Monday Night Raw
Date: November 29, 2021
Location: UBS Arena, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re on the way to Day 1, which hasn’t actually been mentioned on the show so far. As for this week, we have the return of Edge, who will probably set up his next match. Other than that, Big E. is facing Kevin Owens, as we are setting up what should be (at least) a triple threat title match at the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Seth Rollins to say he should be upset after last week, but no one can keep him down. Not Finn Balor, not Kevin Owens and not Big E., no one. He’s in a good mood tonight because he has a secret. The breaking news: he’s getting his WWE Title match against Big E. at Day 1. It will be a reign that defines the future of WWE but here is Finn Balor to interrupt. The fight is on in a hurry and Balor sends him into the timekeeper’s area. Rollins is sent back inside but hits a dive to take Balor down. The steps rock Rollins but they head back inside for the opening bell (for a match which was at least scheduled).

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Balor hits the shotgun dropkick to set up the Coup de Grace but Rollins rolls outside. That means the big flip dive and we take a break. Back with Balor hitting an enziguri and heading up, only to get crotched back down. Rollins hits the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two but the frog splash hits Balor’s raised knees.

The Sling Blade seems to be a bit mistimed but Rollins hits one of his own. What looks to be the Stomp is countered into Balor’s Sling Blade but the Coup de Grace misses again. Balor avoids the Stomp and they knock each other down. They slug it out until Rollins hits an enziguri, but the ripcord knee is countered into 1916. That’s countered with a shot to the face though (possibly in the eye), setting up a forearm to the back of Balor’s head. Now the Stomp can finish Balor at 8:44.

Rating: C+. I think you know the kind of match you’re going to get from these two and it’s really more about how much time they have. The shot to the eye is enough of a way for Rollins to cheat before pinning Balor, as Rollins needs the win on the way to the title match. Not a bad way to start the show at least and that’s better than some weeks.

We recap Becky Lynch egging Liv Morgan on last week until Morgan hit her in the face. Lynch looked a bit shaken.

Vince McMahon is in the back when Austin Theory comes in. Theory asks how he is doing and Vince tells him about an in-grown toenail and an ear ache. We recap Theory getting the WWE Title match, plus a photo with Vince, last week, before Vince tells Theory that they’re going to watch the show together. Vince says we’ll see if anyone does the unexpected….and threatens to kill Theory if he ever steals from him again.

Here is Becky Lynch for the contract signing with Liv Morgan and Sonya Deville moderating. Lynch realizes this is Morgan’s first contract signing and says Morgan is welcome for this chance, plus last week’s fire. But then Morgan held herself back last week, just like always. It’s going to take more than one punch to finish Lynch, who has already signed the contract.

It turns out that the title match is next week but Lynch goes onto a rant about how no one ever wins in this arena. Morgan asks if she can shut up for once and then signs the contract. Yeah she got upset last week and then channeled her emotions by using her fist instead of crying….like Lynch did after Survivor Series.

We see a clip (Morgan: “Courtesy of WWE’s social media team.”) of Lynch crying after beating Charlotte, leaving Lynch looking rather annoyed. Morgan says Lynch’s big contract is the reason Morgan’s friends are gone and that has Lynch all the more upset. Violence is teased but Deville holds them back as Lynch goes on about how she deserves to be paid and we hear about a ten woman tag for tonight. Morgan is in and shouting ensues. This was almost a good segment, but Morgan having to read rather obviously memorized lines killed it.

We recap Riddle dressing up like Randy Orton last week to beat Dolph Ziggler.

Riddle isn’t sure why Randy Orton isn’t dressed up like him this week and suggests a Freaky Friday remake. Orton isn’t going to the ring on a scooter….so Riddle puts a blond wig on him instead. Orton: “You have two seconds to get this off my head. One…” and the wig is off.

Tag Team Titles: RKBro vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Roode and Ziggler are challenging. Riddle gets taken down by Roode to start and a catapult into a DDT gives Ziggler two. Riddle gets over for the tag off to Orton though and everything breaks down with the fight heading to the floor. Orton gets taken down and Riddle gets dropped onto the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Roode driving a knee into Orton’s back and grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up with a belly to back suplex and the hot tag brings in Riddle to clean house. Everything breaks down and a Zig Zag gets two on Orton. The superkick is countered into a rollup for two on Ziggler, setting up the RKO to retain the titles at 10:30.

Rating: C. RKBro continues to be one of the better things going on Raw and that shouldn’t be a surprise. They have some awesome chemistry and the good thing is that they have been a team for so long now that they can do these teases of issues without it meaning a breakup. That’s going to make the actual breakup (assuming they have one) all the better and that’s a good thing.

Seth Rollins is rather happy when he runs into Kevin Owens. Things get serious as Owens says he’s added to the title match at Day 1 if he beats Big E. tonight. Rollins isn’t happy, but Owens tells him to go ask Adam Pearce (Owens: “The bald guy.”). Dig Owens’ old school Survivor Series shirt.

Post break, Rollins comes in to see Pearce about Owens’ idea…..but Owens was lying. Rollins leaves and is replaced by Sonya Deville, who thinks it’s not a bad idea.

Here is the returning Edge for a chat. The last time you saw him, he was winning a match inside the Cell but now it is time for him to see who he can face on Raw. We hear about AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Big E. Instead, here is the returning Miz (with Maryse) to interrupt. We see a package of Miz on Dancing With The Stars before Miz talks about how Edge does nothing but make comebacks. While Edge was gone, Miz was representing WWE every week on national TV. Edge asks why he came in ninth place and Miz blames the fans. His dancing was REVOLUTIONARY!

Edge isn’t convinced and suggests he could get a MIZ SUCKS chant going anytime he wants. With said chant out of the way, Miz talks about how he was WWE Champion six months ago but Edge hasn’t won a major title in like forever. Edge was great once, but this time he should have stayed home for good. It’s true that Edge is dancing with a body that doesn’t have much left but he is the same person that everyone wants to face these days.

Edge says Miz has made it further than anyone thought he would, becoming WWE Champion and being someone whose name is used on other shows to get a reaction (there’s your reference). No one but Miz ever believed in him but here Miz is anyway. The fight is teased but Miz bails. This was absolutely inspired by MJF vs. CM Punk, though it absolutely wasn’t a parody or a bunch of shots at it. That’s quite the relief and this was a good segment, as it felt like serious Miz again.

AJ Styles is in sunglasses and says his eyes were damaged last week by the Street Profits’ fire extinguisher. Omos had to help him shave this morning! Revenge is promised.

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Omos leads a still mostly blind AJ Styles to commentary. Ford gets pulled out of the air by Otis to start as AJ is asking who is winning. It’s quickly off to Dawkins for the Anointment but Gable is pulled outside. That leaves Ford to hit a big dive to the floor but AJ pops up on the apron to distract Ford. Not that it matters as Ford shoves Gable off the top and finishes with the frog splash for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: C. This was about AJ and I could have gone for more of playing up the angle a bit longer. They didn’t waste time on this one though and while it is good to keep up the Street Profits vs. Styles/Omos, but the Academy doesn’t exactly seem to have the brightest future at the moment.

Vince McMahon thinks Austin Theory should have seen that win coming. He wants Theory to look at him when he is speaking too.

We recap Dana Brooke winning the 24/7 Title last week.

Reggie is talking calmly to Dana Brooke in the back and not trying to take the title.

Seth Rollins comes up to Kevin Owens in the back and accuses him of being a liar. It turns out that now, if Owens wins, he WILL be added to the Day 1 title match. Sure.

US Title: Apollo Crews vs. Damian Priest

Crews, with Commander Azeez, is challenging. Priest throws him around to start but has to pause for a showdown with Azeez. The distraction lets Crews get in a cheap shot to send us to a break. Back with Crews hitting a toss powerbomb for two but Priest kicks him in the face. A DDT gets two on Crews and he bails to the floor but gets away before Priest can bust out the big dive. Instead Priest hits a flip dive off the steps (without much height) and goes up, only to have Azeez pull him face first onto the apron. That’s enough for an ejection and Priest is all angry. The beating is on and the Reckoning finishes Crews at 8:27.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here but Priest gets another win over another established name. WWE has actually done a good job with him in recent months and he feels like a big deal. Keep that going and do it with more people and they might get somewhere for a change.

Seth Rollins comes in to see Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville, thinking that Kevin Owens is still lying. Actually he was telling the truth this time and the stipulation is set.

Hurt Business vs. Mysterios

Dominik walks toe rope to wristdrag Benjamin, earning a heck of a shoulder down. Alexander comes in with a slingshot hilo and we get the required Eddie Guerrero dance. A superkick gets Dominik out of trouble though and it’s off to Rey to pick up the pace. Rey hits a basement dropkick for two on Alexander and everything breaks down, setting up a double 619. Rey dives onto Benjamin and the frog splash pins Alexander at 2:59.

We recap the contract signing and set up the ten women tag.

Smackdown Rebound.

Team Liv vs. Team Becks

Liv Morgan/Bianca Belair/Dana Brooke/Nikki Ash/Rhea Ripley

Becky Lynch/Carmella/Queen Zelina/Doudrop/Tamina

Becky and Liv start things off with Becky being taken down in a hurry. Carmella comes in for a rollup and trash talk so Liv brings in Ripley to scare Carmella off. Vega gets tagged in against her will but all of Team Becks (that’s what the graphic said) comes in to go after Ripley at once. Team Liv is perfectly fine with this until Tamina is left alone. Ripley clotheslines her down and this time it’s a string of tags to bring in all of Team Liv to surround Tamina. The villains bail to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Doudrop chinlocking Ash and handing it off to Lynch for a legdrop. Carmella beats on Ash in the corner and grabs a chinlock of her own. That’s broken up and it’s back to Ripley, who is caught in the Code of Silence. Brooke breaks that up and it’s time for the parade of secondary finishers. Carmella superkicks Ripley for two and we take another break.

Back again with Brooke kicking Tamina away and handing it back to Liv to clean house. Dana loads up the superplex onto the pile but gets shoved down into the big crash instead. That leaves Liv to enziguri Carmella and hit an STO on Vega. Tamina gets kicked into the ropes and Oblivion finishes for Liv at 19:50.

Rating: D. It wasn’t the worst, but this was a pretty hard sit. Ultimately, it was too long and they had too many people involved. There is enough talent in the division to do a heck of a six woman tag, but some of them aren’t quite set up for a nearly twenty minute match. Morgan vs. Lynch is going to feel big time, but Doudrop, Tamina, Ash (not her fault) and arguably Carmella/Vega don’t feel like they belong on this level and were there to just make the match bigger.

Post match Liv takes out Becky again.

Back in Vince McMahon’s office, Vince teaches Austin Theory about expecting the unexpected. Theory keeps looking away and Vince doesn’t like it.

Veer Maahan is coming.

Video on Bobby Lashley, complete with a look back at his amateur career. I believe we’ve seen this kind of thing several times for Lashley. This kind of felt like a setup for a face turn and if so…I hope the Impact World Title is available because that’s not a good thing these days in WWE.

Big E. isn’t worried about Kevin Owens tonight and promises to take care of that duplicitous scourge (Big E.: “Yes I said DUPLICITOUS SCOURGE!”).

Austin Theory thinks he has learned to expect the unexpected. Then Vince McMahon slaps him and says he has a lot to learn. If there was a point to this, it’s eluding me.

Big E. vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title but if Owens wins, he’s added to the Day 1 title match. Hold on though as here is Seth Rollins to join commentary. Big E. powers him into the corner to start and Rollins is rather pleased. Owens takes it to the mat and starts working on the leg. Back up and Owens is sent outside, where Owens hits Rollins in the face. That’s not enough to sucker Rollins in though and Owens clotheslines Big E. down instead. They head back outside and Big E. gets dropped onto the steps as we take a break.

Back with Owens muscling him over for a superplex as commentary explains the triple threat concept (again). Big E. muscles his way out of a chinlock and hits the overhead belly to belly though, setting up the Warrior Splash for two. Owens superkicks him down for two of his own but charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for the next near fall.

The pop up sitout powerbomb (Rollins: “NO!!!!”) gives Owens two more and they’re both down. Owens goes to the apron but drops outside to run Rollins over. Back in and the Stunner is broken up so Big E. can blast him with a running clothesline. Rollins runs in to jump Owens for the DQ at 14:27.

Rating: C+. I was a bit surprised at the ending as it almost seemed too obvious of a way to go. That being said, they did build up the idea of Rollins getting more and more nervous (that “NO!” was a great touch) throughout the match until he was finally pushed too far and his insanity got the better of him. The triple threat is a good idea as well and we should be in for a solid pay per view match.

The triple threat match is officially declared and Owens shouts “I GOT YOU” at Rollins to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show was kind of a weird one, with the Vince/Theory stuff not meaning much but there was some good wrestling throughout and they set up a pair of matches. Liv vs. Becky is sounding like a big deal and we could be in for a nice triple threat at Day 1. Edge vs. Miz makes it even better, as that could be a heck of a match if they do it right. Some of the other stories were advanced a bit here and there, though that ten woman tag brought things down a good bit. Not the worst show, and that is a step up for Raw.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Finn Balor – Stomp
RKBro b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – RKO to Ziggler
Street Profits b. Alpha Academy – Frog splash to Gable
Damian Priest b. Apollo Crews – Reckoning
Mysterios b. Hurt Business – Frog splash to Alexander
Team Liv b. Team Becky – Oblivion to Tamina
Kevin Owens b. Big E. via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 22, 2021
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re done with Survivor Series and Raw won the Battle For Brand Supremacy, which I don’t think was actually mentioned on the show. What was mentioned was Mr. McMahon’s egg, which is a prop from a movie that he thinks is worth millions of dollars. Then someone stole it and tonight we need to find out who did it. What a great way to start the holidays so let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

Vince McMahon is glaring at Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville over the missing egg.

We recap the case of the stolen egg.

Back in the office, Vince tells Pearce and Deville that they need to find out who did this. Deville has talked to everyone and the surveillance footage isn’t clear. Vince makes them an offer: if someone confesses, they can face Big E. for the WWE Title tonight. Now find it or be fired. Vince sounded really, really old here.

Randy Orton is ready to face Dolph Ziggler, who could get lost on the way to the ring. Riddle comes in with an Orton style goatee and his hair pulled back. He’s been busy doing Viper stuff and Riddle promises to give Ziggler a rude introduction. Riddle talks about everything Orton has done in his career (including the most PPV matches as of last night) and now he’s ready to take out Ziggler.

Riddle vs. Dolph Ziggler

Randy Orton is here with Riddle, who is even in Orton trunks. Feeling out process to start and they go with the grappling until Ziggler dropkicks him so hard that the mustache comes off. Ziggler pulls the goatee off (Graves: “It was Riddle all along! And he would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those meddling kids!”) but gets caught with the spinning gutwrench suplex.

Ziggler is sent outside so Riddle dives…right into a superkick and we take a break. Back with Riddle hitting an Orton powerslam but an RKO attempt is broken up. Ziggler rips at the face but Riddle knees him down. Now the RKO can finish Ziggler at 9:30 (with Orton looking rather pleased).

Rating: C. It wasn’t a great match or anything close but it was a goofy bit of fun with good enough action. Riddle does a great Orton impression and Orton getting sucked into the madness is a fun way to go. I’m not sure what the endgame is for the team, but the fact that we have gotten this far without a split is great to see for a change.

Post match Robert Roode goes after Riddle so Orton makes the save and lays him out with a Bro Derek (much to Riddle’s delight).

Everyone is going nuts in the back looking for the egg. R-Truth runs off…and accidentally goes into the women’s locker room. R-Truth: “IT AIN’T IN THERE!” Maybe they should try some different rooms?

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. After a look at last night’s win over Charlotte, and a break, Becky soaks in some of the rather enthusiastic cheers. Becky talks about some of the great moments she has had in Brooklyn and how great last night really was. The fans loved everything and didn’t even care who won as long as they could beat each other up. She thinks the fans want something fresh and new and asks who they want to see.

The fans like some of her suggestions…but she has realized that whatever they say doesn’t matter. Last night she saw ten women breaking their backs but the fans were out there doing the wave and singing their songs and doing their chants. Now they want to see Liv Morgan get a chance because she has won one match in four years. It doesn’t matter because she has a death grip on this title and no one is taking it from her. Becky was feeling it here.

We look at Bianca Belair beating four women in a row to win last night.

Here is Belair for a chat to talk about how she was the sole survivor. Now hopefully Doudrop will cool it because she wasn’t even on the team. Maybe Doudrop can go find the egg instead of being after her. For now though, she’ll just beat up Tamina.

Bianca Belair vs. Tamina

Natalya is here with Tamina, who sends Belair into the corner. That’s fine with Belair, who moonsaults over her and manages a suplex. Tamina superkicks her into the Samoan drop for two and it’s time to hit the neck crank. Belair fights up again, hits Tamina a few times, and finishes with the KOD at 3:58.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what else there was to expect here and it only worked so well. Belair overcomes the odds again by beating Tamina, which doesn’t exactly mean that much at this point. After beating four women in a row last night, it’s not the biggest surprise to have her beat Tamina, who hasn’t won anything on her own in a pretty long while.

Post match Natalya jumps Belair but gets kicked away. Cue Doudrop to crush Belair, while looking a bit more serious.

We look at Seth Rollins leading the men’s Raw Survivor Series team to victory.

Here is Rollins to brag about his win. It was a great victory and he did it all by himself. That’s right: it was all Rollins, because his partners either walked out, weren’t good enough or got pinned in the middle of the ring. Cue Finn Balor though and we’re ready to go with their scheduled match.

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Rollins jumps Balor during his entrances and the brawl is on before the bell. Balor scores with a flip dive but gets sent into the barricade and onto the announcers’ table. Rollins stomps away at Balor and blasts Balor in the face with the steps. The Stomp onto the steps and another one in the ring leave Balor laying with no match. Rollins goes to leave and gets jumped by a fan so we cut away in a hurry.

The egg hunt continues and looks a lot like the 24/7 Title chase.

Sami Zayn is in Vince McMahon’s office and says he knows who took the egg. Well, at least he’s like 95% sure. They’re not here yet, but when they get here, Sami will get his title shot.

Kevin Owens is looking for the egg but wasn’t listening to Seth Rollins. If he doesn’t find the egg, he’ll be looking forward to seeing who gets the title shot.

AJ Styles/Omos vs. Street Profits

The Profits are carrying a bag and give Graves his own red cup. Ford starts with Styles and takes him down in a hurry. That doesn’t go well for Styles, so he hands it off to Omos. The Profits need to think about this for a bit on the floor and we take a break. Back with Dawkins in trouble as AJ grabs a front facelock to keep him down. That’s broken up in a hurry though and it’s back to Ford to pick up the pace. Ford cleans house and backdrops his way out of a fast Styles Clash attempt…but it’s back to Omos again.

Ford’s crossbody bounces off of Omos so he tries some strikes, with only an enziguri staggering Omos. Unfortunately it’s only a stagger as a clothesline takes Ford’s head off. Dawkins breaks up the chokebomb but gets sent outside. That’s enough for Dawkins, who opens the bag and pulls out a fire extinguisher to blind Omos for the DQ at 8:15.

Rating: C-. That was a bit of a stretch for an ending as it isn’t like the Profits have anything that would make you think of a fire extinguisher. I get the idea of not wanting to face Omos empty handed but it did feel a bit out there. It doesn’t help that the match was the same thing you always see from Styles and Omos: Styles doing everything and then Omos coming in as the monster. The team doesn’t seem like it is going to be around for that long, but I’m not sure what Omos is going to be able to do on his own.

Zelina Vega/Carmella are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Veer Mahaan is still coming.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Queen Zelina/Carmella vs. Nikki Ash/Rhea Ripley

Nikki and Ripley are defending. Hold on though as Carmella has to put on her mask, allowing Ripley to start things on the floor. Back in and Rhea keeps up the beating before it’s off to Zelina. That doesn’t go well for her either, as Ripley runs her over and blocks a hurricanrana attempt.

A tornado DDT does drop Ripley and we hit the chinlock, which is powered into the corner for the tag to Nikki. Carmella gets in a cheap shot so Ripley chases her around the ring, only to dive back in and break up a cover. Ripley gets sent outside and a superkick sends her head into the post. Back in and Vega jumps Nikki from behind, allowing Carmella to hit a low superkick. The Code Red gives Vega the pin and the titles at 4:49.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t great but the title change was the right way to go. It was clear that Nikki and Rhea didn’t have anything to do as champions so putting them on a semi regular team is the better way to go. If nothing else, this should free Rhea up from the tagging and that’s a good thing for the division as a whole.

Sonya Deville tells Vince McMahon that she has found the culprit. Post break, Sami Zayn, Adam Pearce and Deville are in the office as Austin Theory comes in with the egg. Vince takes it back and Theory says he was just here yesterday to take a selfie with it, but there was so much security that he took it back to the hotel. Theory shows him the picture and Vince is so happy with Theory’s honesty that Theory gets the title match instead! Sami loses it as Vince and Theory take another selfie together. Vince tells Sami to shut up because no one likes a snitch. I’ll take this over some bad comedy answer.

24/7 Title: Reggie vs. Cedric Alexander

Reggie is defending and tries a nip up to start, earning himself a heck of a right hand to the face. A hurricanrana gives Reggie two but Cedric knees him in the ribs. The Lumbar Check gives Cedric the pin and the title at 1:17.

Post match here is the usual gang of idiots (plus a lot more) to go after the title but it’s Dana Brooke hitting a Blockbuster for the pin and the title. All of the guys stop and let her pose.

We look at Bobby Lashley taking out the Mysterio to get on the Survivor Series team.

Rey Mysterio talks to Dominik about all of the giants he has faced over the years. Tonight though, he is honored to fight by his son’s side so let’s go give them a Mysterio whipping.

Dana Brooke is very happy with her title win. She created an opportunity and tries to live every day like a champion. Graves: “I give it until the end of the night.”

Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio vs. Bobby Lashley

Before the match, MVP says he respects Rey as a wrestler, but not so much as a father. Did Rey ever teach Dominik that monsters are not real? Rey has never faced a monster like Lashley and Dominik is going to be in the Hurt Lock in just a few minutes. When Rey’s wife is tired of him being a horrible number, Rey can give her MVP’s number.

Dominik jumps on Lashley’s back to start and is quickly powered into the corner. Rey comes in and gets powerslammed in a hurry but Dominik breaks up the Hurt Lock. Lashley is sent outside but his dive is caught in the air. The posting is broken up by a Rey dive though and we take a break. Back with Lashley choking Dominik on the ropes and hitting the spinning Big Ending for two. Dominik gets posted again as Rey can’t do much other than watch the destruction.

Back in and Lashley tells Dominik to hit him, with Dominik actually managing to stagger him. The hot tag brings in Rey, who gets an assist to set up a tornado DDT for two. Dominik comes in without a tag (with commentary pointing it out) but it’s quickly back to Rey for a double 619. Back to back frog splashes and a double cover get two so Lashley spears Rey down. The Hurt Lock finishes Dominik at 10:56.

Rating: C. I don’t think the ending was exactly in doubt as Lashley is not someone who is going to lose outside of a big moment. The Mysterios are a good team, but it’s not like this is a loss that hurts them. Odds are they are heading to the split which has been teased for a little while, though I’m not sure how well Dominik is going to do on his own.

Big E. let a lot of people down last week but now he has to defend the WWE Title against Austin Theory. Now Theory is good and young, but Big E. is going to be feeling good when he leaves this beautiful building.

Liv Morgan is happy with the win last night but here is Becky Lynch to laugh about Liv coming up short. Becky says Liv will never hold the title, but Liv says she held it last week. That’s laughed off as well and Becky talks about how Liv has disappointed everyone. Liv looks near tears so she punches Becky in the face and walks away, leaving Becky looking shaken.

US Title: Damian Priest vs. Apollo Crews

Priest is defending in an open challenge. Before the match, Crews and Commander Azeez brag about how great Crews is, but Priest cuts him off to say they’re in New York. If Crews wants to fight, all he has to do is ask. Crews actually says no, so here is Sami Zayn instead. If Crews doesn’t want the title then he’ll take the shot.

US Title: Damian Priest vs. Sami Zayn

Priest is still defending and Sami bails outside to start. That’s fine with Priest, who follows him out but gets caught with an exploder. We take a break and come back with Priest fighting up, only to get caught in the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Sami gets caught on top with a kick to the head but still manages a sunset bomb for two more.

Back up and Priest tries the Reckoning but gets reversed into a rollup. For some reason, Sami thinks it’s a good idea to go pick up the US Title, which sends Priest into his now trademark rage. A big beating has Sami rocked in the corner and the Reckoning retains the title at 8:49.

Rating: C. This was about all you would have expected it to be, with Sami doing what he could, going too far, and summoning the inner Priest monster. That was a good way to go as Sami can be just good enough to make you believe that he could pull off the upset but then take the beating. Priest is on his way up and that’s nice to see.

Austin Theory has had a good day and is ready to take a selfie with the WWE Title.

Raw World Title: Big E. vs. Austin Theory

Big E. is defending and here is Seth Rollins to watch as well. They start fast with Big E. running him over and hitting the apron splash. Cue Kevin Owens to distract Big E. though, allowing Theory to hit a dropkick to the floor. We take a break and come back with Big E. fighting out of trouble, including an overhead belly to belly.

Theory kicks him in the face and then blocks the spear through the ropes. Big E. runs him over again but Rollins gets in a cheap shot from the floor, allowing Theory to hit the rolling Blockbuster. Owens gets annoyed at Rollins and they yell at each other, distracting Theory in the process. Big E. uses said distraction to hit the Big Ending for the pin to retain at 9:13.

Rating: C. Much like some of the other matches tonight, there wasn’t a lot of drama to be found and that’s ok. After the loss to Reigns, this lets Big E. get back on the winning path over someone who is getting more over just getting to rub elbows with people on a higher level. Both of them can move on to something else, though I’m not sure what that is for Theory.

Post match Rollins goes after Big E. and gets laid out, leaving Big E. to yell at Owens and Rollins to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe it was the lack of dread from Survivor Series coming but this was a better Raw than usual. They did some logical things with some of the wrestlers and the whole egg deal set up a nice little main event. It’s far from perfect and the length is still one of the major underlying problems, but I didn’t get mad at anything on the show this week so that’s a pretty positive result.

Results
Riddle b. Dolph Ziggler – RKO
Bianca Belair b. Tamina – KOD
AJ Styles/Omos b. Street Profits via DQ when Dawkins used a fire extinguisher
Queen Zelina/Carmella b. Nikki Ash/Rhea Ripley – Code Red to Ash
Cedric Alexander b. Reggie – Lumbar Check
Bobby Lashley b. Dominik Mysterio/Rey Mysterio – Hurt Lock to Dominik
Damian Priest b. Sami Zayn – Reckoning
Big E. b. Austin Theory – Big Ending

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 15, 2021
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Survivor Series and that means we should be in for some build to the show. Granted that has been the case for a few weeks now and the focus has been on whatever comes after the show instead. Maybe we can talk about the show a bit more this week, as they don’t have much time left before the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Kevin Owens trying to make people believe he had changed last week. Then he lost to Seth Rollins and beat up Big E. anyway.

Here is Big E. for a chat. He thanks the fans for their attention before moving on to Roman Reigns. The Usos attacked his friends and now it is time to beat Reigns like he stole something. There better be some empty beds in those Brooklyn hospitals for them because he is taking a piece of Reigns that can never come back. That’s for Sunday but this is Monday Night Raw, so he needs to talk to Kevin Owens.

Big E. wants Kevin Owens out here right now so here he is. Owens talks about how last week was his third loss in a row and of course he snapped. He talks about how he was pushed too far and now he is going to break bad on everyone in the locker room, including Big E. That’s enough for Big E., who wants to fight right now. Owens heads to the back and for once, Big E. actually follows his….with the Usos popping up to jump him from behind.

The beatdown is on, with the Usos promising that Reigns is taking him out at Survivor Series. Oh and RKBro? The Usos run Raw too. Cue Riddle to jump the Usos with Big E. getting up to help clear the ring. Sonya Deville comes out to match the tag match. Hold on though because here is Seth Rollins to join us. I could go for a lot more of it, but this was exactly what it needed to be: Big E. acknowledging Roman Reigns and making their match seem personal. I’m not sure why it took so long to do so, but it’s better than nothing.

Riddle/Big E. vs. Usos

Non-title and Seth Rollins is on commentary. Big E. takes Jey into the corner to start and hands it off to Riddle for some kicks to the ribs. It’s back to Big E. as Riddle is sent outside, leaving Big E. to beat up the Usos on his own. That’s enough for Rollins, who jumps Owens for the DQ at 2:57.

Post match the beatdown is on but here is Randy Orton for the save. So where was he five minutes ago? An RKO drops Jimmy and we take a break, unfortunately without the big neon sign saying the six man is next.

Usos/Seth Rollins vs. Big E./RKBro

Joined in progress with Rollins’ arm getting cranked so it’s off to Riddle. It’s off to Jimmy, who kicks Riddle down and grabs a chinlock. Jey gets kicked off the apron but the distraction lets Riddle kick Jey down. It’s off to Big E. to pick up the pace, including the Warrior Splash to Jimmy.

A kick to Big E. doesn’t do much good as he takes Jimmy to the apron for a bunch of forearms to the chest. The apron splash connects as we take a break. Back with Orton having to fight out of a nerve hold and getting over to Riddle to pick up the pace. House is cleaned with forearms, suplexes, knees and backsplashes before everything breaks down. We settle down to Rollins elbowing Riddle in the front and back of the head, setting up a rollup for the pin at 11:10.

Rating: C. Slightly tired formula for setting the match up aside, this worked well enough to set up a pair of matches at the same time. Rollins getting the pin is a bit odd as he is the one who is the least associated with everyone else, but at least he has something going on of his own. Now can we get someone to work on Orton’s run-in schedule? He needs to be a more thoughtful partner.

Post match the Usos go after Riddle but Orton makes the save with the RKO. Everyone else leaves and Big E. grabs Jimmy, telling him to tell daddy Roman that the message is received. He has a return message, and that’s a Big Ending.

We recap Doudrop costing Bianca Belair her shot at becoming #1 contender last week.

Bianca Belair isn’t happy with Doudrop but Tamina interrupts. Tamina says she’s Belair’s business tonight, which works for Belair.

Kevin Owens doesn’t appreciate being called a liar, but he was in fact lying because that’s what a bad guy does. Therefore, by saying he is a liar and then lying, he was telling the truth. Finn Balor pops up to say he doesn’t trust Owens but since he was supposed to face Seth Rollins, he’ll face Owens instead. Owens seems down.

Bianca Belair vs. Tamina

Tamina runs her over to start and we hit the chinlock as Doudrop is watching in the back. A running elbow drops Belair again but she’s back up with a dropkick into the corner. Belair hits a spinebuster for two but Tamina scores with a superkick. The Superfly Splash is broken up with a slam off the top so Belair tries a handspring moonsault. Tamina gets the knees up but Belair hits her in the face and grabs the KOD for the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D+. So that’s what happens when Belair faces Tamina, in case you were actually wondering how that would have gone. I’m not sure why you would have, but it was nice to see Belair get a win. It’s designed to set up Belair vs. Doudrop though, and that might not be the most interesting choice.

Post match here is Doudrop to say she is coming for Belair after Survivor Series.

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat and the fans didn’t seem to get the memo about needing to boo her. We see a clip of Charlotte talking about Becky on Smackdown and asking who Lynch even is. Becky says she used to be Charlotte’s best friend and the person who was always there for her. She was the person who was always there to offer Charlotte a shoulder to cry on, but the condition was Becky always had to be in the background. Then she dropped Charlotte and jumped into the stratosphere. Her success has made Charlotte so bitter and now she is going to make Charlotte face all of her demons.

Cue Liv Morgan to interrupt and say Becky just left her last week. Becky was expecting this and has a video ready, showing Morgan promising to become champion four months ago. Back in the arena, Becky says she has been back and won the title in 26 seconds, but Morgan has still done nothing. Morgan thinks Big Time Becks is a Big Time B**** and since that is the ONLY INSULT WOMEN IN WWE KNOW, the fight is on. The threat of the Manhandle Slam is countered into an armdrag and Becky leaves, allowing Morgan to hold up the title. Morgan was stepping up here, though it’s hard to imagine her having a real chance.

Randy Orton yells at Riddle for getting involved but Riddle just gets confused about being the enemy of your friend. Orton: “NOBODY SAYS THAT!” Orton only cares about this team and storms off, with the Street Profits popping up to say they like what Riddle did earlier. Riddle likes them too and they share a catchphrase.

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Yeah they feuded on Smackdown over the summer but this is on Raw so it’s new and exciting. Dawkins flips over Gable to start and takes him down, allowing Ford to work on the arm. Ford’s dropkick drops Gable (with a kick) but Otis comes in to run Dawkins over. Dawkins avoids a charge in the corner though and Ford hits a big flip dive to take Gable down on the floor. Otis runs over both Profits and we take a break.

Back with Otis splashing Dawkins’ knee and handing it off to Gable for a dragon screw legwhip. The moonsault misses though and Dawkins hits the Silencer. That’s enough for the hot tag back to Ford, who strikes away at Otis. The kicks just seem to annoy Otis though, as he hits a pop up World’s Strongest Slam. Everything breaks down and Otis misses a charge into the barricade. Gable dives off the top onto Ford, who rolls through for the pin at 11:07.

Rating: C+. It’s no surprise that these teams worked well together because they have done it so often now. The Profits are a good team and the Academy has found their footing, so it would be nice to see them shifted towards the title picture. It’s not like RKBro is overflowing with challengers at the moment, so let’s see what these two could do.

We look back at Bobby Lashley beating Dominik Mysterio to take Dominik’s spot on the Survivor Series team.

Rey Mysterio comes in to see Adam Pearce about what happened with Dominik last week. Pearce doesn’t like Rey’s tone and gives him a match with Lashley tonight.

Nikki Ash vs. Queen Zelina

Rhea Ripley and Carmella are at ringside too. Nikki grabs a headlock to start before hitting a running crossbody. That earns her a toss to the apron so Nikki comes back in with a rollup for two. Vega gets caught in a fireman’s carry but fights out for a knee to the face. The chinlock goes on until Nikki fights up and kicks the knee out. A Carmella distraction lets Vega catch her on top though and Code Red gives Vega the pin at 2:45.

Post match Carmella yells at Rhea and a match seems ready.

Rhea Ripley vs. Carmella

Joined in progress with Ripley hitting a delayed vertical suplex and then tossing Carmella without much trouble. Carmella gets in a kick to the face for two and we hit the chinlock. Ripley fights up and grabs a northern lights suplex, earning herself a kick to the face. Back up and Ripley hits a headbutt into the Riptide for the pin at 4:10.

Rating: C-. This was quick enough and they didn’t do anything nuts like having Ripley lose. I’m not sure what the point is in having the Survivor Series team fight each other, but it’s not like the Women’s Tag Team Champions could do anything like defend their titles. That would suggest WWE cares about them and I think even they’re smart enough to know otherwise.

Post match, Vega says it doesn’t matter because Carmella is still going to lead the Raw women to victory at Survivor Series.

Big E. comes in to see Adam Pearce, who threatens to suspend him if he doesn’t play nice tonight.

Seth Rollins promises to lead Raw to the mountaintop, both before and after Survivor Series.

Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Owens runs him over to start and hits an early backsplash for two. Balor rolls through a powerbomb though and scores with a basement dropkick. They head outside where the running apron kick is countered, allowing Owens to hit a swinging leg trap belly to back suplex for two. We hit the chinlock but Balor fights back and knocks Owens into the corner. Owens gets sent outside and that means the big flip dive to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Owens hitting a super Regal Roll for two and yelling at the fans a lot. A spinning side slam gives Owens two more and Balor charges into a superkick for the same. Balor rolls to the floor and hits the shotgun dropkick into the barricade. Back in and Owens hits the pop up sitout powerbomb for two but the Swanton hits knees. Balor gets caught going up top though and it’s a Stunner to give Owens the pin at 12:16.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and Owens needed the win to establish himself a bit better. Owens seems likely for a big Raw title match before his contract expires, though I can’t really picture him sticking around at this point. I’m not sure what is next for Balor, but dang I can’t remember the last time he won something important.

Here’s what happened at the Wrestlemania ticket on-sale party.

AJ Styles and Omos aren’t happy with Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler. Styles isn’t worried though, because he has his own Omos.

Dolph Ziggler and Roberts Roode aren’t worried either and think Styles and Omos are like the movie Twins, with AJ being Danny DeVito.

Video on Damian Priest.

AJ Styles/Omos vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

AJ allows Omos to start with Roode, who thinks twice about things. Roode gets thrown into the corner and clotheslined, meaning it’s off to Ziggler instead. Omos fireman’s carries Ziggler into a faceplant and it’s the Phenomenal Forearm to give AJ the pin at 3:16.

Rating: D+. So that was a total squash and I’m not quite sure why. Styles and Omos are established as a team so it’s not like they needed the boost. It was one of the more dominant looking performances from Omos though, who will work well as a monster if he can start getting a bit better in the ring.

Bobby Lashley is ready to run through Rey Mysterio tonight, just like he’ll do to Team Smackdown on Sunday.

Smackdown Rebound.

Survivor Series rundown.

Rey Mysterio vs. Bobby Lashley

Dominik Mysterio is here with Rey. Lashley starts with the power but Rey slips out to the apron for a top rope seated senton. Some right hands put Rey down so Dominik offers a distraction, allowing Rey to knock Lashley outside. Rey’s sliding armdrag is countered but he manages to send Lashley into the post. Something like the 619 grazes Lashley and the sliding splash to the floor hits him again. Back up and Lashley throws him into the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Rey being powered into the corner as Adam Pearce watches backstage. Rey avoids a running clothesline but his springboard moonsault is countered into a spinning Big Ending. Lashley sends him outside for a loud posting, followed by the running shoulder to the ribs back inside. There’s a one armed delayed suplex to taunt Dominik a bit but Rey fights up again. This time it’s a 619 into the ribs, setting up the regular version to the face. The top rope splash connects but Lashley picks him up and grabs the Hurt Lock for the tap at 11:11.

Rating: C. If I never see another Rey Mysterio/Dominik match again, it’s going to be too soon. I’ve been a big Rey fan for a long time but this stuff is just not interesting and it’s dragging down almost everything they do. It would be nice to just get to the split already so they can stop this family stuff, as it stopped being interesting a good while ago. For now though, it was fun to see Lashley maul him like a bear being let loose in an aquarium.

Post match Lashley keeps the hold on but glares at Dominik, who is too scared to get in. Lashley lets go and we cut to Adam Pearce, who heads into the arena with a microphone. It is his job to give us the best competition at Survivor Series, so Rey is off the team for a replacement to be named later. Cue Austin Theory to take out Dominik and get a quick selfie. Pearce likes that, so Theory is on the team in Rey’s spot. So yeah, we now have two evil authority figures, as that’s an idea that was begging to be rehashed.

Overall Rating: C. This show was certainly a rushed build to Survivor Series, but it was nice to have a focus for once. That’s something Raw has been lacking, as it feels like they have been building to multiple things at once. They were doing it again here, though it was nowhere near as bad as in previous weeks, when Survivor Series felt like a total afterthought. Survivor Series still doesn’t feel important, but at least it feels like WWE remembers it’s happening.

Results
Riddle/Big E. b. Usos via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered
Seth Rollins/Usos b. RKBro/Big E. – Rollup to Riddle
Bianca Belair b. Tamina – KOD
Street Profits b. Alpha Academy – Rollup to Gable
Queen Zelina b. Nikki Ash – Code Red
Rhea Ripley b. Carmella – Riptide
Kevin Owens b. Finn Balor – Stunner
AJ Styles/Omos b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – Phenomenal Forearm to Ziggler
Bobby Lashley b. Rey Mysterio – Hurt Lock

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 8, 2021
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re less than two weeks away from Survivor Series and now we have the men’s and women’s Survivor Series teams set up. That means we don’t get a month of qualifying matches, but we are likely to get two weeks of I AM THE CAPTAIN and arguing about their love of a brand they have been on for less than a month. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s issues with Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Big E., as Big E. isn’t sure he can trust Owens.

Big E. and Kevin Owens are in the back, with Owens talking about how he cares about what Big E. thinks of him and wants people to know he turned over a new leaf. Big E. doesn’t really care though and has a match tonight. Owens says he cares what Big E. thinks.

Here is Seth Rollins, in some weird red and blue number, to welcome us to Monday Night Rollins. He is the face of Monday Night Raw and therefore he will lead the team to victory over those Smackdown bums at Survivor Series. The fans think Rollins looks stupid but what would they know about fashion.

Rollins talks about Kevin Owens, wondering if he is a hero or a snake. He has known Owens for a long time and there is one thing you can count on with Owens: he will stab you in the back at any chance he has. Owens is as low as he gets and cannot be trusted as far as he can be thrown, which isn’t far at all. Rollins is ready to turn Owens into the biggest loser in the world but here is a ticked off Owens to interrupt. The fight is on and Rollins has to escape the apron powerbomb. I’m kind of intrigued by this one.

We look back at Omos wrecking the tag team division last week.

RKBro is in the back, with Riddle worrying about turning into a robot and Orton worrying about the Street Profits. Cue the Street Profits, with Orton saying they’re on their own.

Omos/AJ Styles vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler vs. RKBro/Street Profits

Good to see AJ back. Ford dropkicks Roode down to start and mocks some dog poses. Dawkins comes in with a shoulder and suplexes Ford onto Roode for two. Ziggler comes in and gets punched down as well, allowing Orton to stomp away. The assisted Floating Bro gets two on Ziggler so it’s off to AJ, who gets kicked in the chest.

The Styles Clash is broken up and a triangle choke has Styles in more trouble. They fall over the top for the big crash to set up a huge staredown as we take a break. Back with Riddle fighting out of trouble and kicking Ziggler down. That’s enough for the hot tag to Orton but Roode has to save Ziggler from an RKO. Roode is sent into Omos to knock him off the apron, but he is able to catch a flying Styles.

We take a very sudden break and come back with Omos working on Ford before Ziggler comes back in for a boot rake to the eyes. A sunset flip gives Ziggler two but Ford is back up with an enziguri, which did not seem to come close to making contact. Either way, it’s enough for the hot tag off to Dawkins and house is cleaned in a hurry.

It’s back to Omos though and the wrecking is on in a hurry. Both Profits are taken down but Riddle’s knees to the chest do some damage. Granted it isn’t enough damage to avoid a double chokeslam to plant Riddle hard. Orton still teases getting in but blames Riddle for screwing up. Roode and Ziggler cut Orton off from getting in but Roode and Styles get in a fight on the floor. Omos deals with Roode, leaving Ziggler to pin Riddle at 22:51.

Rating: C. I was stunned when I looked at the clock as that was one of the fastest 20+ minute matches I can remember. The wrestling itself was fine, as everyone did their thing, though Riddle being down for so long off a single chokeslam was a bit much. Not bad though, and it’s certainly nice to see AJ back after whatever was wrong with him.

Post match it’s an RKO to leave Ziggler laying. Orton tells Riddle that he has to listen if they want to keep the titles.

Kevin Owens tries to convince Rey Mysterio to believe him but Rey has to do something.

Veer Mahaan is coming.

Here is Adam Pearce for a chat with the Mysterios. Pearce talks about Survivor Series, which has had some great debuts over the years and is the ONLY NIGHT OF THE YEAR where the two shows face off (there is something hilarious about them pushing this idea every year). That means this year’s Raw needs to live up to last year’s as Raw swept the night. It makes him think that he might have made a mistake by putting Dominik on the team, because every other member is a former WWE Champion. Dominik can keep his spot if he wins the following match.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Bobby Lashley

MVP is back and in Lashley’s corner and the winner is on the Raw Survivor Series team. Lashley starts fast with a suplex but Dominik knees his way out of trouble. A high crossbody doesn’t work for Dominik but he low bridges Lashley to the floor. Another dive is pulled out of the air though and Lashley drives him into the post.

Back in and a Downward Spiral drops Dominik again. The Hurt Lock goes on but Lashley won’t let Dominik tap, instead throwing him outside. Rey Mysterio tries to intervene and gets kicked in the chest, allowing Lashley to post Dominik again. An awesome spear sets up the Hurt Lock to end Dominik at 5:11.

Rating: C-. Total squash here, as it should have been. It makes me wonder why they had Dominik on the team in the first place, but it also has me worried that Pearce is going to be the latest evil authority figure. WWE has gotten away from that lame trope for a long time now and I really don’t need to see it happen again. Though he did get rid of Dominik so how evil can he be?

We look back at the Alpha Academy failing to recruit Big E. last week.

Seth Rollins comes up to the Alpha Academy to ask about Kevin Owens. Chad Gable talks about his recent graduation and says Owens is a horrible liar, just like Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers. Tonight, he’ll prove that Big E. can’t be the face of Raw.

Big E. vs. Chad Gable

Non-title and Otis is in Gable’s corner. Big E. takes him down by the arm to start and uses the power to run Gable over. The apron splash connects but Gable is back with some knee cranking. That’s enough to set up a belly to belly into a moonsault for two, followed by rolling Chaos Theory. Big E. is back with a Rock Bottom out of the corner and the Big Ending finishes Gable at 4:55.

Rating: C+. They packed a good amount into that short amount of time as WWE has been on a roll with these shorter matches as of late. I’m glad to see Gable getting in the ring more often in recent weeks as he really is that good. At the same time, it’s not like losing to Big E. is going to hurt him at this point.

Post match, Big E. and Otis have a staredown.

Kevin Owens tries to get R-Truth to believe in him. R-Truth believes in him, but he also believes in Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, that the Earth is flat (“But it’s round in certain places.”) and the Thanksgiving Man, among other things. Owens walks off.

Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce are with the Raw women’s Survivor Series team to announce a fatal five way tonight for a shot at Becky Lynch. Doudrop isn’t sure why Bianca Belair is getting another chance at another shot. Dana Brooke wants some respect, including from Liv Morgan. An argument breaks out.

We look at Wrestlemania XXXII to get us ready for tickets going on sale this Friday. I’m not sure how much I’d brag about that show.

We look at Bobby Lashley taking Dominik Mysterio’s spot.

Rey Mysterio says Dominik has a neck strain and goes on a rant against Adam Pearce. Austin Theory pops in for an unnoticed selfie as Rey holds ice on Dominik’s neck.

24/7 Title: Drake Maverick vs. Reggie

Reggie is defending and takes Maverick down in a hurry to start and it’s a running flip clothesline to take Maverick down in the corner. Cue R-Truth with a referee but the Hurt Business jumps him from behind. The distraction lets Maverick steal the pin and the title at 1:28 (ending Reggie’s record long reign).

Then Akira Tozawa wins the title.

Then Corey Graves wins the title.

Then Byron Saxton wins the title.

Then Maverick wins the title (with a handful of pants).

Then Reggie wins the title back and runs off. Graves: “SAXTON YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!!!”

Bianca Belair vs. Carmella vs. Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Queen Zelina

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a title shot against Becky Lynch, who is on commentary. In the back, Doudrop still isn’t happy with Belair getting the chance. Bianca gets in an argument with Lynch and it’s a big brawl on the floor with everyone getting involved. We take a break before the bell and come back with the match officially beginning, as Belair and Ripley are left alone. That’s broken up before anything can happen but the two of them are right back in for the showdown again.

They grapple around a bit with neither being able to get anywhere. Belair flips over Ripley but gets pulled outside so Carmella and Vega send her into the barricade. Back in and Ripley takes down Vega and Carmella without much effort. The numbers game gets the better of Ripley though and a low superkick gives Carmella two, with Vega breaking it up. Morgan gets knocked off the apron but Carmella has to break up Vega’s cover.

Ripley is back up and gets taken down by Carmella, setting up the stomping/choking in the corner. Morgan gets back in and cleans house but gets sent outside by Vega. Now it’s Ripley tossing Vega around as Becky declares herself as Becky From The Block. Vega tornado DDTs Ripley for two but Belair throws Vega onto everyone and we take a break. Back with Belair powerbombing Vega and Morgan down but getting missile dropkicked by Ripley.

Carmella superkicks Ripley and covers everyone else for two each. Belair sends Vega into the announcers’ table before heading back in for a showdown with Ripley. Both escape finishers until Ripley kicks Belair out of the air. Riptide connects but Morgan makes the save. Oblivion hits Ripley but Vega makes the save this time. Back up and Belair hits the KOD, drawing in Doudrop to pull Belair out. Morgan rolls Carmella up for the pin and the title shot at 16:28.

Rating: C-. I don’t think this was exactly a big surprise as Morgan vs. Lynch was teased last week. They could have an interesting match and it does open the door for a possible (though unlikely) change before we get to Survivor Series. There was a lot of action in the match, though it didn’t need that much time. At least we’re getting a more appealing title match, which isn’t WWE’s strong suit.

Seth Rollins asks Big E. about Kevin Owens but Big E. doesn’t trust either of them. He’ll be at ringside though.

Smackdown Rebound.

Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Big E. is on commentary but here is Austin Theory before the match to take some pictures. The phone is swatted away by Big E. though and Theory skedaddles. Also before the match, Seth grabs the mic to say that he and Owens had a plan to jump Big E. last week and it went badly. Cue Owens to cut him off though and the chase sends Rollins into the crowd as we take a break.

Back (after a This Week In WWE History, looking at the Montreal Screwjob) with the bell ringing and Owens hammering away on Rollins, who bails out to the floor in a hurry. Owens gives chase and hits a backsplash on the floor to crush Rollins. The Cannonball against the barricade does it again, followed by a stomping inside. Rollins gets knocked outside again so Owens hits another splash. That earns him a whip into the announcers’ table though and we take a break.

Back with Rollins stomping away at the ribs but getting pulled down so Owens can hammer away. Rollins goes right back to the ribs with a bunch of stomps to keep Owens in trouble. A snap suplex gives Rollins two but he misses the frog splash. Owens’ frog splash connects for two though and we take a break.

Back with Rollins charging into a superkick in the corner, followed by Owens hitting a heck of a running clothesline. Owens goes up but gets caught by Rollins, who gets planted with the spinning fisherman’s superplex. Rollins is right back with a Pedigree for two but Owens catches him with a Pop Up sitout Powerbomb for two. A shot to the bad ribs breaks up Owens’ Stunner and knocks him outside. Rollins tries to send Owens into Big E. but he dodges out of the way. The delay is enough to keep Owens from beating the count at 24:09.

Rating: B-. This was a long match which saw both guys looking good, though the ending left something to be desired. I know it’s the right way to go to keep the story going as Owens is going to be frustrated, but there isn’t much to be had from a countout after such a long match. It might make sense, but it doesn’t mean it’s satisfying.

Post match Rollins leaves but Owens snaps, beating the fire out of Big E. Referees try to break it up but Owens comes back over for another stomp to the head. Owens screams a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m going to assume that a lot of this show was due to the UK tour, as you never see so many long matches on a show. What we got wasn’t great, but it’s kind of hard to build to a show like Survivor Series anymore. What you’re seeing is a bunch of stuff being set up that won’t be taking place at the next pay per view, so why should I get interested so soon? I’m sure some of this stuff will be blown off either in December or at Day One in January, but that makes for some fairly weak television the way there. There was some ok stuff on here, but a lot of it felt like filler and that makes for a dull night.

Results
Omos/AJ Styles/Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode b. RKBro/Street Profits – Chokeslam to Riddle
Bobby Lashley b. Dominik Mysterio – Hurt Lock
Big E. b. Chad Gable – Big Ending
Drake Maverick b. Reggie – Rollup
Liv Morgan b. Carmella, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley and Queen Zelina – Crucifix to Carmella
Seth Rollins b. Kevin Owens via countout

WWE, 2021, Monday Night Raw, Omos, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, RKBro, Street Profits, Bobby Lashley, Rey Mysterio, Adam Pearce, Dominik Mysterio, Big E., Chad Gable, Drake Maverick, Otis, Liv Morgan, Carmella, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Queen Zelina, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Austin Theory

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 1, 2021
Location: Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s time to start the final two months of the year and we are getting them going in a big way with Becky Lynch defending the Raw Women’s Title against Bianca Belair. There is always the chance of a title change around Survivor Series time, as WWE might need to make sure that a champion doesn’t lose at Survivor Series by having them lose earlier. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair to set up the title match.

Belair talks about how we got here and recaps her feud with Lynch. Her failures are opportunities to get better and now Becky is going to see what she can do.

Lynch talks about how hard it is to be here and she might have even heard some booing. All that is going to do is inspire her.

Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair

Lynch is defending and the trash talk is on in a hurry. Belair powers her down with a waistlock, setting up the handspring moonsault. Lynch bails out to the floor and catches Belair with a jawbreaker outside. The hair is pulled but Belair uses it to pull Lynch into the post, setting up a suplex.

We take a break and come back with Becky tripping her down but a suplex is countered into a small package. Some dropkicks give Belair a breather and it’s time for an exchange of rollups. Lynch gets most of the Disarm-Her but Belair powers up and they crash out to the floor as we take another break.

Back again with Lynch grabbing a triangle choke but Belair powerbombs her way to freedom. Lynch stops a charge with a boot and goes up, only to get caught in a gorilla press. That’s countered into the Manhandle Slam for two and they head outside. This time Belair plants her face first onto the announcers’ table and hits the Glam Slam for two back inside. Lynch goes up top but gets caught in the KOD. That’s big trouble so Lynch grabs the turnbuckle pad and pulls it off to escape. Belair is sent into the exposed buckle and a rollup with tights retains Lynch’s title at 18:29.

Rating: B. This felt similar to the Sasha Banks vs. Belair match from Wrestlemania, as Belair was relying on straight power and athleticism while Lynch did what she could to survive.. I was a bit surprised by the ending as I was expecting a title change more than once in there. I’m not sure how long Lynch is going to hold the title, but whoever takes the title from her is going to look like a big deal.

Rey Mysterio, with Dominik Mysterio, says Austin Theory is great at what he does…and here is Theory to interrupt. Theory says he’s going to do to Rey what he did to Dominik, but Rey is ready to show what the Mysterio name means.

Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory

Dominik Mysterio is here with Rey and we see the picture Theory took of them backstage before the match (what a great touch). They start fast with Rey hitting a hurricanrana into the corner. Theory is right back up with a suplex for two and it’s off to something like a torture rack to plant Rey again. The rolling dropkick has Rey in more trouble but he sends Theory outside to change momentum. A DDT on the floor keeps Theory down and we take a break.

Back with Rey having to fight out of a bearhug so Theory goes up top. That’s broken up and Theory is sent hard into the corner off a hurricanrana. An exchange of dropkicks keeps Theory down but he takes Dominik down like a villain should. Rey knocks him into 619 position but Dominik slaps Theory in the face. The 619 and splash hit but the referee calls for the DQ off the slap.

Rating: C. This accomplished two things at once, as Theory gets another win so he can keep bragging, while also furthering the Mysterio split. That’s a nice piece of booking, as Theory continues to be one of the better pushed guys on the show in a long time. It’s rather refreshing, as Theory really is that good and was somewhat wasted down in NXT (where he was fun, but not so good).

Rey isn’t happy with Dominik but it doesn’t stop Theory’s photo.

We recap Seth Rollins winning last week’s ladder match to become #1 contender.

Here is Rollins, with his contract, for a chat and he is on top of the world. Last week, he won a grueling ladder match to become the new #1 contender. It feels good to be where he belongs because he came here to be the biggest star on Raw. Now we can look at the fine print, but here is Big E. to interrupt. Big E. talks about Rollins refusing his handshake last week but Big E.’s aunt told him to not think a thing of it.

Rollins talks about how he lost respect last week when Big E. turned down the handshake. We hear about some of Big E.’s most important wins bug Rollins knows Big E. isn’t on his level. They can have their title match and Rollins can take that from him so Big E. can go back and be a joke with his friends. Big E. doesn’t like Rollins making fun of King Xavier and he REALLY doesn’t like him making fun of Kofimania. The challenge for the title match is on for tonight but hold on a second, because Rollins isn’t 100%. They’ll do this on his terms, but here is Kevin Owens to interrupt.

Owens doesn’t want to hear it from Rollins, especially because of that suit. He has heard a bunch of people calling themselves the face of Raw but they are forgetting THIS FACE RIGHT HERE. Last week Rollins won the ladder match, but people were talking about Owens’ performance in the match instead.

Owens promises to give everything he has every week and to always keep fighting. It might be for three more months or three more years (oh my) but he’ll give the fans something to remember. Since Rollins isn’t going tonight, how about Owens faces Big E. for the first time ever tonight? Rollins likes the idea but both of them tell him to shut up. Big E. is down for a first time ever match with Owens. Rollins is a wildcard here and a title change wouldn’t stun me. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea, but it seems to be on the table.

Earlier today, Carmella and Zelina Vega talked about how amazing they were. They didn’t realize that Nikki Ash and Rhea Ripley were right next to them and Zelina says Nikki’s mask compliments her before talking trash about it as they walk off. Ripley comes up and says they heard that so the challenge is on for later. The depth of stories involving women in WWE is remarkable.

Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash vs. Carmella/Zelina Vega

Non-title because the Women’s Tag Team Titles are quite the waste of time. Carmella gets masked up so Vega yells at Ripley to start, earning herself a big running shoulder. It’s off to Carmella, who gets knocked down as well, setting up a dropkick from Ripley. We see a bunch of the other women in the back as Ripley picks Carmella up and hands it off to Ash for a dropkick to the knee.

Nikki hits a crossbody off the apron to take both of them down and we take a break. Back with Carmella chinlocking Ripley and handing it off to Vega for the same. That’s broken up as well and it’s quickly off to Ash. A fisherman’s neckbreaker plants Vega for two and Carmella posts Ripley. Carmella distracts Ash and it’s the Code Red to give Vega the pin at 8:17.

Rating: C-. This was another match where they were trying to make it work but the Women’s Tag Team Titles are so devalued that it is hard to care about the results. I do like Vega getting a pin to keep her momentum going and I can’t even get annoyed at the champs losing this time. I’m sure the title match will be an epic showdown though, because that makes up for everything else.

The Alpha Academy comes up to Big E., who just happens to be standing in the right place. Chad Gable offers to help Big E. from this place turning into Monday Night Rollins again. We hear about how Gable just earned his Masters from Full Sail as the valedictorian with a 4.0. Just look at what Gable did with Otis and imagine what he could have done with Big E. as Gable beats up Finn Balor.

Video on Veer. Maybe he can win a match next time.

Chad Gable vs. Finn Balor

Otis (who is looking jacked) is here with Gable. Balor gets taken down to start but is right back with a wristlock. The basement dropkick rocks Gable and Balor snaps off some armdrags. Gable grabs an abdominal stretch but Balor hiptosses his way to freedom and double stomps Gable’s chest.

The shotgun dropkick misses though and Gable grabs the ankle lock but the attempt at a grapevine is countered into a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into the ankle lock again but this time Balor rolls through and hits another double stomp. Gable German suplexes him for two and goes up, where the moonsault hits raised knees. Balor takes WAY too long setting up the Coup de Grace and gets superplexed back down, only to tie the legs up for the small package to pin Gable at 5:43.

Rating: B-. They were working hard in a short match here and packed in a lot. What matters here is that they didn’t waste time and Gable looked like a real threat to Balor. It takes a lot to make someone seem like they escaped instead of winning and they pulled it off here. Good stuff here and it was much better than I was expecting.

We look back at RKBro retaining the Tag Team Titles over Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode last week.

Riddle runs into Ziggler and Roode and talks about dogs. Ziggler cuts him off and says pay attention while RKBro is on commentary because tonight is a preview of the rematch.

We see a video on Titus O’Neil having a school named after him for his work in the community. That’s pretty incredible and he deserves all kinds of credit for what he has done.

Street Profits vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

RKBro is on commentary, which is treated as a big deal. They also seem to have a remixed version of their themes, which is an even bigger deal. Roode headlocks Ford to start and we get a LOUD Randy chant. Ford hiptosses Roode down and Dawkins comes in to suplex Ford onto him for two. Back up and Roode takes Dawkins into the corner for the tag to Ziggler.

That doesn’t last long as Roode is back in, only to get splashed in the corner. Roode tries a hanging DDT of his own but gets backdropped to the floor, much to RKBro’s delight. The Profits take Roode and Ziggler down but stop to stare at RKBro as we take a break. Back with Dawkins still in trouble as Roode and Ziggler take their turns on him. Dawkins manages a quick Silencer on Ziggler and a suplex on Roode, allowing the hot tag to Ford.

The pace picks way up, including a high crossbody and Blockbuster to give Ford two. Roode rolls him up for two but Ford gets the same off of a crucifix. A catapult sends Ford into a DDT for two and everything breaks down. Ford busts out the huge flip dive onto the floor (which even draws RKBro to their feet) but here is Omos for a distraction, allowing Ziggler to slam Ford down for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: C+. Good action here and RKBro being impressed by the Street Profits made it look more impressive. The Profits are the kind of addition to any division that is going to boost things up automatically as they can have an exciting match with anyone and that is more than what they did here. Granted it helps having Roode and Ziggler as opponents. Throw in Omos as a monster and this was a nice way to go.

Post match Omos takes out the Profits and Riddle without much effort. Orton is fired up but isn’t crazy enough to go after Omos.

We look at Damian Priest going nuts and beating T-Bar into oblivion last week.

Priest says that side of him has always been there but he doesn’t like letting it out. If T-Bar wants to throw a chair at him, he is going to a dark place and taking people with him. Tonight, T-Bar has a chance to get very acquainted with the Damian in him.

Damian Priest vs. T-Bar

Non-title and No DQ. Graves describes Priest as “the walking embodiment of the eternal battle between good and evil.” Remember when wrestlers were just called things like “big” or “bad”? They go straight to the floor with Priest sending him into the barricade. It’s already time for the table but the delay lets T-Bar kick him in the face. The table is set up at ringside but T-Bar has to escape a chokeslam. Priest gets posted but is fine enough to kick T-Bar in the face. T-Bar crotches him on top though and it’s a super Samoan drop to send us to a break.

Back with Priest slugging away to get out of trouble, including a jumping enziguri. The spinwheel kick connects and the Broken Arrow gets two. Priest goes up top but gets pulled back down with a chokebreaker for a very near fall. Priest gets his arms tied in the ropes and T-Bar pulls out a kendo stick, because the chair is just too basic.

T-Bar breaks the stick over Priest’s chest and ribs, leaving a bunch of welts. Priest cuts off a charge with the broken stick and hits a heck of a clothesline. Now it’s time for the chair, with Priest looking all nutty. A bunch of chair shots rock T-Bar and the chokeslam puts T-Bar through the table (which exploded) at ringside. Back in and the Reckoning finishes what used to be T-Bar at 12:57.

Rating: B. This was all about showcasing Priest, but T-Bar was FAR more like the Dijakovic days and that is long overdue. Priest looked like a killer here though and that is something we have only seen glimpses of for the last several months. I could go for more of this and I think WWE realizes they have something with him being this kind of a monster.

Post match Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez come out to say they are here to breathe new life into Raw. Crews says Priest will have the chance to meet him in combat and lose the US Title. I was hoping the green lights were Keith Lee but this is better than nothing.

Reggie asks John Morrison about his meditating but has to escape the goons, because THIS is what needs to be on both shows. After Reggie escapes, the goons all yell at each other.

Smackdown Breakdown.

We look back at Becky Lynch cheating to retain the title.

Lynch says she didn’t cheat to win but half of the audience booed her. Those people are fickle because they were the same people cheering her on the way up. It’s time for Bianca Belair to go to the back of the line so someone else can step up. Cue Liv Morgan for the staredown.

Seth Rollins comes up to Kevin Owens and says they might not like each other but maybe they can scratch each others’ backs. Maybe he can help Owens win tonight and slow Big E. down and then Owens can get the first title shot. Owens is thrilled but threatens violence if Rollins gets involved.

Big E. vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. Owens takes him straight down into an early chinlock, which is reversed into a headlock for a change. With that broken up, Owens hits a hard elbow to the face, which only seems to annoy Big E. The Big Ending is reversed into a reverse DDT for two, setting up a middle rope dropkick.

Big E. is back up and tosses Owens around without much effort. The apron splash misses though and Owens hits the Cannonball off the apron. Cue Seth Rollins to join them at ringside though and we take a break. Back with Owens hitting a superplex for two but his clotheslines just fire Big E. back up. They slug it out until Owens’ Stunner is blocked, allowing Big E. to hit the belly to belly.

Owens sends him into the corner for the Cannonball and the Swanton connects for two. The Rock Bottom out of the corner gives Big E. two of his own but Big E. gets shoved off the top. Another Swanton hits knees so Big E. spears him through the ropes. Rollins hits Big E. with a cheap shot though (which Owens clearly saw) so Owens covers for two, only to get reversed into a crucifix to give Big E. the pin at 12:46.

Rating: B-. This was the near hoss fight and that’s what you would have wanted from these two. Rollins being the X factor here was hardly a surprise but it makes a lot of sense. I know it isn’t likely to last but I’m digging the false hope that we might not have to sit through champions vs. champions again at Survivor Series. I’m not sure what Owen is going to be doing either, but I can go for seeing more of him if WWE is trying to keep him around.

Post match, Big E. sees the replay and asks why Owens tried to cover him after Rollins cheated. Owens swears he didn’t know what happened because he was half knocked out. Instead he blames Rollins for what happened and issues the challenge for next week. Owens apologizes to Big E. again and gets the Big Ending to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a heck of a show with the only thing resembling bad being the never ending 24/7 antics and the not so great women’s tag match. Other than that, there wasn’t a bad thing to be found on the card, at least wrestling wise. There were some issues with people doing dumb things or acting like they have no memory beyond the last few weeks, but WWE is long past the point where continuity is going to be a thing. Maybe it’s due to the TV being so badly lately, but I had a good time with this and the show flew by. Good stuff here, though actually doing something for Survivor Series would be nice.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Bianca Belair – Rollup with tights
Austin Theory b. Rey Mysterio via DQ when Dominik Mysterio interfered
Carmella/Zelina Vega b. Nikki Ash/Rhea Ripley – Code Red to Ash
Finn Balor b. Chad Gable – Small package
Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode b. Street Profits – Slam off the top to Ford
Damian Priest b. T-Bar – Reckoning
Big E. b. Kevin Owens – Crucifix

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 25, 2021
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s time for the season premiere and that means we have the new roster officially finalized. We are done with the weird post Draft season, meaning everyone is here for good, assuming you ignore Becky Lynch going to Smackdown last week. We also need to start getting ready for Survivor Series, where it’s Raw vs. Smackdown again. Let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Big E. to open things up and talk about how great it is to have the season premiere in a city like Houston, Texas. We get a LET’S GO ASTROS chant before Big E. congratulates Xavier Woods on winning the King of the Ring. He also needs to talk tip his cap to Drew McIntyre for pushing him even harder than expected at Crown Jewel. There is no rest for the weary though and now he needs a new challenger, so here is Seth Rollins to interrupt. Rollins thinks he should get a shot but Big E. points out the loss to Edge at Crown Jewel.

That doesn’t work for Rollins, because he thought Big E. wants to be a fighting champion. The challenge is on for tonight but here is Rey Mysterio to interrupt (NO! NOT AGAIN WITH THESE TWO FIGHTING!). Mysterio lists off his resume and Big E. isn’t sure where he should go here. Cue Finn Balor (hey he lost at Crown Jewel too) to list off his resume and say he should get a shot at the one title he hasn’t won yet.

Now it’s Kevin Owens to do the same thing as I’m still waiting on someone who actually won a match at Crown Jewel to come out and challenge. Rollins starts swinging but bails from the threat of the Stunner. Sonya Deville comes out to make a four way #1 contenders match. That’s not big enough, so let’s make it a ladder match. I mean, it has been about three months since the last ladder match around here and that’s a long sabbatical for WWE. This would be the latest code for “please don’t watch football”.

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot later tonight. Ford armbars Gable to start but gets taken down, allowing Gable to yell a lot. Back up and Ford flips out of a release German suplex, allowing the tag off to Dawkins. House is cleaned in a hurry, leaving Otis vs. the Profits. A double dropkick puts Otis on the floor and we take a break. Back with Roode suplexing Ford for two and stopping for some pushups. Ford manages to knock Roode down and a charging Ziggler is caught in a Batista Bomb.

Otis gets smart though by coming in to drag Ziggler to the Academy corner, allowing Otis to come in instead. A missed charge hits post though and it’s Gable coming in to grab the leg, only to have Ford kick him away. The hot tag brings in Dawkins to clean house and there’s the Silencer to Gable as everything breaks down.

The discus lariat/German suplex combination hits Dawkins hard but Ford hits one of the fastest frog splashes I’ve ever seen for the save. Ford hits the big flip dive onto Otis, leaving Dawkins to hit the Anointment on Roode. Cue Omos and AJ Styles with the former punching Dawkins in the face, setting up the Zig Zag/spinebuster combination to give Roode the pin at 10:23.

Rating: C. This was perfectly watchable and that is all it needed to be. You’re only going to be able to get so much out of a ten minute match with six people and interference so they were working with some limitations. What matters most is it seems that we are getting something close to a tag division, with the three teams involved, RKBro and Styles/Omos. There isn’t a ton there, but it’s a heck of a lot better than two teams fighting over the titles and nothing else.

Here is Zelina Vega for her official coronation as Queen. Vega makes the ring announcer say her introduction again before asking what kind of queen she will be. With a British accent coming in and out, she says she’ll be every kind of queen and she knows that she can beat Doudrop again. People will talk about her reign for years.

Doudrop vs. Zelina Vega

Doudrop grabs the scepter to start and pulls Vega in for a clothesline. There’s a big toss to send Vega flying and let’s do that again. Vega has to slip out of what looks like an over the shoulder piledriver but an elbow to the back just annoys Doudrop. A trip sends Doudrop into the corner though and Vega kicks her in the face. Vega scores with a middle rope Codebreaker for two so it’s time to go for a turnbuckle pad. That means the distracted referee misses the scepter shot to Doudrop’s face for the pin at 2:33.

We look at Roman Reigns cheating to beat Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel, setting up Lesnar’s path of destruction and suspension on Smackdown. Adam Pearce’s massacre is included as well.

Here is the new Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch for a chat, with commentary bringing up the testy exchange of titles on Smackdown. Becky says she never lost this title and she is going to pick up right where she left off. We hear about her winning the triple threat match at Crown Jewel and she knows that no one wants to see Bianca Belair getting anywhere near the title. What about Rhea Ripley getting beaten up? Or maybe Liv Morgan!

Cue Bianca Belair, who takes off the earrings on the way to the ring. Belair says it is always something with Becky, who always gets what she wants because she never faces adversity. See, Belair keeps beating Sasha Banks and last week she beat the Raw Women’s Champion, but now that is Becky. Belair says she is the new face of Raw, but Becky has her beaten again. We see some photos of their faces at Crown Jewel, with Becky looking happy and Belair looking mad.

Belair laughs it off and thinks that Becky has nothing behind the title. She FINALLY gets around to the title challenge and the fight is on, with Becky finding a kendo stick because WWE. Belair takes it away and beats Becky down but the KOD is escaped with a rake of the eyes. A Russian legsweep with the kendo stick drops Belair and Becky says she can have the title match….but not tonight. This was one of the most scripted segments I’ve seen in a LONG time, as Belair was just saying words over and over again to get to the point of “I want a title match”.

They could have cut out two minutes of dialogue (because wrestling has dialogue) and made this that much better, but that might mean the show only needs 22 writers instead of 37. Also, WHY WAS THERE A KENDO STICK AT RINGSIDE??? Why? Someone tell me a logical reason for that to be at ringside other than it was needed for the brawl and was put in the script. If you absolutely must do Becky vs. Belair again, find a way to cut about ¾ out of this because it sounded so stupid.

We look back at the opening segment.

Kevin Owens tells Finn Balor he has to win.

Wrestlemania XXXVIII will be two nights.

T-Bar vs. Damian Priest

Non-title but it’s a CHAMPIONS CONTENDER match, because that still needs to be a thing. T-Bar kicks him in the face to start and drops Priest face first onto the buckle for two. Priest gets planted again for two more, setting up a good looking moonsault for a one count. Back up and Priest hits a running elbow in the corner, setting up the Broken Arrow. T-Bar gets knocked outside, where he throws the announcer’s chair at Priest for the DQ at 2:40. This was the first time T-Bar has come close to feeling like Dominick Dijakovic in over a year.

Post match Priest snaps and beats the heck out of T-Bar, including the Reckoning back inside.

Carmella doesn’t like Liv Morgan trying to mess up her face.

Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Yes, again. Carmella puts the mask on to start and jumps Morgan in the corner. Some shots to the face get two, allowing Carmella to remind us that she is hot and we aren’t. Morgan tries the comeback but charges into two boots in the corner. We hit the chinlock but Morgan fights up with a jumping enziguri. Morgan takes it outside but can’t kick Carmela into the announcers’ table. She can however bulldog her onto it, allowing some trash talk to Corey Graves. Back in and Oblivion misses so Morgan has to settle for two off a small package instead. Carmella is back with a floatover into an X Factor for the pin at 2:58.

Bearcat Lee vs. Cedric Alexander

Lee’s entrance now ha a bearcat growl to hammer home the idea. Cedric is sent flying to start and needs a meeting with Shelton Benjamin on the floor. Back in and Lee shoves him around and shoves Alexander down by the head. A running splash in the corner sets up a missed charge, allowing Alexander to kick away at the leg. Lee runs him over again and shouts a lot before the Big Bang Catastrophe finishes Alexander at 2:38. Finisher aside, this felt like they took everything that made Lee feel unique and replaced it with generic power stuff.

Post match, Lee glares at Shelton Benjamin.

Earlier tonight, Dominik Mysterio gave Rey Mysterio a pep talk but Austin Theory interrupted. Theory asks Dominik to take a selfie for them (back in my day, that was called a photo) but we’re getting a match instead, with Rey saying he’ll be out there if Dominik wants him do be. Dominik says Rey has enough to do already so he’s got this. Everything seems cool.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Austin Theory

Theory dropkicks Dominik down to start and hits the Eddie Guerrero dance, which has Saxton losing his mind on commentary. Dominik is back with a high angle springboard armdrag and does the dance as well. There’s a hurricanrana to Theory but he grabs a half nelson backbreaker for two. Theory misses a charge into the corner but is right back with the ATL for the pin at 2:58.

Post match, Theory gets a selfie with the referee. Theory piling up wins is a good thing for him as they are building him up more and more every week.

Riddle thinks he and Randy Orton could be Mario and Luigi or the creepy girls from the Shining. Orton says they can talk about Halloween later but for now, they need to worry about Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler.

Video on Veer.

Tag Team Titles: RKBro vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

RKBro is defending. Riddle and Ziggler start things off and go nowhere, so Orton comes in (to the fans’ delight) to face Roode. Orton uppercuts him into the corner but it’s too early for the RKO. Roode bails to the floor but gets beaten down back inside. An assisted Floating Bro gives Riddle two and Roode is knocked outside again. The apron kick to the chest is cut off though and we take a break.

Back with Roode missing a charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Orton. There’s the snap powerslam to Roode but Ziggler’s distraction breaks up the hanging DDT. Orton gets sent knees first into the barricade, setting up a Crossface from Ziggler back inside. With that broken up, Roode grabs a chinlock but Orton fights up again. The hot tag brings in Riddle to clean house as everything breaks down. The RKO hits Roode but Ziggler superkicks Orton and rolls Riddle up for two. Riddle is right back with his own rollup for the pin at 11:48.

Rating: C+. This started off kind off slowly but then picked up steam to make it that much better. RKBro is starting to get better as a team in the ring and now that they actually have some fresh opponents, we might be able to get somewhere. Nice match here, and it was a good change of pace after so many short matches throughout the match.

Seth Rollins says of course he has a target on his back but he doesn’t care because he’ll win the ladder match tonight.

Video on Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley at Crown Jewel.

Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor

Ladder match for a future title shot against Big E. It’s a brawl to start and everyone heads outside, with the referee checking on Owens after a shot with a ladder. Owens is fine enough to pick up a ladder and start cleaning house. Back in and Owens powerbombs Balor onto a ladder bridged against the rope. The Swanton only hits ladder though and we take a break.

Back with Rollins cleaning house with the ladder and shouting about how he shouldn’t be in this match. Balor breaks that up and heads up top to get a hand on the contract, with Mysterio making the save. Owens shoves both of them down though and German suplexes Balor down. Mysterio gets planted as well and Owens goes up but Mysterio manages to make the save. With everyone else down, Owens sets up a table, only to get jumped by Balor. Rollins dives onto both of them but Rey is up with some ladder shots of his own. Balor hits another big flip dive to the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Rollins shoving a ladder over but getting taken down by Mysterio. Owens plants Mysterio but can’t follow up, leaving Rollins to bridge a ladder between the announcers’ table and the apron. Balor goes up and vets a hand on the contract but gets pulled down into a Stunner from Owens. Mysterio’s hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb through the table at ringside. Rollins cuts off Owens’ climb and sends him through the bridged ladder (check the box) and Stomps Balor. That’s enough for Rollins to get the contract at 22:17.

Rating: B. I’m sick of ladder matches. Absolutely sick of them. This one had all of the required stuff too: illogical table setup, someone going through a ladder bridged horizontally at ringside, people suddenly forgetting how to pull down a clipboard/other object, “LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT LADDER HE JUST PULLED OUT!” and “I can’t believe he won!”. WWE has run this match into the ground so hard for so long now that I never need to see another one, but I’d be shocked if we don’t have at least two more by Thanksgiving at the latest. As for this match, it was the usually entertaining and completely not memorable WWE ladder match.

Post match Big E. comes out for the staredown with Rollins, who offers a handshake.

In the back, Rollins says this is his show and he is back and better than ever. Maniacal laughter ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show feels so exhausted that it’s hard to even get annoyed at it. The stuff they’re doing is still ok enough most of the time, but it feels like there hasn’t been anything original in so long. It comes off like they are doing nothing but playing the hits or ideas that worked before and that makes for a very, very tiring three hours.

That’s the word for this show, and Raw in general: tired. The show feels like it is just completely out of energy and ideas and if they stumble into a good match, it’s more out of luck than anything else. Between taking the Smackdown women’s feuds and just moving them over to Raw to “hey I want a title shot/no I want a title shot/NO! I WANT A TITLE SHOT!” to T-Bar being called T-Bar, this show felt like it was cobbled together from pieces of other shows pulled out of a bag.

I don’t know if this was over another script being ripped up at the last minute or WWE not preparing for tonight or just Raw in general, but this show has no spark whatsoever. I don’t get that feeling with Smackdown or NXT and certainly not with any AEW show. Instead, this was the latest example of a show that might not be the worst quality wise (and there have been FAR worse episodes than this in the last few months), but it was so hard to bring myself to care about almost anything they were doing.

You know what was actually the bright spot this week? The tag team stuff, which featured multiple teams wanting to go after the titles and a new feud being set up with Omos/AJ Styles vs. the Street Profits while RKBro dealt with Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler. That actually felt different and it was such a breath of air on a show without much else on it worth seeing (along with Austin Theory, who comes off like a star in the making).

All things considered, Raw is not the worst wrestling show, but it is the least interesting because WWE has made it hard to care about. It feels like they are going out of their way to take away anything that might get the fans’ attention and are just getting by week to week. The show doesn’t so much need an overhaul as much as it needs some fresh minds behind the scenes, and that isn’t going to happen anytime in the future.

Results
Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler b. Alpha Academy and Street Profits – Zig Zag/spinebuster combination to Dawkins
Zelina Vega b. Doudrop – Scepter to the face
Damian Priest b. T-Bar via DQ when T-Bar threw a chair
Carmella b. Liv Morgan – Floatover X Factor
Bearcat Lee b. Cedric Alexander – Big Bang Catastrophe
Austin Theory b. Dominik Mysterio – ATL
RKBro b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Rollup to Ziggler
Seth Rollins b. Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Rey Mysterio – Rollins pulled down the contract

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 18, 2021
Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Crown Jewel, though the audience is going to be decimated by a mixture of the MLB Playoffs and Monday Night Football. The card does include Charlotte defending the Raw Women’s Title against Bianca Belair, along with a rematch between Drew McIntyre/Big E. vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Charlotte to get things going but she isn’t sure why there are no champagne and balloons for her final night on Raw. There is a conspiracy against her because Bianca Belair isn’t even on the roster yet but has two title shots this week! Charlotte: “AND YOU PEOPLE THINK I’M ENTITLED???” After dealing with the crown and various chants, Charlotte says Belair needs to get over it already because Charlotte is the mountain that she can’t climb. Belair can deal with Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks…or she can interrupt right now.

Belair doesn’t think there is a conspiracy against Charlotte because this is just desserts. Belair has done everything she said she would and has earned this shot. She had Charlotte beaten until Becky Lynch had to save things. Now Charlotte is throwing a fit because she can’t get a celebration before she leaves? Belair promises to win the title and take it to Crown Jewel, where she can leave with both titles. Charlotte goes after her but has to avoid the KOD, allowing Belair to kick her off the apron.

We recap the Raw half of the King of the Ring.

Xavier Woods is ready to join the likes of King Shamrock, King Mabel and King Bookah. Kofi Kingston says Martin Luther King had a dream but Woods’ dream is to be king. Woods is ready to sit on that throne at Crown Jewel as King Woods I. Points on a King Shamrock reference as I wouldn’t have bet on that one.

Video on Seth Rollins.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Xavier Woods vs. Jinder Mahal

Veer and Shanky are here with Mahal while Woods has Kofi Kingston. Saxton actually brings up these two facing off in the semifinals of the US Title tournament for some history. Woods starts fast by knocking him into the ropes for a running crotch attack, setting up some right hands in the corner. Mahal runs him over with a shoulder though and it’s time to crank on a headlock. That’s broken up with a Russian legsweep and a running basement dropkick. Mahal isn’t having that and plants Woods with a side slam, setting up a shot to the face. Woods gets tossed outside and into the steps for a crash and we take a break.

Back with Mahal hitting a gutbuster for two and telling Woods to COME ON. The Khallas is blocked so Mahal settles for a side slam instead. Woods fights back up and knocks Shanky off the apron, setting up a top rope ax handle….only to dive into the Khallas. Somehow Woods grabs the rope for the break Mahal puts him on top but gets knocked down, setting up the rope walk elbow to send Woods to Crown Jewel at 9:57.

Rating: C. The action wasn’t great, but my goodness that was a relief to see Woods win. WWE has shown a tendency to be so obsessed with Mahal that it isn’t hard to imagine him getting the win here (or even the crown). Woods might not win the whole tournament, but they have done the right thing to set up the finals.

Post match Kofi gives Woods the cape and scepter for the big pose on the stage.

We look back at Austin Theory beating Jeff Hardy last week.

Earlier today, Theory said he did look up to Hardy, but last week he was looking down at him. Then the 24/7 goons run by, with Theory saving Reggie from R-Truth. Theory: “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM???” Truth: “I have a theory!” The challenge is thrown out for later, but Truth wants Theory to make sure his mom says he can stay up that late.

Video on Bobby Lashley vs. Goldberg.

Austin Theory vs. R-Truth

After Theory makes his entrance and the Lashley vs. Goldberg video, Truth comes out in street clothes. There was a misunderstanding: Truth didn’t answer the challenge for himself, but for his friend.

Austin Theory vs. Jeff Hardy

Theory runs him over to start and mocks Hardy’s dance, only to get small packaged for two. They head outside with Hardy being neckbreakered off the apron as we take a break. Back with Hardy getting in a few shots of his own and sending Theory outside for a dropkick through the ropes. Poetry in Motion off the steps sends Theory up against the barricade but the Swanton Bomb is countered. Theory TKO’s him onto the knee for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C. Another middle of the road match but Theory is looking like a star every step of the way. Giving him another win over a legend like Hardy is a great thing and it is so nice to see him do this without losing a fall so fast. Totally watchable match too, which is more than you usually get on Raw.

Post match Theory takes another selfie but Hardy pops up and gives him the Twist of Fate. Hardy takes his own selfie because he’s a sore loser.

We look back at Drew McIntyre and Big E. getting in a fight last week, causing them to lose their tag match.

Drew McIntyre and Big E. say they’ll work together tonight but then the best man will win on Thursday. Drew: “Don’t worry, I will.” Big E. does his full intro in McIntyre’s face, so McIntyre throws in some posing for a funny response.

Charlotte interrupts Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce and yells about how horribly she was treated earlier tonight. She thinks it’s a conspiracy, which is a word I’d love to see banned from wrestling. Deville says it isn’t, but Charlotte promises to win anyway.

Drew McIntyre/Big E. vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Big E. powers Ziggler around to start but Roode comes in for a cheap shot. The referee misses a shot to the eye but Big E. gets in a leapfrog. A shot to the face puts Roode down and another takes Ziggler off the apron. There are the forearms to the chest on the apron, setting up the apron splash, with Ziggler breaking it up at the last minute. That’s fine with Big E., who counters the Fameasser by sending Ziggler into the timekeeper’s area. Roode sends Big E. into the steps though and we take a break.

Back with Ziggler stomping Big E. in the corner and getting two off a dropkick. The sleeper goes on but Big E. is up in a hurry, only to get raked in the eyes. Roode grabs a chinlock for a bit but Big E. runs Ziggler over and finally brings in McIntyre to clean house. The belly to belly puts Roode down and Ziggler gets Alabama Slammed onto him for a crash.

Roode fights out of a fireman’s carry but Ziggler pulls Big E. off the apron (and he grabs his knee on the landing), leaving Roode to grab a spinebuster for two. An assisted Fameasser drops McIntyre for two more but he gets in a shot for a breather. Big E. is back up for the reluctant tag and the Big Ending plants Roode for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C+. There was a nice story in here as McIntyre and Big E. know they have to work together and wan to win, but then want to take the other’s head off on Thursday. I was glad they didn’t have McIntyre walk out or something instead of taking the big tag, but at least they went with something a little more original. Good enough stuff here, even if it was similar to what they did two weeks ago.

Post match McIntyre and Big E. yell at each other but it doesn’t get physical.

The Street Profits are hyped up for Crown Jewel, including the Raw Tag Team Title match. They think AJ Styles is the kid in school who doesn’t do any work in the group project but still gets an A. Ford: “I was that kid.” They want the smoke, but here are AJ Styles and Omos to say they’re winning the titles at Crown Jewel. That’s enough to make the Profits laugh because they want the smoke. Styles thinks Street Profits is a dumb name.

Video on Kevin Owens.

Mansoor vs. Cedric Alexander

Shelton Benjamin is here with Alexander, who goes right after Mansoor to start. Some right hands in the corner set up some right hands on the mat for two and we hit the waistlock. Back up and Mansoor manages to kick him down and spins into a reverse DDT to stagger Alexander. The slingshot neckbreaker finishes Alexander at 3:46.

Rating: C-. This would have been fine as the main event of any Main Event and that’s all it needed to be. Mansoor gets a win to heat him up a bit on the way to Crown Jewel, where he is likely to be the most popular star on the show. Mustafa Ali will make him look good, just like Cedric did here.

Post match, here is Mustafa Ali in a suit to promise to take the smile from Mansoor and everyone else at Crown Jewel. Mansoor tells him to shut up and promises to take him out on Thursday.

We get a sitdown interview between Goldberg and Bobby Lashley, with Goldberg saying that his threats are promises. Lashley says that’s criminal but he isn’t going to get the authorities involved. Goldberg doesn’t look interested as Lashley says it’s going to be like Summerslam. Lashley brings up Goldberg’s son, which is enough to get Goldberg’s attention.

Lashley talks about how he is going to have Goldberg begging for mercy at Crown Jewel. Goldberg: “Are you finished yet?” That’s enough for Lashley to walk out, with Goldberg threatening to kill him on Thursday. This was more of what we have had the whole time: old man Goldberg talking a lot and looking bored until he says his next line.

We look back at Omos taking out Riddle before Randy Orton took out AJ Styles.

Riddle thinks Randy deserves a Kids Choice Award for his acting last week. He knows it was a great plan, but Orton insists there was never a plan. As Orton seems like he’s trying not to break up, Riddle wants to know the plan for the Street Profits tonight. The plan tonight is the same as it is at Crown Jewel: win. Now let’s go get some smoke.

Video on Keith Lee.

RKBro vs. Street Profits

Non-title. Riddle starts with Ford and takes him straight down into a cross armbreaker. Ford manages to slip out in a hurry and grabs a headlock, followed by a dropkick to take Riddle down again. A double dropkick does it again and Dawkins backflips Ford onto Riddle for two. Everything breaks down and the Profits are sent outside, where Orton helps take Dawkins down. Riddle adds a penalty kick and springboard Floating Bro, only to have Ford flip dive onto both of them for the big crash.

We take a break and come back with Riddle gutwrenching Ford and swinging him around (that’s a new one) before hitting the gutwrench suplex. Ford is trying to count his fingers until Riddle covers him for two. The chinlock goes on but Ford fights up and kicks Riddle in the head for the breather. The diving tag brings in Dawkins for the house cleaning, including a t-bone slam to Riddle.

Dawkins hits the Silencer for two but Riddle gets in a shot of his own, allowing the hot tag to Orton. That means Ford gets powerslammed into the hanging DDT (with Ford staying still on his head on the landing for a cool visual)…and we have Omos. That’s enough for AJ Styles to come in with the Phenomenal Forearm to Orton for the DQ at 10:20.

Rating: C+. This was getting better near the end but they weren’t exactly hiding how this was going to wrap up. It’s kind of early to burn through a match like this, even if it didn’t have a clean finish. At least they didn’t have one of the teams lose, but egads RKBro vs. Omos/Styles needs to wrap up already, as the title picture really needs some fresh blood at the moment.

Post mach Orton and Omos beat RKBro down, including a chokeslam to Riddle and a kick to Orton’s side (as Omos couldn’t quite hit the head).

Video on Becky Lynch.

Queen’s Crown Tournament Semifinals: Shayna Baszler vs. Doudrop

Before the bell, here is Zelina Vega to watch, albeit with the crown and cape on. Baszler kicks away at the leg but gets caught with a quick Saito suplex. There’s the Cannonball in the corner and Doudrop loads up an over the shoulder piledriver, only to get reversed into the Kirifuda Clutch. That earns Baszler a ram into the corner and a toss gets Doudrop out of trouble. The basement crossbody misses though and the Kirifuda Clutch goes on for a good while….until Doudrop leans back and pins Baszler at 2:39. Somehow, one of the longer matches of the tournament so far.

Nikki Ash and Rhea Ripley welcome Bianca Belair to Raw, complete with a hat. They do know she was here last year right?

Finn Balor vs. Mace

Xavier Woods is here and Balor doesn’t look impressed. Mace starts fast and hammers away, including knocking Balor down in the corner. Balor avoids a charge in the corner but walks into a swinging Boss Man Slam for two. We hit the nerve hold but Balor is up in a hurry. Mace’s powerbomb is countered and Balor hits a quick double stomp for a breather. There’s the Sling Blade to drop Mace and the Coup de Grace finishes for Balor at 2:44.

Post match Balor goes up to Woods and shoves him away. Kofi Kingston comes out to hold them apart, with Woods saying Balor is going to remain a prince.

John Morrison is meditating to find his chi but the Viking Raiders don’t get it. Why search for chi if you can’t use it to raid?

Crown Jewel rundown.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Feeling out process to start until they both try running dropkicks for an early standoff. Belair jumps over her in the corner and tells Charlotte what to kiss. They head outside with Belair being thrown over the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Charlotte kicking Belair to break up a handspring and nipping up to try a handspring moonsault of her own. That only hits knees though, allowing Belair to show her how to do it right. A baseball slide dropkick hits Charlotte, who is right back up with a powerbomb. Charlotte hits the double jump moonsault for two and comes up to show off a bloody mouth. Belair is back with a spinebuster so Charlotte bails straight to the floor in a smart move.

That’s fine with Belair, who follows her out and tosses Charlotte onto the announcers’ table as we take another break. Back again with Belair getting two off a cradle but Charlotte kicks the air in front of Belair’s face to put her down again. Belair gets sent outside for the moonsault, with Charlotte again not quite making full contact. Back in and Belair counters Natural Selection and hits a release Glam Slam (that didn’t look quite right) for two of her own.

The KOD is countered and Charlotte is right back with she spear for two and the big shocked face kickout. Charlotte pulls her around by the braid and goes up top but misses the moonsault. Belair suplexes her over for two and goes up, where Charlotte kicks her in the leg. A sunset bomb off the top gives Belair two though and they’re both down. Then Charlotte hits her with a chair for the DQ at 22:42.

Rating: B-. They were having a good (albeit kind of sloppy at times) match here until the really weak ending. I’m not sure what happened with the finish but I’m almost sure they ran out of time and had to find something to wrap it up. Odds are we’ll see this one again, as both of them are going to be major players going forward. Also of note: Charlotte looked like something happened to her mouth, as it was banged up and the referee was checking on her quite a bit.

Post match Belair takes the chair and hits Charlotte with it to end the show. That absolutely felt like they were out of time and had to go home immediately.

Overall Rating: C. There were certainly parts that didn’t work, but above all else, this show benefited from having a focus. They were trying to set up Crown Jewel tonight and that worked out about as well as could be expected. Now that being said, the show they were building towards isn’t exactly interesting, but they did have something to shoot for here and it helped. Nothing was terrible and they got some stuff done, so we’ll call this one in the middle, as it still wasn’t good but it was better than normal for Raw as of late.

Results
Xavier Woods b. Jinder Mahal – Rope walk elbow
Austin Theory b. Jeff Hardy – TKO onto the knee
Big E./Drew McIntyre b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – Big Ending to Roode
Mansoor b. Cedric Alexander – Slingshot neckbreaker
RKBro b. Street Profits via DQ when AJ Styles interfered
Doudrop b. Shayna Baszler – Rollup
Finn Balor b. Mace – Coup de Grace
Bianca Belair b. Charlotte via DQ when Charlotte used a chair

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: October 15, 2021
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re in a unique situation as this is the go home Smackdown for a pay per view but there is one more Raw to go. Crown Jewel is in less than a week with Brock Lesnar challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. Lesnar is here tonight as part of the special Supersized show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Edge and, after we see a video on his feud with Seth Rollins and the announcement of Hell in a Cell at Crown Jewel, it’s time for a chat in a chair. Edge talks about how the two of them have had problems for a long time but now Rollins has gone to Edge’s home. That’s the place where he breaks bread with his family and tucks his little girls in at night. It was right out of Edge’s playbook, like the time he slapped John Cena’s dad.

They have traded wins and now it is time to settle this inside the Cell. Rollins is the only one who can match Edge’s intensity and Edge will put him down for good. The trilogy ends in the Cell with Rollins being stomped out for good. Edge’s in-chair promos are awesome and he sold the story rather well.

We recap the Smackdown half of King of the Ring.

Finn Balor is ready to end Sami Zayn.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor

Balor takes him down to start and then counters a sunset flip with a basement dropkick. Sami is back up with a shot to the face and some choking on the ropes. Balor fights out of a chinlock though and sends Sami outside for the big flip dive as we take a break. Back with Balor making a comeback and catching Sami on top with a loud chop.

The superplex is broken up with Sami shoving him off the top, only to dive into a dropkick out of the air. Sami is right back up and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for two of his own. The exploder suplex sends Balor into the corner but the Helluva Kick misses. Instead Balor kicks Sami in the head but the Coup de Grace is broken up as well.

Sami’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets two and it’s time to argue with the referee. Balor is back up with the Sling Blade into another missed Coup de Grace. Sami rolls him up for two more but another exploder is countered, setting up the jumping double stomp. There’s a shotgun dropkick in the corner, followed by a shotgun dropkick in the corner. Now the Coup de Grace sends Balor to Crown Jewel at 11:24.

Rating: B. Again, the men’s match gets the time and winds up being pretty good stuff. There wasn’t much in the way of drama here as Sami doesn’t do the Saudi Arabia shows, though it’s hard to imagine Sami beating Balor in a big match in the first place. Good match here, with the last few minutes being rather hot.

Video on Paul Heyman being put in the middle of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, which certainly has him torn between two monsters. We see some clips of Heyman and Lesnar’s time together over the years. Reigns isn’t sure where Heyman’s loyalties lie and Lesnar isn’t making it better by thanking Heyman for his free agent status. We also see last week, with Heyman doing what Reigns says and promising Reigns will beat Lesnar before dropping to his knees in reverence. This was excellent, as tends to be the case with this kind of WWE video.

Naomi vs. Sonya Deville

Hold on though as Sonya is here in a suit. The match is still happening, but we have an addition.

Naomi vs. Sonya Deville/Shayna Baszler

No tags here so Sonya slaps Naomi in the face, only to have her kick Shayna in the face. The chase is on until Sonya hits a running knee to the face. Shayna holds Naomi up for a shot to the ribs but she fights out and hits a springboard kick to drops Shayna in a hurry. Sonya grabs the foot though and it’s the Kirifuda Clutch to put Naomi out, allowing Sonya to cover her with a foot for the pin at 2:33. I’m glad to see Sonya back in the ring, as she really was getting good when everything happened last year.

Video on Hit Row.

Here’s what’s coming up, which is translated to “don’t switch to the Rampage Buy-In show”.

Sasha Banks is ready to beat Becky Lynch tonight, which is about righting some wrongs. She’s getting the title back at Crown Jewel.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Here is Seth Rollins (looking like a deck of cards/Harley Quinn exploded on his jacket) for a chat. He heard what Edge said earlier tonight and it was the best joke he has heard in months. No he isn’t scared to face Edge inside the Cell. See, Hell has already frozen over tonight in Los Angeles, because Edge has already said that Rollins is not Edge Lite.

It is time to prove that he is better than Edge in every single way and now he is going to prove it inside the Cell. Rollins makes it clear that he is not afraid of Edge, who the fans want to see. Rollins has more experience in the Cell and it made him the man he is today. It does end in the Cell, but not like the fairy tale Edge is expecting. Good promo, though not quite as good as Edge’s.

Carmella and Zelina Vega know that they’re better than Toni Storm and Liv Morgan. Tonight, they’ll have a fair match in the Queen’s Crown Tournament.

Queen’s Crown Tournament Semifinals: Carmella vs. Zelina Vega

Carmella is willing to fight without the mask here and takes Vega down by the arm to start. Vega rolls her up so Carmella kicks her in the face. That’s too far for Vega so Carmella begs forgiveness, sending Vega into a face punching rage. Now Carmella wants the mask, plus a timeout to put it on. That’s going to be difficult as Liv Morgan has the mask, which scares Carmella back inside so Vega can grab a small package for the pin at 2:45. They really can’t help themselves with these short matches can they? Or is this just trolling now?

Video on Sheamus.

It’s time for Happy Talk with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss. First up, Moss tells a story about a chicken who has an eggsisential crisis. That moves them on to Kevin Owens, who isn’t all that much to see. Corbin is excited about the new names showing up next week but Rick Boogs interrupts the jokes (to McAfee’s incredibly happiness). Shinsuke Nakamura is here to dance around the ring as Boogs plays guitar and McAfee wishes Cole a happy birthday. That’s all that happens, meaning there is no reason for the show to end.

Video on New Day.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Usos

The Profits are challenging in a street fight and get some Boogs during their entrance. It’s a brawl to start with Ford hammering on Jimmy in the corner, only to get pulled down for a neckbreaker. Dawkins is taken outside and sent into the barricade, only to have Ford hit a crazy flip dive over the post. The Profits whip out a table but the Usos take them down with a dive as we take a break.

Back with the Profits still in trouble and the kendo sticks being brought in. Dawkins is left alone for the shots to various parts of his body, including the big double swing for two. The kickout sends the Usos into a rage with more shots but Ford is back in with a VERY high crossbody to take both of them down. Ford chairs Jimmy down for two but Jey is back in with a pop up Samoan drop.

That earns him a toss into a belly to back suplex and more kendo stick shots from the Profits. A Doomsday Device is broken up and Dawkins is sent shoulder first into the post, setting up a double superkick for two on Ford. Dawkins is back for the Anointment into the twisting frog splash, only to have Jey break up the cover. Jey puts Ford through the table at ringside so Dawkins tackles him down and hammers away. The double teaming cuts him down again though and it’s the double Superfly Splash to finish Dawkins at 14:18.

Rating: B. Pretty awesome fight here with both teams working hard, though that’s a pretty definitive way to wrap up the feud between the teams. The Usos have beaten the Profits more than once now and it seems that we are getting ready for the New Day vs. the Usos. Again. As always. Anyway, this was rather awesome and a heck of a TV match.

Becky Lynch talks about how great she is, from going undefeated for so long to winning the title back after having a baby. She’ll win again at Crown Jewel.

Video on Charlotte.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Non-title and here is Bianca Belair to join commentary. Becky works on the arm to start and then runs Banks over with a shoulder. Banks is right back with a missed running Meteora, allowing Becky to roll her up for two. An exchange of rollups gives us a standoff so Banks tries and fails to get the Bank Statement. Becky manages to catch her with a legdrop to the back for two and the stomping is on in the corner. Banks is sent HARD into the post and now it’s time to work on Banks’ shoulder.

We hit the reverse chinlock to keep Banks down but she fights up with the Three Amigos. That’s fine with Becky, who sends her shoulder first into the post. The middle rope Fameasser in the ropes gives Becky two but Banks sends her into the post for a change. Banks hits the running knees in the corner, setting up the top rope Meteora for two. The Backstabber sends Becky outside (Bianca: “Hey Becky.”) but she counters a sunset bomb into a legdrop on the apron.

Back in and Banks drops her again, setting up a frog splash for two. Banks hits the double knees in the corner but another try is countered into an exploder. Becky goes up top for the top rope legdrop and another near fall. The kickout has Becky mumbling to herself and she misses another middle rope Fameasser. They head outside with Becky dropping Belair but getting kicked up against the barricade. Back in and Lynch gets up her knees to block another frog splash and they’re both down.

A butterfly suplex sets up a cross armbreaker (not the Disarm-Her Cole) but Banks slips out again. Some uppercuts rock Banks but the Manhandle Slam is countered into a rollup. Another Backstabber sets up the Bank Statement, sending Becky bailing to the rope. That lets Belair try a hair whip on Becky’s arm, setting up another Backstabber to finish Becky at 18:37.

Rating: B. This was a long match and felt like it belonged on a pay per view, as you do not see Becky lose a singles match like, ever. Belair costing Becky (after she missed the legdrop that had served her well in the match) the match is a good way to set up the title match, as it feels like a match where three women have a reason to fight. You don’t get that very often and this was a pretty awesome way to get things ready.

Adam Pearce pops up to get the contract signing ready. Here are Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, with Brock Lesnar coming out next. Lesnar puts his feet up on the table as Heyman says his counsel is to sign the contract. Reigns signs and Lesnar does as well, without even looking at the deal. That makes Reigns laugh and say Lesnar must be some kind of a dumb***. Lesnar says he already read the contract this morning….with his advocate Paul Heyman. That’s enough for Lesnar who walks away with a big smile on his face. Reigns is NOT pleased and can barely look at Heyman.

We run down the Crown Jewel card to fill in some of the five minutes left with the big segment over.

Overall Rating: A-. That’s one of the best Smackdowns, or probably WWE shows, in a VERY long time with three good to great matches and a pretty awesome closing segment as well. I had a great time with this show and it is worth the watch, assuming you skip the first two women’s matches. Other than that, this was WWE letting the wrestlers wrestle and the show worked as a result. Awesome stuff with three matches carrying the night.

Results
Finn Balor b. Sami Zayn – Coup de Grace
Sonya Deville/Shayna Baszler b. Naomi – Pin after a Kirifuda Clutch
Zelina Vega b. Carmella – Small package
Usos b. Street Profits – Double Superfly Splash to Dawkins
Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Backstabber

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

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

AND

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

It was time to go back to the arena last night as I took in the WWE house show at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. This was another Supershow, featuring more or less a WWE all star card. They did one of these back in Louisville in July and it was a lot of fun, so hopefully they can make it work here too. Let’s get to it.

Before anything else, I needed a ticket so I went to stand inline. As I was waiting, a guy in a John Cena shirt came up to me.

Guy: “Are you getting tickets?”

Yeah…..

Guy: “Want these two free ones?”

First row off the floor. I mean….if that’s all you have, I guess they’ll do.

I didn’t catch the guy’s name but in the one in a quadrillion chance he sees this, thank you very much (again) as that was one of the nicest things anyone has done for me in a long time.

The arena was far from full, though Rupp Arena is one of the biggest in the country with over 20,000 capacity. Still though, there couldn’t have been more than a few thousand in the building.

1. Intercontinental Title: King Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

Nakamura had Rick Boogs with him and that is an AWESOME entrance live, as the guitar sounds great and Nakamura seems rejuvenated since this whole thing started. Rollins also feels far, far better suited to this than the disastrous Monday Night Messiah, as he is reveling in the goofy heel shtick. The fans are buying it too as Rollins got an awesome reaction.

This was a very fun match as you could tell they were having a good time. They started slowly with Nakamura having to chase Rollins, and even stealing his coat to freak him out. Rollins made it clear that he did not like booing and I’m sure you can guess how that went. Nakamura eventually got more serious, leading to this exchange:

Nakamura: “COME ON!”

Rollins: “NO!”

Repeat three times.

Rollins: “NO!”

Nakamura: “PLEASE!”

They went into the match you would expect them to have until Rollins loaded up the Stomp. Boogs played some guitar for a distraction though and Nakamura hit Kinshasa to retain at 15:32. This was very fun and one of the best things all night long, as two people who know what they are doing got to do their own thing.

2. Karrion Kross vs. John Morrison

Morrison feels like a star, even with the Drip Stick in the entrance. Kross….there’s no way around it: the gear looks stupid. He had his big entrance with the cool Titantron video, but he looked so goofy standing in front of the thing. Anyway, Kross told us that it was Morrison’s birthday and started singing before jumping Morrison to start. Kross beat on him for a bit until Morrison fought back, including blasting him with the drip stick in the corner. Starship Pain missed though and the Krossjacket finished Morrison at 8:08. D+. Post match, Kross asked what was in the Drip Stick and then chased Morrison away. This didn’t work.

Riddle was in the back and talked about how happy he was to be in Lexington, even with Randy Orton still taking time off. AJ Styles and Omos jumped him, saying they would beat up New Day tonight and then come after the Tag Team Titles.

3. Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Carmella did the usual “I’m hot and you’re not”, speaking to both the crowd and Morgan. She also wore her mask, which was quite the odd visual. A fan called Carmella a chicken so she danced around like a chicken and then ran away from Morgan for a bit. The match was very kicky/punchy/chokey and didn’t exactly do either of them many favors. Morgan ripped off the mask and won with Oblivion at 6:35. D+. Almost all of the positives come from Carmella being a ball of charisma, which has always been the case. Morgan still feels like a breakout star waiting to happen, but that has been the case for a long time now.

4. WWE Title: Big E. vs. Bobby Lashley

This was a rather simple idea: take two big muscle guys and have them beat each other up for a little while. Big E. wasn’t quite serious to start as Lashley shouldered him into a near Matrix, with Big E. fighting to keep his balance and then applauding himself. Lashley didn’t like that and jumped him, only to hurt his knee in the process. This went on for a good while, with the fans getting pulled into things until Lashley jumped Big E. to take over. Eventually Lashley got the Hurt Lock but Big E. reversed into the Big Ending to retain at 10:10. C. Big E. has more charisma than he knows what to do with and it’s bizarre to see him with the title.

In one of my favorite things about any show, Big E. signed autographs and took pictures around ringside. There were two girls who looked to be about 10-12 years old who got some autographs and it was the greatest thing that had ever happened to them. I know WWE gets a lot of flack and complaints at times, but there is something so great about seeing fans having such genuine joy about seeing one of their favorites up close and personal. You can’t fake that kind of thing and I love seeing it every time.

Intermission.

5. AJ Styles/Omos vs. New Day

I’ve seen Omos a few times now and the visual is right up there with Great Khali and Andre. As you might expect, New Day had a crazy energetic entrance, with Woods giving his vest to a fan at ringside with a Consequences Creed shirt. After his entrance, Woods shouted “THAT’S MY NEPHEW!” for an explanation. New Day danced to AJ’s music for a funny bit, sending AJ into a rant about how the Kentucky Wildcats got lucky against the Florida Gators the previous day and said he couldn’t wait until they played Georgia (it’s going to be painful). This match featured a lot of dancing, gyrating and pelvic thrusting until Omos came in and wrecked Kingston. Everything broke down and Omos was sent to the floor, leaving Woods to roll AJ up at 10:39. C. This wasn’t much and I was kind of disappointed in the whole thing.

Post match AJ yelled but Riddle came in with an RKO. Riddle left and AJ splashed Riddle’s hat.

6. Smackdown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair

Belair felt like a star during the entrance and the fans loved seeing her. Becky got a star pop though and was back in the classic gear that she wore in the Wrestlemania main event. The match was good enough and they went back and forth like you might have expected. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it was good enough for what it was. Becky reversed the KOD into a rollup with feet on the ropes to retain at 11:11. C+. Of note, Belair limped to the back (though she did take some pictures with fans) despite Becky not working on her leg. That could be something in the future and hopefully she is fine.

7. Finn Balor/Street Profits vs. Bloodline

The biggest part here was the entrances, as Balor felt like a star, the Street Profits were pure energy (the Kentucky Wildcats banner they brought to the ring, which Balor wore like a cape while running around in a circle, helped), and then Reigns felt like the biggest star going today. This was a pretty long but completely watchable six man which felt like a main event. Ford worked on the arm for a bit while shouting about how good it felt.

Eventually Dawkins got beaten down in the corner and the fans started cheering for Roman. Reigns did a GREAT job of working the apron and started listening to the fans, even after he knocked the Kentucky banner down. Reigns came in to a huge pop, beat down Dawkins for a bit, and then left, where the fans started booing him again. Finally the hot tag got Dawkins out of trouble and Ford and Balor both came in to do their big stuff. Ford got knocked off the top though and the spear gave Reigns the pin at 16:15. B-. Reigns is an absolute star and that’s what mattered here.

Post match, Reigns allowed the fans to acknowledge him to end the night.

Overall Rating: C+. This was what you would want out of a house show: a bunch of stars having mostly good matches. It’s not going to be anything great, but you can get a much more personal feeling from the wrestlers as they are allowed to play to/interact with the crowd that much more. It was a fun night and I’d absolutely go again, though I do kind of miss house shows being about giving underused wrestlers ring time. The all star thing makes far more sense, but an undercard six man can be a lot of fun too.

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: October 1, 2021
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

It’s a big night as we are starting this year’s Draft. That means we are going to be seeing a bunch of names moved from show to show, though it is not clear if NXT will be included as well. That could make for some interesting changes, but they might not all be for the best. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary welcomes us to the show and sets up a few rules: half of the roster will be eligible for drafting tonight and half on Raw, but the rosters will not officially change until October 22, the night after Crown Jewel.

We waste no time as Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce are here to announce the first round picks:

Round 1
Smackdown: Roman Reigns
Raw: Big E.
Smackdown: Charlotte
Raw: Bianca Belair

Here are Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman for a chat, but first we look at a package on Reigns vs. Finn Balor from Extreme Rules. Reigns’ shirt now says We The Ones and he demands to be acknowledged, which the fans are VERY interested in doing. Heyman says that’s not good enough and talks about how the Demon is no longer undefeated.

Reigns performed an exorcism, and now he is moving on to Crown Jewel, which will not be taking place in Suplex City. That’s because Brock Lesnar will be running into the Suplexorcist and be smashed….but here is Lesnar in person. We get a long staredown and then the brawl is on, with Lesnar clearing Reigns out. The Usos come in and get dropped with F5’s, sending Reigns and Heyman away.

Charlotte isn’t surprised that she was brought over to Smackdown because Fox knows star power when she sees it.

Happy Corbin vs. Kevin Owens

Earlier today, Corbin introduces his new happy friend, Madcap Moss (that’s not bad). Owens clotheslines him to the floor to start but it’s too early for a dive. Moss trips Owens up though and it’s a lot of laughter to send us to a break. Back with Owens making the comeback but the Stunner is countered into a rollup for two. Corbin plants Owens with Deep Six for two but Owens knocks him into the corner for the Cannonball. They head outside where Corbin hits End of Days (Cole: “Or should we call it Happy Days?”) and another version connects inside for the pin at 7:28.

Rating: C. It was a good enough power brawl but the rise of Happy Corbin continues to be one of the more entertaining things in all of WWE. No it might not be great or brilliant, but dang I’m having a good time with the thing. Throw in Moss getting something to do again and it’s another bonus.

We look back at Sasha Banks returning at Extreme Rules and costing Bianca Belair a shot at the Smackdown Women’s Title.

It’s time for round 2:

Round 2
Smackdown – Drew McIntyre
Raw – RKBro
Smackdown – Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods
Raw – Edge

So basically, Edge was traded for New Day and Drew McIntyre. I’ve heard worse deals….I think.

Here is Drew McIntyre to say that he had a great time on Raw but he has some unfinished business. There is a cloud hanging over Smackdown and it is time for McIntyre to break it up. With a point of Angela, McIntyre says he wants the Universal Title.

Here is Edge for a chat. After soaking in some loud cheers, Edge talks about how he is the only person here who was on the first Smackdown. Now though, he has been sent to Raw, which he sees as a challenge. Speaking of a challenge, we have Seth Rollins, who attacked him in Madison Square Garden three weeks ago and took him out again. Edge is on his way to 100%, and wants Rollins to come out here and make him saw Rollins is better.

Cue a laughing Rollins on the Titantron. Rollins is rather happy to be here….because he’s at Edge’s house. Edge storms to the back as Rollins lets himself inside and asks for Beth (Phoenix, Edge’s wife). Rollins helps himself to an apple and orange juice, while admiring Edge’s kids’ backpacks. As Rollins has a seat in the library, we cut to Edge frantically calling Beth and telling her to go to her brother’s (and ignore the groceries).

Carmella vs. Liv Morgan

Extreme Rules Kickoff Show rematch. Liv knocks her to the floor before the bell but Carmella says hang on a second. She has a team of people put a mask on her, then goes back inside to beat Morgan up, including an X Factor. No match, as I try to figure out what the point of that was.

Time for Round 3:

Round 3
Smackdown: Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss
Raw: Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash
Smackdown: Hit Row
Raw: Keith “Bearcat” Lee

Hit Row is awesome in NXT. It’s going to be sad to see their immediate demise on Fridays.

New Day/Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy/Dolph Ziggler/Bobby Roode

Ziggler and Kingston start things off (as their VERY longstanding rivalry continues) with Kofi hitting a jumping back elbow for an early two. It’s Ziggler being taken into the corner for the ax handle from Ford (still with the taped ribs). Gable comes in for an armdrag and sunset flip to Ford, setting up the ankle lock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Ford knocks all of the villains off the apron. Ford’s dive off the apron is cut off by Otis, who sends him hard into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Gable countering Ford’s sunset flip into a northern lights suplex for two (that was sweet). Ford manages to get in a shot to Gable though and the hot tag brings in Dawkins to clean house. Everything breaks down, with Dawkins hitting his double underhook neckbreaker for two. Otis runs everyone over but gets sent outside, leaving Roode to hit a spinebuster for two on Dawkins. New Day is right back in though and Daybreak finishes Roode at 10:09.

Rating: C+. It was an energetic match and that’s about all you can ask for from something like this. Eight wrestlers with ten minutes between them and a commercial thrown in is not going to be enough to let everyone get some time and that was the case here. What we saw was fun and Ford got A LOT of the focus, but we didn’t get to see very much.

Xavier Woods did some stuff with the Boys and Girls Club. Jenga was involved.

And now the final round:

Round 4
Smackdown – Naomi
Raw – Rey Mysterio/Dominik
Smackdown – Jeff Hardy
Raw – Austin Theory

Theory is interesting. Dominik isn’t.

Here are the final picks:

To Smackdown:
Round 1 – Roman Reigns
Round 1 – Charlotte
Round 2 – Drew McIntyre
Round 2 – Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods
Round 3 – Happy Corbin/Madcap Moss
Round 3 – Hit Row
Round 4 – Naomi
Round 4 – Jeff Hardy

To Raw:
Round 1 – Big E.
Round 1 – Bianca Belair
Round 2 – RKBro
Round 2 – Edge
Round 3 – Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash
Round 3 – Keith “Bearcat” Lee
Round 4 – Rey Mysterio/Dominik
Round 4 – Austin Theory

Jeff Hardy is in the back for an interview, but Brock Lesnar interrupts. He dismisses Hardy and Kayla Braxton to announce that he is officially a free agent because of Paul Heyman. Therefore, he can do whatever he wants to do. Mic drop.

We go to the Bloodline’s dressing room, where Paul Heyman is rather nervous. Roman Reigns asks if he and Heyman are good friends, with Heyman saying of course they are. Reigns says if they are friends, he needs to make sure that the Usos are drafted to Smackdown. Heyman says he’s the wise man but Reigns seems to laugh it off. Reigns: “YOU’RE ONLY THE WISE MAN WHEN I SAY YOU’RE THE WISE MAN!”

Reigns mocks the idea of sticking to the plan, and orders Heyman to go to Raw and make sure the Usos stay on Smackdown. Heyman thanks Reigns and leaves in a hurry. Reigns sends the Usos to Raw to make sure this gets done. If Heyman fails, leave him for dead. Reigns turning into a near Mafia boss is great stuff.

Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks

Becky Lynch comes out for commentary as Banks grinds away on a headlock to start. A running hurricanrana drops Belair again as Becky talks about how unfair the Crown Jewel triple threat will be. Belair sticks the landing on a monkey flip and sends Banks into the corner as Becky rants about Banks interfering on Sunday. Banks’ crossbody is countered into a gorilla press drop (Becky: “I do CrossFit too!”) but Banks escapes the KOD. A HARD running forearm sends Banks outside and we take a break.

Back with Banks hitting a top rope Meteora for two. Belair isn’t having that and hits a double chickenwing slam, followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two of her own. Banks catches her on top and a tornado DDT drops Belair for another near fall. The frog splash gets two more but Belair fights up. That’s enough for Becky to trip her up though and Banks grabs a rollup for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B-. These two still have great chemistry together and that is likely always going to be the case. The Becky interference was fine and it’s not like Belair lost clean. There is a very real chance that Belair leaves Crown Jewel with the title anyway so everything until then is just kind of filling in time.

Post match, here is Charlotte to take out Banks and Belair, setting up the dueling title pose with Becky to end the show (and setting up Survivor Series). I’m fully convinced they’re just trolling with Charlotte these days and that makes things a lot easier to take.

Overall Rating: C+. These shows are always weird to grade. They aren’t about wrestling whatsoever (as they shouldn’t be) but you also can’t really know what things are going to look like until we get done with Raw (and apparently Crown Jewel). There were enough moves that made me interested to make it work though so I’ll take what I can get. Add in Reigns seemingly at the brink with Heyman and it was an enjoyable enough show, with some pretty important moves thrown in.

Results
Happy Corbin b. Kevin Owens – End of Days
New Day/Street Profits b. Bobby Roode/Dolph Ziggler/Alpha Academy – Daybreak to Roode
Sasha Banks b. Bianca Belair – Rollup

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

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

AND

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