I really need to stop forgetting to post this show.

205 Live
Date: January 24, 2017
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Austin Aries, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and 205 Live actually has a contribution to the card. This Sunday it’s Neville challenging Rich Swann for the Cruiserweight Title and tonight we’ll get to see Neville vs. Cedric Alexander in what has the potential to be a rather entertaining match. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip of last night’s brawl between Neville and Swann.

Neville says last night was his fault because he made the mistake of underestimating Swann. Maybe he showed him a bit too much mercy but he won’t make that mistake again. He’s looking forward to beating Cedric up to prove that this is his show.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview tonight’s main event.

TJ Perkins vs. Tony Nese

Nese takes him down to the mat with a waistlock to start but a hurricanrana gives TJ two. An Octopus Hold doesn’t get TJ very far so Nese elbows him in the jaw and grabs a chinlock. Back up and TJ’s guillotine is easily muscled over into a suplex as Nese keeps showing off a good balance of power and speed. A middle rope springboard moonsault gets two on Perkins and it’s time to crank on both of his arms.

Nese gets two more off a gutbuster as this match is showing more psychology than you would expect in a cruiserweight match. Graves even gets to point out that Nese is catching a breather while holding TJ in a bodyscissors. It’s like the guy knows what he’s talking about or something. Perkins comes back with a kick to the face and a middle rope hurricanrana before the Detonation Kick sends Tony outside. Back in and Tony hits a hard clothesline, only to get cradled for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here and it’s amazing how much better Nese is when he doesn’t have Gulak there sucking all of the charisma out of the matches. Perkins could still be a player around the title division but I don’t know how much Nese is going to be able to do if Neville gets the title on Sunday.

Nese suplexes TJ into the corner post match to knock Perkins silly, followed by a running knee to the head. That sounds rematchish.

Akira Tozawa debuts next week.

Perkins is being helped out.

Sheamus talks about winning the 2012 Royal Rumble.

Brian Kendrick vs. Tripp Bradshaw

Before the match, Kendrick promises to crush Bradshaw’s dreams because the world is a cold and harsh place. Aries wants to know if Bradshaw is any relation to Justin Hawk (JBL’s first WWE gimmick) as Brian pounds him into the corner to start. Tripp’s neck is snapped across the top rope and a big boot makes things even worse. The Captain’s Hook is enough to make Bradshaw tap at 2:04.

Swann tells Alexander to wait for Neville to make a mistake but make sure to save a piece for the Rumble.

Cedric Alexander vs. Neville

Feeling out process to start with Neville grabbing a hiptoss and telling Cedric to get out of his ring. The fans get behind Neville as he slips out of a wristlock and cranks on an armbar. Back up and Cedric dropkicks him out to the floor for a breather. The fans chant for CM Punk out of general annoyance.

A HARD kick to the face puts Neville back outside as this is more offense than anyone has been able to score on him. Cedric takes his sweet time though and gets whipped hard into the barricade. Neville turns the pace way down and starts slowly hammering away, followed by a snap suplex and running forearm for two.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until Cedric fights back up and dropkicks Neville to the floor again. There’s a BIG flip dive which Mauro describes as ostentatious. Aries: “It must be great. It has my name in it!” Back in and the springboard clothesline is only good for two. Neville tries to speed things up again but runs into a Spanish Fly (flipping downward spiral).

The Lumbar Check is broken up though and it’s a deadlift German suplex for an even closer two on Cedric. Neville puts him on top for the superplex but gets reversed into a sunset bomb….which Neville flips out of because he can. The look on Cedric’s face is perfect so he comes back with an enziguri. Cue Noam Dar for a distraction and the Rings of Saturn makes Alexander tap at 13:25.

Rating: B+. Now that worked. The idea of Neville being better than anyone else around the show is a great story but what makes it even better is to have someone get this close and almost have Neville beaten to lose the match at the very last minute. I liked the match a lot better than I was expecting to and it’s one of the better 205 Live matches to date.

Post match Dar goes after Cedric but Neville wants to beat on Alexander alone. Rich Swann comes in for the save and it’s a big pull apart brawl (after several attempts) to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Awesome show here as they packed all this stuff into less than fifty minutes. I don’t know if it’s just following the NXT formula to the letter or what else they’re doing right but dang this was one heck of a show. They’re getting the idea down to near perfection and adding in some more talent like Tozawa is only going to make things better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: January 31, 2017
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Austin Aries, Corey Graves

It’s the Neville Era and that means the new champion needs a challenger to go after the title. In theory that’s going to be Rich Swann in a rematch but there’s also Cedric Alexander who almost had Neville beaten until some interference cost him the match. This could go multiple ways and that makes for an interesting show. Let’s get to it.

Long recap of Neville’s rise to the top of the division.

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Lince Dorado

The cocky Nese takes him into the corner to start and throws Lince down for good measure. A hurricanrana sends Nese into the corner as well and a high crossbody gets two on Tony. That’s enough for Nese who just starts blasting Lince in the face with hard shots, followed by a gutbuster to set up a bodyscissors. That makes sense for him as Nese has the power advantage so hitting Dorado really hard is the right call. Dorado fights back up with the handspring Stunner for two and a good looking dropkick draws an Okada reference from Mauro. Nese shoves him off the top though and the running knee is good for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: C. This is how you build someone up: let them pick up win after win and treat them as above the rest of the talent. It makes the crowd feel they’re important and that’s often going to work better than having some lame angle or a generic promo, especially when Nese isn’t the best talker.

Nese goes after Dorado even more but TJ Perkins makes the save. See? Build Nese up and give him a feud against an established name. Works perfectly.

We look at Swann and Neville brawling last night on Raw, which saw Swann hurt his ankle.

Swann is in a walking boot but Neville comes in and kicks him down anyway. Now that’s a heel.

Gran Metalik is coming. He was on the NXT house show I took in last month and he looked great.

Akira Tozawa vs. Aaron Solow

Brian Kendrick comes out for commentary and Solow is probably best known as Bayley’s real life boyfriend. Feeling out process to start as it seems Tozawa is replacing the injured Tajiri as Kendrick’s new rival. A dropkick and backsplash give Tozawa two and Solow is knocked out to the floor. After the suicide dive knocks Aaron silly, the snap German suplex gives Tozawa the pin at 3:03.

Rating: D+. Good debut here as Solow gets beaten down like the jobber that he is and Tozawa gets to look awesome. There’s only so much you can do in a three minute match and that’s all it needed to be. Tozawa could be a modern day Tajiri with some of those strikes, but that German suplex looked even better.

Post match Aries interviews Tozawa, who doesn’t speak English.

Noam Dar and Alicia Fox come in to see Neville before their tag match tonight. Dar isn’t worried about Jack Gallagher tonight but Neville doesn’t want to hear about it. Oh and keep the love life baggage in the back. He leaves before Alicia can freak out.

Neville/Noam Dar vs. Jack Gallagher/Cedric Alexander

Gallagher is substituting for the injured Swann. Only Dar and Gallagher shake hands and it’s Jack vs. Neville to get things going. Neville grabs a headlock but Jack does his handstand walk to escape, which doesn’t sit well with the champ. The much stronger Neville starts in on the arm with Jack doing his spinning reversal.

That earns him a forearm to the face as Neville doesn’t have time for the fanciness. Dar comes in and gets caught in a bulldog headlock takeover out of the corner. It’s off to Cedric to stay on the arm with Gallagher putting on a hold that only a British wrestler could pull off. Neville gets tired of these shenanigans and forearms the heck out of Gallagher from the apron. An even harder dropkick to the back of the head makes things even worse.

We hit the chinlock but Dar makes a blind tag and tries to steal his own cover. That’s just not cool with the champ so Dar lightens things up a bit by working on the arm. Neville comes back in but Dar tags himself in a second time as you can almost feel the beating coming for him. Gallagher’s headbutt gives him two on Dar with Neville having to run in for the save. Dar crawls over for the tag and Neville bails, as he certainly should do. It’s back to Alexander for the handspring enziguri followed by the Lumbar Check for the pin at 13:05.

Rating: B-. Good, solid main event tag here with Gallagher selling quite well and Neville doing exactly what he should have done. One of the most annoying things that happens in wrestling is when the wrestlers stop doing what their character would do for the sake of a nothing tag. Neville has no allegiance to Dar and Noam ticked him off. This makes sense and I can always go for that.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helps this one quite a bit with the new character and solid psychology being more than enough to make up for a not great opener. The show is rapidly developing its own continuity and feel, which is rather impressive after just ten episodes. Neville really is the king right now and that’s going a long way to help this show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: January 17, 2017
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, Austin Aries

It’s a good sign that we’re already having a major gimmick match on the show but more importantly it’s something that fits the storyline. Well ok to be fair the really important thing is the fact that Jack Gallagher will be gracing us with his presence and moving on from Ariya Daivari. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Gallagher vs. Daivari, which has involved knee attacks and accusations of being a scoundrel. Tonight it’s an I Forfeit match because a gentleman would never “quit”. How uncouth.

Opening sequence.

The announcers chat about the upcoming title match and the I Forfeit match. It feels like they’re stalling.

Drew Gulak vs. Cedric Alexander

Alicia Fox follows Cedric out and he doesn’t seem happy about it. Fox freaks out when Cedric tells her to leave so here’s Noam Dar to calm her down. Alicia: “HE’S BEING MEAN!” She calls Cedric a rookie in her book and demands Dar do something about him. Dar isn’t sure so Fox calls herself hot chocolate.

For some reason that’s enough to make Dar go in and help Gulak stomp Alexander but he fights them both off. Cedric dives on Dar but Gulak chop blocks him as we’re still waiting on the opening bell (and for Fox to be quiet). Fox and Dar leave and Cedric can barely stand up on the bad knee.

As you might expect, Cedric says ring the bell and we’re off in a hurry. Drew goes right for the leg and Cedric’s dropkick attempt makes things even worse. A dragon screw legwhip shows that Gulak is smarter than the average boring cruiserweight. Cedric actually manages a hurricanrana out of the corner and Gulak is backdropped out to the floor. Back in and Gulak charges into an elbow, allowing Cedric to hit a split legged moonsault of all things for two. The leg is way too banged up for the Lumbar Check so Gulak takes out the good leg. A bridging belly to back suplex puts Cedric away at 5:47.

Rating: C. I liked this more than I expected to and it continues the Fox/Alexander story with Dar in there on the side to keep things interesting. Gulak really needs a gimmick of some sort as he’s just so boring in everything he does aside from some submission holds. Speaking of which, didn’t he have a wicked dragon sleeper? What happened to that?

Dar tells Fox that was for her so she slaps him very hard. Noam seems to like it.

We get a long and very well put together video on Swann vs. Neville, including a look at their mentor/mentee relationship in Japan. It’s nice to see that match treated as a big deal and since it’s not going to happen on Raw, the build works well here.

Mustafa Ali vs. Tony Nese

Before the match, Nese says he doesn’t need to worry about Ali because he’s not normal. There’s a rather forced handshake to start with Ali having to grab the hand. Ali works the arm to start before snapping off a hurricanrana. A quick bicep curl (Aries: “Nothing like flexing your twelve inch pythons.”) sets up a spinwheel kick but Nese crotches him on the top and gets two off a gutbuster.

We hit a bodyscissors to stay on Ali’s ribs, only to have him avoid a springboard Lionsault. A jumping neckbreaker gets two for Mustafa and a tornado DDT gets the same. Nese gets tired of playing nice though and German suplexes him into the corner. One heck of a running knee is enough for the pin on Ali at 6:00.

Rating: C. Nese being built up as a midcard heel is a good idea but I was starting to get into Ali with his “my race doesn’t define me” character. If Nese is built up like this going forward, he’s going to be fine against Swann if Rich keeps the title against Neville, though that would be one heck of a questionable decision.

Tajiri and Brian Kendrick have continued their feud on Twitter.

Akira Tozawa is coming.

Jack Gallagher vs. Ariya Daivari

I Forfeit match and Jack is coming to the ring with his trusty umbrella William. Gallagher takes him to the mat and starts a surfboard but switches up to a double stomp to crush the knees. It’s umbrella time but Daivari breaks it over his knee. A side slam sends Jack spine first into the apron but that’s not enough for the magic words.

Jack is driven back first into the barricade and Daivari DEMANDS the forfeit because no one cares about him. Back in and Daivari rips at Jack’s face but realizes that bending the bad back around the post is a bit better idea. Aries suggests ripping off the mustache. Not a bad idea actually but not exactly a gentlemanly action. With nothing else working, Daivari grabs his scarf and ties Jack’s wrists behind his back.

As you might expect, that’s not a problem for Gallagher as he headbutts Daivari in the chest and climbs over the scarf to escape. With Ariya down, Gallagher pulls out a second umbrella because any good gentleman has a spare handy. They head up to the stage with Gallagher being sent into the screen but he manages a catapult into the same screen. That’s not enough to make him give up either so they head back to ringside.

Gallagher actually goes over to commentary and recommends that Graves and company move. Daivari is launched over the table and a running dropkick against the barricade allows Jack to grab William #3. Gallagher offers Daivari a chance to forfeit before the real thrashing begins. Daivari says ok but gets in a shot to the throat. We hit the cobra clutch but Gallagher grabs William #3 to break out. A good shot with William sets up a crossface chickenwing with William tied in Ariya’s arms for the forfeit at 14:19.

Rating: B-. I know I say this every week but there’s a great story here if you replace Daivari with, I don’t know, a dead goldfish to upgrade the charisma and interest. He’s just a warm body out there doing heelish things while never once seeming intimidating. Give Gallagher a proper bully to work off and it’s a thousand times better. As it is, it’s just a solid performance from Gallagher who is playing way beneath his skill level here.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was fine but really nothing worth seeing. The big gimmick match at the end helped but the show was much more there than anything else. It says a lot when the champion being gone feels like a big deal and that’s what happened here. Swann and Neville make this show feel important and without them the show is just fine instead of really interesting TV.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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205 Live
Date: January 10, 2017
Location: Raising Cane’s River Center Arena, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, Austin Aries

With less than three weeks before the Royal Rumble, it’s pretty clear that we’re getting Neville vs. Rich Swann for the title at the pay per view. All we’re waiting on now is the official announcement and there’s a good chance that it’s going to be set up here. We’ve also got the ongoing issues of Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar over Alicia Fox. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at Dar vs. Alexander with Cedric coming this close to blaming Fox for his losses and Dar being all creepy as he tries to steal her.

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar

It’s amazing how much good a story can help out a match like this. Well that and Alicia Fox being on camera too. Before the match, Dar says the kiss from Alicia last night didn’t deter him and he’ll have her soon enough. Feeling out process to start with both guys being a bit tentative until Cedric just punches him in the jaw.

Noam isn’t sure what to do so they head outside with Cedric firing off some chops. An elbow to the face makes Alicia very happy but Dar is smart enough to kick Alexander in the chest while he tries a Tajiri handspring. Dar works on the arm due to all the strikes he’s had to deal with so far. A cross arm choke keeps Cedric in trouble before Noam splashes the arm.

We hit another armbar for a bit until a hard elbow drops Dar. Cedric tries to go up but springboards into a Fujiwara armbar (on the wrong arm but nice try). The arm is crushed under the steps until Alicia gets in Dar’s way, allowing Cedric to hit one heck of a baseball slide. Now the springboard clothesline works a bit better and Cedric kicks him in the face for good measure. Alexander goes up top for a moonsault but Fox pulls Dar out of the way. As Alicia looks very confused, Dar knees Cedric in the face for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: B-. Well that was odd but in a good way. They’ve gotten me to the point where I want to see what’s going to happen with the story and I really didn’t expect that. Fox could be awesome as the woman who switches sides by turning on Alexander but I’m not sure if that’s where they’re going. That makes the story just a bit better, which is a surprising touch.

Fox slaps Dar and leaves with Cedric as she still looks confused.

Akira Tozawa is coming soon. That’s a good thing.

Brian Kendrick vs. Sean Maluta

Kendrick is annoyed at Tajiri for spraying the mist last week and promises to take it out on Maluta. Sean actually grabs some rollups for two and a basement dropkick puts Kendrick on the floor to set up a flip dive. Back in and Maluta is sent into the buckle so Kendrick can grab a cobra clutch. That doesn’t last long and Maluta gets in a reverse DDT but misses Rolling Thunder. A gordbuster and Shining Wizard give Maluta two more but his frog splash (because it’s always a frog splash, 450 or shooting star) hits knees. The Captain’s Hook makes Maluta tap at 4:43.

Rating: C+. Maluta continues to be someone with a lot of potential which hopefully he’ll get to build on someday. The idea of Kendrick being all cocky and almost losing because of it was the right call. Then again the idea of Kendrick in general tends to completely deflate me as he’s just not that interesting but such is life in WWE.

Alexander yells at Fox and breaks up with her. Fox gets all whiny and freaks out because no one breaks up with her. This is some combination of bad and amazing but I’m not sure which is better.

Here’s Jack Gallagher for his parley with Ariya Daivari. Gallagher lays down his umbrella (named William) and offers Daivari some tea or biscuits but Daivari wants to get to the point. Jack thinks his honor has been besmirched and asks for negotiations to begin. Daivari thinks Gallagher wants to surrender because people like Jack are always going to lose. Gallagher: “Pardon?”

Apparently Gallagher is fine with these negotiations not being peaceful so they agree to an I Forfeit match to wrap up their feud once and for all. Daivari signs but throws William, meaning the jacket comes off. Gallagher: “I hope the Queen isn’t watching.” The brawl is on until the referees come out to break it up.

Rich Swann vs. Tony Nese

Non-title. They start fast for a change with Swann flipping over Nese and dropkicking him out to the floor. Nese shows some intelligence by dropping Swann ribs first across the barricade to take over. A bodyscissors sets up a gutbuster for two and Nese squeezes the ribs again. Rich gets up and pops him in the face a few times before a hurricanrana gets two. Nese sticks to the game plan though with a legsweep and stomp to the ribs. Swann grabs a tiger bomb for two and the spinning kick to the head ends Nese at 7:32.

Rating: C. Swann needed a clean win like this and that’s a good sign going into the title match against Neville, which is all but guaranteed at this point. Nese is a good choice for a dragon to be slayed and that’s what we got here. It’s still not a good sign for his title reign when Neville is this hot as a heel but it’s been nice while it lasted.

Post match Neville comes out to challenge Swann, who insults Neville’s ears in response. Neville says he’s not getting in the ring with Swann unless it’s a Cruiserweight Title shot. Swann is fine with that and says name the time and place. That would be the Royal Rumble so Swann says it’s on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The important thing about this show is the idea of actually setting something up for the future. It’s not just a bunch of random matches anymore as they’re advancing stories and making things a little more interesting than the old six man tags that dominated the early episodes. I’m not dreading the show anymore and I’m starting to look forward to seeing where some of this stuff goes, which is a very positive sign.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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

205 Live
Date: January 3, 2017
Location: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, Austin Aries

I’m starting to get attached to this show and a lot of that is due to Neville. This heel character has been outstanding so far and it’s easily the best thing he’s done so far in WWE. It needs to lead to a Cruiserweight Title win over Rich Swann at the Rumble but I have a feeling they’ll keep it on Rich for the sake of….I’m not sure really. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Neville vs. Swann last week with the champ losing a non-title match.

Opening sequence.

Swann is injured so tonight it’s TJ Perkins filling in against Neville.

Tajiri vs. Sean Maluta

Tajiri still looks so strange without the goatee. Maluta grabs a headlock to start and hits a good looking headbutt. For some reason Maluta charges into the corner, earning himself a Tarantula. Some VERY hard kicks to the head drop Maluta and the handspring elbow puts him down again. The Buzzsaw kick ends Maluta at 2:52. This was basically saying “Hey, remember Tajiri? Here he is again.”

Post match here’s Brian Kendrick to welcome Tajiri back. He’s so glad to see someone who takes this serious and thinks they can take this show over. They shake hands but Tajiri mists him. Aries: “That’s not kale juice!”

Neville is tired of how he’s been treated and all the discrimination against him over his accent and looks.

Video on Tony Nese.

Jack Gallagher vs. Tony Nese

Before the match we get a recap of last week’s Gentleman’s Duel and all its glory. Nese has Gulak in his corner. Gallagher spins out of a wristlock and bounces out of a headscissors. We get the headstand in the corner with Jack jumping out because he’s that awesome. Not that it matters though as Ariya Daivari comes in for the DQ at 2:25.

Daivari destroys Gallagher post match.

Cedric Alexander wants Alicia Fox to be a little more careful. Kissing ensues.

Mustafa Ali vs. Noam Dar

Ali grabs a hammerlock to start and follows with a good looking spinwheel kick to the jaw to send Dar outside. As they come back in, Dar scores with a dropkick to the side of the head. It’s time to start in on the arm as the fans are way quieter than they probably should be for a cruiserweight match. We hit an armbar with a knee on Ali’s face until he grabs a tornado DDT to put both guys down. A neckbreaker keeps Dar in trouble until Ali flips right into a Fujiwara armbar. That’s reversed into a crucifix, followed by a kick to the face and that sweet inverted 450 for the pin on Dar at 6:20.

Rating: C+. This was a snappy little match and that’s the kind of thing this show needs. Well, aside from a better timeslot and more personalities but you get the idea. Making Ali a face is an interesting idea and I’m glad they’re doing it instead of just going with the simple idea. Not a bad match here and it worked fine.

Dar says he wants Fox because she’s always welcome in his corner.

Video on Akira Tozawa.

Neville vs. TJ Perkins

Neville now has the angry, slower music. Before the match, TJ says he’s going to deal with this bully with a punch to the face. Perkins won’t shake hands either and it seems to work fine here as a headscissors puts Neville down. A Rey Mysterio wheelbarrow bulldog and another headscissors sends a frustrated Neville to the floor.

Back in and Neville goes with the classic KICK HIM IN THE HEAD style, including a missile dropkick for two. That means a chinlock and for once it’s fine to go to a replay here. The middle rope Phoenix splash misses though and TJ can speed things up to take over for the first time in a good while. A corkscrew plancha and a high crossbody give TJ two. The super hurricanrana gets the same as the fans are starting to get into this. Perkins kicks him down again but gets crotched on the top. One heck of a superplex puts TJ away at 11:34.

Rating: B-. I love Neville’s psychology here as it doesn’t make sense to have him do all the flips that are going to pop the crowd. A superplex isn’t a huge move but it looks good enough to feel devastating. I’m still digging the heck out of the character and this was the kind of victory that Neville needs: beating the top names and being just a few steps ahead of them no matter what.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m liking this show quite a bit more lately now that they’ve actually figured out a formula instead of just going all over the place with whatever they feel like doing at the moment. This was a good way to help build Neville into the monster heel who should take the title soon enough, though again I think it’s going to be Swann retaining on gut instinct alone.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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

Main Event
Date: December 29, 2016
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Austin Aries

We’re wrapping up the year with one more dark match show, meaning it’s hard to say what to expect here. Now that Jinder Mahal seems to be a regular on Monday Night Raw, we need a new top villain. By top villain, I mean wrestler who hardly ever does anything beyond job to people only slightly higher on the totem pole than him. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Curtis Axel vs. Titus O’Neil

The announcers talk about Axel’s recent face turn as he dropkicks Titus to the floor for a long breather. Back in and Titus shoves him down and starts on the leg as Aries suggests a thumb to the eye. Titus kicks at the leg even more and stops a comeback attempt with a single right hand to the jaw. Axel fights up but the leg prevents a PerfectPlex. Instead it’s the Clash of the Titus for the pin at 5:28.

Rating: C-. As uninteresting as this was and as much as it makes my head shake that Titus O’Neil of all people is now beating Curtis Axel, this wasn’t a half bad match. Titus worked a body part and that played into the finish, which is good for more psychology than Titus has probably had in his whole career.

From Raw.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

New Day is challenging with Big E. on the floor. Cesaro gets beaten down in a hurry with double middle rope elbows and a legdrop for two each. Woods is thrown out to the floor and comes up grabbing his knee as we take a break. Back with Woods diving through the ropes into a tornado DDT to plant Cesaro on the floor.

The hot tag brings Kofi in for the flip dive and a slightly botched counter into the SOS for two on Sheamus. Everything breaks down and Woods’ top rope elbow gets two on Sheamus with Cesaro making the save. The Swing goes on but Big E. gets on the apron for a distraction. That earns Kofi a gorilla press down onto the big man and a blind tag sets up the Brogue Kick to retain the titles at 10:11.

Rating: C+. This was the required rematch so Cesaro and Sheamus can move on to someone else. New Day is in the Edge and Christian position of having long since outgrown the tag division so it’s time to move on to a new endeavor. Unfortunately I’m not sure what that’s going to be but a strong Kofi singles run could be interesting.

Video on Braun Strowman’s recent violence.

Also from Raw.

Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman throws him into the corner to start but Seth gets in a suicide dive on the floor. Back in and the enziguri and springboard knee to the head stagger the monster. A second knee has him even more wobbled but he pulls Seth out of the air on the third attempt. Seth actually drops him with a Blockbuster but the Pedigree is countered with a backdrop over the top. Braun runs him over again….and here’s Sami through the crowd to jump Strowman for the DQ at 3:34.

Rating: C. I would have had Strowman go over clean here but I can live with what they did. Rollins shouldn’t be squashed but he sold quite a bit for the monster, which is the best thing they could have done without having him get destroyed. Strowman didn’t lose though and that helps so much.

Goldberg is back on Monday.

Tony Nese vs. Lince Dorado

Rematch from last week. They flip around to start until Dorado takes him down with an armbar. Back up and Nese stomps him in the corner as Aries talks about taking the title at will when he’s allowed back in the ring. A springboard middle rope moonsault misses though and Dorado nails one of his own for two.

Back from a break with Dorado eating a hot shot, followed by a clothesline for two more. La majistral gives Dorado another two but Nese kicks him down and grabs a bodyscissors. Dorado fights up and hits a Tajiri handspring Stunner, followed by a shooting star headbutt (he left it short) for the pin at 11:12.

Rating: C. This was exactly what you would expect it to be and that’s not necessarily the best thing in the world. Nese is getting better in the ring and it probably has something to do with being away from Gulak most of the time. They’re building up a character for him and that’s the best thing that can happen for Nese at the moment.

From Raw to wrap it up.

US Title: Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is defending. Owens hides in the corner to start and gets knocked to the floor with a right hand. Back in and Owens starts to slowly hammer away but Reigns clotheslines him down. Cue Jericho for a distraction so Owens can score with a DDT. The backsplash gets two and we take an early break.

Back with Owens getting two off the Cannonball and we hit the chinlock. Owens: “ASK HIM!” Reigns fights up and gets in the apron kick, only to get caught with a Backstabber for two. It’s too early for the Pop Up Powerbomb though so Reigns grabs the sitout powerbomb for two.

The Superman Punch misses but the second attempt connects for two on Owens. Jericho offers a distraction though and Owens gets in a Codebreaker for two. This brings out Rollins to Pedigree Jericho on the floor but Owens superkicks Seth down. Back in and the spear ends Owens at 16:21.

Rating: C-. I’m actually starting to get a kick out of WWE trolling the fans so hard. They just had the World Champion get pinned as close to clean as a World Champion is going to get pinned by Reigns again and they did it in Chicago no less. As much as I can’t stand the booking, there’s something amazing about how much WWE is willing to screw the fans over for their own ambitions.

Post match Owens gets Pedigreed and Jericho gets speared to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Completely average show this week and that’s about all you can expect from Main Event most of the time. I’m really not interested in Dorado and I don’t think that’s exactly a rare perspective but at least the match was watchable. It’s not fair to expect great things from a show like this but it was fine for about forty five minutes.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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

205 Live
Date: December 27, 2016
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Austin Aries, Corey Graves, Mauro Ranallo

We’re starting to get in a groove around here and that’s the best thing that can happen for a show that has only been around about a month. Tonight’s big match is a non-title showdown (which WWE has gone out of its way to make seem like a title match) between Rich Swann and Neville, the latter of whom is likely to become #1 contender should he win. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Neville’s heel turn and subsequent path of rage.

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese

Alicia Fox and Drew Gulak are the seconds. Nese powers him up to start but Alexander moonsaults into a headscissors, followed by a dropkick to the chicklets (as Mauro called them). A big throw puts Cedric on the floor and Tony’s missile dropkick gets two back inside. The showing off continues as Nese drops down and nips up to avoid a clothesline, leaving Alicia to play cheerleader.

We hit a chinlock for a bit before Cedric speeds things up with a Tajiri handspring elbow into a kick to the head. That means it’s time for Gulak and Fox to get into the required argument, capped off by Drew hitting the ground and claiming Alicia shoved him (she never touched him). The referee actually ejects her, allowing Nese to palm strike Cedric for the pin at 6:04.

Rating: C. Alexander is one of those guys who has grown on me so much since he’s been in WWE. The twenty pound weight loss has done him a lot of good, though some of that might have to do with getting away from Ring of Honor and the really stupid Veda Scott story. Nese is being built up in a nice way too, which is what we need around this show.

Noam Dar brings some mistletoe for Alicia, earning himself a slap to the face. Dar tries again and gets slapped a second time, though he doesn’t seem to mind.

Earlier today Renee Young sat down with Neville, who doesn’t like being left out of the Cruiserweight Classic. WWE and Americans in general are intimidated by his greatness. When he was in Japan, Swann was his young boy and Neville isn’t putting up with him here. Renee can’t understand what he says at the end and that’s enough of this interview.

Mustafa Ali vs. John Yurnet

Yurnet is better known as Mr. 450 and has been on NXT a few times. John seems to get injured early on with his right leg looking immobile in a hurry. He’s willing to keep going though and tries a sunset flip but the referee insists on checking it out. Ali hits a quick reverse DDT and finishes with an inverted 450 at 2:12. The finisher looked cool but it’s clear that Yurnet wasn’t wrestling at 100% here.

Post match Mustafa says he’s from Chicago and isn’t going to let all the prejudice against him define things. All he’s going to do is keep racking up wins and let those speak for themselves. Simple, yet effective.

Video on Ariya Daivari, who is certainly a scoundrel and thinks nothing of Jack Gallagher.

It’s time for the gentleman’s duel, which I don’t think counts as a match. Gallagher comes out in a suit while Daivari is wearing gear. There’s a table with some flowers and various weapons in the ring. Gallagher lists off some weapons, almost all of which can be found in a game of Clue, plus an umbrella and a teapot. Daivari picks the lead pipe but Gallagher will fight with an umbrella.

We’re not ready to go yet as Jack insists on standing back to back and taking five paces. Daivari tries to cheat but Gallagher knows it’s coming and proceeds to use the umbrella for a low blow and a leg trip. Gallagher shrugs off a beating and hits his running corner dropkick to send Daivari running. If Daivari had ANY personality, this would be really entertaining. As it is, it’s just something else to add to the highlight reel for when Gallagher becomes a star.

Tajiri is back next week.

Rich Swann vs. Neville

Non-title and Swann doesn’t even dance when he gets to the ring. Rich goes right after him to start and takes the fight to the floor for a right hand to Neville’s jaw. A dropkick frustrates Neville as we hear about Swann being Neville’s young boy in Japan. Neville gets fired up with a forearm to the face and sends Swann into the barricade a few times to really take over.

A hard ram sends Swann’s bad back into the LED apron and Neville follows by mostly missing a big flip dive. Back in and we hit a chinlock, followed by a standing shooting star to make the back even worse. A missile dropkick gets two and Neville is just toying with him. The USA chant only seems to get on Neville’s nerves until a hurricanrana sends him outside.

Swann follows him out with a Phoenix splash of all things and a tiger bomb gets two. One heck of a superkick knocks Neville out on his feet and Swann’s Fantastic Voyage gets a very close two. A loud kick to the head gets a third straight two but Swann gets crotched on top. One heck of a superplex knocks Swann silly for the pin at 13:55.

Rating: B. I liked this more than I thought I would and the ending was the right way to go. Swann’s back was messed up and his last run was all built on adrenaline, meaning it made sense for a big shot, especially one on the back, to be enough to cut him off for good. This also sets up the rematch with the title on the line and that’s going to be one heck of a fight, especially if it makes pay per view.

Post match Neville kicks him in the head and hammers away. He finally leaves and demands his crown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show is starting to find its groove and if I just have to sit through a fifteen minute match between people I care about week after week, so be it. If you can tweak the formula just enough and keep people like Lince Dorado off the show, everything is going to get a lot better in a hurry. The show isn’t quite there yet but it’s gone from a task to get through to something I’m enjoying and that’s a very good sign going forward.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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

Main Event
Date: December 22, 2016
Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Austin Aries

I’m curious to see what they’re going to do with what should be a holiday show. I know we already had one of those last week but shouldn’t that have been taking place this week instead? Either way we’re at one of the last shows before the end of the year and it’s hard to guess what we might get here, save for some uninteresting lower card matches. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Goldust vs. Curtis Axel

Goldust, who apparently debuted before Tom was born (according to Aries at least), works on the arm to start and grabs a powerslam to send Axel outside. Now it’s time for Curtis to work on the arm as I guess he’s a heel again this week. R-Truth plays cheerleader on the floor as Goldust comes back with a spinebuster to put both guys down. Ten right hands in the corner have Axel in more trouble and the Final Cut wraps Axel up at 5:21.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here but that’s what Main Event is for now that Jinder Mahal seems to be getting a small push on Raw. Why Mahal is the one getting that spot isn’t clear but I’m sure general idiocy can be blamed on some level. That being said, what did Axel do to deserve all these losses? He can’t even beat Goldust anymore?

Back to Raw for the first time.

Here’s New Day to address their title loss. They’re cool with losing the titles because Ric Flair couldn’t become a sixteen time champion without losing fifteen times. Big E.: “And that’s Charlotte in a month.” After declaring that they still rock, here are the new champions to interrupt. Sheamus and Cesaro are already bickering over who won last night so New Day insults Sheamus a bit more.

Cesaro on the other hand has catlike reflexes and is strong like a……someone help Big E. out. Cesaro: “Like an ox?” Kofi was thinking more like a carpenter ant who can lift seven times his own weight. They bicker a lot with Woods talking about how much merchandise they have at the moment. Cue Anderson and Gallows to talk about how sick they are of the New Day nerds, only to be cut off by the Shining Stars. A brawl breaks out and you can book the eight man tag from here.

Shining Stars/Anderson and Gallows vs. Cesaro/Sheamus/New Day

This is joined in progress with Epico hitting a nice double underhook gutbuster on Kofi. Gallows and Anderson take turns on Kingston as Saxton thinks Cesaro and Sheamus had one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of the division last night. This is why people make fun of you Byron. Anderson spikes Kofi and we take a break.

Back with the Shining Stars diving onto the champs and the Boot of Doom getting two on Kofi. Big E. comes in to clean house but Sheamus tags himself in, setting up an assisted White Noise for two on Epico. Cesaro comes in and swings Primo into the Sharpshooter for the submission at 10:46.

Rating: C. That’s your tag division people: the bickering champs, the bald guys who put “ski” at the end of random words, the jobbers and the team that is better than all of them put together. New Day is in a weird place now as they need something new to do but I’m not sure how they’re going to go fight outside of the division.

From Raw again.

Here’s Charlotte to address winning the title back last night. She goes into a big speech about how no one is on her level because she’s a guaranteed win on pay per view. This brings out Bayley and Charlotte isn’t pleased. Bayley knows Sasha vs. Charlotte was the greatest rivalry of all time but now it’s time for the Bayley vs. Charlotte rivalry to begin.

Last night was all about the scoreboard and Bayley is 2-0 against Charlotte, including at Survivor Series earlier this year. Charlotte put up four fingers last night for the Four Horsewomen but Bayley didn’t come up with the rest of them because she just wasn’t good enough. The challenge is issued and Charlotte actually agrees to fight right now.

Bayley vs. Charlotte

Non-title. Charlotte works the arm to start and puts Bayley in trouble with the figure four headscissors. A headlock gets Bayley out of trouble and she rides Charlotte on the mat. We even get a little strut before Charlotte is sent outside. Back from a break with Charlotte ramming Bayley face first into the mat over and over.

A chinlock keeps Bayley in trouble but she fights out of the corner and gets in her sliding clothesline. Charlotte sends her into the corner again but the moonsault only gets two. Bayley reverses a chop into a backslide (with Charlotte’s shoulder clearly up) to put Charlotte away at 14:45. Graves points out the shoulder being up and replays confirm it.

Rating: D+. This was actually one of the sloppier matches I’ve seen in a good while. Maybe it was nerves or Charlotte being a bit tired after last night but this really didn’t work as well as I was expecting. I don’t think Bayley gets the title at the Royal Rumble but the big match at Wrestlemania has a lot of potential.

Tony Nese vs. Lince Dorado

Dorado speeds things up to start and snaps off some armdrags into an armbar. Aries’ suggestion: poke him in the eye. Nese finally powers him up into a backbreaker as we go to a break. Back with Dorado going hard into the buckle and Nese posing a bit. One heck of a clothesline gets two for Tony and it’s off to a bodyscissors. Dorado fights up and hits the handspring Stunner, followed by the big dive over the top for good measure. Back in and Lince kicks him on the top, only to get shoved away, setting up the 450 for the pin at 11:48.

Rating: C-. Nese’s posing and power displays helped but this really wasn’t the most interesting thing in the world. Dorado really doesn’t do anything for me as he really is as generic of a luchador as you’re going to find. In other words, this was the cruiserweight equivalent of power vs. speed and it didn’t work all that well.

We see Jericho getting locked inside the shark cage on Monday.

We’ll wrap it up with Monday’s main event.

Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens/Chris Jericho

Rollins gets caught in the wrong corner to start and the Canadians take turns stomping him down. A quick Sling Blade puts Jericho down for two and the bad guys try to leave, only to get caught from behind. Back from a break with Reigns hitting his running clothesline on Owens, only to get decked so Jericho can take over.

The slow beating continues and we even get one of the suddenly favorite crowd reactions shots, showing a very bored looking girl. Owens puts on a chinlock of his own until Reigns gets free off a Samoan drop. Rollins comes in with a DDT/neckbreaker combo, earning himself two more crowd reaction shots. Jericho blocks a Pedigree and the frog splash to set up the Walls, sending Seth over to the ropes. Reigns gets in a Superman Punch and reaches for the hot tag, only to have Strowman run out to go after Roman for the DQ at 15:04.

Rating: D. Strowman getting involved is at least a little more interesting but DANG I’m bored with the main event scene right now. People were ready to cheer for Jericho, only to have the carpet pulled out from underneath them because SURPRISE, we’re right back where we were when these matches were announced.

A powerslam plants Reigns as Jericho and Owens watch from the ramp.

Overall Rating: D. This was bad even by Main Event’s standards and that’s about as low as you’re going to get in wrestling. The stuff from Raw wasn’t very good, the original wrestling wasn’t very good and Byron Saxton still has a job. Aries was his usual entertaining self but you have to give him something to work with or it’s going to be bad, like this one. Really lame show this week and that’s not nice around the holidays.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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

205 Live
Date: November 29, 2016
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Austin Aries, Corey Graves

Remember the Cruiserweight Classic being all awesome? Now do you remember the cruiserweights being equally awesome on Monday Night Raw? Odds are you don’t, because the division has floundered on Monday nights and it’s already time for the show to have its own show on the WWE Network. This debut episode could range from good to a mess so let’s get to it.

Also, these are probably not going to be done on Tuesday nights.  I’ll have them up as soon as possible every week though.

The opening sequence says tonight it’s time to defy expectations. There are very few clips from Raw here with almost everything coming from the tournament. I’m as shocked as you are.

Opening sequence.

It should be interesting to see how the crowd looks as this was taped after Smackdown went off the air.

Austin Aries, currently out with an eye injury, is a surprise commentator. He teases winning the title once he’s healthy.

The roster (or at least tonight’s roster) is on stage for introductions. We have Rich Swann, TJ Perkins, Jack Gallagher (SWEET), Hoho Lun, the Bollywood Boyz, Noam Dar, Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, Akira Tozawa, Mustafa Ali, Gran Metalik and Brian Kendrick. This minute long series of introductions is already more than we got on Monday Night Raw and gives me some hope.

Video on the Bollywood Boyz, Harv and Gurv Sirah. They grew up watching Bret Hart and want to bring the Indian culture to America. Again, HUGE improvement over what we got on Mondays.

Bollywood Boyz vs. Drew Gulak/Tony Nese

The Boyz do a lot of dancing and are clearly the faces here. The fact that they’re fighting heels was your second clue. Aries doesn’t get the point of the handshakes and I still can’t disagree. Gurv (who is in trunks instead of tights like his brother) works on Drew’s arm to start before it’s off to Harv for more of the same.

Drew takes Harv’s head off with a running dropkick as Ranallo is, say it with me, a big improvement over what we’ve had in recent weeks. Harv gets taken down into the corner with Gulak working over his leg like a technical mat wrestler should do. Nese’s chinlock doesn’t last long and a neckbreaker gets Harv over to the corner for the hot tag to his brother.

Everything breaks down and we get the eternally stupid spot with Gulak being thrown into Nese, who DDT’s his partner because he’s incapable of letting go of his partner’s head. Harv springboards into a crossbody to take Gulak down outside but Nese slams Gurv to take over again. Back in and a DDT sends Nese outside, setting up a double superkick to pin Gulak at 7:04.

Rating: C+. Let’s see: characters, good action, defined faces and heels and a better reaction from the crowd. This is how you start a show and introduce some new talent, which seems to be more over with the crowd than almost anyone else has accomplished in the last few months.

Gulak and Nese say the Dancing with the Stars rejects won because of greasy ropes. That sounds like the start of a story, which again puts this one up on Raw.

Video on Noam Dar.

Kendrick says you should gamble on him tonight because he’s going to capitalize on Swann’s mistakes. Perkins comes in and wants his rematch so he wishes Kendrick luck.

Video on Gran Metalik. These are a bit long but you only have to air them once and people will catch on in a hurry.

Ariya Daivari vs. Jack Gallagher

Gallagher is a wrestling gentleman and got a very strong reaction in his Cruiserweight Classic run. Jack does his fancy spin to counter a wristlock before bending both arms around in ways other than nature intended. Even Graves has to appreciate how awesome Gallagher really is.

Gallagher handstands his way out of a headlock by walking on his hands. Another headstand in the corner has Aries freaked out and it’s time to tie Daviari’s limbs up in so much of a knot that Gallagher stands off to the side and smiles at him. A running kick to the back of the trunks annoys Aries because it wasn’t great.

Daivari comes back with some basic wrestling, including a neckbreaker and chinlock, which finally slows Jack down. Some dropkicks have Daivari in trouble again and a headbutt knocks him into the corner. One of the hardest running dropkicks I’ve ever seen puts Daivari away at 5:28. Even Aries calls it impressive, partially because that’s one of his signature moves.

Rating: B-. Here’s the simple point: Gallagher works because he’s unlike anyone else on the roster. As I’ve said for a long time: if you do the same thing over and over again with the only difference being the name attached, no one is going to notice. If you do something completely different, people are going to notice. That’s what Gallagher did here and that’s why people will be talking about him.

Ranallo: “Austin, what do you think of 205 Live so far?” Aries: “Well I’m here so it’s great.”

Lince Dorado video. He’s your standard masked luchador.

Video on Rich Swann, who lost his parents young and has traveled the world wrestling anyone he can.

Cruiserweight Title: Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick

Swann, billed as outlandish for some reason, is challenging and they’re absolutely insane if they don’t change the title here. We’re ready to go after the Big Match Intros and the standard handshake. They trade wristlocks to start before it’s time to speed things up, including a hard dropkick for two on the champ. A tiger bomb drops Kendrick again and he bails to the floor for a breather.

Back in and the champ snaps off a hard belly to back suplex but it’s too early for the Captain’s Hook to really work. A similar suplex does the same to Kendrick but Swann takes too long going up and gets caught in a neckbreaker onto the buckle. Kendrick has a target now and a bridging dragon suplex makes things even worse. It’s off to a straitjacket hold for a bit, only to have Swann grab something like a Michinoku Driver.

Brian’s eyes are bugging out (great visual) but he gets the knees up to block the standing 450. The long form Captain’s Hook gives us the dramatic crawl to the ropes and Kendrick’s frustration continues. It only gets worse when Sliced Bread #2 gets two, allowing Swann to hit three straight spinning kicks to the head for the pin and the title at 13:31.

Rating: B. This felt like a big title change and that’s exactly what it needed to be. There’s no other way to put it: Brian Kendrick is one of the least interesting heels in a very long time. He was on a great nostalgia run in the tournament and the big idea was to turn him heel because…..well I have no idea actually. Swann as the new face champion has potential and whoever beats him can actually be the big bad that this division needs. Good match here, which is what they needed.

Swann dedicates the win to his mother and Kendrick says you shouldn’t get used to this.

A replay of the title change ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. As Paul Heyman said, it’s all about the presentation. On Raw, the cruiserweights are wedged in on a show where they don’t fit in the slightest. It’s basically the new Divas match so people can go get nachos (Hopefully with barbecue sauce. Try it.) and that’s not worth keeping around.

This show actually felt like it mattered and even if it’s just a low level show for the sake of validating the talent being signed, it’s WAY better than giving them ten minutes in front of a crowd that doesn’t want to see them. On top of that, the talent was actually introduced to the fans so we can get to know them a bit.

Look at what we had here: two guys from India who like movies, a British wrestling gentleman and a fun guy who loves to dance winning the title. In other words, something other than a bunch of guys doing a similar style with no charisma (Perkins and Kendrick for example, meaning the top two names in the division.

I don’t think this show is going to blow the doors off of anything but giving them their own show is the only possible option if they want the division to be a success. It’s not a great show or anything but it’s different enough to be entertaining and that’s the important thing. I liked what I saw here as it felt like a weekly episode of the Cruiserweight Classic. If they just have to keep the division on Raw for awhile so be it, but their best bet is right here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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

Superstars
Date: October 28, 2016
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

I can get through this. I can get through Darren Young vs. Jinder Mahal IV. Normally I wouldn’t believe they would actually go there but I said that after their first match and again after their second match. At least my therapy has been going well since then. Mahal was on Raw this week though so he’s at least in the building. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Neville vs. Titus O’Neil

This could be a disaster as Titus was one of the only people who could drag Neville down when they were in NXT. Neville wisely gets the crowd going by moonsaulting over Titus to start and kicking him in the face to actually do something to him. A good looking flip dive takes Titus down again but he kicks Neville in the face with a bit more force. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Titus tries to start a LET’S GO NEVILLE chant. Back up and Titus charges into raised boots in the corner and the Red Arrow finishes him at 4:30.

Rating: D. It takes a lot to mess up a power heel vs. a speed face but they managed to make it boring. I don’t know how someone with Titus’ look can be this bad but he pulls it off every single time. Above all else though, Neville is going to get a pop from the crowd no matter what because that Red Arrow just works every time.

We go back to Raw for the first time.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman with something to say. Heyman does his usual schtick about how Lesnar will smash Goldberg, only to have the Goldberg chants cut him off. Heyman calls out the fan that started them and says they’re getting on Brock’s nerves. After their match, all of the chants in the world won’t be able to put Goldberg back together again.

Suplexes are promised and the fans go back and forth with SUPLEX CITY/GOLDBERG chants. Heyman rips on them and the chant turns into GOLDBERG SUCKS…..to wrap this up. Ok then. There was NOTHING here and it didn’t need Brock at all. Even Heyman looked rattled by the reaction.

Back to Raw again.

Mick Foley is in the ring for the contract signing between Sasha Banks and Charlotte. They talk about how big of a moment this is going to be, only to have Foley go into his annual rant about how evil the Cell is. Charlotte calls Sasha an entitled second rate talent who will learn respect from the Queen this Sunday. Sasha is ready to crawl up the ramp broken and bloodied as long as she has the Women’s Title. They trade insults but Foley cuts them both off to say he’s their future. Dude if the Cell is going to turn them into 6’4 men with long beards, maybe we should cancel the match.

As expected, the fans chant for Foley, thereby completely missing the point of this segment. Foley met Charlotte as a child and his kids gave Sasha their signed photo of Eddie Guerrero. More insults and a double signing FINALLY wrap this up. Charlotte vs. Sasha in a major gimmick match is fine but no one, like NO ONE, buys that the match is going to be all violent and career threatening like Foley is pushing and that kills the idea.

Sin Cara/Lince Dorado/Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari/Drew Gulak

Cara and Nese start things off with the masked one starting in on Tony’s arm. A facebuster puts Cara down and it’s off to Gulak as the fans get a lot more quiet. Daivari of all people gets a reaction so Cara armdrags both Drew and Ariya at the same time. Dorado comes in and gets knocked off the apron and into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Lince still in trouble thanks to a chinlock and armbar. Gulak misses a charge though and it’s off to Alexander to really wake the crowd up. Everything breaks down with Cara knocking Nese and Gulak to the floor for a big dive. Back inside, the Lumbar Check knocks Daivari out for the pin at 8:09.

Rating: C. This was your run of the mill cruiserweight six man and it’s about as good as you’re going to get with no story or reason for them to be fighting. The match was fine enough and hopefully they can improve it when they do the same match again as the Kickoff match on Sunday.

We wrap the show up with Monday’s main event.

Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. They play keep away to start until Owens gets kicked out to the floor. A Blockbuster gets two on Jericho but Owens pulls Seth outside. The champ is sent into the barricade but Jericho throws Seth into the crowd. Back in and Owens scores with a clothesline, only to have Rollins avoid the Cannonball. The Pedigree doesn’t work on either Canadian but the Lionsault hits Seth’s knees.

Owens saves his buddy from a Pedigree and it’s time for the double teaming. The handicap portion continues until Owens is low bridged to the floor. Jericho eats the low superkick and Rollins dives onto Kevin. Seth misses the frog splash and eats a Codebreaker for two. Owens comes back in and slaps Rollins a lot as the STUPID IDIOT chants kick in. Rollins escapes a double superplex and pins both guys at the same time with a double rollup at 10:00.

Rating: C+. The match was fun but it’s WAY too late in the night to really matter. Rollins pinning the champ is appropriate as Owens has been a huge afterthought in this entire story. That also makes four straight times that Rollins has pinned Jericho so you certainly can’t say he’s getting too many wins.

Post match Owens and Jericho destroy Rollins by sending him hard into the steps. We’re still not done though as Rollins runs up the ramp and dives at Owens, only to get beaten down again. Owens gives him the Apron Bomb and walks back up the ramp to get his title so some posing can end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Yeah this was fine. Aside from Rusev vs. Reigns, this was a solid preview for Sunday’s show. I would have gone with ANYTHING other than the Lesnar/Heyman promo though and I really don’t get why they decided to air that mess again. The exclusive wrestling was fine for a pair of glorified dark matches and that’s all Superstars is supposed to be.

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