IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 31, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re done with pay per view for a bit but now it is time to start getting ready for Clash of Champions. Already announced for the show is a series of matches to set up a triple threat later in the night for the shot at Drew McIntyre, so at least they’re going quickly. There isn’t a ton of fallout to deal with from last night so the slate might be a bit more open. Let’s get to it.

Here is Payback if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s a ticked off Randy Orton to open things up and talk about how Drew McIntyre deserves to be in pain. McIntyre has been promising to kick Orton’s head off but Orton is doing the kicking around here. Orton talks about all the people he has kicked in the head and laughs at McIntyre thinking he is entitled. He takes out everyone he faces and we see a graphic of all of the legends he has hurt in hospital beds (including Shawn with a bag of ice on his head).

Orton’s laugh is cut off by Keith Lee, who talks about how he beat Orton last night, which makes him wonder why Orton is talking about title shots. Maybe beating a legend killer means Lee should be getting that title shot. Lee considers Drew McIntyre a friend but here’s Dolph Ziggler, his opponent in one of the singles matches tonight, to jump him from behind.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Keith Lee

The first of the three qualifying matches. The bell rings after the break and Lee cranks on the arm, including lifting Ziggler up by the hand. A hard catapult sends Ziggler face first into the buckle and Ziggler needs a breather on the floor. Back in and Ziggler takes him down by the knee and grabs a chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Lee gets up and runs Ziggler over as we take a break.

Back with Lee hitting Grizzly Magnum and throwing Ziggler into the corner. Ziggler hits a quick Fameasser for two and a neckbreaker into the jumping elbow gets the same. Lee gets up again and slugs away, followed by a pop up face plant. Ziggler tries to fight back but walks into the Spirit Bomb for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C. Might have been a bit longer than it needed to be but Lee getting another win is a good sign. If nothing else you can put him in the triple threat later and have someone else take the fall to (probably) send Orton on to Clash. They’ve given Lee two big wins early on so the foundation is being set. Just don’t screw it up from here.

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler bicker about who is responsible for winning the Tag Team Titles last night. Asuka comes in to interrupt and the other champs aren’t cool with that. Shayna is shoved away and a big staredown ensues.

Adam Pearce wants security on extra watch for Retribution.

Here’s Asuka for an in-ring chat. She talks about all of the women she has beaten and now she needs a new challenger. It doesn’t matter who is ready for Asuka because Asuka is ready for anything. Cue Mickie James to say Asuka is awesome but she’s coming for the title. Cue Natalya and Lana, both in gear for a change, to say Mickie isn’t jumping the line like that. Lana talks about being a fashion influencer and if Mickie wants to face Natalya, you have to go through her. Asuka is ready for all three of them so Lana and Natalya jump the two of them but Mickie and Asuka clear the ring in a hurry.

Connor’s Cure video.

We look back at the Hurt Business cleaning house in Raw Underground last week.

The Viking Raiders and Cedric Alexander are ready for a match tonight. Demi from the Bachelor thinks it’s great that Cedric turned down the Hurt Business and kisses Ivar on the cheek. They all leave and Andrade pops up with a rose. Again, WHY IS DEMI HERE???

Lana vs. Mickie James

Natalya is at ringside and Asuka is on commentary but it takes a bit to get her headset working. Lana chokes in the corner and snaps off a suplex for two before the chinlock goes on. Mickie fights back and hammers away with some clotheslines but Lana slips out of the MickDT. Instead it’s the Mick Kick to finish Lana at 2:39.

Mickie and Asuka stare each other down post match.

We look back at Aleister Black attacking Kevin Owens last week.

Randy Orton leaves Black’s dressing room.

The IIconics are ready for their match against the Riott Squad where the losers have to split up. They have known each other since high school and sacrificed a lot to get here. The Riott Squad isn’t breaking them up and their win will be iconic.

Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton

The second triple threat qualifying match. Hold on though as Black comes out to jump Owens before the bell and even hits Black Mass on the floor. Saxton: “Is this why we saw Randy Orton leaving Aleister Black’s locker room?” Joe: “OF COURSE IT IS BYRON!” Owens gets inside and says ring the bell and it’s an RKO for the pin at 15 seconds.

Rey Mysterio is not cleared to compete tonight but Dominik will be taking his place in the triple threat qualifying match. Dominik knows he is an underdog but he is ready to make his family proud.

Here are MVP and Shelton Benjamin for the VIP Lounge. MVP hypes up the guest and brings out Bobby Lashley for the big celebration. MVP talks about how he has seen a lot of young people getting in trouble over youthful exuberance and Apollo Crews did it too. There are three things you can guarantee in life: death, taxes and Bobby Lashley. Speaking of Lashley, he promises to get some revenge on Crews for jumping him after last night’s match. Shelton promises to do the same to Crews in Raw Underground but MVP is ready for the six man tag they have coming up.

MVP walks to talk about Cedric Alexander but here’s Cedric to interrupt in person. The Hurt Business goes to meet him in the aisle and MVP asks if Cedric has had a change of heart. That’s a no, and he didn’t come alone. Cue the Viking Raiders to start the brawl before their match.

Hurt Business vs. Viking Raiders/Cedric Alexander

Lashley stomps away at Erik in the corner but a forearm to the face cuts that off. A running shoulder in the corner has Erik in trouble again though and it’s off to MVP for the rights and lefts. It’s off to Ivar who knocks Shelton into a knee from Erik and Cedric comes in to hammer away in the corner. Shelton busts Erik’s spine but it’s back to Cedric, who is dropped with a faceplant.

That means Cedric is choked down in the corner and MVP’s running boot to the jaw connects. The armbar goes on but Cedric fights up and tries for the tag but the Vikings are pulled outside. That’s fine with Cedric, who grabs a rollup (and some tights) for the quick pin at 6:20.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here, but Cedric getting a win is a good bonus. The tights on the rollup could go a little somewhere as it’s not like this story has been going anywhere for the time they have put into it so far. The Hurt Business does tend to lose quite a bit, but at least they have the US Title and the champ didn’t take the fall.

MVP seems rather pleased with Cedric and calls off the Hurt Business from destroying him.

Post break, the Hurt Business jumps Cedric in the back. Apollo Crews and Ricochet make the save.

IIconics vs. Riott Squad

The winners get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot and the losers are forced to disband. Kay jumps Riott to start and Peyton bulldogs her onto Kay’s knee. We’re already in the chinlock but Ruby fights up in a hurry and brings in Liv to clean house. A dropkick to the back gets two on Peyton but Billie gets the same off a suplex. Liv gets in a shot to the face and the hot tag brings in Riott as everything breaks down. Peyton and Liv fight to the floor, leaving Riott and Kay to trade rollups until Ruby gets the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C-. The match was the fast paced formula stuff with the right team winning, but I really don’t get the need to split up the IIconics so soon. Unless there is some reason for one of them to lose, I don’t think either of them is ready to hang on their own. A story where they need each other could work out well, but I’m going to need to see how they make this work.

Post match the IIconics freak out and hug each other. Hopefully there is more to this.

Shane McMahon is ready for Raw Underground.

Commentary announces that Rey Mysterio has a torn tricep. Well that’s neither good nor surprising.

Video on Seth Rollins/Murphy vs. the Mysterios.

Here are Rollins and Murphy for Rollins’ match against Dominik, but Rollins isn’t happy. He yells at Murphy for costing them the match last night by kicking him in the head and then getting pinned by DOMINIK MYSTERIO. Rollins has a big chance tonight and can’t have Murphy screwing it up for him. Murphy is sent to the back and out of Rollins’ sight. Rollins does not want to see him until Murphy figures out what he stands for. Murphy slowly leaves and gets jumped by Dominik on the way to the back.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

The third of three triple threat qualifying matches. Mysterio goes straight at him to start but gets sent to the floor. Back in and Seth stomps away but gets kicked in the face. They head outside with Dominik sending him into the announcers’ table and then diving off of it as we take a break.

Back with Dominik fighting out of an abdominal stretch but getting pulled down into a bodyscissors. That’s switched to a waistlock instead but Dominik fights up and counters a buckle bomb with a hurricanrana into the corner. The tornado DDT out of the corner into a standing moonsault gets two on Rollins and he rolls outside. That means a big dive from Dominik as the rest of the Mysterios are watching in the back. The 619 sets up the frog splash but Rollins rolls away, setting up the Stomp for the pin at 10:03.

Rating: C. Dominik is doing a lot better in the ring than probably would have been expected of him and to be fair they didn’t do something crazy here. I still don’t really care to see him in the ring, but at least they aren’t going completely overboard with someone who looks lost out there. The match was fine enough and the right person won in short enough order so I can’t get that upset. I’m curious about what Rey’s injury means for Dominik though, as there isn’t much else for him to do other than stuff with his dad.

Post match Seth hits another Stomp as the Mysterios are devastated.

We’re off to Raw Underground where Titus O’Neil is beating people up. Riddick Moss comes in and the fight goes off the stage. Someone distracts Titus though and Moss takes him down for the knockout win. More later.

The Street Profits have a scouting report on Zelina Vega and company. Zelina’s details include “poisons people” and “amusement parks” because she’s too short to ride roller coasters.

Earlier today, Akira Tozawa tried to come into the building but his name wasn’t on the list. Tozawa got out of the car, found out that the list was blank, and was rolled up by R-Truth for the 24/7 Title. Of course the security guard was the referee, so Tozawa kidnapped him and chased after Truth. He was in such a rush that one of the Ninjas had to walk all the way into the building.

Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

Non-title tornado rules with Zelina Vega and Demi at ringside. The match starts fast as expected with Dawkins turning a double superplex into a Tower of Doom as we take a break (again with no pitch to the break, which has been a trend tonight). Back with Ford on the floor and Dawkins being chopped to the mat. A middle rope dropkick to the side of the head gets a delayed two on Dawkins and the armbar over the ropes makes it even worse. Dawkins fights back to clean house though and a bulldog gets two on Andrade.

Another shot to the head puts Dawkins down again but Ford hits a BIG dive for the save. The pace picks up and a running Blockbuster into an enziguri hits Andrade….and there go the lights. The referee bails and Angel leaves with Demi. Ford covers Andrade but here’s Retribution over the barricade. Commentary bails and even Zelina starts fighting three of the members at ringside. That goes as badly as you would expect and it’s a big beatdown on Andrade and the Profits. We’ll say it’s a no contest at about 9:00.

Rating: C-. This was a weird one even before the ending and that didn’t do it any favors. It doesn’t help that there is no one else to challenge the Profits for the titles at the moment so this is the best we can get. They have held the belts for over six months now and that doesn’t exactly make it easier to keep the division fresh. Retribution being back is a bit of a relief though as they weren’t on either Smackdown or Payback. That doesn’t seem very long, but it is almost enough to make you believe WWE was dropping a story.

Back with commentary sounding perfectly calm and calling the replay, despite the three of them running for their lives five minutes ago. Samoa Joe is not someone who is going to have a bunch of masked guys interfere and chase him off and be fine with it. That’s completely out of character for him and I doubt WWE cares.

Adam Pearce yells at security.

The IIconics are at Raw Underground as Jessamyn Duke destroys Avery Taylor. Another woman gets up and yells at Duke so Marina Shafir, in street clothes, gets up and massacres the other woman in about ten seconds. The IIconics tease getting in but Peyton stays on the floor, leaving Billie to get beaten up.

We look at Cedric Alexander pinning MVP and then getting beaten up by the Hurt Business.

Apollo Crews is ready to fight Shelton Benjamin in Raw Underground and has Cedric Alexander and Ricochet with him.

Post break, the Hurt Business arrives at Raw Underground and it’s Crews vs. Benjamin. Shelton takes him down but Crews gets in a Kimura. That’s broken up and they fight off the stage, meaning the brawl is on with the other four. All six wind up on the platform and the Hurt Business knock/choke them all out in a hurry. Well that was one sided.

Demi is scared of Retribution but Angel Garza has this covered. Retribution charges in and beats up security so Garza runs off. The women of Retribution step forward and Demi runs off. So to recap: WWE showed Garza getting engaged to his longtime girlfriend, then made him a womanizer, then brings in a woman from the Bachelor to play his second on-screen love interest for months. There was NO ONE else in WWE who could have played her role? Or his role for that matter?

Randy Orton vs. Keith Lee vs. Seth Rollins

The winner gets McIntyre at Clash of Champions. Rollins pitches the alliance with Orton, who immediately drops down to the floor. Then Rollins rolls out to yell at him but Orton says he changed his mind. Lee grabs Rollins by the hair (Rollins: “OW!!!”) and pulls him inside where Rollins’ headlock doesn’t work very well. Orton comes back in and gets splashed in the corner but Rollins is back up with ax handles to Lee. They send Lee to the apron so Lee slingshots in with a crossbody to both of them as we take a break.

Back with Lee getting knocked out of the air and sent to the floor for a drop onto the announcers’ table. There’s a whip into the steps to put Lee down even more but they carry him back to the apron in a rather questionable move. Orton turns on Rollins with the hanging DDT for two but Rollins is right back with the Falcon Arrow for the same.

Lee rises up though and throws Rollins into Orton for the big crash. Orton heads outside where Lee Pounces him into the barricade before catching Rollins’ suicide dive and tossing him into the announcers’ table. Back in and Rollins enziguris Lee and kicks him in the head again to knock him down. The Stomp is countered into the Spirit Bomb but Orton comes back in for the RKO to Lee and pins Rollins at 11:05.

Rating: C+. That was about all they could do here and that’s the right call. Lee looked dominant and didn’t get pinned, which is what matters most in this. Orton gets back into the title match as well, which isn’t quite surprising and it’s not like Rollins is going to be hurt by taking a fall. Good enough here, but more importantly it wasn’t stupid and that’s an improvement.

Overall Rating: C. The best thing here was that they didn’t do anything incredibly stupid. I know that might be a pretty low bar to clear, but in WWE’s world, it is at the top of the priorities list. They set up or moved things towards Clash while keeping things moving well enough. I liked what we got here and while nothing is worth seeing, they didn’t ruin Lee (yet) and I could see myself being interested in where some of these things go. Good enough show here, which is quite the upgrade over what they had been doing in recent months.

Results

Keith Lee b. Dolph Ziggler – Spirit Bomb

Mickie James b. Lana – Mick Kick

Randy Orton b. Kevin Owens – RKO

Cedric Alexander/Viking Raiders b. Hurt Business – Rollup with tights to MVP

Riott Squad b. IIconics – Rollup to Kay

Seth Rollins b. Dominik Mysterio – Stomp

Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza went to a no contest when Retribution interfered

Randy Orton b. Keith Lee and Seth Rollins – Orton pinned Rollins after a Spirit Bomb from Lee

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Summerslam 2020
Date: August 23, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe

It’s finally time to try this out and yes it’s another Thunder Dome show, which may or may not mean anything to you if you’re reading this in 2273. Basically there are no fans live in the arena, but there are pictures of several of them scared to move because of all of the conditions WWE has included to allow them to be shown on screen. Other than that, we have two World Title matches and something we’ll never see coming, which kind of negates the idea of a surprise. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: US Title: MVP vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is defending and the rest of the Hurt Business is banned from ringside. A quick sunset flip gives Crews two and MVP wants a breather on the floor. Back in and MVP uses a distracted referee to get in a cheap shot but Crews is right back with a dropkick. MVP is ready for a charge in the corner though and sends Crews over the top and face first onto the steps for a nasty crash.

Back in and MVP misses a big running boot in the corner but he’s fine enough to crotch Crews on top. A superplex brings Crews back down with MVP slipping a bit on the fall before getting two. Crews is fine enough to clothesline MVP to the floor and that means a big running flip dive, which seems to hurt Crews’ back again. Back in and Crews wins a slugout before ripping off MVP’s nasal strip. That sets MVP off enough that he tries the Playmaker but Crews reverses into the Toss Powerbomb to retain at 6:35.

Rating: C. This could have been on any given Raw and that isn’t the most surprising thing. The bigger story here would seem to be Crews vs. Bobby Lashley down the line and letting Crews get the Summerslam win on the way there is a nice boost for him. Other than that, there isn’t much to see here, but it was just a Kickoff Show match.

Post match Lashley and Shelton Benjamin run out for the beatdown but Crews slips away.

The opening video presents Summerslam as a huge production, including the lights, camera action line. Each match gets a quick look as well.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending and has Sasha Banks in her corner. Asuka forearms Bayley in the shoulder to start and hits a running dropkick. The sliding dropkick misses but Asuka can get a seated Octopus hold. Thankfully this cuts off Cole’s explanation that the big difference between their careers is Asuka has won the Women’s Royal Rumble. Not that Asuka has never lost a singles match to Bayley, including beating her twice in the last month and a half, but their Women’s Royal Rumble record.

The hip attack sends Bayley to the floor and Asuka hits a jumping DDT from the steps to knock Bayley silly again. Back in and Bayley grabs a quick suplex for a breather and the stomping is on in the ropes. The Bayley to Belly gets two more so Asuka kicks Bayley in the head for the double knockdown. Another hip attack rocks Bayley and there’s the release German suplex to send Bayley flying. They head to the apron with Bayley dropping Asuka knees first, much to Banks’ delight.

Back in and Bayley gets two off a chop block, followed by something like an Indian Deathlock. That’s broken up so Bayley grabs another leglock with Asuka going to the ropes this time. Bayley goes up for the top rope elbow but Asuka pulls her into the cross armbreaker instead. Asuka lets go to kick at the screaming Banks though and they head outside with Asuka hitting Bayley in the face. Back in and Bayley grabs a rollup for a close two but Asuka’s running hip attack hits Banks by mistake. That’s enough for Bayley to small package Asuka to retain at 11:21.

Rating: B-. It was good for Bayley to win, even if it has no bearing on her Royal Rumble history. Bayley retaining again is interesting, though that would give you more of a reason to believe that Asuka is taking the other title later. Either way, they had a solid match here as they tend to do, as Asuka can have good matches with almost anyone. It was a good effort here and they even helped set up the other title match later.

Post match Bayley and Banks lay out Asuka again.

Dominik Mysterio asks Rey Mysterio to let him do this himself against Seth Rollins and not get involved. Rey agrees and they hug.

Recap of Retribution’s carnage.

Kevin Owens comes out for commentary, complete with a red tie. He also waves to his wife watching in the crowd.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Angel Garza/Andrade vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending and Zelina Vega is here with the challengers. Ford flips over Andrade to start and hits a jumping clothesline. A jumping hurricanrana off the top freaks Vega out and Andrade is sent outside. Dawkins comes in for a double flapjack to Garza but Ford’s running flip dive to the floor is countered into a double powerbomb. Back in and Ford gets sent into the corner, allowing Garza to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS!

Andrade armbars Ford over the ropes, setting up the Alberto double stomp for two more. Ford avoids a charge and brings in Dawkins to clean house, including a spear to Andrade. It’s back to Ford, who is grazed by the basement dropkick to the head for two. Zelina gets on the apron but is knocked down in a hurry, leaving Ford to escape the Wing Clipper. The Cash Out into the (spinning) frog splash pins Garza to retain the titles at 7:49.

Rating: C. Another Raw level match here, though maybe a little bit better than that. I doubt this is over between the teams, because it’s not like there is anyone else for the Profits to defend against at the moment. The Owens inclusion was a little odd but he has enough of a story history with Vega and company to make it work.

Post match Owens congratulates the champs and announces the return of the KO Show tomorrow night, with Aleister Black as his guest.

Bayley and Sasha Banks don’t like Kayla Braxton’s questions. Banks knows she can beat Asuka, and Bayley knows it too. Tonight Asuka is tapping out and then next week they’re retaining the Tag Team Titles.

We recap Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville. They used to be best friends and then Sonya got sick of Mandy getting all of the attention and turned on her. Then Sonya cut her hair and challenged her to a hair vs. hair match, which was seemingly derailed by someone wanting to actually murder Sonya, so instead it’s No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE.

Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE. Mandy punches her in the face for an early knockdown and they head outside with Sonya being whipped into various things. A suplex onto the ramp drops Sonya again and Mandy dives off the announcers’ table with a clothesline. Mandy grabs a table but Sonya gets in a shot and takes it inside. Back in and Mandy misses a running knee, allowing Sonya to slap on a dragon sleeper.

Sonya grabs a triangle choke but Mandy is smart enough to stack her up for two to force the break. The trash talk is on but only causes Mandy to slap away. Now the knee gives Mandy two and they head back outside, with Mandy shouting about being the soccer mom. Mandy throws the chairs at Sonya’s head but walks into a pump kick instead. Back in and Mandy hits a pair of knees, followed by a third as she goes half Kenny Omega. Angel’s Wings plants Sonya and a fourth knee to the face finishes her off at 10:00.

Rating: D+. Yeah believe it or not, I’m not exactly getting behind the idea of a blonde bombshell who got all of the attention being called out for getting all of the attention. Sonya stole the show in the entire feud and while things got turned upside down this week (completely fair enough), I was really wanting to see how far Sonya can go after everything she has been doing lately. Or to see Mandy bald for some reason. The No DQ stuff changed almost nothing here.

Post match Sonya is devastated as Otis comes out to celebrate. He does the Caterpillar and Mandy fails completely in her attempt.

We recap Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins, which is fallout from Rollins going after Rey Mysterio, including taking his eye out twice. Dominik is here to fight for his dad’s honor in his debut. They’re making it a street fight to help Dominik out a little bit.

Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio

Street fight and Rollins, with Murphy, is in Rey Mysterio WCW inspired ring gear. Rey is here with Dominik to even things out. Dominik looks nervous to start and Rollins seems more interested in toying with him. Rollins even sticks his head out so Dominik can grab a headlock. Instead of punching Rollins in the face, Dominik grabs a headlock and is shoved down almost immediately. Some armdrags into a front flip have Rollins a little staggered so he slams Dominik down.

Rollins demands and receives a kendo stick from Murphy but Dominik is up with a dropkick. That means Rollins has to run from the kendo stick until Rollins catches him with some stomping back inside. The neck cranking goes on but Rollins lets go to yell at Rey. Dominik’s feeble comeback is cut off with the Sling Blade and Rollins puts the knee on his face. The chair is set up inside and Rollins tells “Papa” to come on. Dominik reverses the buckle bomb and grabs a tornado DDT for two.

The kendo stick shots have Rollins in trouble for a change but he crotches Dominik on top. That means the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two and Rollins wants his own stick. Dominik gets beaten down and Rollins calls for a table from Murphy. Rollins loads up said table in the corner but takes too long going up, allowing Dominik to hit a super Russian legsweep through the table for two. Dominik’s frog slash gets the same, plus a million versions of the same jokes about Eddie being his dad.

Dominik takes too long getting a chair and walks into a superkick, followed by a powerbomb. A bunch of kendo stick shots have Rey clutching his own chest and now we go old school with handcuffs. Before they go on, cue Rey’s wife to try to call this off but Rey stops her. Murphy comes in for the knee to Dominik and tries to take the eye out, finally drawing Rey in for the save.

Rollins and Murphy double team Rey and handcuff him to the middle rope. They both grab kendo sticks but turn to look at Rey’s wife instead. Since she’s on the stage and Rollins is at ringside (and since she can’t MOVE), Dominik makes the save. Something like a 619 sends Rollins into the barricade and there’s the regular version. Another frog splash hits knees though and Rollins makes Rey watch as he….just kind of holds Dominik. The Stomp finishes Dominik at 22:35.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to think here, other than it went WAY too long. The match itself was ok enough as Dominik has some skill and has clearly been trained well, but that doesn’t mean I want to watch this for twenty two minutes. It felt like a lot more of the same, with Rollins trying to be vicious but coming off as a heel wrestler instead of anything especially violent. This feud has gone on way too long and odds are we get a tag match next so they can keep trying to get the big emotional moment which hasn’t come yet. Dominik looked pretty good (all things considered), but not ready for Summerslam good.

Post match Rollins leaves the keys with Dominik and watches as he has to crawl over and free Mysterio.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Banks, with Bayley in her corner, is defending. Asuka has a bad knee coming in and Banks goes straight for it in a smart move. Back up and Asuka hits a weakened version of the sliding forearm to put Banks on the floor. That means a leglock on the floor to even up the knees a bit, followed by a kick to the back for two on the champ. Asuka heads to the apron and Banks grabs a spinning powerbomb to the floor, freaking Bayley out in the process.

That’s good for nine so Banks kicks her in the chest for two more. Asuka pulls her down into an ankle lock but Banks rolls out in a hurry, sending Asuka onto the middle rope. That’s fine with Asuka, who hits a middle rope DDT for the slightly delayed two. The missile dropkick gets the same and Banks falls into the corner. Asuka tries to pull her out but Banks grabs a Codebreaker for two in a cool counter.

Banks misses her own frog splash and the Asuka Lock goes on but Banks flips backwards for two. Asuka has to let go and Banks gets the Bank Statement. She tries to flip into the center and gets switched into the Asuka Lock, which is broken again. Bayley gets on the apron and gets elbowed down, allowing Banks to try a rollup ala Bayley earlier. This time Asuka reverses into the Asuka Lock for the title at 11:31.

Rating: B. Better than the first match and I can always go with someone who learns from an earlier match. This made good sense after earlier and they had to do something to get some of the gold away from Bayley and Banks. The action was pretty hard hitting here and Banks works with Asuka better than Bayley, so this was a nice improvement over the opener and the best match of the night so far.

Banks is distraught post match and Bayley doesn’t know what to do.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the Raw World Title. McIntyre won the title back at Wrestlemania and Orton has been on a roll in the last few months. This of course meant we needed Ric Flair to be involved because he has to be in on a big story a year. Anyway, McIntyre has worked his way to the top and doesn’t think much of Orton skating by on talent over the years. Orton on the other hand doesn’t think much of McIntyre at all and is taking the title because he can. Oh and he Punted Flair because it’s Flair.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew is defending and Orton bails to the floor at the bell. After the stalling ensues, Orton goes back in, gets punched once, and heads outside again. The chase is on this time and Orton stomps away as Drew gets back in. Orton misses a pair of RKO attempts but the second one sends Drew outside for a breather. The champ gets back in again and unloads on Orton in the corner. Orton can’t hit the RKO for a third time but he can avoid a charge to send McIntyre shoulder first into the post.

McIntyre falls outside and Orton drops him hard onto the announcers’ table for a big crash. He does it again to make McIntyre’s back even worse and there’s a suplex off the table. That’s good for one back inside and we hit the chinlock. Orton starts stomping away at the ankle and leg but McIntyre gets in something like a Stunner to Orton’s knee. As a fan holding up a Twitter sign is replaced, Drew puts on a Figure Four in the middle of the ring.

Orton is in trouble but gets smart by pulling the referee in and poking McIntyre’s eye for the break. They get back up and slug it out with Orton still not being able to hit the RKO. McIntyre snaps off an overhead belly to belly and then does it a second time. A top rope clothesline drops Orton and McIntyre is fired up. McIntyre loads up a top rope superplex but gets dropped down into the Tree of Woe.

That doesn’t slow McIntyre down that much as he pulls himself up for a choke throw to put Orton back down. The Futureshock gets two and Orton’s head is busted open. McIntyre goes up top but misses a shot to the head, allowing Orton to hit the powerslam for two. The hanging DDT is countered and McIntyre hits the Glasgow Kiss.

They fall out to the floor together and Orton hits the hanging DDT on the way back in. Orton loads up the Punt but walks into a powerbomb. The Claymore is loaded up but Orton ducks, only to miss the RKO again. McIntyre grabs a backslide for the pin to retain at 24:38. Phillips: “Orton never saw it coming!”

Rating: B+. They took their time here and I got into it pretty quickly. I like the idea of having McIntyre win without some kind of a screwy ending and if that’s the only thing we didn’t see coming, it might be quite the upgrade. It was a very nice back and forth match and Summerslam main event worthy, so well done on living up to the hype.

Tomorrow: Keith Lee is on Raw.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. the Fiend. They have been feuding for months now with the Fiend reemerging from the swamp at Extreme Rules. During their fight, Alexa Bliss appeared and tried to convince Strowman to join Bray Wyatt again. Strowman said no, but it became clear that Strowman still thought something of Bliss, and maybe vice versa. Strowman said she meant nothing to him though and he even gorilla press slammed her on Smackdown. Strowman has had it with Wyatt and the Fiend in particular so it is time for the big fight.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is defending and falls count anywhere. Fiend is knocked down to start but comes right back with a release Rock Bottom. They head outside with Fiend sending him into various things and hitting Strowman in the ribs with a toolbox. Fiend loads up the announcers’ table but gets chokeslammed onto it for his efforts. A spear sends Fiend through the barricade and a shot with the steps makes it worse.

Back in and the running powerslam gives Strowman two, meaning it’s time to fight up the ramp. They go into the gorilla position with Fiend hitting Sister Abigail for two. Fiend pokes the eyes and takes it back to the stage, where he slithers over to Strowman. The Mandible Claw goes on near ringside but Strowman shoves him into the LED ring skirt.

Another running powerslam gives Strowman two back inside and frustration is setting in. Strowman goes to the toolbox and pulls out a box cutter so he can cut up the mat. Some of the wood is exposed but Fiend gets up and hits another Rock Bottom. Two Sister Abigails onto the wood makes Fiend champion again at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was feeling big to start and then wound up being Strowman losing because he was stupid and took forever to set up….something while the supernatural monster was left laying there. Fiend winning was the only possible outcome here as there was nothing left for Strowman to do as the failed champion. Either way, it was better than I was expecting, but it still wasn’t great.

Post match ROMAN REIGNS returns and hits a spear to take Fiend down and hammer away. Reigns spears Strowman down too and shouts that Strowman isn’t a monster without him. He unloads on Strowman with chair shots and spears Fiend down again before shouting that the title was always his. I know supervillains are supposed to have weaknesses, but football players who played college ball in Georgia and use spears is as specific as I’ve ever heard. Also, Reigns was WAY more aggressive than usual here and felt as close to a heel as he’s been since the original Shield run. He might not have turned, but it wasn’t far off.

Overall Rating: C. This show was looking outright dreadful until Banks vs. Asuka (though I could see people liking Rollins vs. Mysterio) and the rest of the show bailed the first half out as much as it could have. Reigns being back is a great thing as Smackdown (and Raw for that matter) needs all of the star power it can get. It’s not a great show, but it jumps up in quality in the second half and that saved it from being a nightmare.

Results

Bayley b. Asuka – Small package

Street Profits b. Andrade/Angel Garza – Frog splash to Garza

Mandy Rose b. Sonya Deville – Running knee

Seth Rollins b. Dominik Mysterio – Stomp

Asuka b. Sasha Banks – Asuka Lock

Drew McIntyre b. Randy Orton – Backslide

The Fiend b. Braun Strowman – Sister Abigail onto exposed ring boards

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s that time of year again. WWE has a long history of pay per views and it is time for one of the biggest on the calendar. This Sunday, WWE will present Summerslam from the Thunder Dome in Orlando, which could make things a lot better or a lot more headache inducing, depending on your taste and eyesight. I’m not entirely sold on this one but Summerslam has the ability to surprise you. Let’s get to it.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

Let’s get this one out of the way before I fall asleep thinking about it. This is the next step in a feud that has gone on for months and feels like it has gone on for years. I’m not sure what WWE sees in this but maybe now that Rey Mysterio has signed a new contract, we can wrap it up and let them get on to something more interesting. It isn’t the worst feud, but I can’t bring myself to care about it whatsoever.

I don’t see a reason for Dominik to win in his debut against a name like Rollins, so I’ll go with Rollins to win here. Rey will be there and the match is a street fight to even things out a bit, but I’m not sure how good the match can be. The biggest problem is that I don’t care enough to get interested and that is going to be a problem with such a big match on this stage.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

This is the match where they included another illegal action to set the story up, but in this case the poisoning (yes poisoning) was dropped for the sake of….well maybe better taste. The Street Profits have held the titles for about six months now, which is the longest reign since the New Day’s record reign by a wide margin. That would suggest it is about time to finish and it might be the case here.

That’s what I’ll go with here, as not only have the Profits held the titles for a long time now but Andrade and Garza need to actually win something at some point. They have been a team for a long time now and have yet to actually accomplish much of anything, so winning the titles here could be a nice step. The Profits are long past the point where they need the titles and can get them back later if they need to, so hopefully the titles change here.

US Title: Apollo Crews(c) vs. MVP

This is another feud that has been going on for a little while now but this time around they have me wondering where things are going to go. The interesting thing for me here is that it doesn’t seem to be the final blowoff of the whole story. Instead it seems that we are setting up Bobby Lashley as the final boss for Crews, which unfortunately doesn’t exactly leave this as the biggest mystery.

As you might have guessed, I’m taking Crews to retain here. Crews has gotten something out of this title reign, including an improvement in his promo skills. I could go for some more of him as champion, but I’m not sure where he goes after the title reign. It gets to continue here though, as MVP isn’t someone who needs to be US Champion again at this point in his career.

Sonya Deville vs. Mandy Rose

We need to get to some Smackdown stuff on here and that’s where this one comes in. I was really curious to see how they were going to have the hair vs. hair match play out, but now things have changed to a No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE match. It wouldn’t surprise me to see this be due to some real life issues and now I’m not sure how much drama there is with the match.

In theory, this is a pretty big layup with Rose winning so Deville can go deal with the fact that someone wanted to murder her a few days ago. I can’t bring myself to complain about this one of course, as that’s about as serious as you can get. It is kind of a shame though as Deville has turned into one of the best characters, especially with her talking, in all of WWE’s women’s division as of late. I’m sure she’ll be back, but it’s a shame that her roll slowed down for now.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Asuka

Now we begin our fairly strange two part portion of the evening, with Asuka getting a pair of singles title shows. There are a few different combinations for this and she gets Bayley to start things off. I’m not sure what to expect this time around, but Bayley has been losing more than she should be as of late. That doesn’t bode well for her, but WWE can be a strange place in something like this.

I’ll take Asuka to win the title here, as they seem to be moving towards turning the tables with Bayley and Sasha Banks. In this case that would mean Banks succeeding where Bayley doesn’t and that could make for something interesting as we move forward. Bayley has to lose the title here though and Asuka taking it would certainly be something that would work, even if it is another blow to the Raw women’s division.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks(c) vs. Asuka

So that leaves us with this, because for some reason this is the kind of idea that WWE loves to run with as of late. There is some kind of an idea about having a small number of people dominating a division and the women’s division is getting that condition now. It is Asuka, Bayley and Banks at the moment, but the question is whether Banks leaves this show with a title of her own.

I’m going to say that she does, and that means I’m likely to be wrong as there is little reason to believe that Bayley vs. Banks is EVER going to take place at this point. Fifty years from now our grandchildren are going to be waiting on them to fight in their retirement community and odds are it’s going to be any month now. Have I mentioned I’m tired of hearing about that feud being any day now?

Smackdown World Title: Braun Strowman(c) vs. The Fiend

This is now Falls Count Anywhere and hopefully that means they can wrap it up sooner rather than later. I know the Fiend might not be the best choice for World Champion but MY GOODNESS he is better than Strowman. I don’t know how much more of Strowman I can take at this point as the guy is one of the least interesting champions in recent or long term memory. I’m not sure why we need to see it last this time, but hopefully it finishes here.

In other words, for the love of all things good and holy, PLEASE let the Fiend win here. There is no need for Strowman to stick around here and I really don’t want to see them have a fourth match here because there is no need for any of this to continue again. It has been downright horrible and they need to just drop the whole thing with Fiend ending Strowman. Say by beating him with bowling pins and serving him as sandwiches at a James Bond themed dinner party.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre(c) vs. Randy Orton

And then we have this, which is one of the most interesting things on the card. I’m not sure what this is going to bring, but sweet goodness it actually feels like they have set up something where you could see either guy could win and be ok with it. However there is one thing that I think is hanging over the whole match and it is going to play into the ending: the show’s tagline of “You’ll Never See It Coming.”

My guess is that comes into play here with one of two ideas, and both of them end with Orton winning the title. First up, Retribution could cost McIntyre the title after he called them out on Raw earlier this week. That could set up him getting some payback at Payback, either against Orton or part of Retribution. The other, and more likely option? Flair was never Punted (remember the lights flickered) and you’ll never see it coming when he shows up to help Orton win the title. Either way, the tagline doesn’t exactly help that they’re basically telegraphing a surprise, thereby negating the concept of a SURPRISE.

Overall Thoughts

Call me crazy, but I think we might be in for a decent show here. I know the TV hasn’t been great for the last few months, but there is something about this card that is giving me hope. Summerslam has been going fairly well over most of the last few years and if they can keep that trend going, maybe they can go somewhere. I mean I don’t believe they will, but you have to have some hope somewhere. Maybe they can have some good TV as a result. You would never see that coming would you?

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 27, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We’re less than a month away from Summerslam and that means things need to start picking up. You can see a lot of what they have in mind from here, but there are still a few things that need to be ironed out. Hopefully some of those things are set up tonight, as the wheels need to start turning. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers welcome us to the show and tell us what we have coming up.

Here’s Randy Orton to get things going and we see some clips of what he did to take care of Big Show last week. Orton knows he has had a great career and we hear about his history, including the Legend Killer and Evolution. This business has some greats like the Rock and Steve Austin, but neither of them are anything compared to him.

Now he needs something else though, which means becoming WWE Champion again. Drew McIntyre may be WWE Champion, but their resumes don’t quite line up. McIntyre doesn’t know how much trouble he is in now because Orton gets what he wants. Orton wants the title shot at Summerslam and Drew isn’t seeing the RKO coming.

Here’s the returning Nia Jax to say she gets what Orton meant. She wants to be Raw Women’s Champion, but cue Shayna Baszler to say not so fast. The brawl is on with referees breaking it up as we take a break.

Viking Raiders vs. Ricochet/Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

The winners get the Street Profits at Summerslam so the Profits are here to introduce everyone. Garza and Andrade clear the ring to start and Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS, which he throws straight at Dawkins. Joined in progress with Ricochet jumping over Ivar as Garza and Andrade chill on the floor with Zelina Vega. An enziguri into a headscissors takes Ivar down so Erik comes in instead.

Actually scratch that as the Raiders throw Garza inside and then beat up Andrade on the floor. This includes Erik slamming Ivar onto him while Ricochet and Alexander chop Garza in the corner. Back in and the German suplex/springboard clothesline hits Garza but Ricochet dropkicks Ivar. Andrade is back in to jump Erik from behind and it’s a double team on Erik. Ricochet goes for the cover to break up the alliance, allowing Ivar to come in and clean house. A splash (Ford: “The Love Splash!” Tom: “The Love Splash?” Ford: “THE LOVE SPLASH!”) connects and the Raiders clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Andrade hitting his running knees in the corner to crush Erik for two. Everything breaks down and Andrade hits the spinning elbow to Ivar. Erik knees Andrade in the face but the dive is cut off by Garza’s kick to the head. Ivar goes up top to cannonball onto Ricochet, Alexander and Erik by mistake. Back in and the Wing Clipper hits Alexander for the pin and the title shot at 15:02.

Rating: C. The action was good, though I’m not a fan of having the Profits beat a team one week and then having the same team getting a title shot the next week. That being said, who else is there to get the show? The division is basically three teams at the moment and while Ricochet and Alexander are a team, they aren’t in a position to get that kind of a shot. It’s annoying, but they didn’t have another option.

Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax

The brawl is on and they go straight to the floor for the countout at 48 seconds.

Post match the referees try to break it up with both of them beating up a referee in the process.

Video on Eye For An Eye.

Murphy looks upset and Seth Rollins asks if he’s with him. Murphy is worried about Dominick Mysterio showing up tonight. Rollins hopes so because people like Dominick can’t get out of their own way. The greater good will move forward and tonight will be different.

Here are Rollins and Murphy for a chat. Rollins brags about beating Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black on back to back nights but something is preventing him from being happy. That would be Dominick, who is here tonight to confront him. This is a recurring theme as every time the Greater Good (sounds like they have a group name) tries to do something, someone steps in their way.

Kevin Owens had a broken ankle, Mysterio lost an eye, and now Black has an injured arm. That’s why Rollins wants to talk it out with Dominick so they can do it the right way. Cue Dominick to very slowly get in the ring with Rollins talking about how he understands how Dominick is feeling. If Dominick needs any guidance or help…and Dominick takes him down. Murphy is right back though and Dominick is sent outside for a whip into the barricade. Dominick is sent into the announcers’ table as well and Rollins looks at the steps.

Rollins takes too much time though and here’s Aleister Black to jump the Greater Good. The arm is sent into the apron though and Rollins whips him into the barricade. The Stomp plants Black on the floor and Rollins looks at the steps. He asks Murphy if he is in this so Murphy grabs Black and puts Black’s eye into the steps, as referees….just look at him. Dominick comes back with a kendo stick for the save. That was the best fire Dominick has ever shown but it might not be the best idea to have that happen just after the eye angle.

R-Truth comes up to Mustafa Ali in the back because Ali is going to be on the MVP Lounge. Ali isn’t going after the 24/7 Title, which is a good thing because Truth wants his baby back.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP running down non-Hurt Business people. Last week, MVP saw someone come back from a seven month absence and he’s this week’s guest. Cue Mustafa Ali, who is very happy to have helped put the Hurt Business out of business last week. He is happy that he is back in WWE and on Raw, where he can become a champion. And he means a REAL champion, which doesn’t sit well with MVP.

That could happen, but MVP thinks it depends on Ali making the right decision. Ali doesn’t like the sound of that because he can think for himself. MVP says that sounds like what Apollo Crews said and now he is at home on the couch. So what is Ali’s decision? Cue R-Truth to go after Benjamin for two but the Hurt Business chases him off.

Mustafa Ali vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley draws a line on the mat and tells him to come get it and then shoves Ali down without much trouble. A big toss across the ring sets up a running shoulder to the ribs in the corner and Ali is in trouble early. There’s the faceplant and Lashley stomps him down in the corner. Now it’s a delayed vertical suplex for two but here’s Akira Tozawa to go after Benjamin as well. MVP and Benjamin beat up the Ninjas and Lashley gets in on things as well, including a crazy hard head first ram into the post. Ali gets in a shot from behind though and we take a break.

Back with Ali in trouble again as Lashley breaks up a springboard attempt and knocks him to the floor. That means some trash talk from MVP, plus an elevated Flatliner back inside. Ali slips away from the spinning Dominator though and the middle rope tornado DDT connects. The 450 misses and Lashley gets the full nelson for the tap at 11:31.

Rating: C-. Well so much for Ali being something important around here. This was 90% squash with Ali getting destroyed for most of the match until he hit a tornado DDT and that was it. This was almost depressing in a lot of ways as I was hoping to see Ali be a bigger deal, but then this happened.

Dolph Ziggler says he’s going to Summerslam after he beats Drew McIntyre tonight.

Long video on Sasha Banks vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Asuka, with Kairi Sane, is defending and can lose the title via countout, DQ or interference. Banks has Bayley here with her and before the match, Sasha talks about how there is no bigger bully than Stephanie McMahon. That’s because they run the whole company because they’re role models who stand against injustice. That’s why Bayley interfered at Extreme Rules and counted the pin on Asuka. Bayley: “Any role model would have done the same thing.” Before the bell, Sane chases Bayley off and we take a break.

Back with the Big Match Intros, followed by Asuka kicking away in the corner to start fast. The Shining Wizard gets two but Asuka can’t get a Fujiwara armbar. A Backstabber out of the corner gives Banks two and the half crab goes on. Banks lets that go and starts working on the leg until Asuka kicks her out to the floor. That’s enough for Banks as she tries to leave, but it’s the old Eddie Guerrero trick of throwing the belt to Asuka and falling down, but Banks doesn’t get the timing right and the referee doesn’t buy it. Asuka kicks her in the head instead and we take a break.

Back with Banks working on the leg again but Asuka fights up and strikes away. A knee to the face sends Banks to the apron but the knee is too hut to follow up. Banks is back with a kick to the head and the Meteora gets two. We’re right back to the half crab but Asuka grabs a kneebar instead. That’s switched into an ankle lock to keeps Banks in trouble until she rolls Asuka into the corner. A top rope Meteora is countered into a Codebreaker to put them both down again.

Asuka kicks the knee out again and gets two off a release German suplex. The hip attack gets the same but Banks gets in a shot of her own. The frog splash gives Banks two and the Bank Statement goes on. Asuka slips out but can’t get the Asuka Lock as Banks sends her outside instead.

Banks drops the bad knee onto the announcers’ table for nine, with the dive back inside ruining Banks’ posing. Asuka’s rollup is countered into the Bank Statement, which is reversed into the ankle lock. Asuka hits a middle rope dropkick but we see Bayley beating up Kairi Sane in the back. The distracted Asuka still hits a German suplex as Bayley beats the heck out of Sane. Bayley rams Sane into the steel wall over and over and Asuka finally goes to the back for the save, giving Banks the title via countout at 19:30.

Rating: B. They set this up well and I can go for Banks winning the title here, as it could set up something big at Summerslam. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Banks and Bayley getting a major rocket push as WWE tries to fill in the void left by Becky and Charlotte leaving. Good match too, as you would expect from these two without the stupid shenanigans.

Post break, Bayley and Banks are VERY excited and dance around in celebration. Asuka comes out of the trainer’s room and screams a lot.

Video on Regis Philbin, who passed away over the weekend.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Buddy Murphy

Carrillo goes straight at him to start and chops away in the corner, followed by a springboard back elbow. A springboard kick to the face sends Murphy outside for a suicide dive but Murphy shoves him off the ropes for a crash into the barricade. Back in and we hit the chinlock but Carrillo is right back up with a kick to the head. An enziguri sends Murphy into the corner and a missile dropkick to the back of the head gets two. Back up and Carrillo heads up top, only to dive into the jumping knee. Murphy’s Law is good for the pin at 6:36.

Rating: C+. These two having a good match is hardly a surprise, though I’m not sure how wise it was to have Murphy do the evil stuff to Black and then come out for a regular match later in the show. That’s part of having such a limited crew at the moment though and that is causing issue after issue. More Murphy is a good thing though so I’m rather pleased.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for the main event, but first he needs to address Randy Orton. The title match is set for Summerslam, and while Orton has promised Drew won’t see the RKO coming, Orton will sure see the Claymore coming. With that out of the way, here’s Ziggler for the stipulation. Drew liked Ziggler’s thinking at Extreme Rules for the Extreme Rules match, so tonight they’ll do it again, with Drew being able to get extreme too.

Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title and Extreme Rules. Drew goes outside to get a chair so Ziggler superkicks him without much trouble. Ziggler sends him into the post and Plexiglas but Drew is back with an elbow to the face. A lawn dart sends Ziggler hard into the Plexiglas and it’s time for the kendo stick. The Russian legsweep with the kendo stick sends Ziggler into the Plexiglas again and Drew wraps the stick around Ziggler’s mouth.

They head back inside with a bunch of chairs and a table coming with them. Ziggler can’t get a chair so McIntyre cracks him over the back with one instead. A low blow gets Ziggler out of trouble and he finds a second kendo stick to unload on McIntyre. Ziggler does everything McIntyre did to him but McIntyre takes the stick away.

Ziggler is placed on the apron, where his dive is caught for a big drive through the barricade as we take a break. Back with Drew hitting a top rope ax handle but not being able to hit the Future Shock. Instead Ziggler goes up but gets top rope superplexed right back down. The Zig Zag gives McIntyre two more so Ziggler grabs a chair, only to get Claymored through the table to give McIntyre the pin at 14:31.

Rating: B-. This was fine enough, though the lack of the title being on the line kind of took away the interest and that’s not the best idea given the way the TV numbers are going at the moment. McIntyre and Ziggler have chemistry together, but they can only do so much when you’re counting down to the pin. They have already been close enough to this place earlier this month, so seeing the match again wasn’t quite the draw.

Post match Drew holds up the title, earning every bit of the not so surprising RKO from Orton to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The two big matches carried the show and they had to do just that, as this week felt every second of the three hours and a lot more than that. As usual, it felt like they crammed weeks worth of material into a single week, which they kind of have to do because it’s time for Summerslam. I like the title change and Orton vs. McIntyre was inevitable (in a good way) but they need to find a way to make the show feel faster. I’m not sure if that is possible though, and that’s a big reason why the audience is leaving.

Results

Andrade/Angel Garza b. Viking Raiders and Ricochet/Cedric Alexander – Wing Clipper to Alexander

Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler went to a double countout

Bobby Lashley b. Mustafa Ali – Full nelson

Sasha Banks b. Asuka via countout

Murphy b. Humberto Carrillo – Murphy’s Law

Drew McIntyre b. Dolph Ziggler – Claymore through a table

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 20, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We’re finally done with Extreme Rules and that means it’s time to get ready for Summerslam. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but tonight we have Randy Orton vs. Big Show in an unsanctioned match. I’d be stunned if this doesn’t set up Orton vs. Drew McIntyre at Summerslam, which is the most logical main event they have had in a long time. Let’s get to it.

Here is Extreme Rules if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Eye For An Eye, which is no less ridiculous in highlight form.

Opening sequence.

Here are Rollins and Murphy for a chat, with commentary saying that Rey is expected to make a full recovery, deeming last night all the more meaningless. Rollins goes into a medical explanation of what happened and talks about how seeing the eye out of socket made him feel sick. Since then though, he has been asked if he regrets it. Rollins will answer that with a question: does the WWE Universe regret doing what they did to him?

They made him do these things, so let him ask them: do you regret what they have done to him, and by proxy, what they have done to Mysterio. Remember that the stipulation was Rey’s idea and actions have consequences. Mysterio is now out of sight and there is no one to stand in his way. Cue Aleister Black, who says the blame is all on Rollins. Black kicks Murphy down but Murphy is back up to keep Black from getting to Rollins just yet. Rollins bails to the floor as Black gets inside and we take a break.

Seth Rollins vs. Aleister Black

Joined in progress with Rollins stomping away but Black elbows him in the face. Rollins heads outside where he is sent into the apron and post, but Black’s right hand only hits the latter. Back in and Rollins hits the Sling Blade, plus a kick to the back for two. The armbar goes on, followed by a hammerlock, plus Rollins sending the arm into the corner. Black fights up with a boot to the face and a low bridge puts Rollins on the floor again.

The springboard knee misses for Rollins and Black starts striking away. Murphy gets knocked off the ropes but the standing Lionsault misses. Black Mass knocks Rollins silly but Murphy comes in, only to get kicked in the face. Rollins uses the delay to escape and it’s Black Mass to Murphy as we take a break. Back with Black missing Black Mass and getting superkicked. Rollins heads up top but misses a dive, allowing Black to hit a superkick of his own. The bad arm is sent into the mat though and Rollins nails the Stomp for a delayed pin at 12:02.

Rating: C+. They gave Black an out with the Murphy interference but it seems that they’re moving forward with Rollins as the big evil, because that’s what the show is needing. The eye thing was stupid, but Rollins is already a damaged character with all of his losses (like last week). Rollins is a great heel on his own. Why does he need this midcard gimmick to drag him down?

Post match Murphy goes back to the ring and wraps Black’s arm around the post a few times. The arm is spread out across the top of the table for a big stomp, with Rollins asking who is here to save Black.

We look at MVP claiming the US Title last night.

Ron Simmons of all people tell MVP and Bobby Lashley that there is a better way. Simmons leaves and R-Truth, with a frying pan, comes up to say MVP has a nice replica, even though Apollo Crews is the real champion. R-Truth accepts their invitation to the ring because he doesn’t want to be put in the nelson from the Simpsons again. Lashley says they want the new 24/7 champion in the ring. Shelton Benjamin pops up and hits R-Truth from behind to win the title.

Here are MVP, Lashley and Benjamin to talk about how MVP made history instead of excuses. It didn’t matter what Crews’ excuse was, but they’re on to other things. That would mean beating Dumb and Dumber tonight, when they face Ricochet and Cedric Alexander. Cue Ricochet and Cedric to mock the Dumb and Dumber line and say they’re ready to fight. They have a third partner, who is making his return to the show tonight.

Hurt Business vs. Ricochet/Cedric Alexander/Mustafa Ali

The good guys clear the ring and we take a break before the bell. Lashley blasts Cedric with a clothesline to start and takes him into the corner so Shelton can hammer away. MVP adds some knees to the ribs as commentary talks about Crews being the REAL US Champion, even though that’s not how rules work in wrestling. A belly to back suplex gives MVP two and Lashley hits the spear in the corner.

MVP’s running big boot in the corner sets up Ballin for two. Alexander gets a boot up and brings in Ali off the hot tag. The villains bail to the floor though and we take a break. Back with Lashley chinlocking Ricochet and choking away in the corner. Ricochet gets over to the corner though and it’s a hot tag to Ali. House is cleaned, including a suicide dive to send Lashley over the announcers’ table, and the 450 finishes MVP at 14:26.

Rating: C. I’m glad to see Ali back as he hasn’t been here in months now. I’m assuming this all but ends whatever was left of the hacker deal, which is a shame as that had some potential. Either way, it’s nice to see him here again as there was little reason to have him sit on the sidelines for months at a time.

Randy Orton talks about some of the important moments of his career and all of the people he has dealt with. Sometimes those people saved him from himself, but those moments brought him satisfaction. It made him feel better when he stood over Edge’s injured body, knowing that he had injured his career. Tonight, he’s going to enjoy Punting Big Show in the head and ending his career once and for all.

Ron Simmons is talking to the Viking Raiders.

Video on Big Show’s career.

Christian joins us via satellite and talks about the unsanctioned match with Orton. He can’t believe that Orton would use Christian’s respect for Ric Flair to Punt him in the head but that’s exactly what happened. Christian doesn’t regret a thing and would do it all again in a heartbeat. Tonight, he wants to see Big Show knock Orton out cold.

Bianca Belair explains the EST concept and is looking forward to showing up and put the IIconics in their place. Peyton Royce comes in and sends the interviewer away before calling Belair the dumbest of all time. Ruby Riott comes in to say Royce lost last week and now there’s no Billie Kay here. Royce says Billie is off handling business but since Peyton has beaten Ruby before, she might as well forfeit tonight. That’s not happening.

Ruby Riott vs. Peyton Royce

Riott drives her into the corner to start but Peyton shouts a lot and hits an elbow for two. The forearms to the back keep Ruby down and an elbow to the chest gets two more. Royce gets in a kick to the face but misses something off the top, allowing Riott to hit the Riott Kick for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: D+. This was a near squash until the ending but it is nice to see Ruby finally win something for a change. I know it doesn’t mean much as it’s just over Royce, but after going so long between singles wins, you take what you can get. It wasn’t a good match or anything, but that wasn’t exactly the point here.

We recap Angel Garza/Andrade jumping the Street Profits last month.

Garza, Andrade and Zelina Vega are ready for the Profits tonight and yes, they’re on the same page. Tonight, they’re getting a step close to becoming champions. Garza hits on Charly a bit more but here are the Profits to jump them from behind.

Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

Non-title and Vega is at ringside. Andrade and Garza jump Ford to start and knee Dawkins in the ribs to start. Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS (his own, not Dawkins’) and it’s Andrade stomping on Dawkins as we settle down a bit. Dawkins fights up and brings in Ford to hit his dropkick, allowing us the eyes bugged out look. A big flip dive to the floor drops Andrade and we take a break.

Back with Ford being stomped down in the corner and Garza adding a big shot to the face. The armbar goes on, followed by a quickly broken abdominal stretch. An enziguri is enough for the hot tag to Dawkins and the pace picks up a lot. Everything breaks down and it’s Ford tagging himself back in for the frog splash to finish Garza at 11:09.

Rating: C. I like the surprise ending here as this felt like it was destined to be the traditional non-title win over the champions to set up the title shot. The Profits have been champions for so long that they won the titles in front of people and that’s kind of a good thing. Ever since New Day’s record reign, no team had held the titles for more than 98 days. You need to build up a team for awhile and that’s what the Profits are doing.

We look back at the end of Sasha Banks vs. Asuka, with Bayley becoming the referee and stealing the title from Asuka.

Zelina yells at Andrade and Garza but they have this.

Here are Bayley and Sasha Banks for a chat. Banks says she has this and explains her version of what happened last night. Asuka intentionally tried to blind the referee with the mist and Bayley just borrowed his shirt. Bayley did it because she’s a role model and now they have all the gold. A celebratory dance breaks out but here are Asuka and Kairi Sane to interrupt.

Sasha was not ready for Asuka last night and the title is still hers. Banks says come get it so here they come. Hold on though as Stephanie McMahon pops up on screen to say Banks isn’t the Raw Women’s Champion. The title is on the line next week and Sasha can lose via pinfall, submission, countout, DQ, or with Bayley interfering. I’m assuming that counts for Asuka as well, but since Stephanie didn’t say it, it isn’t gospel.

Bayley vs. Kairi Sane

Non-title. Sane slugs away to start but Bayley comes back with some shots of her own. That earns her a hip attack to the floor, only to have Bayley come back in and stomp away in the corner. The chinlock doesn’t last long on Sane so Bayley snaps off a suplex for two. Sane drapes her on the top rope though and hits a top rope double stomp to the back, sending Bayley outside in a heap.

We take a break and come back with Bayley unloading in the corner. This is so fascinating that we cut to the back for an interview with Shayna Baszler, who says her interest in the match is like a shark seeing prey. Back to full screen with Sane reversing a suplex into a DDT for a breather. The Sliding D connects but Bayley grabs an armbar over the ropes in the corner.

Sane sweeps the leg and goes up top for an Alberto double stomp into a near fall. The spinning backfist into the Interceptor drops Bayley again but the Insane Elbow misses. Another Interceptor is cut off with a knee to the face. Bayley drops her with a suplex but misses her own top rope elbow. The Bayley to Belly is loaded up instead but Sane reverses into a rollup for the pin at 15:38.

Rating: B-. Given all of the rumors of Sane leaving WWE soon, this is quite the surprising result. That being said, it can also offer to shake things up a bit. I can’t imagine Sane taking the title from Bayley or anything like that, but it is a good idea to give Bayley something to do while they figure out her next big challenger. Good match too, with the surprise ending helping things.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for a chat. Last night he survived against Dolph Ziggler, who put up a heck of a fight. That’s typical of Ziggler’s career though, so it’s time to move on. Summerslam is coming up so he wants a top challenger. Cue Ziggler, who says he was so close that he wants a rematch.

Drew says no so Ziggler asks again, earning himself a shot to the face. McIntyre goes to leave but Ziggler says we’ll do it again with McIntyre picking the stipulation this time. The match is on, but Drew won’t give him any details yet. Ziggler wants to know the stipulation but Drew doesn’t know just yet. He’ll tell him before the bell rings. So yes, we really do need to do this AGAIN, because Ziggler is just so compelling.

Big Show talks about Randy Orton’s history and trying to live up to his name. They were a team before and called themselves the Hammer and Chisel. Over time, Show grew to learn that a tiger can’t change its stripes. That seems to have changed now because the Legend Killer is back. Show knows there is a boot to the head with his name on it but like a tiger, he’s dangerous when he has nothing to lose. Orton isn’t ending his story.

Big Show vs. Randy Orton

Unsanctioned so anything goes. Show knocks him into the corner in a hurry and hammers away at the arm. The spear sends Orton outside but cue Angel Garza and Andrade to jump Show. They whip him into the steps but the Viking Raiders run out to break up the Punt attempt as we take a break. Back with an unset table in the ring and Orton kicking at the leg. Show hits a quick chokeslam for two but the threat of the KO Punch sends Orton outside.

Back in and Show knocks him down again, this time putting Orton on the table. A Vader Bomb only hits table though, allowing Orton to hit the RKO for two. Orton isn’t happy, so he blasts Show in the back with some chair shots, leaving the referee to discard the pieces of the broken table. Another chair shot to the back sets up a top rope hanging DDT and a second RKO finishes Show at 13:45.

Rating: C. That’s all you could have expected it to be and that’s fine. Orton got in there and wrecked Show, which was exactly what he should have done. Show is expendable and Orton is probably about to headline Summerslam. What more can you expect from a match that was designed to accomplish one single goal?

Orton Punts Show to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: C-. It really is amazing how much easier a show this is to watch when they don’t have the stupid details dragging everything down. The Eye for an Eye stuff was referenced, but there is a big difference between “we’re going to rip someone’s eye out” and “Seth did something evil.” I don’t need to see Ziggler vs. McIntyre again, but if next week ends with McIntyre standing tall until an RKO outta nowhere ends the show, I’ll be happy enough. Not a great show here, but the lack of stupid helped it a lot.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Aleister Black – Stomp

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet/Mustafa Ali b. Hurt Business – 450 to MVP

Ruby Riott b. Peyton Royce – Riott Kick

Street Profits b. Angel Garza/Andrade – Frog splash to Garza

Kairi Sane b. Bayley – Rollup

Randy Orton b. Big Show – RKO

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 22, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re less than a month away from Extreme Rules but tonight is going to get a serious focus on the title picture with four title matches in one night. There almost has to be a title change in there somewhere, though the threat of Charlotte winning the Raw Women’s Title again makes me cringe. Let’s get to it.

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

A voiceover runs down the four title matches, plus everything else.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to open things up. He explains last week’s title defense….but here’s Dolph Ziggler to interrupt. Ziggler explains that he and Robert Roode have been traded to Raw in exchange for AJ Styles. We hear about McIntyre’s redemption story, with Ziggler bringing him up from nothing and now McIntyre is WWE Champion.

That sounds like a reason for Ziggler to get a title shot at Extreme Rules, but McIntyre doesn’t remember Ziggler winning many matches without Big Daddy Claymore there to help him out. Ziggler has become exactly what the two of them used to despise: an entitled jackass. It was Ziggler who named him the Scottish Psychopath so imagine what McIntyre will do with the title on the line. Ziggler wants the match, so it’s set for Extreme Rules for the title.

Here’s Nia Jax to sit in a chair and complain about Charlotte getting another title shot at the snap of her fingers. Where is the fairness after Nia got cheated out of her title match last week? Cue R-Truth to interrupt, saying he was supposed to face some ninja here. Unless Nia is Akira Tozawa, because ninjas are masters of disguise. Nia doesn’t want to deal with this, but here’s Tozawa behind the commentary table.

The Ninjas appear to chase Truth off, leaving Nia alone in the ring to say she isn’t leaving….and here’s Charlotte. She’s glad to explain that Nia just dropped the ball again, but Nia brings up how much Charlotte’s dad helped her career. Charlotte says it wasn’t her dad who beat Asuka for the first time. The insults are on as is the brawl, with referees breaking it up. Charlotte comes up favoring her left arm.

We recap the Viking Raiders vs. the Street Profits, setting up their Tag Team Title match.

The Raiders and Profits agree that they are friends, but they’re fighting for the titles once the bell rings. That’s cool, and the four of them head to the ring. Zelina Vega pops in to smile.

Tag Team Titles: Viking Raiders vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending and the winners win their entire series. Erik drives Dawkins into the corner to start and Ivar is sent into Dawkins’ face fort he early two. Dawkins comes up with a heck of a right hand and it’s off to Ford for a pair of leapfrogs. There’s a dropkick to put Erik on the floor for the big flip dive….but Erik catches him in a crazy power display. Ford is powerbombed onto Dawkins and we take a break.

Back with Ford making the hot tag to Dawkins so house can be cleaned. A Viking Experience gets two on Erik so it’s a shot to Ford’s face to take him down. The handspring elbow drops Ford again but he’s right back with an enziguri. Dawkins comes in and it’s a cartwheel off until Erik powerbombs Ford and World’s Strongest Slams Dawkins at the same time. Ivar’s top rope splash misses Dawkins so it’s the Cash Out to Ivar for the pin as Dawkins spears Ivar down at 8:35.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice match, though I’m not sure if it was worth the two month setup. What matters though is they FINALLY had a match and got somewhere with the story. I could have gone with some more of this but what we got was good enough. Somehow the Profits have the longest reign since New Day’s record run, which makes you realize how weak the division really has been in recent years. Still though, nice match here.

Post match respect is shown but Angel Garza and Andrade run in to jump the Profits. The Raiders make the save.

A serious Seth Rollins has a message for Rey Mysterio tonight.

We recap Dominick jumping Rollins last week and then running away from near destruction.

Rollins talks about how sometimes in life, people are put in roles they aren’t ready for. The difference between himself and Mysterio is that Rollins has accepted his role while Mysterio has allowed his son to get involved in the situation. The greater good is coming and Rey needs to know that legends never die, but they can outlive their welcome.

We look back at Nia and Charlotte getting in a fight earlier.

Charlotte’s arm is taped up but she’s not postponing anything tonight.

Charly Caruso asks Zelina Vega what was up with the attack but has to shake off Angel’s advances. They’re a united front and coming for the titles.

Raw Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Asuka

Charlotte, with the bad shoulder, is challenging and stomps Asuka into the corner to start. Back up and Asuka is smart enough to kick at the arm and send it into the mat. The running hip attack in the ropes misses but Asuka snaps the arm across the top. There’s a kick to the face for a bonus but a dropkick off the apron misses, allowing Charlotte to hit her own boot to the face. They head back inside with Charlotte grabbing the Figure Four Neck Lock but she has to bail out of the moonsault.

Instead it’s a Downward Spiral to send Asuka into the middle buckle and we take a break. Back with Charlotte hammering away in the corner until Asuka grabs a German suplex. Asuka gets kicked in the face but manages to pull Charlotte into a cross armbreaker. Charlotte gets over to the ropes though and the spear connects for two. Asuka is right back with a triangle, so Charlotte powerbombs her way to…well actually right into the Asuka Lock for the tap 11:41.

Rating: B-. Well she beat Charlotte, and all it took was a bad shoulder injury. It wasn’t exactly a straight up win but I’ll take it over Charlotte getting the title again. That being said, I see no reason to believe that she won’t have it by the end of say Summerslam, but that is always the case with Charlotte around. It was a good match as usual, though I was more relieved than happy that Asuka won.

In the back, Nia says it would be a shame for someone to kick the Queen when she is down.

We look back at Randy Orton beating Edge at Backlash, then challenging Christian to a match and Punting him as well, thanks to a Ric Flair low blow.

Edge is sitting in a ring and says Orton won at Backlash but he didn’t live up to his claim of being the better pure wrestler. He tore Edge’s tricep off the bone so it’s another surgery but Edge felt the panic. The Anti-Venom was about to be locked in and it was an accidental low blow so Orton could save himself. Edge is disappointed that he didn’t do it first and now this injury has kept him from hugging his daughters on Father’s Day. The second that Orton hit the Punt and then backed Jay into a corner, Orton showed what kind of a man he was.

Christian was ecstatic to be back for one night but then Orton went too far. Edge is thankful for waking up a side of Edge that has been gone and he doesn’t care how many backs he has to step on to be back. Now he’s going to make Orton wish that Cowboy Bob was firing blanks on the night he was conceived. Orton’s kids are going to come running up to him and ask if he’s ok, but he won’t be. Edge is going to be screaming louder than all of the voices in Orton’s head. Thank you for waking up the evil.

Orton talks about what happens when you back a snake into a corner. That snake is going to defend itself and do what it has to do to survive. Edge and Christian backed him into a corner and he struck so he’s going to do what he has to do to protect things. That’s Mother Nature and he hopes Edge and Christian recover and live healthy lives far, far away from him.

Charlotte is about to be interviewed by here’s Nia to jump her from behind.

24/7 Title: Akira Tozawa vs. R-Truth

Tozawa is challenging and has the Ninjas with him. Hold on though as here are Bobby Lashley and MVP to beat up the Ninjas before getting in the ring. There’s the full nelson on R-Truth to leave him laying in revenge for last week. Tozawa runs in to steal the pin and the title. The bell never rang so the match never actually started but….yeah you get the idea.

Natalya interrupts an update on Charlotte and says the division needs her leadership. Charlotte isn’t the kind of person to give motivational speeches and since the interviewer screwed up and didn’t schedule an interview with her, everyone will have to wait on Natalya’s announcement.

Liv Morgan vs. Natalya

Lana is here with Natalya. A discus lariat gets an early two on Liv and it’s a bunch of stomping in the corner. An over the shoulder backbreaker sends Morgan over to the ropes so Natalya tosses her to the floor. Liv gets in a shot of her own but Lana’s distraction lets Natalya hit a chop block. The Sharpshooter makes Liv tap at 2:00.

Post match, the celebration is on. No announcement is made.

Big Show is confused by all of the Ninjas around here. He was only here last week to see some old friends but when else is he going to get to punch a ninja? After a plug of the Big Show Show, he reminds us of the angry giant inside him. That man is heading to the ring right now.

Ziggler vs. McIntyre is confirmed for Extreme Rules.

Here’s Ric Flair to anoint Randy Orton as the Greatest Wrestler of All Time. Before we get to that, Flair warns Nia Jax of what is coming for her when Charlotte is healthy again. That brings Flair to Orton, who Punted Edge and Christian back into retirement last week. Cue Orton, with Flair holding the ropes open for him. Flair offers a bunch of praise and Orton talks about getting rid of Edge and Christian for the last time. It made him the Legend Killer again and now he’s back where he….can be interrupted by Big Show.

Edge and Christian are his friends so Orton is going to pay. Show has always known Orton is a parasite and they both know Edge isn’t done. Orton doesn’t like Show threatening Flair because Flair paved the way for people like them. It’s true that Show may be a legend but he’ll suffer the same fate as Edge and Christian. Show is ready to fight but Orton bails to the floor. Orton is motivated, and he’ll deal with Show later.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: IIconics vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Bayley and Banks are defending. Kay kicks Banks in the face for a very fast two but Bayley breaks up the running knee. Royce is sent into the announcers’ table so Kay gets tossed into the corner. Bayley comes in but gets sent into the other corner for a knee from Peyton as we take a break.

Back with Kay winning a slugout with Bayley but getting sent into the corner again. Bayley’s running elbow in the corner connects so Royce tags herself in. The fisherman’s suplex give Peyton two with Banks making the save. A double powerbomb gives the champs two on Royce, who gets caught in two of Three Amigos. The third is broken up but Banks is back with the Bank Statement to retain the titles at 6:47.

Rating: C-. They might have something here with Banks getting the win while Bayley keeps getting her into trouble, but at some point they need to just have the big title match already. The build has been on long enough now and with Boston not likely for Summerslam, just do it already. They need some new challengers for the titles, but I have a bad feeling it’s going to wind up on Natalya/Lana somehow.

Post match Banks says she’s a little tired of hearing Bayley bragging about having two titles. She wants a title shot at Extreme Rules….against Asuka. Cue Asuka to yell in Japanese and the match is on. The beatdown is on as well with Banks getting the Bank Statement.

Bobby Lashley and MVP say this is the new Lashley, just like it could be a new Apollo Crews. See, MVP say what Crews used to beat Shelton Benjamin last week, which makes it more confusing to see Crews agree to face Benjamin again tonight.

Liv Morgan is banged up when Ruby Riott stops her. Morgan isn’t interested right now because she couldn’t feel much worse.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP talking about how great Apollo Crews has been lately. Crews comes out, with MVP talking about how Crews is talented but he needs someone to help guide his way through these stupid decisions. MVP mentions Crews’ daughter but Crews cuts him off, saying he got here without MVP’s help so the answer is no.

That doesn’t work for MVP, so Crews asks what MVP is going to do to take the title. See, MVP has won the title twice but isn’t going to hold it a third time. Crews doesn’t like what MVP is saying so here’s Shelton Benjamin to cut things off. An MVP distraction lets Benjamin get in a cheap shot though, with MVP saying always watch your blind side.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title and joined in progress with Crews’ favoring his shoulder from before the match. Shelton kicks away but Crews gets in a shot of his own, setting up the standing moonsault. That’s pulled into a quick armbar, which is quickly countered for a crash out to the floor. Shelton’s charge hits post so Crews takes him back inside for the Toss Powerbomb and the pin at 2:10.

Post match MVP gets in Crews’ face again but Lashley runs in for the full nelson to leave Crews laying.

Rey Mysterio assures Dominick that he’s ready to do this.

Here are Mysterio and Dominick for a chat. Rey talks about how scary it can be to not be able to get in touch with your child. That was the case last week when Rey didn’t know Dominick was coming here to go after Rollins. Mysterio isn’t happy with what Dominick did and no matter how big or strong he may be, he’s still Rey’s son. Last week, Dominick fought for him, so tonight, Rey is going to fight for him. He needs to get revenge on Rollins, but he needs to do it on his own.

Dominick isn’t going anywhere though, so Rollins can come fight a family. Cue Rollins to say Mysterio has put him in a difficult situation. Should he come to the ring to destroy a father in front of his son, or should he sacrifice Dominick in front of Rey? Actually never mind, because this is fate, prophecy and destiny, so he’ll take both of them at once. Austin Theory and Murphy join Rollins….but Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo jump them from behind.

The brawl is on with Theory and Murphy being taken down, leaving Rollins surrounded. Mysterio gets in a 619 and the good guys try to take out Rollins’ eye like he did to Mysterio, only to have Murphy and Theory make the save. Rollins goes for Dominick’s eye but Black and Carrillo make the save to end the show. Dominick still isn’t all that interesting but this was a hot brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did some interesting things and that’s a good sign for the future. One thing I did like was they kept some stories going throughout the show instead of having a segment end and the person never being seen again. You can do that without burning through a bunch of stories in one night and that is what they did here. They’re getting ready for Extreme Rules and while Ziggler getting a World Title match makes me cringe (like focusing on Natalya), they do seem to have a plan on the way to the pay per view. Now just don’t do stupid stuff to slip up.

Results

Street Profits b. Viking Raiders – Cash Out to Ivar

Asuka b. Charlotte – Asuka Lock

Natalya b. Liv Morgan – Sharpshooter

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. IIconics – Bank Statement to Royce

Apollo Crews b. Shelton Benjamin – Toss Powerbomb

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 8, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Backlash so expect to hear a lot of about the best match ever. Christian is here to interview Edge, but even more importantly, we have a Decathlon between the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. Things like that convince me that WWE hates us at times. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Asuka for a match vs. Charlotte but hang on as here are Bayley and Sasha Banks to interrupt. They brag about winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles, allowing them to go wherever they want. Asuka yells in Japanese so here’s Charlotte to tell them to pick up the pace. Charlotte says she needs to beat Asuka, but here are the IIconics to say they’re going to win the titles again on Sunday. Asuka yells some more and Charlotte agrees. It doesn’t matter how many titles Bayley and Sasha win because Charlotte will always see them as garbage. The fight is on and it’s Charlotte and Asuka clearing the ring.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. IIconics vs. Charlotte/Asuka

Non-title. Sasha headlocks Peyton down to start but the Meteora is countered into a rollup for two. They both try dropkicks at the same time, meaning it’s a standoff. Asuka and Charlotte are knocked off the apron and it’s Bayley coming in to send Peyton into the corner. There’s a knee to the ribs for two but Peyton gets over to Billie for the tag. Bayley shouts a lot so Billie pulls her down by the hair and knees her in the face.

Charlotte tags herself in and sends Bayley into the corner. There won’t be a tag to Asuka, with Charlotte opting to chop Bayley in the corner instead. Bayley avoids a charge in the corner and drives Charlotte over for the tag to Sasha. The champs stomp away until Charlotte knocks them both down (of course) and brings in Asuka.

House is cleaned in a hurry with the flying hip attack to Banks and a bulldog/clothesline combination to the IIconics. Charlotte mockingly applauds as we take a break. Back with the IIconics cleaning house until it’s off to Charlotte to take them out. Asuka tags herself in and kicks away at Billie, only to have Charlotte tag herself back in, ordering Asuka out of her ring. Chopping abounds but Asuka tags herself in again to Asuka Lock Kay for the tap at 10:42.

Rating: C. You could see where this was going the second Banks and Bayley came out because Charlotte must be involved in everything. Odds are she’s either going to be added to the Raw Women’s Title match or Charlotte and Asuka will be added to the triple threat title match. Really, you might as well just add her to both because we need her star power everywhere, or so WWE certainly seems to believe.

Post match Charlotte lays out Asuka and holds up the title. So the new Tag Team Champions (including Bayley, who has been SmackDown Women’s Champion for eight months) are afterthoughts for another Charlotte title feud. Great.

We recap Seth Rollins hosting Rey Mysterio’s retirement ceremony last week, with Dominick Mysterio looking ready to fight for his dad. Later that night, Aleister Black beat Rollins but got beaten down after the match.

Rey Mysterio joins us for a chat from his house but hang on because Rollins comes out to join commentary. Back from a break with Rey talking about seeing his doctor this morning and now he’s coming for Rollins. Seth says Rey needs to understand the power of words and all the lies that he is spreading. Rey could have walked away a hero but he needs to spread this misinformation. He had the chance to walk away a legend so now Rollins is inviting Rey and Dominick to come to Raw next week. Rey knows this is just because he’s not cleared and yells in Spanish. Cue Black to jump Rollins as we cut to a break.

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black vs. Murphy/Austin Theory

Carrillo starts fast with the high angle springboard armdrag to put Theory on the apron. He’s right back in for the double tag to Murphy and Black, with the latter firing off the kicks. Murphy’s Law is countered into a rollup for one and Black adds a springboard moonsault for two. Everything breaks down and Carrillo hits a loud suicide dive onto Theory. Murphy goes up top and gets his head kicked in by Black the pin at 2:20.

Post match here’s Seth Rollins in a Mysterio mask to Mysterio’s music (which is completely different than last week when Nia Jax did the same thing in an Asuka mask) so the trio can beat down Carrillo and Black. Carrillo is sent to the floor and Black gets planted by Murphy’s Law. The Stomp leaves Black laying again.

Randy Orton is ready for Edge to be on the Peep Show.

Here’s Christian for the Peep Show with Edge. After Edge sits down, Christian says Edge is running on fumes and couldn’t pull off the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever in his prime. They’re best friends so they have to be honest with each other. Edge talks about how difficult it is to have this kind of a burden put on him. This is a different Edge though and isn’t the same guy who had to calm Christian down before all of their tag matches. It’s an Edge firing on every cylinder, even though he doesn’t know how many cylinders he has left.

Christian says he’s hearing excuses and he wants to know what Edge was expecting when he came back? Flash a smile and hit some spears before he goes home? Edge’s biggest fan was his mom, who is going to be there for this one too. Christian calls him Adam as Edge’s lip is quivering and that’s what Christian was looking for.

Edge put Orton down at Wrestlemania because he has the anti-venom and we believe in him. We think you can have the greatest match ever, and here’s Orton on the screen to interrupt. Orton is tired of hearing about this and is ready to take away every ounce of GRIT that Edge has. This Sunday, in the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever, the redemption of Edge is over. Edge: “No it’s not.” And he leaves.

That was one of the dumbest segments I can remember in a good while and sums up the problem with this entire setup. In the entire Edge and Christian segment, there was not one mention or reference to Edge winning the match. The whole point was having a great match and if Edge won, that was just a bonus. As a fan, why should I care if Edge can have a great match? I should be caring about who wins and loses, not how many stars a match is going to get. It’s one thing for a wrestling fan to think that way but for a wrestling company to be presenting that as the story? That’s a really bad sign.

MVP, in a Shad Gaspard shirt, is ready for Bobby Lashley to be in the VIP Lounge this week but R-Truth interrupts him. As Truth tries to hide in a crate, MVP asks what he is thinking by interrupting him. Cue Bobby Lashley to full nelson Truth and leave him laying.

We recap the Viking Raiders vs. Street Profits. In everything other than wrestling of course.

It’s time for the Decathlon, with five events picked per side. It’s a bunch of rapid fire competitions so here’s the short version:

The Profits won a 1600 meter dash to start, the Raiders won archery (when Dawkins shot a guy in the foot), the Profits won the flip cup (so Ivar broke the table), the Raiders won sword fighting when Ford forfeited, the Profits won the hurdles (resulting in an argument over whether you’re supposed to run through or jump over the hurdles), the Raiders won stick fighting, the Profits won a dance off (with Ford dancing to Sexy Boy and Ivar to Fandango’s theme), the Profits won the shot put, the Raiders won turkey leg eating and the Raiders won the pole vault, meaning it’s a 5-5 tie. My head hurts again.

Here’s Apollo Crews for a chat. He’s ready to defend the US Title against the winner of the following match.

Kevin Owens vs. Andrade vs. Angel Garza

Owens jumps the other two on the way to the ring and the fight is on in a hurry before the bell. We come back from a break with Owens being double teamed and the argument over who gets to pin him. Garza stops to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS, allowing Owens to roll Andrade up for two. Owens fights out of another double team but gets his throat snapped across the rope. A dropkick to the back of the head stops Owens again and it’s Andrade cranking on both arms. The chinlock goes on and Garza grabs the leg at the same time. Joe: “That’s the most violent Pilates session I’ve ever seen.”

A double suplex gives Andrade two but the fight is on when Garza makes the save. Zelina tries to break up the fight on the floor but she gets knocked down as we take a break. Back with Owens breaking up a superplex attempt from Garza and hitting the Swanton for two. Andrade jumps on Owens’ back so he drops down onto Garza for the crash. The Cannonball hits Garza but misses Andrade, who hits the running knees in the corner to both of them.

Garza superkicks Andrade but gets superkicked by Owens, setting up the frog splash for two on Andrade. Garza’s missile dropkick puts Owens down so it’s a strike off between Garza and Andrade. The two of them head outside, leaving Owens to hit a big running flip dive. Back in and Garza dropkicks Owens in the leg and grabs a leglock. The rope is grabbed and Owens hits the Stunner, only to have Andrade come in and steal the pin at 12:49.

Rating: C+. I was surprised by the ending and while I don’t exactly care to see Apollo vs. Andrade again, it wasn’t the way I expected the match to go. Just getting Crews a title defense on pay per view is a good idea, though I’m not sure if he is going to be retaining. This story isn’t all that interesting, but it’s better than having the title sit on the shelf for months at a time.

We look back at the opening segment and match.

Charlotte says she didn’t lose the NXT Women’s Title last night and she doesn’t like Asuka stealing her moment. Asuka dances in with the title, singing about being a champion. Charlotte asks if she takes anything seriously and gets slapped down.

Zelina is mad at Andrade and Garza.

Kurt Angle joins us to read cue cards (you can see his eyes going back and forth) to talk about how important chemistry is to a great match. He picks Edge to win on Sunday.

Drew McIntyre is thinking about joining the Vikings and invites them to a celebration after the show tonight. There will be meat and turkey legs, but Erik tells Ivar to focus.

Here’s MVP for the VIP Lounge. He talks about his guest being great and having the most devastating finishing move in WWE so here’s Drew McIntyre. Drew talks about them being friends, even though MVP might have had something to do with last week’s full nelson. MVP says they’re not friends and that Bobby Lashley is the real guest. See, MVP is here to make Lashley reach his potential as World Champion. Drew asks about all of MVP’s World Titles and offers to count down to the Claymore but Lashley runs in. Cue the Viking Raiders for a scheduled tag match, with the Street Profits joining them.

Viking Raiders vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

Drew and the Profits are at ringside. Lashley hits a quick Downward Spiral to Ivar but some knees to the ribs get him out of trouble. It’s off to Erik for a knee to MVP as Lana is watching in the back. Ivar slams Erick onto MVP so Lashley comes in to run Erik over. MVP adds a chinlock but quickly hands it back to Lashley to hammer away.

Erik punches his way to freedom though and it’s back to Ivar to clean house. Everything breaks down with MVP and Lashley yelling at the Profits, leaving Ivar to dive onto both of them as we take a break. Back with the Vikings beating Lashley up some more, including an armbar from Ivar.

We cut to an interview with Lana, who talks about how she needs to work on her marriage. Back to full screen with MVP working over Ivar, who flips over MVP’s back to make the hot tag to Erik. Lashley gets sent outside, where he stares at McIntyre and then spears Ivar. Back in and the full nelson makes Erik tap at 15:10.

Rating: C. The action was good and it makes Lashley look like a monster to make someone like Erik tap. That being said, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I hope they wait a bit before doing the Raiders vs. the Profits again. Lashley came off great here as the Raiders are big but he’s better. Good booking, assuming they don’t have the Raiders shrug it off and go for the titles immediately.

Post match Ivar punches MVP and gets full nelsoned as well. The Street Profits can’t break it up, but the Claymore certainly can.

Charlotte vs. Asuka

Non-title and here are Banks and Bayley to join commentary. Charlotte kicks Asuka in the face and then takes her down by the leg. They head outside with Asuka being thrown over the commentary table as we take a break. Back with Asuka still in trouble on the floor and not being able to hit the hip attack inside. She can however something like the Octopus but Charlotte is out in a hurry with a running kick to the head for two.

The IIconics are watching from the crowd as Charlotte cranks on both arms at once. Charlotte knees her to the floor but misses a baseball slide. Instead Asuka hits a dragon screw legwhip over the middle rope and now the hip attack hits against the barricade. Charlotte sends her into the barricade for a clothesline though, followed by some bare kneedrops. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Asuka gets two off a small package.

Charlotte’s clothesline gets the same and it’s out to the floor again. The baseball slide drops Asuka but she unloads with kicks to Charlotte’s leg. Back in and Charlotte boots Asuka off the top as the IIconics jump Banks and Bayley. We take another break with the other four gone and Asuka hip attacking Charlotte. The cross armbreaker has Charlotte in trouble but she powers out and knocks Asuka into the chinlock.

Asuka fights up so Charlotte knees her back down, only to have Asuka get in another shot. The middle rope dropkick sets up a German suplex to send Charlotte into the corner. That means more kicks to the back and it’s a hip attack to put Charlotte outside. They fight to the apron with Charlotte hitting a big boot, setting up a moonsault off the barricade. Asuka’s leg is wrapped around the post but she’s able to pull Charlotte face first into the post as well.

Back in and another big boot gives Charlotte another two but Asuka counters the spear with a heck of a knee to the face. The Asuka Lock is countered with a rollup for two so Asuka rolls her into something like a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up but here’s Nia Jax for a distraction, allowing Charlotte to hit another big boot for the pin at 27:12.

Rating: B. They beat each other up as always and I can go for the idea of Asuka having someone she can’t beat, but another interference to set up the finish wasn’t quite the way I wanted to see it go. No it wasn’t a clean loss, but it feels like Asuka is someone who has been fighting from underneath since the day she won the title. That gets a little annoying and having Charlotte get the win again doesn’t make it any better.

Post match Jax Samoan drops Asuka to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yes, Charlotte did just open and close the show with wins over the Raw Women’s Champion, the Smackdown Women’s Champion and the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Why are you surprised at this point? The show was pretty solid overall with some good wrestling and a build towards Backlash that was needed. I’m not overly excited for a lot of the show, but the main event looks good and there are a few other things that could help boost it up. This show helped get us there, but 45 minutes of Charlotte is a lot not matter what.

Results

Charlotte/Asuka b. IIconics and Sasha Banks/Bayley – Asuka Lock to Kay

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black b. Austin Theory/Murphy – Kick to Murphy’s head

Andrade b. Angel Garza and Kevin Owens – Stunner to Garza

Bobby Lashley/MVP b. Viking Raiders – Full nelson to Erik

Charlotte b. Asuka – Big boot

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

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

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

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

When wrestling isn’t wrestling.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-somebody-check-marquee/

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 1, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re less than two weeks away from Backlash and that means it’s time to get the hard push going. They’re doing something right with Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley as last week’s brawl went pretty well. What matters is getting something else underneath that and pushing “the greatest wrestling match ever” isn’t really working. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are Seth Rollins and company to open things up. Rollins talks about wanting to face Aleister Black soon but later tonight, it’s Rey Mysterio’s retirement ceremony. Rey won’t be here to retire himself though so Seth, as the leader, is going to appreciate Rey for the rest of us. See, Rey was a sacrifice for the greater good of Monday Night Raw, which was a moment that will live in time forever. Rollins has prepared a video on Rey’s career, which starts off as a nice tribute and then jumps to Rollins taking out Rey’s eye. Cue Black to deck Rollins and clear the ring.

Seth Rollins vs. Aleister Black

They slug it out to the floor to start with Black getting the better of things. Rollins hits a dropkick on the way back inside though and it’s time to stomp away. There’s a dropkick and Rollins talks trash about Black disrespecting Mysterio. Black is sent outside for the suicide dive into the barricade but Rollins misses an enziguri back inside. Black hits a kick to the head but gets backdropped over the top to land face first on the apron in a nasty looking crash.

Austin Theory and Murphy go after Black but here’s Humberto Carrillo (ERG) for the save with a chair before anything happens. Back from a break with Rollins choking away in the corner and slugging off a comeback attempt. The top rope knee to the head misses and Black slugs away with some more success. The Lionsault gives Black two and a German suplex is good for the same. Rollins gets in a low superkick into the Falcon Arrow for two more.

The frog splash hits knees though and they head to the apron for a kickoff. Black kicks him into the steps and hits a moonsault to the floor as we take another break. Back again with Rollins knocking Black off the top and hitting the frog splash for a delayed two. The Stomp misses though and Black grabs an armbar. That’s broken up so Rollins tries another springboard, only to get kneed out of the air. Humberto cuts off Theory and Murphy from interfering, allowing Black to roll Rollins up for the pin at 21:08.

Rating: B-. This felt long but the bigger problem is Rollins losing again. He’s one of the featured stars of the show and he hasn’t exactly won anything important in a good while. I do like Black getting a win though as it gives him a nice boost, though I’m not sure where he is supposed to go at the moment.

Post match the beatdown is on and Black has to watch Carrillo take the Stomp. Rollins asks if Black wants to be a hero and then Stomps him as well.

We look back at Angel Garza beating Kevin Owens last week.

Garza talks about how everything goes in love. In competition and seduction, you must always be one step ahead. He even has a rose for Charly Caruso, but Zelina Vega rips it up.

Shawn Michaels talks about Edge and Randy Orton because he knows about having the greatest matches ever. He picks Edge.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley.

Lana again yells at MVP, who cuts her off and says he isn’t getting sucked into a bunch of attention seeking drama. She accuses him of trying to revive his career but MVP isn’t really phased. Lana calls him a leach, which MVP says means there are two of them. That earns him a slap but no screaming this time.

We recap the opening sequence.

Kayla Braxton brings out Apollo Crews for a chat. Crews talks about how it hasn’t sunk in yet but for tonight, he gets to pick his own opponent. Here’s the opponent for the title defense.

US Title: Apollo Crews vs. Kevin Owens

Crews is defending and Owens has a bad knee coming in. Before the match, Owens thinks Crews is giving him the title shot out of pity. Crews insists that he deserves it, but Owens says the first title reign will be a short one. They start fast with Crews hitting a dropkick for one but Owens is back with his own dropkick. A clothesline to the floor looks to set up the flip dive but Crews is smart enough to step to the side.

Crews’ moonsault off the apron misses so Owens hits a Cannonball off the apron instead. Back in and the Swanton gets two on Crews in a near fall. We pause for a quick injury to Crews, who was goldbricking so the slugout can be on. They fight out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Crews charging into a superkick but coming back with an enziguri for two. A corner splash connects but Owens knocks him down, only to have the Swanton hit knees. They’re both down so here are Andrade and Angel Garza for the double DQ at 10:24.

Rating: C. This was starting to get good near the end and at least Crews looks like a fighting champion instead of someone who loses in his first defense. That being said, it’s more interference to set up an impromptu tag match because that’s one of the favorites around here. A four way at Backlash wouldn’t surprise me.

Angel Garza/Andrade vs. Kevin Owens/Apollo Crews

Never let it be said that this company doesn’t change up something that they like. Joined in progress with Crews being stomped down and Andrade hitting a running knee to the face. Garza comes in for a kick to the face but Crews gets over for the hot tag to Owens. That’s fine with Andrade, who pops him in the face and grabs a half crab. Owens breaks it up and brings Crews back in for an Angle Slam to Andrade. Garza hits Owens in the knee, leaving Andrade to take the Toss Powerbomb for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: D+. It was the short form version of the same kind of match we’ve seen for years. There was nothing interesting here but at least Crews got a pin. Odds are it’s a four way for the title somehow, which could be a nice win for Apollo, assuming they don’t put it on Garza as fast as they can.

We recap the Viking Raiders vs. the Street Profits in various competitions.

Tonight, it’s bowling, with the Raiders being rather good at the game. The Profits are terrible for the sake of tying the score. The Raiders even provide beverages, in the form of goat’s milk. With the Profits not being able to hit a single pin, the Raiders raid the snack bar but don’t get thrown out because Ivar is cute. The Profits want the smoke so the lights get all flashy and the comeback is on. It’s 130-121 to the Profits with one Raiders ball to go, so Ivar is thrown down the alley and hits a strike to win by one pin. That ties the competitions at 2-2.

We recap the IIconics attacking Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss last week.

Cross/Bliss and the IIconics have to be separated in the back.

Nikki Cross vs. Billie Kay

Cross sends her into the corner over and over to start, setting up a basement dropkick for two. A big boot gives Kay two and she elbows Cross for the same. The kickouts are getting on Kay’s nerves so Cross slugs away and even hits a slingshot dropkick to the ribs. The missile dropkick doesn’t work though and Kay hits a sitout Rock Bottom for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: D+. They’re sticking with the greatest hits tonight as we get the challenger pins champion checked off the list. It’s an interesting idea to have the champs trying to fight two battles at once and coming up a bit short though so points for trying something different. And having the champions actually do something of course.

Drew McIntyre is ready to Claymore MVP again if that’s what he wants.

Rey Mysterio joins us via satellite and says he isn’t sure when he’ll be back. If the wound is infected, his career is over. His retirement isn’t in his hands anymore and he may never be cleared to compete again. As for Seth Rollins, he certainly has a lot of negativity for someone who claims to be a messiah. Dominick comes in to say that someone from this family needs to fight back and no he won’t calm down. Rey isn’t happy with what Rollins has put his family through and leaves. Dominick stays and says an eye for an eye.

Here’s Nia Jax to say she didn’t start this with Kairi Sane. This is all smoke and mirrors, just like Asuka’s title reign. Asuka is champion because of Becky’s hormones and now Nia is the victim in all of this.

We recap R-Truth and Rob Gronkowski arguing over the 24/7 Title.

Earlier today, Gronkowski was doing a Tik Tok photo shoot when R-Truth, as the gardener, rolled him up to steal the title back. Good. Now stay gone.

Kairi Sane vs. Nia Jax

Nia shoves her down to start and pats her on the head, earning a shot to the face. Sane gets in a sleeper but Jax slips out, leaving Sane to kick away at the back/shoulder. Back up and a headbutt catches Sane on top but she pulls Jax down with a DDT for one. The sliding elbow in the corner looks to set up the Insane Elbow but Jax rolls outside. Sane’s slide is countered and Jax sends her head first into the steps. Back in and the big leg finishes Sane in a hurry. This would be the match where Sane was busted open badly so they did a nice job with the editing there.

Rating: C-. Now stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Nia is laughing off the idea that anyone could beat her and is being all dominant as she heads into a title shot. That feels like the only story that they know how to tell with her and it gets a little tiresome seeing it every single time. That’s the same problem that so many stories have these days and it’s not going away.

We look back at Edge’s comments on Randy Orton last week.

Orton talks about Ric Flair calling him the best to ever lace up a pair of boots. A few weeks ago, Edge talked about Orton not having a passion for wrestling and having everything handed to him. It’s true, and Edge is angry that it took a half effort from Orton to accomplish everything. All he has to do is wake up, lace up his boots and get in the ring. At Backlash, Edge’s storybook ending is being rewritten by the RKO.

Charlotte vs. Asuka

Non-title. Before the match, Charlotte talks about how she wants one of the NXT wrestlers in the crowd to step up and become her next challenger so she can make them bow down. We hear about Asuka’s resume and Charlotte thinks the Empress wants to be the Queen. The threat of the Asuka Lock is broken up early on and Charlotte strikes away. A shot to Asuka’s knee sends us to an early break.

Back with Charlotte staying on the knee, including a kick to said knee to cut off Asuka’s striking. Charlotte charges into a kick to the head though and a German suplex into a Shining Wizard gets two. Joe: “A flying knee each day keeps the coherency away.” Asuka pulls her into the triangle choke, which is reversed into a Boston crab.

Asuka rolls out and grabs a kneebar but Charlotte stands up and grabs her own German suplex. That just means another triangle from Asuka, with Charlotte powerbombing her way to freedom for two more. Charlotte kicks her to the floor….so here’s Nia Jax in Asuka’s mask to Asuka’s music for a distraction and the countout to give Charlotte the win at 9:47.

Rating: B-. I never need to see Charlotte again and I certainly don’t need to see her beat Asuka again. The love for Charlotte around here is sickening at times and this time we even got Nia Jax mocking thrown in to keep up the greatest hits. They were having a good match and I’ll take the countout over a clean fall any day. Just give me a break from Nia and Charlotte. Please.

Lana is asked if Bobby Lashley or MVP came up with the idea of her not being at ringside for Lashley’s matches. She isn’t sure, but she can be ringside for other matches.

MVP vs. Drew McIntyre

Non-title and here is Bobby Lashley to watch. Hold on though as here’s Lana to stand next to a confused Lashley. McIntyre hammers him down in the corner to start and adds a clothesline, followed by the Glasgow Kiss to the floor. Lashley offers a distraction though and MVP sends McIntyre into various things. Back in and a running big boot gives MVP one but McIntyre shrugs it off and hits the top rope shot to the head. Lashley pulls MVP outside so McIntyre dives onto both of them. The Claymore finishes MVP at 2:56. Lana added nothing here.

Post match Lashley grabs the full nelson on McIntyre to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Man alive I did not care about this show or anything on it. They were doing a bunch of by the book angle advancement and while the wrestling was good, it was a chore to watch and didn’t make me want to see anything on the pay per view. The Edge vs. Orton stuff started off pretty dumb and is now just getting annoying, just like the Rollins vs. Mysterio feud, which seems to be bringing in Dominick for a replacement. Not a good show from a storytelling perspective (though Lashley vs. McIntyre still has me interested) but the wrestling was a bright spot.

Results

Aleister Black b. Seth Rollins – Rollup

Kevin Owens vs. Apollo Crews went to a double DQ when Angel Garza and Andrade interfered

Apollo Crews/Kevin Owens b. Andrade/Angel Garza – Toss Powerbomb to Andrade

Billie Kay b. Nikki Cross – Sitout Rock Bottom

Nia Jax b. Kairi Sane – Legdrop

Charlotte b. Asuka via countout

Drew McIntyre b. MVP – Claymore

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: May 28, 2020
Commentators: Andy Shepard, Tom Phillips
Host: Andy Shepard

It’s another Hidden Gems episode, meaning we have more dark matches from various NXT UK TV tapings. I had a good time with this last time around and hopefully that means we could still be in for some fun here. You never know what you might get out of these but their track record isn’t half bad. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Andy tells us what to expect.

From Coventry, England, March 7, 2020.

Finn Balor vs. Kenny Williams

Balor pulls him down into an early headlock but Williams jawbreaks his way to freedom. Williams takes him into an armbar and drops a leg on the arm, followed by a running knee to the chest. That’s not cool with Balor, who is back up to stomp away at the chest for two. Some running chops in the corner set up another kick to the chest for two more but the fans get behind Williams again.

Balor promises to kill Walter and the delay lets Williams get in some forearms. A rebound lariat gives Williams two and he sends Balor to the floor for the suicide dive. Balor is right back with the Eye of the Hurricane into the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace sets up 1916 to finish Williams at 8:10.

Rating: C. This was a nice enough match with Balor having to break a bit of a sweat against someone who wasn’t all that much of a challenge. Having him call out Walter the entire time made it even better as Balor was focused on Walter, even if the masses weren’t going to be seeing this. Not a great match, but it worked well enough.

From Brentwood, England, October 5, 2019.

Rhea Ripley vs. Nina Samuels

Samuels can’t spin out of a top wristlock to start and a hiptoss is blocked as well. Rhea puts her on top and throws her down for daring to jump. Back up and Samuels kicks away and sends Rhea face first into the middle buckle for two. We hit the crossarm choke for a bit but Rhea is right back up with a basement dropkick for two more. Not that it matters as Riptide finishes Samuels at 4:51.

Rating: D+. This was Ripley’s last match in NXT UK and it makes sense to send her out with a fairly dominant win. Ripley was a much bigger star than Samuels could ever hope to be so just having Ripley on the show was a good idea. Let the fans feel like they got to see something special and send them home happy.

From Derby, England, June 16, 2019.

Killian Dain vs. Travis Banks

The much bigger Dain sends him into the corner but Banks starts kicking away. That just causes Dain to say bring it so Banks kicks him down and fires off some YES Kicks to the chest. Dain throws him down and limps around before sending Banks hard into the corner. Running knees to the chest give Dain two and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Banks’ back.

A seated abdominal stretch keeps Banks in trouble until he fights up with more kicks to the leg. The running dropkick in the corner connects to put Dain on the floor and there’s the suicide dive. A top rope double stomp gets two back inside but the Slice of Heaven misses. Dain gives him a fireman’s carry slam though and the Vader Bomb finishes Banks at 8:28.

Rating: C+. I had a good time with this as it was a fine power vs. speed/striking match. Banks continues to be someone with a lot of potential who never has gotten anywhere for some reason. Dain is fine for a midcard monster, but I’m not sure if he’s ever going to break through to the main event level. Still though, good little match here.

From Plymouth, England, July 19, 2019.

Here are the Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK Tag Team Champions) and Joseph Conners for a chat. Zack Gibson isn’t pleased with the SHOES OFF chant because he can see the webbed feet from here. After a break (and a Gallus video), Conners says he wants the best the world has to offer. Cue the Street Profits (NXT Tag Team Champions) to tell Drake to shut up. They’ve got a friend with them tonight too.

Street Profits/Matt Riddle vs. Grizzled Young Veterans/Joseph Conners

After an exchange of holding up titles, Riddle and Conners start things off but it’s Drake coming in before anything happens. Riddle grapples him down without much effort and then takes it to the mat with a headlock takeover. The kick to the chest misses so Riddle goes with the rolling gutwrench suplexes. Gibson comes in and is quickly pulled into a cross armbreaker so it’s right back to Drake, whose ankle is locked in a hurry. It’s off to Dawkins, who holds up both Veterans on the ropes so Ford (still in the hoodie) can jump onto their backs.

The hoodie comes off and Ford chops Drake so hard that he shivers a bit himself. A cheap shot sends Ford to the floor though and it’s the backbreaker/slingshot forearm to keep him in trouble. Back in and the stomping continues, followed by the chinlock from Gibson. That’s so thrilling that we go split screen for a highlight package on the match and Drake comes in for a neck crank. Drake’s snap suplex gets two and it’s off to another chinlock.

Gibson continues the chinlock parade but the fans get behind Ford to bring him back up. I mean it doesn’t actually get him to his feet, but they are at least cheering for it. Drake can’t get another chinlock as Ford rolls over for the tag to Dawkins for the house cleaning, followed by a Doomsday knee to the chest from Riddle. Everything breaks down and the Veterans hit a superkick/neckbreaker combination on Ford.

Everyone is down and it’s a double tag to bring in Ford and Drake. Ford superkicks him out of the air and small packages Gibson for two. A double dropkick takes down Gibson and Conners, who tagged himself in on the way. The Cash Out into the Bro Derek finishes Conners at 13:39.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of Riddle I like: the calm, cool, laid back version who can suddenly go beast mode with the suplexes and submissions. The Profits continue to have more charisma than they know what to do with and the fans absolutely hate the Veterans. Entertaining match here with the result never in any serious doubt.

Overall Rating: B-. This is how you do a Hidden Gems show, with a collection of entertaining matches with low stakes. It’s very much a sit back and enjoy some fun wrestling and that’s what they did here. I liked this more than I was expecting to and if you need something really easy to watch, this is a great choice.

Results

Finn Balor b. Kenny Williams – 1916

Rhea Ripley b. Nina Samuels – Riptide

Killian Dain b. Travis Banks – Vader Bomb

Matt Riddle/Street Profits b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Joseph Conners – Bro Derek to Conners

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

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