Survivor Series 2020
Date: November 22, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

I can list off the lineups for just about every Survivor Series up until the mid 90s, but I couldn’t tell you what headlined this show if my life depended on it. There is something about the Battle For Brand Supremacy years that suck the fun out of these shows and that was certainly the case again with this one. Maybe it holds up better upon seeing it though. Let’s get to it.

We’re still in the original Thunder Dome for this one, just in case you needed a time capsule effect.

Kickoff Show: Battle Royal

Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Chad Gable, Cedric Alexander, Humberto Carrillo, Shelton Benjamin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Robert Roode, Jeff Hardy, Apollo Crews, Ricochet, Angel Garza, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Murphy, Kalisto, Miz, John Morrison

This is the first match for Brand Supremacy so I don’t bother listing brands for everyone. The Mysterios and Miz (Mr. Money in the Bank)/John Morrison are the only ones to get entrances. Dominik clotheslines Morrison out in a hurry as Kalisto and Rey have a lucha off in the middle. Cedric gets rid of Kalisto though and Ziggler superkicks Rey to break up the 619.

Ziggler tosses Rey and Garza gets rid of Carrillo to clear out a bit of the ring. The Hurt Business (Benjamin/Alexander for you non-history geeks….who are reading this by mistake) eliminate Garza but Ricochet gets rid of Alexander. Benjamin eliminates Ricochet with a knee but Crews tosses Benjamin for some rapid fire eliminations.

Ziggler gets in his first of probably 183 saves before fighting to the apron with Murphy. Roode knocks Murphy out but gets dumped by Dominik, who avoids a Ziggler charge and kicks him out. Crews and Elias double team Miz until Nakamura knees Crews out. We’re down to Hardy, Nakamura, Gable, Miz, Dominik and Elias, with Hardy getting rid of Nakamura and Elias back to back.

Hardy and Gable pair off with Gable tossing him out before Miz kicks the other two in the face. Some YES Kicks have Dominik in more trouble but he sends Miz to the apron. Miz slides back in just before Dominik baseball slides him outside (that’s clever). Gable is back up with some rolling belly to bellys to Dominik but Rolling Chaos Theory is blocked. Dominik hits a 619 and dumps Gable, only to get thrown out by Miz for the win at 12:08.

Rating: C-. As usual, a battle royal is usually based on how long it went and this didn’t quite overstay its welcome. At the same time, it had a smart moment with Miz rolling back in, even if it was the “hey he’s not out!” deal. This was a simple way to get a lot of people on the show and just like Wrestlemania, it served its purpose well.

Raw – 1
Smackdown – 0

The opening video looks at the Battle For Brand Supremacy, including the champion vs. champion matches. Oh and one more thing: it 30 years to the day of Undertaker’s debut and he’s making his final farewell. The fact that I forgot about that tells you how nutty the last year has been.

Team Raw Men vs. Team Smackdown Women

Raw: AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, Riddle
Smackdown: Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, Seth Rollins, Otis

It’s kind of amazing to see how many of these people have changed shows in just a year, as things continue to be shaken up. Omos is here with Styles (self appointed team captain) and everyone gets individual entrances, including Lee, allowing commentary to talk about his amazing performance at Survivor Series 2019. The fact that he wound up doing absolutely nothing as a result is very sad, as well as telling about how bad things have gotten in WWE. Otis is the Blue Collar Working Man and Jey is freshly on Roman Reigns’ side. It’s also still part of Rollins’ messiah phase, which hasn’t gotten better with age.

Styles and Uso start things off with Jey working on a headlock. That’s broken up and AJ hits a quick dropkick, only to miss the Pele kick. The pop up Samoan drop gets two on Styles as Graves thinks Cole wants to take Styles out for a chocolate malt (I’ll go if AJ won’t). Otis comes in and misses a charge, allowing the tag off to Riddle.

Some kicks to the chest wake Otis up (via gyrating) but he takes Riddle down and hands it off to Owens. Things get intelligent as Owens stomps on Riddle’s bare feet, only to let him get over for the tag to Sheamus. Rollins wants to come in and face Sheamus….which means dropping to his knees. Rollins tells Sheamus to DO HIS PART, so there’s the Brogue Kick for the elimination at 6:07, as Rollins needed to go off on paternity leave.

Team Smackdown has a meeting on the floor so Strowman runs them over and tells Team Raw to work together. In this case, that means Lee comes in to face Otis so they can fight over a power lockup. Lee can’t shoulder him down and can’t hit the Grizzly Magnum, but neither can throw the other. A shot to the face puts Otis down though and it’s Strowman coming in for a dropkick. Otis jawbreaks Styles to get a breather though and it’s off to Owens for a backdrop. Everything breaks down and Owens hits a bunch of Stunners but walks into the Phenomenal Forearm to give Styles the pin at 12:17.

Corbin comes in with Deep Six to Sheamus but AJ Peles him down. Riddle adds the Floating Bro and Corbin is done at 13:08. It’s Uso and Otis vs. the whole Raw team and Sheamus knees Jey in the face for two. Otis is back in to run various people over but Strowman comes in to kick him in the face. Somehow Otis knocks him down though and hits the Caterpillar but the Vader Bomb is countered into the running powerslam at 16:40.

Uso is left alone so he fires off as many superkicks as he can, setting up a dive onto the whole team. Omos pulls AJ out of the way of the Superfly Splash but Uso superkicks AJ’s leg to break up the Phenomenal Forearm. Lee comes in off a blind tag though and it’s the Spirit Bomb to finish Usos for the win at 18:59.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t great as Raw never felt like it was in any serious danger. Even at the start, it’s a little hard to buy Jey Uso and Otis as threats against three former World Champions, Riddle and Lee. It wasn’t a terrible match, but this started off slow and then got weaker as things went on. Uso’s comeback at the end was good, but how much can you do when it’s 5-0?

Raw – 2
Smackdown – 0

New Day (Raw) vs. Street Profits (Smackdown)

New Day is in Gears of War costumes (due to being in the game) and they look pretty awesome. Before the match, the Profits sing Shawn Michaels’ theme and do his pose for reasons of they like to talk a lot. Dawkins and Woods start things off and, after doing a grand total of nothing, it’s off to Kingston vs. Ford. They jump over each other a few times until Ford kick shim outside.

That doesn’t last long so Ford takes him down inside and Dawkins adds a splash for two. Kingston blocks the belly to back suplex into a moonsault and it’s the Profits taken outside for a big dive. Back in and Woods gutbusters Ford for two and we hit the chinlock, with Kofi grabbing a solo cup. Said cup is then kicked, sending it all of two feet. Kofi comes in for a waistlock but Ford finally grabs a jumping DDT, allowing the hot tag to Dawkins. House is cleaned in a hurry and Dawkins throws Woods at Ford for a belly to back suplex.

Back to back spinning splashes crush Woods in the corner but he escapes what looks to be the Midnight Hour. Instead, Kofi is back in for the real thing (or as real as it can be without Big E.) for two on Ford. One heck of a dropkick rocks Kingston though and it’s back to Dawkins for the Anointment.

Ford adds the Cash Out but the ribs mean there’s a very delayed near fall. Woods comes in with a missile dropkick to Dawkins but Ford hits Kingston with Trouble in Paradise. That earns him a gorilla press gutbuster for a very close two and Ford is taken up top. It takes a bit too long though and Dawkins loads him into an electric chair for a Doomsday Blockbuster and the pin at 14:03.

Rating: B. Now this picked up the pace a lot and was the kind of match that should have opened the show. The Profits get to prove that they can beat one of the best teams ever, and it’s not like New Day can be hurt by pretty much anything. I got into this with all of the near falls and big moves and it felt like a big match throughout.

Raw – 2
Smackdown – 1

The Smackdown women begrudgingly agree to work together.

Nia Jax rallies the Raw women but leaves Lana out because she’s mean.

Bobby Lashley (Raw) vs. Sami Zayn (Smackdown)

The rest of the Hurt Business is here with Lashley. Zayn bails to the floor to start but takes too long yelling at the Hurt Business, allowing Lashley to get in his first shot to the back. They get back in and Sami tries a clothesline, which Lashley runs through in an impressive visual. Zayn tries to run off but can’t get around the Hurt Business. Instead, he snaps Lashley’s throat across the top rope to take over.

Back in and the beating is on, at least until Lashley sends him flying with a release suplex. The delayed vertical suplex drops Zayn, who says it gives him vertigo. Sami uses the goldbricking to get in a cheap shot before going outside to yell at the Hurt Business. That’s just enough time for Lashley to get back up and jump Zayn, only to miss a charge into the pose. As Lashley barely beats the count, Sami tries to take off the turnbuckle pad but charges into a spinebuster instead. One more attempt at going after MVP fails and it’s the Hurt Lock to make Zayn tap at 7:45.

Rating: C-. This was the most realistic way to go, but that doesn’t make it the most interesting match. The main thing here was you had to have Zayn running away from the monster that is Lashley. No one is going to buy Zayn as a physical threat to Lashley, so trying to get the DQ was the right call. What we got was a long cat and mouse game until Lashley finally pulled him in, as he should.

Raw – 3
Smackdown – 1

Roman Reigns fins the Usos and blames Jey for the loss. Jey lost because he couldn’t control the team, meaning they don’t respect Reigns or his family. That makes it hard for them to have a seat at the table, so go find your brother and get out of here.

Asuka (Raw) vs. Sasha Banks

Banks takes her down into an armbar to start and then switches into a headlock. The chinlock sets up a quick armbar as Asuka can’t get anything going to start. Asuka tries to roll out of an armbar but has to fight out of a Bank Statement instead. That’s broken up and Asuka grabs a fireman’s carry into the Asuka Lock. Banks is right back out of that too and the Backstabber gets two, meaning Asuka needs a breather.

Back in and the hip attack sends Banks outside, setting up the mocking dancing. A sliding kick to the face drops Banks again and we hit the armbar. We’ll make that an abdominal stretch but Asuka drives her into the corner for the break this time. They fall out to the apron, where Asuka gets the world’s fastest ankle lock. That’s released after about half a second so it’s the running hip attack to put Banks on the floor.

Banks is right back up to the apron but she dives into a Codebreaker to put them both down. Back in and Banks grabs the Backstabber for two as the noise machine is getting more into this. The running knees in the corner set up the Bank Statement, which is reversed again so Asuka can grab another Codebreaker for two more. The pinfall reversal sequence gets some more near falls until Asuka kicks her in the head, only to charge into a rollup to give Banks the fast pin at 13:02.

Rating: B. Good stuff here as they are talented women getting time to do their thing. Banks is someone who can feel like a huge star with every tool you could ask for and it’s great to see her showcase herself on the big stage. Asuka might not be the top star anymore, but she can easily hang in a match like this and arguably have a better match than anyone else else in the division. Rather solid match here and that shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise.

Raw – 3
Smackdown – 2

We recap Miz winning the Kickoff Show battle royal.

Also on the Kickoff Show, the Gobbledy Gooker won the 24/7 Title from R-Truth.

The Gooker follows a trail of birdseed (ala Wile E. Coyote) so Akira Tozawa can win the title.

R-Truth hits Tozawa with a bag of birdseed to win the title back.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Nia Jax, Lana, Shayna Baszler, Lacey Evans, Peyton Royce
Smackdown: Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley, Natalya

This is during the stretch where Nia put Lana through a table nine times in a row (complete with counter) and then shunning her into fear. Smackdown seems more united here, more or less guaranteeing their downfall. Evans drives Bayley into the corner to throw the napkin in her face. That means Natalya can come in to front facelock Peyton, setting up a double suplex from Natalya and Belair.

Morgan comes in to hit Royce in the face but it’s a double clothesline to put them both down. It’s off to Baszler vs. Riott with the former firing off the hard kicks to the face. Jax comes in and has to fight off the big group beatdown in the corner. Lana tags herself in much to Jax’s annoyance but Natalya shoulders her down. Commentary makes it clear that Lana is about to get killed so Jax tags herself in and yells at her, ordering Lana to stand on the steps.

It’s off to Royce (who plays cheerleader) and gets tossed into the corner by Bayley. Belair comes in for a gorilla press Snake Eyes, setting up Bayley’s top rope elbow. We hit the parade of secondary finishers until Peyton superplexes Bayley onto a pile on the floor. Back in and Royce hits Deja Vu (swinging suplex) to finish Bayley at 9:55.

Natalya comes in and elbows Royce in the face, setting up the belly to back drop. Royce pulls her into a half crab but Belair offers a distraction from the floor, allowing Natalya to tie Royce up in…..I have no idea what she was trying. The more recognizable Sharpshooter makes Royce tap at 11:48. Evans comes in, misses the double jump moonsault (which still looks awesome) and pops back up to hit the Women’s Right to finish Natalya for the elimination at 12:39.

Evans catches Belair on top and it’s a super Spanish Fly for two. With that not working, it’s off to the Riott Squad to beat up Jax in the corner, including the Riott Kick to really stagger her. Baszler tags herself in and goes after Riott’s arm but has to settle with the Kirifuda Clutch. That’s flipped over for a near fall but Riott is out cold anyway and Baszler gets the pin at 16:57.

Morgan wants Baszler but gets to hip attack Evans in the corner instead. A missile dropkick sets up the crucifix to finish Evans at 18:05. We’re down to Jax/Baszler/Lana (still standing on the steps) vs. Belair/Morgan so Morgan hits a running tornado DDT on Jax. An enziguri doesn’t do much to her so it’s the Samoan drop to finish Morgan at 19:08.

That leaves Belair alone between Jax and Baszler but she sends Baszler outside and hammers on Jax. A big shot to the face puts Belair down and Jax drops the leg for two so it’s back to Baszler. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on in a hurry but Belair gets to her feet. The walk to the ropes only kind of works though as she passes out and lands in the ropes. That doesn’t bother Baszler, who won’t let go and gets disqualified at 22:32.

So it’s Jax/Lana (still standing there) vs. Belair, who is mostly unconscious. Belair is able to fight out of the Samoan drop through the table and they fight on the floor for the double countout at 23:22….meaning Lana is the sole survivor. She’s so excited that she starts crying while celebrating like a moron.

Rating: D+. This was stupid when it aired live and it’s stupid now. The whole Raw side was about Jax being horrible to Lana, who I guess we’re supposed to cheer because she cowered in fear. In other words, she didn’t actually do anything but we’re supposed to cheer for her anyway because she’s plucky or something for getting put through nine tables and then standing there. Morgan was working hard out here and did as much as she could, but she isn’t Lana or Jax so it doesn’t matter. This Lana vs. Jax feud was terrible and this was the latest bad part of the whole thing.

Raw – 4
Smackdown – 2

TLC is coming.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre in the battle of the World Champions. Reigns is the unstoppable monster and McIntyre beat Randy Orton on Raw to get the title back. Now we have a showdown.

Roman Reigns (Smackdown) vs. Drew McIntyre (Raw)

Non-title again and Paul Heyman is here with Reigns. They hold their titles up at each other before we get the big lockup to start. An exchange of shoves don’t get either of them anywhere until Reigns grabs a headlock takeover. McIntyre does it right back and then shoulders Reigns to the floor in a power display.

Back in and Reigns starts pounding him down into the corner, setting up a ram into the buckle to send McIntyre outside. A whip into the steps has McIntyre in more trouble and we hit the chinlock back inside. That works so well that Reigns knocks him down and grabs another chinlock to keep McIntyre in trouble. McIntyre fights up again but the Future Shock is countered.

Reigns scores with a Samoan drop for two and they’re both down for a bit. Back up and the Superman Punch is countered into a spinebuster for two and they head outside again. This time it’s Reigns being sent into the barricade and then the steps before they head back inside. Reigns kicks him in the head to take over again though and it’s time to start talking a lot.

They trade big shots to the face but Reigns misses the running clothesline and gets dropped with the Future Shock for two. Back up and Drew has to send him flying to break up the guillotine choke but gets sent shoulder first into the post. The spear is loaded up but countered into a Kimura with a bodyscissors. That sends Reigns straight to the rope and then the floor, where he Samoan drops McIntyre through the announcers’ table in a big crash.

Now the spear can send McIntyre through the barricade…which is good for two back inside. Another spear gets another two and Reigns is STUNNED. Yet another spear is loaded up but McIntyre hits the Claymore, knocking Reigns into the referee. Cue Jey Uso for a distraction so Reigns can hit a low blow, setting up a superkick. Reigns grabs the guillotine and McIntyre is out at 24:53.

Rating: A-. This was the kind of match that you would expect from these two as it felt like a clash of the titans. Reigns was ahead of McIntyre throughout but McIntyre had some moments to give you a reason to believe he could pull it off. The fact that he kicked out of two spears and then had to get cheated out of the win was even better, as McIntyre came off like a real threat to Reigns. Odds are we’ll see this again, and probably on a bigger stage.

Raw – 4
Smackdown – 3

Post match Reigns is happy with Jey, though Jey doesn’t seem thrilled with what he had to do.

It’s time for the Undertaker’s Final Farewell and we’ve got some special guests:

Shane McMahon
Big Show
JBL
Jeff Hardy
Mick Foley
Godfather
Godwinns
Savio Vega
Rikishi
Kevin Nash
Booker T.
Shawn Michaels
Ric Flair
HHH
Kane

With the guest list out of the way, we get the expected awesome video on Undertaker’s career, set to Metallica’s Now That We’re Dead, featuring just about everything you could want from an Undertaker retrospective. Various talking heads talk about how great Undertaker is and how he is one of the few constants in WWE.

Back in the arena and the legends are gone, with Vince McMahon in the ring instead. Vince talks about how Undertaker debuted in the WWF (yes F) and has entertained a global audience. Now it is time to say goodbye, and the Undertaker’s legacy will live on eternally. Vince brings out the Undertaker, who gets an extended entrance (grab a lunch) and takes a long time looking around….at what would be an empty arena, but that’s not exactly the point. You can tell how emotional this is for him and we pause for him to soak in the canned UNDERTAKER chants.

Undertaker says that he has made that slow walk to the ring for thirty years. He has laid people to rest time and time again, and now his time has come. Now it’s a THANK YOU TAKER chant before he says it is time for him to rest in peace. Undertaker strikes his pose….and we get a hologram of Paul Bearer holding the Urn to make it extra special. There’s the throat slit as the music swells as Undertaker takes the long, long (LONG) walk up the aisle. With one look back and the big fist in the air, Undertaker walks through the curtain to end the show.

This is one of the more unique and special moments you get in wrestling, as no one goes thirty years and getting to end it on the exact day makes it even more special. Undertaker absolutely deserves something like this, and I can get the idea of him not having that much to say. It wouldn’t surprise me if this had to be done here instead of at a regular event with fans, just for the sake of Undertaker being able to keep his composure. This was a cool moment and it was the only thing that could have headlined the show. Thank goodness there was no angle or anything, because this is how it should have ended.

Overall Rating: C+. The amazing Undertaker segment was enough to bring this up, as otherwise it was right in the middle, with one good match for every bad. As usual, the Battle For Brand Supremacy was a grand total of nothing, with the final match having no impact and a bunch of people wearing different color shirts as their only means of a bond. The stories and overall theme of the show really hurt it, which is saying a lot as the wrestling was pretty good for the most part. It’s not a great show, but it was running with a big anchor, as the Brand Supremacy deal is destroying Survivor Series.

Ratings Comparison

Battle Royal

Original: D
Redo: C-

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Original: D+
Redo: C-

New Day vs. Street Profits

Original: B
Redo: B

Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn

Original: C-
Redo: C-

Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Original: B+
Redo: B

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Original: D
Redo: D+

Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns

Original: B
Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B
Redo: C+

Dang I really don’t know what I’m doing with this stuff do I?

Here is the original review if you’re interested:

 

 

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Survivor Series 2019
Date: November 24, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 13,271
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

This year’s show is all about the Battle For Brand Supremacy, but NXT is involved as well and the invasions have been red hot for a change. They have set up a pretty awesome looking show, even with the amount of triple threat matches, including triple threat elimination matches. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the end zone straight across from the Titantron in the upper deck.

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal

Raw: OC, Street Profits, Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

Smackdown: Revival, Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler, Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery

NXT: Forgotten Sons, Breezango, Imperium

When one member is out, the team is out. Where to begin? First of all, there are no graphics to tell you which brand the teams are on. I get expecting people to know that at the time, but WWE knows that they have the Draft every year and that the Network is a thing here. Throw up a show graphic.

Second, a year later and five of these teams are gone, with four of them out of the company. Third, Hawkins and Ryder are “glad to still be here.” These people were the Tag Team Champions at Wrestlemania seven months and a half months earlier. That’s a heck of a fall. Oh and I had forgotten about that Tag Team World Cup deal the OC had from Crown Jewel. I’ve heard worse ideas.

It’s a brawl to start (shocking I know) with Jaxson Ryker saving Gran Metalik for no reason. General stupidity maybe? The Sons are out in a hurry as I try to get over Dolph Ziggler wearing a Smackdown hat in the match. Yeah they need graphics on their name but it’s Ziggler so by definition it’s a stupid thing to do. Angelo Dawkins throws out Gran Metalik to get rid of the Lucha House Party as Ziggler (now minus the hat) is thrown to the apron for his traditional save fest.

Hawkins is sent through the middle rope but Ryder is thrown over the top and onto him for the elimination. Barthel catapults Ziggler over the top for the skinning of the cat and Roode gets rid of Aichner to eliminate Imperium and save Ziggler (again). Otis falls trying the Caterpillar and gets dumped by OC/Revival. Breezango is out thanks to Revival and that’s it for NXT.

We’re down to Revival, OC, Roode/Ziggler and the Profits, with the Profits dropkicking Revival out in a hurry. Ziggler saves Roode from the Magic Killer and superkicks Gallows out to get us down to two. The brawl is on with Roode busting Dawkins’ spine but Ziggler superkicks Roode through the ropes by mistake. The Sky High looks to set up the frog splash but Roode saves Ziggler (that man needs a lot of saving). Ford hits the frog splash on Ziggler instead, only to be thrown out by Roode for the win at 8:19.

Rating: D+. It’s a battle royal and a tag team one at that, with the teams barely being identifiable outside of commentary throwing out a brand here and there. It will get better later on and since this was a bonus match, it’s hard to get that upset. What impresses me the most is how much the tag team division changes so quickly, as this feels like it could have been four or five years ago. That probably shouldn’t be happening and yet it doesn’t seem out of place.

Smackdown – 1

Raw – 0

NXT – 0

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa (Raw) vs. Kalisto (Smackdown) vs. Lio Rush (NXT)

Rush is defending and gets double teamed to start but Tozawa and Kalisto waste no time in turning on each other. That means it’s time for Rush to start his bobbing and weaving, which always looked awesome. Kalisto pulls Rush to the floor and cuts off Tozawa’s dive before walking the rope to kick Rush in the face.

A spinning wristdrag takes Tozawa down but Tozawa shoves Kalisto into Rush’s raised boot. Rush hits a double handspring elbow to take both of them down but Tozawa punches him in the face. Kalisto gets kicked to the floor and Tozawa’s sliding boot gets two on Rush. Tozawa and Kalisto take Rush to the top but he double armdrags both of them down for a huge crash.

A circle chop off is capped off by Tozawa German suplexing Rush but Kalisto dives in to roll Rush up for two. Tozawa is back up with a Shining Wizard to send Kalisto outside and the top rope backsplash hits Rush. Kalisto dives in for the save and the slugout is on, with Kalisto hitting the Salida del Sol on Tozawa. That’s fine with Rush, who comes in with the Final Hour to pin Tozawa and retain at 8:20.

Rating: C. It’s a match that has been done before but what we got worked out just fine with the three of them flying around and doing their high flying stuff. That’s something that is always going to work because it is a style that never gets old and Rush retaining is a fine way to get NXT on the board. I know he might have some issues, but dang Rush can do the flying thing.

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

Raw – 0

Kickoff Show: New Day (Smackdown) vs. Undisputed Era (NXT) vs. Viking Raiders (Raw)

Non-title (with all three as respective champions) and it’s Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, fresh off WarGames the previous night, for the Era. Big E., Ivar and O’Reilly start things off, which may be a little harder to keep track of but it makes a lot more sense than having two people in there at once instead. O’Reilly is taken down in a hurry so it’s Fish coming in, earning himself a beating of his own from Ivar. Both parts of the Era come in and get dropped by Ivar and Big E. before they turn on each over.

They take turns flipping away from each other until Big E. runs Ivar over in the power display. O’Reilly comes back in for the rapid fire knees to Big E. but the Raiders knee O’Reilly down without much effort. It’s back to Fish, who gets Ivar slammed onto him to make it even worse. Kingston comes in to slug away on Erik and it’s New Day double teaming O’Reilly down for two.

The Era is sent outside and it’s the New Day/Raiders showdown. The slugout goes on until Kofi is left alone, meaning it’s time for the Era to come back in and take over on Kingston’s leg in the corner. Ivar dives in with a splash to break up a kneebar so O’Reilly and Kingston slug it out on the apron instead. Big E. misses his spear through the ropes so Kofi and the Era join him, meaning Erik can slam Ivar onto the other four.

Back in and Fish starts taking over on Erik’s knee before handing it off to O’Reilly for the same. Erik manages to suplex O’Reilly into the corner to take Fish down, allowing the hot tag to Ivar. House is cleaned and O’Reilly kicks Fish in the corner by mistake. Big E. gets kicked in the face as well and Erik hits the shotgun dropkick on Fish. Ivar’s Bronco Buster misses though, meaning Kofi can come in with a standing double stomp to Erik.

Big E. suplexes the Era and it’s a powerbomb/top rope double stomp to crush Erik. Kofi’s big dive over the top takes out Ivar and the Era, with Big E. hitting the spear to take Erik down as well. Everyone gets back up and Erik knees Big E. in the face, setting up the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination (always cool), sending Big E. outside again.

Rating: B. This was the kind of all action match that they should have been having and it got enough time to make it work really well. New Day is a team who can be put in there at any time to make other teams look good and the Era can work with anyone. The Raiders needed the win most and it worked out well all around. Good stuff here and a nice way to wrap up the Kickoff Show.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

The opening video looks at how this is usually Raw vs. Smackdown but then NXT jumped in to make it a lot more interesting in a hurry. There are some other matches thrown in but this is ALL about the three way brand fight, which did have a heck of a build.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Raw – Charlotte, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Natalya, Sarah Logan

Smackdown – Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans

NXT – Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Toni Storm

The NXT team was announced after last night’s Takeover and some of them are coming off of WarGames so they’re a little banged up. Storm, Evans and Logan start things off with Lacey taking over early on. That earns her a double flip out to the floor and it’s Cross tagging herself in to take her place. Logan hits a cartwheel knee to Storm’s back for….well nothing actually as she talks trash until Cross jumps on her back for the choking.

They’re both a bit odd so that fits well. Back up and Storm German suplexes both of them at once so it’s off to Sane, Carmella and Shirai. The fans get rather excited about two of these people and I’ll let you guess who they are. Carmella hands it off to Brooke, who is fine with just standing in the corner while the other two trade headscissors and clotheslines. Shirai hits a running basement dropkick to Sane’s face but Brooke sends them both into the corner for a double handspring elbow.

The Swanton hits both of them for two on Shirai so Evans comes in for a double hiptoss instead. Candice gets the tag and strikes away at Evans as Asuka comes in as well. A quick snapmare drops Asuka so Candice can hit a step up backsplash and there’s a middle rope faceplant for two on Evans. It’s off to Ripley, who gets caught in Asuka’s armbreaker so Belair makes the save, triggering the parade of secondary finishers. Banks is left alone in the ring with everyone else down…including Shirai and LeRae need medical attention.

Everything pauses as Raw and Smackdown wave goodbye to them instead of, I don’t know, trying to eliminate each other. We settle down to Banks vs. Ripley vs. Charlotte, which does sound like a heck of a match. Ripley doesn’t seem to be very impressed and since this feels big, it’s off to Belair, Logan and Cross instead. Cross hits a neckbreaker on Logan but gets sent to the apron for her efforts. A dive to the floor takes Ripley down and Cross hammers away on Storm against the apron.

Ripley picks Cross up though and puts her on the apron, allowing Belair to grab a rollup (with Ripley holding the feet) for the elimination at 9:39. Carmella comes in with a big headscissors to Belair and a superkick to Logan, only to walk into Belair’s KOD. That sends her into the ropes but Logan sends both of them out to the floor. Running knees takes Carmella and Belair down again with Natalya having to make a save back inside. Belair punches Logan down though and hits the 450 to get rid of her at 12:10.

That puts us at Raw and Smackdown with four each and NXT with three as Charlotte comes in to face Belair and doesn’t seem impressed. Belair gets clotheslined but Carmella comes back in to kick Charlotte down. The big boot drops Belair again but Carmella breaks up the moonsault that will never hit no matter what anyway. Charlotte pulls Carmella up for a powerbomb, which is countered into a hurricanrana onto Belair to give Carmella a pair of two’s each on both.

Carmella grabs Belair by the ponytail but takes too long, allowing Charlotte to hit Natural Selection on Carmella for the elimination at 15:38. Sane, Storm and Banks come in with Storm kicking Banks in the face. Storm Zero to Shirai is broken up though and the Insane Elbow connects, with Sasha breaking up the pin and….then pinning Sane herself at 16:48. Asuka gets so frustrated that she comes in and wrecks the place, including kicking the now legal Brooke in the face to get rid of her at 17:25.

We’re down to Ripley/Belair/LeRae/Shirai (with the latter two backstage) for NXT vs. Evans/Banks for Smackdown vs. Charlotte/Asuka/Natalya for Raw. Charlotte tags herself in and gets into a shoving match with Asuka as a result, eventually slamming Asuka down by the hair. Lacey tries to jump Charlotte but Asuka is back with the green mist (BIG pop for that) to blind Charlotte before walking out. The Woman’s Right gets rid of Charlotte at 19:09 and Raw is down to just Natalya. I’ll take that over Asuka taking another loss and Charlotte is going to be the focal point of everything she does so a tainted loss doesn’t mean a thing.

Since Natalya is the only one left for Raw, she comes in with the discus lariat to Storm and then rolls Evans up for a fast elimination at 19:51. That leaves us with Storm/Belair/Ripley for NXT, Banks for Smackdown and Natalya for Raw and Ripley is rather pleased. Banks and Natalya get smart and take Storm down for a Sharpshooter/Banks Statement combination for the tap at 20:47.

Belair comes in and Natalya tries to talk trash before going with the smarter move of playing Jim to Banks’ Bret on the Hart Attack for the pin at 21:16. So it’s down to Banks vs. Natalya vs. Ripley….or at least it is until Banks decks Natalya for the pin at 21:57, eliminating Raw completely.

The fans REALLY like the idea of Banks vs. Ripley though and it’s Ripley hammering away and getting two off a dropkick. Back up and Banks can’t hit a tornado DDT so it’s a sleeper to limited avail instead. Banks hits the running knees in the corner and the middle rope Meteora gets two. More knees to the back of the head send Ripley into the corner again but this time she superkicks the Meteora out of the air.

The Prism Trap (dang that looks awesome) is on but Banks rolls into the Bank Statement instead. Ripley is in trouble so here are LeRae and Shirai, who were never officially eliminated, to pull Ripley to safety. That earns them a dropkick through the ropes each and they head back in, where Banks has to slip out of Riptide. Shirai hits her with a springboard missile dropkick though and now Riptide can give Ripley the final pin at 27:53.

Rating: B-. They got some time here and the important thing is NXT wins a major match. That’s an awesome thing to see and it’s really cool that it actually happened on a big stage. You want to set things up well for the rest of the night and having an NXT all star team lose to teams involving Logan, Brooke and Carmella wasn’t going to work. Above all else, Ripley looked like a total star here, eclipsing almost everyone else in the match and the fans treated her like one. I wouldn’t have had Shirai and LeRae save her at the end, but Ripley pinning Banks for the win is all that matters.

NXT – 2

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

We look at the closing moments of WarGames last night when Kevin Owens became the final member of Team Ciampa and helped them win.

Seth Rollins, Raw Team Captain, comes up to Owens to ask where his loyalties lie. Owens says last night was just to get back at the Undisputed Era so tonight, he’s Team Raw. He also finds it funny that SETH ROLLINS is questioning loyalty. A mock Shield pose takes us out.

Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown) vs. Roderick Strong (NXT) vs. AJ Styles (Raw)

Battle of the midcard champions and Sami Zayn is in Nakamura’s corner. Nakamura strikes away at both of them to start but AJ gets them into the corners for some running elbows. Strong’s backbreaker gets him out of trouble but AJ knocks him to the floor and hits a shot to the face. Back in and Nakamura breaks up AJ’s springboard and kicks Strong to the floor for a bonus. A knee gets two on Styles and there’s the running knee in the corner.

The gutbuster fireman’s carry gives Strong two on Nakamura but AJ comes back in with a sleeper to give Nakamura a breather. Strong fights back up and runs them both over a few times, including the alternating running forearms to AJ in the ropes. AJ fights up and gets in a few shots, only to be monkey flipped into a shot to the face from Nakamura. A slugout puts Strong down in a hurry and Nakamura hits the sliding knee for two.

The Styles Clash to Nakamura is broken up and Sami pulls Nakamura outside for a break. Strong unloads on Styles in the corner but gets caught in an Electric Chair, with Nakamura coming in off the top with a kick to the chest. AJ breaks that up as well but Sami pulls him outside, leaving Strong to hit a jumping knee for two on Nakamura. Back in and AJ cuts off Kinshasa, setting up the circle of strikes to the face.

Nakamura drops AJ and hits a reverse exploder on Strong (whose knee got very close to AJ’s face), setting up Kinshasa….for two as AJ makes another save. AJ and Nakamura slug it out so Nigel can talk about their Japanese rivalry. The Landslide gets two on AJ but Kinshasa is countered with a shot to the face. AJ hits the Phenomenal Forearm but Strong comes in to get rid of AJ and steal the pin at 16:43.

Rating: B. This was the action packed match that you would have expected and the cool thing is that it made Strong look like he was on their level. Strong isn’t someone who has been proven on the big stage before and seeing him win here, especially by outsmarting the other two, is great to see. Again: it’s not like Nakamura or Styles are going to be hurt by the loss, especially to another champion. Throw in the fast paced action and having commentary boosting it that much more than this was a great time.

NXT – 3

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

Miz comes up to Daniel Bryan in the back and says they’re both family men. That’s why Miz wants Bryan to stop the Fiend once and for all, because he is an evil that must be stopped. Bryan doesn’t want to hear it from Miz.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Pete Dunne

Cole is defending, but the interesting thing here is the lack of Mauro Ranallo, who apparently blew his voice out last night at Takeover. This would be code for “did not like Corey Graves calling him out for making too many Chicago rap music references and not letting Phoenix and McGuinness talk enough. He would be gone for a little while before returning, but it was clear that something wasn’t quite right. Cole has bad ribs and Dunne has a bad knee coming in.

The wristlocking doesn’t work well on Cole as Dunne flips out before going straight after the bad ribs. Dunne starts in on the hand before taking it outside to stomp the elbow in the steps. Back in and Cole kicks him down to stomp away before a dropkick cuts off Dunne’s knee. Dunne grabs the X Plex for a breather and Cole lands hard on the ribs again. There’s an enziguri into the corner to set up a release German suplex.

A sitout powerbomb gets two on Cole and he heads outside, with Dunne hitting a middle rope moonsault to the floor. Back in and Dunne’s moonsault hits knees, setting up the Last Shot to give Cole two. The Panama Sunrise misses so they take turns hitting each other in the face. The brainbuster onto the knee gives Cole two but another Last Shot misses and Dunne grabs the Bitter End for a close two. They slug it out again and Dunne unloads with chops but Cole superkicks his moonsault out of the air.

That’s good for two as well, as is Dunne’s sitout X Plex. They fight to the apron (because of course they do) and Cole busts out the Panama Sunrise to put them both down on the floor. Back in and Cole kicks him in the head and the kickout has Cole panicking. Dunne talks trash as they get up and snaps the finger but the Bitter End is countered into a Panama Sunrise (that looked great). The Last Shot retains the title at 14:09.

Rating: B+. Now that’s what you were hoping to see from these two and it was an awesome match throughout. Dunne is an absolute star and Cole looks like someone who should be the future whenever he is in the ring. This is one of those matches that makes you drool when you hear it announced and then they delivered on top of it. Great stuff here and worth seeing for that NXT style that works so well.

Team Smackdown argues over who should be the captain.

We recap the Fiend taking the Smackdown World Title from Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel. Then Miz questioned if Daniel Bryan was the same person he used to be, which got the Fiend involved as well. Bryan finally said YES again and that’s just what Fiend wanted as Bryan brought back the YES Movement.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Fiend is defending and there is something so creepy about watching him in person. The red lights are on and Bryan hits the running dropkick into the corner. A running clothesline cuts him off though and they head outside with Bryan being sent into the post. Back in and Fiend hits the release Rock Bottom and there’s the toss suplex to drop Bryan again. We hit the neck crank as Fiend laughs a lot.

They head outside again with Bryan hitting a running knee from the apron. A top rope dive takes Fiend down again and there’s a missile dropkick back inside. Bryan nips up and the YES chants set up the YES Kicks. The big kick to the head just makes Fiend laugh but another one keeps him down for a change. The running knee connects for two but Fiend grabs the Mandible Claw. Bryan manages to reverse into an armbar but another Mandible Claw finishes Bryan at 10:01.

Rating: C+. The point here was to have Fiend get over as a monster in his first title defense and that’s what he did. They made Fiend feel like a movie monster and that’s the kind of thing you want to do in this situation. Bryan not being able to win, even with the most successful stuff he has, is a good way to go and it told they story they wanted. Fiend is an unstoppable monster and that’s how it should be.

Rey Mysterio says it has been fifteen years since he first faced Brock Lesnar. A few months ago, he was ready to hang up his mask but his son Dominik made him keep going. Tonight, Rey is swinging his lead pipe for Lesnar’s knees and hopes his son is watching when he becomes WWE Champion.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Raw: Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton

Smackdown: Roman Reigns, King Corbin, Mustafa Ali, Shorty G., Braun Strowman

NXT: Tommaso Ciampa, Walter, Keith Lee, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle

The NXT team was announced on the Kickoff Show again. The fans are way into Walter, more or less sealing his fate. Strowman, Ciampa and Rollins start things off and Strowman dropkicks both of them down. Walter and McIntyre come in and Walter is all over a three way battle of the big men. The double teaming works on Strowman this time before slugging it out themselves. A big boot into the running seated senton hits McIntyre and there’s a German suplex to drop him again.

Walter chops Strowman to make him mad, tells him to bring it, and hits a dropkick into the corner. McIntyre hits the Claymore to finish Walter at 2:59 and the fans are MAD, as they should be in that spot. Priest comes in to strike away at McIntyre and Strowman. Shorty comes in to moonsault Priest and it’s Ricochet coming in as well. That earns him a Chaos Theory from Shorty and it’s off to Riddle for the grapple off. Both ankle locks miss and neither can hit a spinning kick so we’ll go with the standoff. Ciampa comes in so Ricochet kicks both he and Shorty down at once. Owens frog splashes Shorty for the pin at 6:27.

Reigns and Corbin both come in with Corbin hitting him in the face like the horrible teammate that he is. Owens heads outside to superkick Corbin and hit the Cannonball on Reigns against the barricade. Back in and….Ciampa grabs Willow’s Bell to get rid of Owens at 7:42. Orton slides in behind Ciampa and the fans really like this one. The RKO is blocked and Ciampa clotheslines him outside but Willow’s Bell is blocked as well. Orton drops him onto the apron and it’s time for the circle stomp back inside. Priest gets a blind tag as Orton RKOs Ciampa, so it’s an RKO to get rid of Priest at 10:16.

Riddle comes in and rolls Orton up for the fast pin at 10:30. Riddle is SHOCKED at the win….until Orton hits him with an RKO so Corbin can steal the pin at 10:56. We’re down to Rollins/McIntyre/Ricochet for Raw, Reigns/Corbin/Ali/Strowman for Smackdown and Ciampa/Lee for NXT. Lee comes in to face Corbin but Strowman tags himself in as the fans are recommending that we BASK IN HIS GLORY.

Strowman runs Lee over and starts cleaning house, including the freight train around the ring. He does it again but this time Lee Pounces him, followed by a Claymore from McIntyre for the countout at 13:14. Ricochet comes in to kick Corbin down and the big flip dive drops Reigns on the floor. That just earns him the End of Days from Corbin for the pin at 14:30. Ali, the hometown boy, comes in to clean house and soak in some cheers. The wicked tornado DDT plants Rollins and Ali hits a suicide dive…but Corbin yells at him, allowing Rollins to hit the Stomp on Ali for the elimination at 16:10.

Reigns and Corbin get into it on the floor as a quick CM PUNK chant starts and stops just as fast. Back in and McIntyre hits the reverse Alabama Slam on Ciampa. Reigns spears McIntyre down for the pin at 17:39 though, leaving us with Rollins vs. Reigns/Corbin vs. Ciampa/Lee. Rollins rolls Reigns up for two but gets kicked in the face. Willow’s Bell drops Reigns but the Fairy Tale Ending is blocked. Corbin cuts off Lee and drags Reigns over for the tag, only to have Reigns spear Corbin. Ciampa will take that pin at 19:54 and Smackdown is down to Reigns.

Rollins and Reigns go after Ciampa, who is fine with these odds. Rollins throws Ciampa outside though…and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. Lee breaks up the DoubleBomb though and Ciampa hits Project Ciampa for a close two on Rollins back inside. The Fairy Tale Ending is countered so Ciampa hits a running knee, only to eat the Superman Punch from Reigns. The Stomp gets rid of Ciampa at 24:01 and we’re down to one man each.

Lee comes back in to throw Rollins around and he crossbodies both of them at the same time. Rollins is back with an enziguri into a low superkick and the frog splash gets two, with Lee LAUNCHING him off the kickout. Rollins is all fired up but walks into the Big Bang Catastrophe to give Lee the pin and get rid of Raw at 26:36. Lee smiles down at Reigns, who hits back to back Superman Punches for a VERY close two. The spear is countered into the Spirit Bomb for a nearer fall but the moonsault misses. Reigns hits the spear for the final pin at 29:18.

Rating: A-. I came to Survivor Series wanting to see one of the classic elimination matches and that’s what I got here, with one elimination after another and some crazy drama near the end. Lee looked like a STAR here and pinning Rollins clean is as big of a moment as he was going to get. There is no shame in being pinned by Reigns and what we got here was great stuff. I loved this match, save for the way Walter was put out, and it’s all I could have asked for.

NXT – 3

Smackdown – 2

NXT – 1

Becky Lynch is ready for Shayna Baszler and there is no one who can keep her down tonight. She has been traveling the world and every day out means one day out of the gym. Becky sees something of herself in Bayley, so tonight she is going to show both of them what she is.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio for Brock’s Raw World Title. Brock came after Rey and his family so Rey brought in Cain Velasquez. That didn’t go so well as Brock destroyed him, leaving no one to protect Rey. That’s why Rey grabbed a lead pipe and started swinging, setting up this No Holds Barred title match.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio

Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, is defending and it’s No Holds Barred. Rey is the Joker here for no apparent reason. Heyman says Lesnar weighs about two and a half Rey Mysterios. Rey grabs a pipe to start so Lesnar drops to the floor. He comes right back in though and blasts Rey with a clothesline. Rey is thrown over the announcers’ table and an overhead belly to belly sends him into the announcers’ table covering.

Brock posts him but Rey does the same to him, meaning it’s pipe time. Back in and Brock suplexes him onto the pipe and then adds another suplex. Cue Dominik to try to throw in the towel but Rey uses the distraction to hit a low blow. Some pipe shots from Rey and a chair shot from Dominik set up stereo 619s. Back to back frog splashes into a double cover gets two on Lesnar, who is back up with a suplex on Dominik. The F5 retains the title at 6:53.

Rating: C+. The whole point here was that one moment of drama and it worked a lot better than I was expecting. I don’t think anyone was realistically expecting Rey to win here but they managed to get in that little bit of drama and that was a great surprise. Lesnar was running out of opponents so having him wreck Mysterio was as good of a move as they had here, with Rey knowing how to sell this perfectly.

We recap the Women’s Champions triple threat. Becky Lynch said being the champ was all that mattered but Shayna Baszler just wanted to snap a limb. Bayley wanted to know why she was an afterthought and now it’s match time.

Bayley (Smackdown) vs. Becky Lynch (Raw) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT)

Non-title again. They stare each other down to start and Bayley shoves Baszler into Becky. The brawling continues to the floor so Becky dives onto both of them. Back in and Bayley avoids the running spinning legdrop but Becky kicks her in the head. Baszler is back in as well and starts cleaning house until Bayley knocks her outside. Bayley stomps on Becky but charges into an elbow in the corner. With Baszler being dropped to the floor again, Bayley drops onto Becky’s back for two.

All three are back in with Becky kicking Baszler down and starting the Bexploders. A DDT gets two on Bayley and the top rope legdrop is good for the same with Baszler making the save. Becky gets sent outside so Bayley can hit a running knee for two on Baszler. Back up and Baszler sends Bayley outside, meaning it’s time for the big showdown with Becky. Bayley crossbodies both of them at once though and Becky is back outside. Bayley has to elbow her way out of a gutwrench superkicks but Becky breaks up the Kirifuda Clutch.

A powerbomb out of the corner gives Becky two on Baszler, who knocks Bayley off the apron. That means the Disarm-Her on Baszler but Bayley makes a save. They all head outside again with Becky tweaking her knee, allowing Baszler to drop her onto the announcers’ table. Becky gets dropped onto the table again but Bayley runs Baszler over. Back in and Bayley hits the top rope elbow, only to get pulled into the Kirifuda Clutch for the tap at 18:05.

Rating: C. Another viewing helped this a lot but it was longer than it needed to be and the action was only so good. Bayley was obviously there to take the fall and there is nothing wrong with that. If nothing else this should set up Becky vs. Baszler in a mega showdown later as Becky is unstoppable and Becky looks that way. Not overly great, but it did its job, albeit in the very long form.

Final Standings:

NXT – 4

Smackdown – 2

Raw – 1

Overall Rating: B+. The two last matches drag this down a bit but otherwise it’s a heck of a show with nothing bad and some good drama/shock as NXT runs away with things. What matters most here is they took some chances (some good some bad) and gave us a special moment with NXT. The wrestling was good throughout and it felt like the Survivor Series I had wanted to see for such a long time. Awesome show here and proof of what NXT can offer when they get the chance (and win the trophy).

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal:

Original: D

Redo: D+

Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto

Original: C+

Redo: C

New Day vs. Viking Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

Original: B

Redo: B

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles

Original: B

Redo: B

Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Original: A-

Redo: B+

The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B

Redo: C+

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch

Original: D+

Redo: C

Overall Rating:

Original: B+

Redo: B+

Other than the main event, the memories seem strong with this one.

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

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/12/01/survivor-series-2019-they-really-did-that/

 

 

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

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

AND

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

Survivor Series 2018
Date: November 18, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,325
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the second redo of the year and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. I remember this one a little bit better than some of the more recent shows for some reason and I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. It’s hard to say how well these things hold up but that’s kind of what I’m going for here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Teams vs. Raw Tag Teams

Smackdown: Usos, New Day, Sanity, Anderson And Gallows, Colons

Raw: Bobby Roode/Chad Gable, Revival, B-Team, Lucha House Party, Ascension

A suplex gives Epico two as the apron looks ridiculous with so many people up there. Hold on though as Kalisto injures his knee so it’s off to Dorado for a quick splash. Kalisto comes back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down, allowing Primo to come in and hit a basement dropkick. Primo is sent into Epico and knocks him off the apron by mistake. Dawson makes a blind tag through and it’s a quick Shatter Machine to get rid of the Colons at 3:10.

It’s off to Dain vs. Gable after we nearly got Gable vs. Big E. in the match I didn’t know I needed to see. Dain hits a quick Divide for two so it’s Young coming in for two of his own off a neckbreaker. Roode makes the save and it’s a neckbreaker/moonsault combination to finish Young at 6:32. Konnor comes in to kick Big E. in the face but gets pulled into the spanking abdominal stretch. It’s off to Woods, who gets tossed with a fall away slam in short order. Viktor grabs a chinlock but Woods fights up for a discus forearm. Just to show off, Woods lifts Big E. onto his shoulders for a splash to finish Viktor at 8:48.

The Luchas try to go after Gallows and it goes as well as you would expect. Dorado has to slip out of the Magic Killer and it’s a Stunner to Gallows. Anderson gets hurricanranaed into the ropes and it’s the Luchas hitting stereo Asai moonsaults onto Anderson and Gallows. Back in and a rope walk Swanton gets rid of Anderson at 10:40 as the apron is finally clearing out a bit.

We’re down to the Usos/New Day vs. Roode/Gable/Revival/Lucha House Party so Jimmy comes in for the first time. Dorado chops him into a rollup for two and a Lionsault gets the same. Jey comes in off a blind tag and comes pretty close to catching Dorado in a Samoa drop for the pin at 11:57.

It’s Dawson coming in to grab Woods and a Wilder distraction lets him get in a cheap shot to really take over. Dawson misses a charge though and Woods hits a dropkick, allowing the double tag to Big E. and Wilder. Big E. clotheslines Dawson outside but gets rolled up for two, allowing Gable to come in for a suplex. Rolling Chaos Theory into a neckbreaker gets two on Big E. and everything breaks down with Wilder hitting a tornado DDT on Woods on the floor.

That means the dive from Big E., leaving Roode and Gable alone in the ring. Roode backdrops him onto everyone else but Jey superkicks Roode down. Jey does the GLORIOUS pose and dives onto the pile rather than, you know, covering the knocked silly Roode. Just to get nuts, Gable German superplexes Jimmy onto everyone else for the big crash. Back in and Woods hits Roode with the Honor Roll, leaving Big E. to catch Gable’s moonsault. That means UpUpDownDown to finish Gable at 18:33 but Dawson sends Big E. outside.

Woods goes up for the rope walk….undetermined move that is countered into the Shatter Machine to tie us up at 19:31. It’s the Usos vs. Revival and a slugout goes to the non-brothers. A reverse powerbomb/top rope clothesline (felt like a Steiner Bulldog with some miscommunication) gets two on Jey so Jimmy enziguris Dawson. Wilder is back up though and we go old school with a PowerPlex for two as Jey has to make a diving save. The Shatter Machine is broken up and it’s a bunch of superkicks to set up the Superfly Splash (with a Roman Reigns fist pump on the way down) for the pin at 23:15.

Rating: C. It was fun once they got down to the last bit but sweet goodness there was too much going on here. There is only so much you can do with enough people for a nice battle royal at first, plus seconds on the floor. It’s an idea that makes sense but when so many of these teams are looked at as jokes, they would have been better off cutting this in half and doing individual eliminations. Still though, perfectly watchable, especially once they got rid of the dead weight.

The opening video focuses entirely on the battle for Brand Supremacy because that’s all this show is about anymore. Even the huge champion vs. champion matches are just part of Raw vs. Smackdown.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Bayley, Sasha Banks

Smackdown: Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Asuka

The injured Alexa Bliss and Naomi are the captains, which is Naomi comes out second for her team. This is fallout from the moment of the year with Becky Lynch and Smackdown invading Raw, setting up Nia Jax punching Becky in the face and putting her on the shelf, setting up the main event of Wrestlemania and changing their careers forever. It’s funny how that works somehow no?

Naomi and Tamina start things off as the fans want Becky. A dropkick sends Tamina into the ropes and everything breaks down in a hurry. Naomi’s Disaster Kick puts Nia on the floor but Tamina hits a superkick to get rid of Naomi at 1:21. Carmella is right back in to roll Tamina up and get us down to 4-4 at 1:32. The fall leaves Carmella alone in the ring so DANCE BREAK.

Nia comes in behind her and Carmella’s rollup has no effect, as expected. Therefore it’s off to Mandy, who gets taken down with a single knee. That means it’s Mickie coming in for two off a neckbreaker but Mandy is right back up with an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up in a hurry though and it’s off to a quickly escaped Muta Lock. Asuka comes in to face Mickie, which Cole says is a match everyone would want to see. Then watch it from Takeover: Toronto on the Network!

Asuka starts with the hip attack into the dance, setting up the Octopus Hold. Sonya comes in to charge into Mickie’s boot and a snapmare takes her down. Bayley tags herself in and Mickie is rather annoyed, even as Banks comes in for the double knees in the corner. Now it’s Mickie tagging herself back in for the super Thesz press but Sonya knees her in the face. That should finish but Mandy tags herself in and steals the elimination at 7:38.

Sonya doesn’t know what to think, even as Bayley runs in for two off a rollup. The Moon Walk DDT lets Carmella mock Banks but she walks into the Bayley to Belly for the elimination at 9:12. Mandy comes in and stomps away at Bayley as the announcers get into their usual bickering session that has nothing to do with the match. Bayley kicks her away and brings in Banks to take over in a hurry, including the Bank Statement for the tap at 10:49.

Asuka comes in and takes over on Banks, allowing Sonya to grab a bodyscissors and shout a lot. That doesn’t last long either as it’s Banks getting up and bringing in Bayley for the waving running knee in the corner. A spinebuster gives Sonya two with Jax making the save and earning some of the loudest booing of her career.

Jax goes shoulder first into the post and Asuka kicks her to the floor, only to get caught by the Meteora from Banks. Bayley and Sonya tackle each other to the floor and it’s a Bayley to Belly….but neither can beat the count at 15:18. That leaves us with Nia/Sasha vs. Asuka with Banks coming in for the team. Asuka knocks her down and shows off the Smackdown top before hitting a knee to the face. A heck of a German suplex puts Banks down and a hip attack knocks Jax off the apron.

Banks trips her up to send Asuka into the apron but she’s right back with a missile dropkick for two. The Asuka Lock is broken up and the running knees in the corner crush Asuka again. Banks goes up but Nia shoves her off the top for some reason, meaning it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap at 19:36. Nia comes in and drops a bunch of legs before finishing with the Samoan drop at 20:15.

Rating: C. You have to remember that Nia was public enemy #1 at this point and pushing her as the monster like this made sense. Normally I would complain about pushing someone who has a history of injuring people and who is hardly interesting in the first place, but WWE has shown their love for Jax for a long time and no amount of complaining is going to change a thing.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 0

Stephanie McMahon, in that instantly irritating way of speaking, tells Acting General Manager Baron Corbin that he better win the rest of the matches if he wants to have the job permanently. Shane McMahon and General Manager Paige come in and suggest Raw will be feeling blue. More trash talk ensues with Shane looking forward to Corbin being fired. This kind of banter is just horrible and feels so forced, which is why it almost never goes away in WWE.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw (Intercontinental) vs. Smackdown (United States) champion vs. champion here. Yes Nakamura is wrestling in the blue shirt over his jumpsuit, because A BIG BLUE JUMPSUIT doesn’t tell you which brand he is on. Rollins goes after the arm to start but Nakamura slips out and invites Rollins to COME ON. The wristlocking is back on as they seem to have a lot of time here.

A way too early missed Kinshasa attempt lets Rollins do his own COME ON. The threat of a ripcord knee sends Nakamura to the apron and Rollins onto the top for some lounging. Nakamura sends him to the apron though and it’s the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes to put Nakamura on the floor. That means the suicide dive, but since that is the most obvious move ever, it gets cut off with a kick to the face instead.

Back in and Nakamura works on a double chickenwing, plus a front facelock to mix it up a bit. Rollins fights up and sends him into the corner, setting up the Sling Blade for a breather. Nakamura gets thrown outside for the back to back suicide dives but two is a nasty number in wrestling so there’s a third. The springboard clothesline gets two back inside and things slow down a bit. Rollins’ suplex is escaped and Nakamura kicks him in the face, followed by the running knee to the ribs in the corner.

A Backstabber….doesn’t do much for Nakamura as Rollins is right back up with a superkick for two. Rollins slugs away but his clothesline is countered into a triangle. Since it’s Rollins, the traditional powerbomb counter is swapped for a Buckle Bomb instead, which at least gives us some variety. The ripcord knee is broken up again and Nakamura’s Landslide gets two. In a bit of a rare move, Nakamura goes up top, earning himself the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for a nice near fall.

They slug it out with Nakamura daring him to swing harder so it’s a reverse exploder to drop Rollins. Kinshasa misses though and it’s the ripcord knee for a close two. The frog splash misses though and Nakamura’s running knee to the back of the head gives him his own two. Nakamura still can’t hit Kinshasa so Rollins superkicks him, only to miss the Stomp. Kinshasa misses again though and it’s the Stomp to give Rollins the pin at 21:27.

Rating: B. It was very good though I was left wanting and expecting more. These two can be great against each other, though it is another case of Nakamura never rising up to that next level. He is still very entertaining and someone worth watching almost every time, but his big matches always feel a bit disappointing. Still though, rather hard hitting back and forth match, which is exactly why these two were out there. It’s rather good, just not great.

Raw – 2

Smackdown – 0

Braun Strowman doesn’t like his partners on the Raw men’s team and he doesn’t even know who Bobby Lashley is. If they don’t help him win tonight, they’re getting these hands. Drew McIntyre says he’s in charge and violence is about to ensue so here’s Corbin to remind Strowman that he can’t touch him. Instead, Strowman throws Lio Rush at Corbin to let off some steam. Cue R-Truth for the pep talk, until he is reminded that he’s not on the team. Confused R-Truth may be one of my all time favorite gags.

The Bar vs. AOP

Smackdown vs. Raw in a battle of the Tag Team Champions with Big Show and Drake Maverick as the thirds. Rezar throws Sheamus into the corner to start as Byron accuses Drake of drinking….cuckoo juice? The Bar gets in some double teaming on Akam and, after the catchphrase, the Swing has to be broken up. Akam takes the Swing instead, only to have Rezar come back in for the backbreaker/middle rope stomp combination to take over.

The chinlock goes on before Akam just powers Cesaro down and hammers away. Rezar knees Cesaro in the face for two so Sheamus tries to come in, allowing Cesaro to grab a rollup for….well nothing actually as the referee is with Sheamus. Not the best plan there man. Cesaro’s uppercuts don’t do much good as Rezar takes him right back down and grabs a chinlock.

That’s broken up as well and it’s the springboard uppercut to allow the tag to Sheamus. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the Brogue Kick to Rezar with Maverick putting the foot on the rope. The chase is on until Cesaro knocks Maverick down, allowing Show to grab him. Maverick is so scared that he, ahem, relieves himself in fear. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Sheamus at 9:04.

Rating: D+. This was a pretty boring power match with both teams only going in spurts until the big joke of an ending. There is only so far you can go with that as the big joke and you can imagine where things are going to go as a result. I mean, the fact that this show is now a year old makes it easier to figure out, but that doesn’t make it better.

Raw – 3

Smackdown – 0

The Miz has Shane McMahon fire up Team Smackdown. R-Truth is here as well to talk about getting on the Smackdown roster. He already is, which is a relief as Raw is a mess.

We recap Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight Title. Ali won a match to become #1 contender and now we have the title match. The idea here is the champ vs. the never will be champ as Ali tries to grab the brass ring again. Sometimes it really can be that simple.

Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali is challenging. They start fast with Murphy’s power not exactly working as he drives Ali into the corner, only to have him flip over the champ. That means a dropkick to the floor into the big flip dive but Ali’s back is banged up. The second dive is blocked with a shove off the top into the barricade, followed by some rams into the apron. A heck of a backdrop sets up the chinlock with a knee in the back until Ali jawbreaks his way out of trouble.

The rolling X Factor is countered with a show to the floor though and Murphy hits his own running flip dive. Back in and Ali scores with a superkick into a tornado hanging DDT (awesome) for his own two. The 054 (I miss that) is broken up with a shove to the floor and this time it’s Ali’s face hitting the apron on the way down.

Murphy loads up the announcers’ table but Ali hits a Spanish Fly down to the floor again because he’s crazy and can do stuff like that. Back in and Murphy is fine enough to hit a superkick into a pair of powerbombs for two before kneeing him out of the air. Murphy’s Law retains the title at 12:20.

Rating: B-. It was entertaining, it was hard hitting, and almost no one cared because there is little reason to be interested in 205 Live. The wrestling can be very entertaining and some of the matches are great, but the show is as important as a bicycle to a fish. That has been a problem since the show debuted and it isn’t going to get better in the future.

When asked about his recent heel turn, Daniel Bryan….just smiles.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Raw: Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler

Smackdown: Shane McMahon, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy

Corbin (at ringside but not on the team) and M are the captains. Strowman and McIntyre nearly get in a fight before the bell but Strowman gets to start….until McIntyre tags himself in after about three seconds. The Koquina Clutch has Drew in early trouble but he backflips out and Claymores Joe for the pin at 37 seconds. I’m going to assume Joe was hurt (again), or we need Shane to get more ring time.

After a quick meeting, Hardy comes in second with the fans going to the DELETE chants in a hurry. Jeff tries running around a bit, earning himself a hard clothesline so Ziggler can come in. Shane tags himself in for a rematch of Crown Jewel, because that nightmare needs to be touched on again. A dropkick rocks Shane, who is right back with some armdrags. The Fameasser gets two but Shane scores with a spinning elbow. The jumping elbow is countered into the Zig Zag but Miz makes his own save.

Strowman comes in but McIntyre tags himself in again, meaning it’s on in a hurry. For some reason Smackdown breaks it up so they can gang up on Strowman, who isn’t having it. Rey manages a 619 though and they head outside with Strowman getting knocked onto the announcers’ table. The big Shane elbow knocks them both out, because WE NEED TO GET THAT IN. Back in and Miz kicks Drew down for one as we see Paige and Stephanie watching backstage. As long as they don’t talk, I’m good.

McIntyre gets away to go over for the tag….but he won’t do it, even as Balor yells at him to make the tag. Instead McIntyre smacks Miz in the face, allowing Balor to tag himself in. Balor kicks McIntyre down before kicking Miz in the head, followed by the baseball slide. Back in and the Sling Blade rocks Rey and a dropkick puts him in the corner. The Coup de Grace misses though and it’s a 619 into the springboard splash to tie it up at 12:04.

McIntyre is right there to deck the eliminated Balor so Lashley tags himself in to throw Rey into the corner. The delayed vertical suplex is delayed too long though as Rey rolls out and hits an enziguri. It’s Ziggler’s turn to tag himself in so Rey faceplants him and brings in Hardy. Everything breaks down and Hardy tornado DDTs McIntyre on the floor, allowing Ziggler to grab the running DDT for two on Jeff. The rapid pace comeback is on for Jeff, but the Swanton hits raised knees.

For some reason this hurts the knees this time so Mysterio is able to bring Miz in. The beating is on in the corner and it’s Shane coming back in for Coast to Coast to eliminate Ziggler and cement Shane as Best in the World (remember he beat Ziggler in the finals) to make it 4-3 at 18:10.

Lashley is back in to suplex Shane right over to Miz, who gets beaten up this time around. Miz gets in a few shots of his own to set up the running clothesline. It’s back to Shane for ANOTHER Coast to Coast, though thankfully Strowman chops him out of the air. Strowman comes in and wastes no time with the powerslam to eliminate Hardy at 20:45. That leaves Strowman/McIntyre/Lashley vs. Mysterio/Miz/McMahon, and the powerslam takes Mysterio out at 21:26.

Miz starts to panic (Graves: “Does this mean there won’t be a Marine 7”) and it’s another powerslam for the pin at 22:27. Shane is alone against the monsters and you can feel the fans panicking from here. Shane pulls himself up to face Strowman and says bring it on, so Strowman dropkicks him into the corner (Graves: “A T-REX DROPKICK!”) and hits the third powerslam for the pin at 24:01.

Rating: D+. This doesn’t hold up as it’s another Shane showcase, with one big spot after another and Shane getting to go out there and look like the toughest man in the company. Raw winning was more confusing than anything else as it already guarantees them the night, but they did have me believing that they might have had Shane pull the miracle. Consider that great selling or really sad.

Raw – 4

Smackdown – 0

Post match Corbin jumps Strowman and poses with McIntyre and Lashley.

Here’s how to help victims of the California wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Seth Rollins has been focused on Dean Ambrose as of late but for tonight, he’s due for an ice bath and some cold ones. Charly tells him that he has to defend the Intercontinental Title against Ambrose at TLC. Rollins likes the idea because Ambrose will have nothing left to hide behind.

We recap Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey. This was supposed to be Becky Lynch vs. Rousey but then destiny happened in the form of the mega brawl on Raw and Becky’s face being broken. Becky picked Charlotte to take her place, which was out of left field but they didn’t have another option.

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte

Raw vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion so we get the Big Match Intros. Rousey (with the ridiculous eye makeup) starts swinging early so Charlotte grabs her by the ropes and throws her down. The armbar is blocked and Charlotte has to flip out of Piper’s Pit to get us to a standoff. Charlotte grabs a headlock and sends her face first into the bottom buckle to really take over for the first time. It’s time to start on the leg as Rousey is bleeding from the mouth.

She’s fine enough for an enziguri to get a breather and what looked like a triangle over the top has Charlotte in trouble for a change. Charlotte crotches her on top but Rousey is right back with a triangle. That’s reversed into a Boston crab but Natural Selection is blocked. The armbar is blocked again so Charlotte goes up, only to have the moonsault hit raised boots. Rousey spends too much time yelling though and gets speared in half for two.

The Figure Four goes on until Rousey turns it over, with Rousey managing to talk trash while screaming at the same time. They roll to the floor and Rousey is all fired up, meaning it’s time to start striking away. Some chops knock Rousey into the corner and Rousey looks shaken for the first time.

Another chop is blocked so Charlotte gets two off a big boot. Rousey is right back with a hurricanrana and Piper’s Pit but Charlotte gets away from the armbar again. It’s time for a breather on the floor and Charlotte is smart enough to break the count for an extra break. Rousey isn’t waiting so she goes out after her, only to walk into a kendo stick shot from Charlotte for the DQ at 14:10.

Rating: A-. This felt like the main event level match that they were hoping for, which is all the more impressive given Rousey’s complete lack of experience. She knows how to feel like a big deal and Charlotte having to use her natural abilities to counter all of the submissions was a great story. Charlotte snapping and admitting that she can’t beat Rousey worked perfectly too and I had a great time with this all around.

Raw – 5

Smackdown – 0

Post match the beating is on with the referee having to take the chair away from Charlotte. She isn’t done though and it’s Natural Selection onto the chair to knock Ronda silly. Charlotte beats up the referees trying to make the save and wraps the chair around Rousey’s neck. Pillmanizing ensues and Charlotte’s eyes are bugging out. Fans: “THANK YOU CHARLOTTE!” Rousey takes a long time to get up but does it on her own, because PILLMANIZING SOMEONE’S NECK IS A FIVE MINUTE ANNOYANCE!

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan, which is a rapid fire change as Bryan only turned heel and won the title five days before this show. Therefore, the entire video is about Bryan’s turn, setting up the match here. It was annoying, but since WWE didn’t want AJ losing to Brock, they had him lose to Bryan instead. That is the kind of logic only WWE can go with and no, it still doesn’t sound like an intelligent idea.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

Battle of the World Champions with Brock trying to complete the Raw sweep. Bryan mocks Lesnar during his entrance and smiles a lot. A running dropkick to Lesnar’s knee starts things off as the mind games are on. Bryan heads outside for a run around the ring so Lesnar follows him, only to have Bryan run back inside and mocks Brock’s bounce. Brock comes back in and hits Bryan in the face as things change in a hurry.

The first German suplex has Bryan nearly done on the apron so Brock starts a SUPLEX CITY chant in a great heel move. The second German suplex has Heyman worried and the third has Bryan rocked again. An overhead belly to belly puts Bryan on the floor and Lesnar even gets to pose with the title. Brock throws him hard into the barricade and we hit the bearhug with Cole saying this isn’t about brand supremacy anymore. Then what the heck is it about now Cole? And what has the last hour and a half been about?

More suplexes ensue and the fans are not happy with the repetitive Lesnar offense. The second bearhug makes it even worse and Brock throws another overhead belly to belly. The F5 connects (Brock: “Goodnight everybody!”) but Brock pulls him up at two. Bryan kicks him in the face twice and, after a ref bump, gets in a low blow. The running knee connects for two (how Bryan won the title) so Bryan kicks away to put Brock down in the corner.

A bunch of stomps to the face have Brock stunned and Bryan low bridges him to the floor. The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air but Bryan slips out and posts him. Bryan tries the suicide dive though and gets posted hard to cut off the big rally. The steps are picked up but only hit the post, allowing Bryan to hit another knee. Back in and another running knee gives Bryan another two as Heyman is losing his mind.

Bryan switches gears by going after the knee with a chop block and a wrap around the post. Lesnar is sent into the corner for the running dropkicks (or a running knee and a running attack from Cole) but he pulls Bryan into the F5….as the knee gives out. The YES Lock goes on but Bryan makes the mistake of switching to a triangle, which is reversed into the F5 for the pin at 18:43.

Rating: B+. It’s nearly a copy of the same match that Brock had with AJ last year but it was still a heck of a fight with Bryan coming close to picking up the upset. That being said, it’s still the brand new WWE Champion losing clean five days after he won the title. I know WWE MUST DO THE BRAND SUPREMACY deal but was there really no better option for something like this? Like AJ vs. Brock II with a countout or something? Annoying, but at least it came after an awesome match.

Raw – 6

Smackdown – 0

Bryan smiles at Lesnar to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well they threw the Brand Supremacy stuff out the window at about the halfway point, leaving the wrestling to carry the rest. As luck would have it, the last two matches were awesome and left me wanting more so well done all around there. Some of the matches aren’t that great with no particularly good Survivor Series matches, but what we got for the rest of the show was quite entertaining, even if the core concept was lost.

Ratings Comparison

Raw Tag Teams vs. Smackdown Tag Teams

Original: D+

2019 Redo: C

Smackdown Women vs. Raw Women

Original: C

2019 Redo: C

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

AOP vs. The Bar

Original: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Original: C+

2019 Redo: D+

Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey

Original: B

2019 Redo: A-

Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: A-

2019 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2019 Redo: B

The two main events almost swapping is interesting but, other than the men’s Survivor Series match, this is all in the same ballpark or identical.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/18/survivor-series-2018-layeth-the-smackdown-down/

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 24, 2022
Hosts: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s Thanksgiving and that means we are in for a special Best Of show around here. That’s about as logical as you’re going to get for this time of year as there is no reason to believe that anyone is going to pay attention to a show on such a big holiday. You never know what you’ll see on something like this but let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The hosts welcome us to the show and promise us some great Thanksgiving moments, plus a look at Overdrive.

We’ll start with Thanksgiving 2008, with Rhino pinning Alex Shelley in a triple threat match also involving Sheik Abdul Bashir. As a result, Rhino gets $25,000 and Shelley has to wear a turkey suit, as enforced by Mick Foley with threats of firings/bad history lessons.

Wrestlers say what they are thankful for (Joe Hendry is thankful for mirrors because he gets to see who he really is).

Deaner asks Eric Young if this is the end of Violent By Design but doesn’t get an answer. It’s time for an answer to the unanswered questions so they have to go back to where it all began. How about before that when the team doesn’t exist?

We go back to Thanksgiving 2007, at the Angle household, featuring Kurt and Karen as pilgrims and Jeremy Borash, Tomko and AJ Styles as guests (it was a weird time). They pray (with gold medals on the plates) and Styles eats during the prayer. People keep opening their eyes during the prayer, with Karen and JB making faces at each other. Robert Roode and Traci Brooks come in, as do James Storm and Jackie Moore (with beer). Chris Harris arrives and complains about the directions.

Eric Young shows up, a bit under dressed, and breaks a bunch of stuff. Kurt stands up to yell, revealing that he’s wearing the World Title, and sends Eric to the kid’s table (Eric gets lost on the way). Then the X-Division arrives, with Sonjay Dutt trying to get donations for starving children. Storm and Young get in a drinking contest and Styles leaves as Black Reign (Dustin Rhodes) and Rellik (that’s overused joke spelled forwards) arrive. Reign lets his rat Misty into the food and we take a break.

Back with Young and Storm rather drunk (Young has found a wig and they have both lost their shirts). Jay Lethal (as Black Machismo) arrives as Kurt looks like he wants some cyanide. Then So Cal Val arrives, so Lethal gives her his jacket to walk on. Kurt tries to restore order as Awesome Kong shows up and sits at the other end of the (really long) table. She eats food that may or may not be wax and, since there are a bunch of tables, Team 3D arrives, with food being thrown at them.

A bunch of people leave to get away from Team 3D, who were invited by someone other than Kurt. They sit at the kid’s table and take food from Kurt’s daughter, who says they suck (I would have paid to see her put through a table). Then Kevin Nash and Scott Hall arrive and Karen takes pies to the face. Everyone else shows up and the food fight is on. This was HILARIOUS in a wrestling way.

We look at Mickie James beating Taylor Wilde at Overdrive. Then Deonna Purrazzo comes out to yell at her and sets up the next match in James’ Last Rodeo.

From Thanksgiving 2016, loser wears a turkey suit.

Grado vs. Robbie E.

They slug it out to start with Grado getting the better of it off the snap jabs. A double clothesline puts both guys down as this is a little less funny than I was expecting. Robbie grabs a rollup for the pin at 2:39.

Grado is turkey suited.

We look at the end of Josh Alexander beating Kazarian with the C4 Spike to retain the World Title at Overdrive. Then Bully Ray came out, announced he was officially challenging at Hard To Kill in January, and beat up Alexander in front of his family. Then, with Alexander zip tied to the rope, Ray pulled Alexander’s wife over the barricade….and just threatened her because Alexander was loose. After the show, Ray grabbed the title but Rich Swann came out for the save. Scott D’Amore came out and threw stuff at Ray while asking what was wrong with him. Great segment. Why does it need to be Bully Ray and not someone new?

From Thanksgiving 2013.

Here are all of the winners of the matches tonight plus Velvet who is with Sabin. Roode points this out and Sabin throws Velvet out. Bobby asks everyone what they’re thankful for. Bad Influence is thankful for their intelligence and large endowment. Kaz is thankful that Park isn’t here to drink the gravy or fornicate with the pumpkin pie. Gail is thankful for being the prettiest and most dominant Knockout in the history of the company. Oh and her family too.

Sabin is thankful for his hair, being the best X-Division Champion ever and Velvet Sky. The Bro Mans are thankful for Mr. O Phil Heath, Zema Ion (officially part of the team) and for being the best team ever. Bad Influence: “I’m not sure about that.” Roode says the real Thanksgiving was last month in Canada and the fans will be thankful when he becomes the next champion.

It’s time to eat but here’s Angle to interrupt. He sees a ring full of turkeys, which are fighting words for the people in there. Roode challenges him to a fight which Angle accepts, and here’s his backup. Fernum and Barnes (a couple of losers who lost the Turkey Bowl) are still in the turkey suits. You can fill in the blanks yourself here: bad guys are destroyed, food is everywhere, Spud panics, turkeys fly. The good guys, Velvet and ODB celebrate to end the show.

More wrestlers are thankful for various things.

We look at Kenny King going after Mike Bailey at the overdrive pre-show and losing a six way match as a result.

King is going to take out Bailey before going after the X-Division Title.

From Thanksgiving 2017.

Team Edwards vs. Team Adonis

Eddie Edwards, Garza Jr., Allie, Fallah Bahh, Richard Justice
Chris Adonis, Caleb Konley, Laurel Van Ness, KM, El Hijo Del Fantasma

The loser of the fall wears a turkey suit and there’s food at ringside, along with Eli Drake. We’re not ready yet though as the teams sit down at the food tables as Drake insists that everyone has to put on the suit if they lose. He has a statement for JB to read, which pretty much just says everyone play nice.

Justice sticks his finger in Konley’s mouth to start and gets two off a rollup. Laurel comes in and jumps on Justice’s back so it’s off to the women for a change. KM and Bahh are up next with some shots to Bahh’s head taking us to a break. Back with Bahh crossbodying KM and bringing in Garza….WHO TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! I’m rather thankful.

Garza gets punched down though and it’s time for the heel beatdown. Adonis comes in for two off a legdrop and it’s time for a bearhug (on a guy with a bad shoulder). That goes nowhere and the hot tag brings in Eddie to clean house. Everything breaks down in a hurry and KM gets crushed between Justice and Bahh.

We get the big crash to the floor and Justice falls off the apron, only to be caught without much effort. Allie dives onto everyone to break up the pile and everyone is down. Back in and Adonis can’t grab the Adonis Lock, allowing Eddie to roll him up for the pin at 16:04, meaning Adonis gets to wear the suit.

Rating: C-. Oh what were you expecting here? This was all in good fun and nothing more than a comedy match. The match was just there for the sake of having a one off match for a holiday special and as a result, it’s really hard to be harsh on it. Adonis having to wear the suit is fine and it continues a (rather goofy) tradition. It wasn’t anything good, but it’s perfectly harmless.

Post break, Adonis refuses to wear the suit. Security actually stops him as the referee holds up the suit like an executioner’s ax. After a lot of persuading and a GOBBLE GOBBLE (One of us?) chant, Adonis finally puts it on and walks around a bit. Adonis isn’t cool with the chants though and the required food fight, with Adonis hitting Drake in the face with a pie, ends the show. This was actually entertaining as they just went with the simple comedy and it worked perfectly well.

Delirious and Yuyu Uemura yell at each other in….something and Japanese.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Steve Maclin wants the World Title but he is being held captive by his own company. From now on, it’s mayhem for all.

From Thanksgiving 2007.

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin

This is the finals of the Turkey Bowl, with the winner getting $25,000 and the loser wearing the turkey suit. Joe and Sabin double team Styles to start and knock him to the floor. That leaves Sabin to take Joe down but a kick misses, giving us a staredown. Styles gets knocked to the floor again and we take a break.

Back with Sabin charging into a hot shot but Joe comes back in to punch Styles in the face. Styles breaks up the suicide elbow to Sabin though, meaning Joe punches him in the face some more. The drop down into a dropkick hits Joe and we take a break. Back again with Joe countering the springboard moonsault into an Air Raid Crash with Sabin having to make a save.

We take another break and come back again with Sabin hitting a springboard DDT to drop Joe. That earns Sabin a trip to the floor but Styles Peles Joe. The charge into the corner only hits kick to the face though, allowing Joe to hit the Muscle Buster for the pin at 9:33 shown (of the nearly thirty minute match).

Rating: B-. Well it seemed to be a good match, at least from what we saw of the thing. Joe was on another planet at this point and Styles was in his weird phase as Angle’s wacky goon, but it isn’t like he was going to be awful in the ring. Throw in a very talented Sabin and of course this was going to work, even if we missed almost twenty minutes.

Post match we cut to a livid Kurt Angle (AJ’s boss), storming out of his own Thanksgiving dinner. Back in the arena, AJ won’t put the suit on so here is Jim Cornette to order him to do it. After some coaxing, Styles (very slowly) puts the suit on so Tomko and Kurt come out to yell. Samoa Joe and the Outsiders come out to laugh at Angle and pals, meaning the brawl is on. The bad guys are cleared out, with Eric Young coming in to add a turkey leg to Angle to wrap things up. Then Hall got fired and Joe was given a live mic at the pay per view where he went on an all time rant against a lot of people.

Overall Rating: C. I never know what to say about these things, especially when it was a bunch of clips from what was little more than a comedy concept. There was a bit of decent action and it is fun to look back at some flashes of different times in the company’s history, but there was nothing worth seeing here. Granted that is kind of the point, but this was still a weird choice for a show.

 

 

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 4, 2022
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It is the night after Wrestlemania and I’m not even sure if that means anything these days. This show has a long history of being something special but since that isn’t WWE’s deal a lot of the time, we might be in for a show that is closer to normal. That isn’t exactly inspiring but let’s get to it.

Here are Wrestlemania Night One and Night Two if you need a recap.

Note that I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck and looking down at the edge of the stage, with the ring to my left and the Titantron to my right.

We open with a long recap of Wrestlemania, as you might have seen coming.

Here is Cody Rhodes, rising through the stage again and walking down a short ramp, to get things going. Cody takes his time getting to the ring and the fans seem happy to see him, though it doesn’t come across as well as it did in the arena. Cody: “So….what do you guys want to talk about?” Forty seven days ago, he became a free agent and has kept silent since then. Rhodes made the decision to return to WWE and it was never a hard choice. It’s a great story of the returning star and he is glad to be back.

He is an avid reader and he stumbled upon this quote: “Sometimes a man finds his destiny upon the path to avoid it.” Rhodes puts up a photo of his dad holding the WWWF Title in Madison Square Garden from September 26, 1977. That is the same title that Hulk Hogan (boo), Undertaker (yay), Shawn Michaels (yay) and HHH (also yay) among others have held over the years. Rhodes talks about how this photo was on the mantle in his parents’ bedroom until his father’s last day.

One day when he was a kid, he asked his dad about being a champion like Hulk Hogan. His dad got serious and explained the championship advantage, meaning that since he won by countout, he didn’t take the belt (yes belt) home with him. That made eight year old Cody decide he was going to win the title for his father.

That hasn’t happened yet and that Dream died right in front of him. Now though, he wants to claim his dream again and his intentions are clear. Rhodes is going to do it for his friends, his fans, and for the American Dream. Cue Seth Rollins to interrupt and they shake hands, with Rollins being very happy and mouthing what commentary says is “welcome home”.

This was a big moment for Cody, but the important point here is that it made sense. Cody didn’t go onto any weird tangent and got his point across (with some impressive sounding words). I can go with the idea, though a Rollins rematch might be on tap first. Good stuff here, and the fans were into Cody. I’m not sure if that lasts beyond Wrestlemania weekend, but it’s a good start.

Rhea Ripley/Liv Morgan vs. Naomi/Sasha Banks

Champions Contenders match. Naomi and Ripley start things off with Rhea hitting a rather delayed vertical suplex. That doesn’t get her very far though as Naomi sends her into the corner, setting up a pair of middle rope splashes for two. Banks sends Morgan outside and hits the running knees off the apron, only to have Ripley take Banks down with a flip dive. Naomi dives onto Ripley though and a slingshot legdrop gets two as we take a break.

Of note: during the break, D-Generation X’s music started playing by mistake, confusing all of the wrestlers (the D-Generation X cam was played during a later break, so it wasn’t completely random). Back with Naomi and Ripley making double tags, allowing Banks to hit a top rope Meteora on Morgan. Banks misses a clothesline as Morgan does a Matrix into a rollup for two before kicking Banks in the head. Ripley tosses Banks into Liv’s powerbomb for two but Naomi is back in for the elevated Codebreaker to finish Morgan at 8:57.

Rating: C+. They started picking up the pace near the end and had me believing that the champs were going to lose in their first match after winning the belts. That being said, they don’t exactly have much in the way of challengers going forward and that is a continuing problem for the titles. I can’t imagine it getting much better, but at least Naomi finally had something to do.

Post match Ripley walks out on Liv, with Kevin Owens coming to the ring as she leaves.

Post break, Owens doesn’t seem happy. Maybe he made a mistake on Saturday by challenging Steve Austin to an actual match. He goes over THE PLAN to trick Austin into a match but might have underestimated Austin. Owens admits that Austin is still great, because it takes someone great to beat him. However, it should be noted that he came in with a really serious back injury. Owens: “WATCH THE FOOTAGE! YOU CAN TELL!” He was limping because he was lifting a lot of weird but the WWE Universe needed him out there. Austin’s win should be stricken from the record….and here is someone named Ezekiel.

It isn’t Ezekiel Jackson, but rather someone who looks a lot like Elias, minus his beard. Owens asks Elias what he thinks he’s doing. Ezekiel: “I am not Elias.” Fans: “YES YOU ARE!” Ezekiel says he is Elias’ younger brother and Owens looks like he’s about to lose it. Owens thinks he has beer in his ears because he can’t believe he’s hearing this. Owens hates liars, so Ezekiel thinks Owens hates himself. Ezekiel reminds him of getting stunned, sending Owens into a rant against Enrique or whatever his name is. He has ten seconds to get out of Owens’ ring, but Owens counts down and then leaves instead.

We look back at Miz turning on Logan Paul after the two defeated the Mysterios at Wrestlemania.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Miz

Rey Mysterio is here with Dominik, who gets hit with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 26 seconds. Ok then.

Post match here is Veer Mahaan to lay out the Mysterios, including a cross between the Gargano Escape and a camel clutch to Dominik as Rey crawled over to try and save him.

Here is Bianca Belair for her first chat after winning the Raw Women’s Title. Belair thanks everyone for standing behind her because she never thought she would win the title. She takes off her sunglasses to reveal a black eye before talking about how losing to Becky Lynch at Summerslam made her realize how great she can be. Now she knows just how fast you can lose it all.

After a quick pause, Belair talks about how she never cheated but worked to get this title. Lynch went for her throat, her hair and even her eye. After all that though, she is still standing here because these people deserve better. That’s why she became better and will become the best she can be. She’ll fight everyone back there because no one is ready to take this title from her. Lynch needs to take some time and find out who she is, because Belair is the EST of WWE and is ready for anyone. This was the victory lap speech and Belair deserved it.

Video on Bron Breakker.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler, with Robert Roode in his corner, is defending. Breakker drives him into the corner to start and snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Ziggler manages to Breakker outside though and rakes away at the eyes back inside. That doesn’t work for Breakker, who plants him with a powerslam, only to get crotched on top. We take a break and come back with Breakker fighting out of a chinlock but Ziggler nails a chinlock for two. Breakker’s sitout powerbomb gets two more and the comeback is on, including the overhead belly to belly.

Roode’s distraction breaks up the spear so Breakker takes him out with the big flip dive. Ziggler hits a running knee (might have been a mistimed Fameasser), followed by the Fameasser for two. Breakker blocks a ram into an exposed buckle pad but walks into the superkick (how Ziggler retained at Stand & Deliver) for two. Another superkick is loaded p but Breakker spears him down and hits the gorilla press powerslam for the pin and the title at 10:05.

Rating: C+. This is what you were probably expecting at Stand & Deliver so they did get the ending right. Breakker gets two in the title back in front of a big crowd and a much larger audience while showing that he learned something after his previous loss. I’m not sure if he should have lost on Saturday, but at least they got things right in the end.

Here is MVP for a chat. MVP praises Bobby Lashley for beating Omos on his own and brings out Lashley for his celebration. Lashley brags about beating the biggest and strongest opponent he has ever faced. He knew he had to wait for Omos to make a mistake and that is exactly what happened. Cue Omos to shout that he wants a rematch….and MVP turns on Lashley to help Omos beat him down. There’s a twist and it makes sense, as Lashley is a face anyway and doesn’t need someone to talk for him.

Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan make up in the back, as Ripley has gotten them a Tag Team Title shot next week. Thank you for rendering a stipulation completely worthless in about an hour and a half.

Carmella/Queen Zelina vs. Natalya/Shayna Baszler

Byron Saxton has a blast reminding Corey Graves that Carmella and Zelina lost their Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania. Actually hold on, as Zelina says Carmella is obsessed with a man who is a fool for wanting to marry her. Zelina: “However, he is a VERY handsome man!” That’s too far for Carmella, who mocks her for only winning the Queen’s Crown tournament. Zelina was going to be in the wedding as the maid of honor, but now she can be a flower girl. The fight is on, with Carmella running over to Graves as Zelina leaves. Carmella kisses him in relief. No match, as Natalya and Baszler never appeared.

We recap Pat McAfee beating Austin Theory at Wrestlemania, only to love to Vince McMahon. Then Steve Austin came out to do Steve Austin things.

Austin Theory isn’t happy with the loss and tells the Usos he’s ready to take his anger out on RKBro and Finn Balor.

RKBro/Finn Balor vs. Austin Theory/Usos

Balor shoulders Jimmy down to start and stomps away. Riddle comes in to kick at the arm and grab a front facelock. That’s broken up so Theory comes in, only to be backdropped to the floor. Riddle kicks him in the face but the springboard Floating Bro is blocked as we take a break.

Back with Riddle fighting his way out of a chinlock but getting caught with a pop up neckbreaker for two. Riddle manages a jumping knee to the face and the hot tag brings in Orton to clean house. The hanging DDT is loaded up on Jey but Theory makes a blind tag and hits a rolling dropkick. Balor tags himself in as well but misses the Coup de Grace. We hit the parade of finishers, with Riddle being superkicked out of the air. Balor hits Jimmy with the Sling Blade, only to walk into the ATL for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: B-. Pretty easily the best match on the show so far as the star power involved helped a lot. That being said, I believe this is the third time that Theory has pinned Balor in as many weeks and I can’t say I’m surprised in the slightest. The US Title has long since stopped meaning anything and this is another good reason as to why. Just let Theory win the title already because WWE actually seems interested in doing something with him.

Here is Edge for a big chat. Edge says he is an honest man. He knew he would beat AJ Styles but he didn’t know Damian Priest would come out to help him. Edge knew that these people would be sheep just like he said they would. Fans: “WE ARE SHEEP!” Edge: “Very telling idiots.” The fans need to rise for the man who respects Edge’s message and the punishment for the guilty: Damian Priest.

After a handshake, Edge asks what got through to Priest over the last few weeks. The fans say they don’t care, but Priest says that doesn’t bother him anymore. Priest says he spent a long time trying to please everyone else, but that made it so easy to pledge his loyalty to Edge. They came to their new reality at the same time, which leads Edge to AJ Styles. He wanted the pitbull AJ Styles and that’s what he got. The thing with pitbulls is that they pick fight over flight, but AJ needs to think of his family.

Cue Styles for the brawl, including taking out Priest and sending Edge into the post. Styles grabs some chairs but Priest gets up, allowing Edge to take Styles down. The Conchairto is loaded up but referees and agents make the save. I can go with the feud continuing, especially if Priest and Edge bring in some friends to uneven the odds even further.

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

The Academy jump them from behind to start and the fight is on. Cue Adam Pearce to say let’s make this a Texas Tornado match, which works for the Profits (and lets Corey Graves say “You want to get nuts? Let’s get nuts.” from Batman for some reason). Ford hits the big flip dive onto the Academy on the floor but it’s Otis coming back in to power away.

Dawkins fires off rights and lefts in the corner, leaving Gable to fisherman’s suplex Ford for two. They pair off and we take a break with the fights continuing. Back with Otis loading up the table but he and Dawkins fall to the floor. Ford goes up top but gets crotched by Gable. A superplex is loaded up but Ford shoves him off and hits the frog splash through the table for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C. The Texas Tornado stuff felt tagged on but maybe they realized that the crowd needed to be woken up a bit. This was late in the show and the fans weren’t exactly feeling it at this point but at least they got something energized here. If nothing else, watching Ford do his big jumps and dives is fun and that’s what the show needed.

Here is the Bloodline for the big show closing as they take their time getting to the ring. Roman Reigns says he knows why the people are here but wants Paul Heyman to explain the Bloodline’s success. Heyman lists off the team’s accomplishments, with a focus on Reigns’ box office successes of course. Reigns calls himself the last needle mover because he is always operating at the highest level. He isn’t hanging his hat on this weekend because he is constantly moving forward. This Friday on Smackdown, you’ll find out the next step. Until then, acknowledge him. End of show.

That’s an interesting way to go, as they didn’t really say anything. Maybe they have something planned for Smackdown, but this was ten minutes to say “Reigns won, he’s great, see you Friday.” I’m not sure if that means anything, but it’s quite the wait for nothing substantial.

Overall Rating: C. I’m not sure what to think on this one. On one hand, it was an improvement over previous years as SOMETHING happened on the Raw after Wrestlemania. On the other hand, it wasn’t exactly interesting stuff. Elias’ younger brother? Veer Mahaan? Breakker wins a title that isn’t on this show? MVP is now with Omos?

It’s ok, but it isn’t something that is going to have my attention for very long. Maybe something gets better next week, but this wasn’t exactly making me want to see where things are going. Cody felt strong and that’s about it. Not a terrible show, but they need something hot and this wasn’t it in the slightest.

After the show was over, Cody Rhodes beat Kevin Owens with the Cross Rhodes in a dark match. Rhodes thanked the fans and talked about how surreal it was to be back to end the night.

Results
Naomi/Sasha Banks b. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley – Elevated Codebreaker to Morgan
Miz b. Dominik Mysterio – Skull Crushing Finale
Bron Breakker b. Dolph Ziggler – Gorilla press powerslam
Usos/Austin Theory b. RKBro/Finn Balor – ATL to Balor
Street Profits b. Alpha Academy – Frog splash to Gable through a table

 

 

 

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

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

AND

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

 

Smackdown
Date: April 1, 2022
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania and that could mean a few things. On one hand, it means we could be in for the last big push before the biggest show of the year, which means an exciting night. On the other hand, it could be WWE putting in as little effort as possible as they have more important things on their minds. Knowing WWE, I’ll go with the latter almost every time. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary welcomes us to the show and gives us a video package on Andre the Giant to hype up his namesake battle royal.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Tommaso Ciampa, Cedric Alexander, Ivar, Erik, Madcap Moss, Drew Gulak, Shelton Benjamin, Mansoor, Shanky, Jinder Mahal, R-Truth, Akira Tozawa, Reggie, Apollo Crews, Commander Azeez, T-Bar, Damian Priest, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Finn Balor

This field is lame even by this match’s standards. Only Ziggler, Roode and Balor get entrances. It’s a brawl to start with Tozawa being eliminated, followed by Reggie, who makes the dumb choice of flipping around on the apron. There goes R-Truth, followed by Mahal, the latter of whom goes out at the hands of the Vikings. Benjamin knees T-Bar out and it’s time to start brawling near the ropes. Moss knocks Gulak out as I continue not remembering that Gulak works here.

Cue Happy Corbin to praise Moss but almost low bridges him out by mistake when Balor reverses a whip into the ropes. Ciampa sends Moss to the floor but this time Corbin makes the save. Corbin leaves so it’s time to settle down again. Crews knocks out Alexander and Azeez gets rid of Benjamin. Mansoor’s slingshot neckbreaker is blocked and Ciampa knees him out. The Vikings eliminate Crews but get tossed by Shanky and Azeez, leaving them with the giant showdown.

They fight near the ropes and both get tossed out, leaving us with Priest, Balor, Roode, Moss, Ciampa and Ziggler. Balor and Priest remember that they had a feud for a bit and slug it out until Balor tosses him out. Roode puts Ciampa on the apron and Ziggler hits the superkick for the elimination to get us down to four. That leaves Balor to clean house but he can’t get rid of Roode. Ziggler goes to help Roode but Moss tosses Ziggler and Roode. Balor charges at Moss and gets sent out to give Moss the win at 7:11.

Rating: C-. This was every lame battle royal you’ve seen and that is what the Andre battle royal seems to be. It’s everyone without stuff going on at Wrestlemania being added in to a match on TV, which doesn’t make it feel special. Instead, this feels like a match that WWE has to do and picks a random person to win. Moss is part of a bad angle with Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre, but it isn’t like the match has any history or importance for the most part.

Post match Moss celebrates his win but asks what you should call a battle royal with the smartest Texans. A CATTLE royal!

Intercontinental Title: Ricochet vs. Humberto vs. Angel

Ricochet is defending because this is what the title has become these days. Angel and Humberto share an entrance and their chyron says Los Lotharios, which is a bit of a weird way to set up a triple threat. Ricochet gets knocked into the corner to start, with Angel biting his finger. The obvious double teaming begins and Ricochet gets caught with a running knee to the face. Ricochet fights up and manages a double hurricanrana, because that’s something people can do. Angel catches him on top with a super armdrag though and we take a break.

Back with Ricochet having to fight off the numbers game again, which allows the double teaming to take him down. Humberto nails a spinwheel kick for two, which doesn’t sit well with Angel. The Wing Clipper is loaded up but Humberto rolls Angel up for another near fall as greed enters the equation.

Ricochet uses the distraction to crossbody them down, setting up a rolling dropkick to Angel. The standing shooting star press gets two on Humberto with Angel making the save. Humberto gets backdropped to the floor and an enziguri drops Angel. Ricochet drops Humberto onto Angel, setting up the 630. That’s not enough so Ricochet goes straight to Humberto with the Recoil for the pin to retain at 11:15.

Rating: C+. The action was ok, but the fact that it was a relief to see Ricochet beat a tag team to retain the Intercontinental Title tells you everything you need to know. Ricochet at least comes off as a winner to save the slightest bit of face, but he needs a lot more to make up some of the last few weeks. Now he can move on to a singles challenger, but him sitting on the sidelines might be best for both himself and the title at the moment, as WWE doesn’t seem to know any better.

Long video on Kevin Owens vs. Steve Austin. Owens wanted a way to Wrestlemania so he challenged Austin to come on the KO Show. One day Owens remembered that he hated Texas and started insulting it so he wants the embodiment of Texas to show up. Austin responded from what looked to be some road out in the wilderness, which sends us into the Austin highlight reel set to Bawitaba by Kid Rock because 90s.

Naomi/Sasha Banks vs. Queen Zelina/Carmella

Non-title with Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley and Natalya/Shayna Baszler at ringside. Carmella kicks Banks to the floor to start, allowing her to get in some dancing. Zelina hits some running knees in the corner and Carmella is back in for a chinlock. That’s broken up and Banks gets in a shot to the face, allowing her to get over to Naomi for the tag. With Carmella dispatched, a Vader Bomb hits Zelina and Naomi adds the split legged moonsault for the pin at 3:26.

Rating: C-. This was about as filler of a match as you can get as they were thrown out there to set up a match that isn’t going to have much interest no matter what they do. The Women’s Tag Team Titles continue to be absolutely nothing and I can’t even get annoyed at the champs losing two days before their Wrestlemania title defense. Nothing match with nothing teams getting ready for a nothing match. Why is this a surprise these days?

Ronda Rousey was training earlier today (appeared to be with Shayna Baszler) and insisted that she was controlling her anger. She’ll be seeing her baby before the show, where she’ll rip off Charlotte’s arm.

Video on Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey, looking at their respective in-ring/cage careers. Both dominated their sports and now it is a clash of the two titans, which would have been a bit better had they not already had a Wrestlemania match. It is also presented as a battle of holds, with the armbar/ankle lock vs. the Figure Eight. In other words, this sounds better in theory than it has been in reality.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. She praises the video and says it was more dramatic than Coda. She is going to destroy Rousey and, after mocking the WHAT chants by suggesting they are saying WOO, Charlotte declares herself cool. Every woman wants to be like her and every man just wants her. Having people want her autograph and pictures is cool, just like leaving Wrestlemania as the Smackdown Women’s Champion.

Video on Roman reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. I believe they’re fighting soon or something.

Rick Boogs plays Shinsuke Nakamura to the ring so Pat McAfee gets on the announcers’ table….but Austin Theory trips him up. McAfee gives chase to the back, where Theory runs into Vince McMahon’s office. That slows McAfee down but he kicks the door open, with Vince coming out and threatening to fire him. McAfee seems worried and goes back to commentary.

Rick Boogs vs. Jimmy Uso

Shinsuke Nakamura and Jey Uso are here too and McAfee is back on commentary. Boogs curls Uso to start before throwing him down. Jimmy is right back up with a whip to send Boogs into the post to cut him down but Boogs manages to gorilla press Jimmy….from his knees. Boogs stands up and drops him into a fall away slam, because that’s something a person can do. Cue Theory to grab a cup of ice from a fan and throw it at McAfee, who manages to keep his cool. Cue Finn Balor to go after Theory so all six get in the ring for the double DQ at 3:08.

Rating: D+. That gorilla press alone was worth seeing but that’s all they had in such a short match. Normally I would have an issue with WWE doing so many things in one match, but this is a bit of a weird situation. Balor vs. Theory is a feud that has been going on in recent weeks, though Balor isn’t even on Wrestlemania. I’m not sure why they are building feuds for beyond Wrestlemania, but we seem to be ready for a six man tag here to keep it going even further.

Usos/Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor/Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs

Joined in progress with Nakamura getting two on Jey. The running knee to the ribs in the corner gets one but a quick shot allows Jey to get over to Theory. Nakamura knees Theory in the ribs as McAfee is VERY pleased with the fans not liking Theory. Boogs comes in and grabs the rotating back and forth gutwrench suplex for two.

It’s off to Balor, who gets sent outside for a cheap shot from Jey to put him down. The villains glare down at McAfee and we take a break. Back with Jimmy missing a splash in the corner but Jey knocks Boogs off the apron to cut off a tag attempt. Balor hits the basement dropkick to rock Jimmy though and it’s a double diving tag to Nakamura and Theory. Nakamura gets to clean house, including a kick to Theory’s head and the sliding German suplex.

Everything breaks down and Boogs is sent hard into the steps. Balor comes in to clothesline Theory to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. The Sling Blade connects back inside and it’s the shotgun dropkick to knock him down again. A distraction lets Theory break up the Coup de Grace though and the ATL finishes Balor at 11:29.

Rating: C. I knew this was coming and I still cringed at the pinfall. For the life of me I don’t get why WWE feels the need to do this, but if Theory isn’t US Champion by the end of the next pay per view (at the VERY latest), this is another entry on the long list of stupid things WWE has done. The US Champion shouldn’t be losing most of the time, but this is what, three or so falls he has taken to set up a match he isn’t even in? It’s another case of WWE feeling like they are trying to make things worse for someone they seem interested in pushing. Only WWE, thank goodness.

Post match McAfee gets on the apron to stare Theory down but he manages to keep his composure.

Here are Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss for Happy Talk, complete with a table to hold Angela the sword. Moss brags about winning the Andre the Giant battle royal earlier, but Corbin says he was supposed to do that. Corbin is euphoric and thinks that could be his new name. We look at how he got the sword and Corbin brags about everything he has done at Wrestlemania over the years.

The sword is more of an insurance policy and he could decapitate someone with the thing. How depressing is it to name the sword after McIntyre’s dead mother? Corbin: “What does Drew McIntyre’s sword and his mother have in common? He lost them both.” Cue McIntyre, who knocks Moss out with one shot on the way to the ring. McIntyre grabs a chair and throws it at Corbin’s head (that was smart), causing the sword to fall down. The set is cleared out and McIntyre cuts the table in half.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Back in the ring, McIntyre stable the mat a few times to make fire and pyro go off to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Oh they didn’t care. It was clear that this was designed to be a way to have a show before Wrestlemania and nothing more. None of the matches were good and a lot of this was about hyping things up. This has been the case for a pretty long time now and that reputation is why I was at other shows on Friday night and the only part I saw that night was at a restaurant between other events. It wasn’t that the show was bad, but rather that it was unimportant and WWE didn’t care. That’s as bad of a feeling that you can have and it was on in full display this week.

Results
Madcap Moss won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last eliminating Finn Balor
Ricochet b. Angel and Humberto – Recoil to Humberto
Naomi/Sasha Banks b. Carmella/Queen Zelina – Split legged moonsault to Zelina
Rick Boogs vs. Jimmy Uso went to a double DQ when Jey Uso and Shinsuke Nakamura interfered
Austin Theory/Usos b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs/Finn Balor – ATL to Balor

 

 

 

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

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

AND

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

 

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 21, 2022
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton

There are two Raws left before Wrestlemania and that means WWE needs to really hammer things home. That is how it should go at least, but you never can tell with what this company is going to do. I’m sure Seth Rollins will be all Wile E. Coyote with one dumb idea after another on his way to his ultimate goal of doing anything at Wrestlemania so let’s get to it.

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

We open with the glass shattering and it’s….Kevin Owens, in an Austin shirt, jean shorts, and a bald cap. Owens does a good enough Austin impression as he insults the crowd for falling for the gag and promises to destroy Austin once and for all at Wrestlemania. Then the glass shatters again, but fool me once and all that, as Owens gets to laugh at the people.

After another threat to Austin, Owens calls for some beers (Steve Austin lagers of course) but can’t catch them. Therefore he yells at the guy to bring them into the ring and Stuns him before pouring some lager over him. You could write this step by step from the second the glass shattered and that’s how it should have been. Sometimes you need to play it by numbers instead of going nuts and screwing something up and they got it as right as they could here.

We look back at Seth Rollins going a bit nuts last week and losing to Kevin Owens for the rights to interview Steve Austin at Wrestlemania.

Rollins doesn’t like the suggestion that he isn’t going to Wrestlemania and starts laughing maniacally. Ignore the CODY chants as he steals the microphone.

Mysterios vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Miz is on commentary as Dominik grabs a springboard wristdrag out to the floor. Back in and a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination puts Dominik down so Rey comes in for the save attempt. The Mysterios clear the ring for stereo dives to the floor and….here’s Seth Rollins. He wants a Wrestlemania spot and he is going to get one, even if his mic keeps giving out out.

Rollins wants the biggest thing at Wrestlemania that will live forever but since his mic gives out, we take a break. Back with Rollins gone and Rey fighting out of a superplex attempt. Dominik comes back in with a high crossbody to Roode, who is right back with a spinebuster for two. The frustration sets in, allowing Dominik to hit a 619 into the frog splash for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C-. You can only get so much when a large section of the match was spent on looking at Rollins fighting with the microphone. The Mysterios are a team that should make sense on paper but they just aren’t clicking no matter how WWE presents them. That is a problem that WWE is going to have to deal with somehow, but I’ll take it over Dominik getting a singles push at this rate.

Post match Ziggler hits Rey with a superkick and Miz grabs a Skull Crushing Finale on the floor. Miz even steals the mask and the fans freak out as Rey covers his face with a towel.

Seth Rollins is with Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce and explains that he wants to do something at Wrestlemania. Pearce says this isn’t the way to go about it but maybe there is something he and Deville can do. Rollins laughs and walks off.

Miz is on the phone when he is interrupted to be asked about stealing the mask. It turns out that Logan Paul was a big Rey Mysterio fan growing up and he just wanted a mask. The lesson Paul needs to learn is to never meet your heroes, because they can be horrible. Now it is time for Paul to beat up his heroes at Wrestlemania, but first, Miz dares Paul to wear the mask next week on Raw.

Smackdown Breakdown, this week all about Brock Lesnar trying to destroy the Bloodline.

Omos vs. Apollo Crews/Commander Azeez

Crews and Azeez jump him before the bell but Omos grabs them by their throats on the floor. They get back in for the opening bell, with Omos hitting a one armed slam. The chokeslam to Crews sets up the double pin at 1:45.

Post match Omos promises to dominate anyone at Wrestlemania.

Video on Edge’s recent trip over the, uh, edge.

Here is the returning AJ Styles for a chat. AJ talks about how he has been gone for a few weeks and that much time is a dangerous thing. He has been watching that clip of Edge attacking him over and over and now he has to see Edge with his mood lighting, asking why. Styles doesn’t care because all he wants to do is kick Edge’s teeth down his throat. Instead, he gets Seth Rollins, who, after hearing the CODY chants, says that rumors don’t make moments.

Rollins has an idea: AJ stays at home for Wrestlemania and Rollins ends Edge’s career instead! Styles passes on the idea, saying that if he can walk, he’ll be facing Edge. This is just like last week when Styles wanted to take Kevin Owens’s spot, sending Rollins into a rant about how he’s running out of options. Styles isn’t cool with everything going on with Rollins right now so here are Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to interrupt. Pearce says Rollins is getting one more chance at Wrestlemania, because if he can beat Styles tonight, he can face Edge instead. Styles clears Rollins out in a hurry.

Carmella is on her phone again when Queen Zelina interrupts. Zelina doesn’t think Carmella is taking their Wrestlemania title defense seriously but Carmella blows her off. Instead Zelina throws the phone away and tells her to get her head in this. That’s good for a slap and the brawl is on.

AJ Styles yells at Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville about their decision but promises to win anyway.

Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler/Natalya

Ripley takes Baszler down to start and it’s off to Morgan, who gets pulled into the wrong corner. Natalya comes in and drops Morgan down, allowing Shayna to crank on the arm. Cue Carmella to cry to Corey Graves about what happened to her as Morgan fights out of the corner. Baszler pulls Ripley off the apron though, leaving Natalya to hit Morgan with the discus lariat. The Hart Attack gives Baszler the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C. This is where the title match at Wrestlemania is going to fall apart (because it means so much in the first place): since there are so few teams in the division, they are going to have to face each other and knock one another down, leaving no one worth anything once we get to Wrestlemania, where Zelina and Carmella likely retain anyway.

Post match Carmella beats up Baszler and Natalya before posing with Queen Zelina, who approves so hugging can ensue.

We look at Becky Lynch injuring Bianca Belair last week.

Here is Becky for a chat. She sits in a chair and asks what it profits a man to gain the world but to lose his soul. Becky went fifteen months without the Raw Women’s Title and it is worth it to give given up her soul to get the title back. This week she was going to go after Belair’s hair but Belair is injured too. It’s a throat for a throat and Becky would sell out over and over again if it meant keeping her title. At Wrestlemania, she’ll show Belair what profits she has gained. This felt like an explanation for a heel turn that took place seven months ago.

We recap Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory.

Theory is ready for the dumb jock McAfee and he wants to make Vince McMahon proud..

Veer Mahaan is coming on April 4.

Aust….WAIT WHAT??? THEY SET A DATE??? Somebody get my medicine.

Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor

Non-title and here is Pat McAfee to join commentary. An early rollup gives Balor two and he’s back with a basement dropkick. Theory gets kicked out to the floor, where McAfee mocks him with some weird dancing. The distraction lets Balor hit a shotgun dropkick against the barricade and we take a break.

Back with McAfee cheerleading Balor to his feet for the comeback, only to have Theory knock him outside. Balor sends him into the announcers’ table over and over, setting up the shotgun dropkick into the corner. The Coup de Grace misses though and Theory takes Balor down, drawing McAfee up to the apron. The ATL is broken up but Theory is right back with a brainbuster onto the knee for two. Another McAfee distraction cuts Theory off though and the small package gives Balor the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C. This was all about McAfee vs. Theory as the US Champion was left out there in a feud that has nothing to do with him. I’m still not sure why this is McAfee vs. Theory instead of Theory going after the Intercontinental Title, as Ricochet has nothing going on and it isn’t like McAfee is being brought in especially for this show. The match was good enough while it wasn’t focused on the announcer, but that was the case most of the time.

We look at the Raw Tag Team Title situation, which is leading to RKBro defending against Alpha Academy and the Street Profits in a triple threat at Wrestlemania.

RKBro vs. Alpha Academy

Non-title. Before the match Chad Gable promises that the Academy is winning the titles at Wrestlemania. Gable cranks on Orton’s arm to start but Orton brings him into the corner. The assisted Floating Bro gives Riddle two but Gable sends him into the wall that is Otis. Riddle fights back with some running forearms, only to be knocked outside for the running Otis clothesline as we take a break. Back with Riddle making the hot tag to Orton (big reaction for that) and house is cleaned. The hanging DDT hits Gable for two as Otis makes the save. Riddle comes back in and jumps Gable, setting up the Bro Derek for the pin at 7:49.

Rating: C+. RKBro continues to be the most popular act on Raw and they continue to put on some of the most consistent matches on the show as well. It makes sense to keep them together this long and I’m not sure where they go from here. For the first time in forever, I want to see a team stay together and it is going to be a big deal when they finally split up, because they have gelled that well.

Post match the Street Profits run in and take out both teams.

Dana Brooke was attacked by Akira Tozawa earlier this week but manages to escape with the title again, as Tozawa continues to screw things up.

Dana Brooke/Reggie vs. Akira Tozawa/Tamina

Non-title. Earlier today, Tamina choked Tozawa and demanded to get the 24/7 Title. We start with a game of chicken but Tozawa can’t hold Tamina up. Instead he gets on her shoulders and locks up with Dana until Tamina kicks Reggie in the ribs. Tamina and Tozawa are sent into the corner, where Tamina falls face first into a low blow on Tozawa. The running flipping seated senton gives Reggie the pin at 1:04. This is a thing that continues to be on Raw every week.

We recap the opening segment.

AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins

The winner gets Edge at Wrestlemania. Styles grabs a headlock to start but gets knocked down by a running shoulder. A Pedigree attempt is countered though and AJ sends him over the top and out to the floor. The slingshot forearm takes Rollins down again and we take a break. Back with Styles fighting out of a cravate but missing a charge into the post. That’s good for a nine count on the floor so Rollins chops away in the corner back inside. A running dropkick in the Tree of Woe (that was nasty) gives Rollins two but AJ fights back again.

Rollins breaks up a springboard though and AJ goes crashing back to the floor. Rollins’ suicide dive connects and we take another break. Back again with Rollins letting go of a cravate and screaming about how he needs this to Styles. The slugout goes to Styles, including the running forearm in the corner. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives AJ two and a belly to back faceplant gets the same.

Styles can’t hit the Styles Clash as Rollins escapes and grabs a Falcon Arrow for two of his own. We hit the pinfall reversal sequence until AJ suplexes him into the corner. AJ takes him up top but Rollins slips off and bangs up his leg, allowing Styles to grab a torture rack swing into a powerbomb for two more. The Phenomenal Forearm is superkicked out of the air though and Rollins hits the Buckle Bomb. AJ slips out to the apron and loads up the Phenomenal Forearm but Edge comes in with a chair to Styles for the DQ at 22:44.

Rating: B. Again, what would you expect from two guys of this caliber getting this much time in a featured match? That is the kind of thing that you do not see very often and it is special when it does, as both of them got to look good. I don’t think there was much doubt about the result, but the match being rather good makes up for that.

Post match Rollins snaps and says the show doesn’t happen next week unless he gets what he wants. Things are broken at ringside to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. What mattered here was it felt like the show was taking things seriously (24/7 Title stuff aside) and the talking segments worked better than in recent weeks. They helped advance some things towards Wrestlemania, with Owens’ segment working out well. I’m not sure how we get to what should be the pretty obvious end game for Rollins but they put it in the prime spot this week and it felt bigger as a result. I liked this show, though it felt like a fluke rather than a change of pace.

Results
Mysterios b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Frog splash to Roode
Omos b. Apollo Crews/Commander Azeez – Double pin
Natalya/Shayna Baszler b. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley – Hart Attack to Morgan
Finn Balor b. Austin Theory – Small package
RKBro b. Alpha Academy – Bro Derek to Gable
Dana Brooke/Reggie b. Tamina/Akira Tozawa – Running flipping seated senton to Tozawa
AJ Styles b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Edge interfered

 

 

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NXT
Date: March 15, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We have just over two weeks to go before Stand & Deliver and the big story coming out of last week’s show was Dolph Ziggler winning the NXT Title from Bron Breakker by pinning Tommaso Ciampa in a triple threat. That should be setting up the rematch at Stand & Deliver with Ciampa left out so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Dolph Ziggler winning the NXT Title last week.

Here is the special guest star the Miz for MizTV. The fans seem happy to see Miz, who hypes up his Wrestlemania match. With that out of the way, here is Dolph Ziggler, with Robert Roode, as this week’s guest. Ziggler is rather happy to be champion and we see a clip of Bron Breakker not being allowed into the building earlier.

Roode and Ziggler brag about how much money they have but here is LA Knight to interrupt. If Breakker can’t come in and challenge him tonight, he’ll be the one challenging Ziggler instead. Ziggler says he only faces superstars so thanks for coming. Knight says he’s a megastar and Ziggler says he only fights in the main event, so Miz makes the title match for tonight (because he can do that).

Cora Jade doesn’t like Toxic Attraction, who have put Raquel Gonzalez out of action for four to six weeks. Somehow she has all three of their title belts though and it seems like she has plans for them.

North American Title Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Santos Escobar vs. Cameron Grimes

The rest of Legado del Fantasma is here and Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Grimes jumping over Escobar’s legsweep and telling him to do something to his grits. Grimes’ wristlock doesn’t get him very far as Escobar takes him down against the ropes and stomps away as Barrett says he is bout it bout it. Grimes sends him outside but a Legado distraction lets Escobar take out the legs as we take a break.

Back with Escobar kicking away but getting sent to the apron. Grimes gets kicked in the head though, allowing Escobar to go up. Escobar hits a top rope ax handle to the head for two but Grimes is back with a running forearm. A trip to the floor lets Grimes hit a big flip dive to drop Escobar again. Back in and Grimes’ high crossbody is countered into a gutbuster for two. Grimes is back up with a superkick and loads up the Cave In, which is countered into the Phantom Driver to give Escobar the pin at 11:24.

Rating: C+. Another solid performance from Grimes, even though he loses again. At some point you need to let him win something that matters (the Million Dollar Title seems like forever ago) or the spark is going to die. Escobar going into the title match is fine, but I could have gone without Grimes taking another fall.

Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray are ready to win the Dusty Classic.

Wendy Choo loves orange soda (Is it true?) but Dakota Kai will pass. Toxic Attraction comes in to ask about the titles but yell at Choo and Kai, who should be thanking them for their Dusty Classic win. Toxic Attraction is off to find the titles, with Choo and Kai saying they’re hot but weird.

Video on A-Kid.

A-Kid vs. Kushida

The winner gets a North American Title qualifying match next week and A-Kid doesn’t get an entrance. They go with the test of strength to start and hit the mat with Kushida flipping out of a headscissors. Back up and it’s an armdrag into a dropkick before taking Kushida down by the arm. The threat of a double arm hold sends Kushida over to the ropes and he’s right back with a Boston crab. With that broken up, A-Kid snaps off a German suplex and a northern lights suplex for two. A springboard moonsault DDT finishes Kushida at 4:59.

Rating: C+. A-Kid looked good enough here and that should be enough to give him something worthwhile in the next few weeks. I don’t know if he’s here full time or just for a few matches but it’s nice to get some fresh blood around here. He is going to need a bit more of a character (and perhaps a name change) but he has the in-ring skills to hang with a lot of people.

Santos Escobar brags about being the greatest luchador of all time….when the Mysterios come in. The rest of Legado seem to be in awe but they mock Dominik, setting up a match.

Video on Tiffany Stratton vs. Sarray.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Sarray

Stratton jumps Sarray in the aisle, prompting Joseph to say “Sarray didn’t even have the chance to transform.” With that out of the way, Stratton stomps on her in the corner but has to avoid the dropkick against the ropes. A handspring splash in the corner sets up the corkscrew Vader Bomb to give Stratton the pin at 52 seconds.

Gunther doesn’t respect LA Knight for using his mouth so much but Knight doesn’t care. Watch him win the title.

Cora Jade has strung up one of the Tag Team Title belts so Jacy Jayne comes up to pull it down, triggering a cage to close behind her. Jade comes up and mocks her as I try to figure out A, where the camera was in the cage that films Jade mocking her and B, why we actually just had a trap rigged up backstage.

Here is Tommaso Ciampa for a chat. He talks about how he has been at this for seventeen years and has always wanted to find a place that he can call home. That is what he found in NXT and the fans seem appreciative. Ciampa talks about some of his high points in NXT but knows we can’t recap the last seven years.

He always had his fans with him and sometimes he even thinks back to NXT New Orleans where he came out to no music and received a chorus of boos. It was clear that they were making something special and that he could be that guy. Fans: “YOU’RE THE GUY!” It has been a long journey of ups and downs and setbacks and from black and gold to 2.0. The one thing that stuck was he never left and the people never left, which sets off a PLEASE DON’T GO chant.

Ciampa isn’t sure what is next for him but he has been thinking about his perfect fairy tale ending. Walking into a show like Stand & Deliver over Wrestlemania weekend as NXT Champion sounds like a perfect ending. The fact of the matter is that he didn’t capitalize on that, just like he didn’t get to walk in to Brooklyn as champion three years ago.

These last seven days, he keeps wondering what is next for him. He isn’t sure about where this is going, but here is Tony D’Angelo, who throws down his crowbar. D’Angelo has been thinking about who he needs to beat to put in the history books. The match seems to be set for Stand & Deliver and they shake hands, with D’Angelo kicking him low. D’Angelo promises to become the new Don of NXT. I’m not sure if this is it for Ciampa, but having D’Angelo as his last match isn’t quite inspiring.

Persia Pirotta vs. Indi Hartwell

They seem to be cool with each other to start before Pirotta shoves her down. Pirotta goes for Hartwell’s wedding ring, which just annoys Hartwell. Pirotta: “HE DOESN’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!” Cue Duke Hudson to ringside but Dexter Lumis pops out from underneath the ring. The distraction lets Hartwell slip out of a fireman’s carry and roll Pirotta up for the pin at 2:33.

Post match the guys get in and the couples engage in a kiss off contest, leaving all four of them on the mat. I eagerly await the mixed tag.

Gigi Dolin has to climb onto a dumpster to get her title back, but then the dumpster is closed, with a forklift going on top of it. Cora Jade pops up to mock her through the roof.

Joaquin Wilde vs. Dominik Mysterio

The rest of Legado del Fantasma and Rey Mysterio are here. Dominik anklescissors Wilde to start but Wilde sticks the landing, leaving Dominik staring up at him. A very springboardy wristdrag takes Wilde down but he pulls Dominik off the middle rope for a crash. Mysterio is back up with a headscissors (which isn’t quite on the head) but an Elektra Lopez distraction lets Wilde get in a kick to the head. Cue Fallon Henley for the staredown with Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen backing her up. The distraction lets Dominik hit a 619 into a frog splash for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: B-. This was a good, action based match with the interference and distractions serving as a fine enough way to go. Dominik looked better than usual here, as he belongs on a smaller show like this until he figures out something other than being Rey’s son. He can do enough in the ring to have a decent match, but he needs matches like this to let him grow.

Scott Hall tribute video.

Cora Jade still has the Women’s Title and some spray paint as she heads over to Mandy Rose’s car. Mandy is in the back though and jumps Jade, screaming about the tricks that Jade has been playing. A running knee knocks Jade silly and the title match seems to be set for Stand & Deliver. Mandy spray paints Jade’s back for the Scott Hall tribute.

Here are the Creed Brothers, who demand to know who attacked them last week. Cue MSK, who says they didn’t do it (Barrett: “LIARS!”) but the Brothers don’t seem to buy it. Now it’s Imperium popping up on the platform to laugh at both of them. The challenge is made for Stand & Deliver so let’s have a triple threat match. Yes I said a triple threat match for the Tag Team Titles, believe it or not. Imperium says they fear no one so the match is on.

Cameron Grimes is tired of losing over and over but now he is going to be watching Stand & Deliver from home. The last thing he told his father was that he signed to NXT but now he’s still here and disappointing everyone.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade are in the back to explain to Malcolm Bivens why they attacked Toxic Attraction’s waiters last week. That is their alibi for not attacking the Creed Brothers, followed by the Grizzled Young Veterans saying they didn’t need to take the Brothers out. The Creeds vs. the Veterans is set for next week.

NXT Title: LA Knight vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler, with Robert Roode, is defending. Knight shoulders him down to start but gets taken into the corner. A snapmare sets up a chinlock from Ziggler before he comes back with some right hands to the head. Knight flips out of a suplex though and a neckbreaker gets two. Ziggler is sent outside as Knight seems to be favoring his ribs, though he is fine enough to snap off a powerslam as we take a break.

Back with Knight fighting out of a sleeper with a bodyscissors, even driving Ziggler into the corner. Knight counters the Fameasser into something like a powerbomb and the stomping is on in the corner. There’s the jumping elbow for two as we cut to the back where Bron Breakker comes inside. Knight takes him up top for a top rope superplex, followed by a Burning Hammer for two, with Ziggler getting a foot on the rope. BFT is blocked though and Ziggler hits the superkick to retain at 11:50.

Rating: B-. I say this a lot but when you take two talented guys and let them do their thing for a somewhat extended amount of time, you are going to get a good match. That is what happened here and it was entertaining stuff, as Knight was a good foil for Ziggler, even if he had no chance of winning the title. The good thing about having Ziggler go over some people is they aren’t getting beaten by someone who is beneath them, so it isn’t like Knight takes a big hit from the loss. At the same time, Ziggler gets to look good, making this a smart move all around.

Post match here is Bron Breakker to say he wants the rematch at Stand & Deliver. Roode is dropped and Ziggler says it’s on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The show still had problems, but it was WAY better than last week, with good action and a lot of things being set up for Stand & Deliver. You had three matches set for the show, some of which sound interesting, to make the card mostly come together. At the same time though, stuff like Jade hiding the titles was a bit much, along with the Indi vs. Persia stuff that started off silly and then got even worse. I like the guest stars coming in too, if nothing else just for the sake of offering some bigger names to pull the others up a hair. Much better show here, and that is a nice relief.

Results
Santos Escobar b. Cameron Grimes – Phantom Driver
Tiffany Stratton b. Sarray – Corkscrew Vader Bomb
A-Kid b. Kushida – Moonsault DDT
Indi Hartwell b. Persia Pirotta – Rollup
Dominik Mysterio b. Joaquin Wilde – Frog splash
Dolph Ziggler b. LA Knight – Superkick

 

 

 

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 7, 2022
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We are less than a month away from Wrestlemania and that means we are probably going to start some of the harder pushes to the show this week. In theory we should be getting some more matches set for the show, as probably about half of it has been set. There is also a Tag Team Title match this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with clips from Madison Square Garden where Roman Reigns and the Usos laid out Brock Lesnar and left him bloody to end the show.

Opening sequence.

Here are Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins for a chat before their Tag Team Title shot. Rollins is fired up and Owens talks about how the deck has been stacked against them all year. Tonight though, they’re taking the titles and going to Wrestlemania! That’s great, but they have to compete in the dump known as Dallas. Being there with Rollins will make it more bearable though and we look at some clips of how we got to this title match. Owens goes on a rant against the other team, including saying that Shorty G. and Otis suck.

Cue Alpha Academy, now with a SHHHHHHHUSH at the start of their entrance. Chad Gable lists off his resume and throws in a THANK YOU regarding how they are going to retain their titles. We cut to RKBro in the back, where the team is rather fired up to get their titles back. Riddle digs it.

Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens vs. RKBro vs. Alpha Academy

Alpha Academy is defending, there are three people in the ring at once and you can only tag your own partner. Rollins takes Riddle and Gable down to start and hands it off to Owens to take over. Owens steps on Riddle’s bare foot and hits a DDT for two before running Gable over as well. A Vader Bomb elbow gets two on Gable and it’s back to Rollins with a top rope crossbody to Riddle and Gable.

The two of them are sent outside so Rollins can hit a suicide dive, followed by Owens’ Swanton for two on Gable as we take a break. Back with Otis getting to clean house, including a splash for two on Riddle, with Otis pulling him up. The neck crank goes on for a bit before Otis has to hammer Riddle down to break up the comeback. The Vader Bomb misses though and the hot tag brings in Orton to clean house on Gable and the returning Rollins.

A double hanging DDT takes the two of them down but Gable counters the RKO into the ankle lock. That’s broken up and Orton hits the RKO on Rollins, with Owens making the save. Orton drops Gable and Owens onto the announcers’ table, and RKBro combines to drop Otis onto it as we take another break.

Back again with Riddle hitting the Floating Bro for two on Rollins with Owens making the save. Otis gives Orton a World’s Strongest Slam and it’s a Vader Bomb into Gable’s moonsault for two as Rollins makes the save. Gable slips out of a Rollins’ superplex attempt so let’s just make it a Tower of Doom with Owens sending everyone down instead. Everything breaks down and it’s a big brawl to send us to a third break.

Back again with most everyone on the floor and Riddle going up top. Rollins breaks that up and gets two off an Alberto double stomp. Riddle gets Rollins into a triangle choke but it’s Gable making the save this time. Gable hits rolling German suplexes on Orton, Rollins and Riddle before going up top for the moonsault….which Orton catches in an RKO for some AMAZING timing. Rollins and Owens break that up though and it’s a buckle bomb to Gable into a Stunner into the Stomp but Riddle throws Rollins out and steals the pin and the titles at 27:02.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time (a crazy amount of time for a Raw match) and the title change actually shocked me. After that RKO to Gable, it would have been almost a letdown if they didn’t get the titles here so this is a nice surprise. Good match, though that is assuming you can ignore “HOW WILL THEY GO TO WRESTLEMANIA IF THEY LOSE?????”, which is a dumb story even by WWE standards.

Owens and Rollins are devastated, with Rollins walking off in a trance and Owens talking to himself. Orton talks about how he has never had this much fun in twenty years and he will actually call Riddle his friend. THEY’RE GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA!

Post break, Owens is still in shock.

24/7 Title: Dana Brooke vs. Tamina

Brooke is defending and has Reggie in her corner, while Tamina has Akira Tozawa. Earlier today, Brooke asked Reggie for a good luck kiss and got just that. On the other hand, Tozawa asked Tamina for one and was kissed hard into a wall for his efforts. Tamina clotheslines her down to start but gets caught with the handspring elbow in the corner. Another clothesline takes Brooke down again though and we hit the Boston crab. Brooke finally powers out and grabs a bad looking rollup to retain at 1:45. Believe it or not, Brooke survived in her hometown.

Post match Tozawa says Brooke cheated and says the winner of the match is the love of his life, Tamina. Tozawa preps for another kiss but she walks by him, teases coming back, blows him a kiss, and then leaves.

Seth Rollins still can’t talk.

We look at Roman Reigns attacking Brock Lesnar at MSG again.

Here is the Miz for a chat. Miz says he’s home and says that the cheers he receives are respect. We see Dominik Mysterio insulting Logan Paul, who is Miz’s special guest this week. Cue Paul, who says it is good to be home and he is honored to be going to Wrestlemania as Miz’s partner. Paul talks about growing up in Cleveland and went to high school here, with Cleveland making him the man he is today.

They don’t like Dominik riding on Rey’s coat tails because that isn’t how they do it here in Cleveland. Speaking of Cleveland, here is another Cleveland native: Jerry Lawler. After a rather nice reaction, Lawler lists off some Ohio towns where he lived over the years and thanks Miz for inviting him here.

Lawler looks at the Wrestlemania sign and thinks it would be great to have the show right here in Cleveland. Miz doesn’t think much of that idea because Cleveland isn’t exactly a Wrestlemania city. Miz: “YOU WERE JUST CHEERING ME AND NOW YOU’RE BOOING ME???” This city couldn’t even handle the pyro without the lake catching on fire. No one stays here, just like when the Browns or LeBron James left. Miz says he and Paul can go on to a real Wrestlemania city and leaves, with an unsure Paul following. This was kind of a weird segment as I’m not sure what it accomplished other than having Lawler out there.

We look back at Dolph Ziggler’s recent issues with Tommaso Ciampa.

Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa are here to face Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in a rematch of last week’s NXT. Breakker is excited and ready to go before defending the NXT Title against Ziggler and Ciampa tomorrow night.

The Street Profits are asked what they think about having no path to Wrestlemania but point out that they beat RKBro last week.

Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Breakker shrugs off Roode’s headlock to start and muscles him up for a suplex. It’s off to Ciampa for a clothesline and a chinlock before being driven into the wrong corner. That’s enough to send Ciampa outside and we take a break. Back with Ciampa in trouble and getting caught with a double back elbow.

Ciampa manages a jumping knee and it’s back to Breakker to clean house. Ziggler knees Breakker in the face for a breather but the gorilla press….is broken up by Roode. A rollup gives Ziggler two but Breakker charges into the post. The Zig Zag connects for two with Ciampa making the save. Another jumping knee sends Roode outside and the gorilla press powerslam finishes Ziggler at 9:37.

Rating: C+. Breakker getting to debut on Raw is a nice touch as it’s clear that he’s just here as a guest star. I like the idea of presenting some NXT wrestlers on Raw every week, if nothing else just for the sake of building up some of what they’re doing. Good match here, as Breakker looked composed enough on the bigger stage.

Post match Ziggler says that was one win and promises to take the title tomorrow night when Breakker crumbles.

Video on Omos.

Omos is asked if he has a path to Wrestlemania (OH SHUT UP ALREADY!) and asks how many people he has to dominate.

Omos vs. Apollo Crews

Commander Azeez is here with Crews and Omos says he’s next. Omos runs Crews over to start and we’re already on the double arm crank. The rather slow paced Omos forearms Crews off the apron and out to the floor in a crash. Back in and Crews hits a jumping enziguri but gets chokeslammed for the pin at 2:42.

Post match Azeez comes in to check on Crews so Omos laughs at him.

We look back at AJ Styles accepting Edge’s Wrestlemania challenge, sending Edge into a rage and crushing him with two Conchairtos.

Here is Edge, but his entrance is very different this time, as his music cuts off and a dark spotlight comes on him as he walks to the ring. After taking his sweet time getting into the ring, Edge says “you think you know me?”. Tonight he is going to talk to AJ Styles but make sure you put the kids to bed first. Edge did what he did last week to bring out the real AJ Styles.

It was a new Edge too, as he pealed back his head and saw the real him, which he had never seen before. That is an Edge that he has fallen in love with and now he feels in control of everything that happens in this ring. Edge is standing on the mountain of omnipotence and the view is phenomenal. A closeup of Edge’s face wraps it up. The entrance was good but it felt like this got cut off before he got to the point.

Kevin Owens never wants to feel how he felt after that loss again. He just had an epiphany and it is the idea that is going to change his entire Wrestlemania future. There are details to iron out, but he has a plan that he will reveal later tonight.

We look at the Reigns/Lesnar MSG clip again.

Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley vs. Carmella/Queen Zelina

Non-title but if Morgan and Ripley win, they are added to the Wrestlemania Women’s Tag Team Title match. No entrance for the champs here as Morgan sends Carmella into the corner to start. That just annoys Carmella so Ripley comes in and cleans house until Zelina hits a tornado DDT. Carmella superkicks Ripley into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Vega cranking on Ripley but she kicks Carmella in the face (with a Munsters reference on commentary), allowing the hot tag to Morgan. Everything breaks down and Graces gets off commentary to check on Carmella. Zelina kicks Morgan in the face but there is no Carmella to tag. Vega yells at Carmella, who is talking to Graves, allowing Morgan to….not really hit the Codebreaker. Ripley comes in and hits Riptide for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: D. It was sloppy, it was long and the ending was about promoting WWE’s newest stupid reality show. This was one of the more annoying things I’ve seen WWE do in a long time and it sets up the “let’s throw everyone in one match at Wrestlemania for the most worthless belts in the company” deal, because that’s easier than putting in some work to make a better story.

Vader is going to the Hall of Fame. In his words, it’s time.

Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor

Non-title and after a video on Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee, we’re ready to go. Theory takes him up against the ropes for some shots to the back to start but Balor gets in a few shots of his own to take over. We take a break and come back with Theory in control and knocking Balor down again, but ATL is escaped. A running dropkick into the corner knocks Theory silly but here’s Damian Priest to break up the Coup de Grace for the DQ at 8:36.

Rating: C. This was just kind of there and that isn’t a great sign for the start of Balor’s title reign. Priest vs. the Demon is the kind of Wrestlemania idea that writes itself and odds are that is where we’re going. I’m not sure how well the match will go, but at least both Balor and Theory have a likely Wrestlemania match set up.

Post match Priest powerbombs Balor and Theory adds the ATL for the sake of picture taking.

Bianca Belair (now in a Don’t Touch The Hair top) is ready to put the EST in Wrestlemania. Of note: Becky Lynch was said to be injured during an incident with Belair the previous night and isn’t here.

Here is Kevin Owens for his big Wrestlemania idea. He doesn’t have a match to Wrestlemania so he needs a path to get to the event. That’s why he is going to have the biggest Kevin Owen Show of all time, but that means he needs a special guest. He needs someone from Texas, so maybe he could have JBL. Nah, as the horns on his limo are more interesting. Booker T? The guy who spent most of his career as part of a tag team called HARLEM Heat? Shawn Michaels is a proud Texan…but Owens is a proud Canadian so on behalf of Bret Hart, SHAWN MICHAELS IS NOT INVITED!

That leaves one Texas legend and he is someone who is probably drinking a lot of beer. When he was in WWE, he had to wear knee braces to get through his matches. Owens would love to have this guy come here so he can give him a Stunner and then pour out a glass of milk. He finally gets to it and challenges Steve Austin to Wrestlemania. You knew that was coming in some way so this is about as good as it’s going to get.

Overall Rating: C-. Most of the wrestling was good, but a few of the big talking segments (Miz, Edge) kind of flopped. They did set up/advance some things for Wrestlemania, but this HOW WILL THEY GET THERE stuff is dreadful. It treats fans like they have never watched Wrestlemania before as there is no reason to believe that most of these people won’t be on the show in some way. There are other ways to set up a Wrestlemania match and hearing the same thing over and over again all night got old fast. There were some good parts here, but it felt like WWE was overthinking the build to the show more often than not.

Results
RKBro b. Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens and Alpha Academy – Stomp to Gable
Dana Brooke b. Tamina – Rollup
Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Gorilla press powerslam to Ziggler
Omos b. Apollo Crews – Chokeslam
Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley b. Queen Zelina/Carmella – Riptide to Zelina
Finn Balor b. Austin Theory via DQ when Damian Priest interfered

 

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

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NXT
Date: March 1, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

We are about a month away from Stand & Deliver, which could stand to deliver some of its card this week. You can all but guarantee Bron Breakker defending the NXT Title against Dolph Ziggler, but they are going to need something a little bit better than that. Those two are in a tag match this week so let’s get to it.

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

Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Ciampa is in a Breakker style singlet here, which commentary calls Steiner-esque. Roode throws in a big bonus with the GLORIOUS theme It’s a brawl in the aisle to start with Ciampa hitting a big slingshot corkscrew dive to take out both of them in the floor. We settle down for the opening bell with Ciampa working on Ziggler and handing it off to Breakker, who gets dropped by Roode’s neckbreaker.

Ziggler grabs a chinlock but Breakker fights up and hands it off to Ciampa to clean house. A double clothesline looks to set up the Fairy Tale Ending but Roode drives him into the corner to escape. Roode’s spinebuster gets two and we take a break. Back with Ciampa getting caught in the wrong corner, setting up a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for two.

Ciampa fights out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Breakker to wreck both of them with suplexes. The Steiner efforts continue with Ciampa playing Rick in a Steiner Bulldog for two on Ziggler with Roode having to make the save. Ziggler’s rollup gets two but the Fairy Tale Ending gives Ciampa the pin at 15:03.

Rating: B-. Anything involving more of the Steiners is a good thing and that was the case here. Ciampa might not be Rick, but they had a good match here, especially with Breakker getting to wreck things. I’m not sure why Ziggler took the fall here with the title shot coming up, but Ciampa getting a win is a nice thing, as he could be in for a big Stand & Deliver match of his own.

LA Knight wants us to call someone and tell us to watch him call out Grayson Waller. I called a local beekeeper and told him to watch. He didn’t know who LA Knight or Grayson Waller were and yelled at me for disturbing him and his bees. Then he screamed because the bees were annoyed and stung him. But I did call like Knight told me to.

Gunther is ready for Solo Sikoa.

Here is LA Knight for a chat. He goes over his history with Grayson Waller, including some still photos. Cue Waller with Sanga on the platform, with Waller saying everyone sucks and goodbye. Knight shows us a shot of Knight standing over him last week. That was 2-0 for Knight, which is enough for Waller to agree to one more match next week: Last Man Standing. Works for Knight.

Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell make sure they are both focused, though Pirotta sneaks off to text someone.

We look back at the first matches of this year’s women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Indi Hartwell/Persia Pirotta vs. Dakota Kai/Wendy Choo

Toxic Attraction is watching from the balcony. Choo tries a drop toehold on Pirotta but stops to play peek-a-boo. Pirotta isn’t impressed and takes him into the corner, allowing the tag off to Hartwell. Choo isn’t having that and brings in Kai, for a double whip into the corner. A double faceplant gives Choo two but Hartwell elbows her down.

Hartwell grabs a top wristlock but Choo small packages her and rolls over to Kai for the hot tag. The running kick in the corner rocks Hartwell, who is over for the tag to Pirotta without much trouble. The fireman’s carry faceplant gets two on Kai, who is right back with a pump kick before knocking Pirotta to the floor. Choo, in slippers, goes up for a top rope Vader Bomb, setting up Kai’s top rope double stomp for the pin at 5:24.

Rating: C. The thrown together wacky team going over the established team? In this tournament? I’m as shocked as you are. The good part about this match is the fact that Persia and Indi are ready to move towards a split, which could make for an interesting story. The match wasn’t anything special, but what are you expecting from a short match with a team thrown together like this?

Video on the Creed Brothers vs. Imperium, who meet for the Tag Team Titles next week.

Lash Legend vs. Amari Miller

This is fallout from Legend blaming Miller for her debut NXT loss. Legend kicks her in the face to start and then bends Miller’s back over her knee. Miller slips out and crawls over to the ropes, allowing her to hit some running kicks of her own. A low superkick sets up a step up moonsault for two on Legend, who pops back to her feet. That means a fireman’s carry slam is enough to finish Miller at 2:56. Miller is getting there but Legend continues to look like she’s in over her head in the ring.

Post match Legend says she’s ready for Nikkita Lyons. Oh boy.

Solo Sikoa wants Gunther to respect him and it’s going to be a fight.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen want to ride something all night. Elektra Lopez comes in and doesn’t like it, but they mean a truck instead of a woman, as she seems to think. Lopez says they wouldn’t know how to handle a real woman, but Jensen says he’s never been with a real woman. Jensen: “BOOM! IN YOUR FACE!” Briggs looks stunned as Lopez walks away.

Gunther vs. Solo Sikoa

Gunther looks like he has slimmed down a lot. Sikoa gets elbowed in the face to start and a slam puts him down again. Some shots to the face stagger Gunther but he knocks Sikoa silly with a boot to the face. Sikoa’s fireman’s carry is broken up and Gunther blasts him with a clothesline.

The Boston crab goes on for a bit, with Sikoa getting out and slowly striking away. This time the Samoan drop connects to send Gunther outside, setting up a splash from the apron. Back in and Sikoa hits a superkick but the Superfly Splash misses. Gunther’s sleeper is broken up with a jawbreaker but he grabs it again and Sikoa…is planted with a powerbomb. Another powerbomb finishes Sikoa at 7:38.

Rating: C+. This was good but it didn’t hit that next level. Maybe it was the lack of believing that Sikoa had a chance, as Gunther seems like he should be a major player around here almost immediately. I was expecting more from Sikoa though, as he was almost squashed here save for a quick run at the end. Still though, Gunther winning is the right call and that is what matters.

Dolph Ziggler is annoyed at his loss but he’s still #1 contender. Tommaso Ciampa comes in to say he beat Ziggler so he should be getting that shot. Cue Bron Breakker, who says he’s ready for anyone at Stand & Deliver. Ciampa says he’s beaten Breakker so Breakker says he’ll beat them both. Ziggler is ready for his title shot next week as Breakker and Ciampa stare at each other.

Joe Gacy is ready to let Harland beat up Draco Anthony, but Anthony isn’t the cause of Harland’s anger.

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta are annoyed at their loss but Duke Hudson comes in to console Pirotta. Hartwell can’t get Dexter Lumis to text her back. Shouldn’t he be here? Like he was last week?

Next week: Bron Breakker defends against Tommaso Ciampa and Dolph Ziggler.

Harland vs. Draco Anthony

Anthony snaps his arm across the top rope to start but gets splashed in the corner for his efforts. Another splash to the back crushes Anthony again but he’s back up with a flying shoulder. Harland slams him face first into the mat to cut Anthony off, setting up the belly to back slam for the pin at 2:29. Harland continues to be rather limited.

Post match Harland hugs the unconscious Anthony.

Carmelo Hayes, with Trick Williams, is ready for Pete Dunne.

Ivy Nile is training and tells Tatum Paxley to be serious if she wants to be part of the Diamond Mine.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Cora Jade/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz

Leon works on Jade’s arm to start so it’s quickly off to Gonzalez. That’s fine with Leon, who brings in Feroz to work on Gonzalez’s arm as well. A sunset bomb does not work for Feroz though, as she gets tossed into the corner. Everything breaks down and Feroz LAUNCHES Leon over the top (the camera angle made that look incredible) onto Gonzalez, with Feroz adding her own dive. Back in and Feroz powerslams Jade for two but Jade gets over for the tag to Gonzalez. The Chingona Bomb plants Feroz and Gonzalez plants Jade on top of her for the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. That’s how the match should have gone as Jade and Gonzalez have spent weeks being set up. Yes they’re another wacky team, but at least they’re a team with a monster who can run over most of the people she faces. It can be fun to watch Gonzalez wreck people and that is what she did here, even though Feroz and Leon’s big dives looked great.

Sarray shows her sun necklace to a bunch of the women when Tiffany Stratton comes in to call it tacky. Stratton offers one her necklaces but Sarray turns it down, earning herself a beating.

Tony D’Angelo is ready for Stand & Deliver.

Von Wagner vs. Andre Chase

Robert Stone and Bodhi Hayward are here too. Wagner starts fast and knocks him into the corner, setting up the big toss back out of the corner. Chase avoids a shot though and comes back with a knockdown of his own. The CHASE U stomp has Wagner in trouble but Hayward and Stone get into it on the floor. Wagner breaks it up with a punch to Hayward’s eye but Hayward tells Chase to get back in there. That’s what Chase does, and a fireman’s carry neckbreaker (Robert Roode’s Roode Bomb) finishes Chase at 4:05.

Rating: C-. I cannot get into Wagner no matter what he does and this was another good example. He doesn’t do anything outside of the ordinary and a lot of his stuff is just standard power offense. It seems that NXT wants to turn him into something but he feels as midcard heelish as you can get.

Nikkita Lyons is ready to face Lash Legend, perhaps on Lashing Out. That was one of the most awkward sounding promos I have heard in a long time. I don’t know if she was scared or something, but if that is normal for her, she shouldn’t be talking.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Pete Dunne

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending. They run the ropes to start with neither getting anywhere, so instead it’s an exchange of hard shots to the face until they both go down. Something like the X Plex drops Hayes and we take an early break. Back with Hayes knocking Dunne does again and grabbing a neck crank.

A right hand to the face drops Dunne again but he punches a springboard out of the air. Hayes is fine enough to counter a suplex into a Backstabber for two but Dunne manages a quick Bitter End. The cover takes too long though and Hayes rolls away before Dunne can get on him.

Dunne goes for the fingers but Hayes reverses into the Crossface. Another Bitter end is countered into a suplex into a cutter to put Dunne down again. The top rope ax kick is broken up so Williams tries for a save, only to get his fingers snapped. Hayes shoves Dunne off the top though and finishes with the top rope ax kick to retain at 12:28.

Rating: B. As weird as it still feels to see Dunne taking a fall (even if it wasn’t an entirely clean ending), it’s nice to see Hayes continuing to add to his resume. Hayes has turned into one of the most consistent names in NXT and I’m starting to look forward to his matches. He has solid matches and he’s a good promo. That’s the kind of person NXT should be pushing and that is what they are doing here.

Post match Hayes and Williams brag about the win, with Hayes saying he’s on to Stand & Deliver, where the title will be defended in a ladder match. How long has it been since their last one? A month or so?

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but NXT has gotten downright watchable over the last little while. The characters are starting to get established and they aren’t introducing a bunch of new people every week. This show had a lot of matches and some of them were rather quality, with the main event being a good showcase for both of them. Stand & Deliver could be a heck of a show, but it would be nice to actually announce something for the thing.

Results
Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Fairy Tale Ending to Ziggler
Wendy Choo/Dakota Kai b. Indi Hartwell/Persia Pirotta – Top rope double stomp to Hartwell
Lash Legend b. Amari Miller – Fireman’s carry slam
Gunther b. Solo Sikoa – Powerbomb
Harland b. Draco Anthony – Belly to back slam
Cora Jade/Raquel Gonzalez b. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz – Splash to Feroz
Von Wagner b. Andre chase – Fireman’s carry neckbreaker
Carmelo Hayes b. Pete Dunne – Top rope ax kick

 

 

 

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

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

AND

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