Smackdown
Date: February 26, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We have a big announcement this week as women’s Royal Rumble winner Bianca Belair is going to announce her opponent for Wrestlemania XXXVII. Granted it should be pretty clear who she is going to face, but at least they are going to announce the match so we can start the proper build. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman to get things going. After a long look at Reigns beating Daniel Bryan and then being attacked by Edge on Sunday night, Reigns says Smackdown needs him. He’s so good at everything that it has to be perfect, but there is one person standing in his way. That’s the guy who jumped him on Sunday and then pointed at the Wrestlemania sign. Edge has a beautiful family and is a father and husband. Reigns respects the comeback and everything Edge is about but he doesn’t want to hurt him.

Cue Daniel Bryan to say that absolutely Sunday was perfect for Reigns. Why wouldn’t it have been? All Reigns had to do was face Bryan just after the Elimination Chamber. That doesn’t sound like a Head of the Table spot to Bryan, who thinks Reigns should have been in the main event slot. Reigns can silence the comparisons, and there have been a lot of them, by defending the title against him at Fastlane, with no conditions. Uso doesn’t want to hear that because Bryan goes to the back of the line. Bryan asks again but Jey jumps him and the trio leaves. Everything here made sense.

Edge comes in to see Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville about Bryan possibly getting a title shot first. Post break, Pearce tries to calm Edge down and says tonight it’s Bryan vs. Uso, with Bryan getting the Fastlane title match if he wins.

Alpha Academy vs. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio

Rematch from last week when Otis turned to the dark side and crushed Rey’s ribs. Otis starts fast by throwing Rey into the corner and hitting a shoulder to the ribs. Rey gets away and brings in Dominick to pick up the pace against Gable. A headscissors sends Gable into the corner and a middle rope diving tornado DDT gets two. Everything breaks down and a double 619 hits Gable and Rey hits the top rope splash. Otis breaks up the cover and it’s a World’s Strongest Slam into the middle rope splash to pin Rey at 3:39.

Rating: C-. I can go for these two doing something and again, it’s kind of amazing how nicely Otis is sliding into this role. Gable not so much because he was great for years and was just stuck with a horrible character, but Otis is a rather nice surprise. It’s going well enough and that splash looks good.

We look back at Apollo Crews destroying Big E. last week to put him on the shelf.

Here’s Apollo Crews for a chat. Some people have not been happy with what he did but this is who he is. He is a real African American because he is from Nigeria. Crews comes from a lineage of Nigerian royalty and he wears the country’s colors with pride and power. That’s what Big E. learned last week when he was taught a lesson from his grandfather about showing power. Last week, Crews showed Big E. the steel and tonight, Shinsuke Nakamura will see the same thing.

Apollo Crews vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Crews jumps him before the bell and we take a break. We come back joined in progress with Crews whipping Nakamura hard into the corner and running him over. Crews’ release German suplex is countered though and Nakamura kicks away at the chest. The sliding knee gives Nakamura two and there’s the sliding German suplex for the same. Crews heads to the floor and manages to sucker Nakamura in for a whip into the steps. Back in and Nakamura grabs a sleeper but gets sent into the buckle. An Angle Slam finishes for Crews at 4:37.

Rating: C. That’s the best Crews has looked in a long time, if not ever (the new tights helped a lot), and that is a good sign. I was a bit worried about Crews’ promo but it went in a fine direction and this could work out well for him. Big E. vs. Crews should be a heck of a fight when we get there and this was a good way to debut Crews’ new side.

Paul Heyman tells Roman Reigns about the Bryan vs. Uso match with the Fastlane implications. The “IF Bryan wins” part is emphasized.

Tamina vs. Liv Morgan

Natalya and Ruby Riott are here too as Tamina runs Liv over to start. Morgan gets sent into the corner as we hear about Natalya and Tamina’s history and legacy in wrestling. Tamina even has a catchphrase: “From reliable to undeniable.” I’d like to point out how many people Smackdown has sitting on the sidelines while TAMINA AND NATALYA are getting regular TV time. Morgan gets knocked down again but does manage an enziguri. A middle rope dropkick knocks Tamina down but she’s right back with the Samoan drop. The swinging Rock Bottom (which was more laying her down than a slam) finishes Morgan at 3:57.

Rating: D. There’s something about Tamina that just takes the life out of any match. That problem was on full display here as there is no reason to be interested in anything she or Natalya are doing. They’ve both been around for so long and having them as a ticked off team isn’t going to get people interested. Well maybe in what is on another channel, but not in the two of them.

Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville are in the ring for Bianca Belair’s pick. We see a video on Asuka and another on Sasha Banks and now Belair is ready to make her pick. Well actually she’s ready to talk about making choices….but here is Reginald to interrupt. He wants her to know what a loser she will be if she picks Sasha, who is here to interrupt as well. She tells Reginald to never speak for her and tells Belair that if she wants to make a statement, her choice is clear. Banks is the best, which makes Belair second best. Belair makes the pick and the match is set. At least they didn’t drag it out, but drop Reginald already.

Sami Zayn’s film crew gets some shots of King Corbin before their tag match tonight. Corbin doesn’t like the attention but Sami thinks they could be the new Can-Am Connection. I don’t think Corbin is convinced.

Sami Zayn/King Corbin vs. Street Profits

Corbin starts with Dawkins as Sami yells at the documentary crew. Dawkins gets punched down and sent into the corner but the crew is in the way of Corbin as he tries to slide underneath the bottom rope. That lets Ford dropkick him down and we take a break. Back with Ford in trouble as Corbin knees him into the corner. Ford fights over and brings in Dawkins to clean house. Corbin is knocked outside where the crew keeps filming him, much to Corbin’s annoyance. Ford hits the big flip dive and it’s a double underhook swinging neckbreaker to Sami. The frog splash finishes for Ford at 8:07.

Rating: C-. This was more about the antics with the film crew but it worked out well enough. I’m guessing we’re going to be getting more with Zayn/Corbin, which isn’t the worst idea in the world. Hopefully it gives us some more entertaining stuff like Corbin getting annoyed at the film crew and keeps Corbin from sniffing the main event scene because no one needs to see that.

Daniel Bryan is ready to move on to Wrestlemania but here’s Edge to seem not so happy about the idea. If they were to meet at Wrestlemania, who wins that match? Bryan won’t answer, but he seems to like the possibility.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about the letter he sent to WWE last week….and here’s Cesaro to cut him off. Rollins cuts him off and praises Cesaro’s greatness, saying he has always been one of the best around. For some reason though, there has always been something missing. Why hasn’t Cesaro ever been the Universal Champion?

Rollins says he is missing that killer instinct and Rollins can teach him. Take a week or two to think about it and come back with a good answer. Cesaro grabs the legs (Rollins: “NO! PUT ME DOWN!”) and swings him (out of his jacket), followed by a second for a bonus. The uppercut leaves Rollins laying.

Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso

If Bryan wins, he gets Reigns for the title at Fastlane. Bryan works on the wrist to start and moonsaults over Jey (with a quick touch to his banged up knee), setting up the running clothesline. A top rope hurricanrana gives Bryan two and Jey is sent outside, where he knocks a dive out of the air. The bad knee is dropped onto the announcers’ table and then sent into the post as we take a break. Back with Uso still working on the knee before hitting a Samoan drop.

The Superfly Splash misses though and Bryan knocks him to the floor, setting up the running knee off the apron. Back in and Bryan comes off the top but bangs up the knee again, allowing Jey to kick it out. The half crab goes on but Bryan slips out and tries the running knee, only to get chop blocked down. A butterfly superplex brings Jey off the top though and the threat of the YES Lock sends him over to the rope. They roll outside to keep up the brawl with Bryan’s knee going into the steps, setting up the double countout at 12:47.

Rating: B-. The ending was a surprise and that’s a good thing. They have a few different ways to go for Fastlane now and the combination of possibilities have me rubbing my chin. I can’t imagine Bryan doesn’t get a straight shot at Reigns, but now they are going to have to go in a different direction to get there, which is not a bad thing.

Post match Bryan gets the YES Lock on Uso but Roman Reigns makes the save. Uso has to save Roman from the YES Lock and it’s a spear to Bryan. The guillotine choke knocks Bryan cold to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show dragged a bit in the middle but aside from the book ends, I love that they move from story to story pretty fast. You have two hours of Smackdown a week and it’s nice to see them using it to get a lot of things over. You don’t have five segments or interviews from one story and it makes the show move around that much more smoothly. The show might not be that much better than some others, but it’s a lot easier to watch and that’s more important.

Results

Alpha Academy b. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio – Middle rope splash to Rey

Apollo Crews b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Angle Slam

Tamina b. Liv Morgan – Spinning Rock Bottom

Street Profits b. Sami Zayn/King Corbin – Frog splash to Zayn

Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso went to a double countout

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: February 12, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than two weeks away from Elimination Chamber but you might not realize it around here. There has not been a single Smackdown match announced for the show but that might be changing this week. Roman Reigns apparently has a big announcement and that could be a good thing. Seth Rollins is back too so let’s get to it.

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

Here are Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman for a chat with Adam Pearce, who is already in the ring. Reigns tells Pearce that he isn’t waiting on him so let’s get on with this. Pearce doesn’t call any shots around here and Reigns isn’t waiting on Pearce or Edge. Reigns knows that Edge hasn’t announced his Wrestlemania match because he knows Reigns will beat him all the way onto a Legends contract.

No one is taking the title from him so Edge is holding out hope that someone pulls a miracle before Wrestlemania. Speaking of contracts, Pearce has one in his hand and that is for Reigns’ title defense inside the Elimination Chamber. Reigns hands Heyman the mic, who says Reigns’ contract says he has to defend the title AT Elimination Chamber rather than INSIDE the Elimination Chamber. Instead, the winner can receive a title shot on the against Reigns, who won’t be in the Chamber itself.

Pearce seems to laugh it off but Heyman asks what he’s going to do about it. Fire Reigns this close to Wrestlemania? Last year’s show didn’t have Reigns and it was the lowest attended Wrestlemania of all time. Pearce says it’s time to start the qualifying process, and there are going to be two names who don’t need qualifying matches. Those would be Jey Uso and Kevin Owens, the latter of whom has Reigns outside the ring and in Pearce’s face. Reigns doesn’t think Pearce gets this but Heyman says it’s going to be on Reigns’ time.

Post break Pearce is freaking out over having to get all of the qualifying matches together but Sonya Deville has an idea: a tag team qualifying match with the winning team both getting into the Chamber. Pearce likes the idea, which is good because Sonya has already booked it.

Commentary confirms that the winner of the Chamber match will face Reigns that night.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio vs. King Corbin/Sami Zayn

Before the match, Sami talks about how he and Corbin don’t get along but tonight they’re working together so WWE can’t give the Mysterios the spots in the Chamber. Rey and Dominik start fast by sending them to the floor for the double dives and we take a break. Back with Dominik rolling Sami into the corner and hitting a running elbow. Sami is right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two and it’s off to Corbin. Everything breaks down and the double 619 hits Corbin, with Rey taking him to the floor. That leaves Dominik to be suplexed into the corner, setting up the Helluva Kick for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure how much drama there was to this one and that’s ok. The Mysterios continue to have problems and a showdown at Wrestlemania wouldn’t surprise me. Zayn and Corbin inside the Chamber should work out wee as they’re the perfect kind of midcarders who could beef things up a little bit.

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode come in to see Deville and Pearce. They want in the Elimination Chamber, and are even willing to be in different pods. Sonya gives them a chance, in another tag team qualifying match, against Cesaro and Daniel Bryan.

We look back at Bianca Belair talking to Sasha Banks last week when Carmella and Reginald interfered, earning Reginald a whipping.

Reginald brings Sasha Banks some wine but Banks isn’t buying it. She takes the drink anyway and keeps talking to Kalisto.

Here’s Big E. for a chat. He is going to be a fighting champion and, after a Gorilla Glue reference, he mentions being past the Apollo Crews chapter….and here’s Crews to interrupt. Crews accepts the challenge, but Big E. was going to issue the challenge to anyone here except Crews you see. Big E. was looking forward to Michael Cole accepting the challenge but Crews implies Big E. is scared. Big E. lowers the mic and says he has beaten Crews time after time so go back to catering and get your paycheck. Crews gets in his face and a lot of arguing ensues, with Big E. saying they’re done so bring out the next challenger.

Intercontinental Title: Big E. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is challenging and Big E. powers him around to start. That earns him some kicks down and the champ is in some trouble. It’s already time for the Kinshasa but Big E. pulls him into the Big Ending. That’s broken up and Nakamura kicks him in the back of the head. Another Kinshasa is loaded up but Crews runs in to dropkick Big E. for the DQ at 3:24.

Rating: C-. No time for much here as we continue to build towards Crews’ final showdown, likely at Elimination Chamber. That should work out well as Crews at least has a bit more of a background after that US Title reign. I liked how serious Big E. got, but saying Crews can’t have a match isn’t the most heroic thing to do. I don’t think there’s a turn coming or anything, but it didn’t quite feel right.

Video on Seth Rollins.

The locker room comes to the ring for Rollins’ return. After a break here’s Rollins, with BURN IT DOWN again. He’s still in the suit with the one glove though so I’m getting mixed messages here. Rollins is glad to be back and knows that things have changed since he sacrificed himself at Survivor Series. The thing that has changed the most though is him though, because he has become a parent for the first time. He is now the father of a beautiful, perfect baby girl, who has changed his life in ways he never dreamed of.

Rollins sees the talent around here and he wonders where he fits in. Now he knows where that is: Rollins is the great leader that Smackdown needs to push it into the future. Leadership isn’t about what they can do for him but what he can do for them. Everyone walks out as Rollins talks about being a leader and a mentor. Rollins says all you have to do for a better Smackdown is embrace the vision. The lights come back up and he realizes that only Cesaro is left at ringside. Then Cesaro shakes his head and leaves as well, only to have Rollins run to the floor and chop block him. The beatdown is on until referees break it up.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Bayley vs. Liv Morgan

Ruby Riott is here with Morgan, who starts fast and hammers away. Bayley misses a clothesline and Morgan hits a middle rope dropkick to the floor, meaning it’s time for a trip to the floor. A dive off the steps takes a bit too long for Morgan and Bayley sends her hard into the barricade instead. Back in and Bayley hits a shoulder breaker to rock Morgan but it’s an enziguri to give Morgan two. Cue Billie Kay to offer Riott her resume, which Riott throws away. The referee gets rid of them though and it’s the Rose Plant to finish Morgan at 3:45.

Rating: D+. The story continues and that’s one of the things I really wish WWE would stop. Bayley beat one half of the Riott Squad thanks to Billie messing up last week and now she did it to the other half this week. It was no secret that they were going in this direction after last week and that’s because WWE is pretty repetitive. That’s not good and it wasn’t even much of a match in the first place.

The Street Profits were at Daytona Motor Speedway this week.

Street Profits vs. Otis/Chad Gable

During the entrances, the Profits say they want the titles back and Otis/Gable train for the smoke. Gable takes Dawkins to the mat to start but Dawkins manages to reverse. They send each other into opposite corners for a standoff so Ford comes in instead. An armdrag into an armbar has Ford flailing around but it’s back to Dawkins to take Gable down. That doesn’t last long as Otis gets the tag and starts to throw Profits around. Ford low bridges Otis to the floor to break up a clothesline though and it’s the Cash Out to finish Gable at 4:50.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty snappy match and that was a nice surprise. Gable and Otis work well together and I could go for seeing them develop a bit more in the future. The Profits continue to be great and you know the rematch for the titles has to be coming sooner rather than later. Everyone was working here though and the pretty short amount of time flew by.

Here’s Sasha Banks to talk about Wrestlemania. She has been dealing with Bianca Belair, who is like a little sister. Cue Belair to say Banks isn’t the boss of her. Those are fighting words so here are Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler to interrupt. Jax can’t believe how big their egos are and asks Shayna if she cares about Belair’s pick. Belair shows us the MY HOLE clip from Raw so the brawl is on. Baszler is knocked down so Jax is tripped onto the apron, meaning she has to stop herself from shouting about….well you get the idea. Belair and Banks take out Baszler as well and the two stand tall.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Bobby Roode/Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan/Cesaro

Non-title. Ziggler takes Bryan down for an early two but Cesaro comes in for a double slam. It’s off to Roode, who has to avoid the YES Lock, and gets sent outside. Cesaro is right there and is whipped into the steps. Sami Zayn and King Corbin come out to watch and we take a break.

Back with Bryan in trouble as Roode snaps off a suplex for two and hands it back to Ziggler. Bryan takes Ziggler down but Roode decks Cesaro, allowing Bryan to grab a rollup for two. Roode’s spinebuster gets two more on Bryan but Ziggler misses a charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag to Cesaro. Everything breaks down and Bryan hits Roode with the running knee. The Fameasser gets two on Cesaro but he’s right back up with the Swing into the Sharpshooter to make Ziggler tap at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Another good match between talented teams, even if the Tag Team Titles get their annual smack in the face for the sake of some qualifying matches. In this case I’m not sure who else could have taken the loss, but I would have preferred it not to be the champs. Bryan and Cesaro winning was mostly but not entirely obvious and that’s a nice feeling.

Post match Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and King Corbin all come in for the brawl. Everyone goes at it until Kevin Owens runs in for the Stunnerfest. Roman Reigns watches from the back as Owens sits down, saying that he’s coming for Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show worked well for me for one reason: those tag team qualifying matches. Both of them were pretty good, but the real reason they were nice to see was they were different. Instead of the usual four singles matches, they actually threw in something fresh for a change and that’s nice to see. Not so much the idea was brilliant, but it was a change from the norm and I can absolutely go for that over the same old stuff that they do all the time. The rest of the show was fine enough, but I like that they’re actually taking some different paths week to week.

Results

Sami Zayn/King Corbin b. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio – Helluva Kick to Dominik

Big E. b. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ when Apollo Crews interfered

Bayley b. Liv Morgan – Rose Plant

Street Profits b. Chad Gable/Otis – Cash Out to Gable

Cesaro/Daniel Bryan b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Sharpshooter to Ziggler

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: February 5, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

The Royal Rumble has come and gone and, should the men’s winner Edge take the blue route, he will be challenging Roman Reigns, who retained the Universal Title. He has about nine weeks to decide where to go, as does Bianca Belair, who won the women’s Royal Rumble. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Royal Rumbles.

Here are Roman Reigns (Cole: “The ever aloof.”), Jey Uso and Paul Heyman to get things going. Reigns says he doesn’t says he doesn’t like talking about the past and would rather look to the future, because the future seems to be Edge. Reigns goes on a rant about how he’s the best (including calling himself WWE Champion) and asking why Edge is wasting time on Raw and NXT. Why not come here and bring yourself to the island of relevancy?

Now why is he out here first anyway? Edge is making the head of the table wait? Heyman says Edge is here so he needs to get out here right now. Heyman: “Music and entrance for Edge please. PYRO FOR EDGE PLEASE!” No one shows up and Heyman whispers something to Reigns, who does not seem pleased. Reigns isn’t happy with Edge disrespecting him and gets serious, saying Edge is going to give him his decision by the end of the night.

King Corbin vs. Dominick Mysterio

Rey Mysterio is here with Dominick but Corbin jumps both of them on the way to the ring, including launching Rey off the stage. We start after a break with Dominick firing off a dropkick but getting knocked down in a hurry. Rey is having his knee examined as Corbin continues to hammer away and grabs a chinlock. Corbin elbows him down again and asks if Rey has been training Dominick.

Back up and Dominick manages to send him outside for the dive as Rey drags himself to ringside. We take a break and come back with Dominick hitting a neckbreaker for two. Deep Six plants Dominick for two but he sends Corbin outside again. Rey has gone underneath the ring and grabs Corbin’s leg, setting up the 619. The frog splash gives Dominick the pin at 9:23.

Rating: C-. Well that was pretty nefarious. I’m not exactly feeling what is coming off as a bit of a Dominick heel leaning but Dominick vs. Rey could be somewhat interesting if that is where we wind up going. That being said, having Corbin involved is not exactly the best way to go with anything, but that hasn’t stopped WWE before.

We look at Sami Zayn interfering in the Intercontinental Title match two weeks ago.

Big E. talks about being ready to fight tonight to defend his Intercontinental Title. Much like Lady Liberty, bring him your tired, hungry, bearded and bald because we are going to fight for this prize.

Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro

They start fast with Bryan going after the arm and then backdropping Cesaro out to the floor. The dive takes Cesaro down again but he blasts Bryan with an uppercut back inside. We see Shinsuke Nakamura watching from the back before Bryan kicks the springboard corkscrew uppercut out of the air. A YES Kick gets two but Cesaro (who has been cut open on the side of his head) is back up with a torture rack into a backbreaker. The Swing sets up the Sharpshooter….and Bryan taps at 4:14.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t have bet on that one but dang if they aren’t giving Cesaro a nice something as of late. I’m still far from believing that any of this is going to matter in the long run after being burned far too many times, but it’s nice to see for a change. If nothing else, who would have expected such a clean and easy win?

Respect is shown post match.

We look at Bianca Belair winning the Royal Rumble.

We see Bianca Belair’s parents watching her win live, including her dad climbing onto the coffee table and then falling over the back of the couch.

Belair is asked who she is going to face but she is so excited and can’t listen to everyone telling her what to do. She is going to do it her way and announce her decision soon.

Seth Rollins is back next week. Again.

Bayley vs. Ruby Riott

Liv Morgan is at ringside and Billie Kay is on commentary, where she insists that she was only allegedly thrown out of both the Riott Squad and Royal Rumble. Riott nails an early Riott Kick for two but Bayley throws her face first into the top turnbuckle. It’s time to work on the armbar but Riott fights up and sends her face first into the buckle to even things up.

Riott’s rollup gets two so Bayley sends her throat first (a lot of firsts in this one) into the bottom rope. A Stunner over the middle rope sets up another armbar so Billie gets up to shove the ropes closer to Riott. Morgan doesn’t like that and gets in an argument with Billie, leaving Riott to get caught with the bulldog driver for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C-. This was more about the Riott Squad than anything else and that’s not the worst thing. Billie continues to be an absolute gem and has come miles after going I guess what you call solo. The resume thing is hilarious and now I’m not sure she even needs to rejoin Peyton Royce. At this point, she’s far more entertaining on her own and that’s great to see.

Post match Billie offers Bayley a resume.

Edge is here.

Here’s Bianca Belair for her big interview after winning the Royal Rumble. Everything has blown up since she won the Royal Rumble and she has had to ask who a lot of people are with all of these texts. Now she has a decision to make because Asuka and Sasha Banks are both interesting opponents. Cue Reginald to say Belair can’t beat Sasha or Carmella, which draws out Carmella to say the same thing.

Now it’s Sasha coming out to say she isn’t looking at Carmella anymore because that’s in the rear view mirror. Belair has her attention now because she has seen what Belair can do in the Royal Rumble. Yeah Belair can be the strongest and the fastest but the best? Belair may have it all, but she doesn’t have the title. Reginald says Belair will lose if she picks Sasha so Belair whips him out with the hair to wrap things up with no decision.

Roman Reigns is told Edge is here.

Sami Zayn can’t believe how unfair everything has been to him but tonight it’s time for some happy footage when he gets the Intercontinental Title back.

Otis/Chad Gable vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Non-title and the Street Profits are doing commentary in a window in the corner of the screen. Gable easily outwrestles Ziggler and takes him into the corner, where a dropkick puts Gable down. The Profits try to figure out why they can’t get a rematch as Roode suplexes Gable for two. Gable kicks him away though and the hot tag brings in Otis to start throwing people around. The Caterpillar (with the Profits bouncing along with Otis) hits Roode and it’s Gable hitting the Rolling Chaos Theory on Ziggler. Roode is back up though and the Glorious DDT finishes Gable at 3:31.

Rating: C. I know the Profits probably got on people’s nerves here and that’s understandable. However, the thing that made this work was it was different. If there is one thing that WWE really needs to fix, it is how stale their presentation feels. Just throwing something in there like this made the match at least feel different and that’s a good thing. WWE needs some fresh ideas and if they are actually trying something, good for them.

We look at the first ever Main Event, thirty three years ago today.

Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart in the background) talks about the match and hypes up Edge’s decision. Hogan had absolutely nothing to say here and it was obvious.

Edge meets Shinsuke Nakamura.

Intercontinental Title: Apollo Crews vs. Sami Zayn vs. Big E.

Big E. is defending and Sami is chased outside early. Crews rolls some German suplexes for two on Big E. with Sami coming in for the save. Sami is sent outside though with Big E. following him, allowing Crews to hit the big flip dive onto the champ. Crews nails a great looking apron moonsault to crush Big E. again but Sami dives off the steps to take him down.

We come back from a break with Sami choking on the ropes but Big E. fights up and snaps off the suplexes to Crews. Sami gets put down as well and there’s the double Warrior Splash. With Sami on the floor, Crews hits an enziguri on Big E. but gets dumped to the floor. The release Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Sami for two more but Crews knocks Big E. down again.

Crews’ frog splash gets two on Sami, only to have Big E. suplex both of them at the same time. With that crazy power display taken care of, Big E.’s spear through the ropes is cut off by a knee to the face. The Helluva Kick hits Big E. for two with Crews making the save this time. Now Sami is frustrated again so Crews hits him in the head over and over. Crews throws Sami over the timekeeper’s table but walks into the Big Ending for the pin at 11:54.

Rating: B. This felt like a really nice B level house show main event. There wasn’t a ton of drama about Big E. winning but they had him break enough of a sweat that it felt like a title change could have been a remote possibility. I wouldn’t have bet on that in this one, which felt like it went a lot further than it should have. Nice job.

Post match Big E. is all fired up but Crews glares at him from behind.

Seth Rollins is still back next week.

Here’s Edge for the big closing segment. Edge talks about how he spent the last seven months dreaming. He was dreaming every mile he logged because he wanted to get back something that was his. Then he outlasted twenty nine of the best in the world today to win the Royal Rumble. Now he isn’t sure who he should face at the Royal Rumble. He asks his family and gets one answer, then he asks his friend and gets another answer. Then he was on his way here tonight and asked someone on the corner and got another answer. Edge: “His name was John. He was a nice guy.”

Cue Roman Reigns and company to cut things off though as we get a bit more serious. Edge thinks it’s funny that Reigns already needs backup, but Reigns promises that Paul won’t make a move. Reigns sends Jey to the bus because he has this himself. Edge has one chance to acknowledge him as the main event of Wrestlemania….but here’s Kevin Owens with a Stunner to Reigns before Edge can say a word to end the show. I don’t think anyone was really expecting a decision from Edge here and they still have time to set things up in the future, but we’re really not done with Owens vs. Reigns?

Overall Rating: C+. Unlike Raw, this show actually had some energy and that’s one of the best things that can be said about a big follow up show. They have time to announce the Rumble decisions later, so this was more along the lines of setting up the new reality. We now have Wrestlemania coming up a heck of a lot sooner than later and that is going to dominate everything. It certainly dominated Elimination Chamber, which wasn’t even mentioned despite being in just over two weeks. Overall, good show here, with some solid action and a nice feeling that the stakes are being raised.

Results

Dominick Mysterio b. King Corbin – Frog splash

Cesaro b. Daniel Bryan – Sharpshooter

Bayley b. Ruby Riott – Bulldog driver

Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler b. Otis/Chad Gable – Glorious DDT to Gable

Big E. b. Apollo Crews and Sami Zayn – Big Ending to Crews

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

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AND

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Main Event
Date: January 14, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips

The Road to the Royal Rumble continues and that includes a stop on the show that has descended right back into the least interesting and/or important in WWE. After a few weeks of actually trying something different around here, we are right back to where we have been for years with almost nothing of interest going on. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Akira Tozawa vs. Angel Garza

Garza takes him down with a leg crank to start but Tozawa quickly reverses into a headlock. Back up and a big headscissors is countered into a reverse sitout powerbomb to plant Tozawa. Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and a kick to the ribs gets two. Something like a Bow and Arrow has Tozawa screaming and a right hand puts him down again. The middle rope hurricanrana sets up the Octopus on Garza though, followed by the spinning kick to Garza’s head for two. Tozawa charges once too often though and gets caught in the Wing Clipper for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: C-. Completely watchable match between two talented people who have way too much to do. Both of them have all of the charisma in the world and it is a shame to see them stuck on a show like this. Granted it’s a lot better than having them sit on the sidelines, but that doesn’t exactly make it easier to see them not getting an important change.

From Smackdown.

Tag Team Titles: Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending. Dawkins shoulders Ziggler down to start and then hits a dropkick for an early two. Ford comes in but gets taken into the corner for the double stomping. That’s too much from Ford, who makes the fiery comeback but Roode kicks the knee out to take him down again. Ford fights up again and hits the big flip dive onto both of them at ringside as we take a break with Ford’s leg in trouble.

Back with Dawkins suplexing Roode for two as Ford can barely stand on the apron. A cheap shot from behind takes Dawkins down though and we hit the front facelock. Ziggler rolls him around a bit until Dawkins fights up and gets in a knockdown shot. Despite Roode pulling Ford off the apron for a bit, the hot tag goes through anyway and Ford gets to clean house on one leg.

Ziggler catches him on top though and it’s a super X Factor for two. Ford hits a superkick for two but it’s back to Roode for two off a fisherman’s suplex. Dawkins gets knocked off the apron and it’s the spinebuster/Zig Zag combination to finish Ford for the pin and the titles at 14:29.

Rating: C+. I can go with the story of someone fighting through an injury and Ford did a great job of building sympathy throughout. At the same time, they had to go with the title change here as the Profits had beaten them so many times already that there was almost no choice but to switch the belts. It’s not like Roode and Ziggler are going to be the next big thing in the division anyway so this is perfectly acceptable.

Long recap of how Adam Pearce became #1 contender.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Slapjack

Mustafa Ali is here with Slapjack, who takes him down by the arm to start. Carrillo flips out of a wristlock into an armdrag into an armbar. A chop in the corner sets up a forearm to the back, followed by a springboard armdrag. The slingshot dropkick through the ropes keeps Slapjack in trouble but he slaps Carrillo out of the air as we take a break. Back with Slapjack’s dropkick getting two as Ali shouts a lot about commentary and the double arm crank goes on. Carrillo fights up and gets to the top for a flying elbow to the back of Slajpack’s face. Slapjack runs him over to take control again but the Snapback finishes at 9:48.

Rating: C-. Just a match here but I’m almost to the point where I can’t remember the last time Retribution lost a match. That’s rather impressive given where they were and I could go for more of them like this. Granted this wasn’t the best match and again qualifies as the dumping ground for talented wrestlers, but I’ll take what I can get.

We look back at Drew McIntyre retaining the WWE Title at Raw Legends but Goldberg came out to set up the Royal Rumble challenge.

Drew McIntyre accepts.

From Raw.

HHH vs. Randy Orton

HHH is in street clothes and we have neither a bell nor a referee. They slug it out to start with Orton getting the better of things before heading outside. HHH whips him into the steps and then near the announcers’ table to take over. That means it’s sledgehammer time, but then the lights start going out. HHH pulls back the sledgehammer….which is now on fire. The lights go out and HHH disappears but we’ve got a distorted version of the Firefly Fun House theme. Cue Alexa Bliss in the corner and she throws a huge fireball at Orton’s face. Orton holds his face and screams a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. As usual, all this show did was remind me of what is going on with the main shows and those are not memories I like bringing up. The wrestling was nothing of course and the stuff from Smackdown was just there. Granted it wasn’t McIntyre vs. Goldberg but at least they have a few things going for the. You just won’t see them on Raw because reasons.

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

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Smackdown
Date: January 8, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re well on the way to the Royal Rumble and that means there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of in a hurry. Odds are we are going to cover a lot of that tonight, but we also have a pair of title matches with both the Intercontinental and Tag Team Titles on the line. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Roman Reigns, flanked by Paul Heyman and Jey Uso, to open things up. Reigns is sorry for what happened to Kevin Owens last week but something had to be done. He has a lot of people to take care of around here because everyone needs food on their table. The real person to blame is Adam Pearce, who needs to get out here right now. After a few seconds, here’s Pearce, with Reigns showing him a video of Owens losing in the cage match and then getting beaten down again last week.

This is Pearce’s fault and Reigns wants to know how Pearce is going to make it better. Pearce granted Owens the rematch and now he has booked a gauntlet match because Pearce is trying to pick the Big Dog’s opponent. Maybe Owens can enter the match, or will Pearce himself enter to get the title shot? Pearce is starting to sound like he thinks Roman is stupid. Or maybe he thinks Vince McMahon is stupid. Pearce says no, but Reigns thinks Pearce doesn’t respect him or the family.

Reigns grabs him by the jacket but Paul and Jey calm him down. Maybe Reigns made a mistake, and maybe right now, right now, Pearce is perfectly safe. Reigns was excellent here, as he looks down on everyone because he knows he can. It’s going to get better as time goes on and he gets more confident too, which sounds excellent.

Intercontinental Title: Big E. vs. Apollo Crews

Big E. is defending and gets pump kicked down for an early two. Crews misses an ax handle though and gets elbowed in the face to slow things down a big. The apron splash connects but Crews is back up with the rolling German suplexes for two. Big E. heads outside so Crews moonsaults down onto him for another knockdown. Crews takes him up for the superplex, with Crews tying the legs together for the small package and the double pin at 3:13.

Back from a break with the title staying with Big E. on the draw, but Crews wants to keep going. That means a splash to Big E. to start the match over, with the Big E. running him over. The Warrior Splash gets two but the spear through the ropes is cut off with a knee. Crews gets two off the frog splash but Big E. grabs a Stretch Muffler. That’s broken up as well and Crews hits an enziguri, only to have the Toss Powerbomb countered. The Rock Bottom out of the corner sets up the Big Ending to retain the title at 10:28 (total).

Rating: C. They were going as fast as they could out there but they didn’t need to have Big E. even going to the double pin. Pushing him is one thing but if they’re pushing him as his unstoppable force, it isn’t a good sign to put him a step away from being pinned. That being said, he did come back and win with the straight power and the fire in his eyes, which are all that matter here. Crews looked good too, and at least he has won something to prevent these losses from feeling so bad.

Sonya Deville is back and rants about Mandy Rose going to Raw and leaving her career in the lurch. She accuses Pearce of entering the gauntlet match tonight but Pearce says no.

Bayley interrupts Bianca Belair and says she’ll waste her spot in the Rumble. Belair says she was looking forward to winning and challenging Bayley but she isn’t champ anymore.

Carmella brags about beating Sasha Banks last week and reminds Banks that she can’t touch her when it comes to raw talent.

Tag Team Titles: Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending. Dawkins shoulders Ziggler down to start and then hits a dropkick for an early two. Ford comes in but gets taken into the corner for the double stomping. That’s too much from Ford, who makes the fiery comeback but Roode kicks the knee out to take him down again. Ford fights up again and hits the big flip dive onto both of them at ringside as we take a break with Ford’s leg in trouble.

Back with Dawkins suplexing Roode for two as Ford can barely stand on the apron. A cheap shot from behind takes Dawkins down though and we hit the front facelock. Ziggler rolls him around a bit until Dawkins fights up and gets in a knockdown shot. Despite Roode pulling Ford off the apron for a bit, the hot tag goes through anyway and Ford gets to clean house on one leg.

Ziggler catches him on top though and it’s a super X Factor for two. Ford hits a superkick for two but it’s back to Roode for two off a fisherman’s suplex. Dawkins gets knocked off the apron and it’s the spinebuster/Zig Zag combination to finish Ford for the pin and the titles at 14:29.

Rating: C+. I can go with the story of someone fighting through an injury and Ford did a great job of building sympathy throughout. At the same time, they had to go with the title change here as the Profits had beaten them so many times already that there was almost no choice but to switch the belts. It’s not like Roode and Ziggler are going to be the next big thing in the division anyway so this is perfectly acceptable.

Sonya Deville is still with Adam Pearce and asks about the next challengers for the Tag Team Titles but Paul Heyman interrupts. Deville leaves and Heyman sucks up to Pearce, bringing up the days of Scrap Daddy Adam Pearce, who could have been an even bigger star under the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously. Anyway, the point is Heyman has pulled some strings and Pearce is in the gauntlet match, courtesy of Roman Reigns.

Billie Kay comes up to the Riott Squad and is ready to join the team. They’re not sure so she gets a little emotional, which is enough to make it in. She knew it would happen as she has already put Mosh Pitter on her resume.

Gauntlet Match

The winner gets the shot at Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Rey Mysterio, with Dominick, is in at #1 and Sami Zayn, with a documentary crew, is in at #2 but hang on as Sami has something to say. He is in the gauntlet match but he’s in the #1 spot, giving him the biggest disadvantage. This crew is here to document the conspiracy against him and you will get to see what he has had to deal with to get this far. The 619 into the frog splash gets rid of Sami at 17 seconds and Shinsuke Nakamura is in at #3.

We come back from a break with Rey kicking him down for two but missing a baseball slide. The sunset bomb is broken up so Nakamura knees him in the face for two back inside. Nakamura knocks him down again and then takes it up top but gets knocked back down. Rey’s frog splash hits knees though and a cross armbreaker makes Mysterio tap at 9:58.

King Corbin is in at #4 and jumps Dominick from behind. Corbin beats up Rey as well and we take a break. Back with Corbin beating Nakamura down, including a clothesline for two. Corbin gets sent shoulder first into the post though and Nakamura kicks him out to the floor. Back in and Nakamura hits a running kick to the chest, followed by another one to the head.

The middle rope knee to the chest gets two but Deep Six gives Corbin the same. Nakamura pulls him into a triangle choke but Corbin powerbombs his way to freedom in a hurry. Corbin tries the slide underneath the ropes into the clothesline but Nakamura is waiting on him with Kinshasa for the pin at 18:50.

Daniel Bryan is in at #5 and Nakamura isn’t happy. Back from another break with Bryan striking away but getting kicked out of the air for his efforts. The half crab has Nakamura in more trouble and a German suplex makes it even worse. Bryan kicks away and they fight over an armbar until Bryan gets the YES Lock. The rope is eventually reached though and Bryan is frustrated.

Bryan cranks away on the arm in the corner and takes him up top but the super hurricanrana is blocked. Nakamura knees him down for two but can’t get the cross armbreaker. Instead Bryan wins a strike off and kicks away in the corner. The running corner dropkicks have Nakamura in trouble, only to have him come out of the corner with Kinshasa for the pin at 18:45.

Bryan shakes his hand post fall but here are Roman Reigns and company to interrupt. We take another break and come back with Reigns and Uso beating up Nakamura, but also Pearce. Since there is a bell between the start of the matches, the bell rings and Pearce is put on top for the win at 28:48.

Rating: B-. I’m not quite sure what to think of the ending, as they telegraphed it the entire time and then went exactly that way. I was expecting Kevin Owens to come in at the end but at the same time, well done on having Owens stay off television for more than a week. There is a chance that Pearce actually wrestles the match and I’d believe Reigns can make it work. That’s a heck of a trick and Reigns has made it happen. The rest of the match worked rather well, with Nakamura wrestling as a face for almost his entire time. I could go with a fresh Nakamura, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t remember the last time they had such an efficiently run show, with every match meaning something. You had a champion retaining, a title change and a #1 contender crowned with some other things sprinkled in. There is something great about seeing a show set up targets and then knock them down, which is how things went here. Good show, and it was more about the structure than the wrestling itself.

Results

Big E. b. Apollo Crews – Big Ending

Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler b. Street Profits – Zig Zag/spinebuster combination to Ford

Adam Pearce won a gauntlet match last eliminating Shinsuke Nakamura

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: January 1, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We have finally made it to the new year and that means it is time to start getting ready for the Royal Rumble. Last week saw a pair of huge matches as Kevin Owens got cheated out of his shot at the Universal Title and Big E. won the Intercontinental Title. That sounds like a good place to start for the new year so let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Jon Huber/Luke Harper.

We open with a long recap of Roman Reigns needing Jey Uso’s help to retain the Universal Title over Kevin Owens.

Here are Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman to open things up. Reigns says Happy New Year and talks about how rough 2020 was. However, when you’re the Head of the Table and the Tribal Chief, you can make it work. Look at everything he accomplished in 2020. Heyman is the most honest man he has ever done business with and Jey has had the best year of his career by just listening to Reigns. Reigns praises Jey for being Main Event Uso all along and knocking it out of the park, which is why Reigns loves him.

Cue Kevin Owens but Reigns says turn the music off. Reigns rants about how Owens won’t go away no matter what and he’s sick of Owens as a result. Owens says that since he’s still standing here, Reigns and his family have failed. That failure makes it clear that the Big Dog has been replaced by a giant b****. As for tonight, Owens is here to fight Jey and after that beating, Reigns’ family will have nothing to celebrate.

We look at Big E. winning the Intercontinental Title last week.

Big E. vs. King Corbin

Non-title with Sami Zayn, who is already ranting about a conspiracy, on commentary. They run the ropes to start with Big E. elbowing him down for an early two. Corbin gets in a shot to the face of his own and then hits Big E. in the throat. Big E. gets sent into the post (Sami: “You love to see that.”) so Corbin tries the slide under the post clothesline, only to walk into the Big Ending. That’s enough to draw Sami in for the DQ at 2:52.

Post match the Knights Of The Lone Wolf come in for the beatdown on Big E., drawing in Apollo Crews for the save.

Apollo Crews/Big E. vs. Sami Zayn/King Corbin

Joined in progress because it was sanctioned during the break and we don’t need to waste time seeing that happen. Sami elbows Crews in the corner and hands it off to Corbin for a running clothesline. Crews gets sent outside for a cheap shot from the Knights, followed by being thrown back outside for no cheap shot this time. Back in and Crews snaps off a powerslam, allowing the hot tag to Big E.

The suplexes abound, setting up the Warrior Splash (Graves: “Like getting run over by a Big Rig.”) for two. Corbin grabs Deep Six as Sami argues with the Knights on the floor. Crews comes back in to go after Corbin in a Backlash 2016 Kickoff sequel. Corbin doesn’t like that and argues with Sami before walking out. That’s enough for Crews to grab the Toss Powerbomb to finish Sami at 6:13.

Rating: C-. Not much of a match but it made Crews look good in the process. I’m not sure what that means going forward but if it means Crews vs. Big E. instead of Corbin vs. Big E., I certainly approve. Big E. wasn’t really a factor here, though he had his big moment last week already. Now build him up a challenger in a hurry.

Kevin Owens talks to Adam Pearce about the match with Jey Uso, but Pearce says he can’t do that because it’s just asking for trouble. Owens can have anyone else on the roster instead. Owens: “Fine. I’ll take Roman Reigns.” That’s enough to get Pearce to agree to the match with Uso.

Big E. talks about how things have been good for him since he won, with fans celebrating him from Rome to Rochester (Brodie Lee’s hometown). He has had little Amanda’s (Brodie Lee’s wife) and Nolan’s (Brodie Lee’s son) celebrating with him and like the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs (Brodie Lee’s hockey team), he will be a fighting champion. The open challenge is on and Apollo Crews is right there to accept.

Riott Squad vs. Tamina/Natalya

Billie Kay is here with Tamina and Natalya, who she has put together to deal with the Squad. Morgan rolls Natalya up to start but gets shoved down as Billie yells at everyone. The distraction lets Natalya get double dropkicked into the corner so it’s off to Ruby vs. Tamina. That doesn’t last long as it’s quickly off to Liv for a double Russian legsweep. Hang on though as Billie is now in the Squad’s corner, with Ruby yelling at her a bit. Billie tries to play coach, allowing Liv to roll Tamina up for the pin at 2:25.

Post match, Billie celebrates the victory.

We look back at last week’s Women’s Tag Team Title match.

Bayley/Carmella vs. Bianca Belair/Sasha Banks

Reginald is here with Carmella and Bayley. Belair takes Carmella down without much effort to start and then lifts her up by the arm. Bayley comes in and gets dropkicked down for a trip to the floor. That means a dive from Banks for two back inside as we take a break. Back with Bayley getting two on Belair and working on the arm, which was apparently hurt during the break.

The double arm crank doesn’t last long as Belair suplexes her way to freedom, only to have Carmella break up the tag attempt. A kick to the ribs sets up another armbar but Belair powers out without much trouble. It’s off to Banks for the trash talk off with Carmella, who sends her to the apron. Banks hits the running knees in the corner so Bayley comes in for the save. Belair tries to use her hair to pull Banks over for the tag but Bayley grabs it instead.

That just earns her a hair whip into the post, leaving Banks to get superkicked by Carmella. The Bronco Buster misses though and the Bank Statement goes on, with Reginald pulling Carmella to the floor. The threat of violence from Banks has Reginald backflipping off the apron but the distraction lets Carmella hit a swinging X Factor for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C. I guess one Carmella title feud wasn’t enough. It’s not exactly thrilling but it’ll work fine enough for another title match if they have to. That isn’t going to last long term but at least Banks is likely to have another successful defense in there. Carmella has been a little better as of late so this is hardly a disaster, but it’s a little disappointing.

Roman Reigns isn’t happy with the main event being made because whoever made the match doesn’t respect him. Reigns sends Uso to find out who did it.

Sonya Deville is back and everyone is surprised to see her.

Here are the Street Profits for the 2021 Smoketacular. Montez Ford lists off all of their accomplishments this year but Angelo Dawkins wants to know what is under a blanket. That would be a drum set, because Dawkins needs to play a bit. Ford has some predictions for 2021, like the “I Was Intercontinental Champion” shirt (which they introduced) becoming the #1 seller at WWE Shop. Next up we have Dolph Ziggler, who has ripped off Shawn Michaels for so long that he is going to be dubbed the Heartache Kid. Cue Ziggler and Robert Roode and the big beatdown is on, with Ford’s leg being destroyed with post and chairs.

Post break, Ziggler and Roode say that’s all on the Street Profits’ hands because they want the Tag Team Titles. They want their title shot and won’t stop until they get it. Of note: the team now seems to officially be the Dirty Dawgs, making me wonder which names were rejected.

Daniel Bryan/Otis vs. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

This is fallout from Cesaro/Nakamura not liking Bryan training with Chad Gable (at ringside) and Otis earlier today. Cesaro headlocks Bryan down to start and hands it off to Nakamura for a chinlock as we hear about Cesaro and Nakamura’s battle royal success. Bryan is sent outside for an uppercut from Cesaro as we take a break.

Back with Cesaro slamming Bryan down and handing it off to Nakamura for the kicks. Bryan avoids a big one though and it’s off to Otis to start wrecking things. The Caterpillar hits Cesaro and Bryan comes back in for a sunset flip on Nakamura. Back up and Nakamura’s armbar doesn’t work, as Bryan reverses into the YES Lock for the tap at 10:00.

Rating: C+. The Otis/Gable addition was a little weird but, again, they are already starting to rise up the card a little bit while also gaining some credibility. I’m not sure how Cesaro and Nakamura have already fallen down, but the Nakamura ship sailed years ago. At least Bryan is being kept strong though, and that could mean a lot in the future.

Roman Reigns gives Jey Uso one more pep talk.

Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso

Owens unloads on him to start and stomps Uso down with no trouble. They head outside with Owens hitting a backsplash on the floor, followed by another for two back inside. Back in and Owens starts in on Jey’s recently injured leg, including crushing it on the rope. Uso gets in some right hands for a breather and a superkick puts Owens down on the floor. They head outside with Owens hitting his own superkick and throwing him over the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Jey shoving Owens off the top. Jey has to bail out of the Superfly Splash though and Owens hits the Stunner for the pin at 7:25.

Rating: C. The post break stuff was rather short and the match was almost a squash. This should be setting up the next Reigns vs. Owens match at the Rumble and if so, they did a nice job of reheating Owens in a hurry. It wasn’t a competitive match or even close to one of the most part, but that wasn’t the kind of match they should have had here.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Owens telling Reigns to come help his family. Jey gets handcuffed to the top rope so the leg can be further destroyed. Owens finally gets tired of the beating and unhooks the cuffs, allowing Jey to stagger up the aisle. That just earns Jey another beating, including a superkick onto a table. Owens loads up something but here’s Reigns to jump him from behind. Jey grabs a chair and the big beatdown is on, with Reigns unloading with said chair. Owens gets sent into various screens and then gets tossed off the stage through a table to finally end the beating.

Overall Rating: C+. There wasn’t much done here, but with the show going up against the college football playoff, they weren’t going to have any kind of an audience in the first place. The wrestling was just mostly there, but it does seem to be setting up things for the future, which is the best way to use a show like this. Don’t waste the big stuff when you won’t have an audience, and they didn’t make such a mistake here. Not a great show, but a smartly done one.

Results

Big E. b. King Corbin via DQ when Sami Zayn interfered

Apollo Crews/Big E. b. King Corbin/Sami Zayn – Toss Powerbomb to Zayn

Riott Squad b. Tamina/Natalya – Rollup to Tamina

Carmella/Bayley b. Sasha Banks/Bianca Belair – Running X Factor to Banks

Daniel Bryan/Otis b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro – YES Lock to Nakamura

Kevin Owens b. Jey Uso – Stunner

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: December 18, 2020
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Tables, Ladders And Chairs and that means it is time to have a title match rather than waiting for Sunday. This time around it’s about the Tag Team Titles, with the Street Profits defending against Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler. Other than that, we’re likely to have more Roman Reigns greatness. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Kevin Owens going after Roman Reigns last week, but Reigns fought back and beat the fire out of him. Reigns also spoke directly to Owens’ children, telling them to get it through their dad’s head before Reigns finishes him.

Here’s a ticked off Owens to get things going. He demands Reigns get out here right now so they can do this but Reigns doesn’t come out. With that not working, Owens says he talked to his family and they won’t be watching TLC under any circumstance. He doesn’t want his family seeing what he does to Reigns on Sunday. Reigns still doesn’t come out so Owens says Reigns is just using his family as pawns and that is just pathetic. Reigns has to know that he’s a coward, but here’s Paul Heyman on the screen.

Heyman says he’s heard this before but now he’s here to confess his sins. Last week on Talking Smack, Heyman said Owens needs to marinate in the mindset of being mutilated. Owens is martyr who is willing to pay any sacrifice to be Universal Champion at any point. That means mutilation won’t stop him, so he has to be eradicated. Owens cuts him off, saying that won’t happen. As for tonight, he’s coming to find Reigns himself.

Post break, Owens is trying to storm Reigns’ dressing room but Reigns and Heyman are slowly coming to the ring. Reigns says that Owens needs to stay in his lane because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He doesn’t want to hurt Owens, so Owens can have the same chance as Jey Uso: acknowledge him as the head of the table and everything is forgiven. Here’s Owens in the arena but Jey Uso jumps him from behind with Reigns getting in on the act. The beatdown is on with Owens being sent into the barricade, though he gets up as Reigns leaves.

Post break again, Reigns says Owens still doesn’t understand and orders Jey to take him out.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Roode and Ziggler are challenging. During the entrance, we hear a prediction on the Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year from the actor presenting the award. Dawkins and Ziggler start things off but the Profits hit a double dropkick to put the challengers on the floor. Ford goes up top but shoved down into the barricade for a crash as we take a break.

Back with Roode hitting a Russian legsweep for two on Ford. It’s back to Ziggler with a waistlock to stay on the banged up ribs and hands it off to Roode for a release gordbuster. Ziggler’s waistlock goes on again and a kick to the ribs makes it even worse. Ford finally kicks Ziggler away though and the hot tag brings in Dawkins to clean house. A faceplant plants Ziggler on his face and an exploder suplex sends Roode flying.

Dawkins gets two off a neckbreaker to Roode but Ziggler is back in, with Roode tossing him into the air for a Fameasser. That’s good for two on Dawkins, who is right back up with the Anointing on Ziggler, setting up the Cash Out but Roode elbow Ford in the back for the save. Roode rolls Ford up with tights for two, only to have Ford grab a rollup with trunks to retain at 12:13.

Rating: C+. The Profits are as made of a team as there is at the moment so having them go out there for about twelve minutes to put on a good performance against another fine team is a great way to go. The match worked out well, even if it seems designed to set up a rematch on Sunday. I wasn’t sure which way this one was going though, and that’s one of the best feelings you can have in a title match.

Post match Roode and Ziggler protest, likely setting up the PPV rematch. The referee threatens them with suspension and they back off.

Owens is limping through the back when Uso chairs him from behind. Uso leaves and Owens pulls himself up again.

Bianca Belair says Bayley is her measuring stick and always has Bianca’s name in her mouth. Tonight, Belair is going to s-h-i-n-e.

The Riott Squad speculated on who Billie Kay has to face them next. Maybe Beyonce? Sarah Jessica Parker? Or Wonder Woman!

Riott Squad vs. Billie Kay/???

Billie handles her own introduction (she is a seasoned ring announcer, according to her resume) and it’s…..Tamina. Morgan gets tossed into the corner for some early stomping as Graves talks about how awesome of a team we could be seeing. Riott gets in a kick to the face, only to get blasted with a clothesline. A Samoan drop gives Billie two with Morgan having to make a save. The Squad knocks Tamina off the apron and it’s a missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination to finish Billie at 2:35. I could go for various partners until we get to the glorious reunion with Peyton Royce, which better be coming.

We look back at Carmella beating Sasha Banks via DQ last week and then breaking a champagne bottle over her back last week.

Here’s Carmella for a champagne toast to Sasha Banks. Carmella brags about how expensive the champagne is and says it’s time to drink some bubbly. Banks has every physical gift it takes to be a champion but nothing mentally. That aggression last week is why Carmella knows she already has Banks beat. That’s why Banks is going to have to control herself, but there is no way she can pull it off. After Sunday, Banks is going to fall into a turmoil, because she’s nothing if she isn’t the Boss or the best.

That’s really depressing when you think about it, so Carmella needs a pick me up. She takes a sip but says it tastes cheap and frantic, kind of like Sasha Banks. Cue Banks, so Carmella sends the sommellier to deal with her, and of course Banks comes through the stands instead. Banks throws the champagne in her face and the fight is on, including a failed Bank Statement. The sommellier tries to make the save but it’s another bottle over Banks’ back. Carmella sounded good and confident here, though I don’t buy her having a chance on Sunday.

Owens is in the trainer’s room but here’s Uso to put him through a table.

Otis vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Otis slams him down to start and drops a headbutt for an early two. Nakamura is back with a running knee to the face and some kicks but Otis shrugs them off. A running clothesline crushes Nakamura, but Gable says don’t do the Caterpillar. Instead he wants a suplex, but Nakamura small packages Otis for two. Now the suplex connects and the Vader Bomb connects for the pin at 2:28. Cole: “That was a little drawn out.”

Sami Zayn, in a rather hideous tuxedo, is ready for the Sami Awards. He goes off to get things ready, but Big E. pops up to mess with the cards.

We get a rather nice video of the year 2020 (represented by a green monster) interrupting a Drew McIntyre promo, earning a huge beatdown from several wrestlers. The year 2021 comes in to destroy it once and for all.

Chad Gable asks Otis why he didn’t use the Caterpillar when he had the chance. No worries, as they’re back to training tomorrow. For now, re-hydrate. I’m kind of curious about this, putting it even more miles above a year long short joke.

It’s time for the Sami Awards, with Sami saying that the Slammy Awards have gone downhill since the days when Jack Tunney was running things. After a look at the Year In Review, which of course mainly focuses on Sami, the Comeback of the Year goes to….Sami Zayn! Sami is shocked but we need to keep this going. Next up is Match of the Year, which goes to…..Sami Zayn winning the Intercontinental Title at Clash of Champions!

With that out of way, it’s time for the big one, with Superstar of the Year. That would be…..Big E., who comes out to accept. After asking Notre Dame to cover the spread tomorrow, Big E. decks Sami for daring to say this isn’t how things were supposed to go. Sami gets thrown down the ramp and Big E. breaks the trophy.

Bayley talks about being on the basketball and track teams in high school but you don’t hear her bragging about everything. Bianca Belair would rather brag than pick her brain, so tonight, Bayley is putting her on the map.

Bayley vs. Bianca Belair

Belair starts fast by leapfrogging Bayley, who goes out to the apron. A neck snap staggers Belair but she flips forward and lands on the middle rope. Belair moonsaults over Bayley and kicks her down, only to have Bayley send her arm first into the apron. Back with Bayley talking a lot of trash but Belair slugs away and there’s the delayed vertical suplex with the squats.

The handspring moonsault gives Belair two and a backbreaker is good for the same. A charge sends Belair hard into the corner but she hot shots Bayley into the corner. Belair gets two more off a spinebuster and a sunset flip is good for the same. A rollup gives Belair two more so she lifts Bayley up in a powerbomb, only to have Bayley rake the eyes. The Rose Plant finishes Belair at 10:04.

Rating: C+. You could see the athleticism in Belair (as she’s one of the most athletic people WWE has ever had) but she still doesn’t seem comfortable in the ring. That sequence of rollups and counters near the end felt like they were trying to remember how the choreography went instead of doing what made sense and that’s not a good look to have. The good thing is that was a minor part of the match, which was pretty nice otherwise.

Here are Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Jey Uso to wrap things up. Reigns has been racking his brain and can’t figure this out. If you had a chance to be in the main event with him, why would you pass it up? It’s a chance that your kids’ kids’ kids’ kids would be talking about….and here’s Kevin Owens to interrupt.

Owens takes out Jey but gets speared down as the destruction is on. Reigns unloads with chairs, puts him through a table, buries him with the pieces of the tables, and even adds some ladders once Jey throws them in. Reigns and company go to the back for an interview but Owens is back up and says he’s going to win the title or die trying to end the show.

Man they have a heck of a story here with Owens but it needs to be a long term one rather than something thrown together in a few weeks for a one/two pay per view feud with no chance for Owens to win. Owens is selling the heck out of everything and I want to see him win but this isn’t his time and it’s obvious. What we’re getting is good, but Sunday is the inevitable.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird show, but it’s clear that they know Reigns is the meal ticket right now and are treating him as such. The match with Owens should be a heck of a fight and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them do it again at the Rumble in an I Quit or Last Man Standing match or something else with more violence. Other than that, the rest of the show was just people doing a few things here and there, but there was nothing bad and we had a good show overall. It was the Reigns Show though, and that’s a nice thing to see.

Results

Street Profits b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Rollup to Roode with trunks

Riott Squad b. Tamina/Billie Kay – Missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination to Kay

Otis b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Vader Bomb

Bayley b. Bianca Belair – Rose Plant

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

Tribute To The Troops 2020
Date: December 6, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s time for the annual military salute show and this time it’s all digital, with the Thunderdome hosting everything for a change. That doesn’t exactly give me hope as these shows can fall into a trap of seeming like a show which just happens to have the Tribute To The Troops label slapped on. Hopefully that doesn’t happen here because it’s just kind of lame when that’s the case. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at the history of the show, which has had quite the batch of successful moments over the years.

Street profits/Rey Mysterio/Daniel Bryan/Jeff Hardy vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode/Sami Zayn/King Corbin/Elias

That’s quite the mixture of talent. Ziggler takes Rey down to start and yells a lot, allowing Roode to come in for a change. Mysterio sends him face first into the corner and brings in Jeff, who uses Rey for Poetry in Motion. It’s time to start in on the arm, which suits Bryan just fine as he comes in with the running dropkick in the corner. Elias comes in so Bryan starts hitting the YES Kicks, meaning everything breaks down on the save attempt.

Bryan and Ford hit their big dives (or very big in Ford’s case) to wipe out the villains as we take a break. Back with Roode chopping away at Bryan in the corner but a little mocking of the YES chant, allows Bryan to knock him off the top. There’s a missile dropkick to give Bryan a breather and the double tag brings in Mysterio and Corbin. The pace picks up with Rey kicking him out of the corner and nailing the wheelbarrow bulldog for two.

Sami comes in and gets caught with an enziguri, allowing Cole to get in a nice Pat Patterson mention. Rey catches Sami with an enziguri and it’s off to Dawkins to clean house. Everything breaks down and the parade of finishers begins. Dawkins hits a double underhook swinging neckbreaker, setting up Ford’s frog splash (with a salute) to pin Sami at 11:14.

Rating: C. This is a show where the wrestling means absolutely nothing as the entire point is to have some fun stuff in a laid back atmosphere. That’s what we had here, with everyone involved getting a chance to showcase themselves a little bit. Ford getting to clean house is always a treat and the fact that he is a veteran makes it that much more appropriate. This is the kind of match that the show needs and getting some unique combinations helps too.

The NFL on FOX thanks the troops.

Lacey Evans and NFL analyst Jay Glazer are at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (in San Diego). Evans wins a push up contest against some Marines over three Marines but the second place finisher gets cheered as well.

A singer named Hardy performs.

We look at WWE wrestlers meeting the troops over the years. They had to do it digitally this year and it’s better than nothing.

More NFL on FOX people thank the troops.

Sasha Banks/Bianca Belair vs. Bayley/Natalya

Banks takes Bayley to the mat to start but Bayley forearms both of them away. Belair isn’t about to have anything of a drop toehold but she gets driven into the corner instead. Natalya comes in and gets dropped with a running should, allowing Belair to tell her to bring it on. The big jumping splash connects and everything breaks down, with Belair launching Banks into both of them as we take a break.

Back with Belair being sent hard into the corner but fighting out without much trouble. The hot tag brings in Banks to clean house, including a slingshot double knees to crush Natalya in the corner. The top rope Meteora gets two and Belair hits a handspring moonsault. Bayley and Bianca fight to the floor, leaving Banks to slap on the Bank Statement and, after being flipped back into the middle of the ring, Natalya taps at 7:24.

Rating: C. It’s another showcase match and that’s all it needed to be. Belair is an insane athlete and Banks getting to beat up Natalya isn’t going to hurt anyone. They didn’t try to do anything out of the ordinary here and that’s all it was supposed to be, with some nice action along the way.

We look back to 2007 when Vince McMahon canceled Santa Claus’ appearance, only to have an injured Santa Cena beat him up.

Rob Gronkowski thanks the troops.

Drew McIntyre vs. The Miz

Non-title (Really?) and John Morrison is here with Miz. McIntyre sends him outside without much effort to start and follows with a chop. Morrison (in his Santa hat) goes for a cheap shot and is launched over the barricade for his efforts. The distraction lets Miz get in a cheap shot though and drives McIntyre into the barricade.

Back in and Miz crotches him into the Tree of Woe, allowing McIntyre to do his sitout toss off the top (always impressive). McIntyre hits a neckbreaker and pulls Morrison inside for attempting a save. Miz gets in a thumb to the eye and puts his feet on the ropes for two. McIntyre kicks Morrison off the apron and blocks the Skull Crushing Finale. The Future Shock drops Miz and the Claymore finishes at 4:32.

Rating: C-. That was even more nothing than usual on these shows, which is covering a lot of ground. McIntyre shredded Miz here without breaking a sweat, which makes me wonder why they couldn’t just make it a title match to make things feel a little bigger. It wasn’t a good match, but it wasn’t really supposed to be, so well done….I guess?

McIntyre poses in front of the virtual fans to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Unless the show is completely wretched, I can’t bring myself to criticize these things. They aren’t supposed to be anything serious and this one certainly wasn’t, with a bunch of matches thrown out there with some stars doing cool stuff. That’s exactly what they are supposed to be and given the circumstances they had to face, you really can’t get annoyed at them here. Not a good show or anything, but that’s not the point in something like this.

 

 

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

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

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

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

Survivor Series 2020
Date: November 22, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s time for a special show as not only do we have Raw vs. Smackdown in the battle for the all important Brand Supremacy, but it’s also the thirty year anniversary of Undertaker’s debut. Tonight it’s his Final Farewell, which I really hope is the real FINAL Farewell and not a way to set up one more Wrestlemania match. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Battle Royal

Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Chad Gable, Cedric Alexander, Humberto Carrillo, Shelton Benjamin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Robert Roode, Jeff Hardy, Apollo Crews, Ricochet, Angel Garza, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Murphy, Kalisto, Miz, John Morrison

It’s a brawl to start and Dominik gets rid of Morrison early on. Kalisto and Rey have a lucha off until the Hurt Business jump them from behind. Alexander gets rid of Kalisto and Ziggler superkicks Rey down to break up a 619 to Roode. Ziggler tosses Rey so Murphy goes after him as Garza gets rid of Carrillo. The Hurt Business eliminates Garza and it’s Alexander and Ricochet fighting to the apron with Ricochet kicking him out.

Benjamin knees Ricochet out but Crews gets rid of Benjamin as well. Murphy and Roode put each other out and it’s Ziggler vs. Dominik on the apron. Ziggler misses a charge into the post and Dominik dropkicks him out, leaving us with Dominik, Elias, Nakamura, Miz, Crews, Hardy and Gable. Nakamura misses the running knee in the corner but hits the Kinshasa to knock Crews out. Hardy gets rid of Nakamura though and Elias is out as well, leaving us with Hardy, Miz, Gable and Dominik.

Gable clotheslines Hardy out (that’s a surprise) and Miz kicks Dominik in the face to cut off a 619 attempt. There are the YES Kicks to Dominik and the big one actually hits. Dominik throws him to the apron but Miz rolls back in, followed by the baseball slide to put Miz back inside (oh here we go). Gable suplexes Dominik but gets caught with a springboard armdrag. The 619 connects and Gable is out so Dominik thinks he won. Miz, back in, wins, 12:14.

Rating: D. Do they just try to get on my nerves with these things? It continues to be the most annoying finish to any match you can see in WWE because they use it WAY too often and it isn’t even clever. Miz winning is fine but that’s not the right way to get me interested in a show going forward.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 0

The opening video looks at how important it is to be the Best Of The Best but the teams aren’t getting along. This transitions into the Undertaker, which is a good bit more important.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Raw: AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, Riddle, Keith Lee, Sheamus

Smackdown: King Corbin, Seth Rollins, Otis, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens

Just in case you’re confused, they do have the red and blue shirts, with USA and FOX on the back. Before the match, AJ, with his bodyguard, reiterates that he is captain but Riddle’s entrance cuts him off. Team Raw starts bickering about who the captain is before the bell until AJ and Uso start things off. The drop down into the dropkick barely hits and it’s Jey coming back with the right hand (Otis: “JUICY!”).

The Pele misses and Jey grabs a rollup for two as Paul Heyman is watching backstage. AJ walks into the Samoan drop and it’s off to Otis vs. Riddle in a hurry. Riddle’s headlock doesn’t work so it’s some pelvic thrusting with Otis shouting “OH YEAH BRO”. The sleeper doesn’t work and Otis dances off some kicks to the chest. A splash cuts Riddle off and it’s Owens coming in to go after Riddle’s bare feet. That doesn’t work so well so it’s off to Sheamus vs. Rollins, who looks pretty stoic, for a somewhat intriguing showdown. Rollins drops to his knees, tells Sheamus to do his part, and takes the Brogue Kick for the pin at 6:02.

Team Smackdown needs a meeting on the floor, with Owens saying Rollins will always be a piece of trash. Owens talks about how neither team works well together….and Strowman runs all four of them over out of boredom. Back in and Strowman shouts that his team needs to get on the same page and hands it off to Riddle to kick at Corbin. The smiling Lee comes in to face Otis, because the logical followup to last year when Lee pinned Rollins and almost pinned Roman Reigns.

They fight over the lockup before Lee’s shoulders don’t put Otis down. The Grizzly Magnum is cut off and Otis hits him with the stomach. Lee gets him up in a fireman’s carry but Otis lands on his feet. A left hand puts Otis down and it’s back to Strowman for the right hand. Strowman hits a running dropkick and it’s AJ coming in, only to get caught with a jawbreaker. Owens comes back in to backdrop AJ and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two. Owens forearms him off the apron and everything breaks down. A series of Stunners has Team Raw staggered until AJ hits the Phenomenal Forearm to get rid of Owens at 12:19.

The End of Days hits AJ but the rest of the team makes the save. There’s Deep Six to Sheamus but AJ kicks Corbin down. The Floating Bro pins Corbin at 13:07 and it’s the full Team Raw vs. Uso/Otis. Sheamus hits a running knee for two on Uso and there are the ten forearms to the chest. Jey gets in a shot to the face and the hot tag brings in Otis for the suplexes. Strowman comes in and the shirts come off for the showdown. A big boot drops Otis but he’s right back with a slam.

The Caterpillar looks to set up the Vader Bomb but Riddle makes the save. The running powerslam gets rid of Otis at 16:39 and it’s Jey Uso vs. the entire Raw team. Uso starts superkicking everyone he can and the big dive over the top takes out all five of them. They get back in with Strowman going into the post and there’s a superkick to AJ. The bodyguard (Almos?) pulls AJ out of the way of the Superfly Splash but the Phenomenal Forearm is broken up. Lee makes a blind tag though and the Spirit Bomb finishes Uso for the win at 18:58.

Rating: D+. There were spots where the action was good but there was way too much time spent on “WE DON’T LIKE EACH OTHER”. This felt like a match where one team had to win and someone finally did, but it wasn’t exactly a thrilling way to get there. Otis did get a chance to shine here so he might have a bit more of a future than he seemed to have just a few weeks ago. It’s not an awful match and there have been WAY worse Survivor Series matches, but this wasn’t exactly a good way to get things going as the story wasn’t interesting during the build and they doubled down on it here.

Raw – 2

Smackdown – 0

New Day (Raw) vs. Street Profits (Smackdown)

Non-title and Big E. is here with New Day, who are in their Gears of War attire due to being characters in the game. We even get the trailer for their version of the game. Before their entrance, the Street Profits are in the back to talk about Undertaker and various wrestlers Undertaker has faced over the years. This includes singing Sexy Boy and saying Kane didn’t have a catchphrase but he did spray fire and that was cool.

Now it’s time to face New Day, who have been doing this for more than five years and accomplished all kinds of things (Dawkins: “YOU BUILT A TIME MACHINE!”). Tonight, they’re here to take the torch because they want the smoke. There was some fire from the Profits here and they shows how well they can talk.

Dawkins and Woods feel each other out to start but it’s quickly off to Kingston for some shouting at each other. Ford flips in (which the camera partially misses) and shoulders him down before they trade a bunch of leapfrogs. Dawkins comes back in for a double flapjack and a splash gets two on Kofi. The armbar goes on but the belly to back moonsault hits Kofi’s raised boot.

Everything heads outside with Kofi hitting the big dive and Woods shouting that the Profits are not ready for this New Day beating. Back in and the chinlock goes on, with Kofi taunting Ford by having a sip of a solo cup. Kofi works on the arm but it’s a shot to the face to allow the hot tag to Dawkins. House is cleaned with suplexes and a swinging butterfly suplex gets two on Woods.

Running Sliced Bread from Ford gets the same but Woods gets over to Kofi to pick up the pace. The Midnight Hour (with Woods playing Kofi and Kofi playing Big E.) gets two but it’s the Anointment into the Cash Out to Kofi. Ford’s bad ribs delay the cover though and Kofi is out at two. Everything breaks down and Ford hits Kofi with Trouble in Paradise. Woods hits a gorilla press gutbuster for two on Ford but Dawkins tags himself in. A Doomsday Blockbuster is enough to finish Woods at 14:03.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going and while New Day putting someone over has been done for a long time now, this felt a little different as the Profits have been champions since March and are already established as a team. Both teams are great in the ring and while I’m not sure if this was a passing of the torch, it was an awesome match with the Profits looking like the best team around today, as they should be at this point.

Raw – 2

Smackdown – 1

Respect is shown post match.

Bayley reluctantly puts on the arm band.

Nia Jax insists that Lana is NOT tagged in tonight.

Bobby Lashley (Raw) vs. Sami Zayn (Smackdown)

Non-title and the Hurt Business is here with Lashley. Sami bails to the floor to start and realizes he’s surrounded. The distraction lets Lashley get in a shot from behind but Sami catches him on the way back inside. Lashley runs through Sami’s clothesline but Sami hammers away and hits a top rope elbow to the back of the head for one. Back up and a big toss sends Sami flying, followed by the driving shoulders in the corner. The delayed vertical suplex drops Sami again….and Sami claims to have vertigo (which he did back in 2018).

The goldbricking rollup gives Sami two so Lashley runs him over, sending Sami outside. Sami shoves Alexander to try and get the DQ but the Hurt Business is smarter than that. Lashley follows him out but gets posted, only to barely beat the count back in. Sami goes for the turnbuckle pad, which Shelton ties right back on like a good friend should. Lashley is back with his big spinebuster to send Sami outside, where he claims MVP tripped him. When that doesn’t work, Sami is thrown back inside so the Hurt Lock can give Lashley the win at 7:46.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t designed to be a competitive match and I’m curious to see where Sami goes with his conspiracy theory stuff. It has been done before but Sami is the kind of talker who can make it work. Lashley did not need to be losing here and to be fair, he was never in any serious danger. This is how it should have gone and it worked as well as could have been expected.

Raw – 3

Smackdown – 1

Jey Uso goes to see Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, with Jimmy Uso defending his brother about it being 5-1 and Jey trying his best. Reigns says Jimmy can go but Jey is staying. Jey lost because his team doesn’t respect him. If they don’t respect Jey they don’t respect Reigns and if they don’t respect Reigns, they don’t respect the family. If that’s the case, Jey has no place at the table so get out of here with your brother. Reigns is so great here because he comes off like he knows he can back up his word, but more importantly, Jey knows Reigns can back up his word and that makes him all the more of a monster.

Asuka (Raw) vs. Sasha Banks (Smackdown)

Non-title and since Cole isn’t on commentary, Graves handles IT’S BOSS TIME. Phillips: “How much is Cole paying you?” Graves: “Fifty bucks.” They go to the mat to no avail to start so Banks hiptosses her into an armbar. Banks switches to a short armscissors but they roll around on the mat with Banks getting a quickly broken Bank Statement. Some rollups give Banks two and she starts working on Asuka’s fingers.

There’s the Backstabber for two and Asuka bails outside for a breather. Banks talks trash from the ring and even holds the ropes open for her. Asuka sends her outside as well and now it’s Asuka holding the rope open for a change. Back in and Asuka grabs an ankle lock, followed by the sliding knee for two. The armbar goes on again but this time it’s Banks fighting up into an abdominal stretch. Asuka breaks that up and hits the running hip attack to the floor but Banks gets in a shot to the face.

Back in and Banks misses the Meteora though and they’re both down. Another hip attack misses Banks and another Backstabber gives Asuka two. The running knees connect for Banks in the corner and the Bank Statement goes on, with Asuka reversing into most of an Asuka Lock. That’s broken up as well but Asuka hits some knees to the face for two. Asuka grabs an ankle lock but they go into a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. A knee to the face rocks Asuka, who is right back with a kick of her own. The Asuka Lock is reversed into a rollup to give Banks the quick pin at 13:03.

Rating: B+. This was a different way to go and the match worked as a result. What mattered here was they didn’t bother going with the usual formula from these two and instead had them trading submissions until Banks caught her at the end. It was a heck of a match and Banks looked fired up off the pin, as she continues to accomplish various things she has never reached before to make this run feel different. Great stuff here, again.

Raw – 3

Smackdown – 2

We recap Miz winning the Kickoff Show battle royal.

Also on the Kickoff Show, the Gobbledy Gooker won the 24/7 Title.

The Gooker finds a trail of bird seed leading to a big pile, allowing Akira Tozawa to sneak up and grab a rollup for the pin and the title. R-Truth hits Tozawa with the bag of seed and wins the title, meaning the chase is on.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Peyton Royce, Lace Evans, Lana

Smackdown: Bianca Belair, Bayley, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan

Bayley’s armband even says CAPTAIN. Lacey and Bayley start things off with Lacey taking her into the corner for the napkin toss. You don’t do that to Bayley, who fights out of the corner and hands it off to Natalya. The belly to back drop into the step over basement dropkick gives Natalya two so Royce comes in. That means a double suplex from Natalya and Belair, with squats thrown in, for two. Riott comes in but gets drop toeholded down, allowing the tag off to Baszler.

A rollup gives Riott two so it’s quickly off to Jax, who is taken into the corner for the quintuple team. Liv’s sleeper doesn’t work so Lana tags herself in, much to Nia’s shock. Lana knocks Liv down so it’s off to Natalya for a reunion of a team that wasn’t important in the first place. A front facelock has Natalya in trouble but Jax tags herself in and orders Lana to sit on the steps until Jax tells her to get up. We settle down to Bayley kicking away at Royce in the corner until Royce gets a full nelson with her legs in the ropes (Graves: “I’d give that a perfect ten.”).

Bayley brings in Belair for a gorilla press Snake Eyes, setting up Bayley’s top rope elbow for two with Evans making a save. We hit the parade of secondary finishes, with Riott’s kick missing Jax’s head so badly that commentary has to point it out (as they should). Bayley goes up top but gets caught by Royce for in a superplex onto the pile on the floor. In theory at least, as Bayley THUDS to the floor right between them, meaning you can hear Bayley ask if everyone is ok. Back in and the Deja Vu gets rid of Bayley at 9:58.

Natalya comes in and the stepover basement dropkick is reversed into a half crab from Royce. Belair makes the save though and Natalya….can’t get some kind of leglock on Royce. Instead she goes with the Sharpshooter to make Royce tap at 11:41. Evans comes in with a clothesline to Natalya and the Woman’s Right finishes Natalya at 12:33.

It’s Belair in next so Evans clotheslines her down. Belair hits a double chickenwing faceplant but Evans catches her on top with a super Spanish Fly for two with the Riott Squad making the save. It’s off to Jax, so the Squad takes over on her in the corner. The Codebreaker into the Riot Kick staggers Jax right into the corner so Baszler can come in, making the Squad look a bit inept.

Riott gets kicked down but manages a rollup for two on Baszler. That just earns her the Kirifuda Clutch but this time Riott flips back onto her for a very delayed two. It’s so delayed that Baszler chokes her out and gets the easy pin at 16:48. We’re down to Belair/Morgan vs. Jax/Baszler/Evans/Lana with a ticked off Morgan taking over on Evans in the corner. A crucifix bomb gets rid of Evans at 17:59 as Jax has to yell at Lana to stay on the steps.

Liv shouts BRING IT B**** at Jax and slugs away, followed by a floatover DDT. Jax is back on one knee and an enziguri…just makes her get back to her feet. The Samoan drop finishes Morgan at 19:04 and it’s Belair down 3-1. Belair starts flipping around, including a moonsault over Jax (Jax: “WHAT THE???”) out of the corner. A splash hits knees though and Jax drops the leg for two. Belair manages to kick Jax off the ropes and out to the floor but Baszler tags herself in.

The Kirifuda Clutch goes on but Belair gets out of it with a belly to back suplex. Baszler slaps it on again, with Belair powering to her feet this time and walking to the ropes with Baszler on her back. Belair collapses into the ropes for the break, with Baszler not letting go until it’s a DQ at 22:26. Jax loads up the announcers’ table but Belair shoves her into the steps. A backdrop sends Jax over the barricade for the double countout at 23:10….and that makes Lana the soul survivor because she was standing on the steps.

Rating: D. This just kept going and showed you how interchangeable the women are outside of the top of the division. Lana surviving and winning isn’t exactly shocking and it probably gets us one step close to what should be the inevitable tables match against Jax at TLC where she suddenly makes up for the last three months. I’m still not sure who thinks this version of Lana as the big face is a good idea (ok it’s Vince) but dang they’re taking their time getting there. The rest of the match was as nothing as you would expect from this group of women, and that’s very sad given the talent that is involved.

Raw – 4

Smackdown – 2

TLC: Enter The Storm is on December 20.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns. McIntyre showed up on Smackdown and called out Reigns, who told him to go win a title and see him at Survivor Series. That’s what McIntyre did and here we go.

Roman Reigns (Smackdown) vs. Drew McIntyre (Raw)

Non-title and Reigns has Paul Heyman with him. They fight over a lockup to start with Reigns taking him to the mat off a headlock. McIntyre reverses into one of his own, followed by a running shoulder to put Reigns on the floor for a change. Back in and Reigns hits him in the face and sends McIntyre face first into the buckle to take over again. McIntyre slugs away but they head to the floor where Reigns gets in a posting.

Back in again and Reigns hammers him down, setting up a snap suplex for two. Reigns hits the jumping clothesline for the same and we hit an arm trap chinlock. McIntyre fights up with a neckbreaker and pops up, only to walk into a Samoan drop for two. The Superman Punch is countered into a spinebuster for two and they’re both down again, as this is finally starting to reach a higher gear.

Reigns slugs away some more but McIntyre hits the Glasgow Kiss into the Future Shock for a rather close two, sending Heyman into another level of panic. The Claymore is countered with a Superman Punch but McIntyre is right back up. Reigns tries the guillotine but gets thrown down in a hurry. The Claymore misses so Reigns tries the spear, which is countered into the Kimura.

Reigns has to go to the ropes and they head outside, with McIntyre being Samoan dropped through the announcers’ table. The spear through the barricade looks to destroy McIntyre but he’s out at two again. Another spear is cut off by a kick to the face but Reigns hits another spear for two. McIntyre hits the Claymore, which bumps the referee to the floor. Cue Jey Uso for a distraction so Reigns can hit a low blow and Jey adds a superkick. The guillotine goes on and McIntyre is out at 24:54.

Rating: B. This took a long time to get going but once they hit that next gear, it started living up to the hype. They did what they could to protect McIntyre here and that’s how it should have gone if they were going to have a finish. Normally I’d take that over some double countout or double DQ finish but that might have been better here. Still though, heck of a match once it got going and McIntyre didn’t lose much in defeat. And it’s better than Randy Orton interfering to set up another match.

Raw – 4

Smackdown – 3

Post match Jey sits on the stage until Reigns comes up and hugs him.

It’s time for Undertaker’s Final Farewell so let’s bring out the guests:

Shane McMahon

Big Show

JBL

Jeff Hardy

Mick Foley

Godfather

Godwins

Savio Vega

Rikishi

Kevin Nash

Booker T.

Shawn Michaels

Ric Flair

HHH

Kane

Commentary says Undertaker launched Hardy to a Hall of Fame career in their ladder match, because Matt Hardy no longer exists right now. With that out of the way, Cole gets to mention the Bone Street Krew, which has to be one of the only mentions ever of the group on WWE TV. Everyone is in the ring and we get a long video package on Undertaker, set to Metallica’s Now That We’re Dead with various legends talking about what Undertaker means.

Vince McMahon comes out to say that Undertaker has been here for three decades (even saying he was there in the WWF). They say nothing can live forever, but Undertaker’s legacy will live forever. With that, he gives us the Undertaker. Undertaker’s symbol appears and we get what sounds like an electric version of his old music. The regular version begins and we get the full entrance, with Undertaker looking around and soaking in some cheers. Undertaker says that everyone’s time has come to let the Undertaker rest in peace.

The THANK YOU TAKER chants start up again and he tips his hat, takes the knee and strikes the pose, with a Paul Bearer hologram appearing with the Urn and an OH YEEEEEESSSS. The gong toes off and the music hits again, so Undertaker gives us one last throat slit. Undertaker slowly walks up the ramp, looks back, and raises the fist. He slowly walks off and through the curtain as the show ends. I don’t know what else there is to say here. It’s the Undertaker and he’s not going to be around anymore. That’s going to take some getting used to.

Overall Rating: B. This is one of the weirder shows WWE has ever put on as it more or less exists in a vacuum as the results mean nothing, but at the same time it had the Undertaker’s farewell. The wrestling was pretty good for the most part, though the two Survivor Series matches were a pretty wretched pairing. The stakes were much lower than last year but there were three very good matches and the Undertaker segment brought the emotion. It’s a good show, but dang they could have done with cutting out a pair of matches. Or with some actual stakes for a change.

Results

Raw Men b. Smackdown Men last eliminating Jey Uso

Street Profits b. New Day – Doomsday Blockbuster to Woods

Bobby Lashley b. Sami Zayn – Hurt Lock

Sasha Banks b. Asuka – Rollup

Raw Women b. Smackdown Women last eliminating Bianca Belair

Roman Reigns b. Drew McIntyre – Guillotine choke

 

 

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: November 20, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Survivor Series and there are still three spots to fill in on the Smackdown teams. I can’t say I’m overly surprised as WWE likes to take their time, but this is really cutting it close. Other than that…well there isn’t all that much, but we’ll probably get some talking about the champion vs. champion matches. Let’s get to it.

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

The Street Profits are in the newly refurbished Champions Lounge and talk about how Sunday is going to be Undertaker’s Final Farewell. Montez Ford rolls his eyes back in his head and the thunder and lightning start….and here’s Big E. with a sombrero. Big E.: “It was all they had in props.” They talk trash about Sunday’s match with New Day, with Angelo Dawkins promising to beat Kofi Kingston so badly that his Jamaican accent will be back. The Profits will break bread with New Day anytime but on Sunday, they want the smoke. Big E. says it’s cool because New Day is here tonight and hits the catchphrase.

Here are Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in the arena, asking if there is a big fist breaking through glass or if they can check into the Smackdown Hotel. Either way, they’re here to talk to the Street Profits, because they want the smoke instead of this fire. Woods says they’re dead men, which Kofi says is rather harsh. Kofi: “I just want a match dude. I don’t want them dead!” Woods says it’s just his way of shifting to talk about the Undertaker, so they both lay down and do the sit up.

Cue Sami Zayn, who says Undertaker is leaving because he knows Sami owes him some revenge. Undertaker chokeslammed him in Madison Square Garden so now he’s taking the coward’s way out. United States Champion Bobby Lashley isn’t leaving so easily, even though WWE wants to protect one of their poster boys. Sami gets in the ring and says he’s going to give New Day a chance to start talking about the hottest thing in WWE: himself. Woods comes up with the best compliment he can: Sami’s outfit makes him look like a dad who just put a down payment on a studio apartment.

Cue King Corbin to say New Day just had a farewell match a month ago so they don’t need to be here. Woods says that was their farewell match as Smackdown stars but tonight they’re here as Raw stars. Violence is teased so here are Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode to interrupt. Ziggler says New Day and the Street Profits trading the titles cost them a title shot, so New Day has an idea: they’ll defend the titles tonight, but they might as well face Corbin and Zayn instead.

Zayn appreciates the offer but doesn’t want to strain something before Sunday and they’re not a team, but they could beat Roode/Ziggler easily. Woods suggests the two teams fight and the winners get a shot tonight…..so Roode and Ziggler jump New Day. Cue the Street Profits for the save, with Ford hitting a big flip dive to take the villains down (and to impress Kofi at the same time). Please just do the eight man so I don’t have to watch either Ziggler or Corbin wrestle twice.

Street Profits/New Day vs. King Corbin/Sami Zayn/Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Joined in progress with Ford dropkicking Ziggler and Dawkins coming in to suplex Ford onto Ziggler for two. Kofi and Roode come in with Kofi hitting the jumping back elbow to the face. A dropkick sends Roode into the corner, with Kofi explaining to Ford the proper way to throw one. The Unicorn Stampede is on before Corbin comes in to hit Deep Six on Woods. A sunset flip gives Woods two and it’s already back to Ford for a dropkick of his own. Everything breaks down and Kofi’s spinning crossbody hits Ford by mistake and we take a break with Kofi upset.

Back with Ziggler chinlocking Ford and driving him back into the corner so Corbin can hammer away. Corbin slams him down and then hammers away with right hands. Ford flips out of Ziggler’s belly to back though and hits the enziguri, allowing the double tags to Kingston and Roode. House is cleaned but Trouble in Paradise misses, allowing Woods to tag himself back in. After Woods gets his own near fall, Dawkins comes in for the spinning corner splash on Roode, who tags Sami in a second later. That’s not cool with Sami, who gets caught with the spinebuster into the Cash Out to give Ford the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C+. The action was good, even if this is the kind of match that you might have seen a few dozen times. Ford didn’t seem to remember the crossbody after the break but it’s not like they have anything else to build the match at the moment. Also we didn’t have to watch Ziggler or Corbin twice in a night so it could have been much worse.

Post match Sami stumbles to the back and says that shouldn’t count as he runs into Daniel Bryan. Sami yells a lot as Bryan puts on a mask and then keeps shouting so Bryan shoves him down. Bryan says he tries to social distance as much as possible.

Post break Bryan looks back at Jey Uso beating and attacking him last week. Bryan talks about how everyone has an angel and a devil on their shoulder and no he isn’t concerned about coming back too soon. Bryan was the one who heard his kid crying every night and couldn’t even pick her up. Tonight, Jey needs to be worried because Reigns, the devil on his shoulder, got him here. As usual, Bryan can bring the emotion when he needs to.

Adam Pearce has picked the final member of Team Smackdown because there is something about his story that he likes. It’s Otis, which makes Chad Gable very proud. They go off to get ready so Pearce turns around to see Natalya. She says she should be on the team too but now she has to face Tamina in a qualifying match. Pearce says the other spot has been taken by Bayley, but Natalya needs to go now because her match is next.

Seth Rollins talks about how Murphy was nothing until Rollins saved him and gave him a new life. Now Murphy owes everything he has to Rollins, from his career to his new girlfriend. After tonight, Murphy goes back to being nothing.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match; Natalya vs. Tamina

Bianca Belair is on commentary but hold on because here’s Bayley to sit in as well. Tamina knocks Natalya out to the floor and then hits some elbows back inside. Natalya is right back with the discus lariat though and the Sharpshooter makes Tamina tap at 1:46. Well that was quick. Natalya even kisses the referee on the cheek in celebration.

Post match the Riott Squad comes out so the entire team can pose.

We look at Drew McIntyre showing up last week and confronting Roman Reigns, who told him to win a World Title and come see him at Survivor Series. Then McIntyre beat Randy Orton on Raw and now the match is set for Sunday.

It’s time for the contract signing with Reigns and McIntyre, with Reigns making sure to sit at the head of the table, as he should. Reigns says he knew McIntyre could do it because he’s been in those shoes. Paul Heyman told him years ago: he is the right guy in the right place at the wrong time. McIntyre says Reigns isn’t going to get inside his head because he already has his match on Sunday.

Reigns told him to go win a World Title and that’s exactly what McIntyre did. McIntyre signs and says it’s Reigns’ move, but he has some advice: please underestimate him. Spend the last two days of peace to prepare for war. Reigns doesn’t seem to appreciate that because he’s the one who gives advice.

Now he is going to let McIntyre sit underneath the learning tree. On Sunday, McIntyre is not going to understand the brutal truth but one day he’ll learn that he is a secondary title holder. McIntyre has the title that people get when Reigns is busy (that’s a great line). Reigns is the head of the table and one day McIntyre will have the chance to do that. When that is true, he’ll look back at these nights and thank Reigns.

McIntyre is going to thank him and Reigns will love him right back, because McIntyre will always be his favorite #2. Reigns signs and Heyman hands him the title. This was really good, partially because they were just talking (without holding microphones) and you could feel the power struggle.

We look back at last week’s Final Chapter between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins, with Murphy helping Mysterio by attacking Rollins.

Seth Rollins vs. Murphy

Rey, Dominick and Aalyah Mysterio are here with Murphy, who gets knocked off the apron during the entrance. Murphy says he has this and charges in to start the brawl in a hurry. Rollins ties him in the ropes and asks if Murphy remembers this. It’s time to grab a kendo stick but Rey takes it away, only to get punched in the face. Dominik gets beaten down as well but Murphy gets loose and makes the save, only to get shoved HARD off the top and down into the barricade.

Back from a break with Murphy’s Cheeky Nandos kick being blocked, allowing Rollins to grab the Sling Blade for two. Murphy gets in a kick to the face to stagger Rollins though and there’s a dropkick through the ropes to the floor. The big running flip dive drops Rollins again but Rollins is right back with the superplex into the Falcon Arrow.

They head to the apron to slug it out and Murphy hits a good looking jumping knee. Rollins is fine enough to hit the Stomp on the way back in but Murphy gets a foot on the rope. There’s the Buckle Bomb but another Stomp is cut off with the jumping knee. That works so well that they do it again, followed by Murphy’s Law to plant Rollins for the pin at 11:09.

Rating: B-. This was a good and hard hitting match to FINALLY end things and hopefully frees up both of them to do something else. They beat each other up rather well and Murphy gets a huge boost, but what matters is WWE following up on it. That has never been their strong suit, but the pieces are there to make it work.

Michael Cole is in the ring with Asuka and Sasha Banks to talk about how this Sunday will be the finale of a big rivalry. They have traded the Raw Women’s Title over the last few months but Banks says it’s Boss Time all the time. She has time for Asuka though because Asuka is one of the best ever. Asuka laughs about Summerslam but Banks promises to make her tap on Sunday. Asuka: “YOU CAN’T SEE ME!” Banks: “I can see you and for once I can finally understand you.” Banks is ready to fight right now but here’s Carmella to jump her from behind and tie her in the Tree of Woe. Asuka watches on but doesn’t seem happy.

Jey Uso doesn’t like Daniel Bryan saying Roman Reigns is the devil inside Jey’s head. The only devil is right here and he made himself beat Bryan up. Tonight, he’s doing it again.

Jey Uso vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan takes him down by the leg to start and then kicks away for a bonus. Back up and Uso gets in a hard shot to the face, meaning it’s time to take off the elbow pad and get serious. They head outside with Jey sending him into the steps and loading up the announcers’ table. Commentary points out how evil Jey looks but Bryan fights back and hits the missile dropkick back inside.

Bryan is holding his back but is still able to strike away in the corner. A backdrop puts Jey on the floor and Bryan hits a suicide dive, sending Jey hard into the edge of the table. Bryan’s charge is backdropped through the table though and we take a break. Back with Jey hammering away but shouting that this isn’t personal. A headbutt to the ribs has Bryan in more trouble and there’s a backbreaker to keep him down. Jey hits a top rope superplex for two but has to fight out of the YES Lock attempt.

Some hard knees to the ribs and back have Bryan in more trouble but Bryan crotches him on top. That means a belly to back superplex, with Jey landing hard on his shoulder. Bryan grabs the arms and starts stomping at the head but the superkick cuts Bryan down. A low superkick sets up the Superfly Splash but Bryan gets the knees up, setting up the small package to pin Uso at 13:50.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting fight and Bryan coming out with the win was the right call….at least I think it is. Uso has now lost back to back matches, but he has been losing to former World Champions so it’s not like this is some huge demotion. They probably shouldn’t have had Jey lose on the way to Survivor Series, but this felt like a way to start the build up of Bryan as Reigns’ next challenger.

Overall Rating: C+. Good enough show here, but there some of the stuff they did to build to Sunday really didn’t make me want to watch the show. The opening tag felt like what they came up with at the last possible second (likely because it was) and really showed that these champions have no important reason to be fighting. That makes for some rather wacky television and that was the case here, save for Reigns vs. McIntyre which felt big because of who was involved. The other stuff worked, but I really need a better reason for people to fight other than they both have titles.

Results

Street Profits/New Day b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode/Sami Zayn/King Corbin – Cash Out to Zayn

Natalya b. Tamina – Sharpshooter

Murphy b. Seth Rollins – Murphy’s Law

Daniel Bryan b. Jey Uso – Small package

 

 

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