Main Event
Date: February 27, 2020
Location: Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

The Wrestlemania season is in full build, but so are the Super ShowDown and Elimination Chamber builds. That can cause a bit of a problem as there is so much stuff going on at once and they might not be able to make everything work at once. Main Event has surprised me before, but I would be surprised with a surprise. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Shelton Benjamin

Jose starts fast by taking him into the corner and snapping off an armdrag to the floor. That means a quick beatdown of the Conga Line, plus a little bit on Jose as well. Back in and Shelton grabs an armbar but Jose fights up and hits a splash in the corner. A fireman’s carry flapjack gets two so Jose goes up, only to dive into a cross armbreaker for the fast tap at 4:35.

Rating: D+. Ok so maybe there is a surprise or two in here. This wasn’t much of a match but the ending actually caught me and that’s not something you see around here…well ever actually. Not a good match or anything, but points for throwing in a curve on the most uniform show that WWE has ever produced.

From Raw.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. The Canadian fans are happy to see their honorary Lesnar but Heyman cuts them off with his usual introduction. Heyman talks about how wrestlers are always trying to make catchphrases for themselves but Lesnar has never needed one. All Lesnar has to do is decide to be champion and no one can stop him. Lesnar getting in the ring is special and that’s what you’ll be seeing on Thursday at Super ShowDown. He owes Ricochet an uppercut and since Lesnar is wrestling, it is special by definition.

The stakes on Thursday have never been higher though, but why is that the case? If Ricochet can pull off the miracle, he is going on to face Drew McIntyre at Wrestlemania and the consequences are huge, if that happens. Heyman: “If my aunt had balls, she would be my uncle, but she is not!” (that one cracked Lawler up). Lesnar is going to wreck McIntyre at Wrestlemania and be champion forever. And that is a spoiler.

From Raw again.

We get a sitdown interview with Drew McIntyre, who isn’t scared about Brock Lesnar because he’s main eventing Wrestlemania. Drew talks about debuting in 2009 (which he says was thirteen years ago) and how he hasn’t won a single World Title since that time. He lost his passion, which included his time in 3MB. Then he got fired and it put a chip on his shoulder, but he knew he could only blame himself. He wasn’t about to let people remember him as the idiot playing air guitar.

When McIntyre came back, he came back to NXT, which was where he could be a leader. Then he debuted on Raw in 2018, four years to the day since he was released. He’s been called the future but then he was a past superstar without ever being the present. That’s why he knew he had to eliminate Lesnar and now he’s going to Wrestlemania to fulfill his destiny. They’re doing everything they can to make McIntyre into a star and it’s slowly working.

Video on Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler.

From Raw.

All six women’s Elimination Chamber participants, save for Baszler, are in the ring for a contract signing. Asuka counts the participants but realizes there’s one missing. Lawler continues anyway, with Sarah Logan, Natalya, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott (who nearly comes to blows with Morgan) and Asuka all sign, which draws out Baszler through the crowd. Lawler wisely leaves as Shayna and Natalya are about to fight, but Asuka breaks it up.

Asuka tells Shayna to bite her but Natalya takes Asuka down and the fight is on, with Liv diving over the table to get at Riott. Shayna is eventually left alone so here’s Becky to take her down. Officials break it up in a hurry. I don’t remember the last time there was a big match with such an obvious winner but it’s getting annoying in a hurry.

24/7 Title: Riddick Moss vs. Cedric Alexander

Moss is defending and throws Cedric down with ease. A running shoulder drops him again but Cedric is right back with clotheslines and elbows. That sends Moss outside for a kick from the apron but Alexander’s slingshot is knocked out of the air back inside. We take a break and come back with Moss cranking on a waistlock. That’s broken up for a double stomp to the back of Moss’ head and a running dropkick to the same spot. The springboard Downward Spiral gives Cedric two but the Neuralizer misses, allowing Moss to hit a Rock Bottom to retain at 9:50.

Rating: D+. Again, I’m actually surprised by this one as they threw in something different in the form of a title match. Who in the world would have seen them doing something like that on THIS show? The match was nothing to see, but points to WWE for putting someone like Moss on television. I know he’s not some breakout star, but he’s been sitting in NXT forever and the show needs some fresh faces.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Goldberg for a chat. He’s glad to be back and whatever the Fiend is, he’s ready. Cue the Firefly Fun House with Bray doing some construction. Bray wants Goldberg to get to know his friends, including most of the cast. There is one person left though….and the lights go out. The Fiend is here but Goldberg is smart enough to turn around and spear him.

Goldberg loads up another one but the lights go out again and Fiend disappears to end the show, complete with Fiendish laughter. As usual, Goldberg is at his best when things are kept simple. He hit Fiend hard and Fiend went down, can he do it again? What more do you need?

And from Raw to wrap it up.

Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton

Owens pounds away to start but the threat of hit the Cannonball sends Orton outside. Cue Rollins and company for the distraction though and Owens is sent into the barricade as we take a break. Back with both of them down and the Profits and Viking Raiders running in for the big brawl. They fight to the crowd with everyone else, leaving Owens to get crotched on top.

Owens knocks him off anyway and hits the Swanton. Rollins is back though and Owens has to knock him off the apron, allowing Orton to come back with a clothesline. Another Rollins distraction lets Orton hit the hanging DDT….for a very fast counted pin at 8:10. Even Orton looks confused by what happened but he’ll take it.

Rating: C. The match had a lot of stuff going on at once but I can go for a few different stories being mixed together, even if it is just for a week. There is no need to always keep things separate so doing something like this is a good idea on occasion. The story is fine as well, with what seems to be a referee going along with what Rollins has been preaching, though I’ve never liked the trope for some reason. It’s a new wrinkle though and that’s fine.

Post match Rollins throws Orton some chairs but Owens pucks one up. The referee pulls it away so Owens grabs him and opens the referee’s shirt to reveal a Seth Rollins shirt. That means a Stunner to the referee and a powerbomb through a table ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The show wasn’t anything great or even good but they did something different this time around and that’s what I’ve been asking for since before I can remember. At least TRY to do something new or different, or at least look like you’re making an effort. That’s what they did here, at least to a certain degree, and the show was better as a result. Still not good, but at least different.

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

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

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

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

It’s that time of year again and that’s not a good thing.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-because-we-have-to/

Main Event
Date: February 13, 2020
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

It’s time for things to start picking up and I’m not sure what that is going to mean around here. Granted the answer tends to be “not much” and I have a feeling that’s where things are going to go again. We’re building towards Wrestlemania and while we have a few stops to get through first, I don’t know how much we’ll get from Main Event. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Eric Young

Young works on a headlock to start but the Conga Line dances Jose back to his feet. The airplane spin has Young in trouble and Jose goes up top, only to get shoved….right onto the Conga Line for the big catch. That’s fine with Young, who throws him back inside and drops the big elbow for two. We hit the neck crank and chill on the mat for a bit but Jose is right back up. The pop up punch finishes Young at 4:17.

Rating: D. This was certainly a match that happened and nothing more than that. Jose and Young have been stuck in Main Event limbo for a long time now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They’re great examples of people who have done nothing wrong but aren’t going to get anywhere no matter what they do. It’s a bit frustrating, though if they’re good with it, fair enough.

From Smackdown.

Goldberg joins us live via satellite from Texas and gets straight to the point: he watched the Royal Rumble and it gave him the itch again. Brock Lesnar is already dealing with Ricochet and Drew McIntyre, but what about the Fiend and the Universal Title? He never got a rematch, so here’s some Breaking News from Firefly Fun House News. William Goldberg is considering challenging the Fiend and that’s bad news for Billy, because he accepts.

Mercy the Buzzard gives us the weather report: it’s going to be a cold day in h*** before the Fiend loses the Universal Title. Goldberg says he won’t be intimidated and the only thing he’s taking is the Universal Title. The Fiend is next and the fans like that idea. Goldberg leaves and Bray says that wasn’t very nice. Let him in. Bray: “Bye! See you Bill! Bye!”

From Raw.

Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka

Asuka is challenging and has Kairi Sane in her corner. A headlock and running shoulder have Becky in early trouble but she’s up with her own headlock. Sane offers a distraction though and Asuka gets in a kick to the floor as we take a break. Back with Becky making her comeback with a spinning kick to the ribs and a flying shoulder for two. It’s too early for the Disarm-Her so Asuka grabs a sitout spinebuster for two of her own.

They head outside with Becky forearming Sane (who shoved Asuka out of the way) down but getting shoved down. Back in and Asuka Codebreakers her out of the air for two before sending her shoulder first into the post. Asuka’s running hip attack misses though and Becky gets the Disarm-Her in the ropes. They fight on the apron with Becky hitting a layout reverse DDT as we take another break.

Back again with Asuka getting two off a superplex but her cross armbreaker is broken up. Instead Asuka goes with a triangle choke but Becky muscles her up for a powerbomb and a near fall. Becky’s middle rope legdrop misses and Asuka grabs the Asuka Lock. They spin into the middle but Becky slips out to set up a few rollups for two each. Becky grabs a Rock Bottom out of nowhere to retain at 17:53.

Rating: B. They really got going near the end here and the near falls were awesome. I don’t think there was any secret to who was going to win as all signs would seem to point to Becky vs. Shayna Baszler at Wrestlemania. The match was very good and maybe now Asuka and Sane can get back to actually defending their titles.

Post match Shayna Baszler runs in and jumps Becky from behind. She even BITES BECKY’S NECK to draw a bunch of blood for a scary visual. Medics come out and check on Becky, taking her to the back as we go to a break.

From Raw again.

Here’s Becky, with a taped up neck, to calls out Shayna. She’s ready to break Shayna down week by week so come find her because she finds you.

OC vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

Ryder and Gallows start things off with Ryder’s headlock having as much success as you would expect. Hawkins comes in for an STO/Russian legsweep combination for two, only to get taken into the corner in a hurry. A slam and elbow drop get Hawkins out of trouble but Anderson knocks him off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Gallows dropping a series of elbows on Hawkins and grabbing the chinlock. Hawkins jawbreaks his way to freedom and it’s back to Ryder for the middle rope missile dropkick. The Broski Boot gets two on Anderson as everything breaks down. Ryder hits the Rough Ryder on Hawkins by mistake and it’s the Magic Killer to finish Ryder at 8:28.

Rating: D+. This just felt long with neither team exactly showing off all that well. The OC aren’t great but they deserve better than this. That being said, WWE can’t push them with any kind of a story that doesn’t involve the Tag Team Titles so they’re stuck around here at the moment. Not a horrible match, but you know what we’re getting on Main Event and that’s not often the most thrilling stuff.

From Raw.

Kevin Owens/Samoa Joe/Viking Raiders vs. Seth Rollins/Murphy/AOP

Rollins runs his mouth before the match but it’s a big brawl before the bell. We’re joined in progress with Murphy in trouble, including Joe hitting an enziguri in the corner. Owens hits a Vader Bomb elbow and throws in a crotch chop for good measure. Erik slams Ivar onto Murphy for two but it’s off to Akam to pound Erik down. Rollins comes in for the chinlock and there’s the Sling Blade for a bonus.

Erik jumps over Murphy out of the corner though and it’s Ivar coming in to wreck Murphy in various ways. A heck of a clothesline drops Murphy and we take a break. Back with Owens in trouble on the floor, meaning it’s actually not a chinlock for once (I could certainly go for that being a trend.). Rollins gets in a cheap shot on the floor but Owens manages a fall away slam to send Murphy into the barricade.

It’s still too early for the hot tag though as Rezar cranks on Owens’ neck instead. A DDT drops Murphy and it’s Joe coming in to hammer on Rollins. The AOP cuts off Joe’s dive so the Raiders cut off the AOP. Joe and the Raiders dive onto Rollins and the AOP and a Rock Bottom gets two on Rollins. Everything breaks down and Owens hits a huge flip dive to the floor. That leaves Murphy to tap to the Koquina Clutch but an AOP distraction lets Rollins hit the Stomp on Joe for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B-. I liked this one as they’re using the big tag matches to make things more interesting. They worked a good formula here and the match wound up being good as a result. Rollins stealing another win lets the good guys have a reason to fight him again and I’m looking forward to when we get to the singles matches with Rollins facing Joe and Owens. It’s a good story and they’re doing well with keeping this story alive.

Overall Rating: D+. This was your usual episode of Main Event and that means there isn’t anything of note. The wrestling was nothing special and the recaps didn’t make me want to see anything else that was going on. I still wonder why they can’t throw one of their 184 writers onto this show and do some wacky stuff with it. Like it would really hurt things in any way. Another nothing show here and it’s getting really tiresome.

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: January 22, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the go home show for When Worlds Collide but it’s also time to start building things up for Takeover: Portland. I’m not sure where everything is going for that show, but tonight we have more from the Dusty Classic and the North American Title on the line with Roderick Strong defending against the banged up Keith Lee. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Undisputed Era

Non-title. O’Reilly takes Gibson down to start so Gibson takes him into the corner for a slap. That just earns him a string of forearms to the face and a kick to the ribs, only to have Gibson drag him over for the tag to Drake. Fish comes in as well and snaps Drake’s knee around the ropes, setting up the rapid fire strikes into the slingshot hilo for two.

A double snap suplex gets two on Drake but he fights up and makes the tag off to Gibson. This time it’s the Veterans getting in their own blind tag to knock the Era outside. We take a break and come back with Fish getting the hot tag to strike away, only to miss a good looking moonsault. Drake catches him with a running corner dropkick and Gibson muscles him up with Helter Skelter for two.

A low bridge puts Drake on the floor though and it’s O’Reilly hitting a running knee off the apron to take him down again. Back in and it’s time to pick Gibson apart but Drake comes back in for the save. Drake hits a step up enziguri on Fish and it’s a series of strikes to put Gibson and O’Reilly on the floor. That leaves Fish and Drake to strike it out until Fish comes back in for a bunch of kicks to drop Drake….but here’s Imperium. They’re up on the perch above the ring and the distraction lets the Veterans hit Ticket To Mayhem for the pin on O’Reilly at 13:00.

Rating: B. Good, solid match here with a not so great distraction finish. That’s understandable as you don’t want to have the Era lose clean, even if it’s to another awesome team. It’s one of the problems with tournaments involving bigger names but they did what they could here while also advancing When Worlds Collide for a bonus.

Post match the rest of the Era comes in to chase off the Veterans and are rather annoyed.

Video on Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for When Worlds Collide.

Video on Shotzi Blackheart, who eliminated Shayna Baszler from the battle royal last night.

Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai

Shirai takes her down to start and works on the ankle until Toni can spin her way out. That’s turned into a standoff and Storm offers a handshake, only to pull it away in a move that will never go away. Storm kicks her in the chest for two but can’t hit a German suplex. Instead Shirai sends her throat first into the ropes and hits a running boot to the head for a bonus.

Back in and Shirai chokes in the corner before working on a reverse chinlock with a knee in the spine. A quick slugout goes to Shirai, who takes Storm down into a headlock to keep her in trouble. Shirai pulls her down by the hair and we take a break. Back with Shirai hitting a double stomp to the ribs but she charges into a boot in the corner.

Storm’s comeback starts with a reverse German suplex and a clothesline gets two. Storm Zero is blocked though, leaving Storm to hit an even harder clothesline for two more. Shirai kicks her into the ropes but the 619 is blocked. A dropkick sends Shirai outside and the dive is loaded up….so Bianca Belair can hit Storm for the DQ at 11:00.

Rating: B-. Another good match with a worse finish as Belair wants to weaken Storm before Saturday’s title match, presumably so that she can face Ripley at Takeover. That being said, wouldn’t she want to have Storm take as much of a beating as she could here and then run in for the beatdown? Either way, just don’t let her talk and we’ll be fine. The match was solid, with Storm getting to show why she’s as celebrated as she is and Shirai being allowed to show off a lot in her own right.

Post match Belair keeps up the beatdown but here’s Rhea Ripley to go after Belair. Shirai is back in with a springboard missile dropkick to Ripley though, setting up an Asai moonsault to take out Belair and Ripley. Storm gets to hit her dive, though the crowd REALLY does not like her picking up the Women’s Title.

Undisputed Era isn’t happy but they’re focusing on taking care of Keith Lee tonight. They’ll deal with Imperium later.

Ilja Dragunov is ready to take out Finn Balor at When Worlds Collide.

Finn Balor vs. Joaquin Wilde

Balor wastes no time in taking him down and stomping away, though he does ask if this hurts. More kicking sets up the John Woo dropkick in the corner and it’s the Coup de Grace (with Wilde halfway across the ring) into 1916 for the pin at 2:03. Total squash.

Shayna Baszler isn’t worried about Shotzi Blackheart because she’s going to be Shayna Three Times.

Video on DIY.

Shayna Baszler vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Shayna knocks her down to start but doesn’t follow up to get in Shotzi’s head a bit. A kick to the leg puts Shotzi down and that means a pat on the head. Shotzi takes her down by the leg but Shayna shows her how it’s really done and goes to an armbar. Back up and Shayna cranks on the arm even more, only to get low bridged out to the floor in a nice callback to last week.

Back in and Shotzi misses a springboard so Shayna dumps her over the top as we continue the anything you can do theme. They get back inside with Shayna hammering her down into a front facelock. A DDT out of the corner gives Shotzi a breather so Shayna forearms her hard in the head.

Blackheart doesn’t seem to mind and hits a few kicks to the head, followed by a faceplant for good measure. The reverse Cannonball hits Baszler in the ropes and a not incredibly looking Sliced Bread sends Shayna into the apron. Back in and Shotzi tries a top rope backsplash but gets caught in the Kirifuda Clutch. A lot of fighting doesn’t work for Shotzi and she taps at 6:23.

Rating: C+. There was some good storytelling here with Shotzi as the newcomer who was taught that Shayna was still a boss around here. There isn’t much of a reason to keep Shayna around NXT anymore, but that has been the case for months now. Shotzi has potential though and the green hair is more than enough to keep her noticed.

Shayna takes her time letting go to teach Shotzi a lesson.

Tegan Nox wants revenge on Dakota Kai. They were best friends and then turned on her so it’s time to fight. Kai saying that Nox is due for another injury is a great heel line. They fight next week.

Video on Moustache Mountain.

Angel Garza isn’t worried about his four way title defense at When Worlds Collide. This is his house and he doesn’t care who he is facing.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Broserweights vs. Imperium

The winners get the Grizzled Young Veterans in the finals. Aichner charges straight at Dunne and takes him to the mat but it’s back up for an early standoff. Barthel comes in and takes Dunne down as well, leaving Dunne to drive him into the ropes for a blind tag from Aichner. A headlock doesn’t work that well on Dunne, who is right back with a hard clothesline to put Aichner halfway back to Italy.

Riddle comes in for an assisted spinning senton and a gutwrench suplex puts Aichner into the corner for the tag to Barthel. Another gutwrench suplex sets up a Broton but Barthel gets the knees up and kicks away in the corner. That doesn’t last long either as Riddle knocks him back and gets over to Dunne, who dropkicks Aichner’s knee out. Dunne gets in some kicks to the head and a crucifix bomb gets two on Aichner.

An X Plex on the apron plants Aichner again but here’s Walter to distract Dunne, allowing Barthel to get in a cheap shot from behind. Back from a break with Barthel going up but diving into a hard forearm to knock him out of the air. It’s still not enough for the hot tag so Dunne loads up a moonsault out of the corner, only to have his knee give out (might have been a smart way of covering for a botch). Dunne knocks the two of them down though and now it’s the hot tag to Riddle so house can be cleaned.

Riddle stomps on Aichner’s hand and a double kick to the chest gets two. Aichner shoves Riddle into Dunne though and then sends Riddle shoulder first into the post. The double running dropkicks in the corner get two on Riddle and it’s a wheelbarrow/diving DDT combination for the same. Dunne is loaded into Aichner’s delayed suplex but it’s reversed into a keylock.

Riddle locks Barthel’s ankle at the same time before going with a jumping knee to the face. Dunne lets go of the hold and kicks Aichner in the head, setting up a double spear to Aichner. The Jackhammer gets two but Aichner is right back up to catch Riddle on top. Barthel shoves Riddle into a brainbuster but Riddle hurricanranas his way out of the European Bomb. The Final Flash into a powerbomb into another knee sets up the BTS/enziguri combination to finish Aichner at 14:43.

Rating: B+. Riddle and Dunne work very well together and the best thing is that it gives them something important to do. There are so many people in NXT at the moment and they need something to fill in their time. Aichner and Barthel have become one of the most dependable tag teams around WWE today and I was completely wrong about them to start. Heck of a match here and the finals sound awesome.

Post match the Veterans come out and insult the Full Sail fans for thinking the Broserweights have a chance. They’re taking the trophy back to Liverpool, but Riddle says he didn’t understand what Gibson just said. Dunne points out that the Veterans always lose to him so it’s time to do it again. Good little hype segment for next week’s finals.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Roderick Strong

Lee is challenging, the rest of the Era is at ringside and we get Big Match Intros. Lee starts fast and knocks Strong into the corner for a forearm to the face. Another forearm knocks Strong down and there’s a big toss to send him outside as we need an early break. Back with Lee hitting a crossbody but stopping to glare at the rest of the Era. The distraction lets Strong hit a dropkick to Lee’s injured knee (from last week).

The leg gets sent into the steps as Strong has an easy target. Strong sends the knee hard into the steps and they go back inside with Strong kicking away at the knee and ankle. A half crab goes on but Lee powers up to kick Strong away. Some cannonballing down onto the leg keeps Lee down, so he uses the good leg to kick Strong over the top and out to the floor. It doesn’t seem to do much though as Strong comes back in for the ankle lock.

That’s broken up with more power so Strong hits an enziguri and the running forearms as Lee is against the rope. A big one to the back of the head drops Lee and sends us to a break. Back with Lee getting two off a powerslam and something between a one armed gorilla press/a spinebuster connects for the same. Strong needs a breather on the floor but Lee throws him right back in, only to glare the Era away. You don’t glare at that many people though as Fish gets in a shot to the knee so Strong can hit a DDT for two.

Lee hits a headbutt to the chest but falls down as well for a double knockdown. It’s Lee up first but he gets caught on the ropes, meaning it’s a shot to the knee to set up a super Angle Slam. Somehow that only gets two with Lee sitting up for the kickout. Lee gets fired up and Pounces Strong over the top and onto the rest of the Era in a nasty looking crash. Back in and a big running clothesline puts Strong down for two more but the middle rope moonsault misses.

The ankle lock, with a grapevine this time, goes on so Lee does a big crawl over to the rope. A slugout goes very badly for Strong so the Era gets on the apron, only to get knocked back down. The Sick Kick gets two on Lee but he’s right back up with the Big Bang Catastrophe (new name for the fireman’s carry Jackhammer) for the pin and the title at 20:28.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the heck out of each other with Lee looking like the unstoppable monster that he should be. At some point you need to just let him run loose and win something like this and NXT got the timing right. After his success at Survivor Series, you can’t wait another three weeks from now to give him something so this is the right call and it came in a great match. Lee crushing challengers for a bit should be awesome and this was exactly what they should have done.

Post match here’s Imperium and it’s time for the revenge. The fight is on to end the show with Walter hitting one of those great chops on Cole, who sells it at a near Mr. Perfect level.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s a very good show with some awesome stuff up and down the card. Some of the finishes at the beginning weren’t great though and they brought down some of the other good stuff that they had going on. What mattered here though was they made me want to see When Worlds Collide. The problem with that though is they were trying to build that show up but they were also trying to do their regular stories and it didn’t mesh all that well. In other words, it’s a solid show that could have been a great one if they had one goal in mind.

Results

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Undisputed Era – Ticket To Mayhem to O’Reilly

Toni Storm b. Io Shirai via DQ when Bianca Belair interfered

Finn Balor b. Joaquin Wilde – 1916

Shayna Baszler b. Shotzi Blackheart – Kirifuda Clutch

Broserweights b. Imperium – Bro To Sleep/enziguri combination to Aichner

Keith Lee b. Roderick Strong – Big Bang Catastrophe

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: January 15, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

We’re coming up on Worlds Collide, which is actually looking like a pretty good show in lieu of a traditional Takeover. I’m not sure what to expect from this one, but we will be getting the rest of the first round of the Dusty Classic, plus probably the start of the build to the next Takeover. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Rocky Johnson.

Opening recap, including the Undisputed Era invading at Takeover: Blackpool II to attack Imperium.

Here’s Keith Lee for an opening chat. Last week he unlocked an achievement and now he is the #1 contender for the North American Title. The Undisputed Era now have all of the titles and the end of their 2019 was better than anyone….except maybe his. They have reached their limit but he is limitless. Next week he’ll win the title, but here’s the Undisputed Era for the beatdown. Lee gets taken down and Strong Pillmanizes the ankle. Tommaso Ciampa makes a late save to chase everyone off.

Tegan Nox is ready to face Dakota Kai in tonight’s battle royal. Candice LeRae runs up and hugs her.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Broserweights vs. Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews

That would be Pete Dunne/Matt Riddle. Dunne and Andrews start but it’s a very early standoff to send us to a break. Back with Webster flipping out of Dunne’s German suplex but getting caught in a quick X Plex. Webster fights out of the corner, flips over Dunne and crawls underneath Riddle to get over to Andrews. The pace picks up with Andrews doing the double knee slide and backflipping into a double Pele.

Andrews and Webster hit the stereo flip dives, followed by the assisted 450 for two on Dunne back inside. Dunne punches Webster out of the air but Andres is there to break up….well there wouldn’t have been a tag anyway as Riddle was pulling himself back to the apron. A double stomp to the hands allows Riddle to come in and stereo kicks to the head get two on Andrews.

Riddle German suplexes Andrews for two and Dunne grabs an ankle lock to mix things up a bit. Andrews rolls out and hits a double stomp as we take another break. Back with Webster dropkicking Dunne to the floor, setting up the big flip dive onto both of them. Andrews hits a reverse hurricanrana for two on Riddle with Dunne having to shove Webster into the cover for the save. A tornado DDT plants Dunne on the floor but Riddle spears Webster down.

Riddle’s suplex is countered into a small package for two so Riddle throws him into a kick from Dunne for a closer near fall. Andrews grabs a hurricanrana for two on Riddle with Dunne punching Webster into the cover for another save. The Bitter End is blocked and the X Plex is countered into a Stundog Millionaire. Riddle has had it with these two and gives Webster Bro Derek on the floor. Dunne loads up the Bitter End on Andrews, dropping him onto Riddle’s knee to the face for the pin at 18:20.

Rating: B+. This was an interesting one with the regular team being able to hang in there against the two individual stars. Then Riddle took it to a level where they just couldn’t hang and Riddle looked like the star that he is. Dunne looked rather good as well, but Riddle was the monster at the end and it was cool to see.

We look at the Undisputed Era jumping Imperium again.

After the attack, Imperium ranted quite a bit.

There is no update on Lee’s leg.

Here’s Tommaso Ciampa for a chat. He lists off some people that the Undisputed Era have attacked, which shows how they have a hit list. That’s good, because Ciampa has one as well and Adam Cole is on top of it. When Cole took Goldie he took Ciampa’s life and it’s time to take it back. Cue the Era to beat Ciampa down but Johnny Gargano runs in for the save. Gargano and Ciampa even hit Meet In The Middle on Bobby Fish as the DIY chants are on full blast. They seem to want to shake hands but can’t do it.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Alex Shelley/Kushida vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

This is Shelley’s NXT debut. Gibson takes Shelley into the corner to start so it’s Drake quickly coming in, only to get chopped several times. The Veterans are sent outside for stereo dives and we settle down to Gibson trying to send Shelley into the ropes but Kushida comes in off a blind tag and kicks Gibson down. A double running suplex gets two on Gibson and we take a break.

Back with Gibson taking over on Shelley, including a belly to back suplex getting two. The chinlock goes on for all of a few seconds, allowing Shelley to fight up and bring Kushida back in to clean house. The hiptoss into a cross armbreaker has Drake in trouble but Gibson makes the save.

A neckbreaker gets two on Kushida but he’s right back up with a headscissors. Shelley comes back in for a top rope splash with Kushida adding a standing moonsault for two. Kushida’s basement dropkick hits Gibson but Drake shoves him off the top. Sliced Bread is broken up as well and Ticket To Mayhem sends the Veterans to the semifinals at 11:54.

Rating: B. It wasn’t quite as good as the first match but the Veterans winning is certainly fine. The Time Splitters can either keep going or they are just fine with being used as a way to get the Veterans over. Either way, it was cool to hear that they are coming back and it could be interesting to see where they go from here.

Post match the Veterans walk away from the offer of respect. Gibson rants about how they didn’t come here to shake hands in front of a crowd that doesn’t know who Shelley and Kushida are. Shelley and Kushida are a great team but the Veterans are soon to be crowned as the tournament champions.

Here are the updated brackets:

Grizzled Young Veterans

Undisputed Era

Imperium

Matt Riddle/Pete Dunne

I could go for the Era vs. Imperium at When Worlds Collide.

Robert Stone has pulled Chelsea Green from the battle royal because she is too good for the battle royal.

Finn Balor sees a lot of himself in Ilja Dragunov.

Tyler Breeze vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Lio Rush

Angel Garza is on commentary and the winner gets a spot in the four way Cruiserweight Title match at When Worlds Collide. They stare at each other until Breeze kicks Rush and suplexes him down for two. Scott gets armdragged down but is right back with a bunch of strikes to put Rush down. Rush is sent to the apron so Scott charges, setting up his flip onto the floor, with Rush backflipping outside at the same time.

Back from a break with Rush coming back in but getting suplexed from the apron by Scott, with is German suplexed by Breeze at the same time. Breeze starts firing off dropkicks but Scott is right back with a pair of dives for a double knockdown. Back in and Rush plants Scott with a Spanish Fly for two but Breeze kicks them both down for two more. Rush kicks Breeze through the ropes and hits a reverse hurricanrana to plant Scott.

The Final Hour gets two with Breeze making the save to put everyone down. It’s a three way slugout with Scott getting the better of things off a series of kicks, only to walk into a superkick from Breeze. Rush kicks Breeze down as well and hits the Final Hour, only to have Scott try to steal the pin. You don’t do that to Rush though, who hits the springboard Stunner to drop Scott again. The Beauty Shot hits Rush but Scott is back with the JML Driver to pin Breeze at 13:35.

Rating: B-. I can always go for more Scott, who is one of the best untapped talents around a place full of untapped talents. It was quite the relief that it wasn’t the one person hits a finisher and someone else steals the finish do at least they didn’t get on my nerves. This was all action throughout and the four way could tear down a lot of the house.

Rhea Ripley is ready to beat Toni Storm at When Worlds Collide and then face anyone at Takeover.

Johnny Gargano is outside when Tommaso Ciampa comes up to say thank you. Ciampa is about to leave but Gargano has an idea: one more at When Worlds Collide against Moustache Mountain. The Undisputed Era comes up for the fight but Keith Lee Pounces someone into a bush. Another guard is sent into a windshield and Lee promises that the prophecy ends next week.

Battle Royal

Candice LeRae, Mia Yim, Bianca Belair, Kacy Catanzaro , Mercedes Martinez, Shotzi Blackheart, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Santana Garrett, Io Shirai, Tegan Nox, Indi Hartwell, Shayna Baszler, Catalina, Vanessa Borne. Deonna Purrazzo, Jesse Kamea, MJ Jenkins, Xia Li

Hey Kacy is back. This is Martinez’s first official match as part of the NXT roster and Baszler is a surprise entrant. Everyone stares at Shayna to start but it turns into a regular battle royal instead of a group beatdown. We get a bunch of elimination teases with no one really getting close to going out. Jenkins is sent to the apron but grabs the rope, only to have Shayna wrench the fingers back for the first elimination.

Kamea is sent out and it’s Catalina hitting a hurricane on Shayna. A second attempt doesn’t work so well though and Baszler throws Catalina out. Carter tries to walk the ropes but gets forearmed to the apron. Kacy does the Silly String ala Private Party and Shayna knocks Carter out. Back from a break with Shayna knocking out Santana. Protect Yo Neck gets rid of Borne and Shotzi gets rid of Purrazzo a few seconds later.

Purrazzo pulls Shotzi underneath the bottom rope (not an elimination) and knocks her down with a bicycle kick to let off some steam. Li starts firing off some kicks but gets tossed by Baszler (yes again). Catanzaro’s springboard is broken up and Shirai dropkicks her out. Belair sends Candice to the apron and then into the post to get us down even further. Yim gets backdropped to the floor and it’s Baszler slugging it out with Martinez.

The Kirifuda Clutch has Martinez in trouble and Baszler tosses her without much effort. We’re down to Shirai, Nox, Baszler and Belair with Shotzi on the floor. Nox starts hitting reverse Cannonballs before chokeslamming Shirai onto Baszler. The Shiniest Wizard hits Belair and Nox goes up, only to have Dakota Kai run in and pull her out. Baszler grabs the Clutch on Shirai but here’s Blackheart to surprise Shayna with the elimination.

The argument breaks out and Belair tosses Blackheart so it’s Belair vs. Shirai. Belair can’t toss her out so Shirai hits a 619 to the ribs. A dive is countered into a fall away slam though and Shirai is sat on top. Shirai manages a kick to the head and it’s Belair on the apron but she pulls Shirai out with her.

They slug it out on the apron with Shirai standing on Belair’s head, meaning we need a hair pull legsweep for a unique move. Back in and they slug it out from their knees and then their feet until Belair spears her down. Shirai is right back to German suplex Belair into the corner. The running knees connect but Shirai’s double underhook is countered into the KOD over the top to give Belair the win at 23:01.

Rating: B-. Battle royals are some of the trickiest matches you can run as there are so many people who are just there to fill in spots. By getting rid of them and maybe even setting up some things down the line, they managed to make the match feel a lot more interesting. Belair is a good first Takeover victim for Ripley, though they can build her up rather well in the meantime. This was a long match but they did things the right way and it worked well enough.

Belair celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a bit of a strange show as the wrestling was all good and the storyline developments set up stuff both for Takeover and When Worlds Collide. I didn’t feel quite the connection to it this time though as it wasn’t so much about anything tonight but rather everything was about setting things up for later. That can happen with tournament shows and that was what happened here. It was a very good show though and When Worlds Collide has gone from a show that exists to what sounds like an awesome one so big well done in that area.

Results

Broserweights b. Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews – Bitter End into a knee to the face to Andrews

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Kushida/Alex Shelley – Ticket To Mayhem to Shelley

Isaiah Scott b. Tyler Breeze and Lio Rush – JML Driver to Breeze

Bianca Belair won a battle royal last eliminating Shirai

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: January 1, 2020
Hosts: Pat McAfee, Sam Roberts, Cathy Kelly

It’s a special edition this week with both the Year End Awards as well as the unveiling of the NXT Matches of the Year. That means things should be interesting and showing some high quality wrestling since a lot of those matches are going to come from Takeover. I can always go for that so let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the year, which saw huge growth in the form of the move to USA and everything else that went down. It really was an awesome year as NXT just never slows down.

Note that the matches presented here will be clipped but I’ll be posting the full reviews for each.

The hosts give us a quick welcome.

3. From Takeover: XXV

Tag Team Titles: Forgotten Sons vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Ladder match for the vacant titles and there are no seconds. It’s a brawl to start as you had to see coming with the Era taking over early on. Blake gets low bridged to the floor and it’s time for a showdown with Lorcan and Burch. Lorcan chops away but Burch gets knocked down and the Era takes over again. It’s time for the first ladder but Blake suicide dives down to take the Era out. A bunch of people wind up brawling in front of the ring so Dawkins can dive onto all of them.

The Profits climb a ladder at the same time, allowing the Era to come back in for the save. Blake knocks the Era down again with O’Reilly landing back first on the ladder. The Sons put the ladder around their heads to clean house until Burch and Lorcan hit stereo release German suplexes, sending the ladder flying in a spot that could have gone a lot worse. The Profits are back in to take down Lorcan and Burch, with Ford hitting a heck of a frog splash.

O’Reilly is back in with a missile dropkick to break up a climb attempt but he bangs up his back even worse. It’s the Era loading up the ladder with Fish going up, only to have Blake toss powerbomb O’Reilly into the ladder for the huge crash, with Fish thankfully landing on O’Reilly. The big ladder is brought in and Cutler goes up….but stops to stomp onto Fish as Cutler hits a reverse DDT. There was absolutely nothing stopping him from getting the belts there.

Now the Sons go up again but Burch and Dawkins make the save with a Doomsday elbow/Doomsday Blockbuster each. O’Reilly starts going up but here’s Jaxson Ryker to buckle bomb him into a ladder. Ryker shoves Dawkins down and crushes him with a ladder in the corner over and over. Lorcan charges at Ryker and gets backdropped onto the edge of the ladder for a scary spot. Fans to Ryker: “WE DON’T LIKE YOU!”

Everyone gets together to beat down Ryker, who I don’t think got over as well as NXT would have liked him to here. About eight ladder shots to the back crush him for good and it’s back to “regularly scheduled hostilities.” Ryker is getting back up as the Era loads up a ladder so they hit him in the face with it instead. Ford adds a big running flip dive and it’s time for Burch and Lorcan to beat everyone up with the ladders.

They throw the ladder at the Forgotten Sons and go up the big ladder with the Era making the save. The four of them wind up on a pair of ladders but the Sons shove all of them over. The Profits come back in though with Dawkins spearing Cutler down and Ford springboarding onto the ladder to knock Blake off. Ford pulls down the titles at 21:19.

Rating: B. Ryker getting this much attention hurt things a bit as he almost had his own section in the middle of the match. What matters here though is they pulled the trigger on someone new and paid off their chase over the last few months. They were the right choice and they have a bunch of matches waiting on them, which is a great future.

The hosts are rather impressed.

It’s time for our first award with Tag Team of the Year. The nominees are:

Street Profits

Grizzled Young Veterans

Viking Raiders

Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster

Undisputed Era

Winners: Undisputed Era. Kind of an obvious pick there.

The Era comes into the empty arena to accept the awards from William Regal. They aren’t impressed with Regal and want to know why there are only two awards for a four man team. Regal hands them their trophies and leaves the Era to celebrate.

Next up, Male Competitor of the Year:

Adam Cole

Walter

Johnny Gargano

Velveteen Dream

Tyler Bate

Tommaso Ciampa

Winner: Adam Cole. Again, could it be anyone else?

Cole and the Era come to the ring again to torment Regal some more but he leaves faster this time. Cole says they decided to do this at the beginning of the year and he’ll win it for years to come.

Now it’s Female Competitor of the Year:

Shayna Baszler

Io Shirai

Toni Storm

Kay Lee Ray

Bianca Belair

Rhea Ripley

Winner: Shayna Baszler. It was going to be her or Ripley but this is the right call.

Baszler and the Four Horsewomen accept the award with Shayna not being surprised.

The hosts praise Baszler for her win.

Rivalry of the Year: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole for Rivalry of the Year with no other nominees. You could go with Undisputed Era vs. Everyone Else but this was the best option again.

Gargano is proud to win two years in a row but Cole brings up that he won the whole thing. A challenge is thrown out to keep it going but Cole turns it down. Gargano: “Some things never change.”

2. From Takeover: WarGames.

Team Ripley vs. Team Baszler

Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai

Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray

Kai is Yim’s replacement in WarGames. The first two will face off for five minutes, followed by Team Baszler sending in a second member for a three minute advantage. After that, Team Ripley gets to tie it up for three minutes. The teams alternate entrances every three minutes until everyone is in, and then it’s first pinfall or submission wins. If you leave the cage, you forfeit the match for your entire team. Rhea and Io get huge reactions while Kai is seen as a big of a disappointment.

Shirai and LeRae get things going and they hit the right hands early on. Candice’s headscissors is rolled through as the fans are entirely behind Io. Shirai gets sent to the other ring but is fine enough to block a dive, setting up a 619 from both directions. A rope walk missile dropkick puts Candice down again and she gets sent head first into the metal board between the rings. LeRae’s face gets raked across the cage but she scores with some right hands as Bianca Belair is in to make it 2-1.

The release Glam Slam into the running shooting star have Candice down again but she scores with a reverse hurricanrana. Belair’s charge hits Shirai in the corner so she makes up for it with a triple powerbomb, with the third being a buckle bomb into the cage (Cage bomb?). Belair grabs a camel clutch so Shirai can run the ropes several times into a dropkick to a huge reaction (it’s not that hard to work a crowd up you know).

Rhea Ripley ties things up and it’s already time to bring in the weapons. Hold on though as Rhea pauses to slam the cage door onto Belair’s head before grabbing even more weapons. The fans want tables but have to settle for EVERYTHING else as Rhea goes under the ring at least six times to get weapon after weapon. A belly to back faceplant onto the trashcan makes it even worse for Belair and it’s time to set up some chairs.

Shirai saves Belair from a double suplex through the chairs to prevent a bad case of death as Kay Lee Ray makes it 3-2. She pulls out her own weapons, including a pile of chairs, before pulling out a table….which she slides back under the ring in a good heel move. Chair shots abound, including a tornado DDT to plant Rhea on one of the chairs. A lot of people head over to the corner above the open chairs so Ray folds them down, setting up the HUGE Tower of Doom to crush everyone save for Belair onto the chairs. That’s fine for Belair, who snaps off the gorgeous 450 onto Ripley.

Everyone is down so it’s Dakota Kai to tie things up….but she turns around and kicks Nox in the face before slamming her into the small cage so hard that the cage is actually rocking back and forth. The cage door is slammed onto Nox’s head (you could hear that one all over the arena) and then the knees over and over. Kai takes the brace off so here’s William Regal for the save. Kai shoves HIM and swears a lot as Regal orders her to the back. She comes back though and pulls on the leg again before shouting at a furious Ripley, who is watching from the cage (yeah the cage, which we haven’t seen in a few minutes now).

With Kai finally taken to the back, Baszler finally gets to come out to complete her team and doesn’t exactly seem in a hurry. Ripley is being held back but she breaks free to slug it out with Baszler, only to have the numbers get the better of her. Kai and Nox are officially out so pins and submissions are open. Candice gets in a shot to knock down Shirai and Ray but she has to save Ripley from being handcuffed to the ropes (something I couldn’t see at all watching live). The stereo two on one fights are on with Belair being sent into a trashcan in the corner.

Ripley blocks Ray’s DDT and suplexes her into the cage, setting up the Cloverleaf to Shirai on the top. Not to be outdone, Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch on LeRae across the ring. LeRae slips out though and Ray makes a save with a kick to the head, followed by LeRae’s moonsault for two on Baszler. Belair gorilla presses LeRae over the top onto Ripley and it’s the Gory Bomb to leave LeRae laying. The moonsault gives Shirai two and there are the hair whips to Ripley.

LeRae is back with the kendo stick shots for the save but Shirai takes her down. Shirai goes all the way to the top but LeRae catches her, followed by the super reverse hurricanrana to Ray for the huge crash. LeRae and Belair stand up, only to have Shirai moonsault onto both of them (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”) for an even bigger crash. Ripley loads up a trashcan onto two open chairs but stops to knock a trashcan into Ray’s face. That lets Baszler grab the Kirifuda Clutch but Ripley escapes and cuffs them together. Baszler’s big kick misses and it’s Riptide through the chairs to pin Baszler at 27:26.

Rating: B. This was definitely better on a second watch with the additional camera angles showing me a lot that I didn’t see before (including the handcuffs all together). Ripley continues to look like the star of stars and I don’t see how they can’t put the title on her soon. At the same time though, it’s going to take a long time for me to get my head around two women, including one who started the match, beating four, including two champions, at the same time. That’s a lot, and some of the villains just disappeared for long stretches. It’s not some horrible idea or completely unacceptable, but it’s going to take some time.

The hosts liked the match.

Future Star of the Year:

Kushida

Xia Li

Bronson Reed

Tegan Nox

Dakota Kai

Ilja Dragunov

Isaiah Scott

Taynara

Cameron Grimes

Winner: Dakota Kai. This was pretty much a pickem and Kai is a great choice. The future looks great around here.

Kai has known she was the future for a long time and everyone else is late to the party.

Here are the teams for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic:

NXT

Undisputed Era

Forgotten Sons

Matt Riddle/Pete Dunne

Kushida/???

NXT UK

Grizzled Young Veterans

Gallus

Imperium

Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews

Takeover of the Year: Takeover: WarGames. Yeah that works.

Breakout Star of the Year:

Damian Priest

Piper Niven

Dominik Dijakovic

Angel Garza

Joe Coffey

Keith Lee

Candice LeRae

Matt Riddle

Rhea Ripley

Winner: Keith Lee. It was him or Dijakovic.

Lee gets the award backstage from HHH and sings a bit because we haven’t seen anything yet.

1. From Takeover: New York.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

The title is vacant coming in and it’s 2/3 falls. Cole sends the Undisputed Era to the back so he can do this on his own. The fans are behind Cole and it’s off to the mat about a minute and a half in. Gargano works on a hammerlock but gets reversed into a headlock. Back up and it’s an armdrag into an armbar to to keep Cole in trouble. That’s broken up and Cole bails to the floor where he manages to catch Gargano with a jumping enziguri. A hard knee to the face rocks Gargano and we hit a chinlock.

Gargano fights up again so Cole pulls him right back down into a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up too and it’s a double crossbody for a double knockdown. They bring it up another gear with Gargano nailing a belly to belly, setting up the rolling kick to the head. The slingshot spear gets two and a tornado Downward Spiral is good for the same. Cole is right back with the Backstabber out of the corner for two of his own. They fight over a small package and it’s Cole up first with a jumping enziguri. Another exchange of rollups goes nowhere so Cole hits the Last Shot for the first fall at 13:54.

The second fall begins and it’s a German suplex into another Last Shot for a very close two. Gargano spears him to the floor but walks into the fireman’s carry backbreaker. Back up and Cole can’t get a superbomb so Johnny reverses into a super White Noise (Ciampa move) for two of his own. With that not working, Gargano hits a slingshot DDT onto the apron but breaks the count, allowing Cole to post him twice in a row. Back in and Johnny grabs the flipping armbar (Ciampa move) before switching over to the Gargano Escape for a very fast tap and the tie at 20:52.

We pause for a second as Gargano has a cut on his head but it’s not a bad one. Gargano’s discus lariat sets up a swinging kick to the head but the brainbuster to the knee gives Cole two. The Lawn Dart sends Cole into the middle buckle for two so it’s double enziguris and double superkicks for a double knockdown. Cole is up first with a straitjacket suplex but Gargano is back with a reverse hurricanrana. The low superkick sends Cole outside and Gargano is crushed again. He goes out to get him and it’s a wheelbarrow suplex into the apron to put Gargano down again.

Back in and Gargano’s slingshot spear is blocked with a superkick, setting up Cole’s middle rope Canadian Destroyer for a very close two and the fans are losing it again. Gargano rolls outside and Cole tells him that he fails so Gargano throws him over the announcers’ table. The table is cleared out but Cole hits a Fairy Tale Ending onto (not through) the table instead. Cole wants the countout so Johnny dives back in at nine, right into a low superkick for another near fall.

The next Canadian Destroyer is countered into the Gargano Escape and here’s Roderick Strong for a distraction. Kyle O’Reilly breaks the hold as Cole is tapping and the referee goes down. High/Low from Fish and O’Reilly gets an even closer two so Gargano backdrops Cole onto all three of them. The Era gets beaten up on the floor but it’s two more superkicks into the Last Shot from Cole….for two. Another Last Shot misses and the Gargano Escape makes Cole tap for the title at 38:15.

Rating: A-. Yeah it worked and while it needed to be Ciampa, this was the best ending they could have had given what they had. Gargano FINALLY overcoming the odds to win the title was the feel good ending that the show needed, especially with Gargano defeating the entire Era to win. Some of the near falls were a bit much and there were a few too many superkicks, but they nailed the ending and that’s what mattered most.

Candice comes out to celebrate and they go into the crowd to hug their parents. They walk to the stage….and it’s Tommaso Ciampa….to hug both of them to end the show.

Adam Cole wins Overall Competitor of the Year as the Undisputed Era all has trophies. Cole says they’re the best around with the trophies and the titles. This is just the beginning.

Overall Rating: A. Well what else was it going to be? Three great matches and a bunch of clips of other awesome stuff. It’s not a traditional show but for what it was, this was as good as it was going to get. The show isn’t supposed to be a regular night but rather a look back and it was a look back at an awesome year. If they can come close to doing this again next year, sweet goodness we could be in for some awesome stuff.

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: December 18, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a double title night here with both the NXT Title and Women’s Title on the line. First up Adam Cole will defend against Finn Balor and odds are the main event will see Rhea Ripley challenging Shayna Baszler. NXT knows how to do these big shows so it should be interesting to see how things go. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s show.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending. They go to the mat to start with Balor getting the better of things off a headlock. Back up and Cole takes over on the arm, only to get caught with a basement dropkick for one. This time it’s Balor working on the arm instead before stomping away. Cole gets knocked outside but he’s fine enough to superkick the leg before Balor can kick him from the apron.

Back in and we hit the chinlock to keep Balor in trouble as the announcers talk about Cole’s mind games. Another kick to the leg takes Balor down again and a neckbreaker gets two. Balor bridges out of a Figure Four necklock and the Eye of the Hurricane gets two on the champ. Cole is right back with a Backstabber, only to have Balor grab a Sling Blade. The superkick cuts off a running Balor for two but Cole is slow to get up. He walks into a Pele kick but Balor falls down as well, allowing Cole to get his own two.

The Panama Sunrise and 1916 are both countered so Cole grabs the brainbuster onto the knee for two more. We get the dueling UNDISPUTED/LET’S GO FINN chants as Balor fights up, only to get knocked off the top. The Panama Sunrise to the floor is countered with a backdrop though and Balor hits the John Woo dropkick against the barricade.

Back in and the Coup de Grace misses, allowing Cole to hit the Last Shot….for two, giving us an outstanding ARE YOU SERIOUS face. Balor clotheslines him down though and now the Coup de Grace connects. 1916 is loaded up….but here’s Johnny Gargano for the first time in nearly two months. The distraction lets Cole hit a low blow and the Last Shot retains the title at 15:17.

Rating: A-. This was another great match for Cole and another instance of him beating a big name to further solidify himself as one of the best in the world today. Gargano vs. Balor is going to be a huge deal and I’m curious to see where they go with Cole now. It would seem that it’s time for either Tommaso Ciampa or Keith Lee, but dang they could go a lot of different ways.

Post match Cole leaves and Gargano grabs a chair. Balor tries to get out but Gargano is right there with some chair shots to the back to send him outside. More shots send Balor bailing through the crowd to escape.

Video on Pete Dunne vs. Damien Priest vs. Killian Dain from Takeover: WarGames.

Killian Dain vs. Damien Priest

Priest has taped up ribs coming in. Dain shoves him into the corner to start so Priest comes out slugging. That just earns Priest the running crossbody and Dain grabs a waistlock. Priest gets sent into the corner so Dain hits a baseball slide to the ribs to put him on the floor. Back in and we hit the second waistlock with Dain quickly switching into a reverse chinlock with a knee in the spine.

Dain adds a backsplash and the tape is pulled off to make the ribs even more vulnerable. There’s a fisherman’s suplex for two more and a running dropkick puts Priest on the floor as we take a break. Back with Priest managing to hit a Flatliner for a breather. A jumping back elbow and some rapid strikes make it even worse for Dain, with a clothesline putting him down.

Priest somehow manages a suplex and the fans bring him back to his feet. Dain tries to bail so Priest is right there with a step up flip dive. Back in and South of Heaven gives Priest two in a great near fall. Dain manages a kick to the ribs and a powerbomb though, plus a big elbow for two. The Ulster Plantation is countered so Priest hits the spinning kick to the head but a powerbomb is too much for the ribs. Dain’s Vader Bomb hits raised knees though and the Reckoning finishes Dain at 14:18.

Rating: B-. This was all about two big, strong men hitting each other very hard with Priest’s ribs being the focal point of the match. Dain tried once too often though and Priest used the opening to get the win. Priest is someone who could go a long way around here (Say after the NXT Title?) and I’m for it, provided I can stop calling him Punishment Martinez.

Vote for the Year End Awards!

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is back, with things getting started on January 1.

Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes

Kushida still has Grimes’ hat. They go to the mat for some grappling and Kushida gets the better of it to a rather nice reaction. Kushida pulls him down into a cross armbreaker before twisting both arms around at the same time. Grimes bails to the floor so Kushida hits him with a baseball slide and throws him back inside.

The Octopus Hold has Grimes in more trouble until he flips out, only to get caught in the same thing again. Back from a break with Kushida in trouble after Grimes hit his running belly to belly. There’s a big throw and Kushida is in even more trouble. Grimes stays on the back with a backbreaker and even bends Kushida over the knee for a bonus.

The back is fine enough for a handspring elbow to drop Grimes and it’s a cartwheel into the basement dropkick. Kushida goes after the arm again with a dropkick but the attempted Hoverboard Lock is countered into a sitout Rock Bottom for two. Kushida snaps off a German suplex so Grimes one ups him with a bridging version for two more. Grimes heads to the apron and that means a handspring kick to the face to put him on the floor.

The big flip dive to the floor nearly misses Grimes but they’re both down. Back in and Kushida goes for the Hoverboard Lock in the corner but gets shoved down. That just means another handspring kick and a super victory roll gives Kushida his own two. Grimes hits the enziguri but misses the Cave In. Kushida misses a kick of his own though and the Cave In connects to give Grimes the pin at 13:58.

Rating: B. The matches on this shove have been awesome at this point and this was another great one. Grimes just got a heck of a win as Kushida is a much more established name at this (or likely any) point. It’s clear that they’re giving Grimes something and that is an a big treat as he has been a HUGE surprise for me and someone I’m liking more every time I see him.

Grimes gets his hat back.

Video on Io Shirai.

Io Shirai vs. Santana Garrett

Shirai backflips to start and runs her over, only to get wristdragged out of the corner. That doesn’t sit well with Shirai so Garrett superkicks her instead. A flapjack works a bit better for Shirai but she misses some running knees in the corner. Garrett’s Russian legsweep gets two and a forearm rocks her again. There’s the handspring elbow in the corner and a floatover suplex gets two more on Shirai. The Last Chancery has Shirai in more trouble but she sends Garrett throat first into the top rope. Running knees in the corner set up the moonsault to finish Garrett at 4:01.

Rating: C. This was a step above a squash for Shirai as Garrett is someone who can have a good match with just about anyone but she hasn’t had the strongest career in NXT so far. She seems like someone who is biding her time though as she is too talented to be left on the sidelines for long. It’s Shirai’s town though and she should be moving higher up the card soon.

When Worlds Collide is coming.

Pete Dunne vs. Travis Banks

Dunne starts on the arm to start, as is his custom. Some rollups give Dunne two and it’s a standoff. Dunne tries to drop down but Banks is right there with a dropkick to the side of the head. They strike it out next to the rope and Dunne easily gets the better of things to put Banks down. A double stomp to the hands sets up the X Plex onto the apron and we take a break.

Back with Banks hitting a pair of running dropkicks in the corner to set up the Cannonball. Dunne bails to the floor and it’s the suicide dive to send him into the barricade. A missile dropkick sends Dunne back into the corner and there’s a middle rope double stomp for two. Dunne flips over him out of the corner and just sidesteps Slice of Heaven for a crash. Another X Plex gets two but Banks is right back with an enziguri.

Banks goes up top for a super sunset flip but Dunne lands on his feet. The Bitter End is countered so Banks tries the Slice of Heaven, which is countered into a leg tied stomp. Banks counters the Bitter End again and hits the Kiwi Crusher for two more. Dunne powerbombs him out of the corner and busts out a super X Plex. Now the Bitter End is good for the pin on Banks at 10:54.

Rating: B. This was the hard hitting, back and forth style that you expect from the NXT UK wrestlers. They beat each other up here and Dunne gets a win to get himself back on track. Banks is someone who looks good every time he’s out there and if he wants it, I’m sure he could be a big star in the regular NXT as well.

Post match Dunne shows some respect.

Dakota Kai isn’t worried about Mia Yim and wants the Women’s Title.

Next week: Lio Rush/Keith Lee vs. Damian Priest/Tony Nese and Roderick Strong issues an open challenge.

Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler

Ripley is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros again. They go with the grappling to start and Baszler takes her to the mat by the arm. The stomp to the arm is blocked though and Ripley gets back up. The threat of Ripley’s big right hands sends Baszler running into the corner and there’s a hard whip into the corner to send Baszler to the floor. Back from a break with Ripley hitting some clotheslines and knees to the head to put Baszler down.

A running dropkick sends Baszler into the corner again, meaning it’s the top rope superplex to make Baszler bounce off the mat. Rhea sends her outside so here are the Horsewomen, only to have them taken down by a Cannonball off the apron. Baszler uses the distraction to stomp the arm into the steps and it’s time to twist the arm around back inside. The arm gets twisted around again and we take another break.

Back again with Baszler stomping on the arm again, though this time with the Horsewomen having been ejected for working on Ripley’s arm again. She even had to get checked by the doctor during the break but was ruled able to continue. Baszler starts kicking at the ribs but Ripley hits the running dropkick to send her into the referee in the corner. Riptide connects for no count so Baszler rolls outside again.

This time the Cannonball off the apron misses but Rhea is able to slip out of a Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler throws in a chair and a DDT onto said chair gets two more. The fans believe all over again and Rhea flips out of another Kirifuda Clutch. The standing Cloverleaf is broken up and now the Clutch goes on for a VERY long time with Ripley not being able to get out.

We go old school with the referee checking the arm but she grabs the referee’s shirt to say she’s not done. She flips out again and stomps Baszler in the head, setting up the standing Cloverleaf (now dubbed the Prism Trap). Baszler kicks that away too and hits a running knee in the corner. They go up top but Baszler talks too much trash, allowing Ripley to get in a headbutt. The super Riptide gives Rhea the pin and the title at 20:50. Ripley nearly loses it on the celebration for a great moment.

Rating: A-. Above all else, this felt like a big changing of the guard. Baszler has been champion for the better part of a year and a half (save for Kairi Sane’s short reign) and she had beaten so many people that it was going to take a monumental effort to finally stop her. That’s what Ripley had and you could feel the energy in the whole thing. I had a great time watching this and they gave some awesome false finishes where I wasn’t sure they were going to pull the trigger. This should have been Ripley’s win and it feels like she had to earn every bit of it. Awesome main event and a better moment.

After all the replays, we come back to the locker room filling the ring (and I mean completely filling the ring) to celebrate with Ripley to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Dang that was an awesome show with two great bookends and some very good stuff in the middle. The worst part of the show was Shirai vs. Garrett and even that was perfectly watchable. This show felt just shy of Takeover levels and they even have stuff to look forward to later. It’s one of the better weeks of TV they’ve ever done and it nailed just about everything. Great show and worth checking out in full.

Results

Adam Cole b. Finn Balor – Last Shot

Damien Priest b. Killian Dain – Reckoning

Cameron Grimes b. Kushida – Cave In

Io Shirai b. Santana Garrett – Moonsault

Pete Dunne b. Travis Banks – Bitter End

Rhea Ripley b. Shayna Baszler – Super Riptide

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: December 4, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

Things got more interesting last week with Finn Balor going after Adam Cole, though it isn’t clear if they’re going to be alone, as Tommaso Ciampa was in the mix too. They have something interesting with the NXT Title picture and that is going to make for some fun shows as we get ready for Portland. Granted that’s a long way off though and a lot could change by then. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Mauro Ranallo previews the show.

Killian Dain is in the ring to call out an opponent to replace the injured Damian Priest.

Killian Dain vs. Pete Dunne

They go straight to the fight with Dunne kicking him down and working on the arm. The fingers are bent back but a clothesline doesn’t put Dunne on the floor. Instead Dain hits a crossbody and crushes Dunne for two. The reverse chinlock goes on, followed by a running elbow to give Dain two more.

The second chinlock goes on, this time with Dain hammering away at the chest at the same time. Dunne fights up and hits a German suplex, only to get caught going up top. Dain pulls him to the apron, only to get stomped on the hand. A moonsault jams Dunne’s knee though and Dain hits a dive, with the camera missing most of it.

Back from a break with Dunne hitting a tornado DDT and stomping on the fingers again. A kick to the head gives Dunne two and now the moonsault to the floor connects. Dain drops him onto the apron though and a Cannonball against the steps makes it even worse. Back in and Dunne tries to catch him on top, only to get dropped backwards for the big crash to give Dain the pin at 14:46 (the same thing Dain did to Dunne at Takeover to accidentally give Dunne the pin on Priest).

Rating: B-. Nice match here with a good callback to the previous match at Takeover. Dunne losing is still something I’m not used to after watching him destroy people for so long but it’s what happens when you move up in competition. He jumped into NXT when the talent pool was crazy deep and it’s going to take some time for him to adjust himself.

Dakota Kai thinks Tegan Nox isn’t worth her time and now Rhea Ripley wants to play hero. Tonight, Dakota is taking her out, just like she did to Mia Yim.

Here’s the Undisputed Era, minus Bobby Fish, for a chat. They’ve been on a roll lately and the greatness is just beginning. However, they don’t like the way they were treated last week, as NXT allowed Bobby Fish to get hurt and then Keith Lee knocked Adam Cole around like a rag doll. Cole is NOT a rag doll and wants Lee out here right now for an explanation. Cole dubs him Mr. Moment Maker so the fans sing about basking in his glory.

Strong brings up Roman Reigns beating Lee at Survivor Series, because he’s a loser you see. Lee gets to the point and looks at all the gold. Cole: “My eyes are up here.” Lee: “I’m just deciding which of these championships I should take first.” The fight is on with Lee cleaning house. Tommaso Ciampa runs down to send Cole back in, but Strong saves him from the Spirit Bomb.

Xia Li wants revenge on Shayna Baszler.

Kushida is back from his broken wrist.

Xia Li vs. Shayna Baszler

Non-title. Li wins an early strike off and Baszler isn’t sure what to do. They go to the mat with Baszler not being able to hang in the striking. Instead she flips Li over, only to get kicked in the head. Baszler takes her down by the arm though and hits the big stomp to put Li in trouble. More strikes give Li a breather but she can only do so much with one arm. Li heads up top and strikes her way out of a superplex attempt. A powerbomb out of the corner gets two but Baszler pulls her into the Kirifuda Clutch for the tap at 4:06.

Rating: C+. Li was giving it everything she had here and got in some big shots that made her look good. It wasn’t like the ending was ever in doubt here as Baszler just won the main event of Survivor Series and isn’t going to lose something like this. Li got to show off a lot and I could see her being something in a few months.

Kassius Ohno is back from the UK and wants to be ready for Worlds Collide, when NXT meets NXT UK. That could be good if they treat it like something special, and it seems that they might.

Forgotten Sons vs. Adrian Alanis/Leon Ruff

Ruff and Alanis are from Evolve. Blake wastes no time in clotheslining Ruff in the back of the head and there’s the buckle bomb to make it worse. Alanis comes in and gets taken down by a running knee to the head. A release German suplex sets up the reverse DDT/middle rope stomp finishes Alanis at 1:21.

Post match Jaxson Ryker chokeslams Ruff onto the apron for a heck of a nasty crash.

Dakota Kai vs. Rhea Ripley

Kai’s new Titantron is the attack on Tegan Nox for an outstanding addition. Hold on though as Ripley has a mic and says not so fast. It was a great setup at Takeover, and now we have another one. Cue Mia Yim to run Kai over and the fight is on. Yim destroys Kai, sending her into the barricade over and over again. They eventually go into the crowd with Kai crawling away. No match of course.

With Ripley still at ringside, cue the Horsewomen for the other brawl. Ripley fights them off as well as she can but the numbers game eventually gets the better of her, allowing Baszler to choke her out. Ripley is out so Baszler talks trash about how Ripley can’t win when anything is on the line. Now Ripley wants a title shot, and so does Baszler. They’ll fight for the title in two weeks. Best thing about this: flowing from one story into another without having to go to the back and set things up. It feels MUCH more natural and that is the best thing that they could have done here.

Ciampa and Lee are ready to face the Undisputed Era. Dominick Dijakovic shows up and seems to be joining them tonight.

Video on Finn Balor, who wants the NXT Title back. He’s playing chess while Cole is playing checkers, so checkmate.

Video on Isaiah Scott.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

The fans chant for Riddle in the Goldberg cadence for a fun moment. They go with the grappling to start until Riddle takes him down by the (right) arm. The cravate has Riddle in more trouble but he’s back out with a German suplex as the eyes get a bit more serious. Ohno gets sent outside for a kick to the chest and we take a break.

Back with Riddle kicking at the chest as the announcers keep hyping up When Worlds Collide. Ohno gets in a shot to the throat and a big boot to drop Riddle as he is willing to cheat to finally beat him. Or he’s just a villain in general. The cravate goes back on and is switched into a crossarm choke to keep Riddle in trouble.

That’s broken up as well and Riddle hits a Broton but has to bail out of a standing moonsault. The Bro To Sleep sets up a powerbomb to plant Ohno, and the Final Flash knocks him silly. Riddle’s Floating Bro gets two but Ohno is right back with a suplex. Ohno tries a cradle piledriver but gets reversed into a knee to the face and the Bro Derek to give Riddle the pin at 12:33.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course these two have good matches against each other because they work well together and have similar styles. At the end of the day though, Ohno exists to put Riddle over and that’s a great role for him. What matters more than anything else here though is the hype for When Worlds Collide, meaning it might actually be important for once. They have been watchable before, but it would be great to see the show have some meaning.

We look back at Baszler beating Ripley down. The title match is official for the 18^th.

Kushida vs. Raul Mendoza

Or not as here’s Cameron Grimes to jump Mendoza and take his place. This stuns Kushida for some reason.

Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes

As stunned as he is, Kushida is fine enough to hit a handspring kick to the face to put Grimes on the floor to start, setting up a big flip dive off the top to take Grimes down again. Back in and Kushida grabs something like the Black Widow and bends the arm WAY back for a nearly terrifying visual. Another handspring is countered into a German suplex to put Kushida down for the first time and the Superman forearm connects. Grimes tries his backflip into a German suplex but Kushida reverses into a rollup for the pin at 4:16.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as Grimes has been getting a pretty big push in recent weeks but then loses here to the returning Kushida. I get why Kushida gets the win to put himself back on track but why have him beat Grimes and not, say, Mendoza like you had planned? Just a weird moment but it came at the end of a fine match.

We recap Lio Rush vs. Angel Garza. They meet for Rush’s Cruiserweight Title next week.

Also next week: Yim vs. Kai.

Undisputed Era vs. Dominick Dijakovic/Tommaso Ciampa/Keith Lee

Strong gets taken into the corner for the early beating and Ciampa already has to give himself some applause. O’Reilly comes in for a standing guillotine on Dijakovic and is quickly tossed out of a suplex. A middle rope splash gives Dijakovic two and the standing knees to the back make it even worse. The Era is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Dijakovic fighting out of O’Reilly’s abdominal stretch and hitting one heck of a clothesline.

That’s not enough to get over for the tag though as O’Reilly grabs the leg. It takes all three members of the Era to pull Dijakovic back into the corner for a unique visual. Dijakovic fights up and makes the tag off to Ciampa so house can be cleaned. A jumping knee to the back of O’Reilly’s head sets up Project Ciampa for two.

The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up and it’s High/Low to give Strong two with Lee and Dijakovic making a double save. Strong drops Ciampa again as things settle into the normal structure again. Cole and Lee get the hot tags and it’s time for the real house cleaning. The threat of a big dive sends the Era scattering so Lee runs over O’Reilly and Strong.

Dijakovic hits a spinning springboard dive but Cole breaks up a superplex to put O’Reilly on the pile outside. Cue Finn Balor to dropkick Cole into the referee in the corner. 1916 plants Ciampa but Lee rises up behind Balor for a great visual. Lee hits the Spirit Bomb on Balor and, after avoiding the Last Shot, hits the Limit Breaker for the pin on Cole at 11:48.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that NXT knows how to do very well as they had the interference but then gave us the big moment to end things as well. These guys beat the heck out of each other and had the big spots in there, with Lee continuing to get the rocket push. That being said, there are other people involved who could get the title shot as well, which makes for a lot of great possibilities.

Post match here’s William Regal to make Keith Lee vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa for next week with the winner getting a title shot the following week. That really could go any of the three ways and that’s not something you see every day.

Overall Rating: B. Another night with the wrestling being good throughout, as well as setting up multiple things that I want to see later on. You don’t get that very often and they made it work here, which almost no one else can do. The future is crazy bright with Lee and Ripley getting the monster pushes, but what makes it so much better is you could see them winning, which is almost unthinkable. More good stuff here though, as NXT’s roll continues (for years now).

Results

Killian Dain b. Pete Dunne – Middle rope belly to back slam

Shayna Baszler b. Xia Li – Kirifuda Clutch

Forgotten Sons b. Adrian Alanis/Leon Ruff – Reverse DDT/middle rope stomp to Alanis

Matt Riddle b. Kassius Ohno – Bro Derek

Kushida b. Cameron Grimes – Cradle

Keith Lee/Tommaso Ciampa/Dominick Dijakovic b. Undisputed Era – Limit Breaker to Cole

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

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

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

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

Takeover: WarGames III
Date: November 23, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night around here as we have not one but two WarGames matches on the same show, which I’m pretty sure has never happened before in a major company. The card is a little bit shorter than your usual Takeover but I have a feeling the quality is going to be just fine. The big question for tonight is who is the final member of Team Ciampa, which could be a lot of people. Let’s get to it.

During the Kickoff Show, it was announced that Mia Yim has been injured and is out of WarGames. No word on the attacker, yet.

Kickoff Show: Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott

The first ever Kickoff Show match in NXT history. The entrance features the production area for the Kickoff Show panel, including a video screen for a weird behind the scenes/in front of the scenes hybrid. Hold on as Garza needs to take off his pants but Scott grabs them, only to give us a series of escapes into a standoff.

A headscissors puts Garza on the floor for a handspring hurricanrana (which wasn’t the smoothest thing in the world). Back in and Scott hits a gordbuster into a….I guess cartwheel splash onto the legs? A high crossbody connects but Garza rolls through and sends him into the corner. With Scott down, GARZA HAS TO TAKE OFF HIS PANTS! Scott is so distracted that it’s a superkick into a slingshot reverse suplex into another superkick for two.

The Lionsault misses so Scott is right back with a clothesline. Something close to a side slam gives Scott his own two as commentary keeps swooning over Garza. Scott tries a backdrop into the ropes but Garza flips back into a sitout powerbomb (cool) for two. With Scott on the apron, Garza dives at him but lands in a Death Valley Driver, followed by the double stomp to the floor. Fans: “YOU GOT SWERVED!” The House Call gets two back inside and Scott is shocked. Garza drives him into the corner but can’t use the distraction to hit a low blow. Instead he blocks Scott’s kick and hits the Wing Clipper for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C. The missed execution hurt both of them but they have been good enough as of late to write that one off as a bad night. Scott continues to be someone with all the potential in the world but WWE keeps having him lose like this. I’m not sure if Garza has that much potential, though the amount of charisma he has is going to take him wherever he wants to go.

Shawn Michaels narrates the opening video, talking about how war is inevitable. The two WarGames matches get the focus, with the two regular matches being mentioned as well, as it should be.

Team Ripley vs. Team Baszler

Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai

Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray

Kai is Yim’s replacement in WarGames. The first two will face off for five minutes, followed by Team Baszler sending in a second member for a three minute advantage. After that, Team Ripley gets to tie it up for three minutes. The teams alternate entrances every three minutes until everyone is in, and then it’s first pinfall or submission wins. If you leave the cage, you forfeit the match for your entire team. Rhea and Io get huge reactions while Kai is seen as a big of a disappointment.

Shirai and LeRae get things going and they hit the right hands early on. Candice’s headscissors is rolled through as the fans are entirely behind Io. Shirai gets sent to the other ring but is fine enough to block a dive, setting up a 619 from both directions. A rope walk missile dropkick puts Candice down again and she gets sent head first into the metal board between the rings. LeRae’s face gets raked across the cage but she scores with some right hands as Bianca Belair is in to make it 2-1.

The release Glam Slam into the running shooting star have Candice down again but she scores with a reverse hurricanrana. Belair’s charge hits Shirai in the corner so she makes up for it with a triple powerbomb, with the third being a buckle bomb into the cage (Cage bomb?). Belair grabs a camel clutch so Shirai can run the ropes several times into a dropkick to a huge reaction (it’s not that hard to work a crowd up you know).

Rhea Ripley ties things up and it’s already time to bring in the weapons. Hold on though as Rhea pauses to slam the cage door onto Belair’s head before grabbing even more weapons. The fans want tables but have to settle for EVERYTHING else as Rhea goes under the ring at least six times to get weapon after weapon. A belly to back faceplant onto the trashcan makes it even worse for Belair and it’s time to set up some chairs.

Shirai saves Belair from a double suplex through the chairs to prevent a bad case of death as Kay Lee Ray makes it 3-2. She pulls out her own weapons, including a pile of chairs, before pulling out a table….which she slides back under the ring in a good heel move. Chair shots abound, including a tornado DDT to plant Rhea on one of the chairs. A lot of people head over to the corner above the open chairs so Ray folds them down, setting up the HUGE Tower of Doom to crush everyone save for Belair onto the chairs. That’s fine for Belair, who snaps off the gorgeous 450 onto Ripley.

Everyone is down so it’s Dakota Kai to tie things up….but she turns around and kicks Nox in the face before slamming her into the small cage so hard that the cage is actually rocking back and forth. The cage door is slammed onto Nox’s head (you could hear that one all over the arena) and then the knees over and over. Kai takes the brace off so here’s William Regal for the save. Kai shoves HIM and swears a lot as Regal orders her to the back. She comes back though and pulls on the leg again before shouting at a furious Ripley, who is watching from the cage (yeah the cage, which we haven’t seen in a few minutes now).

With Kai finally taken to the back, Baszler finally gets to come out to complete her team and doesn’t exactly seem in a hurry. Ripley is being held back but she breaks free to slug it out with Baszler, only to have the numbers get the better of her. Kai and Nox are officially out so pins and submissions are open. Candice gets in a shot to knock down Shirai and Ray but she has to save Ripley from being handcuffed to the ropes (something I couldn’t see at all watching live). The stereo two on one fights are on with Belair being sent into a trashcan in the corner.

Ripley blocks Ray’s DDT and suplexes her into the cage, setting up the Cloverleaf to Shirai on the top. Not to be outdone, Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch on LeRae across the ring. LeRae slips out though and Ray makes a save with a kick to the head, followed by LeRae’s moonsault for two on Baszler. Belair gorilla presses LeRae over the top onto Ripley and it’s the Gory Bomb to leave LeRae laying. The moonsault gives Shirai two and there are the hair whips to Ripley.

LeRae is back with the kendo stick shots for the save but Shirai takes her down. Shirai goes all the way to the top but LeRae catches her, followed by the super reverse hurricanrana to Ray for the huge crash. LeRae and Belair stand up, only to have Shirai moonsault onto both of them (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”) for an even bigger crash. Ripley loads up a trashcan onto two open chairs but stops to knock a trashcan into Ray’s face. That lets Baszler grab the Kirifuda Clutch but Ripley escapes and cuffs them together. Baszler’s big kick misses and it’s Riptide through the chairs to pin Baszler at 27:26.

Rating: B. This was definitely better on a second watch with the additional camera angles showing me a lot that I didn’t see before (including the handcuffs all together). Ripley continues to look like the star of stars and I don’t see how they can’t put the title on her soon. At the same time though, it’s going to take a long time for me to get my head around two women, including one who started the match, beating four, including two champions, at the same time. That’s a lot, and some of the villains just disappeared for long stretches. It’s not some horrible idea or completely unacceptable, but it’s going to take some time.

Ripley and LeRae pose as Baszler knows she’s in big trouble.

We recap the triple threat #1 contenders match. Damian Priest and Pete Dunne were having a match when Killian Dain stared Dunne down. Dain would attack both of them and a three way feud broke out. The match was turned into a #1 contenders match with the winner getting an NXT Title shot at Survivor Series.

Imperium is here.

Pete Dunne vs. Killian Dain vs. Damian Priest

The winner gets Adam Cole tomorrow night. Priest is in Outsiders inspired gear for a nice (and rather random) touch. They all miss some shots to the head to start and stare each other down until Priest sends Dunne outside. With Dain down in the corner, Dunne comes back in to kick away at Priest’s legs. Dunne stomps on Dain’s arm but gets hit in the face by Priest for his efforts. Priest’s big step up flip dive is cut off by Dunne and Dain crossbodies Priest down.

For a bonus, Dain Michinoku Drivers Dunne and sits on Priest’s face at the same time. They head outside with Dain Samoan dropping Priest and Dunne hitting a fall away slam on Dunne at the same time, just to show off a bit. Back in and Dain gets double teamed as Dunne and Priest get smart for a change. A suplex puts Dain down and Dunne steps on the fingers to some well received applause. Dunne goes for a triangle on Priest but Dain grabs the fingers, setting up a double powerbomb to plant Dunne hard.

The monsters slug it out so Dunne comes back in to hammer on both of them as he just likes to fight. A double stomp onto a hand of both sends everyone into a series of strikes until all three go down. As the other two fight, Priest heads up top for a flip dive and it’s the South of Heaven chokeslam for two on Dunne. Priest isn’t done though and drops Dunn onto the announcers’ table, only to get taken down by Dain’s dive. A Cannonball sends Priest through part of the barricade and everyone is down again.

Dain is back in with a backsplash to Priest but the Vader Bomb is broken up with a kick to the head. A Razor’s Edge (impressive one too) drops Dain with Dunne having to dive back in for the save. Dain is sent outside again so Priest hits the big dive over the top. Dunne isn’t about to be outdone and hits a moonsault off the top onto both of them. It’s Dunne and Priest heading back inside to slug it out but Dunne can’t hit the Reckoning. The chokeslam is countered into a cross armbreaker and Priest certainly appears to be tapping.

Dain makes the save and hits a One Winged Angel for two on Priest. Dunne somehow gets Dain up for the Bitter End so Priest has to kick him in the head for the save. It’s Priest back up for a kick to the head for two on Dunne though, with Dain literally falling onto them for the break. A chop block sends Priest to the floor, leaving Dunne to superplex Dain. The Bitter End hits Priest with Dain’s backsplash making another save. Dunne grabs the choke on Dain, who backsplashes onto Priest, only to have Dunne shove Dain away to pin Priest at 19:57.

Rating: B+. I had a great time with this one as they were working hard the entire way and hitting one big spot after another. This didn’t feel anywhere close to twenty minutes and that made for an entertaining match. Dunne was the pretty obvious winner as the monsters split the difference, but that doesn’t mean it was any less entertaining. Heck of a fight here and Dunne vs. Cole should be even better.

Takeover: Portland is on Sunday (that’s a new one) February 16.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Matt Riddle. Balor returned to the promotion a few weeks back and turned on Johnny Gargano. The big explanation was that NXT isn’t as tough as it used to be. Gargano was hurt, so Riddle is taking his place to fight for the modern NXT’s honor.

Matt Riddle vs. Finn Balor

To keep up as a heel, Balor has to avoid the pose in time with his song. Feeling out process to start with Riddle taking him down by the arm but getting stacked up for two. That means a standoff and we reset early on. They head to the mat and with Riddle pretty clearly more dominant, Balor dives over to grab a headlock. Riddle rolls the northern lights suplexes but gets pulled straight down into the chinlock. Seemingly tired of the holds, Balor stomps away in the corner….before grabbing the chinlock again.

Riddle gets sent outside for the baseball slide, with one boot NAILING him in the jaw for a great visual, made even better by slow motion. That just seems to wake him up as he hits a kick to the face into a Broton for two. The running forearms are blocked by a raised boot in the corner though and a forearm keeps Riddle in trouble. Riddle is right back with the ankle lock so Balor finally gets over to the rope for the break.

Balor’s German suplex doesn’t really work so Riddle knees him in the head and gets two off his own German suplex. There’s the ripcord knee but Balor shrugs it off again and hits the double stomp to stay on Riddle’s ribs. A spear cuts Balor down though and it’s a Jackhammer for two and the GOLDBERG chants are on in full.

Balor is right back up with an inverted 1916 for his own two but Riddle Bro to Sleeps him right back. The Floating Bro misses though and Balor dropkicks him into the corner. The Coup de Grace is pulled straight down into the Bromission (that was sweet) but Balor rolls out. Riddle goes for the knee again but gets pulled into 1916 for the pin at 14:24.

Rating: B-. This was good but not quite as awesome as I was expecting. They never hit that next gear which you would expect them to be able to reach. Riddle losing here makes sense as he’ll likely get his big moment at Survivor Series. Balor needs the win more as he’s freshly back in NXT and can move way up the ladder, but he needed to win here to start him on the right path. Good match, but not great.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. The Undisputed Era holds all of the titles but Ciampa is back to get the NXT Championship that he never lost. Lee and Keith Lee and Dominick Dijakovic are as hot as anyone in WWE at the moment so they’re joining in, but they still don’t have a fourth man. Ciampa telling the title that it has to wait because Daddy’s going to war was outstanding and made Ciampa seem even stronger than he was coming in.

Team Ciampa vs. Undisputed Era

There is no fourth man for Team Ciampa to start as the waiting continues. The Era has the advantage because they’re the villains and NXT knows its WarGames history. Ciampa, sporting the war paint, and Strong are starting things off with Ciampa holding his crutch before the bell. Fans: “DADDY’S HOME!” Desperate to fight, Ciampa throws him the crutch and the war is on in a hurry. Ciampa stomps away in the corner and sends him into the cage, only to have Strong come back with a backbreaker.

They head over to the other ring with Strong being dropped ribs first over the top rope. Ciampa unloads with right hands in the corner and there’s a running knee to the face to make it worse. A hard knee knocks Strong silly again but he’s able to break up Willow’s Bell. Back in the other ring, Strong has to fight out of the Fairy Tale Ending and hits double knees to the chest. They slug it out some more until O’Reilly comes in to make it 2-1.

The knees and kicks to the chest drop Ciampa as the fans are ready to bask in some glory. O’Reilly holds Ciampa on the ropes for the running forearms from O’Reilly. The beating continues until Dijakovic ties things up and starts hitting people rather hard. Dijakovic throws O’Reilly onto Strong but it’s too early for Feast Your Eyes. Therefore, Strong gets thrown into the cage over and over for a consolation prize. O’Reilly gets the same and Ciampa is back up to hammer away even more. Some right hands put O’Reilly down between the rings but it’s Bobby Fish to give the advantage back.

Fish gets to take over and it’s a High/Low to Dijakovic. Ciampa is knocked down as well and Fish insists that “WE GOT THIS COLE!” A lot of strikes have the good guys in trouble until it’s Lee coming in to wreck people in a hurry. Lee leapfrogs Fish and O’Reilly before crossbodying both of them to show off a bit. O’Reilly has to save Fish from a powerbomb and it’s time to triple team Lee as the Era has to get rid of him as long as possible. Ciampa is back up and makes the fired up comeback until the numbers get the better of him too.

Dijakovic slams O’Reilly into the other ring and it’s time for everyone but Ciampa to join them. Things slow down a bit until Cole completes the Era. He isn’t ready to come in just yet though as he pulls out a table, then another, then another, then another, then another, the another, with one of them being laid against the barricade and FIVE being sent inside. Cole still can’t get inside though as Ciampa shoves him through the table against the barricade.

Ciampa goes out to get him, which should have meant he left the cage and forfeited the match but maybe that only counts once everyone is in. Everyone gets into one ring for the cool visual and the fight is on. A low blow cuts Lee down but the time is up and it’s…..no one at first, as we wait on the Era to turn around so they can be shocked. It’s Kevin Owens (with his old Titantron and first NXT shirt) to complete the team to a huge hero’s welcome. Owens starts wrecking people, including a release sleeper suplex to O’Reilly.

Strong gets powerbombed onto O’Reilly’s back and it’s the big staredown with Cole. Owens tells Cole to suck it and hits the Stunner for two as Lee and Dijakovic are back up. They launch Strong over the ropes and into the other ring onto Strong. Willow’s Bell plants O’Reilly and it’s time to set up the tables. Lee hits the big dive onto almost everyone but O’Reilly comes in off the top with a knee to Lee’s knee, setting up a kneebar. That’s broken up by Dijakovic but Fish comes in with a moonsault.

The Fairy Tale Ending to Strong sets up the Swanton from Owens for two, meaning Cole has to make his own save. Lee heads up again but gets pulled down with a super Angle Slam. Ax and Smash gets two and there’s the High/Low to Dijakovic. Owens and Lee fight in between the rings with Owens not being able to hit the package piledriver. Cole however can hit a superkick and a (slightly delayed) Panama Sunrise for the huge knockdown. Fish and O’Reilly are up first and set up the tables but it’s Ciampa with Project Ciampa to O’Reilly.

Running knees to the face have the rest of the Era in trouble, including several to send Cole’s head into the cage. They head to the top and there is no way this can end well. Ciampa can’t hit White Noise but he can block the Panama Sunrise through the tables. It’s Cole heading all the way to the top of the cage and Ciampa joins him, drawing the PLEASE DON’T DIE chants.

Dijakovic sends Strong through a table but gets triangled by O’Reilly. They head to the table with Owens hitting a frog splash to drive O’Reilly through, leaving Lee to superbomb Strong through another. Cole and Ciampa stand up on top of the cage and it’s a SUPER WHITE NOISE OFF THE CAGE THROUGH THE TABLES to END Cole at 38:28.

Rating: A. This felt like the war that it was supposed to be and my goodness that finish. I don’t remember being that nervous since I saw Shane McMahon dive off the Cell. That was the big finish that the match needed and the whole thing was a great showcase of all eight guys. Awesome stuff and I got WAY more into it on the second watch than the first time around. Ciampa pinning Cole was the way to go here as it gives us a nearly guaranteed title match while also giving us the big finish. Great stuff here and it felt like war, which is hard to pull off.

Post match, Britt Baker, identified by name and as Cole’s girlfriend, is shown looking terrified as everyone is done. Team Ciampa pulls themselves up and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. This one was a little shorter than most recent Takeovers and in a way, that is the best thing that could have happened. They had everything making sense and went hard the entire way, leaving us with four rather awesome matches. Survivor Series is NXT’s chance to shine on the big stage but this was their big show where they had to take care of things on their own. Another awesome show and more than worth seeing, especially with the somewhat shorter run time.

Results

Team Ripley b. Team Baszler – Riptide onto a chair to Baszler

Pete Dunne b. Damian Priest and Killian Dain – Backsplash to Priest

Finn Balor b. Matt Riddle – 1916

Team Ciampa b. Undisputed Era – Super White Noise through tables to Cole

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: November 27, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

Things took quite the turn for NXT over the weekend as they won the battle for Brand Supremacy on Sunday at Survivor Series, defeating both Monday Night Raw and Smackdown in the process. They’re celebrating with a Tag Team Title match as the Undisputed Era defending against Keith Lee and Dominick Dijakovic. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of WarGames, as we should.

The entire NXT roster comes out to celebrate, naturally in the matching shirts (NXT 4, their score from Survivor Series). Josiah Williams, the rapper who did the Takeover theme song, gives us a big victory song as the roster celebrates at ringside. The Undisputed Era breaks everything up as Tommaso Ciampa, Dijakovic, Lee and Matt Riddle get in the ring. Adam Cole says no one around the ring did a thing to get them where they are. The Undisputed Era is NXT, though the fans don’t seem to agree.

They dominated at WarGames and Survivor Series and they’re just getting started. They are the Iron Men of this brand but Ciampa cuts him off and brings up the loss at WarGames. The Era’s collapse is continuing and those titles are going away. Before WarGames, Daddy said Goldie would have to wait, but now there’s nothing in his way. Cue Finn Balor, to say he’s in Ciampa’s way. Ciampa: “Well Prince, you just met your king.” The challenge is made for tonight but Balor doesn’t say anything. Lee grabs the mic and tells the Era to get in here because it’s basking season.

Tag Team Titles: Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Keith Lee/Dominick Dijakovic

Lee/Dijakovic are challenging. The champs jump them in the corner to start but get thrown to the floor by Lee as we take an early break. Back with Dijakovic in trouble but driving over for the tag to Lee anyway. Roderick Strong, in street clothes, has replaced Fish, who got hurt while being tossed to the floor before the break. Lee shrugs both of them off without much trouble and Dijakovic suplexes Lee onto them for two. Strong goes after Dijakovic’s knee to take over though and we take an early break.

Back again with O’Reilly working on Dijakovic’s knee but Dijakovic runs him over and gets the tag to Lee. House is cleaned in a hurry, including a double backdrop to the floor. The champs are smart enough to move before the dive though and a shot to the knee has Lee in trouble. A missed splash lets Lee get over to Dijakovic for the tag though and it’s time for the heavy shots in the corner. O’Reilly grabs a triangle so Dijakovic pulls him up for the powerbomb, but throws in a chokeslam to Strong AT THE SAME TIME JUST BECAUSE HE CAN DO THINGS LIKE THAT!

Lee isn’t about to let the champs leave so Strong chop blocks him again. With the Era on the floor, Dijakovic busts out a huge springboard flip dive to take them both down. O’Reilly is right back on the bad leg to slow him down, so Dijakovic chokeslams both of them again. Cue Adam Cole, but Lee Pounces him over the barricade and into the crowd (that was INSANE and looked like something out of a cartoon). The distraction lets Strong and O’Reilly hit a High/Low for the pin on Dijakovic at 20:15.

Rating: B. Lee and Dijakovic are going to get some strong pushes just due to the insane amount of stuff that they can do. They can do things that almost no one else can think of, let alone pull off, and they do it every single time. What matters here though is Fish’s injury, which seems like it could be a big problem should it be that serious. But find the clip of that Pounce because it’s unreal.

We look at Dakota Kai turning on Tegan Nox and destroying her knee at Takeover.

Candice LeRae promises revenge. Tonight, Kai isn’t facing her friend, because Candice is going to be Nox’s ticked off big sister.

We look back at Angel Garza flirting with Lio Rush’s wife. Then on Saturday, Rush attacked Garza as the feud continues.

Shane Thorne vs. Mansoor

Mansoor starts fast with some dropkicks, including one to send Thorne outside. The suicide dive is countered into a suplex onto the floor though and Mansoor is a bit shaken up. Another belly to back suplex gets two back inside but Thorne charges into an enziguri. The superkick puts him outside again and this time the suicide elbow connects. A slingshot neckbreaker puts Thorne away at 3:03.

Rating: C-. It’s nice to see someone fresh like Mansoor come out of nowhere, hit a cool finisher and win. On paper he would seem like little more than a token addition to the roster for the sake of tying things into the Saudi Arabian shows but he is more than fine in the ring and could go a little somewhere in time.

Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai

New music for Kai, as there should be. She also has Nox’s knee brace so Candice goes straight at her with a running kick to the face. It’s too early for the Lionsault though as Kai bails to the floor, only to get dropkicked in the back of the head. A suicide dive drops Kai again and Candice drops a backsplash to the back for good measure. Kai is right back with a shot to the face before tying Candice’s arms in the ropes.

That means a kick to the face and a rather sneering look, which is almost hard to imagine from Kai. Another kick to the face rocks LeRae and we take a break. Back with Candice kicking at the leg and taking her to the apron for a belly to back suplex. They’re both down on the floor until Candice throws her back inside for two off a tornado DDT (not a good one, but a tornado DDT).

Kai gets in some kicks but LeRae drops her with an enziguri. The knee brace is knocked out of Kai’s hands and a kick to the head sets up the Lionsault for two. The Kairopractor gives Kai her own two and it’s off to the Kawada kicks. LeRae spins her down into the Gargano Escape so Kai bails outside, grabs the knee brace, and knocks LeRae out for the DQ at 12:39.

Rating: B. That was the perfect way to end this as Kai looks vicious and doesn’t lose in her first match while keeping LeRae primed for a rematch. This is the kind of story that could go in a lot of different directions for a good while and they needed to do an ending like this to keep it hart off the bat. Rather nice stuff all in all here, with Candice looking like she was out for revenge and Kai being vicious.

Post match Kai grabs a chair but Rhea Ripley runs out for the save and chases Kai off.

Ciampa isn’t worried about Balor.

Video on Cameron Grimes, who is a country boy who has worked hard to get here. Why aren’t people talking about him more than they are?

Video on Rhea Ripley.

Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Lio Rush

Rush is defending. Feeling out process to start as they even go to the mat early on, only to both try a cheap shot kick to the ribs. Both catch the kick though and they’re not sure what to do. Tozawa heads to the apron so Rush tries the German suplex that will never connect, followed by trying the powerbomb that can connect occasionally. That’s blocked as well and Tozawa drops the backsplash onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Tozawa slipping out of an armbar and sending Rush outside for the running Cannonball off the apron. The missile dropkick gets two and it’s time for the crazy rapid fire exchange of strikes. They both hit pump kicks to the face at the same time and it’s a double knockdown. It takes a second for them to get up so they head to the apron….where Tozawa ACTUALLY HITS THE GERMAN SUPLEX OFF THE APRON!

Rush crashes hard into his face and they’re both down again. They both dive in to beat the count and Rush knocks the mouth guard out. Some more kicks to the chest and back have Tozawa in more trouble but he’s right back with a bridging German suplex for two. The rope backsplash misses though and Rush scores with the Final Hour. That’s not enough for a cover though so Rush hits it again to retain at 13:04.

Rating: B. I’m trying to get my mind around the fact that the German suplex off the apron actually hit. These two beat the heck out of each other with a great display of speed and striking that would have been lost on the 205 Live audience. I know there are a lot of other factors to the whole thing, but my goodness people. Just do what makes sense and put the cruiserweights around here full time. Or at least get them away from 205 Live.

Balor isn’t worried about Ciampa.

Xia Li vs. Vanessa Borne

Borne is fighting for Aliyah, whose nose was broken in a match with Li. An early charge goes into the post though and Borne gets powerbombed down hard. Cue the Horsewomen as Li kicks Borne in the head for the pin at 1:14.

Post match the Horsewomen come in so Li beats them up for a bit, only to have Baszler nail her with a clothesline. Ripley grabs the mic and demands respect but here’s Ripley to interrupt. The Horsewomen bail but Shayna gets back on the apron to stare at Ripley. Rhea says that she’s beaten Shayna up before and the next time it’s going to be for the title. Shayna gets in and says she’s heard that before. Rhea is going to be napping or tapping just like the rest of them. Rhea: “They why don’t you do it now?” As expected, Shayna bails.

Damian Priest has bad ribs but he’ll face Killian Dain next week anyway.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Finn Balor

Ciampa takes him into the corner a few times to start and hits a hard shot to the ribs. Balor is right back with a takedown and basement dropkick, though the chinlock doesn’t last long. A dropkick through the ropes has Ciampa in some trouble but the White Noise on the floor is blocked. Ciampa posts him instead and gives himself some applause as we take a break. Back with Ciampa fighting out of the chinlock and hitting some clotheslines.

Some hard chops in the corner have Balor down so Ciampa stomps away for a bonus. Balor is right back with a Sling Blade though and they head outside for the running dropkick into the barricade. With Ciampa rocked, Balor loads up 1916 but gets reversed into the White Noise for the double knockdown. That’s good for a double seven so it’s Project Ciampa for two back inside.

Balor hits the running dropkick and goes up, only to get caught with the super White Noise for two. Ciampa says this is for Johnny Boy but here’s Adam Cole for the distraction. With nothing else working, Balor picks up the NXT Title that Cole dropped. That’s taken away so Balor hits the Eye of the Hurricane onto the belt (seemingly by accident) for two. The referee gets rid of the belt and Cole adds an enziguri from the floor. 1916 gives Balor the pin at 11:13.

Rating: B-. Another situation where they make sure to take care of the person in a big loss as Ciampa didn’t lose a thing here (other than the match that is). What mattered here is that Ciampa was able to hang with a big time main roster star the whole way and never once felt overwhelmed by Balor. Now get us somewhere with these two and Cole for the title and we’ll be fine.

Post match Cole gets in the ring and picks up the title. Cole gives Balor a pat on the back and gets blasted by the Pele kick to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah that worked. This was AEW not wasting time with a victory lap and getting right back into things with the fallout from the biggest weekend the show has ever had. NXT has taken a step forward over the last few weeks and it feels rather well earned. Normally I would be worried about them being able to maintain momentum, because that is exactly what NXT does every single week. Another rather strong show and the future looks bright, as well as now.

Results

Kyle O’Reilly/Roderick Strong b. Keith Lee/Dominick Dijakovic – High/Low to Dijakovic

Mansoor b. Shane Thorne – Slingshot neckbreaker

Candice LeRae b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Kai used a knee brace

Lio Rush b. Akira Tozawa – Final Hour

Xia Li b. Vanessa Borne – Kick to the head

Finn Balor b. Tommaso Ciampa – 1916

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

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

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

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