Monday Night Raw
Date: April 27, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips,

We’re coming up on Money in the Bank, meaning it is time for wrestlers to start building momentum by getting pins or submissions to build to a match that has nothing to do with pins or submissions. If nothing else, there’s a heck of a drinking game to be played regarding how many times commentary references climbing the corporate ladder. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with MVP’s VIP Lounge. MVP talks about how awesome Money in the Bank is going to be and brings out Rey Mysterio, Aleister Black (MVP: “Please don’t break anything.”) and Apollo Crews. Rey is asked what it means to be Mr. Money in the Bank but MVP won’t let him answer, saying that it’s just another great moment on an already legendary career. Black probably wants to be moved up to stardom. Crews actually gets to speak….for a few words as Zelina Vega and company cut him off.

Zelina laughs at the idea of any of the three of them winning Money in the Bank. The WWE Universe can’t get enough of the three of her people because they are the future. The three people in the ring were the future at one point but they would mean Mr. Money in the Bank is on Smackdown. What needs to happen is her three replacing these three, but Rey isn’t buying that. The brawl is on and Zelina’s guys are sent outside to get read for the upcoming six man.

Andrade/Angel Garza/Austin Theory vs. Rey Mysterio/Aleister Black/Apollo Crews

Hey look it’s the most obvious six man tag since the last time they set up an obvious six man tag. Black and Garza grapple on the mat to start with Black slipping away and grabbing an armbar. It’s off to Crews to armdrag Theory into another armbar, followed by Rey sending Theory into the corner. Andrade has to break up a double 619 to Garza and Theory so Rey sends him into the ropes for the 619 instead.

That doesn’t work either so Black and Crews hit big running flip dives over the top as we take a break. Back with Theory working on a reverse chinlock on Black and it’s Andrade coming in for some kicks tot he ribs. Theory is back with the front facelock and a torture rack to send Black into the corner. Black comes out with kicks to the face and a rolling victory roll for two but there’s no hot tag yet.

Another kick to the face rocks Theory though and it’s off to Rey to clean house. Garza tries to throw Rey at Andrade but it’s a hurricanrana to take Andrade down instead. A gutbuster drops Rey though and GARZA TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! Back from another break with Mysterio still in trouble in the corner, including a gorilla press drop from Theory.

Mysterio tornado DDTs his way to freedom and Crews gets the second hot tag to pick up the pace again. Crews powerslams Theory but Theory slams him down for two. The ATL is broken up and it’s Black coming back in to set up the parade of everyone knocking each other down. Andrade’s spinning back elbow gets two on Crews, but the toss powerbomb finishes Andrade at 24:26.

Rating: B-. This was long but didn’t get dull, which is a rarity for a match like this one. Crews getting the pin helps, though it isn’t going to matter much if he is dropped after the pay per view. Having him go after the US Title would be fine, as it’s not like the title has been anything of note now.

Didn’t get enough HHH praise on Smackdown? Well tonight it’s the Top Ten Moments of HHH’s Career! We’ll start with HHH taking over the leadership of DX the night after Wrestlemania XIV.

9. Beating Sting at Wrestlemania XXXI. It was one of the goofiest things I’ve ever seen and I loved every second of it, save for HHH winning and the post match handshake after a sledgehammer to the head.

Andrade is mad about the loss and blames his partners. Crews can’t beat him one on one. Andrade and Zelina leave when Crews comes in to say he can beat Andrade again, even if the second match is tonight. Andrade comes in and says bring it on. That means a HARD slap and the title match is set for tonight.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre.

8. Beating the Rock in the first Smackdown main event.

7. Stephanie walks in on HHH and Trish Stratus. That still works.

Asuka vs. Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler

Before the match, Asuka yells about Nia injuring Kairi Sane and says that she tapped Nia out two years ago. Baszler pulls Asuka to the floor to start the beating in a hurry, including a whip into a barricade. Nia breaks that up and gets kicked in the head by both of them as we’re still waiting on the opening bell. Asuka sends Baszler into the steps but gets dropped HARD by Nia. Nia throws in a ladder and runs both of them over as the referee seems to have left rather than try to make this a match. Nia teases tossing a ladder onto the two of them but drops it down instead. No match.

Bobby Lashley asks Lana to stay in the back for the next match. She’s so beautiful and it’s a distraction you see.

Bobby Lashley vs. Denzel DeJournette

Lashley takes him down without much effort to start and it’s a trip to the corner for some forearms to the chest. Denzel gets in a shot to the face so that’s an ax handle to the back. A release suplex drops Denzel again sets up the spear for the pin at 1:43.

We look at Liv Morgan beating Ruby Riott last week.

Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott

Ruby trips her down to start but a headscissors out of the corner is reversed into a faceplant. The Riott Kick connects out of nowhere and Ruby is stunned by the kickout. Ruby stomps on her fingers and talks trash against the ropes but Liv is right back with the springboard Downward Spiral (Oblivion) for the pin at 2:55. Liv still has a long way to go but having her win matches is the first step.

Post match Liv says she is still trying to figure out who she is but she’s confident she can work it out.

6. Beating Mankind to win the 1997 King of the Ring.

Money in the Bank rundown.

Nia Jax isn’t worried about people not liking her and threatens Charly Caruso a bit. No one can do anything about what she does, including Asuka and Shayna Baszler.

The Viking Raiders are ready for the Street Profits and the Tag Team Titles. The Profits have never beaten then and that isn’t changing at Money in the Bank. As long as they are around, the Profits will always be second best. Prove them wrong.

5. The NXT Invasion in 2019. Couldn’t you just say NXT overall?

Jinder Mahal vs. Akira Tozawa

Mahal slams him down to start and takes Tozawa to the floor. Choking against the barricade and tosses into various things keep Tozawa down. Back in and a Samoa drop plants Tozawa and the Khallas gives Mahal the pin at 1:37. This was Mahal doing the same stuff with shorter hair.

Zelina isn’t happy with Charly for asking Andrade a question. Zelina and Andrade leave but here’s Garza to say he and Charly should get better acquainted. He even has a rose for her and the smile is on.

4. DX impersonates the McMahons. Some of these are a lot more questionable than others.

United States Title: Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is challenging and Vega is here with Andrade. Feeling out process to start with Andrade working on a wristlock. That’s reversed into an armbar as Vega isn’t looking pleased with the goings on. Crews’ front facelock doesn’t last long and it’s Andrade grabbing a headlock instead. They go to the floor for a bit, followed by Andrade taking him back inside to stomp away.

Some choking and a dropkick keep Crews in trouble but Andrade misses a running knee in the corner. That means a nasty crash to the floor but Andrade avoids a moonsault, causing Crews to tweak his knee as we take a break. Back with Andrade working on a half crab, only to miss the running knees in the corner. Crews hits an Angle Slam and they’re both down. An overhead belly to belly sends Andrade flying but he gets a boot up in the corner.

Crews is back with a press slam and the standing moonsault for two but Andrade is back with a whip into the corner. Now the running knees can connect for two as Vega is losing her mind. Crews blocks the spinning elbow but the gorilla press is countered into a DDT for two. The hammerlock DDT is countered into an enziguri and a powerslam gives Crews two of his own. Crews knocks Andrade off the top but misses a top rope splash and hurts the knee again. Andrade kicks him to the apron and the referee stops it at 16:45.

Rating: B-. I was surprised by the ending but this doesn’t feel like it’s over. Crews is someone who needs a major moment if he is ever going to break through and I’m not sure how much longer he can go without one. It’s not like Andrade has done anything with the title in four months, which is the case with almost anyone who holds it for almost any amount of time.

3. Evolution.

We look back at Crews vs. Andrade. More on this later.

The Street Profits don’t like what the Viking Raiders said. Last week the Profits were putting in work while the Raiders were doing Carpool Karaoke. It’s true though: the Profits have never beaten them. That can change next week.

We look at a clip of Becky Lynch’s 24 as she won the Raw Women’s Title last year at Wrestlemania. Everyone knows she is ready to be a star. Becky: “What do you do when all your dreams come true? Make up some new ones.” This feels about eight months late.

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet vs. Ever-Rise

Martel gets sent into Alexander’s knee to the ribs and it’s a running flip neckbreaker into a backbreaker for two. It’s off to Parker, who gets in an elbow to Ricochet’s back to take over. Ricochet fights out of a chinlock though and it’s off to Cedric to start cleaning house. Everything breaks down and Cedric hits a standing moonsault for two on Martel. Ricochet dropkicks Parker to the floor and it’s a top rope double stomp into a Downward Spiral to finish Parker at 4:08.

Rating: C-. Just a match here with Cedric and Ricochet looking fine in a short win. It’s fine to put them together for something to do, even though Ricochet should be a star on his own at the moment. I’ll take it over him doing nothing at all though and that’s what his alternative seems to be at the moment.

Post match MVP pops up on screen to introduce Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne. They want a rematch and MVP sees box office platinum. Cedric and Ricochet are fine with that.

2. The DX invasion. Good grief how many times do we need to see this same stupid clip?

Crews now has a wrap on his knee and is limping around on crutches. Charly comes up to say this probably hinders his progress. Crews starts crying and leaves without saying anything.

Another McIntyre vs. Rollins video.

1. The quad tear and return. If my memory serves me right, we saw almost all ten of these moments on Friday. We’re just lucky enough to see this collection twice you see.

Next week: Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders for the Tag Team Titles.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring to talk about Money in the Bank, including the Raw World Title match. Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre come out and McIntyre tells Lawler to leave for this. Lawler is out in a hurry and McIntyre signs without much thinking about it. Rollins doesn’t sign yet so McIntyre says time’s ticking.

That sends Rollins into a rant about how he doesn’t want to do this but has to. This is bigger than all of them and Drew will be a great champion one day. Rollins has to do this because he had to suffer for that title. He doesn’t want what happened to him to happen to Drew because it is his burden to carry. When that time comes, Rollins can lead Drew as well. Drew: “You’re full of s***.”

Drew tells him to stop talking forever because no one wants to hear Seth talk. Rollins says that the big picture will be clear at Money in the Bank and he signs. He goes to talk about having faith but Drew sends him face first into the table. The ring is cleared and a headbutt drops Seth so the Claymore is loaded up. Cue Murphy to kick McIntyre in the head, earning himself a hug from Rollins. McIntyre is back up and Claymores Murphy to end the show. This was the latest in WWE’s rather long string of contract signings, most of which aren’t all that interesting. That was the case here, but Rollins’ delivery did help.

Overall Rating: C. I liked this one more than recent weeks as they certainly have a focus going into the pay per view. That being said, it’s not the most interesting time in the world and waiting around to get to the ladder match can be a tedious few weeks. They had some nice stuff this week, but it would be nice to get done with the ladder match so we can get back to some more normal shows.

Results

Apollo Crews/Aleister Black/Rey Mysterio b. Andrade/Angel Garza/Austin Theory – Toss powerbomb to Andrade

Bobby Lashley b. Denzel DeJournette – Spear

Liv Morgan b. Ruby Riott – Oblivion

Jinder Mahal b. Akira Tozawa – Khallas

Andrade b. Apollo Crews via referee stoppage

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet b. Ever-Rise – Downward Spiral/Top rope double stomp combination to Parker

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: April 23, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, MVP

It’s time for another one of these and I’m not sure what there is to think about it anymore. These empty arena shows are draining me of any reason to care and this is my least favorite time of the year. We’ll be seeing a lot of Money in the Bank build and that isn’t exactly thrilling stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Asuka vs. Catalina

You may remember Catalina from her short term run on Raw. Asuka takes her into the corner for a grab of the mask and it’s time to walk around a bit. Catalina grabs the arm to send Asuka face first into the mat but Asuka is right back with an armbar. An armdrag sends Asuka outside and Catalina hits a running boot to the face.

That’s about it for Catalina though as Asuka hits her in the face on the floor and kicks her in the head back inside. An armbar and the running hip attack in the corner have Catalina in more trouble and a bulldog gets two. Catalina fights back with a clothesline but misses the twisting Swanton. A kick to the head sets up the Asuka Lock for the tap at 7:04.

Rating: C. Catalina is someone who could go somewhere with some more time and experience in the WWE style but as young as she is, she has a long time left to get there. Asuka had to sweat a bit here before the win and that’s more than you would expect from a match like this. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Catalina again as she made a small splash and then vanished.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss to start things off. After bragging about being two time Women’s Tag Team Champions (I completely forgot their first reign, which isn’t a good sign for titles that are fourteen months old), Nikki Cross brings out Braun Strowman. They congratulate Braun on being the new Universal Champion but bring up the fact that he is officially defending against Bray Wyatt (not the Fiend) at Money in the Bank.

Strowman knows Bray and the games he plays so Bray is going to get these hands. There’s a present on the mat though and it seems to be for Braun. Inside is….the old mask he wore as part of the Wyatt Family. Braun looks upset and we hear Bray’s laughter as a picture of Braun in the mask comes on the screen.

We see some men qualifying for Money in the Bank.

From Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Murphy

Rey headlocks him down to start and it’s an early standoff. Murphy takes over with an armbar but has to duck an early 619 attempt. Some forearms put Rey on the floor and Murphy drives him into the barricade. Back in and Murphy stays on the arm until Rey armdrags him to the floor.

That works fine for Murphy, who catches a dive and stomps on the arm on the ramp. Back from a break with Murphy still on the arm but Rey snaps off a hurricanrana on the floor. They get back in with Rey hitting a tornado DDT and heading to the apron again. A dropkick sends Murphy into the barricade but he’s right back with a spinning facebuster onto the knee. Murphy’s brainbuster gets two so he goes up top, only to get caught with a super Destroyer. The 619 into the frog splash finishes Murphy at 15:09.

Rating: C+. That was certainly a Money in the Bank qualifying match. They did moves to each other and Mysterio made the comeback win. During those fifteen minutes, we heard references to climbing the corporate ladder roughly 284 times because someone came up with that line and WWE has decided it’s the cleverest line in history.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Shelton Benjamin

Yes again. Shelton quickly wrestles him down to start as MVP gets on Phillips for not acknowledging his great point about Shelton’s career. Back up and Carrillo sends him into the ropes, setting up some rapid fire forearms to the face. They wind up on the apron for stereo big boots and we take a break.

Back with Carrillo slipping out of a suplex and kicking away, only to get caught with a running knee in the corner. Another suplex lets Shelton chuckle a bit and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and Carrillo grabs a running hurricanrana. Shelton powerbombs him out of the air but is quickly small packaged for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C-. This is threatening to become the new Main Event Special with one meeting after another. It’s a watchable enough match but it isn’t something that I need to see week after week. WWE can do a lot of things with this show and I really hope that they don’t choose to do this match so often that it becomes a running joke.

From Smackdown.

Tag Team Titles: Big E. vs. Jey Uso vs. The Miz

Miz is defending the titles on his own. The challengers waste no time in sending Miz outside before Big E. runs Jey over. Big E. talks about having a plan but the other two are back up to suplex him through the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Jey hitting back to back suicide dives.

The running Umaga Attacks in the corner make it worse but Big E. catches Jey with the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Miz even goes aerial with a springboard ax handle, allowing him to start the HEY HEY HO HO. Miz can’t Figure Four Jey, who kicks him into Big E. for two instead. The Skull Crushing Final gets two on Jey and now the Figure Four goes on. Big E. breaks that up with the Big Ending to Miz for the pin and the titles at 9:45.

Rating: C-. Kind of a surprising ending as we continue to have New Day as placeholder champions, though they’ve been placeholder champions for what feels like years now. Normally I would say that I hope this doesn’t lead to the Forgotten Sons winning the titles because that would almost guarantee that it does, so yeah I’ve just screwed it up all over again.

We cut to Kofi at his house for an AND NEEEEEEWWWWW for a nice smile inducing moments.

Xavier Woods throws in a bunch of plugs.

Big E. rolls around on the floor shouting EIGHT TIMES to end the show.

We look at Seth Rollins attacking Drew McIntyre.

From Raw.

Angel Garza vs. Drew McIntyre

Non-title and Vega and company are at ringside again. McIntyre goes straight for the knee to start and there’s the overhead belly to belly to send Garza rolling to the floor. Some chops against the barricade have Garza in trouble and Andrade’s posting fails. So does Garza’s suicide dive and McIntyre headbutts him, only to have to deal with Theory.

That allows Garza to hit a posting, followed by a missile dropkick for two back inside. McIntyre fights out of a half crab and kicks Garza in the face. Garza tries to escape so McIntyre PULLS OFF GARZA’S PANTS as Garza gets to the floor. The big flip dive connects and McIntyre takes out Andrade and Theory. Back in and the Claymore finishes Garza at 5:02.

Rating: C. This was an entertaining squash as McIntyre swatted Garza away like a fly. Even the rest of the team couldn’t do anything to slow him down and that’s what you should be doing with the champ. McIntyre looked awesome here and it showed how far ahead he is of Vega and company. It was a great showcase and that’s what it needed to be.

Post match McIntyre gives Garza another Claymore. Theory comes in and gets one of his own for good measure. McIntyre chases Andrade up the ramp and strikes the Tranquilo pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Not much to see here as the shows they’re recapping aren’t exactly thrilling. Raw and Smackdown are now little more than below average wrestling shows with no fans. There are some nice moments involved, but it’s not like these shows would be good with fans in the first place. Couple that with more of the same matches you see so frequently on this show and it’s not a great sign.

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

Smackdown
Date: November 25, 2005
Location: Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Survivor Series and that means we will probably be having some Raw appearances to hammer home the show’s main event. The brand vs. brand idea has worked out well enough so far so hopefully they can take it over the finish line well enough. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Smackdown vs. Raw feud, which has centered around Kane/Big Show vs. Batista.

Opening sequence.

Teddy Long is in the parking lot and tells security to be on guard for Raw.

United States Title: Chris Benoit vs. Booker T.

Booker is defending and here’s Sharmell, now in a crown, to handle his introduction. They stare and shove to start before locking up around the ropes. A drop toehold takes Booker down and frustration is setting in early. Benoit chops away in the corner but Booker kicks him in the face and grabs a front facelock. You don’t do that to Benoit, who pops up and starts chopping away again.

Booker’s sidekick misses but he drapes Benoit over the top rope instead. They fight over a suplex to the floor until Booker sends him into the corner and we take a break. Back with Booker working on the arm but Benoit hits a running should for the double knockdown. It’s Booker up first with a suplex for two and Sharmell is not happy with the speed of the count.

The armbar goes on again and Cole starts comparing the fans’ reactions between Raw and Smackdown, which actually makes sense for once. Back up and the referee gets bumped, leaving Benoit to roll the German suplexes into the Sharpshooter. Another referee comes in to see Booker make the rope. More rolling German suplexes put both of them down until Benoit heads up top. The superplex brings him back down and they interlock legs on the landing with the original referee getting up to count the double pin.

Rating: B-. These two are always good together and they had another nice match here. The ending should set up something for Survivor Series, which does have room for a few more matches to round out the card. We could be in for something good if they’re given the time on the pay per view.

Post match the argument is on so here’s Long to look at the replay. He doesn’t see either of them winning so let’s have a best of seven series for the title with the first match taking place on Sunday.

In the parking lot, JBL goes up to a white van because it must have the Raw guys inside. It’s actually the Boogeyman and freaking out ensues.

Animal/Heidenreich vs. The Dicks

It’s a brawl on the floor to start as Cole reminds us that the Dicks cost Animal and Heidenreich the Tag Team Titles a few weeks back. Heidenreich punches at James to start and then does the same to James to keep things even. A throat snap across the top puts Heidenreich in trouble and the slow beatdown is on. Heidenreich gets a boot up in the corner though and it’s off to Animal to run them over. James sprays baby oil in Animal’s eyes though and a rollup (with an assist) gives Chad the cheap pin.

Rating: D. Well at least the Animal/Heidenreich run seems to be over. The team worked for a short while and while having them hold the titles for three months was a bit much, it didn’t go on so long that it was a major problem. Then you have two guys named the Dicks and suddenly I could go for a heck of a lot more Animal/Heidenreich.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy

Matt grabs a headlock to start and a suplex doesn’t even get Kennedy out of trouble. Kennedy gets him on top but Hardy elbows his way to freedom. The moonsault….well it hit Kennedy’s legs but he was rolling away so I guess that counts as a miss? Kennedy puts on a chinlock with a knee in the back until Hardy fights up and hits a Russian legsweep. The Side Effect gives Hardy two so he goes up, where he has to fight out of the super Regal Roll. Hardy clotheslines him to the floor and they fight outside with Kennedy grabbing a chair. The referee tries to take it away but gets hit in the ribs instead, meaning Hardy winds by DQ.

Rating: D+. Another match that didn’t have much time to make anything work here but they’re more interesting than the people in the tag match. Kennedy continues to be protected as he still hasn’t been pinned around here. It’s nice to see them doing something with someone and Hardy getting a win might help him build up some momentum. Now if only the match could have done more than existing.

Eric Bischoff is here but can’t get through security. Long comes up and Bischoff says they’re coming.

Christy Hemme vs. Melina

MNM is here with Melina. Christy dropkicks her before the bell but Mercury shoves Christy down on the floor. That’s good for a double ejection and Christy is back on her at the bell. A hair pull lets Melina get in a backbreaker though and we hit the bow and arrow. Back up and Christy grabs a sunset flip for two but Melina is right back with a faceplant for the pin.

Rating: D. This was all about eye candy and that’s fine and good given what the two of them are capable of doing. Christy is clearly trying as hard as she can out there and she isn’t a nightmare in the ring or anything, but she’s firmly in the group of women mainly there for her looks who has a match every now and then. The effort means a lot though and that was on display here.

Batista gets taped up but Randy Orton, his challenger for later tonight, comes in to say he wants no excuses in their title match. Orton is better than the rest of Evolution, and tonight he’s proving it. Batista remembers HHH beating Orton and then Batista beat HHH. Wasn’t Orton the one who got kicked to the curb? Orton isn’t pleased as Batista leaves.

We see Nunzio winning the Cruiserweight Title at a house show in Rome.

Here are Carlito and Chris Masters carrying tickets.

Cruiserweight Title: Nunzio vs. Juventud Guerrera

Nunzio is defending, Vito and the Mexicools are outside and they forearm it out to start. Juvy hits a few chops and a spinwheel kick gets two. That’s enough to send Nunzio outside but Juvy misses a dive. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Juvy is back up with a spinwheel kick. A pumphandle driver gives Juvy two so he sends Nunzio into the corner. Nunzio tries to jump over him but gets Juvy Drivered to give Juvy the title back.

Rating: C-. They packed a decent bit into this and having the title change hands again was the right call. Nunzio winning the title for a feel good moment in Italy was fine but Juvy is a lot more important at the moment. Granted that’s on the Cruiserweight Title scale so it’s not like any of this matters compared to anything else on the show. At least it was better than some of the previous matches though.

Survivor Series rundown.

William Regal/Paul Burchill vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/Rey Mysterio

Jillian Hall is here with JBL and Mysterio. Regal and Mysterio start for what could be an interesting pairing. JBL breaks up a very early cover so Mysterio is taken into the English corner with Burchill coming in. The 619 connects and Rey Drops the Dime, followed by the Clothesline From JBL to Regal. Cue Shawn Michaels for a superkick to JBL though, followed by Carlito and Masters running in. Some Smackdown wrestlers chase them off.

Undertaker is back at Survivor Series.

Bobby Lashley vs. Orlando Jordan

Jordan doesn’t even get an entrance. He tries to jump Lashley at the bell but gets spinebustered and suplexed. The Dominator finishes Jordan in about a minute.

Smackdown security has been beaten down in the parking lot so Teddy has sent the locker room to ringside for the main event.

Smackdown World Title: Randy Orton vs. Batista

Batista is defending and heavily taped up. They stare each other down, circle a bit, lock up, and then start fighting off the invading Raw wrestlers as the match is thrown out in about a minute.

Post match the big brawl is on with Orton and Batista cleaning house until Big Show and Kane show up. It’s a double chokeslam through the announcers’ table to destroy Batista to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was the kind of hyper focused show that the pay per view needed and to be fair I do want to see the show a bit more now. That main event is going to carry the show though and they made that very clear here. Hopefully they can pull that off but you never know around here. Not a very good show on its own but it did what it was supposed to do.

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 20, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler

We’re firmly in Money in the Bank mode as we continue the long process of finding people to climb to the roof of a really tall building. You can’t say it’s the same thing we’ve seen over and over again so maybe we can have something unique here as well. I wouldn’t bet on it but it’s possible. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Drew McIntyre vs. Zelina Vega and company plus Seth Rollins last week.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for a chat. Drew talks about how everything went last week. The title means a lot of things to everyone and those things are cool. To him, it means a target on his back because it makes him the best of the best. McIntyre understands that it’s lonely at the top and that’s why Rollins attacked him last week. Now, Drew could make Seth jump through hoops, or he could challenge Seth for Money in the Bank.

Cue Vega and company to say they’re tired of his speeches. Drew is looking forward to Money in the Bank so he isn’t paying attention. Andrade jumps Drew from behind but gets Claymored. Angel Garza and Austin Theory won’t go in for the save so it’s another Claymore to put Andrade on the floor.

We get an explanation for the Money in the Bank ladder matches at Titan Towers (with NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte on the graphic rather than Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch).

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Austin Theory vs. Aleister Black

Zelina Vega is on commentary. Black spins out of a wristlock as Vega does not like the accusations of being overconfident. Theory gets thrown down but pops back up with a running shoulder. The threat of Black Mass sends Theory to the floor and Black dropkicks him through the ropes to make it even worse. Vega gets up and yells at Black for not letting Theory play fair.

The distraction lets Theory throw him into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Theory hitting a rolling dropkick and hammering away with left hands. Black fights out of a torture rack and runs Theory over for two. The ATL is countered as well and Black pulls him into a cross armbreaker.

That’s reversed with a powerbomb but Black strikes away. The moonsault press gets two but Theory’s superkick into a cradle brainbuster gets the same. Another ATL is countered so Black knees him in the face, setting up a German suplex for two more. Black Mass misses but the second attempt connects for the pin (and a great shocked face from Vega) at 11:45.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a great match but it was better than usual from Theory. You can see all of the potential in him but it might take a little while to click. If nothing else, Vega is awesome on commentary and can hype people up with the best of them. Black winning isn’t a surprise here though and it was a fun match on the way.

Post match, Black promises to win the ladder match.

Shayna Baszler vs. Indi Hartwell

Shayna suplexes her down and goes for the arm but gets rolled up for two. That just ticks Shayna off so she hits another slam and stomps the arm for the stoppage at 1:00. Can you blame her for being mad? She spends years in NXT, gets called up, doesn’t win the Royal Rumble because Charlotte, doesn’t win the title at Wrestlemania because Becky, then gets to be on Raw, where the only change is she’s beating up NXT women at the Performance Center instead of Full Sail.

Post match Shayna grabs the ladder and crushes the arm against the steps.

Shane Thorne/Brendan Vink vs. Cedric Alexander/Ricochet

Ricochet gets thrown into the corner to start but rolls out with a dropkick to Vink. Some double teaming puts Vink down but Thorne breaks up a springboard. A clothesline drops Ricochet on the floor but it’s back to Cedric for a tornado DDT. Ricochet’s running shooting star gets two on Thorne and there’s another DDT to Vink. The Recoil into the Lumbar Check finishes Thorne at 3:14.

Rating: C-. Just a step above a squash here and that’s fine enough. Ricochet and Alexander continue to seem like little more than two people being thrown together and that’s not the best sign for their future. How that’s the best use WWE could find for Ricochet is beyond me, but at least it’s better than nothing.

The Kabuki Warriors shout a lot and insist that Kairi Sane is ready for a rematch.

Lana talks about how great Bobby Lashley is. Lashley is going to flip a tractor tire.

Nia Jax vs. Kairi Sane

Sane tries to dodge to start but gets knocked down for her efforts. The knee gives out on a powerbomb attempt so Sane hammers away to some avail. The Insane Elbow misses though and it’s a Samoan drop to give Jax the pin at 4:13.

Rating: D+. And so much for Sane again, as Jax shrugged off everything Sane through at her before winning. Jax is a good choice for a monster as there is only so much that can be done otherwise with her. I’ve liked her since she’s been back, though it hasn’t exactly been a long return so far.

Seth Rollins talks about how he knows what it’s like to be where Drew McIntyre is. We see various clips of the two of them doing the same things over their careers. Rollins will face McIntyre for the title at Money in the Bank because he has to.

The Viking Raiders do their version of Carpool Karaoke, which involves Ivar eating a drumstick, shouting VIKING RAIDERS over and over, and the line of “We worship Thor and we’ll knock him to the floor.” This was one of those so bizarre that it was half amazing and half terrible.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: MVP vs. Apollo Crews

Before the match, MVP talks about how he has to climb a ladder but first it’s a match with the extremely talented Apollo Crews. Black finally cuts him off and we’re ready to go. Crews doesn’t waste time in kicking MVP to the floor but a dive from the apron is broken up. Back from a break with MVP hitting a clothesline but getting suplexed into the corner.

Crews hammers away and hits a kick to the face, followed by a hard clothesline of his own. The frog splash hits knees and MVP’s Playmaker gets two. Crews is right back with an enziguri into a gorilla press. The standing moonsault into the standing shooting star sets up the toss powerbomb to finish MVP at 8:09.

Rating: C-. This was never in any serious doubt, though it was cool to see Crews turn on the jets to win in the end. MVP is fine for someone to put other people over and that’s fine, though it’s not like he was ever the biggest star in the world. Either way, they got the important part right so there isn’t much to complain about here.

Ruby Riott says there was never a Riott Squad because it was always her carrying the other two. Now Liv Morgan thinks she’s grown up and Ruby has to show her otherwise.

Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott

Ruby goes after her to start but Liv gets in some forearms and a dropkick for two. Liv gets draped over the top and kicked in the face, followed by another kick to the face to cut off a comeback bid. Ruby demands that Liv beg but it’s the springboard Flatliner out of nowhere to give Liv the pin at 3:19.

Rating: D. Well that was nothing. Riott hasn’t gotten to do anything since she has been back but at least they are trying something with Morgan. She’s gotten a lot better in recent months, though it’s not like she had anywhere else to go but up. The Riott Squad was never the most important team in the world, but at least they’re trying something with someone new.

Lashley flips a tire and then looks at a bigger one.

In Memory of Howard Finkel. An hour and forty five minutes into the show.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Murphy

Rey headlocks him down to start and it’s an early standoff. Murphy takes over with an armbar but has to duck an early 619 attempt. Some forearms put Rey on the floor and Murphy drives him into the barricade. Back in and Murphy stays on the arm until Rey armdrags him to the floor.

That works fine for Murphy, who catches a dive and stomps on the arm on the ramp. Back from a break with Murphy still on the arm but Rey snaps off a hurricanrana on the floor. They get back in with Rey hitting a tornado DDT and heading to the apron again. A dropkick sends Murphy into the barricade but he’s right back with a spinning facebuster onto the knee. Murphy’s brainbuster gets two so he goes up top, only to get caught with a super Destroyer. The 619 into the frog splash finishes Murphy at 15:09.

Rating: C+. That was certainly a Money in the Bank qualifying match. They did moves to each other and Mysterio made the comeback win. During those fifteen minutes, we heard references to climbing the corporate ladder roughly 284 times because someone came up with that line and WWE has decided it’s the cleverest line in history.

Vega doesn’t know if McIntyre will make it to Money in the Bank. Garza hits on Charly Caruso, who seems impressed.

Charlotte vs. Kayden Carter

Non-title. Charlotte boots her in the face to start but Carter grabs a rollup for two. A crucifix into something like the Rings of Saturn keeps Charlotte down and Carter switches into the Octopus. That’s enough for Charlotte, who powers out and hits the spear, setting up the Figure Eight for the win at 2:42.

Lashley can’t flip the big tire so he kicks it and then flips it over. Lana comes back in to celebrate with him.

We recap the opening segment.

Andrade vs. Akira Tozawa

Zelina Vega is here with Andrade. Tozawa starts fast with a spinning kick to the head and a knee to the face gets two. A running kick to the face sends Andrade to the floor and Tozawa hits the big running flip dive off the apron. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Tozawa two but Vega offers a distraction so Andrade can run him over. Not that it matters as Tozawa slaps on the Octopus, sending Andrade to the ropes again. A heck of a back elbow to the face drops Tozawa but he grabs some rollups for two each. Tozawa heads up top but gets crotched down, setting up the hanging hammerlock DDT to give Andrade the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C+. This one came a bit out of nowhere and I was actually wondering if they were going to go with the upset. Tozawa is someone who can work with anyone and he was working hard here. I liked this one a good bit and even though Andrade never defends the title, it’s nice to see him sweat a bit here.

Post match Andrade and Vega celebrate but the Street Profits come out to interrupt.

Bianca Belair vs. Santana Garrett

The Profits, still dancing on the announcers’ table, introduce Belair for her in-ring Raw debut, and then sit in on commentary. Belair throws her down to start and then uses straight power to grab an over the shoulder backbreaker. Garrett gets in a shove to the face and is knocked down in a hurry.

Garrett’s armdrag is easily blocked and Belair runs her over, setting up the running shoulder. A suplex with squats sets up the splash to the back and Garrett is in more trouble. Garrett hits a kick to the face and a high crossbody gets one. The handspring is broken up though and Belair drops her face first onto the top turnbuckle. The KOD finishes Garrett at 4;10.

Rating: C-. This was ALL about the Street Profits as they did not stop shouting, screaming and hyping up Belair the whole time. It was rather annoying but at the same time it’s as effective of an idea as I’ve seen in a good while as the Profits have so much energy and charisma that they’re awesome in this role. Belair won in little more than a squash, but it was all about the Profits.

Angel Garza vs. Drew McIntyre

Non-title and Vega and company are at ringside again. McIntyre goes straight for the knee to start and there’s the overhead belly to belly to send Garza rolling to the floor. Some chops against the barricade have Garza in trouble and Andrade’s posting fails. So does Garza’s suicide dive and McIntyre headbutts him, only to have to deal with Theory.

That allows Garza to hit a posting, followed by a missile dropkick for two back inside. McIntyre fights out of a half crab and kicks Garza in the face. Garza tries to escape so McIntyre PULLS OFF GARZA’S PANTS as Garza gets to the floor. The big flip dive connects and McIntyre takes out Andrade and Theory. Back in and the Claymore finishes Garza at 5:02.

Rating: C. This was an entertaining squash as McIntyre swatted Garza away like a fly. Even the rest of the team couldn’t do anything to slow him down and that’s what you should be doing with the champ. McIntyre looked awesome here and it showed how far ahead he is of Vega and company. It was a great showcase and that’s what it needed to be.

Post match McIntyre gives Garza another Claymore. Theory comes in and gets one of his own for good measure. McIntyre chases Andrade up the ramp and strikes the Tranquilo pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I had forgotten how mind numbingly annoying Money in the Bank season is. They managed to get in “climb the corporate ladder” in about a million times and given that the show will feature the sixth ladder matches since the middle of December (seven if you count Reigns vs. Corbin’s street fight which they called a TLC match), it isn’t exactly something I’m going to get invested in over the next few weeks.

As for the rest of the show, it was a very wrestling heavy week, but nothing on here stood out. Maybe it was all of the ladder match hype but it was hard to get interested in a good chunk of it. They did a nice job of making McIntyre look like a star and that’s a great thing, though so much of the show felt like it came and go so they could add people to the ladder matches. It could have been a lot worse, but not much less exciting.

Results

Aleister Black b. Austin Theory – Black Mass

Shayna Baszler b. Indi Hartwell via referee stoppage

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet b. Shane Thorne/Brendan Vink – Lumbar Check to Thorne

Nia Jax b. Kairi Sane – Samoan drop

Apollo Crews b. MVP – Toss powerbomb

Rey Mysterio b. Murphy – Frog splash

Charlotte b. Kayden Carter – Figure Eight

Andrade b. Akira Tozawa – Hanging hammerlock DDT

Bianca Belair b. Santana Garrett – KOD

Drew McIntyre b. Angel Garza – Claymore

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 14, 2005
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler

And then everything changed as Eddie Guerrero passed away in a stunning moment, dying of heart failure on Sunday, November 13, 2005. As you can probably guess, everything has shut down for the time being as a result and this will not be your normal show. I’m not sure what to think about this so let’s get to it.

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

The Raw and Smackdown rosters are on the stage, complete with the low rider, with Vince McMahon saying that we are celebrating his life. Vince talks about how Eddie loved to perform and he loved to be out in front of the fans trying to steal the show. Tonight will be a tribute to Eddie, starting with a moment of silence as the bell is tolled ten times.

We get a video tribute to Eddie, set to Johnny Cash’s Hurt, edited off of the Network version of course. It finishes with a shot of Eddie’s smile, because how else could it end.

Back in the arena, Vince says VIVA LA RAZA and a lot of crying ensues.

John Cena gets the first sitdown interview talking about Eddie. He says you’ll hear from a lot of people tonight and you’ll hear them all say that Eddie was a great man. On a personal level, Eddie helped mentor Cena when he was starting and was even a father figure to him. Eddie taught him to find his heart and that isn’t something you can teach.

We see Eddie spraying Big Show with sewage.

Big Show/Kane vs. MNM

Non-title. Nitro tries to circle around Show and gets chopped hard for his efforts. Kane comes in for a running clothesline but a Melina distraction lets Mercury break up the top rope clothesline. Another distraction lets Nitro get in a belt shot for two on Kane but he sits back up. Some running kicks to the face cut him down again so he suplexes them both at once. That’s enough for the hot tag to Show and house is cleaned, including a kiss to Melina. Now Kane’s top rope clothesline connects and the double chokeslam finishes Nitro.

Rating: D+. The ratings on a show like this are going to be a lot more lax than usual as there is only so much you can complain about given the circumstances. Big Show and Kane beating anyone is acceptable enough and MNM aren’t the kind of champions who are going to win a fist fight anyway. Not a terrible match but they got in and out pretty quickly.

Lilian Garcia talks about speaking in Spanish with Eddie. Her fondest memory is being in a small group with him in Iraq last year and seeing Eddie being so humble around the troops.

Here’s Eddie auctioning off some of Kurt Angle’s stuff.

Kurt Angle vs. Shelton Benjamin

Shelton gets the college pop and slugs away at Angle to start. That just gets him suplexed and stomped in the corner, followed by the waistlock. Some backbreakers set up a reverse chinlock with a knee in the back but Shelton fights up and grabs a DDT. The comeback is on with the clotheslines into the Samoan drop.

Shelton hits the Dragon Whip for two and there’s the top rope clothesline for a bonus. The rolling German suplexes are countered into a rollup for two more but Angle clotheslines him down. Shelton catches him on top with a German superplex (with Angle almost landing on his head). That’s good for two but Angle pulls him into the ankle lock with the grapevine for the tap.

Rating: C+. This was more like the old Shelton and that’s a very good thing to see. When he was on a roll he could hang with anyone in the world, if not outright beat them, and Angle was no exception. That being said, Angle was feeling it here and that’s one of the best things you can see. It’s almost impossible to screw up Angle vs. Benjamin and they didn’t come close here.

Post match Angle holds up an Eddie armband in a nice moment.

Shawn Michaels talks about his relationship with Eddie being built around faith. His last breath here was his first breath in eternity and they will wrestle one day on the biggest stage of them all.

We get a montage of the Eddie and Chavo Lie/Cheat/Steal vignettes and they are still some of the best things from that era.

Chavo Guerrero talks about how they were uncle and nephew but really more like brothers. We hear about the two of them wrestling in intermissions of their grandfather’s shows and they had to stop because fans were watching them and not going to the concession stands. They always wanted to be Tag Team Champions and that’s what they did, with one of their first matches being against Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. After the match, Angle came up to Chavo and said they beat them up pretty badly. They were a great team because they knew each other inside and out. Eddie was Chavo’s brother and he’ll see him again.

Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio

They’re both wearing I’m Your Papi shirts and it’s hard not to smile. We get a handshake to start and it’s Shawn working on the arm. A fight over arm control sets up a pair of kickoffs and that means a standoff. Joey brings up the good point of Shawn rarely being the bigger man, showing that even he can have some insight when he stops thinking he’s a radio announcer for ten seconds.

Shawn catapults him to the apron but Rey is back in with a springboard Thesz press for two. Mysterio tosses him outside and we take a break. Back with Shawn holding a sleeper, followed by a backbreaker and knees to the back to send Rey outside. We hit the chinlock with a knee in the back but Rey fights up, hits the Eddie dance, and dropkicks Shawn in the face for two.

Shawn hits the forearm though and Coach predicts that he’ll nip up. That’s exactly true but Shawn has to duck the 619. A clothesline gives Shawn two and he drops Rey with a second one for a bonus. There’s the top rope elbow but Sweet Chin Music misses. Instead Rey hurricanranas him into the 619 and Dropping The Dime finishes Shawn.

Rating: B-. You can only get so much out of matches like this but they did what they were supposed to do out here: entertain the fans during a trying time. Shawn isn’t going to be hurt a bit by losing to Mysterio and it’s hardly a stretch that Mysterio could beat him in the first place. This was a feel good moment and a pretty good match as well, which is all you should have expected.

Batista talks about getting close to Eddie over the last few months and how shocked he was by hearing the news this morning. Eddie was an inspiration and Batista misses him.

Battle Royal

Ashley, Maria, Christy Hemme, Victoria, Melina, Jillian Hall, Mickie James, Candice Michelle, Trish Stratus

Non-title and they’re all in Eddie shirts, which all come off at the same time for the expected reactions. Trish and Victoria wind up on top in a hurry for a slugout and Jillian dumps Mickie early. Maria knocks Jillian out and Candice gets sent to the apron, where she manages to do the Go Daddy Dance but come back in anyway. Victoria sends Christy to the apron and Candice gets the elimination but Trish headscissors Candice out. Maria gets rid of Victoria and we’re down to Maria, Trish and Victoria. Melina tosses Maria and blocks Stratusfaction to get rid of Trish for the win.

Rating: D. What else were you expecting here? The match was all about one thing and the women delivered it, albeit with a bit of a surprise winner. Battle royals are fair game for something like this and it’s not like anyone winning or losing matters in the first place, especially on a show like this one.

Rey Mysterio talks about the bond he and Eddie shared. He misses Eddie right now and wishes that this was a dream. After a pause, Rey talks about what an inspiration Eddie really was to everyone. Rey even takes the mask off as he puts his head in his hands. This is not included on the Network version.

We see the still amazing moment of Eddie and Chris Benoit at the end of Wrestlemania XX.

Simon Dean vs. Eugene

Dean offers Eugene a protein bar and the disgust lets Dean roll him up for two. An elbow misses and Eugene goes into Junkyard Dog mode for the headbutts. Hold on though as Eugene needs to go outside to play with the Dean Machine, allowing Dean to get in a shot from behind. A clothesline gets two and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up so Eugene tries a rollup out of the corner, but Dean grabs his elastic bands. Eugene pulls him into the middle of the ring though and Dean gets slingshotted into the corner for a funny moment. The Rock Bottom finishes Dean.

Rating: D. There was no mention of Eddie here and that made it just your usual Eugene match: not overly funny (the bands bit at the end was good) and more of the same comedy stuff that we’ve seen for a long time now. There’s nothing wrong with it as they were having a comedy match, but don’t expect me to get overly excited about something I’ve seen this many times.

Eugene leaves on the Dean Machine.

And now for perhaps the saddest part of the show, Chris Benoit talks about losing his best friend. They knew each other for fifteen years and have been up and down the highways and over the mountains. Eddie would always understand and they would talk for hours a day. They would always say they loved each other and his thoughts and prayers go out to Eddie’s family. Eddie is in a better place and he misses him. Benoit breaks down in tears and thanks Eddie for everything he gave him. Knowing what is coming out of all this, that’s one of the most disturbing things you can ever see as you can feel Benoit’s heart breaking.

We see Eddie winning the WWE Championship in one of the best feel good moments of all time. Cole NAILS it on commentary here and doesn’t get enough credit for that call.

HHH talks about what an inspiration Eddie was for overcoming all of his personal demons. He starts to cry as well and talks about how much Eddie’s family meant to him. Eddie is up there lying to someone and cheating someone, but he’s already stolen all of our hearts.

Ric Flair vs. William Regal

Non-title. Flair takes him down to the mat to start and works on the leg as Jerry thinks we’ll be seeing some cheating. Regal gets Flair into the corner for some left hands and a European uppercut gets two. An abdominal stretch of all things slows Regal down but he unlaces Flair’s boot for a distraction to get himself to the rope. Regal sends him to the floor and whips Flair into the barricade. Back in and Flair hits the chop block and the Figure Four is good for the fast tap.

Rating: C-. This is one of those matches that could have been interesting on a different stage but it was always nice to see Regal go out there and do his so simple but so effective heel stuff. As usual though, the match itself wasn’t the point here, though it’s always cool to see an interesting pairing like this.

Eddie won the Intercontinental Title by accidentally pinning Chyna in a triple threat match on Raw back in 2000. He apologized after the match but then smiled quite a bit because that’s what Eddie did.

John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Non-title and Bob Orton is here with Randy (in case you thought he was here with Cena). This is actually their first singles match on the main roster, which is almost hard to believe. Orton takes Cena (in his Eddie shirt) to the mat to start but Cena is back up with an elbow to the face. Bob’s distraction lets Randy get in a shot to the face and the over the back backbreaker gets two. We hit the chinlock, followed by a big dropkick for two more. Back up and they collide for a double knockdown but it’s Cena on his feet to initiate the finishing sequence. The FU is loaded up but Bob comes in for the DQ.

Rating: C-. One more match where the result didn’t matter but it’s got a little history to it. It’s always a little interesting to see a match where you never know what it is going to lead to, as Cena and Orton would go on to have roughly 183,374 matches in their careers. You could see some of the natural dynamic here though and WWE would mike that for years to come.

Post match Cena clears the ring and hits the FU on Randy. Cena takes off the shirt and lays it in the ring, with the title on top of it, to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. I wasn’t an Eddie fan in any sense of the word. He had some good matches but I didn’t see the big deal when he passed away. Of course it was both saddening and a bit sobering to see someone taken away so suddenly, but I never thought anything of him and really did not get the big deal. I saw him as a wrestler who was praised so much because he died while still wrestling, to the point where I said he had no business being in the Hall of Fame.

Now that was a good many years ago and watching these back have made me appreciate Eddie so much more. He’s one of the few wrestlers who could make anything he did look so easy and that is a talent almost no one has. His in-ring skills were outstanding but his talking and that grin were second to none. You really could see that smile and know that you were seeing something special. I’ve gained a completely new respect for him watching the last few years back with a different eye and sweet goodness I was wrong about him back in the day. Eddie really was great and that’s something that should be very easy to see.

I’ll wrap it up with a story that CM Punk told on his big WWE DVD. Punk was in his independent promotion in Chicago and really did believe that he was the best wrestler in the world. Eddie had been fired from WWE and came in to work a match against Punk. As Punk said, the bell rang and it took him about three seconds with an actually great wrestler to know that he was nowhere near as good as he thought he was. Eddie was that talented and there weren’t many people who could hang with him. I got a little emotional watching this one and that shows you what kind of skill Eddie had. Amazing tribute, and they’re not done.

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

Smackdown
Date: November 11, 2005
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re coming up on Survivor Series at the end of the month and Raw has mostly assembled its team. That means Smackdown needs to do the same while also setting up anything else it has to do for the show. Things are getting a little more interesting due to the big story but each side needs to do their own part as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Teddy Long addresses the Smackdown locker room, giving them a pep talk about how Eric Bischoff has said Raw is the better show. Tonight, they’re proving Raw wrong as we get ready for Survivor Series. That’s why Batista is going to be on the team but tonight, he’s beating up Edge to send him back to Raw. The rest of the team is going to be decided tonight, with Randy Orton’s qualifying match up first. Orton accurately points out that he’s awesome at Survivor Series and shouldn’t have to qualify but Long is a bit by the book.

Opening sequence.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio

Bob Orton is here with Randy. Mysterio gets caught in an early headlock as Bob brags about his boy. A headscissors sends Orton flying into the corner but he knocks Rey into the corner to take over. Rey goes chest first into the middle buckle and there’s a hard whip to send him back first in as well. The rare standing chinlock goes on but Rey manages to send him outside for a big flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Orton having to fight out of a headscissors so Rey bulldogs him for two instead. Bob breaks up the 619 though and Randy sends Rey HARD into the post. A big knee drop gives Orton two but Rey scores with a dropkick for the same. Rey’s rollup gets two more and a crucifix gets the third near fall in a row. The 619 misses though and Orton hits a hard clothesline. Another 619 attempt connects but Bob breaks up the West Coast Pop for the DQ.

Rating: C+. I’m a little surprised that Orton isn’t on the team but it’s not like Rey is a horrible choice and it wouldn’t shock me to see Orton get on there eventually. That being said, Bob needs to go away already. It’s fine to have someone like him around, but Randy doesn’t need him and it is starting to get annoying. Nice match though as these two have some chemistry.

Post match the double beatdown is on but Matt Hardy runs in for the save.

Post break, Randy is ready to end Hardy because the RKO is powerful.

Here’s MNM for a chat though Melina’s back is still banged up after last week. We see a clip of Eddie Guerrero giving her a frog splash but Melina is here anyway. She brings out Michelle Deighton from America’s Next Top Model and gives her some backhanded insults about being so beautiful that it was a surprise she didn’t win. Melina declares her a C list celebrity so Michelle shoves her down. That earns her a choke in the corner but here are the Mexicools for the save. The fight is on and the Mexicools stand tall to set up the next title program. Michelle dances with the Mexicools for a bonus.

Video on Bobby Lashley.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Orlando Jordan

Jordan doesn’t even get an entrance to show you how far he’s fallen. Some early strikes don’t do much good on Lashley, who snaps off a suplex to send Jordan flying. A clothesline puts Jordan on the floor for a bit and the Dominator is good for the easy pin.

Edge and Lita try to get out of tonight’s street fight. That’s fine with Teddy, but Edge has to tell Batista himself.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Mr. Kennedy vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie hammerlocks him to start so Kennedy goes straight to the ropes early on. Kennedy gets in a cheap shot to the jaw and Eddie can’t help but smile. A whip into the corner drops Kennedy but he elbows Eddie in the face for two. We’re back to the hammerlock, albeit on Eddie for a change this time. That’s broken up as well so Eddie hits Three Amigos, only to have the ref get bumped. Eddie smiles as only he can and grabs the chair….which he slams on the mat and throws to Kennedy. Somehow, that’s enough for the referee to DQ Kennedy and send Eddie to Survivor Series.

Rating: C. I’m going to ignore the big picture here until next week. This was vintage Eddie and I could watch that grin for days. It’s similar to Ric Flair turning on Sting back in 1995: you know exactly what he is going to do but it still makes people happy because it’s such a perfectly done story for Eddie and the fans went right along with it the whole way. Kennedy is protected too and it’s all such a nice piece of business.

Post match Kennedy chairs Eddie in the head and Eddie can’t get to his feet.

Post break Eddie is checked for a concussion when Batista comes in to check on him.

Pierrothito vs. Todd Stone

Juniors match with Palmer Cannon on commentary. Todd knocks him down and walks over Pierrothito as the announcers talk about ratings. A kickout sends Stone onto the referee a few times but Pierrothito takes him down and drops a top rope elbow for the pin. They kept it short here.

Edge leaves Lita to go find Batista. The Boogeyman pops up and Lita runs off.

Undertaker is back at Survivor Series.

Edge tries to talk Batista out of it because they’re both big stars. Batista says they’re alike, but unlike Edge, he shows up when he promises to be there. The match is still on.

The Dicks are ready to face Animal/Heidenreich next week. Several penis jokes are included.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Chris Benoit

Jillian Hall is here with JBL. Benoit gets powered into the corner to start but comes right back with some chops and a snap suplex. A pair of neckbreakers put Benoit down again and the elbow drop gets two. The forearms to the back and neck set up a waistlock as Cole is already tired of Jillian. Benoit comes back with the rolling German suplexes and loads up the Swan Dive, only to be distracted by Booker and Sharmell (now wearing a tiara).

Back from a break with Booker and Sharmell on commentary and JBL sending Benoit into the announcers’ table. We hit the bearhug as Booker insists that he is only here for some friendly commentary. JBL loads up a superplex but Benoit headbutts his way to freedom and hits a top rope shoulder. The rolling German suplexes drop JBL again and there’s the Swan Dive for a delayed two.

The Sharpshooter is broken up with a poke to the eye but the Clothesline From JBL is countered into a failed Crossface attempt. JBL can’t get a powerbomb though and now the Sharpshooter goes on. Booker tries to break it up but Benoit cuts him off, only to walk into the Clothesline to give JBL the pin.

Rating: C+. They worked well enough together though the match was more of a waiting game until Booker interfered one way or another. What we got was pretty good though and you could have seen either of them winning. This should set up Benoit vs. Booker at the pay per view and that’s fine for everyone involved.

Raw Rebound.

Edge vs. Batista

Non-title street fight and Edge, with Lita, is in street clothes. Hold on though as Eric Bischoff is in the back but Teddy Long won’t let him in. Cue Chris Masters with the Masterlock on Long before riding off in the limo. Cue the Smackdown locker room to chase after him in JBL’s limo. Back in the arena, Kane and Big Show come in and destroy Batista. The lowest level of Smackdown wrestlers come out for the save and it goes as badly as you would expect. A double chokeslam to Batista ends the show. No match obviously, but a good angle.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was better than usual here and there was nothing too terrible. I’ve liked the Raw vs. Smackdown story the whole time and this was no exception as it’s now Smackdown’s turn to retaliate against Raw. There was a big theme to this whole show and I dug what we got out of it, but we’ll get back to that in a few weeks as it’s time for the sad part.

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

Smackdown
Date: November 4, 2005
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re in the big city this week and it’s a show that was taped before this week’s Taboo Tuesday. I’m not sure what we’re going to be seeing this week but odds are it’s time to start the build towards Survivor Series. Batista and Eddie Guerrero are actually working well together so we’ll see where that goes from here. Let’s get to it.

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

Earlier today, MNM arrived outside and walked the red carpet. Teddy Long popped up to say they’ll be defending the titles against Eddie Guerrero and Batista tonight.

Opening sequence.

Rey Mysterio/Matt Hardy vs. Christian/John Bradshaw Layfield

Hardcore Holly is guest referee. Matt headlocks Christian to start but has to fight out of the wrong corner. A dive over the top is caught by JBL but Rey dives onto all three of them for a big crash. Back in and JBL unloads on Rey in the corner until Holly pulls him off. Not that it matters as Christian comes in for two off a faceplant as Cole recaps Taboo Tuesday. Hardy comes in for a failed save attempt and accidentally hits Holly as we take a break.

Back with Rey hitting the springboard hurricanrana for two but JBL runs him over with a shoulder. Christian saves JBL from a quick 619 attempt and hammers away at Rey’s ribs. The abdominal stretch goes on until it’s back to JBL for a super fall away slam. A regular version is countered though and the hot tag brings in Matt to clean house.

Everything breaks down and Matt’s middle rope legdrop gets two on Christian. Poetry in Motion hits JBL but Holly pulls a chair away from Christian. That doesn’t work for Christian, who hits Holly from behind. Holly is back up with an Alabama Slam, leaving Matt to hit the Twist of Fate on Christian for the pin at JBL walks off.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced and energetic match with Holly being there to add in….well little more than a gimmick really but that’s ok. The interesting point here was Christian making his last appearance for several years. He would be one of the first big names to jump over to TNA but certainly not the last.

Teddy Long is ready for Eric Bischoff to arrive.

Here’s Sharmell to introduce Booker T. for a chat. Booker sees a lot of suckers around here because these people are all suckers. Of course he knew what Sharmell was doing and we see some clips of Booker feigning ignorance to Sharmell’s interference. We also see last week’s fake apology to set up the big reveal…and here’s Long again because he’s busy tonight. It’s time for a title defense right after the break.

US Title: Booker T. vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is challenging and has taped ribs. Booker goes after him in the corner to start but Benoit chops the champ out to the floor. A suplex makes it worth back inside and Benoit’s hard clothesline gets two. Sharmell’s interference doesn’t work as Benoit knees Booker in the ribs, only to get dropped ribs first onto the top.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Benoit elbows his way to freedom and snaps off the rolling German suplexes. Another Sharmell distraction makes the Swan Dive miss though and Benoit is down again. He’s right back up with the Crossface but Booker gets to the rope….and walks for the countout.

Rating: C-. This was almost a squash until Booker left as Benoit shrugged off almost everything Booker threw at him, as limited as it was. You can almost guarantee a rematch and it wouldn’t shock me to see Booker get himself disqualified to set up their next match as a result. That’s not a bad thing, but don’t run it into the ground.

We recap the Taboo Tuesday tag match and Batista crushing Coach.

Bob Orton Jr. vs. Roddy Piper

They really see something in this don’t they? Before the match, Orton says Piper has to do it by himself for once until the bagpipes cut him off. The referee is making sure Piper’s gear is properly stored in the corner, allowing Orton to get in a belt shot to the head. Orton, in street clothes, stomps away in the corner but stops to pose, allowing Piper to get to his feet. Granted Orton knocks him right back down though so it doesn’t seem to matter very much. The chinlock goes on followed by a backbreaker but Piper slips out of a slam and grabs the sleeper. Cue Randy Orton to jump Piper for the DQ.

Rating: D+. That’s on a sliding scale as both guys are old and can’t do much more at this point. At least there is a feud here though and it’s a good idea to keep this short, though I’m not sure how interesting it is to have these people continuing a story from about twenty years ago. Not terrible, but they couldn’t have let it go on much longer.

Post match Randy beats the heck out of Piper and says he’s the Legend Killer. Piper tries to fight back and gets RKOed for his efforts.

Bobby Lashley vs. Nunzio/Vito

Lashley drives Nunzio into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Vito’s cheap shot lets the villains get in a dog pile two count but Lashley drives them both into the corner. Vito is sent outside and it’s the Dominator to finish Nunzio in a hurry.

Eric Bischoff arrives and is met by security and the Boogeyman.

Long is in the ring to introduce Bischoff for a chat. Bischoff says Smackdown vs. Raw is out of control, though Long’s actions are remind him of his WCW days. They get to the point: Raw vs. Smackdown in a ten man elimination match at Survivor Series. Bischoff calls Smackdown the B show and insults the Smackdown fans (continuing a dumb tradition). Long accepts and says Bischoff will lose just like he did in the Monday Night Wars (Bischoff: “DON’T GO THERE!”). It’s such a good idea that we’ll even throw in a bonus at Survivor Series: Bischoff vs. Long. Bischoff accepts and gets taken away by security, leaving Long to dance.

Video on Undertaker. Gee you think he might be back?

Mr. Kennedy vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Kennedy kicks him down to start and takes him it outside for some rams into the apron. Back in and we hit the bearhug but Scotty slips out for a superkick. Kennedy crotches him on top though and the super Regal Roll is good for the pin. Basic and completely acceptable, even though Kennedy busted himself open in there somewhere.

Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Eddie Guerrero/Batista

MNM is defending and Melina looks very nervous. Batista and Mercury get things going with Nitro coming in for the double teaming. One double clothesline has the champs on the floor as we take an early break. Back with Eddie choking Mercury from the apron behind the referee’s back (the classics always work) and it’s a slingshot hilo to make it worse. Batista’s backbreaker gets two with Nitro having to make a fast save.

It’s back to Eddie, who grabs a chair and the timekeeper’s hammer, but the referee catches him pretty easily. Two Amigos connect so Melina gets on the apron, meaning the chase is on. The distraction lets Nitro get in a dive onto Eddie and the champs take over for the first time. Mercury gets in his own corner choking (must have been paying attention) and the chinlock goes on.

The front facelock keeps Eddie in trouble but he dances his way to freedom (the backbreaker didn’t hurt either). Batista comes in to clean house but it’s quickly back to Eddie. Everything breaks down and Batista torture racks Nitro as Eddie hits Three Amigos on Mercury. Melina, with brass knuckles, comes in for a save so Eddie frog splashes her instead. Nitro gets in the knuckles shot to retain.

Rating: C-. The champs were nearly squashed here as while they were on offense, it never felt like they were going to be able to retain without a lot of cheating. Granted having the current World Champion and a former World Champion as the challengers didn’t do a lot of favors for the champs here. At least they didn’t go with the stupid title change, but they very well may in the next few weeks.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t too bad with the opener being entertaining and nothing too terrible throughout the rest of the show. The big Survivor Series announcement should help a lot going forward though and under the right circumstances, that could be a heck of a match. The rest of the stuff wasn’t great, but at least they have something big to work towards now.

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 30, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home Raw for Wrestlemania, which happens to have already taken place. This is one of the weirdest situations in history and I have no idea what to expect from almost anything involved. There are some changed that need to be announced and hopefully those announcements take place tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long video on AJ Styles vs. Undertaker.

Undertaker says that Allen Jones’ (AJ Styles’ real name) mouth is writing checks he can’t cash. AJ has been a big fish in a small pond for most of his career and now he’s saying that fifteen years ago, he wouldn’t have done this. Undertaker lists off a lot of legends from around that time and thinks it was smart of Allen to wait for them to be gone, except for him.

He gets what AJ is doing, but mentioning Michelle McCool is crossing the line. Is it because the Faithbreaker is better than the Styles Clash? Undertaker: “She got it over.” They’ll be in the bone yard and AJ should try him because Undertaker will make him famous. Anderson and Gallows can come too because they can all get hurt and rest in peace. The camera pans back to show an AJ tombstone. Good promo, with Undertaker showing some fire.

We look at Becky Lynch attacking Shayna Baszler last week.

Here’s Becky for a chat. She beat two champions last year at Wrestlemania and walked out with two titles. Ever since then she has walked a razor blade lifestyle….and here’s last year’s Wrestlemania main event.

Raw Women’s Title/Smackdown Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Ronda is Raw Women’s Champion and Charlotte is Smackdown Women’s Champion….and she comes in via helicopter and lands in the parking lot, where a red carpet is rolled out for her in a Horseman homage. Since she has to walk a good ways into the stadium, here are Joan Jett and the Blackhearts to play Ronda to the ring. The bell rings at 12:01am and Becky goes straight for the Disarm-Her on Ronda but gets shoved away so they can all head outside.

That means a Piper’s Pit for both of them and Ronda starts the trash talk. Charlotte gets up and sends Rousey into the barricade, setting up a showdown with Charlotte inside. The Disarm-Her to Becky is broken up and it’s Ronda coming back in to kick Becky in the face. A double powerbomb over the top is countered into a double armbar on Becky and Charlotte. Becky escapes and dropkicks Ronda to the floor for a NASTY crash on her back. Charlotte Downward Spirals Becky into the buckle for two as we look at Rousey landing square on her back again.

Becky is right back with the Disarm-Her but Ronda comes back to life and makes the save. A running knee breaks up the armbar on Becky and Charlotte hits a double Natural Selection for two each. Becky gets sent outside so Charlotte chops Ronda, who tells her to bring it. That’s just what Charlotte does with a backhand to the face so Ronda hits a jumping knee, which is countered into a Liontamer. Becky breaks it up with a bulldog and hits a double DDT for two each.

A super Bexploder gets two on Charlotte, setting up a double high crossbody from Rousey. The double armbar is countered with a double powerbomb Ronda is done for the moment. Becky calls Charlotte to her and avoids a charge, letting Becky kick her to the floor. The Disarm-Her goes on and Rousey uses the ropes to stand up for the break. A missed charge lets Becky get the Disarm-Her in the corner until Charlotte’s big boot breaks it up.

Charlotte starts in on Rousey’s knee and gets the Figure Four but Becky comes off the top with a legdrop for the save. And now, a table because that’s what this match was calling for. Rousey breaks up a powerbomb through the table and turns the table over, saying tables are for b****** (at least the third time she’s used that word so far). Charlotte comes back in for a double spear as Cole’s voice is almost gone.

The table is set up in the corner and Charlotte gets two off a spear to Becky. Rousey gets back up and helps Becky drive Charlotte somewhat through the table to knock her outside. The fight is on and Rousey goes with a Shining Wizard and tries Piper’s Pit….but gets reversed into a crucifix to give Becky the pin and the titles at 22:27!

Rating: B. The ending was straight out of Angle vs. Benoit at Wrestlemania XVII with the submission attempts all match until the quick pinfall. What matters here is Becky defeated Rousey to win the titles as she should have. That was how this show needed to end and it did, even if the ending could have been a bit smoother. Charlotte will be fine and I’m curious to see who goes after Becky as the first victim.

Replays show Rousey’s shoulders were WAY up so there’s your story going forward (if Rousey sticks around). Cole: “Tonight will forever be known as WrestleMANia!” Oh just stop dude. Pyro and posing takes us out.

Back in the arena, where Becky has apparently been standing for 45 minutes, and Becky talks about how she doesn’t know who she is if she loses the title. She knows she’s getting in Shayna’s head too though. Shayna has always wanted to be out of Ronda’s shadow and if she wins at Wrestlemania, she can get out of that shadow forever. If she loses though, she’s right back in there for good. Cue Shayna to choke Becky out and then swing her hard into the announcers’ table.

Aleister Black vs. Jason Cade

Cade was a midcarder in MLW for a bit. Black trips him down, shrugs off an enziguri, and finishes with Black Mass at 49 seconds.

We look back at last week’s Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens segment.

Seth Rollins/Andrade/Angel Garza vs. Kevin Owens/Street Profits

Hold on though as Zelina Vega says that Andrade is injured and can’t wrestle. She has access to a lot of talent though, so here is his replacement.

Seth Rollins/Austin Theory/Angel Garza vs. Kevin Owens/Street Profits

Owens takes Theory into the corner to start and hammers away, allowing the Profits to come in and beat on Theory even more. Ford hits the big running flip dive and we take early break. Back with Garza dropkicking Ford down and TAKING OFF HIS PANTS. Theory comes in for a quickly broken chinlock before Ford flips out of a belly to back suplex. The diving tag brings in Dawkins to clean house until Theory sends him outside. Back in and Rollins superkicks Dawkins down, meaning it’s time for the staredown with Owens.

The chinlock goes on to keep Dawkins in trouble and Garza makes it worse with a camel clutch, including some fish hooks to the jaw. Dawkins rolls Rollins up for two but gets taken right back down with the Sling Blade. A right hand allows the hot tag to Owens so house can be cleaned, including the Swanton for two on Garza. Everything breaks down and Ford misses a big running flip dive, landing HARD on his back with no one to catch him. Back in and the Stunner finishes Garza at 13:24.

Rating: C. Pretty standard main event style tag here and you can see how the AOP would have fit in there if not for the injury. I can get not putting Akam in there on his own, though a big power guy could always fit in somehow. What we got was fine enough though and it’s nice to see Theory getting such a big spot while he can.

Post break, Rollins gives Owens a Stomp.

Here’s a look at the Big Show Show, debuting on Netflix next week.

Post break, Owens is still in the ring and has something to say to Rollins. Last week, Rollins took credit for building the Performance Center because he gave everything he had to make it work. Owens has heard otherwise though, because Rollins was a nightmare who knew everything about everything when he got to Tampa in the first place. Rollins has talked about all those Wrestlemania moments that he has had but Owens can claim a lot of the same accolades that Rollins has.

Owens has won a lot of titles of his own, including the Universal Title before Rollins ever got his. The difference is that he had someone watching his back or helping him every time. So did Rollins though because those Wrestlemania moments all came with help or some underhanded assist. Rollins accomplished things but he needs to think about how he got here. At Wrestlemania, he is going to prove that Rollins is nothing more than a fraud.

We get a long video on Edge vs. Randy Orton, showcasing their entire feud.

Edge talks about how he loves every bit of this. Orton has called him a junkie for this and he’s right. Edge always has been a junkie and everyone else who does this is too. He was sitting in the 11^th row at Wrestlemania VI and that was a rush for him. Orton has been talking about grit and that means different things to the two of them. Maybe it means being handpicked by Evolution and doing ok for the rest of his career. Now that has given Orton a Hall of Fame career but Edge has done something else.

To him, grit means saying no to Evolution because he didn’t want to be a lackey. Grit is doing everything you can to get back here for nine years and now he understands something. Orton isn’t jealous of Edge himself, but he’s jealous of Edge’s passion. The only time Orton shows that kind of fire is when Edge is around because Edge makes him better. Orton hasn’t been this good since Edge left in the first place and he knows it.

Edge knows Orton listens to the voices in his head and he almost had Edge believing that the Royal Rumble was enough. Then Orton attacked his wife and mentioned Edge’s daughters. He accepted a Last Man Standing match with a man who will dive through a flaming table. Orton has gone into a hole and this time, Edge isn’t pulling him out. Instead he’s going to push Orton so far in that he is never getting out. Edge was feeling it here.

Asuka vs. Kayden Carter

Much like last week, this is a Main Event rematch. Asuka rants in Japanese before the bell so Carter kicks her down. A bottom rope springboard dropkick gets two on Asuka but she’s right back with an ankle lock. The German suplex drops Carter and there’s a hard kick to the head. The Asuka lock finishes Carter at 1:04.

Earlier today, Charlotte attacked Rhea Ripley outside. Charlotte said she’ll see Rhea at Wrestlemania. Rhea: “Yeah. You will.”

From Survivor Series 2019.

Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar is defending and anything goes. Rey is dressed as the Joker (again) and that might not be the best visual for a match that is supposed to be rather serious. Paul Heyman introduces Brock as weighing about two and a half Rey Mysterios for his funny line of the night. Rey goes straight to the floor and pulls out the pipe so Lesnar bails to the floor in a smart move.

Brock gets Rey to chase him and the big clothesline makes him drop the pipe. The beating begins as Rey is sent outside and over the announcers’ table in a crash. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Brock throws him into the cover. Rey is beaten down so badly that Brock can even stop to tie his boot. It takes so long that Rey can get in a posting but Brock won’t let him grab the pipe. A release German suplex drops Rey onto the pipe (geez) and another (no pipe) makes it even worse.

There’s a third suplex so here’s Dominick with a towel. Brock takes that away and throws it out (maybe in a shot at the ending to Cody vs. Chris Jericho at Full Gear). Brock grabs Dominick so Rey hits him low and even Dominick gets in his own shot. Some pipe shots set up a double 619 (sweet) and Dominick adds a frog splash (in a nice tribute to his dad). Rey adds his own frog splash for two and the fans know it isn’t happening. Dominick gets suplexed down and the F5 retains the title at 6:54.

Rating: C+. This was all about that one short stretch and man alive did they make it work for about a minute. There’s more to it than that though and the rest of it was Brock’s standard operating procedure. Brock can do good things when he’s motivated and that…wasn’t exactly happening here but the comeback and near fall were great so it’s more good than bad.

Wrestlemania rundown. Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns is still listed.

Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar are in the ring for a chat. Heyman talks about how this is the go home segment on the go home Raw for Wrestlemania. For the better part of twenty years, it has been Brock Lesnar int his spot and that is because he is the beast to slay. This year, Drew McIntyre has stepped up and compared to most people, he is special. Compared to most wrestlers in that locker room, Drew McIntyre is special. So were the Rock, Hulk Hogan, Shane Carwin, Randy Couture and the Undertaker and they all went from special to Brock’s b****.

The Claymore Kick is good but so were the Rock Bottom, the legdrop, the Tombstone and the Attitude Adjustment, because none of them mattered against Brock when it mattered. At Wrestlemania, Brock will survive the Claymore Kick and then next year, Brock will be standing here with the title again because Drew is the latest great story to tell. This year, Drew walks in special and then walks out just like everyone else.

Overall Rating: C-. I liked the promos a lot and I want to see some of this weekend’s matches but EGADS these things are a nightmare to watch anymore. I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like without the hour break between the two matches (including the seven minute match that they stretched to three segments). Things are going to have to be different after Wrestlemania and I have a grand total of no confidence that they will be. This is what they do when they have a target in sight. What in the world are they going to be when they’re directionless?

Results

Aleister Black b. Jason Cade – Black Mass

Kevin Owens/Street Profits b. Seth Rollins/Austin Theory/Angel Garza – Stunner to Garza

Asuka b. Kayden Carter – Asuka Lock

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

Smackdown
Date: October 28, 2005
Location: Cow Palace, San Francisco, California
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re on the way to both Taboo Tuesday and Survivor Series, with Smackdown being represented at both shows. Taboo Tuesday is primarily a Raw show but there will be a Smackdown match included. That’s likely going to be a focal point of this week, plus Roddy Piper taking part in a six man tag in his old stomping grounds. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the Raw vs. Smackdown feud, which started at Homecoming and is heading towards Taboo Tuesday.

Christian opens us up with the Peep Show but Rey Mysterio interrupts in a hurry. He wants to be voted into the Taboo Tuesday match because Edge and Christ Masters have disrespected the Smackdown fans. Christian doesn’t think much of Rey’s threats because the Raw roster is in Australia right now. You can vote for Speedy Gonzalez here….or you can be interrupted by Matt Hardy, like the two of them are. Matt wants to be voted in with Rey so he can get his hands on Edge again. The fans on the internet are the people who brought him back and at Taboo Tuesday, he will show you that will not die.

Cue Hardcore Holly to say he chased Chris Masters off last week. Holly asks how many fans want to see Masters and Edge get a beating. Now it’s JBL coming out in the limo to say he should go to Taboo Tuesday. That includes a variety of insults, including saying Matt may not die, but he’ll whine and cry. Mysterio speaks Spanish, Christian has a talk show and Holly just beats people up. Smackdown isn’t Smackdown without JBL, but Christian calls him a wrestling fraud. Christian is tired of being interrupted so here’s Teddy Long for one more interruption. If they all want a chance, they can earn it in a five man free for all match.

Christian vs. John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Hardcore Holly vs. Matt Hardy

Joined in progress after a break with JBL being sent outside and Holly following. That leaves Christian to take some Poetry in Motion from Rey and Matt but JBL takes Matt out. JBL jumps Rey, only to get hurricanranaed out to the floor. It’s off to Matt slamming Holly and dropping an elbow for two. JBL throws Hardy to the floor though and hammers away at Holly in the corner.

The Tower of Doom pops up and it’s Christian taking the worst of it to put everyone down at once. Holly is up first with an Alabama Slam to JBL, allowing Rey to steal a near fall. Rey hits the 619 to Christian and the Clothesline From JBL blasts Holly. The Twist of Fate drops JBL but Christian takes out Hardy, only to get caught with a standing hurricanrana to give Rey the pin.

Rating: C+. They kept this fast and didn’t have any major time spent on everyone laying down. It was an entertaining and fun match, but more importantly there is still a spot available for the other four to fight over. Usually a match with someone getting a win before a fan vote tilts everything, but this only tilts half of it and that’s a nice thing to see.

Sharmell and Booker T. go into Teddy Long’s office. Post break, Teddy says a lot of fans are saying Sharmell caused Booker to win that title. Sharmell starts to erupt but Booker says hang on a second. We look at a clip of last week’s title change, plus Chris Benoit yelling at the two of them after. Sharmell doesn’t want to hear it but Booker tells her to shut up. Booker is willing to give Benoit a rematch tonight, even though Sharmell says the title is as much hers as it is his. Booker shrugs that off and says she’ll apologize tonight too.

Roddy Piper arrives and runs into Bob Orton. Bob says Piper took all the money while Bob did all the work and tonight he’s paying for it. Piper goes into a rant about man evolving from monkeys, runs into Randy Orton for some threats, and says that the next generation will be walking on all fours.

One of the new juniors thinks he’s a cop and fines Simon Dean for riding the segue around in the back. Simon makes short jokes but two more of the juniors tie a rope to the segue and make him crash.

Shortsleeve Sampson vs. Pitbull Patterson

Juniors match with Palmer Cannon on commentary. Patterson chases him around with a bucket, which winds up going on a fan, revealing a bunch of confetti (how Globetrotters of them). Sampson pulls out his own bucket and throws it at Palmer, who is soaked with water (usually the first step in the Globetrotters’ routine).

They get inside for the opening bell with Patterson tying him up in the corner. Shattered Dreams connects as Cannon talks about focus groups loving this. A top rope ax handle doesn’t even knock Sampson down and a missed dropkick hits the referee low. Sampson uses the fallen referee as a launchpad for a splash and the pin. It wasn’t funny, but I can understand trying something new, even if it’s a joke.

Post match here’s Simon Dean to go after the two of them, only to get beaten up as well.

Here are Booker T. and Sharmell for a chat. Booker didn’t know Sharmell helped him win the title and he can’t live with that. Therefore he wants to give an apology so Benoit needs to come out here. Booker offers him a rematch and Benoit accepts, but he says he doesn’t need an apology. That has to happen too, so Sharmell apologizes….for putting herself on the line for helping her husband win something for a change.

Most of all though, she apologizes for marrying someone who has no respect for her, which means a slap for Booker. Oh and she apologizes for this too, and there’s a belt shot to Benoit from Booker. Benoit gets busted open and Booker hammers away, including at Benoit’s taped up ribs. They had to turn Booker full heel like this is they were going to have Sharmell be that annoying (and she was REALLY annoying here).

Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Mexicools vs. William Regal/Paul Burchill vs. Animal/Heidenreich

Animal and Heidenreich are defending, it’s one fall to a finish and it’s Super Crazy/Psychosis for the Mexicools. Morrison slugs away at Heidenreich to start and it’s Mercury coming in for a failed double backdrop attempt. Animal comes in and suplexes MNM on his own so Psychosis comes in to work on Morrison’s arm. Everything breaks down and we take a fast break. Back with Psychosis hitting a corkscrew dive onto MNM as the Mexicools take over.

Regal tags himself in though and hammers Crazy down to make things more physical. Burchill grabs a chinlock on Crazy, who can’t quite forearm his way out in a hurry. A jawbreaker sets up a collision though and it’s Heidenreich tagging himself in. The Boss Man Slam gets two on Burchill but here are the Dicks, who debuted a few weeks ago, to go after Animal. The distraction lets MNM hit the Snapshot on Heidenreich for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. Another multi-man (er, team) here which kept things moving instead of wasting a bunch of time before we got to the finish. You can’t do anything here other than get in a bunch of spots before the ending so all they could do is keep the pace going here and get out before it gets dull. Animal and Heidenreich probably kept the titles too long but it wasn’t long enough that it became ridiculous. Having a team called the Dicks though….egads.

Vito and Nunzio are in Teddy’s office and Vito demands a title shot. Teddy doesn’t like that tone so it’s a handicap match with Bobby Lashley next week. Long goes to leave and runs into the Boogeyman, who says he is the entity that you will always be afraid of. He holds up the clock and says tick tock. He’s coming to get you, and Long is speechless.

We recap last week’s main event with Randy Orton and Mr. Kennedy defeating Batista and Eddie Guerrero. Of note: Eddie took a shot for Batista when Batista had his back turned.

Eddie and Batista are glad to be here and Batista has a surprise for him. It’s a new low ride, because Latino Heat is back. Eddie would love to ride it out, but Batista has to come with him.

Batista/Eddie Guerrero/Roddy Piper vs. Bob Orton/Randy Orton/Mr. Kennedy

Eddie has the old theme music and rides out with Batista in the low rider. The place goes nuts for Piper though so well done on the cameo. Eddie hammers on Kennedy to start, including the slingshot hilo. Batista comes in and wants Randy so that’s exactly what he gets (never say no to someone named Dave). The spear cuts Randy down in a hurry and looks to set up the Batista Bomb but Randy gets to the floor.

Back from a break with Eddie hitting a headscissors on Randy and bringing Piper in to slug away in the corner. The power of age catches up with Piper though and Bob (in street clothes) takes over without much trouble. Bob comes in to stomp away and Kennedy follows his elder by doing the same.

The chinlock goes on, followed by Randy’s front facelock. Bob completes the set of holds with his own front facelock before going over to the corner to jump Eddie and Batista. This goes as well as you would expect and everything breaks down with Kennedy taking the frog splash. Randy is taken out and it’s the sleeper to finish Bob.

Rating: C-. Again, they kept things moving here and that is the best thing that they could have done here. The whole point was having Piper in there for the big pop from the fans and then he went in and won the match by beating Bob Orton. It was a fine way to go and nothing significant was lost so what more can you ask for?

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this quite a bit as they didn’t do anything overly long here and, other than the juniors match (which was less than three minutes), everything helped a story here or there. It was an efficient show and once we can get done with Taboo Tuesday, we can move on to Survivor Series and get some big stuff done. Not a great show, but a really easy to watch one and that’s a good result.

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

 

Wrestlemania XXVI
Date: March 28, 2010
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Attendance: 72,219
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker

In addition to the two main events, there’s a third big match that people never thought would actually happen. Back on January 4, 2010, Bret Hart returned to the company for the first time in over twelve years. After burying the hatchet with Shawn Michaels, there was only one score left to settle: Vince McMahon. Therefore, it’s Bret vs. Vince, naturally in a no holds barred match. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Battle Royal

Mark Henry, Shad Gaspard, JTG, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Santino Marella, Primo, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J., Jimmy Wang Yang, Chris Masters, Vladimir Kozlov, Great Khali, Finlay, William Regal, Luke Gallows, Carlito, Tyler Reks, Zack Ryder, Lance Archer, Mike Knox, Caylen Croft, Trent Barretta, Tyson Kidd, David Hart-Smith, Chavo Guerrero

Gaspard and JTG are Cryme Tyme, Tatsu is a talented Japanese wrestler who didn’t go anywhere, Slam Master J. is Jesse in a bad rap gimmick, Kozlov is a Russian mixed martial arts fighter, Gallows is a big power guy, Reks is a surfer, Archer is another big power guy, Croft and Barretta are a team called the Dudebusters and Hart-Smith is Kidd’s partner in the Hart Dynasty. The NXT rookies (from back when NXT was a competition) are watching from the stage.

Primo and J. are sent out in the first thirty seconds but the ring is still really full. Henry puts out the Dudebusters and Chavo, only to get dumped by Khali. As you might expect, a bunch of people get together to put Khali out as well. Cryme Tyme gets together to put out Gallows but Shad eliminates JTG. Things settle down for a change but there are still too many people in there.

Ryder and Funaki save themselves from elimination. Masters catches Finlay in the Masterlock, only to get kicked in the face to put Chris out. Kozlov gets rid of the Hart Dynasty but Knox gets rid of Kozlov. Funaki and Goldust are out next with Regal putting Gaspard out a few seconds later. Finlay dumps Regal and Ryder eliminates Reks. We’re down to Santino, Tatsu, Yang, Ryder, Finlay, Archer, Carlito and Knox. The fans get behind Santino and he brings out the Cobra to clean house, only to get dumped by Finlay, making him the most hated man in the stadium.

Yang fires off some nice kicks to Archer but he’s quickly eliminated, as is Archer via a kick from Tatsu. To show how annoying Striker can get with nicknames, he calls Tatsu “the Poison Fist of the Pacific Rim.” Uh, sure. Hornswoggle makes his annual appearance to throw Finlay the shillelagh. Knox gets knocked out and there’s a tadpole splash, followed by Carlito being tossed. Ryder dumps Knox and Finlay from behind but Ryder goes after Hornswoggle, allowing Tatsu to kick him out for the win at 8:34.

Rating: D+. This would be the traditional not great battle royal but it was cool to see someone young getting a win for a change. You could see a lot of new names showing up around the company, though a lot of them really never went anywhere. Unfortunately that would include Tatsu, who never went much higher than this, partially due to ECW not being around to take away some of the roster spots.

We open with another fly over.

Fantasia (from American Idol) sings America the Beautiful.

The set is a big pyramid made of Titantron screens. It’s another cool idea.

The opening video talks about how many people spent their lives reaching this night but now the page turns. For some it’s a new story and for some it’s the end. Tonight is their chance to earn their moment, which would become the most important thing Wrestlemania offered in years to come.

There’s a really cool miniature cylinder that lowers from the ceiling before every match with the Titantron video playing.

Tag Team Titles: R-Truth/John Morrison vs. The Miz/Big Show

R-Truth is a rapper still around today and is challenging along with Morrison. Miz is US Champion and there are still four Tag Team Title belts a year after the titles were unified. The champs have their themes put together and it really doesn’t work. Miz and Morrison get things going with John scoring off a slam before it’s off to Truth.

That’s about it for the good times though as Show comes in and throws Truth across the ring. Morrison gets knocked off the apron but he’s still able to kick Show off the middle rope to save Truth. Back to Miz vs. Morrison as Truth stupidly dives at Show, earning himself a ram into the post. Morrison rolls out of the Skull Crushing Finale and into a nice rollup for two, only to have Show knock him cold to retain at 3:26.

Rating: D. Well they made good time. I’m not sure why they got out of there so fast but maybe the rest of the show was running long. It’s not like this was missing much by turning it into a Raw match so it’s acceptable. The tag division was getting stagnant again but at least Miz was flying up the charts.

Video on Wrestlemania week in Phoenix.

Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes

These three were part of a group called Legacy but the young guys (Ted Jr. and Cody if that’s not clear) rebelled, basically turning Randy face again in the process. This is officially a triple threat but it starts as a glorified handicap match. Rhodes gets clotheslined to the floor so Orton can stomp Ted down. The numbers quickly catch up with him though and the double stomping begins to some INSANE booing.

They take turns holding Orton so the other can get in some right hands, followed by a double suplex. A DiBiase clothesline stops Orton’s comeback but as is the case in almost every triple threat match ever, the two who work together get in a fight over who gets the pin. They fight to the floor and the crowd is suddenly much more silent. Striker: “Perhaps a future Wrestlemania main event right here.”

Orton makes his comeback and Rhodes takes out DiBiase by mistake. Striker says that’s Wrestlemania experience. Most people would call it wrestling experience in general but Striker is the professional. The double elevated DDT, which Cole has never seen before (certainly not at Wrestlemania), takes Rhodes and DiBiase down. The Punt knocks Rhodes out and the RKO ends DiBiase at 9:01.

Rating: C. So much for Rhodes and DiBiase. Cody would be fine but DiBiase never did anything in WWE after this (to be fair he hadn’t done much in the first place). Orton was on fire again as his style and finisher are way too easy to cheer, yet for some reason WWE insists on making him a heel, even though the crowd is almost always going to turn him back.

Vickie Guerrero and her fellow heel divas promise to win their ten Divas tag. Jillian Hall (now a horrible singer, which may have been designed to make fun of Brooke Hogan) comes in to sing Simply the Best. All of the other women leave so here’s Santino for a Slim Jim commercial. He takes a bite and Jillian becomes Mae Young. Another bite turns her into Gene Okerlund (in the same dress) and a third turns Okerlund into Melina. No more biting as Santino leaves with another good looking woman.

Kofi Kingston vs. MVP vs. Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Matt Hardy vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. Christian

Money in the Bank with TEN ENTRANTS. Thankfully they would split it up next year where they went with two eight man versions. Bourne is a high flier, Swagger is a really good amateur wrestler, Ziggler has gone from nothing to a solid midcarder, McIntyre is an arrogant young Scottish wrestler and the Intercontinental Champion and Kane has a black eye for reasons that aren’t explained.

Standard wild brawl to start with MVP throwing in a ladder but Drew intercepts it and climbs until Matt makes the save. Seven guys all try to climb the same ladder to predictable results. Bourne gets chokeslammed over the top and down onto a bunch of people. Kofi knocks the ladder over to send Drew and Matt into the top rope. Now it’s Christian going up but Ziggler runs up and pulls him down, which is called a Zig Zag. That’s quite the stretch.

MVP knocks Kane to the floor but walks into Pay Dirt (jumping downward spiral) from Shelton. Swagger uses the top of the ladder to stop some climbs until Bourne drops him as well. Christian and Matt bring in ladders and slide them into the rings of the one standing, creating two platforms and crushing Swagger in the middle in the process. They climb up onto the platforms while Bourne is on the side of the ladder and this isn’t ending well.

Swagger shoves Matt’s ladder away and Bourne breaks up a Killswitch onto the platform by knocking Christian face first into the ladder. Instead of going for the case, Evan hits Air Bourne (shooting star) and then tries to go up, allowing Matt to hiptoss him to the mat in a huge crash. Swagger shoves Matt onto the bridged ladder but gets pulled down by MVP. Shelton and MVP fight to the floor where Kane takes them both out with a ladder.

Back in and Kane shoves the ladder over to drop Ziggler before throwing the ladder away. He’s not done though as Ziggler gets chokeslammed onto another ladder and then crushed inside of it. Kane crushes him so much that he breaks the ladder in two. Kofi is back in with Trouble in Paradise but now he has no ladder (because getting another of the more than half dozen on the floor is out of the question) so he gets an idea.

Kingston picks up both halves of the ladder and uses them as stilts, only to have McIntyre break it up because the stilts idea, while VERY creative, is also kind of stupid. Matt stops Drew’s attempt by crotching him on the top rope but Christian goes up to slow Hardy. They both have to knock Kane off, followed by a reverse DDT from Christian to put them both down. Christian goes back up but Swagger knocks him down and pulls down the briefcase (taking his sweet time to do so) for the win at 13:44.

Rating: C+. This is the weakest of the Money in the Banks that they’ve had yet and again it’s due to having so many people. In the last five minutes of this match, several people just disappeared while everyone else did their thing. If you’re not going to do anything with most of the people, stop having them in the match and put them in a match somewhere else on the card.

Swagger would become one of the weaker World Champions of all time, which is a big reason why he’s in the spot he’s in five years later. Instead of being a solid midcarder, he’s that guy who used to be World Champion and has fallen this far. It’s a major problem with something like Money in the Bank: instead of building someone else up, someone jumps to the title scene but doesn’t have any roots to support them. It happened with Swagger and it would happen again later.

Extreme Rules ad.

Hall of Fame, with Ted DiBiase headlining. He called this one of the few moments you can’t put a price on and made $100 bills fall from the ceiling, even though that’s not something he would have done in his day.

The Class of 2010 includes Stu Hart (represented by most of his kids), Wendi Richter, Mad Dog Vachon (in a wheelchair), Antonio Inoki, Bob Uecker (he deserves it), Gorgeous George (represented by his wife) and Ted DiBiase. It’s a bit of a smaller class this year which is something they need to address in the future. Something they don’t need to address is the awesome music that plays for this every year. It’s really good stuff.

We recap Sheamus vs. HHH. Sheamus won the Raw World Title in December 2009 in a huge upset but then lost it at No Way Put 2010 when HHH eliminated him in the Elimination Chamber for his first loss (assuming you ignore ECW). Sheamus wanted to fight HHH one on one at Wrestlemania to prove that the pin in the Chamber was a fluke. HHH compared Sheamus to himself back in 1996 when he tried to fight Ultimate Warrior and got crushed (you almost never hear about that anymore). It’s a simple story here but one that has worked for years.

Sheamus vs. HHH

They circle each other to start and HHH slaps him in the face. An early Pedigree attempt doesn’t work so it’s a suplex and knee drop for two instead. Sheamus’ attempt to bail outside doesn’t work as HHH drags him back in for a Figure Four because we haven’t praised Flair recently enough. Sheamus grabs the ropes and takes it outside for a whip into the steps as Striker tries to dub HHH the Ace of Spades.

Two straight Irish Curse backbreakers put HHH down as the match slows a lot. An ax handle gets two and some simple right hands to the face get the same. We hit the chinlock because this is the point in a WWE style match where you would put on a chinlock. After a powerslam, Sheamus grabs an armbar. Dude come on. HHH fights up out of the devastating armbar (because nothing else had been done to his arm) and grabs a DDT.

The high knee and facebuster get two but Sheamus counters the Pedigree into the Brogue Kick for two (of course HHH gets to be one of if not the first person to kick out of it). After the spinebuster sends Sheamus to the apron, another Brogue Kick drops HHH. No cover though as HHH pops up and hits the Pedigree for the pin at 12:10.

Rating: C+. Good power match here, assuming you ignore HHH kicking out of one of Sheamus’ finishers (to be fair it wasn’t his big finisher yet, as a Razor’s Edge called the High Cross was still his go to move) and get the pin that he didn’t need. Sheamus would win the rematch at Extreme Rules 2010 in the standard formula: HHH wins the big match on the big stage but loses the rematch as a consolation prize.

We recap Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. Mysterio had cost Punk a spot in Money in the Bank so Punk and his Straight Edge Society (a stable led by Punk as a near religious figure who would save them from their lives of addiction by the powers of a straight edge lifestyle) went after Rey, including interrupting Rey bringing his daughter into the ring on her birthday. Rey wouldn’t fight with his family there so Punk branded him a coward. The match was set for Wrestlemania and if Rey loses, he has to join the Straight Edge Society.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Punk has Luke Gallows and Serena (a talented wrestler who rarely got in the ring in WWE) with him. Before the match, Punk accuses the 70,000+ people here of being on drugs or alcohol, thinking it would make all of their problems go away. After tonight’s win, Punk will see all these people join him as one nation under Punk with sobriety for all. This year Rey is dressed as one of the aliens from Avatar which didn’t work all that well as it looked like his normal attire outside of the piece of black hair on the back of his mask.

Punk (with G.I. Joe themed trunks) jumps him from behind to start as Striker says Punk’s mind is a vile pigsty. Rey gets caught in the Tree of Woe but pulls himself up to avoid a baseball slide, sending Punk up against the post. That’s not enough to slow Punk down though as he drops Rey face first onto the steps and puts on a chinlock. Rey gets up but his springboard cross body is caught in a belly to belly for two.

Punk holds him down with a test of strength grip until Rey fights up and springboards to the top for a moonsault into a DDT (that looked way better than I was expecting). Another moonsault is caught in the GTS (Go To Sleep) but Rey grabs the rope to save himself. Rey kicks him down and tries a frog splash but Punk sits up just in time. Back up and Serena saves Punk from a 619, only to have it connect a few seconds later, setting up the springboard splash for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C. This could have been good with some more time but there’s only so much you can do for a big match in less than seven minutes. The Straight Edge Society was a cool concept and had a lot of potential but they lost almost every important match they had, which ultimately led to the stable falling apart.

We recap Bret vs. Vince. As mentioned earlier, Bret returned on the January 4, 2010 Monday Night Raw and seemed to make peace with Vince, only to have Vince kick him low. Eventually Bret broke his leg in a car wreck backstage which was finally enough for Vince to sign for the match. Bret agreed to wrestle with the injury after being called a coward. Vince signed the contract and gloated, but as he turned around, Bret’s cast was on the table and his leg was just fine. You would think seeing Bret goldbricking for years would have taught Vince something but no one ever seemed to get the idea.

Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon

Anything goes. For reasons that I’ll never understand, they remixed Bret’s music for his return. Bret is in jean shorts here because this is going to be a fight instead of a match. Before the match, Vince says Bret deserves a Wrestlemania sized screwing. Therefore, he’s paid to have the Hart Family at ringside (well at least the ones that will talk to him) as lumberjacks and Bret’s brother Bruce (in sunglasses of course) is going to be guest referee.

We’re still not ready to go though because Bret says that the Harts were on to Vince in the first place and it’s Vince that is going to get screwed. Bret slugs him out to the floor to start and the Hart Dynasty gives him a Hart Attack off the top. Back in and Bret starts in on the knee, sending Vince bailing to the floor. He can’t quite get underneath the ring but does find a crowbar.

Bret punches it out of his hand though and beats on him for a bit, followed by stomping away at the “lower abdomen”. Someone throws Bret a chair so he can have a seat for a bit. Bret beats on him with the chair for a good while and Vince appears to be in shock. The Sharpshooter finally makes Vince tap at 11:09.

Rating: A. This was all it needed to be and exactly what people were expecting. Neither guy is a wrestler anymore so having the Hart Family, especially Kidd and Hart-Smith, helped a good bit. There was never any doubt as to what this was going to be and while it went a bit longer than it needed to, it did everything it needed to.

Wrestlemania XXVII is in Atlanta. Cole promises a great guest host.

The attendance is 72,219, again not announced as a record.

We recap Edge vs. Chris Jericho. They had been the Tag Team Champions in June 2009 but Edge had destroyed his Achilles and put him on the shelf for a very long time. He returned early at the 2010 Royal Rumble to win in a major surprise. Edge immediately chose to challenge Jericho for the Smackdown World Title because they suddenly hated each other, even though there wasn’t a very strong reason for them to. Edge threatened to spear Jericho over and over again which was really the only thing he said during the buildup.

Smackdown World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Edge

Jericho is defending and shoulders Edge down to start before Edge charges into a boot in the corner. The early threat of a spear sends Jericho bailing to the floor but he avoids a baseball slide and hits one of his own to put Edge on the floor. Striker name drops Sexton Hardcastle (Edge’s pre-WWE name) as Jericho puts on a chinlock. Back up and gets draped over the top rope, only to knock Jericho off the apron and into the announcers’ table.

That goes nowhere so Jericho rolls through a high cross body for two. They’re really not burning the place up out there. The Walls and Codebreaker are both blocked but the spear is countered into the Walls for our first big spot. Edge rolls out of that as well and gets two off a small package. The Lionsault misses and the Edge-O-Matic gets two more. Jericho walks into the Impaler for the same but Edge is winded.

With Edge in trouble, Jericho loads up a spear of his own (Striker: “WHAT A GENIUS MOVE!”) only to charge into a boot to the face. Edge tries his own spear but runs into a one knee Codebreaker for two. Jericho starts in on the ankle before putting on the Walls. He gets smarter though and goes with a single leg crab which really cranks on the ankle. Edge gets to the ropes because it’s just a half crab so Jericho goes to get the belt. As you would expect, the referee is bumped a few seconds later and the belt shot gets two on Edge. The Codebreaker connects for the clean(ish) pin to retain the title at 15:48.

Rating: B-. This took some time but was really getting going near the end. Again though, it feels like it got cut off short and that’s getting annoying tonight. At least it worked while it lasted, especially for one of Edge’s first major matches back. This is still a weird feud but since it’s WWE, you know this isn’t ending with one match.

Post match Edge goes after Jericho again and throws him on the announcers’ table. A big run down the tables sets up a spear to drive Jericho through the barricade and set up a rematch. That would have worked a lot better if the pin had come off the belt shot instead of the Codebreaker.

We look at the pre-show battle royal because the matches haven’t been cut short enough already.

Maryse/Michelle McCool/Alicia Fox/Layla/Vickie Guerrero vs. Eve Torres/Beth Phoenix/Mickie James/Kelly Kelly/Gail Kim

Michelle is Women’s Champion and Maryse is Divas Champion. All of the villains save for Vickie bail to start, leaving her to face Beth. Vickie gets beaten up in the corner to start but Michelle makes the save with a Faithbreaker (Styles Clash) to Kelly. Everyone comes in and it’s time for a parade of finishers until it’s only Beth left standing against Vickie. Michelle saves the praying Guerrero and lays out Beth. Kelly is still down so Vickie goes up top (again with help from Michelle and Layla) for a “hog splash” and the pin at 3:26.

Rating: D. Well at least it was quick. The Divas were in a weird place here as they were trying to find a new top name but everyone was kind of getting lost in the shuffle. Laycool (Layla and Michelle) were trying but they needed some top stars. Kelly eventually became the main star, even though she was just a model who could only kind of work a match. Anyway, this was a nothing match that was only there for the Vickie stuff, which was another problem around this time.

We recap Batista vs. John Cena. Batista had helped the McMahons out of a few jams so he was granted a title shot at Cena’s Raw World Title right after Cena had won the title in the Elimination Chamber. This turned into a feud over who was the bigger star in the last five years because Batista thought he should be the face of the company. Batista had won their first major showdown at Summerslam 2008 but Cena said he was here because he loves it instead of for the money like Batista did.

Raw World Title: Batista vs. John Cena

Batista is defending and you can feel how big this really is. Cena is introduced by the United States Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team. The fans aren’t exactly thrilled with Cena but that’s the standard anymore. They do the big power lockup to start and Cena actually takes him down with a headlock. That goes nowhere so Batista fights up and hits a clothesline to the back of the head to take over.

Batista gets into his gloating power offense but Cena grabs a quick suplex to get a breather. An early AA attempt is countered into a DDT for two and now Batista gets his real advantage. We hit the chinlock with a body scissors (Striker: “Look at this potential submission hold!” Just stop. Please.) but Cena fights up and wins a slugout, only to get caught in a neckbreaker. Now we get the real Cena comeback with all his usual stuff, including the STF which sends Batista crawling to the ropes. A quick spear gets two for the champ and both guys are down.

They head to the top for a test of strength on the ropes (that’s a new one) until Cena headbutts him to the mat. A top rope Shuffle looks to set up the AA but Batista counters into the Batista Bomb for two. Another AA attempt is countered into a reverse suplex but Cena counters into a tilt-a-whirl slam, only to muscle Batista up into an AA for a really close near fall. Cena goes up top again for the Fameasser but dives into a spinebuster (Striker: “That’s how he broke his neck the last time!” No it wasn’t Striker.). Another Batista Bomb is countered into the STF and Batista taps at 13:30 to make Cena a nine time World Champion.

Rating: B+. That’s the only kind of match these two needed to have as they’re just beating the heck out of each other the whole way with big move after big move. It’s also a big stadium style match which almost always makes for a really good atmosphere. Much like the build, I’m not sure what else there is to say here. It’s Cena vs. Batista at Wrestlemania. You really don’t need any more of an explanation.

We recap the main event, which all stems from last year. Shawn’s loss has eaten at him for a year now and he has to beat Undertaker to exercise his demons once and for all. Undertaker wouldn’t fight him again so Shawn cost him the World Title at No Way Out 2010. That was enough for the match to be made but Undertaker wanted Shawn’s career on the line. Shawn agreed because if he can’t beat Undertaker, he doesn’t want to wrestle anymore.

Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

No DQ and no countout. Shawn just walks down but Undertaker makes his big entrance by rising up through the stage. Shawn breaks up the staredown with a throat slit of his own so Undertaker pounds on him in the corner early. Snake Eyes and the big boot set up Old School but Undertaker might have tweaked his knee. Shawn goes right after the knee to break up a chokeslam and starts in on the arm for some reason. Striker: “Shawn Michaels is very adept at submission grappling.” For the love of all things good and holy will someone SHUT HIM UP???

The threat of Sweet Chin Music sends Undertaker up against the ropes and it’s back to the knee. Undertaker knocks him to the floor and teases the Taker Dive but Shawn charges back in and grabs the leg. A reverse Figure Four doesn’t work and Shawn is sent into the post to keep Undertaker in control. The apron legdrop is a pretty stupid move and Shawn slaps on the Figure Four.

Undertaker does the sit up and turns it over so Shawn immediately breaks. At least he’s smart enough to let go as so many other people just let it stay on forever. Since Shawn let go so fast, his knee is good enough for the forearm and nipup, only to walk into a chokeslam for two. The Tombstone doesn’t work as Shawn crawls down Undertaker’s body and grabs an ankle lock, complete with a grapevine.

Undertaker gets Shawn on his back and kicks him in the face to break it up (Shawn’s stunned look is great). The big man heads outside but has to catch Shawn’s springboard cross body, countering it into a Tombstone on the floor. Somehow that only gets two so it’s a Last Ride but Shawn counters with an X Factor/Undertaker’s leg gives out (some combination of both) to give Michaels two. The top rope elbow hits knees and thankfully Undertaker’s knees are more banged up than Shawn.

Hell’s Gate goes on out of nowhere but Shawn counters into a rollup for two in an awesome reversal. Sweet Chin Music is good for two more. Another superkick is blocked and now the Last Ride connects for a big near fall. Striker: “We’ve auditioned our entire lives for this moment!” It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but the Last Ride is escaped and Undertaker takes Sweet Chin Music onto the table. Shawn’s moonsault onto the table only hits Undertaker’s legs and both guys are done.

Back in and Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music as well as he can but Undertaker kicks out again. Yet another attempt at the superkick is countered into a chokeslam. Undertaker’s knee won’t let him cover so it’s a Tombstone for two, even with Undertaker’s tongue sticking out. There go the straps and Undertaker tells Shawn to stay down. Shawn is on his knees and does another throat slit, admitting that he just can’t do it. Undertaker doesn’t move so Shawn slaps him in the face, triggering a jumping Tombstone to end Shawn’s career at 24:01.

Rating: A. It’s not an A+ because it’s just a hair beneath last year but sweet goodness this is amazing. The leg work made for a good story and the symbolism of the second throat slit was perfect. Shawn going out at Wrestlemania really was the only way to go about it and this was the kind of match he deserved to go out on. Outstanding stuff from one of the best big match performers ever.

That isn’t to take away from Undertaker though, who continues to take this Streak and his career to places that never seemed possible before. Ever since that Batista match it’s been classic after classic in an amazing career resurgence. Undertaker ending Shawn’s career was great and the jumping Tombstone made it even better. This was more than just trading finishers as the story told of Undertaker trying to hang on and Shawn fighting for everything he had and just not being good enough. This was great stuff and another classic.

Undertaker poses and helps Shawn up. Shawn soaks in all the cheers and takes his time going up the aisle, shaking a lot of hands. Shawn: “I’m going to drive my kids crazy in three weeks!” After applauding the fans, Shawn walks off to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This is a heck of a show with the double main event taking up the last fourth of the show. There’s nothing too terrible on here save for the opener and Divas match which combined to be less than seven minutes in the ring. Some of the stuff in the middle isn’t great but it’s certainly good enough to get by. This was another really good show as Wrestlemania is on a hot streak. Well save for XXV of course.

Ratings Comparison

Awesome Truth vs. ShoMiz

Original: D

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo:

Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: D+

2013 Redo: C

Christian vs. Matt Hardy vs. Kane vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. Evan Bourne

Original: B

2013 Redo: C+

HHH vs. Sheamus

Original: B-

2013 Redo: C+

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Original: B-

2013 Redo: C

Mr. McMahon vs. Bret Hart

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A+

Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Original: A-

2013 Redo: B

Beth Phoenix/Kevin Kelly/Mickie James/Gail Kim/Eve Torres vs. Vickie Guerrero/Alicia Fox/Laycool/Maryse

Original: F

2013 Redo: D

John Cena vs. Batista

Original: A

2013 Redo: B+

Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A+

Overall Rating

Original: A

2013 Redo: B+

Dang and I liked it even better on the first view. I might have been closer to right a few years back.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/04/03/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-26-john-cena-vs-batista-do-you-need-more/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/04/04/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxvi-goodbye-mr-wrestlemania/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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