Main Event – July 5, 2018: History Has Been Made

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 5, 2018
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

Oh come on already. Do I really need to watch Monday Night Raw all over again? Anything related with that show is going to be a chore at this point but that’s what we have to work with here. Well that and the Smackdown stuff which was perfectly watchable, although not exactly great. In other words I’m not sure what to expect here but it might not be the best thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ascension vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno

The ECW chants start up but switch to HE’S GOT KIDS in a hurry. Viktor can’t do anything with Slater so it’s off to Rhyno vs. Konnor for a power battle. A flying shoulder puts Konnor down but Rhyno charges into the buckle to put him in trouble. The fans get behind Rhyno but Konnor’s running splash into Viktor’s jumping knee doesn’t make things much better. The belly to belly gives Rhyno a breather and it’s back to Slater off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Rhyno is sent to the floor, leaving Slater to take the Fall of Man for the pin at 5:07.

Rating: D. Just a Main Event match, but that’s the first time Ascension has won a match since February 7, 2017 in a twelve person tag. It’s their first two on two tag win since Superstars in February 2016. That’s getting up there in Curt Hawkins territory and I have no idea why they weren’t given at least a mini push at some point. Make them a one off challengers for the titles or something but don’t let them sit around doing nothing. What’s the point of calling them up in the first place?

From Raw.

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre

Ziggler and Rollins start with an early cradle getting two on Seth. Another rollup gets the same so Seth dropkicks him into the corner. Drew comes in to run Rollins over and a shove by the throat puts him down again. It’s off to Reigns who is powered into the corner so Drew can punch him in the head.

The Samoan drop is broken up and McIntyre runs Reigns over again. A superkick gives Ziggler two but one heck of a right hand knocks him out of the air. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Rollins as the pace picks up. A suicide dive hits McIntyre and an apron kick into the frog splash gets two with McIntyre diving in for the save. Rollins and Ziggler exchange rollups until Dolph is sent to the floor.

That means a dive off the post to both villains and we take a break because the match needs to keep going instead of going home after a hot ten minutes. Back with Rollins fighting out of Ziggler’s sleeper and sending him into the corner. McIntyre is right around the other side to pull Reigns off and break up the hot tag, so Rollins kicks him in the face. Now it’s time for the hot tag but the Revival pulls Reigns off the apron for the DQ at 15:49.

Rating: C+. Good match here and they got the ending right. You don’t want the champ, McIntyre or Rollins taking a fall here and Reigns isn’t going to lose so the DQ is as good of an idea as you can get. This was starting to rock before the break and would have been great if they just wrapped it up there but I’ll take what I can get.

Post match the Revival beats Reigns down as Rollins takes the Claymore/Zig Zag combo. Reigns takes a Shatter Machine for a bonus.

From Raw again.

Revival vs. Bobby Lashley/Roman Reigns

Reigns and Dawson start things off with Roman powering him into the corner. Dawson takes a breather on the floor and Reigns refuses to tag Lashley in. Back in and Dawson punches away at Reigns’ ribs, which were banged up earlier tonight. Some stomps set up a bodyscissors to keep Reigns in trouble as he can’t get anything going.

A gutbuster gives Wilder two and another shot to the ribs cuts off Reigns’ comeback. There’s a hard whip into the corner to cut Dawson off but Reigns still won’t tag. Instead it’s Lashley coming in without a tag for a pair of spinebusters but Reigns shakes off the offer of a tag. Revival unloads on him in the corner and that’s a DQ at 7:11.

Rating: C. It was much more about the angle than the match but I’ll take the Revival not looking like a pair of losers for a change. I could go for a lot more of the Revival, but that just doesn’t seem to be in the cards around here. Reigns vs. Lashley should be fine and if they make Revival look a little more valuable in the process, so be it.

Post match Lashley walks away while Reigns takes another Shatter Machine and a top rope splash. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!”

From Smackdown.

Usos vs. HELL NO

If the Usos win, they’re added to the Tag Team Title match at Extreme Rules. Bryan drop toeholds Jimmy down to start and puts on the surfboard. A corner dropkick seems to wake Jimmy up for some reason so it’s off to Jey, who gets dropkicked as well. Kane comes in and misses an elbow but shoves both twins over the top at once. They pull Kane out with them though and it’s back to back dives to drop Bryan and Kane as we take a break.

Back with Bryan speeding up things up and hitting another running dropkick on Jey in the corner. There’s a super hurricanrana and the YES Kicks have Jey in even more trouble. The Usos finally get their stuff together and take Bryan down with Jimmy stomping away in the corner. A backbreaker/middle rope chop combination gets two and the Usos make a wish on Bryan’s legs.

Back up and a double clothesline allows the hot tag to Kane but he’s kicked to the floor without much effort. Jey charges into an uppercut but it’s time for the superkicks. Back to back double superkicks put Bryan down and get two on Kane and it’s time to go up. The Double Us is caught by the throat, allowing Bryan to knee Jey down and Kane to chokeslam Jimmy for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C. Kane looked REALLY bad here, barely able to move and not doing much of anything other than being knocked back a few steps and signature stuff. The guy is 50 years old and barely even wrestles part time anymore, but his talking and character stuff is still more than enough reason to have him around. Bryan worked most of the match and was his usual self, but the important thing was they got the finish right.

Bryan and Kane do the YES pose and hug, only to be cut off by the Bludgeon Brothers. A big staredown ends the show.

Quick look at Rusev attacking AJ Styles on Smackdown.

Jinder Mahal vs. Zack Ryder

Mahal works the arm to start but walks into a dropkick to put him on the floor. Back in and Ryder’s backslide gets two but Mahal kicks him in the face. A faceplant and corner forearm look to set up the Broski Boot, the threat of which sends Mahal bailing to the floor as we take a break. Back with Mahal choking in the corner and grabbing a chinlock. Mahal’s suplex gets two and it’s right back to the chinlock. Ryder fights up with the usual, including the middle rope dropkick. A Sunil Singh distraction breaks up the Broski Boot and the Khallas gives Mahal the pin at 10:13.

Rating: D. I’m not sure why it took over a year for WWE to figure out but this is pretty much Mahal’s comfort zone: boring matches against lower level competition with no chance of elevation. He’s just not that good and having him in a prominent position on television doesn’t work for anyone but him. I’m hoping the experiment is over, just for the sake of my sanity.

We look at Braun Strowman wrecking Kevin Owens’ car.

From Raw.

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Owens gets shoved down, rolls outside and runs away for the countout at 51 seconds.

Strowman gives chase so Owens runs into his car, only to not have his keys. Instead, he hides in a well placed portable toilet as Strowman arrives. The fans try to tell Strowman where Owens is as Strowman looks into the car window. He teases going back inside but puts the pieces together. Using a falsetto voice, Strowman asks if anyone is in there and Owens gives himself away.

Strowman wraps duct tape around the thing to seal Owens inside before dragging the toilet and Owens back into the building. We watch as Strowman drags him all the way back into the arena (which takes a good few minutes) and up onto the stage. Of course it’s knocked off the stage and Owens emerges covered in blue liquid. If you listen carefully, you can hear Vince dying with laughter about Owens being “COVERED IN BLUE STUFF” for the next five hours to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh now you knew they were showing the whole ending to Raw here. For them that’s comedy gold and while I have no idea how that can be seen as the best idea, there’s a good chance that we’re going to be hearing about it more over the next few weeks. This was a dreadful show after a dreadful Raw with even the clipped version not being worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Monday Night Raw – July 2, 2018: This Show Isn’t Worth Engelbert Humperdink Tickets

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 2, 2018
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole

We’re getting closer to Extreme Rules but we’re missing a lot of the extreme. At the moment we have one match with any kind of a gimmick announced with Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler in an Iron Man match. Other than that we might get to find out what Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley are fighting for since Brock Lesnar might not be working Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Lashley and Reigns’ issues, including losing a match to the Revival to even their series. The third match is tonight. We also look at the Intercontinental Title match with Drew McIntyre costing Seth Rollins his rematch.

Here’s Reigns for a chat. He knows Lashley is a tough guy and that means he wants a fight right here right now. Lashley is an egomaniac so let’s do this. Instead here are Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, to say Reigns couldn’t mind his own business last week. The fight is on in a hurry with the numbers taking Reigns down until Rollins runs in for the save.

Back from a break with Rollins and Reigns running into Kurt Angle in the back. The tag match is made for next week. Reigns wants it tonight but Reigns and Lashley are teaming up against the Revival. AGAIN. Actually hang on though as Angle makes Rollins/Reigns vs. McIntyre/Ziggler tonight. No word on if the Revival match is still on or not.

Matt Hardy vs. Curtis Axel

Bray Wyatt isn’t here tonight because of a car wreck on Friday, but of course WWE can’t possibly blame his absence on the B Team. That might make too much sense and they might have to write something original so it’s not in the cards. Nah instead here’s the B Team parodying Wyatt and Hardy again because it’s funny (pal). Matt shoves him down and Bo Dallas offers Curtis some advice.

A neckbreaker gives Matt two but it’s too early for the Twist of Fate. Back from a break with Axel hitting a bad looking dropkick and a backbreaker gets two. Hardy sends him into the buckle and grabs the Side Effect for two. The Twist of Fate is loaded up but Dallas offers a distraction, allowing Axel to post Hardy. The Axhole ends Hardy at 9:30.

Rating: D. This feud started off with some potential and has gotten old very fast because it’s a two note story: the B Team are a couple of schmucks and they parody Hardy and Wyatt. That’s the entirety of the story and there’s no hint that they’re going anywhere else. It comes off as more lazy writing and another case of coming up with the lone idea then putting up your feet and saying “back in a month”. This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem on Raw and this feud does it almost as badly as anything else.

Reigns and Rollins are talking about Seth’s Iron Man match when Lashley comes in. He wants to fight Reigns too but they’ll get it together tonight. Reigns says all Lashley has to do is stand on the apron and smile while collecting the win. Lashley is ready to fight now but they’ll work together tonight.

We recap Sasha Banks and Bayley exploding (again) last week.

Earlier today, Bayley went to counseling and Sasha was there too. Dr. Shelby (of Team HELL NO anger management fame) is their therapist and is ready to take them into the friend zone. Inside his office, Shelby goes over the seven tenants of friendship. More on this later because we have a running joke.

Titus Worldwide vs. Authors of Pain

Titus actually powers Rezar into the corner to start and brings Apollo in with Akum following him. A Dominator plants Crews as Cole spits out adjectives to describe the Authors. You know, because a team of powerful monsters need descriptions. There’s a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Crews and Titus is sent shoulder first into the post. The Last Chapter ends Crews at 2:56.

Kevin Owens is just arriving and looks very nervous about leaving his car. A valet comes up and asks for his keys but Owens says no chance.

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre

Post match the Revival beats Reigns down as Rollins takes the Claymore/Zig Zag combo. Reigns takes a Shatter Machine for a bonus.

We look back at Strowman flipping Owens’ car last week.

Owens complains to Angle about Strowman so Angle makes a match between them for tonight.

Bayley and Sasha are still at therapy with Bayley ranting about something we can’t hear.

Here’s Constable Baron Corbin to talk about how his job is to make everyone better. Last week he pulled Finn Balor from the ring because Balor was clearly tired. When he tried to talk strategy with Balor, he was attacked so the fight was on. Corbin wants Balor to come out here and apologize so here’s Balor, who doesn’t seem interested in apologizing.

Instead Corbin goes first and gives him some backhanded compliments, with Balor insulting Corbin’s clothes and haircut. That sends Corbin over the edge so Balor accuses him of being Stephanie’s stooge. Corbin punches him in the face but gets knocked to the floor, only to leave before Balor can dive. This is all fine as long as it doesn’t lead to Stephanie showing up to collect Finn’s balls.

Elias is playing in the background when the Riott Squad comes up. He plays a bit more as they wreck stuff.

Ember Moon vs. Liv Morgan

Liv slaps her hard to start so Ember tosses her to the floor for a very early break. Back with Ember going for an ankle lock but getting enziguried for her efforts. Liv actually wins a slugout and shouts that Moon is nothing, earning her a toss into the corner. A double stomp brings her out of said corner and the Eclipse gives Moon the pin at 7:26.

Rating: D+. Morgan got in a lot of offense here and that’s a positive sign for her going forward. She wasn’t a great worker when she started and while she’s still a work in progress, it seems that they have some confidence in her. Moon is still fine with the Eclipse, but that’s only going to carry her for so long.

Back in the office, Dr. Shelby is at his breaking point but he has the two of them talk as each other. This of course required them to imitate each other because that’s funny see. They argue again and Shelby screams a lot.

Revival vs. Bobby Lashley/Roman Reigns

Post match Lashley walks away while Reigns takes another Shatter Machine and a top rope splash. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!”

Owens begs Angle to cancel the match tonight, offering to organize his office or give him some Shania Twain tickets while Owens babysits his kids. Angle says no, so Owens says Angle doesn’t deserve Shania Twain tickets.

Back from a break and we look at Reigns getting beaten down again.

Reigns comes in to see Lashley and the match is on for Extreme Rules.

No Way Jose is in the ring for a match with Mojo Rawley but Rawley says he’s paid too many dues to let something like this happen. He’s sacrificed everything for this opportunity and all Jose can do is dance. Mojo decks him from behind and beats up a member of Jose’s conga line. They brawl some more and Mojo gets the better of it. I find myself more and more interested in this story every week.

We recap Ronda Rousey snapping into a suspension.

Earlier today, Rousey said she’ll be in the front row at Extreme Rules.

Mickie James vs. Nia Jax

Alexa Bliss is with Mickie. Before the match, Nia talks about thinking she was done with Bliss for ever but we’re right back where we started. This needs to end so let’s make it an Extreme Rules match. Reality seems to set in for Bliss but it gets worse as Nia brings out Natalya to be in her corner. Mickie can’t do anything with Nia to start and gets thrown down in a heap. A trip tot he floor doesn’t go well for Mickie either and it’s a big staredown as we take a break.

Back with Mickie baseball sliding her off the apron and kicking away at the leg. A kick to the head keeps Nia in trouble and a running dropkick takes the knee out again. With Nia down, Mickie goes with just punching the knee but Nia grabs a bodyscissors for an escape. Mickie’s kick to the head is blocked so she slaps Nia in the face. A sitout powerbomb crushes Mickie and Natalya intercepts Bliss. The Samoan drop is good for the pin on James at 9:51.

Rating: C. The knee work was better than usual as Mickie mixed things up a bit but Nia winning was the right call. You have buddies like Mickie for reasons just like this and it’s a good enough way to advance the feud. Since we can’t use jobbers for the most part, this is about as good as it’s going to get.

Owens is trying to learn breathing techniques from Jinder Mahal but gets interrupted by an interviewer. Tonight, Owens is going to show the world how to destroy a monster.

We take another look at Reigns getting beaten down.

Lashley says Reigns got what he asked for. Reigns never would have been the guy if Lashley had been here.

Pay per view rundown.

Remember earlier tonight when we looked back at Owens’ car being destroyed? Well here it is again.

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Owens gets shoved down, rolls outside and runs away for the countout at 51 seconds.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh dear this was a rough one and a lot of that comes back to the lack of Brock Lesnar. Right now you have Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley fighting to be the top star on the roster but with no title to go after, which for some reason requires two Reigns matches. Finn Balor couldn’t have teamed with Rollins instead? Oh no because we need Corbin to have witty exchanges with Balor instead, making them both look and sound like idiots.

Then there’s Strowman, who is picking on Owens because there’s nothing better for him to do and no World Champion to stalk with the briefcase. At the moment this is at least going to be the case until after Extreme Rules and hopefully the rumors about Lesnar not working Summerslam are untrue. Other than that we had Nia being a jerk to Alexa because Bliss used the briefcase as it was intended to be used, the B Team parodying Hardy and Wyatt again, and Ziggler being pushed as the bigger deal over McIntyre.

It feels like some combination of bad writing and just not caring and that makes for a long sit. Smackdown is better, mainly because they don’t seem to put in as much effort into making us sit through this horrible writing. The show felt like they were just throwing stuff out there that made them laugh and put in as little effort as possible, which continues the trend of this being a very rocky few months. It wasn’t so much bad as much as it was lazy and uninspired, which is often a lot worse.

Results

Curtis Axel b. Matt Hardy – Axhole

Authors of Pain b. Titus Worldwide – Last Chapter to Crews

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler via DQ when the Revival interfered

Ember Moon b. Liv Morgan – Eclipse

Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley b. Revival via DQ when Revival double teamed Reigns

Nia Jax b. Mickie James – Samoan drop

Braun Strowman b. Kevin Owens via countout

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Main Event – June 28, 2018: This Was The Worse Option?

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: June 28, 2018
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

This show has started turning into a nice little way of reminding me of what happened earlier in the week as most of it tends to go sailing out of my head a day or two after the show is over. It’s quick, it’s to the point, and while the original wresting isn’t great, it does things as well as can be expected. In other words, this is what the show was designed to do. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chad Gable vs. Mike Kanellis

Gable wastes no time in reversing headlock takeovers and gets two off a rollup. A very fast takedown sets up an armbar on Kanellis and a running armdrag makes it even worse. Kanellis finally sends him throat first into the middle rope for a breather and some running clotheslines in the corner (with blown kisses) get two. The chinlock is broken up in all of three seconds and Gable knocks him to the floor for a running apron cannonball. The fans are behind Gable here, even as he gets taken down with a sitout Rock Bottom. A superkick knocks Gable into the corner but Rolling Chaos Theory gives Gable the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C. Not a bad match here at all as Gable got to show off and Kanellis gets to eat this week. Kanellis could go somewhere if he had a gimmick other than being Maria’s husband, especially when Maria isn’t around. Gable still has all the potential in the world but here he is on Main Event while Jason Jordan got the big push but now is sitting on the injured list because Heaven forbid the awesome American Alpha team got to continue.

We look back at Alexa Bliss winning Money in the Bank and cashing in, earning her complete destruction at the hands of Ronda Rousey, causing Rousey to be suspended.

From Raw.

Here are Alexa and Mickie James to brag about Bliss getting the title back and laugh off the idea of Rousey being a threat. Now Bliss gets to face the big bully in Nia Jax, assuming Nia’s arm is healthy by then. Bliss talks about how the mean girl overcame the pretty and popular one because it works in Hollywood. This is the real world though and Bliss knows how to overcome obstacles. She’s overcome Jax and Rousey and is still champion so boo her all you want.

Cue Natalya to say the countdown is on because we’re 23 days away from Rousey returning to deal with Bliss. That earns Natalya a lecture about posting her whole life on social media, because that’s the appropriate response here. Natalya isn’t done though, because she gets to face Bliss right now.

Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya

Non-title and Natalya has Nia Jax in her corner. Joined in progress with Bliss holding her in a bodyscissors before the moonsault knees to the ribs get two. Some stomps to the back give Bliss two but both seconds offer failed interference. Natalya uses the distraction to hit a discus lariat, followed by the Sharpshooter for the tap at 4:07.

Rating: D. In theory this should go somewhere for Natalya, who is still sniffing around the Rousey story, which could be a good idea for Rousey down the line. I’m never a fan of the champing tapping clean like this but it’s such a common practice to have a champion lose these days that it’s not even worth getting upset about anymore.

From Raw again.

Sasha Banks/Bayley/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

Banks starts fast with the Meteora to Logan so it’s off to Liv vs. Moon. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Squad bails to the floor, leaving Moon to dive onto Riott and Morgan. Back form a break with Banks coming back in to clean house with clotheslines but Riott cuts her off with a kick to the face. Bayley makes a save and everything breaks down with Moon elbowing Logan in the face. Banks rolls Riott up for two but has to knock Morgan off the apron, allowing Riott to small package Sasha for the pin at 7:02.

Rating: D+. So you remember all those time where Bayley and Sasha can’t get along and it’s been going on for about four months now? This is the latest version. They really, really need to go somewhere with this already because it’s gone on for so long already and the energy from the whole thing is gone.

Post match Bayley snaps and beats the heck out of Sasha as the fans want tables. Banks gets tossed into the steps twice and the fans cheer for Bayley. The announcers treat this like a heel turn but Bayley is loudly cheered and it’s the result of Banks stabbing her in the back over and over. That doesn’t sound heel turnish to me.

From Smackdown.

Harper vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan goes with the kicks in the corner to start but gets punched in the face. They head outside with Harper getting the better of it, setting up a neck crank back inside. A missed charge sends Harper outside again and there’s the suicide dive, which is caught without much effort. Harper drops him face first onto the announcers’ table and a big boot puts Bryan over the barricade.

Back from a break with the swinging Boss Man Slam getting two on Bryan. We hit the chinlock but Bryan jawbreaks his way to freedom, setting up the corner dropkick. Bryan charges right into a Michinoku Driver for two more though and Harper takes over one more time. Harper hits a dropkick and takes Bryan up top but gets punched down. That means a tornado DDT and the YES Kicks as Harper is in trouble. The YES Lock goes on but Rowan comes in for the DQ at 13:07.

Rating: C. Bryan was fine here and that’s all this match needed to be. You can find someone to team with him later on and Bryan vs. Miz can be a big time match at Summerslam. If nothing else Bryan vs. either Brother again is fine for a TV match and you can do the same thing with whoever his partner is. The match was fine.

Post match the beatdown is on until Kane of all people comes out for the save. Kane and Bryan clean house and the fans are very pleased. The TEAM HELL NO chants start up and cue Paige to say that at Extreme Rules, HELL NO is getting the Tag Team Title shot at the Bludgeon Brothers.

Breezango/Bobby Roode vs. Ascension/Curt Hawkins

What a random tag match. Viktor and Breezango start things off with a surprising mention of the teams’ former friendship. We get a pose off for a BOO/YAY off and now it’s off to Hawkins and Fandango for a dance off. Hawkins wants Roode instead though and Roode throws him citations before an atomic drop gives us the first major offense nearly two minutes in.

It’s back to Fandango for some right hands but Konnor comes in off a blind tag as we take a break. Back with Konnor missing a charge in the corner and the hot tag bringing in Roode to clean house on Hawkins. Fandango hands Roode the cop hat so the Glorious DDT can finish Hawkins at 7:55.

Rating: D. There’s not much you can do in an eight minute match when two minutes are spent on posing/dancing and three and a half are in a commercial. Hawkins’ losing streak is still amusing enough but I’m not sure how long it’s going to last on the big shows. Roode continues to be dying for a heel turn but that GLORIOUS is so over that I get why they’re hesitant to pull the trigger. Ascension and Breezango….I’m sorry guys.

And from Raw to wrap it up.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is challenging and, after Big Match Intros, wastes no time in dropkicking Ziggler out to the floor. Some chops rock Ziggler and it’s off to an early armbar as they have about half an hour if not more. That’s broken up in a hurry and Ziggler hits his big jumping elbow for an early two. A headlock keeps Rollins in trouble and the pace slows a good bit. Rollins finally fights up and Ziggler bails to the floor, only to have McIntyre fail as a shield.

A staredown with McIntyre takes us to a break. Back with Rollins holding his knee and another chinlock keeping things slow. Rollins fights up and sends him into the corner for a breather and both guys are down. Ziggler backdrops him over the top to further the knee injury but Seth is back up for stereo crossbodies. Rollins’ knee is fine enough for a Sling Blade but McIntyre offers a distraction. That’s enough for an ejection, allowing Rollins to suicide dive onto both of them.

Back in and Ziggler crotches him on top for two and we take another break. We come back again with Rollins hitting the Ripcord Knee but Ziggler gets his foot on the rope. They fight to the apron where a DDT knocks Rollins senseless with the announcers declaring it over. Do they really think we buy lines like that anymore? Rollins knees him down again for a close two but gets caught on top.

Ziggler gets shoved down and the frog splash gets another close two and the fans are losing their minds. The Stomp and the Zig Zag both miss and Ziggler’s rollup with tights gets two. Now the Zig Zag connects for two and Ziggler is stunned. They head up top again and Rollins tries a superplex to the floor but has to settle for the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for an even closer two instead with McIntyre pulling the referee out for the DQ at 27:38.

Rating: B. And so, it’s going to continue, likely in some form of gimmick match at Extreme Rules. As usual, I would rather be seeing McIntyre in Ziggler’s spot but for some reason he’s just there as muscle and not even bothering to put him in the ring more often than not. As long as this leads to McIntyre dropping Ziggler and either winning the title or moving on to bigger and better things, everything will be fine. Just get Ziggler away from the spotlight already.

As for the match, it was much better after the second break but that first half was just filling time that the match really didn’t need to have. I would always prefer a hot seventeen minute match over a twenty seven minute match where about half of it feels like a waste of time. The ending didn’t help things either, but some of those near falls were great.

Post match the beatdown is on until Roman Reigns makes the save. A Superman Punch puts McIntyre back on the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The Intercontinental Title match helped, even though they only showed about five minutes and the post match stuff. I liked that Kanellis vs. Gable match far more than I expected to and it’s always nice to have a surprise. Raw wasn’t great this week but they did a good job of cutting away the bad stuff to give us a nice show, which is where this show can be rather successful.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Monday Night Raw – June 25, 2018: The Long, Long Day

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 25, 2018
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

We’re getting closer and closer to Extreme Rules and that means we need to know who will be in the multi-man match for the right to face Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Other than that we have an Intercontinental Title match tonight as new champion Dolph Ziggler (Huh?) faces Seth Rollins in a rematch from last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Kurt Angle and Baron Corbin are in the ring, but first we have to hear a lengthy introduction for all of Corbin’s job titles. Angle talks about the upcoming #1 contenders match but shifts towards a recent Facebook post from Paul Heyman, saying no one was worthy of facing Lesnar. Before he can make an announcement though, here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Bobby Lashley interrupts as well, with Reigns not being able to get to say anything.

Lashley says he wants Lesnar and Reigns has had three years of chances. That means it’s time to move on, but Reigns says Lashley moved on ten years ago. About ten years ago, Lashley was in the main event of Wrestlemania (well, pretty much) but then he decided to go to MMA and become famous. What has Lashley done around here since then? Reigns is the guy who has been main eventing Wrestlemania four years in a row and it’s going to be five. Lashley tells him not to disrespect his background but he’s ready for anyone Angle throws at him.

Angle says there was a snag in the details and the multi-man match is off at Extreme Rules. Reigns goes on a rant about Lesnar not wanting to be here unless he gets paid, but Lashley thinks Lesnar just wants a real challenge and is sick of seeing Roman’s face. Lashley: “Just like all these people here.” A challenge is issued and they’re ready to fight, but Angle says he’s willing to take a singles match between the two of them under advisement. Cue the Revival again though and we’re having a rematch from last week.

Revival vs. Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley

Rematch from last week. Wilder gets sent outside to start and it’s a double shoulder to drop Dawson instead. A cheap shot from Wilder knocks Lashley into Reigns though and it’s Lashley, who loses the headband and reveals his rather large forehead, in trouble. More stomping in the corner doesn’t do much good for Revival as it’s quickly off to Reigns. That’s not very interesting to the announcers though so they read portions of Heyman’s Facebook post.

Reigns hits the apron boot on Wilder and we take a break. Back with Reigns in the same trouble Lashley was in earlier as Revival takes turns stomping away. The announcers talk about Lesnar some more as Wilder and Dawson talk trash and kick Reigns in the head. A Samoan drop gets Reigns out of trouble and it’s back to Lashley for that dreaded vertical suplex. It’s delayed and everything. Lashley loads up the spear but Reigns tags himself in for the Superman Punch to Wilder. Reigns loads up the spear but sidesteps a blind tag. Dawson’s charge hits Reigns but the distraction lets Wilder roll Reigns up at 13:03.

Rating: D+. Somehow, I’ll gladly take this, even if it might mean a third match next week and will mean nothing for the Revival because they’re not one of the featured tag teams at this point so they’re not going anywhere. Reigns and Lashley have some chemistry together as long as Lashley isn’t allowed to talk for very long, but their match might be a little rough.

Reigns and Lashley yell at each other.

Matt Hardy liked last week’s B Team parody, which he hasn’t seen done as well since he was sharing a tart with Bill Shakespeare. Bray Wyatt comes in and laughs about what the B Team did, promising consequences.

Matt Hardy vs. Curtis Axel

Before the match, the B Team parodies Matt and Bray again, this time choking on the smoke and lowering themselves with the lamp. They trade shots to the face to start with Matt putting him on the turnbuckle for more right hands to the jaw. A superplex doesn’t work for Matt as Curtis falls on top….for the pin at 1:54.

Post match Matt and Bray declare that a WONDERFUL win for the B Team.

Stills of last week’s Bayley vs. Sasha Banks incident.

The Authors of Pain (hey, they exist) shove a production guy and get talked down to by Titus Worldwide.

Bayley welcomes Alicia Fox back (uh, yay) but Angle comes in to tell Bayley that she and Sasha are teaming up again with Ember Moon against the Riott Squad. You can imagine Bayley’s reaction.

Authors of Pain vs. Rich Gibson/Rex Gibson

The Gibsons are in red and green, meaning the Authors are about to beat up some Christmas trees. They’re knocked/thrown to the floor in short order and the Last Chapter ends Rich at 1:03.

Titus Worldwide comes in to break up the post match beatdown.

Angle and Corbin are bickering in the back when Finn Balor and Braun Strowman come in. Braun talks about beating up Kevin Owens last week but now he wants to be his friend tonight. Therefore, it’s Braun/Owens vs. Balor/Corbin tonight. Yes they really are just taking the same people and shuffling them for different matches.

Long recap of Ronda Rousey going insane last week and beating down Angle and Alexa Bliss.

Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya

We look back at Ziggler cheating Rollins out of the Intercontinental Title last week.

Rollins promises to get the title back tonight.

The Riott Squad takes over a Jinder Mahal photo shoot and break the camera.

Sasha Banks/Bayley/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

Owens is worried about teaming with Strowman but Angle tells him not to worry.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

Hang on though as Mojo doesn’t think much of having a rematch. You have to earn the right to come down the ramp to a WWE ring and neither Jose nor the conga line has done that yet. Mojo mocks a guy named Todd who is dressed like a cheeseburger, saying he’ll never get a WWE contract. We’re not having a match, but Mojo does deck Jose. No match, though Mojo continues to interest me.

Bayley tries to explain to Angle but gets sent to counseling next week instead. I rolled my eyes and sighed when I heard that, because it’s going to be bad.

Braun Strowman/Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor/Baron Corbin

Owens and Corbin start things off with Baron running him over without much effort. It’s off to Balor, who gets in one arm crank before Corbin tags himself back in. The chokebreaker is escaped and Owens tags Strowman in for a change. Corbin tries a kick to the ribs but gets punched in the face for his efforts. Strowman orders Owens to get back in and this time Balor gets to stay inside for more than a few seconds.

That means a quick chinlock on Balor but Corbin breaks up the Cannonball. Instead Strowman comes in and splashes Balor while Owens Cannonballs Corbin, sending us to a break. Back with Balor working on Owens’ arm until Corbin comes in for more of the same. Owens gets in a shot to the face and brings Strowman in, meaning things are going bad in a hurry. Strowman cleans house, including the forearm to Balor’s chest.

With Corbin and Balor on the floor, Strowman heads outside for the running shoulders, which he’s managed to get over quite well. Owens gets the tag and tries one of his own, only to have Corbin drop him with a clothesline. That’s not cool with Strowman, who sends Corbin into the barricade for ruining his fun. Back in and Corbin makes one too many blind tags, earning himself a kick to the head. Corbin breaks up Balor’s dive and they fight up the ramp for the countout at 11:41.

Rating: D+. The match was watchable, though swapping the people in and out isn’t the most thrilling thing in the world. It would be nice if these guys had something to fight over other than “well, they’ve been fighting for weeks”, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon because everything else (as in all two or three things they could fight over) are occupied. I’m sure we’ll see these guys together again soon.

Post match Owens celebrates with Strowman, who isn’t pleased. Strowman chases the terrified Owens off. Just announce Balor/Owens vs. Corbin/Strowman for next week already.

After a graphic for the Intercontinental Title match, Owens hides in a closet and Strowman interrogates people. Strowman: “THE GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE HE’S GOT A BOWLING BALL UNDER HIS SHIRT!”

Post break Owens has security escort him to the exist. Even as he leaves, he’s still looking for Owens but the valet doesn’t have his keys. Strowman beat him there of course….and has turned Owens’ car upside down.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

Post match the beatdown is on until Roman Reigns makes the save. A Superman Punch puts McIntyre back on the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I don’t know if it was the UK show earlier today wearing me down but this show felt like it was about 19 hours long with the especially long and not great main event not exactly helping things. I’m not sure where they’re heading with the major story, but I do appreciate the idea of a singles match instead of another multi-man match at the pay per view. Other than that, the show wasn’t too bad but it dragged a lot, which makes for a rough sit when there are two more shows tomorrow.

I’m worried about the lack of Lesnar though, as the entire rule book is thrown out the window when he’s involved. While I don’t think they’re crazy enough to just let him vacate the title and never come back, they’re dumb enough to go with something really bad at Summerslam that is nowhere near as good as it should be. In other words, just get the Lesnar vs. Reigns graphics back up again.

Results

Revival b. Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley – Rollup to Reigns

Curtis Axel b. Matt Hardy – Crossbody

Authors of Pain b. Rick Gibson/Rex Gibson – Last Chapter to Rich

Natalya b. Alexa Bliss – Sharpshooter

Riott Squad b. Bayley/Sasha Banks/Ember Moon – Small package to Banks

Kevin Owens/Braun Strowman b. Baron Corbin/Finn Balor via countout

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler via DQ when Drew McIntyre interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Main Event – June 21, 2018: I’ll Miss Rowdy Ronda

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: June 21, 2018
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

We’re FINALLY at a fresh set of stories as Money in the Bank is done, which is one of the best things in the world that could have happened. Things hit the ground running this week as we only have four weeks to go before Extreme Rules. This was a big week of television and there’s a lot to cover so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

Nese throws a right hand and poses so Metalik hits him right back, sending Nese into the corner. That earns Metalik a legsweep but he avoids a Lionsault. Nese bails to the floor and pulls him face first into the apron though as they’re not exactly doing anything major at the moment. Back in and a bodyscissors keeps Metalik in trouble but he’s right back up with a high crossbody to rock Nese. Metalik goes up again but has to crotch Nese to avoid some pain. The Metalik Driver is broken up and Nese’s running knee in the corner is good for the pin at 5:01.

Rating: D+. Again, I have no idea what I’m supposed to get out of seeing the same cruiserweights fight every week. We know they’re there and they’re on 205 Live every week, so it’s just two shows where I don’t have to pay much attention to either person. It’s not a bad match, but I’ve already forgotten a good chunk of what happened. There’s nothing that makes them stand out, and this is no different.

We look at Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey from Sunday.

From Raw.

Kurt Angle is in the ring to introduce Bliss, whose title is sitting on a table. He hands her the title and announces that Nia is cashing in her rematch at Extreme Rules. Bliss thanks the fans for giving her the opportunity to rub it in our faces, which draws a WE WANT RONDA chant. It’s all about Bliss now so cue a ticked off Ronda but Angle gets in her way. Alexa laughs all of this off because everything she did was perfectly legal.

It’s obvious that Ronda is upset because the stories were all about Bliss last night. Now, Rousey is just irrelevant. That’s enough for Rousey, who runs over Angle and hits Bliss in the back with the briefcase. She beats Angle up with it as well and takes out some referees for good measure. One heck of a powerbomb drops Bliss through a table.

Post replays, Angle suspends Rousey for 30 days.

Post break, Rousey promises to be back in thirty days to take care of Bliss, champion or not.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Carmella to get things going in the arena. Carmella talks about having self esteem issues when she was growing up because she never felt good enough. Then she started writing her own story and she saw something in herself that no one ever saw. Everyone out there needs to look in the mirror and repeat these words: Mella is MONEY! Why would someone like her ever have self confidence? She’s been moon walking and trash talking since she was a baby so everyone needs to just give up. Carmella brags about all of her accomplishments, which she has done completely on her own.

Cue Asuka, or at least James Ellsworth in Asuka gear. Ellsworth says no one was ready for Asuka and offers some praise to Carmella, saying she’s better than several women, including Trish, Lita, Rousey, and Mother Teresa. Now it’s the real Asuka, without robe or mask, coming to the ring to take Ellsworth down. Carmella uses the distraction to deck Asuka and wrap things up. I’m so glad they brought Ellsworth back for this role when there are probably a dozen people on the roster with nothing to do.

From Raw again.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about how far Elias took him last night. That’s what Seth wanted though, because it’s what it means to be the Intercontinental Champion. Let’s keep that going right now with an OPEN CHALLENGE.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler is challenging and there goes some of the energy. Rollins knocks him to the floor and we take a very early break. Back with Ziggler throwing him back inside and kicking at the knee. A whip into the corner turns Seth upside down for two and we hit the chinlock. Rollins fights up….and the USA Network goes out. The feed comes back in a commercial so we eventually come back to Ziggler taking the Fameasser.

A superkick gives Rollins two but Ziggler heads up top. Rollins catches him again and rolls through a high crossbody. The buckle bomb connects but Drew McIntyre offers a distraction, allowing Ziggler to roll him up with tights for the pin and the title at 18:26. Too much was missed by the outage but this was the same match you would expect from these two.

Quick look at the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

Authors of Pain vs. Breezango

Oh yeah the Authors still exist. Akam shoves Breeze around to start but gets kicked in the face to put the big man on the floor. Rezar comes in but the double belly to back is broken up as well and it’s off to Fandango. That’s about all the good things there are to say about Fandango at this point as the middle rope stomp/backbreaker combination has him in trouble. Back from an abrupt break with Breeze Supermodel Kicking Akam, only to walk into the Last Chapter for the pin at 6:05. Not enough shown to rate but it was a squash.

We wrap it up with a very shortened version of the Smackdown gauntlet match, just looking at the eliminations and AJ Styles coming out to stare down Rusev to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, this show almost completely depends on what you get on Raw and Smackdown, so this week was a pretty easy sit. They were smart to keep things short with the gauntlet match as it could have covered the length of this show. The original content on here was nothing special, but with two short matches it’s hard to get annoyed. Completely fine show, but really just a recap hour.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Formerly Known As

You need to be watching this show.

WWE puts out a freaking ton of stuff on their YouTube channel and there is nothing that tops Formerly Known As. This show is basically a look back at wrestlers and where they came from with whoever the show is about that week going back to their old stomping grounds. They’ll go to wherever they started wrestling, often talking to their trainer or someone they started with while footage of their early career is shown. These things are great and more than worth checking out.

Here’s the playlist with all of the full shows and some shorter clips:

Check this out as it’s more than worth your time.

Monday Night Raw – May 28, 2018: I’ll Take A Bodog With More Qualifying

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 28, 2018
Location: The Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

Somehow there are still three shows left before Money in the Bank so we’re really not close to the end of this ride yet. That means another qualifying match tonight, this time in the form of a women’s gauntlet match. Other than that we get to see just how good Seth Rollins is as he defends against Jinder Mahal. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the now traditional Memorial Day video. This one includes soldiers telling stories of some of their missions and those who died on those missions. It’s always nice of WWE to do this.

Here’s Braun Strowman to open things up. He explains the idea of the ladder match and says he can’t wait to become Mr. Monster in the Bank. Finn Balor comes out to say he never lost the Universal Title and nothing is stopping him from winning it back. Last week, he gave everything he had to Strowman but at Money in the Bank, there are six other people. Strowman says it was a good fight for a little guy so Finn slaps him in the face and gets thrown outside. Cue Kurt Angle to say he likes the intensity so let’s have a match.

Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman

So this year they’re not even mixing the matches up week to week. Kevin Owens is on commentary and Strowman throws Balor into the corner again to start. The dominance continues as Owens goes on a rant about how hard it was for him to qualify. Cole asks if we can talk about Owens calling Stephanie McMahon to get a second chance. Owens: “No we can not.”

Balor gets in a kick to the chest for very shortlived avail as Strowman whips him very hard into the corner again. There’s a boot to the chest but Owens grabs the mic and tells Strowman to stay on him because Braun can do better than that. Back from a break with Strowman running around the ring and shouldering Balor over the barricade. Strowman pulls him back to ringside but gets posted.

There’s a dropkick through the ropes but Owens grabs the mic again to give Strowman a pep talk. An enziguri sets up a bit flip dive over the top….but Strowman pops back up. The Sling Blade and a dropkick into the corner have Strowman in trouble and a top rope double stomp to the back has him in more trouble. There’s the Coup de Grace but Owens comes in to jump Balor for the DQ at 11:30.

Rating: C-. So remember last week when this match was a lot better? Apparently WWE does too and since they came up with one idea, they might as well just do it again. I’m glad they didn’t have Strowman lose clean, but as usual it’s the standard formula: take people in a ladder match and have them wrestle in matches that change nothing about that ladder match. Repeat for years on end.

Post match Owens hits Balor with a ladder but Strowman takes it away and LAUNCHES it at Owens, who runs off in fear.

Owens tries to leave but can’t get his key from the valet. Angle comes up and asks what’s up, with Owens saying he wants to see the Memorial Day parade. Angle: “You don’t care about that. You’re Canadian.” Owens gets Bobby Roode tonight.

Sasha Banks says she’ll win.

Here’s Elias for a song. He insists on how everything needs to be nice and calm but first, he needs the lights brought down closer because he can’t stand looking at this ugly crowd. Elias makes sure the sound levels are right and we take a break. Back with Elias still in the ring and threatening to leave again. Cue Seth Rollins for his title defense and he throws Elias’ stool out. Rollins vs. Elias sounds very appealing.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal

Rollins is defending and wastes no time hammering away in the corner. A Sunil Singh distraction lets Mahal knock him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Mahal working on the ribs and grabbing an abdominal stretch. Rollins sends him into the corner and then outside for the required suicide dive. Back in and a fireman’s carry gutbuster (Darren Young’s old Gut Check) gets two but the Khallas is countered. The Stomp misses as well and Rollins rolls him up for tow.

The low superkick into the Falcon Arrow gets two as well and dang it they’re doing the crowd reaction shots again. Sunil offers another distraction and gets ejected but it allows Mahal to chair Rollins in the ribs for two. The ejected Singh is back five seconds later so Rollins buckle bombs him into Mahal. That’s enough for Seth and he chairs Mahal for the DQ at 12:21. Please tell me they’re not going to do this match again next week.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t that bad and Rollins is still something close to a miracle worker but the ending has me worried that we’re seeing more of Mahal getting title shots. If they’re not continuing the feud though, I have no idea why Mahal didn’t take the Stomp for the pin. Then again I’m not sure why Mahal is still here anyway.

Post match Rollins chases Mahal off with a chair but gets guitared down by Elias.

Post break, Rollins is being put on a stretcher but gets up and walks to the back on his own as two fans sing Happy Birthday.

Here’s Ronda Rousey for commentary while Nia Jax has an exhibition against a woman named Michelle Webb. Nia has her try an armbar (which Nia can’t remember the name of) but easily powerbombs her down. Some trash talk to Rousey (who is mostly silent) is followed by the Samoan drop, more trash talking, and a legdrop. Nia adds a rolling flip dive and tells Ronda to come help this woman. Rousey comes to the ring and stares Nia down so Nia leaves with a laugh. Nia’s talking was fine until Rousey got in the ring and then it sounded very scripted.

Dana Brooke is going over statistics to figure out how to win the gauntlet match.

Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy vs Ascension

Non-title. Matt beats Viktor up to start as Cole does his weekly “I don’t understand this wacky Hardy stuff” rant. Konnor comes in and takes Matt down with a chinlock and even a side slam doesn’t get Matt out of trouble. Back up and Matt stops a charge with a boot to the face and there’s the hot tag to Bray. House is cleaned in a hurry with a backsplash getting two on Viktor. Matt Cactus Clotheslines Konnor to the floor and Bray plants Viktor with the release Rock Bottom. The Kiss of Deletion ends Viktor at 4:48.

Rating: D. The tag division continues to be one team and then the same jobbers over and over again. Wyatt and Hardy aren’t great champions but I’m not sure who could beat them, save for having the B Team win in a fluke. Then again that’s not exactly out of the norm around here, which is rather sad.

the B Team is in Angle’s office to ask for a Tag Team Title match. Angle says no because they just beat Breezango twice in a row. The team has a meeting but Angle reminds them that he can hear them. Dallas thinks they need to get the other team’s blessing. Like an invitation to the B Team Tag Team Memorial Day Barbecue! Tonight! Angle: “That’s not what I’m saying!” B Team: “B TEAM!” I dig these guys.

The Riott Squad says they’ll win tonight.

Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens

Roode starts fast with a Glorious DDT attempt but gets sent outside. Owens sends him into the barricade and scores with a Cannonball against said barricade to send us to a break. Back with Roode taking over and trying the Glorious DDT again, this time sending Owens bailing up the ramp. He stops though, realizing that Strowman is still here somewhere. Back in and Roode walks into a superkick but tries a sunset flip, only to have Owens sit down on it for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: C-. No time for this one due to the break but that’s probably better when it’s just stalling until Strowman shows up either at the end or after the match. If nothing else it’s cool to see Owens get a clean pin for once as it’s so often staling falls. I’m sure this is the momentum that Owens needs for the ladder match.

Post match here’s Strowman to catch Owens with the running powerslam. Roode gets one as well.

Here’s Sami Zayn for a public apology for last week’s segment with Bobby Lashley’s “sisters”. Well an apology is a nice start, though I’m thinking a prison sentence is more like it. Sami reads the prepared statement and acknowledges how bad it really was. He admits that those were men last week and Sami hired them to entertain and inform. Sami finally gets the apology out but everything he said was true. See, his art was rooted in reality and he doesn’t expect these people to get it.

This brings out Lashley, who talks about what Memorial Day means to a military family like his. With that out of the way, Lashley says his real sisters found last week funny. They need to settle this though so let’s do it at Money in the Bank. Sami shakes on it and threatens to kick the smile off of Sami’s face but Lashley squeezes the hand to take Sami down. Lashley apologizes for what he’s going to do at Money in the Bank.

Mickie James says she’ll win.

Chad Gable vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew powers him into the corner and hammers away with right hands as we talk about the B Team Barbecue. We hit the armbar as Gable is being dominated so far. A super Samoan drop is broken up and Gable gets two off a moonsault press. That’s fine with Drew, who sends him into the post to cut off the comeback bid. The Claymore is enough to end Chad at 4:45.

Rating: C-. I’m glad Drew won but it’s a disappointment as Chad got in almost nothing here. This was just a step above a squash but my goodness Drew is making me drool at the potential. Have him drop Ziggler or have Ziggler be a manager at most as they’re not the best combination. As long as Drew is this awesome though, it’s easy to be happy.

It’s time for the barbecue with most of the other teams on the roster in the ring eating food. The food all starts with B, including Botato chips and Bodogs. With everyone eating, the B Team says no they can challenge for the titles. Titus O’Neil and Heath Slater aren’t happy, so that means no more food. The foot of course winds up on the B Team, and then everyone else, with Rhyno sitting in a chair eating sandwiches. The B Team comes back in and chokeslams Rhyno through a table. Cole: “That was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.”

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Gauntlet Match

Before the match, Bayley says numbers don’t add up and she’s going to Money in the Bank. Bayley is in at #1 and Liv Morgan is in at #2 with the Bayley to Belly getting rid of Morgan in ten seconds. Sarah Logan is in at #3 and blocks the suplex, only to fall victim to a rollup for the pin at 1:50. Logan and Morgan double team Bayley before leaving and it’s Ruby Riott in at #4.

Back from a break with Riott having survived and sending Bayley into the corner. The Riott Kick gets rid of Bayley at 7:01 and it’s Dana Brooke in at #5. Brooke gets sent into the corner and the Riott Kick is good for the pin at 8:44. Hometown girl Mickie James is in at # 6 and sends Riott into the post for an early two. A dropkick gets two and we take a break. Back with Mickie getting two off the middle rope knees, only to get rolled up with trunks for the pin at 15:32.

Sasha Banks is in at #7 (the last entrant) and starts fast with some rollups. The Bank Statement doesn’t work and Ruby gets two off a faceplant. Riott starts the trash talk so Sasha hits her in the face. Another faceplant gives Ruby two and Sasha’s top rope double knees get the same. The Bank Statement is broken up again so Ruby tries a monkey flip, only to bounce off the ropes into a tornado DDT for two. One heck of a powerbomb out of the corner gives Sasha two and here’s the Riott Squad for the distraction. Sasha fights them off with ease and the Bank Statement makes Ruby tap at 20:50.

Rating: D. Well that was terrible. I can’t stand gauntlets where the falls take such little time more often than not. If you can win a fall this fast, why do regular matches take ten minutes? They would have been better off just doing Riott vs. Banks and let them have a good match but, as usual, quantity means quality. I’ll take it over another meaningless singles match though.

Overall Rating: D+. This wasn’t a great show but it was better than last week’s mess. It’s amazing what the lack of something so terrible can do for the quality of a show. The rest of the show was the usual Money in the Bank season show with matches between qualifiers and that’s not exactly thrilling stuff. I’ll take something boring over terrible though so call this an upgrade (while considering how small of a leap that is).

Results

Finn Balor b. Braun Strowman via DQ when Kevin Owens interfered

Jinder Mahal b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Rollins used a chair

Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy b. Ascension – Kiss of Deletion to Viktor

Kevin Owens b. Bobby Roode – Rollup

Drew McIntyre b. Chad Gable – Claymore

Sasha Banks won a gauntlet match last eliminating Ruby Riott

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Monday Night Raw – May 21, 2018: The Dark Days Begin

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 21, 2018
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

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

This brings out Roman Reigns to say if Stephanie has something to say about him, say it to his face. Stephanie says if Reigns is going to continue letting this Samoan temper get the best of him, he can look for another line of work. Reigns wants more respect and says he’ll destroy everyone in the back if he doesn’t get it. Stephanie talks about managing revenue steams and not playing favorites so Roman brings up Lesnar again. It’s been taken under advisement but Reigns wants something a little less corporate.

Cue Kevin Owens to say everyone needs to appreciate Reigns more because he got Owens into the Money in the Bank ladder match. Owens puts his arm on Stephanie’s shoulder so she makes a match between the two right now. This has been your latest “Stephanie is awesome and don’t you dare forget that she runs this place. Now bask in her awesomeness and smile as she dances to her music.”

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Joined in progress with Reigns in control and shouldering the heck out of Owens to send him outside. Back in and Reigns punches him down, followed by another right hand to put Owens on the floor again. The apron dropkick misses and Owens gets in a superkick as we take a break.

Back with Owens up top and punching Reigns away, only to charge into a clothesline. The Superman Punch is countered and Owens scores with a superkick but the Cannonball is blocked with a Superman Punch for two. Owens bails to the floor to avoid a spear, only to get speared on the floor but here are Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh to jump Reigns for the DQ at 13:13.

Rating: D+. That would be another thirteen minutes of below average wrestling until we get to a run in finish to set up either another match tonight or to advance a pay per view match that may in fact set wrestling back 184 years. There is no interest in what Reigns is doing right now and you can see it getting worse and worse every single week. I don’t remember rolling my eyes more at the thought of another match between Reigns and Lesnar since the never ending Orton/Cena vs. HHH feuds. It’s not working and they’re crazy to keep trying it. I’d pencil it in for the late summer.

Post match the double beatdown is on until Seth Rollins makes the save. Just make the tag team main event now.

Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal

Or just make the first hour the Roman Reigns Show. Joined in progress again with Rollins hammering on Mahal and sending him to the floor for a slingshot dive. Roman comes in and gets kicked down by Owens, setting up a long chinlock. Back up and Reigns elbows him away but Jinder breaks up the tag attempt.

Roman fights out of a chinlock and makes the hot tag to Rollins, setting up a Sling Blade and the back to back suicide dives. Now notice the energy picking up and the fans caring. That’s because they’ve got something with Rollins and haven’t shoved him so far down our throats that he has an advanced degree in our spleens. Back in and Seth enziguris his way out of the Khallas but gets caught in Owens’ fireman’s carry gutbuster. A Vader Bomb elbow gets two with Reigns making the save and it’s the low superkick into the Stomp to finish Owens at 13:15.

Rating: C. Rollins helped here but it’s still death to have Reigns vs. Mahal, or almost anything Reigns is doing right now. Fans aren’t interested in hearing him whine about how he’s been mistreated or really about anything from him but that’s what we’re getting. Oh and throw in the ice cold Mahal because that’s the ticket to getting Reigns over. This time. Again. Before he beats Lesnar. For sure this time.

Post match Mahal lays Rollins and Reigns out with a chair as we’re nearly an hour into this show and have covered Stephanie is back and hasn’t changed a bit and Reigns vs. Mahal.

And now, the Lashley interview about his sisters being little rascals growing up.

Reigns vs. Mahal is confirmed for Money in the Bank.

Lashley finally comes out, grinning from ear to ear. He mocks the three sisters so Sami offers to Helluva Kick him in the face like the garbage Lashley’s family thinks he is. The big beatdown is on but Lashley fights back, even knocking the wigs off. A spank with a dress sets up a spinebuster, followed by a broomstick toss over the top. This is going into the list of dumbest ideas in Raw history.

We look back at Nia Jax challenging Rousey last week.

Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss

Before the match, Alexa talks about the fall of Rome and the Visigoths cheating to win. Next time, it’ll be a fair fight and Bliss will win. Bliss takes her down to start and we get some kind of a visual issue as Cole is calling stuff that the camera isn’t showing, including Moon nipping up. Moon did nip up, but she did so off camera and it was a really weird visual, to the point where I thought the audio and video were out of sync. Bliss gets sent outside and takes a headscissors onto the floor but manages to send Moon shoulder first into the steps.

Back from a break with Bliss staying on the arm as the announcers try to explain that the winner here has a step up on the others for the ladder match. It’s not true, but that’s what WWE goes with every year for this match. Moon fights back up so Mickie James comes in, earning herself a quick ejection. That’s enough of a distraction for Moo to kick Bliss down and hit the Eclipse for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: D. Such if life in the building momentum stage of Money in the Bank. Even after hearing the explanation for why this is supposed to help get ready, I still have no interest in seeing these singles matches for the next three weeks. But hey, WWE tells us this is building momentum for Moon so it’s totally important.

Stephanie is in her office with a fruit basket when Braun Strowman and Finn Balor come in. After Strowman accepts an apple, they ask for a rematch with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre tonight. Instead, Stephanie makes Finn vs. Strowman to help set up Money in the Bank. Strowman crushes the apple and says he likes competition. Balor is nervous.

No Way Jose vs. Baron Corbin

Jose starts fast and knocks Corbin to the floor for a slingshot dive. Some right hands have Jose in trouble though and Corbin sends him shoulder first into the post. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Jose fights up and sends him into the post to even things out. A fireman’s carry flapjack gives Jose two and a rollup gets the same. Corbin is right back with Deep Six, followed by End of Days for the pin at 4:13.

Rating: D+. That’s exactly how you would have expected it to go and should be it for this mini feud. I still like Jose but he shouldn’t be giving Corbin any more of a threat than he got right here. You can only get so far with a dancing gimmick and Jose isn’t getting much higher up than this. Still though, it could be worse for him as his size and look alone will keep him around.

Chad Gable comes in to see Kurt Angle, who is somewhere in the back of the building. Angle wanted to put him in the Money in the Bank qualifying match last week but he was outgunned by Stephanie. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler come in and mock Gable for sitting around waiting for a chance. Ziggler vs. Gable is made for later.

B Team vs. Breezango

Rematch from last week and Breezango likes the homemade shirts. Fandango ax handles Dallas to start and gyrates his way out of a sunset flip. Not that it matters as the belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker is good for the pin at 1:47. Axel being stunned at the idea of winning is good stuff and the best thing about these guys.

The B Team celebrates in the ring, even dancing with the referee and then taking over commentary. They steal a rolling chair and slide down the ramp in the biggest celebration in years.

Here’s Stephanie to emcee the contract signing. Nia comes out first and Stephanie talks about the personal issues between Nia and Bliss. Rousey is out now and asks Stephanie how her arm is feeling. After Stephanie asks Rousey about how it feels to jump over the women that Rousey has called more deserving, we hear about Rousey not being used to wrestling singles matches.

Stephanie continues her monologue, talking about how Rousey might leave WWE if she loses and accusing Nia of being lazy for taking so long to beat Bliss (Way to treat one of your best homegrown stars there Steph.). She talks about the armbar and Nia finally snaps, saying that Rousey can’t get the armbar on her.

Nia is tired of being called lazy and promises to make a name for herself at Money in the Bank. She signs and picks up the title with Rousey signing next. Rousey moves the table to the side and promises to take the title as they do the long handshake. She promises to take the arm too and a staredown ends things. Not bad, especially once Stephanie shut up for a few seconds.

Chad Gable vs. Dolph Ziggler

Joined in progress actually as Gable takes him to the mat with almost no effort and slaps on a front facelock with Ziggler not being able to roll out. Back up and a dropkick connects (close enough at least) for two on Gable and it’s off to the chinlock. A quick cradle gives Gable two but Ziggler grabs a neckbreaker to cut him off. Gable’s German suplex gets two more and Ziggler heads to the ropes. The referee won’t let Gable go after him there, allowing Ziggler to get in a headbutt and superkick for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C. This was kind of disjointed at times as they were doing some good stuff but there was nothing tying between the moves together. Instead it felt like they were trying to get going but had to rush so much that they didn’t have time to put something together. That’s to be expected on Raw though, and it’s a shame given what these two could probably do together.

Post match McIntyre hits Gable with the Claymore.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Dana Brooke vs. Natalya vs. Sarah Logan vs. Liv Morgan

It’s a brawl to start and Morgan gets two off a top rope faceplant to Natalya. Everyone gets in a running shot for two each until the Riott Squad double teams Natalya. Brooke comes back in for the save and breaks up Logan’s cover, only to be sent shoulder first into the post. Natalya is back up with the discus lariat and the Sharpshooter for the win at 4:28.

Rating: D. Another match where they had to rush the whole way, mainly because the first hour was the Roman Reigns Show. Natalya winning was the only pick here, mainly because she’s likely to cash in on her new friend Ronda Rousey and win the title. You know, because that’s how you make Rousey a bigger star: make her a former champion who couldn’t hold the title for five minutes.

Post match Natalya brags about her friend Ronda Rousey winning the title and promises to win the briefcase. Last week I said that someone would cash in MITB on the new champion Rousey because it would be the dumbest thing they could do. I hate being right about stuff like this.

Here’s Elias to take credit for the WWE stock being so high. He does a song about the fans loving Elias but makes it clear that he doesn’t feel the same about any of us. Bobby Roode cuts him off though and we’re ready to go.

Elias vs. Bobby Roode

Roode gets jumped but says start the match and throws the robe at Elias to get in a few right hands. A clothesline puts Elias on the floor and we take a break. Back with Elias grabbing a cobra clutch to keep things slow. Roode fights up and gets in a clothesline for two but gets crotched on top. Drift Away gives Elias the pin at 8:33.

Rating: D. A good bit of what we saw was that cobra clutch and, just like the rest of the show, that doesn’t make me think either of them is going to win Money in the Bank any more than anything else. On top of that, Roode is a natural heel and the fans want to cheer Elias. The solution: do the opposite and ignore the fans. Brilliant!

Post match Braun Strowman runs Elias over on the way to the ring for his match.

Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor

Balor kicks at the legs to start but gets thrown to the floor. A big kick to the ribs puts Balor on the floor and Strowman shouts a lot. With Braun shouting about how pretty Balor’s smile is, Finn gets forearmed down again. Some raised boots in the corner don’t get Balor very far as Strowman tosses him into the corner again.

They head outside with Balor’s apron kick to the chest not working so Strowman forearms him down a second time. Balor gets in a slap to the face and rolls outside, meaning it’s time for Strowman to get his running start. This time though Balor is ready for him with a Sling Blade, followed by a dropkick to knock Strowman over the barricade.

Strowman rises up again so Balor kicks him in the head for a breather. A running double stomp tot he back keeps Strowman down and a Coup de Grace from the barricade for an eight count. Back in and Strowman goes shoulder first into the post, setting up the Coup de Grace but Strowman catches him on top. The powerslam sets up another powerslam to pin Balor at 10:33.

Rating: B-. This felt like the short version of Lesnar vs. Styles from Survivor Series and that’s a high compliment. Balor was trying here and I believed that he could pull off a win like this. That being said, Strowman shouldn’t be losing any singles matches at this point so the ending was the only option they had.

Post match Strowman picks Balor up and puts him in the corner without attacking him to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was the show that I’ve been dreading for so long now: no effort put into most of the matches because all that matters is “building momentum”, which is code for winning a singles match a month before a ladder match, plus two other stories that range from boring as sin to a sin for existing. This show felt so long and boring and it’s going to be almost the exact same thing for the next three weeks, just with different names and maybe some tag matches thrown in. But hey, just three more weeks before two matches that might not matter for almost a year!

Results

Roman Reigns b. Kevin Owens via DQ when Jinder Mahal interfered

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins b. Jinder Mahal/Kevin Owens – Stomp to Owens

Ember Moon b. Alexa Bliss – Eclipse

Baron Corbin b. No Way Jose – End of Days

B Team b. Breezango – Belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to Fandango

Dolph Ziggler b. Chad Gable – Superkick

Natalya b. Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan and Dana Brooke – Sharpshooter to Logan

Elias b. Bobby Roode – Drift Away

Braun Strowman b. Finn Balor – Running powerslam

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – May 14, 2018: Call Me In The Morning

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 14, 2018
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Corey Graves, Booker T., Michael Cole

We’re over in England for a taped show as WWE’s never ending spring tour continues. It’s still the Money in the Bank qualifying season to go with one or two other stories. This time around that includes Seth Rollins defending the Intercontinental Title against Kevin Owens in an already answered open challenge. In addition to that though we have the fallout from Jinder Mahal attacking Roman Reigns and costing him a qualifying match last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the NBC Up Fronts today with Nia Jax challenging Ronda Rousey. More on this later.

Here’s Roman Reigns to get things going with some Wrestlemania sized booing. I know the UK crowd only gets to see him a few times a year so they have to get it all in (what a failing concept) while they can. Reigns says he got ripped off last week and this time it wasn’t because of WWE management. He wants Mahal out here right now to make up for last week but here’s Kurt Angle to interrupt.

Angle says Jinder won’t be coming out here right now and the fans are NOT happy. Reigns isn’t pleased and it’s made even worse when Angle says Jinder will be in a Money in the Bank qualifying triple threat tonight. That’s fine with Reigns as Angle can just make it a four way. That’s a no as well because Reigns isn’t getting another qualifying opportunity. Reigns gets that and goes to find Jinder himself, earning a Goodbye Song from the fans.

We cut to Reigns in the back (more booing) and he finds Mahal, who throws the Singh Brother at him like a projectile. The brawl is on with both guys being thrown into stuff and then fighting back into the arena. Reigns hits a Superman Punch on the stage but Angle and security break it up.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Rollins is defending. Owens goes with right hands to the ribs to start and pounds away in the corner. Some kicks to the ribs get Rollins out of trouble and put Owens on the floor for a suicide dive. Owens pulls it out of the air and tosses him into the post, setting up a backsplash for two inside.

Back from a break with Rollins escaping an apron powerbomb and hitting a Falcon Arrow on the apron (that’s a new one) to knock them both down on the floor. It’s Rollins up first with some suicide dives but his own ribs look a little banged up. Back in and the springboard clothesline drops Owens again but a hard DDT gives Owens two. A clothesline gets the same as Rollins is more surviving than hanging in there at this point.

The Swanton hits raised knees and there’s the low superkick. The Revolution knee gets two but Seth’s frog splash hits knees as well, allowing Owens to get two off a small package. Owens goes up with Rollins trying the running superplex into the Falcon Arrow, only to have Owens hit his swinging superplex instead. That’s quite the counter and the surprise worked well. As they come back in, Rollins scores with a Stomp out of nowhere to retain at 14:55.

Rating: B. They’re getting somewhere with the idea of Rollins defending against everyone and wearing himself out as it could go either way. You could have Rollins challenge for the Universal Title or have someone catch the exhausted Rollins and win the title to set up a nice feud. Either way, they have a wide open field to go with there and that’s a very nice situation to be in.

We go to the NBC Up Fronts with various WWE names, including an interview with Ronda Rousey. Nia Jax came up and challenged her at Money in the Bank, with Rousey accepting. The match is official. I mean, it’s also stupid to go this way, but it’s official.

Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel come into Angle’s office, dub themselves the B Team (Dallas: “The B stands for BEST!”), and ask for a title shot. Angle points out that they’ve never actually won a match. Dallas says the Miztourage hasn’t done very well but the B Team is undefeated. Angle gives them a match to prove themselves if they’ll leave him alone. Works for me, as they’re still funny together.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Baron Corbin vs. No Way Jose vs. Bobby Roode

Corbin wastes no time in sending Jose outside but Roode punches away to take over. There’s a Blockbuster for two and we take an early break. Back with Corbin knocking Jose off the apron but going after him this time to continue the beating. Roode decks Corbin and Jose is finally able to get in some offense, including a middle rope crossbody for two. The spinebuster gets two on Jose and Roode goes up for a clothesline to take him down again.

The GLORIOUS pose looks to set up the DDT but Corbin offers a distraction, allowing Jose to clothesline Roode to the floor. Corbin keeps up the clothesline train with a running version off the apron. The chokebreaker drops Jose for two and Deep Six gets the same on Roode. Jose makes a save and Corbin is sent into the post but the Glorious DDT puts Jose away at 10:43.

Rating: C+. This was a nice surprise and you could almost imagine any of the three of them getting into the ladder match. Roode isn’t the most thrilling guy in the world but he’s someone that could be in there and fit in well enough. I still like Jose and the potential is there if he can get away from the dancing stuff. Then again, I can’t imagine that happening and that’s on WWE, as usual.

Owens wants a rematch with Rollins but Angle says no. That’s fine with Kevin, who pulls out his phone to call Stephanie McMahon. Angle goes in to see Jinder, who begs him to postpone the match. That can’t happen because tonight is the last night for qualifying matches on Raw, which doesn’t sit well with Mahal.

B Team vs. Breezango

B Team has homemade shirts, which are just white shirts with a B drawn in Sharpie. Bo rolls Breeze up for two to start and strikes a B TEAM pose. Breeze gets two off some rollups so the B Team takes a breather. Back in and Breezango hits a dropkick but Axel takes him down. Both Axel and Dallas take turns with elbows but a missed attempt allows the hot tag to Fandango. Booker complains about Fandango’s pants as he gets two off a powerslam to Axel. Bo comes back in and a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combo is good for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: D+. It’s not like the division doesn’t need extra teams so putting these two together as a couple of goofy putzes is a perfectly fine idea. The B thing is clever enough and could make for some funny lines (Dallas needs to call their next opponents Wanna-B’s). I could easily see them winning the titles and then losing to a much better team but for what they are, this was fine.

Post match the B Team can’t believe what just happened but promise to win the titles.

Sasha Banks/Natalya/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

Moon headscissors Logan to start but Sasha tags herself in from behind and gets two off the running knees. Sasha drops Logan again and it’s a big staredown as we take a break. Back with Morgan getting suplexed and Sasha working on a wristlock. Morgan gets in a middle rope faceplant to drop Sasha and we hit a cross arm choke.

Riott comes in but gets sent into the post, followed by a rollup for two on Morgan. The kickout sends Banks into the corner for the tag to Natalya and even more silence from the fans. Everything breaks down and Logan gets backdropped to the floor, followed by the running knees (now called the Meteora) from Sasha. Moon dives onto Riott, leaving Natalya to Sharpshooter Morgan for the tap at 14:23.

Rating: D+. Pretty long six woman tag here and that’s not the best thing in the world for these women. The fans weren’t really interested in what they had going on and really, can you blame them? Natalya is least charismatic veteran in years, Moon is just a big finisher and we’re waiting for Banks to fight Bayley after all these months. This felt like a way to pad out the show and that’s not the best idea, especially with Morgan getting a lot of the ring time.

Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler don’t like Finn Balor and Braun Strowman. Why not? Eh, they need something to do.

Revival vs. Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt

Non-title. Wilder armdrags Matt to start, which has Matt so flabbergasted that he declares it WONDERFUL, earning a standing ovation. Cole makes fun of the Woken deal as the B Team is watching in the back. Bray uppercuts Dawson to set up the backsplash, followed by a running headbutt/belly to back suplex combination for two. Wilder makes a blind tag and Revival starts in on the knee. A missed charge allows the hot tag to Wyatt and it’s a release Rock Bottom to plant Dawson. The Twist of Fate hits Wilder and the Kiss of Deletion (the double Downward Spiral) ends Dawson at 4:47.

Rating: C-. I feel so sorry for Revival but you had to know this was coming. They’re tailor made for the NXT style but they’re lucky to get five minutes on a show like Raw. There was nothing left for them to do in NXT though and this was as good as they’re going to get. Hardy and Wyatt are starting to get better as a team but you’re only going to get so much out of teaming together for a few months.

Here’s Sami Zayn to say that Prince Harry looks like him. That brings him to Bobby Lashley of all people, who is Mr. jacked up and intense. Lashley was gone for ten years and then made his return when Sami made his return to Raw. We see a still of Lashley’s delayed vertical suplex on Sami and that’s what gave him Vertigo. Sami busts out a doctor’s note (and reading glasses of course) which explains Vertigo to the fans. All of Sami’s recent issues have been because of that suplex and Sami can’t believe that Lashley is getting cheered.

We see a clip of the sitdown interview last week and Sami thinks Lashley wants to be him. The interview makes Sami think Lashley is hiding something so he got on Facebook to talk to Lashley’s sisters. They were nothing like what Lashley described and Lashley isn’t quite the person that he portrays himself to be either. Next week, the sisters will be here to show what Lashley really is.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James vs. Bayley

Bayley gets knocked outside and we take a break less than thirty seconds in. Back with Bayley still getting double teamed and having her comeback cut off. As is customary, Mickie turns on Bliss with a rollup for two but they still get together to kick Bayley down. A double high crossbody gives Bayley an opening and a double Stunner over the ropes makes thins even worse.

Mickie gets dropped face first on the top rope but she’s still able to break up Bliss’ sunset flip. They all slug it out from their knees with Bayley getting the better of it, including ducking a shot so Bliss hits James. The Bayley to Belly gets two on Bliss with Mickie making the save. Mickie and Bayley fight on the floor but the distraction lets Bliss DDT Bayley for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one but that’s often the case with these triple threat matches. This was the standard formula: two people get together to take over, get in a fight, and then someone gets a pin. Bliss winning is the right choice as you can have Bayley and Sasha do something else later on. Mickie and Bliss will still be friends because stuff like this never changes anything. The fans didn’t seem to care but, again, this isn’t the match that matters so the fans not being interested is expected.

We recap the opening segment.

Post break, Angle says the match must go on.

Finn Balor/Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler and Balor start things off with a basement dropkick putting Dolph down. McIntyre comes in and wants to face Strowman, who comes in for what could be a heck of a showdown. But of course he tags straight back out to Ziggler and we take a break. Back with Balor knocking Ziggler to the floor but getting tripped by McIntyre. A neckbreaker sets up a chinlock before it’s back to McIntyre for a hard knee to the ribs.

Finn gets over for the tag to Strowman so house can be cleaned, including the heavy forearm to Ziggler’s chest. A very hard charge sends Strowman shoulder first into the post so Balor tags himself back in. There’s a Sling Blade to set up the Shotgun dropkick, allowing Finn to go up top. McIntyre breaks it up so Strowman runs him over, leaving Ziggler to pull Balor down for the pin at 12:27.

Rating: C. So that happened. Strowman and Balor don’t have any kind of history together but it’s supposed to be a big deal that they lost as a team. McIntyre still looks like he could be ready to face anyone at any time but instead, we’re stuck with this tag team because WWE insists on trying to find something that Ziggler doesn’t drag down.

We see the Jax/Rousey segment again. I’m hoping this is some NBC mandate.

Angle is on the phone with Stephanie and has a replacement for Jinder. Someone has called her though and now they’re getting another opportunity.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Elias vs. Bobby Lashley vs. ???

It’s Owens of course and he helps pound Lashley down it the corner. Lashley gets tossed and we take an early break. Back with Owens sending Lashley into the steps and dropping a backsplash on Elias for two. Lashley is back up as the fans chant for Bobby’s sisters. Elias sends Lashley outside and let’s stop for a song! He even has someone holding his mic while he plays the guitar but has to stop to knee Owens in the face.

Back in and Owens breaks up the vertical suplex on Elias so Lashley suplexes both of them at once. The fans still want to Walk With Elias and a sitout powerbomb to Owens has them rather pleased. Lashley makes a save and plants Elias but here’s Sami to pull him to the floor. Back inside, the frog splash ends Elias to send Owens on at 13:12.

Rating: C. Kind of a messy match here as these three aren’t exactly people who are going to have chemistry. Lashley’s booking continues to astound me a bit as he was supposed to be some big return and now he’s just a guy who uses a vertical suplex as a finisher. You can’t just give him the Dominator again? The match wasn’t anything special but at least the ending advances some stories and puts Owens in the ladder match.

Overall Rating: C-. Another passable yet completely flat show with Rollins being the lone highlight. The problem here is the same as it was last week: you have a bunch of matches designed to set up a match a month away, meaning this is another show where you don’t need to see any of this stuff because you can read the results and get everything you need t know. It’s not bad but it’s completely skippable, and that’s often a lot more annoying to get through.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Kevin Owens – Stomp

Bobby Roode b. Baron Corbin and No Way Jose – Glorious DDT to Jose

B Team b. Breezango – Belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to Fandango

Sasha Banks/Natalya/Ember Moon b. Riott Squad – Sharpshooter to Morgan

Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy b. Revival – Kiss of Deletion to Dawson

Alexa Bliss b. Mickie James and Bayley – DDT to Bayley

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre b. Finn Balor/Braun Strowman – Slam off the top to Balor

Kevin Owens b. Bobby Lashley and Elias – Frog splash to Elias

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – May 7, 2018: It’s That Time Of Year

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 7, 2018
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

We’re coming off….whatever Backlash was supposed to be last night and that means it’s time to start setting up Money in the Bank. Aside from the weeks of singles matches between the qualifiers and that same song that they’ve used for at least five years now, I’m not sure what else we have coming up. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Kurt Angle to get things going, walking past the ladders on the stage on the way. Angle talks about how WWE never stops, fifty two weeks a year (tell me about it). That brings us to Money in the Bank qualifying matches, which start tonight with two triple threat matches. First up we’ll have Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riott vs. Sasha Banks, followed by Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn.

Cue Braun Strowman to interrupt and ask about when he was a kid and all of his friends built a tree house. No one asked him to help and he had to listen to them talk about their secret handshake to get into the tree house. Then one day, he waited until they were all in the tree house and knocked the whole tree down. With the story of attempted/successful murder out of the way, Angle thinks Strowman should deserve a shot (what kind of shot isn’t specified) at Money in the Bank.

Cue Kevin Owens (Happy Birthday) to point out that Sami wasn’t legal last night so Strowman isn’t on a roll. The only thing Strowman deserves is to go to a giant corner so he can reflect on how he’s been a very bad monster! Strowman offers Owens his hands but Kevin isn’t interested. Instead he talks about how Stephanie McMahon is watching and thinks he should be entered straight into the ladder match. Angle makes a qualifying match between Owens and Strowman, which starts RIGHT NOW. Well after the break but close enough.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman shoves Owens away to start, knocking the referee down in the process. Some whips into the corner knock Owens down twice in a row before sending him outside. Owens tries to bail into the crowd but manages to catch Strowman in a tornado DDT. Strowman beats the count at eight and Owens is losing his mind. Back in and Strowman hits him in the chest but Owens sends him outside again as we take a break. We come back with Strowman hitting the same kind of knockdown as he did earlier, only to get kicked in the head.

Owens gets two off a backsplash but Strowman pops up with a big boot. Strowman misses a charge into the corner and it’s a superkick into the bullfrog splash for two more. There’s another superkick but the Pop Up Powerbomb just isn’t happening. Instead it’s a splash in the corner and Owens bails outside. The running gag continues with Strowman shouldering him down three times in a row. Back in and the running powerslam sends Strowman to the ladder match at 8:42.

Rating: C. This wasn’t too bad with Owens getting in some offense before falling short. Strowman should be on his way to the Universal Title so hopefully this is a step in the right direction. However, there’s a good chance that Strowman is the guy who gets close to winning and comes up short while Lesnar holds the title for the better part of ever. You know, longer than he already has.

Roman Reigns says he’s the uncrowned Universal Champion. Tonight he’s going to qualify for Money in the Bank and then get his title.

Bayley wants to hug the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Breezango wants the golden ticket in the briefcase. Fandango: “I thought it was a contract.”

Goldust wants to go to Money in the Bank but here’s Jinder Mahal to interrupt. He wants to be in the triple threat match instead of Reigns so Angle gives him a match with Chad Gable. If Mahal wins, Angle will consider it.

No Way Jose/Titus Worldwide vs. Revival/Baron Corbin

But remember: Vince loves Corbin. Titus throws Wilder around to start before it’s off to Apollo for a suplex on Dawson. Corbin comes in to beat the heck out of Crews, including sending him face first into the apron. Dawson comes back in under more favorable circumstances with an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and everything breaks down with Crews being low bridged to the floor. Corbin makes a blind tag as Jose hits the pop up punch on Dawson. End of Days knocks Jose silly for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: D. Pretty messy match here with Corbin hopefully wrapping things up with Jose (I like Jose but he’s WAY out of his league with Corbin). This feels more like just throwing people out there for the sake of filling in some time, which isn’t quite what you would be hoping for from Corbin. Not very good either, which isn’t helping things.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Ruby Riott vs. Ember Mon vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha and Ember get together to start and take Riott down, only to have Banks roll Moon up for two. Some rather athletic armdrags have Banks in trouble but Riott comes back in to send Sasha face first into the middle buckle. Sasha gets sent outside again as we hear about how successful Money in the Bank cash-ins have been. A double DDT plants Sasha and Moon for two each and it’s off to a chinlock on Moon. That’s broken up with a jawbreaker but here’s Sasha back in to run people over.

Banks stops to dive onto the Riott Squad though, allowing Riott to run her over. Moon hits a heck of a suicide dive for two on Riott as the fans are distracted by something in the crowd, which gets a YOU DESERVE IT chant. Back in and Banks gets two off a sunset flip with the Riott Squad coming in for the legal save. Cue Bayley to help Sasha but the Squad takes her out as well. Moon heads up top for an Eclipse to both Banks and Riott at the same time for the pin on Riott at 10:23.

Rating: D. This felt like an indy match with a bunch of disjointed spots and no flow to the match whatsoever. Moon winning is the right call as Riott could be getting a title shot at the pay per view and Sasha will possibly be busy with Bayley, or in the match later on. This wasn’t a good match though and the ending wasn’t as exciting as it should have been.

Post break, Ember promises to rise up and grab the briefcase.

Video on Bobby Lashley.

Lashley gets a sitdown interview, talking about his family, including his parents and sisters. At one point his sister’s security towel (instead of security blanket) was taken away by some bullies so he took care of them. We wrap it up with Lashley saying hello to his sisters. So….Lashley is a family man when he’s not a monster. Got it. Not sure if I want it, but got it.

Sami and Kevin aren’t sure about trusting each other but Owens reluctantly agrees to have Sami’s back in the triple threat tonight. Sami is rather pleased.

Chad Gable vs. Jinder Mahal

Gable wastes no time in getting two off a rollup, only to have Jinder knock him down without much effort. We hit a bearhug of all things on Gable before Mahal sends him chest first into the corner. Gable pops up top with the moonsault press for a close two, followed by an even closer rollup for the same. Not that it matters as the superkick sets up the Khallas to give Jinder the pin at 4:12.

Rating: D+. And there’s your 50/50 booking. Gable could go somewhere while Mahal has gone as high as he’s going to go, so let’s have Mahal win here for the sake of the two of them tying everything up. I’m so glad we wasted so much time to get us right back where we started too. It was a great use of Raw time.

Post match Mahal beats on Gable some more

Alexa Bliss promises to win the briefcase to become champion and beat the bully Nia Jax once and for all.

Ascension promises to win the briefcase. Wait is there a tag team MITB match that I didn’t hear about?

Zack Ryder wants to be in a Money in the Bank qualifying match in his hometown when Mahal comes in to demand the triple threat be turned into a four way. Angle says Woo Woo Woo, the answer is no, bro. Ryder is pleased despite not being put in a match either.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler and Rhyno start things off but it’s quickly off to Slater for a headlock. Drew comes in and gets punched a few times but kicks Slater down to take over. Ziggler tags himself back in and it’s a superkick into a reverse Alabama Slam to drop Slater. That one superkick is enough for Ziggler so it’s the Claymore/Zig Zag combination for the pin on Slater at 2:39.

Here’s Elias to talk about Bobby Roode jumping him last night. He’s not happy with Roode but hang on because the fans like Rusev Day. Elias cuts them off and sings about how Roode isn’t glorious and this city sucks.

Bobby Roode vs. Elias

Roode wastes no time with an enziguri putting Elias on the floor as we take an early break. Back with Elias backdropping him and hammering away in the corner. We hit a Crossface of all things (closer to a Banks Statement actually) to keep Roode down but he snaps off a spinebuster for a breather.

A backbreaker stops Roode and Cole confirms that there will be eight people in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match with four from each show. Wait wouldn’t that suggest just two ladder matches? SWEET! Elias loads up a ram into the buckle but gets kicked away. Roode can’t follow up though, allowing Elias to talk some trash. He talks a bit too much though and it’s the Glorious DDT for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: D+. Another match with potential Money in the Bank implications and not much going on otherwise because you can just throw that blanket over everything for the sake of not having to come up with anything else. Not a very good match, but that’s been the case for a long time for Roode now.

Post break Roode says he hopes that’s enough to get into the Money in the Bank picture because winning the ladder match will be GLORIOUS.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about how he’s a fighting champion and wants someone else to face for the title. After last night against Miz, he needs a new challenge so it’s Open Challenge time.

Intercontinental Title: Mojo Rawley vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is defending, we get Big Match Intros and Mojo is greeted with WE WANT RYDER chants. Rawley wastes no time in knocking Rollins outside and running him over, including a shoulder to send him into the barricade. Back from a break with Mojo throwing him down and talking more trash. A Downward Spiral into the middle buckle rocks Rawley and a clothesline puts him on the floor.

Back to back suicide dives hit Rawley and the Blockbuster gets two back inside. Rawley is right back with a spinebuster for two and frustration sets in at a rather fast pace. The low superkick gives Seth two but Mojo’s fireman’s carry faceplant gets the same. One heck of a Pounce knocks Seth into the corner but he’s right back up with a ripcord knee. A superkick to the ribs sets up the Stomp for the pin to retain at 10:56.

Rating: C. I like the booking here as they could go a long way with Rollins doing the weekly match against some random person. It’s not like Rawley has anything else going on and it’s not like he has anything to lose here. Rollins is on a roll right now and can do almost no wrong so let him elevate someone, even if it’s just for a week at a time.

Finn Balor says the victory at Money in the Bank will be so much sweeter.

Curtis Axel/Bo Dallas vs. Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt

Non-title and Axel/Dallas might be known as Stay Tuned. Bray runs Axel over to start as Graves goes over the history between Bray and Matt, going back thousands of years for as complete a version as possible. Axel blocks a Twist of Fate and DDTs Matt to give Dallas two. It’s off to Bray to run people over, followed by a kick to knock Dallas off the apron. Axel dives into a release Rock Bottom and a double Downward Spiral is good for the pin at 2:40.

Natalya promises to bring the MITB contract home to her cat.

Baron Corbin says he’s winning the contract again.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn

Sami yells at Reigns to start and gets punched in the face to send him outside. Balor speeds things up and dropkicks Reigns down for two as the announcers debate how important Money in the Bank is compared to the rest of the year. More right hands drop Balor and Zayn as we take an early break. Back with Balor stomping on Reigns until Sami grabs a rollup for two.

There’s a Samoan drop to put Zayn on the floor with Balor on the opposite side. The fans start a TOO SWEET chant and the double beating is on to one of the strongest reactions of the night. Even Balor and Sami seem taken aback by the YES chants. The three head into the crowd and the fans are annoyed when Reigns comes back. A Helluva Kick knocks Reigns into the tech area and the other two head back inside to kill time until Reigns spears one of them.

The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Sami two but Balor fights back and they head to the floor. The fans start booing and I think you know what that means. Cue Reigns diving over the barricade to take Sami out but Balor drops Reigns again. Back in and Reigns hits the Superman Punch on Sami. The Sling Blade looks to set up the Coup de Grace but Reigns rolls away. Instead it’s another Superman Punch but here’s Mahal to trip Reigns. The distraction lets Sami hit the Helluva Kick to drop Reigns but Balor hit the shotgun dropkick and Coup de Grace on Sami for the pin at 15:25.

Rating: C. I like the surprise ending, if nothing else for the sake of needing to see Jinder vs. Reigns, potentially in Chicago, where the fans might be so confused that they break into small camps and stage full revivals of Broadway classics instead of watching the match. Balor going on makes sense and the question about where Owens was is interesting as well. One last question: is there a clause in Roman’s contract that lets him have a break during every multi-man match? It seems to happen every time.

Overall Rating: D. Oh yeah it’s Money in the Bank season. You can tell as all that matters is qualifying for the match (hopefully just two of them, though a tag team one doesn’t seem to be out of the question) and the wrestling doesn’t mean much outside of just trying to get into the match. I didn’t hate the show, but next week’s England show and the following week’s show featuring even more jet lag isn’t going to help the talent feeling burned out. This show felt long again, but nowhere near as bad as last night’s mess.

Results

Braun Strowman b. Kevin Owens – Running powerslam

Baron Corbin/Revival b. No Way Jose/Titus Worldwide – End of Days to Jose

Ember Moon b. Ruby Riott and Sasha Banks – Eclipse to Riott

Jinder Mahal b. Chad Gable – Khallas

Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Claymore/Zig Zag combination to Slater

Bobby Roode b. Elias – Glorious DDT

Seth Rollins b. Mojo Rawley – Stomp

Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt b. Curtis Axel/Bo Dallas – Double Downward Spiral to Axel

Finn Balor b. Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns – Coup de Grace to Zayn

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