IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 28, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re still closing in on Takeover: New Orleans but this time we’ll be doing it without Johnny Gargano. Last week Gargano put his NXT career on the line for another shot at the NXT Title but former partner Tommaso Ciampa cost him the title with a crutch shot to the back. Now we need to figure out what’s going on in New Orleans so let’s get to it.

Here’s Last Week’s Show

We open with a recap of last week’s title match with Gargano and wife Candice LeRae stared back at the ring in sadness as Ciampa looked at them in contempt.

Opening sequence.

Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Bate

This should be good. Dream crawls away in reverse and the fans are split, albeit more for Dream than Bate. Tyler puts on a short form clinic by sliding between Dream’s legs, jumping over him, and wristlocking Dream into a rollup for two. A dropkick has Dream livid on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Bate slipping out of a suplex but running into an elbow to the jaw. Dream gyrates a bit and grabs a reverse chinlock, followed by a reverse chinlock for good measure. Bate fights up and hits a running elbow in the corner for two as the pace picks up a bit. The airplane spin has Dream in trouble but he’s still able to elbow his way out of the reverse version.

The Tyler Driver 97 is countered with a backdrop and one heck of a spinning spinebuster gives Dream two. They slug it out from their knees with Bate getting the better of it but Dream sends him hard into the buckle. Dream goes to the top but gets crotched. Bate is shoved down anyway and the Purple Rainmaker is good for the pin at 12:08.

Rating: B-. Bate is settling into the role of the bulletproof wrestler, which is about as bad of a spot as you can get. I can’t remember the last time that he won a match and now he’s stuck losing over and over again. That being said, he’s still one of the most consistently strong performers around and it’s almost always a good performance. Dream is on another level than almost anyone else right now though and I’d be surprised if he isn’t NXT Champion by the end of the year.

Paul Ellering and the Authors of Pain want the Tag Team Titles back.

We see William Regal giving Gargano his termination papers, but Gargano will still be required to make media appearances and live events that he was already signed for. That sounds important. The referee admitted that he made a mistake and is sorry that he cost Gargano his career. Gargano seems to accept it.

Cezar Bononi vs. Adam Cole

Actually hang on a second as Cole grabs a mic and offers Bononi a spot on the team. O’Reilly throws him a shirt but it’s a ruse so Cole can stomp him down in the corner. Bononi is right back with a Michinoku Driver for two but another distraction lets Cole hit a superkick. A running knee to the back of the head ends Bononi at 2:55. Just a win to keep Cole hot until he gets a match at Takeover.

We recap Kairi Sane winning the Mae Young Classic by defeating Shayna Baszler, who has gone full villain since. Baszler has destroyed various people, typically by wrecking their arms. It seems that Baszler is on her way to the Women’s Title but Sane is trying to slow her down.

The Street Profits interview people about the upcoming Dusty Classic. The first round starts next week.

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Sane hammers away to start but Shayna takes her down by the leg. Kairi is sent to the apron and Baszler starts in on the ribs to slow Sane down. A knee to the ribs takes us to a break with Sane in trouble. Back with Baszler getting two off a gutwrench suplex before starting on the arm.

The armbar is reversed into a rollup for two and Sane chops away in the corner. Sane gets a breather off a spear and the sliding knee in the corner has Baszler in trouble. A top rope forearm gives Sane two and a spinning backfist puts Baszler down again. It’s too early for the Insane Elbow though as Baszler kicks her in the head, setting up the Kirifuda Clutch to make Sane tap at 7:22.

Rating: C+. This was exactly how the match should have gone: Baszler gets the win back and looks dominant in the process, showing that she is now better than Sane and can beat her in rather short order. The match should set Baszler up for the Women’s Title match in New Orleans, where she needs to win the title in similarly dominant fashion.

Post match Baszler calls out Ember Moon, promising to leave with either the title or her limb.

Here are Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega for a chat. Vega calls Almas Mr. 4-0 (over Gargano) and laughs about Gargano having his wife there for the last loss. Gargano was bragging about earning respect but Almas earns MONEY. Almas talks about making Johnny Wrestling Johnny Jobless but Almas is still called the NXT Champion. They go to leave but Aleister Black cuts them off. Before Black can say anything though, here’s Killian Dain for the brawl, including a running crossbody to take Black down and end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well there’s the next title match and they went out of their way to suggest that Gargano isn’t quite gone yet. I’m starting to get excited for Takeover and that’s a good sign with nearly six weeks left. The show could be a heck of a card and it’s nice to have good TV setting us up on the way there. Throw in what should be the start of a good tournament next week and things are rolling.

Results

Velveteen Dream b. Tyler Bate – Purple Rainmaker

Adam Cole b. Cezar Bononi – Running knee to the back of the head

Shayna Baszler b. Kairi Sane – Kirifuda Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

NXT
Date: February 14, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

We’ve got another packed show this week with two title matches on tap. First up the Women’s Title is on the line as Ember Moon defends against Shayna Baszler in a rematch from Takeover: Philadelphia. After that, Pete Dunne defends the United Kingdom Title against Roderick Strong. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick preview of both title matches.

Opening sequence.

United Kingdom Title: Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

Dunne is defending. Strong goes for a very early attempt at the Strong Hold but Dunne slips out as we take an early break. Back with Dunne twisting Strong’s arm around in a very strange angle and kicking it hard. They head outside with more shots to the arm as Dunne is certainly focused so far.

Strong sends him into the barricade though and gets it back inside to take it to the mat. The first backbreaker gets two and the second sends Dunne into the corner for a stomping. They head up top where Dunne cranks on the arm again to get out of a superplex. That’s fine with Strong who gets a fireman’s carry to drop Dunne onto the barricade.

We take another break and come back with Dunne grabbing the arm again. This time he cranks it back ala Lucha Underground’s Pentagon Dark, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. A snap German suplex puts Strong down again but he dives into a dropkick to give Roderick two this -time. Another backbreaker is countered into an exchange of rollups for two and both guys are down again.

Dunne scores with an enziguri for two and grabs a triangle choke, only to have Strong pull him throat first into the rope for the break. Strong takes him up top for a super Angle Slam and it’s time for another Strong Hold. That’s broken up with a snap of Strong’s fingers though and the Bitter End retains the title at 21:12.

Rating: A-. Is Dunne capable of having a bad match? I really don’t remember the last time that he’s done anything less than great and a lot of that has to do with bringing in a completely different style mostly independent of the WWE training system. Strong looked great here, but at some point he has to actually win something. The great performances can carry him a long way, but he has to actually pull off a big win.

We look back at last week’s outstanding segment with Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega. The title rematch is next week.

Velveteen Dream is ready for No Way Jose next week. He has no comment on wanting to face Tyler Bate.

Here’s Aleister Black in a suit for a chat. Black’s path has always lead him one way, starting with a sensation, left him in a dream and put him in the way of an era. The devil has been driving him and that devil is the NXT Championship. Cue Killian Dain to say the devil isn’t on Black’s back. Dain is the one on Black’s back and wants the NXT Title as well. That means Dain has crossed Black though, and now he must fade to black. Aleister challenging for the title in New Orleans makes sense and this certainly feels like the first step toward that match.

TM61 vs. Andrew Duckworth/John Skyler

Thorn drives Skyler into the corner to start and takes Duckworth down with a suplex. A few shots to Thorn’s knee get him into the corner though and trouble begins. It’s over in very short order though as Thorn grabs a belly to back suplex. The hot tag brings in Miller to start cleaning house in short order. Thunder Valley ends Skyler at 2:12. Basically a squash.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon

Moon is defending and wastes no time hammering Baszler up against the ropes. The step up enziguri and a pump kick to a kneeling Baszler have her in big trouble. It’s too early for the Eclipse though as Baszler rolls to the floor, only to be taken down by a HARD suicide dive. Moon wrecks the bad arm though and the title is in big trouble. Back in and Baszler grabs a cross armbreaker but Moon is quickly in the ropes. They head outside again with Moon’s arm getting caught in the barricade for more damage. Baszler is going off on the arm so here’s Kairi Sane for the save and the DQ at 4:46.

Rating: D+. Just angle advancement here with Baszler continuing to the monster who doesn’t play by the rules. She’ll win the title, likely in New Orleans, and whoever gets to beat her can be the giant killer. It’s a classic story (or one ripped off from Samoa Joe and AJ Styles in TNA) and it’ll work very well here.

Sane clears the ring and checks on Moon to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They’ve got some big stuff set up for the coming weeks and you can tell they’re already looking towards New Orleans, which is less than two months away. Next week intrigues me though as you could go either way with Gargano winning and facing Black, who he’s already pinned, in New Orleans or have Ciampa interfere and cost Gargano his NXT career. I’m sure they could find a way to get to the obvious grudge match though, and it’s cool to have so many of these options available.

Results

Pete Dunne b. Roderick Strong – Bitter End

TM61 b. Andrew Duckworth/John Skyler – Thunder Valley to Skyler

Shayna Baszler b. Ember Moon via DQ when Kairi Sane interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

Takeover: Philadelphia
Date: January 28, 2018
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

This one is a little bit different as we don’t really have a top match to build this show around. There’s a lot of good stuff but nothing all that great. That being said, it’s kind of NXT’s bread and butter as they know how to set up a full card instead of hanging everything onto one match. Let’s get to it.

Paul Heyman narrates the opening video, which is either brilliant or missing the point. He talks about how this city has a rich history of fighting but tonight is about the future. We see the standard clips of the big matches before Heyman caps it off with the WE ARE NXT line. Heyman is synonymous with Philadelphia but has never done anything of note in NXT, but the delivery more than makes up for it.

Nigel McGuinness is sick today so Percy gets to take up the slack. This could be a long night.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain

The Era is defending but there’s no Adam Cole due to his match later. The Authors jump the champs to start things off, sending Fish and O’Reilly outside before the opening bell. Fish bails from Razar to start so it’s Kyle coming in to take him down and strike away. That goes as long as you would expect with Razar powering out without much effort, meaning it’s time to get another breather.

Back in and Fish goes after the knee but gets knocked around by the raw power. It’s off to Akum for some shots to the head, which send the champs outside. Walking away doesn’t work as Fish is pulled back and dropped face first onto the barricade. Back in and Akum gets low bridged to the floor, allowing Fish to kick him in the leg and really take over. Fish spears Razar to the floor (I didn’t think he could pull that off) and it’s time for the double kicks to the ribs.

Some hard kicks to the leg take Akum down and O’Reilly comes back in for a leg lock. Some champion miscommunication allows Akum to hit a good back body drop for the hot tag off to Razar, even though there really aren’t any faces in this. The fall away slam/drop backwards with Fish on Razar’s back combination crushes the champs all over again but they’re right back up with the strikes in the corner.

Fish again shows off the power with an exploder suplex for two but Razar slugs them down. Akum comes back in on the bad leg but it’s a jumping knee to the head to cut off the Last Chapter. O’Reilly grabs a kneebar on Akum and Fish gets a choke on Razar, who flips him down onto Kyle for the save. Not bad.

Everyone is down so the fans start the dueling chants. It’s Akum up first and buckle bombing Fish. A buckle bomb crushes O’Reilly and the Super Collider connects but Akum can’t powerbomb Fish. Instead it’s a hurricanrana to send the Authors into each other and Fish rolls Akum up to retain at 14:56.

Rating: B. While not a great match, it was a smart match with the champs coming at them with a power game to go with the striking and submissions. The leg work was a good story to tell throughout the match as they broke the Authors down and actually went after them instead of running away and stealing a win. I liked the story here and it made for a good match.

War Machine is here.

Earlier today, Velveteen Dream promised a thirty second knockout of Kassius Ohno.

Velveteen Dream vs. Kassius Ohno

Dream now has a muscular man and a woman to help him with his entrance, including a large pillow containing his custom made mouth piece. He’s also now in boxing trunks for a rather sharp change of pace. After Ohno’s entrance, Dream boxes the buckle a little bit. The fans count and Dream hits a big right hand to knock Ohno down at 27 seconds.

Dream dances around though (how Rocky I of him) and gets forearmed in the face, knocking the mouth piece out. Back up and Dream scores with a swinging spinebuster from two as the fans are almost entirely behind Dream here. We hit the chinlock until Ohno powers him into the corner, where Dream unloads with rights and lefts. Dream shouts DREAM OVER at Ohno, followed by a top rope double ax for two more. The second chinlock goes a bit better but Ohno powers out of it again, this time slamming Dream down.

Back up and Ohno easily wins a strike off, followed by the running backsplash. A superkick cuts Ohno off and the wind up DDT (with no snap this time around) gets two, followed by Dream’s Death Valley Driver for the same. The rolling forearm drops Dream but it’s another Death Valley Driver into the Purple Rainmaker (from the post) for the pin on Ohno at 10:46.

Rating: B-. Now where can I get a pair of those shorts? Dream needed this win and that’s why you have someone like Ohno on the roster. He can hit the heck out of people but at the end of the day, he’s going to get pinned off a big finisher. Dream just has the makings of a star though as the fans buy into him, though he’s dead in the water on the main roster where Cole and company would talk about every single thing he does and how they don’t understand it. Good match here, but there was no way they could follow Dream’s two previous matches.

We recap Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler. Shayna is the newcomer/outsider as a former mixed martial artist who has choked a bunch of women out. Moon won’t stand for the bullying but Baszler says this has been her plan all along. Above all else though, this feud has shown how lame Ember is while Baszler has shown up and looks like a polished pro right out of the gate.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon

Moon is defending. Baszler easily takes her down to start and kicks Moon’s leg out. Back up and Moon scores with some dropkicks to put Baszler out on the floor. A suicide dive drops her again but Baszler takes the hair down and unloads with strikes to the face and chest. Makes sense here as they’re having Baszler easily win the stand-up fighting but getting beaten down in the wrestling.

Baszler steps on the arm like she did to Dakota Kai and it’s off to an armbar. More knees and stomps to the arm have Moon in trouble before Baszler just pulls on the arm. Moon gets in a few slaps though, followed by a kick to the chest and a springboard spinning crossbody. The Eclipse connects but it hurts the arm even more, causing Moon to writhe in pain in the corner.

The trainer comes in to check on the arm and the fans are NOT happy with the delay. Baszler finally gets up and tries a cross armbreaker, only to have Moon get her feet on the ropes. The armbreaker goes on again in the middle of the ring with Baszler even pulling the legs back towards the middle, just in case. Somehow Moon rolls her over though and stacks Baszler up to retain at 10:11, sending Mauro into a huge MAMA MIA.

Rating: B. Moon escaped here and that’s likely to set up a rematch where Baszler wins the title. I get the idea of not putting the title on Baszler just yet but Moon needs to get better in a hurry. They told a good story with the ending as the inexperienced Baszler was too focused on one move and left herself vulnerable, which makes Ember look like a veteran who might have lost the physical battle but won the mental game. At the end of the day, the lack of ever defeating Asuka is hard to overcome and it’s weighing her down a lot. This should help her though and having to fight from underneath is a good story for her.

Moon is helped out but Baszler sneaks up from behind and grabs the choke.

Ricochet (billed as Trevor “Ricochet” Mann) is here.

We recap Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole. Black knocked Cole out of the #1 contenders tournament by kicking him in the head, only to have Cole cost Black the tournament final. A match was set up but William Regal made it Extreme Rules, which might play more towards Cole’s strengths.

Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black

Extreme Rules. Black’s entrance is surrounded by candles and smoke this time around, making it look even better. Black easily wins an early strike off and moonsaults into the seated position. Cole grabs a chair and there’s the ECW chant that you knew was coming. That’s taken away in no time and Black has a seat on the chair as Cole needs to come up with a better idea.

Black follows him out this time and gets caught with a few shots, allowing Cole to throw in some weapons. Both guys find kendo sticks but Black throws his away and says bring it on. He’s either very skilled or very stupid. A few kicks to the chest have Black in trouble but the springboard moonsault is caned out of the air in a good looking crash. Cole’s Backstabber with the kendo stick (White Russian Backstabber?) gets two and it’s table time.

Black breaks up a superplex attempt and gets slammed off the top onto a trashcan. A running knee drops Cole again and Black sets up another table next to the first. That’s not enough though as Black pulls out a ladder but Cole kicks him down and sets the unfolded latter in the corner. Cole is bleeding from somewhere (might be his hand) and hammers away in the corner. Black fights up and drops Cole onto the ladder in a good looking crash.

With Cole down, Black goes up top but Cole throws him a chair and superkicks it into Black’s head, sending him through the tables. Mauro: “HOLY BLEEP INDEED!” That’s only good for two so Cole loads up two chairs next to each other. Black is back up though and hits an AA onto the top of the chairs (FREAKING OW MAN!!!) to probably break Cole’s back. A sliding knee into the chair into Cole’s face gets two as Fish and O’Reilly run in for the save. High/Low on the floor drops Black and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

Cue Sanity for the save (makes sense) with Killian Dain taking everyone out with a suicide dive. With Black still down, Cole tries a suplex through the table. That’s broken up as well and the double knees (ala Sasha Banks) drives Cole through instead. Fans: “MAMA MIA!” Back in and Cole scores with his own superkick and grabs a chair. Of course he walks right into Black Mass (to the shoulder) for the pin at 21:58.

Rating: A-. This kept building and turned into a star making performance for both guys. Black is on a roll at this point and that Black Mass should put him into the title match at Takeover: New Orleans. This was better than I thought it would be as it started slowly but built into a brawl with Black finally being the last man standing by the end. Very good stuff here and easily the best part of the night so far.

Ethan Carter III, billed as EC3, is here and officially confirmed as a new signing.

We recap Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. Almas has righted the ship after months of mediocrity, mainly thanks to the addition of Zelina Vega. Gargano had a nightmare of a 2017 and is on the comeback trail, finally turning himself back into Johnny Wrestling. Tonight is his chance at redemption, both by winning the title and beating Almas, who was a big part of his downward spiral.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Almas is defending and is played to the ring by a masked mariachi band. He also wears a mask to the ring but takes it off before getting inside. They start with a technical sequence and wrestle to a standoff as we see Johnny’s wife Candice LeRae in the crowd. Neither finisher can connect early on and Almas bails into the corner while waving a finger at Johnny. We start again with Gargano wrestling him down into an armbar but one heck of a chop gets the champ out of trouble.

The announcers recap the Almas story of letting his career fall apart as he gets sent outside but manages to avoid the running flip dive off the apron. Back in and Almas bends Johnny’s neck across the top rope, followed by the chinlock. Johnny fights up but gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Almas misses the top rope stomp though and gets suplexed into the corner. A middle rope swinging Downward Spiral gives Johnny two and the slingshot spear is good for the same.

As usual, Vega has some awesome facial expressions as you can feel her panicking on the near falls, which sell them that much more. Almas catches him with a spinning faceplant for two before going up. The regular moonsault doesn’t work but Almas lands on his feet and hits a standing version for two more in a smart sequence. Johnny’s superkick gets the same and they’re both down again.

Gargano puts him on the top but can’t hit the sunset bomb. Almas misses the running knees in the corner but the slingshot spear is countered into a faceplant. A reverse tornado DDT gets two more and both guys are spent again. Excellent sequence. Almas can’t hit the hammerlock DDT on the apron so Gargano slingshot DDTs him onto the apron instead. That’s only good for a very close two back inside and Almas blocks the Gargano Escape. The running knees are broken up and there’s the Lawn Dart to rock Almas again.

Vega’s distraction lets Almas grab the DDT but that’s reversed into a small package for a VERY close two. A low superkick gives Johnny two, with the camera panning over to tease interference but it just shows Vega panicking at the near fall. Almas cuts him off on top and it’s the top rope double stomp onto the apron, followed by a hard toss to send Gargano into the apron again. Back in and the double knees are good for two and Almas is shocked. To be fair, I am too.

They fight back to their feet and Johnny somehow grabs a hurricanrana. The Gargano Escape goes on and Almas can’t spin out. Vega grabs Almas’ hand and the distraction lets Almas rake Johnny’s eyes. The hammerlock DDT is broken up and a backdrop puts Almas on the floor for a suicide dive of all things. Vega is back up with a hurricanrana to send Johnny into the steps though and the hammerlock DDT…..gets two. They had me on that one.

Gargano rolls outside and Vega goes after him, drawing Candice over the barricade for the brawl. She chases Vega to the back, drawing a THANK YOU CANDICE chant. The slingshot DDT gets a VERY close two and the Gargano Escape goes on again….but the foot is on the ropes. They head to the apron again and Almas hits the running knees to drive Johnny’s head into the post, leaving him with the far away look in his eyes. A draping hammerlock DDT FINALLY ends Gargano at 32:22.

Rating: A+. Oh yeah that was amazing. They had me multiple times on the near falls and I never once got bored throughout the whole thing. Gargano is ready to be NXT Champion at some point and not having Ciampa interfere was the right decision as their match doesn’t need to be for the title. It’s an epic back and forth match with the great near falls being traded near the end. It takes a lot to suck me in like that and they did it to perfection here. Outstanding match.

Post match Candice comes back to take Johnny to the back but they stop for the pose on the stage….AND TOMMASO CIAMPA BREAKS A CRUTCH OVER JOHNNY’S BACK! Ciampa walks away as Candice tends to Johnny to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Is Takeover capable of having a bad show? Or even a bad match for that matter? Like I said coming in, this felt more like a collection of matches and it still blew me away. The worst match was probably Dream vs. Ohno and even that was above average. Nothing was following that main event though and now you have a double main event of Black vs. Almas and Gargano vs. Ciampa set for New Orleans. That alone makes for a great show and if they have a strong undercard (War Machine vs. Undisputed Era and two others would be more than enough), it could be an all time classic. Great show here of course.

Results

Undisputed Era b. Authors of Pain – Rollup to Razar

Velveteen Dream b. Kassius Ohno – Purple Rainmaker

Ember Moon b. Shayna Baszler – Rollup

Aleister Black b. Adam Cole – Black Mass

Andrade Cien Almas b. Johnny Gargano – Hanging hammerlock DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 24, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Philadelphia and that means most of the show is already set. There’s always the chance of throwing some stuff in via a backstage segment but odds are we’ve seen the card announced. Tonight is likely going to be heavy on talking, which isn’t a bad thing around here. Let’s get to it.

With his back to the camera and purple smoke filling the room, Velveteen Dream talks about how we all dream. Everyone wants to be NXT Champion, including Johnny Gargano. Sure Johnny is a fine choice, but why would anyone pick him when they can pick Dream? Tonight, a dream will be over. Good stuff here, as Dream knows how to bring the atmosphere.

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Cezar Bononi

For once Bononi doesn’t tower over his opponent. Jose shoulders him down to start and hits a quick atomic drop. Bononi fights out of an armbar and hits a pumphandle slam, followed by a chinlock. Back up and Jose scores with some punches to the jaw, followed by a powerslam. The pop up right hand (Toma, which means Take That) ends Bononi at 3:20.

Rating: D. That’s quite the abrupt loss for Bononi, who has been a much bigger deal as of late and not someone you would expect to lose in such short fashion. Also, what’s up with right hands becoming finishers of late? Mojo Rawley uses one and Alexa Bliss has won with them a few times as well. Are they that out of finishers? Either way, it’s nice to see Jose back as I was always a fan.

Video on Adam Cole costing Aleister Black a shot at being #1 contender, setting up their Extreme Rules match at Takeover. As usual, this did a great job of making me buy into the emotion and that’s exactly the point.

Bianca Belair vs. LaToya Alstott

Belair’s tights say Est because she’s the baddest, the best, the toughest, the smartest etc. The LET’S GO JOBBER chants begin as LaToya’s rollup out of the corner is easily blocked. Belair throws her around and shrugs off some kicks to the ribs, setting up a HARD forearm to the jaw. A double chickenwing faceplant puts LaToya down but she gets in a kick to the head for a breather. LaToya goes up though and dives into the hair whip to the ribs. An Alleyoop finishes LaToya at 3:37.

Rating: D+. Belair continues to be impressive with some great athleticism and power (though I still don’t like the hair thing). She’s similar to Shelton Benjamin with the awesome athletic background and that’s a very good thing for her. LaToya was your standard jobber and didn’t show anything of note, but she wasn’t supposed to here.

Earlier today, Shayna Baszler and Ember Moon sat down for an interview. Ember talks about the code of the women’s division and Shayna having no respect. Baszler laughs it off and says that it was never about hurting people but rather the end goal. She saw Moon go up against the undefeated….and lose. Moon kept going and accomplished her dream, but when she wakes up at Takeover, she’ll see Baszler walking away with that dream. The one thing Baszler wants everyone to know: they’ll have to get used to it.

A few things here. First of all, I know this was heavily scripted, but Baszler came off as more natural and that’s because she’s already got the character down. She’s the bully who doesn’t care about anything that came before her and just wants the title. That’s it and she’s nailing that character. Moon doesn’t exactly have a character and that showed here, along with sounding very scripted. Also, this is almost exactly AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe from TNA when Joe disrespected the X-Division and destroyed Christopher Daniels. Not a bad story, but it’s about as copied as you can get.

We get the second part of the TM61 video, this time focusing on Shane Thorn’s knee injury. It’s kept him (and the team) on the shelf for about six months but now they’re back to prove that they’re the best team around. They know their greatness and HARLEY RACE endorses them. Well I’m certainly sold. They’re back in the ring next week.

Authors of Pain vs. Chris Brown/Jason Smith

No match as the Authors destroy the jobbers and promise to do the same to the Undisputed Era. The Super Collider makes things even worse.

Next week: Nikki Cross vs. Lacey Evans.

Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano

The winner faces Andrade Cien Almas at Takeover and they have A LOT of time here. Dream wears a Johnny Wrestling shirt to the ring to play some mind games. The fans are split as they hit the mat to start with neither being able to get the advantage. Dream throws him away and poses, mocking Gargano for crying before. That earns him a Gargano Escape but Dream gets to the floor, albeit with a sore arm, as we take a break.

Back with Gargano knocking the bad arm into the announcers’ table and cannonballing off the apron to take Dream down. The slingshot spear is countered with a hanging swinging neckbreaker though and Dream uppercuts him in the back. They head outside again with Dream slugging away and we take another break. Back again with Johnny hitting an enziguri but getting superkicked away.

Johnny bounces off the ropes though and clotheslines Dream down for a delayed two. Neither can hit a headscissors so Dream grabs that Sister Abigail DDT for two of his own. Johnny shoves him away again but gets crotched on top to slow things down all over again. A super Death Valley Driver plants Johnny again (and that’s a MAMA MIA from Mauro) for two more with the fans hanging on these kickouts. The Purple Rainmaker hits knees (thanks to Dream’s left arm being so banged up) and it’s the Gargano Escape to make Dream tap at 19:14.

Rating: A-. The arm stuff was a good story and the idea of Johnny never giving up and fighting the whole way through was the perfect way to send him on to the title match. Dream losing again is somewhat questionable as he needs to win a big match, but in this case it fits the story of Johnny needing to eliminate all doubts. It should be a great match and thankfully it was set up by a great match.

Post match Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega come out and drop Gargano with a shot to the head. Johnny gets tossed to the floor but comes back in with the slingshot DDT and poses with the title as Mauro plugs everything on Saturday to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show did its job rather well, especially with the NXT Title feud. I want to see that match a lot more now as they sold me on the story they’re trying to tell. They’ve also set it up where Ciampa returning to screw Gargano out of his dream or Ciampa returning later to be the big challenger both work, and that’s a great place to be. The rest of the show wasn’t as strong, but everything else is already set for Saturday anyway.

Results

No Way Jose b. Cezar Bononi – Toma

Bianca Belair b. LaToya Alstott – Alleyoop

Johnny Gargano b. Velveteen Dream – Gargano Escape

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: January 17, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

Opening sequence.

Heavy Machinery vs. Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss

Roderick Strong vs. Fabian Aichner

Strong tries a headlock to start as the fans seem split. A leg lariat gives Strong two but Aichner powerslams him out of the air as we take a break. Back with Aichner holding an abdominal stretch until Strong fights out. The Angle Slam is broken up so Strong settles for his first backbreaker. Aichner is right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker of his own and goes up, only to dive into another backbreaker. The Strong Hold (now a Liontamer) is good for the tap out at 7:37.

Post match Strong says he wants Lars Sullivan, who had already said he wanted to face Killian Dain. So we might be looking at a three way?

Aliyah vs. Lacey Evans

William Regal makes the title match for Takeover. Zelina Vega comes in to say Velveteen Dream deserves the shot more than Johnny Gargano so they should have a #1 contenders match.

We look back at the Undisputed Era attacking Sanity to avoid the title defense last week.

Authors of Pain vs. Street Profits

Results

Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss b. Heavy Machinery – Rollup to Moss

Roderick Strong b. Fabian Aichner – Strong Hold

Lacey Evans b. Aliyah – Right hand

Authors of Pain b. Street Profits – Last Chapter to Ford

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: January 10, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re on some hallowed ground tonight as NXT heads to the former home of WCW Saturday Night. The next three shows will be all about setting up Takeover: Philadelphia, which means we need some more matches announced. A good chunk of the card is already set but NXT somehow manages to make the shows building to the big show entertaining as well. Let’s get to it.

The Undisputed Era is ready to start their year of dominance by taking out Sanity once and for all tonight. Adam Cole is ready to start becoming the next NXT Champion. Simple and to the point here with something that you would expect them to say. Just ignore the whole “the beginning of the era of undisputed” making O’Reilly sound like Yoda.

Opening sequence.

The ring is turned to the side here, meaning wrestlers come to a corner when they come down the aisle. It’s an awesome visual and feels different, which is where NXT excels.

Shayna Baszler vs. Dakota Kai

This is both of their NXT in-ring debuts. Before the match we see a clip of Baszler randomly attacking Performance Center trainees for fun because that’s the kind of villain she is. Baszler drives her into the corner to start and takes Kai down into an armbar. A stomp bends Kai’s arm at a NASTY angle and that’s a referee stoppage at 1:23. Total squash and Baszler looked awesome here.

Post match Baszler stays on her until Ember Moon makes the save.

The Authors of Pain are ready to take care of the Street Profits. Since when can the Authors speak English?

General Manager William Regal talks to Baszler, saying that’s not going to get her a title shot. Baszler: “We done here?”

Kassius Ohno vs. Raul Mendoza

They even shake hands to start in a really old school move. Ohno grabs some rollups for a few early near falls but Mendoza is too fast. Mendoza hurricanranas him into a side roll but gets his head elbowed off without too much effort. An inverted Gory Special has Mendoza in more trouble until he reverses into a victory roll.

Back up and Ohno charges into a forearm in the corner, followed by a springboard spinning armdrag to drop Kassius again. Mendoza is showing off some very nice high flying here, which is exactly what he should be doing in a match like this. Ohno shrugs him off though and the High Tension Elbow Strike (running jumping elbow to the back of the head) ends Mendoza at 4:26.

Rating: C. This is the kind of thing that both guys needed. Ohno isn’t exactly a star in NXT but he’s great for a role like this: making people look good and using his experience to put together some better matches. Mendoza on the other hand is a rather good high flier and can showcase himself well around here. Mentioning that he’s been in so many matches against top quality talent shows that they’re likely to give him a win soon, which could lead somewhere for him.

Zelina Vega held a mini press conference saying she and Andrade Cien Almas aren’t worried about Johnny Gargano after beating him twice. That’s a fairy tale and Almas is reality. Vega is amazing at this condescending heel stuff and she’s made Almas that much better.

Johnny Gargano is thrilled to be #1 contender but here’s Velveteen Dream to interrupt. Dream wants a thank you for allowing Gargano to get his spot in the competition because Dream would have won it with ease. Gargano needs to thank him because Dream deserves his spot.

The Street Profits loudly come into Regal’s office and think they deserve a Tag Team Title shot. Regal seems to agree so next week it’s the Street Profits vs. the Authors of Pain in a #1 contenders match. More loudness ensues and Regal smiles.

Lio Rush vs. Lars Sullivan

This could hurt a lot. Rush dodges to start and even slaps Lars in the face. A kick to the jaw staggers Sullivan for a bit but he pulls Rush into the ropes to take over. Rush gets whipped hard into the corner but Lars misses a charge. That’s about it for Rush though as one heck of a clothesline turns him inside out, followed by the Freak Accident for the pin at 1:54.

Post match Sullivan talks about destroying everyone until he ran into a different kind of force. That was Killian Dain and Sullivan wants to see him again. For now though, Rush takes a super Freak Accident to really hammer home the punishment.

The Undisputed Era has attacked Sanity in the back. The Era says that’s it for the title shot.

Here’s the Undisputed Era in the arena for a chat. Cole thinks they’re missing something and Kyle asks where Sanity is. Maybe they forgot about their title shot tonight. Cole says they kicked the chaos out of Sanity but here’s a livid Nikki Cross trying to get at the Era. Referees hold her back but so Regal comes out to cut the Era off again. The boss says the titles are on the line tonight and here’s Roderick Strong to say he’ll fight right now. Strong offers to go find a partner but someone interrupts to say he’ll do it.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Roderick Strong/Aleister Black

The teams are at different corners than the usual WWE formula with the champs on the left side closer to the hard camera. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen the corners changed in WWE. Fish and O’Reilly are defending and get cleared to the floor, sending us to a break before the bell.

Back with the bell ringing and Black kicking away at both champs. A knee to Kyle’s head gets two and Strong adds a dive to the floor. Back in and Black’s Oklahoma roll gets two on Kyle, followed by an armbar to keep him in trouble. Strong comes in for a chinlock as the champs are still looking for their first offense. Fish finally takes Black’s knee out and we take a break.

Back with Kyle holding the knee and Fish adding a slingshot hilo for two. An exploder suplex gives Fish two but Black kicks O’Reilly away. There’s the double tag to bring in Strong and Fish as everything breaks down. The champs’ Ax and Smash is broken up with a jumping knee to the face and everyone is down. Cue Cole to go after Black, who stalks him into the crowd. Back inside, the champs go High/Low to retain at 11:50.

Rating: C+. This didn’t feel like the standard NXT main event but maybe they’re saving the Sanity match for another time. It was entertaining for what it was though and thankfully NXT is smart enough to not put the titles on a thrown together team like you would see so often on the main shows. Fine main event, but it felt more like a big time house show.

Post match Black comes in for the brawl but gets taken out. An AA onto an open chair knocks Black cold. The Era poses but here’s Regal to talk about Philadelphia’s extreme history. At Takeover: Philadelphia, Cole vs. Black will be an Extreme Rules match. Cole and Regal stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show felt a little off from the norm for NXT but it still did everything it needed to do. The big story here was the arrival of Baszler (nailed it) and some more matches being teased for Takeover. NXT can fill in the gaps over the next few weeks and that’s where they shine. Good enough show, but it didn’t feel like it had the same flow that most of their episode do.

Results

Shayna Baszler b. Dakota Kai via referee stoppage

Kassius Ohno b. Raul Mendoza – High Tension Elbow Strike

Lars Sullivan b. Lio Rush – Freak Accident

Undisputed Era b. Roderick Strong/Aleister Black – High/Low to Strong

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

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

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

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

Mae Young Classic Finals
Date: September 12, 2017
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

We’re already set to wrap up what feels like a very fast tournament. Things have been good so far and the finals have the potential to be a heck of a match. Tonight it’s Kairi Sane (the awesome pirate) vs. Shayna Baszler, the mixed martial artist who could knock anyone’s head off. Let’s get to it.

Before we get into the show, I’m going to throw in a bonus. This is a six woman tag that aired on the special preview and was originally announced as airing on this show. I took a look at it last night but it did NOT air on Tuesday’s show, just in case there’s any confusion. Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix are on the call from the original tapings.

Santana Garrett/Sarah Logan/Marti Belle vs. Jazzy Gabert/Kay Lee Ray/Tessa Blanchard

Jazzy gets a great reaction and the fans chant for her as Tessa and Sarah start things off. Sarah hiptosses her down to start and gets in a knee to the face for no cover. Instead it’s off to Garrett to take a forearm, allowing the tag off to Ray. Santana wristdrags Ray and Tessa down at the same time as we’re waiting for Jazzy here.

Marti comes in and you can hear the fans lose some energy. A not great headscissors sends Ray into the corner but she stops a charging (not really as she had already pulled up) Belle with a forearm to the jaw. It’s off to Jazzy and the fans ROAR as she comes in. Oh yeah I think they’ve got something here. Three spinning backfists set up a torture rack before Gabert just tosses her into the corner with a good looking crash.

Tessa comes back in for a running elbow to the back but a jawbreaker puts her down. That means it’s off to Garrett vs. Gabert for the main event of the match. Garrett gets in a hurricanrana out of the corner followed by a superkick to put Jazzy down to one knee. Ray Stuns Gabert by mistake (erg) and Tessa plants Logan with a hammerlock DDT. Jazzy is back up though and it’s a heck of a Dominator to put Garrett away at 6:05.

Rating: B. Total and complete star making performance here for Gabert, who they’ll likely have to sign at this point based on the reaction alone. Tessa and Garrett looked great as well and if Garrett is interested in signing, she’ll be there in a heartbeat. Belle was her usual nothing self and Logan just didn’t get time to do anything. Ray was fine too but this was ALL about Gabert with Santana being an easy second.

The winners pose and it’s a PLEASE SIGN GABERT chant. HHH comes out and listens to the cheers but says they did this at the Cruiserweight Classic and he has a budget. He puts over the tournament and says it’s time for the women to have a pot of gold to chase after just like the men. The tournament was for the fans so thank you all very much.

Now we’re on to the main show.

As you might expect, we open with a long recap of the tournament with a focus on Sane and Baszler.

Renee Young is in the arena to hype up the finals and throw us to a package of people arriving earlier. Stephanie McMahon, Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch among others were here to see the finals in person.

Video on Shayna Baszler.

Beth Phoenix, Dana Warrior, Alundra Blayze and Mauro Ranallo are all here.

Video on how Sane and Baszler both got here.

Mae Young Classic Finals: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

We get the Big Match Intros with Lillian Garcia doing a special introduction. Baszler grabs a quick rear naked choke to start but gets rolled up for two and a break. A walk up the corner into a headscissors drops Shayna again but one heck of a kick to the head sends Sane outside. Shayna gets in a running knee from the apron, followed by a kick to the arm for good measure.

The rolling gutwrench suplexes give Shayna two and it’s time to crank on the arm again. Shayna smacks her in the face so Sana chops away, only to get caught with a running knee to the chest. A spear has Shayna’s ribs in trouble though and it’s a basement dropkick to keep Baszler in trouble. Sane grabs a bodyscissors but misses the sliding forearm in the corner. Instead it’s Sane going up top and diving into the rear naked choke to put her in real trouble.

Elbows to the ribs break her out though and a spinning backfist drops Baszler again. It’s still too early for the elbow as Shayna catches her on top for a slugout. A Kimura on top is broken up with shoulders to the ribs, followed by a top rope double stomp to the chest for two. Now the running forearm to the ribs knocks Baszler down, setting up the elbow for the pin and the tournament at 11:50.

Rating: B. Good match, though this really felt like it was a match that they had to rush through due to time. It never hit that great level that they felt capable of hitting and it felt kind of disappointing as a result. Granted putting this in front of the general WWE crowd wasn’t the best idea but putting it down at Full Sail or in Brooklyn would have just been too logical. Still good though.

HHH, Stephanie (I guess her dad is fine already) and Sara Amato come out for the trophy presentation.

Overall Rating: B. We’ll go with that for the entire tournament too. I did like what I saw and I like the much faster release schedule than the Mae Young Classic. They never quite hit that level they were shooting for though and it made things feel a little bit disappointing. That being said, this was about restocking the shelves and there’s a ridiculous amount of talent ready to take over the women’s division. It’s worth checking out as you’re in and out with nine rather short shows and you’ll get some good action. Solid tournament, but it’s not as good as the cruiserweights.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

Mae Young Classic Episode #8
Date: September 4, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

It’s semifinals time and that means we should be in for some nice, long matches. It wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t get a bonus match thrown in as well and that wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Hopefully they can live up to the expectations as the matches have been good but nothing great. The extra time should help a lot so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week.

JR and Lita offer a preview.

Video on Shayna Baszler, who held that choke longer last week to send a message.

Video on Mercedes Martinez, who says this is the culmination of her career. We also see clips of Martinez training Baszler, which offers a very nice bonus aspect to the match. Why wasn’t that mentioned before?

Semifinals: Shayna Baszler vs. Mercedes Martinez

Baszler shakes hands this time. Martinez isn’t as polite and slugs away at Baszler with right hands and chops in the corner. A kick to the ribs is blocked but Martinez just lets it go, seemingly in an attempt to get inside Baszler’s head. The threat of a running kick sets up a chinlock, which isn’t a rear naked choke no matter how much JR seems to think it is.

Baszler sends her into the corner and hammers away before getting two off a gutwrench suplex. A kneebar has Martinez in trouble until she finally kicks away. This time it’s Martinez grabbing a hold of her own with something like a Regal Stretch before they forearm it out from their knees. Baszler gets the better of it but Mercedes fights up into a fisherman’s suplex to put Baszler down. The fisherman’s buster is countered into the rear naked choke and Mercedes finally taps at 8:10.

Rating: B. Baszler winning is the absolute right call, especially with the Four Horsewomen battle coming up. Martinez doesn’t have a background in WWE but they’ve treated her as a major deal, which makes it more impressive to have Baszler beat her. Good match here, which is becoming the trend around here.

They hug post match with Stephanie McMahon (well duh), HHH and Sara Amoto out to congratulate Baszler.

Video on Toni Storm, who is here to win.

Video on Kairi Sane, who promises to win. I was hoping she was here for a flagon of rum and a treasure hunt.

Semifinals: Kairi Sane vs. Toni Storm

Sane takes Toni down and rides her for a bit until Storm slips out of a chinlock. That’s fine with Kairi who hits a running dropkick and starts smiling. Storm goes with a shot to the face for two, only to get pulled to the floor with her back landing on the apron. Kairi adds a big dive to put Storm down again and it’s off to a Boston crab.

The sliding forearm is blocked with some raised boots though (smart) and it’s the running hip attack rocking Kairi. Storm tries another one but takes a clothesline to the ribs (not quite a spear) to cut her off again. They slug it out with Kairi getting the better of it but she gets caught on top. Storm gets two off a fisherman’s suplex.

It’s off to a flip over armbar (ala Tommaso Ciampa) with Toni CRANKING on that thing. Kairi finally rolls over to the other side for two but can’t follow up. Toni’s top rope legdrop hits the back but she bangs herself up at the same time. Kairi kicks her down again and hits the top rope elbow for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B+. This might have been the best match of the tournament so far, or at least the hardest hitting. Kairi winning was pretty obvious and there was no secret to the fact that it was going to be her vs. Baszler, almost from the beginning. Storm looked great again here and if they don’t sign her, they’re dumber than I thought.

Sane gets the victory celebration as well. Baszler comes out for the showdown with JR getting in the usually awesome summary line: the one with the biggest fight in the dog is fighting the biggest dog in the yard.

Overall Rating: A-. I’m ready for the finals and that’s a good thing. The two matches were both quite good and I want to see the winners beat the heck out of each other next week. They’ve built both of them up as unbeatable, which is what makes for an awesome showdown in the end. Really good good show here and the best thing they’ve done so far.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

Mae Young Classic Episode #7
Date: September 4, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

We’re down to the final eight and that means four quarterfinal matches tonight. You can probably guess what’s coming for the final four but that’s what makes these rounds exciting: there’s the chance of a big upset and that could change everything. Things were a lot better in the second round and hopefully that’s the case here too. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of how all eight made it to the quarterfinals.

No bio videos here, though to be fair you should know who they are at this point.

Quarterfinals: Abbey Laith vs. Mercedes Martinez

Abbey takes her down in a test of strength to start until a hard palm strike to the jaw slows Laith down. Mercedes headlocks her for a bit before a heck of a slap staggers Abbey again. A spinning kick is countered so Abbey just does the splits instead of getting dropped again. Laith kicks at the arm a bit and JR brings up the two years off that Mercedes needed for a shoulder injury. That little background information often helps things so much and I wish we got more of it in WWE.

Abbey chops her back and kicks Mercedes in the head for two. That just earns Abbey a hard whip into the post and they fight to the apron with Lita joining the IT’S THE HARDEST PART OF THE RING club. Abbey kicks her out to the floor (which hasn’t been the case very often in the tournament) for a crossbody to leave both of them laying.

Back in and Abbey tries to get fired up but Mercedes sends her outside for a breather. That goes nowhere so Abbey grabs a bridging German suplex for two, drawing a heck of a scream out of Laith on the kickout. Mercedes grabs the fisherman’s buster for the pin at 8:57 in another fast finish.

Rating: B. These finishes coming out of nowhere aren’t doing much for me and they’re becoming a pattern around here. Mercedes advancing is the right call as she’s been treated as a veteran killer so sending her to the semifinals makes sense. Good match here too, which is all you can ask for.

Johnny Gargano is here and you know what that means.

Quarterfinals: Candice LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler

The winner gets Martinez in the semifinals. Shayna wastes no time with a hard knee lift and looks like she’s toying with Candice to start. A kick misses though and Shayna crotches herself to give Candice a breather. Shayna gets sent outside for a suicide dive into a DDT (cool) to drop her on her head. Back in and we hit an Octopus hold on Baszler, followed by the Gargano Escape for a nice touch. Baszler calmly powers her up for a side slam and tries a super gutwrench suplex. Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride is easily countered into the rear naked choke for the tap at 3:11.

Rating: C+. They were getting going here until the very sudden ending, though this was the right idea. The idea behind Baszler is that she can finish you in the blink of an eye and that’s exactly what they should be going for with her. LeRae is going to be fine wherever she goes and that suicide DDT was freaking sweet. Throw in the submission tease and they had me going a few times here. Give this more time though and it’s instantly better.

Baszler won’t let go of the hold, to the point where I thought they were going to reverse the decision for a second. She even kicks at LeRae as the doctors check on her. Now that’s how you book a heel.

Quarterfinals: Piper Niven vs. Toni Storm

Storm takes the far bigger Niven into the corner and gives her a playful tap on the jaw. For some reason Toni thinks a test of strength is a good idea with Niven taking her down. Storm bridges up and Niven can’t break it for an impressive strength display. Like, a very impressive one as Toni isn’t that big. They bridge up at the same time and shake hands upside down for a cute bit.

Niven powers her down and gets two off a splash, followed by Toni getting the same off a crossbody. Two more splashes give Piper the same so Toni grabs a Backstabber (popular move in this tournament) for a breather. A German suplex is countered into the Michinoku Driver for two and Piper is stunned. She tries the Vader Bomb, only to get caught in a German superplex. A top rope legdrop sends Storm on at 7:36.

Rating: C+. I don’t think anyone was buying the idea that Niven was anything more than a dragon for someone to slay. Storm is as good of an option as anyone else as she has a great look and feels like someone they want to push the heck out of, especially over time. Good enough match here and while Storm isn’t making it to the finals, she’s getting noticed, which is often more important.

Baszler’s fellow Four Horsewomen are proud of her win but here are Bayley, Charlotte and Becky Lynch for the staredown. Rousey: “Anytime, anyplace.” Say…..New Orleans perhaps? Maybe early April?

Funaki is here.

Quarterfinals: Kairi Sane vs. Dakota Kai

Kairi headlocks her down to start and the fans seem pleased at an early standoff. A spinning backfist misses and Kai gives her a martial arts pose. Kairi takes her into the corner for some hard chops as this is getting physical. The fans are behind Kairi but get quieted down with a running kick to the jaw in the corner. Kairi is tired of getting hit in the face so she spears Kai down for a breather.

Kai hits another running kick in the corner but gets sent into the corner. Kairi can’t hit a superplex but can avoid a top rope double stomp with Kai tweaking the knee on the landing. A top rope Phenomenal Forearm gives Kairi two but Kai kicks her down again. Another running kick in the corner misses though and it’s an Alabama Slam it’s the top rope elbow to send Sane to the semifinals at 7:42.

Rating: B. I’m starting to get the appeal of Sane and a lot of it is due to having her do stuff like this. Kai was very game here and that made for a more entertaining match. People like Sane are going to get more out of this than by squashing someone so it’s definitely the right call. Kai will have a job in WWE if she wants one but this is Sane’s tournament to win. Maybe.

The semifinals are set:

Kairi Sane

Toni Storm

Mercedes Martinez

Shayna Baszler

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure what it says that I’m more interested in the Four Horsewomen battle than the tournament but that was definitely one of the big draws of this whole thing. The final four are interesting and while you can almost pencil in Sane vs. Baszler for the whole thing, that’s not the worst result in the world. Good show here and I’m fired up for the last two shows.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

Mae Young Classic Episode #6
Date: September 4, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

It’s time to finish up the second round and get us down to the final eight. That means we have some big names facing some other big names on this show and that should be a lot of fun. I’ve managed to avoid as many spoilers as possible and it’s amazing how much more entertaining a show like this can be when that’s the case. Let’s get to it.

We open with the standard recap of the previous show and tonight’s preview.

Opening sequence.

We see Ronda Rousey and the Four Horsewomen arriving earlier. Gee I wonder who is making the finals.

Video on Toni Storm, who wants to fight and win.

Video on Lacey Evans, who is everything a modern woman is supposed to be.

Second Round: Toni Storm vs. Lacey Evans

They fight over a headlock to start with Toni getting the better of it. Lacey grabs one of her own with a fairly serious look on her face until a kick to the chest puts her down again. Storm tries a bit too flashy hip attack and gets rolled up for two for her efforts. A legsweep from the apron into a slingshot elbow gives Lacey two and it’s time to work on the arm.

Storm goes back to the strikes to get a breather and it’s a Backstabber (not a Codebreaker JR) to put Lacey down in the corner. Lacey comes back with a good looking swinging neckbreaker, only to walk into Strong Zero (modified White Noise onto the knee) to send Storm on at 5:08.

Rating: C-. I’m digging Storm (good look, strong enough work) so far as she’s got a bit of a charisma that is helping her stand out. Hopefully she’s sticking around for awhile as I could see her going somewhere with the right coaching. Evans’ gimmick is kind of odd as she has the serious military background but looks like one of the Andrews Sisters in the ring. I liked her when I saw her live but it’s not quite working this time.

Video on Mia Yim, who has been working specifically to be the best.

Video on Shayna Baszler, who has combat experience.

Second Round: Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler

Of note: Baszler, one of MMA’s Four Horsewomen, walks past Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley with only a passing glance. An exchange of kicks naturally goes to Baszler (JR: “Some people enjoy going to the mall. I think she’d go to the mall just to beat people up.”) but Mia knocks her outside for a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and Baszler rolls some gutwrench suplexes for two but gets caught in the Tarantula (with JR calling Tajiri a handsome rascal).

An ankle lock cuts Mia off again but she’s right back with some strikes to the face for two. Not that it matters as Baszler knees her hard in the face for a knockdown and it’s right back to the ankle lock. Mia kicks her way to freedom and is able to powerbomb Baszler for two because ankle injuries aren’t a thing. Just in case you thought it was a thing, Mia tries a 450 but gets caught in a rear naked choke for the tap at 5:36.

Rating: B-. Lack of selling aside, I’m sad to see Mia go out so early. For a long time I never got her appeal but she grew on me a lot during the tournament. That being said, Baszler is someone they’re going to push very hard in this thing due to the Four Horsewomen affiliation. It would surprise me if we didn’t see a four on four match at Wrestlemania and that would be just fine.

Post match Shayna celebrates with her friends before going over to the wrestling Horsewomen to throw up the hand signs. Fans: “YES! YES! YES!”

Video on Dakota Kai, who is a fast striker. A striker? In a women’s wrestling tournament?

Video on Rhea Ripley, who is big and strong but young.

Second Round: Dakota Kai vs. Rhea Ripley

The much bigger Ripley works on a headlock before diving over Kai, who snaps off some armdrags. A dropkick sends Ripley into the corner before a running kick to the chest makes things even worse. Ripley gets sent outside and drops her face first onto the apron for another two. Some running knees to the chest give Ripley the same and frustration is setting in.

The full nelson slam is broken up by a kick to the head, followed by a running dropkick. One heck of a running kick to the face in the corner gives Kai two, only to have Ripley superkick her away. A northern lights suplex drops Kai for two more and Ripley looks stunned. They head up top with Ripley getting caught in the Tree of Woe for the top rope double stomp to send Kai on at 7:03.

Rating: B-. Another good match, though this only sends Kai on to be Sane’s latest victim. Ripley has every tool you could possibly need to be a huge star and I’m sure she’s going to be just fine down in developmental. Kai looked great as well and should be just fine if she sticks around with NXT. Good match here as Ripley continues to impress.

Video on Candice LeRae, who will give everything she has to win this.

Video on Nicole Savoy, who loves to suplex people. She must have been miserable in the first round then as she didn’t do a single one.

Johnny Gargano is here. I love how these wrestlers are ushered in and out every match.

Second Round: Candice LeRae vs. Nicole Savoy

JR talks about PWG and my head threatens to explode. Lita on the other hand slips up a bit by saying Savoy’s previous match was last night. Savoy kicks away a handshake offer and we’re ready to go. The fans, with a decidedly female sounding voice, are behind Candice. Savoy sends her into the corner for a crash but LeRae comes right back out with a jumping Downward Spiral for two.

The first suplex drops LeRae for two and they trade modified surfboards. Candice elbows her way out of trouble and hits a Codebreaker for a breather. Savoy rolls some butterfly suplexes but can’t get a cross armbreaker. Another kick to the head gives Candice a breather and it’s off to something like a Black Widow to slow Savoy down. For some reason Savoy takes her up top and even old man JR knows it’s a bad idea to put LeRae up top when her finisher comes from there. As you might expect, Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride ends Savoy at 5:54.

Rating: C+. Savoy looked better here but you knew LeRae was winning here, especially with the idea of her being massacred by Baszler in the next round. This was some good storytelling with LeRae fighting from underneath and being willing to go the extra mile to beat the fighting machine. Good match here.

Again, no brackets are shown for the next round but here you are:

Mercedes Martinez

Abbey Laith

Shayna Baszler

Candice LeRae

Toni Storm

Piper Niven

Dakota Kai

Kairi Sane

Overall Rating: B. Now this is more like it. The wrestling was good from top to bottom and while a lot of the endings were obvious, there’s nothing wrong with having some good wrestling where you know who’s winning. I’m digging this more and more every single episode and the fact that they’ve done this all in two major content drops is a great idea. Best show of the tournament so far with ease.

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