Survivor Series Count-Up – 2019 (Original): They Went There

IMG Credit: WWE

Survivor Series 2019
Date: November 24, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

We have finally arrived. After several weeks of Raw, Smackdown and NXT invading each others’ shows, it is time to see which show is best and that could be interesting. Raw has won the competition three years in a row, though this is NXT’s first time being included. The card looks good, albeit huge. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck end zone, looking straight at the Titantron.

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal

Raw: OC, Street Profits, Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins

Smackdown: Revival, Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode, Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery

NXT: Forgotten Sons, Breezango, Imperium

When one member is out, both of them are out and that’s quite the advantage for Smackdown. Vic on Hawkins and Ryder: “Here are two guys who are just happy they’re still here.” Lince Dorado/Gran Metalik for the House Party and Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel for Imperium, with Walter on the outside. It’s a big brawl to start with Ziggler wearing a Smackdown hat (he finds new ways to look stupid every day) and it’s the Sons being out in a hurry.

The House Party quickly follow them with Hawkins and Ryder going as well to really start clearing the ring out. We get the standard Ziggler save because he does these things in every battle royal but never wins the things. Aichner and Ziggler slug it out on the apron with Roode knocking Aichner out for the elimination. Otis gives Ziggler the spinning slam and takes off the shirt to set up the Caterpillar, only to get tossed by the OC and the Revival.

Fandango gets sent through the ropes so he’s able to catch Breeze as he’s thrown out, only to have the Revival get rid of them anyway. That’s it for NXT and the Profits dropkick Revival out to get us down to the OC, the Profits and Ziggler/Roode. Ziggler breaks up the Magic Killer to Roode and superkicks Gallows out and we’re down to two. Roode gets knocked through the ropes and it’s the spinebuster to Ziggler but Roode knocks Ford off the top. Ford is right back up with a frog splash to Ziggler, only to have Roode throw him out for the win at 8:21.

Rating: D. What a great way to start the show: eliminate all of the popular teams and go with the least interesting team from Smackdown instead of the popular Heavy Machinery. It’s not like it matters one way or another in the grand scheme of things, but that’s what we get anyway because WWE loves itself some Roode and Ziggler. The match was your usual battle royal and that’s not exactly interesting.

Smackdown – 1

Raw – 0

NXT – 0

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto (Smackdown) vs. Akira Tozawa (Raw) vs. Lio Rush (NXT)

Rush is defending and we’ve got armbands for the brands. It really is amazing how much effort they put into trying to get this Brand Supremacy thing over but it’s better than the stupid shirts. Tozawa and Kalisto knock him to the floor to start so Tozawa can roll Kalisto up for two, setting off the issues in a hurry. Rush comes back in and starts the dodging but gets pulled to the floor. Kalisto’s kick to the head cuts off Tozawa’s dive and everyone gets back in.

It’s Rush dodging Kalisto’s shots to the head and hitting a double handspring elbow to put both of them down. A left hand to the face puts Rush down and Tozawa plants him with a fireman’s carry faceplant. Everyone heads to the same corner and it’s Rush with a super double armdrag so all three can be down at once again. The three way slugout goes to Rush until Tozawa snaps off a German suplex for two.

Kalisto dives in to roll Rush up for two more and they’re down for the fourth time. There’s the Salida Del Sol to Rush with Tozawa breaking it up with a Shining Wizard. The top rope backsplash gets the same as Kalisto gets to make a save this time. Kalisto and Tozawa slug it out for a bit until it’s another Salida Del Sol to plant Tozawa. Rush dives in with the Final Hour to Kalisto to retain at 8:28.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it needed to be: three talented guys going out there and doing a bunch of fast paced offense for a few minutes. The crowd was into it too, which makes me feel a little bit better for these guys. The cruiserweights have been treated terribly on 205 Live and it’s nice to see them getting a chance to actually shine on the big stage for once.

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

Raw – 0

Kickoff Show: Viking Raiders (Raw) vs. New Day (Smackdown) vs. Undisputed Era (NXT)

Non-title Battle of the Tag Team Champions. Big E., Ivar and O’Reilly start things off and the early beating sends O’Reilly over for the tag to Fish. The fans are behind the Era to start so Big E. and Ivar run both of them over, leaving us with the big power showdown. Big E. can’t slam him but he can shoulder the heck out of him instead, only to have O’Reilly come back in for some knees to Big E.’s ribs.

Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Ivar slamming Erik onto Fish. Kofi comes in to hammer on Erik before jumping over Big E. for a backsplash to O’Reilly. The Era is sent to the floor so it’s New Day slugging it out with the Vikings. That doesn’t last long as Erik and Big E. head to the floor, allowing the Era to come back in and double team Kofi. The knee gets taken out with O’Reilly hitting the top rope knee to said knee, setting up a kneebar.

Ivar comes back in to break that up with a splash as everything breaks down again. The knee is fine enough to kick away at O’Reilly on the apron as Big E. misses the spear to the floor. With everyone else on the floor, Erik slams Ivar from the apron onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Fish kicks Erik in the face before O’Reilly starts in on the knee at the slower pace.

That’s broken up and it’s back to Ivar to clean house. O’Reilly kicks Fish in the face by mistake and it’s Jeff Cobb’s Tour of the Islands to Kyle. It’s back Erik, who gets caught by Kofi’s double stomp out of the corner. That’s not it though as it’s a powerbomb/top rope double stomp for two with Ivar making the save. Big E. hits the spear on Erik this time and everyone is down on the floor at once.

Back in and the knee to Big E.’s face sets up the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination. Kofi misses Trouble in Paradise on the floor and takes the High/Low, leaving the Era vs. the Vikings. Ivar shrugs off the kicks and cartwheels away from High/Low to take both of them down. The Viking Experience sends O’Reilly into Fish for the pin at 14:42.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but once they hit their stride, this was a pretty crazy set of spots with a bunch of different styles on display. It was a lot of fun and Raw gets on the board, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. However, they did enough of a job of making you believe that any team could win to get around thing. None of the teams looked bad here either so they even protected the champions. Really fun match that had just the right amount of time too.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

The opening video is your big recap of the NXT Invasion, which goes exactly as you would have guessed. They’re doing a good job of making NXT look like an equal here and that is what matters most out of the whole thing. All of the individual matches get some attention as well.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Raw: Charlotte, Natalya, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Sarah Logan

Smackdown: Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross

NXT: Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair

For the sake of sanity, they do team entrances instead of having fifteen individual entrances. Everyone but Toni on Team NXT was in WarGames last night so they’re a bit banged up. There will be three in at once but you can only tag your own partners so it won’t be completely insane. Lacey, Logan and Toni start things off with Logan getting knocked down early on.

Cross comes in to clean house until Toni takes her down as well, leaving Logan to hit some cartwheel knees to the back. Logan drops Cross onto Toni for two on each but Storm is up with a double German suplex. It’s off to Shirai vs. Sane vs. Carmella with Carmella just kind of being annoying as they have their staredown. Brooke comes in and lets them fight in the smarter move. Sane rolls her up for two so Brooke steals her own rollup to Sane for two more.

Brooke’s Swanton gets two on Sane and it’s off to Lacey for a kick to the face and her own two. Lacey talks trash to Candice and gets beaten up in the corner with Asuka getting dropped as well. A middle rope Downward Spiral gets two on Lacey and it’s Rhea coming in to dropkick Lacey to the floor. Everyone starts coming in for the parade of secondary finishers until Sasha is left alone in the ring. Hold on though as Candice and Shirai are both down on the floor and the match just kind of stops. They’re taken out and we’ll call that a double elimination at about 7:30.

We settle down to Ripley vs. Banks vs. Charlotte in the battle of the captains….but it’s Belair, Logan and Cross coming in before anything happens. Cross dives onto Ripley and then hammers on Storm for a bonus but Belair rolls Cross up for the pin at 9:39. Belair hits the KOD on Carmella, who rolls straight over to the ropes to save herself. Logan jumps Belair to the floor and dives onto Ripley and Storm on the floor. Back in and Belair punches Logan down, setting up a gorgeous 450 for the pin at 12:12.

Charlotte comes in and clotheslines Belair down but Carmella comes back in to kick Charlotte in the ribs. Carmella’s super hurricanrana sends Charlotte into Belair for a pair of twos each, plus a lot of Carmella’s screaming. Some low superkicks give Carmella two more on Belair but it’s Charlotte hitting Natural Selection on Carmella for the elimination at 15:38.

That leaves us with Charlotte/Asuka/Sane/Natalya vs. Ripley/Storm/Belair vs. Banks/Brooke/Lacey. Storm comes in and beats up Shirai and Banks until Shirai’s spinning backfist takes her down. The Insane Elbow gets two on Storm but Banks breaks it up with a Meteora to Sane for the elimination at 16:48. It’s three apiece now with Asuka coming in and kicking away to take over, including a big spinning kick to the head to get rid of Brooke at 17:22.

Charlotte and Asuka get in a fight though with Charlotte pulling her down by the hair. Lacey comes in and gets suplexed into the corner, only to take Asuka’s mist to the face. That’s it for Asuka, who walks out at about 19:00. The Woman’s Right finishes Charlotte at 19:08 and Natalya is the only one left for Raw. Natalya’s discus lariat drops Storm and a rollup gets rid of Lacey at 19:52.

NXT has a pretty commanding leave now so Natalya puts Toni in the Sharpshooter. Banks adds the Bank Statement and Storm is done at 20:42. Banks and Natalya get together for a Hart Attack and the pin on Belair at 21:17, leaving us with Ripley vs. Banks vs. Natalya. Banks and Natalya smirk at Ripley but Banks punches Natalya out for the win at 22:01.

Ripley slams Banks down for an early two and blocks a tornado DDT attempt. Banks sends her into the corner for a crash and there are the running knees in the corner. The Meteora gets two on Ripley but she’s back up in time to kick Banks out of the air for trying it again. The standing Cloverleaf comes on but Banks reverses into the Bank Statement. Cue LeRae and Shirai (never officially eliminated) to pulls Ripley to the floor so Banks takes both of them down. LeRae offers a distraction though and it’s Shirai hitting a springboard missile dropkick. Riptide finishes Banks at 27:53.

Rating: B-. Well there’s your star making performance. It might have been a little bit of a dirty finish but Ripley looked like a star of the highest order out there, which is exactly what they were going for here. The match worked rather well, but there were a few too many people in there and it got messy at times. Still though, seeing NXT pull off the huge upset and actually getting somewhere in this whole thing more than made up for it.

We look at Kevin Owens joining Team Ciampa to help defeat the Undisputed Era at WarGames.

Seth Rollins comes in to see Owens and accuses him of wanting to turn on Raw tonight. Owens says last night was about getting even with the Undisputed Era and yes he loves NXT, but he’s Raw. Rollins doesn’t seem convinced.

Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown) vs. AJ Styles (Raw) vs. Roderick Strong (NXT)

Non-title Battle of the midcard champions and Sami Zayn (an awesome hype man) is here with Nakamura. They go straight into the exchange of strikes to start and it’s Strong getting the better of it off the backbreakers. Nakamura gets dropped on the apron but AJ knees Strong in the face. Back in and Nakamura starts striking away, including the running knee to the ribs to knock Styles right back to the floor.

Strong’s fireman’s carry into the double knees to the chest get two on Nakamura and Strong bends him over his back. AJ is back in with a sleeper on Strong before throwing him into Nakamura for the break. He can’t follow up though and Strong hits AJ with a clothesline, followed by the running forearms to make it even worse. The belly to back faceplant gets two and Strong monkey flips AJ into a running knee from Nakamura.

Strong gets knocked down and Nakamura’s sliding knee to the head gets two more. AJ’s reverse DDT is good for another two and some frustration is setting in. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives AJ two more with Strong not being able to make the save. Strong can break up the Styles Clash, but the crash means Nakamura lands on his face anyway. The Angle Slam gives Strong two on AJ as Sami is helping Nakamura with his breathing on the floor.

The coaching works though as Nakamura goes up and hits a doomsday kick to the chest for two on Strong, who grabs his knee and screams. Cole: “You’ve got to wonder if Strong is hurt.” Does Vince go out of his way to make Cole say these stupid things? Sami posts AJ as Strong hits a jumping knee for two on Nakamura. Just to egg the crowd on a bit, Nakamura hits a Go To Sleep on Strong but AJ breaks up Kinshasa. A spinning backfist staggers Strong and Nakamura suplexes him onto AJ.

There’s Kinshasa to Strong and AJ dives in for a save. That puts Strong on the floor so Nakamura tells AJ to COME ON. The striking exchange is on with Nakamura hitting a middle rope knee to the face. Nakamura’s Landslide gets two but AJ hits a forearm out of the corner. The Phenomenal Forearm connects but Strong comes in and steals the pin at 16:44.

Rating: B. Much like the previous one, this was all about action with all three guys looking like they could pull it off. Strong stealing the pin is fine enough and again, the bigger name taking the fall is protected. They were beating the fire out of each other here and we have our second good match in a row, though a little better than the first due to less chaos.

NXT – 3

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

Therefore, NXT can only be tied and can’t lose.

The Miz tries to give Daniel Bryan a pep talk but get glared away.

Cole explains the Mauro Ranallo is missing due to blowing his voice out. Right.

NXT Title: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Dunne is challenging after winning a triple threat match last night. They’re both very banged up after Takeover but Cole should be in far worse shape of the two. Dunne spins out of a wristlock to start and Cole’s headlock works just as badly. A shot to the ribs puts the injured Cole down but Dunne’s knee is bothering him as well. Cole’s arm gets twisted around and Dunne takes him to the floor to stomp on it again.

Back in and Cole gets smart by going after the bad knee with some cranking and a dropkick to the leg to make it worse. Dunne’s leg is good enough for the X Plex and you can see the shock of pain going through Cole as his ribs hit the mat. An enziguri in the corner lets Dunne stomp on Cole’s fingers and a sitout powerbomb gets two. Cole tries to bail to the floor so Dunne takes him out with a moonsault.

Back in and Dunne kicks him in the head but a moonsault hits raised knees. The Shining Wizard gets two as Cole was too banged up to hit it at full strength. Dunne shrugs off a pump kick to the face but can’t shrug off the brainbuster onto the knee. Back up and Dunne grabs a quick Bitter End before going for a moonsault out of the corner. Cole is right there with a superkick to the upside down Dunne (still awesome and incredible timing) for two more.

A big forearm puts Cole on the floor but he gets in a kick to the knee. They fight on the apron and Dunne’s knee gives out, allowing Dunne to hit a crazy looking Panama Sunrise onto the apron. They barely beat the count back in and Cole superkicks his head off for two more. Dunne tells him to come on and snaps the fingers but the Bitter End is countered into another Panama Sunrise. The Last Shot retains the title at 14:04.

Rating: A-. This is a case where the televised version worked a lot better than the live version as commentary and the better camera angles focused on Dunne’s knee injury that much better. You couldn’t get much out of that in the arena (or at least from the upper deck) and commentary sold the story very well. This was a heck of a back and forth match with both guys working very hard and selling their damage from the previous night.

Some wrestlers visited an elementary school.

We recap Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend. Bray Wyatt won the title earlier in the month at Crown Jewel and started taunting Bryan to make him his first victim. Bryan has teased bringing back the YES Movement to fight Wyatt but won’t go all the way with it. Therefore, he might not be ready to face the Fiend.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan is challenging and we get the full Fiend entrance, complete with severed head lantern. The crowd goes almost silent as the red lights come on and that’s an impressive reaction. Bryan hits a running dropkick into the corner to start but tries another and gets blasted by a clothesline. An uppercut puts Bryan on the floor and Bray plants him in the ring for a bonus.

There’s the toss suplex and Bray starts writhing around before grabbing the neck crank. With that broken up, they head outside where Bray misses a charge into the steps. He’s right back up though and Bryan has to break up Sister Abigail, meaning it’s a posting to stagger Bray again. A big dive off the top drops Fiend and he’s taking a little more time to get up.

Back in and Daniel hits the missile dropkick, followed by the YES Kicks to….just bring Bray back up. Fiend laughs at him and seems to say bring it on so Bryan hits the big kick to the head. More stomps have Fiend in trouble and the running knee (with YES chants from Bryan) gets two. Bray charges into a boot in the corner but grabs the Mandible Claw anyway. That’s reversed into an armbar over the top rope but dives into a right hand. Bryan tries the running knee again and charges straight into the Mandible Claw for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: B. They were getting somewhere with this one but it never hit that next level. It’s like Bryan needs one more gear, like the YES Movement, to get all the way over the hump. The Fiend comes off like a movie monster and it is going to take someone special to beat him. Having Bray beat a star like Bryan is a good move for him, but it’s hard not to imagine Roman Reigns getting the nod at this point. Anyway, this was a good match but it needed one more level to make it great.

Rey Mysterio says he first faced Brock Lesnar almost fifteen years ago. He’s a new man now and pulls out the pipe to prove it. Normally Rey would want his son Dominick to turn away but tonight he wants his son to watch and see what happens when Rey takes out Brock’s legs.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Raw: Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens

Smackdown: Roman Reigns, Shorty G., Mustafa Ali, King Corbin, Braun Strowman

NXT: Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Walter, Matt Riddle, Damian Priest

Same rules as the women’s match: triple threat and you can only tag your team members. Ali is rather happy to be in his hometown, as he should be. The fans are behind Walter, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Rollins and Ciampa slug away at Strowman to start so he dropkicks both of them down at the same time. McIntyre and Walter come in for the big three way hoss showdown and it’s Strowman being hammered down in the corner. Walter and McIntyre chop it out with Walter kicking him down but getting run over by Strowman.

The chop to Strowman doesn’t work so Walter dropkicks him into the corner…but walks into the Claymore to get rid of Walter at 2:58. The fans are MAD over that and I can’t say I blame them a bit as you don’t bring in a champion for a show like this and have him get pinned clean in less than three minutes. Priest comes in to kick away at McIntyre and Strowman, who misses a charge into the post. Gable comes in with a moonsault to Priest but Ricochet comes in to pick the pace way up.

A heck of a Rolling Chaos Theory hits Ricochet and it’s Riddle coming in to a big reaction. Gable gets the ankle lock on Riddle but it’s broken up in a hurry for the staredown. Another Chaos Theory doesn’t work on Riddle as Ciampa tags himself in, only to get kicked in the head by Gable. Ricochet kicks both of them down and it’s Owens going up top. He thinks about splashing Gable or Ciampa before going with the frog splash to get rid of Gable at 6:29.

Corbin comes in and bails from the threat of a Stunner so Owens follows him with the Cannonball. The Stunner connects on the floor but Ciampa catches Owens with Willow’s Bell for the pin at 7:41. Orton is behind Ciampa but Ciampa is smart enough to turn around without walking into the RKO. Ciampa hammers away and tries another Willow’s Bell but gets dropped onto the apron instead. Back in and it’s the Garvin Stomp but Ciampa gets over for the tag to Priest, only to walk into the RKO. Another RKO gets rid of Priest at 10:16 but Riddle rolls Orton up for the pin at 10:26.

Orton RKOs Riddle as well and it’s stealing the pin at 10:54 to some great heel heat. That’s how you use Corbin and it worked great here. Lee and Strowman come in so the fans are already singing. McIntyre breaks up the staredown with a forearm to Lee but gets run over by Strowman. That means the big running train around the ring, which works so well that Strowman does it again. This time though, Lee runs him over for a change and McIntyre adds a Claymore to count Strowman out at 13:17.

We’re down to Lee/Ciampa vs. Ricochet/McIntyre/Rollins vs. Ali/Corbin/Reigns. Ricochet springboards in with a clothesline to Corbin and there’s the big running flip dive to Reigns. The 450 misses Lee though and Corbin hits the End of Days to finish Ricochet at 14:31. Ali tags himself in and starts cleaning house with some kicks to the face.

Rollins counters the rolling X Factor by launching Ali over his head, only to have Ali X Factor Ciampa instead. The tornado DDT hits Rollins and it’s Ali hitting a suicide dive onto a bunch of people. Corbin won’t let Ali get a cover though and the distraction lets Rollins hit the Stomp to get rid of Ali at 16:10.

Reigns and Corbin get into it on the floor until McIntyre and Rollins break it up. Back in and McIntyre’s reverse Alabama slam gets two on Ciampa but the spear cuts McIntyre down for the pin at 17:39. Rollins, the only member left of Team Raw, kicks Reigns to the floor but the suicide dive is blocked with a right hand. Willow’s Bell cuts Reigns off but he reverses the Fairy Tale Ending into the Superman Punch.

Corbin pulls Reigns over to the corner for the tag, only to yell at Reigns instead of going after Ciampa. Eventually Ciampa escapes the chokeslam, leaving Reigns to spear and Superman Punch Corbin to give Ciampa the pin at 19:57. It’s Reigns for Smackdown, Rollins for Raw and Ciampa/Lee for NXT. Reigns, Rollins and Ciampa slug it out with Lee coming in for a failed save attempt.

That leaves Reigns vs. Rollins because we need to get the Shield stuff in. They decide to work together again but can’t hit a DoubleBomb. Instead Ciampa catches Rollins with Project Ciampa for a VERY close two but it’s a Superman Punch to Ciampa. The Stomp gets rid of Ciampa at 24:02 and we’re down to one apiece.

Lee is ready to go and slingshots in with a double crossbody to put them both down. The Limit Breaker is countered by Rollins and a superkick sets up the frog splash for two as the fans are behind Lee. Rollins goes after Lee again but walks into the Limit Breaker for the completely clean pin at 26:32 to get rid of Raw. The roof goes off the place as Lee is instantly a legit contender to pull off the major upset.

Reigns starts fast with a Superman Punch for a very quick two and Graves is DEMANDING a replay. The spear is loaded up but Lee cuts it off with a Spirit Bomb for a very, very close two. Lee misses the moonsault though and gets speared down for the pin at 29:18 as the air doesn’t go all the way out of the place.

Rating: B+. The ending sequence was the reason I’ve always wanted to see one of these shows in person: they hit the drama out of the park and had you believing that Lee could pull off the impossible. Lee got the big pin on Rollins so he’s a made man as a result, along with Ciampa for pinning Owens and Corbin. Just like in the women’s match, the NXT men felt like they belonged here and that was the point of the whole thing. Very fun match here with a lot of people (including Gable) getting to show off for a long time. Lee got the big rub here though, and they nailed every bit of what they wanted to do with him.

NXT – 3

Smackdown – 2

Raw – 1

Post match Reigns and Lee show respect.

Becky Lynch talks about being the man seven days a week while Shayna Baszler has been training every day. Shayna is going to have to destroy her completely and no one can do that to her. Then there’s Bayley, who thinks Becky has been ducking her. Becky even broke her own rule and came looking for Bayley. Tonight, Becky is taking them out and showing that she is the Man.

We recap Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar. Brock attacked Rey and his son so Rey brought in Cain Velasquez to help him fight. Once Lesnar got rid of Cain in less than three minutes, Rey fought for himself and took out Lesnar’s knee with a steel pipe. Tonight it’s No DQ so Rey can have a chance.

Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar is defending and anything goes. Rey is dressed as the Joker (again) and that might not be the best visual for a match that is supposed to be rather serious. Paul Heyman introduces Brock as weighing about two and a half Rey Mysterios for his funny line of the night. Rey goes straight to the floor and pulls out the pipe so Lesnar bails to the floor in a smart move.

Brock gets Rey to chase him and the big clothesline makes him drop the pipe. The beating begins as Rey is sent outside and over the announcers’ table in a crash. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Brock throws him into the cover. Rey is beaten down so badly that Brock can even stop to tie his boot. It takes so long that Rey can get in a posting but Brock won’t let him grab the pipe. A release German suplex drops Rey onto the pipe (geez) and another (no pipe) makes it even worse.

There’s a third suplex so here’s Dominick with a towel. Brock takes that away and throws it out (maybe in a shot at the ending to Cody vs. Chris Jericho at Full Gear). Brock grabs Dominick so Rey hits him low and even Dominick gets in his own shot. Some pipe shots set up a double 619 (sweet) and Dominick adds a frog splash (in a nice tribute to his dad). Rey adds his own frog splash for two and the fans know it isn’t happening. Dominick gets suplexed down and the F5 retains the title at 6:54.

Rating: C+. This was all about that one short stretch and man alive did they make it work for about a minute. There’s more to it than that though and the rest of it was Brock’s standard operating procedure. Brock can do good things when he’s motivated and that…wasn’t exactly happening here but the comeback and near fall were great so it’s more good than bad.

We recap the women’s triple threat match. Becky Lynch knows she is the best but Shayna Baszler came in and said she’d beat Becky just like the rest. Bayley has been fighting to make people think she matters in this whole thing other than to take the fall.

Bayley (Smackdown) vs. Becky Lynch (Raw) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT)

Non-title Battle of the Women’s Champions. Ignore how Bayley’s shirt with BAY over LEY with the belt around her waist spells AEW of course. The announcers mention Ronda Rousey quite a few times during the entrances and I can’t imagine that’s a coincidence. Bayley knocks Baszler into Becky to start and the fans aren’t exactly interested early on. Baszler and Bayley hammer away at each other on the mat and fight to the floor.

Becky takes both of them down before throwing Bayley back inside. The spinning legdrop misses but Becky is right back up with a slingshot dropkick through the ropes to keep Baszler down. Bayley hits (or close to it) a sunset bomb into the corner as the silence is notable here. With Becky down, Baszler starts working on the arm but Becky cuts off a charge into the corner. Bayley stomps Becky down and slams her face into the mat a few times as the fans try to get a weak Becky chant going.

Baszler is back in to break it up but Bayley knocks her down as well. Becky gets back up this time with a DDT to Baszler and a reverse DDT to Bayley at the same time, though it isn’t enough to get the crowd going. The guillotine legdrop gets two on Bayley and Baszler has to break up the Disarm-Her. The Bayley to Belly gets two on Baszler but she’s back up with a suplex of her own. Becky comes back in with a missile dropkick to make Baszler drop Bayley.

We get the CM PUNK chants as Baszler and Becky slug it out until Bayley sends Becky outside. The charge on the apron is cut off with a Kirifuda Clutch but Becky comes back in with a sitout powerbomb for two on Baszler. Now it’s Becky getting Clutched inside until Bayley makes the save, only to get sent outside again. They all wind up on the floor with Becky being sent into various steel objects. Bayley takes Baszler back inside and has to suplex her way out of a quick Clutch attempt. The top rope elbow is countered into the Clutch though and Bayley taps at 18:05.

Rating: D+. They were trying here but the match didn’t have much of a flow and wasn’t the most thrilling. You can also see the amount of influence that the crowd can have as they weren’t interested here. However, there were some rather negative chants in the arena and they didn’t get picked up by audio here, which is a rather good thing. The match wasn’t good but it also wasn’t a nightmare and the heavily negative chants weren’t deserved. It didn’t help when the best Bayley could have done was tie the score and Becky had no chance to win anything for Raw, but there were other issues going on.

NXT – 4

Smackdown – 2

Raw – 1

Post match Shayna celebrates on the announcers’ table but Becky jumps her from behind. A legdrop off the apron lets Becky pose to end the show. That doesn’t get the best reaction either.

Overall Rating: B+. Aside from a not great main event, this was a heck of a show with one good to great match after another. They would have been better off having a tie coming into the main event but WWE hasn’t seemed interested in drama around here for the last few shows. NXT got the rub it was looking for though and that is the best thing that could happen. I’m sure it’ll be enough to fight off AEW, which is one of the major points of this whole thing so well done? In theory? Anyway what we got was borderline great though and I got what I was wanting out of the show so I’ll call it a major positive.

Results

Team NXT b. Team Raw and Team Smackdown last eliminating Sasha Banks

Roderick Strong b. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura – Phenomenal Forearm to Nakamura

Adam Cole b. Pete Dunne – Last Shot

The Fiend b. Daniel Bryan – Mandible Claw

Team Smackdown b. Team Raw and Team NXT – Spear to Lee

Brock Lesnar b. Rey Mysterio – F5

Shayna Baszler b. Bayley and Becky Lynch – Kirifuda Clutch to Bayley

<img class=”size-medium wp-image-40776″ src=”https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Survivor-Series-2019-400×204.jpg” alt=”” width=”400″ height=”204″ /> IMG Credit: WWE
Survivor Series 2019
Date: November 24, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix
We have finally arrived. After several weeks of Raw, Smackdown and NXT invading each others’ shows, it is time to see which show is best and that could be interesting. Raw has won the competition three years in a row, though this is NXT’s first time being included. The card looks good, albeit huge. Let’s get to it.<!–more–>
I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck end zone, looking straight at the Titantron.
Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal
Raw: OC, Street Profits, Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins
Smackdown: Revival, Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode, Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery
NXT: Forgotten Sons, Breezango, Imperium
When one member is out, both of them are out and that’s quite the advantage for Smackdown. Vic on Hawkins and Ryder: “Here are two guys who are just happy they’re still here.” Lince Dorado/Gran Metalik for the House Party and Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel for Imperium, with Walter on the outside. It’s a big brawl to start with Ziggler wearing a Smackdown hat (he finds new ways to look stupid every day) and it’s the Sons being out in a hurry.
The House Party quickly follow them with Hawkins and Ryder going as well to really start clearing the ring out. We get the standard Ziggler save because he does these things in every battle royal but never wins the things. Aichner and Ziggler slug it out on the apron with Roode knocking Aichner out for the elimination. Otis gives Ziggler the spinning slam and takes off the shirt to set up the Caterpillar, only to get tossed by the OC and the Revival.
Fandango gets sent through the ropes so he’s able to catch Breeze as he’s thrown out, only to have the Revival get rid of them anyway. That’s it for NXT and the Profits dropkick Revival out to get us down to the OC, the Profits and Ziggler/Roode. Ziggler breaks up the Magic Killer to Roode and superkicks Gallows out and we’re down to two. Roode gets knocked through the ropes and it’s the spinebuster to Ziggler but Roode knocks Ford off the top. Ford is right back up with a frog splash to Ziggler, only to have Roode throw him out for the win at 8:21.
Rating: D. What a great way to start the show: eliminate all of the popular teams and go with the least interesting team from Smackdown instead of the popular Heavy Machinery. It’s not like it matters one way or another in the grand scheme of things, but that’s what we get anyway because WWE loves itself some Roode and Ziggler. The match was your usual battle royal and that’s not exactly interesting.
Smackdown – 1
Raw – 0
NXT – 0
Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto (Smackdown) vs. Akira Tozawa (Raw) vs. Lio Rush (NXT)
Rush is defending and we’ve got armbands for the brands. It really is amazing how much effort they put into trying to get this Brand Supremacy thing over but it’s better than the stupid shirts. Tozawa and Kalisto knock him to the floor to start so Tozawa can roll Kalisto up for two, setting off the issues in a hurry. Rush comes back in and starts the dodging but gets pulled to the floor. Kalisto’s kick to the head cuts off Tozawa’s dive and everyone gets back in.
It’s Rush dodging Kalisto’s shots to the head and hitting a double handspring elbow to put both of them down. A left hand to the face puts Rush down and Tozawa plants him with a fireman’s carry faceplant. Everyone heads to the same corner and it’s Rush with a super double armdrag so all three can be down at once again. The three way slugout goes to Rush until Tozawa snaps off a German suplex for two.
Kalisto dives in to roll Rush up for two more and they’re down for the fourth time. There’s the Salida Del Sol to Rush with Tozawa breaking it up with a Shining Wizard. The top rope backsplash gets the same as Kalisto gets to make a save this time. Kalisto and Tozawa slug it out for a bit until it’s another Salida Del Sol to plant Tozawa. Rush dives in with the Final Hour to Kalisto to retain at 8:28.
Rating: C+. This was exactly what it needed to be: three talented guys going out there and doing a bunch of fast paced offense for a few minutes. The crowd was into it too, which makes me feel a little bit better for these guys. The cruiserweights have been treated terribly on 205 Live and it’s nice to see them getting a chance to actually shine on the big stage for once.
Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
Raw – 0
Kickoff Show: Viking Raiders (Raw) vs. New Day (Smackdown) vs. Undisputed Era (NXT)
Non-title Battle of the Tag Team Champions. Big E., Ivar and O’Reilly start things off and the early beating sends O’Reilly over for the tag to Fish. The fans are behind the Era to start so Big E. and Ivar run both of them over, leaving us with the big power showdown. Big E. can’t slam him but he can shoulder the heck out of him instead, only to have O’Reilly come back in for some knees to Big E.’s ribs.
Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Ivar slamming Erik onto Fish. Kofi comes in to hammer on Erik before jumping over Big E. for a backsplash to O’Reilly. The Era is sent to the floor so it’s New Day slugging it out with the Vikings. That doesn’t last long as Erik and Big E. head to the floor, allowing the Era to come back in and double team Kofi. The knee gets taken out with O’Reilly hitting the top rope knee to said knee, setting up a kneebar.
Ivar comes back in to break that up with a splash as everything breaks down again. The knee is fine enough to kick away at O’Reilly on the apron as Big E. misses the spear to the floor. With everyone else on the floor, Erik slams Ivar from the apron onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Fish kicks Erik in the face before O’Reilly starts in on the knee at the slower pace.
That’s broken up and it’s back to Ivar to clean house. O’Reilly kicks Fish in the face by mistake and it’s Jeff Cobb’s Tour of the Islands to Kyle. It’s back Erik, who gets caught by Kofi’s double stomp out of the corner. That’s not it though as it’s a powerbomb/top rope double stomp for two with Ivar making the save. Big E. hits the spear on Erik this time and everyone is down on the floor at once.
Back in and the knee to Big E.’s face sets up the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination. Kofi misses Trouble in Paradise on the floor and takes the High/Low, leaving the Era vs. the Vikings. Ivar shrugs off the kicks and cartwheels away from High/Low to take both of them down. The Viking Experience sends O’Reilly into Fish for the pin at 14:42.
Rating: B. This took some time to get going but once they hit their stride, this was a pretty crazy set of spots with a bunch of different styles on display. It was a lot of fun and Raw gets on the board, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. However, they did enough of a job of making you believe that any team could win to get around thing. None of the teams looked bad here either so they even protected the champions. Really fun match that had just the right amount of time too.
Raw – 1
Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
The opening video is your big recap of the NXT Invasion, which goes exactly as you would have guessed. They’re doing a good job of making NXT look like an equal here and that is what matters most out of the whole thing. All of the individual matches get some attention as well.
Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women
Raw: Charlotte, Natalya, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Sarah Logan
Smackdown: Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross
NXT: Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair
For the sake of sanity, they do team entrances instead of having fifteen individual entrances. Everyone but Toni on Team NXT was in WarGames last night so they’re a bit banged up. There will be three in at once but you can only tag your own partners so it won’t be completely insane. Lacey, Logan and Toni start things off with Logan getting knocked down early on.
Cross comes in to clean house until Toni takes her down as well, leaving Logan to hit some cartwheel knees to the back. Logan drops Cross onto Toni for two on each but Storm is up with a double German suplex. It’s off to Shirai vs. Sane vs. Carmella with Carmella just kind of being annoying as they have their staredown. Brooke comes in and lets them fight in the smarter move. Sane rolls her up for two so Brooke steals her own rollup to Sane for two more.
Brooke’s Swanton gets two on Sane and it’s off to Lacey for a kick to the face and her own two. Lacey talks trash to Candice and gets beaten up in the corner with Asuka getting dropped as well. A middle rope Downward Spiral gets two on Lacey and it’s Rhea coming in to dropkick Lacey to the floor. Everyone starts coming in for the parade of secondary finishers until Sasha is left alone in the ring. Hold on though as Candice and Shirai are both down on the floor and the match just kind of stops. They’re taken out and we’ll call that a double elimination at about 7:30.
We settle down to Ripley vs. Banks vs. Charlotte in the battle of the captains….but it’s Belair, Logan and Cross coming in before anything happens. Cross dives onto Ripley and then hammers on Storm for a bonus but Belair rolls Cross up for the pin at 9:39. Belair hits the KOD on Carmella, who rolls straight over to the ropes to save herself. Logan jumps Belair to the floor and dives onto Ripley and Storm on the floor. Back in and Belair punches Logan down, setting up a gorgeous 450 for the pin at 12:12.
Charlotte comes in and clotheslines Belair down but Carmella comes back in to kick Charlotte in the ribs. Carmella’s super hurricanrana sends Charlotte into Belair for a pair of twos each, plus a lot of Carmella’s screaming. Some low superkicks give Carmella two more on Belair but it’s Charlotte hitting Natural Selection on Carmella for the elimination at 15:38.
That leaves us with Charlotte/Asuka/Sane/Natalya vs. Ripley/Storm/Belair vs. Banks/Brooke/Lacey. Storm comes in and beats up Shirai and Banks until Shirai’s spinning backfist takes her down. The Insane Elbow gets two on Storm but Banks breaks it up with a Meteora to Sane for the elimination at 16:48. It’s three apiece now with Asuka coming in and kicking away to take over, including a big spinning kick to the head to get rid of Brooke at 17:22.
Charlotte and Asuka get in a fight though with Charlotte pulling her down by the hair. Lacey comes in and gets suplexed into the corner, only to take Asuka’s mist to the face. That’s it for Asuka, who walks out at about 19:00. The Woman’s Right finishes Charlotte at 19:08 and Natalya is the only one left for Raw. Natalya’s discus lariat drops Storm and a rollup gets rid of Lacey at 19:52.
NXT has a pretty commanding leave now so Natalya puts Toni in the Sharpshooter. Banks adds the Bank Statement and Storm is done at 20:42. Banks and Natalya get together for a Hart Attack and the pin on Belair at 21:17, leaving us with Ripley vs. Banks vs. Natalya. Banks and Natalya smirk at Ripley but Banks punches Natalya out for the win at 22:01.
Ripley slams Banks down for an early two and blocks a tornado DDT attempt. Banks sends her into the corner for a crash and there are the running knees in the corner. The Meteora gets two on Ripley but she’s back up in time to kick Banks out of the air for trying it again. The standing Cloverleaf comes on but Banks reverses into the Bank Statement. Cue LeRae and Shirai (never officially eliminated) to pulls Ripley to the floor so Banks takes both of them down. LeRae offers a distraction though and it’s Shirai hitting a springboard missile dropkick. Riptide finishes Banks at 27:53.
Rating: B-. Well there’s your star making performance. It might have been a little bit of a dirty finish but Ripley looked like a star of the highest order out there, which is exactly what they were going for here. The match worked rather well, but there were a few too many people in there and it got messy at times. Still though, seeing NXT pull off the huge upset and actually getting somewhere in this whole thing more than made up for it.
We look at Kevin Owens joining Team Ciampa to help defeat the Undisputed Era at WarGames.
Seth Rollins comes in to see Owens and accuses him of wanting to turn on Raw tonight. Owens says last night was about getting even with the Undisputed Era and yes he loves NXT, but he’s Raw. Rollins doesn’t seem convinced.
Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown) vs. AJ Styles (Raw) vs. Roderick Strong (NXT)
Non-title Battle of the midcard champions and Sami Zayn (an awesome hype man) is here with Nakamura. They go straight into the exchange of strikes to start and it’s Strong getting the better of it off the backbreakers. Nakamura gets dropped on the apron but AJ knees Strong in the face. Back in and Nakamura starts striking away, including the running knee to the ribs to knock Styles right back to the floor.
Strong’s fireman’s carry into the double knees to the chest get two on Nakamura and Strong bends him over his back. AJ is back in with a sleeper on Strong before throwing him into Nakamura for the break. He can’t follow up though and Strong hits AJ with a clothesline, followed by the running forearms to make it even worse. The belly to back faceplant gets two and Strong monkey flips AJ into a running knee from Nakamura.
Strong gets knocked down and Nakamura’s sliding knee to the head gets two more. AJ’s reverse DDT is good for another two and some frustration is setting in. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives AJ two more with Strong not being able to make the save. Strong can break up the Styles Clash, but the crash means Nakamura lands on his face anyway. The Angle Slam gives Strong two on AJ as Sami is helping Nakamura with his breathing on the floor.
The coaching works though as Nakamura goes up and hits a doomsday kick to the chest for two on Strong, who grabs his knee and screams. Cole: “You’ve got to wonder if Strong is hurt.” Does Vince go out of his way to make Cole say these stupid things? Sami posts AJ as Strong hits a jumping knee for two on Nakamura. Just to egg the crowd on a bit, Nakamura hits a Go To Sleep on Strong but AJ breaks up Kinshasa. A spinning backfist staggers Strong and Nakamura suplexes him onto AJ.
There’s Kinshasa to Strong and AJ dives in for a save. That puts Strong on the floor so Nakamura tells AJ to COME ON. The striking exchange is on with Nakamura hitting a middle rope knee to the face. Nakamura’s Landslide gets two but AJ hits a forearm out of the corner. The Phenomenal Forearm connects but Strong comes in and steals the pin at 16:44.
Rating: B. Much like the previous one, this was all about action with all three guys looking like they could pull it off. Strong stealing the pin is fine enough and again, the bigger name taking the fall is protected. They were beating the fire out of each other here and we have our second good match in a row, though a little better than the first due to less chaos.
NXT – 3
Raw – 1
Smackdown – 1
Therefore, NXT can only be tied and can’t lose.
The Miz tries to give Daniel Bryan a pep talk but get glared away.
Cole explains the Mauro Ranallo is missing due to blowing his voice out. Right.
NXT Title: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole
Dunne is challenging after winning a triple threat match last night. They’re both very banged up after Takeover but Cole should be in far worse shape of the two. Dunne spins out of a wristlock to start and Cole’s headlock works just as badly. A shot to the ribs puts the injured Cole down but Dunne’s knee is bothering him as well. Cole’s arm gets twisted around and Dunne takes him to the floor to stomp on it again.
Back in and Cole gets smart by going after the bad knee with some cranking and a dropkick to the leg to make it worse. Dunne’s leg is good enough for the X Plex and you can see the shock of pain going through Cole as his ribs hit the mat. An enziguri in the corner lets Dunne stomp on Cole’s fingers and a sitout powerbomb gets two. Cole tries to bail to the floor so Dunne takes him out with a moonsault.
Back in and Dunne kicks him in the head but a moonsault hits raised knees. The Shining Wizard gets two as Cole was too banged up to hit it at full strength. Dunne shrugs off a pump kick to the face but can’t shrug off the brainbuster onto the knee. Back up and Dunne grabs a quick Bitter End before going for a moonsault out of the corner. Cole is right there with a superkick to the upside down Dunne (still awesome and incredible timing) for two more.
A big forearm puts Cole on the floor but he gets in a kick to the knee. They fight on the apron and Dunne’s knee gives out, allowing Dunne to hit a crazy looking Panama Sunrise onto the apron. They barely beat the count back in and Cole superkicks his head off for two more. Dunne tells him to come on and snaps the fingers but the Bitter End is countered into another Panama Sunrise. The Last Shot retains the title at 14:04.
Rating: A-. This is a case where the televised version worked a lot better than the live version as commentary and the better camera angles focused on Dunne’s knee injury that much better. You couldn’t get much out of that in the arena (or at least from the upper deck) and commentary sold the story very well. This was a heck of a back and forth match with both guys working very hard and selling their damage from the previous night.
Some wrestlers visited an elementary school.
We recap Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend. Bray Wyatt won the title earlier in the month at Crown Jewel and started taunting Bryan to make him his first victim. Bryan has teased bringing back the YES Movement to fight Wyatt but won’t go all the way with it. Therefore, he might not be ready to face the Fiend.
Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan
Bryan is challenging and we get the full Fiend entrance, complete with severed head lantern. The crowd goes almost silent as the red lights come on and that’s an impressive reaction. Bryan hits a running dropkick into the corner to start but tries another and gets blasted by a clothesline. An uppercut puts Bryan on the floor and Bray plants him in the ring for a bonus.
There’s the toss suplex and Bray starts writhing around before grabbing the neck crank. With that broken up, they head outside where Bray misses a charge into the steps. He’s right back up though and Bryan has to break up Sister Abigail, meaning it’s a posting to stagger Bray again. A big dive off the top drops Fiend and he’s taking a little more time to get up.
Back in and Daniel hits the missile dropkick, followed by the YES Kicks to….just bring Bray back up. Fiend laughs at him and seems to say bring it on so Bryan hits the big kick to the head. More stomps have Fiend in trouble and the running knee (with YES chants from Bryan) gets two. Bray charges into a boot in the corner but grabs the Mandible Claw anyway. That’s reversed into an armbar over the top rope but dives into a right hand. Bryan tries the running knee again and charges straight into the Mandible Claw for the pin at 10:01.
Rating: B. They were getting somewhere with this one but it never hit that next level. It’s like Bryan needs one more gear, like the YES Movement, to get all the way over the hump. The Fiend comes off like a movie monster and it is going to take someone special to beat him. Having Bray beat a star like Bryan is a good move for him, but it’s hard not to imagine Roman Reigns getting the nod at this point. Anyway, this was a good match but it needed one more level to make it great.
Rey Mysterio says he first faced Brock Lesnar almost fifteen years ago. He’s a new man now and pulls out the pipe to prove it. Normally Rey would want his son Dominick to turn away but tonight he wants his son to watch and see what happens when Rey takes out Brock’s legs.
Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men
Raw: Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens
Smackdown: Roman Reigns, Shorty G., Mustafa Ali, King Corbin, Braun Strowman
NXT: Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Walter, Matt Riddle, Damian Priest
Same rules as the women’s match: triple threat and you can only tag your team members. Ali is rather happy to be in his hometown, as he should be. The fans are behind Walter, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Rollins and Ciampa slug away at Strowman to start so he dropkicks both of them down at the same time. McIntyre and Walter come in for the big three way hoss showdown and it’s Strowman being hammered down in the corner. Walter and McIntyre chop it out with Walter kicking him down but getting run over by Strowman.
The chop to Strowman doesn’t work so Walter dropkicks him into the corner…but walks into the Claymore to get rid of Walter at 2:58. The fans are MAD over that and I can’t say I blame them a bit as you don’t bring in a champion for a show like this and have him get pinned clean in less than three minutes. Priest comes in to kick away at McIntyre and Strowman, who misses a charge into the post. Gable comes in with a moonsault to Priest but Ricochet comes in to pick the pace way up.
A heck of a Rolling Chaos Theory hits Ricochet and it’s Riddle coming in to a big reaction. Gable gets the ankle lock on Riddle but it’s broken up in a hurry for the staredown. Another Chaos Theory doesn’t work on Riddle as Ciampa tags himself in, only to get kicked in the head by Gable. Ricochet kicks both of them down and it’s Owens going up top. He thinks about splashing Gable or Ciampa before going with the frog splash to get rid of Gable at 6:29.
Corbin comes in and bails from the threat of a Stunner so Owens follows him with the Cannonball. The Stunner connects on the floor but Ciampa catches Owens with Willow’s Bell for the pin at 7:41. Orton is behind Ciampa but Ciampa is smart enough to turn around without walking into the RKO. Ciampa hammers away and tries another Willow’s Bell but gets dropped onto the apron instead. Back in and it’s the Garvin Stomp but Ciampa gets over for the tag to Priest, only to walk into the RKO. Another RKO gets rid of Priest at 10:16 but Riddle rolls Orton up for the pin at 10:26.
Orton RKOs Riddle as well and it’s stealing the pin at 10:54 to some great heel heat. That’s how you use Corbin and it worked great here. Lee and Strowman come in so the fans are already singing. McIntyre breaks up the staredown with a forearm to Lee but gets run over by Strowman. That means the big running train around the ring, which works so well that Strowman does it again. This time though, Lee runs him over for a change and McIntyre adds a Claymore to count Strowman out at 13:17.
We’re down to Lee/Ciampa vs. Ricochet/McIntyre/Rollins vs. Ali/Corbin/Reigns. Ricochet springboards in with a clothesline to Corbin and there’s the big running flip dive to Reigns. The 450 misses Lee though and Corbin hits the End of Days to finish Ricochet at 14:31. Ali tags himself in and starts cleaning house with some kicks to the face.
Rollins counters the rolling X Factor by launching Ali over his head, only to have Ali X Factor Ciampa instead. The tornado DDT hits Rollins and it’s Ali hitting a suicide dive onto a bunch of people. Corbin won’t let Ali get a cover though and the distraction lets Rollins hit the Stomp to get rid of Ali at 16:10.
Reigns and Corbin get into it on the floor until McIntyre and Rollins break it up. Back in and McIntyre’s reverse Alabama slam gets two on Ciampa but the spear cuts McIntyre down for the pin at 17:39. Rollins, the only member left of Team Raw, kicks Reigns to the floor but the suicide dive is blocked with a right hand. Willow’s Bell cuts Reigns off but he reverses the Fairy Tale Ending into the Superman Punch.
Corbin pulls Reigns over to the corner for the tag, only to yell at Reigns instead of going after Ciampa. Eventually Ciampa escapes the chokeslam, leaving Reigns to spear and Superman Punch Corbin to give Ciampa the pin at 19:57. It’s Reigns for Smackdown, Rollins for Raw and Ciampa/Lee for NXT. Reigns, Rollins and Ciampa slug it out with Lee coming in for a failed save attempt.
That leaves Reigns vs. Rollins because we need to get the Shield stuff in. They decide to work together again but can’t hit a DoubleBomb. Instead Ciampa catches Rollins with Project Ciampa for a VERY close two but it’s a Superman Punch to Ciampa. The Stomp gets rid of Ciampa at 24:02 and we’re down to one apiece.
Lee is ready to go and slingshots in with a double crossbody to put them both down. The Limit Breaker is countered by Rollins and a superkick sets up the frog splash for two as the fans are behind Lee. Rollins goes after Lee again but walks into the Limit Breaker for the completely clean pin at 26:32 to get rid of Raw. The roof goes off the place as Lee is instantly a legit contender to pull off the major upset.
Reigns starts fast with a Superman Punch for a very quick two and Graves is DEMANDING a replay. The spear is loaded up but Lee cuts it off with a Spirit Bomb for a very, very close two. Lee misses the moonsault though and gets speared down for the pin at 29:18 as the air doesn’t go all the way out of the place.
Rating: B+. The ending sequence was the reason I’ve always wanted to see one of these shows in person: they hit the drama out of the park and had you believing that Lee could pull off the impossible. Lee got the big pin on Rollins so he’s a made man as a result, along with Ciampa for pinning Owens and Corbin. Just like in the women’s match, the NXT men felt like they belonged here and that was the point of the whole thing. Very fun match here with a lot of people (including Gable) getting to show off for a long time. Lee got the big rub here though, and they nailed every bit of what they wanted to do with him.
NXT – 3
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1
Post match Reigns and Lee show respect.
Becky Lynch talks about being the man seven days a week while Shayna Baszler has been training every day. Shayna is going to have to destroy her completely and no one can do that to her. Then there’s Bayley, who thinks Becky has been ducking her. Becky even broke her own rule and came looking for Bayley. Tonight, Becky is taking them out and showing that she is the Man.
We recap Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar. Brock attacked Rey and his son so Rey brought in Cain Velasquez to help him fight. Once Lesnar got rid of Cain in less than three minutes, Rey fought for himself and took out Lesnar’s knee with a steel pipe. Tonight it’s No DQ so Rey can have a chance.
Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar is defending and anything goes. Rey is dressed as the Joker (again) and that might not be the best visual for a match that is supposed to be rather serious. Paul Heyman introduces Brock as weighing about two and a half Rey Mysterios for his funny line of the night. Rey goes straight to the floor and pulls out the pipe so Lesnar bails to the floor in a smart move.
Brock gets Rey to chase him and the big clothesline makes him drop the pipe. The beating begins as Rey is sent outside and over the announcers’ table in a crash. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Brock throws him into the cover. Rey is beaten down so badly that Brock can even stop to tie his boot. It takes so long that Rey can get in a posting but Brock won’t let him grab the pipe. A release German suplex drops Rey onto the pipe (geez) and another (no pipe) makes it even worse.
There’s a third suplex so here’s Dominick with a towel. Brock takes that away and throws it out (maybe in a shot at the ending to Cody vs. Chris Jericho at Full Gear). Brock grabs Dominick so Rey hits him low and even Dominick gets in his own shot. Some pipe shots set up a double 619 (sweet) and Dominick adds a frog splash (in a nice tribute to his dad). Rey adds his own frog splash for two and the fans know it isn’t happening. Dominick gets suplexed down and the F5 retains the title at 6:54.
Rating: C+. This was all about that one short stretch and man alive did they make it work for about a minute. There’s more to it than that though and the rest of it was Brock’s standard operating procedure. Brock can do good things when he’s motivated and that…wasn’t exactly happening here but the comeback and near fall were great so it’s more good than bad.
We recap the women’s triple threat match. Becky Lynch knows she is the best but Shayna Baszler came in and said she’d beat Becky just like the rest. Bayley has been fighting to make people think she matters in this whole thing other than to take the fall.
Bayley (Smackdown) vs. Becky Lynch (Raw) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT)
Non-title Battle of the Women’s Champions. Ignore how Bayley’s shirt with BAY over LEY with the belt around her waist spells AEW of course. The announcers mention Ronda Rousey quite a few times during the entrances and I can’t imagine that’s a coincidence. Bayley knocks Baszler into Becky to start and the fans aren’t exactly interested early on. Baszler and Bayley hammer away at each other on the mat and fight to the floor.
Becky takes both of them down before throwing Bayley back inside. The spinning legdrop misses but Becky is right back up with a slingshot dropkick through the ropes to keep Baszler down. Bayley hits (or close to it) a sunset bomb into the corner as the silence is notable here. With Becky down, Baszler starts working on the arm but Becky cuts off a charge into the corner. Bayley stomps Becky down and slams her face into the mat a few times as the fans try to get a weak Becky chant going.
Baszler is back in to break it up but Bayley knocks her down as well. Becky gets back up this time with a DDT to Baszler and a reverse DDT to Bayley at the same time, though it isn’t enough to get the crowd going. The guillotine legdrop gets two on Bayley and Baszler has to break up the Disarm-Her. The Bayley to Belly gets two on Baszler but she’s back up with a suplex of her own. Becky comes back in with a missile dropkick to make Baszler drop Bayley.
We get the CM PUNK chants as Baszler and Becky slug it out until Bayley sends Becky outside. The charge on the apron is cut off with a Kirifuda Clutch but Becky comes back in with a sitout powerbomb for two on Baszler. Now it’s Becky getting Clutched inside until Bayley makes the save, only to get sent outside again. They all wind up on the floor with Becky being sent into various steel objects. Bayley takes Baszler back inside and has to suplex her way out of a quick Clutch attempt. The top rope elbow is countered into the Clutch though and Bayley taps at 18:05.
Rating: D+. They were trying here but the match didn’t have much of a flow and wasn’t the most thrilling. You can also see the amount of influence that the crowd can have as they weren’t interested here. However, there were some rather negative chants in the arena and they didn’t get picked up by audio here, which is a rather good thing. The match wasn’t good but it also wasn’t a nightmare and the heavily negative chants weren’t deserved. It didn’t help when the best Bayley could have done was tie the score and Becky had no chance to win anything for Raw, but there were other issues going on.
NXT – 4
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1
Post match Shayna celebrates on the announcers’ table but Becky jumps her from behind. A legdrop off the apron lets Becky pose to end the show. That doesn’t get the best reaction either.
Overall Rating: B+. Aside from a not great main event, this was a heck of a show with one good to great match after another. They would have been better off having a tie coming into the main event but WWE hasn’t seemed interested in drama around here for the last few shows. NXT got the rub it was looking for though and that is the best thing that could happen. I’m sure it’ll be enough to fight off AEW, which is one of the major points of this whole thing so well done? In theory? Anyway what we got was borderline great though and I got what I was wanting out of the show so I’ll call it a major positive.
Results
Team NXT b. Team Raw and Team Smackdown last eliminating Sasha Banks
Roderick Strong b. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura – Phenomenal Forearm to Nakamura
Adam Cole b. Pete Dunne – Last Shot
The Fiend b. Daniel Bryan – Mandible Claw
Team Smackdown b. Team Raw and Team NXT – Spear to Lee
Brock Lesnar b. Rey Mysterio – F5
Shayna Baszler b. Bayley and Becky Lynch – Kirifuda Clutch to Bayley
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:
<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6″>http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6</a>

NXT – November 11, 2020: They Did WHAT?

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 11, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things are starting to get back to normal after Halloween Havoc and that means we need to start the build for the next Takeover, which has yet to be officially announced. I’m not sure what to expect from the show, but we still have a lot of building to do for whenever the show is taking place. Let’s get to it.

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

Veterans Day video, as usual.

Here’s North American Champion Johnny Gargano in the ring with his Wheel of Challengers. It’s exactly what it sounds like, with a bunch of legitimate challengers and Leon Ruff being written in as an option. Gargano talks about losing his titles in his first defense every time but tonight it’s going to be difference. After starting a SPIN THE WHEEL chant, the wheel is spin and believe it or not, it winds up on Ruff, albeit after spinning backwards to get there.

North American Title: Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano is defending and kicks him in the face to start, followed by stomping Ruff down in the corner. The beating is on in various corners and Gargano throws in a little dance. Gargano sends him outside as the cockiness is high, partially because Ruff is holding his knee. Hold on though as Damian Priest is in the crowd to distract Gargano, who mocks him with the arrow.

Priest comes out from around the fence to scare Gargano inside for two off a rollup. Gargano hits a heck of a clothesline into the Lawn Dart but stops to glare at Priest again, which isn’t that bright. Ruff uses the distraction to hit a crucifix bomb for the pin and the title in a huge upset at 3:36.

Rating: C-. I like it! Ruff isn’t going to be the next big thing or the long reigning champion but points for throwing a big surprise in there to keep Gargano vs. Priest going. It plays up the idea that anything can happen and gives the show a bit of a spark, which has been missing in a bad way as of late. They surprised me here and that’s a nice feeling to have again.

Priest cracks up and Ruff (Ruff: “I’M THE CHAMPION???”) is stunned as Gargano screams at the referee. Barrett: “THE CURSE IS BACK!!! IT’S REAL!!!” Ruff puts on the title, which falls down because he’s so skinny.

Post break Ruff can’t believe it but Priest says Gargano is going to come through the curtain and beat him up. Priest pulls out his keys and says go get in the black Challenger and get out. Gargano comes through the curtain and has to be held back from Priest. They argue a lot with Priest saying that was his idea and Gargano blaming him for the loss.

Earlier today, Jake Atlas attacked a member of Legado del Fantasma with his club and called out Santos Escobar for the title shot.

Cruiserweight Title: Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas

Escobar is defending and has the rest of Legado del Fantasma with him. Feeling out process to start until Atlas scores with a dropkick to put him on the floor. Back in and it’s time for Atlas to win a chop off, earning himself a knee to the ribs. Escobar takes him to the mat and wraps his leg around Atlas’ neck for some stretching. That’s broken up so Escobar slams him down to counter a headscissors attempt and some stomps keep Atlas in trouble.

We hit the chinlock with Escobar cranking on the arm for a bonus. As usual, the chinlock makes Atlas come back to his feet so Escobar sends him to the apron. The rest of Legado tries to get in some club shots but Atlas takes him down. Some club shots put Legado down and a springboard Blockbuster gives Atlas two. Escobar bails to the floor and we take a break. Back with the rest of Legado being ejected and Escobar choking in the corner. The frog splash gives Escobar two but Atlas starts the real comeback.

A suplex into a superkick gives Atlas two but Escobar shoves him off the top and into the announcers’ table. Escobar slides outside and sends Atlas into the steps as the confidence is growing. Atlas makes it back inside and sends Escobar outside this time, only to get caught in the ropes on a suicide dive attempt. It knocks Escobar down enough to set up a small package for two back inside but a jumping superkick gives Escobar the same. Atlas hits a Regal Roll though and goes up top, only to have the cartwheel DDT blocked. The double underhook facebreaker finishes Atlas at 15:01.

Rating: B-. That was the most fire that Atlas has ever shown and it helped a lot. Atlas is still a long way from being a big deal but he has come along rather well in recent weeks. That being said, it is a good idea to have Escobar get some wins like this as it makes him seem like someone who can get a big win without a ton of help from his goons. You need to have some wins like that here and there and that’s what Escobar got to do here.

Dexter Lumis draws a picture of Cameron Grimes running away from the zombie referee. It seems to get some good reviews.

Shotzi Blackheart talks about what her tank meant to her before Candice LeRae destroyed it. The tank represented freedom, family and members of the military, so no they aren’t even. Now it’s time for her to beat LeRae up. Fair enough, but that seems like a fairly flimsy reason to care about a toy tank.

Raquel Gonzalez vs. Xia Li

Hold on as here’s Boa to say Li isn’t here tonight so they can’t have a match. Gonzalez kicks him in the head and beats the heck out of him, including the powerbomb to leave him laying. She says everybody better get her name out of their mouth. Gonzalez leaves and a bunch of red lights come on. An older man comes out and Boa bows to him, with the old man handing him a letter. Ok then.

August Grey was being interviewed when Timothy Thatcher jumped him from behind. The brawl was on with Grey being sent through Lumis’ picture from earlier. Lumis showed up for a staredown with William Regal joining them. I think you know where this is going.

Toni Storm vs. Candice LeRae

During her entrance, Candice talks about loving the sound of hearing the tank crushed last week. They trade headlocks to start with Storm taking her down to the mat. Back up and Candice gets caught in a wristlock but manages to reverse into one of her own. Storm takes her down to the mat with an armbar but Candice is back up with a hair pull to take over.

Now it’s Candice with her own headlock as this isn’t exactly in high gear yet. There’s a suplex to get Storm out of trouble and she hits a basement dropkick to start the comeback (despite not exactly being in much trouble). They head outside with Candice avoiding a hip attack into the steps to send us to a break. Back with Candice hitting a Backstabber but missing a Lionsault. Storm scores with a headbutt to put them both for a bit, allowing the fans to start some rhythmic stomping.

A German suplex drops Candice and the running hip attack connects in the corner. There’s a sliding lariat against the ropes and another in the middle of the ring has Candice rocked again. A fisherman’s suplex gives Storm two so she goes up top, only to miss the guillotine legdrop. Candice kicks her in the face for two but Storm knocks her into the corner. Storm misses a charge though and Candice grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 10:14.

Rating: C+. They beat each other up rather well and I can go for more of Candice cheating to win, but at the same time it’s weird to see Storm taking a loss. She would seem to be one of the most can’t miss prospects in all of NXT, though at least it wasn’t a clean loss here so it isn’t some horrible tragedy.

Post match Storm goes after her again but the Ghostface attacker comes in. Shotzi Blackheart comes in for the save but gets double teamed down. The Ghostface is revealed as….Indi Hartwell, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise, just like the tag match likely taking place next week.

Breezango says it took them five years to get the titles but they pulled it off. They don’t like Pat McAfee because he isn’t even a wrestler. Tonight, they’re taking the titles back because they can do it again. I doubt it, but it was the serious promo they should have been cutting here.

Dexter Lumis vs. Timothy Thatcher

Lumis goes with a Thesz press to start and knocks Thatcher outside early on. Back in and Thatcher goes for the leg but gets kicked away into another standoff. Lumis rides him on the mat for a bit until Thatcher goes for the ankle again with a little more success. There’s a suplex to drop Lumis again but he crawls over to Thatcher without much effort. A front facelock has Lumis in more trouble and it’s back to the ankle to make it worse.

Lumis’ choking doesn’t get him very far as Thatcher is right back with a bow and arrow (always nice to see). Back up and Lumis gets in a spinebuster into a dropkick as the ankle seems ok. Lumis is favoring his arm as he sends Thatcher outside but follows him anyway. They slug it out on the floor with the bad arm being sent into the post as we take a break. Back with Thatcher getting two off a butterfly suplex before slapping on another armbar.

That’s broken up as well so Thatcher tries another suplex, with Lumis reversing into a belly to back of his own. Lumis nips up into a spinning legdrop and grabs a bulldog out of the corner. Thatcher catches him on top but Lumis shoves him off and this a Swanton. Cue Cameron Grimes on the apron so Thatcher sends them together and pulls Lumis into a cradle for the pin at 13:34.

Rating: C-. The wrestling was fine but sweet goodness WHAT IS THE OBSESSION WITH LUMIS??? He’s here week after week and I don’t remember a match where I’ve been overly interested with or impressed by him. For some reason NXT seems to think he’s some kind of awesome star for I just do not get it no matter what he does. At least Thatcher got the win though.

Post match Grimes stays on Lumis and puts a burlap sack over Lumis’ face. Lumis gets beaten to the floor, where Grimes puts him in a chair for the Cave In. Yeah I’m still not interested in Lumis. Grimes yes, Lumis no.

Johnny Gargano goes to William Regal’s office and thinks the decision should be reversed. That isn’t happening so Gargano snaps and admits to rigging the wheel. Regal says the decision stands and shuts the door in Gargano’s face, meaning it’s time to yell some more.

Tommaso Ciampa talks about being around NXT for a long time. He trained with some legends like Killer Kowalski and Harley Race, who were really tough men. They never took liberties because they didn’t need to. Now he looks around the NXT locker room and everyone will tell you how tough they are. Maybe it’s the world we live in today, where you complain and get rewarded. There are actions without consequences so maybe he is the last of a dying breed. Two weeks ago he told us that this 2020 locker room culture is going to change and he is that change. Ciampa turns the chair over as he leaves. I’m intrigued.

We get a Prime Target on Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley. Rhea talks about walking into Raymond James Stadium at 23 years old and being ready for Wrestlemania….but then it didn’t happen, and the match took place in front of no fans with no energy and no emotion. Then she got beat as well and it wasn’t what she expected. Then two months later, Io Shirai won the Women’s Title in a triple threat match, also involving Ripley.

Shirai talks about not being able to have regrets and failed as champion, which every challenger has learned. She stops momentum and defeats the best and now that Rhea has taken months to recover from Wrestlemania, Shirai is ready to be her nightmare. Ripley talks about how she doesn’t quit and is ready when the lights go on. The title match is next week. It doesn’t have the biggest build, but Ripley getting a shot feels like an important deal no matter what.

Here are the Kings of NXT for a chat. McAfee talks about how great it was to take out Killian Dain last week and even though he is stuck in Orlando, it has been a great day. Not only has he traded tweets with Tom Brady and found out that his business is worth $150 million, but now he gets to watch Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch destroy Breezango while he dominates that commentary desk. McAfee goes over to sit next to Stupid Joseph and Bad News Barrett.

Cameron Grimes is VERY pleased with what he did and is off to celebrate.

Finn Balor is back next week.

Tag Team Titles: Breezango vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Burch and Lorcan are defending with Pete Dunne at ringside and Pat McAfee on commentary. The champs jump Breezango to start as McAfee talks about losing in the Super Bowl to “Drew Brees and his dumb baby.” Breeze manages to catapult Burch into the barricade as we settle down to a regular match. It’s Breeze getting caught in the wrong corner but managing to block a suplex and drive Burch over for the tag to Fandango.

Lorcan comes in and blocks a suplex to take over on Fandango but everything breaks down. They head outside with the champs both getting superkicked as we take a break. Back with McAfee off commentary and double tags bringing in Fandango and Lorcan as the pace picks up. Fandango starts cleaning house and hits a hiptoss into a neckbreaker on Burch. The Falcon Arrow gets two on Lorcan as everything breaks down again.

Breeze tries a flip dive to the floor but Dunne pulls Burch out of the way. Fandango dives onto them instead but Lorcan crotches him back inside. McAfee offers a distraction but here’s Drake Maverick to kick Lorcan off the top. Maverick dives onto McAfee as well, leaving Fandango to hit the Last Dance for two on Lorcan. Dunne runs Maverick over and then knocks Breeze off the apron so Fandango can’t make a tag. Burch comes in off a blind tag and it’s a headbutt into the elevated DDT for the pin to retain the titles at 9:59.

Rating: C+. The action helped overcome the fact that there was no drama to the match, but it was good to get the rematch out of the way. McAfee and company are looking like they could be a big deal around here for a long time to come and it’s not like Breezango are serious threats to get the titles back. This was a good enough match to make the point and Maverick being willing to fight for his friend works out well, especially if this foursome’s failure sets up the Undisputed Era coming in for the war.

Post match Maverick dives onto Burch and goes after the other three, earning himself a big group beatdown. Dunne X Plexes him onto the announcers’ table and Fandango’s save attempt earns him a beating as well. Breeze is held up and McAfee adds the Punt to leave him laying. McAfee takes over the camera to say that they’re the greatest and these three suck to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a fine example of a show where there was a lot more going on than just the wrestling. What mattered here were things like stories being moved forward (in a Takeover direction) and setting things up for the future. I liked what we got here rather well and they’re starting to get some of that momentum back. Balor returning next week should help and things are looking up on the way to Takeover, assuming they bother announcing it in the near future.

Results

Leon Ruff b. Johnny Gargano – Crucifix bomb

Santos Escobar b. Jake Atlas – Double underhook facebreaker

Candice LeRae b. Toni Storm – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Timothy Thatcher b. Dexter Lumis – Rollup

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Breezango – Elevated DDT to Fandango

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

NXT – November 4, 2020: The Big Wrestling Show

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 4, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Halloween Havoc and now the question is where do we go from here. There is no Takeover scheduled at the moment but it wouldn’t surprise me to see a Survivor Series weekend event. I’m not sure if they have the matches set up for that so far, but we do have a new North American Champion in Johnny Gargano. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a narrated recap of last week’s Halloween Havoc, which did have some great moments.

Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai

Raquel Gonzalez is in Kai’s corner. Moon takes her down by the arm to start but gets reversed into a headlock on the mat. Kai armbars her down for a change, which is reversed into a headscissors as the countering continues. A flip over doesn’t work for Kai as Moon grabs a double underhook to hold her down. Back up and the arm twisting continues until Kai pulls her down by the hair. Moon nips up and does the same, meaning it’s time for a shove off.

Moon sweeps the leg and hits a running backsplash and ties her up in the corner. That’s fine with Kai, who pulls her shoulder first into the post and pulls on the arm. It’s time to stomp the arm down in the corner and the short armscissors goes on. Moon gets in a kick to the face to leave Kai’s head hanging over the apron. A running kick to the face rocks Kai again but Moon misses a suicide dive to send us to a break.

Back with Moon getting two off a spinebuster but a victory roll face plant gives Kai the same. Kai hits a good kick to the head, only to have Moon come right back with a Codebreaker out of the corner for two of her own. Moon slaps on a Crossface in the middle of the ring until Kai rolls her up for a pinfall reversal sequence.

Kai finally slaps on the Fujiwara armbar with Moon having to go to the rope for the break. They slap it out again with Moon getting the better of things and sending her hard into the corner. Gonzales gets up to break up the Eclipse though and it’s a fireman’s carry into a kick to the head to finish Moon at 16:21.

Rating: B-. Kai continues to look great and Moon continues to be someone who seems ready to break through to the next side but never actually getting there. They got some time here though and that’s not something you really expect to see from these two most of the time. Good stuff here, but it never quite hit the next level.

Kai says she isn’t the woman Moon remembers.

Cameron Grimes seems very shaky after last week but insists that he’s fine enough to beat Kushida. A referee comes up to say his match is next so Grimes runs off screaming ZOMBIE.

Shotzi Blackheart talks about how great last week was but now he’s ready to face a star in Toni Storm. This is a huge test for her so welcome to the Ball Pit.

Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes

Kushida wastes no time in taking him to the mat by the arm and cranks away. Back up and Grimes sends him into the corner, only to get hiptossed into a failed cross armbreaker attempt. Back up and Grimes uses his leg to crank on both arms before stomping it down for a bonus. Grimes gets up again and hits him in the face before working on Kushida’s arm for a change. You don’t do that to Kushida though as he takes Grimes down and stomps on the arm again.

The armbar doesn’t last long this time though as grimes gets up and hits a shot to the back, only to have his German suplex countered into a victory roll for two. Back up and Grimes drops him throat first onto the top rope. We take a break and come back with Kushida hitting a springboard elbow to the face into a basement dropkick. Kushida grabs both arms but the stomping is countered into a rollup for two. The jumping forearm sets up a sitout powerbomb for two more on Kushida and they’re both down.

Grimes puts him on top but gets crotched down, setting up the Hoverboard Lock slam for another double knockdown. Back up and Kushida sends him into the corner with the referee getting bumped, meaning there is no one to see Grimes tap to the Hoverboard Lock. Grimes is back up with his running flip powerslam so here’s the zombie referee to send Grimes running around, setting up another Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 14:08.

Rating: C+. I’m split on this one as it’s great to see Kushida built up as a thing around here (a North American Title shot wouldn’t shock me) but at the same time….dang it Grimes just lost because he was scared of a zombie referee. The match was good stuff until the ending but that wasn’t the kind of ending I was hoping for. I rolled my eyes at the zombie deal and that’s not how you should be feeling after a pretty good match.

Video on Toni Storm, who is ready to use Shotzi Blackheart as a stepping stone to the top of the division. This is the new her and she’s more Toni.

Io Shirai knows that she has to face Rhea Ripley to really be the best. She’s ready.

Killian Dain/Drake Maverick vs. Ever Rise

Dain throws Parker around to start and it’s off to Maverick, who takes Parker down without much effort. A running backsplash crushed Parker but it’s Maverick getting caught in the wrong corner. The armbar goes on but Maverick fights up and sends him outside for a breather. Martel breaks up the hot tag though as we cut to the parking lot where Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch and Pete Dunne arrive. Actually hold on as here they are in the arena for the big beatdown and a no contest at 3:52.

Rating: D+. You can only get so much out of this and that was pretty obvious here. The action itself wasn’t much to see here either with both teams needing to cram in as much as they can. It didn’t help that a lot of the match was spent on the team’s arrival in the back, which to be fair might be more interesting than an Ever Rise match.

Post match the beatdown is on with McAfee taking the camera to film everything as a proper heel can. Lorcan and Burch even manage the elevated DDT to Dain. McAfee carries the camera to the apron and makes everyone say cheese. Post break McAfee and company are in the ring with McAfee declaring themselves the four best men in the history of wrestling. They are not a bunch of scumbags because they are professionals.

They declare themselves the Kings of NXT and promises to destroy the Undisputed Era. Lorcan pulls out an Undisputed Era banner and we hear about how stupid all four of them were. The Era won a bunch and were over with these stupid, stupid fans. Dunne talks about Roderick Strong teaching him that you need to trust the right people.

Last week, Dunne needed to teach Strong the exact same things. McAfee talks about how big Dunne’s arms are now that he is back and brings up Strong turning on Dunne years ago.

Then the Undisputed Era became the big stars of the promotion and everything was built around them. No one was supposed to become bigger than the Undisputed Era, including Lorcan and Burch. They aren’t happy with the Era being treated than two veterans than them, but it’s time to honor the Era. They’re ready to raise the banner….but decide to put it into a trashcan instead.

They throw it in, declare the Era dead, and light it on fire. McAfee and company head to the back towards their car but Dain jumps them. The beatdown is on again with Dain being beaten down without much effort. They get in the car and leave, with McAfee reminding us that they’re the greatest and you suck. As is the case with anything McAfee related, this was great as he is one of the best talkers going today. Imagine that: someone who learned to talk elsewhere is better than WWE grown talents.

We go to House Gargano, where Johnny Gargano now LOVES wheels. He is the first Triple Crown Champion in NXT history and now the first ever two time North American Champion. Hold on though as he gets a phone call from Ghostface, who is in his house. Actually he is next to Gargano and playing the Game of Life with him. Johnny talks about how the one big knock against him is that he can’t hold onto a title, so next week he’s defending a title against a worthy opponent. They finish the game, and of course Johnny wins, because Johnny always wins. Dancing ensues.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Toni Storm

Shotzi charges in and shoves Storm away before avoiding a charge in the corner. A kick to the face looks to set up a springboard but Shotzi falls on her face to cut off the momentum. Shotzi takes her down by the legs and WELCOME TO THE BALL PIT connects. Storm sends her into the corner though and gets two off a running hip attack. Back up and Storm snaps off a suplex for two before kicking Shotzi down for daring to try a comeback.

The neck crank goes on before Storm switches over to a front facelock to keep Shotzi in trouble. A suplex gives Storm two and we take a break. Back with Shotzi making the comeback, including something like a reverse Sling Blade and some strikes to the face. The running reverse Cannonball hits Storm but she counters an enziguri into the rolling German suplexes.

Storm Zero is blocked though and Shotzi gets two off her own suplex. A headbutt gives Storm a close two but Shotzi catches her on top. Shotzi hits something close to a DDT to drop Storm face first onto the apron. Storm is out of it on the floor but hold on as Candice LeRae, with Shotzi’s tank, pops up on screen. The distraction lets Storm grab a rollup for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: C+. It takes a lot to make you believe that someone like Storm is in danger but they made it work with Shotzi. That is pretty impressive as Storm feels like one of the biggest stars around and Shotzi is starting to move up the ranks. This was a story advancing loss though, which is about as good of a result as you could have had. Shotzi vs. Candice should be good enough when we get there and Storm will be perfectly good when she gets a chance.

Post match Candice says she can’t put up with Shotzi any longer….so here’s a monster truck so Candice can crush the tank. Ghostface is in the back as Candice says that makes them even for last week. Shotzi screams a lot.

Legado del Fantasma tries to jump Jake Atlas in the parking lot but he whips out a pipe to beat them down and drive away. Santos Escobar seems impressed.

It’s time for another live Thatch As Thatch Can, with a lesson on reversals. See, anyone can catch a hold but what matters is that you can reverse anything someone tries. We see how to counter a front facelock into a top wristlock, which makes the student tap quite a bit. The student doesn’t approve and glares at Thatcher, so they switch places next time. However, Thatcher takes him down into an ankle lock for a lot of tapping. Cue Austin Gray to jump Thatcher from behind and knock him to the floor a few times though.

Xia Li is embarrassed by her loss last week and it’s time to turn things around. She gets a letter, which makes her more upset. Xia asks William Regal for a match against Raquel Gonzalez over last week’s dishonor, with Regal reluctantly agreeing.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream.

Rhea Ripley wants to face Io Shirai as well because it’s time to get her title back.

Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Dream’s hand/arm is still in a cast. Ciampa shoves him down into the corner to start before working on the arm. The threat of a big stomp sends Dream outside with Ciampa following, only to get sent into the barricade. Dream gets dropped ribs first onto the barricade, setting up a running knee to the face to rock him again. Ciampa isn’t done by dropping him onto the announcers’ table for a bonus, meaning now the arm can be sent into the announcers’ table.

Back in and Dream gets sent over the corner and out to the floor, where he crashes into the barricade. Ciampa isn’t about to let Dream leave so it’s back inside for a German suplex into a running knee to the face. More stomping to the arm sets up a face first drop onto the turnbuckle and we take a break. Back with Dream blocking a superplex attempt and getting two off a spinebuster. We hit the chinlock, with Dream driving the cast across the face. Dream goes up top but gets caught in a top rope superplex, triggering the canned THIS IS AWESOME chants.

Ciampa is sent outside but manages to block a dive. Dream tries again and this time takes Ciampa down in a big crash. They head inside again where Ciampa suplexes Dream right back over the top for another fall to the floor. Dream hits a superkick and grabs a chair, which the referee takes care of in a hurry. Ciampa uses the distraction to knee Dream’s top rope cast shots out of the air, setting up Willow’s Bell. The Fairy Tale Ending finishes Dream at 13:34.

Rating: B. This worked well and Ciampa is seemingly back to being a face, at least for tonight. That is kind of the right feeling for him as it’s not like there is a top face at the moment with Finn Balor gone. Hopefully Balor doesn’t have to drop the title, but if he does, Ciampa would seem to be a nice choice to go back to as champion. That and it’s nice to see Dream lose anytime these days.

Overall Rating: B. They had a long form wrestling show here with only one match not getting twelve minutes. That’s not like NXT and while it isn’t something I would need to see every week, it worked rather well as a one off show. There was good stuff in between the matches as well, making this quite a nice edition of the show. I’m good with no Takeover at the moment, but they have the most natural WarGames setup in the world right now and you almost have to imagine one is coming, though they’re rapidly running out of time. Anyway, rather good show this time.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Ember Moon – Fireman’s carry kick to the head

Kushida b. Cameron Grimes – Hoverboard Lock

Ever Rise vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick went to a no contest when Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch and Pete Dunne interfered

Toni Storm b. Shotzi Blackheart – Rollup

Tommaso Ciampa b. Velveteen Dream – Fairy Tale Ending

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:

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NXT – October 21, 2020: They Needed This

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 21, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things continue to be in a weird place around here as we are still needing a big star. Finn Balor is still out injured and I’m not sure how things are going to go without something to focus on. Next week’s Halloween Havoc should help, but you can only get so far with so little to build around. Let’s get to it.

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

Kushida vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream

The show takes a page from Dynamite’s playbook by starting with Kushida in the ring and Dream making his entrance, only to be jumped by Ciampa to start fast. Everyone gets in for the bell and it’s Dream being double teamed with a toss out to the floor. Back in and Ciampa sends Kushida into the corner before stomping on Dream’s hand. Kushida sends Ciampa head first into Dream’s ribs/lower than his ribs before going for Ciampa’s arm.

Ciampa takes them both down for two each and frustration starts early. A snap suplex hits Dream but Kushida is back up with a sunset flip for two on Ciampa. Dream sends them into each other in the corner but Ciampa is back with a bunch of chops. The Dream Valley Driver hits Kushida and Ciampa sends Dream outside as we take a break. Back with Kushida slapping on the cross armbreaker on Dream on the floor with Ciampa making an illogical save.

Kushida comes back in and kicks Ciampa in the arm until the Purple Rainmaker hits Kushida for two. Another Dream Valley Driver gets two on Ciampa with Kushida making a save of his own. Dream starts swiveling his hips so Kushida sends them both to the floor, setting up back to back flip dives. Kushida loads up another dive but charges into Willow’s Bell from Ciampa. That brings Dream back in to kick Ciampa in the face but Kushida kicks Dream to the floor. Willow’s Bell doesn’t work on Dream and Kushida sends both of them together, setting up a bridging German suplex to pin Ciampa at 15:33.

Rating: B. Aside from having Ciampa take the pin here, this was a good way to start things off. Kushida seems to be getting a nice push at the moment and if Johnny Gargano wins the North American Title, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him as the first challenger. Ciampa is just kind of floating here at the moment and Dream….yeah he’s still there too.

Adam Cole joins the Undisputed Era on a monitor and says the team is getting back on track, starting tonight.

Video on Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez.

Jessi Kamea vs. Ember Moon

Moon takes her down to start but Jessi switches places and hits a running elbow. The cravate doesn’t last long and Moon says Jessi screwed up. A running dropkick sets up a standing moonsault for two and it’s off to a crossface. That’s switched into something like an ankle lock but Jessi sends her into the corner for the break. Moon’s backsplash misses and Jessi is right back with a spinwheel kick. Moon is right back with a middle rope Codebreaker and something close to an STF makes Kamea tap at 4:00.

Rating: C. I can certainly go for Moon having something other than the Eclipse as an alternative finisher so that’s a good idea. Moon still doesn’t feel like a top star but if she is just here for a short term run before moving back up to the main roster (which may not be the best move) then it’s fine, but I’m not sure how well this current setup is going to work out.

Post match here’s Dakota Kai to lay Moon out.

Bobby Fish has been attacked backstage.

Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory

Theory grabs a headlock as we’re told Fish is officially on his way to a hospital (!) and is out of tonight’s title match. Reed shoves him off with pure power but Theory is right back with a dropkick. It’s time to get smart with a shot to Reed’s knee but Reed is out of the chinlock in a hurry. A powerslam into a backsplash crushes Theory so Reed goes up, only to get caught with some chops. That’s broken up as well and the Tsunami finishes Theory at 3:26.

Rating: C-. The more I see of Theory, the more confused I am by what NXT is doing with him. You would think that he would be tailor made to be one of the next stars but for some reason he keeps losing over and over. It is turning into the losing streak deal that tends to happen over and over again which tends to just make the person losing look like a loser. The match was short too, with Theory being little more than an inconvenience for Reed. I don’t quite get it.

Post match Theory says we’re doing this again because he is the future around here.

Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory

Pop up Samoan drop finishes Theory in 14 seconds.

Xia Li thanks Kacy Catanzaro for agreeing to face her tonight because she needs to win. Kacy is cool with some competition.

Post break, Austin Theory quits and leaves.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Isaiah Scott/Jake Atlas/Ashante Adonis

Legado bails to the floor at the bell before diving up to come in from different sides. Everyone pairs off and Atlas hammers away on Wilde as they settle down to a regular match. Adonis adds a shot to Wilde’s back and Atlas is back in with Three Amigos. Atlas manages to get up top while holding Wilde’s hand, kicks Santos down and headscissors Mendoza/wristdrags Wilde at the same time in a rather nifty display. Adonis teases a dive so Scott can hit the real dive as we take a break.

Back with Adonis fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent into the corner for an assisted moonsault from Wilde. The assorted villainous beatings continue with Mendoza cutting off a crawl towards the corner. Adonis finally kicks him away though and the hot tag brings in Wilde to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s Scott coming in with the rolling Downward Spiral for two on Escobar. Mendoza and Scott slug it out on the apron and both wind up on the floor until Atlas and Wilde crash down onto them in a somewhat scary landing.

Scott throws Mendoza back inside for two off a flipping slam with Wilde making the save. It’s back to Adonis, who is hurricanranaed into Scott, leaving Escobar to dive onto Scott onto the announcers’ table. Atlas is right there with the cartwheel DDT to drop Escobar, leaving Adonis to take a running kick/Russian legsweep combination for the pin at 15:27.

Rating: B. This started off a bit slow but turned into some great action by the end. They had me wondering who was going to win in the last few minutes and that is a heck of a trick to pull off. Legado winning by beating one of the newcomers is a fine way to go, though I’m curious to see if Atlas is going to become the next challenger for the title. Good stuff here and it got that much better near the end.

We go to the Garganos’ house where they are practicing Spinning The Wheel To Make The Deal with a training wheel. Johnny is panicking and keeps spinning because he hates wheels and doesn’t like the outcome. He even storms off as Candice is left sitting there.

Ever Rise vs. Drake Maverick/Killian Dain

Dain orders the whistling music cut off this time. Maverick gets caught with a backbreaker/running knee to the head combination and some shots to the back make it worse. A step up elbow to the back keeps Maverick down but he makes a tag so Dain can run them over. Ever Rise cuts him off at the knee to set up a half crab, leaving Martel to shout that Dain is a loser, just like Maverick. That’s too far for Maverick, who sends him into the barricade and then hits Parker in the back with a chair for the DQ at 2:55.

Post match Maverick cleans house with the chair (without hitting anyone) as Dain is stunned. Dain loads up the right hand…..and then says THAT WAS AWESOME. The music plays and Drake dances, but that’s too far for Dain, who walks off.

Roderick Strong has been attacked as well.

Post break, Kyle O’Reilly says he isn’t wrestling tonight, even when Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch offer to team up with him. They can have the shot instead though, which is fine with Breezango.

Xia Li vs. Kacy Catanzaro

Kayden Carter is here with Catanzaro. Li grabs a rollup for two but Kacy is back with a running dropkick for the same. A chop knocks Catanzaro into the ropes and Li kicks her down for two. Back up and Catanzaro kicks away even more, setting up a quick rollup for the pin at 2:27. That was sudden.

Post match Li shoves Kacy down and says she should have won but here’s Raquel Gonzalez to wreck both of them, plus Carter. Gonzalez says this is what is waiting for Rhea Ripley next week.

Cameron Grimes is ready for his match next week against Dexter Lumis…until he finds out that it’s a Haunted House of Terror match. Grimes isn’t scared, despite a lot of stammering and Dexter watching through a window.

Video on Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae, with Shirai saying she can win any match on the wheel.

It’s time for a live edition of Thatch As Thatch Can. The student is Anthony Greene, who Thatcher thinks is named Andrew. Thatcher demonstrates how to hurt someone when they go for your leg and doesn’t like Greene glaring at him. Greene takes him down and grabs a front facelock, which seems to get on Thatcher’s nerves. Thatcher has a referee come in, decks Greene, and says ring the bell.

Anthony Greene vs. Timothy Thatcher

Thatcher drops him in a hurry, pounds away in the corner, and finishes with a half crab at 54 seconds.

Damian Priest is getting a new tattoo and is ready for Johnny Gargano next week.

Tag Team Titles: Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan vs. Breezango

Breezango is defending. Lorcan and Fandango start things off with Fandango grabbing the headlock. A shoulder puts Lorcan down and Fandango gets in a quick dance, only to get caught in a half crab. That’s broken up so Burch comes in for a double chop but it’s off to Breeze for a snap suplex. Some shoulders to the ribs in the corner have Burch in a bit of trouble. They head outside with Burch sending him hard into the barricade, only to have Breeze wrap Burch’s leg around the post.

We take a break and come back with Lorcan uppercutting Fandango for two but some clotheslines get Fandango out of trouble. Everyone brawls on the floor until Lorcan’s suicide dive is cut off with a kick to the head. Back in and the Falcon Arrow into the Last Dance gets two on Lorcan, with Fandango not being able to follow up. A half crab/Crossface combination has Breeze in trouble until Fandango makes the save and everyone is down.

We settle down to Breeze dropping elbows on Burch’s knee but getting crotched on top. Lorcan and Fandango come in without tags and everyone is down again. Double superkicks put both challengers down…and here’s a masked man to shove Fandango off the top. Burch hits Breeze low and the assisted DDT gives us new champions at 12:53.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t so much a good match as much as it was a necessary change. Breezango aren’t exactly the most serious team and the Tag Team Titles have long since been an important part of NXT. You aren’t going to get that potential show stealer out of Breezango most of the time so switching the titles was the right move. Lorcan and Burch needed to win something at some point too, or otherwise they’re just two guys who aren’t serious threats to anyone. This is what needed to happen and that’s a good thing.

Post match the masked man celebrates with the new champions and it’s….Pat McAfee. After praising Lorcan and Burch, McAfee throws up a mocking Undisputed Era pose to end the show. I usually don’t care for celebrities in wrestling but McAfee more than impressed in his limited time so this should work.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was better than it has been in recent weeks, though I’m not sure on some of the booking choices. What matters here is they made some moves that have me a little more interested and I could go for some more of this kind of show. It was one of the more well put together NXT’s in a good while and hopefully it is the start of a change, because NXT has been needing one for a bit now.

Results

Kushida b. Tommaso Ciampa and Velveteen Dream – German suplex to Ciampa

Ember Moon b. Jessi Kamea – STF

Bronson Reed b. Austin Theory – Tsunami

Bronson Reed b. Austin Theory – Pop up Samoan drop

Legado del Fantasma b. Ashante Adonis/Isaiah Scott/Jake Atlas – Running kick/Russian legsweep combination to Atlas

Ever Rise b. Drake Maverick/Killian Dain via DQ when Maverick used a chair

Kacy Catanzaro b. Xia Li – Victory roll

Timothy Thatcher b. Anthony Greene – Half crab

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Breezango – Elevated DDT to Breeze

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:

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NXT – October 7, 2020: They Deserve A Break Today

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 7, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

Takeover: 31 has come and gone and not a lot has really changed. The big stories coming out of the show include Ember Moon and Toni Storm returning, but the surprise ending saw Ridge Holland jump into the main event scene by attacking Adam Cole. I’m curious about where that is going to be heading so let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Takeover.

Opening sequence.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kushida

Fallout from an argument in the locker room. They trade slaps to the face to start and it’s Kushida taking him down to the mat for the grappling. Kushida hits the basement dropkick and bulldogs the arm down, only to have Ciampa hit his own dropkick to break up a handspring. The chinlock into a backbreaker makes Ciampa smile and a neckbreaker cuts off Kushida’s comeback attempt.

Another chinlock stays on a little while longer Ciampa takes him to the apron for Willow’s Bell but has to kick Kushida outside instead. We take a break and come back with Ciampa chopping away in the corner and knocking him from the top to the apron. Kushida sends him arm first into the buckle and stomps on the hand to stagger Ciampa.

A German suplex into a kick to the head sets up a triangle until Ciampa powerbombs his way to freedom. Back up and they slug it out until Ciampa gets two off a suplex. The Fairy Tale Ending doesn’t work because of Ciampa’s banged up arm so it’s time for Kushida’s stomps to the back. The Hoverboard Lock goes on, drawing in Velveteen Dream to hit…Ciampa by mistake, drawing the DQ at 14:34.

Rating: C. They had me worried that one of them would take a fall here but seeing Velveteen Dream out there again immediately rather than taking some time off after the Takeover beatdown doesn’t exactly have me interested. Dream is firmly to the point of a heavy sign and that’s never a good thing. Good match, but the ending was a soul crusher.

Post match Kushida hammers on Dream, including a dive to the floor.

Here’s Ember Moon to a nice reception for a chat. Moon talks about how long she has been gone but she got on her motorcycle and found clarity. Now she has found Ember’s law (yes she knows it’s corny) and it says no one is walking over her. She wants the Women’s Title so here is Io Shirai to interrupt. Before anything can be said though, here is Rhea Ripley to interrupt….but Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai jump her from behind. Moon runs in for the save so here’s William Regal to make a tag match main event.

Drake Maverick arrived earlier today and said he and Killian Dain have been planning for their tag team future. Dain comes in and says they aren’t a team, but Drake already has a match for them. He even has some great music for them.

Shirai says she didn’t help Moon because it’s not her problem. Her problem is defending the Women’s Title. Fair point.

We look at the ending to Takeover with Ridge Holland leaving Adam Cole’s body laying at ringside.

The Undisputed Era says Kyle O’Reilly has nothing to be ashamed of but since Ridge Holland broke his ribs, he has some paying to do. And that is undisputed.

Drake Maverick/Killian Dain vs. Ever Rise

Maverick and Dain’s music includes whistling, so you know it’s special. Dain starts but chops Maverick in the chest for the tag instead. Parker grabs Maverick by the hand and brings Martel in, allowing Maverick to come back with a dropkick. Martel shouts that Dain doesn’t like Maverick and Dain seems to agree. A cheap shot annoys Dain though so he comes in and decks Ever Rise before pulling Maverick to the ropes. That means it’s time for Dain to clean house but Drake tags himself in. A big knee rocks Parker and Dain powerbombs Maverick (Drake: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”) onto Parker for the pin at 4:03.

Rating: C-. I know it’s a little ridiculous and the wacky tag team partners has been done to death, but it’s not like the tag division has anything going for it at the moment. See what you can find with these two and maybe it can go a little somewhere. Drake’s charisma alone should carry him a long way and Dain is a good monster so why not.

Post match Drake struts/dances in celebration so Dain knocks him out instead. He does carry Drake to the back though so he isn’t all mean.

We look at Toni Storm returning at Takeover.

Toni Storm talks about being gone for the longest time in her career so she could clear her head. She needed a change of scenery and this is a new Toni Storm.

The Garganos were walking their dog and Candice thinks they deserve rematches. Johnny has a plan….but Indi Hartwell has sent them a big TV. Johnny: “FREE TV!”

Austin Theory vs. Leon Ruff

Theory walks into a cutter for a quick two and Ruff hits a dropkick into a neckbreaker. A clothesline gives Ruff two more but he slips on the ropes and walks into the ATL to give Theory the pin at 1:51.

Post match Theory brags about how great he is, mainly because he had the time to warm up. This is a warning to everyone: he is the future of NXT and no one can do anything about it. Cue someone to disagree.

Austin Theory vs. Dexter Lumis

Lumis throws him into the corner and hammers away to start. It’s a Thesz press into some right hands to keep Theory in trouble, meaning it’s time to head outside. We take a break and come back with Theory hitting a belly to back suplex for two. The crossface chickenwing goes on, followed by a standing moonsault for two on Lumis. That just seems to annoy Lumis, so Theory grabs a front facelock to keep him down.

Theory hits a snap suplex for two and a stomp to the chest is good for the same. Lumis is right back up with a spinebuster to cut Theory off and the comeback is on. A slingshot suplex gives Lumis two but Theory snaps off a dropkick. Lumis just pops up and hits a Rock Bottom into the Silencer for the win at 12:04.

Rating: C. I like Theory quite a bit, but I don’t know if there has ever been an NXT wrestler I don’t get as much as Lumis. The whole thing just misses for me on every level and I don’t really see that changing no matter what he is going to be doing for the time being. For some reason NXT loves the idea of pushing the heck out of him though, no matter how little sense it seems to make.

Post match Cameron Grimes runs in with the Cave In to plant Lumis.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez don’t like Ember Moon coming in here and trying to jump the line. As for Rhea Ripley, no one is getting the Women’s Title shot but them.

Cameron Grimes attacked Dexter Lumis for not answering him last week. Don’t mess with him because he’s going to the moon.

Video on Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kyle O’Reilly at Takeover. Both of them were injured, with Balor having his jaw broken in two places.

Video on Damian Priest.

Priest says anyone who wants the North American Title can come get a Reckoning.

Ridge Holland vs. Danny Burch

Holland grabs a quick nerve hold to start but gets taken down with a wristlock. Back up and Burch hammers away in the corner, setting up a middle rope dropkick to drop Holland again. A German suplex sets up a Crossface but Holland pops back up with the Northern Grit for the pin at 2:06.

Post match the beatdown stays on so here’s Oney Lorcan for the save. He knocks Holland outside and there’s the slingshot dive….and Holland’s leg buckles. Oh dang that doesn’t look good.

Gargano is watching the TV, which had a USB included. There is a clip from the battle royal of Indi Hartwell saving Candice LeRae over and over. They might be starting to like her.

Timothy Thatcher hurts a lot of people while talking about how you aren’t defined by your losses.

Holland gets taken out on a stretcher and throws up the thumbs up, which makes me think that this is worse than it seems: he’s an Orange Cassidy fan.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Xia Li

Shotzi’s tank is now Halloween themed. Shotzi starts fast with the reverse Sling Blade but Xia fires off the knees to the face. They both wind up on top with Shotzi knocking her down, setting up the top rope backsplash for the in at 1:48. Nothing wrong with getting her on TV before Halloween Havoc.

Post match Boa brings Xia a letter, which seems to make her nervous.

Rhea Ripley/Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Moon has new music and wristlocks Kai down to start. A backsplash gives Moon two and there’s a suplex to take Kai down again. Gonzalez comes in but can’t hit a powerbomb. She can however take Moon into the corner so Kai can come back in and strike away. Kai is sent outside for a suicide dive, followed by Ripley’s running Cannonball onto Gonzalez. Back in and Ripley kicks Kai in the face, only to get kicked outside by Gonzalez.

We take a break and come back with Gonzalez choking Ripley, who comes back with a kick to the head. Kai comes back in with a cravate but Ripley throws her away again. The hot tag brings in Moon to start cleaning house. The sliding Downward Spiral gets two on Kai, who comes right back up with a kick to the face.

Gonzalez’s powerslam gets two but Ripley is back in with a powerbomb for two on Kai. The Kairopractor gives Kai two on Ripley so Moon comes back in with a discus lariat. Rhea clotheslines Gonzalez to the floor but gets kicked in the face by Kai. Moon is back up with a powerbomb of her own to Kai and Gonzalez and Ripley fall over the announcers’ table. Back in and the Eclipse finishes Kai at 11:51.

Rating: C+. This accomplished its main goal of getting Moon back in the ring and having her hit her big finisher for the pin. You can also add in Gonzalez and Ripley getting to do their thing, making this a pretty enjoyable main event. Moon doesn’t exactly feel like a major star, but it’s better than leaving her to rot on the main roster again.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the weaker NXT’s I can remember in a pretty good while. Some stuff happened, but it felt like a show that just came and went for the most part. Nothing on the show really stood out, which is probably going to be due to the champs being stuck in interviews without having anything going on. Pretty skippable show this week, though coming off such a fast Takeover, it’s probably fair for them to have a breather.

Results

Tommaso Ciampa b. Kushida via DQ when Velveteen Dream interfered

Killian Dain/Drake Maverick b. Ever Rise – Dain powerbombed Maverick onto Parker

Austin Theory b. Leon Ruff – ATL

Dexter Lumis b. Austin Theory – Silencer

Ridge Holland b. Danny Burch – Northern Grit

Shotzi Blackheart b. Xia Li – Top rope backsplash

Rhea Ripley/Ember Moon b. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai – Eclipse to Kai

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

NXT – September 23, 2020: Hurry Up, Hurry Up

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 23, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips

NXT has their backs up against the wall at the moment as we are less than two weeks away from Takeover, there is one match announced so far, and apparently the company has been rocked by the Coronavirus. I’m not sure what that is going to mean but we are getting two #1 contenders crowned tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Road Warrior Animal.

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Shotzi Blackheart, Candice LeRae, Xia Li, Kacy Catanzaro, Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, Kayden Carter, Rhea Ripley, Aliyah, Gia, Marina Shafir, Catalina, Raven, Ellie, Adrian, Rita, Emily, Indi Hartwell

The winner gets a shot at Io Shirai at Takeover. There is no Tegan Nox as Candice LeRae attacked her knee earlier today. I know I’m not going to be able to get everyone listed here as Gonzalez and Ripley have a staredown at the bell. That goes nowhere as everyone starts brawling everywhere else. Ripley tosses Gia without much trouble as commentary talks about William Regal trying to expand the competition for this match.

Raven gets tossed out and Ellie (I don’t know who these people are either) is gone as well. Ripley eliminates Shafir and Gonzalez gets rid of Adrian. Gonzalez isn’t done and eliminates a woman whose name we don’t hear. There goes Rita at Gonzalez’s hands as well and Rhea kicks Emily (they’re just getting single names here so it isn’t like you should know who these people are) out too. Gonzalez tosses Catalina but can’t get rid of Hartwell.

Aliyah sends Catanzaro to the floor but the feet don’t touch, allowing Catanzaro to do a Kofi Kingston style save, involving a backflip, walking on her hands, and pulling herself up by her feet. Back from a break with Kacy having to save herself again but Hartwell kicks her off the steps…and onto the barricade. Carter tries to help but gets eliminated, so Catanzaro stands on Carter’s shoulders for the save and gets back in. Ripley and Gonzalez gets in the big slugout but eliminate each other, leaving Kai panicking over her lack of an insurance policy.

We’re down to LeRae, Blackheart, Catanzaro, Hartwell and Kai, with Catanzaro swinging around the post to save herself again. A hurricanrana gets rid of Hartwell to get us down to four. Candice and Kai get together to finally get rid of Catanzaro and it’s time to double team Blackheart. Shotzi gets rid of Kai in a hurry and sends LeRae to the apron. LeRae gets back in so it’s a step up enziguri, only to have Blackheart miss the running charge into the ropes.

A neckbreaker drops Shotzi and LeRae sends her to the apron. Shotzi hits a kick to the head to get back in and goes up top but LeRae is right there again. They both go over the top and wind up on the apron, with Shotzi kicking her down onto the steps. LeRae manages a monkey flip to send Shotzi to the floor for the win at 15:06.

Rating: C-. It got some time and that isn’t the best idea in this case. The problem here was they had a bunch of people included to increase the numbers (probably indy wrestlers or Performance Center students), but it didn’t matter for the most part. Rhea and Raquel threw them out in a hurry to build them up and then just went out together, which didn’t make for the most exciting conclusion. Candice was the fairly obvious winner once we got near the end, though at least the ending was good.

Damian Priest is ready to beat Johnny Gargano at Takeover and he’ll warm up against Austin Theory tonight. Sarah Schriber is invited to the after party too.

Fandango, in a deerstalker hat, is in front of a dry erase board with a bunch of tag wrestlers around when William Regal comes up. After a warning from Regal about bad British accents, Fandango gives us his idea: we team up members of four teams (as in one member from four teams) in a tag match and the winning members’ teams face off to become #1 contenders for the Tag Team Titles.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas

Fallout from Ciampa attacking Atlas a few weeks back. The threat of an early Willow’s Bell sends them outside with Atlas getting in some shots against the steps. Atlas pulls the ring skirt back and tries the catapult into the ring but Ciampa gets away in a hurry. Back in and Ciampa hits a hard clothesline but Atlas comes back and hammers away with right hands.

Ciampa is knocked outside for a middle rope moonsault, followed by a Blockbuster back inside. The cartwheel DDT misses though and Willow’s Bell gives Ciampa the…one count as he pulls off. Ciampa yells a lot before finishing with the Fairy Tale Ending (now spinning Atlas around to land on his back instead of his face) at 4:48.

Rating: C. This was all about making Ciampa look like a killer and that’s what they accomplished. Ciampa could be put into almost any level on the card and look good so I’m not sure why they are having him waste time with Atlas over a few different weeks. This should be it though and Ciampa can move on to something bigger and better.

Video on Ridge Holland, who is rather strong and rough.

Video on tonight’s Gauntlet Eliminator, set to a new Corey Taylor (of Slipknot) song, with all five participants saying they are ready to win.

Danny Burch/Roderick Strong vs. Fabian Aichner/Raul Mendoza

The winning team will then meet off in another tag match with their usual partners for a future Tag Team Title shot. Aichner throws Strong down to start and then brings in Mendoza, who is taken into the corner for the tag to Burch. The beating continues but Aichner’s distraction lets Mendoza pull Burch off the middle rope. Back from a break with Burch fighting out of Aichner’s chinlock but getting suplexed down hard. Mendoza stomps away in the corner and we hit the cobra clutch on the mat.

Aichner breaks up a sunset flip on Mendoza and even knocks Strong off the apron in a smart move. Therefore there is no one for Burch to tag so Aichner blasts him with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Strong anyway and it’s time to start picking up the pace. An Angle Slam gives Strong two on Aichner but Mendoza gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Aichner hits a spinebuster for two but Strong kicks him in the face. Burch hits the Tower of London out of the corner to finish Mendoza at 8:49.

Rating: C-. This was a messy match, but that was kind of the point given that they aren’t regular partners. I’m a bit surprised to see Legado del Fantasma losing here as they seemed to be the next challengers, though maybe we are going to see Breezango win a big match before dropping them. Or I’m still really bad at fantasy booking, as I have been for years. Either way, this feels like a match thrown together because some partners might be missing due to illness.

Austin Theory is ready for Damian Priest but Johnny Gargano comes up to give him a bit of a pep talk anyway. Maybe Gargano will throw him a bone if Theory softens him up for Takeover.

Austin Theory vs. Damian Priest

Non-title. Priest works on the arm to start and then shoves Theory away without much effort. Theory seems to know he’s in a fight and then definitely knows he’s in a headlock. Back up and Priest goes up top for Old School before jumping down with a high crossbody to change things up. Theory is right back with a belly to back suplex into a standing moonsault for two as the pace slows a bit. Priest gets knocked outside in a heap and we take a break.

Back with Priest hitting the running elbow in the corner and the toss Falcon Arrow gets two. Priest misses the spinning kick to the head and Theory grabs a spinning torture rack slam (not a Blue Thunder Bomb Tom) for his own two. They head outside with Theory slipping out of a chokeslam onto the apron. The spinning kick connects this time though and there’s the powerbomb onto the apron to rock Theory. Back in and the Reckoning finishes Theory at 11:06.

Rating: C+. I like both guys and they both looked good here, as they should. Priest is infinitely better as a face than a heel. Just let him go out there and show off all of his cool stuff where we are supposed to cheer for it this time. That being said, the Reckoning isn’t exactly the most suitable finish for a monster of his size and athleticism. He can do something cooler looking, so maybe he should switch it up.

Post match Johnny Gargano runs in and superkicks Priest to set up their title match a bit more.

We get a night vision video with a distorted voice talking about titles. Someone wipes the dust off of a case holding some NXT Titles. The voice talks about coming back for what belongs to them and the person breaks the case to pick up one of the titles. The date of Takeover ends the show. Karrion Kross already? That seems a little optimistic but not impossible.

Video on Isaiah Scott.

Ridge Holland vs. Antonio de Luca

The much bigger Holland knocks him down to start but ducks his head to get kicked in the face. A Pounce sends de Luca flying though and an overhead belly to belly does the same. Holland headbutts him over and over in the corner (that was brutal) and Northern Grit finishes de Luca at 1:33. That worked.

Io Shirai is ready for Candice LeRae, who comes in to interrupt. Candice doesn’t think much of Shirai and Johnny Gargano comes in to yell as well. Damian Priest comes in and decks Gargano, likely setting up a mixed tag next week.

Next week: Shotzi Blackheart vs. Dakota Kai.

Gauntlet Eliminator

This is a hybrid of a Royal Rumble and a gauntlet match. There are five entrants and two start. Another comes in every four minutes and it’s pinfall/submission only for eliminations. The winner faces Finn Balor for the NXT Title at Takeover. Kyle O’Reilly is in at #1 and Kushida is in at #2, though neither get entrances. O’Reilly takes him to the mat to start and it’s time to hit the grappling. Kushida goes for the arm but O’Reilly gets in a bodyscissors until it’s a standoff to give them a breather from the grappling exchange. Kushida goes for the arm again but gets his legs tied up and they head to the rope.

Back up and Kushida gets in a hiptoss into the basement dropkick before cranking on the arm on the mat. That’s broken up as well so Kushida kicks away at the arm to mix things up a bit. They slug it out until it’s Bronson Reed in at #3. Reed wastes no time in throwing Kushida at O’Reilly and then fireman’s carries both of them at once. That’s broken up so Kushida kicks Reed in the ribs and then in the head.

O’Reilly goes for a cross armbreaker on Kushida but lets go to take Reed down by the leg. For some reason Kushida breaks that up for the Hoverboard Lock on O’Reilly until Reed breaks that up with a suplex to Kushida. Reed knocks Kushida outside and goes up top, only to be forearmed in the head by O’Reilly. Kushida knocks O’Reilly outside but here’s Velveteen Dream with a Dream Valley Driver to take Kushida down. Reed adds the Tsunami to get rid of Kushida at 7:48.

Timothy Thatcher is in at #4 and gets knocked off the apron as we take a break. Back with all three slugging away, with Thatcher going for Reed’s arm. Reed suplexes Thatcher down and it’s Cameron Grimes in at #5 to complete the field. Thatcher blocks Grimes’ kick to the face and goes for his arm but Reed knocks them both down. Everyone is down for a bit with Thatcher and O’Reilly being the first up for a slugout on the apron. O’Reilly knocks Thatcher off the apron and hits a running knee, with Reed catapulting Grimes onto the two of them.

Back in and Reed hits a Death Valley Driver for two on Thatcher and a powerbomb gets the same on O’Reilly. Grimes comes back in and gets sent down in a hurry, followed by a suicide dive onto everyone else. We take another break and come back with Thatcher and Grimes double teaming Reed. O’Reilly gets back in as Reed knocks the other two down. A Rock Bottom sends Thatcher onto Grimes for two and Reed goes up top. The Tsunami “misses” Thatcher (read as it hit Thatcher’s legs as he rolled away) so O’Reilly adds a top rope knee to Reed’s back for the pin at 21:37.

Thatcher and O’Reilly exchange ankle locks until Thatcher suplexes him down. Thatcher isn’t done and grabs Grimes’ leg before belly to bellying him down as well. O’Reilly goes for Thatcher’s arm but gets caught in a sleeper. That’s fine with O’Reilly, who ankle locks Grimes at the same time. That’s broken up by the sleeper so O’Reilly kicks off of Grimes to backflip onto Thatcher for two. O’Reilly strikes away at Thatcher and gets two off a backslide, followed by a rollup for the pin to get rid of Thatcher at 25:24.

We’re down to Grimes vs. O’Reilly with Grimes hitting a quick Cave In For two. Grimes yells about O’Reilly not being the star of the Undisputed Era and hits the flipping powerslam for two. O’Reilly is right back with a leg crank but Grimes kicks him in the face. Another Cave In misses and the knee seems to go out. O’Reilly grabs a heel look for the tap at 27:49.

Rating: B-. There was a lot to unpack here but what matters is they managed to make a new singles star, even if it is only in the short term, in O’Reilly. They needed someone fresh to go after the title and that’s what we got. That could be a heck of a match and O’Reilly has been on the big stage elsewhere before.

The problem here though is he didn’t exactly beat the biggest stars. The best illustration I heard about this match is that it felt like a North American Title #1 contenders match. Maybe that’s due to Coronavirus or maybe it’s due to trying someone new, but they might need O’Reilly to get one more big win next week. What we got was fine, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to carry it to the main event of a Takeover.

Post match Adam Cole and Roderick Strong come out to celebrate so here’s Finn Balor for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The big, long main event helped here as they are trying to slap things together as well as they can because their backs have never been this far up against a wall. What we could wind up seeing should work because it’s NXT, but dang they are stretching with some of these things. O’Reilly vs. Balor has my attention though and they could absolutely tear the house down. Couple that with a mystery return story and they could be fine. That’s a lot of could’s though, and that scares me.

Results

Candice LeRae won a battle royal last eliminating Shotzi Blackheart

Tommaso Ciampa b. Jake Atlas – Fairy Tale Ending

Danny Burch/Roderick Strong b. Fabian Aichner/Raul Mendoza – Tower of London to Mendoza

Damian Priest b. Austin Theory – Reckoning

Ridge Holland b. Antonio de Luca – Northern Grit

Kyle O’Reilly won the Gauntlet Eliminator last eliminating Cameron Grimes

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NXT – September 17, 2020: The Column Keeps Growing

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 16, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

Things are back to normal around here as the show is back on Wednesday after heading over to Tuesday for a few weeks due to the NHL Playoffs. They aren’t wasting time either as we have two title matches tonight with Damian Priest defending the North American Title against Timothy Thatcher and Imperium getting their rematch for Breezango’s Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s outstanding show.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Io Shirai

Non-title. Feeling out to start with Shirai missing a running big boot and Shotzi getting away from a monkey flip. Blackheart grabs a jackknife rollup for two and starts in on the arm. An armbar sends Shirai over to the ropes for the break and she knocks Shotzi outside. That means a Lionsault can take Shirai down and it’s back inside for a delayed two. We take a break and come back with Shotzi sending her into the corner and hitting a running knee.

They slug it out until Shirai pulls her down into a Crossface but Blackheart makes the rope this time. The running backsplash against the ropes connects and a tiger suplex gives Shotzi two. Blackheart keeps the grip and flips forward into Cattle Mutilation, which is broken in a hurry as well.

Shirai hits a flapjack into the 619, followed by the missile dropkick for two. Back up and Blackheart runs the corner to hit a super hurricanrana for two more but Shirai crotches her on top. A German suplex onto the apron knocks Blackheart mostly silly so Shirai hits the moonsault (with the legs only hitting Shotzi) to put her out of her misery at 14:21.

Rating: B-. The more I see of Blackheart the more I like her and she was getting to hang with the champ in along match here. They’re pushing her as something special and it wouldn’t shock me to see her get a pretty big time title match one day. They were beating each other up here and it was a heck of a match all around, especially with the time helping them out.

Respect is shown post match.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa destroying Jake Atlas.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Desmond Troy

Troy is formerly known as Desmond DeJournette. Ciampa takes him down with ease to start and hits a running corner clothesline. The stomping is on and there’s the catapult face first into the bottom buckle. Willow’s Bell finishes at 1:52.

Post match Ciampa grabs a chair but here’s Jake Atlas for the challenge for next week. Ciampa smiles.

Drake Maverick arrived earlier today and is ready to team up with Killian Dain against the Undisputed Era. They are a TEAM, even though Dain hasn’t talked to him all week and punched him in the face a few times. Maverick: “Do you have his number?”

Finn Balor talks about winning the NXT Title four years after losing it. People are asking how this reign will be different than the last. The first reign was all about building the brand and being the brand. Now the brand needs him because it is not the most important title in the game. We see shots of Walter, Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre, with Balor saying the line starts here. You better look both ways before you cross the Prince.

Here’s Austin Theory for a chat. He is a first ballot Hall of Famer and last week against Bronson Reed was just a fluke. For now though, he has another match on his hands.

Kushida vs. Austin Theory

Kushida goes straight for the arm to start but Theory takes him down and pounds away. Kushida is back up with a kick to the arm and it’s a hiptoss into a basement dropkick. A kick to the head sends Theory to the floor, where he forearms the post by mistake. Back in and Kushida hammers away, setting up the Hoverboard Lock makes Theory tap at 3:28.

Rating: C. Well that was surprising as Kushida seems to be the kind of guy who is there to put people over rather than get a clean win like this. That being said, Kushida was my favorite New Japan guy so I can certainly go for seeing more of him like this. I’ve been hoping to see him get a push and this is better than nothing.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae complain about having to sit in the guest room because Tegan Nox broke their TV. Candice calms things down and talks about a #1 contenders battle royal next week, which she can win to get a Women’s Title shot at Takeover. Gargano looks up a new TV, deciding on a 100 inch plasma screen 3D model. Candice: “O….k.”

Tag Team Titles: Breezango vs. Imperium

Imperium is challenging and jump the champs before the bell. We officially start with Aichner slamming Fandango down and bringing Barthel in to send him into the corner. An uppercut keeps Fandango in trouble and Barthel jawbreaks him for good measure. Aichner comes in with a belly to back suplex and a hard clothesline gets two. Barthel’s butterfly suplex gets two and the double running dropkicks in the corner have Fandango mostly done as we take a break.

Back with Fandango elbowing Barthel in the face and finally bringing Breeze in to start cleaning house. Running forearms abound and Breeze grabs a half crab. Barthel tries to interfere but gets sent to the floor, leaving Aichner to hit a Regal Roll on Breeze. Back up and Breeze catches Aichner with a Cheeky Nandos kick for two with Barthel making a save. Aichner catches Breeze coming off the ropes and muscles him over with a suplex.

Fandango makes the save though and is smart enough to drag Breeze over for the tag. Everything breaks down and Fandango saves Breeze from another suplex on the floor. Back to back superkicks put Imperium down but the Last Dance misses. Aichner German suplexes Fandango for two but he’s back with a tornado DDT. It’s back to Breeze, who is quickly caught in the European Bomb. Fandango breaks it up though and a hurricanrana finishes Aichner to retain at 14:28.

Rating: C+. The match had good action but sweet goodness the tag division has fallen a long way. Breezango aren’t exactly feeling like the next big thing and Imperium is so nothing without Walter around. They need to find some new people around here soon and it’s rather boring to watch at the moment.

Jessi Kamea/Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro

Carter takes Li down with an armbar to start and it’s Kacy coming in with a slingshot hilo for two. Li takes Kacy into the corner and kicks away though, allowing Jessi to come in with a running corner clothesline. Kacy fights up without much trouble though and it’s Carter coming in to clean house. It’s quickly back to Kacy for a bicycle kick into a crucifix into a jackknife cover to pin Li at 3:55.

Rating: C-. The point here was to push Carter and Kacy as good friends who work well together, with commentary even mentioning a possible Women’s Tag Team Title shot in the future. Oddly enough, this reminded me of Bobby Heenan in WCW, where he would hype up anyone he could, even if it didn’t seem possible. It at least shows some effort, and I’ll take that over commentary ignoring the match to talk about anything but the stuff in front of them.

Post match respect is shown but Li walks away instead.

Drake Maverick finds Killian Dain, who isn’t interested in teaming together.

Tegan Nox says if Candice wants to believe that she (Tegan) is the one who changed, so be it. It’s better than listening to Gargano complain about a $200 TV that he broke so he can watch himself lose every week. Nox is going to win the battle royal and next time, it’s going to be different with Shirai.

Undisputed Era vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

It’s Bobby Fish/Roderick Strong for the Era. And there’s no Dain, leaving Maverick on his own. Maverick gets driven into the corner to start but gets a boot up in the corner. The middle rope dropkick gets two on Fish but Maverick gets cut off with a backbreaker. We see Dain watching from backstage as Strong hits another backbreaker for two more.

A third backbreaker connects as Dain is still watching in the back. William Regal comes up to Dain and says that’s his partner out there. Cue Dain in the arena as Maverick is thrown outside….and he throws Maverick back in and goes to leave again. Strong yells at him so Dain gets inside and cleans house. Fish brings in a chair for the DQ at 9:42.

Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t the point here and that’s fine, though they had kind of made the point a good bit before they started doing anything to get to the ending. Maverick vs. Dain is an interesting deal, though I’d lean more towards Maverick earning Dain’s respect and turning into an actual team. As mentioned earlier, the show needs some more teams so why not these two?

Post match the Era leaves so Maverick yells at Dain, saying they’re a team. Dain knocks him out again.

Tommaso Ciampa jumps Jake Atlas in the parking lot and Kyle O’Reilly of all people gets in Ciampa’s face to get rid of him.

William Regal says we need a new #1 contender so next week, it’s the first ever Gauntlet Eliminator. Five unnamed men will be involved with two starting. Every four minutes, another name will enter and it is elimination rules with pinfall or submission only for eliminations. Whoever wins gets the title shot at Takeover.

North American Title: Damian Priest vs. Timothy Thatcher

Thatcher is challenging and goes straight to the arm to slow Priest down. Priest fights up but gets headlocked to the mat. That’s broken up as well so Thatcher headbutts him in the arm to make Priest clutch at the arm a bit. Priest tries to kick away but another shot tot he arm puts him on the floor. Thatcher follows him and fights out of a powerbomb attempt, allowing him to send Priest into the steps. A suplex on the floor makes it worse for Priest and we take a break.

Back with Thatcher hitting the uppercut so Priest slug away until a chop cuts him off again. The toss Falcon Arrow gives Priest two and he kicks Thatcher in the head to put him in trouble. The springboard flip dive misses so Thatcher goes after the armbar again. This time Priest fights up but Thatcher kicks the leg out and gets the half crab. That’s broken up so Thatcher goes with the Fujiwara armbar, with Priest using the legs to make the rope. The arm is fine enough to hit a Flatliner into the South of Heaven chokeslam for two. Priest has had it and goes up top for a super spinwheel kick, setting up the Reckoning to retain at 12:48.

Rating: B-. This was all about Priest getting his first achievement as champion and it worked out well. Thatcher gets to get his feet wet at a somewhat higher level and he did just fine in the role. Both guys have a nice future ahead of them, but Priest’s future is a lot closer than Thatcher’s at the moment. Good match, though the spinwheel kick should have been the pin.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good show here as you kind of have to expect from NXT, but nothing compared to last week’s instant classic. To be fair though, this was a much more laid back edition by design as last week’s was supposed to be the huge edition. NXT is starting to roll again, but dang that is a fast turnaround in between Takeovers. I’m curious as to what we are going to see on the card, because nothing has been specifically announced so far. Anyway, another win this week.

Results

Io Shirai b. Shotzi Blackheart – Moonsault

Tommaso Ciampa b. Desmond Troy – Willow’s Bell

Breezango b. Imperium – Hurricanrana to Aichner

Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro b. Xia Li/Jessi Kamea – Jackknife cover to Li

Killian Dain/Drake Maverick b. Undisputed Era via DQ when Fish used a chair

Damian Priest b. Timothy Thatcher – Reckoning

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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NXT – September 1, 2020: You Knew It Was Coming

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 1, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentator Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

It’s Super Tuesday and they have a big time main event this time around. Tonight it’s a four way sixty minute Iron Man match for the vacant NXT Title. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Finn Balor are facing off for the title and that could make for a pretty major moment. Let’s get to it.

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

Long video on the Iron Man match, which is all they need to focus on here.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango/Isaiah Scott

Street fight with weapons around the ring. It’s a huge brawl to start with everyone going after each other and hitting/throwing people into the weapons. A table is set up at ringside and Fandango puts a ladder on his head for the helicopter spot. Beth calls this innovative because it’s been a good while since ECW was around. Scott kicks a trashcan lid into Mendoza’s face and then knees Escobar in the face. Breeze sprays a fire extinguisher to clean house and we take a break.

Back with Scott kicking his way out of trouble but being knocked to the floor for a heck of a suicide dive from Escobar. Breezango tries to get back up but here’s Imperium to jump Breeze for a four on one beatdown. They get back inside but Scott and Fandango are standing on top of a well placed forklift to dive onto all four of them. Breeze is back in to clean house, followed by Breezango diving onto everyone but Escobar on the floor. Scott is alone with Escobar inside and it’s the JML Driver to give Scott the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C+. They got the important part here and the rest is pretty much gravy. Breezango still feel like they are going to be the most transitional champions in a long time but at least they might get another win over Imperium first. The match was entertaining enough with the dives looking good and the right ending so not too bad.

Connor’s Cure video.

Tegan Nox talks about being friends with Candice Michelle for years but since Johnny Gargano started following the Gargano Way, the spark went out of her eyes. Nox isn’t ready to live in a world where they aren’t friends because they’re sisters and sisters fight. These videos aren’t exactly setting up a huge match but they’re telling you everything you need to know about these two and giving you a connection to Nox. That’s more than you get on the main roster 95% of the time and these took about a minute and a half a week.

Candice LeRae vs. Kacy Catanzaro

Kayden Carter is in Catanzaro’s corner. Kacy armdrags her down to start and grabs an anklescissors but LeRae is right back with a hanging neckbreaker. A quick trip to the floor doesn’t hurt Kacy that much as she comes back in with a rollup but gets elbowed in the face. Kacy gets fired up and unloads in the corner but gets taken down to the mat. LeRae ties her legs up and stomps Kacy’s head into the mat for the pin at 2:59.

Post match Candice grabs the mic and says seeing Carter and Catanzaro has made her miss her time with Nox. She would love to talk this out too so Nox should come by the house, because dinner is on Candice.

Rhea Ripley is sick of the Robert Stone Brand and wants Mercedes Martinez in a cage. That makes sense, even after the quick detour last week against Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed

They go with some grappling to start until Reed starts slugging away. Thatcher is smart enough to go for the arm to slow Reed down, though a big clothesline gives Reed two. It’s right back to the arm though with an armbar taking Reed down. Back up and Reed knocks him to the floor with a single shot, setting up a suicide dive to take Thatcher down again. Cue Austin Theory to jump Reed from behind though and Thatcher hooks a cross armbreaker. Reed turns it over but Thatcher switches into a Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 4:48.

Rating: C-. NXT is doing a good job of setting up a midcard again as what has been lacking for a little while now. You have to build some people up for the future and this was a good example, with three people getting some time to set things up. Throw in all of them being a possible challenger for the North American Title and you’re almost in for some good stuff going forward.

Mercedes Martinez is down for a cage match with Rhea Ripley.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa

The title is vacant coming in and it’s a 60 minute Iron Man match, meaning no countouts or disqualifications. It’s a brawl to start with Ciampa clearing the ring off a bunch of knees. Ciampa hits some running knees to Balor and Gargano before getting in a slugout with Cole. Back in and Ciampa beats on Balor a bit more as we’re three minutes in. Cole gets in as well and Ciampa is sent outside, leaving Balor to hit a basement dropkick to put Cole down. Gargano joins them and stomps away on everyone before working on Cole’s arm.

Gargano kicks at the arm and grabs kind of a standing Crossface, or at least the standing Crossface’s weird out of town cousin that it only sees on major holidays. Cole gets out and hits a neckbreaker so Balor takes Gargano’s place. That’s fine with Cole, who takes him down with a chinlock. Balor fights up with a running forearm into a double stomp to Cole. The Eye of the Hurricane gets two on Ciampa and it’s off to another chinlock. We take a break and come back with no falls and Gargano pounding Cole down into the corner and no clock to be seen.

Cole’s fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Gargano but the other two get back in. That’s fine with Cole, who kicks them in the head but gets kneed down as we have 43:00 left. Cole goes up so Balor catches him, with Ciampa turning it into a Tower of Doom. Gargano crotches Ciampa against the post though and gets two on each of them. We’re down to about 40:00 to go as Gargano hammers on Balor in the corner.

Balor comes back with a quick 1916 for two so he follows up with a Sling Blade into the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace misses but Ciampa is right there with an Air Raid Crash for two on Balor. We take another break and come back with 36:00 to go and still no score. Ciampa and Gargano get ready for the big showdown but Cole and Balor send them outside. Cole suggests a Too Sweet reunion but Balor sends him outside for the big flip dive. The shotgun dropkick sends Ciampa into the timekeeper’s area and the Coup de Grace gives Balor the first fall on Cole with 34:23 to go.

Balor starts chopping away at Gargano and grabs a chinlock. That’s let go so he can take Ciampa down and then alternates stomps to Ciampa and Gargano. Cole gets knocked off the apron and we take a break. Back again with the same score and Ciampa hitting the Willow’s Bell on Balor. The Fairy Tale Ending connects but Gargano steals the pin to tie things up with 26:38 to go.

Ciampa breaks up One Final beat but Cole hits the Last Shot on Ciampa for a near fall. Another Last Shot (or Last Call as Vic puts it) is cut off by a hard clothesline but Cole is back with a superkick to Ciampa. Balor is back in with the Sling Blade to Cole but Cole superkicks him as well. There’s another superkick to Gargano and the Panama City Sunrise finishes Gargano at 24:40 to go.

That puts everyone but Ciampa at one fall and they’re getting winded. Balor breaks up the Last Shot to Gargano and Ciampa steals a near fall. A double Willow’s Bell hits Gargano and Cole, followed by the Fairy Tale Ending to Cole to tie things up with 22:41 to go. Everyone pulls themselves up on the ropes and the slugout is on again. Gargano and Cole fight to the floor while Balor wins a slugout with Ciampa inside. Another quadruple knockdown gives everyone a breather with about 19:15 to go.

Ciampa and Balor are back up inside with Balor being sent hard into the corner for two. A running knee in the corner rocks Balor but Ciampa knocks Cole off the apron and goes outside. Ciampa sends Gargano into the barricade and tosses Cole into the Plexiglas. That lets Ciampa applaud himself but Cole kicks him in the knee back inside. We take another break and come back again with the same score and 11:45 to go.

Balor cleans house again and Ciampa’s knee gives out to make it even worse. Cole is kicked to the floor and Balor grabs a half crab on the bad leg. That’s broken up as Balor has to go after Cole, followed by another shotgun dropkick to Ciampa. Balor has to knock Gargano off the apron meaning he misses the Coup de Grace. A double superkick from Gargano and Cole drops Balor and Gargano superkicks Cole to the floor for a bonus. There’s the suicide dive to Ciampa and another to Cole, capped off by a third to Balor, who pulls his out of the air. 1916 on the floor is blocked and Gargano hits a tornado DDT instead.

Back from another break with 5:00 left and the same score as Gargano getting the Gargano Escape on Cole. Ciampa pulls it to the floor for the break, putting them all outside. The limping Ciampa sends Balor into the Plexiglas and suplexes Cole on the floor. There’s a ram for Balor as well but Gargano is up to slug away at Ciampa with 3:00 left. Ciampa catapults Gargano throat first into the bottom of the ring but Cole makes the save. Ciampa covers again and this time Balor breaks it up, much to Ciampa’s annoyance. Balor and Cole are sent into parts of the set, with the delay allowing Gargano to get two off a small package.

We have 1:30 to go with Ciampa hitting Gargano in the throat to put him down again. Ciampa puts Gargano on top for a super Air Raid Crash with 30 seconds left. Balor comes in with the Coup de Grace though and goes up 2-1-1-1 with 20 seconds to go. Barrett declares him the new champion but Cole hits a Last Shot on Balor for the pin to even things up as time expires at 58:31 (close enough).

Rating: B+. You could feel the screwy finish coming the second they announced the match and that’s what they gave us here. Hopefully they don’t wait a few weeks for the match as it would be nice to have a champion instead of waiting for whenever the next Takeover is going down. It was a good, action filled match as you knew it would be, but it had the same problem that every Iron Man match (or tournament for that matter) has: you can skip everything until the very end and not miss the part that really matters. It was as good as expected, but dang the ending didn’t sit all that well, as predictable as it might have been.

Post match William Regal comes out to make Cole vs. Balor next week, one fall to a finish. Well at least they’re not waiting.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a one match show and that one match delivered so of course the whole thing works. What matters here is they gave us what was advertised, at least with the match, and I can live with waiting one more week. It might be annoying, but guaranteeing a one on one title match (without the time factor) is as surefire of a way to grab an audience as you can get. The rest of the show was hit and miss, but this was all about the main event and it worked out well.

Results

Breezango/Isaiah Scott b. Legado del Fantasma – JML Driver to Escobar

Candice LeRae b. Kacy Catanzaro – Stomp

Timothy Thatcher b. Bronson Reed – Fujiwara armbar

Adam Cole and Finn Balor b. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano 2-2-1-1

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

NXT – August 26, 2020: The Busy Night Of The Week

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 26, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

We’re past Takeover: XXX and that means it’s time to get back to a little more normal around here. Karrion Kross is the new NXT Champion, Keith Lee is gone and Tommaso Ciampa is back so…maybe the normal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. This could be an interesting show, including a Tag Team Title match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

Takeover recap.

Here are Scarlett and Karrion Kross, with his arm in a sling, to open things up. Kross told us that he would become NXT Champion and that on the way there, everyone would suffer. That’s what he did at Takeover but when you go to war, you expect casualties. Hence his separated shoulder, which is going to prevent him from defending the NXT Title.

There are obstacles on the path, but to him, the obstacles are the path. Kross lays the title down and Scarlett puts the hourglass next to it. Kross says this changes nothing because everyone pays the toll. Tick tock. Well dang. This could get interesting in a hurry. That’s horrible to hear for Kross though as no one deserves that kind of an injury just after they reach the peak (so far) of their career.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium vs. Breezango

Breezango is challenging and jump the champs during the entrances. We get the opening bell with Breezango cleaning house until Barthel armbars Breeze down. That earns him a dropkick though and we take an early break. Back with Fandango fighting out of a chinlock but getting double teamed back down. That doesn’t last long as Fandango gets over for the hot tag to Breeze as the pace picks up.

A jumping knee rocks Barthel but Breeze has to avoid running into the referee. The delay lets Barthel hit a suplex, only to dive into the Beauty Shot for two. Aichner makes the save and comes in to pound away as he is known to do. Breeze knees him down though and Fandango tags himself in for the guillotine legdrop to Aichner. Barthel pulls him to the floor though, meaning Fandango hits a dive. That earns him a hard suplex on the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Fandango still in trouble as Aichner hits the middle rope moonsault for two. Breeze makes the save but gets uppercutted out to the floor as Barrett mentions wrestling with Breeze all the way back in FCW. Aichner and Barthel’s double team hits each other though and Breeze superkicks them both. Fandango comes in with the double Last Dance for the pin and the titles at 15:17.

Rating: C. They had to do something like this at some point as Breezango have lost and lost over the years. Throw in the fact that Imperium have been pretty worthless champions since they won the belts. It isn’t that they’re bad in the ring or anything close, but they haven’t been interesting and they have been downright forgetful at times. This was a necessary change and they picked a good night to do it.

The new champs dance on the announcers’ desk.

Damian Priest says the after party is still going. Cue Timothy Thatcher who seems to want a title shot.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas

Ciampa jumps him at the bell and unloads on him in the corner. Willow’s Bell finishes at 52 seconds.

Post match Ciampa destroys Atlas even more, including sending him knees first into the steps a few times. Ciampa even catapults him throat first into the bottom of the ring, meaning we need a stretcher job as the fans chant for Ciampa anyway. Since he’s extra evil, Ciampa pulls Atlas off the stretcher with another Willow’s Bell on the floor.

Candice LeRae talks about her friendship with Tegan Nox over the years, including going to a castle in Wales. Now Nox doesn’t get her anymore though, as Nox wasn’t there when Candice needed her. LeRae is going down the right path now and LeRae can do things the Gargano Way too. If she doesn’t want to though, just stay out of LeRae’s way. Has LeRae always been able to talk like this?

Bronson Reed thinks he should get the first NXT Title shot since he has beaten Damien Priest. Cue the returning Austin Theory to say Reed is taking some steps in the right direction and maybe he can have a title shot by the time he’s about fifty five. Reed slaps the taste out of his mouth.

Mia Yim vs. Mercedes Martinez

Hang on though as here are Robert Stone and Aliyah to say not so fast. Mercedes isn’t getting in the ring after that powerbomb from Rhea Ripley last week…and here’s Shotzi Blackheart to run Stone over with the tank again. We have a replacement.

Mia Yim vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi takes her down to start and hits Welcome To The Ball Pit but Yim is right back with a running hurricanrana. Mia rolls her up for two and they both catch kicks to the ribs. They set them down so Yim gets in a cheap shot and hammers away in the corner. A dragon screw legwhip out of the corner has Shotzi in more trouble with the knee banged up. Yim grabs a bow and arrow but Blackheart is back up with a discus forearm. That earns her a quick suplex as Yim throws her down again. Yim goes up but gets pulled down, setting up a backsplash to the back. A top rope backsplash finishes Yim at 4:31.

Rating: C-. The more I see of Shotzi, the more I like her. She has gone from looking like another strange wrestler with weird hair to being one of the more charismatic women in the division. I can’t imagine that she is going to be near the top of the division anytime soon, but there is nothing wrong with having a star in the making. Not the greatest match, but it’s a big win for Blackheart and that’s a good sign.

William Regal has a decision on the NXT Title.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez say they’re a team but Kai promises to become NXT Women’s Champion. As for tonight, Gonzalez is ready to settle things with Rhea Ripley.

Here’s Regal to announce a solution to the NXT Title. It is a shame that Kross had to vacate the title and Regal wishes him the best on his long recovery. As for the title though, there will be a four way match next week (on Tuesday) to crown a new champion. The four of them can all claim to be the best ever in NXT and they could all claim to be the face of NXT. Those four are Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Finn Balor and Adam Cole. Oh and for a bonus: it’s a four way, sixty minute Iron Man match.

Barrett is so excited that he will be back next week to call the match.

Cruiserweight Title: Isaiah Scott vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar is defending and is on his own this week. Scott wastes no time in hurricanranaing him out to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Escobar working a headlock but getting reversed into something like a Gory Stretch. That’s broken up so Scott goes for the short armscissors which sends Escobar to the floor. Escobar catches him with a toss from the apron into the Plexiglas though and Scott is in trouble.

A drop onto the steps gives Escobar two back inside and the pace slows down a bit. Scott manages to grab a knuckle lock and they both go to the middle rope. That means an attempt at a jumping hurricanrana from Scott but Escobar reverses into a super sitout powerbomb for another near fall as we take another break. Back with Escobar hammering away against the ropes but Scott reverses and unloads in the corner. A backbreaker sends Escobar outside again and the Fosbury Flop takes him down.

Back in and the rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two more but here is the rest of Legado for the distraction. A jumping superkick gives Escobar two so here is Breezango to take out Legado. Scott’s jumping knee to the face gets two and a bridging German suplex is good for the same. The House Call gives Scott another two and a flipping slam out of the corner gets yet another near fall. Escobar bails to the floor and puts on a mask, which seems to be loaded. A headbutt knocks Scott silly to retain the title at 16:45.

Rating: B-. They did a nice job here and the false finish off the Legado interference was well done. Escobar cheating on his own to retain gives him another way to keep the title and that’s a good thing for him. You can have the goons if you want but at some point you have to win on your own, which he did here (cheating included). Scott could get a rematch and that’s a good thing, mainly because I’m not sure who else there is to go after the title.

Johnny Gargano is ready to go after the title and remind everyone who he is. He has been the Iron Man for years and next Tuesday, he’ll have the title to prove it.

Finn Balor says he’ll rise to the occasion. Next week the four cornerstones are ready to fight but he’ll prove that he is the centerpiece.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Drake Maverick

Fallout from the Undisputed Era interrupting Maverick’s match and Bobby Fish/Roderick Strong are here too. Maverick unloads on him to start and dropkicks the knee to send O’Reilly outside. The big flip dive from the top takes out the rest of the Era but O’Reilly is back with the strikes inside. Maverick’s comeback is cut off with a whip into the corner and the striking continues. A quick Underdog attempt is countered though and O’Reilly rolls into an Achilles Lock. Maverick hammers away but can’t get out, forcing the tap at 3:27.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad while it lasted and that’s a good sign for Maverick. Even when he’s losing (in other words, every time he isn’t on 205 Live), he has a lot of energy going in the ring and that’s something you can always go for. The match was more about O’Reilly than anything else, but Maverick looked good in defeat.

Post match the beatdown is on but O’Reilly tries to call off the troops. Cue Killian Dain (who Maverick was facing when the Era interfered two weeks ago) for the save. Maverick pulls himself up but Dain beats him up as well.

We look back at the Women’s Title match at Takeover.

Rhea Ripley is ready for Raquel Gonzalez.

Adam Cole is glad to be done with Pat McAfee and is ready to get his title back. He is the Iron Man and that is undisputed.

Io Shirai/Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Ripley throws Kai aside to start and gets the big lockup with Gonzalez. A headbutt rocks Gonzalez so she shoves Ripley into the corner, where Shirai tags herself in. The middle rope hurricanrana sends Gonzalez outside and we take a break. Back with Ripley swinging away at Kai but getting pulled to the floor by Gonzalez. That means a ram into various things and they head back inside to keep up the beating.

Kai grabs a rollup for two and slaps on a seated abdominal stretch. Gonzalez comes back in but gets kicked in the head by Rhea, allowing the hot tag to Shirai. Everything breaks down and Shirai hits the running knees in the corner to Gonzalez, followed by a 619 to Kai. A scorpion kick gets Kai out of trouble but Shirai blocks the Kairopractor. Shirai’s German suplex gets two but Gonzalez takes her back into the corner.

Shirai tries to dive over for the hot tag but the referee doesn’t see it, meaning she is taken back over to keep up the beating. Cue Mercedes Martinez to pull Ripley off the apron and Gonzalez plants Kai with a spinning powerslam for two. Ripley is back up to take the tag but she trips on her way in and gets kicked in the face. Gonzalez’s powerbomb finishes Ripley at 10:03.

Rating: C. Things are getting interesting in this division as they have multiple stories going on but they are starting to tie together at the same time. Gonzalez pinning Ripley, even with some cheating, is going to be a good deal as she and Kai continue the Diesel/Shawn formula. Throw in Kai and the title plus Martinez and you might have some good things going on in a hurry.

Overall Rating: B-. So last week’s show was rather slow paced and didn’t have much going on. This was the polar opposite and that is a great thing, because they hit the ground running coming out of Takeover. Now that being said, it is a shame to see this happen after Kross’ injury because that is never a good thing to see. Almost everything else worked well though with a title match, a return, and the announcement of a huge match for next week. Solid, energized show here and if the in-ring product was better, they could have had a great one.

Results

Breezango b. Imperium – Last Dance to Aichner

Tommaso Ciampa b. Jake Atlas – Willow’s Bell

Shotzi Blackheart b. Mia Yim – Top rope backsplash

Santos Escobar b. Isaiah Scott – Headbutt with a loaded mask

Kyle O’Reilly b. Drake Maverick – Achilles lock

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Rhea Ripley/Io Shirai – Pumphandle powerbomb to Ripley

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

Takeover: In Your House: You Still Got It?

IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: In Your House
Date: June 7, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips

I’m almost scared for this one, as I don’t know if NXT can pull off the same magic without the fans. It doesn’t help that the show has been a lot weaker since it moved to two hours, but you never bet against Takeover because the show has a pretty outstanding record. Tonight’s main event seems to be another cinematic match between NXT Champion Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream so let’s get to it.

The opening video is a pure nostalgia trip, with an NXT version of the old “revolutionary force in sports entertainment” intro, Todd Pettengill running down the card, and one lucky winner…..not winning a house tonight. New Generation fans (all 14 or so of them) will have a good time with that one.

An altered version of the old house set is here too, with Code Orange performing the opening song.

Shotzi Blackheart/Tegan Nox/Mia Yim vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez/Candice LeRae

LeRae tags Gonzalez in to hide from Yim, who is game to go after Gonzalez instead. Kai comes in so Mia brings in Nox for the revenge. Nox slugs away in the corner and hands it off to Blackheart for some kicks to the face. Kai gets in her own kick for two though and it’s back to LeRae, who misses the backsplash. Gonzalez kicks LeRae by mistake and it’s time to go outside for the parade of dives.

Back in and Shotzi runs LeRae over for two, followed by Cattle Mutilation. Kai makes the save and then distracts the referee so Gonzalez can get in her own clothesline. It’s Shotzi staying in trouble but Gonzalez misses a running boot in the corner. Mia gets the hot tag and comes in to clean house until a double knockdown puts her and LeRae down. Nox comes in to beat on Gonzalez, who comes back with a powerbomb for two. Yim and LeRae fight to the floor and then into the garage, leaving us two on two. Kai kicks Gonzalez by mistake and a double dropkick puts Gonzalez on the floor. The Shiniest Wizard finishes Kai at 9:52.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced and exciting opener and that’s all you could expect from something like this. Nox is a star in the making, but I’m not sure how much faith you can put in someone with her history of injuries. I like having the two feuds in one match here and Nox vs. Kai feels like it could have some legs if they want to keep it going.

Promotional consideration paid for by the following, with William Regal as Alfred Hayes: WWE Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches.

We recap Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor. Priest wanted to make a name for himself and attacked Balor, who wasn’t going to stand for that. It’s time for a showdown.

Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest

Balor dropkicks him in the corner before the bell and goes after the knee to take the big man down. They head outside with Balor going shoulder first into the steps and then back first onto the apron. The forearms don’t do much for Balor as Priest plants him with a lifting Downward Spiral. Priest stomps Balor down in the corner for one, meaning it’s off to the chinlock.

Balor fights up and sends him to the apron for the dropkick into the barricade. Some hard stomps against the barricade keep Priest in trouble but Priest is back in with a clothesline to cut off the dive. A series of strikes has Balor in trouble so he hits a fast Pele kick for two. Priest knocks him back to the floor and hits a Razor’s Edge onto the apron for two of his own. Back in and Priest hits some running elbows in the corner but Balor is back with the Sling Blade to break up the trio.

Priest kicks him in the face again, only to have Balor counter again. The Coup de Grace is countered into a sitout chokeslam for two and Priest tells the referee he’s not stopping this. A Razor’s Edge off the apron onto the steps is broken up so Balor forearms him off the apron and onto the steps instead. Back in and the top rope double stomp to the back sets up the Coup de Grace finishes Priest at 12:37.

Rating: B. This is one where the NXT wrestlers at ringside helped carry things as they made it feel more energized. These two started fast and didn’t really stop until the ending, which is a good way to do a match like this. Balor almost has to move on to the title picture now, or at least into contention for it. What else is there for him to do at the moment?

And now, here’s Adam Cole for ICO-PRO.

We recap Johnny Gargano vs. Keith Lee for the North American Title. Gargano and Candice LeRae aren’t happy with how they’ve been treated around here so it’s time to do things their way. This includes defeating Lee to become North American Champion, so Lee and Mia Yim mocked their big proclamation. Gargano attacked Lee’s eyes with his car key and then crushed Lee’s hands to even the odds a bit coming into this one.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano is challenging and has the key in his trunks. Lee has a Black Lives Matter vest and shoves Gargano around a few times to start. The spinning kick to the face misses and Gargano is terrified. A quick chase lets Gargano get in a dropkick through the ropes, but the suicide dive is pulled out of the air. Gargano can’t send the bad hand into the steps but winds up running towards the set door.

Since that’s not a real door, Lee catches up to him for the Grizzly Magnum chop. They head back inside with Gargano stomping on the hand so Lee knocks him away for a short breather. Gargano is right back with left hands in the corner before shoving Lee’s face against the buckle.

The band hand is bent around the turnbuckle before cranking on the arm even more. The slingshot spear is cut off by an enziguri to give Lee two but he can’t hit a powerbomb. Gargano’s clotheslines don’t work so Lee shows him how it’s done for two more. Lee wants to see Gargano’s heart and loads up another powerbomb.

This time Gargano kicks him in the head and rolls into a sunset flip for two more. Gargano knocks him outside and it’s a suicide tornado DDT to knock Lee silly on the floor. The count is broken up at nine so Lee Pounces Gargano through the Plexiglas. Lee pulls what used to be Gargano back in but here’s Candice for a distraction.

Mia Yim comes out to take care of her but the distraction lets Gargano use the key on Lee’s eye. There’s the slingshot DDT for two on Lee, followed by a low superkick for the same. Gargano hits two more of them for the same but talks too much trash, allowing Lee to hit the Spirit Bomb. The Big Bang Catastrophe retains the title at 20:38.

Rating: B. Another hard hitting, back and forth match here with Gargano taking a surprising loss so soon after starting his big heel turn. That being said, I’m not sure what in the world is left for Lee. Other than going title for title with Adam Cole, who else is left to come after him at the moment?

We recap Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream. Cole has been champion for a year but Dream had him beaten until the Undisputed Era interfered. Tonight, they’re fighting in a Backlot Brawl, meaning in a ring behind the building with fans in cars around the ring.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream

Anything goes, Cole is defending and drives up to the ring in a really big truck, while Dream is in a Lamborghini and dressed as Negan from Walking Dead (complete with Lucille the bat). Dream gets in some early near falls but Cole catches him with a kick to the face. Cole grabs the belt and gets in another car but Dream is there to beat on it with the bat.

They slug it out again and here’s an Uber, with the two of them literally fighting through it. The Uber pulls away and they fight up what looks like the street in front of an apartment building. Cole gets away and finds a fire extinguisher to blind Dream. Some uppercuts knock Dream back to ringside and Cole forearms him up against a truck. Dream manages to post him but Cole rolls away and asks for time out.

A dive off the top is superkicked out of the air to put Dream down again. Dream does the same to Cole though and the champ is out on the ground. Cole gets planted onto the hood of a car and Dream busts out a ladder. The Purple Rainmaker from the ladder is loaded up but here’s the rest of the Undisputed Era in another car with the horn offering a distraction. Dream is fine enough to knock Cole off the ladder and into the windshield though, drawing some blood from Cole’s arm.

The Era beats Dream down in a hurry and that means it’s time to fill the ring with chairs. Dexter Lumis pops out from under the ring though and beats up the Era, even throwing them in the trunk of a car and driving off. Dream is down on the pile of chairs so Cole pulls himself up, only to have the Panama Sunrise countered into a Dream Valley Driver for two. Dream says it’s Dream Over so Cole hits him low and hits the Panama Sunrise onto the chairs to retain at 14:58.

Rating: B. This was one of the more enjoyable cinematic matches and some of that might have had to do with commentary. It helped keep the match a little more grounded and that’s what it needed. This almost has to be it for Dream, because what else is there of him to do down here if he isn’t winning the title?

DX is having issues answering internet questions.

We recap Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa. Kross debuted and attacked Ciampa so it’s time for his first real test.

Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Kross starts fast and sends Ciampa down in a hurry. Ciampa is back up with the Willow’s Bell attempt. Which is countered for a kick to the face. They head outside with Kross dropping him back first onto the apron and there’s a hard suplex back inside. Kross hits a big clothesline and loads up a chokeslam but Ciampa slugs away to knock him to the floor. Now Willow’s Bell can connect for two but the Fairy Tale Ending is countered into an F5. The Krossjacket goes on and Ciampa is out at 6:12.

Rating: C. I thought he would win but I didn’t think he would do it like that. This was just a step ahead of a squash and that is the kind of major debut that Kross needed. Kross comes off like a total monster and giving him that kind of a finisher could make him quite someone to be reckoned with around here. I like the presentation and with someone like Kross, that’s what matters.

A disheveled Robert Stone is here.

We recap Charlotte vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s Title. Charlotte beat Ripley to win the title at Wrestlemania and then Shirai won a ladder match to become #1 contender. Shirai beat Charlotte via DQ so the triple threat title match was set.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley

Charlotte is defending and bails to the floor to start. Back in and Charlotte takes them both down while shouting about how this is her house and they are just guests. Ripley fights up but gets sent hard outside, with Charlotte sending her even harder into the barricade. Shirai grabs a hurricanrana off the apron to take Charlotte down but she’s back up to run both challengers over.

Charlotte and Shirai are back inside with the former grabbing the Boston crab until Ripley makes the save. Shirai cuts Ripley off though and adds a 619 to Charlotte. A double stomp to Charlotte’s ribs keeps her down but Rhea is up to drop Shirai and put everyone on the mat for a bit. Charlotte gets in a double spear for the double knockdown but the moonsault hits Ripley’s knees.

Shirai escapes the Riptide and grabs the Crossface on Charlotte, meaning Ripley has to make another save. That’s fine with Shirai, who hits a springboard missile dropkick on Ripley but Charlotte grabs Natural Selection for two more. Shirai knocks Charlotte outside and hits the big suicide dive onto Ripley. Charlotte is back up to take Shirai down and the brawl with Charlotte starts going around the arena. Naturally, Shirai uses the distraction to get up to the top of the house set and dive onto the other two for a huge crash.

Charlotte stays down on the floor but Ripley can’t superplex Shirai. They switch places as Charlotte gets back in and pulls Shirai down. Ripley is ready for her though and it’s a super Riptide to Charlotte for two with Shirai making the save. The standing Texas Cloverleaf has Shirai in trouble until Charlotte makes the save with the kendo stick. The spear sets up the Figure Eight on Ripley but Shirai moonsaults onto Ripley (mostly onto her head) for the pin and the title at 17:40.

Rating: B+. Other than being terrified for how Shirai landed on Ripley, this was a heck of a fight with all three going hard from bell to bell with one save after another. Shirai winning was a surprise but one that I can take as it should slow down the amount of Charlotte appearances. It’s a rather good main event though and that’s what mattered, with Ripley being able to get another shot later on. Charlotte needs to take a few weeks off, but I doubt that’s what she winds up doing.

Confetti and streamers end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah I’d say that worked, as Takeover manages to pull off another one. The worst match of the night was the short Kross vs. Ciampa match and even that was easy enough to watch. They need some fresh blood at the top of the card though and I think Lee vs. Balor is going to be the match to determine that spot. The action was very good here though, and a lot of that was due to the wrestlers acting as the crowd. They really did add something and if the rest of the shows could duplicate it, we would be in a much better place from week to week. Very good show here, though it didn’t have the blow away classic.

Results

Shotzi Blackheart/Tegan Nox/Mia Yim b. Candice LeRae/Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez – Shiniest Wizard to Kai

Finn Balor b. Damian Priest – Coup de Grace

Keith Lee b. Johnny Gargano – Big Bang Catastrophe

Adam Cole b. Velveteen Dream – Panama Sunrise onto a pile of chairs

Karrion Kross b. Tommaso Ciampa – Krossjacket choke

Io Shirai b. Rhea Ripley and Charlotte – Moonsault to Ripley

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