar in more trouble. They’re doing really well with the hope spots here. Brock gets sent knee first into the steps and there’s another running forearm.

Back in and AJ hits a Lionsault of all things, followed by the springboard 450 for a close two. Another F5 is countered into the Calf Crusher but Lesnar rams Styles’ head into the match for the break. Well that works. The F5 is escaped for the third time and the Phenomenal Forearm is good for two. AJ goes outside one too many times though and it’s the F5 for the pin at 15:16.

Rating: B+. In a way I was hoping Jinder would interfere and cost AJ the match as I’m still not a fan of the champs getting pinned clean. At least it was to Lesnar and in a great match though. Lesnar was trying out there and that’s probably more than you would have expected had Jinder been the opponent. This was the match I was hoping for though so we’ll call this a solid win.

Long recap of the main event. Smackdown invaded Raw, then they invaded again, then Raw invaded Smackdown. Let’s have an all-star elimination match.

Raw Men’s Team vs. Smackdown Men’s Team

Raw: Kurt Angle, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, HHH, Braun Strowman

Smackdown: Shane McMahon, Bobby Roode, John Cena, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura

Shane charges at Strowman (so much for Angle promising to start the match) and gets LAUNCHED across the ring, freaking Shane out. It’s off to Orton vs. Joe with a shoulder dropping Orton like he’s nothing. Neither finisher can hit and it’s time for a standoff. Balor comes in to face Nakamura in what could be classified as a dream match. The fans chant NXT and then what sounds like USA until Nakamura takes him against the ropes for the head on the chest.

Nakamura misses a kick and has to avoid a double stomp, giving us a standoff. HHH comes in to face Nakamura, who tells him to COME ON. A kick to the face drops HHH as Cole keeps referring to Nakamura as Shin. The facebuster is somewhat botched as HHH winds up on his back, meaning it’s off to Roode. The slugout goes to Roode until he walks into a spinebuster. Roode grabs one of his own but can’t hit the Glorious DDT.

Instead it’s Angle (complete with stars and stripes gloves) coming in to roll some German suplexes. Nakamura comes in, gets in a cheap shot on Strowman, and strikes away at Kurt without much effort. Joe and Balor get dropped as well before HHH’s Pedigree attempt is countered into another kick to the head. Strowman gets in but Nakamura scores with a middle rope knee. Not that it matters as the running powerslam eliminates Nakamura at 11:22.

Roode comes in next with the Blockbuster for no count as Braun kicks him away before one. A second attempt misses though and the second running powerslam makes it 5-3 at 12:22. Joe tags himself in and it’s time for an argument. Smackdown is smart enough to let HHH and Angle nearly come to blows until Orton breaks it up. Shane gets to slug it out with Joe but Orton powerslams Joe down. Everyone clears out until it’s Orton/Cena vs. Strowman for a heck of a showdown. Strowman gets knocked outside but Cena gets dropped with a single right hand.

It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but Shane comes over to help (along with Nakamura, who is still here for some reason) with a triple suplex to drive Strowman through. Joe (who, along with Strowman’s partners, didn’t fall into a hole somewhere) breaks up Shane’s elbow, only to have Cena come in for a running clothesline. A big boot puts Cena in the corner and the Rock Bottom out of the corner looks to finish him…..until Balor and Joe get in an argument. The AA plants both guys and a second gets rid of Joe at 18:04.

Angle comes in to face Cena with Kurt taking him down rather easily. The slugout draws the BOO/YAY chants and Cena scores with a ProtoBomb. Angle picks the ankle though and it’s an Angle Slam for two. The Coup de Grace sets up another Angle Slam and Cena is gone at 21:55. So it’s Orton/Shane vs. Strowman/Balor/HHH/Angle. Balor kicks away at Orton but makes sure to dropkick Shane into the barricade. Another shotgun dropkick looks to set up the Coup de Grace but Orton rolls away, setting up the RKO to get rid of Balor at 23:35.

HHH comes in and gets shoved into the ropes to crotch Angle on top. Cue Owens and Sami to go after Shane (as you knew was coming) but the boss fights them off with a chair. Strowman comes in to go after Orton and the running powerslam makes it 3-1 at 26:35. Shane is all alone now and stays on the floor with no counting from the referee. Strowman is waiting on Shane until HHH tags himself in instead. Cole thinks brother vs. brother-in-law is the MOST AMAZING THING HE’S SEEN IN THE LAST FIVE MINUTES but Angle tags himself in instead.

A Russian legsweep gets two on Angle and the jumping back elbow gets the same. There’s the Angle Slam into the ankle lock with Shane looking at the ropes and then crawling back into the middle of the ring. And then HHH breaks it up and Pedigrees Angle to give Shane the pin at 32:02. Strowman stares HHH down as Shane is holding his ankle. That’s about it though as HHH Pedigrees Shane for the pin at 34:18.

Rating: D. Well that was awful. Much like in the women’s match, most of the people were just there to fill in spots while the stars (read as the old people) were all that mattered. They had me believing that Shane might be the sole survivor out there and somehow, that wasn’t the most impossible thing in the world. This was terrible for the most part, outside of the opening ten minutes or so where they were just doing crazy combinations. After that though, this was ALL about Raw and the McMahons looking awesome, which was the last thing this show needed to do. Really bad booking to what should have been awesome.

Post match HHH celebrates as Strowman looks confused. Strowman grabs him by the throat and chokes him in the corner, telling HHH to never try to play him again. A Pedigree attempt is swatted away and back to back running powerslams end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. So to recap, the elimination matches were awful and everything else ranged from very good to awesome. It’s like they know the one big idea they want to go with (Asuka looking awesome, which worked, and whatever the ending to that main event was, which didn’t work) but have no idea how to get there. The booking was all over the place tonight and that made for a very trying evening at times.

However, the good stuff, which thankfully was a lot more common than the bad, was quite good with the champion vs. champion matches all delivering, plus a very solid Shield vs. New Day match. It made for a good theme to the show, despite the rather annoying build that it took to get there. That word annoying brings us to the real problem with this show.

The commentary tonight might have been the most annoying I’ve ever heard it be, including the days of heel Michael Cole. All night long it was this stupid “my show is better than your show” nonsense which adds nothing to the show and feels like they’re just running their mouths for the sake of an idea. It came off like forcing a concept into the show and that got old in about five minutes. Saxton was annoying, Booker sounded stupid, and Cole put on his old cheerleading uniform. It was a major problem, though thankfully not enough to knock a good show off course.

Results

Shield b. New Day – Super TripleBomb to Kingston

Raw Women’s Team b. Smackdown Women’s Team – Asuka Lock to Natalya

Baron Corbin b. The Miz – End of Days

Usos b. The Bar – Superfly Splash to Sheamus

Charlotte b. Alexa Bliss – Figure Eight

Brock Lesnar b. AJ Styles – F5

Raw Men’s Team b. Smackdown Men’s Team – Pedigree to McMahon

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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This is always one of my favorite shows of the year but my goodness they’ve stacked the heck out of this one. Over the last two weeks, this show has gone from looking pretty mediocre to one of the biggest cards they’ve put together in a long time. With the champion vs. champion matches and the normal elimination matches, there’s a lot of potential here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Enzo Amore(c) vs. Kalisto

We’ve seen this one a few times now and this seems like the final showdown between the two of them. Amore and Kalisto traded the title back and forth and now it’s time for a new challenger to come along. On paper this should be a one sided match as Kalisto is far more talented and athletic than Amore, though that’s not always as simple as it sounds.

Since he’s the only thing of value on “205 Live” at the moment, of course I’m taking Amore to win here. He’s just a bigger deal than Kalisto, who came off like a challenger of the month rather than someone who could take the title long term. Odds are someone interferes to help Amore retain and we move on to a new challenger on Tuesday. Perhaps Cedric Alexander or the debuting Hideo Itami perhaps? But yeah Amore retains.

Shield vs. New Day

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here: this is a dream match. People don’t give it the credit that it deserves as it’s a thrown together match, but this really is one of the biggest matches WWE could put on. Both teams are among the biggest trios in WWE history (with Shield pretty firmly on top) and they’re both probably guaranteed to go to the Hall of Fame one day.

Now of course I’m taking Shield, as they’re freshly back together and need a signature win as they’re being reestablished. New Day has shown that they can take a loss here and there without really falling down the card. At the same time, Shield losing a big match is a legitimately big deal, which is why there’s no need to have New Day go over here. Shield wins, likely via a spear to Kofi Kingston.

Baron Corbin vs. The Miz

This is the first of three champion vs. champion matches with the battle of the midcard titles. These two have actually bickered a bit on Twitter, which is about all the build this match has been able to warrant. I’m not a fan of having champions facing off but it’s not like WWE can come up with anything else but this simple idea.

I’ll take Miz to win, likely due to some interference to distract Corbin. Of course that makes the Intercontinental Title seem more important than the US Title, but that’s hardly a shocking revelation. Miz is getting close and closer to the most combined days as Intercontinental Champion of all time, which would be quite the accomplishment for someone who was never supposed to amount to anything. Miz wins, even though no one should.

Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss

We’ll continue with the champion vs. champion theme here as we look at the Women’s Champions battle. Charlotte picked up the Smackdown Women’s Title earlier this week in a big emotional moment, thanks to the return of her father Ric Flair. Bliss is no slouch though and has surprised a lot of people with several of her wins.

However, Bliss is just holding the title until Asuka can kick her head in, meaning Charlotte wins here. I can’t imagine Charlotte losing so soon after winning the title, even in a match that doesn’t mean all that much. Bliss needs the win more to help build her up for Asuka but there’s too much going against her in this case.

Raw Women’s Team vs. Smackdown Women’s Team

This comes down to the difference in talent. At the end of the day, “Monday Night Raw” is completely stacked here with captain Alicia Fox as the only weak link. Over on “Smackdown Live”, as was the case last year, it’s Becky Lynch and four warm bodies (though Naomi has improved dramatically) and that’s probably not enough to carry things.

Barring a big surprise, I can’t imagine the “Smackdown Live” women have enough to pull this off. How are you supposed to combat two of the Four Horsewomen, Asuka and Nia Jax? With Carmella? Or maybe Tamina? There’s just not enough firepower on the “Smackdown Live” side to pull this off, especially with Charlotte out of the picture.

The Bar vs. Usos

Another champion vs. champion match here and another case where the champions haven’t even held their belts for two weeks yet. This has the potential to be a heck of a fight, though I have doubts about how well WWE is going to pull it off. Somehow on a four hour show they might manage to not give it enough time, which is where a match like this should shine.

I’ll go with the Usos here, for the sole reason of “Smackdown Live” needing to pick up some wins. The Usos have the longer and better resume, though the Bar has gotten a lot more tolerable in the last year. Let them have some time and a hot finish and this will work as well as it needs to, even if there’s no reason to have two tag divisions at the moment (or ever for the most part).

Raw Men’s Team vs. Smackdown Men’s Team

Two weeks ago, this match was looking pretty boring. Now, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman, who were fighting each other in the main event of “Summerslam 2017” a few weeks ago are (very arguably) fighting for the right to be the SEVENTH most successful wrestler in a match. This match is absolutely stacked and has one of the highest levels of talent you’ll ever see.

I’ll take “Smackdown Live” to win here though as you can have Strowman get counted out and Randy Orton score some quick falls off RKO’s to get rid of some names. Then if “Monday Night Raw” wins the overall series, Kurt Angle can crawl back to Stephanie McMahon (the real boss of the company) and keep his job. In other words, McMahon looks powerful and everyone else looks like a goon. As usual.

Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles

And hey, another dream match! Again, two weeks ago we were looking at Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal and now we’re getting this beauty instead. Styles is someone who seems capable of pulling a classic out of Lesnar and, assuming it’s not Suplex City all over again, this should be a heck of a fight. Hopefully Lesnar doesn’t get lazy again, though I think Styles will be enough to avoid that problem.

I’ll still take Lesnar to win here, as he’s just a bigger deal than Styles. If nothing else we don’t want Lesnar looking weak for his match five months from now against Reigns, because that’s really what so much of this is all about. At least we can get a great match on the way there though, which is a lot more than I would have guessed coming into the previous match.

Overall Thoughts

I don’t remember the last time a Survivor Series was this stacked. Actually I don’t remember the last time almost any show was this stacked. There are a ton of huge matches on here and that could make for a heck of a night. Even if WWE screws up some of them, there’s more than enough good stuff around to make up for it. I’m coming into this with high hopes and hopefully they nail it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: November 14, 2017
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re finally ready to wrap up the Survivor Series build but first there are two more title matches to get to, both of which could change how things look heading into Sunday. Tonight United States Champion Baron Corbin will defend against Sin Cara and Women’s Champion Natalya will defend against Charlotte. Let’s get to it.

The Smackdown roster is in the back with Shane giving them a pep talk (which doesn’t need a microphone). Becky Lynch and Baron Corbin are all fired up and Shane says John Cena, who isn’t here, will be ready. New Day starts a SMACK-DOWN ROCKS chant and Shane joins in. I really can’t wait to get past Survivor Series so we can get over this A-Show vs. B-Show stuff, which won’t be changed a bit by whatever happens on Sunday.

Here’s Daniel Bryan for a chat. Bryan has liked the build so far and thinks Smackdown is ready for anything Raw can throw at them tonight. He’s proud of everyone in the back and on Sunday they’ll prove that they’re better than Raw. Bryan brings out AJ Styles and has a special offer for him: his own personal advocate for the evening, ala Paul Heyman.

AJ says yes so Bryan goes into a Heyman impression before saying he agrees with every point Heyman made last night, save for one. The point is Lesnar quits whenever he’s put in trouble, like when he quit to a weak kneebar. AJ is going to push Lesnar into deep waters and test him like the Beast has never been tested before. Styles finally gets to talk and says he’s ready to prove that he’s the best in the world.

Post break AJ runs into Jinder Mahal, who says he’ll give AJ a real beating after Lesnar gets done with him.

US Title: Baron Corbin vs. Sin Cara

Baron is defending. Cara starts fast with some quick strikes and a dropkick sends Corbin to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Cara fighting out of a chinlock and striking away before a clothesline sends Baron outside. A chokebreaker is countered into a rollup and Cara’s springboard spinning crossbody gets two. Deep Six gets Corbin out of trouble but Cara kicks him outside again, this time for a middle rope moonsault. Not that it matters as End of Days retains Corbin’s title at 7:14.

Rating: D+. Pretty much a nothing match here but at least they wrapped up the Corbin vs. Cara stuff in one definitive ending. Cara was fine for a short term challenger but Corbin needs something a little more substantial going forward. It wasn’t terrible but with about half of it in commercial and Cara not having much of a chance, they didn’t have much to work with out there.

Long recap of Smackdown vs. Raw over the last eight days.

The bosses are in the back to say there’s never been a more important Survivor Series. Oh come on. This isn’t even the most important one Shane has ever been in. The point though is Bryan wants to talk to Shane after Sunday because he was never consulted about the siege.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Natalya

Charlotte is challenging and we’re ready to go after Big Match Intros. Natalya gets in a few shots to the back but Charlotte powers out without much effort. A hard charge sends Natalya into the barricade for two and Charlotte kicks her in the face for good measure. Back from a break with Charlotte rolling out of a surfboard and chopping away. A spear cuts Natalya down again but only gets a delayed two.

Natalya bails to the floor but gets kicked down from the apron to cut things off again. Charlotte takes too long going onto the, barricade though, allowing Natalya to powerbomb her into the post for a big crash. Back in and the mostly dead Charlotte gets caught in the Sharpshooter, only to power crawl to the ropes. Charlotte kicks her in the face and grabs the Figure Eight for the tap out and the title at 10:34.

Rating: C+. Now that’s more like it. I’m not entirely surprised by the title change and that’s a good thing in this case. There was no need for Natalya to face Alexa Bliss and, probably more importantly, it keeps Charlotte and Asuka apart, hopefully setting up a huge showdown later on. Oh and what happened to Alexa Bliss threatening to come watch the match?

Post match Charlotte says this is all she’s wanted every single day. That means a YOU DESERVE IT chant until Charlotte can dedicate the title win to Ric Flair…..who actually comes out to celebrate with her as she leaves.

Bludgeon Brothers video. They debut next week.

Jimmy Uso vs. Chad Gable

Jimmy chops away but gets his knee taken out, allowing Chad to grab a dragon screw leg whip. Back with Chad missing a moonsault but landing on his feet. Jimmy superkicks the knee out, followed by the running Umaga attack for two. A rolling Liger Kick drops Jimmy and Chad throws him head first into the middle rope for a different kind of offense. Gable goes after Jey for no apparent reason, allowing Jimmy to hit a superkick for the pin at 6:21.

Rating: C-. Again nothing to see here but they do keep this feud going for after the pay per view. Gable and Benjamin could get a big title shot on TV down the road, which is about as good of an idea as Smackdown has at the moment. The Usos and New Day were the division for so long and they really need some fresh blood.

The announcers plug everything coming up this weekend.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens aren’t happy with not being on Sunday’s show because they’re better than Shield and New Day.

Before the main event, New Day says Shield has thirteen title reigns between the three of them. New Day however has about twenty seven. Big E.: “Though to be fair…..most of those were Kofi.” They compare hounds to unicorns, which should be one sided because New Day Rocks.

New Day vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

It’s Xavier/Big E. here and some Unicorn Stampeding has Sami in early trouble. Owens comes in but eats the Honor Roll as the New Day beating continues. Big E. wheelbarrow slams Woods onto Big E. and Sami gets knocked out to the floor. Kevin trips Woods though and we take a break. Back with Woods in a chinlock but he fights out without much effort. The hot tag brings in Big E. for the suplexes and throws, followed by a flip dive from Woods. Everything breaks down….and here’s Shield. We’ll say the match is thrown out at about 10:00.

Rating: C. This was a big match but there’s only so much you can do when it’s all there for the post match brawl. There’s nothing wrong with that though and the match was a big deal while it lasted. New Day is one of the biggest acts on Smackdown at the moment and that’s a good idea given how charismatic they really are.

Sami and Owens bail to the floor, leaving New Day to get beaten down. The Usos come in but the Bar cuts them off. We see the Raw women’s team invading the Smackdown women’s locker room for the big brawl with Charlotte taking the big beating. Back in the arena, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor run in along with others, only to have Shane lead some reinforcements. Shinsuke Nakamura starts striking away but Kurt Angle shows up to bring out Braun Strowman for the real house cleaning.

Everyone brawls to the floor where Shield surrounds Shane McMahon. Shane has to watch as Smackdown is decimated on the floor, including Samoa Joe breaking the trombone over Big E.’s back. Angle gets in the ring and asks Shane how this feels before a TripleBomb plants the boss. Angle takes off his jacket and gives Shane an Angle Slam. Strowman watches as it’s a second TripleBomb to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The ending segment needed to happen and did exactly what it was supposed to do. We’ve been waiting for Raw to get their retribution and it really was a better moment with Shield as the monsters (read as the Shield, not Reigns on his own). Great ending segment to a good enough show that made me more interested in one of Sunday’s bigger matches.

Results

Baron Corbin b. Sin Cara – End of Days

Charlotte b. Becky Lynch – Figure Eight

Jimmy Uso b. Chad Gable – Superkick

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. New Day went to a no contest when Shield interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: November 7, 2017
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

We’re still in England and it’s a huge night with two title matches. Tonight the Usos will defend their Tag Team Titles against Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin, but the real main event will see Smackdown World Champion Jinder Mahal put his title on the line against AJ Styles. These matches have major Survivor Series implications so let’s get to it.

Styles says he’ll win.

Mahal says he’ll win.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Shane McMahon to get things going. Shane talks about the war with Raw, specifically the attack on Daniel Bryan. While Daniel is banged up at the moment, he’ll be back next week. As for tonight, Shane brings out New Day to some clips of their mini invasion last night. New Day didn’t mean to make Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose lose their Tag Team Titles last night but it’s part of the deal when you prove Raw is the B show. If Raw wants some revenge, New Day will be waiting on them.

Shane joins them in some dancing but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to interrupt. Sami mocks Shane’s dancing abilities, which Woods finds rather amusing. Owens brings up beating Shane inside the Cell and Sami says they could have beaten Raw by themselves last night. New Day trades some insults with Sami and a match is made for right now.

Kofi Kingston vs. Sami Zayn

Kofi gets armbarred to start but lands on his feet out of a monkey flip. That means dancing to trombone music and a dropkick to put Sami on the floor. Sami takes a breather and the delay lets him stomp away back inside to take over. The top rope dive is dropkicked out of the air though and we take a break. Back with Kofi missing Trouble in Paradise and getting caught in a somewhat nasty Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Not that it matters as Kofi pops back up to the top for a high crossbody and the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C+. These are two of my favorites in WWE and it’s always cool to see them have a chance to showcase themselves. Kingston really doesn’t get to show his solo skills all that often but he got to show what he could do here. I’d still love to see him become World Champion someday and it’s not the most ridiculous idea in the world.

We look back at Jinder Mahal attacking AJ Styles last week.

Jinder says AJ is the appetizer to his entree of Brock Lesnar.

Video on the Bludgeon Brothers.

Rusev vs. Randy Orton

If Rusev, accompanied by Aiden English, wins, he joins the Survivor Series team. An RKO is broken up in the first few seconds and Rusev gets three straight near falls off the jumping superkick. We take a quick break and come back with Rusev holding a chinlock as Orton hasn’t gotten in much offense here. Back up and Rusev stomps away some more, only to walk into the RKO for the fast pin at 6:58. Not enough shown to rate but Orton hit one move of note the whole match. There is still an open spot on the Smackdown Survivor Series team.

James Ellsworth knocks on the women’s locker room door and gets Becky Lynch. They have a match tonight and James laughs off the idea of Becky defeating him. James says this is MANchester after all but Becky questions his manhood to a gasp.

We look at the Siege and subsequent retaliation. AGAIN.

James Ellsworth vs. Becky Lynch

The Smackdown Women’s Team is at ringside. Ellsworth does some pushups but stops to take off his shirt, revealing a horribly pale physique. Becky takes him off the ropes without much effort and rolls Ellsworth around the ring to make him dizzy. An airplane spin makes it even worse for Ellsworth but he knocks Becky outside in a heap. That earns him a missile dropkick, followed by an atomic drop for the comedic portion of the match. The Bexploder makes Ellsworth try a hug, only to get caught in the Disarm-Her for the tap at 5:57.

Rating: D. This was an angle instead of a match and feels like a treat for the live crowd more than anything else. Ellsworth being chauvinistic came out of nowhere and I’m not sure it really needed to happen, but it’s not like it hurt anything. Becky getting a win before captaining the team at Survivor Series is a good idea and that’s all it needed to be.

Carmella superkicks Ellsworth post match, possibly ending their relationship.

Post break Charlotte is in Shane’s office but Natalya comes in to interrupt. She’s here to accept Charlotte’s place on Team Smackdown. Shane has another idea though: Natalya defends the title against Charlotte next week.

Tag Team Titles: Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin vs. Usos

The Usos are defending. The champs jump Gable and Benjamin before the bell and we take a break. Back with the match joined in progress and Jey coming in off the hot tat. Shelton hits Pay Dirt on Jimmy but gets rolled up for two. Gable chop blocks Jey on the floor though and that’s a countout at 1:22 shown.

Clip of Luke Harper guest starring on Damnation.

AJ isn’t the biggest and isn’t the strongest but he works harder than anyone else.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal is defending. AJ grabs a headlock to start but gets LAUNCHED out to the floor as we take an early break. Back with AJ caught in a headlock on the mat but they’re quickly on the floor with Mahal slamming him onto the announcers’ table. We hit the armbar as Mahal slows things down a bit.

Mahal drops a knee but dives into a pair of raised boots, followed by the Phenomenal Blitz. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives AJ two as you can tell the fans are way into this one. Something like a backdrop into a faceplant gives Mahal two of his own but he gets kicked out of the corner.

The Calf Crusher is quickly broken up and Jinder turns him inside out with a clothesline. That’s fine with AJ who sends him outside for a slingshot forearm. Back in and the springboard 450 connects, only to have the Singh Brothers pull Mahal to the floor. AJ takes out the brothers but jumps into the Khallas.

That’s only good for two though as AJ gets his foot on the ropes and the place goes NUTS at the new hope. Jinder loads up a super Khallas but AJ slips out and snaps his throat across the top, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin and the title at 16:47 as the fans go coconuts at the pin.

Rating: B. Pretty easily Mahal’s best match ever as champ but I think you can guess where that’s from. I can’t imagine Mahal isn’t champion again by the end of the India tour. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we don’t have to sit through Mahal vs. Lesnar at Survivor Series. Styles winning was the right call here as he can have the dream match against Lesnar and then do whatever with the title as necessary.

Mahal beats up the Singh Brothers to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The title change easily puts this one over the top and makes it a much more important show. There wasn’t much going on until then and it felt like your standard throw away episode, but sweet goodness the place went nuts when AJ won the title. That’s an instant spark for Survivor Series and the show certainly needed it coming into this week. Not a great show, but a great moment to close it out.

Results

Kofi Kingston b. Sami Zayn – High crossbody

Randy Orton b. Rusev – RKO

Becky Lynch b. James Ellsworth – Disarm-Her

Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin b. Usos via countout

AJ Styles b. Jinder Mahal – Phenomenal Forearm

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 6, 2017
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.

We’re on the other side of the world this week as Raw takes its annual trip over to England. That means the show has been spoiled in advance, but it also means that we’re nearly guaranteed to see something happen. That could range from a title change to a big surprise and all points in between so let’s get to it.

We open with a message of condolences for the attack in Texas yesterday. Nothing wrong with that, as always.

Long recap of Braun Strowman returning last week and destroying Miz and the Miztourage.

Miz is in the ring for MizTV. He starts fast by saying if Baron Corbin ever talks about his wife or unborn daughter again, he’ll take Corbin’s head off. Then Corbin got on Twitter and said at Survivor Series, Miz will be calling him daddy. Corbin is the bathroom break of Smackdown but Miz is the whole show on Monday nights. At Survivor Series, Miz is going to make him relevant for the first time. As for tonight though, Miz brings out Raw’s captain at Survivor Series: Kurt Angle.

They’re rather salty with each other and Miz makes it worse by showing Angle’s dressing down from Stephanie McMahon last week. Angle says Smackdown has had a good run, but it’s always going to be known as the B show. Miz shows the siege (again) as well as Kane attacking Daniel Bryan last week. Angle apologized to Bryan but Miz brings up the Strowman situation, which has left Axel in a neck brace. Kurt laughs it off and says Strowman is on Team Raw in exchange for a match. Tonight. Against Miz.

Here’s Elias for his guitar on a pole match but first, a little A Capella. The fans want Wonderwall but get a song about how horrible Manchester is.

Jason Jordan vs. Elias

Guitar on a pole and you win by using the guitar rather than by pin. They both go after the guitar and are stopped just as quickly as we take an early break. Back with Jordan rolling some suplexes until Elias slips over and grabs the guitar. Jordan takes it away and the chase is on until Jordan blasts him in the back to win at 7:20.

Rating: D. Uh, yeah. I have no idea why Jordan couldn’t just get a pin here unless this feud is continuing for whatever reason. The feud hasn’t exactly been lighting the world on fire but at least the fans haven’t been completely rejecting Jordan either. They’re bringing him along slowly here and that’s FAR better than they could have done.

The Bar comes in to see Angle because they want a Tag Team Title match tonight. Angle grants the request.

Asuka vs. Stacy Coates

Asuka wastes no time in kicking her down, followed by the hip attack. The Asuka Lock is good for the submission at 1:15. Squash.

Alicia Fox pops up and announces that Asuka is on Team Raw.

Titus O’Neil is ready to take care of Samoa Joe.

Samoa Joe vs. Titus O’Neil

Joe jumps him during the entrance and chokes Titus out on the ramp. No match.

Joe gets in the ring and issues an open challenge….so here’s Finn Balor.

Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe

The announcers start talking about the history between these two until Finn kicks him in the head. It’s too early for the top rope double stomp though as Joe moves away and scores with a kick to the head of his own. The backsplash gets two on Balor and Joe cranks on the neck until Balor fights up with a forearm to the jaw. Balor sends him outside for a shot to the chest and Joe stops for a breather. That just earns him another running forearm and we take a break.

Back with Joe avoiding the shotgun dropkick and getting two off another backsplash. Balor gets caught on top again but he comes down and hits the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace misses again and the Rock Bottom out of the corner gives Joe two. The Koquina Clutch is broken up and Joe is sent outside for a heck of a flip dive over the top. They fight up the aisle and it’s a double countout at 14:39.

Rating: B-. It’s amazing how much better Balor looks when he’s not getting dropped on his head by a 50 year old Kane. This felt like a match I’d like to see more of and it’s not surprising given how awesome these two were in NXT. Hopefully they do some more of this and Balor can get some steam back.

The fight continues until referees break it up. Angle comes out and puts them both on Team Raw, making it Angle, Strowman, Balor and Samoa Joe. Balor isn’t done and dives onto Joe.

Miz and the Miztourage are worried with Axel suggesting they just run now.

Angle puts Jason Jordan on the team as the fifth member.

Bayley and Sasha Banks want in on Team Raw and are ready to prove it tonight.

Bayley/Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox/Nia Jax

The fans bring back the HEY BAYLEY song and she looks rather pleased with the return. Fox bails from Bayley to start and it’s Jax driving her into the corner without too much effort. Banks comes in and has her rollup stomped away. Fox comes in and gets double teamed in the corner with the good ones in control as we take a break.

Back with the fans still singing, even as Nia drops an elbow on Bayley. Some forearms to the head don’t do much to Jax and she hits a running Snake Eyes to drop Bayley again. For some reason Jax decides to bring Fox back in and it’s all of three seconds before the hot tag brings Banks in. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Jax gets sent outside, leaving Fox’s rollup to be reversed into the Bank Statement for the tap at 11:49.

Rating: C-. Not much here but it’s a good way to (likely) round out the rest of Team Raw. Bayley and Banks are kind of obvious on the team as there’s not exactly anyone else to fill out the roster. There’s a story to them not getting on the team yet though and if you can get two stories out of one match, rock on.

Post match Fox puts Banks on the team but not Bayley.

We look at Strowman being garbage trucked at TLC.

The Miz vs. Braun Strowman

Non-title because why would Strowman want something like a belt? Miz bails to the floor to start and has a huddle with the Miztourage. They get inside and the beating is on in a hurry with Strowman throwing him around like the tiny man that he is. The spinning Big Ending plants Miz again and Dallas looks scared on the floor. That is only made worse as Strowman goes outside and hits an incredibly loud right hand to Dallas’ jaw. Miz gets thrown onto the Miztourage but here’s Kane for the showdown and a DQ at 5:05.

Rating: D+. This was much more of an angle than a match and that’s fine. Miz getting destroyed is fine as long as he doesn’t get pinned, which is what would have happened in other times around here. At least Strowman got to look awesome all over again, which is exactly what should be happening to him.

Post match Kane can’t chokeslam Strowman, who hits the running powerslam. Kane pops up and gets clotheslined to the floor, where he lands on his feet. The Miztourage tries to jump Braun and gets beaten up again.

Ambrose and Rollins are ready to fight because that’s what they do. They haven’t forgotten about Team Blue and after Survivor Series, they’ll be Team Black and Blue. Ambrose: “And yellow. And purple.” Rollins: “What kind of bruises…..”? Anyway back to Sheamus and Cesaro, no one wants them to win and the Shield fist is the real bar. They leave and Renee does the Shield fist as well.

Here’s Enzo Amore for a chat. He talks about everyone who wants to follow him around and see what the champ is up to. Recently he saw a kid who asked what was next….and here’s Kalisto to interrupt. Kalisto sits by the barricade though as Kurt Angle comes out to announce a surprise opponent for Enzo.

Pete Dunne vs. Enzo Amore

Non-title. Dunne takes him down with a single shot as Kalisto watches from the floor. Back in and Dunne works on the fingers until Enzo pulls him throat first into the top rope. Enzo grabs something like a camel clutch until Dunne fights up and kicks him in the face. Kalisto distracts Enzo though, setting up the Bitter End to put Enzo away at 3:35.

Rating: D+. I’m more and more impressed by Dunne every time I see him. He’s one of those guys who just seems to get it and, to steal a phrase, you can’t teach that. I can’t imagine this is anything more than a one off appearance and there’s nothing wrong with that for the sake of the live crowd. Nothing to the match, but that’s what you have to expect with Enzo in the ring.

Kalisto raises Dunne’s hand.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal.

Lesnar and Paul Heyman will be back next week.

Alexa Bliss didn’t run from Natalya but will run circles around her at Survivor Series. Isn’t it interesting that Natalya never won the title when Alexa was on Smackdown? Bliss is a two time champion on both shows and two and two makes one. That’s one goddess of WWE you see.

Roman Reigns is back next week.

Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose

Rollins and Ambrose are defending. Ambrose jumps Cesaro to start and it’s a Hart Attack with Rollins hitting a Sling Blade instead of a clothesline for two on Sheamus. The champs hit dives to the floor and knock them outside again as we take a break. Back with Ambrose in trouble and things getting worse as the Bar hits double superkicks to the ribs.

Cesaro kicks Rollins off the apron to break up a tag attempt but can’t get the top rope superplex on Ambrose. A middle rope clothesline is enough to bring in Rollins so house can be cleaned in a hurry. Rollins hits a suicide dive on Sheamus and a Falcon Arrow gets two on Cesaro. Swiss Death cuts Rollins off but can’t put him away just yet. Everything breaks down and the champs’ double dives are broken up.

Dean is sent back first into the barricade and a top rope clothesline/powerbomb combo gets two on Rollins. Back in and Dirty Deeds takes Sheamus down for the frog splash but Cesaro knocks Dean into the cover for the save. Cue the New Day of all people in the crowd for a distraction though, with Woods congratulating the fans on staying awake. As New Day talks, Angle rallies the troops in the back.

New Day says it’s Under Siege 2 (that’s getting into some dark territory) as the Raw roster surrounds the ring. They go after New Day, leaving Sheamus to Brogue Kick Rollins for the pin and the titles at 18:55. That’s actually a finish lifted from WCW where Harlem Heat took the Tag Team Titles from Sting and Lex Luger while the Outsiders came into the arena.

Rating: B. These four are just incapable of having a bad match and that’s always a good problem to have. I like the booking a lot as Rollins and Ambrose can do other stuff while Sheamus and Cesaro pretty much had this or nothing else. The ending was a nice touch too which protects both teams and advances the story. Well done all around.

Overall Rating: C. For a taped show, this actually wasn’t half bad. They accomplished a lot for Survivor Series and that’s more important than filling the show with good yet not important matches. The title change at the end is a good idea and things should be even bigger next week when Lesnar and Reigns are back. Good enough show here, which is quite the compliment given the circumstances.

Results

Jason Jordan b. Elias – Jordan hit Elias with the guitar

Asuka b. Stacy Coates – Asuka Lock

Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe went to a double countout

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Alicia Fox/Nia Jax – Bank Statement to Fox

Braun Strowman b. The Miz via DQ when Kane interfered

Pete Dunne b. Enzo Amore – Bitter End

The Bar b. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose – Brogue Kick to Rollins

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Hell in a Cell 2017
Date: October 8, 2017
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s time for the Shane McMahon Does Something Stupid Show. The main event tonight is Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens inside the show’s namesake structure as Shane fights to defend his family’s honor. Other than that we have the Usos challenging the New Day for the Tag Team Titles inside the Cell too. Let’s get to it.

On the Kickoff Show, Tye Dillinger mentions to Daniel Bryan that he beat Baron Corbin on Smackdown but Corbin is getting a US Title shot tonight. Therefore, Tye should be added to the match. Bryan agrees and we get a YES/TEN exchange with both guys doing the other’s thing.

Kickoff Show: Hype Bros vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable

Shelton works on Mojo’s arm to start before it’s off to Gable, who eats a crossbody. Ryder and Benjamin come in with Shelton scoring with a spinebuster and the Bros heading to the floor as we take a break. Back with Ryder still in trouble as Benjamin and Gable take turns suplexing him. Shelton’s superplex is broken up and it’s a missile dropkick to Benjamin. The hot tag brings in Mojo for shoulders and a tilt-a-whirl slam to Gable. A clothesline takes Mojo down and Gable has to try a moonsault, only to land on his feet when Mojo moves.

Instead he belly to bellys Rawley and hits the second attempt at a moonsault for two. Ryder gets knocked off the apron as Mojo starts….uh….hyping up. The Hype Ryder is broken up (which Ryder seems to blame on Mojo) and Paydirt gives Shelton two on Ryder with Mojo making the save. The powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination puts Ryder away at 10:22.

Rating: C. Just a tag match here that you could have seen on any given Smackdown. That’s the kind of Kickoff match you want though as the fans were into the Hype Bros, even if it seems that they’re splitting. You know, because this division is so deep that they can split teams up right now.

The opening video looks at the power and devastation of the Cell itself before looking at most of the matches tonight. Standard but it still works.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Usos

The Usos are challenging inside the Cell. Before the Usos come out, New Day talks about how it’s going to be a prison break tonight when they break the Usos apart. It’s Kofi as the odd man out and they don’t even bother waiting around before finding the weapons. Two kendo sticks (rainbow colored for Xavier), a chair and a chain are brought in with New Day getting the better of it and Big E. dropping Woods (and the chain) onto Jimmy’s face for an early two.

Big E. is sent into the Cell though and Jey dives over the top to take Woods down. Back up though and Big E. spears Jey into the Cell for a heck of a crash. Woods breaks Francesca II over Jey’s back but Big E. pulls out Francesca III for the same result. And now, a cowbell is brought in with Woods hitting Jey in the ribs. If that’s not enough music for your taste, it’s time for a gong (Mortal Kombat reference) but Jimmy throws a chair at Woods’ head. Big E. gets superkicked down and it’s time for the kendo stick beating.

The running Umaga Attack drives Woods up against the Cell but Big E. is back up with a Rock Bottom off the apron into a Backstabber from Woods on the floor. Woods grabs about six kendo sticks and pins Jey up in the corner, sliding the sticks through the Cell like prison bars. It doesn’t last long but it’s a heck of a creative spot. Jimmy throws Big E. onto his shoulders for a spear through the ropes from Jey, driving Big E. into the Cell again.

Back in and the double Superfly Splashes get two and the Usos are frustrated. They bust out some handcuffs and cuff Woods around the post for some stick shots to the ribs ala Orton vs. Cena at Breaking Point back in 2009. They unload on Woods with about twenty shots in a row before letting him off the corner. That’s rather dumb no?

Big E. is back up though and cleans house, including driving Jimmy into the Cell so hard that the whole thing moves. He does it again, driving Jimmy into Jey this time around. The Big Ending gets two on Jey but Jimmy is back in with a pair of superkicks. A double superkick sets up the double Superfly Splash but Woods somehow dives in for the save. The still handcuffed Woods gets all fired up and shrugs off the kendo stick shots but they finally beat him down. With a chair put over Woods, the double Superfly Splash at 21:56.

Rating: A. The referee saying “three” when Woods was being destroyed on the post and the match ending three minutes later aside, this was a GREAT match for two main reasons. First of all, the stuff they did felt fresh. There were a ton of fun spots in here that you haven’t seen before and that’s much better than the repetitive stuff that happens so often in these matches.

Second, and more important, it felt like they wanted to hurt each other. So often the Cell matches are just big matches that don’t have anything resembling violence or carnage, which makes for some bad performances. This was a heck of a brawl and one of the better Cell matches ever. If they just have to keep feuding though, give us a few weeks/months off. Let Breezango get another shot or Benjamin/Gable or someone. Just give us a breather.

AJ Styles isn’t worried about the match being made a triple threat (with Tye Dillinger being added) and quotes a little Tom Petty in a nice touch.

Quick recap of Rusev vs. Randy Orton, which is their third match after the first two didn’t combine to last thirty seconds. Orton attacked Rusev when he was being given the key to his hometown to set up a third match.

Rusev vs. Randy Orton

An early RKO attempt sends Rusev bailing to the floor but he comes back in and fires off shoulders in the corner. Orton stomps away though and tries the hanging DDT but they head outside again. Rusev drives him into the barricade and grabs a chinlock back inside. A spinwheel kick gives Rusev two but he seems to be favoring his back.

Some big elbows are good for two but a missed charge sends Rusev face first into the post (CHECK HIS TEETH!). An RKO attempt doesn’t work so Orton settles for the snap powerslam for two instead. A fall away slam gives Rusev two more but the Accolade attempt sends Orton bailing to the floor. Back in and the hanging DDT connects but Rusev kicks him down again. The Accolade doesn’t work again though and it’s an RKO to put Rusev away at 11:43.

Rating: C+. Is there a point of having Rusev around? It’s clear that WWE isn’t going to give him anything resembling a push anytime soon (or for years to come probably) and I have no idea why they keep putting him in these spots. Oh but at the same time, we get Jinder Mahal being unfunny and uninteresting because of an India tour in December. Another eye roll inducing ending as Orton is the same with a win or a loss while Rusev takes a big hit.

US Title: Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles

Styles is defending and Dillinger was added to the match earlier tonight. Dillinger had tried to answer the US Open Challenge but Baron attacked him, setting up a mini feud between the two. Corbin was scheduled to be the challenger but Tye beat him on Smackdown, earning a spot in this match too. AJ and Tye stare Corbin out to the floor and look to go at each other, only to stomp Corbin down when he tries to sneak back in.

They send Corbin outside again and AJ rolls Tye up for two before scoring with with the drop down dropkick. Corbin punches Tye to the floor and avoids AJ’s dropkick to take over for the first time. A hard whip sends AJ ribs first into the post so Corbin chokes Dillinger in the corner. They head outside with Corbin whipping Tye into the barricade and then slugging him down.

Back in and AJ wins a slugout with Corbin (bit of a surprise) before scoring with the Phenomenal Blitz. Tye comes back in with a hot shot and backdrop to AJ, followed by that one knee Codebreaker for two. Back up and AJ slaps on the Calf Crusher but Corbin pulls Tye to the ropes for the break.

AJ dives over the top with a slingshot forearm but his second springboard is countered into a chokebreaker for a rather near fall. Tye comes back in and kicks both guys in the face until AJ Peles him onto Corbin for a heck of a false finish. The springboard 450 connects with Corbin but Tye makes the save. That just earns Tye a Phenomenal Forearm, only to have Corbin throw AJ out and steal the pin and the title at 19:30.

Rating: B-. Good match here though it went it a little longer than is needed to. Hopefully this sets up AJ in the World Title picture again (if Mahal retains tonight) as it’s the logical way to get us to that point. Tye being added was a good idea as it kept this from feeling like a dull title defense. It also opens the door for some challengers to the title, including one Sami Zayn somewhere in there.

We recap Charlotte vs. Natalya, which thankfully isn’t another Bret vs. Ric feud. Natalya is champion and Charlotte won a multi-woman match to get the shot.

Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Charlotte

Natalya is defending and this match gives her the record for most pay per view matches in women’s history. They trade early leg hold attempts but Natalya settles for some kicks to the leg to really take over. Charlotte uses the good leg to kick her away but still gets caught in a leglock.

That’s broken without too much effort and Charlotte uses the good leg for a big boot to the jaw. A powerbomb doesn’t work as the leg is too banged up so Charlotte tries a backslide for two instead. She’s still able to strut on one leg but tries a moonsault for some reason, allowing Natalya to hit her in the knee a few times. Natalya gets two off a sitout powerbomb but eats another big boot.

This time it’s with the bad knee though and Charlotte goes down, even needing to head outside. The leg is knocked into the steps and Charlotte is in big trouble. Back in and Natalya loads up the Sharpshooter, only to have Charlotte flip her into the buckles for the break. Natalya heads outside again so Charlotte moonsaults down onto her, banging up the knee again. Not that it matters as Natalya grabs a chair to hit Charlotte’s knee for the DQ at 12:18.

Rating: C. Good from a technical standpoint but I’m rather sick of seeing these two fight. Charlotte has beaten Natalya time after time and now we’re probably looking at a submission match next month where Charlotte finally wins the title. The matches are good but sweet goodness the promos to set them up are nightmares and we’re going to be sitting through them for weeks.

It’s Fashion Files time! Their bulletin board includes Cesaro as Tooth Fairy 3 and Raven as That’s So Raven. They’ve solved the 2B case and tease a flashback but wind up in the same place. Ascension, in bad disguises, come in with a delivery. It’s a tube, which Breeze thinks means 2B.

Inside the case is an Ascension poster with the message “we want 2B your friends”. Breeze says there’s no way it’s Ascension because they’re idiots. Ascension takes off the disguises and leave looking very sad. Breeze: “Those disguises were incredible!” There’s another knock at the door but it’s just a black briefcase. They open it up and the contents are glowing ala Pulp Fiction. It’s a new case, meaning Pulp Fashion begins on Tuesday.

We recap Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal for the Smackdown World Title. Basically Mahal is overconfident and thinks Nakamura is funny looking so he made some semi-racist jokes at Nakamura’s expense. Nakamura also has to deal with the Singh Brothers to make things even worse.

Smackdown World Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal is defending and grabs a wristlock to start. Nakamura takes him down without too much effort but can’t get a cross armbreaker. Back up and Nakamura says COME ON before the threat of the Kinshasa sends Mahal bailing to the floor. The champ sends him back first into the post and we hit a camel clutch back inside. A hard whip into the corner has Nakamura in more trouble and it’s off to a chinlock.

Nakamura fights up with a spinning kick to the head for a breather, followed by kicks to the chest. The running knee in the corner gets two and Nakamura adds a knee drop from the apron, only to bang up his own knee again. Back in and the Khallas is broken up, followed by a middle rope knee to Mahal’s chest.

Cue the Singh Brothers for a distraction but Nakamura grabs a rollup for two anyway. The referee finally ejects the Brothers and there’s Kinshasa to Mahal but he grabs the rope at two. Another Kinshasa hits knee though and it’s the Khallas to keep the title on Mahal (again) at 12:05.

Rating: C-. And yes, it continues. Ignoring how they had back to back matches focused on working the knee, this was your standard dull Mahal match with no heat and the fans rolling their eyes when he retains the title again. They’re more than willing to have Smackdown continue to sink for the sake of those India shows in December and if we don’t like it, get over it because nothing is changing. Boring match, but that’s all you can expect from Mahal.

Kevin Owens doesn’t want to hear about what he did to the McMahon Family because Shane has caused Owens’ family harm for the sake of feeding his bottomless ego. Tonight, Shane has to pay.

Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler

It’s a battle over entrances. Ziggler cuts off his own entrance and comes out to silence and no video. A headlock slows Roode down to start until Roode snaps him throat first across the top to really take over. Some chops in the corner have Ziggler even further in control and we hit a chinlock to keep Roode down.

It’s off to a sleeper for a good while as this is one of the worst ways they could go about having Roode’s pay per view debut. Roode fights up and sends Ziggler shoulder first into the post for his first major offense. A swinging Rock Bottom gives Roode two but Ziggler’s jumping DDT is good for the same.

Just in case you thought this match could get interesting, Ziggler grabs the sleeper AGAIN. A bulldog (called a Fameasser) gets two on Roode but the superkick is countered into a spinebuster. The Glorious DDT is countered into a rollup to give Ziggler two and they trade rollups for a bunch of near falls until Roode grabs the tights (which Ziggler was doing every time) for the pin at 11:35.

Rating: F. Nope. Not the match quality but this was the definition of a failure. Roode looked like he got lucky to steal a cheating win and Ziggler dominated 90% of the match while killing the crowd in the process. This was as bad as it could have been and every single problem they had with Nakamura’s debut against Ziggler. Terrible match and it’s entirely on the layout and booking.

Ziggler immediately hits the Zig Zag on Roode to set up a rematch.

Long recap of Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens. Kevin claimed a conspiracy against him for months and attacked Vince after securing a match with Shane inside the Cell. Shane is fighting for his family and is basically holding up a big sign saying “I’m going to do something stupid.”

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

Inside the Cell and with falls count anywhere for reasons of Shane needs to do something outside. Owens steps into the Cell so the bell rings and Shane baseball slides him through the door. That means the bad punches make an early appearance and Shane follows up with a clothesline off the barricade.

Owens heads into the cage for safety so Shane kicks the door into his face. Back in and Shane gets knocked off the apron and into the Cell wall, allowing Owens to rub his face against the cage, right in front of Shane’s kids. Owens grabs the steps but gets kicked in the chest. That’s it for Shane’s offense at the moment though as Owens drops a backsplash for two. There’s the Cannonball for two as the crowd is just waiting for Shane to start doing something so they can care.

The Swanton Bomb hits Shane’s knees though and his legs are too banged up to do anything. Why is that something no one else can understand? Back up and Shane peppers him with some more punches, only to miss the shooting star press. Owens’ frog splash gets two but the Pop Up Powerbomb is countered into a pretty messy looking triangle choke.

A powerbomb onto the steps gets Owens out of trouble and it’s table time. The table is leaned up against the table but Owens’ Cannonball off the apron misses Shane and sends him through the table for a crash. Shane hits him with a piece of the broken table and tosses a trashcan into the ring. Coast to Coast connects on Owens but his foot is on the rope, which completely defeats the point of falls count anywhere.

Shane cuts the door open with bolt cutters, allowing Owens to DDT Shane on the ramp with a thud. Owens puts him on the announcers’ table and climbs onto the barricade….before looking up at the Cell. He goes up, looks down at Shane….and can’t bring himself to do it. Instead Shane gets up and climbs to the top as well and it’s time for a slugout on the roof. Shane grabs a Russian legsweep and bangs his own head before slamming Owens on the steel.

There’s a suplex on the Cell to keep teasing the big spot. Owens takes him down for a change and drops a backsplash. The powerbomb is reversed into a backdrop but Owens gets the Pop Up Powerbomb, which still doesn’t break the Cell. Owens teases throwing him off the top but Shane punches his way out of dying.

Thankfully Owens starts climbing down and Shane follows him for some kicks to the back, followed by a ram to the cage to send Owens through the table. EMT’s come down to check on Owens but Shane picks him up and puts him on the second announcers’ table. Shane goes up but dives through the table as Sami Zayn popped up to pull Owens off the table. Sami throws the EMT’s away and puts Owens on top for the pin at 38:18.

Rating: C. I’m going with right in the middle as I got the drama here but I HATED the stunt show stuff. I’m scared of heights in the first place and I can’t stand this kind of stuff in place of having an actual match. Sami turning at the end is a good thing as he doesn’t have anything going for him at the moment and being Owens’ right hand man is the best thing he could do. We knew it was going to be the big stunt at the end and I’m glad Owens won, but sweet goodness it took too long to get there. I get the drama and all that but I really didn’t care for this for the most part, as is typically the case in the WAY too long Shane matches.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a hard one to grade as I loved the opener, couldn’t stand the Ziggler match and wanted to turn off the show during the main event for reasons that have little to do with the actual match. The show was better than I was expecting but the biggest problem was it showed how little star power Smackdown has. They need to boost some people and hopefully the main event starts us down that road. AJ vs. Mahal is the likely title program though Owens/Sami will be the top heel act going forward. This show leaves me cautiously optimistic, but I’ve been in that place before.

Results

Usos b. New Day – Double Superfly Splash to Woods

Randy Orton b. Rusev – RKO

Baron Corbin b. AJ Styles and Tye Dillinger – Phenomenal Forearm to Dillinger

Charlotte b. Natalya via DQ when Natalya used a chair

Jinder Mahal b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Khallas

Bobby Roode b. Dolph Ziggler – Rollup with a handful of tights

Kevin Owens b. Shane McMahon – Pin after Shane fell through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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It’s currently Saturday night and we’re about twenty four hours away from the start of “Hell in a Cell 2017”. I’ve known that I need to start getting this together but the more I think about doing it the less interested I am in the show. All week long and especially while I watched the last two episodes of “Smackdown Live”, my interest level in the show has gone downhill faster and faster. It’s entirely and completely a one match show and that one match hasn’t grabbed my attention. I’m not thrilled with this show but let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable vs. Hype Bros

This is a match that was teased a few weeks ago on the YouTube channel and for once I’m fine with that being all the build the match receives. It’s not like this is a match that means anything but it’s a good choice for an opener. All four guys will get a solid reaction and it should be a perfectly acceptable ten minute match.

I’ll take Benjamin and Gable to win here as the Bros have been going through some issues as of late. You know, because the “Smackdown Live” tag team division is so deep that it can break up teams at the moment. Benjamin and Gable might not seem like an option with the longest lifespan but WWE might as well see what they have with them. Benjamin and Gable win without much trouble.

Women’s Title: Natalya(c) vs. Charlotte

How many times have we seen this match now? Be it down in NXT or up here on the main roster, it feels like a match that we’ve covered so many times now. At last they haven’t dragged Ric Flair and Bret Hart into it again, but that’s not exactly the highest level of praise. Natalya is doing fine but that doesn’t make her interesting as champion.

I’ll take Charlotte to win here as they need to get the title on either her or Becky Lynch as soon as possible. They’re the only two women on the show with the combination of charisma and in-ring abilities to make it work (though Naomi has come an incredibly long way towards that combination this year). It’s the right call and about as close to being overdue as you can get.

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

What does it mean when the big selling point of a match is they might go longer than five minutes this time around? These two have trades wins in a pair of matches that didn’t combine to go thirty seconds. Rusev needs the win a lot more than Orton but WWE has a really bad track record of just giving Orton wins that he doesn’t need, especially at the expense of someone who needs the support.

I’ll give WWE some hope and take Rusev for the win here, as he’s owed this one after being screwed over twice this year. Allegedly he was in line for the Jinder Mahal push (no word on if he would have won the title) and then he had to lose the match at “Summerslam 2017” for the sake of giving Orton another win to make up for the Mahal feud. Rusev needs this win and there’s no need for Orton to get another victory that won’t mean anything in the long run. Now if only WWE can realize how much sense that makes.

Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler

This is another one that should be a layup and this time around it feels like WWE knows what it’s doing. Ziggler has been mocking entrances for weeks now in a story that still isn’t clicking, though it’s been entertaining at times. Roode of course is known for his entrance and the match makes perfect sense as a result.

I’ll take Roode to win, though there’s something more important than the end result. Flash back with me to “Backlash 2017” where Ziggler faced Shinsuke Nakamura in Nakamura’s in-ring debut. Ziggler went even with him and Nakamura really didn’t blow anything away. While Roode is nowhere near as dominant as Nakamura, I’m worried about this being more of a showcase for Ziggler than Roode, who needs the push to get somewhere. Ziggler is little more than a gatekeeper to the big time and there’s no need to give him a majority of the offense. Both guys get stuff in but Roode wins in what should be dominant fashion.

Tag Team Titles: New Day(c) vs. Usos

Now this is the most interesting match on the card. These teams have been feuding for months now and barring a rather stupid move, this should be the final match of the whole thing. There’s no logical reason to have them go on no matter who wins, save for the eternally annoying contractually obligated rematch clause. Just let them end it in a huge match for a change and be done with it.

I’m going with New Day to retain here, though I don’t have a ton of confidence in the pick. WWE seems obsessed with trading the titles ass often as they can for the sake of building up the title reigns for the sake of building up the title reigns and giving the Usos their fifth reign is probably tempting. New Day doesn’t have a ton of options for opponents though, which gives me some caution. I’ll still say they keep the belts, though I’m probably going to be wrong.

Smackdown World Title: Jinder Mahal(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Here’s the thing: Mahal has shocked the heck out of me as champion. He’s looking more and more like a main eventer every single week and as average as he seems most of the time, he’s so much better now than he was when he won the title and that’s quite the accomplishment. The problem though is very simple: no one cares. Like at all. Mahal is one of the least interesting characters you’ll ever see and people aren’t buying him as a top star.

Nakamura wins the title here, partially due to pure necessity. Mahal’s title reign has crippled the live crowds at “Smackdown Live” and there’s just nothing interesting about what he’s doing. They need to find someone at least more interesting (Nakamura might not be more interesting but he’s far less dull) in a hurry as the show can’t take Mahal on top for much longer.

US Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Baron Corbin

First off, I’m not entirely convinced that Tye Dillinger won’t be added to this at the last minute to make it a three way dance. Assuming that doesn’t happen though, I don’t see much doubt in this one. Styles has been trying to do the whole US Open Challenge deal but he’s had all of two matches in the thing, which kind of defeats the purpose. Hopefully he can get back on track with it later.

As you might be able to tell, I’m taking Styles to retain here, even though Corbin needs the win more. The only way I could see Styles losing is to set him up as the next challenger for Mahal, though I have a feeling they would rather let Styles get back to the main event scene later. Styles is the better option here and even though Corbin needs to win something, Styles is a great US Champion and should hold the title a bit longer.

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

And now, the reason I care so little about this show. Make no mistake about it (and I don’t know how you could): this is the ONLY match WWE cares about on this show. The whole thing is built around “what is Shane going to do to Owens”, meaning the match is building to one or two spots. If Owens has to slow WAY down to let McMahon hang with him, so be it because this is all about McMahon doing something stupid. I need more than that to interest me in a show, but WWE doesn’t quite seem to agree.

In the pick that really, really needs to be right, I’m going with Owens to win. There’s just no need to have McMahon ever win a match again, despite him being one of the top faces on the show. McMahon can lose here and then come back in another few weeks without continuing the feud. Owens on the other hand can move up, challenge Nakamura for the title, defeat Sami Zayn at “Royal Rumble 2017” (assuming Zayn doesn’t cost McMahon the match, which has been hinted at for a few weeks now) and then face HHH at “Wrestlemania XXXIV” when HHH has to kill his own creation to defend the company and his family.

Overall Thoughts

On paper, only the two Cell matches need to be on pay per view. Other than that, everything on here feels like it could be on almost any given episode of “Smackdown Live”. Actually a lot of them have been on free TV in recent months and would Roode vs. Ziggler airing on TV be that much of a stretch? This show just doesn’t feel special and I don’t think there’s any real way around that problem. The wrestling might be just fine, though I don’t think it’s going to be anything I need to see.

Oh and as for Breezango: I think they find out who is behind it all (my guess is still the Authors of Pain) and they wrap it up in a bonus match on the pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: October 3, 2017
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Hell in a Cell and that means it’s time to really hammer in some of the stories. The main event of Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens inside the Cell is pretty much set but it would be nice to have some of the other matches get some attention of their own. Let’s get to it.

We open with another moment of silence for the Las Vegas shooting.

The opening recap looks at Shinsuke Nakamura beating up Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers last week.

Renee Young brings out Nakamura for a chat. In regards to Mahal’s recent insults, Nakamura says sticks and stones may break his bones but words will never hurt him. He’ll take the title from Mahal on Sunday but here are the Singh Brothers to interrupt and mock his entrance. Mahal follows them out and the three on one beatdown is on in a hurry.

Carmella/Natalya vs. Charlotte/Becky Lynch

Becky slaps Carmella to start and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Charlotte and Becky take the villains down with a double baseball slide and we take a way too early break. Back with Becky in trouble until Becky rolls her up for two, allowing the hot tag off to Charlotte. A running knee to the head drops Natalya again and a suplex gives Charlotte two. The spear looks to set up the Figure Eight but Natalya hides in the ropes. Carmella hits Becky in the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase and the Sharpshooter puts Charlotte away at 6:58.

Rating: D+. Barely enough shown to rate here but twas your run of the mill tag match with Natalya getting a win to help set up the title match on Sunday. If nothing else hopefully we’ll knock out the briefcase soon as it’s still just a thing that exists instead of anything with any particular value.

Long recap of Shane vs. Kevin. The more I see of this feud, the less I care.

Mike Kanellis vs. Bobby Roode

A spinebuster and the Glorious DDT end Kanellis at 56 seconds.

Post match here’s Dolph Ziggler with a marching band drum to play for Roode. Dolph plays an air horn and throws some confetti too before asking if everyone likes him now. Roode has a great entrance but on Sunday, the bell is going to ring and he’ll be exposed as the fraud that he is. Bobby shows Ziggler how to do the proper entrance and strikes the Glorious pose.

Pay per view rundown.

Here are the Usos to read New Day their rights before Sunday. They explain that New Day is going to be walking into the Uso Penitentiary where there’s no trombone, no BootyO’s and no dancing. Maybe they can just throw every other tag team in there with them. This brings out New Day to shill their New Day underwear (a real thing) and to read some lefts because the Usos are reading the rights.

New Day has left everyone in the dust and no matter where they were on the card, they’ve left the fans knowing it was the best match on the night. Best of all though, the last time they met the Usos, they left with the titles. Short and to the point here as this segment needed to be. If the match is as good as their previous efforts, everything will be fine.

Mahal shows us a replay of what happened earlier.

Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin throws him around to start but a chase lets Tye score with a superkick to knock Corbin outside as we take a break. Back with Corbin elbowing Dillinger in the face and knocking him onto the steps. They head back inside and Dillinger grabs a small package for the clean pin at 5:52. Not enough shown to rate but it was angle advancement more than anything else.

Post match AJ Styles pops up on screen to say he’s going to show Corbin that taking shortcuts doesn’t pay.

Some breast cancer survivors are presented with pink WWE Championships.

Randy Orton vs. Aiden English

Fallout from Orton laying out English and Rusev last week during Rusev’s celebration. English throws him into the corner to start but has to avoid an early RKO attempt. No worries though as a pop up RKO puts English at 1:17.

Rusev tries to sneak up on Orton but Randy drops into RKO position to send Rusev bailing.

Sami Zayn tells Shane to be careful with Owens. Shane basically blows him off.

Here’s Shane to call out Owens but Kevin doesn’t show up. Shane calls him a coward and has a chance of pace for Sunday’s match: it’s now Falls Count Anywhere. So they’re not even bothering to hide the fact that the Cell is only going to contain them for a little while? Owens comes through the crowd, saying that the real money is right here. That’s all he’s doing though and starts to go back up the stairs, only pausing when Shane calls him a coward.

Owens leaves anyway and it’s Shane giving chase through the crowd. Shane gets into the concourse and the fight is on with Shane getting powerbombed through a merchandise table. Owens comes back to the ring to say that’s nothing compared to what he’s going to do to Shane on Sunday, where he’ll throw Shane off the Cell. Of course Shane staggers through the crowd to come back to ringside but Owens throws him over the announcers’ table. Fans: “THIS IS AWESOME!” I know weed is legal in Colorado but dang I didn’t realize it was that strong.

A headbutt drops Shane again and the Pop Up Powerbomb ends the show. I wasn’t wild on this match coming into this week and this segment REALLY didn’t do it any favors. It’s just Shane getting beaten up again and then basically guaranteeing that he’s going to do something really stupid on Sunday. I need a lot more than that and I’m getting a bad feeling that Shane will win and completely waste any momentum that Owens has built up.

Overall Rating: D-. My goodness this bombed and it bombed hard. With a grand total of 15:03 of wrestling and about half of that in commercials, the focus certainly wasn’t on the in-ring product this week. What it was on was Shane vs. Owens and the more I see of that, the less I can bring myself to care. As I said, they’re not even trying to hide the fact that it’s going to be a stunt show and Shane is only in there because he’s going to do something stupid. Shane gets less and less interesting every time he gets in the ring and one of these times he’s going to win, which would be about as dumb of an idea as they have.

The problem is there’s almost nothing to go with outside of the main event. Maybe New Day vs. the Usos will pick up a lot of the slack but they haven’t exactly been pushed to the moon. Other than those matches though…I have no idea what I’m supposed to be excited for. Mahal vs. Nakamura? That’s the best they have this month? They’re banking everything on people paying to see Shane possibly die, which is rather stupid when they’ll show whatever the bump is for the next year and a half on every highlight package they have. This was a one idea show and it wasn’t one I care about. Big misfire tonight.

Results

Carmella/Natalya b. Charlotte/Becky Lynch – Sharpshooter to Charlotte

Bobby Roode b. Mike Kanellis – Glorious DDT

Tye Dillinger b. Baron Corbin – Small package

Randy Orton b. Aiden English – Pop up RKO

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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Smackdown
Date: September 26, 2017
Location: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re coming up on the Cell and that means we have to start hammering home some of the matches. At the moment we have at least one Cell match set, along with the World and Tag Team Title matches, either of which could wind up being changed to the second Cell match of the card. Other than that, there isn’t much to go on so let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens, which is easily the top story on the show at the moment. We hear the comments from both guys last week with both of them threatening some intense violence.

Here’s Owens to open things up, asking where Shane is tonight. Owens is tired of being called a coward over and over but maybe Shane is the coward. He knows better than that though because Shane is no coward. Not only does he respect Vince McMahon but he even likes him. If that’s what he’ll do to someone he likes, what will he do to Shane, who he doesn’t like?

This brings out Sami Zayn, who says Owens has lost complete control. Owens headbutted VINCE MCMAHON and anytime Owens snaps like that, it doesn’t end well. If Owens knows what’s good for him, he needs to stop right now. Owens laughs it off and talks about Sami signing with WWE two and a half years before him but it was Owens winning the US Title at Wrestlemania while Sami watched from the back.

Owens did indeed attack Vince McMahon and it was the best thing he could do because he did something, unlike Zayn. Sami says his day is coming and he’ll do it the right way. Sure Kevin has won a bunch of titles that Sami hasn’t but at least he doesn’t see a pile of trash when he looks in the mirror. Cue Daniel Bryan to make the main event for tonight.

Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin

Fallout from last week when Corbin was scheduled to have a US Title shot but Dillinger injured Corbin’s ankle in a pre-match brawl. Hang on a second though as here’s AJ Styles to join commentary. The distraction lets Tye throw Corbin over the top in a heap and we go to a break before the bell.

We’re joined in progress with Corbin getting two off a chokebreaker. An attempt at a second one doesn’t work as well as Tye scores with a superkick and a kind of one knee Codebreaker. They head outside with Corbin charging into the steps but being able to slip out of the Tyebreaker. Corbin throws water into Styles’ face and then throws Corbin into Styles’ chest to win by countout at 2:43 shown.

Post match Corbin says he wants Styles for the title at the pay per view. The match has been made after the break.

Here are Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers for a chat. Mahal says he might have went a bit too far last week but gets cut off by a NAKAMURA chant. Of course Nakamura is a worthy opponent and Mahal knows what it was like when Nakamura heard last week’s comments. For the THIRD WEEK IN A FREAKING ROW we do the laughing at Nakamura’s face shtick.

The third one is actually Nakamura though and he’s looking at Mahal right here on Smackdown Live. Cue Nakamura in person (thank goodness) to beat up the Singh Brothers in the aisle but Mahal gets in a few shots of his own. That goes nowhere and it’s Nakamura cleaning house, including Kinshasa to send Mahal sprawling up the ramp.

Usos vs. Hype Bros

New Day is in the front row. Mojo drives some shoulders into Jimmy’s ribs to start but gets kicked down for his efforts. It’s off to Ryder to clean some house, including a neckbreaker for two on Jey. Ryder loads up a missile dropkick but Mojo tags himself in, triggering an argument. Jimmy knocks Ryder off the top and it’s a superkick into the Superfly Splash to end Rawley at 2:17.

Post match the Usos go to yell at New Day, who says the title match will be inside the Cell.

It’s time for Rusev’s Pride of Bulgaria celebration with Aiden English as master of ceremonies and singing the Bulgarian national anthem. Rusev comes out carrying the Bulgarian flag and the Mayor of Rusev’s hometown reads a proclamation as Rusev stands on a platform. He’s presented a key to the city and we see a clip of Rusev beating Randy Orton in nine seconds last week. Rusev talks about the Lion of Bulgaria ripping the fangs from the Viper’s mouth. It’s his jungle now and English sings a special song….until Orton comes in with RKO’s for Rusev and English.

Sami comes in to see Bryan, who says Shane is on the way and wants Owens. Zayn begs Bryan to call Shane off because he wants Owens to himself tonight.

Orton tells Renee Young to tell Rusev that if he wants some payback, come see him at Hell in a Cell.

Charlotte vs. Carmella

Carmella chains Ellsworth to the ring. Charlotte can’t get in an early Figure Eight attempt but can get in a big boot. Ellsworth’s distraction sets up a cheap shot and we take a break. Back with Charlotte fighting out of a chinlock but getting pulled down by the hair. Carmella gets two off a reverse DDT and nails a superkick. Not that it matters though as she walks into a big boot to give Charlotte the pin at 6:55.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but it was little more than Charlotte getting a win before the pay per view. I really wish they could drop the Briefcase already though as it’s little more than a Sword of Damocles hanging over the title, which really holds back what they have going for it with Charlotte back in the title picture.

Post match Natalya comes out to says he’s glad Ric Flair is feeling better so he can see Charlotte lose.

And then a gong strikes…..because Dolph Ziggler is doing Undertaker’s entrance. The fans seem to buy it at first until Ziggler starts dancing around. Dolph says the fans look like they’ve seen a ghost, which makes him laugh because there’s no way you’re seeing Undertaker twice in a year. Ziggler starts ripping into the fans again but things become GLORIOUS in a hurry.

Bobby Roode comes out to call Ziggler a hypocrite. He claims to not care about what the fans think but here he is every week to entertain them. If Ziggler thinks he’s the best performer ever, how about he proves it against Roode at Hell in a Cell? Ziggler lists off all the things that it takes to be popular here: flashy robe, an entrance that involves audience participation and in-ring skills that match Ziggler’s. Two out of three aren’t bad, but anyone who steps in the ring with Ziggler will REST IN…..and Roode cuts him off to say their match will be GLORIOUS.

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

They slug it out to start with Owens dropping Sami off a hard shot to the face. The Cannonball has Sami bailing to the floor as it’s all Owens early on. Back in and Sami scores with a clothesline but gets sent outside again. We cut to the back to see Shane arriving as we take a break.

Back with Owens getting two off a superkick but being planted off the tornado DDT. The Helluva Kick is countered with a superkick but Sami grabs the Blue Thunder Bomb for a close two. Owens bails to the floor so Sami scores with the flip dive in a nasty looking crash. The dive through the ropes is blocked by another superkick and the apron bomb crushes Sami all over again. The referee stops the match at 9:40.

Rating: B-. These two are always going to have an entertaining match though there’s only so much you can do when Sami is little more than a sacrificial lamb. If they play their cards right on this feud, they could set up a huge match between Owens and Zayn down the line, assuming of course they don’t give Shane the win due to reasons of general stupidity.

Sami is carried out until Owens decks him again. He wraps a chair around Sami’s neck but cue Shane to charge at Owens. Unfortunately he runs into the chair to knock it into Sami’s throat, allowing Owens to bail into the crowd to end the show. Unless it was off camera, Shane never even checked on Sami.

Overall Rating: C. They built the show up in a hurry tonight and as is usually the case around here, they did it without having too much in-ring action on the show. I like that for the most part as you don’t want to give away anything major with so little time before the pay per view. Shane vs. Owens better deliver though because that’s almost the entire focus of this show.

Results

Baron Corbin b. Tye Dillinger via countout

Usos b. Hype Bros – Superfly Splash to Rawley

Charlotte b. Carmella – Big boot

Kevin Owens b. Sami Zayn via referee stoppage

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: September 19, 2017
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

I’m getting used to this idea of having title matches booked in advance of the TV shows. This time around we have the US Title on the line as AJ Styles defends against Baron Corbin, who said he was answering this week’s Open Challenge in advance. And there’s that whole Kevin Owens attempting to murder Vince McMahon deal. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the ending of last week’s show with Owens destroying Mr. McMahon in a heck of a beatdown.

Here’s Shane McMahon to open things up. He calls his father one salty SOB, which is really not a nice thing to say about your grandmother. Last week Shane sat with his kids and watched his father and their grandfather get the beating of a lifetime. Shane talks about the family’s toughness and condemns him to a beating of a lifetime inside the Cell.

Randy Orton vs. Aiden English

English sings about Orton hearing voices in his head because it’s full of lead. Orton wastes no time by hitting the powerslam in the first minute but Aiden slips out of the hanging DDT. They head outside with English dropping him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Orton fighting out of a chinlock but getting dropkicked right back down. English goes to the second rope….and dives right into the RKO for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C-. I could go for more of English getting in some offense as the singing character is something that could get him a nice little run. It’s not like they have anything else going on so give it a try. Orton is likely going to continue his “feud” with Rusev, which will hopefully last longer than fifteen seconds next time.

Post match here’s Rusev to talk about Orton turning his homecoming into a national disgrace. Rusev is going to change things right now….and let’s ring the bell.

Rusev vs. Randy Orton

English distracts Orton and it’s a superkick to end Orton at 11 seconds. I WAS KIDDING ABOUT THE FIFTEEN SECONDS THING!!! That sounds like payback for what happened at Summerslam, which is still a dumb idea, especially if Orton wins in a long match at the pay per view. Just give Rusev a win or two that matters and things will be better, not just having this stuff that means nothing more than a fluke.

Rusev is very excited with the win and says he’ll return home as a conquering hero.

Here are Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers to make fun of Shinsuke Nakamura’s face again, including his mad and artistic faces. Mahal makes fun of Nakamura’s voice and hair, followed by some Mr. Miyagi jokes. Fans: “THAT’S TOO FAR!” We get some Punjabi and that’s about it. Aside from probably being racist, this showed that these two have nothing to say to each other and are only fighting because one of them has the title.

Nakamura says it won’t be so funny when he wins the title.

Here’s AJ Styles for his title defense but before the match, AJ says Kevin has bitten off more than he can chew. He attacked the man who is responsible for all of us being here tonight. As for Corbin, AJ is tired of him trying to short cut his way everywhere. The big bad wolf can huff and puff but he’ll never blow down the house that AJ Styles built.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin

Styles is defending but Corbin jumps him during the Big Match Intros. Tye Dillinger runs in to jump Corbin though and hurts his ankle. AJ is up for a running forearm and the Calf Crusher on the bad leg. No match of course and we’ll just wait on the announcement for the match being moved to the pay per view.

Post break, Corbin isn’t happy.

Here’s Charlotte for the first time in a good while. She’s been gone for about six weeks while her father has been healing up and he is making a comeback. Since she’s been gone, Charlotte has learned how fragile life is and from now on she’s going to make the most of every moment she can.

Cue Natalya to says he’s here to host the first ever Celebration of Women. There’s a covered up picture put up behind Natalya as she talks about how important women have been to the world. The picture is unveiled and of course it’s of Natalya herself. Charlotte likes the picture and says she’s coming for the title. This brings out Becky Lynch to say the title is coming back to its proper owner.

Now it’s Naomi to call Natalya a crazy cat lady and throw her glowing hat into the title hunt. Hang on a second though as it’s Tamina and Lana interrupting because this company has no idea how to book a women’s division aside from just throwing everyone into one match. Natalya leaves and says she’s not a crazy cat lady but here’s Daniel Bryan to make the multi-woman match to crown a new #1 contender for later tonight.

New Day vs. Hype Bros

Non-title with the Usos on commentary. Mojo grabs an abdominal stretch on Big E. but gets sent outside for a break less than a minute in because we can’t break ten minutes of wrestling on this show. Back with Kofi in trouble in the corner until Mojo misses a charge into the post. The hot tag brings in Big E., who misses the hip swivel Warrior Splash. Ryder adds the middle rope dropkick and the Broski Boot for two. Kofi hits the running dive over the top onto Mojo, leaving Ryder to take the Midnight Hour for the pin at 6:26. Not enough shown to rate but this was entertaining while it lasted.

We look at the Vince beatdown again.

Owens joins us live via satellite and apologizes (fans aren’t cool with that) for what happened last week. He apologizes to the WWE Universe and to the McMahon Family, but Shane had this coming. This is all on Shane, who drove Owens to do what he did last week. Last week, Owens was looking at Shane when he attacked Vince. He has one more apology and it’s to anyone who watches the pay per view. What he did to Vince is nothing compared to what’s going to do to Shane. It’s good that they’re going to Hell because people like Owens don’t go to Heaven.

Mojo says he’s tired of losing and something has to change.

Here’s Dolph Ziggler for his usual stuff: he’s the best in-ring performer ever and entrances don’t mean anything. First up it’s HHH, which means he can run NXT now, even if he’s not wearing mom jeans. Ziggler looks upset and says stop the show. That means Heartbreak Ziggler with Dolph saying he can feel himself losing his smile. The last one is the DX entrance, complete with the glow sticks. Ziggler’s two words for you: WHO CARES? He wants to know who is supposed to care about two dads trying to sell you stuff. Ziggler is the best ever and the fans couldn’t care less.

Naomi vs. Charlotte vs. Tamina vs. Becky Lynch

The winner gets Natalya at the pay per view. It’s a brawl to start and we’re on a break less than a minute in. Back with Charlotte and Becky breaking up a near fall before fighting each other. Becky kicks her in the ribs but Naomi crossbodies both of them for two on Lynch. Naomi grabs a Stunner for two on Charlotte as Natalya is watching in the back.

The reverse Rings of Saturn is broken up and it’s Becky grabbing the Disarm-Her. Tamina breaks that up as well but gets sent into the post. Becky’s bouncing kick in the corner is broken up and Charlotte spears Tamina down. She plants Naomi too and the moonsault hits both of them for a double near fall.

The Figure Four goes on but Becky dives in with a legdrop for the save. Tamina is back in with a Samoan drop on Becky and the Superfly Splash for two with Naomi making the save this time. Lana pulls Naomi outside but the distraction lets Charlotte kick Tamina in the face for the pin and the title shot at 9:57.

Rating: B-. This was good while it lasted and would have been better if we didn’t miss about a fourth of it for the sake of a commercial. Charlotte or Becky winning was fine here and they would have been a bit nuts to not go with Charlotte, especially with the book coming out and her dad’s health. It was a fast paced match though and that’s what this show needed.

Overall Rating: D+. This one ENTIRELY depends on how you care for your show. The big problem on this show is very simple: there was less than twenty five minutes of wrestling in two hours with about ten of that taking place during commercials. That’s terribly low, even by WWE standards. Based on that, it’s a horrible show.

However, this show was much more about hyping up the pay per view and I could get behind the idea of a show that gives away less action on the unimportant shows and saves it for the pay per views. On top of that I’m more interested in the pay per view than I was coming into this week, which is quite the step up. This show certainly isn’t for everyone but I liked the change of direction and you can see a lot more stuff added to the pay per view from here. It had a lot of negatives (low in-ring time, the Mahal stuff, Rusev/Orton) but the change of pace was very nice for a little switch.

Results

Randy Orton b. Aiden English – RKO

Rusev b. Randy Orton – Superkick

New Day b. Hype Bros – Midnight Hour to Ryder

Charlotte b. Naomi, Tamina and Becky Lynch – Big boot to Tamina

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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