Monday Night Raw
Date: September 9, 2019
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re in the World’s Most Famous Arena this week for the first of two shows. They’re also the last two shows before Clash of Champions, which is looking like quite the lame duck show given the Bray Wyatt match being all but confirmed for October. Oh and Steve Austin is here too. Let’s get to it.

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

We’re not wasting time this week as here’s Austin to open the show for some beer consuming. Before Austin gets to the point, we take a trip down memory lane and hear about some of his great moments in MSG, including Survivor Series vs. Bret Hart, the first Stunner to Vince and Summerslam vs. Undertaker, complete with Austin being knocked silly. With that out of the way, it’s time to get down to the contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins.

Strowman comes out first and stares Austin down, drawing a heck of an AUSTIN chant. Strowman offers a handshake but Austin introduces Rollins instead, with some extra bass in his voice. Rollins wants to sign but first has to talk about how awesome it is to be in the Garden with Austin. See, Strowman thinks there is something going on here and Austin might have it in for him. Rollins isn’t sure if that’s the case or not but gets in on the WHATs for a bonus.

Austin says we need to sign the contract so Rollins says he’ll win on Sunday and then signs. Strowman says he respects Austin but a rattlesnake is still a rattlesnake. He won’t turn his back on Rollins because he loves being Tag Team Champions. He’ll love being Universal Champion more though and promises to give Rollins these hands. Strowman signs….and here’s the OC to interrupt.

Styles mocks a bunch of Austin catchphrases and threatens Steve a bit, with Styles not exactly buying it. AJ rips on New York a bit so Austin tells him to put some bass in his voice. The OC gets in the ring with AJ asking how Strowman got a title match so easily and calls Austin old. Austin moves the table and it’s Strowman and Rollins fighting the OC as Austin looks on. AJ dodges the Stomp and sends Rollins outside, only to turn into the Stunner to blow the roof off the place.

AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander

Non-title and Cedric starts fast as AJ is banged up. AJ gets sent into the barricade early on and Alexander’s anklescissors has him in more trouble. A pair of dropkicks gets two and the Neuralizer puts AJ on the floor for the big flip dive. Back in and AJ pulls on the bad arm to take over as we go to a break. We come back with Cedric fighting out of a chinlock and snapping off the Michinoku Driver for two. An enziguri from the apron looks to set up a springboard but Karl Anderson grabs Alexander for the DQ at 8:26.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining while it lasted but what makes me happier here is how the booking. In theory this sets up Cedric for the US Title shot on Sunday but they did it without having him pin Styles. It’s another case where you can do this kind of thing and protect your champion, which WWE has been doing better lately (for the most part). I could go for more of Cedric vs. Styles, especially in Cedric’s hometown on Sunday.

Post match the beatdown is on but here are the Viking Raiders to go after the OC and lay out AJ.

Sasha Banks and Bayley are glad they’re back together because nothing is stronger than the two of them.

Conor’s Cure video.

Here’s Roman Reigns to talk about battling cancer last year and how he wanted to use his platform to bring awareness to the issues cancer patients face. That’s why he’s been going to a bunch of children’s hospitals and tonight, they’re getting to come out here in front of all of you. Five children come out in homemade wrestling gear, each with their own wrestling name. This is always cool and you can hear the sincerity in Reigns’ voice as he talks about it.

Video on Bayley’s heel turn and a good chunk of the women’s division being dragged into it.

Bayley/Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte/Becky Lynch

Charlotte and Becky are ticked about having to team with each other so they charge to the floor to start the fight in a hurry. Charlotte gets sent into the barricade and it’s Becky getting double teamed before the bell. Charlotte clears the ring with a chair and we take a break before the match starts. Back with the bell ringing (thank you) with Banks bailing instead of having to face Becky. That’s fine with Becky, who sends Bayley into the barricade and hands it off to Charlotte to keep up the beating.

Charlotte fights out of the corner in a hurry and hands it back to Becky for a jumping kick to the face. Banks comes back in and grabs a suplex for two on Becky. They don’t waste time on the hot tag though as Charlotte comes in and kicks Bayley off the apron. The neckbreaker gets two on Banks and the Figure Eight goes on. Becky tries the Disarm-Her on Bayley, who sends Becky into Charlotte for the save. The Meteora off the apron hits Charlotte and we take a break.

Back with Charlotte getting knocked into the corner but getting up a knee to stop a charging Bayley. The hot tag (the sequel) brings in Becky to clean house with the Bexploder to Sasha. Bayley can’t get the Bayley to Belly so Sasha hits the Backstabber instead. Charlotte big boots Sasha and Becky adds a double missile dropkick. The moonsault actually hits Bayley (though Charlotte almost landed in a pushup) but Banks breaks up the cover at two.

Becky gets the Disarm-Her on Banks on the floor with Bayley making the save. That means a baseball slide from Charlotte….but there is no one there so it was just an over enthusiastic dive to the floor. Bayley suplexes Becky into the barricade and German suplexes Charlotte on the floor before taking it back inside. The top rope elbow hits raised knees and Natural Selection pins Bayley at 17:27.

Rating: B. This was an energetic match and the crowd was hot for it throughout. You could tell they were fired up to have the Horsewomen in the same match and we had a good one here. It’s a tag match so the champ getting pinned isn’t the worst thing, though I’m hoping it means Bayley retains on Sunday as there is no need to put the title on Charlotte again just yet.

The OC isn’t happy with what happened but they run into Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler. Roode and Ziggler laugh it off but bring up having mutual enemies. They offer to join forces but want to know where the OC stands. Fists are bumped and we have an alliance for….whatever is planned for later.

Rey Mysterio vs. Gran Metalik

They exchange some quite wrist control to start so Metalik tries a headlock. The battle over a monkey flip ensues and Metalik starts flipping around and counters a hurricanrana. An anklescissors looks to set up the 619 but Metalik ducks and grabs a rollup for two. Metalik sends Rey hard to the floor and nails the step up flip dive.

Back in and a slingshot hilo gets two, followed by the required chinlock. Rey fights up in a hurry and headscissors Metalik into the middle buckle, setting up the top rope seated senton. Metalik hits his rope walk dropkick and a hurricanrana gets two. Code Red gives Rey two more and it’s the springboard frog splash to put Metalik away at 6:25.

Rating: C+. They were energized here and the match worked well as a result. The idea here was to show that Mysterio can still go, which is exactly what he did throughout the match. Metalik got to showcase himself as well and it made for a rather nice, albeit short, match, which is what they were looking for.

The Street Profits hype up the rest of the show, including a ten man tag later tonight. Oh and Angelo Dawkins seems to approve of Sasha with the blue hair.

Video on Erick Rowan destroying Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan on Smackdown.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin

The fans are VERY into Joe. Corbin gets sent outside to start and it’s a headscissors into a dropkick to put Joe outside as well. Back in and Corbin shoulders Ricochet down to some rather warm heat. That’s fine with Ricochet, who kicks Corbin in the face and hits the running shooting star press for two. A hurricanrana off the apron takes Corbin down as well and we take a break.

Back with everyone down and the fans going back and forth on Corbin. Ricochet goes outside to go after Ricochet and sends him face first into the post with a reverse powerbomb. Joe’s suicide elbow drops Corbin and a big boot gives him two with Ricochet making the save. A snap powerslam gives Joe two on Ricochet but the Tower of Doom is broken up.

Corbin turns Ricochet inside out with a clothesline but Joe kicks Corbin in the face for the three way knockdown. Back up and Corbin big boots Ricochet, followed by Deep Six for two with Joe making the save. The Koquina Clutch has Corbin in trouble on the floor, with Joe taking him down. Ricochet hits the shooting star off the apron onto both of them and everyone is down again. Back in and Ricochet has to flip out of the Clutch, setting up the Recoil to Joe. The 630 connects (with Ricochet leaving it a bit short and landing back first onto Joe’s stomach) but Corbin pulls Ricochet to the floor and steals the pin at 14:07.

Rating: B-. So our hopes are now down to Elias and a guy called Shorty G. I’m sure we’ll be getting King Corbin and then have to hear about him for the next several months, because why not try something again and again when it hasn’t worked well in the first place? The match was fast paced, but seeing Corbin win just sucked the life out of the whole thing, as it almost always does when Corbin is involved.

Lacey Evans vs. Natalya

Rematch from last week where Evans knocked Natalya cold. Evans powers her into the corner to start so Natalya hits a slap to the face and some right hands of her own. It’s already time to go after Evans’ leg with a weird leglock making it worse. That’s broken up so it’s an attempted Sharpshooter to send Lacey outside. This time Lacey gets in some shots to the face and wraps the ring skirt across her face.

Back in and a slingshot elbow gets two but the double jump moonsault only hits mat. The discus lariat is countered with a kick to the ribs though and Lacey sends her face first into the mat a few times. That means a napkin to wipe down the face so Natalya kicks her in the ribs. The Sharpshooter makes Lacey tap at 5:05.

Rating: C. Natalya? Winning clean on Raw? Over someone who main evented a pay per view earlier this year? Does WWE really see value in a Natalya vs. Lacey Evans feud? I know Evans has fallen a lot in recent weeks but come on. Anyway it was another energetic match as the Garden is bringing out the work in a lot of people tonight.

Before Raw went on the air, former New York Knick Enes Kanter won the 24/7 Title from R-Truth. He then revealed his Boston Celtic jersey, only to get rolled up to give Truth the title for the fifteenth time.

Clash of Champions rundown.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray is speaking with a Spanish accent so here’s Ramblin Rabbit to say he’s experienced STRANGER DANGER. Wyatt thinks that might be Steve Austin, with the rest of the friends confirming the identity. That’s not something Bray is going to deal with because the Fiend took care of everyone else. Everyone keeps saying stranger danger so Bray shouts for QUIET.

You’re supposed to take turns talking in the Fun House, so Bray fixes Abby’s clock (stuck on 3:16) with a hammer. See, Austin is a rattlesnake and you can’t blame a rattlesnake for doing rattlesnake things. Strangers are just friends you haven’t made yet. Think of Strowman and Rollins tonight. They met the Viking Raiders and now they’re all friends. The problem is that friends won’t help you because the Fiend never forgets. See you in h***!

Cedric Alexander/Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins/Viking Raiders vs. OC/Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Rollins and Ziggler start things off because we can never see these two fight enough. A hiptoss into an armbar has Ziggler in trouble and Erik slams Ivar onto him. Everything breaks down for a wild fight and Strowman chokeslams the heck out of Ziggler. We take an early break and come back with Cedric in trouble in the corner. Cedric gets in a faceplant but AJ takes him down by the bad arm and brings Gallows in. The New York fans, getting AJ, the OC and more in the main event, respond with the Wave.

Roode comes back in to work on an armbar and slams the arm into the mat for two. Cedric fights up and knocks Roode down, allowing the hot tag off to Rollins. House is cleaned, including the springboard knee to Anderson for two. The parade of strikes to the face begins with Rollins superkicking Styles to the floor to clear the ring. It’s off to Strowman for the running shoulders around the ring. The running powerslam gets two on Anderson with Roode and Ziggler shoving Seth into the cover for the save.

Strowman isn’t happy with Rollins and we take a break. Back with Anderson spinebustering Rollins for two but Rollins grabs a Blockbuster for a breather. The buckle bomb to Ziggler allows the tag to Strowman and house is cleaned again. Strowman goes shoulder first into the post (it’s a tradition) and Erik comes in to beat people up and shout a lot. Ivar goes up top and hits the big flip dive onto the pile. That leaves Cedric to Lumbar Check Styles for the pin at 19:35.

Rating: C+. The ending makes sense and is a lot more acceptable than having the champ get pinned in a singles match. It was the big spectacle match to end the show with everyone in there at once so it’s hard to complain about what they went with for a main event. Sometimes it’s better to go with the big match instead of some singles match that we’ve seen before and that’s what they did here.

Post match here’s Austin again and a lot of beer is consumed to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was one of the better shows they’ve done in a very long time with everyone working hard and the feel of the Garden making things seem that much better. The idea here was to make the show feel like it was a big deal and that was what we got. Now the problem is I doubt a lot of people actually watched the show because Monday Night Football premiered, but at least those who watched it had a good time. There was nothing bad and the show flew by with everyone working harder than usual. Very good show and the kind that you almost never get from Raw these days.

Results

Cedric Alexander b. AJ Styles via DQ when Karl Anderson interfered

Becky Lynch/Charlotte b. Bayley/Sasha Banks – Natural Selection to Bayley

Rey Mysterio b. Gran Metalik – Springboard frog splash

Baron Corbin b. Ricochet and Samoa Joe – 630 to Samoa Joe

Natalya b. Lacey Evans – Sharpshooter

Cedric Alexander/Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins/Viking Raiders b. OC/Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Lumbar Check to Styles

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: September 5, 2019
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton

We’re another step closer towards Clash of Champions and that means it’s time to look back at the foot print that the week has left. I’m not sure what to expect this week, though you can probably guess on a few highlights. Maybe that can include some more from the King of the Ring, which isn’t getting the most attention on this show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

Jose knocks him down a few times to start as Renee thinks some liquid courage could get her into the conga line. A clothesline puts Rawley on the floor but he’s right back with a Pounce for two back inside. Rawley hammers away in the corner for two but the chinlock doesn’t last long. Two Stinger Splashes connect so Jose is ready for a third. Rawley charges into a boot and a Backstabber puts him on the floor. A flip dive from the apron and a high crossbody give Jose two but Rawley rams him into the corner again. The Alabama Slam gives Rawley the pin at 6:03.

Rating: C. This was roughly 385% better than I was expecting with both guys working hard in a match that means a grand total of nothing. I understand why both of them are on Main Event as neither has been able to make anything stick on the main shows, but they can still get in a surprising match like this if they are given a chance.

King of the Ring chat. Much better than showing it of course.

From Raw.

Here are Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins to open things up with a contract signing. Rollins knows they can work together to beat Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler but his intentions are to walk out of Clash as a double champ. Strowman says he’ll win but Rollins brings up slaying the beast to win the Universal Title, which is something Strowman doesn’t know about. At Clash, he’ll slay the monster.

Seth signs but here’s the OC to interrupt before Strowman can do the same. AJ explains the double title concept and asks who he’s going to face. He’ll just walk around showing off his title because that’s how you get a title shot around here. AJ wants to know why the Good Brothers aren’t getting their title shot and threatens to slap Cole’s teeth down his throat. Once inside, he rips up the contract that Strowman hadn’t signed, so the table is turned over and the fight is on.

Also from Raw.

Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins vs. OC

Non-title and joined in progress with Rollins kicking at Anderson before it’s off to Gallows for the power. Strowman comes in and kicks Gallows down without much trouble so it’s back to Anderson for an armbar on Rollins. Seth gets sent outside and into the barricade for a knockdown as we take a break.

Back with Rollins hitting an enziguri on Gallows and bringing Strowman in for the house cleaning. The running powerslam is broken up and everything breaks down, with AJ getting on the apron for a distraction. That’s broken up and Rollins grabs a rollup to finish Anderson at 11:43.

Rating: C-. Just a match here with the break in the middle breaking up the momentum. That being said, I’m much happier with the champs winning instead of having them lose so soon into their title reign. I know they’re not going to be long term champions or anything, but there is no need to have them lose here. For once WWE gets that and doesn’t have the champs lose, which is nice for a change.

Post match Strowman does the run around the ring shoulders but hits Rollins by mistake. Cue Roode and Ziggler to help with the beatdown as all five lay out Strowman and Rollins.

We look at Sasha Banks’ explanation, setting up Bayley’s heel turn on Monday Night Raw.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Bayley to open things up with her usual entrance, including the tube men. The fans are rather happy to see her after what she did. Bayley doesn’t understand what people expected because she gives her whole heart out there very time. She wants the fans to feel the way she did when she was a kid and she’s trying to show the younger fans what it means to be loyal. That’s why she had Sasha’s back last night when it got rough.

She’ll prove that when she beats the selfish Charlotte at Clash of Champions, so here’s Charlotte to interrupt. Charlotte admits to being selfish but what you see is what you get. There is no hugging so Bayley should hug the title goodbye. Cue Sasha so Charlotte decks Bayley before fighting Banks. Bayley comes in with the chair though and they both beat Charlotte down.

Clash of Champions rundown.

Dana Brooke vs. Sarah Logan

ROUND SEVEN!!! Even commentary is pointing out how well these two know each other by now. Logan dropkicks her before the bell, likely wanting to get on to anything else as well. Some early stomping has Brooke in more trouble and Logan knees her to the floor without much trouble. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Dana fights back and hammers away, including sending Logan outside. Back in and Dana’s Swanton gets two so Logan pops up and hits a running knee to the back of the head for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: D+. Yeah they certainly can do that match. I mean they’ve done it so many times now that it would be hard for them to not know how to do it. Is this supposed to help develop either of these two? I’m not sure why WWE thinks having them face each other time after time is going to help things but they certainly see some kind of benefit to this booking. It isn’t benefiting the people who watch this show, though I think the half dozen of them or so will get over their issues.

Long video on Roman Reigns’ attacks, including Erick Rowan being revealed as a possible attacker.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to demand an apology from Roman Reigns. The fans rather approve of Bryan, who thinks it means they finally understand him. People think that Bryan is guilty by association but now we know he had nothing to do with it. Bryan has never lied to anyone and he hates liars of all kinds. Therefore he wants and gets Reigns out here but Erick Rowan jumps Reigns from behind. A powerbomb sends Reigns into the post and the claw slam makes it even worse.

Rowan grabs the mic and says Daniel had nothing to do with this. He yells at Bryan for thinking he can control Rowan and offers to fight Bryan right now. Come slap him again like he did last week. Bryan isn’t sure what to do so Rowan talks about being proud of what he did to attack Reigns, which included attacking him with the car. What makes him most proud though is the pain that Reigns is going to feel at Clash of Champions. Rowan throws him outside and hits him with the steps, drawing Bryan over to slap Rowan again. The claw slam puts Bryan through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The recap game was strong this week with a nice balance of Raw and Smackdown. The most important thing to come out of this week though was how the stories crossed over a bit more. If you want to blur the lines between Raw and Smackdown, having the stories go from one show to the other is a good way of doing things. That worked here, though it isn’t going to mean anything in just a few weeks. Still though, fine use of an hour here, assuming you aren’t totally fed up with Logan vs. Brooke.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: August 22, 2019
Location: XCEL Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton

Things are starting to get interesting in WWE again as the King of the Ring Tournament kicked off this week, plus we move closer to finding out who attacked Roman Reigns. The World Title pictures are both getting into some interesting territory as well. Now let’s see how Main Event messes it up. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dana Brooke vs. Sarah Logan

Counting this show, these two have fought on six of the last ten Main Events (and they were in a tag match two weeks before that). Feeling out process to start, because these two don’t know each other well enough yet. Brooke sends her into the corner for the handspring elbow and the cartwheel splash gets two.

Logan is right back with some rolling suplexes for two and goes nuts with right hands near the corner. That’s not cool with Brooke, who is right back with her own forearms in the corner and on the mat. She shouts about hating Logan, which you almost have to after facing her so many times in a row. The Swanton hits knees but Brooke small packages her for the pin at 4:25.

Rating: D+. Normally I would say something like NOW NEVER FIGHT AGAIN but maybe if I don’t, we can get something new. It amazes me how we can’t possibly have anything other than these two fighting more often than not as there are so many people on the roster. It’s not even like the matches are any good, though they did throw something in here with the aggression.

From Smackdown.

King of the Ring First Round: Elias vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. Elias’ music now has his catchphrase at the start and sounds like him singing. Owens doesn’t waste time in clotheslining him out to the floor but Elias walks away before the big flip dive. A whip sends Owens into the barricade but he’s right back with the Cannonball for two. Cue Shane to watch from ringside as we take a break. Back with Elias holding a chinlock and throwing in a rake to the eyes for a bonus. Owens fights up and gets caught with a jumping knee to the face for two.

Rating: C. This story just won’t end. I’m not sure why it needs to keep going, but WWE certainly sees value in having Shane do the same stuff he’s done for months now. I’m sure we’ll see a rematch, possibly all the way at Hell in a Cell for a rematch from two years ago. The match was just waiting around for Shane to reveal the shirt, because that’s the only way it could have ended.

Long recap of Roman Reigns being attacked, along with the involvement of Buddy Murphy, Rowan and Daniel Bryan.

From Smackdown again.

Reigns comes in to see Bryan and Rowan to find out who is under the hood. The hood comes off and it’s….someone who looks like Rowan plus twenty years. Nothing is said to end the show. So I guess Murphy was confused and thought it was the Rowan lookalike, who we’ll have explained to us later? That’s certainly a different way to go with things.

Video on Sasha Banks returning last week.

From Raw.

Natalya has just seen the WWE doctor again but needs to rant about Sasha for interrupting her last week. Cue Banks to jump Natalya again and send her into an anvil case. Banks: “Go to h*** Nattie. And tell your daddy I say hi.” That was a good line. There’s something hilarious about Natalya trying so hard to be serious and just getting destroyed every week because people don’t care about her.

Lucha House Party vs. Eric Young/Robert Roode

Mexico vs. Team Canada with Kalisto as the odd man out. Commentary mentions the history between Roode and Young as Dorado’s flying mare takes Young into the corner. A headscissors sends the Canadians into each other and we take a break. Back with Young punching Dorado in the face for two and Roode breaks up the tag to keep Dorado in the corner.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Young lets go to knock Metalik off the apron. The hot tag goes through a few seconds later and Metalik comes in with a middle rope dropkick for two on Roode. Metalik’s rope walk elbow is nearly botched as he almost loses his balance but Roode is there to shake the ropes and bring him down. The Glorious DDT finishes Metalik at 8:38.

Rating: C-. This was looking like a nice little tag match so I wonder how good the full version was. Main Event has those weird commercials that come in the middle of nowhere and they never feel like they’re supposed to be in there at the moment. Roode and Young would be fine enough to reform as a lower card tag team, but it’s not like that’s likely to happen.

We look at Randy Orton and the Revival injuring Xavier Woods’ leg on Raw.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Randy Orton to open things up. After a clip from last night’s attack on the New Day, Orton talks about Kofi cheating to get out of a fight with him at Summerslam. But Kofi isn’t done yet because Kofi is stupid. Last night was fun but here’s New Day’s music, with Kofi sneaking in from behind with Trouble in Paradise to drop Orton. Kofi grabs a chair and wraps it around Orton’s ankle but here’s the Revival for the save. That’s fine with Kofi, who cleans house with the chair as the villains run.

From Raw.

Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman vs. OC

The OC is defending and has AJ with them. Strowman runs Gallows over to start and it’s off to the taped up Rollins to work on Gallows’ arm. Anderson comes in but a quick tag brings Gallows back in, meaning Rollins has to knee him to the floor. A running kick to the head puts Anderson outside as well but the numbers catch up with him.

That means Gallows gets to drop Rollins ribs first into the barricade a few times and we take an early break. Back with Anderson hitting a spinebuster on Rollins, but Anderson gets knocked off the top. That means the Blockbuster, but Rollins bangs up the ribs again. With the hot tag near, Gallows is smart enough to post Strowman and cut him off. Gallows comes back in as everything breaks down, with Rollins getting to clean house again.

A low bridge puts Gallows on the floor, leaving Anderson to take the Falcon Arrow for two. The numbers catch up with Rollins again as AJ crotches him on top but it’s Strowman back up to run over AJ and Gallows. Back in and Rollins rolls over for the hot tag to Strowman and it’s time to wreck things. Rollins cuts Styles off with the Stomp and Strowman hits the running powerslam on Anderson for the pin and the titles at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Good match here with a surprise ending and that’s not a bad thing. This seems to be the way to set up the Strowman vs. Rollins match next month so odds are we’ll be seeing the OC get the titles back pretty soon. It’s a booking trope that has been done for years and it’s going to work fine enough here.

Overall Rating: D+. Main Event is kind of amazing in a way. Some times it can be a nice recap show with a passable match in there, but at times it goes absolutely nowhere with the same warmed up match that we’ve seen time and time again. Then you have this show, which is somehow a mixture of both. I know the wrestling means nothing but would it really hurt to do a minor story in here? With the 485 writers they have, no one can be asked to do the three minutes of storylines that this show would have? Or just let the wrestlers do what they want? Impossible it seems, and I’m not sure why.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 19, 2019
Location: XCEL Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Renee Young

It’s royalty night with the first round of the King of the Ring tournament kicking off. That means we should be in for some good wrestling, but it could also mean that we’re in for some annoying booking. This would also apply to the likely announcement of NXT moving to USA to fight off the combined forces of Marko Stunt, Orange Cassidy and Sonny Kiss. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Roman Reigns to open things up. After we see a long recap of the whole Whodunit story, here’s Dolph Ziggler before anything can be said.

Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler

Hang on though as Ziggler insists that he is NOT a Twitter warrior like the fans and is worried about what is happening to Reigns. Ziggler goes into a rant about how he was beaten up at Summerslam and even lost to Maryse’s husband last week. Now it should be him, and there’s a superkick to Reigns before the bell.

Reigns takes his time getting up for the bell but manages to knock Ziggler outside. The clothesline off the steps misses though and Ziggler hits the Zig Zag on the floor as we take a break. Back with Reigns backdropping him to the floor and hitting the apron kick. A big boot drops Ziggler again but Ziggler scores with the running DDT for two.

The Fameasser is countered into a powerbomb attempt with Ziggler slipping over the back and hitting the Zig Zag for two more. The superkick (with Cole calling it Sweet Chin Music) is blocked with a Superman Punch. Back up and the spear is countered into the Fameasser for two as it’s the friendly exchange of moves. Ziggler shouts about being better than Reigns and how Roman blew his chance. The Stinger Splash is cut off by the spear to end Ziggler at 10:55.

Rating: C+. Yeah fine. This was pure Ziggler and that’s why the interest wasn’t there. It’s the EXACT SAME THING that Ziggler always does to the completely nothing returns. I know he’s been around for a long time now but what does WWE see in Ziggler from a character standpoint? I don’t remember the last time he did anything different and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Video on Sasha Banks returning last week and attacking Natalya and Becky Lynch.

Becky talks about how everyone is coming for the title, including Banks, who just vanished for four months. It took Becky a few interviews to do what Banks never did: become the top dog in the division. Why did it take Becky to unleash the real Sasha? The real great ones don’t need to be provoked. This is a cat and mouse game and Becky is going to give Sasha something to go home and cry about.

Here’s Jerry Lawler in the ring for the King’s Court. Before he brings out Sasha Banks as his guest, he talks about the King of the Ring and how important it has been to some careers. We see the bracket, with Lawler picking Cedric Alexander and Ricochet on the Raw side….and there go the lights for Bray Wyatt. Lawler is smart enough to bail before the lights go out in full but the Fiend pops up behind Lawler on the stage. Cole: “TURN AROUND KING!” Yes so the Fiend can give him the Mandible Claw, which is exactly what happens.

Vic Joseph has replaced Lawler on commentary.

Ricochet/The Miz vs. Drew McIntyre/Baron Corbin

On the prospect of Baron being King, Renee says “for the love of God, someone please stop Baron Corbin.” Ricochet starts fast with a springboard crossbody to McIntyre as there is some weird red light in the ring. The fans are happy when it goes off as the villains are sent outside. Ricochet adds the big middle rope moonsault and we take a break. Back McIntyre throwing Miz with a suplex and cranking on the arm.

It’s off to Corbin, who is now in a black tank top, which looks at least somewhat less stupid. Corbin does the slide around the post for the clothesline to set up McIntyre’s spinebuster for two. Miz gets in a DDT and brings in Ricochet for the fast paced kicks. A rolling dropkick gets one on Corbin and the running shooting star gets two.

McIntyre is back in to throw people around but the Claymore is broken up. The Skull Crushing Finale hits McIntyre but Corbin chokeslams Miz. Another chokeslam to Ricochet is broken up so Corbin settles for two off the Deep Six instead. Miz pulls Ricochet out of the way of a charge in the corner though and the Recoil finishes Corbin at 10:20.

Rating: C-. Baron Corbin, who main evented pay per views earlier this year, has made his biggest impact by changing his shirt. What does that tell you about the level of interest this guy has? I have a bad feeling he’s going to go far in the tournament though and him winning it wouldn’t be out of the question. It would be out of the realm of something that makes fans happy, but that’s always the case with Corbin.

Booker T. joins us via Skype to talk about the Fiend being a monster. As for King of the Ring, he likes Drew McIntyre. There’s nothing significant to these interviews but they’re a nice little change of pace for two minutes a week.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Braun Strowman

AJ is defending and has the rest of the OC with him. This is fallout from Strowman running in last week to save Seth Rollins from a beatdown last week. AJ slaps him in the face to start and tries a chop block, which has no effect. A chase to the floor doesn’t work well and it’s Strowman backdropping AJ. The OC is knocked off the apron but Strowman charges into a boot in the corner. The Phenomenal Forearm is knocked out of the air but the OC comes in for the DQ at 1:50.

Post match the beatdown is on but Rollins runs in for the save. With the OC cleaned out, Rollins shakes Strowman’s hand, but Strowman takes his time letting go. Eventually he does and nods at Rollins, who doesn’t look sure about this.

Post break Rollins comes up to Strowman in the back and says Strowman should be the next challenger. Strowman sounds intrigued but tonight, Rollins thinks they should become Raw Tag Team Champions. Strowman growls in what seems like an agreement.

King of the Ring First Round: Samoa Joe vs. Cesaro

Joe says that he’ll win and let his actions do the talking. Cesaro says the tournament plays to his strengths so the King of Swing can be the King of the Ring. Cesaro’s running uppercut gets two about five seconds in so Joe elbows him right back. The springboard spinning uppercut gives Cesaro two more but Joe sends him outside and over the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Joe knocking him down again and cranking on the neck. The backsplash misses though and Cesaro kicks him in the face. A suplex gives Cesaro two more and the high crossbody is good for the same. Joe knocks him out of the corner though and drops the backsplash. That just earns him an uppercut into a Crossface but Joe slips out and pulls him into the Koquina Clutch for the win at 10:11.

Rating: C-. Good, hard hitting match with Joe getting a not very surprising win. Cesaro is mainly in WWE to put people over these days so there is only so much that can be done to make him a convincing challenger. Joe winning the tournament isn’t out of the question as he is always a threat, which is a very valuable thing to have.

Cole talks about some matches coming up later and mentions the Wild Card Rule for the first time in probably a month.

Over the weekend, Drake Maverick tried to attack Elias in a recording studio and got beaten up.

Here’s Elias for a song. Hang on though as his microphone keeps messing up. With that out of the way, Elias says hang onto your loved ones because this is his farewell performance. He has too much going on, from the 24/7 Title to being King of the Ring that he doesn’t have time to perform. The guitar is out of tune though so he needs a replacement as the mic keeps messing up. The assistant gets in the ring and even Renee know what’s going on here. It’s R-Truth and a referee but the rollup only gets two. Truth gets smart by hitting the ax kick for two more but the big guitar shot misses. Elias bails and escapes for now.

Rey Mysterio talks about having a beautiful family and a wonderful career. He’s had the chance to meet people all over the world and considers them his friends. Things haven’t been clicking for him recently though and Andrade ripped his mask off. When he’s in the ring, he knows what he needs to do but his body isn’t responding to it.

His biggest fear though is that his injuries have caught up with him and he didn’t expect it to come so soon. It’s time for him to hang up the mask (big gasp for that) and let the new generation step in. Rey goes to unmask but his son Dominick stops him. With Rey crying, Dominick says he wants to be Rey’s partner. Rey says he’ll stay for Dominick. Good promo here, with Rey showing as much emotion as I’ve ever heard from him.

New Day vs. Revival

Non-title. Revival is wearing snake skin boots, courtesy of Randy Orton. Big E. shoulders Dawson in the corner to start and it’s off to Woods for a change. Everything breaks down early on and the Revival is clotheslined outside as we take an early break. Back with Big E. cleaning house and loading up the dive to the floor, only to have Orton run in for the RKO for the DQ at 6:20. Not enough shown to rate but the action was entertaining while it lasted.

Post match Kofi Kingston runs in to fight off all three of them but walks into the RKO. Woods gets back in but runs into a three man 3D. They’re not done yet though as Revival goes old school and crushes Woods’ knee, with Orton making Kofi watch.

Sasha Banks joins us from the back for an interview with Cole. Banks talks about how crazy of a week it has been for her and she would like to explain from the beginning. Last week she looked in the mirror and realized that blue is her color and now it’s all over social media. She looks good and feels even better. Cole: “No one is talking about your new hair.” When asked about attacking Becky and Natalya last week, Banks says you’re welcome and walks off. If that microphone offended her, it might be three months before we see Banks again.

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Fire And Desire

Non-title. Sonya gets some early rollups for two each on Bliss to start and it’s off to Mandy, who cartwheels over Bliss and poses a bit. Mandy gets knocked outside with Bliss not looking happy with her. It’s back to Cross for a crossarm choke but Bliss comes back in very quickly, earning herself a knee to the face from Mandy. The hot (?) tag brings in Sonya for some strikes of her own and a spinebuster to Bliss. Cross is right back with the Purge for a very sudden pin at 4:20.

Rating: D+. That ending was out of nowhere and it seemed like they were told to go home in a hurry. Bliss and Cross are already doing more with the titles than either of the previous champions and while I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing the titles on TV more, this is a lot better than what we’ve seen before from them.

Rollins tries to talk strategy with Strowman, who keeps looking at the Universal Title. They argue over who should follow who’s lead.

King of the Ring First Round: Cedric Alexander vs. Sami Zayn

Cedric says he’s a man of action and it’s time to raise the Age of Alexander. Sami says he’s been losing for months now and it turns around tonight. Zayn is aggressive to start and kicks Alexander down for some early one counts. A backbreaker gives him some near falls and we hit the chinlock. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Zayn goes with a Michinoku Driver for another two. Alexander fights back up and hits the spinning elbow to the face, followed by the anklescissors. That means a suicide dive to the floor and the Neuralizer connects back inside. The Lumbar Check finishes Zayn clean at 3:38.

Rating: C-. I like the Alexander push though my goodness whose dog did Zayn kidnap and sell for Pop Tarts cereal? He’s not just losing a lot but he’s losing in fast matches. At least he did get some offense in here though and looked aggressive, but it seems that they might be leading somewhere with these losses. I hope so at least.

The Street Profits (minus the NXT Tag Team Titles) check their brackets. Ford is 2-0 but Dawkins’ is already busted. They preview the rest of the first round but Dawkins wonders why we can’t have a tag team King of the Ring tournament. Ford: “We’re already kings.” I mean, he is wearing a crown. They’re ready for the Tag Team Title match tonight when Seth Braulins can win the gold.

AJ Styles gives the OC a pep talk.

Natalya has just seen the WWE doctor again but needs to rant about Sasha for interrupting her last week. Cue Banks to jump Natalya again and send her into an anvil case. Banks: “Go to h*** Nattie. And tell your daddy I say hi.” That was a good line.

Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman vs. OC

The OC is defending and has AJ with them. Strowman runs Gallows over to start and it’s off to the taped up Rollins to work on Gallows’ arm. Anderson comes in but a quick tag brings Gallows back in, meaning Rollins has to knee him to the floor. A running kick to the head puts Anderson outside as well but the numbers catch up with him.

That means Gallows gets to drop Rollins ribs first into the barricade a few times and we take an early break. Back with Anderson hitting a spinebuster on Rollins, but Anderson gets knocked off the top. That means the Blockbuster, but Rollins bangs up the ribs again. With the hot tag near, Gallows is smart enough to post Strowman and cut him off. Gallows comes back in as everything breaks down, with Rollins getting to clean house again.

A low bridge puts Gallows on the floor, leaving Anderson to take the Falcon Arrow for two. The numbers catch up with Rollins again as AJ crotches him on top but it’s Strowman back up to run over AJ and Gallows. Back in and Rollins rolls over for the hot tag to Strowman and it’s time to wreck things. Rollins cuts Styles off with the Stomp and Strowman hits the running powerslam on Anderson for the pin and the titles at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Good match here with a surprise ending and that’s not a bad thing. This seems to be the way to set up the Strowman vs. Rollins match next month so odds are we’ll be seeing the OC get the titles back pretty soon. It’s a booking trope that has been done for years and it’s going to work fine enough here.

Strowman and Rollins celebrate to end the show. There is NO announcement about NXT.

Overall Rating: C+. It was another acceptable show where it felt like things were happening. That’s what makes a show work so much better and the show never felt long. What mattered here was they’re setting things up for Clash of Champions and it feels like we’re seeing some fresh names getting a chance. For so long it was the same people over and over so that’s the best thing that could happen to the show. Good night here, and I’m curious to see where things are going for the first time in a long while.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Dolph Ziggler – Spear

The Miz/Ricochet b. Drew McIntyre/Baron Corbin – Recoil to Corbin

Braun Strowman b. AJ Styles via DQ when the OC interfered

Samoa Joe b. Cesaro – Koquina Clutch

New Day b. Revival via DQ when Randy Orton interrupted

Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss b. Fire and Desire – Purge to Deville

Cedric Alexander b. Sami Zayn – Lumbar Check

Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman b. OC – Running powerslam to Anderson

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 30, 2019
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re in still getting ready for Summerslam and in this case we need to hurry up and get some more stuff set with less than two weeks to go before the show. This time around we have Trish Stratus on Jerry Lawler’s King’s Court and….I’m not sure what for the main event as WWE has announced three different main events for the show today alone. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Shane McMahon on the screen, talking about how Kevin Owens has been getting to him. His life coach has told him to get his emotions in check though because Shane has exactly what he wants at Summerslam. After Shane beats him, Owens is going to have to admit that Shane is the better man and quit in front of 20,000 people.

Here’s Kevin Owens for a chat. It’s a sad night because SHANE MCMAHON IS NOT HERE but we can get through it together. Owens is near tears but says that without Shane, maybe the show can be about the talent instead of McMahon’s stupid face. Just make sure that the stupid face is at Summerslam because Owens is going to beat Shane as badly as he deserves.

Then Shane will know that he does not belong in the ring. Shane isn’t going to quit, but he’ll know that this isn’t his ring or his show, because this is the Kevin Owens Show. This brings out Drew McIntyre to say Owens talks too much and he’ll shut Kevin up tonight. The fight is on with Owens going into the post and over the announcers’ table. Actually let’s just do it now.

Kevin Owens vs. Drew McIntyre

Owens goes straight at him to start and walks into a belly to belly suplex for his efforts. The armbar goes on for a bit and Drew clotheslines him right back down. Another belly to belly gets two but Owens sends him into the post. The Cannonball connects and Owens goes up, headbutts McIntyre back down, and hits the frog splash for two.

Back from a break with Owens hitting the Swanton (they seem to be gradually shifting away from coming back to a chinlock) for no cover. The Stunner is blocked and McIntyre gets two off a swinging sitout Rock Bottom. The Claymore is blocked with a superkick and Owens hits the Pop Up Powerbomb for two. McIntyre is right back up with a super White Noise for two and they head outside. The Stunner on the announcers’ table rocks McIntyre and the regular version back inside finishes him off at 13:31.

Rating: B-. They were hitting the big moves here and Owens getting a big win is a cool thing to see, but I continue to sigh at McIntyre being the glorified lackey. They’ve spent so many months treating him as a goon and now Owens is likely to have more trouble getting rid of Shane than Drew, which sums up a lot of the problems around this company.

Dolph Ziggler doesn’t care about what fans thought of him after superkicking Shawn Michaels last week. Then Mick Foley got beaten up by the Fiend and Goldberg had a horrible match. Now Shawn is upset and Miz is going to defend Shawn’s honor at Summerslam. Miz isn’t even the best wrestler in his house and Ziggler is more scared of Maryse. Tonight, Ziggler will deal with Finn Balor.

Bayley and Ember Moon are ready for tonight.

Aleister Black is sitting in his room again and says he feels different. His redemption lies in the blood of his soul. He received some of his salvation when Cesaro picked a fight with him and Black salutes him. But how does he move on from here and write the next chapters of his book? Once again he sits here, now a bit less patiently, for someone to pick a fight with him.

Ember Moon/Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

Moon kicks Bliss in the face to start and it’s already off to Bayley, who drops Bliss face first onto the turnbuckle. That sends Bliss outside for Bayley’s dropkick under the buckle and Moon dives onto Cross. Back with Cross tying Bayley up in the ring skirt so Bliss can hit a baseball slide. Bayley fights back, sends Cross to the floor, jumps over Bliss, and brings Moon back in to pick up the pace. Bliss saves Cross from the Eclipse though and sends Moon shoulder first into the post. A right hand drops Bayley and Twisted Bliss finishes Moon at 6:29.

Rating: D+. Dang it please tell me this isn’t being turned into a triple threat with Bliss getting another title shot. We’ve covered that so many times and Bayley needs to get far away from Bliss. We had what should be a fresh title match and I really hope WWE doesn’t mess it up for the sake of an unnecessary triple threat.

Post match Bayley gives Moon the Bayley to Belly to make up for last week.

Sami Zayn is here to check out the competition but only sees people complaining. One person in particular seems to be Aleister Black. If Black wants a fight, Sami will give him one at Summerslam, where Black will melt under the bright lights.

Daniel Bryan has a chance to make his career changing announcement but again says nothing.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Jerry Lawler bringing out Trish Stratus as his guest. Lawler talks about Raw Reunion and everyone wanting to have one last match. He asks if Trish ever has that feeling and we get a ONE MORE MATCH chant. Trish says she can never get rid of that itch but she’s a mom now and has to do those kinds of things. Cue Charlotte to say you can’t have King’s Court without a queen, but she has a big question: how is she not on Summerslam yet?

Charlotte congratulates Trish on being a mom and, after having Lawler hold the ropes open for her, calls it an excuse. Charlotte makes the challenge for Summerslam but Trish doesn’t say anything. That’s fine, as Charlotte knows Trish can’t hang with the queen anyway. Charlotte tells her to get out of the ring so Trish calls her a b**** (it’s a WWE women’s feud so you knew that was coming).

Trish talks about how there would be no throne for Charlotte without the trailblazers like Trish, Lita, Ivory, Beth Phoenix and others. To be the woman you have to beat the woman so the match is on. Good, as Charlotte is too big for the title again anyway and would just take away Bayley’s momentum otherwise.

The OC is ready to show Kofi Kingston that this is the house that AJ Styles built.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Ramblin Rabbit is excited for Summerslam because he’s a Finn Balor fan. Balor flies through the air and is extraordinary, but the Fiend is scary. Finn doesn’t understand what he’s getting into but here’s a laughing Bray Wyatt to chase Ramblin off. Bray gets serious and says let him in.

We look back at Brock Lesnar attacking Seth Rollins last night.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Finn Balor

Joined in progress with Ziggler charging into a boot to the face and a Nightmare on Helm Street giving Balor two. Ziggler is right back with the Fameasser but spends too much time tuning up the band. Balor knocks him outside….and there go the lights. The Fiend appears, but then disappears, allowing Ziggler to hit the superkick for the pin at 2:59 shown.

Ali vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title. Ali dropkicks him to the floor to start and nails a high crossbody for two back inside. Nakamura avoids a charge but Ali is right back with the rolling X Factor. It’s too early for the 054 though and Nakamura nails the reverse exploder. Kinshasa is blocked with a superkick for two but the 450 misses. Nakamura knees him in the face and tries Kinshasa again, though this time Ali rolls him up for the pin at 2:18. You knew this was coming as soon as Nakamura was shown walking to the ring before the match.

Randy Orton talks about Kofi Kingston saying this had all started in 2009 so let’s talk about 2009. By then, Orton had won World Titles and main evented Wrestlemania so all he had to do was be Randy Orton. Kofi didn’t have that luxury so he developed the personality of being the fun guy who danced a lot. That wasn’t cool with Orton so he RKO’ed him and called him stupid, which we see in clips. If you tick Orton off, you go back to the bottom of the ladder.

We jump ahead to 2019 and Ali is the new Kofi Kingston. Orton injured Ali to take him out of the Elimination Chamber and Kofi got the spot instead. There is no Kofi Mania without Orton so Kofi wants to prove himself. That’s stupid, stupid, stupid and the title reign is ending with an RKO. As has been the case with everything in this feud, this was well done and made me want to see the match.

New Day is in the back and ready to go with the main event. This could be a main event anywhere in the country and Kofi is going to show AJ Styles why this isn’t the house that AJ Styles built.

AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston

Non-title with New Day and the OC at ringside. AJ grabs a headlock to start but Kofi flips him over, allowing Styles to hit a dropkick to put him down. Back up and Kofi hits the jumping elbow to the jaw but misses Trouble in Paradise. AJ gets clotheslined to the floor and Kofi loads up a dive, only to get blocked by the OC. Kofi dives anyway but AJ hits a knee to the face off the apron (that looked nasty).

We take a break and come back with AJ hammering on Kofi and putting him on top. Kofi knocks him back down and hits a tornado DDT, followed by the dropkick and clothesline. There’s the Boom Drop and standing double stomp for two, followed by the SOS for the same. AJ is right back with an enziguri but gets kicked in the ribs. The top rope splash to the back gets two on AJ with the OC pulling Kofi out at two. The brawl breaks out on the floor and Kofi dives onto everyone. Back in and AJ’s fireman’s carry backbreaker connects but the Phenomenal Forearm lands on Trouble in Paradise to give Kofi the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B-. I actually glared at my TV when Styles was pinned. You have a champion vs. champion match with multiple instances of the seconds brawling on the floor and you end it with a clean pin? How in the world is that their best idea? Kofi pinning AJ is fine, but the US Title has been bouncing around enough lately and you don’t need to have the champ losing to anyone, even under these circumstances.

We IMMEDIATELY cut to the back with Roman Reigns walking up to announce his Summerslam challenge…..and then someone drives what looks like a forklift to knock a piece of set and a bunch of anvil cases onto Reigns. The camera goes haywire and everyone screams for help, but Reigns is ok and on his feet. The medics want to check on Reigns but he tells them to back off. We don’t see who was behind it (the fans chanting JOE is a likely clue) as Reigns walks off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to think of this show. The wrestling worked well enough and I liked the show, but some of the booking decisions gave me a headache. It’s cool to give Roman a mystery opponent, but we’re less than two weeks away from the show and Reigns is already in a feud with someone. They also had to add three matches to the show in one night, plus Ali vs. Nakamura likely being set up here as well.

This crushed time scale is killing things and while there are things on the show I want to see, it is going to be bogged down by everything going on. Maybe with two more weeks the show could be well built, but what we’re getting is so rushed that I need to look up the card to remember what is going on. Tonight’s show was entertaining and set stuff up, but I’m not enjoying a lot of it due to how fast everything is going. There was so much crammed into this show that the good was being dragged back down, which is rarely a good thing. Unfortunately, it’s happening rather frequently around here and that needs to change.

Oh and no mention of the Sonya Deville/Mandy Rose vs. IIconics match (though it was canceled in a segment on YouTube).

Results

Kevin Owens b. Drew McIntyre – Stunner

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. Ember Moon/Bayley – Twisted Bliss to Moon

Dolph Ziggler b. Finn Balor – Superkick

Ali b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Rollup

Kofi Kingston b. AJ Styles – Trouble In Paradise

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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