Smackdown
Date: July 24, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re finally done with Extreme Rules and less than a month away from Summerslam. That means it’s time to start getting ready for one of the bigger shows of the year, but first we need to have a bar fight between Sheamus and Jeff Hardy, as one of the more questionable feuds of the year continues. Let’s get to it.

Here is Extreme Rules if you need a recap.

Jeff Hardy says he is an alcoholic and is ready to face Sheamus in his newfound enemy: a bar.

Sheamus is ready to give Jeff a headache, but it’s from a Brogue kick instead of a hangover.

JBL knows what a bar fight is like and says the emotions are running higher than the blood alcohol content in an APA poker game. Points for actually managing to make this even more cringe worthy.

Here are Bayley and Sasha Banks to gloat. Sasha talks about what it means to be great but the definition needs to be changed to the two of them. After Bayley yells at some fans, Banks declares an end to the Women’s Revolution. It started with them and it’s ending with them, because they are starting a new era. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be them, but here are Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss to interrupt.

Cross rants about how sick she is of the two of them so Bayley asks if she took her rabies medicine. Even Bliss thinks it’s too much right now but Cross wants a Women’s Title shot tonight. Bayley says fine, but Cross has to face Bliss, with the winner getting the title shot next week. Cross says they have to do this and shoves Bliss down, although not out of anger.

Nikki Cross vs. Alexa Bliss

The winner gets a shot at Bayley next week so Bayley and Banks are on commentary. Cross comes in with taped ribs thanks to the ring shot on Sunday, which Banks turns into a plug for WWE Shop. Bliss gets shoved down to start but Cross can’t hit a tornado DDT. They get annoyed at each other, even as Bliss can’t hit her own DDT. Cross gets more fired up and forearms away, setting up a bulldog for two.

Bliss dropkicks her tot he floor but misses the charge and gets caught in the ring skirt. A kick to the face gets Bliss out of trouble, so Bayley and Banks shout “GET HER! GET HER!” That earns them a double knockdown and we take a break. Back with Bliss dropkicking her out to the floor as Cole and Graves laugh at the knockdown before the commercial. Bayley challenges Cole for Summerslam as Bliss kicks away at the bad ribs and drives them into the barricade to put Cross down outside.

Back in and some knees to the ribs give Bliss two before she cranks on the arm with a knee in the ribs. It’s off to a seated abdominal stretch so Cole can list off all of Bliss’ accomplishments. They really need to stop doing that as so many people have won so many titles that they lose all meaning every time you hear them.

Cross fights up but the tornado DDT is countered into a sunset bomb for two. Back up and Cross grabs a Regal Cutter for two more, followed by a reverse DDT for the same. Cross misses the high crossbody though and the ribs are banged up again. The referee goes to check on her so Cross insists she can keep going, which means a small package to finish Bliss at 14:55.

Rating: C. This was good enough and they’re planting the seeds for a Bliss/Cross split. That’s possibly their backdoor out of next week, though I’m not sure where that leaves Bayley for Summerslam. The ribs stuff was good here though, and Bayley and Banks are really entertaining on commentary, as you can tell how well they get along. It’s certainly better than Nikki screaming every chance she gets.

Post break Nikki is excited when a dejected Bliss comes in to congratulate her. Bliss says it’s time to focus on becoming the new Women’s Champion next week.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House, which starts with a package on the Swamp Fight. Bray, standing next to the Fiend lantern, says that was fun because Braun Strowman came back home. Some of you are probably worried that Braun is now trapped in the swamp, but don’t worry, because it has been certified organic. The lantern starts talking to him but Bray says its job is done for now. No he can’t let the lantern out again, because he had his chance. Now it’s his turn, because he has been unleashed. We cut to the Fiend and that’s it.

We look back at AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle from last week.

Matt Riddle vs. Tony Nese

Riddle goes straight to the rolling gutwrench suplexes into the Broton for one. Nese knocks him down and hits a Lionsault for two, followed by a bodyscissors to keep Riddle in trouble. Back up and Nese has to knee his way out of the Bro Derek, meaning Riddle settles for a t-bone suplex. Now the Bro Derek can connect for the pin at 2:03. Nice back on track win for Riddle.

Post match Riddle calls out King Corbin to fight him right now. Cue Corbin to say the request is denied because Riddle doesn’t belong in the kingdom. Riddle still has the new car smell but after that wears off, he’s just a frat boy who looks like he just rolled out of bed. That’s why Corbin has put out a king’s ransom on his head. Riddle says Corbin has it all wrong because Corbin is the next guest on the Bro Show. Nese tries to jump Riddle and gets kicked in the head.

Miz and John Morrison try to think of hashtags to get themselves some extra attention, with Morrison’s getting rather long.

JBL talks about what a bar fight means and talks about Jeff Hardy’s career. Jeff wins tonight.

Here are Miz and Morrison for MizTV. They have been talking with a team of trend forecasters to find out what is going to trend in the future. That’s why Morrison’s jacket has a MoreMorrison hashtag sign in his shirt. He’ll be sick if that doesn’t trend. How sick you ask? Four Seth Rollins vomiting sick. With that out of the way, here is Naomi as their guest. Last week she may have lost, but Naomideservesbetter was trending after her match. Naomi thanks the fans for having her back, with Miz talking about how she went viral for returning at the Royal Rumble this year too. Miz: “But you didn’t win that match either.”

Why aren’t people talking about Lacey Evans? Naomi says the two of them are making her sick. Miz and Morrison: “How sick?” That would be five Seth Rollins vomiting sick, which Miz warns will prevent her from trending. Naomi talks about everything she puts in the ring every time and that’s why the fans are behind her.

Miz didn’t expect this kind of a confrontation, so here’s Lacey Evans as a surprise guest. Lacey thinks Naomi’s hashtag was trending out of pity and calls her washed up. Naomi shoves Lacey as she does her lipstick, meaning the fight is on with Lacey bailing. I can go with Naomi getting a push, but because of karaoke, makeup and hashtags?

We look at Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura winning the Tag Team Titles on Sunday.

Big E. is outside of the trainer’s room when Kofi Kingston comes out. He’s holding his ribs and limping because there is some bad news: he is going to be out about six weeks. Big E. promises they will get the Tag Team Titles back but Kofi wants Big E. to go do something on his own while the rest of the team is on the shelf. Kofi: “I put your meat on my meat man.” They hug and Big E. seems touched.

Gran Metalik vs. Lince Dorado vs. Shorty G. vs. Drew Gulak

One fall to a finish and the winner gets an Intercontinental Title shot against AJ Styles (on commentary). Gable and Gulak are sent outside in a hurry but the Lucha House Party fight doesn’t break out as Gulak breaks things up. Metalik hurricanranas Gulak to the floor before dodging a German suplex attempt from Gable. The rope walk dropkick gets two on gable with Gulak making a save. Dorado comes in and hammers away in Gulak in the corner as AJ says he wants to face the one who gets beaten up the worst. AJ: “It just makes sense right?”

Dorado suicide dives onto Gulak and Gable sends Metalik outside. A huge Gable moonsault wipes out everyone and we take a break. Back with Gable and Gulak going into a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. Metalik comes back in and gets double teamed down but Gulak and Gable argue over who gets to stomp. The arguing lets Metalik hit a handspring elbow to take both of them down and it’s Dorado coming back in to chop away.

Metalik breaks up Dorado’s cover though and the argument is on, only to have Gable jump Metalik with a suplex. There’s one for Dorado as well and Gable is fired up. Gulak takes a third and a hard belly to back suplex gets two on Metalik. Back up and Gable gets caught in the Gulock but he climbs the ropes to reverse into an ankle lock. The grapevine makes it even worse but Dorado makes the save with a top rope splash for two. Dorado goes up again, earning himself a crotching from Gulak. Gable takes them both down though and Metalik walks the ropes for the top rope elbow and the pin on Gable at 11:47.

Rating: C+. They kept the action going here and that’s the best thing they could have done. That being said, they picked Metalik to get the title shot? Actually…..why not? One of the biggest criticisms about WWE is they can be predictable so Metalik winning here is quite the twist. He won’t win the title or anything, but points for trying something new.

Post match AJ gets in the ring and slaps Metalik in the face, earning himself a tornado DDT. Metalik holds up the title.

Video on Otis and Mandy Rose’s romance.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro are happy with their titles but they are sad about not putting Big E. through a table. It would have made a bigger splat you see. Even with Kofi being out of action, it isn’t Big E.’s time. They salute and promise to make all of the Smackdown teams go splat.

Long video on Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus.

Next week: AJ Styles defends against Gran Metalik and Nikki Cross gets another shot at Alexa Bliss.

Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy

They’re in a local bar and Sheamus arrives first, meaning he can order a drink. Jeff arrives and asks for a cup as he sits down next to Sheamus. His brother had to delete his career and Jeff had to save his own. Rehab made him better but Sheamus says no one cares about Jeff anymore. Jeff asks if Sheamus is still the bar and says he is connected to everything. Like the window, the TV and this bar. Sheamus: “I’m the bar!” Sheamus is ready to fight so Sheamus throws a drink in his face and it’s on.

That means Sheamus gets the better of it in a hurry and hits the ten forearms over the bar. Sheamus wants a top shelf drink but the distraction lets Jeff run down the bar and dive onto him. There’s a whip into some barrels and Jeff steals the basketballs from a machine and pelts Sheamus with them. They fight into the back with Jeff having a barrel knocked out of his hands. Sheamus sends him into some walls and they head into the bathroom, with Jeff’s face going into a urinal.

Jeff one ups him by throwing Sheamus into a stall and crawling out, leaving Sheamus to scream about Hardy. Sheamus goes looking for him but gets laddered in the chest. Jeff dives off the bar again but gets rammed into the wall for his efforts. Now it’s Jeff being thrown over a set of drums and we take a break. Back with Sheamus Brogue kicking a drum and being sent into a table. The Twisting Stunner rocks Sheamus and Jeff grabs the ladder.

The bartender, the same one from the toast, jumps Jeff from behind though, earning himself a powerbomb through a table. Sheamus breaks a chair over Hardy’s back, puts his hat over Jeff’s face, and says sweet dreams. Sheamus has a drink and calls over the referee, but now Jeff’s face is painted and his eyeballs have some kind of a film over them. He gets up and hits Sheamus with a glass before climbing the ladder. The Swanton hits Sheamus for the pin at 13:14.

Rating: C. It was a good enough brawl but good grief enough with the supernatural stuff. Hardy going into some trance and suddenly having paint on his face took me way out of this as they were having a good and almost realistic fight for a long time. But then oh wait never mind because we need to tell some story or have Jeff be some weird creature. He can’t just fight up because he wants to prove people wrong and come back against the odds for the win. No no, the solution is to be smart instead, because that hasn’t gotten WWE in trouble lately whatsoever.

Overall Rating: C. Your individual taste may vary here as they seem to have a plan for Summerslam (that’s good) but some of the choices are a little out there (that’s usually bad). The action was good enough and the main event felt like a step forward for Hardy, but dang I don’t need to see anything cinematic for a LONG time to come. They do seem to be going in a few fresh directions though and right now, that is a good idea. Granted baseball’s big return is going to ravage this in the ratings anyway, but points for planting some seeds.

Results

Nikki Cross b. Alexa Bliss – Small package

Matt Riddle b. Tony Nese – Bro Derek

Gran Metalik b. Lince Dorado, Shorty G. and Drew Gulak – Rope walk elbow to Shorty G.

Jeff Hardy b. Sheamus – Swanton off a ladder

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: February 17, 2006
Location: Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for No Way Out, which is looking like one of the best shows that WWE has put together for a good while now. I’m not sure what to expect here, but we’re going to be seeing some previews for some of the pay per view matches. For once, that sounds like a fine idea. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Rey Mysterio vs. Sylvan

Sylvan talks about being the whole package, so Rey hits him with a baseball slide and a slingshot dive to start things off in a hurry. Rey hammers away on the floor and sends him into the steps as the aggression is strong here. They head inside for the opening bell so the aggressive Rey grabs a headlock.

Rey kicks at the leg as the EDDIE chants start up, meaning it’s an Eddie dance. A missed charge in the corner lets Sylvan get in a backbreaker and a delayed belly to back gets two. The bearhug goes on, followed by a spinebuster for two more. Rey fights out of a waistlock and is immediately clotheslined right back down. That doesn’t seem to matter though as it’s a 619 into Dropping The Dime for the pin on Sylvan.

Rating: C-. It was nice to see Rey a little more aggressive as he can be fast enough to make it work well. You can only do the stick and move offense for so long and Rey getting in a win like this, even one where he had to fight through some adversity, was a nice change of pace. Rey is often presented as surviving instead of winning decisively, so this worked out well.

Post match Randy Orton comes out to say that Eddie main evented Wrestlemania (not exactly) but Rey will never do that because he can’t win.

Post break, Mysterio runs into Kurt Angle, who asks if Rey is letting Orton talk to him like that. It would be an honor to face Mysterio at Wrestlemania but here’s Mark Henry to ask why Angle is worried about Wrestlemania. Tonight, Henry is taking out Angle and Undertaker.

Here’s Orlando Jordan to say that he should be getting the US Title shot at No Way Out. No one in that locker room can beat him either.

Boogeyman vs. Orlando Jordan

Jordan jumps him but Boogeyman finishes with the pumphandle slam in less than a minute.

Post match, Boogeyman drops worms on Jordan. Moving on.

Cruiserweight Title: Gregory Helms vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Hotty is challenging in place of Kid Kash, who had a family emergency. Helms stomps away in the corner to start but Scotty snaps off some hiptosses for two. A missed charge sends Scotty into the post though and a knee to the face gets two. Helms drops some legs and gets two more off a Chris Jericho style cocky cover. A clothesline sets up the chinlock but Scotty is up with elbows and a backdrop. The Worm tease takes too long though and it’s a clothesline into the Shining Wizard to retain.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here and that was kind of the point. The cruiserweights don’t have much going at the moment so Helms is about as good of a choice as they have. They’re going to need to do something else to boost things up, starting with a good challenger. I’m not sure how likely that is given the history of the division, but what we’re getting so far isn’t quite promising.

Post match Helms says he can do that against anyone in the cruiserweight division. Cue the cruiserweight division to beat the heck out of Helms, capped of by the Worm from Scotty.

Video on the Undertaker.

We look at the Helms beatdown again.

Teddy Long comes in to see Helms as he is getting ice on his ribs. For No Way Out: another Cruiserweight Open.

Mr. Kennedy interrupts Paul Burchill’s interview and can’t believe we’re seeing this. Burchill puts a sword to Kennedy’s throat and Kennedy suddenly sees the brilliance. Kennedy: “We need a pirate in this business.”

John Bradshaw Layfield/Finlay vs. Chris Benoit/Bobby Lashley

Booker T. and Sharmell are on commentary and Benoit’s entrance makes Booker sweat. Benoit and Finlay start things off and fight over a lockup until Finlay takes him down by the leg. Back up and Benoit hits a dropkick as Booker rants about being able to work 365 days a year. Sharmell: “Michael Cole, you would scream like a girl if you had an ingrown toenail.” Finlay gets Benoit tied in the ring skirt so JBL can stomp on Benoit’s hand on the steps.

Said hand is bent around the turnbuckle so Benoit uses the good hand to chop JBL into the corner. Unfortunately it’s the Finlay corner and the beating is on all over again. Benoit slugs away from JBL and brings Lashley in to clean house. The shoulders in the corner have JBL in trouble so he goes to the eye to save himself. Finlay comes in and gets clotheslined to the floor, with JBL diving off the apron to drop Lashley.

We take a break and come back with Lashley caught in a sleeper. Lashley fights up but Finlay kicks him in the back to take care of the comeback bid. Finlay comes in and uppercuts him a few times, only to have Lashley hit the running clothesline. The hot tag brings in Benoit to clean house, including a suplex to JBL. The rolling German suplexes keep JBL in trouble but Finlay makes the save. Benoit sends Finlay into the steps but Booker chairs Benoit in the back. The Clothesline From JBL finishes Benoit.

Rating: C+. Pretty solid enough tag match and that works out well for everyone. Finlay doesn’t have the big win on his own yet but he’s become a player in a hurry. Now as long as they can do something with him in the coming weeks, he might be able to become someone around here. He comes off as someone different, and that’s a great status to have.

Bret Hart Hall of Fame announcement.

Matt Hardy vs. Simon Dean

The Gymini are here with Dean and offer a rather early distraction. The other pulls Dean out of the way of a charge in the corner and that means an ejection. Dean gets in a few cheap shots and sends Hardy into the corner as commentary doesn’t seem to think the match deserves that much attention. The Side Effect gets Matt out of trouble and the Twist of Fate finishes in a hurry.

Rating: D. I’m not sure what it means that this is the best Matt has gotten to look since Survivor Series. The match was nothing and just a win over Simon Dean of all people, but at least Matt got to win something. He needs to reset things a bit and while I don’t believe that is going to start from this, it’s better than nothing.

Video on Angle’s career, including several clips of his amateur career.

Raw Rebound.

Matt Hardy runs into Melina in the back and accepts her offer. Not the backscratching offer, but the offer for a match against MNM with a partner of his choosing. Ok then.

No Way Out rundown.

MNM/Mark Henry vs. Kurt Angle/Undertaker

Daivari and Melina are here with the villains. Angle and Mercury start things off but Undertaker steps in front of Kurt to start instead. Undertaker throws Mercury into the corner without much trouble and demands Henry. That’s just what he gets, along with a blind tag from Angle who uppercuts Henry instead. It’s off to Nitro, who misses a charge into the corner. The ankle lock is broken up and everything breaks down in a hurry. Undertaker and Angle clear the ring but stop to stare at each other, allowing Henry to throw both of them outside.

We take a break and come back with Nitro holding Angle in a chinlock before Mercury comes in for shoulders in the corner. Henry fights out of an ankle lock without much trouble and it’s Mercury back in with the next chinlock. That one is broken up with a suplex and the hot tag brings in Undertaker. Snake Eyes into the big boot hits Mercury but Henry breaks up the double chokeslam. MNM chokes away in the corner and a double suplex gets two. Undertaker avoids a Henry charge and calls for the chokeslam but Angle tags the hand instead. Angle cleans house in a hurry and finishes Nitro with an ankle lock.

Rating: C+. Normally I wouldn’t be thrilled with the Tag Team Champions losing like this but due to a mixture of that ship sailing a long time ago and it being against Undertaker and Angle. This was all designed to keep pushing Angle vs. Undertaker, which is somehow looking even better than it did before. The match wasn’t the point here, but it worked out well enough for what they were trying to do.

Post match Undertaker chokeslams and Tombstones Henry (without the best landing) to scare Angle a bit. The staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling was good enough but what matters the most here is making No Way Out look more interesting. The card is looking rather good two days before the show and that is more than you usually get out of the February show. Then again, having Undertaker vs. Angle on the show is about as good as you can get for a pre-Wrestlemania main event.

 

 

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 17, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules and I think I can safely say thank goodness for that. We’ve had a long road to get here and there is one big match to go, as Matt Riddle challenges AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Title. Hopefully they can add in a little more for the pay per view, as it only has six matches set. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

AJ Styles is ready to beat the barefoot bump to retain the title because Riddle is a flash in the pan.

Matt Riddle is ready to beat Arrogant Jackass all over again.

Daniel Bryan is ready to see a new champion.

Alexa Bliss has a special mystery guest on A Moment of Bliss. Who is it? She doesn’t Bliss and tell.

Miz and John Morrison are getting ready for Morrison’s match against Braun Strowman. And something about fighting Jean Claude Van Damme on a yacht.

Braun Strowman hopes Bray Wyatt is watching tonight.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro are ready to pick the stipulation for Sunday’s Tag Team Title match after Cesaro beats Big E.

New Day doesn’t think so.

Big E. vs. Cesaro

Kofi Kingston and Shinsuke Nakamura are at ringside and the winner gets to pick the stipulation (between a tables match and a cage match) for Sunday. They go outside in a hurry with Big E. driving him into the steps. A spear into the steps makes it even worse but Big E. misses a charge into the post back inside. Cesaro posts him again and hits a middle rope ax handle to the head for two. The chinlock goes on but Big E. fights up with belly to belly suplexes. The apron splash connects and we take a break.

Back with Cesaro cutting off a comeback big with an uppercut but Big E. reverses the Neutralizer into the Brock Lock of all things. That’s reversed as well and Cesaro swings him into the Sharpshooter. Cesaro switches into a Crossface but Big E. makes the rope. Kofi gets taken out as Big E. loads up the Big Ending, which nearly hits the referee. The distraction lets Nakamura get in a cheap shot and the Neutralizer lets Cesaro make the choice at 10:07.

Rating: C. This is a match that could have worked better with some more time and it worked out well enough here. They had been teasing a tables match for a few weeks now so the ending wasn’t quite in doubt, but I’ll take a little drama over building momentum every time.

Post match Cesaro and Nakamura load up another table but Kofi is back for the save. Nakamura gets Cesaro off the table in time though and they bail.

King Corbin wants to see Styles retain tonight because he doesn’t like Riddle. See, Riddle is playing with fire by going after the big dogs and tonight he’s going to get burned. Tonight, people are going to realize that the Bro is a little boy.

It’s time for A Moment of Bliss, with Alexa Bliss feeling clairvoyant. She thinks the Los Angeles Lakers are going to win the NBA Championship, that Matt Riddle is winning the Intercontinental Title tonight, that Braun Strowman is going to win the Swamp Fight, and that her mystery guest is going to tear the roof off on Sunday. Nikki Cross thinks it’s her and promises to do just that against Bayley. Bliss asks how many Nitro Boosts Cross has had, because she isn’t the guest.

Cue Bayley and Sasha Banks, with Bayley promising to retain on Sunday. She has a prediction of her own: on Sunday, she is beating Nikki and Banks is beating the Empress of Yesterday Asuka, to win every belt there is. That’s all well and good, but Bayley and Banks aren’t the guest. Cue Asuka, with the brawl starting in a hurry. Bliss says get a referee out here.

Hold on though as Daniel Bryan says that he thinks Riddle is winning the title again.

Asuka/Nikki Cross vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Non-title. Cross throws Bayley down to start and hammers away on her in the corner. Banks offers a distraction though and Bayley pulls her down by the hair. The armbar doesn’t last long and it’s back to Bayley to stomp away. A double whip sends Cross into the corner again and Bayley grabs the chinlock. That lasts as long as your run of the mill chinlock and Cross fights up for the tag off to Asuka. House is cleaned in a hurry and Asuka ties Banks up in the ring skirt.

It’s back to Cross to forearm away and scream a lot. Bayley’s baseball slide under the corner is countered into the ring skirt as well and it’s Cross and Asuka hitting dives off the apron. Dancing takes us to the break. Back with Asuka in trouble and Banks stomping away before handing it back to Bayley. More stomping ensues and it’s Banks grabbing the chinlock.

Bayley misses an elbow though and it’s a hot tag to Cross to pick up the pace. A bulldog out of the corner drops Banks but she’s right back with a dropkick to the ribs for two. Bayley comes back in and sends Cross outside, where Cross hits a springboard tornado DDT off the announcers’ table. Everyone winds up back inside until Banks kicks Asuka to the floor. The Meteora off the apron misses and Asuka kicks Banks down, leaving Bayley to counter another DDT into a rollup with feet on the ropes to pin Cross at 14:20.

Rating: C+. The energy was high here, though I’m still not believing there is much of a chance at either title changing hands on Sunday. Bayley and Banks have been on television a lot as of late and they’re really gelling as a team as of late. The problem though is they’re beating everyone and I’m not sure who is left to give them a real challenge.

Miz fires up Morrison, who compares Strowman to a movie monster. They’re movie guys, but Miz isn’t going to be the best friend who dies fighting said monster. He’ll have Morrison’s back though.

This week’s Firefly Fun House takes us to the Swamp with Eater of Worlds Wyatt. Bray talks about how he brought Strowman here and told him the truth. He gave Strowman a purpose and created the monster. But then Strowman left, only to want to come back to the swamp to face Wyatt once and for all. Wyatt wants his monster to come home because the monster is still inside.

John Morrison vs. Braun Strowman

Non-title and Miz is in Morrison’s corner. Before the match, Strowman talks about having to go to the swamp and slap the devil in the face to end this once and for all. Strowman starts fast and hits the running clothesline in the corner. Morrison gets forearmed in the chest over and over, followed by a one armed chokeslam. The old head and arm choke sets up the running powerslam to finish Morrison at 1:47. That’s how it should have gone.

Post match, Strowman says he’s coming home. Strowman leaves and Morrison needs help getting out.

Naomi vs. Lacey Evans

Naomi cuts off Lacey’s pre-match promo and we’re ready to go. A few shots to the ribs have Lacey in early trouble but she knocks Naomi down and hits the slingshot elbow. The bottom rope moonsault hits Naomi’s raised knees and some kicks to the ribs keep Lacey in trouble. There’s a running hurricanrana to put Lacey in the corner and a kick to the head knocks her down on the apron. Lacey catches her charging in and ties the hair around the ropes for a creative stop. That’s broken up and the Woman’s Right finishes Naomi at 2:43. So why couldn’t they just do this last week?

Jeff Hardy talks about how fighting a bully like Sheamus is like fighting addiction. Yes it’s risky to walk into a bar but it’s going to be worth the chance to beat up Sheamus. As for tonight’s Intercontinental Title match…..well I’m not sure actually as Sheamus kicks him in the face. Sheamus says he’s here to cleanse Jeff of his demons, so see you next week fella. So the Bar Fight is on Smackdown and not at the pay per view? Ok then.

Bayley and Banks talk about having the momentum going into Sunday.

Cross is upset about losing and doesn’t want to let everyone down. Bliss tries to calm her down but Cross runs after Bayley and Banks, who are standing nearby. Bliss has to break it up, with Bayley wanting a leash on Cross.

Here are the same promos from AJ and Riddle that opened the show.

Intercontinental Title: Matt Riddle vs. AJ Styles

Styles is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Riddle blocks an early Irish whip attempt and hits the rolling gutwrench suplexes to put AJ on the floor. A running knee puts AJ down again so he rips off the announcers’ table, only to get kicked in the head. We take a break and come back with AJ still in trouble as commentary thinks he’s off his game tonight.

AJ manages a belly to back faceplant to drop Riddle though and it’s time for the forearms in the corner. Some shots to the leg have Riddle in trouble and we hit the chinlock. Riddle powers up and drives him into the corner, setting up the running backsplash. The Bro To Sleep into the Final Flash connects for two and we take another break.

Back again with AJ hitting a clothesline out of the corner but Riddle strikes away without much trouble. Riddle charges into a superkick though but AJ can’t hit the Styles Clash. Instead Riddle hits a ripcord knee to the face, only to miss the Floating Bro. A brainbuster gives AJ two but he has to fight out of the Bro Derek. They strike it out with AJ reversing a Pele into the Calf Crusher. Riddle reverses that into a Bromission attempt but can’t quite get it on. Instead, AJ reverses into a cradle for the clean pin at 18:07.

Rating: B. I’m not wild on the 50/50 booking, though losing a clean fall to AJ Styles is far from some career killer. Riddle has gotten a good start to his run on Smackdown, but I’m worried about the double hit of losing here and then having to feud with Corbin for weeks on end. I know he had frostbite on his feet, but that isn’t the kind of heat he needs.

Post match AJ shakes Riddle’s hand but here’s Corbin from behind to beat Riddle down.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it was last week’s show being so bad but this was a lot easier to watch than most shows. Imagine that: you get rid of the stupid stuff like karaoke and have a good, long main event and the show gets that much better. I still have no desire to watch Extreme Rules, but at least they had something better here for a change.

Results

Cesaro b. Big E. – Neutralizer

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Asuka/Nikki Cross – Rollup with feet on the ropes to Cross

Braun Strowman b. John Morrison – Running powerslam

Lacey Evans b. Naomi – Woman’s Right

AJ Styles b. Matt Riddle – Cradle

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: February 10, 2006
Location: Civic Center, Columbus, Georgia
Attendance: 4,542
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re getting closer Eddie Guerrero to No Way Out and that means Kurt Eddie Guerrero Angle vs. Undertaker, plus Eddie Guerrero Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton over the Eddie Guerrero memory of Eddie Guerrero. That might sound like a good Eddie Guerrero top to the card but they’re going to need more Eddie Guerrero matches to make the show work in the Eddie Guerrero end. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Randy Orton insulting the memory of Eddie Guerrero to convince Rey Mysterio to put up his Wrestlemania title shot. In defense of Eddie Guerrero’s legacy of course.

Opening sequence.

Matt Hardy vs. John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit

One fall to a finish and the winner gets Booker T. (on commentary with Sharmell while Jillian Hall is at ringside) for the US Title at No Way Out. It’s a brawl to start with Matt and JBL being sent outside but coming back in so JBL can clothesline Matt back to the floor. Benoit can’t Sharpshooter JBL but he can Crossface him with Jordan coming back in for the save. Matt suplexes Jordan for two as Cole and Booker argue over how much Booker has been wrestling as of late.

JBL pulls Matt to the floor and sends him face first into the steps. Back in and Benoit snaps off a release German suplex to JBL. That doesn’t seem to have much effect as JBL is back up to boot Matt in the face, followed by Benoit DDTing Jordan. JBL gets sent into the steps by Jordan and Benoit, who send Matt into the steps as well. Back in and Benoit hits a top rope superplex to Jordan and we take a break.

We come back with JBL breaking up a Crossface on Jordan as Booker complains about sweating so much. A middle rope elbow gives JBL two on Benoit and Matt’s neckbreaker gets the same on JBL. Booker rants on Benoit being a prima donna for making the save and then complains about the refereeing over and over. JBL suplexes Benoit as Booker is losing his mind about Benoit not being pinned.

The Clothesline From JBL hits Hardy but Jordan has to be dispatched, allowing Benoit to make the save. The Three Amigos take JBL down and the rolling German suplexes drop Jordan again. There’s the Swanton for two on Jordan with JBL making a save this time. JBL is sent to the floor and Matt hits the Side Effect on Jordan. Benoit is back up though and the Crossface makes Matt tap for the title shot.

Rating: B-. They kept the action moving here and Booker’s panicked reactions made the match a little bit better. Then again there was Jordan doing his best warm body who happens to be in there performance, yet somehow not being the one to take the fall. Why do you have Jordan in there if he isn’t the one taking the loss? Can this guy please just get released already?

As Benoit celebrates, Teddy Long tells Booker and Sharmell that it’s either fight at No Way Out or forfeit.

JBL rants about how he can beat anyone when Bobby Lashley comes up. The challenge is on for No Way Out and Jillian accepts on JBL’s behalf, much to JBL’s fear.

Melina offers Matt Hardy a spot in MNM.

Daivari is sick of hearing about Kurt Angle and is looking forward to seeing Mark Henry destroy Undertaker tonight. Henry promises to take Undertaker out.

Here’s MNM for an Open Challenge.

MNM vs. Paul London/Brian Kendrick

Non-title. London wristlocks Mercury down and drops a leg on the arm but Mercury is back up with a right hand to the face. A hurricanrana gives London two more as Melina is looking rather confident on the floor. Nitro comes in and gets hurricanranaed by Kendrick, followed by a dropkick for two. A clothesline to the back of the head staggers Kendrick though and it’s back to Mercury, who gets dropkicked by London.

The threat of a kick to the face sends Mercury outside and that means another headscissors from Kendrick. London adds a big flip dive onto both of them but Kendrick gets backdropped over the top and outside for a nasty crash. Back in and Kendrick gets sent hard into the corner but he fights out of the backbreaker. The diving tag brings in London but the referee doesn’t see it, allowing MNM to hit a Snapshot, with Melina grabbing London’s leg so there’s no save.

Rating: C-. London and Kendrick could be a good addition to the tag team division. I mean, assuming there actually is a division, as there isn’t much to the whole thing aside from MNM and….do Heidenreich/Animal still count? The FBI is still around but other than that, we more or less have the champions and whomever is challenging them at the moment. In other words, business as usual.

Video on the Asian tour.

Randy Orton wants to set the record straight on his Eddie Guerrero comments last week. After seeing the “Eddie isn’t up there” comments again, here’s Orton in the arena to address said comments….and he’s in the low rider. Orton doesn’t know where Eddie is and doesn’t care. All that matters is that Orton got what he wanted: a chance to take Mysterio’s Wrestlemania title shot.

Orton is going on to Wrestlemania to become champion, but that’s at Wrestlemania. Why is he here in a low rider this week? See, Eddie Guerrero was no saint, and Orton has the proof. He pulls out a copy of Eddie’s own book to read a section but here’s Rey Mysterio to jump him. Mysterio dropkicks him head first into the post and Orton is out.

Cruiserweight Title: Nunzio vs. Gregory Helms

Helms is defending. They go to the mat to start and here’s Kid Kash, who gets the winner next week, to watch from the aisle. Nunzio grabs an armbar and hurricanranas him out to the floor but Helms is back with something like an F5 to send Nunzio throat first across the top rope. A high crossbody (to the face) drops Nunzio again and we hit the chinlock. Nunzio fights up with some clotheslines and a neckbreaker gets two. Helms is right back with a fireman’s carry spun into a knee to the face, followed by the Shining Wizard to retain.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. There isn’t much that you can do with these matches as there is little interest in them as the cruiserweights have been treated like nothing for a long time now. The action was fine enough (save for that high crossbody) but at the end of the day, it’s the Cruiserweight Title. WWE isn’t going to treat it as anything important and it’s hard to get behind it as a result.

Palmer Cannon is glad the juniors are back. Mr. Kennedy comes in and likes them, but Pirate Paul Burchill breaks through a wall, says hello, and leaves.

Octagoncito/Pequeno Valencia vs. Mascarita Sagrada/Tzuki

Valencia is nearly Rey Mysterio’s size so Sagrada picks up the pace to start and takes him down early on. The much bigger Valencia misses a running dropkick in the corner and it’s Tzuki coming in to spin around into a headscissors. Octagoncito comes in but Tzuki is too busy armdragging Valencia….but here’s Finlay to beat up Octagoncito for the DQ.

Post match Finlay beats up Tzuki for a bonus. Finlay says this is serious and he’s here to fight. I’m all for him in something like this. The juniors are all talented, but it doesn’t fit in here and having Finlay beat them up is going to get more mileage than anything they do.

Raw Rebound.

Video on Undertaker.

No Way Out rundown, which is looking pretty good.

Booker T. and Sharmell are leaving but the trunk of their car is full of worms.

Undertaker vs. Mark Henry

Daivari is here with Henry. Undertaker grabs a headlock to start, which looks rather out of place for him. A running shoulder has no effect on Henry so he grabs his own headlock. Henry’s shoulder works a bit better and he hiptosses Undertaker down with ease. Henry charges into a boot in the corner but a collision sends Undertaker into the ropes. The running charge misses though and Henry falls outside as we take a break.

Back with Henry hammering away against the barricade. Undertaker reverses a whip though and sends Henry hard into the steps. Some right hands and a big boot rock Henry and the elbow to the face sets up the apron legdrop. A glare at Daivari means it’s a delayed two on Henry, who isn’t knocked down off Old School. Henry catches a charge in the corner though and powers Undertaker into the other corner.

A headbutt to the spine gives Henry two and it’s time to crash down onto Undertaker’s lower back. Henry stands on the ribs and Daivari gets in some choking as the referee yells. They head outside again with Undertaker’s back being sent into the barricade and the apron. That’s good for one back inside but Undertaker slugs away from his knees and hits the running clotheslines in the corner. The chokeslam (and a decent one at that) connects but MNM come in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. I was into this one until the ending, but that was the right call. You don’t want either of these two losing at the moment, as Undertaker is going into a World Title shot and Henry just lost at the Rumble. MNM’s loose association with Henry is enough for them to come in here and it was the right ending to a nice power match.

Post match Undertaker shrugs off MNM and chokeslams Daivari but MNM are back up. Henry runs Undertaker over but Kurt Angle runs out for the suplexes to make the save. Henry runs through Angle, only to have Undertaker kick Henry in the face. Undertaker grabs the title, so here’s Teddy Long to make Henry/MNM vs. Angle/Undertaker in a handicap match for next week. Henry is pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This is a tricky one as it wasn’t much on its own, but it was quite the show for setting up No Way Out. They’ve got a hot card for the show and Angle vs. Undertaker sounds awesome. If they can keep that up next week, we could be in for something special at the pay per view. Cut out some of the weaker stuff (Booker vs. worms, juniors and the rather lame cruiserweights) and you’ve got an excellent show. As it is, it wasn’t much here but it looked to the future, which is a good thing.

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 10, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than ten days away from Extreme Rules and the show can’t get here fast enough. The faster it gets here, the faster it’s over and that’s a good thing for everyone involved. We need more build towards the Swamp Fight, because the pay per view is going to feature a Swamp Fight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with MizTV with John Morrison serving as co-host. Morrison introduces their guest as having better face paint than 1993 Doink the Clown: Jeff Hardy. Jeff is glad to be here, but didn’t bring a clip for them to watch. Worry not though as Miz and Morrison have a clip, which is a long highlight package of Jeff’s return from his struggles and issues with Sheamus, who beat him at Backlash. Miz talks about Jeff being his daughter’s favorite wrestler but she doesn’t know the darkness underneath the bright colors.

Jeff isn’t bothered by what Sheamus has said but he is bothered by losing to Sheamus at Backlash. Miz thinks the right thing for Jeff to do is face Sheamus again, but in a setting where Jeff is more familiar. Like say, in a bar fight. That’s fine with Jeff, who is always up for a handicap match. Miz and Morrison can’t decide who Jeff should fight, so he jumps them both to start in a hurry.

Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz

Morrison is at ringside with Miz. Jeff headlocks him down to start but Miz fights up and sends him to the apron. Miz drops Jeff down onto the apron and then cannonballs onto the ribs. A kick to the face gets two but Jeff takes him down again. Morrison saves Miz from a Swanton attempt so Jeff dives onto both of them as we take a break.

Back with Jeff in trouble after Morrison helped Miz with some well placed cheating. The knee lift to the apron has Jeff in more trouble but we pause for some dancing. Jeff gets in a quick kick but can’t hit the Twist of Fate as Miz grabs a DDT instead. The YES Kicks, complete with some HEY HEY HO HO’s get two and the running crotch attack to the back of the head rocks Hardy again.

Jeff is back with a jawbreaker into the basement dropkick and splash for two. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered into a rollup for two and Jeff hits the slingshot dropkick in the corner. Morrison is knocked off the apron but here’s Sheamus on the Titantron to offer Hardy a pint. The distraction lets Miz grab a rollup but Hardy reverses into one of his own for the pin at 13:46.

Rating: C-. They were going back and forth well enough here but well done on having a little twist on the main event. I still don’t like the focus on Hardy’s issues but that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. I’m sure Hardy signed off on the whole thing, but I’m not sure that makes it an acceptable idea given what a serious situation they’re dealing with here.

Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura don’t like the idea that it would be an upset if they win the Tag Team Titles tonight. See, they don’t sell out for the sake of merchandise and Nakamura has been sick of them for a long time now.

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Non-title and Bliss/Cross jump the champs during their entrances. We settle down and start the match after a break, with Sasha taking cross into the corner. A bunch of stomping has Cross in more trouble so it’s off to Bayley, who gets tied up in the ring skirt. More forearms have Bayley in trouble so it’s back to Banks, who gets caught in a quick neckbreaker. Banks and Bayley bail to the floor and yell at commentary, allowing Cross to grab Bayley’s title for some dancing.

Bliss dropkicks them down and Cross dives onto Bayley as we take a break. Back with Bayley shouting about Steve Austin and stomping Alexa. Bliss gets choked on the ropes and sent hard into the corner, setting up the sliding lariat. Bayley clotheslines her down for two but Bliss slips away and makes the hot tag to Cross. House is cleaned, including a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two on Bayley, but Banks sends Bliss into the barricade. Cross dropkicks her through the ropes but gets rolled up with Bayley’s feet on the ropes for the pin at 12:17.

Rating: C. The ending is a little odd there, though at least points for not doing the exact same thing that they did with Banks and Asuka. I don’t buy Cross having a chance to win the title for a second but that has been the case with a lot of Bayley’s opponents over the last year. They aren’t exactly making me think that Banks and Bayley are turning on each other anytime soon, but at least we have them getting along more for an extended time.

From Money in the Bank.

Smackdown World Title: Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is defending and it’s Bray rather than the Fiend. Braun grabs him by the throat and shoves him into the corner to start. Bray: “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!” A clothesline puts Bray down in the corner and he agrees that Braun is strong. Strowman sends him outside again but the running charge around the ring is sent over the announcers’ table.

Bray gets back inside and laughs at him but the evil seems to be coming out. Cue Huskus the Pig to say Bray can do it, meaning it’s a DDT on the floor for Bray’s first offense. Back in and Bray’s running clothesline gets two, followed by a tornado DDT into Sister Abigail for two more. Bray looks shocked for the first time and screams a lot. Ref: “It was two!”. Bray: “I KNOW!” Another Sister Abigail is countered into a chokeslam and they’re both down.

Strowman sends him outside so the running shoulder can connect but Bray kicks him off the apron. As Bray laughs inside, Strowman comes up in the black sheep mask. Bray is thrilled because he knew this would happen as Strowman rips his shirt off. Strowman drops to his knees and poses in front of a kneeling Bray. They hug as the puppets pop up to celebrate Braun being home. Then Braun takes the mask off and steps on it, setting up the running powerslam to retain at 10:43.

Rating: D. I know the Wyatt Family was a big deal for a long time but it’s not like Strowman was that important of a part. The angle makes sense but it’s not like it’s something that is going to draw that much interest. Strowman still doesn’t feel like the next big thing or a long term champion but at least the they gave him the first title defense, which he certainly needed.

Post match Bray glares at him and the Fiend pops up.

New Day is used to being told that they’re done because everyone has said they were done for years. They’re ready for Cesaro and Nakamura and start marching in place. New Day rocks you see.

And now, karaoke! We have Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, Naomi and Tamina getting 45 seconds each to sing their favorite WWE song. Jey Uso hosts and introduces Lacey, who starts with Jeff Jarrett’s (Uso: “Or Road Dogg’s.”) With My Baby Tonight. It goes as expected, so next up is Dana Brooke singing Honky Tonk Man’s Cool Cocky Bad.

Uso cuts her off for being so terrible, meaning it’s Tamina singing Time To Play The Game, which is actually even worse and gets cut off before they even get to the first verse. Finally we have Naomi singing Dusty Rhodes’ Common Man Boogie. Naomi wins, as she was the only one resembling competent. The celebration is on, but Lacey turns on her, saying that she won.

Lacey Evans vs. Naomi

Neither are in gear, including no shoes to be found. Lacey stomps her into the corner and drop toeholds her down before wrapping the top of her dress around Lacey’s head. The annoyed Lacey goes outside and shoves Dana down so Dana tells her to suck it up. Tamina glares at Lacey but Dana comes in to go after Lacey for the DQ at 1:50. This ends one of the biggest wastes of time I can remember in a long while.

AJ Styles brags about embarrassing Drew Gulak and Daniel Bryan last week, but finds out that he has to defend against Matt Riddle next week. AJ: “WHO DID HE EVER BEAT???” Interviewer: “Well he defeated you in his debut match.” AJ: “THAT WAS RHETORICAL!!!” Styles promises to win.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro

Nakamura and Cesaro are challenging. Kofi gets taken into the corner and dropped ribs first onto the top turnbuckle for his efforts. Cesaro comes in to kick away at the ribs but Kofi elbows Nakamura in the face. It’s Cesaro being sent into the corner for the Unicorn Stampede so he rolls outside. Kofi’s big dive is uppercut out of the air though and we take a break.

Back with Kofi knocking Nakamura down and bringing in Big E. to start the suplexing. The splash misses and Cesaro’s rollup gets two. Some alternating elbows and right hands to the jaw have Big E. in trouble in the corner, but Kofi tags himself in. A top rope double stomp/powerbomb combination gets two on Cesaro with Nakamura making the save. Everything breaks down and it’s a big brawl until the referee throws it out at 10:38.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going (as tends to be the case before the break in WWE matches) but I was surprised that they didn’t go with the screwy finish. If nothing else, this gives them a reason to have a rematch without giving us an actual winner. The title match at Extreme Rules has been fairly obvious for a few weeks now so hopefully it winds up being good.

Post match the brawl continues and Cesaro powerbombs Kofi through Big E. through a table and pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. It was a rough sit this week with the Strowman vs. Wyatt match not being something I needed to see again and the karaoke deal being the biggest bit of filler I can remember. Even with Lacey’s turn in the middle, it was far from something that had any major value. The dead period continues for WWE as we roll towards Summerslam, and I can’t imagine it gets much better until after Extreme Rules.

Results

Jeff Hardy b. Miz – Rollup

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross – Rollup with feet on the ropes to Cross

Lacey Evans b. Naomi via DQ when Dana Brooke interfered

New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro went to a double DQ when all four brawled in the ring

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: February 3, 2006
Location: TD Waterhouse Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and on our way to Wrestlemania, but first up we need a stopover at No Way Out, which seems like it is going to feature Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle. That is a heck of a main event on its own, but Smackdown will also have Rey Mysterio as the Royal Rumble winner on the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We look at Kurt Angle defeating Mark Henry (thanks to a lot of cheating) to retain the World Title on Sunday, with Undertaker coming out to say he wanted the title and destroy the ring to end the show.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Teddy Long to talk about the surprises from the Royal Rumble. This included Undertaker saying he wanted Kurt Angle so the title match is on at No Way Out. How nice to see them just getting to the point and not wasting time for a change. The biggest surprise though was the winner of the Royal Rumble, as Rey Mysterio dedicated his win to Eddie Guerrero and now he’s going to Wrestlemania.

Cue Rey (who Cole says won the Rumble last night) in a low rider and wearing an Eddie shirt as the fans chant for Eddie. Teddy leaves and Rey thanks Eddie, who got him last night. Cue Randy Orton to interrupt though, who says Eddie was laughing at Rey last night. Randy and Eddie know that Rey isn’t ready to headline Wrestlemania and there must have been divine intervention last night. He knows Rey couldn’t beat him in a regular wrestling match, but the fans cut him off with a YOU SUCK chant. Rey: “I’m glad I’m not the only person who thinks you suck.”

Orton wants to challenge Rey for the Wrestlemania title shot so Rey looks up to Eddie. Randy: “Eddie’s not up there. Eddie’s down there….in h***.” The fight is on and referees have to pull Rey off of Orton. This is the point where the Eddie stuff jumped to a new level of ridiculous, as the story has stopped being about anything but Eddie. There needs to be more to it than that for a Wrestlemania World Title match.

Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Mexicools

MNM is defending and has Melina with them. Psicosis monkey flips Nitro down to start and it’s a moonsault/legdrop combination for two with Mercury having to make a save. The champs bail to the floor and Crazy hits a big running flip dive to take them both down. We take a break and come back with Mercury suplexing Psicosis for two. Melina adds a headscissors choke from the apron and Tazz sees nothing wrong with that.

Psicosis fights out of a double arm crank but it’s a double spinebuster to put him back down for three near falls in a row. That’s enough to draw Melina to the apron for some yelling but Mercury is sent into her, meaning the ankle injury flares up again. Back in and Psicosis gets over for the hot tag to Crazy for the house cleaning. A tornado DDT gets two on Mercury but Melina takes off her boot to knock Crazy silly and retain the titles.

Rating: C. I know the Mexicools aren’t likely to go anywhere but they’re fine for the smaller, high flying tag team. There is always a place for a team like them and they did rather well here. The champs were in trouble until their manager cheated to retain their titles. That’s as by the book as you can get but they did it well enough to get by with a somewhat hot match.

Booker T. and Sharmell tell Teddy that he still can’t wrestle after his injury was aggravated in the Royal Rumble. Teddy says Booker can pick a substitute to face Chris Benoit tonight, but that substitute can lose the US Title for him. Yelling ensues.

Raw Rebound.

Here is JBL complaining about how he has to be put in the ring with one freak show after another. Anyone who gets in the ring with him becomes a star but he’s tired of WWE depending on him to give people a rub. No more, because he is a wrestling god, but here’s Bobby Lashley to interrupt for his match.

Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Dick

JBL is still at ringside, along with James Dick. Chad’s early cheap shots don’t work as Lashley throws him down, then does the same thing to James. The Dominator finishes Chad in less than a minute.

Post match, Lashley gets blasted by the Clothesline From JBL.

We see the same Angle/Undertaker video that opened the show.

Here’s the Undertaker for a chat. Undertaker says the time is drawing near for Kurt Angle and there is no way out. Angle has the title that he wants so here’s Angle to interrupt. Kurt says Undertaker makes people scream but he makes them tap. Undertaker is the Phenom, but he’s the wrestling machine. When the bell rings, Angle doesn’t have a soul either, so at No Way Out, he isn’t wrestling in peace. Undertaker knows Angle believes that, but he will rest in peace at No Way Out. Thunder strikes and Undertaker disappears.

Wrestlemania is 58 days away.

Octagoncito vs. Tzuki

Yes the Juniors are back and they have their own graphic. Octagoncito jumps him to start but gets dropkicked to the floor for a flip dive. Back in and Octagoncito hits a dropkick into a gorilla press as commentary argues about how to pronounce the names. Tzuki comes back with an armdrag and a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, followed by a sunset flip for two. A high crossbody into a crucifix gives Tzuki the win. These guys were gone for months and now they’re back, though I can’t imagine they’ll make any bigger of an impact than they did before.

Mr. Kennedy interrupts Chris Benoit’s warmup and hints that he knows Booker’s replacement opponent. Benoit threatens to break his arm for getting this close again.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. ???

Benoit is challenging and the mystery replacement is….Finlay. This could be interesting. Booker joins commentary as Finlay takes Benoit down for an elbow to the face. A keylock sends Benoit over to the rope as Booker goes over he and Benoit’s history with Finlay in WCW. Finlay forearms him down again and we hit the armbar. Benoit gets him into the corner for some quick stomping but Finlay uppercuts him back.

Some chops send Finlay into the corner again so it’s another uppercut to drop Benoit again. We hit the reverse chinlock but Benoit is back up with the rolling German suplexes. Booker’s distraction breaks up the Swan Dive though and Finlay gets in a cheap shot. That just earns him the Crossface but Sharmell comes in with Booker’s crutch for the DQ.

Rating: C. I could go for more of Finlay getting into the title picture as he’s rather good at what he does. The Booker vs. Benoit stuff is interesting as well as they have had a bunch of matches already but the injury has allowed their feud to continue without getting stale. I’m starting to get into this situation and that’s always a good thing to see, especially if Finlay is going to be a regular part of it.

Post match the double beatdown is on.

Daivari doesn’t agree with the idea that Kurt Angle defeated Mark Henry because it was the steel chair that beat him.

The Boogeyman scares Booker and Sharmell. Please tell me that’s not going to be about the title.

Gregory Helms says he is the greatest cruiserweight alive today and he knows that no one on Smackdown is going to give him a threat. Nunzio comes up and threatens to break Helms’ leg. The title match is set for next week.

Palmer Cannon agrees that Paul Burchill and William Regal don’t want to be a tag team anymore. See, Regal’s heritage is British, but Burchill’s is from PIRATES. He wants to swashbuckle on Smackdown and Cannon loves it. Regal’s eyes bugging out at all of this makes it that much better.

Randy Orton/Mark Henry vs. Rey Mysterio/Kurt Angle

Daivari is here with the villains. We’re joined in progress with Orton saying he wants Rey to start. That’s what Orton gets so Rey comes in and hammers away until Orton sends him face first into the middle buckle. A headscissors puts Orton the floor though, just like on Sunday, with Rey following with a springboard seated senton.

Back in and Orton takes Rey into the corner so Henry can come in to step on Rey’s face. Orton drops a knee to the chest and hammers at Rey as the fans want Angle. A dropkick cuts off Rey’s comeback attempt but Orton goes shoulder first into the post. The diving tag brings in Angle, who slaps the ankle lock on Henry. That’s broken up in a hurry so it’s an Angle Slam right back into the ankle lock.

Orton makes the save so Angle goes for his ankle, only to have Daivari’s distraction allow a low blow to break things up. Orton knees Angle in the ribs and it’s back to Henry to headbutt him into the corner. Angle is sent outside for a whip into the steps but he’s right back in for an uppercut off with Orton. It’s Orton getting the better of things though and the chinlock goes on.

That’s broken up so Angle can hit a German suplex and it’s back to Rey for a springboard seated senton. The sitout bulldog lets Rey hammer on Orton until a heck of a clothesline takes him down. The Eddie chants bring Rey back up for the 619 on Orton but Henry breaks up a springboard. Everything breaks down and Angle chases an interfering Daivari through the crowd. Henry follows them, leaving Orton to counter a hurricanrana into a rollup for the pin.

Rating: C+. Nice main event tag match here that advanced Orton vs. Rey, with the other two guys being there as well. Orton and Mysterio can do their thing at No Way Out and this was a good way of setting them up for that match. They followed the formula for the most part here and Orton winning clean advanced the story they’re setting up. Pretty nice job all around.

Post match Orton says Rey has as much chance of winning the title at Wrestlemania as Eddie has at coming back to live. Rey accepts the challenge on behalf of Eddie to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I liked the wrestling for the most part but e pluribus gads the Eddie stuff is going to be an incredibly rough sit. That’s the biggest story on the show right now and I’m almost scared to see how bad it is going to get. It isn’t a great thing to focus on and it’s rather uncomfortable at times on top of that, but WWE has never been one for tact. The wrestling was good but the stories were hard to take, making this about as vintage of a WWE show as you can get.

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 3, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

Things should be a bit more back to normal this week as we won’t be having the big Undertaker tribute taking up half of the show. Instead, we’ll be seeing Sheamus toast Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles defending the Intercontinental Title against Drew Gulak, both of which were originally scheduled for last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Michael Cole is in the ring and brings out Matt Riddle for a chat. Cole asks Riddle about coming here and if he can explain what it means to beat AJ Styles. Riddle: “Uh, not really.” Riddle talks about how he could get used to facing people like AJ Styles and having success in NXT and here on Smackdown. As for the bare feet, it comes from when he was a kid and went on vacation to Wisconsin. He would play in the snow then get in the indoor pool. One day he did it a little too long and got frostbite on his feet.

It was so bad that he almost lost his toes and wearing shoes gives him that same weird feeling. So he doesn’t wear shoes no matter what he’s doing, whether it’s going to a wedding or hanging out with a bear. Cue King Corbin to say that story was a waste of time and to send Cole back to commentary. Riddle can’t carry his crown and no one wants him here. Riddle: “You do you bro.” Corbin: “WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN???”. The challenge is on but Corbin says he has something else in mind.

Matt Riddle vs. John Morrison

Miz is at ringside, Corbin is on commentary and Riddle kicks his shoes at him to start. Morrison takes him down to start but Riddle grabs the leg, sending Morrison over to the leg. As Corbin makes Fast Times At Ridgemont High references, Morrison hits such a loud forearm that commentary stops to gasp at the noise. Riddle shrugs it off and rolls some gutwrench suplexes but Morrison grabs an Alabama slam.

An ankle lock has Riddle in trouble but Morrison slips out and hits another loud Flying Chuck. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Morrison goes with a springboard spinning crossbody for two. Morrison’s running knee gets the same and Riddle says hit him again, only to have Morrison thumb him in the eye. Riddle gets sent outside, where he throws a flip flop at Corbin as we take a break.

Back with the two of them slugging it out until Riddle hits a Broton into the Bro To Sleep for two. The Floating Bro hits knees though and Morrison gets frustrated at the kickout. Riddle grabs a rear naked choke (which may be the new Bromission) but Morrison gets up and makes it to the corner.

Riddle gets up top but gets caught in a super Spanish Fly, followed by a regular Spanish Fly for two more. Back up and Riddle wins the slugout but Morrison scores with a dropkick. That doesn’t have much effect though as Riddle hits a powerbomb into the Final Flash for two. With that not working, Riddle reverses a small package into one of his own for the pin at 15:04.

Rating: B-. It was a good back and forth match with Riddle pulling out a hard fought win, but how interesting can it be if we’re just getting ready for a Corbin vs. Riddle showdown? The Corbin involvement has an amazing ability to suck the life out of anything and that isn’t changing for Riddle. I can’t imagine Riddle has any serious problem beating him, but it feels like something we’re getting through instead of something that actually matters.

Post match it’s AJ Styles running in to beat on Riddle, with Drew Gulak making the save as Miz, Morrison and Corbin watch.

Post break, Miz and Morrison aren’t happy but Corbin has an idea on how to take care of Riddle.

Intercontinental Title: AJ Styles vs. Drew Gulak

Gulak is challenging and in the red white and blue trunks for the 4^th of July. Or maybe an Apollo Creed/Rocky Balboa deal. Neither gets an entrance after the previous segment, which feels a little more realistic for a change. They start fast with AJ hammering away in the corner and on the mat as Daniel Bryan drops in via picture in picture to say Gulak is looking good. AJ’s chinlock doesn’t last long so he hammers away in the corner as Bryan talks about how few holes AJ has in his game.

Bryan says Gulak can hang in there though, as he showed when he was “205 Live Champion”. Gulak fires back with some forearms but AJ takes him down with the dragon screw legwhip. AJ starts in on the leg as you can see what looks like “Havoc” written on Gulak’s wrist tape. Hopefully in October. The Calf Crusher is countered into a kind of Crossface, sending AJ over to the rope. Frustration sets in and Gulak dropkicking him through the ropes makes it worse.

Back from a break with AJ getting two off a brainbuster and going after Gulak’s eyes. Gulak sends him hard into the corner but AJ snaps the throat across the top. As Bryan says he would never count Gulak out, we hit the chinlock to keep Gulak down. Graves: “What’s that river in Washington Cole? Denial?” Cole: “The Nile is actually in Egypt.”

As the air goes out of the room on that one, Gulak gets in Snake Eyes in the corner and some dropkicks to stagger AJ some more. The Falcon Arrow gets two but AJ slips out of the superplex attempt. AJ powerbombs him out of the corner into the Styles Clash for no cover. The Phenomenal Forearm retains at 17:02.

Rating: B-. Another good, back and forth match here though I’m not sure how much of a reason there was to believe Gulak had a chance. You can probably pencil in another Bryan vs. Styles match at Extreme Rules and then Riddle waiting on the winner at Summerslam, which sounds like a good use of the next seven or so weeks. Just let AJ and Bryan do something every other week on Smackdown and they’ll be fine for a long time.

Here are Sasha Banks and Bayley for a chat. They brag about how they’re on all three shows but no one has been showing them any respect. The only people who care about them is the Undertaker, or Taker as Bayley likes to call him. He called Bayley last week and said he was embarrassed by all of the tributes Smackdown gave him last week when Bayley Dos Straps is the greatest champion in WWE history. Undertaker wants Bayley and Banks to win all the titles at Extreme Rules and thinks they should get their own tribute this week.

We aren’t waiting any longer so here is said tribute, as made by Bayley and Banks and set to a song about doing it for the glory. Banks talks about Bayley’s Grand Slam and how the closest anyone is getting to that is going to Denny’s. Back in the arena, they chant thanks to each other but here are Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss to interrupt.

They have a presentation of their own, with various interesting facts about each other (Cross is 325^th in line to the throne of England and Bliss drove across Antarctica in a go kart). They get in the ring and Cross says she can win the title. Bliss slaps Bayley down so Banks makes the Bliss vs. Bayley match for right now.

Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss

Non-title with Cross and Banks at ringside. Bayley, in street clothes, is taken down to start and Bliss pokes her in the nose. Back up and Bayley sends her into the corner but what looked like a Twist of Fate over the ropes is broken up. Back in and Bayley goes after the arm, including snapping it over her shoulder a few times.

The armbar goes on for a bit until Bayley misses a stomp to the arm. Bliss gets in a shot to the face but Bayley is right back with a corner splash and a bulldog for two. Cross freaks out so Banks gets in a cheap shot, only to have Cross run Banks over. Bayley doesn’t like that so Cross decks her for the DQ at 5:23.

Rating: C-. That felt a lot longer than five and a half minutes as the arm work kept going, but it was a fine way for Bayley to be able to look dominant and talk down to Cross at the same time. I’m not sure how much of an interest there is going to be in seeing Bayley vs. Cross at the pay per view, but they need something to stretch it out until someone can give Bayley a real threat. How many times does that need to be the case though?

We get a special look at Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt. Strowman met him in the swamp and became part of the Wyatt Family, and we hear some old school Wyatt “everything is evil” narration. Strowman liked being Bray’s horseman but has managed to lock that side of himself away. Bray wants to take a step back and destroy what he created, but Strowman wants to drown Bray in his own swamp. A lot of laughter ensues. Still not caring in the slightest and the amount of time this build is getting is starting to rival how long Strowman actually spent with Wyatt.

Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Big E. and Cesaro are here. Kofi dropkicks Nakamura into the corner to start and then knocks him to the apron. Another dropkick puts Nakamura on the floor but he moves before Kofi can dive. Back in and a Cesaro distraction lets Nakamura get in a kick to the head before choking on the ropes. Big E. goes after Cesaro on the floor and they’re both ejected as we take a break.

We come back with Nakamura hammering away before having to duck the Trouble in Paradise. A spinning kick to the head drops Kofi but he’s right back with the SOS for two. Kofi’s standing double stomp gets two but Trouble in Paradise is blocked. Nakamura can’t get a sleeper so it’s a running knee to the head to finish Kofi at 11:50.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that is going to work well every time given who was in there. You can all but guarantee a title match between the teams at Extreme Rules and I’ll certainly take that over the horror show that it would have been to see the Forgotten Sons try to be interesting. I would still prefer Nakamura or Cesaro getting a one off World Title shot than someone like Dolph Ziggler, but that’s not how WWE works.

Post match Cesaro is back to load up a table but Big E. runs out for the save.

The Tag Team Title match is set for next week.

Here’s Jeff Hardy for the big toast, meaning there is a big bar full of liquor in the ring and a bartender. Sheamus pops up on screen at his own bar though, saying he wanted to let Jeff blow off some steam. Last week, Jeff got to stand up for Undertaker but it was just another quick fix like Jeff always needs. Sheamus talks about all of the rehab costing Jeff money and respect, but the real problem is facing reality.

Hardy has felt sorry for himself since losing at Backlash and now Hardy has been trying to stick his nose in someone else’s business. This is going to be different though right? This time Jeff isn’t going to be a giant disappointment. The truth is that Jeff is lying to himself and the solution is in one of those bottles. Here’s to a proper toast: may your troubles be less and your blessing be more, as you drink yourself blind and pass out on the floor. Your wife and kids cry when you enter her thoughts because your life has been nothing but a series of DUI’s and mugshots.

Jeff calls Sheamus the sickest man he has ever met and he can’t believe Sheamus would do this. Sheamus knows Jeff wants to jump back into the gutter with both feet, so the bartender offers him a glass. Sheamus says follow your instincts so Jeff takes the glass and asks what’s the worst that could happen. He puts the glass to his mouth and then pours it on the bartender’s head. Jeff breaks a bottle over the bartender’s head and hits a Swanton to end the show. This was uh, quite a lot and probably not their best idea.

Overall Rating: C-. This show was a great example of the wrestling working and everything else falling apart. The first two matches were both rather good TV matches and a great use of about 45 minutes. Then there were things like Strowman and Wyatt’s segment, the toast segment and Corbin’s….well mere existence really. It certainly had its moments and the first half is good, but dang you can tell they’re putting on whatever they can think of in some spots.

Results

Matt Riddle b. John Morrison – Small package

AJ Styles b. Drew Gulak – Phenomenal Forearm

Bayley b. Alexa Bliss via DQ when Nikki Cross interfered

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Kofi Kingston – Running knee to the head

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

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

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

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

This aired on Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday so it’s worth another look.

Survivor Series 2018
Date: November 18, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,325
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the second redo of the year and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. I remember this one a little bit better than some of the more recent shows for some reason and I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. It’s hard to say how well these things hold up but that’s kind of what I’m going for here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Teams vs. Raw Tag Teams

Smackdown: Usos, New Day, Sanity, Anderson And Gallows, Colons

Raw: Bobby Roode/Chad Gable, Revival, B-Team, Lucha House Party, Ascension

Kofi Kingston, Alexander Wolfe and Gran Metalik are the odd members out here. New Day, with blue pancakes this time, handles the Smackdown introductions to stretch things out a bit more. Kalisto and Epico start things off with Kalisto kicking at the legs and trying his handstand hurricanrana…which he leaves short so Epico has to kick him in the ribs instead.

A suplex gives Epico two as the apron looks ridiculous with so many people up there. Hold on though as Kalisto injures his knee so it’s off to Dorado for a quick splash. Kalisto comes back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down, allowing Primo to come in and hit a basement dropkick. Primo is sent into Epico and knocks him off the apron by mistake. Dawson makes a blind tag through and it’s a quick Shatter Machine to get rid of the Colons at 3:10.

Anderson comes in to clothesline Wilder and hits the Rocket Kick in the corner. Axel comes in to stomp on Anderson…and Metalik has taken Kalisto’s place, which we’re just allowing to happen because no one listened to Monsoon and Ventura explain the rules. Stomping in the corner ensues but Axel spends a bit too much time fist pumping, allowing Anderson to roll Dallas up for the elimination at 5:02.

It’s off to Dain vs. Gable after we nearly got Gable vs. Big E. in the match I didn’t know I needed to see. Dain hits a quick Divide for two so it’s Young coming in for two of his own off a neckbreaker. Roode makes the save and it’s a neckbreaker/moonsault combination to finish Young at 6:32. Konnor comes in to kick Big E. in the face but gets pulled into the spanking abdominal stretch. It’s off to Woods, who gets tossed with a fall away slam in short order. Viktor grabs a chinlock but Woods fights up for a discus forearm. Just to show off, Woods lifts Big E. onto his shoulders for a splash to finish Viktor at 8:48.

The Luchas try to go after Gallows and it goes as well as you would expect. Dorado has to slip out of the Magic Killer and it’s a Stunner to Gallows. Anderson gets hurricanranaed into the ropes and it’s the Luchas hitting stereo Asai moonsaults onto Anderson and Gallows. Back in and a rope walk Swanton gets rid of Anderson at 10:40 as the apron is finally clearing out a bit.

We’re down to the Usos/New Day vs. Roode/Gable/Revival/Lucha House Party so Jimmy comes in for the first time. Dorado chops him into a rollup for two and a Lionsault gets the same. Jey comes in off a blind tag and comes pretty close to catching Dorado in a Samoa drop for the pin at 11:57.

It’s Dawson coming in to grab Woods and a Wilder distraction lets him get in a cheap shot to really take over. Dawson misses a charge though and Woods hits a dropkick, allowing the double tag to Big E. and Wilder. Big E. clotheslines Dawson outside but gets rolled up for two, allowing Gable to come in for a suplex. Rolling Chaos Theory into a neckbreaker gets two on Big E. and everything breaks down with Wilder hitting a tornado DDT on Woods on the floor.

That means the dive from Big E., leaving Roode and Gable alone in the ring. Roode backdrops him onto everyone else but Jey superkicks Roode down. Jey does the GLORIOUS pose and dives onto the pile rather than, you know, covering the knocked silly Roode. Just to get nuts, Gable German superplexes Jimmy onto everyone else for the big crash. Back in and Woods hits Roode with the Honor Roll, leaving Big E. to catch Gable’s moonsault. That means UpUpDownDown to finish Gable at 18:33 but Dawson sends Big E. outside.

Woods goes up for the rope walk….undetermined move that is countered into the Shatter Machine to tie us up at 19:31. It’s the Usos vs. Revival and a slugout goes to the non-brothers. A reverse powerbomb/top rope clothesline (felt like a Steiner Bulldog with some miscommunication) gets two on Jey so Jimmy enziguris Dawson. Wilder is back up though and we go old school with a PowerPlex for two as Jey has to make a diving save. The Shatter Machine is broken up and it’s a bunch of superkicks to set up the Superfly Splash (with a Roman Reigns fist pump on the way down) for the pin at 23:15.

Rating: C. It was fun once they got down to the last bit but sweet goodness there was too much going on here. There is only so much you can do with enough people for a nice battle royal at first, plus seconds on the floor. It’s an idea that makes sense but when so many of these teams are looked at as jokes, they would have been better off cutting this in half and doing individual eliminations. Still though, perfectly watchable, especially once they got rid of the dead weight.

The opening video focuses entirely on the battle for Brand Supremacy because that’s all this show is about anymore. Even the huge champion vs. champion matches are just part of Raw vs. Smackdown.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Bayley, Sasha Banks

Smackdown: Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Asuka

The injured Alexa Bliss and Naomi are the captains, which is Naomi comes out second for her team. This is fallout from the moment of the year with Becky Lynch and Smackdown invading Raw, setting up Nia Jax punching Becky in the face and putting her on the shelf, setting up the main event of Wrestlemania and changing their careers forever. It’s funny how that works somehow no?

Naomi and Tamina start things off as the fans want Becky. A dropkick sends Tamina into the ropes and everything breaks down in a hurry. Naomi’s Disaster Kick puts Nia on the floor but Tamina hits a superkick to get rid of Naomi at 1:21. Carmella is right back in to roll Tamina up and get us down to 4-4 at 1:32. The fall leaves Carmella alone in the ring so DANCE BREAK.

Nia comes in behind her and Carmella’s rollup has no effect, as expected. Therefore it’s off to Mandy, who gets taken down with a single knee. That means it’s Mickie coming in for two off a neckbreaker but Mandy is right back up with an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up in a hurry though and it’s off to a quickly escaped Muta Lock. Asuka comes in to face Mickie, which Cole says is a match everyone would want to see. Then watch it from Takeover: Toronto on the Network!

Asuka starts with the hip attack into the dance, setting up the Octopus Hold. Sonya comes in to charge into Mickie’s boot and a snapmare takes her down. Bayley tags herself in and Mickie is rather annoyed, even as Banks comes in for the double knees in the corner. Now it’s Mickie tagging herself back in for the super Thesz press but Sonya knees her in the face. That should finish but Mandy tags herself in and steals the elimination at 7:38.

Sonya doesn’t know what to think, even as Bayley runs in for two off a rollup. The Moon Walk DDT lets Carmella mock Banks but she walks into the Bayley to Belly for the elimination at 9:12. Mandy comes in and stomps away at Bayley as the announcers get into their usual bickering session that has nothing to do with the match. Bayley kicks her away and brings in Banks to take over in a hurry, including the Bank Statement for the tap at 10:49.

Asuka comes in and takes over on Banks, allowing Sonya to grab a bodyscissors and shout a lot. That doesn’t last long either as it’s Banks getting up and bringing in Bayley for the waving running knee in the corner. A spinebuster gives Sonya two with Jax making the save and earning some of the loudest booing of her career.

Jax goes shoulder first into the post and Asuka kicks her to the floor, only to get caught by the Meteora from Banks. Bayley and Sonya tackle each other to the floor and it’s a Bayley to Belly….but neither can beat the count at 15:18. That leaves us with Nia/Sasha vs. Asuka with Banks coming in for the team. Asuka knocks her down and shows off the Smackdown top before hitting a knee to the face. A heck of a German suplex puts Banks down and a hip attack knocks Jax off the apron.

Banks trips her up to send Asuka into the apron but she’s right back with a missile dropkick for two. The Asuka Lock is broken up and the running knees in the corner crush Asuka again. Banks goes up but Nia shoves her off the top for some reason, meaning it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap at 19:36. Nia comes in and drops a bunch of legs before finishing with the Samoan drop at 20:15.

Rating: C. You have to remember that Nia was public enemy #1 at this point and pushing her as the monster like this made sense. Normally I would complain about pushing someone who has a history of injuring people and who is hardly interesting in the first place, but WWE has shown their love for Jax for a long time and no amount of complaining is going to change a thing.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 0

Stephanie McMahon, in that instantly irritating way of speaking, tells Acting General Manager Baron Corbin that he better win the rest of the matches if he wants to have the job permanently. Shane McMahon and General Manager Paige come in and suggest Raw will be feeling blue. More trash talk ensues with Shane looking forward to Corbin being fired. This kind of banter is just horrible and feels so forced, which is why it almost never goes away in WWE.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw (Intercontinental) vs. Smackdown (United States) champion vs. champion here. Yes Nakamura is wrestling in the blue shirt over his jumpsuit, because A BIG BLUE JUMPSUIT doesn’t tell you which brand he is on. Rollins goes after the arm to start but Nakamura slips out and invites Rollins to COME ON. The wristlocking is back on as they seem to have a lot of time here.

A way too early missed Kinshasa attempt lets Rollins do his own COME ON. The threat of a ripcord knee sends Nakamura to the apron and Rollins onto the top for some lounging. Nakamura sends him to the apron though and it’s the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes to put Nakamura on the floor. That means the suicide dive, but since that is the most obvious move ever, it gets cut off with a kick to the face instead.

Back in and Nakamura works on a double chickenwing, plus a front facelock to mix it up a bit. Rollins fights up and sends him into the corner, setting up the Sling Blade for a breather. Nakamura gets thrown outside for the back to back suicide dives but two is a nasty number in wrestling so there’s a third. The springboard clothesline gets two back inside and things slow down a bit. Rollins’ suplex is escaped and Nakamura kicks him in the face, followed by the running knee to the ribs in the corner.

A Backstabber….doesn’t do much for Nakamura as Rollins is right back up with a superkick for two. Rollins slugs away but his clothesline is countered into a triangle. Since it’s Rollins, the traditional powerbomb counter is swapped for a Buckle Bomb instead, which at least gives us some variety. The ripcord knee is broken up again and Nakamura’s Landslide gets two. In a bit of a rare move, Nakamura goes up top, earning himself the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for a nice near fall.

They slug it out with Nakamura daring him to swing harder so it’s a reverse exploder to drop Rollins. Kinshasa misses though and it’s the ripcord knee for a close two. The frog splash misses though and Nakamura’s running knee to the back of the head gives him his own two. Nakamura still can’t hit Kinshasa so Rollins superkicks him, only to miss the Stomp. Kinshasa misses again though and it’s the Stomp to give Rollins the pin at 21:27.

Rating: B. It was very good though I was left wanting and expecting more. These two can be great against each other, though it is another case of Nakamura never rising up to that next level. He is still very entertaining and someone worth watching almost every time, but his big matches always feel a bit disappointing. Still though, rather hard hitting back and forth match, which is exactly why these two were out there. It’s rather good, just not great.

Raw – 2

Smackdown – 0

Braun Strowman doesn’t like his partners on the Raw men’s team and he doesn’t even know who Bobby Lashley is. If they don’t help him win tonight, they’re getting these hands. Drew McIntyre says he’s in charge and violence is about to ensue so here’s Corbin to remind Strowman that he can’t touch him. Instead, Strowman throws Lio Rush at Corbin to let off some steam. Cue R-Truth for the pep talk, until he is reminded that he’s not on the team. Confused R-Truth may be one of my all time favorite gags.

The Bar vs. AOP

Smackdown vs. Raw in a battle of the Tag Team Champions with Big Show and Drake Maverick as the thirds. Rezar throws Sheamus into the corner to start as Byron accuses Drake of drinking….cuckoo juice? The Bar gets in some double teaming on Akam and, after the catchphrase, the Swing has to be broken up. Akam takes the Swing instead, only to have Rezar come back in for the backbreaker/middle rope stomp combination to take over.

The chinlock goes on before Akam just powers Cesaro down and hammers away. Rezar knees Cesaro in the face for two so Sheamus tries to come in, allowing Cesaro to grab a rollup for….well nothing actually as the referee is with Sheamus. Not the best plan there man. Cesaro’s uppercuts don’t do much good as Rezar takes him right back down and grabs a chinlock.

That’s broken up as well and it’s the springboard uppercut to allow the tag to Sheamus. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the Brogue Kick to Rezar with Maverick putting the foot on the rope. The chase is on until Cesaro knocks Maverick down, allowing Show to grab him. Maverick is so scared that he, ahem, relieves himself in fear. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Sheamus at 9:04.

Rating: D+. This was a pretty boring power match with both teams only going in spurts until the big joke of an ending. There is only so far you can go with that as the big joke and you can imagine where things are going to go as a result. I mean, the fact that this show is now a year old makes it easier to figure out, but that doesn’t make it better.

Raw – 3

Smackdown – 0

The Miz has Shane McMahon fire up Team Smackdown. R-Truth is here as well to talk about getting on the Smackdown roster. He already is, which is a relief as Raw is a mess.

We recap Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight Title. Ali won a match to become #1 contender and now we have the title match. The idea here is the champ vs. the never will be champ as Ali tries to grab the brass ring again. Sometimes it really can be that simple.

Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali is challenging. They start fast with Murphy’s power not exactly working as he drives Ali into the corner, only to have him flip over the champ. That means a dropkick to the floor into the big flip dive but Ali’s back is banged up. The second dive is blocked with a shove off the top into the barricade, followed by some rams into the apron. A heck of a backdrop sets up the chinlock with a knee in the back until Ali jawbreaks his way out of trouble.

The rolling X Factor is countered with a show to the floor though and Murphy hits his own running flip dive. Back in and Ali scores with a superkick into a tornado hanging DDT (awesome) for his own two. The 054 (I miss that) is broken up with a shove to the floor and this time it’s Ali’s face hitting the apron on the way down.

Murphy loads up the announcers’ table but Ali hits a Spanish Fly down to the floor again because he’s crazy and can do stuff like that. Back in and Murphy is fine enough to hit a superkick into a pair of powerbombs for two before kneeing him out of the air. Murphy’s Law retains the title at 12:20.

Rating: B-. It was entertaining, it was hard hitting, and almost no one cared because there is little reason to be interested in 205 Live. The wrestling can be very entertaining and some of the matches are great, but the show is as important as a bicycle to a fish. That has been a problem since the show debuted and it isn’t going to get better in the future.

When asked about his recent heel turn, Daniel Bryan….just smiles.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Raw: Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler

Smackdown: Shane McMahon, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy

Corbin (at ringside but not on the team) and M are the captains. Strowman and McIntyre nearly get in a fight before the bell but Strowman gets to start….until McIntyre tags himself in after about three seconds. The Koquina Clutch has Drew in early trouble but he backflips out and Claymores Joe for the pin at 37 seconds. I’m going to assume Joe was hurt (again), or we need Shane to get more ring time.

After a quick meeting, Hardy comes in second with the fans going to the DELETE chants in a hurry. Jeff tries running around a bit, earning himself a hard clothesline so Ziggler can come in. Shane tags himself in for a rematch of Crown Jewel, because that nightmare needs to be touched on again. A dropkick rocks Shane, who is right back with some armdrags. The Fameasser gets two but Shane scores with a spinning elbow. The jumping elbow is countered into the Zig Zag but Miz makes his own save.

Strowman comes in but McIntyre tags himself in again, meaning it’s on in a hurry. For some reason Smackdown breaks it up so they can gang up on Strowman, who isn’t having it. Rey manages a 619 though and they head outside with Strowman getting knocked onto the announcers’ table. The big Shane elbow knocks them both out, because WE NEED TO GET THAT IN. Back in and Miz kicks Drew down for one as we see Paige and Stephanie watching backstage. As long as they don’t talk, I’m good.

McIntyre gets away to go over for the tag….but he won’t do it, even as Balor yells at him to make the tag. Instead McIntyre smacks Miz in the face, allowing Balor to tag himself in. Balor kicks McIntyre down before kicking Miz in the head, followed by the baseball slide. Back in and the Sling Blade rocks Rey and a dropkick puts him in the corner. The Coup de Grace misses though and it’s a 619 into the springboard splash to tie it up at 12:04.

McIntyre is right there to deck the eliminated Balor so Lashley tags himself in to throw Rey into the corner. The delayed vertical suplex is delayed too long though as Rey rolls out and hits an enziguri. It’s Ziggler’s turn to tag himself in so Rey faceplants him and brings in Hardy. Everything breaks down and Hardy tornado DDTs McIntyre on the floor, allowing Ziggler to grab the running DDT for two on Jeff. The rapid pace comeback is on for Jeff, but the Swanton hits raised knees.

For some reason this hurts the knees this time so Mysterio is able to bring Miz in. The beating is on in the corner and it’s Shane coming back in for Coast to Coast to eliminate Ziggler and cement Shane as Best in the World (remember he beat Ziggler in the finals) to make it 4-3 at 18:10.

Lashley is back in to suplex Shane right over to Miz, who gets beaten up this time around. Miz gets in a few shots of his own to set up the running clothesline. It’s back to Shane for ANOTHER Coast to Coast, though thankfully Strowman chops him out of the air. Strowman comes in and wastes no time with the powerslam to eliminate Hardy at 20:45. That leaves Strowman/McIntyre/Lashley vs. Mysterio/Miz/McMahon, and the powerslam takes Mysterio out at 21:26.

Miz starts to panic (Graves: “Does this mean there won’t be a Marine 7”) and it’s another powerslam for the pin at 22:27. Shane is alone against the monsters and you can feel the fans panicking from here. Shane pulls himself up to face Strowman and says bring it on, so Strowman dropkicks him into the corner (Graves: “A T-REX DROPKICK!”) and hits the third powerslam for the pin at 24:01.

Rating: D+. This doesn’t hold up as it’s another Shane showcase, with one big spot after another and Shane getting to go out there and look like the toughest man in the company. Raw winning was more confusing than anything else as it already guarantees them the night, but they did have me believing that they might have had Shane pull the miracle. Consider that great selling or really sad.

Raw – 4

Smackdown – 0

Post match Corbin jumps Strowman and poses with McIntyre and Lashley.

Here’s how to help victims of the California wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Seth Rollins has been focused on Dean Ambrose as of late but for tonight, he’s due for an ice bath and some cold ones. Charly tells him that he has to defend the Intercontinental Title against Ambrose at TLC. Rollins likes the idea because Ambrose will have nothing left to hide behind.

We recap Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey. This was supposed to be Becky Lynch vs. Rousey but then destiny happened in the form of the mega brawl on Raw and Becky’s face being broken. Becky picked Charlotte to take her place, which was out of left field but they didn’t have another option.

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte

Raw vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion so we get the Big Match Intros. Rousey (with the ridiculous eye makeup) starts swinging early so Charlotte grabs her by the ropes and throws her down. The armbar is blocked and Charlotte has to flip out of Piper’s Pit to get us to a standoff. Charlotte grabs a headlock and sends her face first into the bottom buckle to really take over for the first time. It’s time to start on the leg as Rousey is bleeding from the mouth.

She’s fine enough for an enziguri to get a breather and what looked like a triangle over the top has Charlotte in trouble for a change. Charlotte crotches her on top but Rousey is right back with a triangle. That’s reversed into a Boston crab but Natural Selection is blocked. The armbar is blocked again so Charlotte goes up, only to have the moonsault hit raised boots. Rousey spends too much time yelling though and gets speared in half for two.

The Figure Four goes on until Rousey turns it over, with Rousey managing to talk trash while screaming at the same time. They roll to the floor and Rousey is all fired up, meaning it’s time to start striking away. Some chops knock Rousey into the corner and Rousey looks shaken for the first time.

Another chop is blocked so Charlotte gets two off a big boot. Rousey is right back with a hurricanrana and Piper’s Pit but Charlotte gets away from the armbar again. It’s time for a breather on the floor and Charlotte is smart enough to break the count for an extra break. Rousey isn’t waiting so she goes out after her, only to walk into a kendo stick shot from Charlotte for the DQ at 14:10.

Rating: A-. This felt like the main event level match that they were hoping for, which is all the more impressive given Rousey’s complete lack of experience. She knows how to feel like a big deal and Charlotte having to use her natural abilities to counter all of the submissions was a great story. Charlotte snapping and admitting that she can’t beat Rousey worked perfectly too and I had a great time with this all around.

Raw – 5

Smackdown – 0

Post match the beating is on with the referee having to take the chair away from Charlotte. She isn’t done though and it’s Natural Selection onto the chair to knock Ronda silly. Charlotte beats up the referees trying to make the save and wraps the chair around Rousey’s neck. Pillmanizing ensues and Charlotte’s eyes are bugging out. Fans: “THANK YOU CHARLOTTE!” Rousey takes a long time to get up but does it on her own, because PILLMANIZING SOMEONE’S NECK IS A FIVE MINUTE ANNOYANCE!

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan, which is a rapid fire change as Bryan only turned heel and won the title five days before this show. Therefore, the entire video is about Bryan’s turn, setting up the match here. It was annoying, but since WWE didn’t want AJ losing to Brock, they had him lose to Bryan instead. That is the kind of logic only WWE can go with and no, it still doesn’t sound like an intelligent idea.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

Battle of the World Champions with Brock trying to complete the Raw sweep. Bryan mocks Lesnar during his entrance and smiles a lot. A running dropkick to Lesnar’s knee starts things off as the mind games are on. Bryan heads outside for a run around the ring so Lesnar follows him, only to have Bryan run back inside and mocks Brock’s bounce. Brock comes back in and hits Bryan in the face as things change in a hurry.

The first German suplex has Bryan nearly done on the apron so Brock starts a SUPLEX CITY chant in a great heel move. The second German suplex has Heyman worried and the third has Bryan rocked again. An overhead belly to belly puts Bryan on the floor and Lesnar even gets to pose with the title. Brock throws him hard into the barricade and we hit the bearhug with Cole saying this isn’t about brand supremacy anymore. Then what the heck is it about now Cole? And what has the last hour and a half been about?

More suplexes ensue and the fans are not happy with the repetitive Lesnar offense. The second bearhug makes it even worse and Brock throws another overhead belly to belly. The F5 connects (Brock: “Goodnight everybody!”) but Brock pulls him up at two. Bryan kicks him in the face twice and, after a ref bump, gets in a low blow. The running knee connects for two (how Bryan won the title) so Bryan kicks away to put Brock down in the corner.

A bunch of stomps to the face have Brock stunned and Bryan low bridges him to the floor. The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air but Bryan slips out and posts him. Bryan tries the suicide dive though and gets posted hard to cut off the big rally. The steps are picked up but only hit the post, allowing Bryan to hit another knee. Back in and another running knee gives Bryan another two as Heyman is losing his mind.

Bryan switches gears by going after the knee with a chop block and a wrap around the post. Lesnar is sent into the corner for the running dropkicks (or a running knee and a running attack from Cole) but he pulls Bryan into the F5….as the knee gives out. The YES Lock goes on but Bryan makes the mistake of switching to a triangle, which is reversed into the F5 for the pin at 18:43.

Rating: B+. It’s nearly a copy of the same match that Brock had with AJ last year but it was still a heck of a fight with Bryan coming close to picking up the upset. That being said, it’s still the brand new WWE Champion losing clean five days after he won the title. I know WWE MUST DO THE BRAND SUPREMACY deal but was there really no better option for something like this? Like AJ vs. Brock II with a countout or something? Annoying, but at least it came after an awesome match.

Raw – 6

Smackdown – 0

Bryan smiles at Lesnar to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well they threw the Brand Supremacy stuff out the window at about the halfway point, leaving the wrestling to carry the rest. As luck would have it, the last two matches were awesome and left me wanting more so well done all around there. Some of the matches aren’t that great with no particularly good Survivor Series matches, but what we got for the rest of the show was quite entertaining, even if the core concept was lost.

Ratings Comparison

Raw Tag Teams vs. Smackdown Tag Teams

Original: D+

2019 Redo: C

Smackdown Women vs. Raw Women

Original: C

2019 Redo: C

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

AOP vs. The Bar

Original: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Original: C+

2019 Redo: D+

Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey

Original: B

2019 Redo: A-

Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: A-

2019 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2019 Redo: B

The two main events almost swapping is interesting but, other than the men’s Survivor Series match, this is all in the same ballpark or identical.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/18/survivor-series-2018-layeth-the-smackdown-down/

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: January 27, 2006
Location: Bi-Lo Center, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means we should be in for very little of note, as most of the card is already set. The Rumble itself hasn’t gotten that much attention, but it’s not like the match is going to need that much help. Other than that, we’ll be seeing more from Mark Henry and Kurt Angle, which could be a good thing. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Mark Henry vs. Kurt Angle, with Daivari being revealed as Henry’s new manager.

Opening sequence.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mark Henry

Before the match, we see a clip of Rey dedicating his Royal Rumble to Eddie Guerrero. Daivari is on commentary as Rey hammers on Henry to start. Some dropkicks to the leg earn Rey a clothesline but Henry misses a sitdown splash. Henry is right back up and knocks him to the floor before dropping him onto the mat with a gorilla press. The splash doesn’t warrant a cover so he throws Rey outside to start the stalking.

Rey avoids a shot to the steps though and takes Mark back inside for some sliding dropkicks to the head. A moonsault gets one and Rey snaps him throat first across the top. There’s the 619 into the springboard seated senton, but Henry throws him off. Rey gets back up and charges into the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin.

Rating: C. This was the classic big man vs. little man formula and it was fine again. Henry is at his best when someone is bouncing off of him and he stands there to do power stuff. They were smart enough to not try anything too complicated here and in a situation like this, that was easily the best choice.

Matt Hardy is ready to win the Royal Rumble because he will not die.

Booker T. comes in to see Randy Orton before his match with Chris Benoit tonight. Orton is ready to win the Royal Rumble and Booker seems ready to return to the ring. They’re good for now, but Orton might be ready to take Booker up on that favor sooner or later.

Video on the Mexico tour.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Mexicools vs. FBI vs. The Dicks

The winners get the final two Smackdown spots and we’re joined in progress after a break with Vito powering James up and bringing in Nunzio. The Mexicools low bridge Nunzio to the floor though and it’s Crazy coming in to clean house. James has to save Chad but Nunzio tags himself in to drag Psicosis into the corner. The double stomping sets up Vito’s camel clutch on Psicosis and it’s right back to Nunzio for an armbar. That’s broken up in a hurry and Psicosis gets over to Crazy to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and a wheelbarrow slam/X Factor combination gives Psicosis the pin on Nunzio.

Rating: C-. They got in and out here fairly quickly and that is the best thing that they could have done. There was no need to do anything else here and at least they let the best choice win. The Dicks have gone nowhere since debuting and I can’t imagine that was ever in doubt. Finally you have the FBI, who are a fine midcard team and nothing more than that.

Classic Rumble moment: Chris Benoit wins.

Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit

No holds barred. They lock up to start and Benoit grabs a to wristlock, with Orton reversing into a headlock. Orton is smart enough to grab the rope before a German suplex and bails to the floor as we take a break. Back with Orton rolling away from the threat of a Crossface and uppercutting him outside. Orton sends him into various things and gets two on the floor, even though falls counting anywhere wasn’t mentioned at the beginning.

Back in and Orton grabs the chinlock before snapping off the dropkick to put Benoit on the floor again. The trashcan is pulled out but a drop toehold sends Orton into it face first instead. Benoit starts chopping away to put Orton onto the announcers’ table, where a thumb to the eye gets Orton out of trouble. Back in and Orton hits a rather aggressive chinlock but Benoit fights up for a failed Sharpshooter attempt.

A knee drop gives Orton two and it’s right back to the chinlock. This time it’s a northern lights suplex to get Benoit out and they head outside again. The chop off goes to Benoit and it’s back inside for Three Amigos to Orton. Benoit keeps it up with a top rope superplex and they’re both down. Orton rolls outside to pick up the trashcan and gets in a heck of a shot to Benoit’s head as we take a break.

Back with Orton holding ANOTHER chinlock, followed by the over the back neckbreaker. Orton takes him outside and peels the mat back, with Benoit backdropping him onto the concrete. They head inside again for the rolling German suplexes but the Swan Dive hits trashcan lid. Benoit isn’t having that so he blocks the RKO, smashes the trashcan lid over Orton’s head and Crossfaces him for the win.

Rating: B. Good brawl here and I liked that it was more about the two of them beating each other up instead of using weapons all the time. There were a few weapons shot here including the ending, but it wasn’t the focal point of the match and that’s a good way to go. Orton does need to lighten up on the chinlocks though, because we’ve covered those extensively enough.

Animal wants to win the Royal Rumble because it’s all he has left to accomplish.

Finlay vs. Funaki

Finlay knocks him down to start and kicks Funaki in the head. Funaki’s enziguri looks to set up the tornado DDT but Finlay throws him down but the yet to be named Celtic Cross (White Noise) finishes Funaki in a hurry.

Post match Finlay keeps up the beating so the referee reverses the decision. Finlay does not approve of this and doesn’t like Americans. He isn’t going away so get over it.

JBL tries to convince Jillian Hall that the Boogeyman is scared of him. Hall is having nightmares about the Boogeyman eating her beauty mark. She asks if JBL ever noticed it and JBL’s eyes panic in a funny bit.

Bobby Lashley is going to win the Rumble.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

After looking under the ring for the Boogeyman, JBL sends Scotty into the corner but gets knocked down. The Worm is cut off by the Clothesline From JBL and here’s the Boogeyman…or at least his music. Scotty is gone and the worms (sounds like a secret alliance to me) fall from the ceiling, covering half of the mat. Now the Boogeyman pops up to scare JBL into the worms. JBL runs off as Boogeyman eats a bunch of worms, as usual.

Raw Rebound.

Melina shows Teddy her taped up ankle and says he has done nothing about this. That’s strike two and he is officially on notice.

Daivari and Mark Henry say Angle loses on Sunday.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Kurt Angle vs. MNM

Non-title and Melina is here with MNM. We’re joined in progress with Mercury getting headlocked down and then taken down with ease. A shoulder puts Mercury on the floor so Nitro comes in instead. Angle armbars him without much trouble and then hammers away in the corner. A Melina distraction lets Nitro get in a knee and Mercury low bridges Angle to the floor.

Nitro pulls Mercury out of the way of a charging Angle to send him shoulder first into the post and there’s a running knee in the corner. The Snapshot is broken up with Mercury being sent outside, where Melina slips him something. Melina offers a distraction so Mercury can get in a loaded right hand for two. The Angle Slam drops Mercury and a suplex sends Nitro to the floor. Angle grabs Mercury’s ankle for the tap.

Rating: C. Match was fine but they really needed Angle to survive cheating and make one of the champs tap? They couldn’t have had some kind of shenanigan or had Henry come in for the DQ? Anyway, Angle has looked awesome as of late and they’ve done a great job of turning him face in a hurry, though it isn’t exactly hard to cheer the guy.

Post match here’s Henry, who is Angle Slammed in a hurry. The ankle lock is broken up with raw power and Angle is stunned to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They did a little more for the Rumble itself but this was the Angle vs. Henry show. That isn’t the kind of match that should work on paper but the build they gave it here worked out pretty well. Benoit vs. Orton was a good, long match but it’s the only other thing of value on the whole show. Then again, with the Rumble on Sunday, everything is cranked up for Wrestlemania, meaning this is the most inconsequential show of the season.

 

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: June 26, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

This one has gotten interesting in a hurry as the WWE is facing a horrible Coronavirus outbreak (I’m as shocked as you are) so it isn’t clear what we’re going to be seeing here. One thing is going to be the Boneyard match in its entirety, which will eat up over a quarter of the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a tribute to the Undertaker, with a pretty awesome highlight package.

The roster is on the stage to chant THANK YOU TAKER.

We open with a look at Undertaker debuting at Survivor Series 1990. The nearly silent reaction is about as clear cut as you can get that it worked.

John Cena and Roman Reigns talk about how awesome Undertaker is.

From Wrestlemania XXXVI:

Undertaker vs. AJ Styles

They are in a graveyard for this one and there goes the gong as a hearse pulls up to the gate. The casket is pulled out by some druids and it’s AJ inside for a good surprise. Undertaker rides in on the motorcycle to Metallica and AJ talks about Michelle McCool digging the grave. Undertaker goes after him so AJ grabs a rock, only to get sent into an open casket. Undertaker punches through a window and cuts his arm open but throws AJ on top of the hearse anyway.

Some right hands knock him off the hearse and Undertaker has a seat while asking if AJ wants more. After Undertaker quotes Clubber Lang (“You want some more? I got a lot more.”), AJ throws some leaves in his face and gets in a low blow. Undertaker stands up after some right hands and knocks AJ down again, this time into a grave. Cue the OC as this has turned into a western.

A bunch of light comes out of a building and the walls come down to reveal a bunch of masked men. They surround Undertaker and do the eternally brilliant thing of attacking him one at a time. With that taken care of, Anderson and Gallows jump Undertaker but he isn’t about to be hit with a shovel. Instead Undertaker takes it back and beats them down, allowing AJ to break a tombstone over his back.

AJ hammers away and calls him an old man but breaks his fingers on Undertaker’s head. They fight through a wall and both lay on the ground sound like they’re dead. AJ says Undertaker is nothing but Undertaker flips him off and says come on. A shovel over the back puts Undertaker down in a grave and AJ goes to the machine with a barrel of dirt. Then a light shows up behind him and Undertaker pops up to beat on him some more. AJ climbs up a well placed ladder to get on the roof of the barn, so Undertaker makes flames come up to keep him in place.

Anderson and Gallows are up there too, with Gallows being thrown off. Anderson gets Tombstoned onto the metal roof and Undertaker chokeslams AJ off the roof. Undertaker climbs down and asks AJ what his wife’s name is now. They’re just getting started as Undertaker carries him over to the grave. AJ apologizes so Undertaker picks him up and says AJ put up a great fight. Undertaker hugs him and says most people wouldn’t have given him that kind of a fight. Undertaker turns to leave….and then knocks AJ into the grave. Undertaker gets in the machine and pours the dirt on AJ for the win at about 18:30.

Rating: A+. I don’t know what else you could have wanted from this match. This went so far beyond anything resembling sane or rational and went into complete insanity territory, making it one of the most entertaining things I can remember WWE doing in a LONG time. Of course it’s not good but that’s the point. This was entertaining, and that’s a lot more than you are going to get out of most Undertaker matches these days. Watch this and be prepared to laugh quite a bit, because it’s like Final Deletion but with production value.

AJ’s hand sticks out of the dirt as Undertaker gets on his bike. He throws up the fist so more fire comes up on the building and the Undertaker symbol lights up to end the show.

As we came back from commercials during the match, Edge, Christian, Bret Hart, Kane and Ric Flair talk about how awesome Undertaker is.

Back in the arena, King Corbin talks about how Undertaker left after a thirty year career of kissing up to the McMahons. Undertaker was a charter member of Vince McMahon’s special club, which is why he was around for thirty years. He has been stealing a living from this company for twenty years and now people are out here chanting THANK YOU TAKER. That’s why Corbin wants to leave Mark Calaway with this thought: you suck. Cue Jeff Hardy for the save, because, according to Cole, he has a long, storied history with Undertaker.

Steve Austin and Kurt Angle think a lot of Undertaker.

In the back, Hardy says the Mount Rushmore of WWE would be Undertaker’s face four times. He’ll beat up Corbin tonight because he has a degree from Deadman U.

Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross vs. Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans

The winner faces Bayley for the title at Extreme Rules. It’s a brawl to start until Cross rolls Bliss up for two and immediately apologizes. Bliss rolls her up for two as the other two are down on the floor. That lets Bayley and Banks insist that they would never turn on each other, even as Lacey throws Bliss into the barricade. Back in and Brooke’s cartwheel splash hits Cross for two.

Bliss comes in and gets caught with a handspring elbow in the corner. Lacey hits the slingshot bronco buster onto Bliss and Cross at the same time before taking Brooke down for right hands to the head. Brooke elbows Evans down though and hits a Swanton for two. Twisted Bliss misses Brooke so Cross dropkicks Brooke to the floor. Lacey hits the slingshot elbow for two on Cross but has to give Brooke the Woman’s Right. The distraction lets Cross roll Lacey up for the pin at 5:17.

Rating: C. Just a quick match to set up Cross as the challenger and that’s fine for a one off title defense. There is no reason to think she’ll win the title, which has been the problem for so many of Bayley’s title defenses for so long now. Then again, I’m sure they’re just waiting for the right time for Sasha. Totally happening any show now.

HHH and Shawn Michaels think Undertaker is alright.

New Day/Lucha House Party vs. Miz/John Morrison/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Big E. punches and elbows Miz to start and there’s the apron splash. Dorado adds a top rope splash but it’s off to Cesaro, who has to flip out of a powerbomb. An anklescissors takes Cesaro down and Metalik climbs onto Dorado’s shoulders for another splash. Cesaro powers him into the corner though and it’s off to Nakamura, who has to duck Trouble in Paradise. It’s quickly off to Morrison, who gets dropkicked down.

Nakamura takes Kofi down to the floor though and sends him into the Plexiglas. Everyone comes into the ring for a big staredown and we take a break. Back with Miz and Morrison working over Kofi until Big E. makes the save. Kofi finally gets away and brings in Metalik to start cleaning house. Metalik gets in a running sunset bomb for two and Dorado adds a top rope shooting star press for two. Everything breaks down and the Golden Rewind hits Morrison, followed by Metalik’s rope walk elbow to finish Miz at 11:10.

Rating: C+. They surprised me here as I would have bet on Nakamura and Cesaro pinning New Day to set up the pay per view title match. They can still go there but Lucha House Party getting the win is surprising. The division needs some more depth and there will always be room for some masked high fliers.

Corbin says he’ll beat up Hardy, even if he’s a student of Undertaker. What did that teach him? How to be an alcoholic jailbird?

Here’s Braun Strowman to talk about Bray Wyatt making him afraid. One night they were sitting in the swamp when Bray saw a snake coming out of the water. Strowman wanted to stomp it but Bray said that was his friend. Bray got face to face with the snake and it bit him, so Bray laughed. It was then that Braun knew he was facing something evil, so he started doing the devil’s work. And he loved every second of it.

We get one of the old Wyatt feed interruptions before Strowman talks about how he still has some of that evil inside him. Braun can’t keep living like this so let’s go back to the swamp. He’s either coming out of this a broken man or knowing that he beat evil. Then he can feed Bray to the alligators in the swamp. Bray’s laughter is heard and Strowman laughs with him.

There’s your cinematic match and there is also your latest Strowman segment that doesn’t make me want to watch him defend the title. I don’t want to see them in the swamp, I don’t want to see them fighting each other and I don’t really want to see Strowman. What is the big appeal here? “Hey, now look where we’re having a match!” Maybe find someone interesting enough that you don’t need to do all these bonuses?

Batista and Mick Foley talk about what it means to face Undertaker.

Jeff Hardy vs. King Corbin

Corbin elbows him in the face to start and Hardy is rocked early on. The slow stomping and shots to the back have Hardy down but he manages to knock Corbin outside. Corbin drops Hardy with a single shot to the face, only to have Jeff send him over the announcers’ table. Back in and the Whisper in the wind misses so Corbin sends Hardy shoulder first post into the post. Corbin mocks Undertaker’s kneeling pose and we take a break.

Back with the roster around the ring and Hardy fighting out of a chinlock. Corbin knocks him down again but gets sent into the corner, where he slides under the corner and decks Hardy with the running clothesline. The chinlock goes on again but Hardy jawbreaks his way to freedom. Some right hands into a basement dropkick gets two but one heck of a Deep Six gives Corbin the same. They head outside with Corbin crashing into the steps, setting up the Swanton to give Hardy the pin at 12:17.

Rating: C. Not too bad here but it felt like a low level house show semi main event. As weird as it is to have Hardy suddenly be Undertaker’s representative, it’s not like they had a much better option given their limited circumstances. Corbin getting beaten up is always worth a quick glance and it worked just fine here.

Post match Corbin jumps Hardy again but Big E. Braun and Matt Riddle all come in to take him down. A big celebration, with Undertaker appearing on the screen (Cole: “The most intriguing character in WWE history.”) and Jeff kneeling in respect, ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It was pretty clear that this was going to be a weird one coming in and they did what they could with what they had. They didn’t have much of a crew here and that is completely understandable. With so many people who aren’t going to be around for a little (or maybe a long) time, they did what they could have and focusing on Undertaker was a good idea. It felt like a half regular show and half tribute show and that…..I guess you could say it worked. It’s a weird week, but they didn’t have much of a choice.

Results

Nikki Cross b. Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke and Lacey Evans – Rollup to Evans

New Day/Lucha House Party b. Miz/John Morrison/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Jeff Hardy b. King Corbin – Swanton

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

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