Smackdown – June 19, 2020: It Happens Every Summer

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 19, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

With all of the insanity going on at the moment, it might be nice to have a wrestling show to clear the pallet a bit. We’re done with Backlash and that means it’s time to get ready for Extreme Rules. The big story tonight is the return of the Firefly Fun House, as Bray Wyatt is likely going after the World Title again. Other than that, we may have the debut of Matt Riddle. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of AJ Styles winning the Intercontinental Title last week.

Opening sequence.

There are wrestlers around the ring for Styles’ Intercontinental Title presentation. AJ is glad that everyone got their cheering right and he’s just here to say he told you so. Life’s rewards are for the people who go and claim the brass ring instead of waiting for a handout. He’s ready for the title presentation but Renee Young isn’t the right person to do it. Instead, AJ wants Daniel Bryan to do it himself.

Bryan gets in the ring and AJ says put it around his waist, but make sure not to do anything stupid. AJ says Bryan doesn’t have to do it if he’s a coward. Bryan finally puts the title on and says that last week, AJ was the better man. Bryan gets all fired up and says AJ is going to be a great champion. Imagine AJ vs. Gran Metalik or against Big E. (they both seem game), but AJ sees it a little different.

That’s fine with Bryan, who thinks Drew Gulak should get a shot because he beat AJ two weeks ago. AJ thinks Bryan is trying to get himself a title shot so he has to become #1 contender. The next person to challenge for the title is going to have to suffer the consequences. Cue the debuting Matt Riddle, much to AJ’s annoyance. AJ sees another human being looking for a handout. The fight is on with Riddle cleaning house so AJ says get a referee out here.

AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle

The wrestlers are still around the ring. Hold on though as AJ says no shoes, no shirt, no title shot. The bell rings and Riddle hits a German suplex into the rolling gutwrench suplexes for two. Riddle hammers away on the mat and kicks him in the head for two more. More shots have AJ in the corner so he snaps off a dropkick to get a breather.

Back up and Riddle kicks him down in the corner but this time AJ hits a running clothesline to the apron. Riddle gets knocked into King Corbin and gets in an argument as we take a break. Back with AJ in control but the YES Kicks just fire Riddle up. A right hand to the head puts him down though and a snap suplex gives Styles two. AJ takes him down again and a dragon screw legwhip sends Riddle into the corner.

Riddle’s comeback is cut off with a shot to the leg but a jumping knee to the face rocks AJ. A quick suplex drops AJ again and the Broton gets two. Riddle grabs a rear naked choke but has to let go when Styles bridges back for two more. The Calf Crusher goes on so Riddle goes to the ropes, meaning AJ heads outside to get in Bryan’s face. AJ yells at Bryan before loading up the Phenomenal Forearm, only to get caught in the Bro Derek to give Riddle the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B-. That’s a good way to have a debut and the lack of a clean finish helped a bit. AJ has no one to blame but himself here and that makes for a good way to set up some potential matches in the future. You could go with Styles vs. Riddle or Bryan or maybe even all three (hopefully not), or perhaps Riddle vs. Bryan for the #1 contendership. It’s nice to have the options like that though and that’s what they did here.

Post match the lumberjacks get in the ring to celebrate with Riddle, who strikes his still awesome pose.

We get a long video on Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy, including the build to Backlash and Sheamus beating him in the big showdown.

Hardy sits down for an interview with Renee Young and talks about having to put out one fire after another. He isn’t wild on Sheamus throwing his failures in his face over and over. Yes he lost the match but he’ll lose a bunch more in his career. The failures make him wonder if he is a bad father or husband but he knows he has to catch himself before the line of thinking spirals out of control. Hardy knows he is a junkie and an alcoholic and Sheamus us just another obstacle to be overcome on his road to redemption. He isn’t done yet.

Shorty G. talks about being ready to face Mojo Rawley, who is bigger and heavier than he is. He’s used to that though and Rawley, who is behind him, doesn’t know what it’s like to have eyes in the back of your head. Gable lays out Rawley with a right hand and heads to the ring. Nice idea, but Rawley was so close that Gable knowing he was there wasn’t that impressive.

Shorty G. vs. Mojo Rawley

They’re in the ring when we come back from a break (as they should be) and Gable goes straight for the ankle lock. That’s broken up so it’s a northern lights suplex for two on Rawley instead. Back up and Rawley hits a heck of a Pounce for two of his own, followed by a running splash in the corner.

Gable is right back with a German suplex out of the corner but the high crossbody is caught in a fireman’s carry. That’s reversed as well, with Gable grabbing a small package for the pin at 2:42. Cole calls that an upset and thankfully Graves cuts that nonsense off in a hurry. It’s Mojo Rawley. It’s an upset if he can figure out how to operate a spoon.

Here are Miz and Morrison for MizTV. After talking about the whole Universal Title fiasco on Sunday (Morrison: “You don’t change the rules before the big game!”), it’s time to deal with the canned ham in the room. Morrison: “Otis.” That brings out Mandy Rose as their guest, with Graves being annoyed at Cole for talking during the entrance. They get straight to the Sonya Deville discussion but she isn’t here to be insulted.

Mandy goes to leave but Miz stops her with a surprise. Cue Sonya (in a suit and tie), with Mandy asking if we’re still on this. Mandy says she’s done but Sonya says she can’t be done. Sonya rants about how Mandy has gotten all of these opportunities but what has she done with them? Win matches? Make someone better? Oh wait: made out with Otis by a pool so everyone can see.

Mandy asks why Sonya is still doing all of this and assumes it’s because she’s alone. Sonya says she’s not even mad anymore because she’s looking at the two of them and thinks the difference has to be their appearances. The only thing Mandy has is her presentation so Sonya is going to take everything Mandy has until she is as ugly on the outside as she is on the inside. The brawl is on with Sonya bailing as Miz and Morrison separate them.

It’s a shame that Mandy just has nothing to offer here because Sonya is nailing it and is telling a good story. This would be gold with someone like Trish, who could give something right back in the whole thing instead of just kind of standing there for the most part. Mandy is trying, but there just isn’t enough depth to make her work.

New Day vs. Lucha House Party

Non-title and Bayley/Sasha Banks are on commentary for some reason. After freaking out at New Day throwing their gear at commentary, Kofi and Gran Metalik trade flips to start. That doesn’t go anywhere so everything breaks down, with Big E. throwing belly to belly suplexes (Bayley and Sasha: “BAYLEY TO BELLY!”). The House Party hits some springboards to take New Day outside and that means the big flip dives as we take a break.

Back with Big E. splashing Dorado but getting caught in the Golden Rewind. Metalik comes in for the rope walk dropkick but gets dropkicked out of the air. Dorado’s top rope splash gets two on Kofi with Big E. making the save. Big E. shoves Metalik off the top and it’s Kofi’s running double stomp to Dorado. The Midnight Hour finishes Dorado at 9:35.

Rating: C. What an odd choice (not a bad thing) for a setup as you don’t often see the champs facing a team in a non-title win like this. What we got was good enough though, even with the rather bizarre commentary choice. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it was a weird situation all around.

Post match, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura immediately run in to beat down New Day. The Swing into a knee to the head knocks Kofi cold and Cesaro and Nakamura head outside to celebrate with Bayley and Sasha. Cesaro yells at commentary about being here for eight years and being treated like this.

Dana Brooke, Tamina (free of the asylum), Alexa Bliss, Naomi and Lacey Evans are hanging out at the Performance Center and decide they should ALL be #1 contenders. They’ve lost Nikki Cross though and that seems concerning.

Sheamus is a bully but he wants to help raise Jeff Hardy up. He’ll do that next week as a proper Irishman should: with a proper toast.

Bayley and Sasha love that idea but here’s Nikki Cross to jump both of them. Alexa Bliss makes the save but Nikki wants Sasha right now. Bayley accepts for her.

Sasha Banks vs. Nikki Cross

Joined in progress with Nikki fighting out of the corner and hitting a dropkick. Sasha begs off and says she’s sorry before sending Nikki outside. Nikki catches her in the ring skirt and hammers away but Sasha gets in a shot to the face. The chinlock into the double arm crank has Nikki in trouble until she sends Sasha into the corner. Cross knocks her down but can’t get the Bank Statement, instead getting rolled up for two. They go to the pinfall reversal sequence until Banks hits a Meteora for the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C-. That was a pretty big coincidence to have Banks and Bayley out there to set up the match but it’s something other than arguing in the back to set up the match earlier in the night. Bayley accepting the match on Banks’ behalf should be a way to set up some strife between the two of them but I’ve long since given up on the idea of these two ever actually fighting so why bother thinking it’s happening now?

Video on Titus O’Neil’s charity efforts, which have earned him a nomination for an ESPY humanitarian award.

We look back at AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle.

Next week: AJ defends against Drew Gulak.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray has been gone for a long time so he has joined a book club, learned the new Tik Tok moves, learned how to raise the dead, learned how to knit, and taken over a reptile society. Ramblin Rabbit pops in to say Bray has just been sitting in the corner muttering about losing to Braun Strowman. After a clip, a distressed Bray thanks him for the reminder. It’s true that he lost, but in defeat, he learned that he went about this the wrong way.

We cut to the arena where Braun Strowman comes out (now with what sounds like a train at the start of his music), causing Bray to give him thumbs down. Bray wasn’t lying about raising the dead and he morphs into the Wyatt Family version, saying that in order to move forward, they have to take a step back to where it all began. Bray created him so now Braun needs to come see him. Follow the buzzards and run. The lantern is blown out to end the show. Does WWE really think that Strowman’s time with the Wyatt Family was that important? And they’re going to fight at the Wyatt Compound aren’t they?

Overall Rating: C-. Pretty meh show with only Riddle’s debut being noteworthy (making that probably the seventh most important headline about him this week). It’s too early to say if that is going to mean anything but at least he debuted strong. Other than that, totally skippable show here as we’re heading towards a bunch of rematches before we get to the Summerslam build. That isn’t much to write home about, but June/July rarely is.

Results

Matt Riddle b. AJ Styles – Bro Derek

Shorty G. b. Mojo Rawley – Small package

New Day b. Lucha House Party – Midnight Hour to Dorado

Sasha Banks b. Nikki Cross – Meteora

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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NXT – June 17, 2020: The Stepping Stone

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 17, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

After everything that happened last week, we could be in for a big night. Well actually we could be in for some big nights on July 1 and 8, as AEW’s Fyter Fest probably need some competition. That could be set up tonight, but we also have some guest stars with Bayley and Sasha Banks. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium vs. Breezango

Breezango is challenging and do their own version of the Imperium (or Emporium, under the names of Marsupial and Fabio). As you might guess, Imperium doesn’t like this and Aichner takes Breeze down with an armbar to start. Breeze is sent outside and into the Plexiglas as a WE WANT FABIO chant starts up. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Breeze fights up and sends Barthel to the floor. The hot tag brings in Fandango and the big dive to the floor takes out the champs as we go to a break.

Back with Fandango hitting a slingshot elbow onto Barthel onto Breeze’s knees, with Aichner making the save. The Last Dance gets two more but Breeze is backdropped to the floor. Barthel is sent outside with him and it’s Indus Sher coming out, only to have Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch Cutting them off. The distraction lets Aichner hit a DDT on Fandango to retain at 12:24.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how much drama there was here and that became an issue. The interference wasn’t exactly interesting either, though that might just be to the general existence of Indus Sher. They didn’t look great in their previous appearances and “we’re foreign monsters” isn’t quite interesting. Other than that though, Breezango aren’t about to take the titles and I don’t know how many people bought it. The action was pretty good though and that’s enough to easily carry this one.

Post match Malcolm Bivens yells at Indus Sher.

Velveteen Dream sees one of Dexter Lumis’ drawings of the two of them as Tag Team Champions. That is a dream though, because Dream is a solo act.

Damien Priest vs. Killian Dain

They run the ropes for a standoff to start but Priest may have hurt his back on a leapfrog attempt. Dain dropkicks him into the corner and hammers on the back. Priest is sent to the apron and bangs his back up even more, allowing Dain to clubber some more. A middle rope legdrop to the back makes it even worse and rolling belly to back suplexes cut off Priest’s comeback.

Dain hits a belly to back faceplant for two but misses a charge into the corner. Priest strikes away and a big clothesline finally puts Dain down. A running crossbody gives Dain two but Priest is back with a rollup for two of his own. Priest kicks him in the head and the Reckoning finishes Dain at 5:41.

Rating: C. Are they turning Priest face? That’s one of the weirder ideas I’ve heard in a good while but I’m oddly intrigued by it. If nothing else it is something new for him, unlike having him fight another monster. Priest might need to change some things up about his character, but at least they are trying something with him, which NXT is often willing to do when necessary.

Video on Santos Escobar, along with his designated goons.

Xia Li vs. Aliyah

Robert Stone, holding a bottle in a brown paper bag, is down near the entrance but Aliyah pulls him up to ringside to put him in her corner. Aliyah takes over with a Thesz press and right hands but Li drives her into the corner for the kicks to the ribs. A northern lights suplex gets two on Li so she scores with a jumping kick. More kicks put Aliyah in the corner and a running kick has her down. Stone gets on the apron and vomits at Li, allowing Aliyah to grab a fairly sloppy rollup for the pin at 1:51. Is anyone surprised that this kind of thing has made it to NXT? Stone continues to be amusing though so well done in a way.

Post match Stone falls off the apron and crashes to the floor.

Timothy Thatcher has his students in the ring and demonstrates a Fujiwara armbar. The students are not shown, other than the one tapping a lot. A double wristlock makes him tap even more. It’s all Thatch As Thatch Can wrestling you see.

Earlier today, Adam Cole and Bobby Fish gave Roderick Strong Undisputed Therapy to deal with Strong’s fear of Dexter Lumis. They have Strong lie down and the doctor lowers his Justin Timberlake book to reveal…..Kyle O’Reilly in glasses and a hat. Strong talks about his history of incidents with Lumis, who he can’t get out of his head.

O’Reilly, using his thick accent, suggests a Rorschach Test, with Strong seeing muscles, Lumis, and the trunk that he was locked inside. O’Reilly says that’s a breakthrough because the trunk is what’s causing everything. Strong needs to face the trunk and Cole and Fish talk him into it. They go outside and go towards the trunk…but Strong sprints away. Cole: “Aside from him running away and stuff, I think that went pretty good.” I think this is all the evidence you need that they are rapidly running out of ideas for the team. Or that O’Reilly wasn’t in the same room.

Back in the arena, Adam Cole has the hourglass from last week and says it doesn’t matter who comes for the title. Keith Lee comes in to say he’s taking the title from Cole, and then smashes the hourglass. Lee: “Tick tock.”

Here’s Cole in the ring (he’s busy tonight) to talk about how great his NXT Title reign, now at 381 days, has been. After everything he has done, he can’t believe that people think they can just throw their name out there and get a title shot. Look at Killian (yes Killian) Kross, who beat Tommaso Ciampa (Cole: “Been there, done that.”) and thinks he should be #1 contender. Then there’s Lee, who has his eyes on the NXT Title but Cole has his eyes on the North American Title. Remember that he was the first champion and of course the best. Maybe he’ll come after Lee and become Champ Champ Bay Bay.

Cue Lee but before he could say anything, it’s Johnny Gargano interrupting to say Johnny Gargano (speaking in the third person) doesn’t care about moments anymore. Now it’s all about results, which is why he wants the North American Title back. But why stop there? Why not win the NXT Title too so he and Candice LeRae can be the co-champions that they should be. Lee finds it interesting that he was more concerned about LeRae last week and LeRae said thank you.

Cue Finn Balor to say they can stop being marks for themselves and start being a mark for him. Balor is coming for both titles because Cole is a great little transitional champion. Balor points at Cole’s chest and that’s where he’s going to punch him. Cue William Regal on the screen to make Lee vs. Gargano vs. Balor next week for the North American Title match. The winner of that will move on to face Cole at July 8 in a winner takes all match. And yes, that is the second night of Fyter Fest if you were suddenly curious.

Post break, Candice LeRae interrupts a Keith Lee interview but Mia Yim shows up for the brawl.

Kayden Carter vs. Dakota Kai

Kacy Catanzaro is here with Carter and Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai as is customary. Carter knocks her to the floor to start and the chase is on but Gonzalez’s distraction lets Kai get in the scorpion kick for two. The comeback is on in a hurry with Carter hitting some right hands and rolling her up into a low superkick for two. Gonzalez gets on the apron for a distraction so Catanzaro goes after her, allowing Kai to grab a rollup for two. With that not working, it’s a reverse Rings of Saturn to make Carter tap at 2:43.

Scarlett finds the broken hourglass and looks at the sand. A foot steps on the glass.

Mercedes Martinez is coming. Cool.

Bronson Reed vs. Leon Ruff

Standing splash, backsplash, frog splash for the pin on Ruff at 24 seconds.

Post match Reed says he wants Karrion Kross for next week. Reed even helps Ruff up and carries him to the back in a nice (I think?) moment.

We cut to the parking lot where someone has flattened all of Damien Priest’s tires. Cameron Grimes pulls up, asks if Priest wants an Uber, and drives off.

Here are Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde for a chat. Escobar talks about how El Hijo del Fantasma was known as the best cruiserweight artist in the world, but no one knew who he was because of the mask. Then he came to NXT and knew that the time of El Hijo del Fantasma would come to an end. He is a leader and knew that he would lead the two of them…but here’s Drake Maverick for the brawl. Maverick gets in a few shots but the trio gets the better of him and it’s a Phantom Driver through a table.

During the break, Maverick was taken out on a stretcher.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Shotzi Blackheart/Tegan Nox vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Bayley and Banks, who are serious legends around here, are defending. Banks takes Nox down to start and sends her into the corner for some trash talk. A rollup gives Banks two but Nox pulls her to the ropes so Blackheart can come in for two of her own. Bayley comes in and gets rolled up as well. That doesn’t work for Bayley, who knees Blackheart in the head as we take a break.

Back with Bayley driving shoulders into Nox’s shoulders in the corner but Nox gets over to Blackheart for the tag. Everything breaks down as Blackheart cleans house and suplexes Banks for two. Banks sends her outside for the Meteora off the apron for two back inside. The Meteora in the corner missed (that looked painful) and the stereo reverse Cannonballs crush the champs.

Bayley and Banks are sent outside so Blackheart runs the corner for a big crossbody to the floor. Back in and the assisted Sliced Bread plants Bayley for two but Banks slips out of what looked to be a Doomsday Device. Blackheart’s missile dropkick gets two but Banks pulls her into the Bank Statement. Blackheart grabs Cattle Mutilation of all things so Bayley grabs a chair, with the distraction letting Bayley flip the hold over. Now the Bank Statement makes Blackheart tap at 11:39.

Rating: B-. The action was good but there wasn’t exactly a ton of drama about who was leaving with the titles. Given that they are already advertising the IIconics getting a shot on Raw, the doubt wasn’t strong here. Nox and Blackheart were fine as challengers of the week but that’s about as far as they were going to go int his situation.

Post match the celebration is on but here’s Io Shirai to take out both Banks and Bayley, who bail so Shirai can moonsault into a pose. A long staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show here with the big announcement of the title matches being the focal point throughout. The main event felt like a big deal because of the star power, but it’s not like Nox and Blackheart were some red hot team. Other than that they set some stuff up for the future, which is a rather important role that needs to be filled at some point. This wasn’t the big show, but rather the show getting to the big show and that’s not a bad thing.

Results

Imperium b. Breezango – DDT to Fandango

Damien Priest b. Killian Dain – Reckoning

Aliyah b. Xia Li – Rollup

Bronson Reed b. Leon Ruff – Frog splash

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Tegan Nox/Shotzi Blackheart – Bank Statement to Blackheart

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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Main Event – June 11, 2020: Frontlash?

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: June 11, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: MVP, Tom Phillips

It’s time for a go home edition of the show and that should mean that at least part of this should be more interesting than usual. However, that isn’t exactly the most likely situation with the rest of the show, because Main Event doesn’t work that way. If nothing else it just makes you realize that WWE has a lot of people on its roster and they are in quite the tiered structure. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Natalya vs. Liv Morgan

Feeling out process to start with Liv nipping up out of a headscissors. She counters a wristlock into one of her own but Natalya takes her down with a waistlock. Liv spins out of that and smiles at Natalya, who is getting annoyed at Liv’s lack of seriousness. A kick to the back of the trunks sets up the basement dropkick, followed by the sitout powerbomb out of the corner.

The surfboard lets Natalya kick Liv face first into the mat but Liv pops back up with the clotheslines. There’s the Shining Wizard and a double stomp to the back gives Liv two. Oblivion is countered though and they go into a rollup exchange for a bunch of near falls. The Sharpshooter is loaded up but Natalya reverses into a small package for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: C-. Morgan is a great case of someone who might not have all the tools but she seems to be working hard to improve. That is going to get her somewhere at some point and giving her a win over someone like Natalya (not the biggest star but better than others) is going to mean something. Not a terrible match, though to be fair it’s the opener on Main Event.

Post match Natalya has another fit.

From Smackdown.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Bayley and Banks are challenging and it’s Cross running Bayley over to start. Bliss slaps Bayley and Cross comes back in for a running shot in the corner. Bliss is driven into the corner and Banks gets in her own slap. That just annoys Bliss again and she gets over to Cross to clean house. Bayley gets crushed on the floor but a Banks distraction lets Bayley hit a running knee. The Meteora from the apron takes Cross down and we take a break.

Back with Cross still in trouble and Banks hitting the running knees in the corner for two. Bayley beats on Cross in the corner but Cross kicks her way out and makes the hot tag to Bliss. Insult to Injury hits Bayley but Twisted Bliss is broken up. The super Bayley to Belly connects…and Bayley tags instead of covering, allowing Banks to hit a running knee for two on Bliss.

A quick Code Red gives Bliss two as Cross hits a tornado DDT on Bayley on the floor. It’s back to Cross for a high crossbody but Banks pulls her into the Bank Statement. Bayley breaks up her own partner’s hold because Banks isn’t legal and the DQ was coming, sending commentary into an argument over whether or not that makes sense. Banks tags herself in and Bank Statements Cross, only to be reversed into a rollup. That rollup is countered into another rollup to give Banks the pin and the titles at 12:32.

Rating: C-. The ending was kind of messy but I can go with the title change. The titles don’t exactly mean much at the moment but some title changes might spice things up a bit. If nothing else it can get some interest on the titles because you can only get so far on the champions posing with the titles. Maybe they can use this to further Bayley vs. Banks, as it’s only been built for the better part of a year now.

From Raw.

Here’s Christian for the Peep Show with Edge. After Edge sits down, Christian says Edge is running on fumes and couldn’t pull off the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever in his prime. They’re best friends so they have to be honest with each other. Edge talks about how difficult it is to have this kind of a burden put on him. This is a different Edge though and isn’t the same guy who had to calm Christian down before all of their tag matches. It’s an Edge firing on every cylinder, even though he doesn’t know how many cylinders he has left.

Christian says he’s hearing excuses and he wants to know what Edge was expecting when he came back? Flash a smile and hit some spears before he goes home? Edge’s biggest fan was his mom, who is going to be there for this one too. Christian calls him Adam as Edge’s lip is quivering and that’s what Christian was looking for.

Edge put Orton down at Wrestlemania because he has the anti-venom and we believe in him. We think you can have the greatest match ever, and here’s Orton on the screen to interrupt. Orton is tired of hearing about this and is ready to take away every ounce of GRIT that Edge has. This Sunday, in the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever, the redemption of Edge is over. Edge: “No it’s not.” And he leaves.

That was one of the dumbest segments I can remember in a good while and sums up the problem with this entire setup. In the entire Edge and Christian segment, there was not one mention or reference to Edge winning the match. The whole point was having a great match and if Edge won, that was just a bonus. As a fan, why should I care if Edge can have a great match? I should be caring about who wins and loses, not how many stars a match is going to get. It’s one thing for a wrestling fan to think that way but for a wrestling company to be presenting that as the story? That’s a really bad sign.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Shane Thorne

The lockup sends Thorne to the apron and Shelton takes him to the mat without much effort. MVP doesn’t think the wrestling stuff is going to work here for Thorne because MVP has some intelligence. Back up and Shelton grabs the ankle lock, sending Thorne straight back to the apron. Thorne finally sends him to the corner for a cannonball and we take a break.

Back with Thorne working on the arm with some knees and tying it around the bottom rope. The Dragon Whip gets Shelton out of trouble though and he whips Thorne hard into the corner. Shane can’t get a crossface chickenwing so Shelton knees him in the face. Paydirt finishes Thorne at 10:57.

Rating: C-. Shelton is another case of someone who isn’t going to go anywhere but at least he’s getting to do something in the ring most weeks. Thorne’s push has stopped cold and I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s just kind of there for the most part and that isn’t enough to warrant a ton of television time.

We recap Miz and Morrison “pranking” Braun Strowman. They deserved to have their van wrecked.

From Raw.

Viking Raiders vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

Drew and the Profits are at ringside. Lashley hits a quick Downward Spiral to Ivar but some knees to the ribs get him out of trouble. It’s off to Erik for a knee to MVP as Lana is watching in the back. Ivar slams Erick onto MVP so Lashley comes in to run Erik over. MVP adds a chinlock but quickly hands it back to Lashley to hammer away.

Erik punches his way to freedom though and it’s back to Ivar to clean house. Everything breaks down with MVP and Lashley yelling at the Profits, leaving Ivar to dive onto both of them as we take a break. Back with the Vikings beating Lashley up some more, including an armbar from Ivar.

We cut to an interview with Lana, who talks about how she needs to work on her marriage. Back to full screen with MVP working over Ivar, who flips over MVP’s back to make the hot tag to Erik. Lashley gets sent outside, where he stares at McIntyre and then spears Ivar. Back in and the full nelson makes Erik tap at 15:10.

Rating: C. The action was good and it makes Lashley look like a monster to make someone like Erik tap. That being said, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I hope they wait a bit before doing the Raiders vs. the Profits again. Lashley came off great here as the Raiders are big but he’s better. Good booking, assuming they don’t have the Raiders shrug it off and go for the titles immediately.

Post match Ivar punches MVP and gets full nelsoned as well. The Street Profits can’t break it up, but the Claymore certainly can.

Overall Rating: D+. Totally run of the mill Main Event here and that’s not the best thing in the world. There is only so much that you can get out of a show like this and this week was good evidence of that. You could feel the lack of importance in the matches, but at least they had some focus on the Backlash build. Not a great focus mind you, but a focus.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Backlash 2020: What A Busy B Show

IMG Credit: WWE

Backlash 2020
Date: June 14, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

It’s back to pay per view again and this time it’s not a themed show. The main event certainly has a theme though, as Edge and Randy Orton are supposed to have the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever. I’m not sure if anyone actually sees that as being a realistic possibility, but it’s a heck of a tagline. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: United States Title: Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Andrade is challenging and has Zelina Vega and Angel Garza with him. Hold on though as here’s Kevin Owens (with a tie) to join commentary. Crews misses the dropkick to start and gets caught in a headlock as Owens accuses Garza of not being so angelic. Andrade chokes on the rope and they head outside where Crews backdrops him onto the ramp. The apron moonsault connects and Andrade is rocked early on.

Back in and the release Falcon Arrow gives Crews two but Andrade drop toeholds him face first into the middle buckle. The Alberto double stomp misses and Crews grabs an overhead belly to belly into the corner. Crews suplexes him to the apron and Andrade gets in a slingshot DDT for two. Back up and Crews hits the gorilla press into the standing moonsault. Owens cuts off Garza and the toss powerbomb retains the title at 7:23.

Rating: C-. Totally run of the mill Raw match here though Owens as a potential challenger is interesting. He’s needed something to do since Wrestlemania (and yes the injury slowed him down) so a US Title run could be interesting. Just do something of note with him for the sake of not having him float around. Crews doesn’t seem like a long term champion, but at least he didn’t lose the title immediately.

The opening video is all about Edge vs. Orton, complete with clips of other great matches. The two World Title matches apparently aren’t important enough to warrant even a clip.

Bayley and Sasha Banks are ready to defend the Women’s Tag Team Titles. After dubbing herself Bayley Dos Straps (I didn’t know you could use that word), Bayley says nothing is stopping her friendship with Sasha. If Kayla has another stupid question like that, get Charly Caruso to ask it. Burn…..maybe?

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Bayley/Sasha Banks vs. IIconics vs. Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss

Bayley and Banks are defending and Cole makes it clear that you can only tag your own partner. Nikki slugs away at Billie and Bayley to start but the double teaming slows her down. Everyone tags out and it’s a six way staredown for a second. An exchange of rollups gets a bunch of near falls and then more rollups get more near falls to change things up. Everyone comes in again until Bliss sends Peyton into Banks in the corner.

Peyton spinwheel kicks Cross down and Banks brings in Bayley as Cole lists off all of the titles that Bayley has won over the years. Bayley grabs Billie in a wheelbarrow so Banks can hit a running knee for two with Nikki making a save. Nikki sends Bayley into Billie and it’s back to Bliss to clean house. Everything breaks down and Royce crossbodies Bliss and Banks off the apron onto everyone else. Back in and Twisted Bliss hits Peyton but Banks steals the rollup on Bliss to retain at 8:49.

Rating: C. The match was non-stop action for the most part but it was so fast paced that it got messy by the end. That’s almost always going to be the case with this many people flying around the match at once and that’s not always the best idea. They’ve done a nice job of rebuilding the division in a hurry though and it’s because of a really simple idea: have people fight over the titles. I have no idea if this is going to last (it probably won’t) but it has been a nice few weeks for the belts. Or straps as Bayley now calls them.

Braun Strowman came to work earlier today.

Extreme Rules is on July 19.

We recap Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus. Hardy is back after a knee injury and Sheamus doesn’t like him for having so many personal demons. Sheamus may have framed him for a drunk driving crash that took out Elias but Hardy swears he was framed. Then there was some stuff with bodily fluids to bring things down a good bit.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Hardy grabs a headlock to start as his artistic way of expressing his anger at someone who almost cost him everything. The slingshot dropkick in the corner connects but Sheamus comes straight back with the running shot to the face. They head outside with Hardy diving off the steps to take him down and, after a painful obvious spot call, sends Sheamus back inside. Hardy teases using the steps but Sheamus catches him on the way back in and drives the elbows into the back of the neck.

Sheamus drops Hardy onto the top and the knee hits the post for a nasty crash. A middle rope knee gives Sheamus two and, after calling the fans enablers, he plants Hardy with some Irish Curses for the same. Sheamus hits a nasty running knee to the face and the chinlock goes on, complete with some rakes to the eyes. Hardy fights up with a belly to back suplex but Sheamus cuts him down with a clothesline.

The top rope clothesline misses though and Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind for two of his own. The legdrop between the legs into the basement dropkick gets two and Hardy adds a mule kick. Hardy’s Sling Blade lets him go up top but Sheamus meets him on the rope. That’s broken up but Sheamus blocks the dive and hits White Noise for two. Hardy’s knee is banged up so Sheamus slaps on the Texas Cloverleaf.

Hardy makes the rope so Sheamus starts kicking at the knee and adds the forearms to the chest. Sheamus goes shoulder first into the post though and the Swanton connects for two with Sheamus getting his foot on the rope. They head outside with Hardy trying the run off the barricade but Sheamus Brogue Kicks him out of the air. Back in and another Brogue Kick connects to give Sheamus the pin 16:45.

Rating: B-. Pretty good power vs. speed match here but it’s pretty clear that they are heading for a gimmick rematch at Extreme Rules. I’m almost scared to imagine what that is going to be given how they have set things up so far, but hopefully we can get something as lame as a tables match or something instead. Hardy being knocked backwards and then overcoming the odds will be fine. It’s not like losing to Sheamus is some big upset.

Miz and Morrison aren’t happy with hearing that if they beat Braun Strowman, the winner will be the sole Universal Champion. Otis comes in to say they might not be champion that long. Mandy Rose clarifies that Otis means they might not be champion that long.

We recap Asuka vs. Nia Jax. Asuka won Money in the Bank to become champion and Nia is being her usual jerk of a self. Title match ensues.

Raw Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Asuka

Asuka is defending and goes for the sleeper early. That’s broken up and Nia hits a headbutt, only to have Asuka grab an Octopus in the middle of the ring. Nia powers out without much trouble and, after shrugging off a Fujiwara armbar attempt, runs Asuka over with straight power. The spinebuster sets up a cobra clutch but Asuka is back with a guillotine.

Nia powers out with a Jackhammer for two but Asuka scores with the Shining Wizard for the same. A middle rope dropkick gets two and there’s the running hip attack for two more. Jax grabs a sitout powerbomb for two of her own and Asuka goes for the armbar. That sends them outside where Asuka grabs the armbar again. The hold takes some time though and Asuka kicks her in the head, only for both of them to get counted out at 8:25.

Rating: C. It was a fun match while it lasted with Asuka trying to take down the monster, but it’s a little hard to get invested in the feud when the monster has been slayed so many times before. It feels like we’ve seen the same Jax story over and over and that can get old in a hurry. Not a bad match at all, but I’m not really wanting to see them fight again, especially if they manage to get Charlotte involved.

MVP is getting Bobby Lashley’s celebration ready when Lana comes in. Lana asks why MVP has banned her from ringside for Lashley’s matches, but MVP says he didn’t do it. Go ask Lashley why, unless she’s scared of the answer.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Miz/Morrison for the Universal Title. Strowman beat both of them and then agreed to face them both at once, so they started “pranking” him, meaning destroying the windshield of his expensive car and failing to slime him. Strowman wrecked a van and is ready to destroy.

Smackdown World Title: Miz/John Morrison vs. Braun Strowman

Miz and Morrison are challenging and before the match, they show us their new music video for Hey Hey Ho Ho. Morrison is knocked into the corner without much trouble so it’s off to the terrified Miz for a kick to the face. That just annoys Strowman, who kicks Miz outside. The freight train around the ring is cut off by a dive from Morrison and the champ is in trouble for a change.

The chinlock keeps Strowman down and Miz comes in for the YES Kicks. He wants some singalong time, but the delay lets Strowman get in a chop. A charge goes into the post though and Morrison adds the Flying Chuck. The Skull Crushing Finale with a stomp from Morrison connects but they fight over who gets the pin. Miz finally lets Morrison cover but Strowman kicks him out to the floor. The chokeslam plants Miz and the running powerslam to Strowman retains the title at 8:23.

Rating: D+. So that’s about exactly what was expected and all it should have been. This was a pretty big waste of a pay per view title match (put Nakamura in there for a one off challenger if nothing else) as we’ve seen Strowman beat both of them before. Did we really need to see him beat both of them on pay per view?

We look at AJ Styles winning the Intercontinental Title over Daniel Bryan on Smackdown.

Styles promises a big title presentation on Friday and wants Bryan there. Bryan is great, but he isn’t phenomenal and has a lot to learn.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley. MVP has gotten in Lashley’s ear and made him a lot more aggressive, plus getting him his first title match in thirteen years. McIntyre knows what a threat Lashley is but is ready to fight as usual.

Raw World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew is defending and MVP is here with Lashley. Before the bell, Lashley grabs the full nelson with a bodyscissors and a bunch of referees have to pull it off. McIntyre says ring the bell anyway so Lashley throws him down for two. We see Lana watching in the back as McIntyre can’t even get his gear off. Lashley hits a knee to the head and chokes on the rope (MVP: “How you feeling champ? Feeling like a loser yet? Don’t worry. It’s coming.”).

McIntyre manages to knock Lashley outside and drives him back first into the Plexiglas. A glare at MVP takes too long though and Lashley gets in a hard shot. MVP: “One, two, you hear the clock ticking.” Lashley sends McIntyre into the post but he charges into a suplex into the barricade. McIntyre muscles him up for a suplex and hits the top rope shot to the head back inside.

The spinebuster gets two but Lashley hits his own for one. Lashley grabs a lifting Downward Spiral for one more so MVP tells him to hit something McIntyre can’t kick out of. The full nelson doesn’t work so Lashley climbs to the middle rope, only to get countered with the reverse Alabama Slam for two. Lashley is right back with a Crossface but McIntyre powers up. A Tombstone is teased but Lashley slips out and grabs the ankle lock.

That’s broken up and McIntyre grabs a Kimura of all things. Lashley grabs the rope so McIntyre takes him to the top for a superplex and a big crash. The Claymore is countered with the spear for two and both MVP and Lashley are shocked. Cue Lana to get on the apron though, with McIntyre hitting the Glasgow Kiss to knock Lashley into her. The Claymore finishes Lashley at 13:15.

Rating: B. This was the match I was looking forward to in the buildup and they delivered with a good, hard hitting fight. They made this two big, strong guys beating each other up, but the Lana interference was annoying. Odds are we have a Last Man Standing match or a cage match next month, as the rematch is certainly warranted. Plus a lot of Lashley yelling at Lana of course. Oh and a lot of credit for MVP here too. I was never a fan of his back in the day but he has been pure gold in this role with Lashley.

The announcers talk about the Raw Tag Team Title match and we cut to the back where the teams are fighting near Strowman’s car. Erik is slammed through the windshield so they run off and fight into the building. We enter cinematic mode with the Profits pulling out golf clubs but the Raiders counter with shields, an axe and a bowling ball. Profits: “NO!” The chase is on again and they go into a tunnel where they agree to put their weapons down.

The Profits hits them in the face to take over, leaving Ivar with his bowling ball. Ivar flashes back to the bowling match, then rolls the ball down the tunnel between Ford’s legs. Ivar heads outside to find Erik down but Dawkins spears Ivar through a glass door. That means another flashback to bowling where they pulled a turkey leg out of the ball return. With that out of the way, Ivar wants to head outside, where they already are.

Cue a seven person motorcycle gang, as led by Akira Tozawa. He says anything you can do, we can do better, and throws his helmet at Ivar. The Raiders and the Profits huddle up (with a camera looking up at them), to say those are ninjas on bikes. They have to do this together, so a bunch of lightning strikes and they pull out red solo cups and turkey legs.

With a Viking Profits graphic coming up, they want the smoke and start beating up the ninjas with the cups and turkey legs. The ninjas are dispatched and the Viking Profits throw their fists together for a pose. Tozawa gets up to shout a lot and waves a huge ninja (as in over 7’) over. Ivar summons a turkey leg ala Captain America and the hammer in Avengers so the ninja pulls out a sword.

They climb onto the top of the production truck with Ivar not being able to keep up. Then they argue over who beat up the ninjas and start fighting again, with Dawkins diving off the truck with a bulldog to send Erik into a trashcan. Ivar throws Ford in, shouts AIR IVAR, and Swantons in after them. That means another flashback to all of the women finding Ivar cute but not so much with Erik. Cue referee Jessika Carr to say their match is next and that Ivar is cute, but not so much with Erik. Then what looks like an alligator tail appears in the trashcan and they all scramble to escape.

That was such a waste of time that I don’t know where to start. The only thing I can say is this: just wrestle. Have the two talented teams who have torn the house down before tear it down again. This match was announced earlier today and we get this stupid thing to flash back to the month long series of jokes that have left everyone involved looking goofy. The Raw Tag Team Titles haven’t been defended in over two months, but we’ve had bowling and basketball between the teams that had a non-title match before the whole thing started. Just have a freaking match already. Is that too much to ask on the wrestling show?

And no, the match isn’t taking place, because they set up the match about eight hours ago just to not do it on the pay per view.

Commentary announces that they will be offering an enhanced viewing and audio experience for the next match.

We recap Edge vs. Randy Orton. Edge won in a Last Man Standing match at Wrestlemania and now it’s a wrestling match, which will be the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever because that’s what they billed it as and that’s what it’s going to be.

Edge vs. Randy Orton

They pipe in the fake crowd noise on the entrances, just in case you were wondering what you were getting here. We get a voiceover from Howard Finkel and the old MSG microphone for the entrances as Charles Robinson is wearing the 1980s WWF referee uniform. After referee instructions, Tom instantly declares this the greatest wrestling match ever. Edge snaps off some armdrags but the third misses as Orton puts on the brakes. Orton grabs a headscissors with Edge powering out in a hurry.

They trade leapfrogs until Orton sends him outside. Edge suckers him in for a big boot though and they press play on the “crowd cheers” audio file. Back in and Edge armdrags him into an armbar (they’re playing up the history of injuries, with Edge’s neck and Orton’s shoulder), with Edge wrapping the legs around Orton’s arm. It’s off to a headlock but Orton gets up to take him into the corner and kick at the leg.

A headscissors sends Orton outside and Edge goes up, only to have Orton pop up top to meet him. Edge headbutts him down and Orton is busted open, prompting some far louder than possible THIS IS AWESOME chants from the crowd. Back in and Orton misses the RKO so Edge can grab the head and arm choke, sending Orton over to the ropes. They fight to the floor with Orton sending him into various things and then drops him onto the announcers’ table.

Back in and Orton goes with the Garvin Stomp, followed by the chinlock. That’s broken up so Orton looks up and hits two out of Three Amigos. Edge blocks the third and hits his own Three Amigos to put them both down. They head outside again with Edge being sent chest first into the post, setting up a top rope superplex back inside. Joe: “EDGE IS NOT GOOD RIGHT NOW!”

That gets two and they get back up for stereo crossbodies and another knockdown. Edge drapes him over the top and hits the Edgecution for two, followed by a knee to the face. A sliding forearm to the chest (Joe: “Stee-rike!”) gets two on Orton and a high crossbody is good for the same. Edge gets the Crossface on the shoulder he hasn’t been working on but Orton switches into a rollup for two instead. Orton snaps off an Angle Slam for two and the frustration is setting in.

Back up and Edge can’t hit an Unprettier but manages to counter the RKO into the Edge-O-Matic for two. Now the Unprettier connects for two, followed by Orton hitting a Pedigree for the same. Edge busts out a Rock Bottom for his own near fall and they’re both down again. The Edgecator is blocked and Orton hits the RKO for the closest near fall yet. Orton can’t believe it so Edge spears him down and hits a second for two, meaning it’s time for him to be stunned as well. Edge goes back to the head and arm choke but Orton goes low and hits the Punt for the win at 44:49.

Rating: B. This was a great example of a lot of the problems with WWE in a nutshell. They have some outstanding talents and wrestlers, but they can’t just let them do their thing. Instead it was over hyped, overproduced and overly long (this easily could have been trimmed down by twenty minutes) and now we’re going to hear about how great it was for the next few days. Why can’t it just stand on its own as a big match between two of the best ever?

It was a heck of a match too, with both guys working on their opponent’s weak spots and playing off the history. I could have gone without bringing in the legends’ finishers, but it tied in a bit to the legends being brought in for predictions. The problem wasn’t the wrestlers or what they did, but all of the additional weight that was put on them, which may have been a nice marketing idea on paper, but didn’t do anyone involved any favors.

Post match Orton whispers something in Edge’s ear (sounded something like telling Edge’s daughters Uncle Randy says hi but I couldn’t make it out) and Edge is helped up after a long while to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to think of this show as the wrestling was pretty good for the most part, but between the back to back cinematic matches and the feeling that it was a dress rehearsal for Extreme Rules, it was a little hard to care. It did exceed my expectations, but sweet goodness can we cool it on the cinematic matches already? It feels like we’re getting at least one per show now and that’s a good bit too much.

Results

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. IIconics and Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross – Rollup to Bliss

Sheamus b. Jeff Hardy – Brogue Kick

Asuka vs. Nia Jax went to a double countout

Braun Strowman b. Miz/John Morrison – Running powerslam to Morrison

Drew McIntyre b. Bobby Lashley – Claymore

Randy Orton b. Edge – Punt

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown – June 12, 2020: The Special Treat

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 12, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s title night around here as we have Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles for the vacant Intercontinental Title. Given that Backlash is this Sunday, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the new champion crowned on Sunday instead of here. Either way, it should be an interesting match given the people involved. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus situation, including the whole drunk driving deal.

Renee Young is in the ring for a contract signing between Sheamus and Hardy. Sheamus comes out with a guy in a lab coat and security and sets up a curtain. Hardy isn’t sure what’s going on but doesn’t care after what Sheamus has put him through. Sheamus wants some assurances that Hardy will be there on Sunday so he has to take a urine test. Hardy says he’s an alcoholic and he goes to meetings every week to talk about what he has done to his fans. Jeff takes the test and Sheamus gloats so Hardy throws the contents of the cup in his face. You can hear McMahon laughing from here.

Post break Sheamus is washing his face when the doctor comes in to say the test was negative.

New Day vs. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title and New Day kneels during their entrance. Kofi takes Cesaro down for a splash and near fall to start, only to have Cesaro come back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Nakamura comes in for Good Vibrations but everything breaks down in a hurry. Big E. launches Kofi over the top onto both of them for the big crash on the floor. Cesaro grabs Big E.’s boot and Nakamura knees Big E. in the face as we take a break.

Back with Nakamura working Kofi over until a charge into an elbow cuts things off. Kofi goes up for a high crossbody but lands on Nakamura’s knees, setting up a small package for the very fast pin on Kofi at 6:26. Not enough shown to rate but this feels like the setup for a Backlash title match.

Tucker is back and has Otis blindfolded for some reason. He tries to teach him to use his sense of smell on some meat but Mandy Rose pops in to surprise him instead. She hands him the briefcase and Tucker reminds him ti be ready if the opportunity presents himself with Braun Strowman tonight. Hold on though as Sheamus and Hardy brawl nearby.

Video on the history of the Intercontinental Title, plus a recap of the tournament.

Intercontinental Title: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles

For the vacant title. They fight over wrist control to start until Bryan dropkicks him into the corner. AJ misses a charge and gets sent to the floor for the suicide dive. Back from a break with Bryan working on the arm and then working on the other arm at the same time for a bonus. Styles fights up and hits his own dropkick before hammering away at Bryan’s head. Bryan fights out and goes after the leg as he keeps finding ways to pick AJ apart.

They go to the pinfall reversal sequence before stereo crossbodies give us a double knockdown. Back from another break with Bryan working on the arm some more and taking it to the floor. AJ sends him into the barricade but misses a slingshot dive. That lets Bryan post the arm and stomp it on the apron before taking things inside again. The arm is twisted again and Bryan stomps on it for a bonus.

The keylock keeps the pain up but Bryan misses a charge in the corner. Styles starts kicking at the leg and snaps it down over the apron. The knee is tied in the ropes so AJ can kick away but Bryan uses the good leg for an enziguri. The Phenomenal Forearm is broken up with a shove off the top and Bryan kicks away in the corner. AJ is sat on top for a super hurricanrana and there are the YES Kicks.

The big one misses though and AJ hits a hard clothesline. We take a third break and come back with the slugout in the middle of the ring until Bryan backdrops him to the floor. The suicide dive is countered with a kick to Bryan’s arm but Bryan is fine enough to suplex him into a cross armbreaker. That’s countered into the Calf Crusher for the break and then the cross armbreaker goes on again.

AJ gets out again so Bryan kicks him in the head for two and takes AJ up. An elbow knocks Bryan down and a series of them does it again. Bryan gets up top again for a belly to back superplex and we actually take a fourth break. Back again with Bryan flipping over AJ in the corner but banging up the knee again. AJ’s Pele sets up a brainbuster for two but the Styles Clash is countered into a jackknife cover (ala Drew Gulak pinning AJ last week) for two.

Bryan hits a German suplex for two before AJ hits one of his own for the same. Now it’s Bryan getting his own German suplex for another two of his own, followed by the downward elbows to the head. The YES Lock goes on but AJ gets a foot on the rope. Bryan stomps away at the head but the running knee is countered into the Styles Clash. AJ can’t cover though and they’re both down again. The Phenomena Forearm connects to give AJ the pin and the title at 38:10.

Rating: B+. Yeah what else were you expecting here? The knee vs. the arm here was a good structure for the match and they beat the heck out of each other. All of the commercial breaks got annoying though and took something away from the match. What we got was pretty great though, and doesn’t exactly bode well for what Edge and Randy Orton have to do on Sunday.

Post match AJ confirms his phenomenalness.

We recap Miz/Morrison pranking/destroying Braun Strowman’s car last week. Strowman turned their van over instead of, you know, pulling the door open and destroying them.

Strowman promises to destroy Miz and Morrison. He doesn’t mind doing the same thing to Heavy Machinery tonight if he has to.

There are balloons everywhere and here are Bayley and Sasha Banks to brag about their title win. They brag about how great they are and how much better they are going to get, with Bayley having a poem for Banks. Cue Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss to say this is going a bit far, but the IIconics popup on screen to say they’re winning the titles on Sunday. They don’t think the champs should turn their backs on Cross and Bliss, and the two of them jump Bayley and Banks.

Miz and Morrison have a new music video….but Braun Strowman’s entrance cuts things off.

Matt Riddle debuts next week.

Heavy Machinery/Braun Strowman vs. Miz/John Morrison/Dolph Ziggler

Otis scares Ziggler to the floor to start so Otis pulls Miz in instead. Tucker comes in for a double headbutt and then grabs Morrison by the arm. Morrison’s springboard is countered with a powerslam for two so it’s Ziggler coming in. That’s fine with Strowman, who forearms him in the chest. Otis comes in for a suplex but King Corbin pops up on screen and goes up to Mandy Rose.

That sends Otis charging into the back as Corbin talks about Rose fantasizing about being with a man with stature. Otis charges in and beats Corbin down as we take a break. Back with Ziggler kicking Tucker down for two as there is no Otis in sight. Ziggler front facelocks Tucker into the corner but Tucker fights to his feet. Miz and Morrison take care of Strowman though, meaning there is no one for Tucker to tag.

Cue Otis though, with Mandy following, allowing Tucker to get in a kick to the face. The hot tag brings in Otis to clean house, including tossing Ziggler over the top for a crash to the floor. Strowman is back up for the running shoulders around the ring, including a big one to Ziggler. With Ziggler mostly out of it, Strowman throws him back inside so Otis can hit the Caterpillar for the pin at 11:06.

Rating: D+. So Miz and Morrison, the unlikely challengers to the Universal Title, are left laying by Strowman to end the go home show before a pay per view match they have next to no chance of winning? All while Otis and Corbin are gearing up for a feud that will likely result in Corbin getting the briefcase? Someone get the new creative over here in a hurry, I beg of you.

Overall Rating: B. Yeah it’s a one match show, but that one match was about a third of the show and that’s all you need. They went with a different structure here and it was nice to see for a change. Obviously it isn’t something that can be done every single week, but for a one off, this was a good treat. Now just get through Backlash so we can move on to….whatever is next on the calendar.

Results

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura b. New Day – Small package to Kingston

AJ Styles b. Daniel Bryan – Phenomena Forearm

Braun Strowman/Heavy Machinery b. John Morrison/The Miz/Dolph Ziggler – Caterpillar to Ziggler

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Monday Night Raw – June 8, 2020: Charlotte Sandwich

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 8, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Backlash so expect to hear a lot of about the best match ever. Christian is here to interview Edge, but even more importantly, we have a Decathlon between the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. Things like that convince me that WWE hates us at times. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Asuka for a match vs. Charlotte but hang on as here are Bayley and Sasha Banks to interrupt. They brag about winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles, allowing them to go wherever they want. Asuka yells in Japanese so here’s Charlotte to tell them to pick up the pace. Charlotte says she needs to beat Asuka, but here are the IIconics to say they’re going to win the titles again on Sunday. Asuka yells some more and Charlotte agrees. It doesn’t matter how many titles Bayley and Sasha win because Charlotte will always see them as garbage. The fight is on and it’s Charlotte and Asuka clearing the ring.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. IIconics vs. Charlotte/Asuka

Non-title. Sasha headlocks Peyton down to start but the Meteora is countered into a rollup for two. They both try dropkicks at the same time, meaning it’s a standoff. Asuka and Charlotte are knocked off the apron and it’s Bayley coming in to send Peyton into the corner. There’s a knee to the ribs for two but Peyton gets over to Billie for the tag. Bayley shouts a lot so Billie pulls her down by the hair and knees her in the face.

Charlotte tags herself in and sends Bayley into the corner. There won’t be a tag to Asuka, with Charlotte opting to chop Bayley in the corner instead. Bayley avoids a charge in the corner and drives Charlotte over for the tag to Sasha. The champs stomp away until Charlotte knocks them both down (of course) and brings in Asuka.

House is cleaned in a hurry with the flying hip attack to Banks and a bulldog/clothesline combination to the IIconics. Charlotte mockingly applauds as we take a break. Back with the IIconics cleaning house until it’s off to Charlotte to take them out. Asuka tags herself in and kicks away at Billie, only to have Charlotte tag herself back in, ordering Asuka out of her ring. Chopping abounds but Asuka tags herself in again to Asuka Lock Kay for the tap at 10:42.

Rating: C. You could see where this was going the second Banks and Bayley came out because Charlotte must be involved in everything. Odds are she’s either going to be added to the Raw Women’s Title match or Charlotte and Asuka will be added to the triple threat title match. Really, you might as well just add her to both because we need her star power everywhere, or so WWE certainly seems to believe.

Post match Charlotte lays out Asuka and holds up the title. So the new Tag Team Champions (including Bayley, who has been SmackDown Women’s Champion for eight months) are afterthoughts for another Charlotte title feud. Great.

We recap Seth Rollins hosting Rey Mysterio’s retirement ceremony last week, with Dominick Mysterio looking ready to fight for his dad. Later that night, Aleister Black beat Rollins but got beaten down after the match.

Rey Mysterio joins us for a chat from his house but hang on because Rollins comes out to join commentary. Back from a break with Rey talking about seeing his doctor this morning and now he’s coming for Rollins. Seth says Rey needs to understand the power of words and all the lies that he is spreading. Rey could have walked away a hero but he needs to spread this misinformation. He had the chance to walk away a legend so now Rollins is inviting Rey and Dominick to come to Raw next week. Rey knows this is just because he’s not cleared and yells in Spanish. Cue Black to jump Rollins as we cut to a break.

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black vs. Murphy/Austin Theory

Carrillo starts fast with the high angle springboard armdrag to put Theory on the apron. He’s right back in for the double tag to Murphy and Black, with the latter firing off the kicks. Murphy’s Law is countered into a rollup for one and Black adds a springboard moonsault for two. Everything breaks down and Carrillo hits a loud suicide dive onto Theory. Murphy goes up top and gets his head kicked in by Black the pin at 2:20.

Post match here’s Seth Rollins in a Mysterio mask to Mysterio’s music (which is completely different than last week when Nia Jax did the same thing in an Asuka mask) so the trio can beat down Carrillo and Black. Carrillo is sent to the floor and Black gets planted by Murphy’s Law. The Stomp leaves Black laying again.

Randy Orton is ready for Edge to be on the Peep Show.

MVP, in a Shad Gaspard shirt, is ready for Bobby Lashley to be in the VIP Lounge this week but R-Truth interrupts him. As Truth tries to hide in a crate, MVP asks what he is thinking by interrupting him. Cue Bobby Lashley to full nelson Truth and leave him laying.

We recap the Viking Raiders vs. Street Profits. In everything other than wrestling of course.

It’s time for the Decathlon, with five events picked per side. It’s a bunch of rapid fire competitions so here’s the short version:

The Profits won a 1600 meter dash to start, the Raiders won archery (when Dawkins shot a guy in the foot), the Profits won the flip cup (so Ivar broke the table), the Raiders won sword fighting when Ford forfeited, the Profits won the hurdles (resulting in an argument over whether you’re supposed to run through or jump over the hurdles), the Raiders won stick fighting, the Profits won a dance off (with Ford dancing to Sexy Boy and Ivar to Fandango’s theme), the Profits won the shot put, the Raiders won turkey leg eating and the Raiders won the pole vault, meaning it’s a 5-5 tie. My head hurts again.

Here’s Apollo Crews for a chat. He’s ready to defend the US Title against the winner of the following match.

Kevin Owens vs. Andrade vs. Angel Garza

Owens jumps the other two on the way to the ring and the fight is on in a hurry before the bell. We come back from a break with Owens being double teamed and the argument over who gets to pin him. Garza stops to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS, allowing Owens to roll Andrade up for two. Owens fights out of another double team but gets his throat snapped across the rope. A dropkick to the back of the head stops Owens again and it’s Andrade cranking on both arms. The chinlock goes on and Garza grabs the leg at the same time. Joe: “That’s the most violent Pilates session I’ve ever seen.”

A double suplex gives Andrade two but the fight is on when Garza makes the save. Zelina tries to break up the fight on the floor but she gets knocked down as we take a break. Back with Owens breaking up a superplex attempt from Garza and hitting the Swanton for two. Andrade jumps on Owens’ back so he drops down onto Garza for the crash. The Cannonball hits Garza but misses Andrade, who hits the running knees in the corner to both of them.

Garza superkicks Andrade but gets superkicked by Owens, setting up the frog splash for two on Andrade. Garza’s missile dropkick puts Owens down so it’s a strike off between Garza and Andrade. The two of them head outside, leaving Owens to hit a big running flip dive. Back in and Garza dropkicks Owens in the leg and grabs a leglock. The rope is grabbed and Owens hits the Stunner, only to have Andrade come in and steal the pin at 12:49.

Rating: C+. I was surprised by the ending and while I don’t exactly care to see Apollo vs. Andrade again, it wasn’t the way I expected the match to go. Just getting Crews a title defense on pay per view is a good idea, though I’m not sure if he is going to be retaining. This story isn’t all that interesting, but it’s better than having the title sit on the shelf for months at a time.

We look back at the opening segment and match.

Charlotte says she didn’t lose the NXT Women’s Title last night and she doesn’t like Asuka stealing her moment. Asuka dances in with the title, singing about being a champion. Charlotte asks if she takes anything seriously and gets slapped down.

Zelina is mad at Andrade and Garza.

Kurt Angle joins us to read cue cards (you can see his eyes going back and forth) to talk about how important chemistry is to a great match. He picks Edge to win on Sunday.

Drew McIntyre is thinking about joining the Vikings and invites them to a celebration after the show tonight. There will be meat and turkey legs, but Erik tells Ivar to focus.

Here’s MVP for the VIP Lounge. He talks about his guest being great and having the most devastating finishing move in WWE so here’s Drew McIntyre. Drew talks about them being friends, even though MVP might have had something to do with last week’s full nelson. MVP says they’re not friends and that Bobby Lashley is the real guest. See, MVP is here to make Lashley reach his potential as World Champion. Drew asks about all of MVP’s World Titles and offers to count down to the Claymore but Lashley runs in. Cue the Viking Raiders for a scheduled tag match, with the Street Profits joining them.

Viking Raiders vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

Post match Ivar punches MVP and gets full nelsoned as well. The Street Profits can’t break it up, but the Claymore certainly can.

Charlotte vs. Asuka

Non-title and here are Banks and Bayley to join commentary. Charlotte kicks Asuka in the face and then takes her down by the leg. They head outside with Asuka being thrown over the commentary table as we take a break. Back with Asuka still in trouble on the floor and not being able to hit the hip attack inside. She can however something like the Octopus but Charlotte is out in a hurry with a running kick to the head for two.

The IIconics are watching from the crowd as Charlotte cranks on both arms at once. Charlotte knees her to the floor but misses a baseball slide. Instead Asuka hits a dragon screw legwhip over the middle rope and now the hip attack hits against the barricade. Charlotte sends her into the barricade for a clothesline though, followed by some bare kneedrops. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Asuka gets two off a small package.

Charlotte’s clothesline gets the same and it’s out to the floor again. The baseball slide drops Asuka but she unloads with kicks to Charlotte’s leg. Back in and Charlotte boots Asuka off the top as the IIconics jump Banks and Bayley. We take another break with the other four gone and Asuka hip attacking Charlotte. The cross armbreaker has Charlotte in trouble but she powers out and knocks Asuka into the chinlock.

Asuka fights up so Charlotte knees her back down, only to have Asuka get in another shot. The middle rope dropkick sets up a German suplex to send Charlotte into the corner. That means more kicks to the back and it’s a hip attack to put Charlotte outside. They fight to the apron with Charlotte hitting a big boot, setting up a moonsault off the barricade. Asuka’s leg is wrapped around the post but she’s able to pull Charlotte face first into the post as well.

Back in and another big boot gives Charlotte another two but Asuka counters the spear with a heck of a knee to the face. The Asuka Lock is countered with a rollup for two so Asuka rolls her into something like a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up but here’s Nia Jax for a distraction, allowing Charlotte to hit another big boot for the pin at 27:12.

Rating: B. They beat each other up as always and I can go for the idea of Asuka having someone she can’t beat, but another interference to set up the finish wasn’t quite the way I wanted to see it go. No it wasn’t a clean loss, but it feels like Asuka is someone who has been fighting from underneath since the day she won the title. That gets a little annoying and having Charlotte get the win again doesn’t make it any better.

Post match Jax Samoan drops Asuka to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yes, Charlotte did just open and close the show with wins over the Raw Women’s Champion, the Smackdown Women’s Champion and the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Why are you surprised at this point? The show was pretty solid overall with some good wrestling and a build towards Backlash that was needed. I’m not overly excited for a lot of the show, but the main event looks good and there are a few other things that could help boost it up. This show helped get us there, but 45 minutes of Charlotte is a lot not matter what.

Results

Charlotte/Asuka b. IIconics and Sasha Banks/Bayley – Asuka Lock to Kay

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black b. Austin Theory/Murphy – Kick to Murphy’s head

Andrade b. Angel Garza and Kevin Owens – Stunner to Garza

Bobby Lashley/MVP b. Viking Raiders – Full nelson to Erik

Charlotte b. Asuka – Big boot

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown – June 5, 2020: They Don’t Know What That Means

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 5, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s a title night as we have the Women’s Tag Team Titles on the line with Bayley and Sasha Banks getting their shot at the titles. Other than that we’re still on the way to Backlash with the amazing main event of Miz and John Morrison getting slaughtered by Braun Strowman. Let’s get to it.

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

Quick preview of the show.

We open with a recap of the Jeff Hardy situation from last week, including Hardy getting out of police custody to cost Sheamus a shot at the Intercontinental Title.

Here’s Hardy for a chat. He thanks WWE and FOX for giving us this time to explain things. Elias was injured (announced as a torn pectoral muscle and broken ribs) and Hardy hopes he is back soon. Hardy says he got here last week and as he was getting things out of his car, someone jumped him from behind and he woke up smelling like alcohol with police yelling at him. It made him start thinking about that dark place again because he knew he couldn’t ask for forgiveness too many more times.

Hardy talks about being interrogated at the police station and eyewitnesses said the driver of the car had red hair and a red beard. Cue Sheamus to say he’s sick of Jeff and his enabling fans. Jeff isn’t a man because he’s just a junkie. Jeff’s wife and daughters must be used to these slip ups right? That’s enough for Jeff who charges up the ramp, and right into a Brogue Kick. Sheamus throws Jeff into the Plexiglas and leaves him laying.

Otis and Mandy Rose find King Corbin’s crown and walk off with it. Corbin comes up and isn’t happy.

We look back at last week’s Mandy/Otis dream sequence.

Otis vs. King Corbin

Corbin charges in and gets clotheslined to the floor, followed by a charge in and a clothesline to the floor. The second time around goes a bit better with Corbin sending Otis back first into the apron. Back in and Corbin hits a spinebuster for two, setting up the quick chinlock. Otis powers up to his feet and drives Corbin into the corner for the break, so Corbin kicks him in the stomach. This has the expected effect and the comeback is on. Corbin rolls outside before the Caterpillar though and it’s a chair shot to Otis for the DQ at 4:02.

Rating: D. We’re going to be seeing this again later aren’t we? And it’s going to be crown vs. briefcase isn’t it? Otis as Mr. Money in the Bank might not be the best sounding thing in the world but I’ll take that over Corbin in the same spot any day. Nothing match of course, but it feels like something designed to move the briefcase over and that’s worse.

Miz and Morrison are in a van with some equipment as Braun Strowman arrives. Oh this is going to hurt isn’t it? Back from a break, Miz and Morrison (with Hey Hey Ho Ho written on their sunglasses) mock the fans for saying they’re going to be destroyed at Backlash. Now some people may call what you’re about to see childish, but once we get to Backlash, Strowman’s life will be a living h***. We cut to a camera feed of Strowman pouring water into a thermos, which explodes. Strowman growls a lot.

Shorty G. is cut off by Mojo Rawley, who says he is cutting the interview short. Rawley: “See, it’s funny because you’re short!” Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura show up and beat on Gable but the New Day make the save.

Lacey Evans vs. Sonya Deville

Sonya jumps her from behind during the intros and knocks Lacey into the steps. Back from a break with the opening bell and Sonya charging into a quick armdrag. Sonya shoves her down again as we recap the fact that this is a feud about hair color. A forearm sets up Lacey’s slingshot elbow for two but she charges into a boot in the corner. The beating is on and Sonya rubs her forearm over Lacey’s face. Lacey is back with a slingshot rollup but Sonya lands on the referee, who seems to have hurt his leg.

Back with a new referee and Sonya working on a chinlock. She sends Lacey into the steps but Lacey manages a running clothesline back inside. The comeback is on and Lacey hits the slingshot Bronco Buster in the corner. The perfect double springboard moonsault gets two but Sonya is back with a choke across the rope. Sonya hits a running knee for two but here’s Mandy Rose on screen to say Sonya is a failure. That’s enough of a distraction for Lacey to hit the Woman’s Right for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C-. Well at least it wasn’t a rollup. I like both of them but my goodness it was hard to sit through another distraction finish. Throw in the fact that they’re fighting over hair color and this isn’t exactly inspiring stuff. I’ll take Mandy vs. Sonya over this, but it’s not exactly a huge improvement.

Matt Riddle video.

Strowman talks about Miz and Morrison messing with his protein shake earlier so at Backlash, they’ll get these….and then slime falls from the ceiling onto Kayla Braxton. She’s not happy as we cut to Miz and Morrison arguing about the difference between left and right. So these two got into the building early, rigged up a bucket of slime, and somehow knew EXACTLY where this interview was going to take place?

Here are AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan for their face to face showdown before the Intercontinental Title match. AJ says he knows what Bryan is going to say about AJ taking the bye to the finals. Bryan says that AJ is a coward but they just think differently. AJ took the bye because it was a smart move. What Bryan calls noble is really stupid, but Bryan isn’t letting that get under his skin.

Bryan talks about how they have different visions of being champion. AJ sees it as defending the title once in awhile against the best every because it puts him in a special category. On the other hand, Bryan sees himself facing someone different every single week because the title represents competition. He wants fans to watch every week and hope that their favorite wrestler gets a chance that week. AJ says Bryan wants to give handouts. Speaking of which, how did Drew Gulak get to be Bryan’s coach? Therefore, Gulak can come out here right now and take a beating of his own.

AJ Styles vs. Drew Gulak

Gulak knocks him to the floor and we take a break before the bell. AJ hammers away to start but misses a dropkick and gets pulled into an armbar. The rope is grabbed in a hurry and AJ knocks him down again, this time for a chinlock. Gulak fights up and knocks AJ into the corner as the comeback is on. A suplex puts AJ down and a Michinoku Driver gives Gulak two. Back up and AJ hits the moonsault into the reverse DDT but the Styles Clash is countered into a rollup for the pin on AJ at 5:19.

Rating: C+. This was fun while it lasted but they didn’t get to do much. I’m curious about where this goes as there wasn’t much of a reason to have AJ take a clean loss here. It’s a nice feeling to have back so maybe the title match is suddenly a three way. I’m not sure if that’s needed but it’s certainly different.

Miz and Morrison break Braun Strowman’s windshield with a golf club and baseball bat. These people don’t know what pranks are do they?

New Day/Shorty G. vs. Mojo Rawley/Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro

Gable’s rolling kick is countered by Cesaro but Gable rolls him up for two anyway. A flying headscissors takes Cesaro down again and it’s off to Nakamura to kick at Big E. That doesn’t go very far as it’s back to Gable to take Nakamura down for back to back New Day splashes. Kofi hits the big running flip dive to the floor but comes up holding his knee. Rawley runs him over with a clothesline and we take a break.

Back with the villains working over Kofi, including a headbutt from Rawley. Kofi fights back with a standing double stomp though and brings Gable back in to clean house. A moonsault gets two on Rawley and the ankle lock goes on, including the grapevine. Nakamura slides in with a knee for the break and it’s Kofi diving onto Nakamura on the floor. Rawley’s Hyperdrive gets two on Gable but he misses the running right hand in the corner. Kofi gets the tag and the Midnight Hour finishes Rawley at 10:40.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced formula tag match but the people involved could make it that much better. What give me a little hope here is Gable getting to look strong again. If they ever change his name back, there might be a future there. I have little reason to believe they will, but at least there may be a chance.

Strowman finds Miz and Morrison’s van, shouts a lot, and turns it over.

Backlash rundown, including Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus confirmed.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Bayley isn’t sure how to carry this much gold to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show got better as it went on but even some of the better matches didn’t save the “pranks”, which are an annoying trope of WWE. Couple that with the fact that it’s leading to what should be a handicap squash and it’s not exactly getting my interest. They were trying some different stuff here but some of the reasons for these people fighting are a bit of a stretch. It wasn’t the worst show, but there was a lot more eye rolling than smiling.

Results

Otis b. King Corbin via DQ when Corbin used a chair

Lacey Evans b. Sonya Deville – Woman’s Right

Drew Gulak b. AJ Styles – Rollup

New Day/Shorty G. b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura/Mojo Rawley – Midnight Hour to Rawley

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss – Crucifix to Cross

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown – May 29, 2020: Fake Wrestling

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 29, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re very slowly closing in on Backlash but tonight is all about the Intercontinental Title tournament. That means a pair of semifinal matches and one of them is actually interesting. It’s AJ Styles vs. Elias and Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan, where I’ll leave it up to you to figure out which is the interesting one. Let’s get to it.

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

We open in the parking lot where Elias has been attacked. The police find the car that the attacker was in and it’s rented to Jeff Hardy. Braun Strowman was an eyewitness who called the cops and saw someone running off. The police go over to the bushes and find Jeff, who apparently smells like alcohol and looks rather out of it. They pass Elias being loaded into the ambulance and Jeff screams at him before being put in the police car. They’re really doing a DUI angle with someone currently still facing legal issues over a DUI? I know it’s going to be something else but there was NO other idea here?

The roster is briefed on the situation and Sheamus says this is Hardy’s sixth strike. AJ Styles says it’s him vs. Daniel Bryan in the finals but Bryan wants them to both have an opponent. He’s not going to be a coward so Sheamus volunteers to be one of the opponents, because Jeff had to be on something to beat him last week.

King Corbin wants in on this too so we’ll have Bryan vs. Corbin vs. Sheamus for the right to face Styles. No one is cool with that so an unnamed boss says it’s a battle royal next for the right to face Bryan in the main event, with the winner of that facing Styles for the title in two weeks. That works for everyone, leaving Styles to call Bryan an idiot.

Battle Royal

Drew Gulak, Shinsuke Nakamura, Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, King Corbin, Cesaro, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Shorty G., Jey Uso

It’s a brawl to start and Ziggler is already doing his near elimination deal. Sheamus yells at Cole while choking Uso but has to survive Gable’s elimination attempt. Corbin punches Dorado out and Gulak follows him. The fans aren’t happy with that and it’s Metalik going after Corbin until Ziggler superkicks him out of the air. Corbin dumps Metalik and tosses Ziggler for trying to turn on him.

Jey superkicks Corbin out and we take a break. Back with the five (Sheamus, Cesaro, Uso, Gable, Nakamura) all still in and Gable getting the armbreaker over the ropes on Sheamus. A tornado DDT plants Sheamus and it’s Uso cleaning house. Gable gets rid of Cesaro to tick him off and suplexes Nakamura out clean in a heck of an upset.

Cesaro sneaks back in to toss Gable though and we’re down to Sheamus and Uso. Jey fires off forearms but gets sent to the apron. A Stunner across the top staggers Sheamus and the superkick connects back inside. Jey clotheslines him to the apron but Sheamus hangs on and hits the Brogue Kick to win at 14:13.

Rating: C-. They had some surprising moments in there with Gable getting some big eliminations, though I have no reason to believe it’s going to lead anywhere. Sheamus winning is the most logical move they have, if they insist on doing the Hardy angle for whatever reason (which might wind up being a good one). I’m not sure where it’s going though and I’m almost scared to find out.

Sonya Deville tells Lacey Evans to put her hair up and square up. Evans pops up from behind to shove her down.

Cesaro and Nakamura yell at Gable over the eliminations and Cesaro tells him to be the bigger man for once and walk away. Either that or face him in the ring. Gable hits him in the face and says challenge accepted.

Lacey Evans vs. Sonya Deville

This was set up on Twitter when Deville insulted blondes (seriously). Lacey talks about what blondes can do and gets down into referee position for an amateur wrestling fight. That goes to Lacey so Sonya shoulders her down without much trouble. Sonya ties her hair back so Lace nips up and puts her hair up as well. Lacey knocks her into the corner and gets punched in the face for her efforts, allowing Sonya to take over in the corner. Sonya stands on her hair so Lacey gator rolls her to the apron for some right hands. They fight on the floor and it’s a double countout at 4:16.

Rating: D+. They are not only having a match, but apparently a continuing story, over Lacey being a blonde. Was there no one else out there who could come up with a better idea than that? It wasn’t a horrible fight either, but hearing them talking about hair color over and over was killing it for me.

Post match Lacey says bring it but Sonya says on her time.

The Forgotten Sons, with Wesley Blake doing the talking, says he supports his brothers and gets in the blood on our hands line.

It’s time for a special tag team edition of A Moment of Bliss with New Day as the guests. Corey: “I must have been a horrible person in a past life.” Nikki Cross has a special present for New Day: SCOTTISH pancakes! Big E. pulls out some coffee beans (Big E.: “From Djibouti of course.”) and mixes them into Alexa’s coffee (with a wooden spoon that he happens to have), though she’ll save that for later.

Bliss wants to know who is up next for New Day and they like the idea of the Forgotten Sons. They ask Alexa the same thing so here are Bayley and Sasha Banks to interrupt. Banks gets in the ring and takes off her track jacket to throw in Bliss’ face. Bliss isn’t listening to Bayley and points out that Sasha is the only one here without a title. Sasha calls herself the conversation and says she put the titles on the map (with Bayley serving as the annoying hype woman). Bliss says name the time and the place but Bayley makes Bliss vs. Banks right now, even though Banks is in track pants and heels.

Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

Bayley and Nikki Cross are on commentary and Banks has gotten some better shoes during the break. Some rollups give Bliss some early near falls and Insult to Injury connects for two. Banks is right back with the running knees in the corner for the same, leaving Nikki to LOSE IT when Bayley threatens Cole. The Meteora gives Banks two and Cross starts the LEXI chant.

Banks grabs a double arm crank and hits a backbreaker for two. Bliss faceplants her out of the corner as commentary still won’t stop shouting for two seconds. A dropkick cuts Banks off but it’s another Meteora into the corner. Two knees out of the corner gets two but Bliss fights up and goes to the top. Bayley gets up so Cross deals with her, only to have Banks grab a sunset flip for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: F. Usually I can block commentary out but this was the most annoying thing I have ever heard in wrestling. It was literally just Bayley and Cross screaming for the better part of seven minutes and taking away any focus the match might have had. It wasn’t even that good of a match in the first place but this was a nightmare to listen to and odds are we’ll get it again soon enough. The match itself was watchable enough, but commentary pulled this into a bottomless pit and dragged everything down with it.

We look back at the Hardy/Elias situation.

Shorty G. vs. Cesaro

Nakamura is here with Cesaro and how much of this show was actually booked in advance? Gable starts fast and hits a moonsault for a very quick two and then twists the knee for a bonus. Back up and Cesaro blasts him with a clothesline, followed by a gutwrench suplex. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on but Gable fights up, earning himself a near Last Ride for two. Gable backflips out of a belly to back superplex and grabs the ankle lock, only to be sent into the ropes. Cesaro’s crucifix gets two so he tries another powerbomb, only to get reversed into a sunset flip for the pin at 4:06.

Rating: C+. After that previous debacle, I was ready to take anything here and they had a rather action packed match. I don’t believe in Gable’s push for a second of course and calling him Shorty G. is still as horrible of a decision as you could have, but at least he’s doing something and getting a win. Now keep it going and don’t just drop everything next week.

Earlier today, Otis and Mandy Rose got to spend some time by the pool with Otis pouring her some peach champagne. We go to the dream sequence where Mandy rather approves of Otis in his limited gear and it’s the homage to Fast Times At Ridgemont High, with Otis taking his shirt off. Mandy squirts the bottle of suntan lotion, only to be woken up when Otis cannonballs into the water and splash her. She rather approves of the dream and gets in the water with him for various canoodling. This is certainly a thing that happened and I’m not sure what else there is to say about it.

Kurt Angle is looking forward to seeing Randy Orton vs. Edge but he’s here for something else. He has gotten to know someone who is going to be the future of this show and introduces a video on Matt Riddle, who is officially coming to the show.

We get a Riddle highlight package.

Sheamus isn’t impressed and wants the Intercontinental Title. Daniel Bryan comes in and kicks him in the leg.

Intercontinental Title Tournament Semifinals: Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Sheamus kicks him down to start and grabs a chinlock, only to have Bryan fight back with the kicks in the corner. The suicide dive to the floor connects and we take a break. Back with Bryan working on the arm but Sheamus elbows him down. The top rope clothesline gives Sheamus two and he says he created the YES Movement when he beat Bryan at Wrestlemania.

Bryan fights back but gets Irish Cursed into the Cloverleaf. That’s broken up so Sheamus takes him up top for a superplex. Bryan blocks that as well and hits the missile dropkick but the YES Lock is countered into White Noise for two. Sheamus runs him over again and loads up the Brogue Kick….and here’s Jeff Hardy. The distraction lets Bryan hit the running knee for the pin at 13:12.

Rating: B-. Odd ending aside, they beat each other up well enough and played off some of their history. Bryan knows exactly what he’s doing int here against a big guy and Sheamus is better than your average monster lug. I’m curious about the Hardy ending, but at least they didn’t wait long to seemingly move past the drunk/high thing.

Overall Rating: C. People talk about how something like Stadium Stampede was unrealistic and made wrestling look fake. You can argue that for yourselves, but for me, this show is what makes it look take. Of the five matches taking place, four were booked tonight. It’s true that there were two others booked in advance, but they just happened to find a solution to make the whole thing work out in the end? And it just happened to fill two hours with Hardy arriving at the very end of the show? Plus they filmed a dream sequence. It was entertaining content but the setup didn’t work for me and that hurts things a good bit.

Results

Sheamus won a battle royal last eliminating Jey Uso

Lacey Evans vs. Sonya Deville went to a double countout

Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss – Sunset flip

Shorty G. b. Cesaro – Sunset flip

Daniel Bryan b. Sheamus – Running knee

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown – May 15, 2020: It’s His First Time

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 15, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

As is the case on almost every show these days, it’s time for a tournament, as we have to crown a new Intercontinental Champion. It isn’t clear who will be in the tournament or how many entrants there will be, but at least we have something to keep a smaller number of wrestlers busy for the time being. Let’s get to it.

Here is Money in the Bank if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Money in the Bank match/matches.

Miz and John Morrison are here for MizTV and here’s Otis before he is introduced. Otis even throws in a cartwheel on the way to the ring. Miz: “Have a seat.” Otis: “Right here?” Miz: “Where else would you sit?” Eh Otis will stand instead. This is the second biggest win of his career because the biggest was winning his peach Mandy. Now the briefcase contains various stomach aides and a bratwurst. We see a photo of baby Otis and Morrison thinks Otis is pregnant.

Now it’s a shot of Otis and his mom, who helped him with school because he had a learning disability. Then we see Otis as a kid in trunks and wrestling boots. With the gyrations going, Otis says if you’ve got it, flaunt it. That’s too much for Miz as he can’t believe Otis has gone this far, won the briefcase and got the girl too. Miz wants a tag match tonight so get Tucker out here. Otis: “Tucker got a case of disenbary on the Oregon Trail.” Miz says Otis can find anybody so good luck.

It’s tournament time and we’ve got brackets:

Daniel Bryan

Drew Gulak

Jeff Hardy

Sheamus

Elias

King Corbin

AJ Styles

Shinsuke Nakamura

The lack of Ziggler makes me smile.

We look back at Elias vs. Corbin.

Intercontinental Title Tournament First Round: Elias vs. King Corbin

Elias hammers away to start but gets pulled into a chinlock for his efforts. That’s broken up and it’s a clothesline to put Corbin on the floor. Elias hits a big dive to drop Corbin again so it’s time to go to another side of the ring. Corbin grabs the guitar for some strumming and gets sent into the barricade for his efforts.

Back from a break with Elias’ rope walk being broken so Corbin can hammer away on the announcers’ table. Back in and the slide underneath the rope clothesline gives Corbin two. Elias gets in a swinging neckbreaker for a breather, followed by the reverse swinging neckbreaker for two. A spinebuster gives Corbin the same and there’s a chokeslam for another near fall. Corbin is so annoyed that he destroys Elias’ guitar so Elias knees him in the face. A small package gives Elias the pin at 15:53.

Rating: C-. Who in the world thought Elias vs. Corbin needed fifteen minutes??? This ran longer than it needed to but the amount of relief from the lack of Corbin is a great thing. I’m not sure what to expect on that side of the draw now, but you can almost guarantee that these two will meet at least one more time.

Otis asks Sheamus to be his partner and that’s not happening.

Post break Mandy Rose comes up to Otis to ask how things are going. Mandy suggests asking Braun Strowman. That sounds like a good idea and Otis throws in a kiss on the cheek.

The hacker pops up to say he hears everyone and sees everything. No one is safe. The cameras show everyone again.

Otis asks Strowman about the tag match and while Strowman isn’t sure about Otis’ motives, he’ll think about it.

Naomi vs. Dana Brooke

Naomi is annoyed at the loss in the Money in the Bank qualifying match but gets knocked into the corner to start. Dana tries to start a clap, realizes no one is there for it, and hits a handspring elbow in the corner. Naomi gets a boot up in the corner and hits a high crossbody, which is rolled through and then rolled through again to give Naomi two. A quick victory roll attempt is countered into a rollup to give Dana the pin at 1:22. This wasn’t good while it lasted with a lot of sloppy moves and looking like they were on different pages more than once.

Here’s Charlotte as part of the Brand To Brand Invitational. She talks about how awesome she is because she’s tall, talented and a Flair. Cue Bayley and Sasha Banks with Bayley laughing about how she is the role model and how she has beaten Charlotte twice now. Charlotte points out that it took her being unconscious and Bayley’s haircut to make that work. So just go back to Raw or NXT and beat up Liv Morgan. Charlotte talks about how Sasha made Bayley relevant and goes over Sasha’s impressive resume. Bayley tries to talk for Sasha so Charlotte says cut her mic so Sasha can reply for herself. Bayley is ready to fight, but Charlotte asks Sasha is her own woman or Bayley’s lackey. Sasha doesn’t answer.

The Forgotten Sons talk about being in the military and then being forgotten once they got back home. They weren’t welcomed with open arms so now they’re fighting back with closed fists. This took about thirty seconds and gave us an introduction to the characters with a quick backstory. That’s all you need most of the time and this told you everything you need to know about them.

Miz and Morrison don’t think Otis will get a partner. Dancing ensues.

Intercontinental Title Tournament First Round: Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak

They shake hands to start with Bryan spinning out of a wristlock. Bryan takes him down by the arm and gets the YES Lock but Gulak is in the ropes in a hurry. Gulak gets the Gulock for the same result and it’s an early standoff. A double underhook has Gulak in trouble and he blocks an armbar attempt. Back up again and Drew dumps him over the top in a suplex attempt as we take a break.

We come back with Gulak holding a headlock and shrugging off a shinbreaker to keep hold. Bryan fights up and snaps off a German suplex for two, only to get caught in a Michinoku driver for the same. Gulak stays on the neck with a full nelson but Bryan slips out and hits another German suplex. The running knee misses and Gulak’s sunset flip gets two, leaving Gulak to powerbomb Bryan for two. Neither can get their finisher so Bryan twists the knee down again. A heel hook goes on to make Gulak tap at 12:26.

Rating: B. I liked their match at Elimination Chamber and this one worked too. These two know how to wrestle a technical match like few others and we had a heck of a showdown here. Gulak isn’t ready to beat Bryan and it’s not like it’s a big downgrade for him in losing. Bryan is a favorite to win the whole thing and this was a rather good first step.

Post match Bryan talks about having to vacate the title almost exactly five years ago. He has always wanted to make the title the top championship on Smackdown by defending it every week because he is the best wrestler in the world. Bryan and Gulak shake hands.

Next week, Bayley vs. Charlotte, the other two first round tournament matches and Sonya Deville/Dolph Ziggler vs. Mandy Rose/Otis.

Sonya talks about how Mandy is only good at being pretty and once that is over, she’ll wind up barefoot and pregnant with Otis shouting to bring her another beer. Maybe that’s what she wants but Mandy will never be a winner like Sonya. What matters is Sonya is going to ruin her life and she’s just getting started. Sonya: “B****.” She really has been bringing fire with these promos and someone is going to notice.

Otis/??? vs. Miz/John Morrison

The partner is….Strowman. I’d love it if one time it wasn’t he teased partner and was instead someone like Bo Dallas. Otis drives Morrison into the corner to start so Morrison kicks him in the head. Gyrating gets Otis out of trouble and he faceplants Morrison for a bonus. Morrison gets knocked down again and it’s off to Strowman for a double Caterpillar as we take a break. Back with Miz front facelocking Otis before the YES Kicks connect for two. Otis suplexes both of them down at the same time and it’s back to Strowman to clean house. Miz is ran over on the floor but Strowman goes shoulder first into the post. Morrison strikes away until Strowman catches him with the powerslam for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: D+. That’s all it needed to be as this was about putting Otis’ toe into the main event waters. It’s going to be a good while before Otis goes after the title, assuming he actually gets that far. Normally I would say I can’t imagine the title change taking place, but who would have imagined Otis getting here in the first place?

Post match here’s Mandy Rose and the distraction lets Otis think about using the briefcase. Strowman sees it coming though and Otis says it’s just for a laugh. Celebrating ends the show instead.

Overall Rating: C-. This was the Otis Show and I’m not sure how well that is going to go over with the masses. Otis got over rather well under certain circumstances, but what happens if/when the fans are sick of seeing him? Having Otis be the focal point of the show could backfire, but it’s WAY too early to tell if that is the case just yet. Other than that, the show was good enough because of the tournament and it’s nice to see them having a focus again.

Results

Elias b. King Corbin – Small package

Dana Brooke b. Naomi – Rollup

Daniel Bryan b. Drew Gulak – Heel hook

Otis/Braun Strowman b. Miz/John Morrison – Powerslam to Morrison

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown – May 8, 2020: The Right Stuff

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 8, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Money in the Bank and I’m not sure what else there is to set up. Part of the problem over the last few weeks is building up to a show that is centered around something likely to take place later. That isn’t exactly a thrilling destination, and the TV leading up to it hasn’t been all that strong either. Maybe things can change next week, but this could be a rough one to finish the build. Let’s get to it.

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

Mandy Rose, with Otis, and Sonya Deville, with Dolph Ziggler, are warming up for their match.

Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

Mandy has a bad leg coming in but goes straight at Sonya in the corner and hammers away. It works so well that she does it again, sending Sonya bailing to the floor. Back in and Sonya hits a running knee for two and we hit the bodyscissors with Sonya shouting about how embarrassed Mandy should be. They head outside with Mandy sending her into the steps and then over the announcers’ table for a big crash. Back in and Mandy loads up the Bed of Roses but Sonya reverses into a rollup with trunks for the pin at 5:02.

Rating: C. Mandy was fired up here and I’m glad Sonya won after her showcasing herself well in recent weeks, but was anyone waiting for Fire & Desire to explode? They weren’t exactly a top level team in the first place and now we’re seeing them fight. It’s a fine story, but I don’t know if it carries the weight WWE thinks it has.

New Day/Lucha House Party vs. Miz/John Morrison/Forgotten Sons

Jaxson Ryker is here with the Sons. Miz and Kofi start things off but everything breaks down in a hurry. The villains are sent to the floor and it’s a dive from everyone not named Big E. to take them out. Back from a break with Blake stomping on Big E. in the corner until it’s reversed into an abdominal stretch. The Warrior Splash connects and the House Parts adds three splashes of their own for two.

Kofi comes back in with a top rope stomp to the arm, only to miss a splash into the post. Miz comes in to stomp away, setting up Morrison’s hard running knee to the face. Now it’s Kofi being sent outside for a suicide dive and we take a break. Back again with Morrison hammering on Kofi but Miz gets kicked away….so the Sons pulls everyone to the floor to prevent the hot tag. SOS plants Miz though and it’s the hot tag to bring in Gran Metalik for a springboard flipping seated senton.

Dorado adds a spike hurricanrana into a 450 but the Sons make the save. The Midnight Hour is broken up and it’s the double stomp/reverse DDT combination on the floor to plant Big E. Back in and Dorado gets some rollups for two on Morrison but a backflip Samoan drop (geez) plants Dorado right back. Starship Pain misses and it’s a reverse hurricanrana to Morrison, only to have Miz slip in for the Skull Crushing Finale and the pin at 17:58.

Rating: B-. This was a nice long match where different people got to got out and showcase themselves. If nothing else, it’s nice to see a match about building momentum that might actually has something to do with winning the match on Sunday. I can’t imagine anyone but the Sons leaving as champions, but it was a pretty good match on the way there.

King Corbin is ready to team with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura tonight but he’s looking forward to Sunday. He wants to see how far Rey Mysterio can fly off the roof and knows that Otis will clog the elevator like he clogs his arteries.

Here’s Jeff Hardy for a chat. He’s worked hard to get back here and can still hear the fans in his head. Sheamus is watching in the back and can’t believe this is what he was waiting on for all these weeks. Jeff says he can’t believe Sheamus didn’t interrupt him yet so here’s Sheamus right on cue. Sheamus doesn’t want to hear about Hardy, who has been around forever and done everything around here, wanting one more run. The fans are tired of him and his suspensions, releases and no shows.

Above all else though, they’re tired of the wasted potential. Jeff calls him a hater but Sheamus says he’s really a fan. When is the real Jeff coming back? Jeff says he should ask the same thing about Sheamus, who says Jeff’s flame has barely been burning for too long. Sheamus comes to the ring to extinguish it for good and the fight is on. Jeff slugs away and hits a Whisper in the Wind into the Twist of Fate. The Swanton connects and shouting on the ropes ensues.

Here’s Braun Strowman for a chat. It’s true that he debuted as part of the Wyatt Family but now he’s his own man. Now Bray has been sending him presents to remind him of the past but if Bray has something to say to him, come do it to his face. Cue Bray, with a very enthusiastic “HI BRAUN!”

Bray says that he created Strowman and knows what is best for him. He can teach Braun how to be special and all it’s going to take is the Universal Title. Bray needs to GET the Universal Title and he repeats the line, but Braun isn’t going to say GET THESE HANDS to prove a point. Bray hands him a mask and the puppets pop up to beg him to come home. Braun says he is home and he has the Universal Title. On Sunday, he’s going to keep it.

Maybe it’s Strowman’s delivery but I can’t get behind this feud. It wasn’t like Strowman was a major part of the Wyatts so having him worried about the past doesn’t quite work. The idea makes sense, but I’m not exactly buying into it. That and I have little confidence in Strowman retaining, so it feels like a given ending (even if it might not be one).

Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak have a chat with Otis.

Lacey Evans/Tamina vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Sasha and Bayley play Rock Paper Scissors to decide who starts so Tamina clotheslines them out to the floor. Bayley winds up starting and kicks Tamina into the corner, only to get thrown down with ease. A Sasha distraction lets Bayley get in a shot to the leg and the double teaming begins. Lacey cuts Bayley off on the floor so Tamina can grab her by the hair. Since Tamina isn’t that good though, Bayley snaps Tamina’s throat across the top and we take a break.

Back with a double elbow getting two on Lacey but she’s over for the hot tag to Tamina anyway. Bayley gets crushed in the corner but the top rope splash misses. The Bayley to Belly plants Tamina and it’s the top rope elbow for two. Lacey comes back in with the Woman’s Right to Sasha, setting up the superkick to Bayley. Tamina hits the Samoan drop to finish Bayley at 13:54.

Rating: C-. Hey, remember all those other times where WWE tried to push Tamina and failed to understand that no one cared? This was the most recent. Normally I would say that there is no chance of her winning the title on Sunday but things have been so wacky of late that I could believe they actually go that insane route. Hopefully everything goes back to normal and Bayley retains, because no one deserves that punishment.

Here’s a tour of the WWE corporate headquarters.

Dana Brooke and Carmella are ready to win the ladder match.

The Hacker pops up to show us some clips of people getting ready for Money in the Bank. He also plays a voicemail from a woman saying that not only is it coming, but it is coming soon. The Truth Will Be Heard. This is the most elaborate hype I’ve ever seen for one of R-Truth’s songs.

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura/King Corbin vs. Daniel Bryan/Drew Gulak/???

The mystery partner is…..Otis, as they spoiled about thirty minutes ago. Bryan front facelocks Corbin to start and brings it in to Gulak for a running dropkick. Cesaro comes in and gets planted with a powerslam for two. It’s off to Otis to wreck things, including a running corner splash to Nakamura. The good guys clear the ring and we take a break.

Back with Bryan flipping out of Corbin’s suplex and bringing in Gulak to slug away on Cesaro. Gulak flips out of the corner into some weird chickenwing/Crossface combination until Cesaro powers out. A clothesline puts Cesaro on the floor it’s the Gulock on Corbin until Nakamura makes the save. Otis comes in and jiggles off Cesaro’s shots to the face. Corbin sends Cesaro outside but walks into a middle rope clothesline for two. Not that it matters as Deep Six finishes Gulak at 10:49.

Rating: C+. Pretty standard six man tag without the most thrilling mystery partner after that opening segment. That being said, it’s kind of amazing that Otis of all people is someone who has grabbed the brass ring like this. He didn’t feel out of place here and that’s a cool thing to see. I can’t imagine he wins the briefcase, though I couldn’t imagine him beating Dolph Ziggler at Wrestlemania so I guess it’s possible. A very tiny bit possible, but possible I guess.

Post match the brawl is on again with Corbin setting up a ladder. A mini ladder match breaks out with everyone involved with Sunday’s match trying to climb. Corbin shoves Bryan off the ladder and onto Otis before pulling down the briefcase to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it’s just the fact that the show was better than Raw but I enjoyed this well enough. One of the biggest problems with Raw at the moment is the lack of a reason to care about a lot of the people involved. While I don’t care for everyone involved with this show, most of them are at least somewhat established and you either know something about them or what they are trying to do. In other words, the show feels like it has had some effort put into setting everything up.

This show still isn’t great and it’s nothing that I’m going to think about by tomorrow morning, but it’s a watchable show with established storylines, characters and feuds. It’s fine enough and while it didn’t make me want to see Sunday’s show any more than I did coming in, I’ll take something like this over Raw any day. The quality might not have been as great, but it was so much easier to watch overall and that’s what matters most.

Results

Sonya Deville b. Mandy Rose – Rollup with trunks

Forgotten Sons/Miz/John Morrison b. New Day/Lucha House Party – Skull Crushing Finale to Dorado

Tamina/Lacey Evans b. Sasha Banks/Bayley – Samoan drop to Bayley

King Corbin/Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro b. Daniel Bryan/Drew Gulak/Otis – Deep Six to Gulak

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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