Smackdown
Date: April 28, 2023
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s a huge week as we have the first night of the 2023 Draft. Half of the roster will be picked tonight with the other half going on Raw, which should make for quite the double shot. In addition, the Usos are getting their rematch against Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens for the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is HHH to welcome us to the show. Anyone on Raw or Smackdown is eligible to be drafted, with half of the roster being picked tonight and half on Raw. There will also be some select NXT names eligible. The new rosters will officially begin on Monday May 8, after Backlash. We’ll start with the first four picks in Round One:

Smackdown
Bloodline (Paul Heyman/Solo Sikoa/Roman Reigns)
Bianca Belair (Raw Women’s Champion)

Monday Night Raw
Cody Rhodes
Becky Lynch

With that out of the way, HHH brings out the Usos, who promise to get their titles back. They dedicate the win to Roman Reigns, who hasn’t gotten back to them since Wrestlemania (even after sending him a message in a bottle). Cue Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, with the latter thinking it is interesting that Reigns hasn’t gotten back to them yet. If that is the case, why are they out here dedicating a match to him? And they weren’t even drafted with him! Zayn is about to say they are leaving with the titles but Jey cuts him off to say that isn’t happening. Jimmy says Kevin is going to turn on Zayn, which doesn’t sit well with Owens.

Bianca Belair, in Northern Ireland, is happy to be Smackdown Women’s Champion. I’ll take that over another awkward swapping ceremony.

Butch vs. LA Knight

This is fallout from Knight running his mouth last week after Smackdown. Butch knocks him down to start and scores with the stomp to the arm. Knight gets caught in the ropes for some Sheamus style forearms to the chest before an armbar sends Knight right back to the ropes. A drop onto the apron puts Butch in trouble though and we take a break. Back with Butch kicking him in the head and going up top, only to have Knight run the ropes to superplex him back down. Butch sends him to the floor but gets sent to the post for his efforts. Blunt Force Trauma gives Knight the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C. Maybe we’re FINALLY getting somewhere with Knight, who actually managed to get a win. It’s not the biggest and he had to cheat a bit, but it’s better than looking up at the lights again. Knight is someone who seems like he could be a mega star around here and he was perfectly fine in the ring here, so hopefully things are changing around a bit.

Paul Heyman gives the Usos a pep talk about winning the titles back tonight. As he talks, he hands Solo Sikoa the tape to get his thumb ready.

It’s time for the second round, with Rob Van Dam (very nice reception) and Michael Hayes of all people presenting.

Smackdown
Street Profits
Edge

Monday Night Raw
Imperium
Matt Riddle

Street Profits vs. Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. LWO

Strowman throws out Wilde and Ford to start before tossing Ricochet (who crosses himself for protection) on top of everyone else as we take a break. Back with Del Toro kicking Ricochet on top, with Wilde following with a big lip dive onto the Profits. Strowman starts wrecking people but the Train gets cut off with a big running flip dive from Dawkins. Ricochet dives on him as well but misses a 450. That means it’s the Anointment into the Cash Out to give Ford the pin on Ricochet at 7:37.

Rating: B-. This was exactly what it should have been (minus the break in a match that didn’t need one) as you had people running around and doing whatever they could think of for a bit. Strowman continues to be great as a monster who can run people over, even if Dawkins has been a bit of kryptonite for him in recent weeks. Throw in the LWO not taking the pin for once and it’s even better.

Video on Damien Priest vs. Bad Bunny at Backlash.

Here are JBL and Teddy Long to announce the third round picks:

Smackdown
Bobby Lashley
OC (Michin, Good Brothers, AJ Styles)

Monday Night Raw
Drew McIntyre (nice to see him mentioned)
Miz

Zelina Vega vs. Sonya Deville

Chelsea Green is here with Deville. Vega gets taken down to start and hammered in the corner, only to get sent outside. Green offers a distraction though and Deville takes over again, setting up the chinlock. Deville misses a running shot though and gets rolled up to give Vega the pin at 3:06.

Rating: C-. Nothing much on the action but this was all about getting Vega a pin to boost her up before the beating at Backlash. It’s hard to fathom Vega as a serious contender and thankfully commentary was making it clear that she has a prayer’s chance at best. The hometown pop should be great, but a win like this is only going to take her so far.

Post match Green tries to come in but cue Rhea Ripley (BIG positive reaction there) to scare her off. Riptide to Vega is countered into a DDT though and Ripley bails.

Post break Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar give Vega some praise and a pep talk.

Here is the OC for a chat but cue Valhalla and the Viking Raiders to cut them off. Styles even steps back so the numbers are even, with the OC quickly cleaning house. We even get a Phenomenal Forearm to Erik as AJ’s ankle must be feeling better.

Shawn Michaels and Road Dogg (who towers over Shawn) are here for the final round picks:

Smackdown
Damage Ctrl
Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn (NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions)

Monday Night Raw
Shinsuke Nakamura
Indi Hartwell (NXT Women’s Champion)

Shawn is devastated by the news (Dogg: “I don’t know if you can lose your smile twice.”).

At the Performance Center, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance want a Women’s Tag Team Title shot next week on NXT.

Karrion Kross jumps Shinsuke Nakamura.

Paul Heyman gives the Usos one more pep talk.

We look at the unveiling of the World Heavyweight Championship.

Draft recap.

Tag Team Titles: Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Usos

The Usos (alone) are challenging and jump the champs to start fast, with Zayn being posted. Owens and the Usos get back inside with Owens getting superkicked a few times as we take a break. Back with Owens favoring his knee but managing to get over to Zayn to pick up the pace. The big running flip dive takes out the Usos on the floor, followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Jey.

We take another break and come back with Owens getting the hot tag, setting up the swinging superplex on Jimmy. The Swanton gives Owens two and we cut to the back where Paul Heyman gets a phone call from Roman Reigns. Heyman tells Solo Sikoa that tonight is his night, which sends Sikoa to the ring.

Sami dives into Jey’s superkick but Owens Stunners Jey for two. Cue Sikoa but Matt Riddle jumps him before anything can happen. More superkicks get two on Owens but he staggers up and slugs away anyway. Zayn breaks up the 1D though and it’s a Stunner into the Helluva Kick to retain the titles at 17:41.

Rating: B. It was a good match but it was also coming off a great match on the biggest stage of them all, so there was quite the shadow to get out of here. The Usos losing is by far the more interesting option, as them feeling Roman Reigns’ wrath should be great. I’m not sure what we are going to see next in the story, but it is going to be coming off of a good main event.

Sikoa looks on from the crowd as the Usos know they’re in trouble to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I think it’s pretty safe to say that this wasn’t a normal show and that makes it hard to grade. What matters here is that they moved some names around and you can see a main event scene coming together on Raw with Rhodes, Nakamura, Gunther and McIntyre. We still have another three hours of picks to go so there is a lot more building to get through, but I’m interested by what is being put together so far. On top of that, the main event was good and there was a fun triple threat, so this show went rather well.

Results
LA Knight b. Butch – Blunt Force Trauma
Street Profits b. Ricochet/Braun Strowman and LWO – Cash Out to Ricochet
Zelina Vega b. Sonya Deville – Rollup
Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Usos – Helluva Kick to Jimmy

Full Draft Picks

Smackdown
Bloodline (Paul Heyman/Solo Sikoa/Roman Reigns)
Bianca Belair (Raw Women’s Champion)
Street Profits
Edge
Bobby Lashley
OC (Michin, Good Brothers, AJ Styles)
Damage Ctrl
Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn (NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions)

Monday Night Raw
Cody Rhodes
Becky Lynch
Imperium
Matt Riddle
Drew McIntyre
Miz
Shinsuke Nakamura
Indi Hartwell (NXT Women’s Champion)

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 9, 2023
Location: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re back to the red show and closing in on the Royal Rumble. There are only three names announced for the Royal Rumbles so far and that means some spots need to be filled. Odds are some of that is done tonight but there is the chance that they’re leaving some surprises this year. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Kevin Owens to get things going and the fans seem to like him. Before he can say much though, here is JBL to interrupt. After insulting the crowd, JBL says no one is buying Owens having a chance against Roman Reigns. JBL brings out Baron Corbin to insult the fans even more, including some University of Alabama insults. Owens buries his face in the turnbuckle as Corbin gets in every standard insult you can imagine. He says he was in a “JBL and Baron Corbin were talking for three minutes but didn’t say anything” coma but for now he’s willing to fight Corbin. Sure.

Baron Corbin vs. Kevin Owens

JBL is here with Corbin, who stomps Owens down in the corner to start. Owens gets in a few shots of his own though and they fight to the floor. That means Corbin can go face first into the announcers’ table but he’s back with a chokeslam onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Owens knocking Corbin off the top and landing the Swanton for two. Corbin comes back with Deep Six for two, only to walk into the Stunner for the sudden pin at 8;37.

Rating: C. Yep, that was a Corbin TV match. Corbin continues to be the definition of “you know what you’re getting” and nothing more, as you can guess almost everything you are going to see when he is in the ring. Owens wasn’t going to lose so close to his title match and Corbin isn’t going to win against that big of an opponent. That left us waiting on the pretty clear ending and that’s what we got, just like any other Corbin match.

Post match the Bloodline runs in to beat on Owens but he grabs a chair and fights them off.

Post break, the Bloodline is going to leave but Adam Pearce comes up to tell them about a Tag Team Turmoil match to crown new #1 contenders. They won’t be around to see it though as they’re banned from the arena, even as Solo Sikoa faces Dolph Ziggler.

We look back at Alexa Bliss snapping again last week against Bianca Belair, who wound up injured. Belair is ok and just needed stitches.

Alexa Bliss pops up on the announcers’ table to say Belair is scared of her, because she is the face of evil. She hasn’t felt this good in a long time and is willing to hurt people….and the Uncle Howdy video starts playing, this time with clips of the old Alexa and Lillie. Cue Uncle Howdy to stare at Bliss and we go to a break.

Bayley vs. Mia Yim

Damage Ctrl is here with Bayley, who says that she is going to prove what she is to Becky Lynch with this beating. The rest of Damage Ctrl leaves as Bayley starts fast, only to get caught with a running neckbreaker. Yim sends her to the floor for a kick to the chest from the apron to send us to a break. Back with Yim fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent to the apron for a Stunner. Bayley suplexes her from the Stunner to the floor but Yim kicks her in the head back inside. The Cannonball misses though and Bayley grabs a backslide with feet on the ropes for the pin at 8:03.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the most interesting but Bayley needed the win to keep her strong for the real showdown with Becky Lynch. The action was ok enough, though having a break in the middle of an eight minute match is a bit much to take. It also doesn’t help when the most interesting part of the match is figuring out if it’s Mia Yim or Michin.

Johnny Gargano has a knee injury and is out of Tag Team Turmoil.

Candice LeRae is upset for Johnny Gargano not being in Tag Team Turmoil but she likes the idea of challenging for the Women’s Title at Wrestlemania. Rhea Ripley comes in to talk down to her, setting up a match tonight.

Here is Austin Theory to say THE CHAMP IS HERE and everyone has to accept the truth. The truth is that the now is forever and Seth Rollins couldn’t stop him last week. Then Rollins hurt his knee…but here is Rollins, on crutches, to interrupt. One of the crutches is thrown down though and Rollins gets in the ring without a problem.

Theory gets to the point by saying he is better than Rollins and promises to win the Royal Rumble so he can leave Wrestlemania with all of the gold. Rollins says his knee isn’t 100%, but it will be in time for him to win the Royal Rumble. Rollins: “I’ll see you at the Rumble….kid.” With Rollins gone, here is Bobby Lashley to spear Theory down. Lashley says he’s back from his suspension and ready to win the Royal Rumble.

Candice LeRae vs. Rhea Ripley

Candice slugs away to start and counters a big boot into a rollup for two. Ripley finally manages to knock her into the corner though and there’s the toss by the hair. A superplex is broken up though and Candice slams her off the top instead. Another missed big boot sends Ripley outside but she sends Candice into the barricade. Back in and Riptide finishes Candice at 4:16.

Rating: C. They had an interesting story here with Ripley seeming a bit distracted and Candice getting in what she could before the monster caught her. Ripley feels like she is ready to move into the title picture again and that included wrecking Candice on the way. The good thing is Candice didn’t get squashed so it could have been far worse.

Bobby Lashley is in the back when MVP comes in. Lashley won’t shake his hand but MVP thinks a thank you for getting him reinstates is in order. Lashley: “I haven’t punched you in the face yet have I?” MVP says they need to get back to what worked before, as Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin are already back in the right place. Lashley says they’re good, but they won’t be working together. That’s cool with MVP, but just remember that his number is the same.

Video on Cody Rhodes’ recovery from his injury, including an appearance from Brandi Rhodes. To be continued.

Dolph Ziggler is ready for the Bloodline when Mustafa Ali comes in. Ali says they were offered a spot in Tag Team Turmoil but Ziggler turned it down. Last month Ziggler cost Ali the United States Title and now he’s costing him a shot at the Tag Team Titles. Ziggler says it’s not about him tonight and hopes he understands. Ali does not seem to understand.

Video on Bronson Reed.

Reed, who is the same height as Byron Saxton, is cut off by Miz before he can say anything. Miz suggests that Reed is his bodyguard and offers him a spot on MizTV tonight. Reed says there is no us, and if Miz wants something, pay him.

Solo Sikoa vs. Dolph Ziggler

Sikoa runs him over to start and the beating is on fast. The neck crank and nerve hold go on Ziggler but he’s right back up. Ziggler slips out of a powerslam attempt and hits a dropkick, only to be tossed over the top and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sikoa hitting the running Umaga attack in the corner.

The chinlock goes on but Ziggler fights up and avoids the charge into the corner. Sikoa is back with a fireman’s carry but Ziggler slips out and hits the Zig Zag for two. Back up and the superkick is blocked, allowing Ziggler to try the Fameasser. That’s pulled out of the air though and a pop up Samoan Spike finishes Ziggler off at 10:51.

Rating: C. The ending was good but the rest of the match was lacking a bit in the excitement department. Sikoa destroyed Ziggler for the most part here and that is a good sign for his future. WWE has turned Sikoa into something of a wrecking ball, which not only makes the Bloodline look stronger, but it also makes someone beating him a bigger deal. Not the most thrilling match, but Sikoa looked good when it mattered.

We look at Dominik Mysterio being arrested and then being hardened in jail.

Damage Ctrl brags about their win until Mia Yim interrupts. Yim calls Bayley a cheater and gets beaten down as a result.

It’s time for MizTV and we get right to the point, with Dominik Mysterio (and the rest of Judgment Day) being brought out as the guest. Dominik explains that you always roll with your crew in prison, but he can’t talk about what happened because snitches get stitches. Dominik: “When life comes at you, you have to grab it by the balls. Kind of like Maryse does to you.”

Then he threatened his cell mate and made sure he stayed safe because that’s how it works. Miz is a bit confused though, as he was told Dominik was in county jail for a few hours. Damien Priest doesn’t like that because it’s time to win Tag Team Turmoil. Violence is teased but here is the OC to interrupt and start the match.

Tag Team Turmoil

There are five scheduled teams with Judgment Day (Damien Priest/Finn Balor) in at #1 and the OC in at #2. Of note: commentary says this is for a RAW Tag Team Title match, not both sets. Anderson elbows Balor down to start and it’s Gallows coming in for some elbows of his own. A shot to Gallows’ face just annoys him so Priest comes in for the battle of the big men.

Gallows takes over again and hands it off to Anderson for the HI YAH kick in the corner. Priest sends him outside though and it’s a whip into the steps as we take a break. Back with Gallows coming in to clean house but Dominik Mysterio grabs Anderson’s leg, allowing Balor to roll him up at 10:17.

Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin are in at #3 and jump Judgment Day from behind to start. We settle down to Alexander knocking Balor down for a kick to the back. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Benjamin comes in with a Dragon Whip to Balor and German suplexes to Balor and Priest. Benjamin tosses Priest into Alexander’s jumping knee for two, with Balor having to make the save. The Neuralizer gives Alexander two but Priest catches a charge with South of Heaven. Balor adds the Coup de Grace for the pin at 15:47 total. Alpha Academy is in at #4 and we take a break.

Back again with Balor hitting a Sling Blade on Gable so Priest can come in with the Broken Arrow. We hit the chinlock, followed by a backbreaker/legdrop combination for two. Gable fights out of trouble and brings in Otis to clean house, including the running splash in the corner to Priest. Otis brings back the Caterpillar and hits the Vader Bomb on Balor…who pulled Gable on top of him. The stunned Otis is kicked in the face to give Priest the pin at 24:33. Hold on though as Balor, who was crushed under both Otis and Gable, is really banged up. Adam Pearce says Dominik is taking Balor’s place and the Street Profits are in at #5.

We’re joined in progress with Dawkins ripping Dominik’s shirt off and handing it off to Ford to hammer on him in the corner. Dawkins comes back in with the spinning splash in the corner as the beating stays on. A toss into the corner allows Dominik to bring in Priest so Ford slingshot flips in (with the camera cutting because WWE cameras can’t sit still) for the showdown. With that not working, Dominik comes in to distract Ford to the floor. That’s fine with Priest, who runs Ford over to send him over the announcers’ table. Dawkins hits the big dive though and we take a break.

Back with Dawkins still in trouble as Dominik grabs a chinlock. Priest adds a slam and Ripley certainly approves on the floor. Dawkins fights up and brings in Ford with a double high crossbody. Dominik gets shoved into a German suplex for two but Priest is back in to blast Dawkins with a clothesline for two more. Priest sends Dawkins over the barricade but Ford is there with the big lip dive over the corner. Back in and the 450 connects, only to have Priest break up the cover. Ford jumps from the floor to the apron to avoid a charge, leaving Dominik to roll him up (with Ripley grabbing the feet for the assist on the final pin at 48:19.

Rating: B-. The match was good for the most part but you could feel the times where they were dragging things out for the sake of filling in time. That’s understandable as they had the better part of an hour to fill, but at the same time it can get a little tiring for a bit. The good thing here was having the Judgment Day hold on throughout, as I was expecting them to lose somewhere in the middle and then have the Profits get the title shot. Good match, even if it felt like they were just putting it out there to fill in the last hour of the show.

Post match the Usos come out to stare down Judgment Day to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Passable enough show here, though it wasn’t the most exciting. There is a good chance that WWE more or less punted this week because of the National Championship game airing at the same time and that is a bit understandable. The good thing is all you need is a bunch of Royal Rumble talk (check) and things feel important as a result. This isn’t a show you needed to watch, but it was acceptable enough if you weren’t watching the game.

Results
Kevin Owens b. Baron Corbin – Stunner
Bayley b. Mia Yim – Backslide with feet on the ropes
Rhea Ripley b. Candice LeRae – Riptide
Solo Sikoa b. Dolph Ziggler – Samoan Spike
Judgment Day won a Tag Team Turmoil match last eliminating the Street Profits

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 19, 2022
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s the last show before Christmas and possibly the last show of the year depending on what they do next week. There is still a lot of time before the Royal Rumble but we have another big match coming up on December 30. John Cena is on his way back to WWE and that should have some people talking. Let’s get to it.

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

Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns are here, with Reigns saying he is around here to deal with Kevin Owens. Reigns has been dealing with Owens and now he has to take care of John Cena again. Now, he is going to torture Owens until Raw acknowledges the Bloodline.

We cut to the rest of the Bloodline beating down Mustafa Ali in an NWO style handheld video attack.

Opening sequence.

Street Profits vs. Judgment Day

Finn Balor/Damien Priest for the team here, with their friends and Akira Tozawa at ringside too. Ford goes nuts on Priest to start but gets sent into the corner. We go split screen to see the Bloodline beating up Andre Chase and Elias, the latter with a guitar shot. Back to full screen with Priest sending the Profits to the floor by himself and we take a break.

We come back with Dawkins coming in to clean house but Priest grabs the South of Heaven chokeslam. Ford is right there with the frog splash before Priest can get back up but Balor is in to dropkick Ford into the corner. Everything breaks down and Tozawa throws a drink in Dominik Mysterio’s (already injured) eyes, allowing Ford to roll Balor up for the pin at 8:56.

Rating: C+. They had the energy going here and it even tied in to what they did last week. At the same time, it was nice to have a different kind of presentation with the cut to the back. It’s nice to have something feel like it is happening in real time and if it takes Elias getting beaten up to accomplish that, good for the Bloodline.

Post match Rhea Ripley punches Tozawa out and challenges him to a fight.

Akira Tozawa vs. Rhea Ripley

Everyone else is here too. Tozawa is really nervous about doing this and gets run over without much trouble. A big boot puts Tozawa in more trouble in the corner and Ripley muscles him over with a suplex for two. Ripley can’t quite powerbomb him, allowing Tozawa to grab a hurricanrana out to the floor. The distraction lets Balor trip Tozawa down so the Profits hit the stereo flip dives. Back in and Ripley misses a charge into the corner but Tozawa misses the backsplash. Riptide finishes Tozawa at 4:30.

Rating: C. This was an example of a man vs. woman match that made sense and could be believed. Tozawa is a smaller guy and Ripley is a giant compared to most of the division. Ripley’s offense looked fine here and I could buy what they were doing. Throw in Ripley winning the match after capitalizing on Tozawa’s mistake and the whole thing worked out well enough.

We look back at Bobby Lashley snapping and getting fired by Adam Pearce as a result.

Adam Pearce won’t talk about Lashley, who should be back soon. MVP comes in, but hang on as someone else has been attacked.

Post break and it’s Dolph Ziggler who has been attacked.

OC vs. Alpha Academy

Anderson shoulders Gable to start and grabs a hiptoss. A double shoulder takes Gable down again but he takes Anderson into the corner. That’s fine with Anderson, who armdrags him right out. Otis comes in and has the power showdown with Gallows. The Academy is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Otis cleaning house but Gable misses a moonsault. Gallows’ superkick sets up the Magic Killer for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C. Another perfectly watchable match, even as the Academy is feeling less and less important every week. You can only get so much when they lose all the time and they don’t exactly have much in the way of a story anyway. The OC gets some momentum back and we didn’t have to hear SHUSH too often, so we’ll call this a success.

Post break the Bloodline jumps the OC.

Back from a break and the Bloodline is still in the ring, with Adam Pearce telling them to wrap it up. Sami Zayn promises to do even worse to john Cena and Kevin Owens next week. As the Bloodline goes to leave, AJ Styles jumps them but gets pulled off by security.

We look at Alexa Bliss becoming #1 contender and then having to snap herself back to reality.

AJ Styles wants the Bloodline tonight and gets Sami Zayn.

We get a sitdown interview between Bianca Blair and Alexa Bliss. Belair gets right to the point by saying she doesn’t trust Bliss, who says she is turning into a shell of a human being she doesn’t even recognize. Belair asks about the Bray Wyatt connection, but Bliss says this isn’t about him. Bliss was winning titles before Belair got here and that’s kind of a mic drop moment. Then Bliss hits Belair in the head with a vase.

Miz vs. Dexter Lumis

Ladder match with two bags of money hanging above the ring and Johnny Gargano at ringside. They go for the ladder to start, with Lumis getting the better of it and crushing Miz in the corner with the ladder. With Miz down in the corner, Lumis teases pushing the ladder down for a low blow. Instead he leaves it a big short and dropkicks it between Miz’s legs, sending him outside. Miz is able to get up top and save the money and they go crashing down onto the ropes.

We take a break and come back with both of them on top of the ladder so Lumis can punch him down. Miz shoves the ladder over this time though and goes up, only to have Lumis pull him down as well. The Silencer is countered into a neckbreaker onto the apron and Lumis is down again, much to Gargano’s annoyance. Miz crushes Lumis in the ladder and rolls a chair at Gargano.

With Gargano backed up, Miz buries Lumis and the ladder with chairs. A table is teased but Miz beats up Gargano instead of climbing. Lumis uses the distraction to fight up and Rock Bottom Miz onto the announcers’ table covering. Lumis misses a dive off the ladder and through the announcers’ table. Miz goes up but Lumis cuts him off again and tries to pull down the money…but Bronson Reed returns and cuts Lumis off. The Tsunami crushes Lumis and Reed helps Miz get the money back at 18:20.

Rating: D+. This was all about the surprise return and that doesn’t matter much when the match is rather dull on the way there. This is a match that would have been better served as a regular one on one match at about half the length, as They had far too many instances of “climb, cutoff, climb cutoff, climb, cutoff”. This feud is likely to continue, though having Reed back could boost things up quite a bit.

Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles

No one else is at ringside for a change. Styles starts fast and knocks Zayn to the floor for the slingshot forearm. Back in and a hot shot cuts Styles off, only to have him come back with some kicks of his own. Zayn is sent outside again and dropped for a second time, but he is fine enough to break up the Phenomenal Forearm as we take a break.

Back with Zayn grabbing a brainbuster for two but getting caught with the Phenomenal Blitz. The moonsault reverse DDT is cut off though and Zayn exploders him into the corner. The Helluva Kick is countered into the Calf Crusher though, with Zayn having to make it to the rope. Cue Solo Sikoa for a distraction though, with Styles going outside to beat him up. The referee is distracted as well though and Sikoa gets in a Samoan Spike. Zayn adds the Blue Thunder Bomb for the pin at 12:51.

Rating: B-. The Bloodline numbers game continues and that is the way this should have gone. You don’t need Zayn losing so close to his huge match with Reigns at the end of the year and Styles is as bulletproof as you can get around here. If nothing else, this could open up more things by having Styles go after the Bloodline and Sikoa in particular, so they did what they should have done with a good match here.

Here is Seth Rollins (home state boy) for a chat. The fans are REALLY happy to see him and Rollins seems happy to be back. Rollins says Roman Reigns doesn’t run Mondays and no one can stop him. Cue Austin Theory to say he can beat Rollins, even if the fans think Theory sucks. Theory thinks Rollins is fine after Bobby Lashley took his frustrations out on a referee, but Rollins praises him anyway.

Rollins talks about how great Theory is, but he’ll never be on Rollins’ level. Theory talks about wanting to rise up but Rollins calls himself Everest. The fight is teased but here are the Usos, leaving Rollins and Theory to stand next to each other. Theory runs off (shocking) and the beatdown is on but Kevin Owens makes the save. Security breaks it up, but Owens suggests they keep this going. The match is on for later.

Becky Lynch wants to face the best version of Bayley, so let’s do this one on one. Tonight it’s going to be one on one or one on three but she’s ready either way.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

The rest of Damage Ctrl is here too. A dancing Becky soaks in the fans’ cheers to start and a frustrated Bayley gets armdragged down. Becky boots her to the floor and hits a flying forearm and we take a break. Back with Becky fighting out of a chinlock and winning a slugout to leave both of them down. The Bexploder drops Bayley and the middle rope legdrop gives Becky two.

A backslide gives Becky two but Bayley is back with a sliding lariat. The Bayley to Belly gives Bayley two but Becky is right back with Diamond Dust of all things for two of her own. Damage Ctrl breaks up the Manhandle Slam so Becky threatens them with a….TV monitor. Before that can go anywhere it’s a double ejection, but the distraction lets Bayley get in a monitor shot. The Rose Plant finishes Becky at 14:42.

Rating: B. These two beat each other up for awhile until Bayley had to cheat to win. There is something to that ending as Becky had said she wanted to face Bayley at her best and on her own but didn’t get to do that here. Good stuff from two very talented stars and it would not surprise me to see this come back again on a bigger stage, like say the Royal Rumble.

Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens are ready for the Usos, though Owens remembers Rollins trying to steal his Wrestlemania main event earlier this year. Rollins seems ready to go anyway.

Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens vs. Usos

Non-title and the brawl is on before the bell with Owens and Jimmy heading outside. We get the bell with Rollins hammering on Jey in the corner. The fans are pleased as Rollins elbows him in the face and hands it off to Owens for a clothesline. Jimmy manages a shot from the apron though and Jey knocks Rollins to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Rollins getting the hot tag to clean house, including the Sling Blade to Jey. Owens comes back in with a frog splash for two on Jey, but the Swanton only hits raised knees. Cue Solo Sikoa but the Good Brothers come in to take him out. Jey gets Stomped on the floor but Austin Theory pops up with a belt shot to Rollins. Jimmy superkicks Owens for two but Owens is back up with a superkick of his own. The Pop Up Powerbomb finishes Jimmy at 10:57.

Rating: B. While Lynch vs. Bayley was all about getting in a competitive match, this was more about tying all of the insanity together until the ending. The Usos losing is an event these days and even though this wasn’t for the title, Owens and Rollins overcame a bunch of shenanigans to score the big upset. That is a rare loss for the Bloodline and it gives Rollins a nice hometown moment. Imagine that for a change.

Post match Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have a staredown but nothing gets physical to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Save for that ladder match, this was a heck of a show with a bunch of good matches throughout. What mattered here the most though was having so many things woven throughout the show. There were plot elements that came up multiple times over the course of the night and it felt like an event rather than just another show. It never made sense to have things be so cut and dry around here, so this was a very nice change of pace. Pretty awesome show and if you cut that ladder match down, it’s a great one.

Results
Street Profits b. Judgment Day – Rollup to Balor
Rhea Ripley b. Akira Tozawa – Riptide
OC b. Alpha Academy – Magic Killer to Gable
Miz b. Dexter Lumis – Miz pulled down the money
Sami Zayn b. AJ Styles – Blue Thunder Bomb
Bayley b. Becky Lynch – Rose Plant
Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens b. Usos – Pop Up Powerbomb to Jimmy

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 12, 2022
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are crawling towards the Royal Rumble and it seems like the build has been put on the back burner for at least a few more weeks. This time around the main focal point is finding a new #1 contender for the United States Title as Bobby Lashley faces Seth Rollins in what should be a good one. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss

For the #1 contendership to Bianca Belair and the rest of Damage Ctrl is here with Bayley. Not that it matters as here is Becky Lynch to beat up Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai and chase them out of the arena with a chair, leaving it one on one. Cue Bianca Belair to watch as things get even bigger. Bliss starts fast and knocks Bayley outside, where it’s time for a breather. Back in and Bayley gets smart by stomping on the foot, earning herself a running crossbody. Bayley manages to knock her outside again though and we take a break.

Back with the fight going outside again where Bliss kicks at the ribs and knocks Bayley down, setting up the cannonball off the apron. Back in and a DDT gets two on Bayley, who is right back with a sunset flip into the corner for two. They head outside again with Bayley teasing going after Belair, allowing Bliss to knock her back again. They go inside again with Bliss dropkicking her into the corner, setting up Twisted Bliss for the pin and the title shot at 13:00.

Rating: C-. Yeah this didn’t exactly work, as they were going outside every few moments, seemingly with no clue about what else to do. The ending was also pretty flat, as Bliss just won almost out of nowhere. Bayley will probably be getting ready for a showdown with Becky Lynch sooner than later, but it’s going to be a bit difficult to buy Bliss as a threat to the title. At least she’s a fresh challenger though and that’s nice for a change.

Post match Belair comes in to shake hands but Bliss would rather have a hug. That works for Belair, but Bliss pulls her in for Sister Abigail. Bliss’ face goes all evil but then she snaps back to reality and leaves, looking upset with herself.

We look at Kurt Angle spraying the Alpha Academy with milk on Smackdown.

The Alpha Academy isn’t happy and claim Angle is a dinosaur. The OC comes in to say Japan thought it was hilarious, setting up AJ Styles vs. Chad Gable tonight.

We look at Austin Theory winning the US Title at Survivor Series.

AJ Styles vs. Chad Gable

Mia Yim and Luke Gallows (no Karl Anderson) and Otis are here too. Styles starts fast and kicks him down, setting up his own SHUSH. A backbreaker puts Gable down but he manages to send Styles outside for an Otis cheap shot. Styles gets dropped onto the apron and sent into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Gable rolling German suplexes until Styles escapes to set up the Pele kick. An overhead belly to belly drops Styles but Gable is right back with the ankle lock. That’s reversed into a Calf Crusher which is reversed into an ankle lock. With Styles slipping out of that as well, it’s a northern lights suplex to give Gable two. The moonsault misses though and it’s the Styles Clash to give Gable the pin at 9:07.

Rating: C+. Not bad, though the Alpha Academy continues to feel like one of the least interesting and important teams in a good while. They have been beaten down so hard that it stops mattering and that is where we are again. Gable can still go in the ring and working with Styles was going to almost guarantee that things went well, but they need to find something new for the team to do if they are going to ever mean anything.

Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis are going over some detailed drawings to decide what to do with Lumis’ money. Candice LeRae comes in to suggest doing something related to the holiday season. This seems better than the drawings, including fully functioning Iron Man suits and Bluey bling.

Judgment Day vs. Street Profits/Akira Tozawa

In the back, the Profits are asked why they saved Akira Tozawa, with the answer being IT’S AKIRA TOZAWA! Dawkins is driven into the corner to start and Balor fires off some shoulders to the ribs. Priest comes in for a heck of a right hand but Dawkins gets over to Tozawa anyway. A running chop in the corner cuts Tozawa off so he tries a chop to Priest. The ensuing glare allows Balor to blast Tozawa with a clothesline as we take a break.

Back with Tozawa fighting up and diving over to Ford for the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Ford is launched over the announcers’ table. We settle back down to Dominik Two Amigoing Ford to make things worse. A cheap shot in the corner keeps Ford down with the referee missing a tag to Dawkins. Ford finally backflips out of a belly to back suplex and enziguris Balor, allowing Ford to get over to Dawkins for the tag.

Everything breaks down again but Balor grabs a Nightmare on Helm Street for a double knockdown. Tozawa and Dominik come in with the former unloading with right hands. Priest comes back in to wreck people until Tozawa dumps him out. Dominik grabs a rollup for two but Tozawa sends him outside for the suicide headbutt. Back in and Tozawa DDTs Balor and Dominik but Priest Razors Edge tosses him inside, allowing Mysterio to get the pin at 14:47.

Rating: B-. This got rolling near the end and a lot of that was due to Tozawa. It’s kind of interesting to see him go from nothing joke stories to a few decent midcard matches out of nowhere. The talent is there, so why not let him show what he can do in a match that actually matters (at least somewhat) for a change? WWE can always use fresh blood and if Tozawa can help, good for him.

Dexter Lumis and Johnny Gargano clean out a merchandise stand and, after a break, give the gear away to fans. Cue Miz to steal the bag of Lumis’ money but Adam Pearce cuts him off and says give the money back. Miz isn’t happy and wants to face Gargano again. Gargano calls him Mike, resulting in a shout of MY NAME IS THE MIZ! Gargano: “Ok Miz.” Lumis will face Miz for the money next week….and let’s make it a ladder match, with Miz putting up his own share of money, double or nothing.

Miz says he doesn’t have money, but Gargano doesn’t buy it. Miz: “I have a ton of money in my accounts….that my wife controls.” Instead, he gets an allowance and has to ask if Maryse will give him an advance. That works for Gargano, but for tonight, Miz gets to give out this merchandise, dressed as an elf. Pearce approves and Gargano gets the bag of money back. As has been the case with this story, there are some funny moments but the segments take WAY too long to get to the point.

Iyo Sky vs. Candice LeRae

The rest of Damage Ctrl is here too, with Bayley joining commentary. Sky flips out of a headscissors to start so Candice scores with an enziguri. That earns her a flapjack as Graves complains about Bayley’s headset not working. The beating continues as we take a break, coming back with Candice slugging away.

They fight to the floor with a poisonrana planting Sky hard so Candice can get two back inside. Sky palm strikes her into a bridging German suplex for two before going up. Candice tries to catch her but Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride is broken up. The Over The Moonsault finishes for Sky at 10:22.

Rating: C. Good enough, but Candice continues to be just kind of there most of the time. She can have a watchable match but I could go for something a little stronger than that most of the time. That being said, the women’s division doesn’t have the strongest depth and a rank between the top stars and the cannon fodder is a good idea.

We look back at Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle failing to beat the Usos last week, with Riddle being sent out on a stretcher.

Owens isn’t happy with the loss but Elias comes in to cut him off. With Owens’ mouth hanging open, Elias asks Owens to have his back tonight against Solo Sikoa. Owens goes on a rant about everything Elias did to him earlier this year. That was Ezekiel, but Elias thinks they should wipe the slate clean, with Owens ranting about how that doesn’t make sense. Elias says he needs Owens, who walks away, comes back, and walks away again. Owens being the one who remembers things is an interesting choice and works for him.

Post break, Elias is in the ring for a tribute song to Matt Riddle. The song is about how they’re friends and even bros but now it’s time for Elias to beat Solo.

Elias vs. Solo Sikoa

Sami Zayn is here with Sikoa. Elias kicks away to start but gets knocked down without much effort. Back up and Sikoa fires off the chops, only to get kicked out of the corner. Elias knocks him outside and we take a break. We come back with Sikoa missing the middle rope headbutt, allowing Elias to score with the jumping knee for two. Sikoa isn’t having that and hits a superkick, setting up Spinning Solo for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. This was a match where there wasn’t much doubt about who was winning and they didn’t veer away from that whatsoever. Elias isn’t going to be the one to beat Sikoa and I don’t think anyone really expected him to be. Instead, we had a completely watchable match between two guys who had a bit of an issue coming out of last week. It wasn’t exactly memorable, but Sikoa continues to be pushed strong.

Post match Sikoa hits a Samoan Spike and loads up the running Umaga attack. Cue Kevin Owens for the save though and the Bloodline bails. Elias thanks Owens and gets Stunned to even things up a bit after everything Ezekiel put him through.

Video on the history of Tribute to the Troops. This would mainly be back when WWE went overseas and it felt special, rather than now when it’s a tacked on hour after a TV taping.

We get some photos of Miz as an elf, giving out merchandise to kids. Why they had that outfit ready might be better left unanswered.

Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley

Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley while Asuka has no paint on her face for a change. Asuka goes for the arm multiple times but can’t get the armbar early on. Ripley powers her down but gets pulled into an armbar. With that broken up, they fight to the apron with Asuka hitting the Codebreaker to send Ripley outside.

We take a break and come back with Ripley missing a splash and an exchange of kicks leaving both of them down. Asuka manages to send her to the apron for the running hip attack to the floor. A Dominik distraction doesn’t quite work as the Asuka Lock goes on. Dominik puts the foot on the rope for the break, earning himself the mist from Asuka. That’s enough of a distraction for the Riptide to finish Asuka at 11:31.

Rating: C+. Asuka’s face change was a nice surprise but at the same time, it’s not going to mean much if she loses again right after. Asuka is still one of the most talented stars in the division, but every week it feels more and more like she is just someone there to make others look good. That being said, Ripley has felt like she is ready to break out for months now (if not longer) and this was another step there.

Post break Dominik is getting his eyes cleaned out as the rest of Judgment Day freaks out.

We look at Dolph Ziggler returning last week to go after Austin Theory.

Ziggler talks about what the United States Title means and how Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley are going to go to war tonight for a chance at being champion. As for Theory, he needs to learn what being a champion means.

Video on Bobby Lashley.

Miz gave out more gifts.

Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley

For a future US Title shot. Lashley shoulders him down to start and they’re on the floor early, with Rollins being sent into the barricade. Rollins manages to post him though and a running knee off the apron drops Lashley as well. Back in and Lashley suplexes him over the top and out to the floor before grabbing the steps. The referee cuts that off so Lashley sends Rollins over the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Lashley taking him up top but getting bitten back down. Rollins hits a high crossbody into an enziguri to send Lashley outside, setting up the series of suicide dives. They get back inside where Rollins hits the Falcon Arrow for two but Lashley sends him back outside. The posting rocks Rollins but he’s right back in with a basement superkick. Rollins’ frog splash gets two so he tries the stomp, which is reversed into the Hurt Lock. The referee gets bumped so Lashley’s spear only gets a delayed two. Another spear is countered into the Pedigree to give Rollins the pin and the title shot at 12:55.

Rating: B-. That’s a great counter for the spear that Rollins has used before, but the fact that you could kind of see it coming tells you just how many people in WWE use the spear. Rollins winning is the more interesting way to go and Lashley is not going to be happy with that referee issue. They did a nice job with making the match seem big though and that is an important part of making the US Title feel important.

Post match Lashley goes after the referee so here is Adam Pearce. Lashley shoves him too and gets fired to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Overall, the show was a bit better than ok, but almost entirely skippable. There was nothing going on that you needed to see or that would be required viewing whatsoever, with the focal point being setting up two title matches, plus a ladder match for money. There are far worse shows to watch out there, but you’re going to be a lot better off reading a recap than spending three hours on this one.

Results
Alexa Bliss b. Bayley – Twisted Bliss
AJ Styles b. Chad Gable – Styles Clash
Judgment Day b. Street Profits/Akira Tozawa – Toss Razor’s Edge to Tozawa
Iyo Sky b. Candice LeRae – Over The Moonsault
Solo Sikoa b. Elias – Spinning Solo
Rhea Ripley b. Asuka – Riptide
Seth Rollins b. Bobby Lashley – Pedigree

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 5, 2022
Location: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are on our way to…well the Royal Rumble, but the show is so far away that it is hard to be that interested so far. As for this week, the Usos will be defending the Tag Team Titles against Matt Riddle and Elias, who are such a longstanding team. Other than that, it’s hard to say what we might be seeing this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Matt Riddle/Elias

The Usos, with Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa, are defending and they’re starting fast this week. Earlier today though, Riddle annoyed the Bloodline so Elias got beaten down as a result. Actually hang on as the Usos say that the match is off due to Elias being beaten down. Therefore, whoever wants a shot can come get one. Cue Riddle to say that beatdown wasn’t cool, but Sami calls him “my dog.” Riddle: “My dog?”

Sami says he knows what it takes to be ucey, because he is a certified uce-ologist. Sikoa taking out Elias was ucey. The Usos remaining the longest reigning Tag Team Champions in history is ucey. Riddle coming out here to suggest he ever had a chance, that his dog is NOT ucey. The thing is though, Riddle has found a partner and the title match is on for tonight. He isn’t bros with this guy, but they both hate the Bloodline….and it’s Kevin Owens.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Kevin Owens/Matt Riddle

Owens and Riddle are challenging and it’s Owens hammering on Jey to start. The backsplash gives Owens an early two but Jimmy breaks up a Cannonball attempt. That’s fine with Owens, who goes outside and sends Jey into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Riddle in trouble as the Usos start taking turns kicking at him. A big kick to the head drops Riddle and Jimmy even knocks Owens off the apron. Riddle forearms back but gets dropped again by some double teaming and we take another break.

Back again with Owens hitting a Swanton on Jimmy but the Stunner is blocked. Owens his a superkick instead, only to have Jimmy come back with one of his own for the double knockdown. The tag brings in Riddle as Owens and Sikoa stare at each other on the floor. Riddle dives onto Sikoa and it’s time for a bunch of shots to the face. Back in and a blind tag lets the Usos hit the 1D to finish Riddle at 13:58.

Rating: B-. Owens was definitely an upgrade over Elias as he at least ties into the story. Other than that though, there was no drama here as the Usos aren’t losing the titles to a makeshift team on Raw. It is going to take something special to take the titles from the Usos and I’m not sure if anyone around at the moment is up to the task. For now though, having good matches most of the time will still work.

Post match the Usos go after Riddle again but Owens makes the save with a chair and chases the Usos and Sami to the back. Sikoa is still at ringside though and beats on Riddle some more, including a Samoan Spike for an Umaga flashback. The running Umaga attack in the corner rocks Riddle again but Sikoa isn’t done. A chair is wrapped around Riddle’s head and another running Umaga attack crushes him again. Riddle is taken out on a stretcher as Sikoa looks like a killer.

Rhea Ripley is ready for tonight’s triple threat to become the new #1 contender. Bayley and Asuka are great, but they’re not Rhea Bloody Ripley. She’s coming for Bianca Belair and after that, everyone will be calling her Mami. She whispers something to Dominik Mysterio and seems like she’ll be handling her match on her own.

JBL is hosting a poker tournament in the back with various stars. Cue Dexter Lumis and Johnny Gargano, but JBL doesn’t think much of the idea of Lumis playing. Lumis empties out his bag of money from the Miz last week and is much more welcome.

Bayley vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka

The winner of this faces the winner of another triple threat next week for a shot against Bianca Belair (simple, effective reason for these matches to take place). Bayley comes out first but here is Becky Lynch to interrupt. Becky, coming through the crowd, talks about how the two of them haven’t fought in a long time, even after Bayley carried the division during the Thunderdome era.

Bayley doesn’t want to hear this and thinks Becky is jealous of her success. Becky is ready for a showdown, if Bayley can get the job done like her partners have already managed to do (ouch). Becky goes to leave, only to run into Rhea Ripley for a heck of a staredown on the way to the ring.

After a break and Asuka’s entrance, we’re ready to go with Bayley grabbing a rollup for an early two. Ripley sends Bayley outside and hammers on Asuka until Bayley comes back in. A hard whip into the corner drops Bayley and Asuka gets thrown down as well. Some double teaming finally slows Ripley down but Bayley has to avoid the running hip attack from Asuka.

We take a break and come back with more double teaming dropping Ripley again until Asuka ankle locks Bayley. That’s broken up so it’s a German suplex to Bayley and a kick to Ripley’s head. A double Codebreaker gives Asuka two each so she missile dropkicks Bayley. The Asuka Lock goes on but it’s not quite in full, allowing Ripley to break it up with a basement dropkick.

Some headbutts rock Bayley and an electric chair faceplant puts Asuka down for two, leaving Ripley shocked. Ripley knocks Bayley outside but misses a running flip dive off the steps for a nasty crash on the floor. Back in and Asuka strikes away on Bayley but the middle rope dropkick misses. The Rose Plant finishes Asuka to give Bayley the pin at 15:21.

Rating: B. I was surprised by the ending as they seemed to be setting up Ripley as the winner. That being said, it’s nice to see some surprises here and there, as going with the same stuff over and over can get old fast. Bayley getting the win is a good way to heat her up a bit more and now we could be in for something more interesting with what was set up here. It helped that the match got some time and had them laying into each other for most of the match.

Post match Ripley unloads on Asuka and leaves her laying, while holding a somewhat nasty looking shoulder.

Drew McIntyre is not medically cleared for Smackdown so Butch is taking his place in the Tag Team Title match.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. He is happy to be here and next week he’ll be facing Bobby Lashley in a #1 contenders match for US Title shot. Rollins talks about the fans singing his song but here is Lashley to interrupt. That’s fine with Rollins, who accuses Lashley of being scared of Brock Lesnar. Lashley doesn’t want to hear that, so Rollins thinks it must be jealousy instead.

That earns Rollins a grab by the jacket so he says that winning the US Title isn’t going to make Lashley feel better about Lesnar. The fight is on with referees and agents not being able to break it up. Lashley spears an agent down (missing Rollins in the process), leaving Adam Pearce rather upset.

Austin Theory thinks he has all the cards and the forever reign is just beginning. Theory runs into Mustafa Ali, who is smirking at the idea of Theory holding the title forever. That’s too far for Theory, so Ali can have his shot tonight.

Back to the poker, where Lumis appears to be cleaning up and beats Baron Corbin in another hand. Corbin yells a lot so Lumis pulls out an ax. At the other table, Akira Tozawa is still cleaning up but accuses Dominik Mysterio of stealing chips. A match is set.

US Title: Austin Theory vs. Mustafa Ali

Theory is defending and chokes Ali in the corner to start. Ali is back up with a headscissors to the apron and there’s a suicide dive to drop Theory again. A posting rocks Ali though and we take a break. Back with Ali hitting his rolling neckbreaker but a hurricanrana out of the corner doesn’t go so well, with Theory landing mostly on his head. Thankfully he’s fine enough to get caught with a tornado DDT to give Ali two but Theory fights back. Not that it matters as Dolph Ziggler runs in to superkick Theory for the DQ at 8:03

Rating: C. Well at least Ali didn’t get pinned again. I know Ali might be getting a little tiresome, but having him win some matches, or at the very least not getting pinned so often, could do him a world of good. I’m not sure I can picture him getting a bigger push than he is now, but giving it a shot might not be a bad idea. At the same time, Ziggler vs. Theory isn’t exactly appealing and hopefully it doesn’t last very long.

Post match Ali rightfully yells at Ziggler for costing him the match but Theory runs them both over. Ali is sent outside and A Town Down drops Ziggler.

Miz interrupts JBL’s phone call and asks why he didn’t get an invitation to play poker. JBL won’t let him in, even with an offer of a Rolex since he doesn’t have the money to buy in, sending Miz off.

Corbin can’t quite pull off cheating at the poker game and shoves AJ Styles for accusing him of doing so. The result: OC vs. Corbin/Alpha Academy. JBL is annoyed at these “idiots” and hits the dealer with his hat. Lumis strokes his ax and tips the dealer a few grand. Nice guy.

Bianca Belair is ready for whoever gets the title shot.

We look back at Solo Sikoa beating down Matt Riddle earlier tonight.

OC vs. Alpha Academy/Baron Corbin

Corbin shoulders Styles over to start as JBL sits in on commentary. Gable comes in to take Anderson down and work on a headlock but it’s quickly off to Gallows for a shoulder. Gallows and Gable yell at each other before Corbin comes back in. Everything breaks down and OC gets dropped on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Otis splashing Styles, who can’t quite fight out of Gable’s armbar. Gable knocks Anderson to the floor, allowing Corbin to hit a quick Deep Six to give Gable two. Styles gets up and brings in Anderson to clean house as everything breaks down. Otis runs Styles over but gets dropped by Anderson. Gable forearms Anderson, who comes back with an uppercut to put both of them down. The Magic Killer finishes Gable at 14:30.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what was missing here but it wasn’t quite thrilling stuff. The Alpha Academy has been ground into little more than dust and here they lost again. Corbin has cooled WAY off in recent weeks and the OC felt very tacked in on this whole match. The match might not have been bad, but it didn’t exactly feel important and that made for a long nearly fifteen minutes.

Candice LeRae is ready to fight harder now that she’s a mom. Dexter Lumis and Johnny Gargano come in, with LeRae being stunned by how much Lumis won playing poker.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Akira Tozawa

The rest of Judgment Day is here with Dominik. Tozawa gets taken down to start and Dominik manages Three Amigos for two. Dominik gets sent into the corner, only to avoid the top rope backsplash. The frog splash finishes Tozawa at 2:43.

Post match the beatdown ensues but the Street Profits make the save.

Adam Pearce yells at Bobby Lashley for spearing down the agent earlier tonight. As a result, he is…well nothing, but if it happens again, things will go badly.

Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross

The winner faces Bayley in a #1 contenders match next week. Bliss and Lynch knock Cross outside to start, leaving Bliss to roll Becky up for two. The knees to the ribs rock Becky again but Cross is back in to clean house. Cross gets taken down again and Bliss knocks Lynch into the corner. The running knees miss though and Becky sends her into the buckle. It’s Cross back up to wreck both of them, including the swinging neckbreaker to drop Bliss son the floor.

We take a break and come back with Cross chinlocking Bliss until Becky makes the save. The middle rope legdrop hits Cross for two and Lynch suplexes her down. Bliss is back in and flip dives off the apron to take both of them down. Back in and it’s a Tower of Doom to give Becky two on Cross. That doesn’t last long as Cross is back up to crossbody Becky against the apron for a unique crash.

The hanging DDT is loaded up but Becky hits a double legdrop to Bliss’ back, giving Becky two of her own. Cross can’t piledrive Becky on the apron, meaning it’s a bad Manhandle Slam to give Becky….no count as Cross rolls away. Cue Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky to jump Becky, including a powerbomb through the announcers’ table. Bliss steals the pin on Cross at 16:28.

Rating: C+. Bliss winning is a bit surprising but I can go with boosting her up a bit after such a long stretch of very little of note. Cross continues to be enough of a wild card to be interesting and we are likely heading towards Bayley vs. Bliss. Good match here, even with a few rough spots near the ending.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started fast and then cooled off pretty badly about halfway through. What worked here was having people fighting over various personal issues and possible title shots. It gave us a reason to care about what we were seeing and that kept things a lot more engaging. After that though, things slowed down a good bit and the action wasn’t quite as strong, but I’ll take half of a rather good show over nothing.

Results
Usos b. Matt Riddle/Kevin Owens – 1D to Riddle
Bayley b. Asuka and Rhea Ripley – Rose Plant to Asuka
Austin Theory b. Mustafa Ali via DQ when Dolph Ziggler interfered
OC b. Alpha Academy/Baron Corbin – Magic Killer to Gable
Dominik Mysterio b. Akira Tozawa – Frog splash
Alexa Bliss b. Nikki Cross and Becky Lynch – Man Handle Slam on the apron

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 28, 2022
Location: Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re done with Survivor Series and that means it is time to start the very long road to the Royal Rumble. That could include quite a few things, but we are almost guaranteed some kind of fallout from Sami Zayn officially declaring his allegiance to the Bloodline. Other than that, a lot of the show is wide open so let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

The Bloodline (minus Roman Reigns) is here and rather pleased with everything that happened on Saturday.

Here is Becky Lynch to get things going. She’s glad to be back but thinks she should be with the people. Becky goes into the crowd to high five some fans and meets some people named Bobby and Zachary (the latter of whom puts his arm around her, causing Becky to move away pretty quickly). Becky talks about how she has been gone for four months and is ready to start doing what the Man does. She can’t wait to take care of these new faces….and here is Bayley to interrupt.

Bayley is sick of hearing about Becky and doesn’t care what the fans think. Becky does NOT like Bayley disrespecting her new friends and the fight is teased, only to have Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky come down the steps to start the brawl. They fight up the steps and into the concourse, with Bayley getting involved as well. A merch stand is destroyed until referees finally get up there to break it up. This was a very different way to start the show and that is a GREAT change to see. It isn’t something you can do every week, but shaking things up a bit is a very nice idea.

We recap the return of Mia Yim to deal with Rhea Ripley.

Rhea Ripley vs. Mia Yim

Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley. Mia knocks her to the apron to start and smiles a lot as things slow down. A leg trip sends Ripley face first into the mat and a Dominik distraction doesn’t do Ripley much good on the floor. Back in and Ripley hits a hard clothesline to take over before powering her down in a fairly impressive display.

Yim’s face is rammed into the mat a few times and Ripley starts yelling a lot. That’s enough for Yim to fight back up and kick her in the chest, only to have Eat Defeat blocked. Riptide is countered into a DDT to send Ripley outside so Yim pulls an interfering Dominik inside. Cue AJ Styles for the save so the referee throws it out at 7:02.

Rating: C. I get what they were going for here, as they didn’t want to have Ripley, who seems primed for a push towards the title, losing, but you also need Yim, who is here to deal with Ripley, to deal with Ripley. Ripley continues to look like a star and is starting to get the feeling for everything even more, making her a bigger highlight every week.

Post match the rest of the Judgment Day and OC run in for the big brawl, with OC cleaning house. Styles throws out the challenge for the big tag match so here we go.

OC vs. Judgment Day

The huge brawl starts on the floor on the floor until we settle down to Styles vs. Balor inside. Balor gets caught in the wrong corner and the OC gets to take turns beating on him, as tends to be the case. A quick escape lets Balor bring Priest in for the big man showdown with Gallows, meaning they trade shots to the head. Dominik offers a distraction so Priest can kick Gallows down and take over.

Gallows manages to get to the corner for the hot tag to Anderson for some house cleaning, including a backsplash to Balor. That’s broken up by Priest’s clothesline though and we hit the double arm crank. Dominik hits the slingshot hilo but it’s right back to Priest for a legdrop/backbreaker combination with Balor. Judgment Day, including Ripley, get in their shots on Anderson, who eventually jawbreaks his way out of Balor’s chinlock.

Anderson knocks Balor away again and the hot tag brings in Styles to clean house. The moonsault reverse DDT plants Balor out of the corner but Ripley makes the save. Styles grabs Ripley’s leg to block a kick before bringing Yim back in to wreck Ripley again. Everything breaks down and Yim dives on Ripley, leaving Priest to hit Gallows with South of Heaven. Styles hits Priest with the Phenomenal Forearm but Balor runs him down. Yim slams Balor but walks into Riptide to give Ripley the pin at 14:24.

Rating: B-. I’m hoping that this feud wraps up soon, as having them all fight against each other and one team winning is kind of a definitive result. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some big gimmick blowoff match, but Judgment Day winning here is likely a sign that the feud’s days are numbered. Again though, Ripley looks like the biggest deal on the team and good for her to get the win.

Earlier today, the Street Profits returned and are ready for…getting interrupted by the Alpha Academy. Chad Gable mocks the Profits’ catchphrase and announces that they’ll be having a match tonight. Works for the Profits.

Here is the Bloodline (minus Roman Reigns) for a chat. They celebrate their win, with Sami Zayn talking about how he has finally been accepted into the team. Sami talks directly to Jey Uso, saying the way he accepted Sami at the end of the match, that was UCEY. We get the big hug and celebration but Kevin Owens interrupts.

Owens still can’t get over what Sami did to him at WarGames. They have turned on each other so many times, but now Owens is just done with him. Sami says he doesn’t need Owens anymore, but Owens calmly says the Bloodline is never going to be Sami’s blood. Jey stands up for Sami, so Owens says they can do this later tonight. Challenge accepted. The eternal saga of Owens and Zayn still works and the appeal of the two of them fighting against the Bloodline together is rather strong.

We look at Damage Ctrl beating down Candice LeRae and putting her on the shelf last month.

LeRae is back and seems a bit nervous about her match with Dakota Kai, but she’s ready to fight. She takes the mic and reintroduces herself, promising to take Kai out tonight.

Matt Riddle and Elias are in the back and want to see how far the team can go, as Elias has never held gold. The Usos come in to mock them and a match seems to be teased for later.

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

The Profits are back and come through the crowd for their energized entrance. Ford and Gable fight over wrist control to start with Gable taking him to the mat with a chinlock. Ford fights up and hands it off to Dawkins, who is taken straight down as well. That doesn’t last long either as Dawkins fights up and runs Gable over with a clothesline. Everything breaks down and the Profits hit the stereo flip dives to the floor, sending us to the break.

Back with Ford trying a sunset flip but getting reversed into a northern lights suplex for two more. A DDT plants Gable though and a missed charge sends Otis into the post for a much needed breather. The diving tag brings in Dawkins to clean house as everything breaks down. Gable suplexes Dawkins for two with Ford having to make the save. Ford manages to slam Otis and the Cash Out finishes Gable at 12:04.

Rating: C+. The match was good but it feels like something I’ve seen them do a few dozen times now. The tag division continues to have such little depth and having these same teams fight each other over and over doesn’t help. Even though the Profits have been gone for awhile, they’re still fighting Alpha Academy and that is only going to get them so far.

We look at Austin Theory winning the US Title at Survivor Series.

Here is Theory for a chat to brag about his title win. Theory says he isn’t going anywhere and is now the face of Raw. Everyone is jealous of him being so much younger and better and the Theory Era has begun. The open challenge is on and here is Seth Rollins to interrupt. Rollins talks about how Theory lucked his way into the title and calls him “kid”. He wants a rematch for the title and calls Theory “kid” again, which is enough to accept the title, albeit on Theory’s terms.

We recap Miz vs. Johnny Gargano/Dexter Lumis.

Miz has a bag of money to put up against Dexter Lumis, but his hand is injured so the match can’t happen. Adam Pearce comes in to say no, Miz’s hand isn’t hurt, so the match is taking place.

Dexter Lumis vs. The Miz

If Lumis wins, he gets the money and a contract but if Miz wins, Lumis is gone. The brawl is on before the bell and they fight outside rather quickly. Miz gets knocked onto the barricade and we take a break. Back with….Miz holding Lumis head in a vice (as in the metal tool) but Lumis fights out and hits a spinebuster.

They fight over the barricade and Miz gets thrown into a TV. Miz is laid over a table and elbowed through it for the big crash. Back in and the Silencer and Skull Crushing Finale are both blocked, leaving Lumis to miss a charge into the corner. A rollup with feet on the ropes gets two on Lumis, who is right back with the Side Effect into the Silencer for the win at 9:42.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t wild on this match going in and then they lost me with the vice stuff. It was such a silly look and it took me out of anything they were doing. Sure it’s a silly feud, but you don’t have to go full on cartoon with it. At least now it should be over though and Miz can get on to something more important while Lumis….what the heck is he supposed to do anyway?

Post match Lumis gets the money and hands a bunch of kids $100 bills. Miz jumps him from behind and grabs the money, including from a kid (that’s some evil) but Johnny Gargano comes out with a superkick. The kid gets the money back in a nice moment.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Damage Ctrl earlier tonight.

Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai

Joined in progress (with the opening shown in split screen) with the erst of Damage Ctrl banned from ringside. Candice rolls her up for two but Kai goes with the choking to cut it off. Back up and Kai hits a pump kick, only to have Candice knock her right back down. A missile dropkick gives Candice two and we take a break.

Back with Candice grabbing something like a German suplex for two but Kai kicks her out of the air. LeRae misses a Lionsault so Kai puts her up top. That’s broken up as well though and Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride (the middle rope swinging neckbreaker) is enough to finish Kai off at 12:28.

Rating: C+. It’s good to see LeRae getting a win as she needs to really be established. She hasn’t been around long in the first place and having her go away for a few weeks, likely to avoid the question of “why isn’t she in WarGames” didn’t help things. Now she can get a chance to show what she can do, which could be a nice addition to the division.

Jey Uso is warming up for the main event.

Long video on the WarGames matches.

Bianca Belair is happy with the win and Asuka agrees. Alexa Bliss says Becky Lynch was a great choice, but doesn’t seem overly enthusiastic.

Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso

The rest of the Bloodline is here too. They slug it out to start with Owens knocking him outside to take over early. Solo Sikoa offers a distraction though and Jey gets in a cheap shot as we take a break. Back with Owens’ Swanton hitting raised knees, allowing Jey to slowly hammer away. There’s a hard whip into the corner to drop Owens again and Jey is fired up.

Owens manages to reverse a whip into the corner though and now the Cannonball can connect. A hard whip into the corner flips Owens upside down though and Jey takes over again as we take another break. Back again with Jey hitting the pop up belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker and hammering away at a downed Owens. Jey takes him up top but gets reversed into the swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker.

They’re both down though, allowing Jey to come back with a heck of a superkick for another double knockdown. Another superkick gets two but the Samoan drop is blocked. The Stunner is blocked as well and Jey hits another superkick for another two. Owens winds up on the apron where Sikoa offers a distraction, only to have Jey miss the Superfly Splash. The Stunner finishes Jey at 22:18.

Rating: B. This match got some time and allowed both of them to showcase what they can do. If nothing else, the Bloodline taking a loss, even a minor one like this, feels like a big deal and now we might be getting a step closer to their decline. We’re still a LONG way off, but seeing them lose is something we haven’t seen very often and it could go somewhere down the road.

Overall Rating: B. The most important thing to be said about this show is that it was energized. There was very little on the show that dragged and most of the matches were good to rather good. Owens/Zayn felt like it got its big segment where Zayn has something to think about, plus Judgment Day got its major win over the OC. Good show here and I actually had a lot of fun with it, which isn’t something you can say about Raw very often.

Results
Rhea Ripley vs. Mia Yim went to a no contest when AJ Styles and Dominik Mysterio interfered
Judgment Day b. OC – Riptide to Yim
Street Profits b. Alpha Academy – Cash Out to Gable
Dexter Lumis b. The Miz – Silencer
Candice LeRae b. Dakota Kai – Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride
Kevin Owens b. Jey Uso – Stunner

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 21, 2022
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Survivor Series and the card is mostly set. Both WarGames matches are almost entirely ready to go following the return of Kevin Owens on Smackdown. Tonight is going to be about finding the final woman in the other WarGames match and adding in some other stuff to the show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Kevin Owens to quite the welcome. Owens says he is joining WarGames for the sake of one person and it’s not Sami Zayn. No matter what, he and Zayn are like brothers and they can deal with that later. No he’s doing this to remind Roman Reigns who he is. If it wasn’t for the Bloodline, the history making title reign would have been stopped earlier. Now he wants to take out the Bloodline so there is no one standing between him and the Universal Title.

Owens isn’t here alone tonight so here are the Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre (through the crowd, because it’s Survivor Series season). Sheamus talks about being ready for the big fight on Saturday and their fifth member is Kevin Owens. McIntyre talks about Reigns abusing his power and the numbers game, but all of that changes in WarGames.

Cue the Judgment Day to interrupt, with Dominik Mysterio telling them to go back to Smackdown and say hi to his deadbeat dad. Finn Balor is sick of AJ Styles but also hopes the Bloodline smashes everyone in the ring. Sheamus says that he and Balor lived ten miles apart in Ireland but they might as well be a million miles apart here. He calls Balor a “plastic paddy” (I think) but Balor describes himself as salty. The challenge is on for a six man and let’s do it.

Judgment Day vs. Brawling Brutes

The fight is on before the bell with the Brutes clearing the ring and we take a break. Back with Sheamus and Priest having a staredown and then slugging it out in the corner. Kevin Owens is on commentary and enjoys seeing Holland come in, only to get taken down by Balor’s suplex. Butch comes in but gets pulled out to the floor for an apron chokeslam from Priest as we take a break.

Back again with Butch fighting out of trouble by hitting an enziguri to Balor, but Dominik breaks up the tag attempt. Dominik hides behind Rhea Ripley on the floor but the hot tag brings in Holland without much effort. Sheamus chases Dominik up the ramp as the OC is here to cut him off. Back in the ring and Sheamus hits the twenty forearms to Dominik, setting up the Brogue Kick for the pin at 14:04.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice six man here with the OC vs. Judgment Day feud being tied in to make things more interesting. Other than that, it’s fine to have the Brawling Brutes, an established team, beat the Judgment Day as it isn’t like some thrown together group is taking them down. Good hard hitting opener, which shouldn’t be a surprise given who was involved.

Post match Sheamus and company clear the ring, with a Stunner dropping Balor.

Johnny Gargano is ready to take care of the Miz tonight and wants to do the right thing regarding Dexter Lumis. He and Lumis have an agreement to say out of each others’ business so things should be fine tonight.

Johnny Gargano vs. The Miz

Hold on though as the Miz is in street clothes. He has an injured hand (he chopped a cactus, because he is rich enough to own one in California) but worry not, because he has an opponent for Gargano.

Johnny Gargano vs. Omos

MVP is here with Omos. Miz is on commentary as Omos kicks Gargano outside and easily throws him back inside. Gargano gets dropped onto the apron but manages a quick shot for a breather. That’s enough for Miz to offer a distraction and Gargano sends Omos into the corner. Three basement superkicks set up a top rope…dive into a chokeslam to give Omos the pin at 3:05.

Rating: D+. What are you supposed to say about a match like this? They didn’t have much time and there is little that Omos can do aside from the big power spots. The good thing is that Gargano was there to bounce off of him and get in a few hope spots before falling short. That’s how it should have gone and it isn’t like losing to the monster is going to hut anything.

We look at Austin Theory and Bobby Lashley coming after Seth Rollins and the US Title. The triple threat title match is set for Survivor Series.

Rollins joins us in a sitdown interview and talks about how he’s looking forward to killing two birds with one stone. Theory and Lashley keep jumping him but he knows how to keep getting up. That’s what he’s going to do again and Theory can call Cody Rhodes to ask him about picking a fight with Rollins. They aren’t in WarGames but they’re going to be in a war because none of them like each other. Rollins is one of one and after Survivor Series, he will still be the US Champion.

Austin Theory watches what we just saw and says he is tired of this disrespect. He is a new man and he knows Rollins and Lashley will be watching when he takes out Mustafa Ali tonight.

Austin Theory vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali has taped up ribs coming in so Theory knees him in the tape and stomps away. The waistlock goes on but Ali is up with a knee to the face. Theory is sent outside but he cuts the dive off and sends Ali into the barricade. Back in and Ali hits a fast superkick for two but Theory knocks him into the corner. Ali is right back with a sunset bomb into a 450 but the bad ribs mean there’s no cover. A-Town Down finishes Ali at 5:05.

Rating: C. Ali’s losses are piling up and just pointing to the ribs as an excuse is only going to get him so far. I know Ali might not be the biggest guy, but you would think there would be something he could do other than lose over and over. Theory needs to get some wins together though and this was a clean pin, which is more than he did for most of his time as Mr. Money In The Bank.

Post match Bobby Lashley pops up on screen to say he’s coming for Theory right now.

Post break here is Lashley to say he’s surprised Theory is still here if he knows the pain that is coming for him. Theory talks about Lashley getting beaten up by Brock Lesnar and how he keeps failing over and over. The kid that Lashley and Rollins knew is dead and gone so the new Theory is coming for them at Survivor Series.

The fight is on with Lashley not quite being able to post him. Theory hits Lashley with a chair to no effect so Theory runs to the back. Once at the Gorilla Position, Theory jumps Mustafa Ali and throws him at Lashley before sprinting off. Ali shoves Lashley and gets taken into the arena for the Hurt Lock. Seems like a waste of a change of scenery.

Alpha Academy vs. Matt Riddle/Elias

Elias can’t get very far with a wristlock on Gable, who takes him down into an armbar. Back up and Elias clears the ring without much trouble and we take a break. We come back with Riddle getting two on Gable but a shot to the arm takes Riddle down. Otis and Gable take turns on the arm, with Gable hitting a belly to back suplex for two.

A dragon screw legwhip takes Riddle down again but he’s fine enough to get over to Elias without much effort. The assisted Broton hits Gable and Otis gets knocked to the floor. Elias’ dive off the steps is broken up though and Otis drives him into the barricade. Gable German suplexes Riddle onto the apron and we take another break. Back again with Gable driving Riddle face first so Otis can get two. Riddle fights up without much trouble though and it’s Elias coming in to clean house.

A hangman’s neckbreaker gets two on Gable but he hurricanranas his way out of a sitout powerbomb. Otis comes in for a reverse DDT and Gable adds a top rope headbutt for two more. Riddle makes the save and gets the tag, setting up the springboard Floating Bro onto the Academy. Back in and Elias plants Gable, allowing Riddle to hit the Floating Bro for the pin at 15:55.

Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that was more long than good. While not a terrible match by any means, they never got into any kind of a higher gear and it kind of kept going more than anything else. It’s nice to see slightly more serious Riddle, but the Alpha Academy going from something interesting to Gable doing his sound effect has taken away a lot of their steam.

JBL and Baron Corbin are playing poker again and complain about Akira Tozawa last week. Drew McIntyre come in so JBL can mock him, resulting in McIntyre challenging Corbin for tonight. McIntyre decks him and I think that’s a yes.

Video on the Men’s WarGames match.

Survivor Series rundown.

Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre

JBL is here with Corbin, who bails to the floor to start. A cheap shot lets Corbin take over but McIntyre slugs away to come back. They head outside with McIntyre sending him over the barricade and then dropping him onto the announcers’ table. A JBL distraction lets Corbin get in another shot though and a corner clothesline has McIntyre in trouble.

McIntyre fights up and runs over Corbin in the corner but Corbin breaks up the Futureshock. Instead McIntyre hits a Michinoku Driver for two, only to have Corbin get in a shot of his own for a double knockdown. We take a break and come back with Corbin hitting a superplex for a delayed two, followed by the chokeslam for the non-delayed version of a near fall.

A torture rack dropped back into a slam gives Corbin two more and Deep Six is good for two more. Corbin yells at the referee but here is Akira Tozawa (now with Blond hair) to jump into JBL’s arms and steal his hat. That’s enough of a distraction for McIntyre to hit the Claymore for the pin at 17:41.

Rating: C+. And that is a good example of the problem with Corbin: you know almost exactly what you are going to get out of a Corbin match because he barely ever changes anything up. It’s the same offense in the same sequence with the same pretty good looking power moves. You know what he is going to do in any given match and the only question is how will the finish go. The surprise here was Tozawa, who seems like he is actually going to go at least a little somewhere out of last week’s random match and segment. Cool, as taking some of the talent you already have and doing something with them is often a wise move.

The OC is ready for Finn Balor on Saturday. Balor comes in to say he’s ready for Styles and indeed here is the Judgment Day to start the big fight. They brawl to the floor with the OC getting beaten up on and around a rental car. Security and referees finally get out there to break it up with the OC down.

Here is Team Belair for a pre-main event chat. Belair talks about how her team is ready for war and promises to reveal the fifth member….on Smackdown. Cue Team Damage Ctrl, with Bayley mocking the entire team, mainly because Belair couldn’t possibly find someone else to team with her. Asuka tells Rhea Ripley to get in there and we’re ready to go.

Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka

For WarGames control and everyone else has been sent backstage. Ripley powers her into the corner to start but Asuka is back up with some strikes to knock her to the apron. The running hip attack rocks Ripley again and it’s time for a rather long breather on the floor. Back in and Ripley pulls her down by the hair for some smacks to the back of the head.

A hard clothesline drops Asuka again but she’s back with a kneebar out of nowhere. That doesn’t work for Ripley, who rolls backwards and muscles her up for the escape. Ripley kicks her off the top and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Asuka kicking away and grabbing a German suplex.

Ripley is back up and pulls her into the Prism Trap (I’ve missed that) but Asuka makes the rope. Asuka catches her on top and kicks her in the face for two but can’t follow up. An armbar has Ripley in more trouble but it’s Damage Ctrl appearing for a distraction. Bianca Belair and Alexa Bliss come out to even things up a bit as Ripley slips out. Riptide finishes Asuka at 16:16.

Rating: B-. These two hit each other rather hard and it made for a good main event style match. Ripley winning was the only way to go as having the good women control WarGames would make no sense. They kept the interference until the ending, which was nice as it let the stars involved do their thing for a long while before the screwy (as it should have been) ending.

Post match the big brawl is on with Mia Yim running in to brawl with Ripley over the apron. Asuka hits a big dive to leave everyone laying.

We run down the Survivor Series card again as the women seemed to wrap up a bit too early. The rundown goes on so long that the show cuts off and we’re done.

Overall Rating: C+. The best thing that this show did was make me care more about the men’s WarGames match. That seemed to be the goal of the show and they did it well enough. At the same time, OC vs. Judgment Day got a nice boost while being tied into the bigger story. Things got a bit dull in the middle, but the show did its important job while tying some stories together. That is more than some of the late McMahon shows can say so this is a step up in at least one regard.

Results
Brawling Brutes b. Judgment Day – Brogue Kick to Dominik
Omos b. Johnny Gargano – Chokeslam
Austin Theory b. Mustafa Ali – A Town Down
Matt Riddle/Elias b. Alpha Academy – Floating Bro to Gable
Drew McIntyre b. Baron Corbin – Claymore
Rhea Ripley b. Asuka – Riptide

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 14, 2022
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are less than two weeks away from Survivor Series and that means it is time to start building some things up for the show. While we have a few matches, the real focus is going to be on WarGames. It looks like Raw will only be supplying the women’s match and more of the lineup needs to be locked in. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going and we see a package on Austin Theory’s failed cash in last week. Last week, he put out an open challenge and now there are people coming out of the woodwork for a shot at the title. Rollins talks about the cash-in and the fans say THAT WAS STUPID. Rollins is ready to defend against Finn Balor tonight but here is Bobby Lashley to interrupt. Rollins isn’t worried and brings up the loss to Brock Lesnar, so here is Mustafa Ali to interrupt. Lashley tosses him out with ease so Ali jumps on him again, only to be thrown right back to the floor. That’s not enough for Lashley, who says ring the bell.

Mustafa Ali vs. Bobby Lashley

Ali charges at him to start and gets knocked outside. Lashley gives him the posting and the spinning Big Ending connects back inside. A pair of spinebusters drop Ali but he says bring it. Lashley jumps over a charge in the corner and grabs a tornado DDT for a breather. And then the spear turns Ali inside out, setting up the Hurt Lock to finish at 4:23.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a squash with Ali trying what he could but getting run over almost every time. I’m not sure why WWE feels the need to crush Ali over and over but that’s what he had to deal with again here. The match was a way to make Lashley look great, but I’m not sure why Ali needed to be the sacrifice.

The OC is happy to have Mia Yim, with AJ Styles challenging Finn Balor for Survivor Series. Tonight though, Mia Yim is returning to the ring.

Mia Yim vs. Tamina

Tamina jumps her to start and hammers away as Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio come out to watch. Yim fights up and grabs a quick Eat Defeat for the pin at 1:54.

Post match Ripley teases the big brawl but walks away instead.

Matt Riddle says Elias is off doing his rock star thing and getting them their gig. Chad Gable comes in for some SHUSHING and brags about Otis’ win last week. The SHUSH vs. the bongo deal was about as annoying as you could imagine.

Damage Ctrl comes up to Mia Yim in the back and teases violence, but the OC comes in with the beer for the celebration.

Matt Riddle vs. Chad Gable

Otis is here with Gable. They grapple to start until Gable dragon screw leg whips him out of the corner. Another one slows Riddle down again but he’s back up with a kick to the chest. Riddle goes up top but Otis messes with the steps for a distraction, allowing Gable to grab a release German superplex to drop them both.

We take a break and come back with Riddle striking away, including a jumping knee to the face. There’s an overhead belly to belly into the running backsplash sets up a powerbomb for two on Gable. A triangle choke is broken up so Riddle grabs a hanging DDT instead. Gable is back up with a backslide and puts his feet on the rope, with Otis holding on, for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C+. This was mostly good stuff, though the ending was kind of weird to see. Riddle has fallen a pretty long way in the last few months, as the lack of Randy Orton is hurting him a lot. The Alpha Academy winning a match, even by cheating, feels weird and I’m not sure what the point is in having them beat Riddle. We’ll get a rematch I’m sure but dang that was out of nowhere.

JBL and Baron Corbin are winning at poker and don’t like being offered Kentucky bourbon. Akira Tozawa sits down to gamble, despite not knowing any of the rules. JBL: “Your money is good here!”

It’s time for MizTV, with Miz as the guest and Byron Saxton asking the questions. Miz has a statement about the Dexter Lumis situation: he regrets paying Lumis, but all he wanted was empathy. Miz has been in WWE for 18 years and he has worked so hard without ever getting so much as a cheer. All he wanted was for people to care about him, but here is Johnny Gargano to cut him off. Gargano says Miz wasn’t depressed because Maryse posted pictures of their vacation in Cabo over the weekend.

Miz says he was depressed in his hotel room but Gargano mocks Miz’s sweater (Miz: “IT’S A CARDIGAN!”) and calls him Mr. Rogers. Miz is ready to move on but Gargano wants Miz to pay Lumis what he is owed. It’s cool though because Gargano has an idea: in two weeks, it’s Miz vs. Lumis and if Lumis wins, he gets Miz’s money and a contract. Miz says beating Lumis will be AWESOME. Then a cameraman pops up and it’s Lumis, who steals Miz’s sweater as Miz runs to the back. This was rather bad, but Miz did make the cardigan work.

Earlier today, Dominik Mysterio mocked Shelton Benjamin, who threatened him with a beating. Damian Priest got in between them and we get Dominik vs. Benjamin later tonight.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Shelton Benjamin

Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley are here too. Dominik bails to the floor to start but a Judgment Day distraction lets him get in a few cheap shots. Benjamin punches him down without much effort and Dominik bails to the floor again. Back in and Dominik tries a 619 but gets caught in a powerslam. A t-bone suplex has Dominik on the floor for the third time so Benjamin finally goes after him. The ankle lock goes on back inside but Benjamin gets rolled into the corner. Dominik goes straight up and hits a frog splash for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a great match, but Dominik as the pest is a much better use of him going forward. He isn’t going to get anywhere based on his own abilities so having him do something like this is the right way to go. Not a terrible match and I can go for more Shelton, even though he is out there as a jobber.

Austin Theory says he didn’t fail last week because now he feels more alive than he ever did. That briefcase was an anchor around him but he was trying to make the most of an opportunity. Cue Dolph Ziggler to say it was the worst cash in ever but Theory doesn’t want to hear it from him. This is Theory’s time, but Ziggler doesn’t seem to buy it.

Video on WarGames.

Dana Brooke vs. Iyo Sky

The rest of Damage Ctrl is here with Sky and we get an inset promo from Brooke, who promises to never give up. Sky wastes no time in kicking her down and hitting a springboard missile dropkick. Brooke fights up but gets dropped again, allowing Sky to pose near the ropes. Back up and Brooke grabs a DDT but the handspring elbow is countered into a release German suplex. Running knees in the corner sets up Over The Moonsault for the pin on Brooke at 3:13.

Rating: C. Commentary was getting to the point with Brooke here: she’s trying, but at some point you have to win something. That has haunted her throughout most of her career, as she doesn’t really do anything outside of stuff like the 24/7 Title. Sky wasn’t going to lose here and Brooke tried, but she was in over her head.

Post match Mia Yim comes out to join Team Belair in WarGames.

Tozawa has cleaned out JBL and Baron Corbin. The villains try to cheat but Tozawa doesn’t fall for it.

Austin Theory vs. Dolph Ziggler

Theory takes him down to start and chokes on the rope, allowing for some trash talk. Back up and Ziggler charges into an elbow for two but he slips over Theory in the corner. Theory blasts him with a clothesline and sends Ziggler shoulder first into the post though and we take a break.

We come back with Ziggler hitting the running DDT but getting caught in a torture rack powerbomb for two. A Town Down is reversed into a sleeper but Theory slips out as well. The Fameasser gives Ziggler two, only to have Theory send him shoulder first into the post. Ziggler reverses another whip though and hits the Zig Zag for a rather near fall.

Back up and Theory forearms him in the face before hitting A Town Down….for no cover. Instead he hits a second one and stomps away before taking Ziggler outside for a whip into the steps. Theory rams him into the announcers’ table enough times to draw a rather violent DQ at 14:33.

Rating: C+. This started rather slowly but then they got going near the end. That being said, it was more about the Theory angle than the match itself. Theory going all angry is a different direction, but having it be against Dolph Ziggler isn’t exactly helping him. Cut a few minutes out of the beginning and it’s better, but Ziggler has a firm ceiling these days and that was on display here.

Post match Theory destroys Ziggler and sends him over the barricade to keep up the beating until agents break it up.

Rhea Ripley joins Team Damage Ctrl.

Baron Corbin vs. Akira Tozawa

JBL is here with Corbin, who shoulders Tozawa down to start. A chokeslam is countered into a DDT and a missile dropkick gets one on Corbin. They head outside with Corbin sending him into the steps, only for Tozawa to come back with a top rope headbutt to a standing Corbin back inside. Tozawa tries it again but dives into End of Days for the pin at 3:31.

Rating: D+. I have no idea what they were going for with the angle and the match, as Tozawa beat Corbin in poker and then had him in trouble here. The action was ok, but then you realize that it’s Tozawa giving Corbin a run for his money. Of all the people on the roster for something like this, Tozawa? How long has it been since he meant anything anywhere? Really not seeing what they were trying to do here but it didn’t quite work.

We look back at Austin Theory snapping.

Team Belair is ready for a singles match next week against Team Damage Ctrl. Damage Ctrl is all about games but Team Belair is all about war.

The Alpha Academy comes in to brag about their win but Seth Rollins dances by while singing shush. Ok then.

Finn Balor accepts AJ Styles’ Survivor Series challenge. For tonight though, he’s winning the US Title.

US Title: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Rollins is defending and gets taken down into an early chinlock. With that broken up, Rollins sends him outside for a heck of a dive as we take a break. Back with Balor knocking Rollins into the corner and mocking the conducting the fans motion. The abdominal stretch goes on but Rollins slips out and slugs away. Balor gets knocked outside for a suicide dive into the barricade but the Sling Blade is cut off back inside. Rollins kicks him down and hits a frog splash for two as we take another break.

We come back again with Rollins swinging Balor into the barricade but Balor hits a running dropkick to send him into the barricade as well. Back in and Rollins grabs a sitout powerbomb for two but Balor knocks him down again. Rollins catches him on top with a superplex but the Falcon Arrow is countered into 1916, leaving Balor rather frustrated. The Pedigree and Buckle Bomb are blocked and Rollins is right back with the Falcon Arrow for two.

The Stomp is loaded up but here is the Judgment Day for a distraction. Balor sweeps the legs and hits the jumping double stomp but here is the OC to take out Judgment Day. The shotgun dropkick sends Rollins into the corner, only to have AJ Styles break up the Coup de Grace. Rollins hits the Stomp to retain at 20:02.

Rating: B. This was the best part of the show as you had two guys who know how to work that kind of a match. At the same time, the ending with that much chaos and the referee being fine with the whole thing was a bit much to take. It does move us towards Styles vs. Balor at Survivor Series, but they went a few steps too far with the interference. Anyway, good match, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

Post match Austin Theory runs in to beat up Rollins. The beatdown is on with Theory hitting a belt shot to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. What was this show? This felt like they dipped into the Vince McMahon playbook for some reason, with a bunch of weird choices and only a handful of decent matches. They did advance Survivor Series a bit and the show wasn’t a disaster, but it was one of the least interesting shows since McMahon left. Hopefully this is just a misfire, as it felt like a major step backwards after weeks of much better stuff.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Mustafa Ali – Hurt Lock
Mia Yim b. Tamina – Eat Defeat
Chad Gable b. Matt Riddle – Backslide with feet on the ropes
Dominik Mysterio b. Shelton Benjamin – Frog splash
Iyo Sky b. Dana Brooke – Over The Moonsault
Dolph Ziggler b. Austin Theory via DQ when Theory attacked Ziggler on the floor
Baron Corbin b. Akira Tozawa – End of Days
Seth Rollins b. Finn Balor – Stomp

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 7, 2022
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena At City Plaza, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re done with Crown Jewel and now it is time to get ready for Survivor Series. There weren’t many developments this weekend but we get to find out where some of these stories are going on the way to WarGames. I’m curious to see who is going inside the cage and maybe we find some of that out this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

Here are the Usos and Solo Sikoa to get things going. We see a photo of the Bloodline celebrating at the end of Crown Jewel with the Usos promising to beat New Day for the titles on Smackdown. Cue New Day to interrupt with Xavier Woods promising to get the titles back on Friday. The Usos praise New Day’s history and there’s nothing wrong with being the #2s.

Woods calls out the Usos for being coddled in a famous wrestling family, which sends Jey into a rant about the pressure that comes with being part of a legendary family. Woods rants right back about what it means to have pressure, because New Day knows what it’s like to sit in catering, wondering if you’re getting fired or building a YouTube channel so someone will notice you at work. Jimmy brings up breaking Woods’ crown before Jey says there would have been no Kofimania without the Usos forfeiting in the gauntlet match (now there’s a call back).

Kofi’s kids wouldn’t be running around the ring at Wrestlemania so stay at home with them on Friday. Kofi talks about how much the record means to New Day and they’re going to fight to keep it like no other. Cue Matt Riddle, with bongos, to interrupt and this better be good. Riddle offers New Day a hit of the bong, which they accept, but Jimmy is the only Bloodline interested. Jey isn’t impressed though so let’s have a six man tag. This was a really good serious segment and while I get that they needed a sixth, Riddle was his usual goofy self and it brought things down a bit.

Matt Riddle/New Day vs. Solo Sikoa/Usos

Riddle suplexes Jimmy to start and it’s time for the Unicorn Stampede. Woods comes in to work on the arm but Jey enziguris Riddle. Sikoa takes Riddle down in a crash to the floor and we take a break. Back with the Usos hitting a double spinebuster on Riddle and Sikoa kicks him in the ribs. Riddle manages a quick suplex and jumping knee to Sikoa, allowing the tag to Woods to pick up the pace. A basement clothesline and splash get two on Sikoa, followed by a high crossbody to put him down again.

There’s the Boom Drop but Trouble In Paradise is broken up. New Day gets taken outside for some rammings into the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Sikoa countering a sunset flip with a legdrop but he runs into a raised boot in the corner. A tornado DDT gets Kofi out of trouble and it’s a double tag to Jey and Riddle.

House is cleaned with a pair of Brotons and a powerbomb to Jimmy. Jey is back up with a pop up neckbreaker for two on Riddle, who pulls him into a triangle choke. Jimmy makes the save with a Superfly Splash for two, with Kofi breaking it up as well. Kofi’s dive to the floor is up off but Riddle is back up with a Floating Bro to Sikoa on the floor.

Jimmy dives onto Riddle and knocks the top of the announcers’ table off in the process. Back in and Riddle catches Jimmy with a kick, setting up the hanging DDT. Sikoa tags himself in as Riddle hits the RKO on Jimmy, leaving Sikoa to come in for a Spinning Solo and the pin on Riddle at 20:52.

Rating: B+. This got its time and picked up a lot of steam along the way. By the end, it was all about the chaos and for a TV match, I was rather impressed. The Usos and New Day are always worth watching, but there is something nice about not having the challengers pin the champions to set up their title match. Sikoa gets a big win over a former champion and it worked out very well. Heck of a match.

Long video on Crown Jewel.

Here is JBL to mock Pennsylvania for losing the World Series to a team from Texas before interrupting Baron Corbin.

Baron Corbin vs. Cedric Alexander

For some reason and JBL is on commentary. Corbin knocks Alexander around without much trouble and more hard shots have him down again. Alexander manages a Neuralizer to send him to the floor but Corbin is right back in with the End of Days for the pin at 2:18. Simple and effective.

Here is Seth Rollins for the United States Title Open Challenge. Cue the Judgment Day and Rollins is more than a bit confused. Finn Balor gets in the ring to say that Rollins once cost him gold so now he is costing Rollins gold. Cue the OC to interrupt for the staredown, with Rollins slipping away. Styles says this isn’t over because there is always the Rhea Ripley Problem. They still haven’t found anyone, but someone found the OC. We hear a fight on the floor and….Mia Yim is back! Ripley is down and the big beatdown is on with the OC (and/with Yim) standing tall.

Seth Rollins says we’ll still have the Open Challenge.

Elias vs. Otis

Chad Gable is here with Otis. Elias’ shoulder doesn’t work to start and Otis knocks him hard into the corner. An attempt at a slam doesn’t work for Elias but he avoids a charge into the post. Back to back jumping knees to the face drop Otis but Elias has to knock Gable down. Otis uses the distraction to hit the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin at 2:59.

Judgment Day isn’t worried about Mia Yim because she solves NOTHING. The team goes to leave when Rhea Ripley runs into Bianca Belair for some sneering.

Here are Bianca Belair, Asuka and Alexa Bliss for a chat, but first we see a clip of the three of them almost getting into a fight with Damage Ctrl in the parking lot earlier today. They aren’t impressed but here is Damage Ctrl to interrupt. Dakota Kai said Bianca Belair still hasn’t beaten Bayley but Asuka rants in Japanese.

Sky yells right back and the argument is on. Sky: “B****!” The big fight is on until Bianca says this is WAR, so this is ending at WARGAMES. Cue Nikki Cross to jump Belair form behind and the big brawl is back on. Damage Ctrl and Cross beat them down, with Bayley saying she’ll see Bianca at WarGames.

Austin Theory vs. Shelton Benjamin

This is the result of Theory not wanting Benjamin’s advice earlier today. Feeling out process to start with Benjamin blocking a ram into the corner. Theory punches him down but gets pulled into the ankle lock. That’s broken up so Benjamin snaps off a German suplex for two. Back up and a rake to the eyes slows Benjamin down, setting up A Town Down for the pin at 2:43.

Here is Miz for a chat before his match with Johnny Gargano. Miz rants about how Gargano’s video about his relationship with Dexter Lumis is false. He can’t believe that anyone would believe those sources, but his own father believes Gargano! Miz has been in discussions for a film version of the REAL story but here is Gargano to interrupt. Before the match, Gargano needs to tell the truth and blow the whistle on himself.

When he did his interview last week, he wanted Miz to tell the truth and actually pay Dexter Lumis, but that didn’t happen. Therefore, he needed some extra evidence and he did something a little deceitful to get it. Gargano hired someone to do it, and it turns out that the producer Miz met with over the movie was a private investigator….and she had a hidden camera on. Miz looks terrified as Gargano pulls out a universal remote to run the Titantron, which shows Miz telling the investigator that everything Gargano said is true.

Miz quit paying because Lumis went nuts, but since it went under, why should Lumis be paid? If nothing else, Lumis should be paying him since he wasn’t doing anything three months ago. Miz looks near tears as we’re ready to go. I’ve liked the feud and story but this was bad even for a corny wrestling angle.

Johnny Gargano vs. Miz

Gargano starts fast by dropkicking him to the floor and hitting the running kick from the apron. Some chops on the floor has Miz in trouble and Gargano holds the ropes to avoid a dropkick back inside. Gargano goes after the arm but Miz is back with a kick to the ribs to slow him down. A running kick to the chest gives Miz two and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and Gargano hits what might be a low blow, setting up a jumping neckbreaker for two. A superkick knocks Miz off the apron and there’s the slingshot dive to drop him again. Miz is fine enough to drop him over the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Gargano hitting a Backstabber out of the corner for a double knockdown. Gargano faceplants him for two but Miz left hands him on the apron.

The slingshot spear gives Gargano two but Miz’s short DDT gets the same. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered into a rollup for two, followed by a kick to the head for two more. There’s a suicide dive to send Miz into the announcers’ table but Miz is pulled underneath the ring. He comes out with a turnbuckle rod and tells the referee to check, allowing Miz to hit Gargano with a turnbuckle rod for the pin at 15:50.

Rating: B-. This was a very Gargano style match with all of his usual stuff, plus a screwy ending. It was a match that you knew was coming after last week, but if they’re having the long form match here, I’m not sure how much more need there is for them to fight again. Lumis is probably going to be back soon and that will get Miz’s focus, leaving Gargano without anything to do at the moment. For now though, it was a pretty action heavy match, but the angle before it was rough.

Post match Lumis comes out to chair Miz down and have a glaring seat.

Damage Ctrl recruits Nikki Ash for WarGames. She laughs and says it’s time to play, which seems to be a yes.

24/7 Title: Dana Brooke vs. Nikki Cross

Dana is defending and Damage Ctrl is here, with Bayley on commentary. Nikki wastes no time in taking her down for a cross arm choke before ramming her face first into the mat. The Purge gives Nikki the pin and the title at 2:01. Total squash.

Post break, Damage Ctrl and Cross are walking through the back, where Nikki throws the 24/7 Title in the trash. Please be the end of the thing.

The OC officially welcomes Mia Yim to the team and she is ready to pick up the tab tonight. Then she’ll deal with Rhea Ripley.

Here is Seth Rollins to issue the open challenge again. First though, he brings up ten years of Rollins in WWE, earning himself a nice chant. With that out of the way, he’ll need an opponent, so here is Mustafa Ali on the Titantron. Bobby Lashley jumps him from behind, talks about wanting revenge on Seth, beats up Ali for trying to accept the challenge again, and then promises to take the title back. It was going to be one of them and the two attacking each other was clever.

US Title: Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley

Rollins is defending and gets clotheslined over the top before the bell. The brawl is on with Rollins cutting off the spear through the barricade with a superkick. Lashley is back up to hammer away and Rollins gets posted hard. There’s the spinebuster through the announcers’ table and Rollins is left laying with no match.

Post match Lashley leaves…..and here is Austin Theory with the briefcase? Post break we have a cash in and I guess this is legal.

US Title: Seth Rollins vs. Austin Theory

Theory is challenging and hits Rollins in the face for two. Rollins is back with an attempt at a Pedigree but gets reversed into one of his own for two. Theory gets knocked outside but rolls back in for a powerbomb and a near fall but the Stomp is countered into A Town Down….and Bobby Lashley pulls the referee out at two. After yelling at Lashley that he ruined it, Theory gets wrecked and posted hard a few times. The Hurt Lock leaves Theory out cold on the floor and Lashley leaves. Theory beats the count back in but gets Stomped to retain Rollins’ title at 4:58.

Rating: C. The match was immaterial as it was a few traded sequences and then Lashley doing his thing. What matters here is that the briefcase is gone and that is great to see. Theory wasn’t going to become the World Champion and it would have been a waste of time seeing him try to cash in on Reigns. Going after the US Title is a smart way to go, though him losing the match was a bit of a surprise. As a bonus, this opens up a new direction for the briefcase, so maybe it can get more interesting for once.

Overall Rating: B. This show was a mixture of good action and good structure. There were some rather good matches, with that opener getting pretty near excellent. What made this show work better though as a mixture of long and short form stuff. It kept the show moving and that is how to prevent the normal boring feeling setting in. Rather nice show here and the road to Survivor Series begins with a hot start.

Results
Usos/Solo Sikoa b. Matt Riddle/New Day – Spinning Solo to Riddle
Baron Corbin b. Cedric Alexander – End Of Days
Otis b. Elias – World’s Strongest Slam
Austin Theory b. Shelton Benjamin – A Town Down
Miz b. Johnny Gargano – Turnbuckle rod to the head
Nikki Cross b. Dana Brooke – Purge
Seth Rollins b. Austin Theory – Stomp

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

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

AND

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

Crown Jewel 2022
Date: November 5, 2022
Location: Mrsool Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re back in Saudi Arabia and in this case that means we are going to be seeing Logan Paul getting a shot at Roman Reigns. It’s a straight up celebrity match and the question is how well Paul can do in the situation. This show feels like a regular pay per view which happens to be taking place in Saudi Arabia so hopefully they can make that work. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features Titus O’Neil talking about how this is the countdown to impossible. The idea is tied into Logan Paul needing to hit that one lucky shot to beat Roman Reigns, which is the entirety of the main event build.

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

Lesnar came back a few weeks ago and randomly attacked Lashley to cost him the US Title, setting up the big showdown. Lashley goes after him on the floor before the bell and takes out the leg. They go inside for the opening bell, then another spear drops Lesnar inside. The spear sends Lesnar through the barricade on the floor and a fourth spear gives Lashley two back inside as we’re a minute in. The Hurt Lock is countered into a German suplex and the F5 gets two.

Lashley knocks him outside again as the knee is still bothering Lesnar. The posting rocks Lesnar and the spinebuster plants him back inside. The fans are not pleased with Lashley before and after he grabs the Hurt Lock, with Lesnar having to power back up (Referee: “Do you give up?” Lesnar: “Shut up!”). Lesnar kicks off the buckle to take it to the mat…and pins Lashley at 5:59 without breaking the hold.

Rating: C+. I’m never sure how to rate something like this as it was a hard hitting fight, but they kept doing the same stuff over and over until one of them lost. Lashley getting pinned is certainly a choice, though I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have him lose when Lesnar isn’t even a full time guy. The ending almost has to set up a rematch, likely at Survivor Series, but dang it’s weird to see Lashley losing again.

Post match Lashley Hurt Locks him again and Lesnar is out.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Damage Ctrl vs. Asuka/Alexa Bliss

Damage Ctrl (minus Bayley) is challenging after losing the titles this week on Raw. Before the match, Alexa and Asuka talk about how they know they’ll win, but the Bray Wyatt symbol pops up to scare Bliss a bit. Bliss and Kai lock up to start with Kai working on the arm. A quick trip puts Kai down so she tries the same thing on Bliss, only to have Bliss stand on her back.

Sky comes in and gets shouldered down by Asuka, only to slip out of a double suplex. Stereo hip attacks put Damage Ctrl on the floor but they come back in to take out Asuka’s knee. Some shots to said knee keep Asuka in trouble but she’s fine enough to hit a bulldog/clothesline combination. The hot tag brings in Bliss to clean house, including a tornado DDT and Code Red for two on Sky.

Asuka breaks up a double superplex and missile dropkicks Kai for two. Kai kicks Bliss down for two more and seems to go a bit bonkers, allowing Bliss to drop her as well. Twisted Bliss hits knees though and Sky’s Asai moonsault misses Asuka. Back in and the DDT plants Kai so Bliss can go up. The referee is with Asuka and Sky though, meaning Nikki Cross can run in and take out Bliss. The confused Kai gets the pin and the titles at 12:49.

Rating: C+. So Cross gets to cause more chaos by putting us right back to the norm that we had been in before this week’s Raw. Damage Ctrl getting the titles back is a bit weird, but hopefully they are moving on to Bliss vs. Cross instead of Damage Ctrl vs. Bliss/Belair/Asuka. The match got some time but wasn’t as fun as the Raw main event, which is a bit of a strange path.

Logan and Jake Paul arrive.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross. McIntyre is tired of Scarlett costing him matches, including their Extreme Rules strap match, so now they’re in a cage to keep her out.

Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross

In a cage with Scarlett at ringside. Kross goes to the throat to start so they both go to the top rope, with McIntyre getting crotched. Some rams into the cage knock McIntyre silly and it’s time to yell at him in the corner. That’s enough for McIntyre to come back with a clothesline into the overhead belly to belly. Now it’s Kross going into the cage, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two.

They go up top with McIntyre getting crotched but being fine enough to lift himself up for the head grab superplex. The Claymore is loaded up but Kross cuts it off with a running knee to the face. Kross grabs the Krossjacket and the Doomsday Saito, only to miss the Krosshammer. McIntyre hits a quick Futureshock, which is enough to draw up Scarlett for a distraction.

Now the Krosshammer can connect so Kross goes up, only to be superplexed back down in the big crash. McIntyre goes for the door and Scarlett maces him, but Kross still can’t get out. Kross gets ankle locked back inside and hit with a headbutt but Scarlett locks the cage and takes the key. McIntyre starts climbing and gets to the floor for the win at 13:01 as Kross goes through the door a second later.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure why this feud gets the bad reputation they’ve had so far as I’ve liked it well enough. McIntyre gets a win to give him some momentum back and it wouldn’t surprise me to see this run back in a rubber match of some kind. Scarlett’s interference only played into this so much and that’s nice to see for a change. Kross lost but didn’t get pinned too so this was a good way to save his face while giving McIntyre a big win.

The Bloodline arrives and Roman Reigns won’t talk about the idea of one lucky punch. Paul Heyman mocks the idea too, even with Shawn Michaels coaching Logan Paul about looking for the opening.

Judgment Day vs. OC

Balor sends Anderson into the corner to start but gets kicked in the ribs for his efforts. Priest comes in and gets to face Gallows, who unloads on him with shots to the face in the corner. It’s off to Styles, who gets stomped down by Priest, meaning Dominik is now willing to come in. That’s fine with Styles, who plants him with a backbreaker so the OC can take over again. Balor gets dragged in as everything breaks down, with Priest superkicking Anderson on the floor.

Back in and Anderson gets beaten down, including a backbreaker/legdrop combo for two. Anderson fights out of a double arm crank but can’t quite get over for the tag. The jumping neckbreaker gets Anderson out of trouble but Balor pulls Styles to the floor in a smart move. As you might expect, Anderson is able to bring in gallows a few seconds later so house can be cleaned again. A pumphandle slam drops Dominik but Priest breaks up the Magic Killer. Styles and Balor come in to slug it out until Styles has to stop for a faceplant on Priest.

The Calf Crusher is countered into a Figure Four but Anderson makes the save this time. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of secondary finishers until Balor Nightmare On Helms Streets Styles for two. Everyone goes up and Styles superplexes Balor as Gallows and Priest hit stereo electric chairs to leave all six down. It’s Styles up first but Rhea Ripley breaks up the Phenomenal Forearm (Cole: “Somebody’s gotta kick her a**!”). The Coup de Grace gives Balor the pin at 13:56.

Rating: C+. Remember the other matches these teams have had where Ripley cost the OC the match? This was the latest one in the series as the OC still needs to get someone to deal with her. The match was good enough because of the talent involved, but it was more of what we have seen for a few weeks now.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Omos. They’re both monsters and now those monsters are clashing.

Omos vs. Braun Strowman

No MVP here with Omos. They do the big staredown to start and then the test of strength, with Omos powering him down. A running boot to the face sends Strowman outside but he comes back in with some right hands. Omos slams him down without much trouble and then does it again for an arrogant two. Strowman fights back and knocks him outside, only to have the Express cut off. Back in and the chokebomb is blocked, setting up the running powerslam to give Strowman the pin at 7:23.

Rating: C. This is in the category of “it was what it was”. You knew what you were going to get here and Omos got to look good before falling to the bigger star. Strowman is freshly back after his long hiatus so he needed the win more than Omos did here. Some of the power stuff looked good but there is only so much you can get out of this kind of a match.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Brawling Brutes

The Usos are defending and Jey might have a broke wrist. Butch rolls Jimmy up for two so the champs try to leave, only to have Butch dive off the apron onto both of them. Jimmy gets in a shot on Butch though and the champs take over. The running Umaga attack misses though and Butch is right back with a tornado DDT to drop Jimmy. It’s off to Holland to clean house with the running corner clotheslines and the ten forearms to Jey’s chest.

The Brutes stomp Jimmy’s arm onto the steps like the Bloodline did to Sheamus, leaving Jey to get caught with a swinging Side Effect for two. Butch goes up, head fakes Jey to avoid a superkick, and drops Jey again. Everything breaks down and a superkick to Dunne looks to set up the Superfly Splash. That’s pulled into the triangle choke with Dunne bending the fingers back.

Jimmy makes the blind tag to Jey though and it’s a superkick into the double Superfly Splash for two, with Butch making the save. Jey’s bad hand is bent around and it’s Holland with White Noise for a very near fall. The Brutes send Jimmy over the barricade and a kick to the head into Northern Grit gets two more as Jimmy dives back in for the save. Holland is sent outside and it’s a super 1D to retain the titles at 10:35.

Rating: B-. They had some good action here but announcing the New Day title match for next week’s Smackdown killed off any interest that they might have had here. I’m curious about Jey’s wrist, which could be a problem in the future, but for now it added some drama to a match that didn’t have much coming in. The Brutes did well, but they had no chance to win here and it was pretty clear from the start.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Bayley

Belair is defending in a Last Woman Standing match. Some slams have Bayley in trouble early so she grabs a kendo stick. The running swing misses and the stick falls to the floor, where it lands on the barricade. Now it’s a chair being brought in, which is dropkicked into Bayley’s face. Now it’s a ladder being slid inside but Belair knocks her outside again. Belair moves the steps around to the side of the ring but gets pulled down by the hair.

Bayley sits her in a chair and hits a clothesline off the barricade for nowhere near ten. The table is pulled out but Belair fights out and suplexes her on the ramp instead. Bayley seems to tweak her ankle, only to be goldbricking to hit Belair in the face. Back in and Bayley gets in a chair shot, only to have the chair thrown at her for a nasty crash. Bayley goes with the steps and pins Belair behind them, only to have Belair lift them up and knock Bayley down for eight.

They fight up the ramp with Belair nearly breaking the kendo stick over her, only to get Bayley to Bellied for nine. With that not working, Bayley gets creative by throwing Belair inside an anvil case. Belair fights out, gets her hair caught in the case by mistake (OUCH) and then rolls the case at Bayley. The KOD is countered into a Crossface to put Belair in trouble. Bayley goes off and finds a golf cart, which she drives at Belair, albeit nicely enough to stop before actually making contact.

Belair kicks her in the face and puts Bayley on top of the cart before driving it down to ringside. Bayley gets tossed off the top of the cart and ONTO (not through) the table for a scary landing. A powerbomb through the table gets nine so Belair slams her on some chairs. The 450 only hits chairs though and Bayley hammers away. Belair is right back with a KOD onto an open chair (with Bayley’s knee landing badly). It’s time to get creative though as Belair puts her in the ladder and slides it under the buckle so Bayley can’t make it to her feet at 20:44.

Rating: B. The violence was good, but there were some spots here that were probably a lot better on paper than in execution. At the same time, I’m not big on the “intelligent” endings that you see here, as they go from violent to someone being more clever when they can’t put the other one away. On top of that, Belair needs a new opponent now and I’m not entirely sure who that is, unless Ripley gets her title shot out of nowhere.

Here is Bray Wyatt for a chat. Wyatt talks about how he made a monster of himself and wore his mask with pride. Bray found himself on an island of loneliness as the monster destroyed him. There he sat alone, with no one to love him and nowhere to run. Fans: “WE LOVE YOU!” Bray says no one loves him but now he needs to write the ending to his story.

Then Uncle Howdy pops up on screen, with Bray’s voice talking about why someone would wear a mask. Howdy asks if the people would still love Bray if they knew the real one. Bray will go too far and it will feel so good, so don’t take the mask off. Tell him he’s wrong. This was in fact a Wyatt appearance and it did in fact advance pretty much nothing.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul. Reigns is a monster who hasn’t lost in years, but Paul didn’t get knocked out in a fight in another sport and has a lot of Youtube followers so that makes it interesting.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul

Reigns, with Paul Heyman (for the sake of clarity, any mentions of “Paul” will mean Logan), is defending and powers Paul into the corner to start. Paul wrestles him down a few times and Reigns actually needs a breather on the floor. Back in and Paul tells him to stop running so Reigns hits an elbow to the face. Some rights and lefts to the ribs set up a hiptoss to Reigns, followed by a running clothesline to the floor. A diving clothesline off the barricade takes Reigns down again and it’s a Buckshot Lariat for two back inside.

Paul’s springboard is knocked out of the air and Heyman is right there with the big rah rah speech. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by the corner clotheslines. The jumping clothesline gives Reigns two and he grabs a one armed camel clutch. Paul fights up and hits a gutwrench suplex for a much needed double knockdown. A Blockbuster gives Paul two and he hits his own Superman Punch (which looked a lot more like a Shawn Michaels flying forearm) into a high crossbody.

The standing moonsault gets two and Heyman is stunned. Sweet Chin Music (complete with Tuning Up The Band) is countered into a release Rock Bottom for two. The Superman Punch is countered with a shot to the ribs and the big right hand, followed by the Superman Punch to give Paul two. They head outside with Logan putting him on the announcers’ table. Paul talks to his friends in the front row, with one of them giving him a camera as Paul goes up top.

The splash through the table (with camera in hand) connects but here are the Usos to beat up Paul’s friends. Cue Logan’s brother Jake (also Paul) to take the Usos out with a right hand each. Logan hits a frog splash for two and here is Solo Sikoa to go after Jake. Logan dives onto the Usos and goes back inside, where Reigns hits the Superman Punch. The spear retains the title at 24:45.

Rating: B+. They went too far with the run-ins and interferences, but this was GREAT for a celebrity match and I was having a very good time. I didn’t think for a second that they were going to change the title, but that isn’t the point of something like this. The match was all about Paul getting to blow people’s minds and it worked well. Very fun stuff here, as Logan absolutely has the talent to be a special attraction around here. This was highly entertaining (Jake Paul easily dispatching the Tag Team Champions aside) and far better than I would have expected.

The Bloodline celebrates for a long time, with Reigns saying he doesn’t want to see Logan again.

Overall Rating: B. This was a bit of a weird show as it is a total pit stop, with everything pretty much being how it was before this week’s Raw. The main event was a blast and there was some other good stuff, but it isn’t the place to look for anything actually happening. Survivor Series is coming and the card needs to be set, but for now we had an entertaining show with some good action, which is more than I would have bet on.

Results
Brock Lesnar b. Bobby Lashley – Rollup
Damage Ctrl b. Asuka/Alexa Bliss – Swinging neckbreaker from Nikki Cross
Drew McIntyre b. Karrion Kross – McIntyre escaped the cage
Judgment Day b. OC – Coup de Grace to Styles
Braun Strowman b. Omos – Running powerslam
Usos b. Brawling Brutes – Super 1D to Holland
Bianca Belair b. Bayley when Bayley could not answer the ten count
Roman Reigns b. Logan Paul – Spear

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

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

AND

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