Man oh man it’s that time of year again. We’re less than two weeks away from Wrestlemania XXXV and you can see most of the card from here. It’s certainly going to be a long show (as is the case every year anymore), but there are some rather intriguing matches out there. While you can probably guess the results of most of them, some of the matches aren’t quite as predictable as others, even though that might have seemed to be the case at one point.

The match that has changed my mind several times now is Seth Rollins challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. At first this seemed like another successful title defense for Lesnar as we continue on the eternal search for the right person to take the title from him (read as we wait to build Roman Reigns back up again) but then things started to change and it got a little more fuzzy.

Over time, Rollins was getting back to the point where he was before his horrible knee injury: one of the most exciting and consistently successful performers in WWE. Couple that with Lesnar having trouble facing smaller wrestlers (certainly compared to his matches against power guys, which tended to be short, dominant performances) and you had all the makings of the final boss battle for Lesnar as Rollins could be the one that finally stops him once and for all, giving us a regular Universal Champion instead of a part time attraction.

Then we got to the big part: Reigns returned a little earlier than expected and has Rollins’ back going into Wrestlemania. That would be the same Reigns who took the title from Lesnar after chasing it for over a year. Having him back and healthy is the kind of thing that can turn everything on its head in the blink of an eye as it opens up several possibilities.

Think about all the places this could go. Does Reigns turn on Rolls? Does he help put Lesnar down to counteract Paul Heyman interference? Is it a repeat of Wrestlemania IX where Lesnar wins and then issues an open challenge, setting up a spear to give Reigns the title back for the big surprise celebration? There are actual options here, and that has changed a lot about the match, including the odds.

According to Graham Mirmina from SBD, odds of Seth Rollins winning the title of Universal Championship at this year’s WrestleMania is much better than Brock Lesnar. Sportsbooks have Rollins’ odds listed as -250 while Brock Lesnar’ are +170. However, Lesnar has been the keeper of the belt for a better part of the past two years so don’t be surprised if the odds shift in favor of Lesnar as April 7th gets closer.

It really has changed a lot in just a few weeks’ time and that’s what makes this time of year so exciting. What should have been a layup result just a few months ago is now one of the more intriguing matches on the show. These two could have a heck of a performance against each other, even if you knew what the end result was going to be. Now that there is a monkey wrench thrown in there, it isn’t as simple as it once seemed.

Wrestlemania offers so many possibilities and it’s often a lot more fun when you don’t know what you’re going to get. Fans often come up with what they think is going to happen in the first place but now, there are some different questions to be answered as we head into the show. That makes things a lot more fun and I’ll take that over “can we just get to the F5 already so we can move on”? It’s what makes Wrestlemania so great and hopefully that’s the case again this year.

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 25, 2019
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re down to less than two weeks before Wrestlemania and the big story today (and one of the biggest in recent years) is that the Raw Women’s Title match will be headlining the show. It’s hard to fathom that something like this could actually happen, but that’s the case now and I really can’t believe I’m seeing it. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a discussion of the main event being announced, which is quite the sight to behold.

Here’s Ronda Rousey for a Beat the Clock Challenge but first, a chat. To a chorus of boos and WE WANT BECKY chants, Rousey says that women are main eventing Wrestlemania. That’s all she has to say so she drops the mic…and then picks it up, saying that she’s going to make both Charlotte and Becky tap at the same time. The mic gets dropped again and again she picks it up, saying she doesn’t know what a Beat The Clock Challenge is but it sounds like another BS gimmick so let’s get this over with.

The Riott Squad comes out as the opponents for Ronda, Becky and Charlotte but here’s Becky for a rebuttal first. Becky talks about how Ronda was handed everything when she came in but no one cared until the Man came around. At Wrestlemania, the night will end with Ronda’s title over Becky’s head and Ronda’s head under Becky’s boot. Now it’s Charlotte interrupting, saying that it’s not the last six months for Becky or the last year for Ronda, but everything since Charlotte debuted.

Beat the Clock Challenge: Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Logan

This is the first of three matches with the competition being won by whomever has the fastest time. Logan bails to the floor to start and the chase is on until Sarah dives back inside. A modified Texas Cloverleaf has Rousey in trouble until she makes the rope. That means a Superman elbow to the face and the armbar to make Logan tap at 1:25.

Beat the Clock Challenge: Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott

Charlotte misses a running big boot to start and nearly gets thrown outside. Natural Selection misses as well and Ruby hits a quick Downward Spiral. The Riott Kick is countered into the Figure Eight but time expires at 1:25.

Beat the Clock Challenge: Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan

Charlotte boots Becky in the face before the clock starts and the screaming Morgan stomps in the corner. We hit the early chinlock as Rousey is looking confident on the stage. Becky rolls away and fires off the uppercuts. A kick to the ribs looks to set up the Disarm-Her but Becky gets rolled into the corner. Morgan goes for the leg but gets rolled up to give Becky the fast pin at 1:18 to win the challenge. This was a good idea as the wrestling didn’t mean anything, but Becky winning a match that plays into Ronda’s claim to fame is a smart way to go about things.

Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley/Lio Rush

If Balor wins, he gets a title shot at Wrestlemania. Rush is in street clothes though and says that he’s not medically cleared to compete thanks to Braun Strowman. Therefore, we have a replacement.

Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley/Jinder Mahal

If Balor wins, he gets an Intercontinental Title shot at Wrestlemania. The Singh Brothers offer an early distraction and Balor gets clotheslined to the floor as we take a fast break. Back with Balor making a comeback until the Singh Brothers trip him from the floor. That just means a big flip dive onto all four, followed by the Coup de Grace to pin Mahal at 4:47. Not enough shown to rate but it did exactly what it should have and needed to.

Elias is in Time Square for a performance when a guitar player comes up and sings. That’s enough for Elias, who is going to focus on headlining Wrestlemania.

Revival vs. Ricochet/Aleister Black

Non-title. It’s a brawl before the bell to start with Ricochet kicking Dawson to the floor and Wilder joining him in a hurry. The NXT chants begin (which would apply more to the Revival than Black/Ricochet) and we get the opening bell with Dawson sending Black into the corner. Black kicks his way out of a hammerlock and brings Ricochet in to pick up the pace. The Revival is sent to the floor and it’s the moonsault from Black, followed by one from Ricochet which barely makes contact.

Back from a break with Ricochet taking a double suplex but getting in a kick to the face for the tag off to Black. That means more kicks and a double standing Lionsault but Dawson takes him into the corner to regain control. It doesn’t last long though as Black Mass knocks Wilder silly, setting up the 630 for the pin at 8:38.

Rating: C. Not a bad match and it can set up something for Wrestlemania, but egads man come up with something other than having the champs lose. If WWE is so scared of having people leave, maybe not having them lose like this could entice Revival to stick around. Also, as weakened as the titles are at this point, do they belong on Wrestlemania? Against two people who haven’t been on the main roster for three months yet?

Here’s Drew McIntyre with a clip from two weeks ago when he attacked Roman Reigns. Then last week he challenged Roman to a match at Wrestlemania. Back in the arena, Drew says he hopes someone got through to Reigns because he’s already beaten Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Now he’s going to appeal to Joe the man, the husband and the father. Reigns has already been through enough because they’ve already watched their dad fight for his life. Do they want to see him go through it again at Wrestlemania when he’s going to lose this time?

This brings out Reigns to say that he accepts, but this is coming from Joe: don’t ever run your mouth about his wife and kids. The fight is on with Reigns getting the better of it until a low blow and Claymore take Roman out. Just in case you didn’t get the idea, we see a replay of the high points a few seconds after.

Post break McIntyre runs into Ambrose (Wasn’t he supposed to….leave?), who didn’t like being called a cockroach. Dean wants a Last Man Standing match tonight and it’s on.

Sasha Banks vs. Natalya

Bayley and Beth Phoenix are at ringside. Natalya doesn’t waste time in going after Sasha and it’s an early surfboard hold. That’s broken up with a rollup, though Natalya is right back with one of her own. They head outside with Natalya being sent into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Banks kicking at the ribs and slapping on the Bank Statement. That’s broken up and Natalya gets the Sharpshooter for a long crawl to the ropes. Cue Nia Jax and Tamina for the no contest at 8:48.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t bad while it lasted but then HEY! IT’S TIME FOR NIA AND TAMINA! Why these two have to be involved is beyond me but that’s never stopped WWE before and it’s not going to here. As annoying as they are, they’re going to be around and I’m sure they’ll be around after they lose, because that’s the only way WWE knows how to book them.

Post match the brawl is on with Beth hitting a Glam Slam on Tamina to send the monsters running. Beth and Natalya stare down at Bayley and Banks.

Hart Foundation Hall of Fame video. Back in the arena, Natalya is in tears and points to the sky.

Kurt Angle is happy to have his last match in Boston tonight when Baron Corbin comes in to mock him for sticking around so long. Angle: “Screw you.”

Bayley and Banks aren’t happy with the interference so they’ll take on everyone at Wrestlemania.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss, this time in the ring. She’s very happy about everything that has happened since she was announced as the host of Wrestlemania, but not everything has gone that well. We look at Braun Strowman’s issues with the SNL guys before Strowman is here as the guest. Bliss recaps everything that Strowman has done to various cars and asks what would happen if Strowman were to give them his hands.

That would be severe pain, which Bliss says is the first step in the healing process. Bliss brings in her seconds guests (via satellite): the SNL guys, who are soundly booed. Colin Jost apologizes for putting on a Mets hat last time and puts on a Yankees hat instead. Michael Che accuses Strowman of crossing the line and Jost makes jokes about the college admission scandal. Maybe he could teach Strowman something, like how to be an adult.

They want to make this right and all it takes is repayment for the car and an autograph from Brock Lesnar. Strowman has a better idea: Jost enters the Andre the Giant battle royal. Or maybe he can just stay backstage and let Strowman take care of this himself. Jost is eventually convinced but decides that Che is in too. Bliss makes it official and the two of them panic. I’ll definitely take this over some unfunny segment that gets extra time.

Elias is in front of Madison Square Garden, which isn’t quite the Garden in Boston, but he’ll sell it out faster than Billy Joel will. He’s having a cup of tea and someone puts a quarter in it. That seems to give Elias an idea.

Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews

Corbin gets a special intro, listing off his accomplishments and announcing him as Boston’s favorite son. Crews starts fast and dropkicks Corbin to the floor for the apron moonsault. Back in and Corbin slams him down to take over as Renee and Graves argue over whether or not they should make fun of Corbin for getting the match against Angle. Crews is right back with an enziguri and the frog splash for two. End of Days wraps up Crews at 2:46.

We recap the Beat the Clock Challenge.

Next week: Rousey/Lynch/Charlotte vs. Riott Squad.

Here’s Seth Rollins for a chat. He and Brock Lesnar are not cut from the same mold and they’re taking different paths forward. Rollins wants the burden that comes with being champion so he can inspire people. When he was a kid, he was inspired by Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, HHH and John Cena. Brock Lesnar doesn’t inspire people that way and that’s not what Rollins wants. Yesterday he had an autograph signing and everyone told him to beat Lesnar at Wrestlemania.

This brings out Paul Heyman and my eyes roll as this feels so old hat. Heyman thanks Rollins for making the Wrestlemania title match a handicap match with Rollins and the people teaming up against Lesnar. Heyman likes the odds because Rollins is just begging for the support. What’s next? Asking for thoughts and prayers because he’s undersized and overconfident? Heyman hopes Rollins loses so that everyone can take it personal. That’s it for Paul, but Rollins charges up the ramp and scares him down. Rollins promises to burn Suplex City down. This was every not great Heyman promo you’ve heard for nearly two years.

Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe

Non-title. I love it when the Brand Split is thrown completely out the window during Wrestlemania season. Joe says he forgot his bow of flowers but he was never that sentimental in the first place. His gift instead: a good night’s sleep when Joe chokes him out. Joe blocks an early German suplex attempt and sends Angle outside for a suicide dive.

Back from an early break with Angle in trouble but managing to roll the German suplexes. A running boot to the chest sets up the running backsplash but Angle…..ok there’s no snapping off to it but he gets the Angle Slam for two more. Joe on the other hand snaps off the powerslam, only to have Angle slip away and hit a missile dropkick. Angle Angle Slam is escaped and Joe gets the Koquina Clutch, with Angle dropping back into a cradle for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: D. Well of course. I mean OF COURSE you have the US Champion lose here to give Angle a feel good moment in a match to cap off a rivalry that ISN’T FROM THIS COMPANY. This is the kind of thing that WWE brings on itself and doesn’t get why it’s a bad idea. Joe just lost to Angle, who can barely move, and now I’m supposed to buy that he’s a threat to Rey Mysterio? Why? Just because he has the US Title?

This match didn’t need to happen or at the very, very least, didn’t need to be a clean fall. A countout was an impossibility here? I’m sure having the third champion lose tonight was the better call instead. And they wonder why no one cares about titles anymore and haven’t in a long time.

Here’s HHH for a chat. Before he gets to Batista, he praises the women getting to the main event of Wrestlemania because they’ve all earned it and it’s the ultimate goal. HHH talks about being glad that he didn’t get the microphone that Batista spit on, but he has something else to see. That would be a letter….which HHH can’t get out of his pocket. HHH: “I’m doing the job for the envelope in my pocket!”

It’s a letter from Batista’s lawyers, saying that he won’t be wrestling at Wrestlemania unless certain conditions are met. Batista talked about a lot of things, including figuring out that Evolution just existing to keep the World Title on HHH a little while longer. HHH: “Dave had a big week. He realized that and figured out that the moon isn’t made of cheese!” Batista also said that Evolution didn’t do anything for him.

When Batista joined Evolution, he was the Deacon and carried around a collection plate for D-Von Dudley. Evolution kept him from having a successful career. Six World Titles later, he left when he found out he couldn’t beat John Cena. Then he said HHH’s obsession made him quit again, just because he wouldn’t answer Batista’s phone calls. HHH called him back and Batista’s manager asked if HHH would move Wrestlemania to better accommodate his shooting schedule.

The letter finally got to the point: Batista wanted HHH to give him what he wanted. What he really wanted. What he really, really wanted. This goes on for two pages (to the tune of Wannabe by the Spice Girls if that isn’t clear) until it’s finally announced that HHH’s career had to be on the line. Batista beat up a seventy year old man to get HHH on the grandest stage of them all and that’s what HHH gave him. Now Batista is trying to quit again by making HHH put his career on the line but HHH isn’t letting him out of things that easily.

See, if HHH can’t beat a “self diluted douchebag” like Batista, he doesn’t belong in the ring. His career is on the line. This was hilarious with me laughing out loud multiple times. The problem is that’s the completely wrong direction to go for the feud, as HHH’s mentor and idol was beaten down. He shouldn’t be trying to be funny here (though he was really good at it).

Elias has collected thousands of dollars for performing….but he spends too much time bragging and a guy comes up to steal it. Then he steals the guitar case. Elias isn’t worried because he’ll make more money when he performs at Wrestlemania.

Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre

Last Man Standing. Drew chops him down to start and sends things to the floor, including a swing into the barricade. Back from a break with Dean hitting a top rope ax handle but getting beaten up with a kendo stick to the ribs. Dean is right back up though and knocks Drew to the floor for a suicide dive.

The Glasgow Kiss drops Dean again and a steps shot to the head makes it even worse. A chair is brought inside and wedged into the corner, of course with Drew going face first into it after having set it up. Dirty Deeds gives Dean an eight count and it’s time to hammer away some more. Dean grabs a table but gets thrown through it in the corner. That’s good for a nine count and the Claymore is good for the ten at 9:55.

Rating: C. This didn’t have much time to go anywhere and was one of the most obvious endings you could have. That being said, it’s also the most logical way to go as Dean doesn’t seem to be sticking around (though he keeps popping up). McIntyre beating up Reigns’ Shield buddies is a good way to go and it gives him some actual momentum heading into Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to think of this one as the wrestling was nothing great, but the pace of the show was excellent with nothing dragging and none of the stories getting too much time. The promos were good (albeit repetitive in some cases) and advanced or addressed the stories….but then there’s the problem on the show. Of the five matches involving champions, the champions went 1-3-1, with Rousey getting the lone win. I have no idea why that needed to be the case less than two weeks before Wrestlemania, but Raw has never been the most logical show in the world.

Results

Ronda Rousey b. Sarah Logan – Armbar

Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott went to a time limit draw

Becky Lynch b. Liv Morgan – Rollup

Finn Balor b. Bobby Lashley/Jinder Mahal – Coup de Grace to Mahal

Ricochet/Aleister Black b. Revival – 630 to Wilder

Natalya vs. Sasha Banks went to a no contest when Tamina and Nia Jax interfered

Baron Corbin b. Apollo Crews – End of Days

Kurt Angle b. Samoa Joe – Rollup

Drew McIntyre b. Dean Ambrose – Ambrose couldn’t answer the ten count

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

And believe it or not, it’s a mixed bag.

These things really pile up, though that might be because WWE likes to crank them out at a crazy rate. That being said, they’re mostly good so let’s take a look at a few of them, plus something from a long time ago.

Untold: The Second Coming Of ECW

This is a series called Untold which only has a few episodes so far. It’s basically a mini documentary over a given subject with this one being WWECW. In short, the ECW Originals completely bury the thing while some of the people who came up on the show like it a bit better. Paul Heyman sums it up perfectly: if this show was ANYTHING other than ECW, it would have been fine.

Even Big Show has to admit that his match against Batista that drew the CHANGE THE CHANNEL chants was a disaster and that’s putting it mildly. The fans wanted ECW and got WWE3, which was never going to work. Not much new here, but it’s rare to see WWE admit that they completely botched something this badly.

Arrival: Matt Riddle

I believe this one aired in parts on one of WWE’s YouTube channel but this is the full (and still short) edition. Riddle is a former UFC fighter and seems to be one of the most can’t miss prospects in years, which has seemed to be the case every time he’s been on NXT TV. This is basically an introduction to him as we see his transition from the indies to WWE.

Riddle comes off as the most laid back, likable guy who happens to be incredibly talented. He’s also an athletic freak who can work with almost anyone, meaning it’s a matter of time before he shatters through the glass ceiling. If WWE doesn’t go that way I don’t know what to tell them, because Riddle is awesome both in and out of the ring. If you’re not familiar with him, check this out and see what WWE has waiting in the wings.

The Mark Henry Story

Now this one was surprising as Henry’s strongman stuff got a lot of focus and you got to see just how great he was. The main thing that stood out here though was how charismatic and entertaining Henry can be. He was making me laugh throughout, which just made me wonder where that Henry was throughout his 20+ year career (yes 20+). If you had someone with those physical gifts and that kind of entertainment value, he could have been a much bigger star than before.

It was cool to hear Henry get this kind of praise as he’s not really the kind of guy who gets that much attention. I was never the biggest fan of him but this one gave me a lot more respect for the guy. It’s a rare thing for me to want to hear and see more of someone but I was wanting to hear more from Henry after this. He could have been a lot more than he was, though when you’re literally the strongest man in the world, why deviate from that style?

Chronicle: Roman Reigns

This is the main event for the documentaries as no one with a soul didn’t feel at least somewhat bad for Reigns. This covers the time from the night he announced his diagnosis to his return, without much actually being covered in the middle. We see a lot of the day of his return announcement with a long time spent at Georgia Tech’s football stadium where Reigns played college football. It’s good stuff though and the thing flies by.

That being said, the biggest thing I took from this was how human Reigns felt. You don’t get that from Reigns when he’s on TV for the most part but he came off as very likable and charming here, which is how they should present him more often. In other words, act like he’s a human instead of this monster who gets pushed whether you like him or not. Give us this side of him and people might actually like the guy a lot more. It’s not like much else has worked.

Ted DiBiase: The Million Dollar Man

DiBiase has written two autobiographies, one on his own and the other with WWE. This is the latter and….it’s really not very good. Dibiase has an interesting enough story and is absolutely a legend, but the writing is rather bland and the conversations/dialogue are written as generically as possible (fair enough, but not exactly entertaining reading).

It’s one of those wrestling books where you get the basic story, a few details, and not much else. What amazed me was the amount of factual errors (Randy Savage was a heel at Wrestlemania IV? Bret Hart and Lex Luger were both named King of the Ring for being eliminated from the Royal Rumble at the same time?), which you don’t often see from a WWE product. If you’re a HUGE DiBiase fan then maybe skim through it for some pretty good stories, but don’t waste your time (which won’t be much as it’s a short book).

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 11, 2019
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re finally (and I do mean FINALLY) clear to head towards Wrestlemania after getting Fastlane out of the way. Fastlane was a fun show but nothing exactly thrilling or necessary to see. Tonight should see the real start of the build towards the show, which can’t come fast enough. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s the Shield for their big farewell speech. Roman Reigns talks about how he’s learned you’re not promised tomorrow so if they rode together for the last time, he has no regrets. As for now though, he hasn’t had a one on one match on Raw in five months so we should correct that. Ambrose has business of his own too, and even if no one knows what it is, we love him anyway. That leaves us with Rollins, who has been chasing the dream for a long time now. The fans give us a SLAY THE BEAST chant, which Reigns turns into BURN IT DOWN.

Ambrose and Reigns leave but here’s Paul Heyman to interrupt Rollins. Heyman talks about being the advocate for the man who will destroy Rollins at Wrestlemania so Rollins tries his hand at the introduction. Rollins talks about how Lesnar has destroyed the big power guys but had trouble against people like AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Finn Balor.

Heyman says Rollins is listing off names but not telling the whole story. Lesnar didn’t have time to prepare for any of those smaller guys. AJ replaced Jinder Mahal, Bryan replaced AJ and Balor replaced Braun Strowman. The most amount of time Lesnar had to prepare was twelve days. We get a video on Lesnar, followed by Heyman saying that Lesnar has had months to prepare for Rollins. There is no preparing for Lesnar….and here’s Shelton Benjamin from behind to German suplex Rollins a few times.

Seth Rollins vs. Shelton Benjamin

Joined in progress with Heyman on commentary and Rollins grabbing a headlock. That goes badly for him as Shelton takes it to the mat before running Rollins over with a shoulder. Seth fights up with some right hands and chops, followed by a dropkick to send Shelton outside. A whip into the barricade is enough to bring Shelton back inside and he gets kicked in the face for a bonus.

The Blockbuster looks to set up the Stomp but Rollins has to escape a German suplex. Benjamin is sent outside again but blocks a suicide dive with a kick to the head as we take a break. Back with Rollins fighting out of a chinlock because that’s what you do when you come back from a break. Heyman admits that he paid Shelton to jump Rollins but not to have a match.

Hang on though as Heyman has to take a phone call and covers his microphone rather than taking the headset off. Rollins reverses a powerbomb with a hurricanrana as Heyman says Lesnar isn’t happy with what Cole has said and will be here next week. Cole: “Oh great.” Rollins hits the Sling Blade but walks into a release German suplex for his efforts. Shelton’s F5 attempt is countered into a pair of superkicks to the ribs and the Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 10:18.

Rating: C. I get what they’re going for with the story and it works well enough, though having Lesnar actually showing up next week being treated as such a big deal is a great summary of everything going wrong with the story. At least Rollins is able to wrestle at the moment, meaning his back must be doing better. It’s nice to see Shelton, but the time has long passed for him.

Intercontinental Title: Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley

Balor is defending after taking the title from Lashley at Elimination Chamber last month and there’s no Lio Rush in Lashley’s corner. Lashley throws him hard into the corner to start and grabs Balor’s face against the ropes. That just earns himself a dropkick but the corner enziguri is blocked with an elbow to the head. Balor escapes a suplex though and dropkicks him to the floor, setting up the running kick to the face from the apron as we take a break.

Back with, of course, a chinlock on Balor, followed by a hard Downward Spiral for two. Now why not come back on that kind of an impactful move? Lashley starts in on the back before going to a chinlock. Balor gets up with a dropkick to the head and a rollup to escape the Dominator. There’s a Sling Blade to set up the Coup de Grace but cue Rush to ring the bell for a distraction. The delay lets Lashley get up and spear Balor out of the air for the pin and the title at 10:55.

Rating: C. Well ok then. I’m certainly a bit surprised at the title change taking place so fast but I’m sure we’ll get the big final title change at Wrestlemania, because trading it back and forth doesn’t matter until we get to WRESTLEMANIA. Lashley losing the title back in New Jersey will be fine, though just let him be champion for months and let Balor win it for the first time there. Now the important question is how many other people can get in on that title match. You know we can’t just have two.

Baron Corbin looks at a clip of himself saying he hoped Reigns didn’t come back to Raw. Yeah he said it, but he’s not going to worry about hurting people’s feelings. Tonight, he’s house training the Big Dog.

We look at Becky Lynch getting destroyed by Charlotte until Ronda Rousey got Lynch disqualified to send her to Wrestlemania, six days after attacking Lynch to make sure she couldn’t go to Wrestlemania.

Here’s a ticked off Ronda to yell at the fans for telling her that she deserved to get beaten up with a crutch. These same people who chant at her cower behind a barricade. At Wrestlemania, she’s coming to desecrate the fans’ place of worship. She rants about how she wanted Becky at Wrestlemania so it can be one vs. all. WWE can even make it a handicap match if they want to because it’s on.

Rousey drops the mic and here’s Dana Brooke (please, make it quick) to talk about how she’s not going to let Ronda embarrass the locker room and disrespect the Women’s Revolution. Ronda always issues an open challenge after a pay per view so Dana Brooke is accepting. Rousey knocks her outside with a kick to the ribs and hits a throw on the floor. Back in and Piper’s Pit sets up the armbar….which she says she’ll do for $60 from the fans. Instead she hits a referee to complete a destruction faster than her promo.

We look back at Batista attacking Ric Flair before his birthday party and HHH’s response last week.

Aleister Black/Ricochet vs. Bobby Roode/Chad Gable

How have we not actually seen this match yet? Roode cranks on Black’s arm to start and takes him into the corner for a tag to Gable. We hit the reverse chinlock from Gable before it’s back to Roode for a waistlock. Black gets away for the tag and it’s off to Ricochet as the pace picks up. Gable blind tags himself in and it’s a German suplex/Blockbuster combination for two on Ricochet. The Glorious DDT is countered into a rollup for two more and it’s back to Black for a kick to Roode’s head. That’s not enough so it’s Black Mass to finish Roode at 4:28.

Rating: C. This was rather action packed while it lasted and you can never see Black Mass enough. They’re doing a good job of having Ricochet and Black stay strong and it wouldn’t shock me to see them win the titles at Wrestlemania. I mean, they’ll be one of probably four teams challenging but at least it’s something to look forward to.

Post match the Revival jumps Ricochet and Black from behind.

Some wrestlers, including Roman Reigns, visited some children with cancer today. Nothing wrong with that. The visit, not the cancer.

Here’s Alexa Bliss for a Moment of Bliss. She has a big scoop this week with the reveal of the official Host of Wrestlemania. This year’s host is bigger than any reality show star, more electrifying than the Rock and more positive than the New Day. The host is….Alexa herself! Fans: “You deserve it!” Bliss: “I know.”

We recap the SNL guys being announced as special correspondents for Wrestlemania.

Braun Strowman liked attacking one of the correspondents last week. Someone comes up to tell Strowman that his car is here but Strowman seems confused. Back from a break and the car is a rather nice sports car with a big bow on it. There’s a note saying that it’s from the SNL correspondents as an apology for last week. Strowman seems pleased….and then destroys it because he can’t fit in it and the window isn’t clean. He tells the attendant to give them this car door and that they’ll get these hands.

This is all Braun Strowman, one of the most over guys in the company for the last year, can get for Wrestlemania? The same Wrestlemania where he teamed with a ten year old last year? Yet Nia Jax, Baron Corbin, Tamina, Natalya and Shane McMahon are likely to have matches on the show? I think that sums up everything about WWE in one segment at the moment.

Here’s Elias to talk about how amazing it is that he’s such a success. He was born in Pittsburgh and evidence suggests that if you’re born here, you’re going to be a horrible waste of life. Elias talks about recently traded Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown but here’s No Way Jose, now with green braided hair, to interrupt. That just earns Jose a beating and Drift Away on the ramp.

Harlem Heat Hall of Fame announcement. Yes yes yes.

Lacey Evans cameo.

Natalya vs. Nia Jax

Beth Phoenix and Tamina are at ringside. It’s a fight to start and Tamina grabs Natalya’s leg, drawing Beth in for the DQ at 34 seconds.

Beth clears the ring post match. We cut to the back where Bayley and Sasha Banks are fighting with Nia and Tamina. So Beth and Natalya are your “legendary” team for the four way match, because last night’s match really does mean nothing whatsoever.

Here’s an angry HHH in street clothes to address Batista. This brings out said Batista, with security guarding him. HHH asks if Batista is getting in the ring or standing there as a nose ring model. Batista laughs and says he learned from HHH and Flair over the years so yeah, they’re here for him. He’s getting what he wants one way or another. HHH talks about Batista quitting over the years and promises to run through the guardians of the independent circuit to get to him.

Batista goes into a rant about how he quit to get away from HHH for holding him down so many times. He wants HHH at Wrestlemania and the match is on. That’s what Batista wanted: one more match to end his career on his terms and one more match to end HHH’s career on his terms. HHH says the match is going to be on his terms because it’s going to be No Holds Barred.

That’s the best idea given the circumstances and certainly fits the story that much better. Batista’s explanation for why he wants to face HHH…..well it’s an explanation. It’s not a particularly good one and it’s something we could piece together ourselves, but I’ll take it over us being left to figure it out or Batista saying his words spoke for themselves. The stipulation should help a lot and it gives me more hope for the match.

Here’s hometown boy Kurt Angle to address his in-ring future. He talks about his career both in amateur wrestling and in the WWE, but he’s wanted to make his announcement tonight. At Wrestlemania, he will be competing in his farewell match. Before he does that though, he wants one more match in Pittsburgh.

Kurt Angle vs. Apollo Crews

Angle armdrags him down to start as Graves talks about growing up watching Angle in Pittsburgh, even seeing him as a local sportscaster. Crews gets one off a dropkick and it’s off to the chinlock. That’s broken up but the Angle Slam doesn’t work. Instead Crews knocks him down and gets two off the standing moonsault. Crews misses the frog splash though and the Angle Slam gives Kurt the pin at 3:01.

Rating: D+. The wrestling wasn’t the point here as this was all about having a nice moment. That’s what they did here with commentary telling some nice Angle stories, plus talking about how Crews got into wrestling because of Angle. They were smart to keep this short too and the wrestling was watchable enough. It’s sad when this is a good night for Angle, but that’s the point we’ve long since reached.

Baron Corbin vs. Roman Reigns

Hang on as Drew McIntyre jumps Reigns from behind before Corbin comes out. Reigns gets beaten down and posted, followed by a Claymore and another posting. Rollins comes out to tell Reigns to get checked for a concussion, which he insists on doing in the back. They leave with Corbin never coming out.

Post break Rollins and Ambrose take Reigns into a trainer’s room. Ambrose goes up to HHH and says he wants McIntyre tonight, anything goes and falls count anywhere. The match is on.

Drew McIntyre vs. Dean Ambrose

Hardcore. Drew wants to start the fight on the stage and Dean is right there, knocking Drew off to the floor for an ax handle. They fight up into the crowd with Drew sending him face first into the railing and swinging Ambrose into a wall. A toss out of the press box is blocked and Dean is back with another ax handle shot.

We take a break and come back with Dean holding himself up on the handrails in the crowd and the referee crawling underneath him. They head back to ringside as we see clips of the fight at the concession stand and merchandise area during the break. Drew hits him in the face with the steps for two and it’s time to head back into the crowd. McIntyre spends too much time talking trash and gets kicked low but finds a chair to get in a breather. Dean gets dropped face first onto a hockey board but he’s right back up to put Drew on an anvil case.

The ensuing ride and crash let Dean drop an elbow for two and it’s time to head to the stage. Drew loads up the announcers’ table but gets dropped onto it for his efforts. Dean hammers away until a low blow cuts him off (and freaks Renee out). A hard ram sends Dean face first into the video screen prompts Cole to ask how low Drew will sink. DEAN BEAT UP HIS FRIEND THE NIGHT REIGNS ANNOUNCED HE HAD LEUKEMIA! I love short memories in wrestling. Dean kicks out so Drew ties him in a barricade for a Claymore and the pin at 14:22.

Rating: B-. This was a good brawl and the ending made McIntyre look like the killer that he needs to be when he fights Reigns next month at Wrestlemania. That’s a positive sign for McIntyre, who has lost a few steps in recent months due to WWE not knowing how to book most of the people they hire.

Post match Dean gets up again and it’s a second Claymore to knock him silly, freaking Renee out one more time. Drew poses to end the show as someone who looks like Edge is seen nearby.

Overall Rating: C+. Now this felt like a show on the Road to Wrestlemania, mainly because they were able to focus entirely on Wrestlemania instead of Fastlane, which is already being forgotten because it’s such a nothing show. The wrestling was acceptable, though far from the point tonight, which is fine. We got a match set up and you can see some more of them from here. There are seven shows left before Wrestlemania and while rushed, a good build towards the show is still a possibility.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Shelton Benjamin – Stomp

Bobby Lashley b. Finn Balor – Spear

Aleister Black/Ricochet b. Bobby Roode/Chad Gable – Black Mass to Roode

Nia Jax b. Natalya via DQ when Beth Phoenix interfered

Kurt Angle b. Apollo Crews – Angle Slam

Drew McIntyre b. Dean Ambrose – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

Main Event
Date: February 28, 2019
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Percy Watson, Renee Young

We’ve reached that time of the week to find out how much WWE can ignore various storylines that they present as some of the biggest stories on their television shows. I’m sure we’ll see a lot from Raw of course, as it’s building towards Wrestlemania and Smackdown’s build to Fastlane means absolutely nothing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Rezar vs. No Way Jose

Jose sidesteps him to start and we hit the early dancing. I’m not sure why you would expect anything else, which is also the case for Rezar throwing Jose down without much effort. We’re already in the chinlock, followed by right hands to the face and a standing side choke. That’s switched up into a laying side choke until Jose fights up with a slam. Some right hands have little effect as Rezar drives him hard into the corner again. A chokeslam finishes Jose at 5:28.

Rating: D. Total Main Event match here and that’s all you could have expected. The wrestling isn’t the point of a show like this as much as it is just having something before the main crowd. Jose is your run of the mill Main Event guy and I’m not sure what the point is in having Rezar around as a singles guy when he’s going to be a tag guy as soon as Akam is back on the active roster. Let someone else get out there instead.

We look back at Roman Reigns announcing that he had leukemia and had to vacate the title.

From Raw.

Here’s Reigns, in street clothes, to open things up to an absolute ROAR. His arms are looking a little smaller, but you have to expect something like that. Reigns takes a long time high fiving people and stops to hug three women in the front row, likely family. He hits the pose on the ropes and stares at the ring for a bit before getting back inside. Reigns thanks the fans, which he’ll likely be doing a lot. He missed us all because there is no job like this.

Reigns says this is our yard and believed that God had his back the whole time. He was scared back in October and didn’t know if he wanted to tell everyone about the condition. Fans: “IT’S OK!” When he got home from making the announcement, he couldn’t believe all of the messages he received and he was so touched that God’s voicemail was full about him. Reigns is going to use his platform to support people and raise awareness for the condition he went through.

So as for the announcement, he’s done better than swinging for the fences. They’ve hit a home run because he’s in remission. After one heck of an ovation for that, Reigns says that the Big Dog is back. The fans greet that with some barking and a WELCOME BACK chant and Reigns says thank you so much. No return date is given. Reigns leaves to another ovation and here’s Seth Rollins to hug him.

From Smackdown.

We open with the contract signing, as Daniel Bryan and Rowan are in the ring with Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon (twice in a week). Shane hypes up the match and shows us some of Kofi’s career highlights in a really good package (including his first match on ECW, which is the worst debut I’ve ever seen for a future star). With that out of the way, Stephanie talks about Kofi’s recent history in that weird way of hers, such as saying approximately two weeks ago (it was two weeks ago), Kofi lasted over an hour in the gauntlet match with a “globally trending” victory over Bryan.

This brings out New Day (Stephanie gets to dance of course because she’s fun that way) with Kofi saying that he’s been here for eleven years and he’s FINALLY getting a chance. He wouldn’t be here without Big E. and Xavier Woods and we stop for a YOU DESERVE IT chant. There’s only one thing left for him to do now, and he’ll do it at Fastlane when he beats Bryan to become WWE Champion. They both sign….and here’s Vince McMahon.

Vince thanks Kofi for everything but it’s his job to give the fans the biggest matches they can get. That’s why Kofi is being replaced at Fastlane with a returning superstar who will face Bryan instead. That man is…..Kevin Owens (who once destroyed Vince). Kevin comes out and signs as New Day protests, though Kofi is devastated.

That gives me way, way more hope about Kofi winning the title. There was next to no way he was walking into Wrestlemania as champion, but now Kofi walking out as champion is a very real possibility, maybe after a triple threat with Bryan and Owens? It would be a heck of a moment, and it could be incredible.

And from later in the night.

Kofi Kingston/Kevin Owens vs. Daniel Bryan/Rowan

Rowan shoves the upset Kofi down to start so it’s off to Owens to try his luck. Owens slugs away but gets caught with a dropkick of all things for two. It’s off to Bryan who gets elbowed in the face to send him outside. That means the big running flip dive from Owens and we take a break.

Back with Rowan cranking on Kofi’s neck before it’s back to Bryan for some nose ripping. Rowan comes back in to drive Kofi ribs first into the corner, setting up Bryan’s top rope superplex for two. The LeBell Lock goes on but a boot on the rope gives Kofi a breather. Kofi hits the double stomp out of the corner and brings Owens in to beat up both villains.

A superkick knocks Owens off the apron and the Pop Up (sitout this time) powerbomb gets two on Bryan. Owens leans over the ropes so Rowan can hit him in the face. Kofi dives onto Rowan and posts him though, allowing Owens to avoid a charge and Stun Bryan for the pin at 16:20.

Rating: C. The ending is the right call for the story they’re going with but another loss for the champ is rather annoying. WWE has become obsessed with having the champs lose lately and it’s going to become an even bigger problem as we move towards Wrestlemania. This continues to set up Kingston as a challenger for after Fastlane, and that has me rather interested.

From Raw.

Post break Rousey demands that Vince get out here right now but she gets Stephanie McMahon instead. Becky has just been arrested but Rousey doesn’t want anything other than the suspension being lifted. Stephanie says Rousey can face Charlotte at Wrestlemania because Becky is unprofessional and brought this on herself. Rousey appeals to Stephanie’s legacy and her three daughters but it’s still a hard no.

That’s not good enough for Rousey so Stephanie shouts about being Rousey’s boss. Rousey says she’s not like everyone else because she’s Ronda Rousey and the Raw Women’s Champion. This is just a belt (that’ll be a fine) and it’s not even her style. It’s time for Vince to make the right decision. Rousey lays the title down and walks away. They’re doing everything they can to spread this out until Wrestlemania and it’s feeling the strain.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Charlotte to talk about what happened on Raw. She compares herself to Kevin Owens earlier tonight because she’s here to save Wrestlemania. Charlotte isn’t scared of Wrestlemania and shows us a clip of Ronda from November where she says if you can’t do your job as champion you need to step aside. She’ll be on Raw to see what Ronda thinks about Wrestlemania.

Apollo Crews vs. EC3

How in the…..never mind. EC3 runs him over to start and poses as the announcers talk about the other NXT callups. The fans are split as Apollo fights out of a top wristlock and takes EC3 down with an armdrag. We take an abrupt break and come back with EC3 hitting a suplex and slapping on a nerve hold. The EC3 elbow gets two but they both try crossbodies at the same time for a double knockdown. Crews gets back up and kicks him in the face, setting up a high crossbody for two. An enziguri sets up the standing moonsault for the pin at 10:18.

Rating: C. This was better than I would have guessed, though I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that EC3 has already been banished down here. He has a look, he can talk, and his matches are pretty good. Now he’s already down on Main Event after TWO MATCHES, one of which was a two minute win over a former World Champion? Only in WWE.

From Raw to wrap it up.

With the roster on the stage, the ring is ready for the party and HHH and Stephanie handle the introductions. After HHH recaps the night, Stephanie introduces the special guests: Shawn Michaels, Ricky Stemboat, Kurt Angle and Sting. HHH introduces a video on Flair as we’re running low on time.

Back in the ring, Stephanie unveils a custom made title (which she also calls a belt) so we can get to the introduction…and there’s no Flair. We cut to the back where Batista of all people has commandeered a camera man and goes into Flair’s locker room. A fight is heard and Batista pulls Flair out of the room. Batista: “Hey Hunter. Do I have your attention now?” HHH runs to the back and finds agents and referees around Flair to end the show. Works for me. With the final Avengers movie coming out about two weeks after Wrestlemania, there’s certainly cross promotion to be had. Why not? The match should be good.

Overall Rating: C-. It was all about the big segments here and that’s fine as it’s all Main Event exists to do. They covered a lot of big stuff from both shows here and it really made a difference. Fastlane is being forgotten around here as well and what we got here was entertaining enough from a recap point. For once, this actually worked well for what it was supposed to do.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 4, 2019
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the go home show for Fastlane and since we only have four matches set for the show, you can expect to have a lot of matches announced for Sunday tonight. That’s not the best way to do things in the world but it’s the only way they can go given how little WWE seems to care about the show. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Roman Reigns to open things up to another solid pop. Reigns says last week was the comeback but this week it’s time to take the yard back. There was one person standing in his way and that’s Seth Rollins. This brings out Rollins, who says what an inspiration this is for him. Rollins wants to bring the Universal Title back to Raw but he knows what Reigns is going through. If anyone deserves the shot, it’s Reigns. That sounds nice to Reigns, but he tells Rollins good luck.

There’s one more thing though: he wants to get the band back together one last time. Rollins: “Anything but that.” The fans certainly seem to like the idea so Reigns talks about it not being clear what Ambrose is doing. All Reigns knows is that he wants one more moment with his brothers. Rollins isn’t sure about this because he put that part of his life behind him…but Reigns is right. For Reigns’ sake, he’s in. Reigns wants Ambrose out here right now so here he comes, but Elias blasts him in the back with the guitar. Reigns and Rollins chase him off and Ambrose staggers away.

They had me believing that they were going to go with Reigns vs. Lesnar again at Wrestlemania so it’s quite the relief that it was just a tease (for now). I know that Reigns is going to be back on top of the card at some point in the future but for now, it needs to be Rollins after what they’ve built up over the last few months.

Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin are in the back with Drew talking about breaking the Shield months ago. Lashley promises to win the Intercontinental Title back and Corbin talks about how Angle needs to learn that he just can’t hang with the athletes of today.

Finn Balor/Kurt Angle/Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley/Drew McIntyre/Baron Corbin

The feud that will not die. Corbin and Strowman slug it out to start with Strowman sending him outside twice in a row. That means the running shoulder to send him into the barricade so it’s off to McIntyre vs. Balor. The villains are sent to the floor for a flip dive from Balor, but a second one is broken up by Lio Rush as we take a break.

Back with Balor in trouble and getting thrown to the floor for his efforts. McIntyre muscles him up for a suplex but some right hands get Balor out of trouble and it’s off to Angle. That means the German suplexes and an ankle lock to McIntyre with Lashley making a save as we take another break.

Back again with Angle sending Corbin to the floor and bringing Strowman in for the forearm to the chest. A running powerslam sets up the Coup de Grace to Corbin for two with Rush making the save. Lashley takes Balor out so it’s Strowman tackles Rush through the barricade for a very nasty crash. Back in and the spear finishes Balor at 14:43.

Rating: C-. Totally standard match that we’ve seen from this combination multiple times. That’s not the worst thing in the world but I’m tired of watching these same six people over and over with nothing really coming from the whole thing. The wrestling was fine, though I could go for this going somewhere.

Post match the villains beat up Angle by sending him face first into the raised steps. A Claymore hits Balor and he gets slammed onto the steps.

Earlier today, Ascension talked to the B Team and Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder about how much they can’t stand Heavy Machinery because they’re taking opportunities. And they’re stupid.

Heavy Machinery says that hurt their feelings and revenge is promised. They still have no idea what to do with these two.

Ruby Riott vs. Natalya

They slug it out to start with Riott taking her down for a very early chinlock. That’s reversed into the Sharpshooter but Riott is getting too close to the ropes so it’s broken up. Riott tries a small package but Natalya reverses into one of her own for the pin at 2:04.

Post match here’s Lacey Evans (now the Sassy Southern Belle) for her regular cameo.

We look back at Batista attacking Ric Flair last week and calling out HHH.

Stephanie McMahon welcomes some members of the Saturday Night Live cast, who will be special correspondents at Wrestlemania. One loves Philadelphia and the other loves New York. Stephanie warns them that wrestlers can be aggressive though the New York one is fine because he wrestled in high school. They leave, with Stephanie offering security.

Via his Instagram, Batista says that he won’t be here tonight because he doesn’t like Philadelphia.

Here’s HHH to talk about Batista and Flair. HHH says he was here last week for Ric Flair, but also for Richard Fliehr, one of the best men he has ever known. They were at each other’s sides for their weddings (well, most of Flair’s weddings as HHH couldn’t make all of them) and HHH was next to him when Fliehr buried his son. Then a year ago he stood by Fliehr’s bed when he was clinging to life and was scared to answer his phone because he thought it was the call saying he was gone.

Last week HHH wanted him out here to be the Nature Boy one more time but Batista wouldn’t let that happen. Batista has been trying to get HHH’s attention for months and when HHH got hurt in November, it seemed to be the end of things. That wasn’t good enough for Batista, who finally didn’t quit for once. So Batista attacked a seventy year old man who was trying to have one more moment?

Now Batista wants to show up on a screen and go Bad Guy 101 with HHH by saying he doesn’t like Philadelphia? HHH doesn’t care where he wants to go and he’ll come to Batista’s house or go to a movie set if he has to. When Batista comes to see him, it’s going to be the man instead of a character and Dave has to look him in the eyes. Good promo here and HHH’s response made sense, though I’m still needing to know why Batista did this in the first place. What exactly does he have to prove?

We look back at Ronda Rousey throwing down the Women’s Title last week.

Stephanie calls what Rousey did last week blasphemy so tonight WWE is going to do what’s best for business and drop all charges against Becky Lynch. The suspension is officially lifted (Now why didn’t they just do this before???) but Becky needs to be here tonight to sign a hold harmless policy for her match on Sunday. That would be against Charlotte for the officially vacant Raw Women’s Title.

Reigns comes up to Ambrose in the back but Dean walks away.

Heavy Machinery vs. Ascension/B Team/Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

This is a gauntlet match with Heavy Machinery trying to get revenge on all three teams in one night. The B Team starts with Otis fighting off Axel without much effort. It’s off to Tucker who sends Dallas into Axel, who DDTs his partner by mistake. Otis comes in for the Compactor to get rid of the B Team at 1:37.

The Ascension is next and Konnor takes the running stomachs to the head for one. Konnor is right back up to take over on Tucker but he misses a charge into the post. It’s back to Otis to clean house and a Vader Bomb gets rid of Ascension at 4:33. Ryder is in with a slingshot splash on Otis and a Russian legsweep/STO combination for the same. A pop up World’s Strongest Slam gets Otis out of trouble and the Caterpillar finishes Hawkins at 5:55.

Rating: D. Well at least they finally won something, though I still have no idea what they’re supposed to be. Last week’s weirdness from Otis was one thing but this was a much more standard tag act. I’m not sure what this accomplished other than showing how terrible the lower half of the tag division is, though Heavy Machinery being a middle of the pack team is their best place.

The SNL guys don’t know much about wrestling as the New York one wants to know where Koko B. Ware is. They run into EC3 spraying water on himself before running into Titus O’Neil, who gets a quick picture. No Way Jose and the conga line pop in for some dancing.

Torrie Wilson Hall of Fame video. They even managed to show some of her matches, which features a ridiculous amount of neckbreakers, the one move she could actually do.

Charlotte knows Becky will sign the paper because of her pride. That way on Sunday, Charlotte can be Raw Women’s Champion again in a great moment.

Rollins tries talking to Ambrose about getting the Shield back together but it’s a no. He appreciates the help last week but now he has to do it on his own.

Here’s Elias to sing about how he knows he’s in Philadelphia because of how bad their sports teams are.

Elias vs. Dean Ambrose

Ambrose is holding his back on the way to the ring and the fight is on in a hurry. They head outside with Ambrose sending him back first into the barricade. A clothesline puts Elias right back on the floor and we take a break. Back with Elias hitting Old School but getting sent outside again for a suicide dive. They head back inside with Dean shrugging off a shot to the bad back and hitting a swinging neckbreaker. After stopping to hold his back, Dean’s top rope elbow to the head is blocked with a jumping knee to the face, setting up Drift Away for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: D+. How long has it been since Elias won a major match? And clean on top of that? Ambrose seems to be leaving, though WWE acknowledging it more than once makes things seem a little fishy indeed. Maybe he is leaving though and if that’s the case, at least he’s putting some people over on the way out.

Post break Dean is still in the ring when Reigns and Rollins come out to pitch the reunion one more time. Dean goes through the crowd instead but here are Lashley, Corbin and McIntyre to interrupt and make fun of the Shield being split again. The fight is on until Ambrose runs back to the ring for the save. Rollins and Reigns do the pose and Dean throws his fist in for the big reunion.

We look back at Stephanie’s big announcement.

Shield vs. Corbin/McIntyre/Lashley is set for Fastlane.

Sasha Banks vs. Tamina

Bayley and Nia Jax are at ringside. Tamina sends her into the corner to start and crushes her with a splash. Sasha is right back with the running knees in the corner for two and a running knee to the head gets two more. A Russian legsweep sets up the Bank Statement but Nia Jax pulls Tamina out. Nia throws Bayley down but gets the Meteora from the apron. It’s enough of a distraction for Tamina to hit the superkick for the pin on Sasha at 3:15.

Rating: D+. Just a quick build towards the Tag Team Title match on Sunday and there’s nothing wrong with that. I can’t imagine the titles change hands this soon and there is a lot more potential for Bayley and Sasha to have a big match at Wrestlemania rather than the Samoans. It’s fine for a first title defense and with that out of the way, we can move on to something bigger and better.

The SNL correspondents go their separate ways with one of them saying he’s not afraid of anyone. Braun Strowman pops up and intimidation occurs. Upon being asked if this is real, Strowman lifts him up by the throat.

Post break Strowman is still choking him when the other SNL guy comes in for the save. Strowman says he’ll see them at Wrestlemania.

Tag Team Titles; Revival vs. Ricochet/Aleister Black

Ricochet and Black are challenging and before their entrances, they talk about how their actions will prove that they belong. Black goes with the strikes on the champs to start but gets swung into a belly to back suplex. The springboard moonsault gets Black out of trouble as Chad Gable and Bobby Roode head out to watch.

Back with Dawson getting kicked in the face and a double legsweep taking the Revival down so it can be off to Ricochet. A backslide and sunset flip give Ricochet two each and it’s the springboard European uppercut to send Wilder outside. Roode and Gable are done with this and jump Wilder for the DQ at 3:54.

Rating: D+. Another instance of a match being used to advance an angle, which might see a triple threat match on Sunday. Black and Ricochet being thrown together as a team is acceptable enough, though they both seem to have more potential as singles stars. At least the Revival didn’t lose for a change. That’s something right?

Post match the fight is on with Roode and gable being sent outside, leaving Ricochet and Black to backflip into their poses.

Video on Alexa Bliss working with Girl Up for Women’s History Month.

Here’s Stephanie McMahon with the Women’s Title and the agreement for Becky to sign. After we see Rousey laying the title down last week, Stephanie brings out Charlotte and Becky. Stephanie explains the hold harmless agreement but Charlotte mocks her before any signing takes place (and I need to make sure who signs and who doesn’t, because if there’s one thing WWE adheres to, it’s signed contracts). Becky offers to fight her right now on one good leg and there’s the signing.

We cut to the back where Rousey is storming into the arena and come back with her walking to the stage (must be a huge arena). Rousey storms in and demands the title back. Stephanie hands it over and changes Sunday’s match. Now, if Becky wins the on Sunday, she’s in the Wrestlemania title match. Ronda isn’t done yet though and yells at Stephanie about making money for the company. She goes into a rant against the fans about how terrible everything is and how she’s sacrificed so much for this company and then they boo her out of the Staples Center.

Screw the Woo and the beating is on with Charlotte getting kicked to the floor. Rousey puts Becky in the armbreaker and cranks back before hammering away in the corner. The armbreaker goes on again and Charlotte leaves as Ronda poses over Becky. Ronda puts the hold on for the third time as they seem to have wrapped things up very early.

After a replay, we go to Stephanie (because of course) in the back where she says she didn’t do Ronda a favor. Becky made a mistake by signing the document and now she’s upset at Ronda for what she did. She can’t wait to see what’s going to happen at Wrestlemania and there are decisions to be made.

We cut back to the arena where a producer tells Ronda to hold up the title. She does just that to end the show. They did a good job with turning Rousey heel which should eliminate anyone who could steal some of Becky’s cheering, but having Stephanie as the other face in the story just makes my head hurt.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m not sure what to think of this show. The wrestling wasn’t anything to see but they were trying as hard as they could to set up some things for Fastlane while also building towards Wrestlemania at the same time. The stories are getting better (or at least more intense) and I want to see where things go from here. Fastlane feels like more of a complete show, but I still don’t buy for a second that WWE sees it as anything more than content for content’s sake.

Results

Baron Corbin/Bobby Lashley/Drew McIntyre b. Kurt Angle/Finn Balor/Braun Strowman – Spear to Balor

Natalya b. Ruby Riott – Small package

Heavy Machinery won a gauntlet match last eliminating Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

Elias b. Dean Ambrose – Drift Away

Tamina b. Sasha Banks – Superkick

Revival b. Ricochet/Aleister Black via DQ when Bobby Roode and Chad Gable interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

We’re back this week with a discussion of Roman Reigns, Batista, Dean Ambrose and…..Dana Warrior?

 

https://mightynorcal.podbean.com/e/wwp-57-roman-reigns-comeback-the-curious-case-of-dana-warrior-why-the-heck-is-batista-so-mad/

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 25, 2019
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s another big show this week with a double shot of huge. First up, we have the return of Roman Reigns, who will be making some sort of a major announcement. It’s the first time he’s been on television in months, having vacated the Universal Title in October due to leukemia. In addition to that, it’s Ric Flair’s 70^th birthday and there is going to be a celebration, which of course means a lot of guest stars. Did I mention it’s Wrestlemania season? Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Reigns vacating the title back in October. Has that only been four months?

Here’s Reigns, in street clothes, to open things up to an absolute ROAR. His arms are looking a little smaller, but you have to expect something like that. Reigns takes a long time high fiving people and stops to hug three women in the front row, likely family. He hits the pose on the ropes and stares at the ring for a bit before getting back inside. Reigns thanks the fans, which he’ll likely be doing a lot. He missed us all because there is no job like this.

Reigns says this is our yard and believed that God had his back the whole time. He was scared back in October and didn’t know if he wanted to tell everyone about the condition. Fans: “IT’S OK!” When he got home from making the announcement, he couldn’t believe all of the messages he received and he was so touched that God’s voicemail was full about him. Reigns is going to use his platform to support people and raise awareness for the condition he went through.

So as for the announcement, he’s done better than swinging for the fences. They’ve hit a home run because he’s in remission. After one heck of an ovation for that, Reigns says that the Big Dog is back. The fans greet that with some barking and a WELCOME BACK chant and Reigns says thank you so much. No return date is given. Reigns leaves to another ovation and here’s Seth Rollins to hug him.

Aleister Black/Ricochet vs. Revival

Non-title and the non-champs get vignettes on their way to the ring. The Revival jumps them both before the bell so Black kicks them down, allowing Ricochet to hit the big crossbody, followed by Black’s moonsault into a seated position. Ricochet dives onto Dawson but grabs his knee as we take a break. We come back after the opening bell with Black firing off a bunch of kicks and what looked to be a botch off a German suplex/top rope sunset flip combination. Dawson slugs away at Black before catching him in DDT. Ricochet shoves Wilder off the top, leaving Black Mass to finish Dawson at 2:03.

Baron Corbin doesn’t like being asked about his comments regarding Reigns’ having leukemia. For Reigns’ sake, he better hope their paths don’t cross.

Snoop Dogg wishes Ric Flair a Happy Birthday.

Elias is in the ring for his song but Lacey Evans interrupts, with the commentators being rather big fans. As usual she doesn’t say anything so here’s Dean Ambrose (Renee: “And more greatness!”) to interrupt. Dean wants a rematch with Drew McIntyre and he wants it to be No DQ. Elias plays some guitar but Dean requests some songs, including Dirty Deeds. That’s exactly what Elias gets and Renee wants an encore.

Riott Squad vs. Ronda Rousey/Natalya

Logan gets aggressive on Natalya to start but gets driven into the corner, allowing Ronda to come in for a snap suplex. A hard STO drops Rousey though and the Squad takes over in the corner. A clothesline with a roll allows the tag off to Natalya to pick the pace back up but Liv Morgan pulls Natalya to the floor. That means something like a Hart Attack (forearm instead of a clothesline) from the steps, only to have Logan dropkick Natalya as we take a break.

Back with Natalya still in trouble, including Logan putting on the Rhea Ripley standing Cloverleaf. That’s broken up and the hot tag brings in Rousey to clean house. Everything breaks down and Natalya takes Riott outside for the discus lariat. Piper’s Pit hits Logan but here’s Becky Lynch on a crutch to come through the crowd and hits Natalya for the DQ at 9:36.

Rating: D+. This was little more than a way to have the women in the ring so Becky could come out there and there’s nothing wrong with that. The wrestling was fine enough, though Ronda has already destroyed the Squad so many times now that it doesn’t mean much the third time around. At least the Becky appearance got a good reaction.

Post match the brawl is on until cops come out to arrest Becky (Becky: “Easy! I need these hands to hold up the Women’s Title!”).

Post break Rousey demands that Vince get out here right now but she gets Stephanie McMahon instead. Becky has just been arrested but Rousey doesn’t want anything other than the suspension being lifted. Stephanie says Rousey can face Charlotte at Wrestlemania because Becky is unprofessional and brought this on herself. Rousey appeals to Stephanie’s legacy and her three daughters but it’s still a hard no.

That’s not good enough for Rousey so Stephanie shouts about being Rousey’s boss. Rousey says she’s not like everyone else because she’s Ronda Rousey and the Raw Women’s Champion. This is just a belt (that’ll be a fine) and it’s not even her style. It’s time for Vince to make the right decision. Rousey lays the title down and walks away. They’re doing everything they can to spread this out until Wrestlemania and it’s feeling the strain.

Steve Austin wishes Ric Flair a happy birthday.

Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers are in the ring. Mahal isn’t happy with the way Ric Flair is getting all the attention tonight she he’s challenging anyone invited to the birthday party to a match right now.

Kurt Angle vs. Jinder Mahal

Normally I’d make a joke about Angle sitting in the back in his gear on a night he’s invited to a birthday party, but that feels exactly like something he would do. Mahal jumps him from behind to start and we hit the very early chinlock. That’s broken up so we hit the chinlock, just in case you didn’t get enough. Angle gets up and hits a release German suplex, followed by the rolling German suplexes. The Khallas is countered into the ankle lock and Mahal taps at 2:59. Angle shouldn’t need to be in two chinlocks in a three minute match.

Post match the Brothers gets suplexed as well.

It’s time for a Moment of Bliss, with Alexa mocking Ronda and saying enjoy leaving on the red carpet WWE rolled out for her. Anyway the guest this week is Finn Balor, who is asked about being the new champion. Bliss doesn’t like him being champion, because it covers up those beautiful abs. Bliss: “You’ve got to let those babies breathe.” Bliss makes him an offer: show her the abs and she’ll show him her….and here’s Lio Rush. Corey: “I HATE THIS GUY NOW!”

Rush says that Bobby Lashley should be Intercontinental Champion, but Balor sees it as Rush saying he’s better than Lashley. That’s an accepted challenge. Bliss asks if Rush is man enough to do the job by himself. Somehow Bliss gets to say the match is on right now so Rush says play his music. That was a great way to have Bliss be a bit more sexual in nature without going over the line. There’s more to her character than thinking Balor looks good, which sets her a good distance apart from a lot of the women from the Divas era.

Maria Menunos wishes Flair a Happy Birthday.

Intercontinental Title: Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending and wastes no time in taking Rush down for some hard stomps to the ribs. They head outside with Rush hitting an Asai moonsault into a pair of suicide dives. Back in and the Final Hour hits raised knees but Balor’s knee is banged up. A leglock doesn’t last long as Balor is right back with an Eye of the Hurricane. 1916 doesn’t work and Rush kicks him in the head for two. Balor scores with a clothesline but gets crotched on top, setting up a super hurricanrana for another near fall. The second 1916 connects and the Coup de Grace retains the title at 7:39.

Rating: C-. Is there a reason that a former Universal Champion and the current United States Champion is having a competitive match with the loudmouthed manager? I know Rush can work and is very athletic, but there are times when he should be taking a beating. JJ Dillon once told a story about wrestling a match as a manager and being competitive because he had wrestled for years and knew his way around a ring. The promoter yelled at him for acting like a wrestler instead of a manager and destroying the illusion. That’s a lesson WWE needs to learn with Rush.

Ascension asks Tucker where Otis is. That would be out back dumpster diving for cheeseburgers. They make fun of him even more but Tucker warns them that Otis won’t find this funny. Otis comes in and Tucker explains the story to them with Otis repeating individual words. He runs them both over and says that’s what they get. To call this bizarre would be the understatement of the night.

We look at the Reigns announcement and its media attention.

Bobby Lashley yells at Rush and asks if he can trust him tonight.

Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman

Lashley jumps Strowman from behind before the bell and the fight is on, with Strowman hitting a splash in the corner, followed by the forearm to the chest to send Lashley outside. That means the running shoulders around the ring. No match.

Seth Rollins says he’s about to go burn it down with Reigns. Cold beverages are promised.

Ric Flair arrives.

WWE superstars talk about seeing where Martin Luther King died.

We look back at the Becky/Ronda segment.

Drew McIntyre vs. Dean Ambrose

No DQ and the fight starts on the floor. Dean pulls off his belt (he has another underneath) but gets whipped with it instead, setting up a suplex on the floor as we take a break. Back with Drew in trouble and Dean hitting a top rope elbow to the floor. Note that yes, it is possible to come back with action instead of another chinlock. Back in and Dean unloads with the belt (the first, not the under belt) but the Glasgow Kiss knocks him outside. McIntyre gets sent face first into the steps though and it’s time for Dirty Deeds, only to have Elias come out with a guitar to the back. The Claymore finishes Dean at 9:16.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t anything special but I had a good time with this one. They were going with the violence and aggression that you should see in a match like this and that’s the right idea. Ambrose going out (allegedly) on his back like this is a good sign, though these midcard heel alliances are kind of getting tiresome.

Post match it’s Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley coming out for the beatdown but Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins make the save. Superman Punches and chair shots abound with Reigns even hitting a spear on McIntyre. Seth and Roman go to leave but look back at Dean.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

I don’t think it’s going to be as good as the London match. Nia starts throwing her around to start but Bayley manages a nice hiptoss. That earns her a shove to the floor and we take a break. Back with Nia missing a sitdown splash and an elbow but Bayley takes too much time loading a charge in the corner and gets run over again. The chinlock goes on, followed by Nia tying her in the Tree of Woe. That means the running hip attack but Nia goes after Sasha, allowing Bayley to hit a knee to the head. The top rope elbow finishes Jax at 9:00.

Rating: D+. I stand by my normal assertion that Nia just needs to go away for awhile. There’s little impact to these appearances anymore and that’s not likely to change. These matches are good enough, but it’s getting really hard to care when it’s a bunch of stuff that we’ve seen before. There’s no time for Nia to make an impact because she’s always here. That’s the case with any giant and it’s caught up with her too.

With the roster on the stage, the ring is ready for the party and HHH and Stephanie handle the introductions. After HHH recaps the night, Stephanie introduces the special guests: Shawn Michaels, Ricky Stemboat, Kurt Angle and Sting. HHH introduces a video on Flair as we’re running low on time.

Back in the ring, Stephanie unveils a custom made title (which she also calls a belt) so we can get to the introduction…and there’s no Flair. We cut to the back where Batista of all people has commandeered a camera man and goes into Flair’s locker room. A fight is heard and Batista pulls Flair out of the room. Batista: “Hey Hunter. Do I have your attention now?” HHH runs to the back and finds agents and referees around Flair to end the show. Works for me. With the final Avengers movie coming out about two weeks after Wrestlemania, there’s certainly cross promotion to be had. Why not? The match should be good.

Overall Rating: C. I had a good time with this show, mainly because I’m having a great time laughing at how little WWE cares about Fastlane. They’re hyping up several Wrestlemania matches at the moment and I believe there are three confirmed matches at Fastlane so far. I’m sure they can throw a card together and it’ll be watchable enough, but my goodness they don’t care about it and it’s hilarious.

As for tonight, it was a nice effort with the storytelling taking some steps forward all around, but it’s not like there was anything special in the wrestling department. Reigns’ return is what’s going to matter most here and there’s nothing wrong with that. It was a big moment and there’s a chance we’ll see a Shield match at Fastlane. This certainly was an eventful show and it’s the right kind of you like storytelling instead of wrestling.

Results

Aleister Black/Ricochet b. Revival – Black Mass to Dawson

Ronda Rousey/Natalya b. Riott Squad via DQ when Becky Lynch interfered

Kurt Angle b. Jinder Mahal – Ankle lock

Finn Balor b. Lio Rush – Coup de Grace

Drew McIntyre b. Dean Ambrose – Claymore

Bayley b. Nia Jax – Top rope elbow

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

You might have guessed it.Reigns came out to a major pop and said that he was in remission.  He also said that he’s back on Raw, though no date was given for an in-ring return.  That being said, he got physical later in the night in a brawling segment with Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Elias, so a match at Fastlane isn’t out of the question.

 

Either way, it’s cool to see him back in any fashion.

Royal Rumble 2017
Date: January 29, 201
Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 52,020
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, John Bradshaw Layfield, David Otunga, Tom Phillips

It’s kind of amazing how much this show has been forgotten in just about a year. Other than AJ Styles vs. John Cena, I can barely remember a single thing about this show. I know who won the Rumble and who were some of the bigger stars in the match but the rest is kind of a blur, which isn’t a good sign for what I’m in for here. Let’s get to it.

The aisle is crazy long and would require a cart to bring some of the wrestlers to the ring during the Rumble. There’s something cool about that, on both fronts actually.

Kickoff Show: Naomi/Nikki Bella/Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss/Mickie James/Natalya

This would be the “throw all the Smackdown women into one match” match. Oh and dang I forgot how stupid the four person announcers’ booth on Smackdown was. It’s almost as stupid as having a 50,000 person dome and having a match an hour and a half before the show starts because THE PLACE IS FREAKING EMPTY! Like is anyone going to not watch this show on the Network if there isn’t a match going on the two hour pre-show?

This is mainly about Becky vs. James/Bliss and the rest are there because….well because the writers don’t know how to write singles matches for the women and still don’t do this day. For a secondary story, Natalya and Nikki are feuding because Natalya is jealous so she said that Cena will never marry Nikki. You know those are fighting words.

Nikki and Natalya start things off with Natalya doing You Can’t See Me. That means a slap to the face and there are so few people being so quiet that you can hear what the women are saying. Bliss comes in and gets caught with a facebuster for two. It’s off to Naomi for half of a double dropkick with Nikki’s part not even coming close. Nikki and company hit a triple suplex to send them outside, followed by a dive from Naomi as we take a break.

Back with Becky clotheslining Natalya and hitting a running forearm in the corner. They head outside with Mickie getting in a cheap shot to drop Becky, allowing Natalya to snap a suplex to really take over. Back in and Becky gets driven into the corner again, allowing Bliss to choke a bit. Mickie adds a hard kick to the face as the announcers argue over whether or not cheating is smart.

A Michinoku Driver plants Becky but Natalya can’t get Suplex City (Her words. Well Lesnar’s words, though JR said it about thirteen years earlier.). Instead it’s a double clothesline so Naomi can come in and clean house. The still dumb looking dancing kicks drop Bliss as everything breaks down. A kick to the head sets up the split legged moonsault to give Naomi the pin on Bliss at 9:39.

Rating: C-. The lack of a crowd either in their seats or really interested in this one hurt it a lot but the work wasn’t terrible. The women’s division had gotten so much better by this point that you could trust them to go out and have a match like this, though the stories need to be stronger. I’m really having an issue caring about Nikki never getting to marry her dream husband and complete her fairy tale story but I’m not exactly the target audience.*

Kickoff Show: Raw Tag Team Titles: Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Anderson and Gallows

Sheamus and Cesaro are defending and there are two referees due to some screwy finishes as of late. The crowd is MUCH better now, making the place look like there’s an actual audience for the show. Cesaro dropkicks Anderson at the bell for two and a gutwrench suplex gets the same less than thirty seconds in.

Gallows loads up a cheap shot from the apron but the second referee catches him, making the gimmick actually work. Sheamus grabs a Regal Roll into Cesaro’s jumping double stomp for two more but Anderson is back up with a kick to the face to take over. It’s off to Gallows, who is quickly kicked down so the champs can take him into the corner. This has been mostly one sided so far but Gallows gets in a backdrop for a breather. Not that the fans seem to care for the most part though.

A big boot knocks Sheamus off the apron and we take a break. Back (after the commercial has been cut from the Network) with Cesaro suplexing Gallows and rolling over to bring Sheamus back in. The ten forearms to the chest have Gallows in trouble and a top rope clothesline gets two. Super White Noise gets the same but Gallows shoves Sheamus away and makes the hot tag to Anderson.

The second referee won’t allow some cheating so Swiss Death gives Cesaro two. A 619 and a high crossbody give him the same but Anderson kicks him down again. Sheamus breaks up the Magic Killer and a referee eats a Brogue Kick. The second referee comes in to see Cesaro put Anderson in the Sharpshooter, only to have Gallows break it up with a kick to the face. Everything breaks down again and it’s a Magic Killer for Sheamus, followed by a rollup with tights to pin Cesaro at 10:28.

Rating: C+. Nice power fight here with both teams hitting each other rather hard. That’s all this needed to be, though I could go for adding a different style in there. Power vs. power isn’t going to work all that well in the long term but at least they had a good match here. These title changes didn’t really matter though as it was all going to change when the Hardys came back. No one knew that yet though and at least we had something good here.

Kickoff Show: Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks

Nia injured her a month or so ago and tonight is about revenge. Sasha doesn’t have her knee brace on as Nia drives her into the ropes and easily shoves off a headlock. A rope walk springboard goes just as badly as Banks can’t get anything going early on. Jax runs her over and we take an early break.

Back with Sasha trying a standing Bank Statement and having it broken up with ease. Jax grabs a Brock Lock and swings Banks around until a rope can be grabbed. Sasha finally avoids a charge to send Jax into the post, followed by the top rope double knees for two. Sasha comes up holding her knee though and the pop up Samoan drop puts her away at 5:13.

Rating: D+. This was just a step above a squash and really only served to keep Nia around. Banks is going to be fine after a loss like this while Nia still doesn’t have the big defining win (which would still be the case a year later). There was no need for this to be on pay per view though and it could have easily been done on Raw. That’s never a good sign.

And now, a nearly four hour show. I know I say this a lot but I’m almost gassed just watching that Kickoff Show. There’s really no need to do it this way, especially when you have the horrible empty stadium for the first match.

Completely standard opening video, though they do play in the cool “Remember the Rumble” tagline to show off a lot of the famous clips. If there’s one thing WWE does well, it’s look back at their own history. The rest of the matches get some time as well with each one having something to remember as well.

Raw Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending and still has never lost a singles match on pay per view. Bayley gets wrestled down to start as Charlotte grabs a front facelock. The fans seem split here despite giving Bayley a heck of a reaction on her entrance. Charlotte heads outside for no apparent reason, allowing Bayley to grab her by the hair and snap her over the middle rope (basically a Stunner) to take over. A headscissors gets two and it’s already time to hit the stalling.

Bayley makes the mistake of going outside and gets kicked into the steps as she doesn’t have much of an answer for Charlotte’s power game. Back in and Charlotte slams Bayley’s face into the mat a few times but makes sure to throw in a quick pose (that’s the Flair in her). We hit the chinlock with Charlotte’s hair falling over Bayley’s face, giving us a rather odd visual of Bayley as a blonde. A knee drop gets two on Bayley and Charlotte is getting annoyed at Bayley sticking around.

Yet another kickout off a neckbreaker makes the frustration even worse so Charlotte does her figure four necklock into the face plants on the mat. The flips to send Bayley back first into the mat make it even worse as Charlotte is completely dominant so far. Charlotte stops to mock Bayley though and a heck of a slap cuts the champ off. A battle of the chops goes to Charlotte (well duh) but Bayley bounces out of the corner with an armdrag. A springboard crossbody (with a few too many bounces) drops Charlotte again and a jumping spinning Downward Spiral (not bad) does it again.

The top rope elbow (which looked awesome on impact) gets a very close two and you can feel the crowd breathe on the kickout. Charlotte (who might be bleeding from the mouth) kicks the knee out though and the Figure Four goes on. The referee catches her grabbing the ropes though and both women are down. Charlotte is up first but her moonsault only grazes knees to give Bayley two. Bayley goes up but gets shoved off to the floor in a heap. As she gets back in, Natural Selection onto the apron retains the title at 13:01.

Rating: B-. Bayley was fighting here but came up short, which is exactly how her character needs to go. For some reason WWE didn’t quite get this and instead put the title on her two weeks later in a nothing Raw match, ignoring the idea of building her up as an underdog. Charlotte was her usual awesome self here and that makes for a fun match, though the future didn’t go the way it should have. At least the first match was solid though.

The shark cage is lowered. This might require an explanation.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Roman Reigns had come close to taking the title from Kevin Owens but Chris Jericho interfered to cost Reigns the match. Therefore it’s time for a rematch with Jericho in a one man cage (the shark cage) above the ring. Jericho is of course scared of heights so this should be fun. It would be a better idea if they hadn’t done it in NXT not too long before this.

Raw World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is defending and this is No DQ. Jericho takes his sweet time getting into the cage (as he should) and is still not in even when Reigns comes out. The Canadians try some double teaming and knock Reigns into the cage all, only to have Reigns fight them off (and the fans are really, REALLY not pleased) and send Jericho into the cage to get us going. The cage is raised like a sexy pinata (Jericho’s very accurate term for himself) and Owens jumps Reigns from behind.

They waste no time in fighting out to the floor and then into the crowd with Reigns hitting him in the ribs with a metal stand. Back to ringside with Owens being bounced off the German announcers’ table but coming back with a whip into the steps. Owens pulls six chairs from underneath the ring and sets up four at ringside, two by two. A monitor shot to the ribs sets up the Cannonball against the barricade and Owens continues to be over like free beer in a frat house.

With Reigns down, Owens sets up two more chairs on top of the four he already had. One more is placed on top but of course the powerbomb and suplex attempts don’t work to prevent a broken back. Back in and Reigns sends him shoulder first into the post before loading up a table. That’s enough to make the fans cheer Reigns (I’m as shocked as you are) but a Backstabber gives Owens two.

Another Cannonball, with Owens mocking Reigns’ spear pose, is countered into a powerbomb. The apron dropkick rocks the champ again as this has been better than I was expecting so far. They’re beating each other up quite well and it’s pretty entertaining, despite Jericho being a non-factor so far. They head outside with Reigns getting superkicked onto a table, setting up a frog splash from the top to the floor in a big crash.

That’s only good for two (well duh) so Owens dedicates a chair shot to Jericho and gets another near fall. A chair is wedged into the corner because wrestlers never learn a thing. Owens scores with a superkick and manages to send Reigns into the chair as I’m not sure what to think. It’s not like that’s never worked before but it’s about as rare as Jericho eating crab cakes and goat’s milk.

With that not working, Jericho tosses Owens some brass knuckles but Reigns blocks the Superman Punch. Roman’s Superman Punch gets two and a Samoan drop through the chair is good for the same. You would think being driven THROUGH A CHAIR would be a big time match but since this is modern wrestling, something that big is now just a regular move. It’s the price you pay for all the big spots and violence.

Roman puts another table in the corner before another Superman Punch gets two. A spear is countered into a Stunner of all things but Reigns kicks out again. We continue the Austin homage with a mudhole stomping and a Cannonball (not so much Austin) as Owens is getting frustrated. That makes him do something dumb, like trying a superplex through that pile of chairs.

Reigns breaks that up and Superman Punches Owens through the pile instead for a very loud crash. A powerbomb puts Reigns through the announcers’ table but here’s Braun Strowman to beat the heck out of Reigns. Roman is sent into the post, followed by the running powerslam through the table in the corner to retain Owens’ title at 23:27.

Rating: B+. This was better than I was expecting and while it feels like a similar ending to Randy Orton vs. John Cena from Royal Rumble 2015, it’s still a good way to keep the title on Owens for the time being. They had a very good power brawl and Owens retaining is the right move, especially with the feud with Strowman getting a big boost. Jericho was barely a factor and that’s a good thing given that they were about to split in the near future.

To really fill in time, we’re doing a countdown of the thirty greatest moments in Rumble history, starting with 30-16 (or 30-15 as Cole puts it). Well kind of as the list is actually 30 facts, which is kind of Rumble By The Numbers.

30. Bret Hart was the first entrant

29. 870 people have entered

28. 3 women have entered and each has eliminated at least one man

27. 23 people have won, meaning 98% of the entrants are losers

26. 4 Rumbles have been in Texas

25. California and Florida have held 5 Rumbles each

24. 507,102 fans have seen the Rumble

23. Rey Mysterio lasted longer than anyone ever at 1:02:12

22. Edge won the Rumble in 7:37

21. Santino Marella was eliminated in 1 second

20. The longest time in a single Rumble without winning is Bob Backlund with 1:01:10

19. HHH has spent the most time in the Rumble with 4:06:08.

18. 46 Hall of Famers have competed

17. 9 Hall of Famers have won

16. Mick Foley entered the Rumble 3 times in 1998

Raw boss Stephanie McMahon mocks Raw underling Mick for Strowman interfering when Smackdown bosses Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan come in. They roll the tumbler so Sami Zayn can come in and pick his number, which of course takes some time. Before Sami can open his ball, Dean Ambrose comes in searching for churros. He gets a number but is off to take a nap until he’s due in the Rumble. After going to a crowd shot of watching this in the arena (erg), Sami gets #8.

Austin Aries joins commentary for the Cruiserweight Title match.

We recap Rich Swann vs. Neville. Swann is the Cruiserweight Champion but Neville has declared himself the King of the Cruiserweights. That’s completely accurate and it’s time for Swann to take a heck of a beating and give up a title that doesn’t belong to him. This is about as obvious of an ending as you’re going to get. They throw in some history between the two with Neville mentoring Swann both in Japan and here in America. That’s better than nothing and more than I would expect from a match like this, even if Neville winning is pretty much guaranteed.

Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Rich Swann

Neville is challenging and stops himself from doing his usual entrance because the fans don’t deserve it. That’s a nice touch and makes him feel different instead of the same guy who just happens to be a villain now. Feeling out process to start until Swann flips over Neville and misses a dropkick.

Neville gets sent outside for a dive but is fine enough to drive Swann right into the corner. A missile dropkick sets up a jackknife cover for two and Neville stands on Swann’s head. Neville wants to know if this is it and gets crucifixed for two. Back up and Neville forearms the heck out of Swann for two more and we’re off to the chinlock. The comeback is enough to have Neville take him outside for some whips into the barricade.

Back in and Neville comes up the top, diving straight into a superkick to the jaw. That one looked awesome and both guys are down. Another kick to the jaw and a super hurricanrana sets up a Phoenix flip dive to the floor to put Neville in trouble. They head back inside with Swann hammering away before getting two off something like a Warrior splash.

Neville isn’t down enough that he can’t crotch Swann on top. He also can’t hit the superplex but settles for a hard superkick to stagger the champ. Rich’s spinning kick to the head gets two as Neville gets his foot on the ropes. Swann again takes too long to get up top, allowing Neville to superplex him into the Rings of Saturn for the tap to make Neville champion at 13:29.

Rating: B-. They were beating the heck out of each other in a better than average match. Instead of having Neville squash him in relatively short order, Swann got in some offense, only to eventually not be good enough to overcome the King of the Cruiserweights. This was entertaining, but Neville is going to need some better challengers.

We recap AJ Styles vs. John Cena. Styles defeated Cena twice in a row last year, including with one clean pinfall. Then Cena said he wanted to challenge the champion at the Rumble and since he’s John Cena and one title shy of tying Ric Flair’s record, the match was made.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. John Cena

Cena is challenging and has the black shorts on here so you know it’s a big night. AJ scores with a kick to the leg so Cena clotheslines him to the apron. Cena gets in a few right hands but charges into a boot in the corner to let AJ take over. Back to back knee drops have Cena in trouble but AJ stops to yell at the crowd. A third knee, this time with a You Can’t See Me, misses and Cena is right back with a backdrop.

AJ sticks the landing on an AA though and there’s an enziguri to put Cena down again. There’s a hurricanrana and Cena doesn’t seem to know what to do with Styles. The running seated forearm gives AJ two more but Cena punches him in the face. The Shuffle is broken up though and AJ grabs a wheelbarrow facebuster to put Cena down again. AJ hits the Phenomenal Blitz, only to have Cena hit that hard running clothesline for a breather that he uses when he needs a breather.

Now the Shuffle connects but it’s way too early for the AA. AJ grabs a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb for two more and we get a bit of a pause. They’re doing a good job here of going with the slower pace to build things up here, which is exactly what they should be doing.

The Phenomenal Forearm misses and it’s an AA for two. Another hard running clothesline gives Cena two more but he charges into a Pele to the shoulder. Now the Forearm connects for two more as they’re even in the near falls off the finishers. AJ starts firing off the hard kicks to the chest and Cena doesn’t seem like he’s breathing very well. One too many kicks earns him an electric chair into a faceplant though and Cena is right back into it.

They slug it out with JBL describing AJ as blocking every punch with his face. Apparently that’s fine enough to reverse a right hand into the Calf Crusher but of course Cena reverses into the STF to a nice round of applause. At least they respect some wrestling abilities. Somehow AJ reverses that into an STF of his own but Cena powers to his feet. Instead of an AA though, it’s off to a Figure Four on the champ (because we must praise Flair, though it’s appropriate here).

AJ pulls himself up though and tries a cross armbreaker, which of course is countered into a powerbomb for two. Cena goes up top for the Fameasser but gets powerbombed out of the air. Now the Styles Clash is good for two as the fans are feeling the near falls (as they should with the match picking WAY up in a hurry). Code Red gives Cena two more, followed by AJ’s fireman’s carry backbreaker for the same.

Something like a swinging Big Ending (called a cutter by Mauro) gives Cena two more so it’s time for the big guns. Cena busts out the super AA…….for two. You can see the look of disbelief on Cena’s face and now the fans aren’t sure what to think. The Styles Clash gives AJ his own near fall but Cena counters the Phenomenal Forearm into back to back AA’s for the pin and the title at 24:01.

Rating: A. This took its time to build up and it’s one of the best matches of 2017. Cena using raw power to start but eventually learning what AJ was going to throw at him and adapting made for a great story. He couldn’t win with the mega power move either, eventually having to counter AJ to beat him. That builds on their previous matches and it’s a classic match as a result.

Cena celebrates. JBL: “Man that was good!” Yeah pretty much. Cena heads into the crowd and hands the title to a Make-A-Wish kid because he’s that awesome.

We look at Seth Rollins invading Takeover: San Antonio to call out HHH, who cost him his spot in the Rumble. HHH said Rollins needs to be careful what he wished for. Worry not though as STEPHANIE will be on Raw tomorrow night to deal with Rollins. I’d be terrified too.

Jerry Lawler comes out for commentary on the Rumble.

Back to the Rumble by the Numbers.

15. Only 16 of the 30 possible numbers have won

14. 7 winners are from 1-10

13. 4 have been from 11-20

12. 19 have been from 21-40

11. 27 is the lucky number

10. 1 and 2 have produced 4 winners

9. 1 and 2 have been the final two entrants twice (1995 and 1999)

8. Only one person has won from the same number twice (Batista at #28)

7. Kane has entered the most Royal Rumbles

6. Kane has the most career eliminations

5. Roman Reigns has the most eliminations in one match

4. The World Title has been on the line twice

3. Three men have been runner up twice (Cena, Big Show, HHH)

2. Five men have won twice (Cena, HHH, Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Batista)

1. Only Steve Austin has won three Rumbles

Royal Rumble

Two minutes intervals and it’s Big Cass in at #1, meaning Enzo Amore gets to do the full entrance. We’re just that lucky I guess but the fans are still eating it up at this point. Since everything is bigger in Texas, it would make sense for Big Cass to win here tonight. We hear about some of the bigger names but Cass is going to toss all of them out because Cass is like HBK in 1995. Chris Jericho is in at #2 as his bad luck in the Rumble draws continue (this is his third time as #2).

Cass tosses him down with a fall away slam but an early Empire Elbow misses. The Walls are broken up and it’s Kalisto in at #3 after only ninety seconds. A springboard dropkick staggers Cass and a regular one drops Jericho. Cass can’t powerslam Kalisto and it’s some kicks to cut Cass down again. Mojo Rawley is in at #4 as we’re not even three minutes and fifteen seconds in yet. Corey: “Smackdown Live’s resident blithering idiot.” Lawler: “That’s an insult to blithering idiots”.

Cass takes Rawley into the corner while the other two are down on the apron. Jericho breaks four hours in the Rumble to give him the all time record as Jack Gallagher is in at #5. The length of the aisle really becomes an issue here as Jack takes forever to get to the ring. Once there though he cleans house with the umbrella, including a low blow to a posing Jericho. One heck of a toss sends Kalisto to the mat and it’s Mark Henry in at #6.

Everyone is down when his music hits but Gallagher has enough time to get up and stomp on Jericho by the time he gets there. Gallagher’s headbutt just annoys Mark so he tosses Jack through the ropes (not an elimination). Jack does his Mary Poppins dive with the umbrella and is promptly eliminated. Braun Strowman is in at #7, taking twenty five seconds from the start of his music to get to the ring. Jericho hides on the floor (Jericho: “HE’S HUGE!”) as Strowman gets rid of Mojo, Cass, Kalisto and Henry, the latter after a battle of the giants.

Sami Zayn is in at #8 and is stupid enough to charge into the ring and slug away as fast as he can. Sami stops a charge with a boot but tries a suplex for some reason. Strowman misses a charge into the post but comes right back with a running splash in the corner as Big Show is #9 (to a VERY strong reaction, oddly enough).

We get the big, long walk to the ring where Sami is down in the corner and Jericho is still on the floor. Strowman clotheslines Show down without much effort but a chokeslam cuts him down. Jericho picks now to come back in and is promptly punched down, leaving the giants to lift each other up for failed slam attempts. Strowman manages to muscle Show out though and is the only one standing. The debuting Tye Dillinger is #10 (in the perfect (ten) entrance), giving us Jericho, Strowman, Zayn and Dillinger. Tye goes straight at Strowman with forearms and left hands as Sami gets up to help him slug away at the giant.

They get suplexed down without much effort though and it’s James Ellsworth in at #11. He and Carmella run to the ring (in a relationship that was never explained) but don’t get in, allowing Tye and Sami to pull Strowman to the apron. Dean Ambrose is in at #12 and tricks Ellsworth into charging in on his own where Strowman eliminates him in all of ten seconds. That’s better than I was expecting. Dean gets in but can’t do much with Strowman (well duh) but Tye and Sami get back up to help Dean out. That earns them all running clotheslines in the corner and it’s Baron Corbin in at #13.

That means four on one on Strowman, who shrugs them all away. Strowman dumps Tye but Sami grabs him by the beard for a breather. A Helluva Kick rocks Strowman and Corbin gets rid of the monster after a star making performance. Dean hits a quick Dirty Deeds on Corbin but doesn’t try to eliminate him. Dean never was the smartest guy in the world.

Kofi Kingston is in at #14 and the countdown is on to the cool save. Kofi gets knocked into the ropes and Corbin does his slide underneath the ropes into a clothesline on Dean. The Miz is in at #15 (thankfully with Maryse), giving us Jericho (STILL on the floor), Sami, Ambrose, Corbin and Miz at the moment.

A Skull Crushing Finale drops Dean but Miz doesn’t go for the elimination. Deep Six cuts Miz off as the crowd oddly dies for a bit. For no logical reason, Kofi climbs to the top of the post but gets knocked down onto his chest. He still manages to hang on though and scores with Trouble in Paradise on Corbin. Sheamus is in at #16 and it’s time for some powerslams. Miz backs away from Sheamus but gets caught in the ten forearms to the chest. Jericho gets back up and is promptly Brogue Kicked down.

Big E. is in at #17 and it’s a quick abdominal stretch on Miz, allowing for some spanking. If that’s what he’s into I guess. The ring is getting too full and Rusev (with a broken nose) makes it even worse at #18. Right hands have Dean in trouble but no one is seriously close to being eliminated.

Sheamus gets in a hard knee on Miz and it’s Cesaro in at #19. It’s an early Swing to Miz and a second to Sami. Jerry: “Use him as a weapon!” Ambrose and Kofi are swung as well, followed by Big E. and Corbin but Rusev saves Sheamus from the same fate for some reason. You might notice a lot of names being swung and that’s because there are WAY too many people in the ring.

Xavier Woods is in at #20, giving us Jericho, Zayn, Ambrose, Corbin, Kingston, Miz, Sheamus, Big E. Rusev, Cesaro and Woods. We’re two thirds of the way into the match and over half of the people are still in. New Day beats Sheamus up and Woods has to save Kofi from an elimination at Miz’s hands. A pair of boots rock Miz but he’s not going anywhere yet. Bray Wyatt, with the lights going out, is in at #21 and the Fireflies coming out during the match is a cool visual.

Miz gets the release Rock Bottom and house is cleaned until Woods stares Wyatt down in a call back to Woods being terrified of Bray. Woods is sent to the apron and Kofi is put there next to him. Big E. saves his buddies from Cesaro and Sheamus as Apollo Crews is in at #22. Crews’ standing moonsault hits Miz as this is looking like a regular battle royal rather than the Rumble. Big E. pulls Woods and Kofi back inside but Sheamus and Cesaro get rid of all three of them at once to let the ring breathe a bit. Sheamus tries to dump Cesaro but Jericho runs in to get rid of both of them. Well the ring is certainly emptier in a hurry.

Randy Orton (of the Wyatt Family because reasons) is in at #23 with a quick RKO to Corbin and Rusev. Sami goes up top for some reason and dives right into another RKO. Dolph Ziggler is in at #24 and superkicks abound. The fans are begging for Goldberg to come in and get rid of some of these people but have to settle for Luke Harper at #25. We have five spots left and Goldberg, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar still to go. Harper gets rid of Crews but stops for a staredown with Orton. Wyatt has to play peacekeeper until Harper clotheslines Bray down. Orton breaks up Sister Abigail on Bray with an RKO as the ring is too full again.

Brock Lesnar is in at #26 and now we can get rid of some people. Ziggler and Ambrose are tossed with ease and it’s Suplex/F5 City. Everyone is down and the fans want Goldberg at #27. Instead it’s Enzo Amore in at #27 and I’ll let you figure out what happens. Graves: “THIS MAY BE THE GREATEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!!” Brock throws some suplexes until Goldberg is in at #28 for the big showdown. A spear and a clothesline get rid of Lesnar in all of fifteen seconds, stunning both the crowd and commentary at once. Sami eats a Jackhammer and Orton/Wyatt take a double spear.

Goldberg is the only man standing and it’s Undertaker in at #29 to a ROAR. Thankfully he appears in the ring instead of doing the ridiculously long walk down the ramp. Cole: “THIS IS A MOMENT!” Well those are what matter more than anything else. Corbin and Rusev break up the showdown and are promptly eliminated. A spear takes Undertaker down but Goldberg turns his attention to eliminate Harper, allowing Undertaker to dump him. Undertaker chokeslams a few people and it’s Roman Reigns at #30 (imagine the booing) to give us Jericho, Sami, Miz, Wyatt, Orton, Undertaker and Reigns.

That means another staredown and Reigns wins the slugout. The fans are LIVID and call this BS until Undertaker stops the Superman Punch with a chokeslam. Undertaker dumps Miz and Zayn like they’re nothing but takes too long calling for a Tombstone, allowing Reigns to dump him. That earns Reigns a glare to set up the Wrestlemania main event.

Jericho is dead so Reigns tosses him without much effort, giving Jericho the most meaningless hour run in Rumble history. Reigns is left alone with Orton and Wyatt with the double teaming starting in short order. The hanging DDT plants Reigns but Superman Punches get Roman out of trouble. Wyatt is eliminated but it’s an RKO and a clothesline to send Orton to Wrestlemania at 1:02:08.

Rating: D. And that’s being pretty generous. There are tons of problems here, but we’ll start with all the midcarders who were around forever and did nothing. Here are some of the people who weren’t going to win but were in the match for at least twenty minutes each:

Sami Zayn (47:12)

Dean Ambrose (26:55)

Baron Corbin (32:39)

Miz (32:44)

Rusev (22:31)

Those five names combined for one elimination. That’s a crazy amount of time to basically do nothing. If they’re not going to be factors (and none of them were as they were almost all glorified cannon fodder), don’t leave them out there go clog up the ring. It doesn’t do Sami any good to be out there for forty five minutes and do nothing, just like it doesn’t help Miz to be there for half an hour so people can beat on him. Jericho was a potential winner and stayed in there over an hour (spending a lot of it on the floor) but what good is an hour stay if he’s tossed out like he’s nothing after a mere two eliminations?

That brings us to the second problem: the three big names. This match was built around Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker (the three of them and Cena are dead center on the post) and they combined to get rid of TEN people (over a third of the eliminations) despite being in the match for less time combined than any of the five names mentioned above. None of them made the final four but they cleared the way for the grouping. That’s some really bad planning and a lack of drama, especially when it makes everyone left look life afterthoughts. Let one of them be there as a dragon for the winner to slay at the very least.

Throw in a lack of meaningful surprises (Reigns was the only name of value not announced in advance) and no nostalgia to be seen (but we needed Apollo Crews and Dolph Ziggler to combine for ten minutes in the ring and not get rid of anyone) and there was very little to care about for the biggest part of the Rumble. Strowman stuff was fun, but after him there was a FIFTEEN MINUTE stretch with no eliminations. This was a terribly planned out Rumble and managed to turn one of the most entertaining matches of the year into something incredibly boring.

Overall Rating: C+. It says a lot when the Royal Rumble is the only bad thing on the show. Other than that, the worst match is…..I guess the women’s match? This show was rather awesome but the Rumble itself was such a mess that it brings the rest of the show way down. This was a good show that cold have been great and I have no idea how they thought that was the right idea with the Rumble. That should usually be the most important thing on the show but it felt like something they threw together here, which really misses the point. Fix the Rumble and it’s a classic. As it is, it’s just good.

Ratings Comparison

Naomi/Nikki Bella/Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss/Mickie James/Natalya

Original: C

Redo: C-

Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Anderson and Gallows

Original: D+

Redo: C+

Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair

Original: C+

Redo: B-

Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns

Original: B

Redo: B+

Rich Swann vs. Neville

Original: C+

Redo: B-

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Original: A-

Redo: A

Royal Rumble

Original: C+

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: B+

Redo: C+

That Rumble rating is ridiculous. Most of the rest of the matches are in the same ballpark though and that’s a good thing.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/01/29/royal-rumble-2017-i-can-go-with-that/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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