Smackdown
Date: December 26, 2017
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re still in Chicago to wrap up the year and the big story seems to be finding AJ Styles’ next challenger for the Smackdown World Title. We also need to find out what’s going on with the United States Title, which was left in the middle of the ring by champion Dolph Ziggler. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to open things up. Before he says much though, we see a clip of Ziggler leaving the title in the ring last week. The title is now vacant and we’ll be having a tournament to crown a new champion. Fans: “RUSEV!” Bryan says the first match is tonight with Baron Corbin facing Bobby Roode but here are Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin to ask about the Tag Team Title situation. Fans: “RUSEV DAY!”

Shelton says they never got a one on one rematch with the Usos, which of course brings up Rusev and Aiden English being added to the match. They get in the ring and HERE THEY COME! English and Rusev come out with English singing about why they deserve to face the Usos. English: “Just listen, and we will disclose.”

They didn’t lose at Clash but more importantly, Rusev Day is the day after Christmas! Gable: “It’s Boxing Day!” Rusev: “No you fool. IT’S RUSEV DAY!!!” Now it’s New Day with a True False Challenge. Big E.: “Did the team of Chad Gable and Old Jason Jordan get pinned at Clash of Champions?” New Day gets in the ring to dance with Bryan but Rusev, and the RUSEV DAY chants, cut them off. After mentioning Bryan needs Shane McMahon’s approval, a triple threat #1 contenders match is made for right now.

Rusev Day vs. New Day vs. Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin

The Usos come out for commentary and it’s Xavier, Chad and English starting things off as we’re in the WCW formula again. Chad gets sent into Rusev but everything breaks down with everyone being sent outside. Xavier hits a big flip dive to take the pile down, followed by Big E. powerbombing him onto English for two. Gable German suplexes English and Big E. at the same time (that’s not normal) and it’s off to Shelton for some stomping.

Rusev comes in for some stomping and more chants in his honor, only to have Big E. run everyone over. A suplex cuts Woods off but English kicks Xavier down. The hot tag brings in Rusev for the house cleaning, including a spinwheel kick to drop Big E. Rolling Chaos Theory takes Rusev down and Woods’ missile dropkick gets two on English.

A Rock Bottom/Backstabber gets two on Gable but Woods jumps into a knee to the head. Gable adds a moonsault for two in a good false finish. English blocks another Rolling Chaos Theory and Woods kicks Gable in the head. A quick reverse AA gets two on Gable with Benjamin making the save. Rusev breaks up a Tower of Doom and powerbombs Gable and Benjamin down, allowing English to add a top rope splash for a VERY close two on Chad.

The second hot tag brings in Rusev for a kick to Woods, setting up a double Accolade for the two of them. Benjamin makes ANOTHER save as the false finishes are strong with this one. Big E. spears Benjamin through the ropes but Shelton escapes the Big Ending. One heck of a running knee staggers Big E. and it’s the powerbomb/top rope clothesline to give Gable the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B. Questionable ending aside, that was a heck of a match with some insane false finishes. Gable/Benjamin vs. the Usos should be a lot of fun but at the same time, the fans want Rusev right now. Maybe he wins the US Title, but my goodness they’re running a risk of blowing what should be a solid opportunity.

The title match is next week.

Shane McMahon comes in to see Daniel and talks about Bryan saying Shane is becoming Vince. Shane defends his father, which certainly doesn’t sound like a speech to make people believe that Vince is a business genius who can totally pull off the XFL II. On top of that, Shane isn’t cool with the US Title Tournament because Corbin should get a one on one singles match.

Bryan likes the idea of giving multiple people chances and Shane can go with that. What he can’t go with is AJ vs. Kevin Owens (non-title) tonight in the main event Bryan has made. There’s been talk of favoritism being shown to Kevin and Sami Zayn, which Shane needs to prevent. Bryan thinks we should finish the year with another entry in a great rivalry. Shane reluctantly agrees.

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Ascension got Breezango this match as a present. Breezango goes straight at them, earning Fandango a spinning Boss Man Slam and Breeze a face plant on the apron. Back in and Harper’s big boot drops Breeze, followed by an assisted sitout powerbomb for two with Rowan pulling him up. The beating continues but the Ascension runs in to attack the Brothers for the DQ at 2:06.

The Ascension say Breezango aren’t ready for an interview but they’re ready to challenge the Brothers to a rematch next week. Breezango doesn’t look happy.

Video on the Women’s Royal Rumble, including the Women’s Revolution history.

Ruby Riott vs. Naomi

Naomi goes right at her to start and hits a springboard kick to the face. Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan offer distractions though, allowing Riott to kick Naomi in the leg. The Riott Kick is good for the pin at 57 seconds.

The post match beatdown is on but Charlotte makes the save. The numbers game gets the better of Charlotte as well though, only to have Tamina, Lana, Natalya (So we’re just dropping the turning her back on Smackdown story?) and Carmella make the save. The Squad loses a quick fight and gets chased off. As usual, Carmella shows no interest in cashing in on the downed Charlotte.

AJ Styles talks about challenging himself in 2017. He started the year as WWE Champion and he’s ending it the same way. Owens isn’t outworking him and AJ is ending the year on a high note.

US Title Tournament First Round: Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin sends him into the corner to start and hammers away, including some forearms to the chest. A spinning side slam gives Corbin two and he follows it up with a hard running clothesline on the floor. Back in and Roode hits some clotheslines followed by the Blockbuster for his first near fall.

End of Days is broken up and Corbin’s slide underneath the ropes only earns him a spinebuster. The Glorious DDT is countered into Deep Six for two more. Corbin takes him up top for a superplex but Roode slips out and shoves him down. He dives right into a chokeslam but counters that into a rollup for the fast pin to put Corbin away at 8:39.

Rating: C+. Nice back and forth match here, though I’m still not completely sold on Ziggler being gone. Roode winning is another interesting call as Corbin, the former champion, seemed to be pretty close to a lock to move on at least to the second round. The near falls were good here and it was an entertaining little match, which is about all you can ask for here.

US Title Tournament First Round: Jinder Mahal vs. Tye Dillinger

Tye sends him outside to start and we take a very early break. Back with Jinder holding him in a chinlock until Tye fights up with the left hands. The Tyebreaker is broken up so Tye goes up, only to have Jinder roll through a high crossbody for two. Jinder grabs a fireman’s carry but tosses him up for a gutbuster and another near fall. Tye gets crotched in the corner though and the Khallas sends Jinder on at 5:58. Not enough shown to rate but this is where Mahal should have been seven months ago and a lot of the damage has been done.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have a bottle of champagne to celebrate tonight’s win. It’s the same bottle that Daniel Bryan wouldn’t accept from them but tonight there’s no cheating guest referee. After tonight, there’s a party which only the two of them are invited to.

Randy Orton officially enters the Royal Rumble. Shinsuke Nakamura comes in to say that sounds like a good idea so he’s in too.

AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title with Sami Zayn at ringside. Owens charges into a dropkick at the bell and Styles hits his jumping knee. An early Calf Crusher sends Owens bailing to the ropes and Owens kicks AJ out to the floor in a heap. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a kick to the back as we take a break.

We come back with AJ fighting out of another chinlock but eating a hard clothesline. A neckbreaker on the knee gives Owens two more but the Cannonball misses. AJ wins a slugout with the Phenomenal Blitz into the seated forearm. The Pele drops Owens again but a springboard is countered into a gutbuster.

Owens goes up for a middle rope Vader Bomb elbow for two more as frustration is setting in. There’s another neckbreaker to send Owens outside but AJ dives onto Zayn this time around. Another distraction lets Owens superkick him down for two so here’s Shane to eject Sami. That means the referee misses Owens getting rolled up, allowing Owens to grab his own rollup for the pin at 16:30.

Rating: B. These two have surprisingly average chemistry together so this was one of their better performances. In theory this sets up Owens as a potential challenger, but odds are the focus is going to be on Shane (again) for reasons that I’m not clear on. You would think AJ Styles and the World Title would be enough but why do that when you can put the focus on the McMahons?

Shane apologizes to AJ, who doesn’t seem pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The first hour lacking commercials didn’t do it any favors but this was definitely a solid night with a lot of stuff taking place. You can feel the Ryan Ward influence at times as they knock down so much stuff in a show every now and then. Things should be picking up for the Rumble season and that’s a great thing for everyone. Tone Shane way down and you might even have a great show.

Results

Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin b. New Day and Rusev Day – Powerbomb/Top rope clothesline combination to Big E.

Bludgeon Brothers b. Breezango via DQ when Ascension interfered

Ruby Riott b. Naomi – Riott Kick

Bobby Roode b. Baron Corbin – Rollup

Jinder Mahal b. Tye Dillinger – Khallas

Kevin Owens b. AJ Styles – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: December 19, 2017
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s the first show after Clash of Champions and the bosses have some splainin to do. This past Sunday, Shane McMahon refused to count the fall in the tag match but Daniel Bryan one upped him with a fast count. Other than that, it’s time to start the build to the Royal Rumble, which could mean several different things. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Sunday’s tag match. No title matches, including the main event, are mentioned.

Here’s Bryan to get things going. After mentioning the women’s Royal Rumble, he plugs tonight’s main event. Cue Shane and it’s time for the awkward conversation. They talk about Sunday’s match and Shane says the emotions got the better of him. When he was about to count the three, he thought of Owens beating his father up and the two of them screwing Smackdown at Survivor Series.

Bryan cheated too though, and Shane wants to know why. Daniel says he did it to protect Shane from himself, which Shane says he doesn’t need. What Bryan did on Sunday was to protect their idea: making this place the land of opportunity for everyone, not just the people Shane likes. Shane warns Bryan that Sami and Kevin will turn on him when they’ve gotten what they can out of him. Bryan accuses Shane of doing what’s best for business, and if that’s the case, fire him now because he doesn’t want to see Shane turn into Mr. McMahon. Shane teases firing him but says he’ll let Daniel run the show tonight.

Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable

Non-title. Gable takes Jimmy down to start but the Usos take him into the corner for some alternating splashes. Back with Jey enziguring Shelton down and the hot tag bringing Jimmy in. The Samoan drop plants Chad, followed by a wicked Umaga attack in the corner. A superkick looks to set up the Superfly Splash but Shelton makes the save. Rolling Chaos Theory sets up the powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination for the pin on Jimmy at 7:42.

Rating: C-. They needed to do something with Benjamin and Gable so hopefully this sets up their definitive title shot. I don’t think we’ll actually get new champions out of this but at least we’re setting something up here. The Usos need some new challengers and it’s pretty clear we’re going to be seeing the Bludgeon Brothers there sooner or later. Odds are Gable and Benjamin lose in short order, but at least the match should be good.

We look back at the women’s Royal Rumble announcement, including a bunch of reactions from wrestlers.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat. She talks about how excited she is and can’t wait for the match. She’ll be waiting to defend her title at Wrestlemania against the winner, but here’s Naomi to interrupt. She officially enters the Rumble and promises to see Charlotte at Wrestlemania. This brings out the Riott Squad with Naomi ripping on the three of them. Naomi goes a step further by challenging them to a match after the break.

Naomi/Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott/Sarah Logan

Joined in progress with Charlotte chopping Logan but missing a big boot. Logan chop blocks her down and hands it off to Ruby for a leg lock. Charlotte finally breaks out and knees Logan in the ribs, allowing the hot tag to Naomi. A long series or rapid fire forearms and a kick to the head rock Logan as everything breaks down. With Charlotte taking Riott down, the Rear View ends Logan at 3:36.

Rating: D. No time to go anywhere here but is there a reason the Riott Squad lost again? I mean other than to separate them from Absolution of course (One loses, the other doesn’t. That’s totally different!). Charlotte not being in the Rumble is going to make it a bit more difficult to get to 30 but at least there’s a real prize for the winner.

New Day, in Christmas gear, gives out presents, including flapjacks and shirts. Rusev and Aiden English, dressed as Santa and Frosty respectively, show up to plug the Happy Rusev Day shirt. Rusev only has a naughty list and English sings a challenge (“Oh Rusev Day, oh Rusev Day. We challenge you to a contest!”). Rusev stomps on the pancakes so Big E. says he just flapped the wrong jack.

Here’s Dolph Ziggler to say he knew he belonged around here with the US Title being proof. It’s not even his first reign and we see a clip of him winning the title at Capitol Punishment (That was SIX YEARS AGO???). We see his Intercontinental Title wins as well, followed by winning Money in the Bank and the successful cash-in. Ziggler says people need something to remember him by, so he lays the title down and walks away. If that’s how they get rid of Ziggler, fine, but what was the point of taking the title off Corbin?

Sami and Owens present Bryan with a bottle of champagne but he tells them to go get ready for their match before he fires them himself.

New Day vs. Rusev/Aiden English

We get a LOUD Rusev Day chant before things get going. I’m sure they’ll be punished later. English (Frosty) and Kofi (gingerbread man) start things off with Kofi being sent outside for a little dance. Rusev (Santa)gives chase, leaving English to take a dropkick. Big E. (elf) grabs the bag of presents and throws some shirts to the crowd. There are some homemade Happy Rusev Day underwear as well though, allowing English and Rusev to jump them from behind.

Back from a break with Kofi in trouble as the fans want pancakes. Rusev charges into Kofi’s boot and a tornado DDT takes him down. Woods (reindeer) comes in off the hot tag but the Honor Roll is countered into a fireman’s carry spinebuster for two. The pancakes are put on the table and English covers them with whipped cream. Woods won’t go into them so English does instead. English is ready to fight (“FOR RUSEV!!!”) but charges into a shot to the face. The top rope elbow ends English at 8:38.

Rating: C. I’m usually into these Christmas matches but sweet goodness Rusev and English need to run with this thing while they can. The fans are eating it up like pancakes with whipped cream and they’re losing every single week. Even if it’s just for a little while, let them see where they can go. It’s better than putting Woods in a white suit and calling them Speed Force.

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura/AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal/Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Rematch from Tribute to the Troops. Orton and Mahal get things going but everything breaks down before anything happens. Everyone winds up on the floor with Orton bouncing Mahal off the announcers’ table. Back in where Nakamura is driven into the wrong corner so Sami can start in on the arm. Nakamura lays on Sami’s chest on the ropes and pulls his chest hair out for a rare bit of offense. Orton drapes Sami over the top rope for two and it’s back to Mahal. The referee tells him thirty seconds and about thirty seconds later we go to a break with Owens stomping on Orton.

Back with Orton fighting out of a chinlock and bringing AJ in to….get sent outside in short order. Sami gets in some right hands for two of his own as the villains start taking turns on Styles. AJ DDT’s his way to freedom and brings in Nakamura for the real house cleaning. A series of kicks and knees to the head rock Sami and that means Good Vibrations. More strikes look to set up the exploder but Nakamura settles for a cross armbreaker instead.

Owens is right there with the backsplash for the save but gets sent outside. Everything breaks down again with AJ slingshotting onto Owens with the forearm. The Singh Brothers break up the Kinshasa but only get ejected instead of drawing a DQ. Not that it matters as Mahal eats an RKO, drawing them back to ringside. That means a double draping DDT, a Phenomenal Forearm for Owens and Kinshasa for the pin on Sami at 15:21.

Rating: C+. Standard house show main event here and that’s fine enough. I like the idea of Nakamura getting some feature time for a change as he could become a big time player in the main event scene soon enough if need be. That being said, was there ANY reason for Sami to take the pin here instead of Mahal? Come on already.

A long celebration seems to set something up but just ends the show instead.

Overall Rating: C-. Well it’s nice to see how much effort they put in this week. This show was their version of a Smackdown Christmas special, meaning one match felt different than any other week. It’s not bad and it didn’t drag along like Raw, but don’t expect any kind of major developments here. I know it’s the holidays and this is all they can really do given how few people will be watching, but that doesn’t make it any less dull.

Results

Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable b. Usos – Powerbomb/Top rope clothesline to Jimmy

Charlotte/Naomi b. Riott Squad – Rear View to Logan

New Day b. Aiden English/Rusev – Top rope elbow to English

Randy Orton/AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal – Kinshasa to Zayn

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Clash of Champions 2017
Date: December 17, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the final pay per view of the year and this time the focus is on champions. Well, at least some of it is as the rest of the focus has been on Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Shane McMahon, who has put together Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura to fight for him. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Mojo Rawley vs. Zack Ryder

They were partners who kept losing so Rawley turned on him. Rawley has new music as well. Ryder dropkicks him at the bell and we start in a hurry. They head outside with Ryder slugging away until Rawley rams him back first into the barricade. A spinebuster plants Ryder again and a running splash in the corner gets two.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Ryder gets shoved off the ropes and outside again. Back from a break with Ryder caught in another chinlock. A big boot gets two more but Ryder is back up with some forearms in the corner. Mojo gets serious and chop blocks the knee, setting up the running right hand for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: C-. Fairly entertaining glorified squash here and that’s all it could have been. Ryder was always going to lose this and that’s the right idea with Rawley potentially becoming a midcard act as a result of the split. It served its purpose and if Rawley gets something out of it, even better.

The opening video is split between looking at the title matches and the tag match. This show’s name is going to be its undoing.

US Title: Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin is defending. They circle around to start until Corbin is sent outside, leaving the challengers to trade rollups. Ziggler sends Roode outside as well and it’s Corbin with a hard clothesline to take Bobby down. Dolph takes some right hands as well and it’s Corbin standing tall early on.

Back in and Roode is whipped hard into the corer as we’re firmly in the two in/one out triple threat formula. After a good stomping on Roode, Ziggler comes back in and takes one of his own. At least the champ is consistent. It’s Roode coming back in with a Blockbuster for two on Corbin. Ziggler runs in for a Fameasser on Roode, forcing Corbin to dive back in for a save.

Roode hits a swinging Rock Bottom but walks into Deep Six. With everyone else down, Roode goes up for some reason, only to get caught on the bad end of a Tower of Doom. Ziggler throws Corbin outside but the superkick is countered into Roode’s spinebuster. The jumping DDT gives Ziggler two though and everyone is down again. A charging Corbin is low bridged and Ziggler eats the Glorious DDT but Corbin pulls Roode out at two. Back in and Corbin loads up End of Days, only to have Ziggler grab the Zig Zag for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: C+. I….what? Like seriously what? Ziggler was there to take the fall and winds up winning the title? Was this just for the sake of shutting him up on Twitter? The match was every triple threat match you’ve seen with a nice sequence in the middle, but my goodness Ziggler winning does nothing for anyone.

Daniel Bryan thinks his referee shirt is a little big when Shane McMahon comes in to say his, which of course is customized, fits fine. Shane wants to know what’s up with Bryan as of late as he just added himself to the match out of nowhere. They’re both going to be in the ring tonight and more discussions will be had later on.

Corbin is livid and promises to get the title back.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable vs. Rusev/Aiden English vs. Usos

The Usos are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Before the match, English sings the Twelve Days of Rusev so the Usos sing about having all twelve days on lock. There are four in the ring at a time here so it’s Gable, English, Kofi and Jimmy starting things off. Four straight rollups lead to a quadruple tag as everything breaks down. Of course a bunch of them wind up on the floor with Jey diving onto Big E. and English.

Benjamin runs the corner to superplex Jimmy down with Big E. having to make a save. New Day takes over inside and loads up some Unicorn Stampedes, only to have Rusev come back in and run everyone over. Cue the RUSEV DAY chants, meaning WWE will destroy him in short order. Gable and English put on holds at the same time with a staredown thrown in.

English of course wins by singing, because that’s what a good man does. A hard suplex drops Jey and we settle down to Gable and Benjamin working Kofi over in the corner. Byron won’t shut up about English’s singing and Graves keeps berating him, meaning advantage Graves. English has to make a save and gets in a shoving match with Gable. Double hot tags bring in Jimmy and Big E. as this is WAY messier than it needs to be.

A running Umaga Attack and a Warrior Splash gives us a double two. The Usos clean house with superkicks until Shelton powerbombs Jimmy and Gable grabs a Texas Cloverleaf. Rusev makes a save with a superkick to the back of the head and grabs the Accolade on Gable. Big E. makes the save but eats the jumping superkick. There’s the Accolade on Big E. until Gable makes a very delayed save of his own. Chad starts suplexing everyone, including Rolling Chaos Theory on Big E. The Usos make a blind tag though and it’s the superkick into the Superfly Splash to retain at 11:56.

Rating: B-. The action was good but egads this was messy. There was too much going on and a lot of that is due to the four in the ring at once. Hopefully they don’t keep that up if they do something like this again in the future. The Usos retaining is acceptable but the titles could use some fresh blood pretty soon. Hopefully that means Rusev/English, at least before Rusev Day loses its steam.

We recap the Women’s Title match. Charlotte beat Natalya to take the title but the debuting Riott Squad interfered in the rematch. The solution was a lumberjack match, including the Riott Squad at ringside.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Natalya

Charlotte is defending and the lumberjacks get individual entrances to fill in time. Oh and we get Big Match Intros in case you didn’t get the idea yet. Charlotte wastes no time in kicking Natalya outside where Naomi gets in a shot of her own. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Charlotte two as Graves says he has 20/13 vision, making him better than Saxton. Normally this would be annoying but Saxton is so worthless that it’s actually fine.

Natalya knocks the champ outside and the beatdown is on with the Squad getting annoying at the other lumberjacks trying to get in their own shots. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a basement dropkick to keep Charlotte in trouble. Natalya gets sent outside and, of course, is tossed back in unscathed. Charlotte makes a comeback but decides to dive onto Ruby Riott instead.

We get the required lumberjack brawl until Naomi dives onto everyone. Back in and Natalya grabs a Sharpshooter until Charlotte gets over to the ropes. That’s not cool with the lumberjacks, who pull Charlotte outside to keep up the beating. In the melee, Carmella grabs the Money in the Bank briefcase but the Squad breaks it up. Charlotte moonsaults outside onto the pile but gets posted by Natalya. Back in and Charlotte reverses the Sharpshooter into the Figure Eight to retain at 12:33.

Rating: D+. As usual, Smackdown seems to have no idea how to book this division without throwing everyone into the match at once. All the people running around got old in a hurry and there was no way around it. On top of that we still don’t have the Money in the Bank cash-in out of the way, despite having the most perfect of a moment imaginable at the CHAMPIONS pay per view. This was more annoying than anything else and that’s not good. On a side note though, this felt like it was planting some seeds for a women’s Rumble and that could be interesting.

Post match Natalya says Charlotte used her family’s name to cut corners and talks about giving everything to the division in the last ten years. Now the WWE and the women want to turn their backs on her. Well she’ll turn her back on all of them. Ok Nattie. You do that and see if we can make people care about you even less. I mean, I doubt it, but maybe your cats will be interested. Just don’t talk again. Like ever. I’d rather listen to your cats being swung around by their tails.

Long video hyping up the Network because THIS SHOW IS WAY TOO SHORT IF YOU DIDN’T GET THE IDEA YET!

The Singh Brothers won’t allow any interviews with Jinder Mahal. They do however note that he heard what AJ said “on the Clash of Champions Kickoff Show”. As opposed to the Barney Miller marathon kickoff show?

1. Who listens to this and thinks humans talk like this?

2. What do I have to do to get a Barney Miller marathon?

Anyway they tease that they won’t get involved in the title match.

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Or can we just have Breezango win something for once?

Post match the Brothers promise more destruction.

Zayn and Owens like Bryan playing fair and promise that the YEP Movement will rage on. They walk away from a question of what if they lose.

We recap the tag match, which I can’t believe isn’t the main event. Owens beat up Vince McMahon so it turned into the Shane McMahon Avenging Hour. Zayn joined forces with Owens and turned into the double big bad, setting up a tag match between Owens/Zayn vs. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura. Shane and Daniel Bryan are both going to be refereeing and if Owens/Zayn lose, they’re fired. The bosses are rather divided on what to do about Owens and Zayn, meaning there’s some tension around here.

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura

Both referees are in the ring at once as Orton headlocks Sami to start. Orton clotheslines Sami down and let’s have an argument over the counts. Shane yells at Sami for punching in the corner while Bryan just stands back. Nakamura comes in and reverses a wristlock into one of his own. It’s off to Owens who hammers away in the corner, only to have Shane pull him off.

Orton comes back in and completely misses a right hand but gets two anyway, triggering another argument. Eventually they agree to cover half of the ring each and we seem to have peace at the moment. Owens superkicks Orton to take over, allowing Zayn to chop away in the corner. Orton breaks a chinlock (he would know about them) and drops Sami ribs first across the top.

It’s back to Owens for a chinlock of his own until a belly to back suplex gets Orton to freedom. Nakamura comes in for the hard strikes and some Good Vibrations. We hit a triangle choke on Owens but he powers out in a bit of a surprise. Sami comes in for two off the Blue Thunder Bomb as everything breaks down. Orton’s throat is snapped across the top rope but he’s able to crotch Sami into a superplex.

Owens pulls Orton outside so the brawl can continue, including the overactive referees. The villains start loading up the announcers’ table and a splash drives him through. Orton is back up though and the hanging DDT gets two on Sami with Shane freaking out over the kickout. There’s an RKO to Owens but Zayn rolls Randy up for two as Shane just stops counting. Bryan snaps so Sami rolls Orton up again with Bryan fast counting the pin at 21:00.

Rating: C+. The match was a mess due to all the people involved but egads this better be a Shane heel turn. I like the ending, but I have a bad feeling about what it’s going to lead to. If nothing else it basically guarantees more Shane dominating TV, even if it’s not all that interesting anymore. Shane was a full on heel here, even if that is likely to change nothing because Shane is the cool guy or whatever their logic is.

A lot of staring ensues.

We recap the World Title match with a cool video about the history of the title and some great champions. AJ hopes to be such a champion one day and started the process when he won the title in England. Tonight is Mahal’s rematch.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal

AJ is defending and the Singh Brothers are here. Mahal powers him into the corner to start until AJ kicks him in the knee for a breather. They head outside with AJ sending the knee into the barricade and grabbing a leglock back inside. Mahal fights up and drops him ribs first across the top rope for another trip to the floor. A piece of the barricade padding is ripped off and AJ goes crashing through it as the fans are just dying here.

Mahal gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and we hit the reverse chinlock with a knee in the back. It’s off to a bodyscissors as this match is somehow getting even more boring, completely defying my expectations. Mahal stays on the ribs with an abdominal stretch, followed by a middle rope right hand to the jaw. AJ dropkicks the second attempt out of the air but it’s too early for the Phenomenal Forearm.

Some right hands in the corner are countered into an electric chair, followed by the seated forearm. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Mahal, followed by a northern lights suplex for the same. There’s the Pele but the tornado DDT is countered, allowing Mahal to kick him in the face for two more. With nothing else working, Mahal loads up a super Khallas but AJ breaks it up without much effort.

The springboard 450 connects, only to bang up the ribs. The Singh Brothers try to pull Mahal outside but get beaten up for their efforts, including a Styles Clash on the floor. Back in and the Khallas gets two so Mahal tries a Styles Clash. Since that would probably result in a bad case of death, AJ reverses into the Calf Crusher to retain at 22:57.

Rating: B. Much like in Manchester, AJ carries Mahal to a good match. NOW GET THE HECK OVER MAHAL AND GET HIM OUT OF THE MAIN EVENT FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER! I’ve been sick of the guy for months now and hopefully he drops down to the midcard (where he would be perfectly fine and should have been all this time) while someone interesting and/or talented gets the spot that they deserve.

Overall Rating: C-. While not the worst show ever, it certainly was one of the least important ever. The problem again comes down to the fact that the idea of a pay per view focusing on the titles doesn’t need to exist when every pay per view is like this. Maybe if you have a dual branded version it could work but this didn’t stand up very well on its own.

As has been obvious for weeks though, the bigger problem is how little this show needed to exist. Smackdown just doesn’t have the lineup for a stand alone pay per view at the moment as they ran a six match card here with almost nothing feeling like it belonged on pay per view. The main event was good but nothing that blew away the TV match from England and the tag match was a plot device. As for the rest….yeah it existed and ate up pay per view time, which is about the extent of its positives.

The show was far from terrible, but it wasn’t very interesting and didn’t need to exist. Granted we’re heading into the Rumble though and that’s going to guarantee things pick up in a hurry. In other words, this was the throw away December pay per view which only exists because they need a show in December. At least the boring stretch is out of the way though and things can start looking forward.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode – Zig Zag to Corbin

Usos b. Aiden English/Rusev, New Day and Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable – Superfly Splash to Gable

Charlotte b. Natalya – Figure Eight

Bludgeon Brothers b. Breezango – Double spinebuster to Fandango

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura – Rollup to Orton

AJ Styles b. Jinder Mahal – Calf Crusher

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Is it really a good idea to have a pay per view entirely about champions if you only have a few title matches to put on? Or when the real main event isn’t even about a title? WWE certainly thinks so, which is why we’re getting “Clash of Champions 2017” tomorrow night. This show isn’t exactly inspiring and seems like further proof that we don’t need single branded pay per views. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley

This is the kind of thing you should be doing with the Kickoff Show. The match isn’t going to mean much but it gives you a match that was set up on TV a few weeks back. The Hype Bros weren’t exactly a top level team and neither of these guys is going to mean anything despite winning here, but at least they’ve being given a chance to do something with their story.

Rawley wins pretty handily here and I have no idea why that should even be up for discussion. Ryder is one of the most consistently cheered midcarders around and Rawley, despite winning the battle royal at “Wrestlemania XXXIII”, hasn’t had the big singles moment yet. Let him win here and maybe he could start something. I mean, he likely won’t, but at least there’s a chance.

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

We might as well get the real main event out of the way here. There’s no reason to believe that anything is close to this on the levels of importance as it’s been by far the most featured story in recent weeks. The bigger question is who turns here as the winners aren’t really in doubt.

Of course I’m going with Owens and Zayn to win, but I think it’s due to Shane McMahon doing something screwy, likely that Daniel Bryan doesn’t see so he has to count the fall. They’re completely crazy if they try to turn Bryan heel in this whole thing but dumber things have certainly happened before. Just go with what the fans want and what makes sense here though and everything will be fine. You know, like most of the time.

Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair(c) vs. Natalya

This is a title match where the bigger question is what will the people outside the ring do, making it all the more odd. These two have shown that they have the chemistry to make a good match, but the Riott Squad is going to get a lot of the focus. That’s fine in theory as they’re more interesting than anything Natalya is going to do but it kind of misses the point of the champions idea.

I’ll go with Charlotte retaining and then a cash-in from Carmella. She’s going to be at ringside and you can almost guarantee some shenanigans either during or after the match. That makes more sense as she’s an easier target for the Riott Squad and can defend against Naomi while Charlotte handles the heavy lifting.

Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable vs. Rusev/Aiden English

Now this one could be fun, assuming the people can get out of each others’ way long enough. I’m not a fan of having so many teams (and especially so many people) being in one match but that’s how matches work in WWE these days. The Usos have been rocking the heck out of the division as of late but they’ve traded the titles with New Day for so long now that it’s time for some fresh blood.

I’m hoping that fresh blood is Rusev and English who have put together a shockingly good team in recent weeks. English has an excellent voice and that’s all he needs to keep himself relevant, even on a minor scale. Throw in Rusev for the heavy, hard hitting lifting and everything should come together nicely. Just keep the belts away from New Day for a change and everything should be fine.

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

This isn’t exactly how I expected to see this match happen but at least we’re getting it. Breezango has gone from the hottest thing on the roster to just kind of there, mainly due to almost never wrestling. That being said, they have no business beating the Bludgeon Brothers at the moment and I don’t think WWE is even considering going nuts here.

So yeah, the Bludgeon Brothers win and do so handily, as they should. Breezango is really just good for comedy at this point unless they actually get back in the ring more regularly. That’s quite the shame as they’re a talented team who come off like stars, but WWE isn’t the place to go with a team that got over doing creative stuff. One of these teams (or the Usos) could use a trade to “Monday Night Raw”, just for the sake of getting out of each others’ way. Bludgeon Brothers win and do so with ease.

US Title: Baron Corbin(c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler

Then there’s this, which has to be one of the least inspired matches in recent memory. I see no reason for this to really be taking place as there’s almost no effort put into the thing. Ziggler is still one of the worst characters around (due to staleness more than anything else), Roode needs someone to work with and Corbin is just kind of there as the big power guy.

I’ll take Corbin to retain as he and Roode can have some more singles matches down the line. Neither of them are exactly inspiring though and I have little desire to actually watch the match. Maybe Ziggler will be interested in trying though I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s a bad match with a bad build though and that’s a scary combination.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Jinder Mahal

We’ll wrap it up here, with a match that I don’t think will actually close the show. It’s pretty clear that the Mahal experiment is over and done with and if logic prevails, tomorrow night will be the grand finale as Mahal is done with the main event scene once and for all. I think you can guess my pick from here.

Styles will win this and certainly should. I was never impressed with Mahal in the first place and there was little reason to be. He’s just not that good and while he was certainly trying, he felt much more like an experiment that got out of hand more than anything else. Styles is a proven commodity though and one more win over Mahal will….well it’s not really going to do much for him but there are a lot of fans who would like to see it.

Overall Thoughs

this really isn’t doing much for me as it’s a one and a half match card with the rest of the show feeling pretty slapped on. The big problem of course is that EVERY pay per view features this many title matches, making the entire concept of focusing on the titles seem like a waste of an idea. It’s fine in theory, but when there are title matches almost every week, a pay per view about them doesn’t do it. The fact that the real main event isn’t about a title either sums the whole thing up perfectly well. There’s potential for some good stuff on here, but my hopes are pretty firmly down.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Tribute to the Troops 2017
Date: December 14, 2017
Location: Naval Station San Diego, San Diego, California
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton

It’s the fifteenth annual special and that’s rather impressive. You never can know what to expect from these but it’s always cool to see WWE do something like this. The wrestling means very little at this show and there’s going to be a lot of filler but to complain about that would be missing the point. Let’s get to it.

The show is outside again for the first time in a good many years for a very cool setting.

Lillian Garcia performs the National Anthem at her usual amazing standard.

We look at a history of the show.

Shield vs. Samoa Joe/The Bar

Rollins and Reigns start things off with the troops in the audience telling Sheamus he’ll get sunburned. Some rapid fire elbows have Cesaro in trouble and it’s off to Dean for more of the same. Ambrose gets caught in the wrong corner though and it’s Joe hammering away. Everything breaks down and it’s the Shield cleaning house in short order. Back from a break with Rollins hitting a suicide dive and making the hot tag to Reigns. Everything breaks down again with Reigns Superman Punching Cesaro for two. The Wind-Up knee into Dirty Deeds drops Sheamus and it’s a spear to end Cesaro at 9:49.

Rating: C. I’m going to be a lot more lenient on the wrestling tonight because like I said, it’s just not the point. I’d be stunned if a heel wins tonight because this is the definition of a send them home happy show. You’re going to see these teams fight again on a big stage at some point and this was a nice preview.

Post match Reigns says the Shield brings the fight but the people in the audience here bring the big fight. Rollins and Ambrose say similar things and everyone smiles.

The cast of Star Wars loves the troops.

Clips of John Cena’s involvement with the troops over the years.

Carmella vs. Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott

Non-title with most of the division on the floor. Ruby bails to the floor to start before sneaking back in to jump Charlotte from behind. Charlotte gets in a few shots of her own but here’s Natalya to offer a distraction as we take a break. Back with Charlotte making a comeback but getting caught on top. Carmella pulls Ruby down and hits a Stratusphere for two on Charlotte and things slow down. Charlotte is back up with a double suplex and the rapid fire chops. A big boot sets up the Figure Eight to make Carmella tap at 10:04.

Rating: C. More of the same here with the face dominating and pulling off a win without much effort. Above all else though, how nice is it that the women aren’t in the Santa’s Little Helpers matches or whatever they want to call it this time? It’s really cool to see them have an actual match, even if it’s something this simple.

Charlotte thanks the troops, particularly the women.

Package of the wrestlers with the troops.

The cast of Pitch Perfect 3 love the troops.

Luke Bryan loves the troops.

Stephen Colbert loves the troops.

Machine Gun Kelly performs.

The cast of Daddy’s Home 2 loves the troops.

Sgt. Slaughter doesn’t want a fake Marine like Miz pretending to be the real thing. Dolph Ziggler is here too but doesn’t have much to say. Mark Henry comes in to tell Sarge to keep at it.

New Day/Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable/Rusev/Aiden English

Before the match, New Day changes up their signature chant to a USA version. Big E. hits the abdominal stretch with some spanking on Gable to start and it’s off to Jey for a running Umaga Attack. Jey gets sent outside and into the barricade though as we take a break. Back with Rusev keeping Jey in trouble and Shelton coming in for a hard spinebuster. The Samoan drop allows the hot tag to Jimmy so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and the Midnight Hour puts Shelton away at 8:03.

Rating: C-. New Day was a requirement on a show like this as the fans are going to eat them up and the chants are always fun. It was perfectly fine with the right guy taking the fall and the right team winning. If nothing else it’s cool to see English getting a chance to do something with that sweet voice of his.

The cast of Ferdinand loves the troops.

The cast of This Is Us loves the troops.

The cast of the Today Show loves the troops.

Sasha Banks/Bayley/Mickie James vs. Absolution

Mandy shoves Bayley into the corner to start but gets forearmed away for her efforts. Mickie comes in to kick away at Sonya and a running forearm gets two. Everything breaks down and they fight on the floor as we take a break. Back with Mandy kneeing Bayley in the face for two but getting caught in a Stunner. Sasha comes in for the running knees in the corner but Sonya makes a save. Mickie’s top rope Thesz press gets two on Paige and she dives onto the other two for good measure. Not that it matters as a quick Rampaige ends Mickie at 10:06.

Rating: C+. If any heels were going to win tonight, this makes the most sense. Absolution needs to stay strong, which includes a match like this. The match was rather energetic and it’s fine to have Mickie take a fall as that’s pretty much all her job entails at the moment. Of course none of this matters for the most part as Asuka is the big target but we’ll get to her soon enough.

Stormtroopers were at the base today as Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuts this weekend.

Machine Gun Kelly performs again.

Clint Eastwood loves the troops.

The cast of Father Figures loves the troops.

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura/AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Orton wastes no time with the threat of an RKO to send Owens bailing to the floor. Back from a break with Owens stomping at Orton long enough that he can bring Mahal in. Nakamura comes in for the knees to the ribs, including the big knee drop for no cover. Mahal takes him into the corner for a bit but Nakamura fights away and gets it back to Styles.

The belly to back faceplant gets two on Owens and Mahal has to break up the Calf Crusher. Orton DDTs both Singh Brothers but walks into a superkick from Owens. Nakamura and Zayn come in as everything breaks down. We hit the parade of finishers, capped off by Kinshasa for the pin on Sami at 10:18.

Rating: C+. Like there was any doubt in this one. Nakamura might not have gotten the best reaction in the world but he has a good looking finisher and this isn’t exactly a normal show. Styles and Orton were crazy over of course and there’s nothing like beating up three foreigners to end the show.

One last music tribute wraps things up.

Overall Rating: C+. As you might expect, the ratings here mean nothing. This is like wondering what the audience is for a Best Of show or something like that. Tribute to the Troops is for the live crowd and there’s nothing wrong with that idea. The wrestling doesn’t matter and as long as there’s a good atmosphere, which there was, everything is fine.

Results

Shield b. Samoa Joe/The Bar – Spear to Cesaro

Charlotte b. Carmella and Ruby Riott – Figure Eight to Carmella

New Day/Usos b. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable/Rusev/Aiden English – Midnight Hour to Benjamin

Absolution b. Mickie James/Bayley/Sasha Banks – Rampaige to James

Randy Orton/AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal – Kinshasa to Zayn

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: December 12, 2017
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the go home show for Clash of Champions 2017 and things are starting to pick up. The most recent weeks have focused on the Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon and company feud. Therefore, tonight is probably going to be more centered around the World Title match between champion AJ Styles and Jinder Mahal. You know, the title match on the show about champions. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long sequence on last week’s big story, seeing Shane McMahon making Orton/Nakamura vs. Zayn/Owens for the pay per view with himself at the referee. If Zayn/Owens win, they’re done in WWE.

Here’s Styles to open things up. He won the title a little over a month ago and wants to be a fighting champion. This Sunday he defends against Mahal and lists off what Mahal will do to get the title back, including bringing in Great Khali. Cue the Singh Brothers, who say they’re not introducing Mahal tonight. We look back at Mahal attacking the two of them two weeks ago so AJ wants to hug it out. AJ: “Come hug it out with Uncle Al!”

The Brothers get in the ring and say they want to be in Mahal’s corner on Sunday. One of them rants about how horrible Mahal is (“He thinks we’re twins!”) while the other tries to calm him down. AJ doesn’t buy it and shows a still of the Brothers being in Mahal’s corner this weekend in India. They swear they’re done with Mahal, who comes out looking rather angry. AJ of course doesn’t buy any of this (thank goodness) and lays the Brothers out.

We recap the Riott Squad debuting and picking apart the women’s division. This is in no way shape or form a copy of what Absolution has done.

Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott

Non-title with Natalya on commentary. Charlotte suplexes her down for two but stops to yell at Natalya. We take an early break and come back with Charlotte hitting a Lethal Combination into the corner. Sarah Logan has to be knocked off the apron and Natalya gets forearmed as well. Natalya clotheslines Charlotte for the DQ at 5:04. Not enough shown to rate of course but this was an angle instead of a match.

Post match the Squad goes after Charlotte and loads up the steps but Naomi returns (after missing a single week) for the save. Carmella, Tamina and Lana come in to help as well with the Squad running off. Again, THIS IS THE SAME THING THAT ABSOLUTION DID ON RAW! Can we really not get a second idea?

Daniel Bryan is on the phone with Shane when Zayn and Owens come in, both wearing modified Bryan shirts (YEP instead of YES). They don’t say anything but hand him a sign with Shane’s face crossed off.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

Non-title with Bobby Roode on commentary. Corbin drops him with a single right hand before yelling at Roode. Ziggler is back with a dropkick and avoids a charge to send Corbin into the post. Roode gets off commentary and removes the robe before getting inside. A Glorious DDT plants Ziggler for the DQ at 1:34.

Corbin takes a DDT as well.

We see a clip of this week’s Fashion Files where Breezango challenges the Bludgeon Brothers for Sunday. The challenge has been accepted.

Bludgeon Brothers vs. Colin Delaney/Joe Monroe

Graves eludes to Delaney’s former time in WWE as he’s dropkicked into the corner. Harper’s clothesline takes Colin’s head off and an assisted Batista Bomb plants Monroe (with a loud scream). The double spinebuster finishes Delaney at 1:21.

Here are Owens and Zayn to occupy Smackdown. Owens does the ranting, talking about how Shane is abusing his power on Sunday. Sami says YEP to every statement Owens makes, including Owens telling everyone to come out here and occupy the show. No one comes out until Bryan walks to the stage….with his music starting once he’s out there.

Owens and Zayn praise him for inspiring this movement but Bryan wants to know what they’re doing. He’s nothing like them because the YES Movement was about the fans instead of him. Sami says this is about what they deserve and Owens begs him not to drink the Shane Kool-Aid. Bryan says there’s an understanding between he and Shane and this Sunday he’s going to be the second guest referee.

Usos vs. Aiden English/Rusev

Non-title and New Day is on commentary. Before the match, English sings the Eight Days of Rusev (including three unhindered Jinders). The Usos come out to make jokes about English’s hair but here are Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable to interrupt, saying they’ll win the titles on Sunday. Joined in progress after a break with Rusev bearhugging Jey. A kick to the head allows the hot tag to Jimmy as New Day does their over the top commentary. English dives into a superkick for two but Rusev makes the save. Rusev’s superkick sets up a layout DDT to end Jimmy at 2:35 shown.

We look back at the opening segment.

Mahal jumps Styles before AJ has an interview.

Sunday’s Kickoff Match is Mojo Rawley vs. Zack Ryder.

Pay per view rundown.

Here are Orton and Nakamura for a chat before their main event. Orton says he can’t wait to get rid of these two and make sure they lose their jobs. Renee Young asks Nakamura if he’s confident for Sunday. Nakamura: “Yep.”

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens

Bryan is on commentary to continue a trend tonight. Owens grabs a headlock for a bit before getting kicked in the chest for his efforts. A knee to the ribs cuts Nakamura down though and a backsplash gets two. We hit the chinlock as Bryan talks about how Shane’s stipulations aren’t exactly fair. Nakamura fights up but can’t hit the knee in the corner. Instead he gets sent hard into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Owens stomping away until Nakamura gets in a running kick to the face. Some YES Kicks have Owens in more trouble and there’s Good Vibrations for a bonus. The running knee in the corner gets two but Owens breaks up a superplex. His Swanton hits knees but Owens blocks the reverse exploder. The referee gets bumped and Bryan takes over instead. Nakamura’s spinning kick to the head gets a delayed two as Orton and Zayn get in a fight. The distraction lets Owens hit a Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 14:29.

Rating: C+. Good match, but the sledgehammer of plot didn’t help things. This was supposed to be the smoking gun that proves Bryan is going to be biased on Sunday but it feels a bit forced. Granted some of that might have been Byron Saxton hammering home the same idea over and over again, which makes anything sound annoying. I would say I look forward to this story ending on Sunday but I’d be surprised if it’s done by Wrestlemania at this point.

Kevin and Sami say no one is taking their careers away because they’ll win at the Clash.

Overall Rating: D+. This show did one thing very well: it made it clear that Sunday’s pay per view doesn’t need to exist. The main event tag match (and there’s a good chance it main events) feels like a rest stop on the way to whatever the really big match is (whatever that may be) and that makes Sunday feel like something I’m not sure I need to see.

Other than that….there wasn’t much to say around here. Well aside from the fact that they need something other than guest commentary to advance feuds. Other than the Bludgeon Brothers squash, there was guest commentary in every single match. This wasn’t a very good show, but it did at least bolster some of the rest of the card. The problem is none of the rest of the card, including the World Title match, feels like it means anything compared to the top story.

Results

Charlotte b. Ruby Riott via DQ when Natalya interfered

Dolph Ziggler b. Baron Corbin via DQ when Bobby Roode interfered

Bludgeon Brothers b. Colin Delaney/Joe Monroe – Double spinebuster to Delaney

Rusev/Aiden English b. Usos – Layout DDT to Jimmy

Kevin Owens b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Pop Up Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Main Event
Date: December 7, 2017
Location: Valley View Casino, San Diego, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

I’m hoping this idea of doing both Raw and Smackdown highlights continues as it’s a lot better than just having the Raw stuff. Smackdown might not be the most thrilling show in the world but it certainly deserves some attention of its own. It’s certainly better than most of the original content we get around here so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Akira Tozawa vs. Brian Kendrick

They trade hammerlocks to start with Kendrick slapping the mat by mistake. Back up with Tozawa flipping out of a belly to back suplex and chopping away. Kendrick pulls him throat first into the middle rope to take over and it’s off to a chinlock. Tozawa elbows his way out of what looks like a slam and a suicide dive gets two. A quick Captain’s Hook is broken up without too much effort so Kendrick knees him in the chest for two. Tozawa kicks him in the head though and the top rope backsplash is good for the pin at 6:33.

Rating: C. For a match without much time and with both guys having to rush, they got in a fair amount of stuff. It was nice to see Tozawa get a win, even if it’s on a show like this which isn’t going to get him anywhere. Kendrick will be fine and his feud with Kalisto will do him a lot of good, especially depending on who Kalisto brings in to help him.

From Raw.

Here’s Kurt Angle to get things going. He’s ready to announce that Roman Reigns will be defending the Intercontinental Title against…..someone but Jason Jordan comes out to interrupt. He wants Reigns, despite his bad knee. Jordan lists off the people he’s been in the ring with, bad knee or no bad knee. This brings out Reigns to say he wants Joe. Jordan still wants the shot so Reigns tells him to step up and take it. Now it’s Joe coming out to say Reigns knows he can’t beat him. Jordan actually suplexes Reigns so Roman says it’s on right now.

Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. Jason Jordan

Reigns is defending and knocks Jordan outside to start. Back in and Jordan’s right hands don’t have much effect and Reigns clotheslines him outside again. Jordan fights out of a chinlock and drives Reigns into the corner four times in a row. The running shoulder doesn’t work but Reigns is sent shoulder first into the post.

Back from a break with Jordan working on the arm and Samoa Joe watching from the stage. Reigns fights up and hits the corner clotheslines, only to walk into a dropkick for a near fall. They head outside again with Jordan driving him into the steps a few times. That’s only good for two more though and we take a second break.

Back again with Reigns putting the bad knee in a half crab. Jordan reverses into a small package but gets his head taken off by the Superman Punch. Some rolling belly to belly suplexes (with the bad knee raised in the air) give Jordan two more but it’s the spear to retain the title at 20:34.

Rating: B-. Jordan is a rather interesting case as he’s death on the microphone but can put on an entertaining match. Reigns is in a similar place but his talking has gotten far better over time. Jordan might be able to get somewhere in due time but this character really, really isn’t working. At least the match was good though.

Video on Absolution.

From Raw again.

Paige vs. Sasha Banks

Alexa Bliss is on commentary again and Banks has Bayley and Mickie with her. Sasha wastes no time in throwing Paige down and hammering away both on the mat and in the corner. Paige kicks her down and stomps away as well before hitting the chinlock. Some shouting sets up a front facelock as things stay slow.

Sasha fights up with a high crossbody for two before grabbing a cross arm choke. Paige makes the ropes so Sasha just hammers away to keep her in trouble. The Bank Statement is broken up and they fall out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Paige grabbing her front facelock as Bliss calls Cole rude for bringing up her leaving last week.

Banks fights up with a clothesline and some dropkicks, only to miss the running knees in the corner. Paige heads up top and catches Banks with a sunset bomb. The Rampaige is countered into the Bank Statement but Paige gets her foot under the rope. The other four get in a brawl on the floor though, allowing the Rampaige to put Banks away at 16:06.

Rating: B. Another good match here and the best thing is that Paige looked like she hadn’t lost a step. This was her first match in a year and she was every bit as good as she used to be. Paige can be a very valuable asset to the division and if she can bring the other two up with her, then it’s all the better.

Post match Absolution takes out the other two, including Rose gordbusting Banks onto DeVille’s knee.

And now to Smackdown.

Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn

Before the match, Bryan and security is ready to cuff Owens. Kevin says no, but Bryan threatens him with suspension. Orton wastes no time in taking Sami outside and dropping him back first onto the barricade. Sami starts running and hides next to Owens in a smart move. That’s fine with Orton, who grabs Sami and bounces him off the announcers’ table.

Owens offers a distraction though and Sami gets in a hard shot to take over for the first time. Some trash talk from Owens takes us to a break. Back with Sami stomping away and saying he’s not afraid of the Viper. Sami snaps his throat across the bottom rope and pulls out some bolt cutters (which they just had laying around underneath the ring). Orton breaks it up before the chain can be cut but Sami posts him instead.

Back in and Sami gets crotched, setting up a top rope superplex to put both guys down. Owens grabs the cutters and gets free, only to be taken down by an Orton clothesline. The RKO is loaded up but Owens offers a distraction so Sami can get two. The RKO doesn’t work but the Helluva Kick misses as well, allowing Orton to grab a rollup for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: C+. So to clarify: Orton can beat the two of them clean on his own so now we should totally be interested in watching him and a partner face off with Sami and Owens on pay per view. The idea should be that Orton can’t handle these two because they keep cheating and using their numbers advantage but instead we get Orton pinning Sami when Owens interferes. Where’s the logic in that?

Post match the beatdown is on until Shinsuke Nakamura makes the save. The heroes shake hands and we seem to have a partnership. Owens takes and RKO and Zayn gets a Kinshasa.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson

Slater shoulders Anderson down to start and it’s quickly off to Rhyno. This one doesn’t go as well until Rhyno shoulders his way to freedom. House is cleaned and we take a break. Back with a double hot tag bringing in Slater and Anderson as things speed up. Rhyno is sent into the barricade, leaving Slater to take the Magic Killer for the pin at 6:25. Not enough to rate due to the commercial but it was fun while it lasted.

Video on AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal.

From Raw.

Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose vs. The Bar

The Bar is defending. Ambrose armdrags Cesaro down to start buts it’s off to Sheamus to take over. A double kick to the ribs has Dean in trouble and we hit the choking on the ropes. That doesn’t last long though as Dean leapfrogs over Sheamus and makes the hot tag off to Rollins. The Sling Blade give Seth two but Sheamus posts him as we take a break.

Back with Seth not being able to get away as the champs clothesline him down. The ten forearms to the chest rock Seth again and a top rope clothesline gets two. Ambrose gets knocked off the apron, leaving Sheamus to drop Rollins onto an uppercut for another near fall. It’s off to an armbar for a bit until a superkick gets Rollins out of trouble.

The hot tag brings in Ambrose and house is cleaned in a hurry. His suicide dive is cut off by an uppercut though and Cesaro adds the high crossbody. Everything breaks down and Sheamus’ cheap shot gives Cesaro two on Dean. A powerbomb is broken up and Seth superplexes Sheamus into a Falcon Arrow for a very near fall.

The Neutralizer is broken up and the Wind-Up Knee gives Seth two with Sheamus making a save. The referee is shoved though and the Bar retains the titles via DQ at 17:11. Actually hang on as Angle comes out and says restart the match with No DQ. The double dives takes the Bar out and a frog splash to Cesaro gets two. Cue Samoa Joe to lay the Shield out though, drawing out Reigns to chase him off. The distraction lets Sheamus Brogue Kick Ambrose to retain at 20:03.

Rating: B. Another solid match here and I can actually go with the screwy ending as you can pencil in either a six man tag or a pair of title matches as a result. These teams have some great chemistry together and while this one wasn’t up to the other matches’ standards, it was still a lot of fun.

Overall Rating: C+. If you like wrestling, this is one of the best episode of Main Event you’ve ever seen (assuming you don’t mind it being clipped half to death). That being said, what we got was entertaining stuff with a nice recap of all the good things that WWE did earlier this week. If they can follow up on them, they’ll be fine. In other words, I don’t bet on them being fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: December 5, 2017
Location: Valley View Casino, San Diego, California
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s back to the blue side this week with the continuing issues between Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon. The question is now becoming where Daniel Bryan fits into this whole thing, which could open up a bunch of new directions as we move forward. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here are Sami and Owens to open things up so we look at a clip of Zayn helping Owens defeat Randy Orton last week. Owens talks about what happens when you’re the victims of a McMahon Family grudge and how they’re the latest names on that list. This all stems from humiliating Shane in their Cell match and the plan didn’t even work. They’ve beaten Shane at every turn, which really isn’t all that hard.

Sami explains the differences between being in the ring and being at ringside before walking up the ramp, saying that’s no longer being at ringside. Therefore, he didn’t break Shane’s ruling last week and everything is fine. With Sami in the aisle though, Orton sneaks in with an RKO to Owens.

This brings out Shane, to make Sami/Owens vs. Orton/a partner of Randy’s choosing for Clash of Champions. As for tonight, Sami can work off some energy by facing Orton in a one on one match. Just to keep an eye on Owens, he’ll be handcuffed to the ring ropes. Why not just watch the match from somewhere else and say if Owens is involved at all he’s in whatever kind of trouble? Plot convenience I’m assuming?

Post break Sami explains things to Owens, who doesn’t remember a thing. That’s a good way to sell the RKO.

Rusev/Aiden English vs. New Day

Before the match, English debuts the 12 Days of Rusev but Big E. cuts him off before the third day. Music hater. English tries to suplex Big E. to start so we hit the gyrating. Kofi comes in and hits his jumping clothesline but Rusev pulls Aiden outside. Some dancing takes us to a break.

Back with English holding a chinlock until it’s back to Rusev for some kicks to the ribs. Rusev grabs a bearhug for a bit until a double stomp out of the corner gets Kofi out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Big E. for the house cleaning and Kofi nails the big dive over the top onto Rusev. Back in and Kofi’s springboard is broken up, allowing Rusev to superkick him for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: C-. I’m sure English and Rusev will be added to the title match now right? Or that they’ll replace New Day. Probably not actually as Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable got beaten last week and are in the match anyway so it’s not like the thing makes sense in the first place. If Rusev and English don’t get anything out of this though, I continue to not understand a lot of things this company does.

We look back at the Hype Bros splitting.

Mojo Rawley is tired of hearing about what he did to Zack Ryder last week. With Ryder out, things were going up. He won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but then Ryder had to come back and drag him down. If anyone has a problem with him, they can shove it.

English and Rusev have been added to the title match.

Lana, Carmella and Tamina aren’t happy with Natalya getting another Women’s Title match. Daniel Bryan says Carmella can be involved if she cashes in the briefcase but she says no. The Riott Squad comes in and wants to know why Ruby isn’t involved in the match. Is it because he doesn’t like her tattoos? Sarah Logan asks if it’s because Bryan has something against people from Kentucky (she’s from Indiana) and something about tasting live game. Bryan finally snaps and makes the title match a lumberjack match.

Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin get into a math argument over triple threat match. Thankfully, Dolph Ziggler comes in (What am I saying?) to brag about his success and promise to win the title.

Bludgeon Brothers vs. Adam James/Josh Carr

Carr gets knocked outside to start and Harper hits a heck of a lariat. Back in and the reverse powerslam plants James. The double spinebuster is good for the pin at 1:02.

We look at Charlotte in Psych: The Movie.

Owens has talked to Daniel Bryan, who will think about intervening in the main event stipulation. For now, they wait.

Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin

Non-title with Dolph Ziggler on commentary. Corbin pokes him in the chest to start but Roode dropkicks him in the ribs to send him outside. A hard right hand rocks Roode though and it’s off to a chinlock. Back up and Roode kicks at the knee before stopping a charge in the corner. The Blockbuster doesn’t work and it’s a double clothesline for a double knockdown. Ziggler stands up and gets in the ring for a Zig Zag on Roode and the DQ at 3:27.

Rating: C-. How bad is it that I was relieved at the DQ? I was worried they would have one of them get a clean pin here and it was very nice to have the match end with a screwy finish instead. I’m still not sure why the match needs Ziggler in it whatsoever but he’s kind of there whether you want him around or not.

Corbin gets a Zig Zag as well.

Natalya tries to get Tamina/Lana/Carmella to be on her side against Charlotte. They don’t seem interested. The Riott Squad comes up and Natalya backpedals in a hurry. A lot of sucking up ensues and Natalya bails.

Long recap of AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal.

Charlotte vs. Tamina

Non-title with Lana, Natalya and Carmella are at ringside. Charlotte works on the arm to start but gets shoved down with ease. A running kick to the chest gets two on Tamina but she drives Charlotte into the corner as we take a break. Back with Charlotte snapping off some chops and getting a rollup for one. The Figure Eight makes Tamina tap at 6:42.

Rating: D+. This was a good win for Charlotte, even though there was no doubt about her winning. Tamina is fine for a low level dragon but that’s about the extent of her capabilities. When you have Nia Jax being that much better than her in every aspect, there’s just not much hope for her.

Post match the three on the floor get on the apron with Natalya saying this is a preview for Clash of Champions. Cue the Riott Squad to say we need a real preview, including the real stars of the show. The lumberjacks get into it with Lana and Carmella having to hold Tamina back. Charlotte leaves as everyone else sneers at each other.

Bryan won’t help Kevin in the main event and the handcuffing goes through.

Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn

Before the match, Bryan and security is ready to cuff Owens. Kevin says no, but Bryan threatens him with suspension. Orton wastes no time in taking Sami outside and dropping him back first onto the barricade. Sami starts running and hides next to Owens in a smart move. That’s fine with Orton, who grabs Sami and bounces him off the announcers’ table.

Owens offers a distraction though and Sami gets in a hard shot to take over for the first time. Some trash talk from Owens takes us to a break. Back with Sami stomping away and saying he’s not afraid of the Viper. Sami snaps his throat across the bottom rope and pulls out some bolt cutters (which they just had laying around underneath the ring). Orton breaks it up before the chain can be cut but Sami posts him instead.

Back in and Sami gets crotched, setting up a top rope superplex to put both guys down. Owens grabs the cutters and gets free, only to be taken down by an Orton clothesline. The RKO is loaded up but Owens offers a distraction so Sami can get two. The RKO doesn’t work but the Helluva Kick misses as well, allowing Orton to grab a rollup for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: C+. So to clarify: Orton can beat the two of them clean on his own so now we should totally be interested in watching him and a partner face off with Sami and Owens on pay per view. The idea should be that Orton can’t handle these two because they keep cheating and using their numbers advantage but instead we get Orton pinning Sami when Owens interferes. Where’s the logic in that?

Post match the beatdown is on until Shinsuke Nakamura makes the save. The heroes shake hands and we seem to have a partnership. Owens takes and RKO and Zayn gets a Kinshasa.

Shane and Bryan are in the back and Shane says he’s not done with Zayn and Owens. He’s going to be the guest referee at Clash of Champions and if Sami and Owens lose, they’re fired from WWE (meaning they can’t go to Raw). Bryan doesn’t look pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t really feeling this week’s show, even if they set up some stuff for the pay per view. The problem is the more they talk about the upcoming show, the more it becomes clear that “all titles on the line” is a really terrible gimmick. I’m assuming AJ vs. Mahal will main event, but that’s far from the biggest match on the card at the moment. Also, throwing so many people into so many of the matches really doesn’t help things and just shows a lot of the problems this show has at the moment. Maybe the pay per view will be better but they’re not heading in strong.

Results

Rusev/Aiden English b. New Day – Superkick to Kingston

Bludgeon Brothers b. Adam James/Josh Carl – Double spinebuster to James

Bobby Roode b. Baron Corbin via DQ when Dolph Ziggler interfered

Charlotte b. Tamina – Figure Eight

Randy Orton b. Sami Zayn – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: November 28, 2017
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re still in the fallout period from Survivor Series and that means it’s still Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn. However, the big question continues to be Daniel Bryan, who seems to be leaning a bit more towards the villains, which could make for quite the power struggle down the line. Let’s get to it.

Of note: I was in the arena for this show, meaning it’s the second time I’ve seen it.

We open with a recap of Owens and Zayn vs. Shane, with Bryan holding Shane up from firing them. Instead, he put the two of them in a lumberjack match against New Day, which Sami won off a quick rollup. As a result, Bryan made Owens vs. Randy Orton for tonight. For some reason Shane left the arena halfway through the show, leaving Bryan in charge for the night.

Here’s Shane to get things going. After sucking up to the Lexington fans (works for me), Shane recaps everything we just saw in the recap. Therefore, he’d like an explanation straight from the horse’s mouth. As Bryan makes his entrance, I try to figure out why he didn’t just say the goat’s mouth.

The fans go bananas for Bryan, who talks about having been fired a few times. Therefore, he believes in second chances, including some for Owens and Zayn. Shane actually agrees with him, but recaps all the issues that Owens and Zayn who have caused him over the last few months. Bryan thinks they were doing it in the name of competition but points out that if they’re fired, they’ll just wind up on Raw. Shane: “Great. Then they’ll be my sister’s problem.”

That’s not cool with Bryan, who thinks they should make the best of it here on Smackdown. Shane left him in charge last week so Shane has to trust Bryan when he’s left in charge. As for tonight though, Shane is going to adjust the Orton vs. Owens match. Therefore, we’ll have Sami Zayn barred from ringside and we’ll make it No DQ.

Post break, Owens and Zayn run into Bryan and ask for some mercy. That turns into a demand, which doesn’t sit well with the boss.

New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable

The Usos are on commentary and New Day brings out pancakes for everyone. Eh Wrestling Revolver already did it. Xavier and Chad start things off as the fans are firmly behind New Day. Kofi comes in for a running kick to the ribs and something like a bottom rope Vader Bomb for two. It’s off to Shelton as we take a quick break.

Back with Woods hitting a jawbreaker but not being able to get away from Benjamin. A belly to back suplex/top rope knee to the head combo (that’s a new one) gets two on Woods. Chad can’t quite hit a belly to belly superplex though and it’s a missile dropkick to put him down (like he was shot). The hot tag brings in Kofi as things speed up in a hurry. Kofi flips out of a monkey flip and there’s the Boom Drop. Gable gets low bridged to the floor so Woods can hit a good looking flip dive. Back in and a backbreaker/top rope stomp to the face gives Woods the pin at 8:40.

Rating: B-. They had some good looking double team moves here (that knee to the head looked great) but it just makes me wish it was New Day vs. American Alpha instead. Like really, has there been much of a worse split in recent memory? Either way, it was an entertaining match, even if the Usos are REALLY needing some fresh competition. Maybe some Brothers of the Bludgeoning variety?

We look back at Ruby Riot/Sarah Logan/Liv Morgan debuting last week.

Charlotte, Naomi and Natalya are ready to face the newcomers in a six woman tag later. Charlotte and Naomi are together but Natalya thinks she’ll be the boss. The only thing I could think of during this whole thing: NO ONE TALKS LIKE THIS. It was the most forced, scripted conversation I’ve heard in WWE in a long time and it really shows how they’re horrible actresses. Do you really not trust them to have a simple conversation?

Bludgeon Brothers vs. Hype Bros

The Brothers deck Rawley off the apron and a spinning Boss Man Slam plants Ryder. The double spinebuster ends Zack at 45 seconds.

Post match Ryder says they were top contenders for the Tag Team Titles a year ago. Now things have changed though and….Rawley decks him from behind to end the team.

Post break, Mojo says Ryder was right: the landscape has changed.

We look back at Baron Corbin decking Bobby Roode during the lumberjack match.

Roode wants a shot at Corbin’s US Title but Corbin laughs him off with a no.

Singh Brothers vs. AJ Styles

Before the match, Jinder Mahal attacks AJ, sending him ribs first into the post. After a break (and Mahal doing his standard promo), the match is on with AJ getting double teamed. The Brothers get in some shoulders to the ribs in the corner but AJ kicks them away without much effort. AJ knocks the two off them off the top, kicks Mahal in the face, and blocks a super hurricanrana attempt. He’s not done yet though as it’s a SUPER STYLES CLASH with one Singh landing on the other for the easy pin at 3:56.

Rating: D. This wasn’t much to see but it was exactly what it needed to be, especially with an awesome ending like that. Really, what else was AJ supposed to do against a couple of goons like this? Styles vs. Mahal isn’t an interesting story but at least Mahal has goons to send out there instead of having us watch the same match over and over.

Post match Mahal lays out the Singh’s, including a TERRIBLE looking Khallas to the second one. The guy’s head and back never came close to the mat as he basically bounced off his elbow (it looked even worse in slow motion). As I’ve said many times: Mahal just isn’t very good and that finisher makes things even worse.

Riot, Morgan and Logan are officially dubbed the Riot Squad. They’re not here to be Total Divas but rather to turn the division on its head. Logan says she’s a country girl from a family of hunters. Last week they set a trap and tonight they’re bagging some trophies. The country accent was absolutely dreadful and the fans around me were groaning after she was done.

Charlotte/Natalya/Naomi vs. Riott Squad

Yes Riott and no I don’t know why. During Charlotte’s entrance we see clips from Starrcade, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN FREAKING BROADCAST ON THE NETWORK! Logan takes Natalya into the corner to start and scores with a clothesline. It’s off to Charlotte but that’s enough for Natalya, who walks out on the match less than a minute in. Back from a break with Charlotte fighting off the trio but getting caught by the numbers game on the floor. Morgan gets two off a floatover suplex and it’s off to Ruby for a chinlock. That leaves the other two Squad members to take Naomi down on the floor.

They send her hard into the steps and then bridge them over the barricade, catapulting Naomi face first into the steel. The best the referee can do is glare at them, making me wonder HOW IN THE WORLD THIS ISN’T A DQ. Seriously do they need to break out a pair of nunchuks and beat the stuffing out of Naomi before the match is called off? So it’s now three on one with Charlotte actually managing to fight them off for a bit. A spear hits Morgan in those impressive abs but Logan hits a knee from the apron, setting up the Riot Kick to the face for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: D+. The beatdown was impressive enough though none of them seemed capable of hanging with Charlotte or Naomi on their own. That already puts them a few steps back of Absolution (I can feel my brain melting as I write these names over and over) but at least they’re looking a bit more polished than people like Mandy Rose. Not a great match or anything but the divide and conquer strategy worked just fine.

Randy Orton has nothing to say. What is up with that growing hair?

It’s Fashion Files time, featuring a Saw theme this week. Breezango and Ascension wake up chained in a shower when a video pops up on a tablet. A Jigsaw style voice says that to escape this room, they must destroy what they love most. They have a minute before a poisonous gas fills the room and a countdown begins.

There’s a backpack in the middle of the room containing Tully the Horse’s head. Konnor finally rips it apart to find the key, allowing Breezango to escape in time. Fandango comes running back….to get his hat, leaving Ascension to die I guess as the gas fills the room. Wouldn’t Breezango leaving the door open help them a bit? To be continued of course.

Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton

No DQ with Sami Zayn banned from ringside. The threat of an RKO sends Owens bailing outside in the first few seconds but Orton is right on his trails. Randy starts loading up the announcers’ table but stops to send Owens into the barricade instead. A kendo stick to the arm has Owens swearing and a second shot makes him swear all over again. The slow beating continues with Owens being belly to back suplexed onto the barricade.

The fans want tables but settle for Owens posting Orton instead. A fall away slam into the barricade takes us to a break with Orton in big trouble. Back with Owens still swinging the cane and getting two off the backsplash. More stick shots continue to show that weapons based fighting is becoming a lost art in WWE. A DDT gives Owens two but Orton is right back up and catching him with a top rope superplex. It’s a great crash but only good for two.

They head outside again with Owens getting dropped onto the barricade again. The brawl heads up to the stage….meaning Sami Zayn can come out with a chair to take Orton out. See, it’s not at ringside so the one illegal thing is now legal. That’s stretching pretty hard people. Back in and Owens gets caught in the hanging DDT, only to escape the RKO. A superkick into a frog splash puts Orton away at 16:47.

Rating: C+. Rather than being a match where it felt like they were out for blood, it felt more like how many times can we hit each other with a kendo stick and throw each other into the barricade. The Sami interference didn’t do anything for me, though I was betting on them heading to the back and having him interfere there. It’s still good but I could have gone for something different to mix things up a bit.

Overall Rating: B-. Smackdown is in a weird place at the moment as they have some big stuff coming up, though I have absolutely no idea what in the world they’re planning for Owens and Zayn at Clash of Champions. I mean, are we heading for Orton/someone likely named Shane McMahon facing the two of them? Or are they going to do the common thing and have them win the Tag Team Titles? In theory Bryan is going to turn and join them, even if it makes no sense to get people to boo him.

There are actually some interesting stories going on around here for a change but I have a bad feeling it’s going to end with Shane wrestling again, getting most of the attention, and giving someone a rub that he doesn’t have to give. Tonight’s show was entertaining at times though and has me wanting to know what comes next. However, it also has me wondering how long they can pretend that Shane is the good guy in this whole thing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

It was 14 until I cut it down a bit.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-11-takeaways-survivor-series-weekend/