IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 10, 2019
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the second night in New York and that means things are likely to still be hot but not quite as hot as things were last night. This time around we’ll be seeing the Undertaker making his regular appearance, but the more interesting development is a change to the King of the Ring. Elias is out with an injury so someone is going to be taking his place against Chad Gable, which could go a few different directions. Let’s get to it.

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

They’re not wasting time again tonight as here’s the Undertaker to get things going. Undertaker says that for the last thirty years, he has considered these hallowed halls his home. He doesn’t know how many more times he’ll be here but he wants people to remember the titans, the legends and heroes who were born and created here. Undertaker took a little piece of every one of their souls and now we usher in a new era of superstar.

Cue Sami Zayn to interrupt to say that Undertaker is in fact a legend. What is most famous about his career is what he has done in this arena (not exactly) because for the last thirty years, this arena has been his yard. Undertaker has been talking about paving the way for the future but what he doesn’t understand is that the future is here.

Zayn asks him to do the right thing and leave right now because the future is in good hands. Undertaker hands him the mic and Sami looks like a three year old getting his first bicycle. Then Undertaker turns around and shakes his head. The chokeslam (with Undertaker managing to fix his hat while Sami is airborne) leaves Sami laying.

Shane McMahon is watching from his office when Chad Gable comes in. So Elias has broken his ankle, but there won’t be a bye for Gable. It could be someone from Raw or Smackdown, and they might have already been eliminated.

The Miz vs. Andrade

Shinsuke Nakamura is on commentary and refuses to speak English. Miz armdrags Andrade down to start but it’s an early Tranquilo pose in the ropes. Andrade gets sent outside so Zelina Vega gets in a rake to the eyes so Andrade can stomp away back inside. We take a break and come back with Miz getting two off the Reality Check. The YES Kick misses so Miz is right back with a big boot.

Now the chops in the corner give us some WOOing, followed by a missed charge to send Andrade outside. Miz throws him at Nakamura but another Zelina distraction lets Andrade hit a Judas Effect for two. Back in and the double moonsault misses, allowing Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C-. They were moving fast enough here but it felt like any given match you might see on a regular Smackdown. That already takes away some of the prestige that last night’s show had and it doesn’t bode well for what we’ll be getting for the rest of the night. The match did a good enough job of pushing Miz for Sunday, though they really didn’t need to have Andrade take a loss here. Was Shelton Benjamin not available?

Post match Nakamura comes in immediately and hits Miz with Kinshasa.

Shane asks Matt Hardy and Apollo Crews if they have seen Gable, who is right in front of him. Shane has found a suitable replacement who is Elias approved: himself.

Here are Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to call Nikki Cross ugly. Apparently Nikki looks like a rat crawling out of the Lincoln Tunnel so here’s Alexa Bliss to interrupt. By that I mean point to the entrance so Cross can charge the ring and start her match.

Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose

Cross runs straight at Mandy and grabs a sleeper but Mandy slips out and hits a fall away slam. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Mandy charges into an elbow to even things out a bit. Nikki freaks out at the prospect of being sent into the corner but misses a high crossbody. Mandy misses a running knee though and gets rolled up for the clean pin at 3:20.

Rating: D+. Just a match here with Bliss and Cross suddenly being genuine friends, as well as faces (at least in this feud) for a twist. That being said, someone has to be the faces in this feud and Mandy and Sonya are way too easy to dislike. The match is almost destined for the Kickoff Show and that’s a fine place for them to be.

Heavy Machinery enjoys catering.

It’s Connor’s Cure Month.

Ember Moon comes up to Bayley for this week’s completely natural and unscripted conversation to set up a match tonight. Bayley did what she did for the division and the title.

Heavy Machinery vs. Johnny Silver/Alex Keaton

Tucker wrestles Keaton to the mat with ease to start and then flips over him for a bonus. The gyrating Otis comes in for a splash and it’s time to take the straps down for the Caterpillar. The Compactor finishes Silver at 1:58.

Kevin Owens comes in to see Shane, who is considering rescinding the fine. That is, if Owens does his job well tonight. Shane hands him a referee shirt and smiles.

Video on Erick Rowan being revealed as Roman Reigns’ attacker two weeks ago, followed by Rowan laying out Reigns and Daniel Bryan last week.

Here’s Rowan for a chat. What the people don’t understand is that no one controls him, but here’s Reigns to interrupt. The fight is on in a hurry with Reigns knocking him into the crowd. Rowan fights back though and grabs a fan, who he powerbombs over the barricade onto waiting security. They fight over the barricade and back to ringside, where Rowan swings a camera at Reigns to knock him down again before leaving. Good brawl, though I’m not exactly buying Rowan as a major threat to Reigns.

Post break Rowan is muttering about Reigns.

Clash of Champions rundown.

Bayley vs. Ember Moon

Non-title with Charlotte on commentary. Bayley takes it outside early on and puts Moon on the barricade for a hard knee to the face as we take an early break. Back with Ember slugging away and hitting a dropkick for two. It’s too early for the Eclipse though and Ember has to roll through. The Bayley to Belly finishes Moon at 4:29. Not enough shown to rate but it was just a step above a squash.

We look back at Kofi Kingston getting beaten down by Randy Orton and the Revival last week.

Here’s Kofi Kingston, who is very happy to be in the Garden. It was ten years ago in this very building where he crushed Randy Orton through a table and was ready to become one of the biggest stars in WWE. We see a clip of the Boom Drop through the table in 2009 but here’s Orton in the crowd to call Kofi stupid. We hear about Orton’s accomplishments in the last ten years but none of that matters. All that matters is Orton winning the title on Sunday when he proves that Kofi is something he isn’t.

That’s what Kofi has done for years now, from the Jamaican accent to the dreadlocks to that Power of Positivity bull****. Kofi goes into the crowd after him but Orton is waiting on him with a chair. Kofi gets it away though and fights back, meaning it’s time to set up a table. Orton knocks him down though and puts Kofi onto the table. The chair is grabbed but Kofi kicks away from the table, which breaks anyway. Another table is loaded up and Kofi hits another Boom Drop before posing on the barricade. Cool moment, though I’m not sure what happens Sunday.

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan is now No DQ.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Shane McMahon vs. Chad Gable

Kevin Owens is guest referee and Rolling Chaos Theory finishes Shane in 33 seconds.

Hang on though as Shane makes it No DQ and jumps Gable from behind before sending him over the barricade. Back from a break with Gable beating a ten count back in and managing a crucifix. Owens takes a long time counting the fall though and the fans aren’t pleased. Shane rolls Gable up for a fast counted two but Gable is back with a spinning kick to the head.

The perfect moonsault gets a delayed two, allowing Shane to snap Gable’s throat across the top rope. Shane’s torture rack neckbreaker gets two more and it’s time to bring in a chair. Kevin gets rid of it and the ankle lock goes on, complete with the grapevine, to make Shane tap for the win at 10:27.

Rating: D+. This was giving me flashbacks to Bayley vs. Eva Marie in NXT where you could pretty much guess that nothing too wacky was going to happen but you just couldn’t be sure. Gable going on to the finals is the right call, even if you know where it’s leading as this is probably considered his big moment. The match wasn’t the point here as it was all about Owens vs. Shane, which was the bigger story. Gable has gotten a very nice rub out of the tournament, though I’m not convinced it’s going to matter after the tournament is over.

As we hear that the King of the Ring finals are next week on Raw instead of at the Clash, Shane jumps Owens and fires him to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. If I didn’t know any better, I would have forgotten this was in the Garden several times as it was pretty much any go home show, save for the cool Kingston vs. Orton segment. Clash is still a very clear B show at best but they did a nice job of setting it up here. And Shane losing is always worth seeing for a nice end of the show moment.

Results

The Miz b. Andrade – Skull Crushing Finale

Nikki Cross b. Mandy Rose – Rollup

Heavy Machinery b. Johnny Silver/Alex Keaton

Bayley b. Ember Moon – Bayley to Belly

Chad Gable b. Shane McMahon – Ankle lock

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: April 7, 2005
Location: iPayOne Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the first show after Wrestlemania and that means things are going to be resetting just a bit. John Cena won the Smackdown World Title and that means things should feel a little more energized around here. I’m not sure what to expect, but hopefully it’s a better structured show than Raw. Let’s get to it.

Here are Sunday’s results it you need a recap.

This one is rated TV-MA, which should make it a bit more interesting.

Here’s JBL to get things going, because we’re doing the same thing Raw did. Cole says that JBL’s title reign lasted 244 days, which isn’t really close to the 280 that it actually was. That’s quite the error but we’ll move on to JBL ranting about how awesome he is/was while John Cena left the arena in handcuffs last week. Cena is not in his league and maybe JBL should just go back to his great life in New York City. He isn’t riding into the sunset though because he wants his rematch.

JBL quotes the Jack Nicholson court room speech from A Few Good Men but here’s Eddie Guerrero to cut him off. Eddie didn’t like hearing JBL say the people need him as champion because they only thing they need is for him to shut up. If JBL wants the title back, he’ll have to go through Eddie because he deserves it. Cue Booker T. to say they can go to the back of the line but it’s Big Show cutting them all off. The fans chant for Eddie as Big Show threatens to shove JBL’s hat somewhere.

Now it’s Rey Mysterio joining the fray and Eddie isn’t looking happy. JBL to Rey: “Try it in English.” Rey says he should get the shot because we’re in the 619 but here’s Kurt Angle to say Eddie, Big Show and JBL all lost at Wrestlemania. Booker wasn’t even on Wrestlemania! As for Rey, you can’t challenge for the title without being an adult. Angle was very busy on Sunday because he got arrested for armed robbery. He stole the show and everyone saw it and the police had to do something.

JBL tells everyone to get out of the ring but here’s Theodore Long to say JBL doesn’t have a rematch clause in his Wrestlemania contract. They all have a case and they’ll have a chance to prove it in a series of matches to determine the new #1 contender, though the word tournament isn’t mentioned. We’ll start with JBL vs. Mysterio. I’m not sure if you can call it a tournament, but that’s the same thing we just got to set up Wrestlemania.

There is a bikini contest tonight, which I really hope isn’t what makes this TV-MA.

Cruiserweight Title: Paul London vs. Billy Kidman

London is defending and Chavo Guerrero is on commentary, talking about the twenty five men who eliminated him from the battle royal last week. On a related note: I love the way Charles Robinson flips the belt up to hold it over his head. It’s a nice touch. London grabs an early armdrag but gets thrown into the corner for his efforts. A heck of an Irish whip into the corner has London in more trouble and some knees to the face make it even worse. London tries to fight up but gets sent hard into the buckle and down to the floor in a crash that looked pretty bad.

Back in and London is busted open with the blood gushing as London starts his comeback. A hurricanrana gives London two but Kidman’s dropkick is good for the same. We pause so Robinson can ask if London wants to continue and the distraction lets Kidman hit the BK Bomb. Kidman grabs a fireman’s carry but London rolls through into a small package for the pin.

Rating: C. The blood was quite the addition (as well as the TV-MA explanation) and it felt

like the match ended in a hurry as a result. London is an easy guy to like and putting him against Chavo should give us some good matches. It’s better than having the cruiserweights barely ever show up and there is never a problem with some faster paced matches.

Post match Kidman and Chavo beat London down.

Long Wrestlemania recap.

Luther Reigns mocks Big Show’s sumo gear and some humor challenged wrestlers find this HILARIOUS. Show pops up and says let’s do this right now.

Big Show vs. Luther Reigns

Show chops him to the floor to start so Reigns tries to power him into the corner. That earns him some sumo strikes back across the ring and Show knocks him outside again. A big boot and corner splash set up the chokeslam to finish Reigns. That would be Reigns’ last match on Smackdown and he’s little more than a small footnote in wrestling history. He had a great look but couldn’t do anything in the ring or anything significant on the mic, so he went nowhere.

Here’s John Cena for his first comments as champ and the fans seem happy to see him. Cena talks about JBL being the longest reigning champion in a decade and all the things that he accomplished with the title. After all that though, the champ is here. He’s been told that he isn’t a superstar and doesn’t respect the business or its championships. Apparently traditionalists got offended when he modified the US Title, so take a look at the coveted WWE Title.

Cena goes outside and climbs into the crowd, saying that it doesn’t matter who it is coming at him: Booker T., Eddie Guerrero, JBL, the Brooklyn Brawler, Iron Mike Sharp or Steve Gatorwolf. You want some, come get some. The celebration is on in the crowd and it does feel like a big deal and a new era.

Post break and the celebration is still on.

Here’s Kurt Angle for the Gold Medal Invitational. Before we get to that though, he talks about Cena’s days being numbered because next week he’s facing Eddie Guerrero in the #1 contender series.

Kurt Angle vs. Jose Quesada

Angle asks if Jose’s family is here and jumps him as he goes to point. German suplex, Angle Slam and ankle lock finish Jose at 36 seconds.

Post match Angle puts on the ankle lock again and makes Jose scream as a preview for Eddie.

Carlito didn’t like Piper’s Pit so next week it’s Carlito’s Cabana. Anyone cool is invited, and the interviewer thinks he might qualify. The apple is loaded up so he backs off immediately.

Rey Mysterio is ready when Eddie comes in to give him a pep talk. Mysterio isn’t wild on the idea of Eddie being out there with him after what happened last week. Besides, he can beat anyone on any given night, just like he did to Eddie on Sunday. Eddie doesn’t look happy.

Michael Cole is in the ring to host a bikini contest to plug the Viva Las Divas magazine and DVD. We have Miss Jackie, Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson but Michelle McCool, Joy Giovanni and Lauren Jones interrupt. They should be included too so they disrobe as well and, of course, Torrie wins because she always does. This was a way to fill in time with good looking women so it worked on that front.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Rey Mysterio

Orlando Jordan is here with JBL and we finally get the rules of the series: there are three singles matches and the winners go to a triple threat match in the UK for the title shot at a date to be announced. Better than a standard tournament. Rey moves around to start and bails to the floor, eventually suckering JBL in for a dropkick.

That’s shrugged off though and JBL forearms him in the back as the fans stay behind Rey. A shot to the face knocks Mysterio down again but he’s fine enough to snap JBL’s throat across the top. Rey’s hurricanrana puts JBL on the floor and a baseball slide puts Jordan on the floor. Back from a break with Rey holding a sleeper until JBL flips him forward for the counter. JBL starts working on the ribs and back with a suplex getting two.

A straight right hand puts Rey down again and a super fall away slam is good for two more. JBL kicks him in the face for daring to try a comeback and the expected bearhug goes on. Rey bites at the face to escape so JBL plants him with a spinebuster for two instead. The belly to back superplex is countered though and Rey hits a top rope moonsault press for his own near fall.

That means the pace can pick up, including a DDT to plant JBL. Jordan breaks up the 619 though, which draws out Eddie to deal with him. Eddie hammers away on Jordan so JBL kicks him in the back for the save. Now the 619 hits JBL, with the announcers declaring that he is gonna do it. The West Coast Pop looks to finish but Eddie comes in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was getting good by the end and then they went to the logical ending. It’s fine to have Mysterio lose here because of Eddie as their issues can continue while also getting us closer to the logical JBL rematch. JBL knows how to put on a power display like this though and the match was entertaining as a result.

Post match the Bashams run in to go after Eddie and Rey but Cena makes the save. JBL points at him to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this one better than Raw, even though Raw had better wrestling throughout the night. This show felt like it had more filler but it also felt like it was a show that kept things rolling rather than taking most of the night off. We have a series of challengers for the title (though the end result isn’t much of a secret) and actual comments from the new champ rather than seeing him getting beaten up for a few minutes in a lame match. It wasn’t a great show but it made me want to see where some things were going and that’s what you want from a show like this.

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 3, 2019
Location: Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

The King of the Ring rolls on with another two quarterfinal matches. Unlike Raw last night, hopefully that means we can get all the way down to two semifinalists instead of three because Smackdown might be smarter than that. Otherwise, it’s time for another level of pushing towards Clash of Champions, which is sneaking up on us. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Sasha Banks returning and Bayley turning on Becky Lynch to join her last night.

Here’s Bayley to open things up with her usual entrance, including the tube men. The fans are rather happy to see her after what she did. Bayley doesn’t understand what people expected because she gives her whole heart out there very time. She wants the fans to feel the way she did when she was a kid and she’s trying to show the younger fans what it means to be loyal. That’s why she had Sasha’s back last night when it got rough.

She’ll prove that when she beats the selfish Charlotte at Clash of Champions, so here’s Charlotte to interrupt. Charlotte admits to being selfish but what you see is what you get. There is no hugging so Bayley should hug the title goodbye. Cue Sasha so Charlotte decks Bayley before fighting Banks. Bayley comes in with the chair though and they both beat Charlotte down.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Elias vs. Ali

Elias says being the biggest acquisition in Smackdown history isn’t enough so he wants to be King. Ali starts fast with some early near falls and a spinwheel kick sends Elias outside. The suicide dive is blocked though and Elias tosses him with a release suplex on the floor. Ali gets sent face first into the barricade and then over the barricade as we take a break. Back with Ali sending Elias outside and the second suicide dive attempt connects. The landing bangs up Elias’ arm so Ali hits a 450 onto the arm in a smart move.

A headscissors into a Crossface continues the intelligence but Elias gets out in a hurry. Elias manages a sitout powerbomb for two before grabbing a Stretch Muffler on the leg, complete with some stomps to the head. Ali heads outside and has to superkick a diving Elias out of the air. Back in and Ali misses the 450 (slowed down because of the leg) and a knee to the leg makes it even worse. Drift Away finishes Ali at 11:27.

Rating: C+. This was a side of WWE that you don’t get often enough with Ali and Elias both showing some intelligence. Both guys switched up their offense to go with what made sense here instead of going with their usual stuff that didn’t make sense in the situation. You don’t get that very often and it was nice to see here. Well done indeed.

Elias plays some guitar while sitting on the throne.

Samoa Joe promises to become king and make everyone bend a knee.

Aleister Black takes off his tie and says if the mountain isn’t coming to him, he’s coming to the mountain. He’s going to the ring to see if anyone is man enough to pick a fight with him.

Non-title and the result of an argument over who can take better photos. Cross gets caught in the wrong corner to start but manages to knock Deville out to the floor. A dropkick puts Mandy out there with her and a big dive from Cross sends us to a break. Back with Mandy shouting about how Cross will never look like her. That’s enough for Cross to fight over for the tag to Alexa and everything breaks down. Cross slips out of a double underhook from Mandy, leaving Bliss to DDT Deville. Twisted Bliss hits knees though and it’s back to Mandy for a High/Low and the pin at 6:56.

Rating: D+. Remember last night when I was praising WWE for not having their champions lose? It’s time for the comeback here as Bliss and Cross, who haven’t even been champions that long, get to lose here, likely to set up the rematch for Clash. You knew they were going to do something like that to set up a title match somewhere, because they just can’t help it.

Samoa Joe comes up to Chad Gable and makes short jokes about him, which he knows hurts Gable. That’s because Gable is weak mentally and there is no room for that in the kingdom.

Video on Erick Rowan being shown as helping in the attack on Roman Reigns. Rowan vs. Reigns is set for Clash of Champions.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Chad Gable vs. Andrade

Before the match, Zelina Vega says that she has nothing but respect for another vertically challenged superstar. She could see Gable winning the tournament if Andrade wasn’t in it, but he is so Gable has no chance. Gable wastes no time in wrestling Andrade down and a sunset flip out of the corner gets two. A monkey flip sends Andrade down but a second attempt is dumped to the floor as we take a break. Back with Gable getting two off a wrist clutch chickenwing suplex but Andrade’s Alberto double stomp gets the same.

Three Amigos, with an Eddie dance, are broken up and it’s Gable rolling some German suplexes. Andrade is right back with the third suplex but the double moonsault hits knees. Gable hits a great looking moonsault of his own for two and Rolling Chaos Theory connects….with Vega distracting the referee to break up a cover. That’s enough for Andrade to hit a rolling elbow to the face but the hammerlock DDT is countered into a rollup for the pin at 7:56 and a BIG reaction.

Rating: B. The crowd reactions were awesome here as the fans got into the story and wanted to see Chad, the underdog (you know, the former champion and Olympic wrestler), win here. That’s what they pulled off though and it was a really cool moment in the end. As a bonus, I’m not sure who wins next week as I can’t imagine either Elias or Gable actually going to the finals. There’s a good chance it’s still Baron Corbin winning but at least we have a possible surprise now.

Aleister Black vs. Shelton Benjamin

Open challenge from Black, who sits down to start and misses an early Black Mass attempt. A knee to the face sends Shelton outside instead but he gets in his own knee to rock Black. Back in and Black Mass finishes Benjamin at 1:53. Well that worked.

Drake Maverick and his wife hide in the boiler room and a bunch of people happen to be waiting for him. Bo Dallas manages to pin him for the title and the chase continues.

Here are Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn for a chat but Sami cuts the music so the fans can’t sing along. For now though, we’ll settle for this.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. ???

Non-title with Sami on a live mic at ringside. The kicks to the face have the unnamed jobber in trouble but he punches Nakamura in the corner. That earns him a bunch of knees to the ribs and kicks to the face, plus the running knee to the ribs. Kinshasa finishes at 1:14.

Post match the B Team runs into the ring with the title but here are the Singh Brothers and Kalisto. Drake Mavericks rolls Dallas up for the title…..but R-Truth is disguised as a guard next to the throne and wins the title for the fourteenth time.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to demand an apology from Roman Reigns. The fans rather approve of Bryan, who thinks it means they finally understand him. People think that Bryan is guilty by association but now we know he had nothing to do with it. Bryan has never lied to anyone and he hates liars of all kinds. Therefore he wants and gets Reigns out here but Erick Rowan jumps Reigns from behind. A powerbomb sends Reigns into the post and the claw slam makes it even worse.

Rowan grabs the mic and says Daniel had nothing to do with this. He yells at Bryan for thinking he can control Rowan and offers to fight Bryan right now. Come slap him again like he did last week. Bryan isn’t sure what to do so Rowan talks about being proud of what he did to attack Reigns, which included attacking him with the car. What makes him most proud though is the pain that Reigns is going to feel at Clash of Champions. Rowan throws him outside and hits him with the steps, drawing Bryan over to slap Rowan again. The claw slam puts Bryan through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to think about this show. There wasn’t anything bad on it but with the show over, I can barely remember anything special about the whole thing. It just kind of came and went without much happening as the show is in a steady as it goes stretch. You can almost bet on that being the case for the next month, which makes the rest of September feel rather long. It was a pretty good show, but nothing that there was just nothing that stood out. I’ll take it over a bad and boring show though and that’s better than what we had over the summer.

Results

Elias b. Ali – Drift Away

Chad Gable b. Andrade – Sunset flip

Aleister Black b. Shelton Benjamin – Black Mass

Shinsuke Nakamura b. ??? – Kinshasa

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 31, 2019
Location: Reliant Arena, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

It’s the very last show before Wrestlemania and that can’t come soon enough. This week’s Raw was a great example of what happens when the show is set in stone and there is nothing worth doing to get us to the pay per view. Hopefully that isn’t the case this time around but I don’t have the highest hopes. Let’s get to it.

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

Eddie Guerrero vs. Danny Basham

There’s no Rey Mysterio, which seems to be at Eddie’s request. Danny starts in on the arm as Jerry (replacing Tazz who is having family issues) gets in the LATINO HEEEAT line. Eddie spins up so Danny poses at him, earning a poke to the eye. You don’t need an eye for a powerslam though as Danny is already showing more fire than Muhammad Hassan did in his match with Shawn on Monday.

Basham misses a splash in the corner and gets dropkicked as the comeback is on. Right hands in the corner draw Doug up for a failed save attempt, meaning it’s time for Three Amigos. Now Doug’s cheap shots can work though, drawing out Rey for the save. Rey kicks Eddie by mistake though, knocking him into a rollup to give Doug the big upset pin.

Rating: C. There was some fire in the match but what mattered here was the story advancement, which was better than I would have guessed. Eddie and Rey’s issues have been slowly simmering over the last few weeks with Chavo starting to get inside Eddie’s head, which can make for quite the match on Sunday. Who knew that Danny, another of the OVW stars who was great on his own, could hang here? It’s almost like it should have been obvious while he and Doug were wasting time trying to get Shaniqua over.

We look at last week’s JBL vs. John Cena debate.

JBL yells at Theodore Long for letting it get out of control last week. It better not happen tonight or the Wrestlemania main event is off.

Cruiserweight Title: Battle Royal

Spike Dudley, Akio, Scotty 2 Hotty, Nunzio, Funaki, Billy Kidman, Paul London, Chavo Guerrero

We’re down to Kidman, Scotty, London and Akio as London stomps on Akio’s back. Scotty gets sent to the apron and a middle rope kick from Akio is good for the elimination. Kidman gets all aggressive and pounds on London but can’t get rid of him. London gets in a dropkick to both of them and Kidman accidentally backdrops Akio to the apron. A dropkick gets rid of Akio and London headscissors Kidman out for the title.

Rating: D+. London is as good of a choice as any here as the fans react to him and it’s not like the title has any real value at the moment. I can appreciate them getting a spot like this, though I can imagine it isn’t living up to a Wrestlemania payday. Hopefully they got thrown onto the DVD as an extra for the sake of an extra payout or something.

Akebono arrives.

Dirty Harry Wrestlemania trailer.

Carlito comes in to see Theodore Long and has an idea: he can get back in the ring tonight but Long says no. He isn’t medically cleared, so Long has a better idea. Some Carlito protests get him back in the ring….against John Cena.

Eddie comes up to Rey, who tries to apologize but Eddie knows it was an accident. Eddie is just frustrated, so Rey agrees to wrestle Doug Basham tonight, even though he’s not scheduled. Just to make Wrestlemania fair you see.

Booker T. vs. Luther Reigns

In the back, Sharmell gives Booker a pep talk about how he needs this win. Reigns powers him into the corner to start and then hits Booker in the face a few times. Booker’s hook kick to the face drops him but a missed side kick crotches him on the ropes. The side slam sets up the chinlock but Booker’s comeback doesn’t take long. A superkick sets up the Spinarooni into the scissors kick for the pin.

Rating: D. Booker goes from a Heidenreich feud to facing Reigns? What did he do to deserve something like this? With everything else that he can do, you put him against those numskulls? The match was every Reigns match, as he can’t do anything in the ring other than generic power stuff. Booker deserves better.

Long finds Bob Orton in his office. Bob is worried about what Randy is going to be doing and wants to talk to the Undertaker about it. Long is cool with it out of respect for Orton.

Classic Steve Austin Moment: the zamboni.

Here’s Bob Orton for a chat. He’s honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and he’s honored to have a World Champion son, but Randy is taking it too far. Bob calls Undertaker out and after the full entrance, Bob talks about how he has no problem with Undertaker. Randy has taken it too far though and Bob nearly begs Undertaker to not kill him. Undertaker says Randy’s fate is sealed and he will rest in peace at Wrestlemania. Cue Randy for a quick RKO so he and his dad can leave. It’s not a sign if they need to bring in Randy’s dad to make this work. It was going fine enough with just the two of them.

Doug Basham vs. Rey Mysterio

Eddie and Danny are both at ringside and a Danny distraction lets Doug get in a cheap shot from behind. A ribs first drop across the top rope sets up the abdominal stretch but Rey gets out in a hurry. The standing Lionsault gives Rey two and the 619 connects but Danny’s distraction draws in Eddie, who accidentally crotches Rey. Doug steals the pin to even things up between Rey and Eddie.

Post match Rey accepts that it was just an accident.

Braveheart Wrestlemania trailer.

Kurt Angle doesn’t like being told that he failed on Raw. He beats up Josh Matthews and carries him to the ring due to a bad case of being Josh Matthews. Angle beats him around the arena, including on the stage and at ringside. Josh actually gets in a right hand so it’s the ankle lock with a grapevine. After letting go, Angle says he’ll do the same to Shawn on Sunday and sets up a video package about his career. The highlight reels alone from these two have been worth everything else.

Classic Hulk Hogan Moment: the Saturday Night’s Main Event match against Paul Orndorff.

Cole is in the ring for the weigh-in between Big Show and Akebono. They both come out and Cole explains sumo wrestling. Show weighs 493 and Akebono (barefoot) weighs 504, which surprises Show, who last week said he expected Akebono to weigh more. He says this is the first time in his life that someone has weighed more than him, meaning he has forgotten the match with Loch Ness (which wasn’t all that bad). Show talks about how big of a deal Akebono is in sumo but this is the WWE. Akebono is looking forward to their match on Sunday and wants a match right now.

Akebono vs. ???

Thrust to the chest and a squatting cover is good for the pin. For Akebono that is.

Wrestlemania rundown.

John Cena vs. Carlito

Carlito hides in the ropes to start, which is probably the best thing he can do. The chase goes badly for Carlito as well so he pokes Cena in the eye for what is likely the peak of his offense. Cena explodes with the clothesline and sends Carlito head first into the buckle over and over. The FU is loaded up but here are JBL and the police to arrest Cena as the match is thrown out.

Cena is arrested for destroying JBL’s limo and the trash talk is on as the cops take Cena away. JBL does put a hand on Cena so Cena can get a shoulder to the ribs. That earns him a low blow and a You Can’t See Me from JBL to end the show. JBL had to get in a little something on Cena before Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: D+. The Rey/Eddie stuff was good but other than that, they were out of ideas for Wrestlemania a few weeks ago so it’s quite the relief to finally get to the show. The stuff that has nothing to do with Sunday plus the sumo wrestling thing made me want to fast forward instead of see Wrestlemania. They did a good job with one match though and Eddie vs. Rey needed the help. The last few weeks have not been kind to Wrestlemania, but Sunday is all that matters so it might be all right in the end.

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 27, 2019
Location: Raising Cane’s River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

The first round of the King of the Ring wraps up tonight and it’s getting pretty clear that Raw is the favored side. The talent pool just feels deeper over there as this show is going to include Shelton Benjamin getting a first round match. Maybe that would have been interesting fifteen years ago but it doesn’t quite work right now. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the same video on Roman Reigns’ attacks that we saw last night.

Reigns promises a response to Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan in the ring tonight.

Here’s Kofi Kingston for a chat, but first we see a video on Randy Orton’s attacks since Summerslam. Kofi has heard Orton calling him stupid but who got knocked out last week? Now Orton is trying to turn this personal and he’s bringing in the Revival to help him out. That means Orton is seeing the look when you mess with Kofi’s family so Kofi is ready for Clash Of Champions. Kofi starts the hip thrusts but Orton appears on screen to say STUPID over and over.

Earlier today, Orton was in his hotel room when someone knocked on his door and slid a letter underneath. Normally he doesn’t reply to fan mail but this one was different. It says that Orton is hurting Kofi and he needs to stop hurting him every night. Kofi isn’t just his hero because Kofi is his daddy. It’s from Kofi’s son Kai, and Orton realized that he is staying in the same hotel as Kofi’s family. Maybe he should pay them a visit. Kofi charges to the back and the fight is on in the gorilla position, with Kofi getting hit with the hanging DDT onto the concrete. Kofi is out cold and medics are requested. That was certainly a great THUD.

Post break, Big E. assures us that Kofi will be ready for Clash of Champions but after his match with Orton tonight, Randy might not be.

Recap of the first round of the King of the Ring.

King of the Ring First Round: Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

The winner gets Elias next week. Ali starts fast with a running hurricanrana to put Murphy on the floor. The running flip dive doesn’t work as Murphy catches him with a running knee to the face and we take an early break. Back with Ali catapulting him chest first into the corner and hitting a pop up dropkick to put Murphy on the floor again.

Murphy is right back with a shot of his own and that means the big running flip dive, which is quite the landing given Murphy’s size. Back in and Ali ducks the top rope Meteora, setting up the reverse hurricanrana for a close two. Murphy comes back with another knee to the face and a brainbuster for two of his own. The fans deem this awesome as the slugout is on, including Ali’s spinwheel kick. A tornado DDT from the apron back inside plants Murphy and Ali’s 450 is good for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: B. I can see why these two are the choice for the dark match so often. They beat the heck out of each other and it’s easy to cheer for either of them. That being said, it’s probably not a good sign for Murphy’s future if he’s losing clean in the first round of the tournament. Being able to have that kind of a match will keep him around for a long time though and he should be fine, albeit maybe not as fine as he looked last week.

They do the big respectful handshake.

Ember Moon comes up to Bayley, who seems to be worried about Charlotte. Moon doesn’t want to talk about Summerslam but also doesn’t want to hear about Charlotte being the face of the division. It’s all about bringing everyone up, so here’s Lacey Evans to say Bayley is bringing the title down. Egads it’s like the return of the summer. Bayley against Evans tonight.

Here’s the Miz to address Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn attacking him last week. Nakamura is a champion and Sami is a hanger on who couldn’t make it in the ring himself. Nakamura may be the King of Strong Styles but Miz is the man who made the Intercontinental Title relevant and he can do it again. The challenge is made for Clash of Champions but here’s a laughing Sami to interrupt. Sami says Miz still doesn’t get it because he has liberated Nakamura.

Instead of the King of Strong Style, Miz is the King of Soft Style. Miz throws out the challenge to face Sami right now but that’s a no. Miz goes after Sami but Nakamura jumps him from behind as Sami talks about how awesome the artistry is. Kinshasa against the LED board leaves Miz laying. Sami: “AHAHAHAHA!” They get inside with Sami talking about Miz’s lack of respect for artistry, setting up another Kinshasa.

Kevin Owens comes in to see Shane McMahon but finds Elias playing the guitar instead. There is no Shane tonight (yet his roving office was set up) so Owens leaves.

Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Non-title. Lacey takes her time removing the glove but her cheap shot is blocked. An armbar doesn’t work very well for Bayley as Lacey slams her way out of it and kicks away in the corner. They head outside with Bayley hitting a running clothesline but here’s Charlotte for a distraction.

Back from a break with Bayley hitting a middle rope crossbody but getting caught in….a layout DDT I think? Lacey slams the arm onto the apron and the slingshot Bronco Buster gets two. A dropkick to the back gives Bayley a breather and some clotheslines have Lacey rocked. An Indian Deathlock of all things has Lacey….in the rope about two seconds later.

Lacey knocks her down again and hits a good looking spinning moonsault for two. Charlotte is NOT impressed as Bayley goes outside and manages a suplex off the barricade. Back in and Bayley gets more aggressive, including a knee to the head. The Bayley to Belly gets two so Bayley hits it again and drops the top rope elbow for the pin at 14:28.

Rating: C+. They had some time here and the match was entertaining enough but they still can’t get out of Charlotte’s shadow. Even if Bayley retains the title at Clash of Champions, how long before Charlotte gets a rematch and wins the title again anyway? They don’t have anything else for her to do though and this is about as good as they’re going to do.

Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan aren’t leaving until they get an apology from Reigns.

Randy Orton vs. Big E.

Big E. isn’t playing and knocks Orton outside early on. Orton is thrown into various things, including over the barricade. Back in and Big E. does the spanking abdominal stretch, which isn’t exactly playing into the angry theme. Some hard running clotheslines keep Orton down as it’s completely one sided so far. Big E. misses the apron splash though, with his face bouncing off the apron in a nasty landing.

Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with Big E. dropping him onto the table to even things up and it’s time for the belly to belly suplexes. Cue the Revival for a distraction and cheap shot from the floor, setting up the RKO to give Orton the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C. One of these days, WWE is going to open their eyes and see what they have in Big E. and strap a rocket to his back. Or at least they should, because there is almost nothing that he can’t do. The idea here was to have Orton continue to take out the New Day and while the idea of “Kofi can’t do it by himself” is played out, at least they’re actually doing something about it to set things up. If nothing else, the Revival should get the titles out of it.

Post match Orton and the Revival hit the super RKO.

Chad Gable is ready for his King of the Ring match when Shelton Benjamin comes up. Shelton can’t see him because he’s short.

We look at the weekend’s 24/7 Title shenanigans.

Elias is sitting on the throne and says none of the previous winners will be able to wear the crown like he can. But what would a bunch of Louisiana people understand about that? Cue Owens to jump Elias and hit the Stunner in the ring. Cue R-Truth to steal the title but Drake Maverick breaks it up and gets the title for himself.

King of the Ring First Round: Shelton Benjamin vs. Chad Gable

The winner gets Andrade next week. Shelton hits a spinebuster for a very early two and whips him hard into the corner for the same. One too many short jokes wakes Gable up though and he hits a running flip neckbreaker. A scary looking German suplex drops Shelton on his head but he’s right back up with a hard clothesline. Gable knocks him off the top but misses the moonsault, allowing Shelton to knee him in the face. Shelton’s powerbomb is countered into a very fast sunset flip for the pin at 3:43.

Rating: B-. That was a heck of a sub four minute match as they were hitting each other rather hard and packed a bunch into so little time. I was surprised that it was such a short match as it felt like something that would have needed twice as long. If nothing else, maybe we don’t have to listen to the short jokes anymore because that’s about as bad as you can get.

Here’s Roman Reigns for the apology to Bryan and Rowan. The two of them appear on screen with Bryan demanding his apology. We see a video of the forklift attack and Rowan is shown pushing some of the crates onto Roman. Bryan slaps him in the face, shouting about how he hates liars. With Rowan gone, Bryan comes to the ring and says he trusted Rowan for almost the last year and now he has been betrayed. Bryan comes to the ring and says he didn’t know what happened but it’s a spear to put him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a heck of a show with storyline developments and nothing bad throughout the show. What mattered here was getting things ready for Clash of Champions while also moving things forward in various places, including the main event and King of the Ring. I had a really good time with this show and it flew by for a nice plus. Very good show and easily the best of the Bischoff Era so far.

Results

Ali b. Buddy Murphy – 450

Bayley b. Lacey Evans – Top rope elbow

Randy Orton b. Big E. – RKO

Chad Gable b. Shelton Benjamin – Sunset flip

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 20, 2019
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, David Otunga

It’s Smackdown’s turn to do King of the Ring as we’re getting two more first round matches tonight. Last night’s pair of matches were pretty good so maybe Smackdown can keep up the pace. Other than that we get to find out who was behind the attack on Roman Reigns, or at least who Daniel Bryan and Rowan say it is. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Randy Orton to open things up. After a clip from last night’s attack on the New Day, Orton talks about Kofi cheating to get out of a fight with him at Summerslam. But Kofi isn’t done yet because Kofi is stupid. Last night was fun but here’s New Day’s music, with Kofi sneaking in from behind with Trouble in Paradise to drop Orton. Kofi grabs a chair and wraps it around Orton’s ankle but here’s the Revival for the save. That’s fine with Kofi, who cleans house with the chair as the villains run.

Long video on the Roman Reigns attacks. More on this tonight.

NXT to USA announcement. Why this was announced in an email this morning and not on TV last night still confuses me.

Kevin Owens comes in to see Shane McMahon, who wants to talk about the $100,000 fine. He’s had a week to think about it and now he knows how bad this is. They’re not from the same background and while $100,000 is nothing to Shane, it means his kids’ future. Shane will take it under advisement.

King of the Ring First Round: Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Crews clotheslines him down at the bell to start (a trend in the tournament so far) but gets sent into the corner. The running knees in the corner rock Crews but he’s fine enough to dropkick Andrade out of the air. They head outside with a hurricanrana sending Crews into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Apollo hitting a pop up uppercut and grabbing an Angle Slam for two. Andrade kicks him away but misses more running knees in the corner. An enziguri into the standing sets up a standing shooting star press for two. Crews goes to pull him away from the ropes but Vega grabs the leg, allowing Andrade to hit the spinning elbow to the head. The hammerlock DDT finishes Crews at 9:53.

Rating: C. Even WWE wasn’t dumb enough to have Andrade go from being Rey Mysterio two straight falls to having him lose in the first round. Andrade is someone who could be a possible winner and Crews exists to put people over so what else were you expecting to see in this one?

Daniel Bryan and Rowan bring a man whose head is covered with a towel into a locker room. He’s sat in a chair and told not to move under the threat of implied violence.

Elias is in the back and finds the disguised referee. A bit of a threat shows that Drake Maverick is hiding in a case, so Elias opens it up and grabs him by the throat. Elias makes him read a letter but grabs him by the throat. Drake: “To whom it may….do you mind?” Shane has suspended the 24/7 Rules for the night so Elias can win his King of the Ring match. Drake is placed back in the case but as Elias leaves, he pops out to say he just wants to consummate his marriage.

It’s time for A Moment of Bliss with Alexa saying that even though they’re champions, the show will not change. It’s still going to be the show for the downtrodden and people beneath them, because it’s for everyone. Tonight’s guest is Charlotte, who thinks she should be sitting on the King of the Ring throne. Charlotte is the face of the Smackdown women’s division, though Bliss thinks it might be Bayley. It’s true that Bayley is champion but Charlotte is marketable. Can you imagine Bayley on a red carpet with her side ponytail? The division is an afterthought because Bayley is an afterthought.

Cue Bayley to say she’s tired of hearing the same things. It sounds like a bunch of excuses coming from Charlotte because Bayley is still champion. That means she’s better than Charlotte, which has to eat her up inside. Charlotte isn’t buying it because her match with Trish Stratus was all anyone was talking about at Summerslam. Bayley accepts a challenge for Clash of Champions and shoves Charlotte out of the chair. Charlotte gives her shocked face.

Roman Reigns comes in to see Buddy Murphy and wants to know who he’s lying to. Murphy says he’s telling the truth about Rowan, so Reigns threatens him with violence if he’s lying again.

Daniel Bryan vs. Buddy Murphy

Rowan is here with Bryan, meaning someone is just sitting back there quietly in a locker room. That’s expecting some high levels of obedience. Hold on though as Bryan calls Buddy a liar and promises to show Murphy was involved in the attacks as well. Bryan knees him in the face for two at the bell but Bryan is back up with the kicks in the corner. A bite to the face keeps Murphy down and Bryan slaps him while calling him a liar. Murphy doesn’t take kindly to that and sends Bryan to the floor for the big flip dive.

Back from a break with Murphy hitting a missile dropkick, followed by the top rope Meteora. Bryan is right back with the LeBell Lock, which he then switches into Rings of Saturn to make it even worse. The leg is pulled back but Murphy slips out and gets his foot in the rope for the break. The fans are behind Buddy here as Bryan kicks away and tells him to stay down.

As you might have guessed, the big one misses but Bryan ties him in the Tree of Woe for more kicks. Bryan scores with a running baseball slide and a belly to back superplex gets two. Buddy is right back with a Cheeky Nandos kick into a running sitout powerbomb for two of his own. The running knee is countered into some strikes to Bryan’s face and a brainbuster gets two. Murphy has to superkick Rowan off the apron before hitting the big knee, followed by Murphy’s Law for the huge upset at 13:24.

Rating: B. My goodness it’s like they remember how to pull the trigger on someone! This was a hard hitting back and forth match and they did something that could make a star in the end. At some point you have to make a new star and having Murphy get a clean pin on a former multiple time World Champion is a great way to do just that. I’m rather pleased here and Murphy winning actually means something for a change. The fans seemed into Buddy too so they might have something here.

Post break Murphy is about to be interviewed when Bryan and Rowan run up and attack him. Bryan keeps calling him a liar as Rowan crushes him with a boot.

Here’s a banged up Revival for a match but first they yell about New Day being cowards just like everyone here is for cheering the beating. They know Xavier Woods is still limping out of Minnesota but they want a Smackdown Tag Team Title match. Cue their opponents.

Heavy Machinery vs. Revival

Tucker is smart by going with a bearhug on Wilder’s injured ribs. Revival gets sent outside in a hurry and we take a break. Back with Tucker swinging his arms to get out of a chinlock but getting taken down again by Dawson. The middle rope elbow misses though and it’s the hot tag off to Otis. House is cleaned with Otis dropping the Caterpillar on Dawson. Tucker gets the Thesz Press on Dawson but Wilder gets an Oklahoma Roll to pin Tucker at 6:04. Not enough shown to rate but Heavy Machinery is always worth a quick look.

Chad Gable is used to being an underdog in the tournament because he’s been an underdog his entire life. As he is talking, Shelton Benjamin, his opponent in the first round next week, puts a sign on a door. Gable is ready to win next week and goes towards the locker room, with the sign saying “you must be this tall to participate in the King of the Ring Tournament.” Gable: “Funny.” No Chad, it isn’t.

It’s time for MizTV with Sami Zayn as guest. Sami says he doesn’t care about the show because last night, he finally saw things clearly. Last night he found out why people like Miz always get caught up in the trap. It is the WWE trap of greed and the only path to redemption is to help other people. Yeah he’s one of the greatest alive today but there are so many people who need his help. Miz: “Like who?” Sami brings out Shinsuke Nakamura of all people, giving Miz a look like he just drank some surprisingly sour lemonade.

Miz asks Nakamura what he can get out of this but Sami calls Miz out for asking him in English. Sami talks about Nakamura being an artist and a poet who is being held back. That’s something Sami can understand and from here on out, Nakamura does not need to feel that pain. Miz asks Nakamura what is going on but Nakamura points to Sami. That’s enough of a distraction for Nakamura to lay Miz out, setting up Kinshasa to leave Miz laying. Assuming it still counts, maybe throw in Ali for a four way at Clash?

Bryan and Rowan go in to see their mystery man and it’s time to hear what he did. Or later apparently.

Owens comes in to see Shane again because Shane remembers what he needed to say earlier. It occurred to Shane that Owens had never apologized for attacking Elias so Owens apologizes. Shane is reconsidering the fine but if Owens ever puts his hands on another official, he is fired. Owens offers a handshake but Shane isn’t there yet.

King of the Ring First Round: Elias vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. Elias’ music now has his catchphrase at the start and sounds like him singing. Owens doesn’t waste time in clotheslining him out to the floor but Elias walks away before the big flip dive. A whip sends Owens into the barricade but he’s right back with the Cannonball for two. Cue Shane to watch from ringside as we take a break. Back with Elias holding a chinlock and throwing in a rake to the eyes for a bonus. Owens fights up and gets caught with a jumping knee to the face for two.

Rating: C. This story just won’t end. I’m not sure why it needs to keep going, but WWE certainly sees value in having Shane do the same stuff he’s done for months now. I’m sure we’ll see a rematch, possibly all the way at Hell in a Cell for a rematch from two years ago. The match was just waiting around for Shane to reveal the shirt, because that’s the only way it could have ended.

Reigns comes in to see Bryan and Rowan to find out who is under the hood. The hood comes off and it’s….someone who looks like Rowan plus twenty years. Nothing is said to end the show. So I guess Murphy was confused and thought it was the Rowan lookalike, who we’ll have explained to us later? That’s certainly a different way to go with things.

Overall Rating: C+. The show went by very quickly with a lot of stuff happening but the ending left me scratching my head a bit. The wrestling was average to good and the stories were advanced, but a lot of it felt like going exactly where it seemed we would be going with nothing out of line. That doesn’t make for a bad show, but it doesn’t make for the most exciting show.

Results

Andrade b. Apollo Crews – Hammerlock DDT

Buddy Murphy b. Daniel Bryan – Murphy’s Law

Revival b. Heavy Machinery – Oklahoma roll to Tucker

Elias b. Kevin Owens – Rollup with a fast count

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 17, 2005
Location: Savannah Civic Center, Savannah, Georgia
Commentators: Tazz, Michael Cole

We’re rapidly closing in on Wrestlemania and this week will focus on the build towards the two big interpromotional matches. Tonight we have Kurt Angle vs. Marty Jannetty as Kurt tries to prepare for Shawn Michaels, plus the contract signing for Randy Orton vs. Undertaker. For once, I’m looking forward to all of the big stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Kurt Angle to get things going. He liked what Shawn Michaels did on Raw and it seemed like a way to get Marty ready for tonight, but there is no way to prepare for an Olympic gold medalist. Shawn can find that out at Wrestlemania but Marty is finding out right now.

Kurt Angle vs. Marty Jannetty

They’re starting fast and the fans are behind Marty early on. Angle takes over with a hammerlock but misses an elbow drop. Marty gets kicked away but nips up and it’s an early standoff. A headlock takeover keeps Marty in trouble though as he can’t do much to escape. Back up and Marty works on the arm again as Cole talks about Marty’s accomplishments. Why being the Intercontinental Champion isn’t mentioned isn’t clear.

Angle takes him down again without much effort but Marty reverses right back into an armbar. A toss to the floor is countered with a skinning of the cat into a headscissors to send Angle outside. Cole calls this “the fight of Angle’s life” as we take a break. Cole isn’t a history buff. Back with Angle holding a waistlock, which he switches into a waistlock to mix things up a bit.

Since these holds aren’t exactly interesting, Angle snaps off a German suplex for two and it’s right back to a waistlock to stay on the ribs. Jannetty finally fights up and hits a DDT for a much needed breather (and a much needed anything else than another hold on the ribs). A spinwheel kick drops Angle and a hurricanrana out of the corner puts him down again.

Marty hits a high crossbody but Angle rolls through and hits a German suplex. The Angle Slam and ankle lock are both broken up and a rollup gives Marty a close two. Now the ankle lock goes on full but Marty rolls him into the buckle for the break. Angle isn’t having that and puts it right back on, this time with the grapevine for the tap.

Rating: C. I know this match has some fond memories and the last five minutes are good, but almost everything before that is Angle holding him on the mat. I don’t know if that was just to extend the match but it was little more than the same style hold over and over. Marty looked better near the end, though it’s not like this was some all time performance. The ending helped bring it back up, but it wasn’t enough to make this any kind of a special match.

Theodore Long is in his office to respond to John Cena giving him the FU last week. It is his responsibility to give us the best in action and entertainment but no one can put their hands on him. JBL comes in to interrupt him mid speech and says he’s rather happy that Long is going to take away Cena’s title shot. Not so fast though as Long isn’t suspending Cena, but if he touches JBL before Wrestlemania, he loses the title shot. That is, unless it’s in a sanctioned match, like tonight when Cena is teaming with Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio to face JBL and the Bashams. We get a classic annoyed JBL face before he storms off, leaving Long to dance.

Chavo Guerrero comes up Eddie, asking if he’s seen Rey. Chavo wants to know what happened to Eddie, who is a disappointment to the family. See, Rey is holding Eddie back because Rey beat him over and over before Eddie agreed to team with him. Chavo: “If you can’t beat him, join him right?” Eddie tells him to get out of here but Chavo says either stop acting like this or stop calling yourself a Guerrero. Chavo leaves and Eddie throws a chair.

Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, Torrie Wilson and Joy Giovanni are in green as they take pictures with the fans. Joy looks like she’s about to scream.

Booker T. vs. Luther Reigns

During the entrance, Booker kisses his new wife Sharmell, who is sitting in the front row. Heidenreich comes out to do commentary because we’re STILL not done with Heidenreich vs. Booker. Reigns misses an early clothesline but grabs a hot shot to set up the second clothesline for two.

Heidenreich is silent on commentary (I can live with this) as Reigns grabs a neck crank, followed by another clothesline for some more twos. The chinlock goes on as we’re two minutes in and somehow have run through most of Reigns’ offense. Booker suplexes his way to freedom and grabs a spinebuster to put Reigns down again. The superkick into the Spinarooni sets up the ax kick to finish Reigns.

Rating: D. How you can run out of offense that soon isn’t clear but leave it to Reigns to figure out a way to make it work. Reigns just isn’t working and there isn’t much of a way to make him look like any more than a clueless putz. Booker has nothing going on before Wrestlemania but leaving him off of the show is better than a showdown with Heidenreich.

Post match Heidenreich reads a poem about Booker showing him the light with the chair shot. Now he has a new way to live his life. Can that way of life involve a career change?

Wrestlemania trailer, this time featuring When Harry Met Sally. Linda McMahon doing the “I’ll have what she’s having” line might be the funniest thing she’s ever done in WWE. Take that for what it’s worth.

Long is in the ring for the Undertaker/Randy Orton contract signing. We get a quick intro but here’s Eric Bischoff to interrupt. Bischoff promises Raw dominance at Wrestlemania so here’s Orton, who will bring Raw a huge victory. We see one single fan cheering for Orton, which just makes things feel sad. Long handles Undertaker’s entrance, which takes as long as you would expect it to.

Undertaker signs without saying anything and hands the contract to Orton. You can’t get through a contract signing so simply though as Orton says Undertaker will be 12-1 soon. Orton is unlike the rest of his opponents because he isn’t afraid. Everyone says facing Undertaker is like facing no one on earth, but facing Orton is what’s unlike anything else. Orton signs and slaps Undertaker in the face, which just isn’t that bright. Undertaker starts shaking and the lights flicker, followed by the fire exploding behind Orton. That’s never a good sign.

Jackie Gayda and Lauren Jones take more pictures in the crowd.

Paul London vs. Billy Kidman

It feels like we haven’t seen a cruiserweight match in a long time. Kidman takes him into the corner to star as the announcers immediately switch over to talking about Undertaker vs. Orton. Fair enough in this case though at least try to make it sound a little less obvious. London grabs a sunset flip for two and hits a dropsault for the same. A dropkick breaks up London’s springboard though and it’s time to work on the back. We hit the chinlock with a knee in London’s back, which starts the comeback as London hits another dropsault. The 450 finishes Kidman in a hurry.

Rating: C-. London is the current #1 contender after winning a match on Velocity so this wasn’t exactly shocking. The cruiserweight division barely exists anymore but it’s a nice way to fill in some time, when WWE remembers that they exist. Pushing London is as good as pushing anyone else, assuming it actually goes anywhere.

Carlito is working the concession stand this week and that means reading the paper. He eventually sells a kid a hot dog but sprays ketchup on him for requesting change. An adult complains and gets some spit.

Classic Steve Austin moment: crushing Rock’s Lincoln.

Here’s Big Show for a chat. He’s never been in a sumo match before but he’s the one person Akebono can’t push around. That is all.

Orlando Jordan tells JBL to not be worried about tonight’s six man.

Raw Rebound.

Dawn Marie is in the crowd this time but gets in a fight with Michelle McCool. It’s quickly broken up as we continue a string of what feels like filler material.

Wrestlemania rundown.

JBL comes up to Cena and tries to provoke him into violence. He knows that Cena wants to be rich like him because Cena came from a poor family where his mama had to sleep with the landlord to pay the rent. Cena says JBL is as stupid as he looks and he can wait five minutes for the bell to ring. Thanks for the motivation though.

Video on Christy Hemme’s Playboy.

John Bradshaw Layfield/Basham Brothers vs. Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio/John Cena

Historical note: My Time Is Now makes its debut. Cena makes sure to wait for the bell before slugging away at JBL to start but he has to settle for a hiptoss on Danny when the champ bails. A little dancing sets up an early Shuffle for two and it’s a heavily cheered Eddie coming in with a slingshot hilo. The springboard headscissors/armdrag takes both Bashams down at the same time and we take a break.

Back with Eddie bringing Rey in, much to Cena’s….I think annoyance? Shock maybe? Rey’s springboard crossbody gets two on Doug but the Bashams get him into the corner. That means JBL can come in so Rey gets straight over to Cena, sending JBL bailing to the floor. Cena gets to suplex Danny instead as the powder keg continues to simmer. The fans still want Eddie as Rey comes back in for the 619 to Danny. Doug throws him into the barricade though and it’s JBL coming in for a swinging neckbreaker.

The fall away slam, with a glare to Mysterio, gets no cover so it’s back to the Bashams to take turns on Rey. A double flapjack sets up a front facelock, which is escaped in a hurry for the tag off to Cena. That means house can be cleaned but JBL reverses a whip to send him into the steps. Rey dives onto JBL, leaving Eddie to hit Three Amigos to Doug Basham. Eddie goes up for the frog splash but Rey Drops The Dime for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was the storytelling match more than anything else and the stories they’re advancing worked well. Pushing the idea of Cena being ready to explode on JBL is as good of an idea as they have as Cena winning the title isn’t much of a secret anymore (if it ever was). Rey getting the pin after Eddie did most of the work wasn’t talked about but it’s a perfect way to move things forward.

Post match Cena grabs a chair but realizes the bell has rung and can’t do it. He hits Danny over and over instead as JBL cowers. Cena says you can’t see me to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. What a weird show at times with a bunch of stuff that came and went, plus stories that feel like they belong in the middle of June when there is nothing going on rather than two and a half weeks before Wrestlemania. Did we really need the Divas deal or the cruiserweight match or Booker and Heidenreich (AGAIN)? What matters here is they moved the bigger stories, with JBL vs. Cena all but set and Eddie’s issues with Rey starting to take shape. This would have been a great hour long show but for what we got, it only worked well enough.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 13, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the final night in Toronto and we’re already starting on the path towards Clash of Champions. As for tonight though, we have the first round of fallout from last week’s revelation that Rowan tried to take out Roman Reigns. Since Buddy Murphy was the one to tell Reigns the news, that means Murphy faces Reigns tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here are Sunday’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Kevin Owens to open us up and the fans are rather happy to see him. The cheers go on long enough that Owens has to pause before saying anything. Yesterday was five years to the day since he signed with WWE. Over those five years he has created and experienced things he will never forget. He’s been in the ring with people he’s looked up to for years and on Sunday he was in the ring with someone who calls themselves the Best in the World.

As inaccurate as that was, it was special because Owens’ family was ringside to see him in the ring. That Stunner will be with him for the rest of his life, but now it’s time to set his sights on the King of the Ring tournament. He has been a fan his whole life and he loved watching the tournament growing up. Winning the tournament would mean much as anything he has won so far in WWE. We get the usual list of great names to have won, including Owen Hart.

Cue Shane McMahon and Owens actually falls down onto his knees as the music hits. Owens: “Why? Why?” Shane isn’t happy with the loss but shows us a shot of Owens kicking him low on Sunday. Is that what it means to be a man? Owens isn’t going to be lectured about being a man by someone who was part of the Mean Street Posse.

Being a man is doing whatever it takes to keep your job, but Shane says Owens is nothing but a cheater. Owens will be wrestling later tonight but first, we need to see a clip of Owens attacking Elias with a chair. That’s going to cost Owens $100,000 and that does not sit well with him. He demands Shane reconsider, but Shane says nope and leaves.

Post break Owens goes into Shane’s office where he threatens him with a lawsuit if Owens hits him. Owens says we’ll make it 105 and throws a stool into a TV.

Charlotte vs. Ember Moon

Neither gets an entrance. Charlotte pulls her down by the hair to start and works on a headlock. An elbow to the face drops Moon again but she’s back up with a headscissors to try and change things up a bit. Charlotte gets knocked outside but Ember takes her down with a kick through the ropes.

The springboard dive connects with Charlotte, who sends Moon straight into the apron as we take a break. Back after what seemed like a longer than usual break with Ember holding her knee on the floor. That means it’s time for some knees to the leg but it’s too early for the Figure Eight. Instead Charlotte goes with a Liontamer for a JERICHO chant. Charlotte switches back to the knee with some cannonballs down onto it as she channels her dad.

Moon moves away from the last one and starts throwing knees. A kick to the chest gets two, followed by a bottom rope Codebreaker for the same. The Eclipse misses but so does the spear into the corner, allowing Moon to hit a superkick for two more. Charlotte is back up with the big boot though and it’s the Figure Eight to make Ember tap at 11:43.

Rating: B-. Moon is getting more entertaining in the ring but she still hasn’t had that big win. What worries me is that we seem almost destined for another Charlotte title feud, which she is likely to win because nine title reigns in four years just isn’t enough. Even if Bayley beats her, how long before Charlotte gets it back from someone else? It’s how things work with her and since there is little else for her to do, this is what we get.

Video on the Roman Reigns attacks and Buddy Murphy blaming Rowan.

Here are Rowan and Daniel Bryan for a chat. It’s clear that someone is out to get Reigns but neither of them had anything to do with the attacks. All that matters is Murphy is a liar but Bryan doesn’t blame him for what he said. Any one of you would cave if Reigns held you against a wall and Murphy had to give a name. The problem is Murphy gave the wrong name. The fans say Bryan did it and Bryan says that’s what’s wrong with society. A lie is spread all over social media and then it becomes the truth. They had nothing to do with it and tonight they’ll prove it.

Samoa Joe comes in to Shane’s office because he’s going to be facing Owens tonight. That could be interesting.

Aleister Black talks about the due sin around him, but he will soon find a way out for everyone in the locker room. All they have to do is knock.

Buddy Murphy vs. Roman Reigns

Roman doesn’t like being shoved in the face to start so he hits an uppercut. Murphy is right back with a jumping knee to the face for an early two and the stomping is on in the corner. They head outside with Reigns being sent into the barricade a few times so he throws Murphy hard over the announcers’ table. Murphy sends him into the steps though and comes back with knees off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Reigns fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a powerbomb out of the corner. Reigns hits the clotheslines in the corner and a big boot puts Murphy down. The spear goes into the post though and Murphy gets two off a rollup. Reigns is sent outside for the big running flip dive (which looked great) and the top rope Meteora gets two back inside. A Superman Punch out of nowhere gives Reigns two but Murphy hits a series of knees to the face. The brainbuster gives Murphy two and he goes up top, with a Superman Punch knocking him back down. Reigns hits a spear for the pin at 13:40.

Rating: B. This felt similar to last night’s Cedric Alexander vs. Drew McIntyre match as a young star gets a chance on the show against a hard hitting big man. Ok so it sounds very similar but that’s a good idea when it makes for a strong match on both nights. Murphy looked like a star here, though I’m not sure why it took four months for his first match.

Revival is here to face New Day because they want to prove that things can be serious.

Xavier Woods is upset that he isn’t in the King of the Ring tournament but they don’t like the Revival saying they have ruined the tag team division. They’ve ruined their dinners, Christmas and that adult circumcision but never the tag division. Kofi isn’t worried about what he did to Randy Orton after their match on Sunday because he was protecting their family. As for tonight, he’ll be out there supporting his brothers.

Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Owens

Hold on though as Elias is the outside enforcer referee (with the 24/7 Title rules suspended for the match). Owens starts fast with a dropkick and a clothesline but Joe bails to the floor before the Cannonball. Elias won’t let Owens dive off the apron so Joe takes Owens down by the leg as we go to an early break.

Back with Joe charging into an elbow in the corner and getting dropped with a middle rope dropkick. The backsplash gives Owens two and the Swanton is good for the same. The Stunner is countered into a Koquina Clutch but Owens slips out. Now it’s the Pop Up Powerbomb connecting but Elias pulls the referee out at two. Elias gets in for the staredown so Joe can grab a rollup for the fastest three ever at 5:42.

Rating: C. The action was good while it lasted but my goodness I’m sick of the corrupt authority figure stacking the deck motif. I know the criticism is that we’ve seen it for years and that’s pretty accurate. This was the same thing that we’ve seen dozens of times with nothing really changing other than the people involved. The sooner we can move on from this stuff the better, because the horse has been dead so long it’s already compost.

Bryan and Rowan go into the locker room and tell everyone but Murphy to get out. Bryan gets right in his face and demands that Murphy admit that he lied. Rowan hits Murphy in the face and pins him against the wall, with Bryan wanting Murphy to admit that he lied. Murphy admits it and Rowan lets him go, but Bryan says he hates liars. That earns Murphy a trip into the garbage.

Video on King of the Ring.

New Day vs. Revival

Woods and Big E. for New Day here but before we’re ready to go, here’s Orton to talk about Summerslam. Kofi couldn’t beat him ten years ago and he couldn’t do it on Sunday so he snapped in front of his family. One day Kofi’s sons are going to grow up and Kofi is going to have to tell them that he couldn’t beat Orton. Kofi can have one more chance though: make this a six man tag. It seems to be on.

Randy Orton/Revival vs. New Day

Kofi and Orton start with Orton tagging out to Dawson before anything happens. A monkey flip and dropkick have Dawson in trouble and it’s off to Woods, with Big E. wheelbarrowing him into a splash for two. Wilder comes in and gets headscissored down for two but Dawson makes the blind tag. That’s fine with Woods, who rolls him up as well, only to have Wilder take Woods down by the arm. The armbar goes on before Wilder comes back in for one of his own.

Woods fights up and hits a discus forearm but gets taken into the corner again. Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with Woods’ arm still in trouble and Dawson doing the rather tired taunt of mocking the clap. Another armbar is more his speed but Woods gets up and brings in Big E. for the house cleaning. The Warrior Splash hits Wilder for two as everything breaks down. Kofi dives onto Orton, leaving Woods to take the Shatter Machine for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: C-. The armbars got a bit repetitive after awhile and that made the match feel longer than it would have otherwise. You can see where they’re going with all six of them for Clash of Champions and that makes sense, as New Day doesn’t have any challengers on Smackdown at the moment. Maybe Kofi vs. Orton can be better the next time around too.

Post match Orton gives New Day an RKO each.

Roman comes in to see Bryan and Rowan, who have been conducting their own investigation. Next week, they’ll bring the one who did it to Reigns.

Overall Rating: B-. It wasn’t as good as Raw but they moved things forwards on most accounts. That might not be the most thrilling in every case but at least they have a direction and aren’t as boring as they were before. Couple that with some rather good action (a trend as of late for both shows) and this was one of the better Smackdowns in a while. The shows aren’t perfect yet but you would have a hard time believing they were as bad as they were about six weeks ago. I’ll certainly take that change as the old ones were almost unwatchable. There’s more to do but the hard part seems to be over.

Results

Charlotte b. Ember Moon – Figure Eight

Roman Reigns b. Buddy Murphy – Spear

Samoa Joe b. Kevin Owens – Rollup

Revival/Randy Orton b. New Day – Shatter Machine to Kingston

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 10, 2005
Location: Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re less than a month away from Wrestlemania and that means this show is going to be more about John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield, which is almost all that matters from Smackdown. Odds are we’ll get some more on the interpromotional matches but John vs. John is the only exclusive Smackdown match that has gotten any focus so far. Maybe that changes tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at last week with JBL and the Cabinet costing Cena the US Title to Orlando Jordan in a smart and logical next step.

Here’s the Cabinet to open things up, complete with security, which hopefully coordinated with the Bashams. JBL talks about how they’ve done something cool every week and this week it’s time to honor someone who values respect. That would be Jordan, who won the US Title last week all by himself. The CENA chants begin and JBL tells them to stop cheering for the loser.

We hear a bit about Jordan’s past, growing up with several brothers and sisters in the inner cities. Jordan did the right thing: he turned his back on his family and here he is as the US Champion and the people in the seats watching him. JBL is a wrestling god and can show these people how great everything can be. Common people can never stand here with championships and….what is Jordan holding? JBL looks disturbed by the spinner title (well yeah) because common people like Cena put things like that on their cars instead of investing in education. That’s why we need to do what we’ll be seeing next.

A trashcan is brought in and, after a rant about what Cena has ruined about the title, JBL puts it in the can and lights the belt on fire (with the can exploding in something Kane would fine excessive). JBL presents the traditional US Title to Jordan and we get some solid heel posing. They kept this short and the segment and promo both worked. Thank goodness it wasn’t on Raw as HHH would have made it ten minutes longer.

Booker T. vs. Heidenreich

No DQ because WWE wants us to suffer. Heidenreich slugs Booker into the corner to start in the only thing he does remotely well. A knee to the ribs cuts Booker off and Heidenreich slowly stomps away in the corner. In a smart move, Booker kicks him low because he can get away with it here, sending the announcers into near hysterics over the pain.

Heidenreich seems fine as he sends Booker face first into the announcers’ table and then the post for a bonus. Back in and Heidenreich punches even more, followed by a hard clothesline for two. Heidenreich brings the chair in but takes too long crawling around, allowing Booker to ax kick him onto said chair. A scary chair shot to the head knocks Heidenreich cold for the pin.

Rating: D. The match was a conclusion to a story that didn’t warrant a second part, let alone a third, but it was an emphatic way to end things. However, it also (again) showed just how useless Heidenreich was in the ring. Most of his offense was punching and he looked incapable of doing anything beyond entry level stuff. Booker, as well as everyone else involved, deserves better than that.

We look back at Randy Orton challenging Undertaker for Wrestlemania.

Theodore Long isn’t sure what is going to happen when Cena gets here tonight. Carlito comes in and Long has a job for him: find out Undertaker’s response to Orton’s challenge. Do it or be fired.

Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero admire their Tag Team Titles when Chavo Guerrero comes in to wish them luck tonight. See, tonight JBL and Jordan have a Tag Team Title shot and Chavo wouldn’t want to be the only Guerrero with a title. Eddie: “No one’s grandma would be happy with that!” Chavo leaves and Eddie says it’s not his fault that Chavo is his nephew.

Carlito goes looking for Undertaker, because the only place he could be is in the bottom of the building. The lights go out and Carlito lets out a high pitched scream. A maintenance worker apologizes for turning them out because he didn’t know anyone was in there. That was kind of funny.

Mark Jindrak vs. Luther Reigns

Jindrak jumps him during the entrance but gets beaten down because Jindrak isn’t very good. They get inside with Reigns powering him down in the corner and pulling on the arm. Back up and Jindrak makes his comeback with every basic bit of offense you can imagine. A high crossbody gets two so Jindrak knocks him out with a left hand for the pin. Can these two be done already?

A ticked off Cena arrives, pipe in hand, and doesn’t want to be asked questions. Or maybe he just doesn’t like Josh Matthews.

Back from a break with Cena in the arena (makes sense because there would be no reason for him to wait in the back until after the commercial and wanting the noise killed. He and JBL both like to break things, but he likes to break faces instead of titles. So the Cabinet can get out here right now so we can handle this. No one comes out so Cena demands that they get out here so we can deal with this right now. Instead it’s Long coming out, saying he knows that Cena is a little razzle dazzled. Cena: “Razzle dazzled?”

Tonight Jordan and JBL have a Tag Team Title shot but Long has another idea: Cena can have his rematch for the US Title tonight. Cena would rather take all of them apart, but Long says we can’t have the Wrestlemania main event destroyed. That’s not cool with Cena, who thinks Long is sounding like JBL. Since that makes him part of the problem, Cena lays Long out with an FU. That didn’t quite fit with the rest of what Cena was saying, which was one of his first really serious main event promos, where Cena can excel.

Post break, Cena has been removed from the building.

It’s time for the Kurt Angle Invitational but this time around, the medal is above the ring. During Angle’s entrance, we see a clip from last week with a spot shadow on Shawn Michaels unmasking as a cameraman. Just in case you thought it was one of the people standing still and now revealing themselves to be a famous wrestler.

Angle talks about working hard to become an Olympic champion in 1994 but he kept hearing about this. We see a clip of the Wrestlemania ladder match, with Angle talking about how revered the match is. Angle knows he could put Shawn’s performance to shame, so tonight it’s a ladder match for the medal. Get an opponent out here.

Kurt Angle vs. Mike Haywood

Angle forearms him in the face to start and chokes with a knee in the back. The Angle Slam and an ankle lock let Kurt win probably the shortest ladder match in history.

Post match Angle sits on the ladder and says that wasn’t hard. He didn’t even use the ladder as a weapon. Now let’s jump to 1989, when Shawn made his Wrestlemania debut. We see a clip of the Rockers’ entrance before Angle says he’s arranged a match with Marty Jannetty next week. Shawn better be watching so he can learn what it’s like to tap out to Kurt.

Wrestlemania Recall: Bobby Heenan and Gene Okerlund are found with Mae Young and Fabulous Moolah. Bobby begging not to let them drag him back in is hilarious.

Big Show accepts Akebono’s challenge to a sumo match at Wrestlemania. Something I had forgotten: Big Show getting together with Joy is a bit more interesting when you remember she was mentioned as a wife and mother during the Diva Search.

Wrestlemania rundown. There is still just one Smackdown vs. Smackdown match.

Carlito is looking for Undertaker but Torrie Wilson scares him out of his wits. Since he can’t find Undertaker, he’ll have to call him out in the ring. That was a rather worthless waste of time.

Video on Christy Hemme’s Playboy shoot.

Here’s Carlito to call out Undertaker. He’s tired of this wild goose chase and now he needs an answer before he gets fired from Smackdown. Going to Raw is that out of the question for him? Anyway, it would be cool if Undertaker could give him an answer so there’s the gong. Undertaker does the full entrance, leaving Carlito to sheepishly ask about Orton’s challenge. Undertaker says that many have come at Wrestlemania, and like the rest of them, Orton will fall. The Tombstone leaves Carlito laying.

JBL tells the security to guard the hallway in case Cena comes back.

Hall of Fame video.

Next week: Orton and Undertaker sign the contract.

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/Orlando Jordan

Mysterio and Guerrero are defending and the Bashams are out here too. Eddie and JBL start things off with Eddie suckering him in with a slap to the face. Thankfully commentary doesn’t waste time getting to a discussion of JBL taking the title from him here in Virginia last year. Some armdrags send JBL outside so Jordan comes in and holds his arms up. Eddie isn’t impressed and pokes him in the eye as casually as you can.

Rey comes in for a sliding dropkick to the knee and some kicks to the head. Again commentary does well as they explain that Jordan hurt his leg at a show over the weekend (that would explain the half trunks/half shorts). A shoulder lets JBL come in and he has to lean rather far down to say something to Rey. The powerbomb attempt is countered with some right hands and it’s Eddie coming in with the slingshot hilo for two.

Eddie draws Jordan in so Rey can snap JBL’s throat across the rope and it’s more choking with the tag rope for a bonus. It’s back to Jordan, who actually has more success with punches and stomps in the corner. Rey’s comeback is cut off by a Bashams distraction and a big boot from JBL.

The Bashams are ejected for their efforts and we take a break. Back with JBL sending Rey outside with the fall away slam so Jordan can send him back first into the apron. The logical bearhug follows from JBL and Jordan gets in one of his own. Rey gets in a tornado DDT and brings Eddie back in as everything breaks down. The 619 is loaded up but JBL hits Rey in the knees with a chair for the DQ.

Rating: C+. They were making sense for the most part though it was nothing more than a main event tag where we were waiting around for whatever Cena is going to do end the show. It was also clear that JBL and Jordan weren’t getting the other titles so close to Wrestlemania so while the wrestling was good, it was more about waiting around until the ending.

Post match the beatdown is on and here’s Cena to clean house, including the FU to Jordan as JBL bails into the crowd. A lot of glaring ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The JBL vs. Cena stuff has been very well put together as JBL is feeling the promos, but it’s incredible how little else Smackdown is offering Wrestlemania. Yeah there are the two big interpromotional matches and they’ve gotten some time on these shows, but hearing about Big Show in a sumo challenge isn’t quite the same as the introduction of Money in the Bank. Wrestlemania really is a two match show at its core, but Orton vs. Undertaker and Michaels vs. Angle are doing a lot of good to prop up the rest of the show. Throw in Money in the Bank and we’re looking at a pretty stacked card.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 6, 2019
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the final show before Summerslam though it feels like we could have another month’s worth before the show. A lot of the feuds have felt like they’ve been rushed on the way there so hopefully they can take care of something tonight. The big story is Shane McMahon on the Kevin Owens Show because of course it’s Shane. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Charlotte to open things up. She talks about how great she is, making her the real greatest of all time. Charlotte is here every week because she wants to be great but Trish is just here for one more match. Someone truly great would not have ran away as the Women’s Revolution came. The athletes of today are far superior to those of Trish’s era and on Sunday, Charlotte can prove it.

For tonight though, here’s a video of Charlotte’s greatest moments. Hang on though as the video is about Trish, who comes out with a smile. Trish talks about how she wants to come back to prove it to herself and her family. We get a quote from Harley Race, who says there is no better place in the world than underneath those bright lights.

We look back at last night’s Ziggler/Miz/Shawn/Goldberg segment.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio

Ziggler does a full Goldberg entrance (minus pyro of course) and jumps Rey before the bell. A superkick leaves Rey laying and there’s no match.

Ziggler rants about how he just took out another legend (he’s not a good Randy Orton either) and promises to make Sunday Goldberg’s last match. Cue Ali and we have a replacement.

Ali vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ali nails a spinwheel kick and a suicide dive and we take a break before the bell. Back with Ali making a comeback and striking away, including a high kick to the head. The rolling X Factor gets two but Ziggler flips him over with a clothesline. Sweet Chin Music misses and Ali gets two off a rollup. The superkick finishes Ali at 1:46 shown. Having Ziggler be an Orton/Mysterio/Michaels hybrid isn’t going to make me care about him.

We look back at the attacks on Roman Reigns.

We look back at Brock Lesnar attacking Seth Rollins last night and Rollins promising to beat Lesnar.

We get a sitdown interview with Reigns, who isn’t sure how to handle someone he can’t see attacking him. WWE has been offering him personal security but he’s a man who isn’t doing that. The big question is who is behind this. Reigns doesn’t know, but he apologizes to Samoa Joe for accusing him. The attacker is still out there and he’s getting answers tonight.

Here’s the Harley Race tribute video. If there is a more universally revered name, I can’t think of it off the top of my head.

Ember Moon vs. Natalya

Moon kicks her in the face to start and hits the running Downward Spiral. Natalya bails to the apron to avoid the Eclipse but pulls Moon down into the Sharpshooter on the floor. That’s a double countout at 1:23.

Bayley runs out for the save.

It’s time for the Kevin Owens Show with Owens wasting no time in calling out Shane McMahon. Shane comes out and has Greg Hamilton do the intro, which Owens cancels in a hurry. Owens has been asked a lot of things over the last few weeks, as the fans are wondering why Shane’s career isn’t on the line as well. The answer is simple: he’s a McMahon and can do whatever he wants. Owens has an appeal to Shane though: put up his career against Owens and give the fans what they want.

That’s not happening as Shane has Owens where he wants him. Shane talks about how he could beat Owens in a variety of ways but Owens calls him out for a lack of testicular fortitude. They’re ready to fight right now but here’s Elias for a distraction. They head outside with another Elias distraction earning him a Stunner on the announcers’ table. That’s enough for Shane to get in some shots from behind and turn the announcers’ table on him. Shane dropkicks a chair into his face to leave Owens laying. Shane got to talk here and it was like a terrifying flashback.

Here’s Sami Zayn to talk about Aleister Black. Sami offered Black a gift by picking a fight to him but Black has locked himself in a dark room where he can be safe. Mr. PICK A FIGHT WITH ME doesn’t want to fight Sami at Summerslam because he’s terrified of what is coming. Cue Black, who talks from his rising platform, saying the match is happening now instead of at Summerslam.

Sami Zayn vs. Aleister Black

Black kicks him down to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Sami hammering away and getting some near falls off a clothesline. Black’s strikes are cut off with a backbreaker and a chinlock, which lasts all of a few seconds. Black is right back up with the running strikes to the head and a standing Lionsault drops Sami again. Black Mass finishes Sami at 5:49. Not enough shown to rate but this was a definitive win for Black.

Shelton Benjamin is asked about competing for the 24/7 Title. Shelton: “Well.” This has been the WWE writers amusing themselves.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. As Huskus the Pig eats a bunch of chocolate, Bray pops in to say Finn Balor isn’t scared of anything. That sounds like ignorance in disguise because Finn invited the Fiend to his doorstep willingly. Bray gets serious and seems to be having trouble controlling himself. The Fiend is coming so let him in.

Elias makes fun of Chad Gable for being short and even quotes Randy Newman’s Short People song.

Kofi Kingston talks about getting here in spite of Randy Orton. He was starting to stand out in his feud with Orton but then Orton might have used his influence to hold him back. Now Kofi has succeeded no matter what and he has proven that he is worthy to be here. We see Kofi going back to Ghana to show how far he has come but he wants vindication by beating Orton at Summerslam.

New Day vs. Daniel Bryan/Rowan

Non-title. Bryan goes right after Woods to start but gets sent to the floor for the big flip dive. Back from an early break with Bryan working on Big E.’s arm but getting taken into the corner for the tag off to Woods. That means a wristlock but you don’t do that to Bryan, who easily drags Woods into the corner for the tag off to Rowan. Woods has to chop and punch away in the corner but Rowan hits a running crossbody to knock him down again.

It’s back to Bryan for a cravate on the mat but Woods hits an elbow to the face. That’s not enough for the tag so Woods hits a rolling elbow. Rowan still won’t let the tag go through though and knocks Big E. off the apron. Woods gets tossed over the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. Back with Woods knocking Rowan down so Big E. can come in with the suplexes.

Big E. busts out a Brock Lock but Bryan pulls him down into the LeBell Lock. That’s easily broken up with simple power so Bryan switches it into a triangle choke. That’s broken up with a powerbomb so Bryan brings in Rowan for the spinning kick to the face. Woods tags himself back in as Big E. runs Rowan over. The rope walk elbow connects so Bryan dives over for a save. Big E. spears Bryan through the ropes but Rowan hits Woods with the steps for the DQ at 17:17.

Rating: B-. The ending was the right call here as Bryan and Rowan need to save some face instead of losing another match. I was worried about seeing the champs losing again here but thankfully WWE thought it through instead of having them lose twice in a row. The match was a good back and forth fight too with a good build until the ending.

Post match New Day gets destroyed even worse.

Roman Reigns goes into the locker room and tells everyone to get out….except Buddy Murphy. Reigns saw Murphy there last week near the fork lift and wants to know if he did it. Murphy doesn’t know what Reigns is talking about so Reigns threatens violence. If Murphy knew who did it, he wouldn’t tell Reigns a thing. Reigns punches him in the face and throws him hard onto a table, still asking who did it. Murphy says Rowan did it and he didn’t see Bryan involved. We cut back to the ring where Bryan and Rowan don’t say anything to end the show. That was a little lacking, but points for going with something a bit different.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t a show about wrestling as the whole thing was about setting up things for Sunday. That’s what they’ve been needing more of around here, though the ending wasn’t the strongest. It feels like the story needs one more week but since we don’t have time for that, it’s the rushed finish to set up Sunday. The rest of the show did what it needed to do and that’s better than having a bunch of matches that aren’t all that interesting.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Ali – Superkick

Natalya vs. Ember Moon went to a double countout

Aleister Black b. Sami Zayn – Black Mass

New Day b. Daniel Bryan/Rowan via DQ when Rowan used the steps

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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