They do know they can make it up right?

http://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-the-pen-is-mightier-than-the-beast/

The FREAKING OW match.

This is the “let’s beat each other up really, really badly” match and no one wants it to be anything else. Lesnar is going to win and I don’t think that’s much of a secret, but sweet Repo Man on a pole this is going to be fun. It’s going to be straight out of the Punk vs. Lesnar playbook with Dean getting one false finish after another but taking the beating of a lifetime. As dominant as Lesnar is there’s always a way to slow him down (usually in the form of a low blow) and I’m sure Dean is going to find that.

As sure as I am that Brock wins, there’s always a need for Dean to win something. I know I’ve been saying it for a long time but there reaches a point where you can’t keep losing every big match you’re in. This is going to be a blast though and I don’t think it needs much more of an explanation than that. Just let two guys beat each other up for twenty minutes and everyone is going to be happy.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 22, 2016
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s a big night for Raw as we’re done with Fastlane and have less than six weeks before the biggest night of the year. In addition to that we also have the presentation of the first ever Vincent J. McMahon Award and the fallout from Brock Lesnar attacking Dean Ambrose before the show started tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the triple threat main event from last night with Reigns pinning Ambrose to earn the title shot.

Opening sequence.

Cole tells us about Brock attacking Dean as he got to the arena earlier today and we see the video. Ambrose was put in a neck brace and driven away in an ambulance.

Vince McMahon comes out to present the Vincent J. McMahon Sr. Legacy of Excellence Award (which seems to be the same trophy that was give to Hornswoggle for winning a video game tournament a few years back). McMahon talks about his family’s history of presenting sports entertainment for over 100 years and how it was all about a legacy. That’s the kind of person we’re honoring tonight so Vince brings out the first recipient: Stephanie McMahon.

Stephanie comes out to a chorus of boos as Vince tries to tell her how much she deserves this award. She didn’t expect to win but she happens to have a speech prepared. Stephanie starts talking about how much of an honor this is but hoe she couldn’t do this without her husband…..and here’s SHANE MCMAHON of all people to interrupt. The place goes NUTS at this and actually does a big old YES chant for the white haired Shane. Vince asks for a hug or a handshake but Shane isn’t interested.

Shane seems genuinely choked up as he thanks the fans. It’s quickly off to the reason he’s here though: this Award, which Stephanie doesn’t deserve. Stephanie rips into him a bit but Shane says she really doesn’t know. Apparently Stephanie and HHH have been running this company into the ground, such as the stock price, the ratings and all of the injuries. Stephanie calls Shane a quitter so Shane asks if Vince wants to tell her. Years ago, Vince screwed up big time and Shane was there to save things.

Shane was able to take some time off but he never lost his place in line. The reason Stephanie has gotten this far is because Shane let it happen. Stephanie doesn’t buy this but Vince looks….somewhere between annoyed and terrified. Stephanie offers Shane a spot at Wrestlemania this year but Vince cuts her off to talk to his son. Vince asks her to leave but Shane says it’s all true because at the time it was best for business. She finally leaves but not before saying she’ll never forgive Shane for screwing this up.

Vince offers to give Shane another big check to make this go away but this isn’t about money. Every morning, Shane wakes up and is so glad to have his freedom. This is about legacy though because the McMahon Family with Shane’s children now the fifth generation. Shane finally gets to the point: he wants control of Monday Night Raw. Vince says it’s not that easy because the company is in a different place now. Shane wants to make sure that there’s a generation for the future.

That just ticks Vince off but he has an idea. He’ll give Shane what he wants if Shane has one match on one night. However, if Shane loses, he loses possession of anything he has over Vince’s head. The deal is on so Vince says something that has to be censored. Shane goes to leave but Vince stops him to name the specifics. Naturally the match is at Wrestlemania and the opponent is……the Undertaker, inside the Cell.

Neville/Lucha Dragons vs. New Day

Kalisto and Woods get things going and Xavier is sent to the floor as we take a break. Back with Kalisto coming in to work on Woods’ arm before it’s off to Big E. for a belly to belly on Neville. The Unicorn Stampede keeps Neville in trouble and Kofi nails a running boot to the face. Kofi’s dropkick keeps Neville down and Woods gets two as we take another break.

Back again with Big E. staying on Neville and standing on his wrist to keep Neville away from making the tag. Woods gets backdropped face first onto the steps, allowing Neville to kick Kofi away and make the tag off to Sin Cara. Everything breaks down and Cara hits a springboard back elbow to drop Kofi.

A standing Lionsault gets two on Kofi with Big E. making the save, only to get kicked to the floor for a Neville 450 from the apron. Woods does a springboard off Neville’s back onto Woods, leaving Kofi to avoid a Swanton Bomb, tear at Cara’s mask and hit Trouble in Paradise for the pin on Cara at 15:30.

Rating: C+. Fun match here, though it’s a bit overly long with the extra break not really adding anything. You had to know that was coming after the long opening segment though so there really wasn’t a big surprise. New Day certainly wasn’t face here and that’s probably better for them at this point. Let them drop the belts to someone (new hopefully) and then let them turn face after Wrestlemania.

Roman Reigns doesn’t have an update on Dean Ambrose but is ready for his one on one fight at Wrestlemania against HHH. That night, it’s all about his fist and his heart. Reigns likes his odds.

Here are Heyman and Lesnar with something to say. Heyman says this will be the main event of the evening even though Brock isn’t even in his wrestling gear. It doesn’t matter what Lesnar is doing because he’s the main event. Last night Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns got beaten up by Brock Lesnar. If the Undertaker tapped out to Brock Lesnar, Roman certainly was going to as well.

However, Dean Ambrose saved his buddy and turned a wrestling match into a street fight. This ticked off Brock Lesnar so earlier today, Brock attacked Dean as he arrived at the arena. After looking at the clip from earlier, Heyman says there is no shield that can protect Dean from Brock Lesnar. HHH and Roman Reigns can kid themselves all they want by saying they’re the main event when Brock is on the card. Brock needs a new Wrestlemania opponent so Heyman issues a warning to anyone in the locker room.

Go to the hospital tonight and visit Dean to ask what happens when you invoke the wrath of Brock Lesnar. They go to leave and of course, RIGHT ON TIME, here’s the ambulance with Dean inside. Cole: “What is going on?” Man you called the 1999 Royal Rumble. I’m thinking you should know this.

Dean rips the neck brace off as he crawls down the ramp towards the ring. Brock runs him over with a single shot and keeps walking to the back. Makes sense. Dean grabs a mic and says he’s indestructible, which Brock is going to find out the hard way. We get the challenge for Wrestlemania in a no holds barred street fight. Brock comes back to ringside for an F5 on the floor, which Heyman means is a yes.

Usos vs. Ascension

Before the match, here are the Dudley Boyz to interrupt. Bubba apologizes for what they did a few weeks back, even though they’re the most decorated team in wrestling history. Their legacy won’t be defined by a piece of furniture but rather by their accomplishments. That’s why you’ll never see a table again. Speaking of accomplishments, maybe the Usos’ daddy (Rikishi) should have spent more time around them instead of going all over the place.

That’s not much of an insult but it allows Ascension to jump them from behind to start. Konor kicks Jimmy in the face and Viktor drops a fist for two. Jey gets the hot tag a few seconds later as house is cleaned. Viktor dives into a double superkick and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin at 1:57.

Here’s Chris Jericho with something to say. He’s heard about AJ Styles for years and then last night he was defeated by Styles for the second time. He’d like AJ to come out and see him face to face. Cue Styles, who Jericho thanks for proving something last night. AJ has proven that he belongs here in the WWE and he has everything it takes to go to the top and become a champion. Jericho knows that AJ is phenomenal…..and here are the Social Outcasts.

Slater thinks this is pathetic but Bo finds it really beautiful. Slater: “Bo, I was being sarcastic.” Dallas: “Oh yeah. Me too.” The Outcasts don’t buy Y2AJ as a thing but Jericho tells Slater to shut up. They weren’t going to be a team but they’d be glad to if it means getting the Outcasts out of here.

Chris Jericho/AJ Styles vs. Heath Slater/Curtis Axel

This is joined in progress with AJ dropkicking Slater and hitting the basement forearm. Slater powers out of the Clash by sending Heath to the apron, only to have the other Outcasts interfere to take over. Axel stomps him down in the corner and it’s back to Slater for a chinlock. That goes nowhere and it’s the hot tag off to Jericho as everything breaks down. AJ springboard forearms onto Slater, leaving Jericho to make Axel tap to the Walls at 4:02.

Rating: C-. Maybe New Day vs. AJ/Jericho for the Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania? I’ve certainly heard worse ideas so why not get them on there and give AJ a quick title? I mean, it’s not like there’s a long line to get to the top of the tag division. If nothing else, Kofi vs. AJ could be quite the entertaining segment.

We recap the long opening segment.

HHH tells Stephanie to shake off what happened earlier. Stephanie gets to go tell Roman something to make herself feel better.

Post break Roman goes to check on Dean but Stephanie stops him to make Reigns vs. Sheamus for later. The League isn’t happy with the way Reigns is getting all this attention for Wrestlemania and it would be a shame if they hurt Reigns and took him out of Wrestlemania.

Goldust brings R-Truth a cake to make up for what happened last night. R-Truth doesn’t think much of it but the cake has yellow frosting on chocolate, just like them. Goldust knew Truth would turn him down and that’s exactly why they would be great partners. That fascinates Truth, but he’s not going to smash the cake in Goldust’s face. Actually he does just that, again much like a heel would. Goldust eats some of the cake.

Ryback/Big Show/Kane vs. Wyatt Family

Bray is swapped in for Strowman this time. Harper puts his mask on Byron before the match and for some reason Saxton can’t speak. This is joined in progress with Kane and Bray trading big shots before it’s off to Ryback vs. Harper. Ryback slugs away in the corner and brings in Kane, who eats a quick dropkick. JBL goes on about Hansen and Brody before Cole brings up JBL vs. Austin in a beer drinking contest at the first modern Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Ryback cross bodies Rowan and hits two running knees in the corner. A clothesline sends Rowan to the floor and we take a break. Back with Harper getting two off a Michinoku Driver before Rowan drops an elbow on Ryback. The missile dropkick puts Rowan down and a hot tag brings in Big Show to clean house. Rowan gets chokeslammed but Strowman low bridges Show to the floor. Harper kicks away at the face but his sleeper is broken up, allowing the hot tag to bring in Kane. Everything breaks down and Ryback walks out, leaving Bray to hit Sister Abigail for the pin on Kane at 12:27.

Rating: C-. So the big goal of that whole thing was to turn Ryback heel? Thank goodness they jobbed the Wyatts out for the sake of that because they couldn’t have done anything like this otherwise. It’s a nice enough story, but Ryback needs to not look like a loser who can’t win the big one before I’m going to care about him turning heel.

After a break, Ryback says he’s tired of being in tag teams because it’s about him. This isn’t anything personal with Big Show or Kane. He’s just tired of not getting the spotlight, especially after he won the match last night. It’s time to grab the brass ring and break the glass ceiling.

Sasha Banks vs. Naomi

It’s still a thing. Sasha works on the arm to start and blocks a backslide attempt, only to get kicked in the ribs. Tamina pulls Sasha to the floor and we take a break. Back with Naomi still in control until Becky Lynch comes out to deal with Tamina. A quick Bank Statement makes Naomi tap at 6:45. No rating due to the break in the middle but it was fine.

Post match, here’s Charlotte dressed like a Bella. Charlotte is still emotional after beating Brie Bella last night, even though there needs to be a #1 contender. She loves to see the two of them getting so close. “BECKY WATCH OUT!” Becky believes that Sasha is going to attack her and Charlotte laughs because it’s clear that they don’t trust each other. The next few weeks are going to be fun.

After another recap of the opening, Stephanie tells Vince that she refuses to work for Shane. Vince calls it a calculated risk and Stephanie seems a bit calmer.

We get the Godfather Hall of Fame announcement.

Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus

Sheamus goes after the arm that Brock had in the Kimura last night and Roman is in early trouble. Roman comes back with a headbutt and some right hands in the corner as the fans boo loudly. It’s back to a regular armbar until Roman fires off right hands to the head. A big clothesline puts Sheamus on the floor and one from the steps drops him again.

Rusev gets in a kick to the head though and we take a break. Back with both guys down and the League having been ejected. Roman sends him to the floor for another running clothesline before diving into the ring at seven. Cue HHH in fighting clothes and the fight is on so we’ll say the match is a DQ at 10:45.

Rating: D. These two really don’t have good matches together but that’s the perfect way for WWE to push them harder and harder every single time. Sheamus is right back where he belongs: as a midcarder who might win a title every now and then but is really just a guy that can be shuffled around as necessary.

A brawl breaks out as Sheamus has just disappeared. HHH hits him in the face/throat with the bell and then drives Reigns’ face into the table about 25 times. Reigns is badly busted open as the fans are LOUDLY cheering for HHH. A Pedigree onto the steps ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show almost entirely built around storylines and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when we’ve got less than six weeks before Wrestlemania. The Shane thing is big and sets up one of the main events, assuming that match actually takes place. I know Shane was awesome at one point, but it’s really a stretch to imagine him as a credible threat to Undertaker inside the Cell.

Other than that though, the wrestling was barely around tonight as everything was focused on getting to Wrestlemania in a hurry. The card is looking stronger now but they still have a long way to go to get out of the funk that Fastlane and its build put them in. Tonight was at least a big step in the right direction though.

Results

New Day b. Lucha Dragons/Neville – Trouble in Paradise to Cara

Usos b. Ascension – Superfly Splash to Viktor

Chris Jericho/AJ Styles b. Heath Slater/Curtis Axel – Walls of Jericho to Axel

Wyatt Family b. Kane/Big Show/Ryback – Sister Abigail to Kane

Sasha Banks b. Naomi – Bank Statement

Roman Reigns b. Sheamus via DQ when HHH interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AXP08DK

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

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

Smackdown
Date: February 18, 2016
Location: Citizens Bank Business Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler

We’re three days away from Fastlane and the big story tonight is Brock Lesnar making a very rare Smackdown appearance. There’s no word on what he’ll be doing but you can assume it might have something to do with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, who are teaming together to face the Dudley Boyz tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Ambrose losing the Intercontinental Title on Monday thanks to Stephanie’s influence.

Opening sequence.

No Mauro Ranallo tonight due to a bout with the flu.

League of Nations vs. Dolph Ziggler/Lucha Dragons

Kevin Owens is on commentary. Kalisto and Rusev get things going with the masked man firing off kicks to the meaty Bulgarian thighs. Alberto comes in and gets taken down with a standing Lionsault for two. An old Jack Brisco spinning sunset flip out of the corner looks to get two for Cara but he tagged Kalisto by mistake. Everything breaks down for a bit and the Dragons dive through the ropes to take down Sheamus and Del Rio, followed by Ziggler coming off the top to elbow all three of them as we take a break.

Back with Rusev holding Cara in a chinlock before it’s off to Del Rio for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. That means it’s time for another chinlock from Alberto, followed by some Irish Curses from Sheamus for two. Owens goes on a funny bit about not liking idiots but having other reasons to not like Cole.

Cara finally kicks Del Rio down and tags in Ziggler to speed things up. Dolph’s superkick to Sheamus is broken up but the running DDT works a bit better. Everything breaks down and Del Rio kicks Cara in the mask, followed by throwing Kalisto hard into the barricade. Back inside, Ziggler hits a quick Fameasser for two on Sheamus, which draws Owens off commentary. The distraction lets Sheamus nail a Brogue Kick for the pin on Dolph at 11:27.

Rating: C-. So the League gets a pin on the #1 contender despite none of them having a match on Sunday’s pay per view card. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary here though and that’s pretty good for the most part. The wrestling was fine and they went with the formula that they’ve perfected on Smackdown, meaning this was acceptable but nothing I’ll remember in about an hour.

Owens leaves with Ziggler’s vest.

Tamina vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha gets slammed head first into the mat to start but flips out of a belly to back suplex to get away for a bit. The running knees in the corner have Tamina in trouble and Naomi gets knocked off the apron. A sitout bulldog sets up the Bank Statement to make Tamina tap at 2:22.

Sasha gets beaten down post match until Becky makes the save, only to be shoved away by her partner. This continues a simple story but it’s been booked well.

Post break Becky wants to know what that was. They’re coming up on Wrestlemania and it’s going to take a win at Fastlane to give them momentum. If Sasha wants to let her ego get in the way of their Wrestlemania moment, Becky is done right now. They agree to fight together on Sunday.

Here’s Chris Jericho to address AJ Styles’ challenge to him from Monday. Jericho is ready to answer but he wants AJ to be here face to face. Instead here’s the Miz to interrupt with an announcement of his own. Jericho hopes that it’s Miz quitting the business because everyone has been begging for it for years. Miz says he isn’t quitting but he certainly wouldn’t do it here. The announcement is that he’s ready to fight Jericho here and now, which earns him a throw to the floor.

Chris Jericho vs. The Miz

Thankfully this starts after a break instead of that stupid ring the bell and go to a break thirty seconds later. A suplex puts Miz down and it’s time for some right hands in the corner. Miz sends him into the post as the announcers debate what celebrity lists these two are on. The fans want AJ but get a knee to Jericho’s back and a chinlock. That goes nowhere so Jericho dropkicks him and goes up, only to get punched in the face. A trip to the floor doesn’t do much as Miz takes him back inside for more left hands to the face. We take a break and come back with Miz holding a chinlock.

The Reality Check gets two and it’s right back to the chinlockery. Jericho fights back again with an ax handle and counters another Reality Check (like any signature move, it’s only one per midcard match) into a failed Walls attempt. Miz’s short DDT and big boot get two each so he starts ripping at Jericho’s face in the corner. The running corner clothesline is easily countered into the Walls though and Miz taps at 12:22.

Rating: C+. As has been the case lately, Miz is on a roll and having a string of good matches. Now maybe that’s due to having matches against Chris Jericho and AJ Styles but at least it’s been better than the usual five minute nothings that he does every week. He’s been a good cog for this feud and kept things from being the normal tropes. Good stuff here as Miz continues to be a pleasant surprise lately.

Post match Jericho calls out AJ for the big answer. AJ comes out but Jericho doesn’t seem interested in wrestling him again. He respects Styles but doesn’t really like him, which is why there won’t be a third match. AJ blasts him in the face with his striking sequence and that’s enough for Jericho to change his mind. That’s rather heelish of AJ, who lost clean last week and now uses violence to get what he wants.

We look back at Heyman and Reigns’ exchange on Monday.

Ambrose says he’s fine after losing the title on Monday but tonight he just wants to go fight. That’s fine with Reigns, but Dean better not try that Dirty Deeds stuff again. Reigns leaves and Dean runs into Heyman. Paul shakes off Ambrose’s threats by saying Brock is here and he wants a piece of Dean. That’s freaks Ambrose out so badly that he asks Heyman for advice before deciding to deal with Brock on his own later.

New Day says they can’t wait to be on the Cutting Edge Peep Show because they’re real musicians. On Sunday they’re ready to get in their stretch limousine and make their way to the Hall of Fame. Edge and Christian are out of style because it’s not the 1990s again. Tromboning and dancing (a LOT of dancing) take us out.

Video on Charlotte, as sponsored by Geico.

Charlotte vs. Natalya

Non-title and Natalya gets the jobber entrance. Charlotte’s early headscissors attempt doesn’t work so Natalya grabs a headlock and hits a quick basement dropkick to send Charlotte outside. Ric tries to give some advice and we take a break before coming back to see Charlotte spinning out of a leg lock. Charlotte bails to the floor and a Ric distraction lets her kick Natalya in the face. Back in and it’s off to the bodyscissors for a bit before Natalya fights up and sends her outside with a German suplex. Charlotte pulls the ring skirt away though to tweak Natalya’s knee, setting up the Figure Eight for the submission at 7:40.

Rating: C-. This was fine as Natalya continues to be fine as the veteran jobber. I mean, I still don’t buy for a second that Brie is going to win the title on Sunday, even for a feel good title change to cash in on Daniel Bryan. Charlotte is getting the hang of the main roster now that she has a character but Ric needs to go as there’s really no need for him.

Post match Charlotte does the YES chants to draw Brie out. The YES Kicks send Charlotte running and a YES chant starts.

This week, Goldust is Dusta Rhymes and has some bad rap. Truth likes it to start but eventually turns him down with a rap of his own. Goldust looks sad, which makes me think they might not wind up teaming after all. At least it’s different than the Booker T. formula.

We look back at the Wyatts going even crazier and the ending of Monday’s show.

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose vs. Dudley Boyz

They take their sweet time on the entrances until Ambrose and D-Von get things going. Dean gets early near falls of a cross body and bulldog before it’s off to Bubba. A lot of shouting is enough to bring Reigns in and the crowd….doesn’t seem to care. Bubba wins a slugout and elbows Reigns in the back of the head but charges into a Samoan Drop. D-Von gets double suplexed and Bubba is sent to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Bubba cranking on Dean’s neck and the reverse 3D getting two. D-Von slaps on a chinlock (despite not actually grabbing the chin) and it’s back to Bubba for some stomping. The slow paced (and mostly ineffective) offense continues with another D-Von chinlock. It doesn’t help that we’re just waiting for Brock to come out here. Bubba tries to start a LET’S GO AMBROSE chant but it’s a Reigns distraction allowing Dean to knock Bubba down on the top rope.

Thankfully a few right hands aren’t enough to even things up and Bubba knocks him off, only to miss the backsplash. The hot tag brings in Reigns to clean house with the usual but he loads up the Superman Punch right before Brock’s music hits. The Dudleys use the entrance for a sneak attack but Reigns blocks the 3D. Dean dives onto D-Von but Brock decks him for the DQ at 13:08.

Rating: D+. This really didn’t work as most of it was the Dudleys doing slow offense until Brock came out. It wasn’t even a secret as we got a BROCK LESNAR TONIGHT graphic before the match. At least they did something besides the League of Nations to put the Shield boys over for a change though, which they’ve been getting better at in recent weeks.

Brock cleans house post match until Reigns gets in a Superman Punch. The spear almost hits Ambrose though and Dean tries Dirty Deeds, earning himself a Samoan Drop. Brock F5’s Reigns but here’s HHH (how nice of him to make an appearance as his title has been the main focus lately) to stare Brock down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. They’ve been picking things up lately around here and it’s been a nice change of pace. This has felt a lot more like the wrestling show that Raw just isn’t and that’s the best thing Smackdown can really be. If nothing else this was a good way to help set up Fastlane, which had a good build all night, even if it’s for a weak pay per view.

Results

League of Nations b. Dolph Ziggler/Lucha Dragons – Brogue Kick to Ziggler

Sasha Banks b. Tamina – Bank Statement

Chris Jericho b. The Miz – Walls of Jericho

Charlotte b. Natalya – Figure Eight

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose b. Dudley Boyz via DQ when Brock Lesnar interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AXP08DK

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 15, 2016
Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Fastlane and in theory Brock is in the house again tonight. The big story coming out of last week seems to be Ambrose wanting to fight Lesnar whenever he can and seemingly having no issues with fighting Roman Reigns at the same time. This could make for some issues at Sunday’s show. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s Brock/Ambrose/Reigns issues. Brock hitting Reigns in the head with a table is still awesome.

Here’s Ambrose to get things going. Dean (I love how he holds a microphone) says he’s in for the fight of his life on Sunday but this is Monday Night Raw. A long time ago, Dean learned that when you have to deal with the biggest bully, sometimes you have to get some dirt on your fingernails. Therefore, he wants Brock out here right now, but it’s Stephanie instead. Dean hanging his head and giving a look of “oh dang it not this nonsense” is perfect.

She thinks Dean is out here filibustering because he couldn’t get it done last week and needed Roman Reigns to save him. Stephanie asks the fans if they want to see Dean get F5’d tonight. For some reason they like the idea so Stephanie gives them just that: a Fatal Fiveway for the title. Also, if Reigns interferes, Dean is disqualified from Sunday’s match. To translate, Stephanie just said “Whatever you have going on, forget about it. This is MY show and I’m the only one that matters.”

Intercontinental Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Stardust vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler

Dean is defending of course and this is one fall to a finish. They really need to change the title here but good grief could these challengers (save for Owens) be any bigger set of losers? No tags here to make sure this is as insane as possible. Ambrose gets double teamed by Stardust and Breeze to start as JBL thinks Roman should come out to get rid of Ambrose on Sunday. Not the worst idea actually.

Dean sends Breeze to the floor and elbows Stardust in the face, only to have Owens run in to take Ambrose down. The champ slugs Owens in the corner as the other three guys have disappeared. Owens is sent to the floor, allowing Ziggler to spinwheel kick Ambrose down for two. We get an air guitar before the big jumping elbow gets two on Dean.

Time for the parade of secondary finishers until Owens powerbombs Breeze onto the floor to take out Ziggler and Stardust. The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered by an Ambrose hurricanrana before Dean dives on the other three outside. Back in and a swinging neckbreaker sets up the top rope standing elbow for two on Kevin. We take a break and come back with Dean bulldogging Stardust as the other three are on the floor. Dolph gets back in and pulls Ambrose off the top with a super X-Factor, only to have Stardust kick him in the face.

More secondary finishers connect until it’s only Owens on his feet for three straight Cannonballs to crush everyone but Breeze. Tyler Beauty Shots Owens for two with everyone else making the save. Breeze loads up an Unprettier on Ambrose but Cole thinks it’s a backslide. Suddenly I want to flip over to the Grammys. Everything breaks down and Owens powerbombs Breeze for the pin and the title at 12:40.

Rating: C+. Fun match here and the best possible option at the end. Dean could be moving up for something special at Wrestlemania and beyond so having the Intercontinental Title was only going to hold him back. Owens being a two time champion is a great sign for him but hopefully he doesn’t get stuck in some big multiman title match at Wrestlemania.

Post break Ambrose promises to win on Sunday no matter what.

We cut back to the announcers but have to go back to Renee because Owens is gloating about his win. He orders Young to tell the world that he was right but here’s Ziggler (back in his snazzy vest) to challenge for a title shot on Sunday. Owens says nah.

Here’s New Day for a chat and we look back to September for New Day’s trombone vs. kazoo showdown with Edge and Christian. New Day will be on the Peep Show on Sunday’s preshow. New Day says you don’t bring a kazoo to a trombone fight because it’s not even a real instrument. They discuss various instruments and talk about being on the Peep Show Sunday but tonight, they want to deal with Mark Henry for walking out on them last week. Therefore, it’s time for a match.

Mark Henry vs. Big E.

Henry slams him down to start and we get a Junkyard Dog headbutt to send E. outside. A New Day distraction lets Big E. drive Henry into the barricade, setting up a one man Unicorn Stampede back inside. The Warrior Splash gets two and Big E. puts on the abdominal stretch, only to have Henry throw him around like he’s nothing. A big boot drops Big E. but he avoids a charge in the corner and loads up the Big Ending, only to have Henry fall off before the impact, giving Big E. the pin at 4:42.

Rating: D+. Those were some impressive power displays out there but it looks like Henry might be hurt again. I mean to be fair it’s been a while since he’s had a long term injury so it’s kind of appropriate that he has one last one for the road. I know he means nothing these days, but Henry’s power is still awesome to see.

Here’s Brie Bella for an in ring interview. Before she can get anywhere, here are Charlotte and Ric to interrupt. Does Ric actually do anything these days or is he just there as a bonus? Charlotte talks about Bryan being in a league of his own back in the day but Brie says that Bryan is still in that league. The champ is surprised that Brie isn’t at home with her husband after that devastating of a loss.

Brie knows that Bryan supports her 100%. Charlotte: “You mean you support you and Daniel 100%.” They argue back and forth with Charlotte saying Brie needs to go back home and help her injured family, which Brie thinks is a way to get out of Sunday’s show. Charlotte insults Brie’s unborn goat faced vegan babies and it’s on. Ric pulls his daughter to the floor before he can get involved, likely because this isn’t covered by Medicare.

We look back at the Wyatts destroying people over the last few weeks.

The Miz vs. AJ Styles

Chris Jericho is on commentary. Miz jumps him before the bell and since DQ’s aren’t a thing unless the script calls for them, we’re ready to go with Miz in early control. Some hard forearms set up a chinlock followed by a double arm crank on AJ. Back up and the Reality Check is broken up but Miz knocks him to the floor for something like a slingshot dropkick through the ropes. Miz stops to yell at Jericho though, allowing AJ to hit the springboard forearm off the steps as we go to a break.

Back with Miz getting two off a top rope ax handle and hitting the chinlock again. AJ pops up with some shots to the face and a running seated forearm. There’s another forearm in the corner as Jericho talks about how versatile AJ is getting with that move. Miz gets two off a faceplant but the Skull Crushing Finale is countered into a rollup for two. AJ scores with the Pele but gets crotched on the top. That’s fine with AJ as he nails the springboard forearm for two more. The Skull Crushing Finale out of nowhere gets the same but Miz misses a charge in the corner, setting up the Calf Crusher for the tap at 11:50.

Rating: B. That might be a big high but I was really liking this one. AJ looked great as usual but Miz was more than hanging with him. I know he’s one of the least popular guys on the roster but Miz really can put on a good match if he’s given the chance. You knew AJ was winning here but it was a fun trip to get there.

Post match Jericho grabs a mic but AJ cuts him off, saying Jericho’s win on Smackdown just tied things up. AJ has an idea for one more match and it would be…..at Fastlane. Well that was a letdown. Jericho thinks that would be phenomenal but he’s not sure if he wants to do it one more time. He’ll think about it though and give AJ an answer on Smackdown.

Here are the Dudley Boyz but they opt to not pull out a table before climbing in the ring. Bubba invites the Usos to come out before they’ll want to hear this too. No Usos though, because they’re just like these people in the crowd according to D-Von. These people thought the Dudleyz were coming back as a nostalgia act and then ride off into the sunset. Bubba thinks this might be a shock to people but on Smackdown, they promised to never use tables again. If they ever want to see the tables again, they need to watch the WWE Network.

Summer Rae vs. Paige

Total Divas match of the week. Summer throws her around to start and chokes on the ropes and then in the corner. Paige fights up and hits a running knee in the corner for her comeback. The PTO is loaded up but Summer reverses into a rollup for the pin at 3:31.

Rating: D. So now it’s time for Paige to be put into the ridiculous losing role that isn’t going to lead anywhere because she’s not in the main Divas group. I’m sure she’ll have some relative get injured though and therefore we can move on to her beating the champ and getting a title shot based on sympathy.

Here’s Paul Heyman to talk about Sunday’s historic triple threat. One beast will emerge victorious and then face HHH for the WWE World Title at Wrestlemania. Now Paul doesn’t want to spend the next few minutes talking while Roman Reigns watches on a monitor. Therefore, he’d like Reigns to come out here for this meeting face to face. Heyman talks about the respect he has for Reigns but doesn’t believe that he can pull it off this Sunday.

In a perfect world, Reigns wins and goes home to his wife and daughter to say that daddy did it. However, Brock Lesnar is standing in his way. The other challenge in his way is Dean Ambrose, which is why this Sunday, Reigns has to choose between his daughter and his best friend. There are those who choose friends but they wind up in divorce court. There are others who stand in the middle of the ring after winning the main event of Wrestlemania but they wind up alone in the back with no friends congratulating him. This Sunday, Brock stands in his way as his enemy but so does Dean Ambrose.

Reigns chuckles at what Heyman just said but at the end of the day, Heyman knows that Reigns can beat his boy. Roman promises to win on Sunday and Heyman leaves, only to have the Dudleyz jump Reigns from behind. Cue Ambrose to make the save and likely give us a main event. The Dudleyz are dispatched and Dean tries Dirty Deeds on Reigns but gets shoved away. Dean points at the sign and they smile at each other.

Next week someone is being awarded a prize named after Vince’s father. Ok then. I wonder if this is going to replace the Warrior Award.

Another video on the Wyatts dominating people.

Zack Ryder vs. Heath Slater

Slater shoves him around to start and it’s time for the victory lap around the ring. Back in and Ryder scores with a clothesline followed by the middle rope dropkick. Slater is sent to the floor and Ryder nails a nice flip dive to take them all out. Bo offers a distraction though, allowing Slater to hit an implant DDT for the pin at 2:05.

R-Truth is on a date when Goldust appears as a waiter (R-Truth: “This isn’t Table for 3 on the WWE Network!”) to offer champagne. R-Truth: “We’re not in your house.” Goldust: “Of course not. It’s not 1997.” The champagne is sprayed all over the woman and Goldust bails. These are starting to get funnier at least.

Video on Kevin Owens, who is officially defending the title against Ziggler on Sunday.

Lucha Dragons/Neville vs. League of Nations

Sheamus is back so it’s Barrett on the floor, minus a shirt this time. Kalisto vs. Del Rio for the US Title is Sunday’s pre-show match. Kalisto headscissors Rusev to the floor to start but Del Rio gets in a cheap shot as everything breaks down. Neville and Kalisto dive off the top and Cara suicide dives through the ropes to take everyone out as we take a break.

Back with Rusev getting two on Kalisto before sending him to the floor. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Sheamus for some stomping. Kalisto knees his way out of a suplex though and makes the hot tag off to Cara as things speed up. A standing Lionsault gets two on Del Rio and it’s time for everyone to kick everyone else in the head. Cara suicide dives again to take out Del Rio but Barrett offers a distraction, setting up the top rope double stomp for the pin on Cara at 9:20.

Rating: C-. Well at least they didn’t have the champ get pinned again. Cara is fine taking the loss here as there’s almost no way the Dragons are still a thing after Wrestlemania. I would have liked to see Del Rio get his title shot on TV before the pay per view though as I really don’t need to see them AGAIN on a big stage. Good enough here though and that’s all it needed to be.

Booker T. video for Black History Month.

We see a video from earlier today of Naomi and Tamina attacking Becky Lynch.

Del Rio says that Kalisto has a long way to go before proving that he’s a real champion. Therefore, let’s make Sunday’s match a 2/3 falls match.

Naomi vs. Becky Lynch

Becky doesn’t have anyone to counter Tamina here. A quick suplex sends Naomi out to the floor but she comes back in with her dancing kicks into the kick to the head. We hit the armbar (because the kicks to the legs are forgotten) but Becky rolls into the Disarm-Her for the tap at 2:07.

Post match the beatdown is on until Sasha Banks comes out for the save.

Third Wyatts video.

Reigns/Ambrose vs. Dudley Boyz on Smackdown.

Big Show vs. Braun Strowman

Before the match, the Family tells us we have the choice to beg for mercy and embrace Bray’s freedom. The Family would destroy this machine and offer the people paradise in exchange for bowing to him. Bray has made a choice for Kane and Ryback, just like Strowman is about to make a choice for Big Show right now.

Big Show, who is appearing “live” on the Steve Austin Show immediately after this goes off the air, comes out and the opening bell rings at 11:05pm. The big power lockup sees them fight each other into the corner until Braun clotheslines him down. An elbow drop doesn’t even get a one count so Show reverses a suplex to take over. The Wyatts come in for the DQ at 2:30.

Post match the beating is on until Ryback and Kane come out for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a rough sit after the first hour. As usual, this show felt like it was just going on and on for the sake of going on and on, which is one of the last things you want on a go home show. Having the Wyatts on last was questionable at best, but I have a bad feeling the horrible rating will be blamed on Bray somehow instead of Show or Strowman. They really haven’t hidden the fact that Sunday is a one match show (plus Jericho vs. Styles which should be good) and it’s going to be a rough sit, much like this show really was.

Results

Kevin Owens b. Stardust, Dean Ambrose, Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler – Pop Up Powerbomb to Breeze

Big E. b. Mark Henry – Henry fell out of the Big Ending

AJ Styles b. The Miz – Calf Crusher

Summer Rae b. Paige – Rollup

Heath Slater b. Zack Ryder – Implant DDT

League of Nations b. Neville/Lucha Dragons – Top rope double stomp to Cara

Becky Lynch b. Naomi – Disarm-Her

Big Show b. Braun Strowman via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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This isn’t the most in depth field in the world.

We’ll start with the usual leader in Paul Heyman, who has two options here. These weren’t exactly his best efforts, especially compared to last year, but they’re still both soild options.

First up we have the post Wrestlemania promo with Heyman saying Brock will be getting his rematch that night instead of waiting any amount of time. This was all about the delivery that only Heyman can bring.

Second was GLORY GLORY BROCK LESNAR with Heyman breaking into song. There isn’t much else to say about this one but sweet goodness it was catchy.

Since this is going to be a short list, I’ll throw in Bray Wyatt bragging about being the new demon of WWE after kidnapping Undertaker and stealing his soul or whatever it was he did. Now of course this didn’t lead anywhere but it was cool at the time with the thunder and lightning helping a lot.

With those out of the way, we’re up to the real winner: Kevin Owens’ debut promo against John Cena. I mean…..dang man. Owens looked more comfortable in front of a main roster audience than anyone in years. His line of “You don’t get to give me advice. I’ve been doing this longer than you.” set the tone for his entire run and there was no looking back. The fact that he actually beat Cena in their showdown made this even better. Owens was instantly a player with this promo though and it was the best all year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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This might as well be named the Heyman Award.

Let’s get some of the easier ones out of the way first.

Renee Young is adorable. Like, too adorable. She’s going to wind up at ESPN at some point and WWE will lose one of their most versatile backstage people they’ve had in a long time. She’s gorgeous, she’s smart, she’s witty and she knows she is. That’s a very powerful combination and she makes it work.

Lana…..dang how could they screw her up this badly? If there has ever been someone who seemed ready to explode on the Divas division and be one of the most over acts in years (not named Bayley or Sasha that is), this should have been it. Instead though, they put her with Dolph Ziggler where she disappears and then back with Rusev because all hail TMZ and now she’s disappeared even more. They had something here and then just completely overthought it and screwed the whole thing up.

Corey Graves is growing on me a lot in recent months but he’s not quite there yet.

Maria Kanellis was on fire in ROH this year as she was nailing the “yeah I know I’m gorgeous” characters and running with it as the Queen of the Kingdom. Unfortunately ROH didn’t really do much with her, though she was always awesome on screen.

William Regal is still the best GM in years, though he wasn’t around much this year.

Now we’ll get to the big ones.

Stephanie McMahon. To save myself from a rant, we’ll go with she’s awesome and if she actually got what was coming to her a few times (and learned how to speak like a human), she would run away with this almost every year. Oh and stop dancing. It’s not funny and doesn’t make us relate to you.

HHH…..can you really call him a non-wrestler? I mean, he wrestles every now and then. HHH is what an authority figure should be: he speaks very well, can go on some power mad rampages, but knows how to take a GREAT beating to make up for it. Unless you’re from WCW and then he must destroy you, after having a Terminator themed entrance with an Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo of course. Seriously what was that?

That leaves us with two, including Heyman himself. Here’s the thing though: he really hasn’t been around this year. When he’s there he’s great, but there’s no other Paul Heyman Guy to fill in time until Brock comes back from his multiple sabbaticals. Heyman can talk very well, but I can only hear him talk about knowing Roman Reigns’ family and how Undertaker is the last gunslinger or whatever so many times before I just stop caring. This was an off year for Heyman, and that’s probably due to ring rust.

Finally though, we have a concept you don’t often see in wrestling: an actor portraying a character to make it all the more awesome. That brings us to our winner: Dario Cueto of Lucha Underground. Dario has some of the most entertaining appearances and best speaking skills you’ll ever see. Above all else though, he makes you believe what he’s saying. It’s just fun to watch the guy and he’s evil for the sake of being evil. What more can you ask for than that? Cueto wins here and he more than earned it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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

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I know it’s last minute but I needed to get this in before Takeover tonight or there’s really no point in doing it. We’re almost to Summerslam and it’s time for one last gasp to try to make Undertaker a heel against Brock as we’re in Brock’s hometown. Other than that we’re going to get the big go home promo from Cena which is destined to rock. Let’s get to it.

HHH and Stephanie opened things up with a commercial for Summerslam, which continues to show that these two are almost incapable of having a normal discussion of anything. Stephanie is WAY worse about it though as HHH seems like he could turn it off if he wanted, but Stephanie really does seem like this is the way she thinks. Couple that with the law stating that no one is ever allowed to get one over on her in any way shape or form and she can get really annoying in a hurry. She’s incredibly talented, but my goodness she can get annoying in a hurry.

Orton/Cesaro beat Owens/Sheamus in your standard Raw tag match. The ending seemed a bit botched as Owens was either too far away for the RKO or wasn’t ready to take it. The more I think about it, the more the former seems likely as the RKO isn’t exactly the hardest move in the world to take as you just have to fall on your face, which is about as standard of a move as there is. I’m sure Owens will get the blame for it anyway though as WWE is the kind of company where if you botch something, the best solution is to punish you for about a month instead of just forgetting about it and writing it off as a one off error.

The problem with the match was that it wasn’t very exciting. They basically chinlocked each other for about eight minutes and then did a few other things. Unfortunately there isn’t enough interest in either feud because we’ve seen them fight each other about a half dozen times in tag matches, because, as I spent a lot of time in the original review talking about, WWE currently has about four ways to build a feud with “tonight, it’s a must see tag match” being at the top of the list.

Undertaker says he’ll win on Sunday. Simple, to the point, and not eight minutes for the sake of talking for eight minutes because that’s how they do promos. Why can’t more people get this treatment? Like Orton for example. He can talk well enough, but he’s really, really not suited for the long winded promos like Cena and HHH. WWE really needs to understand that wrestling isn’t a one size fits all industry.

Rollins told the Authority he wants a statue if he wins on Sunday. Why do I have a feeling that’s the latest version of a trophy which must be destroyed?

Reigns beat Harper for the third time in the last month. This is in addition to the two tag matches they’ve been in against each other. Yeah the matches are entertaining, but there are other people you can use for these matches. Since July 20, and again omitting the tags, those two have spent a combined 40 minutes fighting each other on TV. Now I’m supposed to want to see them fight again in a featured match on pay per view, which is likely getting nearly 20 more minutes?

Think of it like this. I love Star Wars. It’s one of my favorite movies and I’ve seen it more times than I can count. That being said, if I watched it three times in a month, I’d probably start getting bored with it. Yeah Reigns vs. Harper is normally entertaining, but how many times can I watch Harper do his power stuff and then eat a spear for the pin? Mix that stuff up a little bit, especially when you have the roster you have on tap. Let them squash people and then cut promos instead. You get two matches and talking. I’m sure that could eat up the fifteen minutes instead of “dang these two AGAIN?”

Becky Lynch beat Tamina in a lame match. I’ll get into this more later (as I have way too often lately), but there’s no reason for the Divas to be fighting at the moment.

Speaking of overdone matches, Rusev made Mark Henry tap to the Accolade. Just stop with this. It wasn’t really that interesting at its peak, and it hasn’t been interesting whatsoever in the three times Henry has been squashed by Rusev in August alone. Like I said, when WWE gets an idea stuck in their head, that’s all you’re going to see for a long time.

Post match Ziggler returned to save Lana, giving us more of some of the worst chemistry in history. The pairing doesn’t work, so we’re stuck with it for the time being. Remember those WE WANT LANA chants from before? Notice that they’re gone when she’s with Ziggler? Well apparently WWE wants it that way, likely because Lana isn’t on Total Divas.

So I know I harp a lot on WWE repeating things. It seems there’s something to that as they reaired the same Undertaker vs. Lesnar video from last week. I get that you can’t record some huge, epic package every week, but you couldn’t grab a camera and get some fresh interviews with people talking about the match?

Ryback beat Miz in a preview for Sunday. I’m never a fan of having a challenger lose clean (or in any way really) to the champion before a title shot and I didn’t like it here. Have Miz walk out or something, but don’t have him get pinned in a short match.

Now we get to one of the biggest stories of the night with the contract signing (that would be the other big idea creative uses) between John Cena and Seth Rollins. I covered most of this in the column this week, but I didn’t mention Cena and Rollins both acknowledging that Rollins is basically HHH’s son in this whole story.

The sooner they get away from this, the much better Rollins will be for it. The idea that Rollins, who is the World Champion, is about half way to being a HHH tribute (note that I said halfway. This could be WAY worse, like with AJ Styles and Ric Flair in early 2010). Rollins is capable of being a huge star in the mold of a Jeff Hardy or Shawn Michaels but he has to stop and pay homage to HHH. Now I’d say it’s pretty clear that he’s going to go over HHH at some point, but they need to actually get to that point instead of having Rollins use the Pedigree, which is completely wrong for him. It’s fine for a payoff, but the road there is tough.

There was an eight man tag with the four teams in Sunday’s match. The good guys won.

Stardust and Barrett talked about their match on Sunday. I could go for these two as a regular team. It’s not like they have anything else going on.

Sasha Banks made Nikki Bella tap out in a non-title match. Not that this means anything of course and not that it’s likely to be mentioned again after Sunday of course. Since Sasha made Nikki tap, there was no mention of a title shot anytime soon. I’m so fed up with this non-story and I really do think it would have been better to hold off on the Revolution until after Summerslam. If nothing else it means Banks isn’t likely to be champion anymore (not that you would know she is because it might affect the Bella brand, which is TOTALLY a thing) and you can focus on chasing the Divas Title, which will finally be in season. Enough of this though, as I’m running out of things to complain about with the story.

Speaking of running out of things to say, Heyman is getting close to that point with the Undertaker vs. Lesnar rematch. This time he opted for singing hymns about Brock, which led to Undertaker coming out again and kicking Lesnar low. As usual, WWE only knows one or two ways to put together a story and if that means doing some of the most nonsensical things they can come up with to get to face Lesnar vs. heel Undertaker, so be it.

That’s the big summary of WWE’s issues: instead of booking to suit the talent, they plug the talent into formulas they may not fit into because that’s how they run the shows. Undertaker isn’t working as this heel they want him to be, so they’re likely going to keep pushing it until we get the third match in a trilogy at Wrestlemania, because WWE loves itself some trilogies, for Undertaker’s retirement match. The segment was good until the Undertaker completely went away from his character, but that’s how things work in WWE. At least the writers got what they wanted out of it and if we don’t like it, that’s on us I guess.

Overall this wasn’t a great show, but it set up Summerslam well and sold me on the main events. I’m not wild on how they’re going about Undertaker vs. Lesnar, but the match has the potential to be an awesome brawl. That is of course unless they have to protect Undertaker, which is more than understandable as Cena could barely survive that kind of a beating. I’m sold on the upper card, but that midcard stuff is going to need one heck of a coupon to get me on board.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Finally, make sure to check out the Wrestling Bundle, which wraps up Sunday August 23 at midnight EST. Here are the details:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/16/the-wrestling-bundle/

Checked it out today and while I won’t go through it step by step, there was one thing that caught my attention.Near the end where Austin and Heyman teased a match against Lesnar next year at Wrestlemania (no I don’t think it’s happening but there’s always a chance), Austin turned into the Rattlesnake in the blink of an eye.  That sort of thing always amazes me as they just morph into a character like it’s nothing.  Foley is great at this sort of thing too and it goes along with what you hear old timers talk about: you’re not playing a character.  You ARE that character.  It’s a very different way of portraying someone and the old way is almost always the most effective.

Yeah I’m a bit behind on these things.  There’s not much to say here but I have three notes.

1. Yeah it really is as good as people say it is. It’s interesting that two of the best documentaries they’ve ever had have focused on something related to ECW. Heyman may not be the most popular guy in the history of wrestling, but he’s one of the most fascinating stories the business has ever seen.

2. I’ll go conservative and estimate about 75% of what he said was a lie.

3. “He does everything Vince hates. He yells too much, he keeps going forever and he never lets the story breathe.”

– Stephanie McMahon, who may in fact be the most delusional, clueless and least self-aware person to ever appear on a WWE television show.