Smackdown
Date: June 2, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Night Of Champions and while there wasn’t a big Smackdown title change, the major story came at the end, as Jimmy Uso superkicked Roman Reigns to seemingly remove himself from the Bloodline. Tonight just so happens to be the 1000 day celebration for Reigns’ Universal Title reign so we should be in for some fireworks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

Barrett and Cole welcome us to the show and throw us to a rather cool video on Roman Reigns, looking at his entire reign. The video includes a timeline as he rises up the ranks and passes various people and looks at some milestones. If there is one thing WWE knows how to do, it is look back at its own history.

Austin Theory is in the ring…and we look at Reigns retaining at Wrestlemania XXXVII, which was already looked at in the video.

Theory says this is the celebration of Reigns reaching 1000 days as Universal Champion. What is even more impressive than that though is if you combined his title reign with Reigns’ it would be 1,209 days. He’ll probably have his own 4000 day reign or so, especially if he is given challengers like Sheamus. For now though, he’ll introduce his partners for tonight, so here is Pretty Deadly to be rather happy about Theory.

Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly/Austin Theory

Holland jumps Prince to start and it’s quickly off to Wilson. Butch comes in as well but gets taken down into a chinlock. That doesn’t work for Butch who stomps on the fingers. The big kick misses though and it’s Theory coming in and wanting Sheamus (the fans agree). We take a break and come back with Butch in trouble and Theory getting to pose.

Butch DDTs his way out of trouble and it’s Sheamus coming in to clean house. A triple White Noise sets up the Brogue to Theory but Prince pulls him outside. Back to back drives drop the villains and we take another break. Back again with Sheamus hitting a top rope knee to the chest for two on Prince and everything breaks down.

We get a parade of strikes to the face until Butch is backdropped to the floor. Sheamus knees Theory in the face for two and Holland powers Pretty Deadly over. The triple forearms to the chest have the Brutes in even more control but Wilson and Prince switch places, setting up Spilled Milk to Holland. Theory gets the pin at 17:35.

Rating: B-. This got a good bit of time (maybe too much) and seems to wrap up Theory vs. Sheamus. Theory has already beaten Sheamus in a singles match and now he has beaten his team in a six man. Exactly what else is there for them to do at the moment? Pretty Deadly continues to be their goofy selves, but the Brutes could use a win sooner than later as the bad run continues.

We look back at Jimmy Uso turning on Roman Reigns and leaving the Bloodline at Night Of Champions.

Paul Heyman tells Solo Sikoa that he’s going to make sure the Usos aren’t here tonight.

We look at Seth Rollins beating AJ Styles to win the World Heavyweight Title at Night Of Champions.

AJ Styles (the birthday boy) is here and wants the OC to take out Hit Row.

Roman Reigns beat Brock Lesnar to retain at Summerslam 2022.

Hit Row vs. OC

All of their associates are here and apparently this is over a Hit Row rap about the OC. Hit Row jumps them to start and it’s Adonis taking over on Anderson with a chinlock. AJ/Michin argue with B Fab on the floor, followed by Anderson hitting a spinebuster to get a breather. Gallows comes in to clean house, including a suplex to Adonis. The Magic Killer gives Anderson the pin at 2:58.

Post match Top Dolla goes after the OC, earning himself a Phenomenal Forearm.

Paul Heyman comes in to see Adam Pearce, who says the Usos’ travel has been canceled and there is double security. Heyman calls Reigns, whose locker room he was in about five minutes ago.

Breaking News: Seth Rollins defends against Damian Priest on Raw.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect, with new Raw Women’s Champion Asuka as the special guest. We look at Asuka defeating Bianca Belair to win the title at Night Of Champion, allowing Asuka to do her celebratory dance. Waller says he couldn’t have said it better himself and points to the Money in the Bank briefcases. Asuka has to know that Belair is coming for her, but here is Iyo Sky to yell at Asuka.

Cue Bayley (Cole: “There go the ratings.”) to says she’s won before so she’ll win again. Then it’s Shotzi, Lacey Evans (looking like Sgt. Slaughter mixed with Rhea Ripley) and Zelina Vega interrupting and promising to win. The arguing is on, with Waller declaring it the best day of his life, but Asuka slips away. Cue Belair for the brawl to end this really, really bad segment. It was a bunch of people coming out to say “I’ll win!/No I’ll win!/NO I’LL WIN!” until they ran out of women.

We look at Baron Corbin going after the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes on NXT.

Cameron Grimes will be waiting whenever Corbin gets back.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Zelina Vega vs. Lacey Evans

Evans punched her during the break so Vega is rocked. An early slingshot Bronco Buster hits Vega and the chinlock is on. Evans even swings her around to make it worse before going with the normal thing. Vega fights up and sends her into the corner, setting up Code Red to finish Evans at 2:48. This was nothing.

Roman Reigns beat Sami Zayn this year at Elimination Chamber.

Legado del Fantasma praises Zelina Vega for winning her match. Escobar will do it next time and Rey Mysterio pops up to say they’ll win the briefcases.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: LA Knight vs. Montez Ford

They trade arm control to start and Knight doesn’t seem pleased. A shove off goes to Ford so Knight sends him to the apron for a hard forearm to the floor. Back from a break with Ford hitting a belly to back suplex but Knight knocks him down again. A springboard moonsault of all things misses for Knight and they clothesline each other down. Ford shoves him off the top but misses the Cash Out. Instead they trade rollups, with Knight grabbing the ropes for the pin at 9:10.

Rating: C. Knight continues his singles winning streak and that should be a good sign for his future. At the end of the day, a win over Ford and a spot in the ladder match only gets you so far, but Knight has at least shaken off a lot of his loser persona. That is a big first step and if he does win the briefcase, it won’t feel like it comes so out of nowhere.

Video on Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, who speak a bunch of Latin and promise doom. They’re leaning way into the magic stuff here.

Roman Reigns retained at Wrestlemania XXXIX as well.

Here is HHH to introduce Roman Reigns for his 1000 day celebration. After comparing him to Michael Jordan, HHH brings out Reigns, with Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa. With Reigns in the ring, HHH unveils a new title belt, which is again the big WWE logo but with a gold background and mainly black around the strap. Reigns is about to tell Pennsylvania to acknowledge him but switches it to the entire WWE Universe. Cue the Usos to interrupt though, making that Adam Pearce segment from earlier rather worthless.

We take a break and come back with Jimmy Uso and Reigns staring each other down. Reigns to Jey Uso: “Kick him in the face.” Reigns tells him to do it right now like Jimmy did to him at Night Of Champions. He tells Jey to fix this, but Jimmy says Reigns is what needs fixing. Jimmy did what he did because he was being a brother. Jimmy talks to Sikoa and says Reigns will turn on him, drawing an USO chant.

Reigns says that’s because of him so let’s ask what Sikoa thinks. Sikoa acknowledges Reigns….but the Usos are his brothers. Sikoa goes to stand next to the Usos (the place goes NUTS for that) and Reigns/Heyman look scared. Jimmy says the Island of Relevancy is going to be lonely so Reigns goes for him, earning a shove in the face. Jey isn’t happy with what and we have to shut down the audio for the HOLY S*** chant.

Jey says he needs both of them and they can’t fight like this. Jimmy: “He’s right.” They’re all brothers and let’s do this together with respect like they’ve been doing. Reigns is thinking about it as Jimmy asks if they’re still the ones. Jimmy and Reigns have the big emotional hug and Jey looks incredibly relieved. As the hug continues, Reigns says no, and Solo Spikes Jimmy. Jey checks on Jimmy and Sikoa leaves with Reigns/Heyman. As they leave, Heyman asks Reigns about Jey. Reigns: “Jey’s gonna do what he always does: fall in line. He’ll fall in line.”

This was another emotional roller coaster and it absolutely worked, as this always tends to do. At the end of the day, this has turned into a battle for Jey Uso and that could make for some very interesting different paths as we go forward. You can probably pencil in the tag match for Money In The Bank, but after that, it seems like it’s a wide open slate of options.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of those shows that was divided in two. You had everything else, and then the Bloodline segment. At the end of the day, the Bloodline is the biggest story in WWE at the moment and this was the next step in that story. Things are entering into a meltdown stage and that should be very interesting. Other than that, you have some Money in the Bank qualifying matches and that six man. This wasn’t a very good show, but egads the final segment had the audience eating out of its hand for good reason.

Results
Pretty Deadly/Austin Theory b. Brawling Brutes – Spilled Milk to Holland
OC b. Hit Row – Magic Killer to Adonis
Zelina Vega b. Lacey Evans – Code Red
LA Knight b. Montez Ford – Rollup while grabbing the rope

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 29, 2023
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

We’re done with Night Of Champions and that means it is time to deal with the fallout. The show featured a triple main event, including Seth Rollins being crowned as the new World Heavyweight Champion. In addition, Brock Lesnar beat Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso seems to have walked out on the Bloodline. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Night Of Champions.

Here is new World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, coming through the crowd, to open things up. After taking his sweet time to get to the ring, with streamers and a lot of singing, Rollins says it was a long road here. Finally now, Raw has a champion that wants to be here and a champion that is ready for a fight. After some more conducting, here is AJ Styles to interrupt.

Styles talks about how he gave Rollins everything he had and now the fans are saying Rollins deserves it. That’s not how Styles sees it though, because the reality is Rollins earned it. Rollins shakes his hand and here is the Judgment Day to interrupt. The team talks about how they run WWE and know that it’s going to be one of them that takes the title from Rollins. Ripley: “It could even be my Dom Dom!” After Rollins and Styles crack up laughing, a tag match is made for tonight.

Adam Pearce is on the phone and says that yes he gets why the tag match feels like it goes against the Raw and Smackdown being separate but it’s what the fans want to see. Pearce goes over to Rollins and Styles, who are down for the match. Of note: Pearce was talking to someone above him who had to approve the match, which isn’t something he usually has to do.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: The Miz vs. Ricochet

Ricochet starts fast and sends Miz outside, only to have Miz come back with a running hurricanrana (!) and a big boot. With Ricochet on the floor, Miz drops him onto the announcers’ table, followed by a top rope ax handle back inside. We take a break and come back with Miz hitting a springboard (Miz: “I SPRINGBOARDED!”) crossbody to knock Ricochet down for two more. A Codebreaker out of the corner and a DDT get two on Ricochet, who comes back with a kick to the face. The standing Sliced Bread sets up a shooting star press to finish Miz at 8:40.

Rating: C+. Miz was trying some different stuff here, to the point where it almost felt like he was trying to show off a bit. There’s nothing wrong with mixing it up a bit and Miz bragging about what he was doing fit in perfectly. At the same time, Ricochet going forward is the right call, as you need someone to do a bunch of flips from the ladders.

We look at Zoey Stark helping Trish Stratus beat Becky Lynch at Night Of Champions.

Here is Trish to soak in some THANK YOU TRISH chants, but they mean nothing to her coming from you people. Trish talks about how she told us she would win and says this is what you do when you are the best ever. Now Becky can go away for a bit and let the real stars shine through. Trish is proud of someone who wanted to help her and reminds her of herself from years ago.

Cue Zoey Stark to says he is here to be behind someone as legendary as Trish. They bring up the bruise on Trish’s chin, with Trish threatening Becky Lynch if she shows up. Cue Becky, who says let’s do it again, with Trish sending Zoey after her. That doesn’t work and Becky gets in to hammer on Trish, at least until Zoey cuts it off. The Z360 knocks Becky silly and they put a THANK YOU TRISH shirt up against her in the corner. Solid heel heat here and the feud will have some legs going forward.

Indus Sher vs. Javier Bernal/???

Jinder Mahal is here with Indus Sher (including Veer, who slips off the apron as they get in), who jump them before the bell. Bernal gets sent into the corner and the bell rings, with Veer kicking him in the head. It’s off to the unnamed one, who is tossed into Bernal, setting up a legdrop/side slam combination for the pin at 1:14.

We look back at Jimmy Uso turning on Roman Reigns at Night Of Champions, seemingly leaving the Bloodline. Jey Uso’s future remains to be determined.

Here are Kevin Owens (in an Usos shirt) and Sami Zayn for a chat. Sami is so happy about winning, by which he means ruining Roman Reigns’ life. He has nothing to say about Roman but here is Imperium to interrupt. Ludvig Kaiser brags about Gunther but Owens snaps, shouting about what Kaiser’s problem is. Sami says there is an unwritten rule that Imperium’s name wasn’t mentioned so they shouldn’t be out here.

They have a match later with “American Alpha” but Sami brings up the two of them and Riddle beating Imperium. Kaiser calls Riddle an embarrassment but Owens is tired of hearing from Slender Man (Kaiser) and “the one with the ears” but they never hear from baldy (meaning Giovanni Vinci. That’s not cool with Kaiser, who is cut off by the Alpha Academy and one heck of a SHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUSH. Owens wants to hear the other thing, giving us a big THANK YOU. And now we’re ready to go.

Video on Katana Chance/Kayden Carter, who like to party.

Alpha Academy vs. Imperium

Maxxine Dupri and Gunther are here too, while Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are on commentary. Gable is taken into the corner but comes out with a flying headscissors and a headlock takeover/flying headscissors combination. Cue Valhalla to chase Dupri off (and scare Owens to death), with the distraction letting Imperium take over with the double dropkick to Gable in the corner.

Gable armdrags his way to freedom and kicks Vinci away, setting up the diving tag to Otis. The Caterpillar hits Kaiser, with Vinci making the save and low bridging Otis to the floor. It’s back to Gable, who gets caught with a spinebuster. The Imperial Bomb is enough to finish Gable at 5:15.

Rating: C. This was the usual completely watchable Academy match while Imperium continues to establish themselves around here. That can take some time to do but what matters is WWE actually has an accomplished team who can be elevated that quickly. Other than that, the Valhalla interference was kind of amusing due to Owens’ reaction, so it was kind of hard to get bothered here.

Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez are ready for their match when Damage Ctrl comes in to mock them. Rodriguez points out that Bayley is the only member of the team who hasn’t won gold since they got together, so it’s time for her to look in the mirror. After they lose of course.

Video on Candice LeRae, who wears fairy wings because of the fairy tale her life has become.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Damage Ctrl vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

For the vacant titles. Rodriguez powers Bayley around to start until an elbow to the face cuts her off. Bayley tags in Green, who really doesn’t want to be involved. Green gets thrown into Baszler and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Rodriguez coming in to clean house until Rousey gets the tag.

Rousey takes Rodriguez down into the armbreaker but Bayley makes the save with a top rope elbow. Green tags herself in and sends Rodriguez into the post, setting up I’m Prettier to Rodriguez. A running knee gives Deville two but it’s Sky coming in for the running knees in the corner.

Shotzi makes the save and hits a heck of a suicide dive on Bayley. Rodriguez tags Shotzi in and it’s a Tower Of Doom, with Rousey taking the worst of it. The top rope backsplash is pulled into the armbreaker though and Shotzi immediately taps to make Rousey/Baszler champions at 11:35.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how much of a surprise that it was to have Rousey and Baszler win the titles but that is what should have happened. They have long since felt like the most dominant team around and they probably would have won the titles earlier if not for Rousey’s injury. Sometimes you need to go with the logical move and that is what they did here.

Dolph Ziggler vs. JD McDonagh

Ziggler takes him into the corner to start but McDonagh sends him throat first into the rope. They head outside with McDonagh sending him into the steps. It’s enough of a beating that McDonagh is disqualified at 1:13.

Post match the beatdown stays on Ziggler until referees break it up.

Here is Cody Rhodes, with his arm in a sling, to talk about the Brock Lesnar match. Cody’s contemporaries talk about how he shouldn’t have fought Lesnar but he did it anyway. No he didn’t tap out, because that isn’t the kind of man he wants to be. Rhodes talks about John Cena saying Never Give Up, which hurts a lot when you’re stuck in a Kimura for three straight minutes.

He wants to talk to Lesnar, but since Lesnar isn’t here, he’ll have to talk to the camera. Rhodes issues an open challenge to fight Lesnar anywhere anytime, and even lists off the cities where he’ll be soon. He also wants this to be the last time that he lists off all of Lesnar’s accomplishments but says that while Lesnar is Beast enough to break his arm, he isn’t man enough to make Rhodes tap out. Lesnar is afraid of him, and that’s your mic drop.

Matt Riddle wants to win Money in the Bank but Gunther interrupts. Gunther wishes him good luck because he wants Riddle to be able to cash in on him. It would be fun to beat and humiliate Riddle.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler are happy with their win, because they are here to hurt people. Loyalty is everything and now they are the champions.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed

Nakamura manages to knock him outside to start but Reed is back in with a big shoulder. The rolling splash crushes Nakamura but he’s right back with the kicks. The sliding German suplex is blocked though and Reed kicks him in the face. A legsweep on the apron takes Reed down though and there’s the running knee to the face.

We take a break and come back with Reed running him over again for two and there’s a backsplash to crush Nakamura again. Back up and Reed misses a charge, allowing Nakamura to hit the running knee. Reed is back with a powerslam but the Tsunami misses. Nakamura knocks him to the apron and knees him down, followed by Kinshasa for the pin back inside at 9:48.

Rating: B-. This was a hard hitting match with Nakamura striking away for all he was worth to slay the monster. I’m rather surprised that Reed, who has been presented as a beast in recent weeks, lost to Nakamura, who has been around to put people over more than anything else. Good match here, with quite the surprise result.

Judgment Day is proud of Rhea Ripley for winning at Night Of Champions, but they won’t say which two of them will be in tonight’s tag match (they’re all in gear, including Rhea).

Memorial Day video.

AJ Styles/Seth Rollins vs. Judgment Day

It’s Dominik Mysterio/Damian Priest for the team….or not as Finn Balor jumps Styles, with Dominik going to the floor. Rollins slips away and runs to the floor, where he puts his arm around Rhea for some rather nice annoyance. Back in and Priest elbows Rollins down and we hit the armbar. Rollins kicks him off and brings Styles in to clean house, including a running forearm in the corner.

Dominik breaks up the Phenomenal Forearm though and Priest knocks Styles over the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Styles trying to fight out of trouble but getting sent outside instead. Rollins gets into it with Ripley on the floor, leaving Styles to Pele his way out of trouble. The tag brings in Rollins, who small packages Balor for two but is quickly knocked down for the same.

Priest comes back in and is superplexed, only to come back with the Falcon Arrow. Balor misses the Coup de Grace though and gets superkicked, heaving Balor and Rollins down. Everything breaks down and Rollins and Balor go over the announcers’ table. The Phenomenal Forearm doesn’t work as Priest backs up (that’s so simply brilliant) and the Razor’s Edge plants Styles. Rollins cuts Priest off though and the diving tag brings in Rollins for the Stomp to finish Priest at 13:09.

Rating: B. Nice main event tag match here, even if nothing of note really happened. They had some time to work though and the stuff with Ripley getting involved and feeling almost on equal footing with the men was a nice touch. It wasn’t a classic, but it was a rather good match and better than a lot of what you see on Raw on a regular basis.

Overall Rating: B-. They kept things moving here and got some stuff ready for Money in the Bank, but a lot of this felt like a bit of a holding pattern after Night Of Champions. McDonagh looked like a monster though and we have some new champions, so they did advance enough stuff. It’s not a great show, but it’s also good enough that you wouldn’t have been miserable. I’ll take that more often than not.

Results
Ricochet b. The Miz – Shooting star press
Indus Sher b. Javier Bernal/??? – Side slam/middle rope legdrop combination to ???
Imperium b. Alpha Academy – Imperial Bomb to Gable
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Raquel Rodriguez/Shotzi, Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville and Damage Ctrl – Cross armbreaker to Shotzi
Dolph Ziggler b. JD McDonagh via DQ when McDonagh sent him into the steps
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Bronson Reed – Kinshasa
AJ Styles/Seth Rollins b. Judgment Day – Stomp to Priest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: May 26, 2023
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are less than twenty four hours away from Night Of Champions and that means this week’s show is taped in advance. Tomorrow’s show is all but set and that should make for a card built around getting everything finalized. I’m sure there will be some extra stuff pushed as well so let’s get to it.

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

US Title: Sheamus vs. Austin Theory

Sheamus, with the Brawling Brutes, is challenging. The power game drops Theory early but Theory goes to the leg to take over. Theory tries his own forearms to the chest and gets cut out almost immediately. Sheamus gets posted hard and dropped onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Theory elbowing him in the face for one, followed by the chinlock.

Sheamus is right back up with a running corner clothesline and the Irish Curse gets two. A torture rack powerbomb puts Sheamus back down but a rolling something is cut off by Sheamus’ knee. The ten (and more) forearms to the chest rock Theory and the Brogue Kick is loaded up. Cue Pretty Deadly to go after the Brutes though and Theory rolls Sheamus up to retain at 12:18.

Rating: C+. Not a bad title defense for Theory and a six man isn’t out of the question as a result. Sheamus might not have felt like the biggest threat to take the title, but he’s still a former World Champion so it wasn’t completely out of the question. What matters is Theory gets another win over a big name to add to his rapidly growing resume in a completely watchable match.

Post match Sheamus chases Pretty Deadly off.

We look at the Bloodline’s recent issues.

The Bloodline is in the back, where Paul Heyman says the Usos won’t be at Night Of Champions but they can join Roman Reigns for the 1,000 day title celebration next week. Jimmy Uso doesn’t know what Reigns’ problem is and goes to leave but Reigns tells him to sit down.

Jimmy doesn’t sit, so Reigns gets up in front of him and asks if Jimmy is standing up to him. Reigns tells him to let it out and reminds him of the whippings he gave Jimmy back in the day. He can give Jimmy another one now but Jey gets up and says he and Jimmy will see Reigns next week as the Usos leave. This is the kind of thing that actually feels like we’re getting somewhere, but the big stuff is tomorrow and next week.

Shotzi/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Damage Ctrl

Rodriguez powers Bayley around to start before it’s off to Sky. A chokeslam is broken up as Bayley comes in off a blind tag and a dropkick gives Sky two. We take a break and come back with Rodriguez fighting out of the corner and handing it back to Shotzi for the house cleaning. Shotzi dropkicks Bayley for two but Sky’s distraction lets Bayley rake the eyes. Stereo kicks to the head knock Shotzi silly with Rodriguez having to make a save of her own.

A tiger suplex gives Shotzi two and it’s back to Rodriguez, who is sent face first into the middle buckle. Rodriguez powers Sky into the corner where Bayley tags herself in. Bayley tries a middle rope sunset flip but Sky comes in off the top with a dropkick to Shotzi/backsplash that…lands on Rodriguez’s back as she was sitting on Bayley. Rodriguez stays on Bayley and gets the pin at 9:07. It was described as “miscommunication” so we’ll go with that.

Rating: C. That ending was kind of a mess but the result was the right way to go. Somehow Sky cost Bayley the pin and that is another step towards Damage Ctrl’s split. The team isn’t doing well right now and there is a good chance that they won’t be around that much longer. Shotzi is Rodriguez’s latest short term partner and I can’t imagine they’ll be a team long term anyway.

We see part of the Seth Rollins interview where he talks about what the World Title means to him.

Video on AJ Styles’ WWE career.

Video on Grayson Waller.

Cameron Grimes vs. Ashante Thee Adonis

The rest of Hit Row is here with Adonis. Grimes drops him to start and hits a running shooting star press for an early two. A Top Dolla distraction lets Adonis hammer away with some knees to the back. Grimes flips out of a suplex and hits some running forearms into a hurricanrana. The Cave In finishes Adonis at 2:10. Short and Grimes won so no complaints here.

Post match Baron Corbin jumps Cameron Grimes and lays him out.

Video on Asuka vs. Bianca Belair.

Here is Bianca Belair to talk about Asuka. She doesn’t like what Asuka has been doing and it isn’t the same Asuka from Wrestlemania. If Asuka wants to fight she can come do it, so cue Asuka….from behind, to jump Belair. Asuka gets a cross armbreaker but referees and agents break it up. Belair tries a KOD but the agents catch Asuka, who slips away. It’s better than their Wrestlemania build at least.

Rick Boogs vs. LA Knight

The Street Profits join commentary as Boogs throws Knight outside to start. Boogs drops him onto the announcers’ table but takes too long to get back inside, allowing Knight to hammer away. The running knee connects in the corner and Knight slams the back of Boogs’ head into the mat. Boogs powers him away again and hits a backdrop. The Boogs Cruise is broken up though and Blunt Force Trauma finishes for Knight at 3:17.

Rating: C. Much like Grimes, what matters here is that the result went the right way. Beating Boogs might not be the biggest victory in the world, but it is a lot better than Knight taking another loss. The fans are into Knight and seeing him get any kind of momentum is a good thing. He could use more, but I’ll take what I can get.

Post match Knight promises to smoke the Street Profits.

Karrion Kross is ready to hurt AJ Styles.

Video on Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre.

Karrion Kross vs. AJ Styles

Scarlett is here with Kross. Styles gets powered into the corner to start but comes back with a kick to the face. Scarlett breaks up a springboard though and Kross superkicks Styles off the apron. Cue Michin to chase Scarlett off and we take a break. Back with Kross elbowing him in the face and grabbing a chinlock. Styles fights up with the Pele into a basement forearm, followed by the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Kross misses his running forearm to the back of the head and gets knocked backwards, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: B-. Good enough match here as Styles needed a win to get some momentum heading into Night Of Champions. Styles is a legend in his own right but he has been out of action for a long time and has more or less been the other guy as Rollins marches to his title. Kross continues to just be kind of there, and I’m not sure what can be done to fix that.

Post break Styles says he’s ready to win the title.

Night Of Champions rundown.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes.

Here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the KO Show. They want Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa out here right now but here is Paul Heyman to interrupt. Heyman says Reigns will be here when he wants to be but here are the Usos to interrupt (Heyman isn’t sure about this). The Usos get in Owens/Zayn’s face but Owens points out that Zayn has been right about Reigns the entire time.

Owens says Reigns can call himself the head of the table, but the Usos are the heart of the table. The reality is that Reigns treats them more like the appendix. They went from being the best team ever to Reigns’ errand boy. Jimmy says that when it comes to the Usos, he is the Tribal Chief….and Heyman knows Jimmy just screwed everything up.

Cue Reigns and Owens can’t help but smile. Zayn: “Roman, you know it’s over right? The Bloodline is collapsing and it’s all your fault.” Reigns goes after Zayn but walks into a Stunner, meaning the fight is on. Solo Sikoa is here with the Spikes though and Reigns is back up to break a bunch of stuff. Zayn gets speared and Jey hands Sikoa some Tag Team Titles.

Jimmy won’t hand the others to Reigns but Jey takes them from him and hands them over. Reigns holds up all four titles as Jimmy walks around in the back (Jey does the pose) to end the show. That was another pretty big storytelling moment and the split is getting closer. Usos vs. Reigns/Sikoa down the line sounds like a pretty good main event.

Overall Rating: B-. There wasn’t any really great match on the show, but it hyped up Night Of Champions and gave us more of the Bloodline drama. The Night Of Champions Tag Team Title match and next week’s celebration are going to be interesting and we could be in for something big no matter what happens on Saturday. The rest of the show advanced enough stuff to stay interesting and while it wasn’t must see, it was good enough for a watch.

Results
Austin Theory b. Sheamus – Rollup
Raquel Rodriguez/Shotzi b. Damage Ctrl – Rollup to Bayley
Cameron Grimes b. Ashante Thee Adonis – Cave In
LA Knight b. Rock Boogs – Blunt Force Trauma
AJ Styles b. Karrion Kross – Phenomenal Forearm

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: April 7, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Wrestlemania and based on Raw, may be done with a way of life in WWE. The question now becomes if Raw was a one off or if it is the new normal. Triple H is apparently here for some kind of announcement and that could go in a variety of directions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania (Night One and Night Two) if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Wrestlemania.

Imperium vs. Brawling Brutes

Butch starts fast and chases people off before handing it off to Holland to bring in the power on Kaiser. It’s right back to Butch, who works on Vinci’s finger and stomps on the arm. Kaiser shoves Butch off the middle rope into a suplex from Vinci (who catches him in the air in a scary power display) as we take a break.

Back with Butch fighting out of a chinlock and bringing Holland in to clean house. Imperium isn’t having that and catches him with a triple boot in the corner. Gunther comes in to chop Holland down, setting up the running dropkick into the corner. A powerbomb gets two with Butch having to make the save. The Boston crab goes on but the crawl lets Holland get the tag to Sheamus. The ten forearms have Gunther in trouble and White Noise gets two. Vinci and Kaiser are back in with a high/low to Butch but Sheamus knees Vinci out of the air. The Brogue Kick finishes Vinci at 11:41.

Rating: B-. These guys work well together and there is nothing wrong with letting them beat on each other for awhile. It’s nice to see Sheamus getting some momentum back after the loss at Wrestlemania and I can go for having all of the Brutes together again for a change. Good opener here and it’s nice to see that on WWE TV again.

Long recap of the Cody Rhodes/Brock Lesnar saga from Raw.

Paul Heyman, with Solo Sikoa, says he will pass over a question about Lesnar and thank Roman Reigns for the amazing Wrestlemania. Jey Uso comes in to say he hasn’t seen Jimmy Uso all night. Heyman says Jimmy isn’t here, because Reigns wanted Jey to face Sami Zayn on his own tonight. Jey leaves, and Heyman tells Solo to solve the Sami Zayn problem tonight, or solve the Bloodline’s problems tonight. Well that’s ominous.

Ricochet vs. Ivar

Both partners have been banned from ringside but Valhalla is here with Ivar. Ricochet starts fast by sending Ivar outside, where Ivar crushes him against the apron. Back in and Ricochet flips out of a suplex and hits a running knee. Ivar knocks him down again and for some reason Ricochet tries a fireman’s carry. That level of brilliance earns him a spinning kick to the face but Ricochet knocks him out of the corner. The shooting star press finishes Ivar off at 4:05.

Rating: C+. I can go with Ricochet fighting a monster and getting a nice boost out of it as a result. More Ricochet is a good thing and it would be great to see him being elevated again. I’m not sure what is next for any of the teams from the showcase match but at least Ricochet is getting a little momentum.

Kevin Owens is looking at the titles but insists that he is LEERING at them. Sami Zayn is happy to be here and Owens talks about how big Sami vs. Jey Uso is going to be tonight. They can put the Bloodline behind them but Sami thinks something about this feels off. He can’t shake the feeling that he has to talk to Jey about…something. Everything Owens has said is true but Sami feels obligated to talk to him. Owens wants to know what Sami thinks is going to happen but knows he can’t talk him out of this. Sami knows he’s right but is going to do it anyway. I don’t see this going well at all.

Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi

Natalya and Shotzi send Rodriguez outside with Shotzi hitting a dive so hard that Rodriguez kind of belly to belly suplexes her. Back in and Shotzi hits a knee but a springboard hurricanrana is countered. It’s off to Morgan, who trades rollups with Natalya to limited avail. A release German suplex into a discus clothesline drops Morgan and Shotzi is back in for an assisted Sliced Bread. Rodriguez breaks up a Hart Attack and Oblivion finishes Shotzi at 2:50. This was very fast paced and gives Morgan and Rodriguez a bit of a boot on the way to their title match.

Madcap Moss and Xavier Woods are playing WWE2K23 when LA Knight comes in to complain about all the gaming. Why was Woods on Wrestlemania for video games and not him? Woods is tired of this and says he’ll beat Knight again if he has to.

Here is HHH for a chat. After saying there is nothing like that kind of a reaction, HHH brags about Wrestlemania and all of the successes it has had. Now though, Wrestlemania is behind us and we look to the future. Are you ready? In just a few weeks, it is time for the WWE Draft. This year’s will be bigger than ever with every single superstar eligible. When it is time, this year’s Draft will truly change the game. Speaking of that, here is someone who is doing just that: Rhea Ripley (with the rest of the Judgment Day.

Ripley says that everything changed at Wrestlemania when she did the impossible. She’s the star now and it is time to rise for Mami. Finn Balor talks about how Edge hut him but he is still standing (PLEASE tell me that story isn’t continuing). Dominik….has to pause for the fans booing him before talking about how he couldn’t bring himself to really hurt his father at Wrestlemania. He can’t stand Bad Bunny though and we see the big brawl with Bad Bunny on Monday. Damian Priest can forgive Bunny for what he did, but hopes Bunny can forgive Priest for what he had to do. Cue Rey Mysterio and the LWO as we’re ready to go.

Rey Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Judgment Day

It’s Dominik Mysterio/Damian Priest for the team here and Dominik tags out rather than face his dad to start. With Priest knocked down, Dominik comes in to hammer away and gets one off a suplex. Rey manages to flip out bring in Escobar to pick up the pace. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker drops Dominik and stereo dives take the villains down.

We take a break and come back with Dominik grabbing a front facelock on Escobar. A backdrop gets Escobar out of trouble and it’s Rey coming back in. Rey starts firing off some dropkicks but Rhea Ripley has to chase Zelina Vega. The 619 hits Dominik but Priest breaks up the Phantom Driver. South of Heaven finishes Escobar at 10:06.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced match that you would expect from Escobar and company, but unfortunately there was no real way to end this other than Escobar getting pinned. Since you can more or less pencil in Rey/Bunny vs. Priest/Dominik at Backlash, how else could they have gone? For now, it’s nice to see Priest getting a win as it doesn’t happen very often.

Shinsuke Nakamura is back next week.

Sami Zayn comes up to Jey Uso and says it’s fine if Jey doesn’t want to talk. Zayn says it’s the same as it has been for the last few months: everything Zayn has said would happen has happened. Jimmy Uso isn’t here and Roman Reigns isn’t here, while Solo Sikoa is looking like he is ready to drop the hammer. Now Sami will beat as much sense into Jey as he has to, but he’d rather not. Jey doesn’t say anything but we hear some kind of a fracas. Kevin Owens has been attacked by Solo Sikoa, who has dropped an anvil case on Owens’ leg.

Jey Uso vs. Sami Zayn

Before the match, Sami says Kevin Owens was right but he’s about to show Uso that he isn’t the only one with a problem. Jey shoulders him down to start but gets sent to the floor. Cue Solo Sikoa for a distraction as we take a break. Back with Sami hitting a superplex and hammering away. Sami gets superkicked out of the air but exploder suplexes Jey into the corner. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two and they go up top, where Sami gets headbutted to the apron. Sikoa gets in a cheap shot and Jey superkicks him for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: B-. If the Bloodline is continuing for the time being (or beyond), Uso needed to win here as the non-Reigns members needed the boost. If nothing else, this keeps up the idea of Sami/Owens needing each other to deal with the Bloodline, though Owens is not going to be happy here. In other words, the saga continues, despite a huge step being taken at Wrestlemania.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jey breaks up the Samoan Spike. Then he superkicks Sami himself and has Sikoa get a chair. Cue Matt Riddle for the save (remember that Sikoa put him on the shelf in December) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was just the comparison to Raw, but this was a rather good show and felt like everything before this Monday’s debacle. There were good matches and storylines advanced so it was a totally useful two hours of TV. That is better than I would have expected and we’ll it a huge relief. On top of that there is the Draft announcement so something big is on the horizon.

Results
Brawling Brutes b. Imperium – Brogue Kick to Vinci
Ricochet b. Ivar – Shooting star press
Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan b. Natalya/Shotzi – Oblivion to Shotzi
Judgment Day b. Rey Mysterio/Santos Escobar – South of Heaven to Escobar
Jey Uso b. Sami Zayn – Superkick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Wrestlemania XXXIX Night Two
Date: April 2, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
America The Beautiful: Jimmie Allen

It’s time to finish the story with the second half of Wrestlemania. That should mean a lot of good things but egads they have a lot to live up to after last night’s great show. The card is stacked again but the big deal is going to be the main event, with Roman Reigns defending the World Title against Cody Rhodes. When a match inside the Cell feels secondary, it’s quite the lineup. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

Jimmie Allen sings America the Beautiful.

Kevin Hart handles the intro again, talking about how in Hollywood, if the first one is a success, a bigger sequel is following. That’s what we’re getting tonight, and the card is stacked.

Miz and Snoop Dogg are in the ring to welcome us to the show, with Miz recapping Night One and giving us a nondescript preview of tonight.

Omos vs. Brock Lesnar

Omos throws him around to start and then does it again for a bonus. A bearhug goes on and Lesnar isn’t sure what to do here. Lesnar fights out and tries to get something going but gets bearhugged again. A chokeslam gives Omos two but he misses a charge in the corner. Lesnar manages the first German suplex (the crowd approves) and the second one looks better. The F5 is loaded up but Brock’s back gives out. The chokebomb is blocked as well though and the F5 finishes Omos at 4:51.

Rating: C+. They kept this short and that is what they should have done. Omos is not going to be able to be out there very long before things get bad so get your stuff in, pop the crowd, head out. That’s all it needed to be and they made it work here, with a match that might not have been good, but it was fun, which is the best they could hope to do.

Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Morgan gets knocked around to start and Natalya adds a basement dropkick. A running hurricanrana gets Morgan out of trouble and it’s Rodriguez coming in for a splash in the corner. Green comes in with a missile dropkick but Shotzi comes in for a hip attack. Baszler breaks up the cover and throws her outside to Rousey but a triple powerbomb plants Baszler inside.

Everything breaks down and Green is left to pose…until Rodriguez is waiting on her. Instead of fighting, Green would rather dive onto the pile, followed by Rodriguez powerbombing Morgan onto everyone. Back in and Green and Deville take Rodriguez down but Natalya helps Shotzi with a double standing Sliced Bread. The Hart Attack hits Deville for two with Green making the save. Natalya’s double Sharpshooter is broken up and Liv hits Shotzi with the Oblivion but Baszler (who has taken a boot off and seems to be limping) breaks it up. Rousey gets the armbar to finish Shotzi at 8:18.

Rating: C. This was a thing that happened and there isn’t much else to say about it. Rousey and Baszler were barely factors (likely due to injuries), leaving the other six to run through their stuff. As usual, the teams have no history together so you more or less just have random things going on until the finish. It was energetic, but this didn’t look like a good idea when it was announced and it didn’t get much better.

Bobby Lashley, with the Andre the Giant battle royal trophy, is here.

UpUpDownDown previews the Intercontinental Title match.

We recap the Intercontinental Title match. Gunther is the unstoppable champion while Sheamus and McIntyre want to fight each other and to be the champion. Big fight is on.

Intercontinental Title: Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and Titus O’Neil is on commentary. Gunther tells the other two to fight before they all start hitting each other rather hard. McIntyre is knocked to the floor and Gunther gets to chop Sheamus hard against the ropes. The Boston crab goes on Sheamus but McIntyre comes in for the chop off. McIntyre actually knocks Gunther into the corner but Sheamus is back up to fight both of them.

With nothing else working, Gunther gets tied in the ropes for the forearms from McIntyre and the chops from Sheamus until they fall to the floor. Back in and Sheamus hits 29 forearms to McIntyre’s chest (McIntyre fell down on #30) as the fans are VERY pleased here. Gunther blasts Sheamus with a clothesline for two but McIntyre hits a top rope shot to Gunther’s head. Sheamus gets knocked to the floor and Gunther’s powerbomb gets two on McIntyre.

Gunther goes up but Sheamus catches him with the super White Noise and the Celtic Cross gets two. McIntyre is back in to break up the Texas Cloverleaf so Sheamus knees both of them down. The Brogue Kick hits Gunther for two with McIntyre breaking up the pin. McIntyre isn’t done and hits the big flip dive to drop Sheamus (Cole: “Titus, I guarantee you have never done that!” Titus: “AND I NEVER WILL!”).

Back in and the Claymore is countered with the Brogue Kick for two (as the fans keep losing their minds on everything). The second Claymore drops Sheamus for two more and everyone is down. With Gunther on the floor, Sheamus and McIntyre slug it out until Sheamus hits another Brogue but Gunther comes off the top with a splash to break it up. Gunther powerbombs Sheamus onto McIntyre and then powerbombs McIntyre to retain at 16:36.

Rating: A-. I love a match where they don’t even pretend it is going to be anything but what it is. This was advertised as three big, strong men beating the fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s exactly what we got here and it was some awesome violence as Gunther racks up another huge title defense. Great stuff here and the next match is in trouble.

We recap Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title. Belair has held the title for a year and become a big star but now Asuka is a lot scarier and wants the title back.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

Belair is defending. Asuka comes to the ring with a bunch of women in masks while Belair has a bunch of children from a charity who dance on stage before she comes out (cool). Belair strikes away to start and takes her into the corner, where Asuka shoves her away without much trouble. Some spinning strikes have Belair in trouble but she can get away before the Asuka Lock can go on.

They go out to the floor where Belair manages a sitout powerbomb (yeowch) but misses a charge into the post back inside. The ankle lock keeps Belair in trouble and a middle rope dropkick gives Asuka two. Belair gets in a shot on the apron and manages an apron superplex for two more. They trade rollups for two each until Asuka’s Codebreaker is blocked.

Belair hits a running Blockbuster into a handspring moonsault for two. Asuka knees her in the face but Belair is back with a running shoulder for another double knockdown. They go into the corner and a Codebreaker gives Asuka two. Belair manages a kind of Glam Slam onto the turnbuckle for two and ducks the mist. The KOD is countered into a cross armbreaker but Belair muscles her up into the KOD to retain at 15:55.

Rating: B. This was another good one, which is all the more impressive after such a lame buildup. The match itself being a success wasn’t really in question as they are too talented to have a bad one, but it went a bit better than I was expecting. Belair is running out of challengers though and outside of Charlotte, they’re going to have to try someone new sooner than later.

Miz and Snoop Dogg announce tonight’s attendance: 81,395 and a two night total of 161,892. With that out of the way, Miz is mad at Snoop Dogg for screwing up last night and getting him into a match. Snoop isn’t having this and brings out someone else. Cue SHANE MCMAHON (he looks blown up from the ramp) and let’s do this.

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Shane punches away….and then gets hurt on a leapfrog. The referee checks on him and says this is a no go, so Snoop decks Miz and hits a People’s Elbow for the win at 2:12. If that was a work, it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years. If that was real, (minus Shane’s injury), it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years.

We recap Edge vs. Finn Balor inside the Cell. They’ve been feuding for months since Balor kicked Edge out of Judgment Day, so now it’s time for the final showdown. We get all of the evil/demonic stuff for the build and the Demon is all but guaranteed.

We get a quick trailer for the Devil’s Exorcist movie.

Russell Crowe, the star of said movie, talks about how demons can cause problems.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

In the Cell (No longer red!) and Edge comes out to the Brood entrance (featuring a Slayer song instead of the Brood theme) with a Titantron that says BROOD EDGE (that’s up there with “the JBL persona has never entered the Royal Rumble”). Balor is indeed the Demon again and the entrance loses a bit without the darkness everywhere. Edge punches him in the face to start for no effect so it’s time for the weapons to come in.

We get some colored chairs and kendo sticks, with the latter going over Balor’s back. Balor is tied up in the Cell with the sticks as Edge grabs a table. That takes too long as Balor gets out and sends him into the steps. Back in and Edge hits a quick Impaler but Balor takes him back outside. The beating stays on, including a shotgun dropkick to send Edge through the table against the Cell wall.

With nothing else working, Edge manages a Killswitch and then throws a ladder into Balor’s face. We now pause for the trainers to come in and check on a cut (with the camera staying away from Balor). Edge uses the time to grab all of the weapons he can find until Balor is ready to go again. Balor sends him into the ladder and hits a quick Coup de Grace for two so they climb a ladder in the corner.

A super Impaler brings Edge back down so let’s grab another table. Balor knocks him onto it though and unloads with the chair, only to climb the Cell onto a well placed platform. The Coup de Grace only hits table so Edge hits a spear for two. With that not working, Edge unloads with chair shots and hits the Conchairto for the pin at 18:08.

Rating: B. This was a weird one, with the match just kind of ending rather than building up to something. It felt like they were trying to have Edge be pushed so far and reach a level that Balor can’t touch but it just felt like the match stopped out of nowhere. It’s also weird to see Edge win if he’s probably leaving again, but that might mean giving Balor a big win and that doesn’t happen anymore. The match was violent (because it was a TLC match inside the Cell, as tends to be the case far too often anymore) but it hit a wall and didn’t get any further.

We recap the Hall of Fame ceremony.

The Hall of Fame Class is presented:

Stacy Keibler (yeah sure)
Andy Kaufman (about as perfect of a celebrity as you can get)
Great Muta (absolutely)
Tim White (great choice for the Warrior Award)
Rey Mysterio (perfect choice for a headliner and well deserved)

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. Roman has been World Champion for over two and a half years and seems unstoppable. Rhodes is here to win the title for his father Dusty and complete his story. This is the most serious threat Reigns has faced in a long, long time and he could be in trouble.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Rhodes is challenging and hugs his family before handing his weightlifting belt to….AEW’s Negative One (unmasked) in the front row. Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa are here with Reigns and we’re ready to go after some rather long entrances (including Reigns demanding acknowledgment). They fight over a lockup to start with Cody getting a headlock (so Heyman can roll his eyes at the CODY chants). A right hand sends Reigns outside for some advice from Heyman (“You’re the relevant one. Now SMASH HIM!”).

Back in and Reigns hits some corner clotheslines but walks into a dropkick so Cody can start working on the arm. The Disaster Kick is countered into the powerbomb for two and Reigns snaps off some suplexes. They head outside and Reigns knocks him up the ramp so the fight can keep going. Cody gets the better of things as they fight back to ringside but Sikoa gets in a chair to the ribs. The referee didn’t see it so Reigns hits the apron dropkick to take over again.

Cody fights up again but Sikoa grabs a boot, allowing Reigns to nail a clothesline. They go to the floor again and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. Reigns’ powerbomb is countered into a backdrop and Reigns is in trouble again. Back in and Cody hammers away with the Cody Cutter getting two. Reigns heads outside again and there’s the suicide dive. On the way back in, Sikoa gets in a belt shot to the back, which the referee hears for an ejection.

Reigns grabs the belt but gets superkicked into Cross Rhodes for a close two. Back up and Reigns catches Cody from behind, setting up a release Rock Bottom for two more. The Superman Punch is countered into the Pedigree for two more and Cody is looking stunned. Reigns’ spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and the Figure Four goes on (complete with WOO).

Reigns makes the ropes so Cody goes to the apron (Cody: “Fight Cody.”) and they slug it out. Cody misses something off the top and gets speared down for two. Reigns is so frustrated that he unloads with forearms and grabs the guillotine. The arm comes up so Reigns grabs the bodyscissors to really cinch it in. Cody manages to slip his head out and hammers away but the referee gets bumped. Reigns hits a Superman Punch and Cody hits a clothesline to put them both down.

It’s Cody up first and the Cross Rhodes is loaded up but cue the Usos for the double superkick. The 1D drops Cody again but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (through the crowd for some reason) for the save. The Stunner into the Helluva Kick drops Reigns and the teams fight off, leaving Cody to get a very delayed two. They slug it out until Reigns misses the Superman Punch and Cody hits the Flip Flop and Fly into the Bionic Elbow. Cross Rhodes and Cross Rhodes connect but Heyman offers a distraction so Sikoa can come back in with the Samoan Spike. Reigns hits the spear to retain at 34:37.

Rating: B+. It felt like a major showdown here and the reactions from the crowd were great. The back and forth action was outstanding and I wasn’t sure how it was going until the ending. At the same time though…..wow that is a heck of a way to go, as Reigns doesn’t really have anyone left to face. It felt like a Wrestlemania main event and a huge fight, but egads that is a bold choice for the future. Cody was protected, but it’s going to take some time to come back from this kind of a loss.

A lot of posing and pyro but no Dusty Finish wraps us up.

The highlight package takes us out.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s another great show and I think I liked the action a bit more overall here as even the weakest match on the show was completely fine. The ending was the big surprise and I have no idea where they go from here. There was a lot of fun to be found here and the Intercontinental Title match was great, followed by some other very good stuff. What matters is that it felt like a Wrestlemania and that is one of the hardest things to pull off in all of wrestling. Heck of a show again and absolutely worth seeing.

Overall Overall Rating: A. It’s an all timer over two nights and what makes it even more impressive is that they made the already huge card actually work. That extra pressure makes it even harder but they did it here, with some of the best stuff WWE has done in years. The worst thing over two nights is a watchable six woman tag and the best stuff is some all time quality.

The bigger thing here is the emotion though, as it felt like the biggest show they have presented in years. This show was built up for a long time and then they made the whole thing work. I was invested in so much of this and it gave off the feelings that you’re supposed to get with something this big. Check out all of this, as both nights flew by in a great way.

Results
Brock Lesnar b. Omos – F5
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez and Natalya/Shotzi – Armbar to Shotzi
Gunther b. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus – Powerbomb to McIntyre
Bianca Belair b. Asuka – KOD
Snoop Dogg b. Miz – People’s Elbow
Edge b. Finn Balor – Conchairto
Roman Reigns b. Cody Rhodes – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

We’re still in Los Angeles for the second half of Wrestlemania after what was a (pick your own adjective based on however the show, which hasn’t happened yet, was once you’ve seen it after this is posted) night, it should be easy/difficult to top. This is the night where we finally get Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the World Title and that should be quite the showdown. The rest of the show looks good too so maybe we’re in for something. Let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka

We’ll get one of the weaker entries out of the way to start. This is a match that is likely going to be very good due to the talent involved but the build has been lacking to put it mildly. There isn’t much of a reason for these two to be fighting and Belair being scared of Asuka isn’t so interesting. Asuka can more than carry her end, but she needs a little more than this so far.

I’ll take….I guess Asuka here, as Belair has held the title for a year now and really needs to drop the thing so someone else can get a chance. Asuka’s new persona is only so different than her last but she is more than good enough to be the champion, even if it is just for a little while. There is a good chance that Belair keeps the title again, but she probably shouldn’t after a year of being champion.

Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

This is the women’s showcase match, which is still one of the weirder ideas that WWE has had in a good while. The teams are mostly inexperienced or brand new, with Rousey and Baszler being the only regular team. Then again last year’s Women’s Tag Team Titles went about the same way, meaning I don’t have much reason for this to be very interesting here again.

I’ll take Rodriguez and Morgan to win as they would likely be the crowd favorites. The only other option (which might make the most sense) is Rousey/Baszler, who need to be going after the Women’s Tag Team Titles sooner than later. This comes off as a way to get a bunch of people on the card without having a battle royal and while it might accomplish the goal, it isn’t feeling interesting. But yeah, I’ll go with Rodriguez and Morgan to win.

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

Somehow this is the best thing they could get together for Lesnar (including making him happy, which can’t be easy) and I’m not exactly feeling it. I’m almost scared to see what is going to happen when these two are given any kind of time together, as Omos hasn’t shown the ability to be a ring general. That leaves Lesnar, who might be more likely to turn Omos into a really big sandwich.

That being said, I’ll go with Lesnar winning here in a short match. You can’t ask them to go long (not without expecting quite a bit of disaster) so we’ll go with Lesnar winning with the big impressive F5. This is a match that isn’t going to much to do so keeping it quick and impactful is the right idea. Omos winning makes sense if Lesnar is leaving, but for now I’ll take Lesnar, who will almost absolutely be back someday.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther(c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

This is the kind of match that is going to be all about hitting each other really hard. That is how to get the fans up again because it is easy to get behind the idea of three people trying to survive and leave as champion. It’s a good formula and these three can make it work. If they make it work here, we could be in for a showdown, but the question is who leaves with the title.

I don’t think I can imagine Gunther losing the title yet, even if he doesn’t get pinned, so I’ll say he retains here. Sheamus and McIntyre are going to beat the fire out of each other and it’s going to be a blast, but what matters here is three big men doing their power stuff until one of them can’t get up. This should be a lot of fun and the story is there too, so just make it work.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

What are we now, nine months into this feud? I get why it takes time but it would be nice to have things pick up a bit. Either way, what matters here is that this is in the Cell (which is apparently no longer red) and Balor is going to be the Demon. The match has certainly been built up long enough and while it might not be the hottest feud anymore, we should be in for a good one.

In theory this should be Balor winning because he’ll likely be around more often, though Edge has a tendency to win his big matches more often than not. I’ll go with Balor as he really needs the win, but it’s a prediction likely to go wrong. There is likely going to be a ton of interference from Judgment Day and Beth Phoenix, but at least everything has been set up fairly well.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Cody Rhodes

There are times when the Wrestlemania main event feels like the biggest match they could come up with at the time, but there are also occasions when the Wrestlemania main event feels like the most important match anywhere. The latter is true this year, as WWE has turned taking down the Bloodline into the biggest story in wrestling. Rhodes wants the title for his family’s legacy, but also to take out the Bloodline’s heart. Now can he do it?

There is a real argument for Reigns retaining here, as he is the biggest star in wrestling by a mile and the longest reigning champion in about thirty five years. If you pull the trigger on Rhodes right now, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. At the same time, if Rhodes loses here, what exactly is he supposed to do next? I’ll go with Rhodes, just because I don’t know what they do if he loses.

Overall Thoughts

Much like last night, this feels like a Wrestlemania worthy card. I want to see what happens with this show and Reigns vs. Rhodes is the biggest match that I can imagine right now. WWE has done a great job of setting things up and now they have the potential to execute it just as well. I love having that feeling of grandeur back again and if they can make it all work, we’ll be in for a heck of a night.

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Smackdown
Date: March 24, 2023
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are eight days away from Wrestlemania and there isn’t much left to get ready for the show. The big things remaining is finding out who will be in the women’s showcase tag match, as there are three spots remaining. Other than that, expect a lot of hard pushes towards what is already announced. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens reunion which set up the Tag Team Title match at Wrestlemania.

Opening sequence.

Cody Rhodes vs. Ludvig Kaiser

Giovanni Vinci is here with Kaiser, who doesn’t get an entrance. Cody suplexes Kaiser to start as Paul Heyman comes out to watch. A running knee sends Kaiser outside and we take an early break. Back with Rhodes hammering away against the announcers’ table but the Cody Cutter is broken up back inside. Cody fights out of a chinlock but gets the rope kicked into his arm to put him back down.

A Disaster Kick gets Cody out of trouble as Solo Sikoa comes out as well. That’s enough for Kaiser to take out Cody’s knee and send him into the steps as we take a break. Back with Cody fighting up as Heyman and Sikoa aren’t pleased. Cody powerslams him for two but gets hit in the face. Kaiser gets pulled out of the air but Cross Rhodes is blocked. Instead the Cody Cutter connects and Cross Rhodes finishes at 16:28.

Rating: C+. The well done builds continue as Cody racks up another win despite the Bloodline’s presence. That’s exactly what it needed to be as Cody broke a sweat and beat someone associated with Gunther, who he will likely be seeing later. This might not have been some classic, but it did what it was supposed to do without any problem.

Post match Sikoa gets on the apron but Heyman holds him back. Heyman owes Cody an apology and handles the proper ring announcement for the win. Cody is STILL the challenger for the REIGNING, DEFENDING champion Roman Reigns but he has a big obstacle in his way on Raw when he faces Sikoa. After that, all roads lead to Roman Reigns, who will be live on Smackdown last week for the final face to face showdown with Cody.

That’s fine with Cody, who says he beat Seth Rollins with one arm and promises to show Sikoa that he isn’t ready. At Wrestlemania, Reigns is going to find out that he isn’t ready either. That has Heyman glaring as Cody throws the mic down. They’ve done almost everything right so far and now it’s all about sticking the landing at Wrestlemania. If they do that, it’s a home run.

The opening match of Wrestlemania Night One: John Cena vs. Austin Theory. That’s one way to start it.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. She is a 14 time champion and that isn’t because of insecurity or nepotism. Wrestling wasn’t built on fear but rather respect, which is what she has for Rhea Ripley. She respected Nikki and Brie, the Four Horsewomen and almost every other woman of the modern era. She gets annoyed at the WHATing so the fans switch to WOOing. Charlotte loves her dad and diamonds are forever, just like her. This has been Charlotte Is Awesome theater for the week.

Rey Mysterio vs. LA Knight

Rey’s family is at ringside and he hammers away in the corner to start. Knight takes him down and stomps away before hitting the jumping neckbreaker. A headscissors sends Knight outside though and Rey dropkicks him through the ropes. Back in and Rey goes up but cue Dominik Mysterio for a distraction, allowing Knight to crotch him down.

We come back with Knight kicking Rey in the face but missing the big elbow. Rey grabs a DDT but the 619 is pulled out of the air. Another headscissors takes Knight down again so Dominik offers a distraction to break up another 619 attempt, allowing Knight to get the rollup pin at 11:01.

Rating: C. The finish wasn’t a clean one (and it shouldn’t have been) but I’ll take Knight getting a win that might matter a bit for a change. The ending also probably sets up the post match shenanigans to get the Mysterios to Wrestlemania as they continue to take the right steps. Rey isn’t hurt by losing this way and Knight gets a bit of a boost so well done all around.

Post match Dominik gets in the ring to challenge Rey again but Rey rolls away. Dominik asks his mom what it’s like to have such a coward for a husband. He calls his mom a deadbeat too and says his sister is too stupid to understand. His mom (Angie) pulls the mic away but Dominik tells her to shut up. That’s too far for Rey, who FINALLY punches Dominik out. As Dominik looks terrified, Rey says you don’t disrespect your mother like that and the match is on for Wrestlemania.

Andy Kaufman is going into the Hall Of Fame.

Lacey Evans/Xia Li vs. Natalya/Shotzi

The winners go on to the Wrestlemania showcase match and Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez are at ringside. Lacey takes Shotzi down to start and Li does the same. It’s back to Lacey or a handstand Bronco Buster in the corner and a clothesline gets two on Shotzi. Everything breaks down and Lacey punches Shotzi out by mistake. Natalya kicks Lacey to the floor so Shotzi can hit a suicide dive, leaving Li to get hart Attacked. The Sharpshooter makes Li tap at 3:31.

Rating: C-. Yeah fine sure whatever. This match is already feeling like the least important thing on Wrestlemania in a very long time and having Evans/Li as a team trying to make Wrestlemania doesn’t make it better. Natalya being there is no surprise as she is always around, but my goodness it is almost impossible to care when they’re basically saying “there’s no story here and we’re just doing this to have people in the ring”.

Post match Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey are here to mock the two teams who have already qualified. They’re in the Wrestlemania match too, just because.

It’s time for the contract signing for the Wrestlemania Intercontinental Title match. Drew McIntyre is here when Adam Pearce starts the introductions. Cue Sheamus and the Brawling Brutes to interrupt with Sheamus talking about how much he has done for McIntyre over the years. Sheamus is ready to beat McIntyre up but McIntyre cuts him off for whining too much. They used to beat each other up and Sheamus can’t tell the difference between business and personal these days. McIntyre knows he can beat Sheamus and Gunther, the latter of which Sheamus can’t do.

Pearce tries to calm things down and gets them both to sign (with McIntyre throwing the pen to a fan because he knows how to be popular). Cue Imperium, with Gunther saying he wants to know why he is being treated to this. He signs, but says whatever he does at Wrestlemania will be justified. He’ll beat Sheamus and McIntyre and the rest of the Brutes if he has to, so Butch jumps him. Gunther DEMANDS a match with Butch right now (and absolutely launches the table over the top in a really impressive display) and here we go.

Gunther vs. Butch

Non-title. Joined in progress with Gunther kicking him in the face and hitting a hard slam. A butterfly suplex (and a good one) drops Butch again before Gunther starts with the chops. Butch tries a choke but gets chopped back down. Some enziguris work a bit better for Butch but Gunther suplexes him into the corner.

The boot choke in the corner makes it worse and we take a break. Back with Butch working on the arm, only to get pulled into the sleeper. With that broken up, Gunther takes it outside for a staredown with Sheamus and McIntyre. The brawl between everyone not in the match is on, with Gunther hitting the Last Symphony to finish Butch at 9:33.

Rating: B-. Ok so it wasn’t Butch vs. Walter but for an impromptu match that didn’t have a lot of time, this was probably the best action on the show. They beat each other up for a bit and Butch was acting rather Pete Dunne like (as he has been for his more recent appearances). Gunther gets to remind people that he’s a monster and that should make the Wrestlemania match all the better.

Post match the staredown is on with McIntyre Claymoring Gunther down.

The Street Profits are fired up but Ricochet and Braun Strowman come in to request the smoke.

It’s time for the KO Show with Kevin Owens bringing out Sami Zayn. They talk about whether they should have come out together or apart, with Owens thinking Sami just wanted his own pop. That’s ok though because Owens gets it. It’s time to talk about Wrestlemania, where they have the chance to make history. Owens has a present for Sami though, because a few months ago, he said Sami needed a new shirt. That means we see the new KO Mania shirt, which says WrestleZAYNia. Sami puts it on and goes for a hug, but Owens says one a year. They do hug but here are the Usos to jump them and run off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a good example of a show where they weren’t trying to do anything too drastic or make anything major (save for maybe finally making Rey vs. Dominik) and just hold things in place for Wrestlemania. There are two major shows left before then and there isn’t much of a reason to believe that anything huge is coming. Sometimes you just need to keep things where they are and WWE has reached that point with Wrestlemania. Don’t do anything stupid next Monday and Friday and they can roll into SoFi ready to nail it.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. Ludvig Kaiser – Cross Rhodes
LA Knight b. Rey Mysterio – Rollup
Natalya/Shotzi b. Lacey Evans/Xia Li – Sharpshooter to Li
Gunther b. Butch – Last Symphony

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Smackdown
Date: March 10, 2023
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are just over three weeks away from Wrestlemania and the biggest development coming into this show was Jey Uso rejoining the Bloodline by taking out Sami Zayn. That seems to be the step that we have been waiting for on the way to whatever the Usos and Zayn are going to be doing at Wrestlemania so we might see something big tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Jey rejoining his brother Jimmy on Smackdown in a great turn. Cody Rhodes made the save to tie it into the World Title situation.

The Usos arrive and are greeted by Paul Heyman. Jey asks where Roman Reigns is but Heyman hugs him. Jey says let Reigns know he’s here so Heyman goes to find him. When asked why he turned on Sami Zayn, Jey says he’ll make it clear tonight. Jimmy says Cody Rhodes needs to stay out of the Bloodline’s business.

Opening sequence.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. LA Knight vs. Xavier Woods vs. Karrion Kross

The winner gets Gunther for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania and only Scarlett is here as a second. Sheamus and McIntyre clear the ring to start and bicker at each other, only to get jumped from behind. We take a break and come back with the brawl on the floor and Kross/Knight double teaming McIntyre down. Sheamus is back up with a top rope clothesline. Knight neckbreakers Sheamus down, with Kross letting go of his half crab on McIntyre for the save.

Woods is back up and takes out Knight with a fireman’s carry gutbuster. The Limit Breaker gets two with everyone else breaking it up. Cue Imperium to watch as we take a break. Back with McIntyre doing his situp in the corner to superplex Kross and McIntyre down for the big crash. McIntyre gets to clean house but Knight takes him down.

Sheamus is back up with the forearms to Kross and Knight but McIntyre breaks up the Brogue Kick. McIntyre and Sheamus have the staredown but Sheamus has to Brogue Kick Woods out of the air. The Claymore hits Knight and Sheamus and McIntyre get a double pin at 17:32.

Rating: B-. The match got some time and the ending probably sets up a triple threat, which is more interesting than Sheamus vs. Gunther again. I could go for McIntyre vs. Gunther in a singles match, but this should make for a heck of a fight. Gunther is on a record setting title reign and having him face two former World Champions at Wrestlemania sounds like a worthy challenge.

Paul Heyman, looking distracted, talks about how Roman Reigns has been champion for almost 1000 days and the two of them have managed to outsmart everyone. They have done it by getting inside everyone’s heads but now there is Cody Rhodes as a stylistic nightmare for them. Should they go after him like gangsters like they have done before? The smart thing is to go after him with the truth and weigh his mind down. He’s going to walk into Wrestlemania as a defeated man and that is why Reigns will retain.

The first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame (it took long enough): Rey Mysterio. I didn’t have that one coming but yeah that’s a headliner.

Here is Rey Mysterio to talk about his induction but Dominik Mysterio and the Judgment Day interrupts. Dominik talks about how much time Rey sacrificed with him for the sake of his career. Cue Legado del Fantasma, with Santos Escobar saying they have a match scheduled for later but let’s do it right now.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Judgment Day

Joined in progress with Balor hitting a basement dropkick on Del Toro. Priest comes in to stomp away in the corner, followed by the jumping elbow to the face. Del Toro manages a quick hurricanrana so Escobar can come in for some running knees to Balor in the corner. Legado takes turns with some running corner clotheslines but Priest runs Del Toro over. The toss suplex sets up Dominik’s slingshot hilo and we take a break with Legado in trouble.

Back with Escobar making a comeback and handing it off to Del Toro for the springboard crossbody. A standing C4 gets two on Dominik and a rope walk dropkick sends Priest outside. Everything breaks down and the double dives take out Judgment Day. Vega’s hurricanrana off the steps is pulled out of the air and Rhea Ripley throws her into Legado. Dominik takes out Rey and Priest hits a basement superkick to give Dominik the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. This got going and turned into a fast paced six man tag, with judgment Day beating the team that has barely been a team for the last month or so. Escobar has mainly been a solo act but having his friends with him is not a bad thing. Good, fun match here and I can always go for a nice six man.

Post match Dominik asks to talk to Rey man to man, even asking Judgment Day to leave him alone. Dominik says the only Hall of Fame Rey belong in is the one for deadbeat dads. He should have been Eddie’s son and knocks Rey down, but Rey ducks a charge to send Dominik outside. Dominik screams at Rey to fight him but Rey still says no. Legado comes in to calm Rey down. This match is actually going to feel big when we get there.

Adam Pearce runs into Charlotte in the back and wants a match, any match, tonight. He’ll see what he can do.

Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders

Ricochet takes Erik down to start but Ivar comes in to hit him in the face. It’s off to Strowman, who LAUNCHES Ricochet over the top onto both Vikings as we take a break. Back with Ricochet getting his neck cranked and getting punched down for daring a comeback. Ivar distracts Strowman so Erik can drive him off the apron as the dominance is on.

Ricochet fights back and rolls Erik up for two, only to get caught in a good looking sitout powerbomb for two more. A springboard moonsault press drops Erik as Strowman is getting back up to the apron to take the tag. Strowman gets to clean house and Ricochet kicks Ivar down. Valhalla offers a distraction though and the 450 misses. Ivar kicks Ricochet in the face and hits a top rope splash for the pin at 10:55.

Rating: C. The ending had me a bit scared as I was wondering if Valhalla was going to do some weird supernatural stuff but thankfully they didn’t go that way. The Vikings are a team who keeps getting started and stopped and right now seems to be the former. Maybe they can put something together, as there is value in having a pair of monsters like this in any tag division.

Gunther asks Adam Pearce about the Intercontinental Title match and is told there will be potential challengers. That’s not cool with Gunther, but Pearce makes Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre next week for the title shot at Wrestlemania.

Charlotte vs. Shotzi

Non-title and Charlotte runs her over to start. Shotzi grabs a rollup for two but gets waistlocked down. Cue Rhea Ripley for a distraction but Charlotte grabs a suplex anyway. We take a break and come back with Charlotte booting her off the apron. Charlotte gets driven into the apron but is fine enough to cut off a dive attempt. A fall away slam sends Shotzi flying and the spear sets up the Figure Eight to finish Shotzi at 8:22.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a workout for Charlotte, who ran over Shotzi without much trouble, even with Ripley there for the distraction. Charlotte needs a few wins of her own to keep up with Ripley, who is on a roll at the moment. This helped make Charlotte look like a killer, which she hasn’t been in recent weeks.

Post match Ripley gets in the ring and says that she can see why she chose to face Charlotte at Wrestlemania. She can see all of those insecurities and now she is going to take Charlotte’s title. Charlotte says that she has improved every day and can outwork anyone, male or female. Ripley can rip apart anyone, except for her.

Here are the Usos for their big speech. Jimmy talks about the team being back together and Jey says let’s flip roles for a bit. If your family is in trouble, you’re going to take their side and help them out. If they need a ride to work or their power is about to be shut off, you’re going to help them.

Jimmy is his twin and his blood and of course he helped his brother out. The only person Jey blames is Sami Zayn because the reality is, Sami is selfish. All Zayn had to do was fall in line but he isn’t blood and never will be. The only problem left is Cody Rhodes….and here he is to interrupt.

Cody says if you’re going to say his name, say it straight to him. He doesn’t answer to Reigns but rather the people….and here is Sami Zayn to jump the Usos. The big brawl is on and they head into the crowd until it’s back to ringside. Sami and Cody clear the ring to end the show. That was a hot segment but I’m not sure I can imagine Cody/Sami vs. the Usos, as that feels pay per view worthy rather than TV.

Overall Rating: B-. This was another show where they were mainly building up things already set, or all but set, for Wrestlemania. The Usos’ reunion didn’t mean much but at least they were on the show and confirmed Jey’s status. Next week’s #1 contenders match should be good and we took a big step towards the battle of the Mysterios. It was another show that felt like it had a big to do list and checked off one item at a time. Good show here, as Wrestlemania is getting a proper build instead of the rush jobs that we have seemed to get in recent years.

Results
Sheamus and Drew McIntyre b. Xavier Woods, Karrion Kross and LA Knight – Double pin
Judgment Day b. Legado del Fantasma – Superkick to Del Toro
Viking Raiders b. Ricochet/Braun Strowman – Top rope splash to Ricochet
Charlotte b. Shotzi – Figure Eight

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: February 17, 2023
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are a day away from Elimination Chamber and that means this is likely to be the Sami Zayn show. Tomorrow night the hometown boy Zayn gets his shot at Roman Reigns and I think the people might be a bit interested. Other than that we have Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title against Madcap Moss. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Usos/Bloodline drama, with Jimmy Uso getting caught lying about Jey Uso and Sami Zayn. Hence Roman Reigns telling the Usos to stay home this week.

Natalya/Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Fallout from Rousey and Baszler hurting both of them. Baszler cranks on Natalya’s arm to start and it’s quickly off to Rousey for another battle over arm control. Shotzi comes in to actually take Rousey down, setting up Cattle Mutilation of all things. Rousey powers out but gets sent outside, allowing Shotzi to hit a pretty hard dive. With Natalya adding a clothesline, Shotzi dives onto both villains as we take a break.

Back with Shotzi still in trouble but managing to send Baszler outside. A scary looking DDT on the apron plants Rousey and it’s off to Natalya to clean house. Natalya German suplexes Baszler and gets the Sharpshooter on Rousey. Baszler makes the save but gets sent outside, leaving Rousey to armbar Shotzi for the tap at 12:05.

Rating: C+. They were working hard here and it showed well. Rousey and Baszler are looking like the next big thing in the tag division (assuming there is one) and racking up wins, even like this one, is a good way to go. They weren’t going to beat Natalya the day before Elimination Chamber so they even got the result right.

Long video on the history of Sami Zayn and the Bloodline. This really has been a pretty epic story.

Here is Hit Row to complain about how Montreal didn’t like them the last time they were in this city. They issue what seems to be an open challenge so here are Bray Wyatt and Uncle Howdy to wipe the team out. Bray: “You’re welcome Montreal.” With that out of the way, Bray talks about….Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley? Whoever wins should run. Well that comes out of nowhere and in a good way.

We look at Madcap Moss becoming #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title.

Emma is proud of Moss for winning and it’s time for people to learn that he is a superstar.

Combat sports journalist and hometown boy Ariel Helwani is in the crowd, saying they are happy to see Sami Zayn return home tonight.

Sheamus/Drew McIntyre vs. Viking Raiders

Valhalla is here with the Vikings. They go straight to the brawl to start with the Raiders being cleared out to send us to a break. Back with Sheamus fighting out of a chinlock but getting choked on the apron instead. A clothesline gets Sheamus out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in McIntyre for the neckbreakers. Everything breaks down and the Glasgow Kiss hits Erik. Sheamus comes in and hits a super Regal Roll to Ivar for the huge crash.

We take another break and come back again with McIntyre planting Ivar and Sheamus adding a top rope knee for two. The Brogue Kick misses though and Sheamus gets powerbombed. Erik goes up but dives onto raised knees, allowing the hot tag to McIntyre to clean house. McIntyre gets caught on top for a super World’s Strongest Slam though and the Superfly Splash gives Ivar two. Ragnarok is broken up by a Brogue Kick though and the Claymore finishes Erik at 17:06.

Rating: B. Sometimes you need four big, strong guys to beat the fire out of each other for a little while and that is exactly what you got here. Sheamus and McIntyre are the kind of team who could be Tag Team Champions one day so keeping them strong somewhat early in their run together is the right move.

We look at more on Sami Zayn vs. the Bloodline, including Sami finally turning on them at the Royal Rumble.

We look at Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar showing respect last week after the show ended.

Mysterio talks about how great that was when Karrion Kross, with Scarlett, comes in. Kross said he once wanted to be a father, but then saw how Dominik Mysterio turned out. If Rey wants to fight again, Kross is ready.

Asuka vs. Liv Morgan

Carmella is on commentary. Asuka takes Morgan down and works on the arm as Raquel Rodriguez comes out to yell at Carmella. Nikki Cross jumps out of the crowd and sits on Wade Barrett’s lap (Barrett: “I am going to be in so much trouble when I get home.”) as Morgan hits a quick Oblivion for two. We take a break and come back with a glare off until Asuka fires off strikes to the head. A springboard Codebreaker looks to set up Oblivion but Asuka goes for the arm instead. The armbar makes Morgan tap at 8:35.

Rating: C. Asuka is looking like one of the favorites to win the Chamber so giving her the win here makes sense. Morgan’s fall from championship status continues as the experiment seems to have come to a rather crashing halt. She still belongs in a #1 contenders match, but Asuka or Rodriguez seem to be the top prospects to go on to Wrestlemania.

Post match all of the women in the Chamber, including Natalya, come in for the parade of knockdowns, with Asuka standing tall.

Gunther promises to keep the Intercontinental Title from Madcap Moss.

Intercontinental Title: Madcap Moss vs. Gunther

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending and Emma is here with Moss. Gunther’s headlock takeover doesn’t get him very far so he comes back with the hard chop instead. There’s the big boot for two but Moss knocks him into the corner for some running shoulders to the ribs. A spinebuster and running shoulder put Gunther on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Moss slipping out of a powerbomb but not being able to hit the Punchline. The sleeper is broken up with a belly to back suplex and Moss hits a hard running clothesline for two more. Moss blocks another sleeper attempt and catches Gunther on top with a super fall away slam for two. Now the sleeper goes on and Moss is staggered, allowing Gunther to hit the powerbomb to retain at 10:20.

Rating: C+. There is only so much you can do in a match where the champion never feels like he is in danger and that was the case here. Moss is becoming a more serious star and that is a great thing for him (just change the first name already) but it is going to take something special to beat Gunther. As far as Moss has come, he was in way over his head here but did fairly well in spite of it.

Here is Sami Zayn to the huge hometown reception and yes he has the old theme back. The ovation goes on for a long time and Sami starts to cry, with the YOU DESERVE IT chants making it worse. The fans give him the OLE chant as Sami has been in the ring for almost five minutes and not been able to say the first word.

Sami finally says that this time of year, everybody points to one thing, because Wrestlemania is the most important show of the year. But for this city, tomorrow night is once in a lifetime. Sami addresses Roman Reigns in French, saying tomorrow night it’s Reigns vs. Sami and the City of Montreal. Reigns is going down. This was incredible and one of the more emotional things you’ll see from WWE. I know Zayn has about a sliver of a chance to win the title, but WWE better have the jet in the parking lot to get the Bloodline out of Montreal after Sami loses before they get ripped to pieces.

Overall Rating: B. Maybe it’s just being fired up by that ending, but I’m wanting to see Elimination Chamber a lot more than I was coming in. The card is stacked and while the Raw side is better overall, the Smackdown half should be rather adequate. This show did a solid job of making me more interested and that is exactly what it was supposed to do.

Results
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Natalya/Shotzi – Armbar
Sheamus/Drew McIntyre b. Viking Raiders – Brogue Kick to Erik
Asuka b. Liv Morgan – Armbar
Gunther b. Madcap Moss – Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: February 3, 2023
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and the main event of Wrestlemania is set. That being said, there is a Sami Zayn sized road block on the Road To Wrestlemania and I’m not sure how they are going to deal with it. You can almost guarantee Zayn is getting the Elimination Chamber title shot, but dang it’s going to be a fun right on the way there. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Sami Zayn finally turning on the Bloodline with a chair shot to Roman Reigns, but Jey Uso couldn’t bring himself to help with the ensuing beatdown.

The Bloodline, minus Jey Uso, and everyone but Paul Heyman ignores questions about Jey. Heyman says they cannon confirm or deny Jey’s Bloodline status at the moment.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament: Imperium vs. Braun Strowman/Ricochet

For a future Smackdown Tag Team Title shot. Strowman shoves Kaiser around to start before it’s off to Ricochet for a headlock. A dropkick puts Kaiser down and it’s back to Strowman, who picks up Kaiser on the floor. Vinci hits a big dive onto both of them though and we take a break.

Back with Strowman going shoulder first into the post, allowing the double teaming to begin. Strowman fights out of it though and it’s back to Ricochet with the springboard crossbody. A running shooting star press hits Vinci and everything breaks down. Ricochet avoids the double dropkick in the corner but gets in a staredown with Gunther on the floor. That’s enough for Gunther to be ejected but he gets in a staredown with Strowman on the floor.

Ricochet gets caught in a high/low for two and we take another break. Back again with Ricochet escaping the Imperial Bomb and getting back over to Strowman to clean house. Vinci’s springboard spinning forearm has no effect on Strowman, who blasts Kaiser with a clothesline. The Monster Bomb into a Swanton off of Strowman’s shoulders finishes Kaiser at 16:16.

Rating: B-. What a weird tournament this was, as Ricochet and Strowman, who are at least regular partners, get the win rather than McIntyre and Sheamus, who are such a dominant force that they could conceivably take the belts. Ricochet and Strowman are good enough as challengers, but I’m not sure how much I buy them as a threat to the titles.

We look at Rhea Ripley winning the Women’s Royal Rumble, plus her choosing to challenge Charlotte for Wrestlemania.

Charlotte is ready for Rhea Ripley but Sonya Deville shows up and says she’ll be taking the title. Wrestlemania is in Los Angeles and needs a star.

Rey Mysterio and New Day were at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a promotional appearance for an upcoming NASCAR race. Judgment Day interrupted and started yelling, resulting in…..a car race between the Mysterios. They talk a lot of trash and Rey wins in the end. Of all the cross promotional stuff I’ve seen, this is far from the bottom of the list.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sonya Deville

Charlotte is defending. They start slow with Charlotte taking over and knocking Deville down. A high crossbody connects but Charlotte misses a charge in the corner, allowing Sonya to get in a shot as we take a break. Back with Charlotte fighting out of trouble and hitting a belly to back suplex. The big boot gives Charlotte two but another one misses, allowing Sonya to snap her leg across the top.

A pump kick gives Sonya two and a middle rope knee to the face is good for the same. Sonya tries a Figure Four but gets reversed into a small package for two. Charlotte’s moonsault hits raised boots so Sonya, with feet on the ropes, can get two. Back up and Charlotte gets the Figure Four into the Figure Eight to retain at 10:22.

Rating: C. This felt like the story that we had to get cleared out before we get to the Wrestlemania title matches as Charlotte has a lot more important things to do than beat up Deville. The result wasn’t in doubt here and while the match wasn’t bad, it was little more than a glorified workout for Charlotte. The Ripley match was already set up Monday, so why was this going to be a big deal on Friday?

Video on Cody Rhodes, who came back from a horrible injury and won the Royal Rumble to get a title shot at Wrestlemania.

The Bloodline is in the back and Jimmy Uso hasn’t hear from his brother. Reigns: “Don’t you find that disrespectful?” He isn’t happy with what happened, but asks Jimmy a bit more emphatically if he has heard from his brother. Jimmy says again, he hasn’t heard from him, but Jey will be there next week for the title match. Reigns asks what about the rest of them. Has Solo Sikoa talked to Jey either? It’s Wrestlemania season, and Jimmy isn’t finding Jey on the couch. Find Jey, now.

Black History Month video on Kofi Kingston.

Brawling Brutes vs. Viking Raiders

Ivar and Butch start things off and it’s a brawl early on. A Valhalla distraction lets Ivar send Butch hard into the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Holland throwing suplexes on Erik, who cuts him off with a knee lift. An Alabama Slam plants Ivar but he takes Holland into the corner for some rapid fire elbows to the face. Butch tags himself in and hurricanranas his way out of something off the top. Butch’s moonsault is pulled out of the air though and Ivar picks him up. Holland gets kicked in the face on the floor and Ragnarok finishes Butch at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Another good enough match here, as the Raiders get built up for a likely Elimination Chamber showdown with McIntyre and Sheamus. It’s kind of weird that Sheamus has more or less dumped the Brutes for McIntyre, but he was overshadowing the other two anyway. I’m not sure how Butch and Holland will do on their own, but they’re going to get the chance.

Post match McIntyre and Sheamus come out to bet up the Vikings.

We look at the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match from the Rumble.

Bray Wyatt is in his chair….and Uncle Howdy comes up to him. A jump scare ensues.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Zelina Vega vs. Shotzi vs. Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler

It’s a brawl to start with Vega Code Redding Natalya for two, with Baszler making the save. Baszler drops Shotzi and stands on her head until Natalya makes the save. A knee to the face gives Baszler two on Natalya and we take a break. Back with Natalya’s Sharpshooter being broken up and Baszler Kirifuda Clutching Vega. Natalya breaks that up and has to break out of another Clutch. The Sharpshooter makes Zelina tap to give Natalya the Chamber spot at 7:28.

Rating: C. The second her music hit, you could pencil Natalya in for the spot. I understand that she is going to be in there to walk a lot of people through the match, but dang there is an emotional drop when she comes in. Natalya has talent, but she takes away so much interest because she is the same wrestler she has been for years now.

The rest of the Bloodline can’t find Jey Uso and Roman Reigns says that if they aren’t all on the same page, the Bloodline is done. Paul Heyman has sent catering to the bus so Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso can go eat while Reigns takes care of business.

Here are Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman for a chat. Reigns would rather talk about Cody Rhodes, but the people are insisting that he talk about the past. We can do that, and the story goes back to WarGames. Reigns saw greed in Zayn’s eyes that night, which is the same thing he sees in everyone’s eyes these days. When he goes to a restaurant, Reigns has to deal with everyone using him for something else instead of doing something for him. Now he has to deal with the same thing from Zayn.

The people here can’t ever give back either….and here is Zayn through the crowd to jump Reigns from behind. Heyman hands Reigns a chair but Zayn hits a spear to send Reigns running. Zayn says Reigns is wrong because he never wanted anything from him. Until now, because he is coming for the title. Heyman and Reigns look scared but Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa sneak in for the beatdown. The beating is on and Zayn gets taken down in the corner. Reigns blames Zayn for breaking up the Bloodline. He wants Zayn at Elimination Chamber in Montreal so he can ruin Zayn in front of his friends and family.

This Sami stuff continues to be phenomenal as he’s the hottest thing in wrestling right now. I know it’s still likely Cody’s title to win and yes he might be a bit of a better option long term, but those reactions for Zayn are something else, as he is showing fire like no one in WWE has done in years. It’s going to be tough watching him come up short, but dang it is going to be one heck of a ride.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird show as the ending is by far the best thing, even if the rest of the show was pretty good. Part of the problem is Elimination Chamber is in just over two weeks and that means a very rushed build to the event. What we got was good, but Zayn vs. Reigns is dwarfing everything else and it is showing hard.

Results
Ricochet/Braun Strowman b. Imperium – Swanton Bomb to Kaiser
Charlotte b. Sonya Deville – Figure Eight
Viking Raiders b. Brawling Brutes – Ragnarok to butch
Natalya b. Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega and Shotzi – Sharpshooter to Vega

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