Evolution 2025
Date: July 13, 2025
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re back to the all women’s show again and there are some interesting options on the card. There are multiple title matches included on the show, with the likely main event of Rhea Ripley challenging Iyo Sky for the Raw Women’s Title. The other big match on the show will see a battle royal for a title shot at Clash In Paris. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, set to Katy Perry’s Rise, looks at how far women’s wrestling has come, with a nice mixture of legends and modern stars. The theme is that the legends paved the way for today’s stars and today’s stars will pave the way for the future. Makes sense. I’m not sure why they say Evolution is a mystery.

Joe Tessitore brings out Stephanie McMahon as his co-host, because of the huge impact she has had on women’s wrestling. Stephanie talks about how far women have come and how proud she is of all of them. Women are regularly main eventing and now they get to do it all over again.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is defending. The fans go rather nuts at the three way staredown and Valkyria gets knocked down. Lynch strikes away at Bayley, who grabs a suplex to take her down rather quickly. Back in and Valkyria grabs a rollup for two on Lynch, followed by a springboard crossbody for the same. Bayley is sent outside, leaving Valkyria to put Lynch in the rocking horse. That’s broken up by a returning Bayley but Valkyria clears the ring. Valkyria heads outside, where she is quickly dropped, leaving the other two to slug it out.

Valkyria is back up with a crossbody to Bayley but Lynch drives Valkyria into the apron. Back in and Lynch hammers Bayley down while adding some quality sneering. The Rose Plant and Disarm-Her are both broken up and Valkyria is back in to strike away. Valkyria reverses the Manhandle Slam for two and a fisherman’s buster gets two, with Bayley coming off the top with an elbow for the save. Bayley ties Valkyria in the Tree Of Woe and stomps away before sunset bombing Lynch into her.

That’s good for a nice sequence and two, so it isn’t a total loss. Lynch kicks Valkyria down and superplexes Bayley, setting up the cross armbreaker. Bayley gets out and tries the Rose Plant again but this time Valkyria comes off the top with a Fameasser to break it up. Back up and Lynch DDTs both of them for two on Valkyria, leaving Lynch unsure what to do next.

The Manhandle Slam gives Lynch two more as Bayley makes another save and everyone is down again. Bayley takes Lynch down and slaps Valkyria, who gives her an enziguri. Nightwing hits Lynch, with Bayley DIVING in for the save. The Rose Plant and Nightwing are both countered but Valkyria misses an enziguri. Now the Rose Plant can connect but Lynch rolls Bayley up to retain at 16:25.

Rating: B. Good action here, with all three working hard for various reasons. You have Bayley who is mad at Lynch for attacking her, Valkyria who wants to prove herself, and Lynch who just loves to win. Lynch is already making the title feel more important and having her win a match like this makes it all the bigger.

Ava, Mark Henry and Vickie Guerrero are here.

NXT Women’s Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Jacy Jayne

Jayne, with the rest of Fatal Influence, is defending against Grace, who has Blake Monroe to even her out a bit. The idea here is that Jayne is in WAY over her head as Grace is a monster and Jayne won the title on what felt like a fluke. Jayne misses a discus forearm to start and gets German suplexed for her efforts. Grace plants her on the floor and takes it right back inside for two more.

Back up and Jayne manages a throat first catapult into the bottom rope so a neckbreaker can get another near fall. The chinlock goes on but Grace fights up with a spinebuster for the break. Back up and Grace drops her face first onto the turnbuckle, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. Grace hits a World’s Strongest Slam but can’t hit the Vader Bomb. A hanging swinging neckbreaker gives Jayne two but she misses a big boot, which is reversed into a kind of Angle Slam for two more.

Grace goes up top, where Jayne kicks her in the head and hits a running knee for another near fall. Henley throws in the title but the referee cuts it off, allowing Grace to grab another rollup for two more. Jazmyn Nyx goes to get the belt but Monroe takes it away…and hits Grace in the back. The Rolling Encore retains the title at 10:29.

Rating: C+. The idea here was that Jayne was in over her head but she hung in there well enough to survive. At the end of the day though, this loss is on Grace for trusting the most natural villain in wrestling today to be her friend. Monroe turning on Grace is overdue despite them only being friends for a few weeks. This is the logical way to go and thankfully they didn’t do anything else here.

Jazz, Ivory, Jacqueline and Maryse are here.

Tessitore and McMahon recap the show.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kabuki Warriors vs. Alexa Bliss/Charlotte vs. Sol Ruca/Zaria vs. Judgment Day

Judgment Day is defending and there is a team from each brand challenging. Sane dropkicks Perez to start fast and a headscissors takes Perez down again. Asuka comes in and the Warriors knock Zaria and Ruca off the apron. It’s off to Rodriguez for a big slam to Asuka and another puts Sane onto Asuka for a bonus. Ruca and Zaria get knocked off the apron again (we might have a theme here) and Asuka fights out of trouble.

The running hip attack misses though and Bliss tags herself back in to take over on Perez. Zaria tags herself in to stalk Bliss, who slips out of a gorilla press. Ruca can’t quite get a spinning belly to back suplex as Bliss escapes again before avoiding a big boot. That’s enough for the tag off to Charlotte to clean house, including a flipping lariat to Rodriguez. A clothesline sends Rodriguez to the floor and a spear cuts Perez in half for two.

Asuka is back in for some German suplexes and the Warriors take turns kicking Zaria down. That doesn’t last long as Zaria drops both of them, setting up an assisted top rope splash from Ruca. The Sol Snatcher hits Charlotte but Ruca has to escape the Sister Abigail DDT. Zaria spears Ruca by mistake and Perez gives Charlotte Pop Rox. Bliss gets powerbombed over the top onto the pile, leaving Rodriguez to Tejana Bomb Ruca and retain at 10:52.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that had everyone going out there and trying to get their stuff in, which made for a good showcase. What mattered the most here was to have the Tag Team Titles get some stability, which is only going to come with a team staying around. That has to be done again after Liv Morgan’s injury, so hopefully things can stay normal for a bit. The fans were reacting very well to Charlotte here though, so maybe go with that for a bit as well, as it’s a nice breather from her usual stuff.

Torrie Wilson, Melina and Molly Holly are here.

Tessitore and McMahon preview the rest of the show.

We recap Trish Stratus challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Stratton challenged her for a title match because she wants to face a legend. Not much more than that and it should be fine.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton is defending and backs her into the corner to start. Stratus is back with a headlock takeover and a wristdrag. It’s way too early for Stratusfaction so they go with the brawling instead. Stratton sends her into the ropes for a running hip attack and a near fall. They go to the apron where Stratus snaps off a Stratusphere to send her crashing outside. Back in and Stratus hits a nice tornado DDT for two but a superkick sends her into the corner.

Stratton busts out Roderick Strong’s End Of Heartache for two, followed by the Swanton. Stratus breaks up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever though and another Stratusphere brings Stratton down. Stratusfaction is broken up but the Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits raised knees. Now Stratusfaction can connect for two so Stratus tries her own moonsault, which also hits knees. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever retains the title at 8:36.

Rating: B-. It was starting to get good but needed another five minutes or so to hit that next level. It’s like part of the middle was missing as they just wrapped it up and went home. Stratus didn’t feel like a serious threat to win the title here but she was more than passable out there and still has the ability to wrestle these one off matches when she is given the chance.

Post match the referee hurries Stratton out so Stratus can get her big ovation.

Alundra Blayze and Lelani Kai are here.

Naomi vs. Jade Cargill

No holds barred and Bianca Belair is guest referee. They start brawling on the floor for the opening bell, with Naomi being sent into the barricade but Cargill being sent into the steps. The big kendo stick shot only hits post though and Cargill knocks her down. Cargill sets up a table but as usual, that takes too long, allowing Naomi to get in a stick shot. Some more weapons are thrown inside and Naomi hits a springboard bulldog onto the chair for two.

Naomi opens a toolbox and finds a chain but Cargill shrugs off the choking. Cargill punches her with the chain and then hits her with a camera as the violence gets cranked up. Naomi gets a trashcan put over her head for a pump kick to send her outside. With the normal stuff not being enough, Cargill picks up the toolbox and drops it in the direction of Naomi’s head, which manages to move to avoid a bad case of death.

A dropkick sends Cargill into a monster and we’ve got some sparks as they both get a breather. Back in and Naomi kicks her in the head, followed by the hanging Pedigree onto the apron. Cargill is knocked off the apron through a table for one of the safest crashes I’ve ever seen. Back in and Naomi puts her on a table with a chair on top, which takes too long, allowing Cargill to chair her down. A middle rope Jaded through the table gives Cargill the pin at 11:16.

Rating: B. Well, it was violent and Cargill felt like she got a definitive win, but that’s the kind of thing that has happened every time they have fought. Cargill gets another win and has some credibility if Naomi gets the title anytime soon, though I could have gone with this wrapping up a month or so ago. Also, Belair was barely a factor here at all.

Battle Royal

Nikki Bella, Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Alba Fyre, Natalya, Stephanie Vaquer, Ivy Nile, Nia Jax, Kelani Jordan, Jaida Parker, Lola Vice, Lash Legend, Izzi Dame, Tatum Paxley, Zelina Vega, Giulia, Candice LeRae, B-Fab, Michin

Jax gets rid of Paxley and Dame to start, with Jordan following, though she gets caught in the air. Jordan climbs onto the table and will be playing Kofi Kingston tonight. Vaquer beats up Nile in the corner and Nile is tossed out a few seconds later. Jordan manages to do a handstand to climb back into the ring, which is rather impressive. Things settle down a bit until Vaquer’s Devil’s Kiss is broken up by Green (the fans are NOT happy).

Dupri does the reverse Worm and has Natalya do a far worse version. Parker throws Natalya out, with Dupri following. LeRae is knocked out and pulls Jordan out with her. Giulia and Vega slug it out on the apron and Giulia is sent into the post for an elimination. Niven dumps B-Fab and Michin is out, with Fyre diving through the ropes to save Green. The much bigger Legend tries to powerbomb Vega out but gets caught in a hurricanrana. That’s blocked as well so Legend throws Vega out in quite the power display.

Green stops to pose with the Secret Hervice, allowing Bella to dump Fyre. Green mocks Bella’s dance and Vice kicks away at Niven. Bella spears Green down and does her dance with Vice but Niven breaks it up to get rid of Vice. Bella and Vaquer dump Niven and we’re down to Bella, Vaquer, Jax, Legend and Green. The Devil’s Kiss hits Green and she’s tossed out, but Jax is back up to run Bella over.

Jax does her own version of the Bella dance and Legend gets rid of Bella (that’s a big deal for her) to get us down to three. Legend lifts Jax and puts her on the apron so the two of them can get rid of Jax. A pump kick rocks Vaquer but Legend kicks her in the face. Vaquer hits a 619 but Legend catches a high crossbody. They go out to the apron with Vaquer holding a triangle choke. The Devil’s Kiss on the apron eliminates Legend and Vaquer wins at 15:32.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going as there were a lot of people to eliminate, but the final few entries were all worth seeing. Vaquer winning is a good way to send her into the title picture where she belongs and her winning the title in Paris is definitely an option. That being said this was the Lash Legend Show, as she was treated like a star in the mold of Jade Cargill last year at the Royal Rumble. She was the show stealing star here and it’s absolutely a great sign for her future.

Post match Stephanie McMahon comes in to ask Vaquer what this means to her. Vaquer answers in English (which she apologizes for not speaking so well), saying that wrestling is her first language. She is going to keep working hard so everyone will remember her name.

We recap Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women’s Title. Ripley has never beaten Sky and is at the point where she has to do it. Sky is fine with that and it’s a big showdown.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky

Sky is defending. Feeling out process to start with Ripley trying to power her down but Sky keeps slipping away. Ripley blocks what looked like Sliced Bread and puts her in the corner. Ripley pauses, saying they respect each other (Sky agrees), so let’s fight. The slugout is on and Ripley is knocked to the floor, where she manages to block a moonsault. Back in and Ripley is knocked to the apron for a shot to the face, but she’s back up with a hard whip into the barricade. Sky is sent into the steps and Ripley grabs a waistlock.

Ripley runs her over for two more, which has the frustration setting in. Back up and Sky grabs a spinning DDT for a needed breather. Sky gets the better of a slugout and sends Ripley outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Sky hits a missile dropkick to send Ripley sprawling into the corner. Sky misses a charge in the corner though and Ripley strikes away, setting up a facebuster. Another tornado DDT is countered but so is Ripley’s suplex. A poisonrana gives Sky two but Ripley breaks up the Over The Moonsault.

Ripley Razor’s Edges and sitout powerbombs her for two but Sky is back up top. Ripley gets knocked away and Sky tries a missile dropkick…which hits the referee. Riptide connects but there’s no referee, meaning frustration is in again. They fight to the floor and out into the crowd, where Sky gets sent into various things. Sky manages to knock her off some anvil cases, which she climbs onto for a really high crossbody.

They go back to ringside (the referee is STILL down) and Sky hits a sunset bomb from the apron to the floor. Over The Moonsault connects and the referee is back in (TIMING!) for two. They go up top again and this time Ripley sends her face first into the post. Ripley stands up…and it’s a super Spanish Fly to bring her back down…and it’s Naomi with another ref (WHERE THE HECK WAS SHE WHEN JESSIKA CARR WAS DEAD???). The cash in is officially on and it’s a triple threat.

Raw Women’s Title: Naomi vs. Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley

Sky is still defending and Naomi hits her with the briefcase. Ripley is sent outside and the split legged moonsault gives Naomi the pin and the title at 26:50 total.

Rating: A-. Oh man this was going towards being a classic before the screwy ending. These two were beating the fire out of each other and I wanted to see who was going to win. I’m absolutely not a fan of Money In The Bank or a cash in here, but it does make logical sense. Raw needs a top heel in the division and Naomi gets away from Jade Cargill for a bit, but more importantly it means we have one less briefcase. Things are reset a bit and that’s good, but dang I was wanting to see how this was going.

Naomi poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I really liked this show, as they made the women feel so important throughout the night. The build for the show was pretty weak for the most part, but everything they did here worked, with nothing close to bad and an excellent main event. It was an eventful enough show, with the big angle at the end working, even at the expense of an awesome match. Rather good show here though, and something that felt like it was done in tribute to the women, which is nice to see.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Lyra Valkyria and Bayley – Rollup to Bayley
Jacy Jayne b. Jordynne Grace – Rolling Encore
Judgment Day b. Zaria/Sol Ruca, Kabuki Warriors and Charlotte/Alexa Bliss – Tejana Bomb to Ruca
Tiffany Stratton b. Trish Stratus – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Stephanie Vaquer won a battle royal last eliminating Lash Legend
Naomi b. Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley – Split legged moonsault to Sky

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

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Wrestlemania XLI Night Two
Date: April 20, 2025
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Wade Barrett
Star Spangled Banner: Ava Max

And then it was Sunday. Last night was already eventful enough and now we have another show with all kinds of stuff taking place. In this case, the biggest story will be John Cena challenging Cody Rhodes in an attempt to win his record setting seventeenth World Title. That should be enough to carry things but of course there is a lot more. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

The opening video is a recap of last night and a preview of tonight’s show. Simple and to the point here.

Here is Stephanie McMahon to get things going. The last time Wrestlemania was in Las Vegas, she was 16 years old. Now they’re back here and her middle daughter is 16 years old. That’s because WWE is family and welcome to Wrestlemania.

Raw Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Shea Ripley

Sky is defending and Belair has a double dutch team during her entrance. Ripley on the other hand gets an absolute eruption as she’s certainly the crowd favorite. After the Big Match Intros, they start fast with Sky firing off some shots to the face and a hurricanrana. Ripley breaks that up so Belair wrestles her to the mat. Belair hammers away in the corner until Sky pulls her down by the braid.

Back up and Ripley gets clotheslined to the floor as Belair takes over on Sky. Ripley pulls Belair tot he floor, where Sky’s hurricanrana is pulled out of the air. Sky gets double swung into the barricade but comes right back in with a dive. The Prism Trap is broken up though with Belair trying the KOD on Ripley. That’s broken up and they hit stereo faceplants to leave everyone down. They go up top for a reverse Tower Of Doom, with Sky being belly to back superplexed onto her face.

Belair runs Sky over again and everyone is down again. A 450 hits Sky for two but Ripley grabs a Riptide for two. Ripley takes Sky up top for a super Riptide but Sky armdrags her way out. Over The Moonsault hits raised knees though and Belair hits the KOD for two with Ripley making the save. Belair and Ripley go up top with Belair being knocked to the floor. Sky’s super poisonrana is countered with a faceplant onto the post but Belair is back with the KOD. Ripley slips out and lands on her feet but gets caught with the hair whip. Now the KOD can connect but Sky comes in with Over The Moonsault to pin Belair and retain at 14:27.

Rating: A-. I got way into this as they were laying in the offense and had me wondering where it was going. You had a match where all three could have come out with the title and that’s a great situation to be in. Sky is getting into that top tier of active stars in the women’s division and she has earned that spot. This is the kind of win that can help her a lot and she could still have a singles match with either of the two. Or you have the Ripley vs. Belair option as well, which would be quite good in its own right.

We recap Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre. As usual, McIntyre blames someone else for all of his troubles and Priest is tired of it. They’ve been fighting for a good while now and it’s time for a street fight.

Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre

Street fight and Priest is played to the ring by the guitarist from Slayer. The fight starts fast and they go to the floor, where McIntyre plants him on the ramp. It’s time for the weapons but McIntyre takes too long, allowing Priest to get in a few shots. Some steps to the face and back put Priest back down, allowing McIntyre to take a selfie with his brother’s phone. Two tables are set up at ringside but Priest is back up to cut McIntyre off again.

McIntyre knocks him back to the floor for the big flip dive and a big pose. Back in and Priest throws a chair at McIntyre’s head (and it comes in at a bad angle which could have gone much worse) but the Claymore connects for two. McIntyre hammers him down with the chair and wraps it around Priest’s head. Another Claymore is cut off with a chokeslam for two and now it’s Priest’s turn to chair him down.

The table is set up in the corner but a super White Noise is broken up. Instead it’s a Razor’s Edge through the table for two and they need a breather. McIntyre counters another chokeslam into a Futureshock onto the steps for two and they’re both down again. Priest tries Old School and gets shoved off the top through the two tables at ringside for the big crash. Back in and a Claymore into the chair in the corner finishes Priest at 13:56.

Rating: B+. I got more into this one than I expected to as they beat the fire out of each other. That’s one of the perks of having a match like this, as the two of them are big enough to be able to hammer on each other until one of them couldn’t get up. The ending spot was great too and while Priest didn’t feel like he was a major threat, he was a good hurdle for McIntyre to overcome on the way to something bigger.

We recap the Intercontinental Title four way. Bron Breakker has been dealing with the Judgment Day, who are fighting over the team’s future. Penta wants the title as well so Breakker is defending against all three of them.

Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker vs. Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta

Breakker is defending and Dominik has a Rey Mysterio mask on for his entrance in a nice trolling moment. Breakker charges at Mysterio to start but can’t hit a Super Spear. Instead Penta sends Balor and Mysterio to the floor for a big flip dive. Breakker dives over both of them to take out Penta in a huge crash. Back in and Breakker hits the gorilla press powerslam on Balor and the Super Spear gets two on Mysterio with Balor making the save.

Penta is back up with the slingshot dropkick to Balor and Mysterio in the corner. Breakker is back up with a double German suplex but the spear hits the post. Judgment Day fights back but Breakker is right there with a super Frankensteiner to Balor. Back up and Mysterio goes after Balor but can’t hit the 619. Instead Balor stomps on Mysterio but gets caught in the Penta Driver for two.

That leaves us with Breakker vs. Penta, which the fans certainly like. Balor breaks that up and Penta gets in a Canadian Destroyer, only for Carlito to make the save. Breakker is back up to spear Carlito through the announcers’ table, followed by another spear to Penta back inside. Balor is there to cut Breakker off though and the Coup de Grace connects, only for Mysterio to hit a frog splash to pin Balor at 10:34.

Rating: B. That’s the right ending and there is nothing wrong with having it go this way. The big story here is that Mysterio wins a title and after everything that he has done over the last few years, that is the right thing to do. Mysterio getting to hold the title over Balor is going to be great and Breakker can move up to something else on the card. I’m not sure where this leaves Penta, but this was the correct way to go and I’m wanting to see where it goes.

Mysterio goes nuts celebrating and even runs back down the ramp to get in the ring and celebrate again.

We get a video on Randy Orton’s Wrestlemania history as this is his 20th Wrestlemania (which is not a 20th anniversary). He was supposed to face Kevin Owens but Owens is out with a neck injury so it’s mystery opponent time.

Randy Orton vs. ???

Orton (in a tribute to his original trunks) makes the open challenge and it’s….TNA World Champion Joe Hendry for a pretty awesome surprise. Hendry gets the big entrance and the fans are WAY into him, as you knew was coming. An early RKO attempt is countered into a rollup and Orton is surprised. Back up and Orton hammers away but Hendry is back up with some shots of his own. Hendry grabs the fall away slam and gets to do his pose…and that’s enough for the RKO to finish for Orton at 3:09.

Rating: C. To be clear: this wasn’t a squash, this wasn’t Hendry being buried and this wasn’t bad. Hendry is indeed the reigning TNA World Champion. He’s also nowhere near the star Orton is and was little more than a warm body here. There are very, very, very few wrestlers who are bigger stars than Orton in history and Hendry losing to him at Wrestlemania in a short match is not some death sentence. The fact that Hendry got this spot and got to do that entrance on this stage is what matters and it went perfectly fine.

Post match Orton shows him some respect and then lays him out with another RKO. Orton even mocks Hendry’s pose and gets a nice reaction.

We recap Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles. Paul is the celebrity and Styles is the traditional wrestler so they don’t like each other. This feels like the “here’s a match where Paul can look good against someone who has nothing else to do”.

Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles

As usual we get a special Paul entrance as he livestreams his entrance, which is quite the visual. Paul backs him into the corner to start but gets knocked out to the apron. Styles hits a dropkick for an early one, with the kickout sending Styles into a camera. Paul gets tied in the ring skirt for a beating and a shot to the face leaves him down on the floor for a needed breather.

Back up and Styles sends him into the barricade, only to get sent into the post for a needed breather. That’s not enough for Paul as he dives onto Styles to take him out again. Apparently learning on the job, Paul ties Styles up in the ring skirt and hammers away, setting up a frog splash for two as we seem to be watching the match from a drone camera, which is such a change of pace from the standard way WWE has been shot forever.

The overbomb (powerbomb into a faceplant) gets two and Paul does some Hogan posing. The big boot into the legdrop gets two on Styles and the slow beating continues. Styles fights back and hits a brainbuster for two but Paul hits him with a Regal Roll. A Lionsault gives Paul two and a Buckshot Lariat gets the same.

The torture rack spinning powerbomb gives Styles two and they’re both down. The springboard 450 hits raised knees though and Paul hits the Styles Clash (not very well). Styles does the real thing….and one of Paul’s goons comes out with the brass knuckles. Cue Karrion Kross to cut that off and tries to hand them to Styles, who decks Kross instead. The Phenomenal Forearm misses though and Paul hits the big right hand. The Paulverizer finishes Styles at 17:43.

Rating: B-. They were running with an anchor here as there was pretty much no way around this being Paul’s match to win. There never was much of a story coming into this one and it felt like a way to make Paul look good. Styles is perfectly skilled at doing that and the match wasn’t bad, but it was pretty cold and that is going to overcome just about anything they do in the ring.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Lyra Valkyria/???

Morgan and Rodriguez are defending and since Bayley is injured, Valkyria has a mystery partner in the form of….fellow Irishwoman Becky Lynch. Yep that tracks and Morgan is terrified with some great facial expressions. Valkyria starts fast with Morgan, who brings in Rodriguez for the power instead. That’s fine with Valkyria who fights back but gets kicked out of the air to slow her down.

Morgan comes in for the Eddie Dance and Three Amigos and hands it back to Rodriguez. Valkyria fights up but Morgan is right there to cut Lynch off. Glaring ensues as Valkyria fights back and brings Lynch in to pick up the pace. Lynch cleans house and fires off the Bexploder but Rodriguez breaks up the Disarm-Her. Oblivion gets two with Valkyria making the save and taking Rodriguez outside. Back in and the Manhandle Slam finishes Morgan for the titles at 8:48.

Rating: C+. Lynch was one of the most logical choices the second Bayley was attacked and there was no way you could have her lose if she was making her big comeback here. That’s a good way to bring her back as she does have a history with Valkyria (in NXT) and Lynch is still a huge star. I’m not sure how much sense it makes for Valkyria to be a double champion, but we’ll have to see how long that lasts.

Here is Steve Austin, on his ATV, which he crashes into the barricade and seemingly knocks a fan over. After checking on her, Austin announces the attendance of 63,226 but that doesn’t feel right. Therefore, it’s time for a recount and he goes fan by fan up until about 19. The two night attendance is 124,693 and beer is consumed. Austin goes over to check on the woman he crashed into again (as is someone who appears to be WWE President Nick Khan, which can’t be good).

We recap John Cena challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship. Rhodes is the family friendly champion and the new face of WWE. Cena then won the title shot at Elimination Chamber and then turned full evil to become Rock’s corporate star. Rock hasn’t been seen since and the two of them have traded some very personal barbs at each other.

Smackdown World Title: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes

Cena is challenging and comes to the ring with a simple JOHN CENA graphic and black shirt for a great touch. Rhodes has some motorcycles for his entrance (without riding one himself) and his family is in the crowd. After the Big Match Intros we’re ready to go, with Rhodes grabbing a headlock. That’s broken up and Cena slugs away, including a big boot of all things to put Rhodes down.

Cena knees him in the head and takes him outside as the beating continues. Back in and a running clothesline drops Rhodes again, setting up the chinlock. A side slam puts Rhodes down again and a middle rope ax handle makes it worse. Rhodes fights back but charges into a boot in the corner, allowing Cena to hit the tornado DDT. Cena initiates the finishing sequence (in slow motion) and gets poked in the eye, allowing Rhodes to hit a powerslam.

The Cody Cutter connects for two but Cena is right back with an AA for two. Cena catches him going up top for a super AA and now Cena is getting worried. The top rope Fameasser is countered into a sitout powerbomb and the top rope Cody Cutter gets two more. Cena is right back with another AA into the STF, with Cena pulling him back to the ring a few times. The referee gets bumped off the escape though and Cena pulls the turnbuckle pad off. Two rams into the buckle sets up a fourth AA for two as the referee is back in there.

With both of them down, cue Travis Scott (because this needs to be a thing), taking his sweet time getting to the ring. Rhodes hits Cross Rhodes but Scott pulls the referee out. That brings Scott into the ring for the showdown and Rhodes takes him out, leaving Cena load up a belt shot. Rhodes blocks it and teases hitting Cena with the belt but stops. That’s enough for Cena to kick him low and hit him with the belt (Cole: “John Cena has absolutely no problem being a bad guy.”) for the pin and the title at 25:02.

Rating: B-. They had to do it. Otherwise, Cena’s turn would have felt like a huge waste of time and there wouldn’t have been much of a point. At the same time, Rhodes had a heck of a run with the title and is still the biggest star in the company. Cena gets the record and Ric Flair has something new to complain about so this was the right way to go. Cena holding the title until the end of the year and teasing retiring with the title for Rhodes to win it back in December could be rather interesting. Not a great match as Cena was going rather slowly (understandable) and it sets up a bunch of options.

Cena and Scott celebrate and Rock is nowhere to be seen to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The first two matches more than carry the show and you have the big moment in the end to wrap it up. That’s a great way to go and I liked this one better than the first night. It might not be a classic and the middle of the card was a bit weak, but it was certainly an eventful show and I liked what we got here rather well. Good show, and there are a lot of options as they move forward.

Overall Overall Rating: B. This might not be in the all time pantheon of Wrestlemanias, but it was absolutely eventful and had enough good matches to make things work. Last year’s show was the really big event with the happy ending and now we get the sad version as the good guys (well some of them at least) have to regroup.

Tiffany Stratton and Iyo Sky are the new faces of the women’s division with Becky Lynch being right there with them. Throw in Mysterio and Jey Uso winning and there is some fresh blood in the title picture. I had fun with this show but I’m also excited for where things are going, which is very important in its own right. Rather good, albeit not great Wrestlemania.

Results
Iyo Sky b. Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair – Over The Moonsault to Belair
Drew McIntyre b. Damian Priest – Claymore into a chair
Dominik Mysterio b. Bron Breakker, Finn Balor and Penta – Frog splash to Balor
Randy Orton b. Joe Hendry – RKO
Logan Paul b. AJ Styles – Paulverizer
Lyra Valkyria/Becky Lynch b. Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan – Manhandle Slam to Morgan
John Cena b. Cody Rhodes – Belt shot

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

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

Elimination Chamber 2018
Date: February 25, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 15,126
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

We’re on the way to Wrestlemania XXXIV and that means we need to crown Roman Reigns as the #1 contender all over again. Brock Lesnar is waiting for the winner at Wrestlemania and you know how much WWE loves that match. Other than that, the Raw Women’s Title is also on the line in the Elimination Chamber. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Gallows And Anderson vs. Miztourage

For those of you who have forgotten, that would be Curtis Axel/Bo Dallas. Axel grabs a headlock and then a front facelock on Anderson to start. Some right hands keep Anderson in trouble so it’s off to Gallows, who dubs Axel a nerd and hammers away. It’s back to Anderson, who gets punched by Dallas a few times to take over again. Anderson gets in his HI YAH kick but misses a blind tag, meaning he gets shoved off the top as we take a break.

Back with Anderson still in trouble with the Tourage taking turns pounding away in the corner. A belly to back suplex gets Anderson out of trouble though and it’s…not enough to bring Gallows back in. The running boot to the face is though, with Gallows getting to clean house. It’s already back to Anderson, who gets taken down, but manages to send Dallas into the ropes to crotch Axel on top. The Magic Killer finishes Axel at 8:50.

Rating: C. It was a total run of the mill match, but this is what I want in a Kickoff Show match. They got in, had one match, and then got out before they overstayed their welcome. Yeah it could have been on any given house show, but that also means you’re just kind of warming the fans up rather than giving them some big match. Perfectly fine match, though it does show why the tag division isn’t exactly memorable around this time.

The opening video looks at this show being one of the last major stops on the way to Wrestlemania, with the winners getting a guaranteed spot on the show. Normally I would mock the idea of wrestlers having no path to Wrestlemania, but that was exactly what they would wind up doing with John Cena this year.

We recap the Women’s Elimination Chamber, which was announced by Stephanie McMahon (of course) as the next big thing the women are getting to do for the first time. There is also tension between Bayley and Sasha Banks, who are both in the match anyway. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are friends too, but they’re on a bit better page.

Raw Women’s Title: Women’s Elimination Chamber

Alexa Bliss is defending and this is the first ever women’s edition of the match. Sonya Deville is in at #1 and Bayley is in at #2 to get things going with five minute intervals. Deville wrestles her to the mat without much trouble to start as Bayley isn’t quite on that level. Bayley gets smart by sending her into the buckles instead, even throwing in a glare at Bliss.

Deville gets in a shot of her own though and catapults Bayley into the Chamber wall, which Bayley manages to grab in a cool counter. Back in and Bayley misses an elbow and things get to reset a little bit. Bayley knocks her onto the floor for the big elbow and two before grabbing the chinlock.

Mandy Rose is in at #3 so Bayley goes after her, even managing to knock Deville back as well. The numbers game starts to get the better of Bayley though and Deville spears her down before a double ram into the wall gets two. Rose drops her for two more and Deville has to yell at the referee. Bayley gets sent into the cage again and it’s Sasha Banks in at #4 to give us something of a tag match.

Banks starts fast by sending Rose into the pod over and over but Deville is back up. Deville drops Banks for two and is the only one left standing as Bliss is looking nervous in her pod. Bayley and Banks are back up to send Deville into various hard things but Rose drops Banks to even things up again. A faceplant drops Banks but for some reason Rose doesn’t cover, allowing Banks to pull her into the Bank Statement for the elimination at 13:53.

Mickie James is in at #5 and cleans house, including a double clothesline to Bayley and Banks. Bayley gets dropped with a neckbreaker and then flapjacks Banks into a nipup. A hurricanrana takes Deville down on the outside and a heck of a kick to the face drops Banks. For some reason James climbs the cage and, after kicking Bayley down, hits a super Thesz press from the top of the pod to pin Deville at 17:34.

Banks is right back up with a Backstabber into the Bayley To Belly to plant James though and we’re down to three at 17:59. Bliss panics in her pod as Bayley and Banks are fine with sitting around waiting for Bliss to come in. Bliss is in at #6 to complete the field so she tries to hide in the pod, then climbs up the Chamber wall. The other two go after her and all three wind up on top of a pod…where Banks kicks Bayley down (and the fans approve). Bliss tries to beg off from Banks, who is jumped by Bayley, allowing Bliss to jump Bayley for a change.

Bayley fights up with a suplex but gets tackled into the corner by Banks in short order. Banks gets tied in the Tree Of Woe so Bayley can stomp away, only to get superplexed by Bliss. A frog splash to Bayley gives Banks two and everyone is down again. Back up and Banks sends Bayley into the buckle but takes too long, allowing Bayley to hit a super Bayley To Belly as there are way too many B’s in this match. Bliss (See what I mean?) takes care of that by rolling Bayley up for the elimination at 25:32 and we’re down to two.

Bliss takes her time getting up and Twisted Bliss hits raised knees. Banks misses a running boot though and gets her leg caught in the wall, allowing Bliss to take her down again. That’s not enough for Bliss, who goes up for Twisted Bliss from the top of the pod to the floor. The falls only count inside though and Banks is able to get a quick Bank Statement. That’s broken up so Banks starts to climb, only to be sent into the pod. A top rope hanging DDT retains Bliss’ title at 29:37.

Rating: B-. It took some time to get going but the three two person teams (James and Bliss were close enough) were a nice way to tie things together. Bliss surviving over both Banks and Bayley is believable with the two of them fighting, but she felt like she escaped rather than surviving. It’s good enough, even if it never quite got into that next level. For a first edition though, it worked.

Post match Bliss can’t believe she won and says the win means everything to her. She says this is about every girl and woman in the audience who ever dreamed big. This proves you can be whatever you want to be so dare to dream and dream big. She’s looking out at the people and the reality is…none of them will ever accomplish their dreams. Tonight, she proved that no one is better than her and she just won, despite no one believing in her. Bliss was laying it on thick and it felt like the turn was coming, though it still worked.

Braun Strowman is waiting to get inside the Chamber. Oh geez I had forgotten about the “wrestlers use their own phones for promos” period.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Titus Worldwide vs. The Bar

Titus Worldwide (Titus O’Neil and Apollo (hold the Crews) with Dana Brooke) is challenging after beating the Bar in a non-title match. The Bar jumps them before the bell but get clotheslined for their efforts. Apollo hits a big dive to the floor (thankfully not injuring himself on Sheamus’ mohawk as he’s in his Taxi Driver phase) and the match officially starts. Cesaro seems to be favoring his leg as Apollo hits a top rope splash for two. Back up and Apollo gets sent outside and we settle down a bit.

Cesaro grabs the chinlock before handing it back to Sheamus for an armbar. That’s broken up so Cesaro grabs a front facelock, which is broken up as well. Sheamus is right there to cut off the tag again though and the armbar goes on again (he’s nothing if not consistent). Cesaro grabs another chinlock, which is broken up, but Sheamus is right there to break up another tag attempt.

Sheamus cheap shots O’Neil off the apron but misses a charge into the post, allowing the diving tag off to O’Neil. Some big boots give O’Neil two but Cesaro leapfrogs him for a blind tag to Sheamus. That doesn’t work either as O’Neil pulls Sheamus out of the air for Clash Of The Titus. Apollo hits a dive onto the champs and a high crossbody gets two on Sheamus. Cesaro takes out Apollo’s knee though and it’s a White Noise/springboard spinning uppercut combination to retain the titles at 10:04.

Rating: C. This was little more than an extended Raw match as Titus Worldwide didn’t feel like the most serious challengers. They were a fun enough team, but that’s not enough to beat the rather serious Bar. The match was fine, but I’m not sure how much drama there was about a title change.

We recap Asuka vs. Nia Jax. Asuka is going to Wrestlemania after winning the Royal Rumble but Jax is going after her. If Jax wins, she’s added to the Wrestlemania title match.

Jax crushes an Asuka match in the back.

We look at Asuka’s undefeated streak, which is now in danger. This gets a rather good deal of time, breaking down the streak in a Rumble By The Numbers style.

Nia Jax vs. Asuka

There is still something creepy about Asuka’s match showing up on the Titantron at the start of her entrance. Asuka starts fast with a dropkick but gets dropped with a single headbutt. As tends to be her custom, Asuka is right back up to go after her again, only to be knocked down again. A knee to the back cuts Asuka down again and a backbreaker has her in more trouble. The running elbow gets a delayed two and Jax shrugs off a kneebar attempt. Asuka comes back with a quick guillotine, which is muscled up into a Jackhammer for another power counter.

Back up and Asuka fires off some kicks, only to get countered into the Samoan drop as this is one sided so far. The big legdrop misses though and a sliding kick gives Asuka two. Some more strikes put Jax on her knee, where she screams, only to be shut up by a running kick to the face. Jax catches her on top but Asuka grabs a sunset bomb for a huge crash. A missed charge sends Jax’s shoulder into the post and we hit the cross armbreaker. That’s broken up with a powerbomb into the corner as the fans are getting more into this. Jax picks her up for a powerbomb but Asuka reverses into a victory roll for the pin at 8:11.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of telling a story in a match as Asuka wasn’t getting anywhere with her usual stuff. She was up against a different kind of opponent and had to find openings where she could to win. I liked the match a lot more than I was expecting to and that’s always nice to see.

Post match Jax beats up Asuka again, including a spear through the barricade.

Alexa Bliss is happy with what just happened to Asuka. No one is ready for Alexa.

Asuka is helped out. It feels like there is a lot of time filler on this show.

Roman Reigns (mixed reaction) is asked about some recent comments. Reigns: “Do I look like the kind of guy who cares what Paul Heyman has to say?” He’s not worried about Brock Lesnar, but tonight he’s winning the Elimination Chamber and going to Wrestlemania to take Lesnar out.

We recap Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy. Wyatt beat Hardy, who became Broken/Woken and started talking about various weird things, as they both tended to do. This gives us creepy Wyatt vs. Broken Matt, which is as odd as you can get.

Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy

Hardy makes his entrance, then the lights go out and Wyatt appears in the ring…but only Hardy’s robe is left. We get a Hardy voiceover promising to make Wyatt obsolete, with Hardy singing some of Jeff Hardy’s Obsolete song. Wyatt goes looking for Hardy, who appears on the steps and the fight is on, including the opening bell.

Hardy wastes no time in knocking him down but Wyatt does his upside down lean in the corner. That earns Wyatt some applause, with the fans joining in. A DDT drops Hardy for two but Wyatt is back up for the running crossbody. Wyatt knocks him down again and we hit the chinlock as commentary makes various jokes to mostly ignore the match. The fans are clearly distracted by something else as the chinlock continues.

The hold is broken up and they head to the apron for a slugout, with Hardy being knocked out to the floor. Wyatt plants him again out there for two back inside and he’s….I guess frustrated? Hardy gets a boot up in the corner though and a tornado DDT drops Wyatt for two. The Side Effect connects for the same and the middle rope elbow to the back of the head staggers Wyatt again.

Wyatt is frustrated enough that he hits the release Rock Bottom into the backsplash for two of his own. The fans chant for Rusev as this match just keeps going, though Wyatt missing a middle rope backsplash brings them back to reality. Well as realistic as this is going to be. Sister Abigail is loaded up but Hardy reverses into the Twist Of Fate for the win at 9:56.

Rating: D. This was a great illustration of why the Broken/Woken stuff did not work in WWE. The appeal of this stuff in TNA was that everything was so low budget that it could be the focal point. Here though you have something as grand as the Elimination Chamber and bigger stars, which make this feel really low rent and, in short, stupid. The match wasn’t very good either, making this quite the chore.

We recap Ronda Rousey debuting last month at the Royal Rumble in a pretty awesome moment. Well, minus all of the bad smiling and awkward sign pointing.

Various wrestlers talk about how tough and awesome Rousey really is.

Here is Raw General Manager Kurt Angle for Rousey’s official contract signing, joined by Raw Commissioner (because each show needed TWO bosses) Stephanie McMahon and HHH. McMahon and HHH talk about how great Rousey is and how no one has been a bigger deal since Angle himself. Rousey comes out and looks more serious than in her debut, which is a nice upgrade.

Rousey says she can’t believe she’s here and talks about how much this means to her, only to have the fans’ ROUSEY chants cut her off. She thanks Roddy Piper for being her inspiration and hopes she can make his family proud. HHH gets down to business and asks if Rousey wants any perks in her contract, but Rousey wants to be treated like anyone else. The only thing she wanted is an invite to Wrestlemania, but she’ll also be having her first match at Wrestlemania.

Rousey is about to sign, but Angle says he’s in awe of HHH and McMahon. They’ve been talking about Rousey for a long time now, because they wanted to manipulate and humiliate her after what she did to them at Wrestlemania 31. Angle: “Isn’t that what you said Hunter? Three years in the making and now we own the b****?” HHH cuts that off in a hurry and tries to get Rousey back to her dreams while saying Angle has the flu.

With the guys gone, McMahon has Rousey almost ready to sign, but Angle pops up to say McMahon had been calling Rousey a has been. The death stare is back and so is HHH, who has to save his wife’s life. McMahon leaves so Rousey puts HHH through the table, earning herself the big slap. Then….Rousey just lets her leave before signing. This was pretty long, but it set up the obvious mixed tag for Rousey’s debut at Wrestlemania.

Commentary talks about what we just saw.

Fastlane rundown.

John Cena is worried about having no path to Wrestlemania, continuing one of the dumbest ideas in wrestling.

We recap the men’s Elimination Chamber, which is all about getting to go to Wrestlemania and challenge Brock Lesnar. This year’s edition has seven people, because a structure literally designed for six people has to be changed due to reasons of WWE being screwy. All of them want to win, but there isn’t much hiding that this is going to be Roman Reigns.

Men’s Elimination Chamber

Before we get going, Elias has to promise that he’s going to Wrestlemania, albeit in song form. The fans do seem to like the WALK WITH ELIAS deal and he’s entering last for an advantage. The song is dedicated to himself, because Las Vegas doesn’t get a song. The fans aren’t appreciative so Elias threatens to go sit in his pod. Then he sings anyway, because that’s what a heel would do.

Braun Strowman FINALLY interrupts as the entrances continue, along with the filler. After a good ten minutes of entrances, including Strowman scaring Miz from inside his pod in a funny bit, Miz Rollins is in at #1, Seth Rollins is in at #2 and Finn Balor is in at #3 to actually start this off (in a Wrestlemania preview) with five minute intervals.

Miz suggests an early alliance with Rollins to go after Balor and gets nowhere. Balor isn’t interested in teaming up with Miz either, but he’ll team up with Rollins to go after Miz in a funny bit. Miz is quickly thrown over the top and the alliance ends with Rollins grabbing a rollup for two. A dropkick cuts Rollins down and a basement version drops Miz again. Rollins kicks Balor down for two and it’s off to an exchange of rollups for two each. Balor gets caught in a backbreaker and a springboard clothesline takes Miz down again. There’s the Falcon Arrow for two on Miz, who landed hard on his shoulder.

Rollins hits a double Blockbuster for two each and it’s John Cena in at #4, even sticking his tongue out at Rollins in a weird look. They stare each other down before the fight is on, with Cena beating up Rollins and Miz at the same time. Balor gets back up but it’s Rollins knocking all of them into a corner for a string of running forearms. Cena isn’t having that and fireman’s Rollins and Balor at the same time. Both of them escape the AA though and Miz neckbreakers Rollins for two. Cena and Rollins both hit superplexes and everyone is down, with Roman Reigns coming in at #5.

Reigns gets to hammer away a bit before getting in a showdown with Rollins. They’re rammed into each other though and Miz DDTs Rollins for a fast two. Miz is the only one standing and he eventually starts firing off YES Kicks to all of the others before focusing on Reigns. This goes as well as you might have expected but the comeback is cut off by Balor. Reigns powerbombs him straight down and gets in a Samoan drop for two on Cena.

Braun Strowman is in at #6 and it’s a staredown with Reigns, only for Strowman to go after everyone else. Rollins and Cena get suplexed at the same time before Strowman literally throws Balor around. Miz climbs the Chamber wall…and Strowman goes right after him for some rams into the wall. Then Miz is thrown onto a pile in the ring for quite the visual. Everyone is down and Strowman is waiting on Elias, the only person left to enter. The running powerslam gets rid of the Miz for our first elimination at 20:18.

Elias comes in at #7 to complete the field but realizes that Strowman is waiting on him. Everyone but Elias goes after Strowman and they get together for a Shield Bomb for two. The AA gets one, followed by the spear, Stomp and Coup de Grace but everyone (save for the podded Elias) brawls, leaving Strowman down instead. Elias comes in to cover everyone not named Strowman and then takes turns beating on most of the people. A top rope elbow gets two on Rollins and the spinning powerbomb hits Reigns for the same.

Strowman misses a charge into the post but Elias can’t electric chair him up. That means the powerslam can get rid of Elias at 25:52. Rollins knees Strowman down and Cena goes up, only to dive into a powerslam to give Strowman another elimination at 27:23. Strowman and Balor slug it out, with Balor getting some boots up in the corner. Balor is back up with a Coup de Graces to Reigns but Strowman powerslams Balor at 30:40.

We’re down to three so Reigns and Rollins agree to team up against the monster, which doesn’t get the reaction you might expect. Strowman gets low bridged out to the floor for a ram into the Chamber wall. Then Rollins, like a schnook, turns on Reigns with a Buckle Bomb but Reigns Superman Punches him down. Strowman is back up and chases Rollins up a pod but gets pulled down with Reigns’ Samoan drop. Ever the slightly crazy man, Rollins drops a frog splash off the pod for two and Reigns gets back in. That’s fine with Strowman, who dropkicks him to the floor and powerslams Rollins for the pin at 36:33.

We’re down to two and Strowman invites Reigns to “COME GET THESE HANDS BOY!” Reigns gets shoved out to the floor but escapes a powerslam and sends him into the wall. The big dive over the top hits Strowman, but it doesn’t look as good when they’re at the same height. Strowman gets knocked through the pod but doesn’t stay down long, allowing Reigns to hit a Superman Punch as the fans aren’t pleased. Another Superman Punch sets up a blocked spear so Reigns hits a third Superman Punch. Two spears finish Strowman to send Reigns to Wrestlemania at 40:11.

Rating: B-. And there it is. Strowman gets to be this big dominant force in the Chamber and has the all time performance, which would be a clean sweep in any other Chamber, but instead, Reigns wins AGAIN. That was the problem for WWE at this point as it was ALL about Reigns. John Cena was in this match and was a complete afterthought, along with other multiple former World Champions. But it sets up Reigns for another Lesnar match and that’s all that matters.

Post match Strowman powerslams Reigns and sends him through a pod to end the show. Now in theory this would set up some kind of Reigns vs. Strowman showdown, but nah, as Strowman would spend a few weeks beating up Elias before going to Wrestlemania where he would pick a ten year old out of the crowd to win the Tag Team Titles. Which he would then forfeit. Then he would win Money In The Bank. And lose the cash-in when Lesnar interfered. Then he would lose to Lesnar for the vacant title. But at least he ALMOST got to beat Reigns here right?

Overall Rating: C-. I was kind of looking forward to seeing this show again as this period isn’t the most fondly remembered. After a few years away, I was wondering if it really was as bad as remembered and….it’s really just dull. There is nothing on here that is must see, with the two Chamber matches being the highlights. Even those matches were just ok, as Bliss keeps the title and Reigns gets to move on to his next destiny Wrestlemania main event. The rest of the show is completely skippable (save for MAYBE the contract signing) with nothing you need to see. I’m glad to be away from this era, as it lives down to its legacy.

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

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

Smackdown
Date: April 12, 2001
Location: First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 14,626
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

This was another request for reasons I don’t exactly remember. We are freshly off Wrestlemania X7 and the big story is the Two Man Power Trip (all four of them) are running roughshod over the company. That is going to create some issues and it is time for someone to fight back. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Vince McMahon apologizing to Linda McMahon on Raw, only for Linda to say she wanted a divorce. Like that marriage could ever fall apart. Lita called what Linda did inspiring and got put in a six person tag, teaming with the Hardys against HHH/Steve Austin/Stephanie McMahon. Lita pinned Stephanie and destruction ensued as a result. Austin beating on Lita with a chair and giving her a Stunner are limited to still shots.

Opening sequence.

Here are HHH and Stephanie to get things going, with Steve Austin joining them. HHH talks about how things were pretty great just about a month ago, with The Rock and Chris Jericho as champions and Mick Foley as Commissioner. Now things have changed though, as The Rock is gone and they have taken the titles, just like they wanted to. The Hardys and Lita tried to stand in their way and look what happened.

Everywhere HHH goes or in “the dirt sheets”, he keeps hearing about how they went too far with Lita. The heck with that, because they will tell you when they crossed the line. HHH is that d*** good, Austin is that d*** cold and they are that d*** unstoppable. Eh not sure about that catchphrase. Austin is tired of all the same questions and talks about attacking the Rock at Wrestlemania because he wanted to.

Then Jim Ross asked why Austin did what he did but Austin is tired of Ross riding his coattails. He did it because he could and no one was there to stop him. Then the Hardys tried to do something about it and look what happened. Beating Lita with a chair was the best feeling he has had in a long time and there is no one back there who can stop them. Austin talks about how he could have done that to anyone in the audience but here is Jeff Hardy to lay out all three of them with a chair (Twist of Fate for Stephanie). It was a good, evil promo, but the Hardys felt WAY below these two and it was showing.

Post break, HHH storms into William Regal’s office and demands Jeff Hardy tonight, no matter what it takes.

Spike Dudley vs. Albert

The Dudley Boyz and the rest of X Factor are here and this is the fallout from Albert taking out Spike in a tag match on Raw. Spike forearms away to start and is dropped with a single shot to the face. Albert throws him across the ring (with a great Spike sell) and then drops him face first for the big crash. Spike avoids a charge but gets crotched on top to cut him off. Somehow Spike manages to knock him off the top though and a top rope double stomp connects. The Dudley Dog gets two as everyone starts fighting on the floor. Albert shrugs it off and hits the pump kick for the pin at 2:46.

Post match the Dudleys give Albert What’s Up. The table is loaded up but X-Pac takes out D-Von, followed by a double superkick to Bubba. Spike goes through the table.

Debra is looking for Jim Ross.

Don’t Try This At Home.

William Regal tells Jeff Hardy that he has an Intercontinental Title shot against HHH tonight (works for him) but if he ever besmirches (yes BESMIRCHES) Stephanie McMahon again, he will never get another title shot. Jeff leaves and Big Show comes in, demanding Undertaker and Kane tonight. Regal makes the match, with Show getting to pick any tag team he wants for a handicap match.

Crash Holly isn’t worried about Rhino, who Gores him into a steel door.

Debra comes in to see Jim Ross, who is fine with her being here despite what her husband did to him. She apologizes for what Steve Austin did and insists that she wasn’t involved. Ross knows that because he knows what kind of a person Debra is and knows she wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Austin comes in and accuses him of flirting with Debra before throwing him out (of his own dressing room). Debra isn’t sure what to do but Austins says they’re leaving now. They leave during the break.

Stephanie McMahon is annoyed at Jeff Hardy breaking her earring so HHH says he’ll take care of this. The match is officially dedicated to Stephanie and threatens the trainer. Stephanie: “Go get em Hunter. I love you.” The whiny voice made that as perfect as it could have been.

Women’s Title: Chyna vs. Ivory

Chyna is defending and Ivory has Steven Richards with her. Ivory tries to go up but gets slammed down for the early crash. Chyna’s handspring elbow misses though and Ivory grabs a bulldog. The chinlock stays on the neck (which is still banged up from earlier in the year) but Chyna powers up without much trouble. Richards gets involved by pulling Chyna to the floor for a clothesline though and Ivory gets a VERY delayed one. Chyna comes back with a suplex and some clotheslines as Ivory is getting ragdolled here. The gorilla press drop retains the title at 3:53.

Rating: C. This was somehow more competitive than their Wrestlemania match but it showed the problem with Chyna as champion: no one was going to be able to give her any serious challenge. Ivory was hardly a slouch and she got crushed here, which would happen with anyone. Chyna wouldn’t be long for the company, and it would take Trish Stratus of all people to save the division.

Post match Richards goes after Chyna and gets laid out for his efforts.

Big Show tries to get the APA to team with him tonight. That’s not happening, so Show accuses the APA of being scared. They’re just too busy though and tell him to shut the door as he goes.

Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho say they aren’t rocket scientists so they know William Regal is coming for revenge. Benoit says let’s go with it.

Edge And Christian/William Regal/Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho

Benoit and Jericho charge right in and Benoit suplexes Edge, setting up a Lionsault from Jericho. With the other villains cut off, Benoit adds the Swan Dive for two with Christian making the save. We settle down to Regal stomping on Benoit and it’s off to Angle for more of the same.

Angle gets in a German suplex but Benoit northern lights suplexes Christian as commentary ignores the match to talk about Hardy vs. HHH. Benoit gets over to Jericho for the tag to pick up the pace and we get back to back Walls and Crossfaces on various villains. That takes a bit too long though and Angle Angle Slams Jericho for the pin at 3:28.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on in this one but it was more of an angle than a competitive match. The bigger deal here was making Regal, and presumably Vince McMahon and pals, look evil so that the Canadian Chrises would have someone to fight. Moving them up into the main event scene is not a bad idea and putting them in spots like this, where they held their own for a bit, is only going to make that push feel more warranted.

Post match Regal and Angle go after them again, only to get pulled into various submissions to make them tap.

Test wishes Jeff Hardy luck, as he wishes he could have done that to Stephanie more than once.

We recap Linda McMahon asking Vince for a divorce on Raw. This at least seems to be different than the opening video.

Rhyno vs. Hardcore Holly

This is over Rhyno attacking the other Hollys. They waste no time in starting the brawl until Rhyno charges into a boot in the corner. The fight goes to the mat before they get up and chop it out. Holly gets in his hanging kick to the ribs and they brawl into the corner again. Rhyno fights out of the corner but the Gore hits both of them. Cue Molly Holly with a trashcan so Hardcore can send Rhyno running. Apparently Rhyno was disqualified when he Gored the referee, so ignoring the lack of a bell, we’ll say it ended around 2:10.

Big Show asks Grandmaster Sexay and Steve Blackman to team with him tonight. Blackman has his nunchucks and Show thinks better of it.

Albert is the guest host at WWF New York. Not that we actually see him, but that’s what commentary tells us.

Jeff Hardy would love to be the Intercontinental Champion, but tonight is about payback and revenge.

The Right To Censor recruits Test, but he’s good on not having to give up everything and dress like them. He will take a match with Val Venis though.

Big Show settles for Kai En Tai. Apparently they think he’s Godzilla.

King Of The Ring sold out in four hours.

Big Show/Kai En Tai vs. Brothers Of Destruction

Funaki starts for the team but Undertaker wants Show. Instead it’s Kane coming in to beat up Taka but Funaki grabs the leg. Show tags himself in and hits a clothesline but Kane sits up, so we’ll have Funaki pulled in by Show instead. With Show leaving, it’s a double chokeslam to Kai En Tai. Kane tries his own Last Ride but just drops Funaki behind him instead. Undertaker shows him the proper method on Taka as Show is furious. Kane hits a better Last Ride to pin Funaki at 2:55. This was goofy fun.

Long video on the XFL playoffs.

Val Venis vs. Test

The Right To Censor is here with Venis, who jumps Test to start. They slug it out until Godfather trips Test up, allowing the RTC to hammer away from the floor. Venis chokes away and cranks on both arms at once to keep Test down. That doesn’t last long as Test is back up with a tilt-a-whirl slam, only for Venis to send him outside. Back in and Test hits the pumphandle slam so Godfather offers a distraction. Richards superkicks Venis by mistake and here is Raven, who the RTC tried to recruit on Raw, to give Richards a DDT. The big boot finishes Venis at 3:28.

Rating: C+. For a match between Test and Val Venis, they certainly put a lot in there. That’s a nice thing to see as it was a bit of a throwback to the Attitude Era style, which can work well in small doses. The RTC isn’t long for the world, and to be fair there wasn’t much else for them to do anyway. Not a great match, but it was fun while it lasted.

Post match the RTC gets in a big brawl of their own, with referees not being able to break it up.

We get another recap of what led to Jeff Hardy getting an Intercontinental Title shot.

Intercontinental Title: HHH vs. Jeff Hardy

HHH is defending and they’re both alone for a change. The early slugout goes to HHH, who knocks Hardy outside. Back in and hardy hits the legdrop between the legs into the basement dropkick before hammering away in the corner. HHH shoves him out for the big crash but the Whisper In The Wind gives Hardy two. A missed charge sends Hardy back to the floor, where he’s fine enough to send HHH into the steps.

The dive off the barricade is cut off with a powerslam out of the air, only for Hardy to get up…and get powerslammed out of the air again. Might want to try something different there chum. Back in and the jumping knee cuts Hardy off again but this time HHH would rather hammer away than cover. A hard whip into the corner drops Hardy again and HHH grabs a sleeper (more like an awkward hug really).

Hardy jawbreaks his way to freedom and…well one of them grabs a legsweep. Hardy goes up so HHH throws the referee into the ropes for the break, albeit not a DQ due to reasons of convenience. The referee gets shoved down but here is Matt Hardy (not supposed to be here) to chair HHH in the head. One heck of a Swanton gives Jeff the pin and the title in a huge upset at 8:07.

Rating: B-. This was mostly a HHH squash with a screwy ending but dang the fans went nuts when Hardy won. It was the first sign that there might be something to Jeff on his own, but it was also quite the surprise as you do not see a major heel faction lose so soon. That’s an interesting way to go, even if HHH would get the title back the next week. Granted there was something a bit bigger waiting on HHH and Austin later on in the form of Undertaker and Kane, but for now, good surprise here.

Overall Rating: B-. While I’m not big on the Austin heel run, it’s quite the fun flashback as you can see the incredible talent pool that the WWF had available. The amazing thing is that it would get even better in about two months with the Invasion and…ok so it didn’t exactly work out. This wasn’t some classic show, but it was interesting to see where the company was going in the fallout of Wrestlemania, especially with Rock gone. I’ll be back around this era one day and it was fun to look back at it again.

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

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Royal Rumble 2002
Date: January 20, 2002
Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 12,915
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is a show that is rather fondly remembered by some but I don’t recall it being anything special. Maybe it holds up better over time, which has certainly been the case before. The big appeal is the return of HHH, who is back in the ring after about eight months away following the famous quadriceps injury. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at some classic Royal Rumble endings. This transitions into a look at HHH returning. In case you thought they were hiding the obvious winner, they aren’t trying in the slightest.

Tag Team Titles: Dudley Boyz vs. Spike Dudley/Tazz

The Dudleys, with Stacy Keibler, are challenging and they jump the champs to start. The reverse 3D drops Tazz on the floor, leaving Spike, in a neck brace, on his own. Another reverse 3D hits Spike inside and there’s another neckbreaker to put him down again. A suplex makes it even worse as Tazz is on the apron.

Spike slips out of another suplex and hits the Dudley Dog but D-Von cuts off a tag. One heck of a double flapjack (JR mentions the Midnight Express) sets up a middle Swan Dive from D-Von and the Dudleys clothesline each other by mistake. Tazz comes in o clean house with the suplexes but stops to Tazmission Stacy. Spike gets thrown over the top for a nasty crash to the floor, leaving Tazz to get the Tazmission on D-Von to retain at 5:07.

Rating: C. This is one of those instances where they were trying to do something different and I get the thinking, but Spike and Tazz as the best tag team around just didn’t work very well. They were certainly trying and there was a story here, but it this could have been on any given Raw and felt as unimportant. Points for trying, though it didn’t click.

We recap Edge defending the Intercontinental Title against William Regal, who has bee using the brass knuckles. Edge fought back with a chair to break his nose, so now it’s time to fight for good.

Edge has his chair and is ready to fight the Devil, who is going to get burned.

Intercontinental Title: Edge vs. William Regal

Edge is defending. We get the old weapons check on Regal…and the referee finds the brass knuckles. You don’t see that very often. I mean, it happens every time I watch this match but that’s probably just an odds thing. Edge starts fast and hammers away as Lawler thinks the referee planted the brass knuckles in Regal’s trunks. Regal comes back with a shot to the face to take over and adds some jumping knees to the face.

The cross arm choke has Edge in more trouble but he suplexes his way to…well not freedom as Regal holds on and hits a tiger bomb for two. They head to the apron where Edge grabs a DDT onto the apron for a rather delayed two, despite his legs being underneath the ropes. Back up and they collide for a double knockdown, followed by Edge grabbing a suplex for two more. Regal shows him how to do a much better suplex so Edge nails a hard clothesline.

A quick Regal Stretch has Edge in trouble, sending him over to the ropes. Naturally Edge grabs the same hold and of course Regal goes right back to the ropes for a break of his own. A top rope spinwheel kick (that always looks good) connects but Regal pulls out even more brass knuckles (How did the referee not notice those?). The spear takes out the referee by mistake and Regal knocks Edge cold for the title at 9:45.

Rating: C+. This was a bit better than the opener but it still felt like something that could have been on a regular television show. The stuff with the brass knuckles was a nice touch though, with Regal being the kind of person to have multiple weapons just in case. Edge would be on his way to some far bigger and better things going forward, not the least of which would be a nice shampoo commercial.

Post match Regal brags about being blessed with the Power Of The Punch. JR: “He’s a liar!”

Women’s Title: Jazz vs. Trish Stratus

Stratus, with a bad hand, is defending and Jacqueline is guest referee. Jazz starts fast and fires off a backdrop, setting up a splash (JR: “Right on the purple puppies!” Lawler: “Hey, that’s my line! Right on the purple puppies!”) for two. Another knockdown lets Jazz start in on the hand but it’s time to argue with Jacqueline. Some shoving ensues and Jacqueline counts a VERY slow two off a rollup. A quick Stratusfaction gives Stratus two but Jazz is back with a DDT for the same. Back up and Jazz charges into a boot in the corner, setting up a bulldog to give Stratus the retaining pin at 3:43.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how much Jacqueline added here as she was little more than a familiar face who didn’t really do anything for the ending. Maybe it’s a way to give Stratus a chance, but it wasn’t exactly a good match and felt like it could have been on TV. In other words, it was the women’s division in 2002.

Ric Flair’s family is here for his street fight.

We recap Vince McMahon vs. Ric Flair. Back in November, Flair debuted as the new co-owner of the WWF, leading to a not so great business relationship. They hate each other so they’re having a street fight. Naturally Vince dressed up as Flair because that’s one of his favorite deals. Then he beat Flair up with a pipe a bunch of times. This is WAY longer of a recap than this match probably needs.

Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon

Street fight. They circle each other to start and Vince shoves him down, meaning it’s time to pose. Flair goes for the grappling to take over but gets taken into the corner for some shots to various places. They go outside with McMahon bending a KEEP OFF sign over Flair’s head. Some trashcan shots have Flair busted open as this has been pretty much all Vince so far.

The beating continues with Vince grabbing a camera to take a picture of the bloody Flair but Flair’s daughter takes it away. Back inside and Vince starts in on the leg with some cranking before the required Figure Four. With that broken up, Vince grabs the lead pipe but Flair hits him low for the needed breather.

Flair knocks him outside and gets in a monitor shot to the head to bust Vince open. The beating takes Vince around the ring to Flair’s daughter, who takes pictures with the camera from earlier (nice touch). There’s another low blow and now Flair has the pipe. The big shot to the head sets up the Figure Four and Vince gives up at 14:58.

Rating: B. This was a match where they didn’t go anywhere away from the most basic route and that’s what it should have been. Vince attacked him to start and tried to humiliate him, only for Flair to fight back and do the exact same things to him. Flair then beat him with a wrestling hold because he’s the better man and the fans got behind him throughout. It’s a match that Flair can do in his sleep and it worked well here. Good stuff and by far the best part of the show so far.

Nick Patrick has no idea what he thought of the William Regal title win but Stephanie McMahon comes in. She dismisses Patrick and promises that HHH will destroy everyone. It’s a shame Steve Austin’s wife Debra won’t be there, but Austin pops up behind her for the WHAT treatment (when it was still new). With Stephanie gone, Austin does a lot of WHATing about winning the Royal Rumble.

We recap Chris Jericho defending the WWF Title against the Rock. They had been feuding before Jericho won the title and now they’re doing it again after he won. Rock has made it clear that he’s taking Jericho seriously because this isn’t a joke. Then he said “tick tock, tick tock” a bunch.

WWF Title: Chris Jericho vs. The Rock

Jericho is defending and talks trash to start, meaning the beating is on in a hurry. The Samoan drop gives Rock an early two so Jericho bails out to the floor. Back in and the flying forearm takes Rock down but he avoids a charge into the post. Jericho is fine enough to hit the spinwheel kick for two and of course he complains about the count. The arrogant cover gets two and the missile dropkick connects for the same.

We hit the chinlock for a good while before Jericho goes up, only to get caught by some right hands. A superplex brings Jericho back down and they both need a breather. Back up and Rock hammers away, with his belly to belly throw getting two. Jericho is right back with the bulldog into a pair of Lionsaults for two but dives into the Sharpshooter.

Cue Lance Storm for a distraction as Jericho is tapping, leaving Rock to have to fight off an invading Christian. Jericho’s Rock Bottom gets two as the other Canadians are ejected but a counterfeit People’s Elbow is broken up. They fight out to the floor and Rock hits a heck of a Rock Bottom through the announcers’ table for a huge crash. Back in and Jericho countering another Rock Bottom into the Walls, sending Rock over to the ropes.

The referee gets bumped and there’s a belt shot for two, with another referee running in for the count (If he saw the ref bump, how did he not see the belt shot ten seconds later?). Rock grabs a DDT but the new referee (Nick Patrick, who was screwy earlier in the Regal match) won’t count, earning himself a Rock Bottom. The spinebuster and Rock Bottom get…nothing as there’s no referee. Well Rock brought that on himself. Jericho hits him low and sends him into an exposed buckle for a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin to retain at 18:49.

Rating: B+. Jericho was reaching a new level at this point and having long form pay per view matches with people on the Rock’s level was only going to help that. It had a lot of shenanigans at the end, but what matters is Jericho beat someone that important. Jericho was needing to make it last while it could though, as the major stars were on their way. Rock was in a weird place too, as he was so huge at this point that he needed something special and going after the title really didn’t feel that important. At least not here. Anyway, rather good match here as these two work together very well.

Don’t try this at home.

Shawn Michaels, in a very Texas shirt, is at WWF New York and loved the McMahon vs. Flair match. He’s got the Undertaker or Steve Austin in the Royal Rumble.

We recap the Royal Rumble, which is HHH’s to win by about a hundred miles, with Steve Austin, Undertaker and Kurt Angle as the other best options….but it’s going to be HHH. They really didn’t even bother trying to hide it, which sometimes can’t be avoided.

Royal Rumble

Two minute intervals with Rikishi in at #1 and the returning Goldust in at #2. The ring is mostly covered in gold confetti as Goldust hammers away, only to be knocked to the apron. This lets commentary explain the rules again, which is perfectly fine and a good way to get fans refreshed before things get crazy. Rikishi knocks him down into the corner and here is Big Boss Man in at #3 to get knocked into the corner as well. A running clothesline turns Rikishi inside out and the slow brawling ensues until Bradshaw is in at #4.

The Stinkface has Boss Man in trouble and that’s the first elimination. Bradshaw powerbombs Goldust and it’s Lance Storm in at #5. The lack of anything interesting continues as it’s just low level people hitting each other without much urgency. Al Snow is in at #6 to pick up the pace a bit (let that one sink in for a bit) and the Clothesline From Bradshaw knocks Storm silly (but not out).

Billy Gunn is in at #7 and is quickly booted in the face by Bradshaw. Snow and Storm fight to the apron with Storm being superkicked out, which is somehow the most exciting part of the match about ten minutes in. Goldust dumps Bradshaw and it’s the Undertaker in at #8 to likely clear out more than a few people. Undertaker cleans house and knocks out everyone else in the ring without much trouble, leaving him standing alone (the fans like it).

Matt Hardy is in at #9 and it goes about as well as you would expect, only for Lita (who Undertaker recently attacked) to dive in for a distraction. A low blow lets Matt get in a running neckbreaker but Undertaker slugs him away. Undertaker loads up a suplex but Jeff Hardy is in at #10 for the save and we get a Team Xtreme beatdown. With Lita on the floor, Undertaker fights back, only to get caught in the Twist Of Fate/Swanton. Poetry In Motion is a bad idea though as Jeff is thrown out, leaving Matt to take the Last Ride, setting up the easy elimination.

Undertaker is left alone and it’s Maven, from Tough Enough, in at #11 (unfortunately with his rather awesome song missing). Undertaker goes after Lita again though and the Hardys come in to jump him. The sore losers are thrown out again….and Maven eliminates Undertaker with a dropkick. This marks the all time high point of Maven’s career and is immediately followed by an absolute massacre, as Undertaker completely wrecks him, including a nasty chair shot to the head.

Maven is thrown back inside as Scotty 2 Hotty is in at #12 and is punched in the face on the way to the ring. The bloody Maven is thrown over the top for an elimination as the destruction continues. Undertaker knocks him through the crowd and into the concession area, where the bloody Maven (as Christian is in at #13) is sent through a popcorn machine. Christian lays over the top as Scotty finally gets in, which is a heck of a lot better than waiting around for someone else to enter.

Diamond Dallas Page is in at #14 and goes after Christian but gets superkicked to the floor (not out). That leaves Scotty to give Christian the Worm…and then get thrown out by Page. Chuck is in at #15 as we’re back to the lack of top level stars. Chuck and Page slug it out (and do better than you might expect) as the Godfather, now the owner of an escort service is back at #16.

This means bringing out twelve women for his entrance, including a lot of dancing (JR: “Well he did give me a coupon earlier today…” Lawler: “HE’S GOT COUPONS!”) as we just stop watching the match. Page is eliminated off camera as Godfather goes back for more dancing. Godfather finally gets in and is promptly beaten down as Albert (the Hip Hop Hippo) is in at #17.

The villains fight up and knock out Albert and then Godfather, as this is still managing to stay slow. Perry Saturn is in at #18 and it’s more of the same generic brawling. We’re desperately needing someone to come in and spice things up….and Steve Austin is in at #19. Yeah that works, with Austin clearing the ring with three straight eliminations.

That doesn’t leave him anything to do, so he throws Christian and Chuck back in for another Stunner and toss over the top each. That’s the kind of thing Austin would do and it made him feel like so much more of a star because he was doing something extra other than just sitting around waiting. Val Venis (also returning) is in at #20 and actually takes over for a bit, which isn’t likely to last long. Indeed it doesn’t as Austin fights up, only to be jumped by Test, who is in at #21.

Austin fights up and eliminates them like they’re Val Venis and Test against Steve Austin in the Royal Rumble. That leaves Austin alone…and HHH is in at #22 for the mega showdown. They stare each other down and eventually slug it out until Hurricane is in at #23, as a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown. Hurricane tries a double chokeslam, giving us a funny look between Austin and HHH before they throw him out.

Faarooq is in at #24 and gets in a few shots before being tossed out as well. HHH and Austin get to fight some more and it’s the returning (we have a theme) Mr. Perfect in at #25 to quite the reaction. Perfect wisely takes his time getting in before going after Austin and punching HHH down. Things slow again until Kurt Angle is in at #26, with the fans knowing they’re in for some bigger stuff now.

For some reason Austin saves HHH from Angle, earning himself an overhead belly to belly. Big Show is in at #27 but the double chokeslam is broken up. Show fights back and tries a gorilla press on Angle, with HHH making the save. JR tries to explain that HHH feels Show is a bigger threat than Angle and….eh I guess I can take that. Show cleans house and chokeslams HHH but it’s Kane in at #28.

We get the big power showdown and Kane dumps Show, only to walk into a Stunner, allowing Angle to throw Kane out as well. Rob Van Dam is in at #29 with a Five Star to Angle and kicks to various people. Rolling Thunder hits Austin but HHH is back with a Pedigree, leaving everyone down. Booker T. is in at #30, giving us a final grouping of Austin, HHH, Perfect, Van Dam, Angle and Booker, who tosses Van Dam with no trouble.

The Spinarooni ensues…and so does a Stunner to get rid of Booker in about thirty seconds. Angle Angle Slams HHH and then rolls the German suplexes, only for Austin to get in a low blow. Austin is sent out to the apron but fights back…and is tossed by Angle and Perfect in something of a surprise exit.

We’re down to three and the beating continues on the floor. That doesn’t work for Austin, who comes back in with chair shots for everyone before leaving himself. Perfect is up with the PerfectPlex and Hennig necksnap to Angle, only for HHH to throw Perfect out. HHH takes Angle down and hammers away before getting in some choking. A backdrop sends HHH to the apron but he’s right back in with a facebuster and clothesline for the win at 1:09:25.

Rating: C+. I couldn’t get into this one for the most part, as there were just so many parts of low level names doing the bare minimum. It had some good parts, like the Undertaker vs. the Hardys, Maven’s destruction, HHH vs. Austin and most of Austin’s shenanigans, but those were feeling really far apart at times. It’s certainly not the worst Rumble, but HHH was the clear winner throughout and that made for a long stretch until we got to the ending.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a show that needed one more good match as the first three were just passable at best. The Flair vs. McMahon and Jericho vs. Rock matches were both worth a look and the Rumble was ok enough, but there just wasn’t much that stood out. The Rumble needed another viable winner, and with Undertaker out early and Austin just past his prime, it wasn’t there. Not a bad show at all, but there are far better options.

Ratings Comparison

Spike Dudley/Tazz vs. Billy and Chuck

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C

William Regal vs. Edge

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C+

Trish Stratus vs. Jazz

Original: D+
2013 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C-

Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon

Original: D+
2013 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B

Chris Jericho vs. The Rock

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B+

Royal Rumble

Original: C-
2013 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B-
2013 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B-

So most of the matches were lower but the overall rating was the same every time. In case you need any more proof that I used to be really bad at my job, here you go. The first three matches aren’t very good but they’re not as bad as I had said before.

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: September 20, 1999
Location: Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 11,879
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Vince McMahon is the WWF Champion. What else is there to say in a situation like this? McMahon won the title from HHH in little more than a fluke after interference from Steve Austin and that means things are going to get even wackier around here. We’re also six days away from Unforgiven so we’ll have to see where things go. Let’s get to it.

Here is Smackdown if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of HHH challenging Vince McMahon to a WWF Title match on Smackdown and somehow managing to lose the title, albeit thanks to Steve Austin.

Opening sequence.

JR calls this an action adventure series. Good grief Vince stop overthinking things.

Here is Vince McMahon, who opens his jacket to reveal the title in a great shot. Vince says anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation and the grin is amazing. The thing is, due to a previous agreement, he can’t have anything to do with day to day business. Therefore, the title is officially vacant and the winner of the Six Pack Challenge at Unforgiven will be the new champion.

Cue Steve Austin to interrupt, saying that while they can’t stand each other, the place hasn’t been the same without him. Austin gets to the point though: if Vince isn’t in the match at Unforgiven, there are five people in a Six Pack and Austin doesn’t like an incomplete Six Pack. He wants Vince to put him in the match but that would be doing business so Vince isn’t allowed.

Cue HHH and Chyna, again with security, to interrupt. HHH is livid and wants the title shot too….but Austin says there are 16,000 (not quite) people calling him an a******. HHH threatens Vince, only to have Shane McMahon come out and say no one in his family is getting hurt. Tonight, we’ll do Vince/Shane vs. HHH/Chyna, which surprises Vince.

Shane leaves and Vince recaps the “I can’t do business” thing, but Austin says that the fine print (HELLO RUSSO!) says Austin and Austin alone can reinstate him. He’ll do it for a title shot, which works for Vince….but Austin will face the winner rather than being in the Six Pack Challenge. HHH is in the match, because it means more people can beat him up.

HHH says screw Vince, but Vince says screw HHH, because Austin is going to be the guest enforcer. They were rushing through stuff here and the “you didn’t read the fine print” stuff is always horrible. Otherwise, Vince dropping the belt is fine as there was no reason to keep the title on him for any length of time.

Rock meets a security guard named Louise and sings her some Elvis as a birthday present. And gives her money.

Mankind is in the boiler room and gets in a fight with Mideon, who appears to just be browsing. Viscera comes in to help beat Mankind out through the door, where Big Show helps beat him up as we take a break. During the break, the Rock made the save.

Video on Ken Shamrock vs. Chris Jericho.

The referees are still on strike.

Chris Jericho vs. Billy Gunn

Curtis Hughes is here too. Jericho’s shoulder runs Gunn over to start (that’s a surprise) but Gunn is back up with a suplex. They head outside where Gunn goes after Hughes, allowing Jericho to come back with a triangle dropkick. The floor pads are peeled back but Gunn suplexes him onto…well onto the pads actually. Hughes gets in a cheap shot but Gunn is fine enough to grab a powerslam for two back inside. The Jackhammer connects, only for Jericho to grab replacement referee Tom Prichard. That lets Hughes DDT Gunn onto the concrete, so the Walls can finish the out cold Gunn.

Rating: C+. Yeah you had interference and such, but this was as close as you’re going to get to a clean match around here. Jericho gets a win over someone with some status, but it also makes Hughes look like that much more of a threat. Hughes looked like a goof in his first appearances, so having him actually help Jericho is a good move.

Mankind tells Michael Cole to know his mouth and shut his role (yep) because he wants Big Show and Undertaker to defend the Tag Team Titles against himself and the Rock. Cue the Rock to complain about a broken watch, even though he wasn’t here to do anything but sing Happy Birthday to….that old woman whose name he can’t remember.

After putting a Rock shirt over Cole’s head (Rock didn’t like how he was looking at him), Rock goes on about Undertaker not liking his trash talk. Rock even talks trash in his sleep (and he demonstrates) and the challenge is on. Mankind keeps the shirt and insists that everything between himself and Rock is platonic.

Undertaker tells Rock to find his writers to come up with an apology for him because he’s in trouble. The title match is on, under Darkside Rules, whatever that means.

Here is Ivory, who says it’s time to party. She’s sick of all the vermin and insects in this time (JR: “I haven’t seen any rats!”) but will defend the title against any sick creature on the roster, like Luna Vachon! For now though, she issues a challenge to anyone in the crowd and here’s a woman to accept. And of course it’s Luna.

Luna vs. Ivory

Non-title and Luna gives her a slam into a DDT for the pin in short order.

D’Lo Brown says he was just trying to look out for his friend when he tried to get Mark Henry in better shape. He’s ready to beat Henry up at Unforgiven, but Henry chairs him in the back.

The McMahons talk strategy.

Post break, D’Lo Brown jumps in a car and drives off, presumably after Mark Henry.

Test, with Stephanie McMahon, is ready for a street fight against Jeff Jarrett. Cue Jarrett, who says he wants a mixed tag instead, with Stephanie and Debra as partners. Stephanie accepts and even Test knows this is a really bad idea.

Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz

Gangrel is here with the Hardys and the Acolytes are on commentary. Bradshaw gives the Acolytes’ three demandments: don’t drink our beer, don’t mess with our rats and don’t cut a promo on us! Stevie Richards walks down, dressed as a Dudley Boy, as Faarooq mocks Bubba Ray’s stutter. Richards’ distraction doesn’t work but he gets in a brawl with Gangrel, allowing Matt to get two off a neckbreaker. Instead it’s a suplex into the Swanton for two on D-Von, only for Bubba to powerbomb Jeff on the floor. Matt misses a moonsault and the 3D finishes him off.

Post match the Acolytes are in to brawl with the Dudleyz, with Richards and Gangrel still fighting. There was WAY too much going on in this whole thing, but Bradshaw going unhinged was funny.

Jeff Jarrett puts the makeup woman in the Figure Four.

Jeff Jarrett/Debra vs. Test/Stephanie McMahon

Test slams him down to start but Jarrett is back up with a shot to the face. Debra won’t tag in so Test hits the pumphandle powerslam. The top rope elbow connects and Stephanie pins Jarrett in less than two minutes. Remember that Jarrett is the reigning Intercontinental Champion with a pay per view title defense, not against Test, in six days.

Post match Jarrett yells at Debra and puts her in the Figure Four.

Rock isn’t listening to anything Mankind says. Mankind: “ROODY POO!”

Undertaker is talking to Kane.

Tag Team Titles: Mankind/The Rock vs. Big Show/Undertaker

Undertaker and Big Show are defending in Darkside Rules which means….no idea yet, but Rock thinks it means Mideon and Viscera will get involved. Rock didn’t like Undertaker suggesting that Rock has writers, so he wrote his own little rhyme about sending Undertaker to the Smackdown Hotel. Undertaker sits in on commentary and still won’t explain the rules, but here are Mideon and Viscera, just like the Rock predicted.

Apparently this is now a handicap match (with Rock and Show in street clothes) as Mideon and Mankind start things off. Mankind hits a running knee in the corner but Show takes him outside for a rather hard toss. It’s quickly off to Rock for the Rock Bottom on Viscera with Mideon having to make the save (Undertaker: “That’s harmony.” Harmony?). Cue Kane, whose top rope clothesline hits Big Show, apparently on purpose. Kane knocks Show to the floor and leaves, with Undertaker swearing Vengeance. The Mandible Claw, Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow finish Mideon to give Rock and Mankind the titles.

Rating: C-. Sure why not. That’s the reaction to a lot of these things, but Rock and Mankind were able to make almost anything work. It’s becoming more and more obvious that Undertaker is injured and unable to wrestle at the moment, so this was about the only way to get the titles off of he and Show. Not much of a match of course because that’s not the point, but a coherent ten minute match would be nice for a change.

Marianna, looking roughed up, says she made a mistake with Shawn Stasiak but doesn’t deserve this. Chaz comes up and gets taken away by cops. So not only are they doing a domestic abuse angle, but Chaz was wearing Scooby Doo boxers.

Undertaker sends his minions after Kane.

Steve Blackman vs. Shawn Stasiak

Val Venis comes out with Blackman’s bag of weapons and joins commentary as Stasiak kicks away in the corner. Venis makes references about Blackman being, uh, small in certain areas as JR hears a buzzing noise. They trade kicks as commentary keeps going on about the buzzing. Blackman grabs the bag and finds…a vibrator. Stasiak gets a rollup for the fast pin. Keep in mind that we went from a domestic abuse angle to this in the span of five minutes.

Here is Undertaker to call Kane a weak coward and it ends tonight. Cue Kane, but here are Mideon, Viscera and Big Show to beat him down. Kane is covered in gasoline but Show can’t get the lighter to work, allowing Mankind and Rock to make the save with baseball bats.

Earlier today, Al Snow had a funeral for Pepper, with the rottweilers standing guard. Snow swears vengeance….and then we cut to a still from GTV of Big Boss Man relieving himself on the grave.

Hardcore Holly vs. Big Boss Man

Hardcore match with Crash Holly in Hardcore’s corner. After Hardcore makes a reference to Boss Man being, uh, soft in a certain personal area, they fight to the floor to start. Boss Man hits him with a chair but Hardcore breaks a pitcher over Boss Man’s head. Cue Al Snow on screen to show the rottweilers attacking a dummy. Boss Man handcuffs Hardcore to the rope but Crash gets in a shot with a wrench for the pin (with Hardcore still cuffed).

Mark Henry is at a strip club when D’Lo Brown attacks. The dancers were totally fine with a full camera crew filming them on national TV.

Jeff Jarrett jumps Chyna again but HHH and security break it up.

HHH/Chyna vs. Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon

Before the match, HHH promises to win the WWF Title back and neither Vince nor Austin can do anything about it. Hold on though as there’s no Vince, as there is a forklift blocking his dressing room door. We have a substitute though.

HHH/Chyna vs. Test/Shane McMahon

It’s a brawl to start with Shane spearing Chyna and then doing the same to HHH before all four fight outside. Back in and Shane gets crotched on the buckle as something resembling a tag match breaks out. HHH stomps away and hits the facebuster for two before Chyna grabs the chinlock.

That’s broken up and Shane brings in Test to hammer on HHH In the corner. What looks to be a superplex is broken up but Shane is back in with the Bronco Buster. Cue Jeff Jarrett to draw Chyna to the back, leaving HHH to block Test’s top rope elbow. Another low blow puts Shane down again so HHH decks the referee. Back to back Pedigrees leave Shane and Test laying so HHH wears them out with a chair, which is enough for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was thee closest thing to a match that I’ve seen around here in a few months so it could have been worse. HHH going out there to wreck people is acceptable in this case as Test had already wrestled (barely, but he did wrestle) and Shane isn’t a full time wrestler, meaning it was logical enough. Not much of a match and too much going on, but that’s how things work around here.

Post match HHH goes to leave but Vince McMahon pops up to hit him with a chair to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. As has been the case forever with Russo, the problem comes down to “slow down already”. There is just so much going on and it hurts the good things that are taking place. It’s easy enough to keep track of stuff, but having Chaz beating up his ex-girlfriend (or at last implying it) and then the stuff with Venis and Blackman comes so far out of left field and brings things down. They really need to cut out the terrible parts to boost this up, because even Austin and company can only do so much with nonsense like “here’s the fine print”.

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Smackdown
Date: September 16, 1999
Location: Thomas And Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance: 8,219
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

We’re getting closer to Unforgiven and in this case everything is crashing down around HHH. While he survived a title match with Steve Austin on Raw, Vince McMahon is back after HHH went after Linda McMahon. That can’t end well, but we still don’t have a #1 contender to the pay per view in ten days. Let’s get to it.

Here is Raw if you need a recap.

We open with the referees on strike over unsafe working conditions. Why do wrestling promotions think stories about referees are interesting?

Opening sequence.

Here is Steve Austin to get things going. Just because he got disqualified against HHH on Raw doesn’t mean that they’re done with each other by a long shot. When HHH beat him in the knee with a chair, he should have done that much more, because HHH didn’t get the job done. Austin wants a rematch right here tonight and we should make it No Holds Barred.

Or if HHH wants to do this the hard way, Austin can just beat him so badly that he’s going to the hospital. Cue HHH and Chyna, with a bunch of cops backing them up. HHH says that’s not happening because Austin has to go to the back of the line. The title will be defended tonight though, against a main eventer of HHH’s choice. Austin promises to follow HHH all night and it’s going to involve his foot going….well you get the idea.

HHH will officially defend the title in a Six Pack Challenge at Unforgiven after the five way match went to a no contest. That’s a heck of a way to jump from nothing to something.

Here is Shane McMahon, who calls out Joey Abs because of what Joey said about Stephanie McMahon on Raw. Cue the Mean Street Posse, with Terri, so Shane dives onto Joey to start fast.

Shane McMahon vs. Joey Abs

There’s no referee because of the strike, making me wonder why the bell ring if there was no one to call it. The rest of the Posse jumps Shane before going outside as Stephanie and Test are watching in the back. Here is Gerald Brisco to count two off Shane’s rollup and another two off Joey’s suplex.

Shane’s jumping back elbow gets two but Briscoe gets in a fight with Pete Gas on the floor. Rodney comes in to beat on Shane, who fights the off as Pat Patterson, in shorts, comes out to count two on Joey, with Rodney breaking that up as well. Shane hits a corkscrew Swanton (close to a Spinal Tap) for the pin with Shawn Stasiak of all people coming in as the third referee.

Rating: C-. A match between Shane McMahon and a member of the Mean Street Posse, which didn’t even last four minutes, had three referees, two people interfering, and two fights involving some of those referees, who were replacements because the referees are on strike. That’s about as 1999 as you can get and it’s rather exhausting to keep track of all this stuff. That being said, the place was going nuts for Shane, which is one of the reasons he was around so often.

Post match Stephanie comes out and drops Joey again.

Here is Women’s Champion Ivory, who is SO EXCITED that actress/model Cindy Margolis is here. She invites Cindy into the ring and gushes over Cindy’s beauty and star power. Ivory asks Cindy to do one of the poses she gets downloaded on her website but Cindy declines. That doesn’t work for Ivory, who threatens violence if it doesn’t happen. Cindy eventually does it…and here is Jeff Jarrett to put Cindy in the Figure Four, with Cindy kind of begging him not to and then grabbing her knee. Jarrett Figure Fours Ivory for a bonus.

HHH, in trunks but without elbow pads for a weird look, says he won’t be defending against Steve Austin.

European Title: Mark Henry vs. Steve Blackman

Henry is defending after skipping a tag match with Blackman on Raw. Tony Garea is referee as Blackman kicks Henry down without much trouble. Cue Val Venis with a kendo stick to Blackman though, allowing Henry to get the easy pin.

Post match D’Lo Brown comes in and Sky Highs Henry (that wasn’t bad).

Jeff Jarrett yells at Cindy Margolis as she is put in an ambulance. Test comes in for the brawl.

Post break Jarrett challenges Test to a match tonight.

Here is Chris Jericho, with Curtis Hughes, for a chat. Jericho declares himself one bad mamma jamma and says Ken Shamrock has finally admitted defeat. Shamrock has begged him to make sure that they never meet face to face again and then licked the dust off Jericho’s boots in gratitude. He’s also begged Hughes to not rip him limb from limb, but Jericho is allowing Hughes to take his place against Shamrock tonight. That’s not all though, because Jericho has a special guest referee for this match: the masked Mexican legend, El Dopo!

Curtis Hughes vs. Ken Shamrock

Chris Jericho is on commentary as Shamrock takes Hughes down and strikes away. Hughes takes him to the floor for a drop onto the barricade as Cole dares to ask Jericho why he won’t face Shamrock. With that nonsense out of the way, Shamrock fights up and sends Hughes into various steel objects. Jericho offers a distraction though and Hughes cuts Shamrock off so the double teaming can be on. Back in and Hughes drops an elbow for two but Shamrock kneebars him. Hughes grabs the rope so Dopo immediately calls for the DQ.

Post match Shamrock is livid and unmasks Dopo as Howard Finkel, which was fairly obvious as soon as he came into the arena.

Mankind is expecting total mayhem in the five man Royal Rumble, but he and Rock will be working as a team. They’re like an automobile, with Rock being a fine engine and Mankind being the one who holds the bags. Yes he’s the rear end, but he’s the People’s Rear End. And he doesn’t like HHH either!

Remember how the referees were on strike earlier today? They’re still on strike.

Royal Rumble

Five entrants, because we need 1/6 size Royal Rumble with one minute intervals. Rock is in at #1 and talks about how Big Show, Kane or Undertaker need to go play the People’s Slow Machine to land three Brahma Bulls. You’d see Undertaker, with his Mickey Mouse tattoos and his 33lb head jumping around like a girl, Kane doing cartwheels and using his voicebox to say “I won, I won, let’s party”, and Big Show just scaring people in general.

Then the Rock himself would arrive, watch the tears stream down their cheeks, and gather up all the gold coins that they won and…well you know the bit. Anyway, after that whole thing, which I remember reciting with my friends when I was 11 because it was the funniest thing I had ever heard at the time, Big Show is in at #2 and we’re ready to go.

Rock strikes away to start but gets sent face first into the buckle to cut him off. Mankind ins in at #3 and the double teaming has Show in trouble. After what felt like a rather quick minute, Kane is in at #4 so Rock hammers away on him as Show chokes Mankind in the corner. Undertaker, in street clothes, is in at #5 to complete the field but he sits in on commentary rather than getting inside. The other four brawl, with Mankind clotheslining Kane out, only to get thrown out by Rock. Show hits a chokeslam on Rock but can’t throw him out, which is enough for Undertaker to get in the ring and dump them both for the win.

Rating: C-. What is there to say about a match like this? It wasn’t long and ended with something of a screwy finish as Undertaker did one thing and won the match. There was nothing but bragging rights on the line and that doesn’t leave much in the way of interest. Having the star power in there helped, but you need something more interesting for those stars to do.

Post match Mideon and Viscera come in to help Show beat Rock down.

Here are the Hollys to say Chyna has had more than enough time to find a partner. Cue Chyna, who is going to do this on her own.

Hollys vs. Chyna

Chyna forearms Crash (whose gear says HARDCORE HOLLY) to start so it’s quickly off to Hardcore (whose gear also says HARDCORE HOLLY). A shot to the face staggers Hardcore as well and it’s a double low blow to put the cousins down. Hardcore takes Chyna down and here is Billy Gunn to join in as Chyna’s partner. That doesn’t go well to start as a double elbow to the face puts Chyna down and Hardcore adds a suplex. Chyna DDTs her way to freedom though and it’s Gunn coming in to clean house. The Fameasser is good for the fast pin.

Rating: C. Another nothing mach but at least it was long enough to rate for once. In theory Chyna would want to go it alone here and isn’t likely to be happy with Gunn for making the save. The match was just kind of there to give Chyna a reason to get mad, and there are worse options available.

Post match Chyna yells at Gunn, as she didn’t want help, but here is Jeff Jarrett to hit her in the back with a frying pan and cover her with an apron. Jarrett gives her a soup ladle and the frying pan, saying now all she has to do is start fixing him supper.

Big Boss Man, with a bag labeled “DOGGIE BAG” is ready for….the Pepper On A Pole match. Sweet goodness can Russo quit already?

Big Boss Man vs. Al Snow

Pepper On A Pole, because this is a thing. Snow stops away to start and hits the trapping headbutts (strong grapple plus up plus B) but it’s too early to get the bag. Boss Man catches a diving Snow and then hits him with the nightstick. Cue the rottweilers from Raw with the British Bulldog for a distraction, allowing Boss Man to grab the bag…which doesn’t count as he throws it to the floor, allowing Snow to grab it for the win. The remains of a dog on a pole match involving the British Bulldog leading a team of rottweilers is the match that SETS UP the big gimmick match between these two. For the Hardcore Title.

HHH and Chyna are in the back, with Steve Austin stalking them.

Intercontinental Title: Jeff Jarrett vs. Test

Jarrett, with Miss Kitty and Debra, is defending. Test kicks him in the face to start but Jarrett comes back as the Mean Street Posse comes out. A powerslam plants Jarrett as Stephanie, Shane and the Stooges come out to brawl as everything is thrown out. The fans of course want puppies.

Post match the brawl stays on and Jarrett damages Test’s shoulder. Shane saves Stephanie from Jarrett’s Figure Four.

Here is HHH, with Chyna to defend the WWF Title and there are a bunch of cops on the stage, presumably to cut off an invading Steve Austin. We cut to the back where Stephanie McMahon and Test (with his bad shoulder) are leaving, which writes Test out of the list of possible challengers. HHH says he gets to pick the guest referee, so he would like Shane McMahon to get out here.

With Shane here, HHH says he won’t be facing Undertaker, Big Show or Kane, which leaves the Rock. Since Rock has an obsession with putting things in a certain place on various people, Rock can kiss HHH’s so it’s not him. That leaves one option, and it’s someone with testicles thee size of grapefruits (Lawler: “ME???”).

HHH calls out Vince McMahon and is willing to put the title on the line to get a piece of him. We cut to the back, where Vince doesn’t want to do it but HHH suggests doing, uh, things, with Linda McMahon, which is enough to get Vince out here. Vince still says no but HHH tells him to go hide behind his skirt. HHH throws in that he can keep it up with Linda all night long and that’s enough to start the match.

WWF Title: HHH vs. Vince McMahon

Vince is challenging and hammers away in the corner, only for HHH to stomp him down without much effort. The comeback is cut off again and referee Shane McMahon does not approve. HHH fires off some shoulders in the corner and stomps Vince down even more, allowing Chyna to get in a cheap shot of her own as the beating continues.

They go outside with HHH choking with a camera cable. HHH beats him onto the announcers’ table and drops an elbow through it, with Shane’s pleas to stop not getting him anywhere. Back in and Chyna hands HHH a chair, allowing him to shove Shane down and blast Vince in the head. Shane tackles HHH down and hammers away so Chyna comes in for the save, with HHH chairing Shane in the head as well.

Cue Linda McMahon and the Stooges, with the men getting beaten down too. Chyna holds Linda so she has to watch HHH beat on the bloody Vince. The Pedigree is loaded up and heeeeere’s Austin to beat HHH down. HHH and Chyna get a Stunner each…and Austin puts Vince on top so Shane can count the pin to make Vince champion. As Austin’s music plays.

Rating: C. The match was little more than a squash until Austin came in at the end, making this the second time Austin has caused a title change in such a similar way this year (after the famous Mankind win). Vince barely got in any offense but there is nothing wrong with that kind of a story in small doses. After Vince was around the main event scene for so long, having him win the title isn’t the biggest shock, especially on a fluke like this. It was fun, and that’s what it needed to be.

HHH chases Austin through the crowd as Vince is helped up. Brisco jumps up and down to celebrate as the show ends. This was such goofy fun and Vince was always right in the middle of everything that having him win the title, even on a fluke like this, was rather entertaining.

Overall Rating: C. The ending didn’t save the show but it was good enough to carry it across the finish line. Above all else, there are still too many completely insane things going on (Pepper On A Pole) but things like Chris Jericho and Shane McMahon are bringing things up a bit. Austin is at his usual incredibleness and the show is still working, but dang they could be so much better if they got rid of some of the nonsense.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: November 6, 2000
Location: Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This was a requested show and I can always go from some time in a different era. We are between No Mercy and Survivor Series, meaning that Kurt Angle is the new WWF Champion. In a bigger story though, Steve Austin is back and looking for revenge on Rikishi. Other that, Austin and the Rock already aren’t getting along so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Rikishi accusing the Rock of being behind Rikishi attacking Steve Austin, which has Austin even more paranoid than usual. This resulted in Austin costing Rock a WWF Title shot and it’s time for some revenge.

Opening sequence.

Here is a returning Vince McMahon for a chat. Vince talks about how tomorrow is Election Day and you have to wonder who everyone is going to vote for. Who will Steve Austin vote for? Or the Rock? Even Al Snow’s vote matters! Vince wants all of the people here to vote because wrestling fans are always on the outside looking in to the political arena. Pundits don’t care about wrestling fans because they don’t vote.

The two major parties already have all of their voting blocks locked up but those people cancel each other out. How interesting is it that those groups will not elect the next President? The average American, a WWF fan, will make the pick. Vince encourages us to vote for the candidate who lies the least and wants us to vote no matter what.

Cue Steve Austin and dang I miss the look on McMahon’s face when that glass shatters. Vince welcomes him back and extends a hand but Austin just takes the mic instead. Austin says it’s fine and dandy to talk politics, but he’s here to fight. Tonight, he is teaming with the Rock, who gave him a Rock Bottom on Smackdown. If Rock wants to double cross him tonight, Austin will be dishing out knuckle sandwiches.

Other than that, Austin has been thinking about Rikishi being the driver of the car that tried to take Austin out, but Rikishi isn’t that smart. There has to be a mastermind who is trying to make people do what they want. Lawler: “Linda McMahon?” As Vince panics, Austin says he knows it wasn’t him…and here are Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon to interrupt. Angle: “Hold it right there bucko!” He doesn’t like Austin talking to Vince like that and thinks Austin should question George W. Bush!

Maybe Bush got drunk and tried to run Austin over. As an American hero, Angle is officially renouncing Texas because of all these drunk people. Stephanie gets in the ring to yell at Austin, saying he will NOT touch Vince or Angle. Austin respects Stephanie being a woman, but she might want to step back. Angle tries a cheap shot and gets Stunnered for his efforts. Long segment here, but Austin and Vince are always worth a look.

Post break Vince tells Angle and Stephanie that he has a special feeling about tonight. Vince has Stephanie get in the limo and they leave, with Angle promising something for HHH.

Undertaker vs. Val Venis

This is Right To Censor Venis but the rest of the team is barred from ringside. Undertaker slugs him into the corner to start and hits the one armed side slam. Venis is back with some kicks to the ribs and a neckbreaker but Undertaker easily wins a slugout. Back up and Venis manages a knockdown and hammers away but takes too long going up. That means a toss off of said top, followed by the big right hand. The chokeslam is escaped so Undertaker boots him in the face for two and they head outside. Venis is sent face first into the steps, followed by the Last Ride for the pin back inside.

Rating: C. It’s strange to see Undertaker in what is basically a glorified squash, as there was no reason to believe Venis had a chance here. This was a weird time for Undertaker though, as he was back as the biker, which opened up a bunch of doors for him. It humanized him a bit, and that was not something we had ever seen before.

HHH comes up to see Commissioner Mick Foley. He wants the Radicalz tonight but Foley says find some partners. Steve Austin comes in and wants Kurt Angle, with HHH telling Austin to not trust anyone.

We look at Kane attacking Chris Jericho, who spilled coffee on him.

Kane talks about how people don’t want to see a freak like him because they want someone like Chris Jericho. The more they cheer for Jericho, the more Kane wants to hurt him. Kane is going to win the Hardcore Title tonight and then challenge Jericho to a title match. That way he can do horrible things to Jericho and it’s all legal.

Road Dogg is on HHH’s team tonight but isn’t sure about….him.

Post break HHH and Dogg come in to see Billy Gunn and Chyna, the former of which is not happy to see them. HHH says he might have made a mistake, but for one night only, they can get together and take out the Radicalz. Works for everyone.

T&A vs. Too Cool

Trish Stratus is here with T&A, who jump them to start fast. Albert misses a charge at Grandmaster in the corner, meaning it’s a tornado DDT to slow Albert down. Back up and Albert hits a hard spinning powerslam to plant Scotty and there’s a catapult to send Scotty throat first into the middle rope. Test comes in for a nasty big boot but goes up for the dive that is only designed to land on a raised boot.

After one heck of a bump off such a simple crash from Test, Scotty gets over to Grandmaster to pick up the pace. A middle rope dropkick (with dancing) hits Test but Trish gets on the apron for a distraction. That’s enough for Test to hit Grandmaster in the back with a boot…for two. Scotty hits the Worm (still crazy over) and Grandmaster adds the Hip Hop Drop, only for Albert to come in with his namesake bomb to give Test the pin.

Rating: B-. Who in the world would have thought THIS would have been a pretty good match? That’s one of the things I love about watching these old shows, as you will see a match that seems to be nothing and it winds up being a fun surprise. At the same time, it’s kind of hilarious to look back and see T&A as anything but a vehicle for Trish, who has a star power to her that you just can’t fake. Yes a lot of the attention was because of her looks, but she had a presence to her and it took her the extra way.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Hollys, including the unnamed woman, make the save. A not exactly smooth springboard crossbody drops Trish and the heroes stand…well not very tall but close enough.

Triple H/Chyna/New Age Outlaws vs. Radicalz

Billy and Eddie start things off with the former hitting his always awesome tilt-a-whirl slam. It’s off to Chyna, who is happy to hit a swinging neckbreaker, sending Eddie straight over to Malenko. Dogg comes in for the dancing punches but Malenko knocks him into the ropes. That’s enough for Benoit to come in for some stomps, both before and after Dogg hits a crossbody.

A front facelock is escaped but the referee doesn’t see the tag, further proving how horrible they are at their jobs. Dogg and Saturn crossbody each other and it’s off to Gunn vs. Malenko, which is quite the remarkable size differential. A Jackhammer plants Malenko and the Fameasser gets two with Benoit making the save. Everything breaks down and HHH Pedigrees Malenko for the win.

Rating: C+. What we got went well enough but you would kind of expect DX vs. the Radicalz to feel a bit bigger. That’s a match that could have been a big deal on a pay per view but here it is as little more than a middle of the show match on Raw. DX had long since moved on, though it still feels like a case of what could have been under much better circumstances.

Post match Kurt Angle runs in to jump HHH as the Radicalz cut everyone else off.

The Rock arrives, as usual over halfway through the show.

Tag Team Titles: Right To Censor vs. Hardy Boyz

The Hardys are defending while Ivory and Lita are here too. It’s a fast start with the women getting in a fight of their own on the floor. They go off to the back, leaving Steven Richards with the villains as the Hardys suplex Buchanan down. Back up and Matt gets slammed down hard onto the mat as commentary talks about the election, with Lawler flat out saying he is voting for George W. Bush.

Goodfather boots Matt down but he knocks Goodfather off the top, setting up the big legdrop. Jeff comes in to clean house as everything breaks down and the referee gets sent outside. Goodfather is sent outside in a nasty landing and Matt dives onto him, leaving Jeff to hit the Swanton on Buchanan. There’s no referee though so cue Edge and Christian to go after the Hardys, allowing Richards to get in a belt shot to Jeff. Naturally the referee comes back in to give the Goodfather the pin and the titles.

Rating: C+. This is a rare instance of someone other than the Hardys, the Dudleyz or Edge and Christian getting the titles, which needs to happen every so often. There is only so much you can get out of having the same three teams trading the titles for months on end so switch it up every so often. Good enough match too, even with the screwy finish.

Kurt Angle jumps the Rock in his locker room and gets pulled out.

Edge and Christian celebrate screwing over the Hardys with a kazoo version of Chris Benoit’s theme. Commissioner Mick Foley comes in to say he senses something not going so well, so Edge and Christian can have a tables match with the Dudley Boyz!

Hardcore Title: Kane vs. Steve Blackman

Kane is challenging and they start brawling on the ramp. Blackman knocks him back and hits a diving kick off the barricade (that looked cool) before going for the weapons. Some trashcan lid shots have Kane in trouble but he suplexes Blackman down in a crash. One heck of a trashcan lid shot rocks Blackman and the side slam puts him down again.

Kane goes up but gets crotched on top, allowing Blackman to grab his wooden sticks. The rapid fire shots put Kane down and a low blow makes it worse. The trashcan shot takes too long as Kane catches him with a running powerslam and it’s time to bring in the steps. Cue Chris Jericho with a chair though, knocking the steps onto Kane so Blackman can steal the pin to retain.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of thing I can go with, as there was a unique story to it but it also wasn’t a squash. Kane is a monster and had Blackman in trouble but Blackman is enough of a hardcore master to hold his own for a good while. Good little surprise here, with Kane’s motivation being a smart way to go.

The Rock is hunting for Kurt Angle but goes to see Steve Austin instead. Rock says he doesn’t have to hide in the shadows as Rikishi’s boss because he would come after Austin face to face. Austin gave Rock the Stunner because he doesn’t trust anyone and he is looking for Rikishi’s accomplice. Rock says Austin can whip anyone he wants, but it won’t happen to him because Rock had nothing to do with it. Austin doesn’t seem entirely convinced. Sweet goodness the chemistry with these two jumps off the screen like almost no one else ever.

Jerry Lawler vs. Raven

Tazz joins commentary, much to Ross’ annoyance. Lawler slugs away to start (shocking I know) and the middle rope fist drop gets two. Raven is back up with his corner clothesline and bulldog for two but Lawler fights back. A dropkick hits Raven…and Tazz runs in for the fast DQ.

Post match the beatdown is on until Al Snow (including a bonus head with a crown) makes the save.

The Right To Censor is in a huddle (with the camera looking up from the floor) and talks about being this much closer to their ultimate goal.

Edge and Christian vs. Dudley Boyz

Tables match. Bubba and Edge fight on the floor to start and Christian sends D-Von outside to join them. Edge gets inside and avoids Bubba’s splash in the corner, setting up some Poetry In Motion. The posing table request takes too long and Bubba breaks it up, meaning Edge can get caught with What’s Up.

The Dudleys take too long to get a table as well, allowing the villains to dropkick it into their heads. Back in and a superplex is loaded up but cue the Hardy Boyz to break it up, allowing Lita to snap off a super hurricanrana. The 3D puts Christian through the table for the win. Lawler: “Can’t anyone have a match without someone else interfering?” Geez you would think he would get the idea by now.

Rating: C+. What you have here is a match that didn’t waste time and did exactly what it needed to. Edge and Christian were in trouble after interfering earlier and the Hardys came out to get their revenge. That’s all this needed to be and the match wasn’t even four minutes. Sometimes you do not need much time to make a story work and that is what this era of Raw understood.

Rikishi, with a nose shield, says tonight is going to be a handicap match because the Rock was the one behind everything. Tonight, the truth comes out.

Debra is at WWF New York and criticizes the food.

Kurt Angle brags about his successful rookie season and HHH us saw it. Soon, Steve Austin will get his. Angle: “Children love me d*** it.”

Someone attacks the Rock with an anvil case but since the camera operators are terrible, we don’t see who did it.

Post break Mick Foley says Rock can’t wrestle. The fact that he can barely stand would suggest this is a good idea.

Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle/Rikishi

Austin jumps Angle on the floor to start but has to stop to slug away on Rikishi. They all get in and Austin keeps bouncing between them, including the Thesz press to Angle. Some low blows have the villains down but Angle shoves off a Stunner attempt into a superkick from Rikishi. The double teaming is on but Rikishi misses a charge in the corner. Angle is back up with a sledgehammer though, meaning cue HHH to pound him down. Austin is up again to stomp on Rikishi….and HHH hits Austin with the sledgehammer for the not so shocking reveal. We’ll say the match is thrown out around here.

Rating: C. As you can guess, this was an angle disguised as a match and, again, they didn’t waste a bunch of time on it. This didn’t need to go on for a long time and it’s such a relief that it didn’t. Austin got in, looked like himself, and then got beaten down to do the big angle. What else did you need?

Post match HHH unloads on Austin to bust him open. Rikishi adds the Banzai Drop and HHH reveals that he is Rikishi’s accomplice to end the show. This is treated as a big shock and I was surprised when it happened live, but looking back, it’s just not that much of an impact. At the end of the day, Rikishi was not fitting as the new big bad, if nothing else because Austin couldn’t do much with him in the ring. That meant that a big villain was needed and, well, who better than the guy who had been the top heel for the better part of a year? It was absolutely the right move, but it might not have been that shocking.

Overall Rating: B-. I had a good time with this show and a lot of that is due to the act that they didn’t waste time. Everything on here was moving and there was nothing where I was wondering how much more time they were going to spend on it. The matches were mostly short, but they did what they needed to do. It made for a very fun two hours and I could go for a lot more of this. Good show here, with a bunch of logical stuff happening in a creative way.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 14, 2008
Location: RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Somehow it’s been about three months since I’ve done one of these. It’s the last Raw before the Great American Bash and the big match on the Raw side will see Batista challenging CM Punk for the World Title. Other than that, JBL continues to think he runs the show and it’s still not quite interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week, with Batista becoming the #1 contender for CM Punk’s World Title. Then Kane snapped and went all evil (again), this time attacking Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole.

Shane and Stephanie McMahon want us to all pull together to get through the times without Vince McMahon around. If things don’t get better, actions will be taken.

We go to the arena where Shawn Michaels is attacking Chris Jericho before Jericho can say anything. Lance Cade runs in for the save to get Jericho out of harm’s way.

With the three of them gone, here is Kane, complete with a small bag. Kane leans over the commentary table and says he’s sorry as the fans chant for Lawler. Then Kane walks off without getting physical.

In the back, Shawn Michaels has attacked Chris Jericho again and it has to be broken up.

Mickie James vs. Katie Lea

Non-title and Paul Burchill is here with Katie. Mickie grabs some early rollups for two each but the hurricanrana out of the corner is blocked. Katie pulls her around by the hair for two and we hit the reverse chinlock. We’ll make that a regular chinlock but Mickie is right back up. Mickie’s tornado DDT is blocked but now the hurricanrana works. The top rope Thesz press puts Katie away.

Rating: C-. Katie’s time seems to have come and gone, which is a shame as there is always the place for a British villain. Mickie is in need of some fresh challengers as she has been champion for awhile and no one seems to be giving her a threat. Granted that is likely to wind up being Beth Phoenix, as there isn’t anyone else who feels like they are on Mickie’s level.

Post match Paul and Katie go after Mickie until Kofi Kingston makes the save. It would have been rude for him not to make a save after Paul looked over his shoulder that many times.

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Paul Burchill

Kingston is defending, the women are still here and we’re joined in progress with Kingston hitting a jumping elbow. A small package gives Kingston two before he grabs an armbar. An armdrag sets up another armbar as they’ve certainly slowed down a bit. Back up and Kofi’s dropkick gets two and it’s right back to the armbar.

Burchill fights up again and kicks him out of the corner for two, setting up a waistlock. A gutbuster and backsplash give Burchill two but Kingston fights out of another waistlock. Kingston’s Russian legsweep sets up the Boom Drop but here is Katie on the apron. That’s broken up by Mickie and Trouble In Paradise retains the title.

Rating: C. This was mostly armbars and waistlocks, which didn’t exactly make for an entertaining match. Other than that it was Kingston beating someone who didn’t feel like much of a threat. That being said, Kingston needs to pile up some wins to make himself feel more like a champion so giving him another win helps as much as anything else.

Santino Marella tells Matt Striker about his open challenge tonight. Cue Kane to ask about CM Punk. Santino: “Did you try the Pepsi machine?”

Post break Kane goes up to CM Punk, saying deep down inside, he knows someone is dead. Punk doesn’t know what is going on but Kane wants him tonight, one on one. Punk isn’t sure but Kane says this isn’t about the title. As usual, Punk is down for a challenge and the match is on. Punk asks about the bag Kane is carrying but Kane clutches it closer and leaves without saying anything.

A serious John Cena talks about how Vince McMahon is not here and he is trying to keep a good face on. Then JBL challenged him to a New York City Parking Lot Brawl and Cena can’t smile anymore. For those of you who don’t know what it’s about, it’s a war instead of a match. The two of them will be fighting in a circle of cars in a parking lot and anything goes. It’s about breaking bones and ripping flesh and we will find out if a man’s pride will fold. The question is why Cena would accept such a challenge but the reality is he and JBL don’t like each other.

Cena is down for one more fight at the Great American Bash because JBL considers himself a great American, which makes Cena sick. He’s happy to try to break some of JBL’s bones and send the face of a great American through every window he can find. Cena wants to see some real fear from JBL because this isn’t a fight with some pretty boy. Extreme violence is promised and here is Cryme Tyme to stand beside Cena, who accepts the challenge. As for tonight, let’s make it a six man with JBL finding any two partners he can.

Santino Marella vs. ???

It’s open challenge time and here is….Beth Phoenix to answer. They fight over a lockup to start until Beth shows him a double bicep. Beth takes him down and hammers away before easily powering out of a headlock. A slam gives Beth two but Santino shouts about being a man, only to miss a charge into the corner. That’s enough for Beth to grab a rollup for the fast pin, leaving Santino rather flummoxed.

Here is Kelly Kelly for a match but Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase interrupt. They know she has a match tonight….but they don’t care so she can leave. Cody talks about how the two of them have gotten a lot of unfair criticisms but they’re not bad guys. They’re just better than their fathers. When you’re this talented, you don’t need to pay dues. Imagine what happens when they enter their primes.

Cue Jim Duggan of all people to interrupt, saying he knows their dads. They’re old school, just like him. The difference is the old school people respected the generations that paved the way for them. DiBiase and Rhodes are better athletes, but they have a lot of growing up to do. Cody says Duggan might be on to something but Cody calls out Duggan for being 54 years old and trying to relive some glory days which weren’t that glorious in the first place.

DiBiase asks if Duggan thinks he still has what it takes anymore, when he’s really just here looking for a reaction. Duggan is the one who needs to grow up, and the two of them leave. JBL pops up on the screen to say they have earned the right to team with him in the main event. They’re in.

CM Punk vs. Kane

Non-title. Kane chokes him into the corner to start but Punk kicks his way to freedom. Punk manages to kick him out to the floor, where Kane cuts off a slide to take over again. The basement dropkick gives Kane two and we hit the cravate. We’ll make that a chinlock until Punk fights up and strikes away. A series of kicks sends Kane into the corner but the bulldog out of it is broken up. Instead Punk hits a heck of a kick to the head for one and a high crossbody gets two. Kane knocks him outside where Punk grabs a bulldog, which is enough to beat the count for the win.

Rating: C+. That was about as good of a way out as they had as Kane is the new monster and Punk is the new champion so there was only so much they could have done. At the same time it might have been better to not make the match in the first place, but at least Punk didn’t lose. Punk is always going to fight from behind and winning by countout is about as good as he can get in this spot.

Post match Kane throws in a bunch of chairs and wraps one around Punk’s neck but Batista makes the save. Batista helps Punk up so Punk offers him a handshake, but Batista wants the title. Batista gives him a not so nice slap on the face so Punk shoves, earning himself a spinebuster.

We look back at John Cena and Cryme Tyme destroying JBL’s limo last week.

Chris Jericho vs. Paul London

Lance Cade is here with Jericho, who pounds London into the corner and hits a running boot to the head. London gets sent outside in a heap before Jericho chokes on the ropes back inside. A spinwheel kick gives London a breather but he misses a high crossbody. Jericho hits a butterfly backbreaker and calls out Shawn Michaels before grabbing the Liontamer for the fast tap.

Post match Jericho says London can take that loss like he would and learn from it, or take it like Shawn Michaels and do nothing. Cue Shawn to say nothing will change between them and teasing more violence.

Jamie Noble hits on Layla, suggesting that they can be the Raw power couple. Layla says she doesn’t date short men but Noble says he’s way above average in the ring. Noble offers to jump the next guy who comes through here so cue Snitsky to tell him to be quiet. Layla isn’t impressed so Noble stands up to Snitsky. Even Layla realizes this is stupid as Noble calls Snitsky out to the ring. They wind up in said ring and a pumphandle slam leaves Noble laying.

We get the Shane/Stephanie McMahon plea for unity from earlier tonight.

Great American Bash rundown.

John Bradshaw Layfield/Cody Rhodes/Ted DiBiase vs. John Cena/Cryme Tyme

Cena and Rhodes start things off with Cena slugging him into a corner but glaring at JBL. The release fisherman’s suplex drops Cody Rhodes again, setting up another glare. Shad comes in for a release butterfly suplex to DiBiase so it’s back to Rhodes to kick away at JTG. Rhodes makes the mistake of telling JTG to shine his shoes and gets taken down with a Sling Blade for his troubles.

JBL comes in and is smart enough to taunt Cena in, meaning we get some double choking in the corner. JTG’s comeback is cut off by a dropkick to the knee and the villains get to take over on said knee. The leglock goes on and we take a break with JTG in more trouble. Back with JBL hitting a hard clothesline and the slow beating continuing.

Rhodes goes old school with a spinning toehold until JTG kicks him away, which still isn’t enough to get over for the tag. JTG finally gets away and brings Cena back in to pick the pace way up. JBL bails and it’s an FU to DiBiase into the Throwback to Rhodes. Cena’s top rope Fameasser hits Rhodes but JBL is back to break up the STFU…for the DQ. That’s a pretty lame reason for a DQ but sure enough. Even Lawler doesn’t seem sure why that was a DQ.

Rating: C-. This was slow and not exactly good, with the ending feeling like a rather pitiful way out. It’s not a good sign when commentary is confused about what happened, even when it should have been pretty clear. I get that you don’t want a champion jobbing, but JBL couldn’t have used a chair or something a little more violent? Other than that, it was a rather long heat segment on JTG and that wasn’t the most thrilling way to go.

Post match JBL walks off and taunts Cena to follow him to the back. Cena gives chase and realizes he has to go into the parking lot (where a camera happens to be waiting). Then he stands around a lot in total silence until JBL finally jumps him from behind with something metal. JBL sits the unconscious Cena in front of a car and crushes him, then gets out and realizes what he’s done to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t quite thrilled with this show as the focus was on Cena vs. JBL, which hasn’t been an interesting feud in a long time. The World Champion feels like a third wheel behind the battling John’s and Shawn vs. Jericho. There is some good stuff going on closer to the top of the card, but my goodness the lower part of the show isn’t exactly holding the rest of it up.

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 7, 2008
Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

It’s probably not a good sign that I haven’t done one of these in so long that I barely remember what is going on. The big story is CM Punk cashing in Money In The Bank last week on Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship, bringing a World Title to Raw. We’re also on the way to the Bash and that is going to need a card. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Punk winning the title and his first title defense against JBL last week. JBL declaring martial law is not exactly the most interesting idea, and John Cena/Cryme Tyme seem to agree.

Stephanie McMahon asks everyone to pull together in Vince McMahon’s absence.

Here is Vickie Guerrero in the ring to get things going. She is here to protest CM Punk being the World Heavyweight Champion and is not leaving until the title is surrendered to her. An apology is demanded and here is Punk to respond. Vickie yells at him and says Edge is so close to falling apart that he has called off their wedding! Punk says he probably did them a favor and explains the Money In The Bank concept. Maybe Vickie can find someone cute on Smackdown, like the Great Khali! Vickie stands up and slaps him, so Punk wheels her into the corner.

Cue JBL in his limo to interrupt and say Punk’s reign is coming to an end. JBL challenges for the title, saying Vince McMahon would give him the shot. Punk brings up that Vince isn’t here, but John Cena certainly is. Cena mocks JBL for blaming a variety of things on not being champion and doesn’t really want to hear about it. Maybe Cena should listen to Punk, who shakes Cena’s hand.

In reality, there is no one in charge around here, so we need to figure out Punk’s next challenger. Cena thinks he and JBL should have some kind of #1 contenders match, but here is Batista who wants in as well. Batista says Punk deserves the title after last week and also says hi to Vickie, who made him miserable on Smackdown. He feels sorry for her…but nah, because he really can’t stand her.

As for the title, Punk cashed in after Batista took Edge out but JBL cuts Batista off instead. Cena calms things down by suggesting a triple threat #1 contenders match tonight. JBL doesn’t like it so Cena says that means JBL is out entirely. That gets JBL in the triple threat, but now it’s Kane interrupting. He wants in too so Punk thinks we have a fatal four way. And that’s finally it!

Rey Mysterio vs. Santino Marella

Rey sends him into the corner to start but a faceplant gives Marella a breather. A camel clutch is broken up but Rey misses a 619, only to knock Santino down without much effort. Rey hits a jumping double stomp of all things and the 619 into the top rope splash gives Rey the fast pin.

CM Punk is…interrupted when a light falls down. Anyway, he’ll face anyone but Snitsky of all people comes in to say he wants a fight. Works for Punk.

John Cena and Mickie James are talking about last night when Kelly Kelly comes up to talk about their tag match. Cena is amazed that Kelly got out of her ECW contract, but apparently it didn’t exist.

Kelly Kelly/Mickie James vs. Jillian Hall/Layla

Jillian grabs Mickie’s arm to start and is quickly pulled into a headlock. Kelly comes in with a sunset flip for two and a hurricanrana gets the same. Layla gets in a cheap shot though and Jillian rams Kelly’s face into the mat over and over. They go to the corner and Kelly manages a victory roll for the fast pin.

Rating: C. This was about all you could expect from this match as Mickie was barely involved. It seems that Kelly might be the next in line to get a push but she is going to need a lot of work in the ring to really make that happen. She has to start somewhere though and the whole gymnast thing can get her at least a few steps forward.

Here is JBL’s limo…with JBL walking beside it. He can’t open the doors….so here is John Cena, holding a crowbar, to pop out instead. Cena says Louisiana has strict laws involving limousines and this one will never pass inspection. Fortunately for JBL, Cena knows two guys who can help get parts quick. We hear about some of those limo laws, with Cryme Tyme (carrying some large bats/pipes) helping to fix the limo up a bit. One more thing though: it needs a custom paint job! Spray painting ensues as a bonus. Cena: “Fine work by the Cryme Tyme Body Shop. It is sure worth the drive.”

We look at the cash-in again.

CM Punk vs. Snitsky

Non-title. Punk strikes away to start but dives into a bearhug, allowing Snitsky to drive him into the corner. Snitsky’s elbow gets two and the bearhug goes on again. More strikes get Punk out of trouble again and the running knee in the corner sets up a bulldog. The GTS gives Punk the pin.

Video on Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, with Michaels’ eye being heavily damaged.

Here is Michaels to say he accepts Jericho’s challenge for the Great American Bash. Cue Jericho with Lance Cade, with Jericho saying he knew Michaels would accept. Michaels can’t help himself because all of the beatings haven’t taught him anything. Now Michaels is going to get beaten up again, even though he’s just another legend fighting for one more chance. Does Michaels want to be a martyr for all of these people? Are they going to pay for him if he loses everything?

Like every other martyr, Michaels is going to be swept underneath the rug and forgotten. Michaels talks about how he could leave wrestling today and be remembered forever. No matter what he has done, the fans seem to keep giving him a pass. Jericho doesn’t think that’s fair, but Michaels talks about what Jericho has done in his career. In spite of all that though, Jericho will never have peace because he will never be Michaels. And there’s the core of the story and that makes the story so much better.

Kofi Kingston vs. Charlie Haas

Non-title. Haas grabs a headlock to start but can’t get very far as Kofi strikes away. A cravate with knees to the face have Kingston down for two and we hit the chinlock. Kofi fights up with some dropkicks into the Boom Drop and the spinning kick to the face finishes Haas off in a hurry.

Rating: C. Not much to this one as they only had a few minutes. It doesn’t help that Haas hasn’t meant anything in a long time now so there was only so much drama about anything happening. I’m sure Kingston will get an opponent worthy of a title shot soon enough, but that isn’t Haas right now and they didn’t treat him as anything else.

Post match Paul Burchill runs in and lays Kingston out.

Batista is walking….and a fan randomly runs in to do his pose before running off again.

Batista vs. John Bradshaw Layfield vs. John Cena vs. Kane

For the World Title shot at the Great American Bash. The brawl starts fast with JBL booting Cena down for an early two. All four of them slug it out and we take an early break. Back with Kane elbowing Cena in the face and ripping at said face in the corner. Batista hits a spinebuster for two on JBL with Kane making the save and planting Batista with a chokeslam. JBL breaks up the FU to Kane and everyone is left down.

It’s Cena up first to clean house, including an FU to Batista for two. We take another break and come back again with Kane breaking up the Shuffle to JBL. Batista starts cleaning house and kicks a downed Kane in the face. The Clothesline From JBL hits Batista but Cena pulls JBL into the STFU. That’s broken up so Cena and JBL double team Kane down. Everyone but Cena fight to the floor, with Kane knocking JBL over the barricade. Back in and Batista spears Kane for the fast pin and the title shot.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t some kind of a classic or anything but they kept things moving here and it made for an entertaining match as a result. I had fun with this and giving Batista the title shot is an interesting way to go. Punk vs. JBL isn’t interesting, Cena would be an overwhelming favorite over Punk and Kane doesn’t feel like a World Title challenger. That leaves Batista as the just right choice and he got there in an entertaining fight.

Post match Batista leaves so Kane can snap and beat up people working at ringside. Kane yells at commentary and drags Cole inside, telling Cole to ANSWER ME. Jerry Lawler chop blocks Kane to save Cole but gets beaten up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They don’t have much time to get ready for the Great American Bash at this point so moving rather quickly like this is a good idea. The World Title match is now set and Michaels vs. Jericho got a nice boost. This show felt like it got some things done in the span of two hours and that is not something you often see with Raw. Good enough show here, as the Bash is coming together rather quickly.

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

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AND

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