IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 6, 2020
Location: Keybank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for the Elimination Chamber and we have the two Chamber matches set up. One of them will be a tag team edition, so this week we get to see the six teams fight in another form of an elimination match. This time it’s a gauntlet match with the winners getting to enter the Chamber last. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of John Cena’s return last week, with the Fiend appearing to set up their Wrestlemania match.

Opening sequence.

Here are Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in the ring to talk about the Hall of Fame. We hear about this year’s class and, after calling out the Kabuki Warriors for a Women’s Tag Team Title match, bring out the NWO (Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall this time) for a chat. Nikki says that she’s been a big NWO fan for life and takes a picture with the three of them. Bliss what they should call Waltman, who says “Hall of Famer”.

We get around to Nash ending Goldberg’s winning streak and Nash talks about talking to Roman Reigns. Nash told Roman that he needs Scott Hall and a cattle prod to defeat Goldberg. Hall: “That was a shocking finish.” Cue Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in an interruption I didn’t expect. Sami says 1997 was a great time but it’s time for the future. We get some praise for Hall and Nash as former Intercontinental Champions. Sami: “And Sean Waltman….you know exactly how much the Intercontinental Title weighs because you carried their bags for years.”

Waltman is ready to fight but Nash says Sami looks like Seth Rogen after two weeks of stomach flu. The fight is teased and the fans are WAY into this. Sami backs off though, saying their objective is to destroy Braun Strowman at Elimination Chamber. Cue Strowman so Cesaro goes after him, only to be thrown into the set. Nakamura gets dropped as well and it’s Sami being caught between Strowman and the NWO. Sami hides behind Alexa (oh yeah the women are here) and bails so Strowman throws a chair and promises violence on Sunday. It’ll even be too sweet.

The NWO looked like stars, the women were there because someone had to set this up and the modern guys looked like they were trying to be on the legends’ level. They were trying, but it wasn’t clicking in the way they were shooting for. Usually I don’t find that to be the case but it certainly felt like it here.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Naomi/Lacey Evans

Rematch from last week. Bayley and Sasha take Lacey into the corner to start and the stomping is on in a hurry. Naomi gets pulled off the apron and send into the barricade as we take a break just over a minute in. Back with Bayley working on Evans’ leg and the feed being interrupted for the circle of lights that has been popping up in recent weeks.

Evans gets over for the tag to Naomi as house is cleaned in a hurry. Back in and Naomi kicks Banks in the head, followed by a bulldog into the middle buckle. Bayley has to break up a sunset flip at two but the split legged moonsault is broken up. Banks gives Naomi two knees in the corner for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: D+. They almost have to be setting up Banks vs. Bayley for the title at Wrestlemania, as it’s not like there’s anything else going on. Either that or some big multi-woman match that they certainly seem to love doing. The match wasn’t anything to see, but maybe that’s because they did it last week.

New Day talks about trying to recreate Kofimania, but this isn’t Polk High and Kofi isn’t Al Bundy. They can go all night long like a moose in mating season, with Big E. hitting on Kayla Braxton before breaking into New Day Rocks.

Bayley and Banks are so awesome and can’t believe the Bellas are getting into the Hall of Fame before them. No one can touch them from the past, present and future and Bayley might even skip Wrestlemania and go straight to the Hall of Fame.

In one of those perfectly natural segments that you see on WWE TV, Shorty G. tells Apollo Crews that he has his back. Crews isn’t interested.

Sheamus vs. Apollo Crews

Crews gets sent to the apron to start but manages to snap Sheamus’ throat across the top. A high crossbody into the standing moonsault gives Crews two but Sheamus drives him into the corner. The Brogue Kick gives Sheamus the pin at 1:07.

Drake Maverick returns from whatever hole he fell into to ask Drew Gulak for a match against Daniel Bryan. Gulak says he knows all 163 of Bryan’s weaknesses but here’s Bryan to interrupt. If Gulak is so confident, how about he come fight Bryan on Sunday?

Dolph Ziggler is here with Mandy and Sonya. Mandy drives Carmella into the corner to start but Carmella reverses and shuffles away. Sonya comes in and runs Carmella over but Dana comes in to dropkick Sonya in the hand. A blind tag brings Mandy in though and a running knee finishes Dana at 2:55. Just a way to get Mandy, Sonya and Ziggler on TV.

We look at Cena vs. Fiend being set up again.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with a wall full of John Cena pictures. Bray Wyatt calls it magnifico and thinks the fans must be asking why Cena. Ramblin Rabbit pops in to say it’s because Cena beat him six years ago at Wrestlemania, sending Bray into a depression and starting his downward spiral of negativity. Bray, sounding a bit nervous: “Yeah Yowie Wowie.” Bray says there would be no Firefly Fun House without Cena. He forgives Cena, but a being built on pain and fueled by vengeance is waiting at Wrestlemania. That being is not so forgiving and around and around we go. Let him in.

Video on Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg.

King Corbin interrupts a question because he doesn’t want to hear about Roman Reigns. Elias interrupts with some guitar, much to Corbin’s annoyance. Corbin calls Elias a gimmick and says shut up or answer to the king.

Heavy Machinery is getting ready for the gauntlet match but Otis walks over to Mandy, who was all of three feet away. Otis talks about getting a text from her on Valentine’s Day but Mandy says it’s too late because a woman doesn’t like being stood up.

This week in WWE History: Occupy Raw in 2014.

Tag Team Gauntlet Match

Non-title with six teams and the winners enter the Elimination Chamber last. New Day is in at #1 and Heavy Machinery is in at #2 with Tucker shouldering the rather popular Kofi down to start. They both try dropkicks but it’s a standoff, meaning Big E. and Otis come in. A battle of the shoulders goes to Otis and stereo delayed vertical suplexes put New Day on the floor. Otis clotheslines them both and we take a break. Back with Big E. getting over for a tag to Kofi so the pace can pick up. Kofi gets launched over the top onto Tucker, who suplexes him down HARD. A dropkick cuts off a charging Big E. and it’s the Compactor for the clean pin at 8:20.

The Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado/Gran Metalik) is in at #3 and start the high flying, including a springboard crossbody to Tucker. That doesn’t seem to matter though as he takes Dorado down in an armbar. Dorado gets Tucker into the corner but the hot tag brings Otis in a few seconds later. Otis starts shrugging off the chops and strikes with the power of jiggling. Everything breaks down and the House Party hits stereo springboard dives as we take a break.

Back with Tucker putting Dorado in a quickly escaped half crab. Otis bearhugs him instead but the Golden Rewind puts Otis down to one knee. Tucker and Metalik come back in with Metalik hitting a reverse Sling Blade. The rope walk dropkick puts Tucker down and the chinlock goes on. An enziguri into a good looking top rope splash gets two on Tucker, who is right back up with his own splash for two more. Otis splashes Dorado in the corner and hits the Caterpillar for the pin at 20:33.

The Usos are in at #4 and we’re joined in progress after another break with Jey armbarring Tucker. Jimmy kicks Otis off the apron but Tucker kicks Jimmy down as well. Jey superkicks Tucker for two….and gets rolled up to get rid of the Usos at 25:08. Miz and John Morrison are in at #5 and it’s a quick spinebuster/Flying Chuck combination for two on Tucker.

Post fall, Miz and Morrison destroy Otis and Tucker. We cut to Mandy watching Otis get beaten up when Dolph Ziggler comes up and says watch this. Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler are in at #6 as we take another break. Back with Roode chinlocking Tucker as Otis is still down on the floor. Tucker suplexes his way out of trouble but has to trade some kicks to the ribs with Ziggler. A dropkick puts Tucker down for two and a Stinger Splash into the neckbreaker is good for the same.

Rating: C-. Let me make sure I’ve got this straight: we just spent 40+ minutes completely recreating the Kofi Kingston gauntlet match from last year but with Heavy Machinery pinning the already weak Tag Team Champions and then losing to Dolph Ziggler in the end? The Kofi story worked because A, it was Kofi Kingston and B, it felt different. This was almost a copy of the same story and while the fans were getting into Otis, it was hard to believe that he would win in the end. Why? Dolph Ziggler was in the match, and Dolph Ziggler must squash any fun that can be had.

Overall Rating: D. I keep thinking that they couldn’t take my interest away from Elimination Chamber even more but then they do something like this and we’re at a new low. What headlines that show? The #1 contenders match as we count down to Shayna vs. Becky? The match we’ve known was coming for about a month now? It feels like they’re not trying and that is as frustrating as you can get with WWE. Just get the show out of the way as soon as possible so they can actually make an effort on the way to Wrestlemania. Please. They need it.

Results

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Naomi/Lacey Evans – Double knees to Naomi

Sheamus b. Apollo Crews – Brogue Kick

Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler won a gauntlet match last eliminating Heavy Machinery

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: February 28, 2020
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

Things are changing in a hurry around here as Goldberg is Universal Champion. That alone would be a huge deal but now we have the return of John Cena, who seems ready to get in the ring at Wrestlemania in just over five weeks. It’s the busy season again and that means things are going to get interesting in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

Here are yesterday’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Goldberg to get things going. It’s not about who’s last because it’s all about who’s next. He throws the mic down and here’s Roman Reigns (dang they’re not waiting around for this one), which Goldberg seems to like. They stare each other down until Reigns says “I’m next”, as the Wrestlemania sign looms over them.

Classic John Cena Moment: the debut match against Kurt Angle in 2002, which was a heck of a match aside from just the promo and slap. The Undertaker handshake felt important too.

Naomi vs. Bayley

Non-title. Hold on though as Bayley has a mic and says she shouldn’t have to be here in front of these little idiot fans. She already made history last night so she’s just here to introduce a future multi platinum recording artist. That would be Sasha Banks, so Bayley jumps the distracted Naomi from behind. Naomi kicks her in the face and hits a dropkick into the corner, only to get sent face first into the corner. The Rear View draws Banks in for the DQ at 2:38.

Lacey Evans and here we go.

Naomi/Lacey Evans vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Lacey and Naomi start with some horrible dropkicks to the floor, followed by stereo dives….or in Lacey’s case a jump over the top onto the apron and a fall onto Bayley. Back from a break with Sasha sending Naomi face first into the mat and bringing Bayley back in. Bayley works on an armbar as we hear about Lacey changing her ways and wanting to be a role model.

A knee to the face gives Bayley two and it’s back to Sasha, leaving Bayley to tell the fans to shut up. Naomi finally kicks her away and brings in Lacey to start cleaning house. Lacey kicks Banks off the apron and hits the slingshot elbow onto Bayley. Naomi’s springboard crossbody gets two as everything breaks down. With Lacey on the floor, it’s a Backstabber to Naomi but Lacey pulls Sasha out with her. That leaves Naomi to sunset flip Bayley for the pin at 9:27.

Rating: D+. This was as WWE of a tag match as you can get, complete with the botches near the beginning. It was exactly as you knew it would go and that doesn’t make for the most thrilling stuff. Naomi pinned Bayley, but the interesting thing was a lack of mention about the Elimination Chamber match. I know Lacey mentioned it, but with nine days to go before the show, you would think it might be brought up.

New Day is fired up and have a staredown with Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.

Classic Cena Moment: the first World Title.

Kofi Kingston vs. Robert Roode

Roode takes him into the corner to start and chops away as Cole and Graves make stupid banter about Mandy Rose. Kofi scores with his dropkick and works on the arm before elbowing Roode out to the floor. The the referee not looking, Roode kicks the steps and feigns a blow to the head, so the referee ejects Big E.

Back from a break with Roode holding a chinlock and then pounding Kofi with forearms. There’s a suplex to Kofi and Roode goes to the middle rope to mock the New Day clap. That lets Kofi avoid a knee drop and come back in with a springboard shot to the head, followed by the Boom Drop. Roode is right back with a full nelson slam for two, followed by the spinebuster for the same. Kofi grabs the SOS so Ziggler puts the foot on the rope. The distraction lets Roode roll him up for the pin at 12:27.

Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose are watching in the back with Sonya referring to Ziggler as Mandy’s man. Mandy doesn’t react.

Otis is distraught when Tucker comes up to him. Otis thinks something is up but Tucker says the reality is that sometimes Ziggler gets the girl. Tucker tells him to remember the fans and Otis says he’s right.

Classic Cena Moment: beating the Rock in the rematch.

It’s time for a contract signing for the Intercontinental Title match at Elimination Chamber. Shinsuke Nakamura, with Cesaro and Sami Zayn, come out first, followed by Braun Strowman (with a rather bad haircut). Sami tells Strowman to sit down but Strowman throws the chair up the aisle. That sends Sami into a rant about how Nakamura couldn’t enjoy his birthday last week because Strowman powerslammed him onto a grand piano.

Strowman tells Sami to shut up he doesn’t care what’s in the contract. He’ll have to fight all three of them anyway so there’s the signature. Sami likes what he just heard and makes a quick amendment to make it a handicap match, with all three signing. Therefore, it’s officially three on one at Elimination Chamber. Strowman moves the table but the numbers game gets the better of him and the beatdown is on. A double suplex/kick to the face puts Strowman through the table.

We recap the Goldberg vs. Reigns showdown.

Curtis Axel vs. Daniel Bryan

Drew Gulak is on commentary as Bryan keeps getting his friends TV appearances (and there’s nothing wrong with that). Axel starts fast as Gulak talks about seeing holes in Bryan’s game that could be exploited. With Bryan down, Axel mocks the YES pose but Bryan is back with the YES Kicks. More kicks look to set up the big one but Axel revers into a small package for two. A clothesline to the back of the head drops Bryan but it’s the LeBell Lock to make Axel tap at 4:31.

Rating: C-. I can get behind something like this. WWE has so many wrestlers who can do something in the ring but are never used. I know they’re not likely to be stars and there’s nothing wrong with that, but throw them out there, just for the sake of some fresh faces. Gulak and Axel probably aren’t going to set the world on fire but they’re under contract so why not swap them in for some of the other regular jobbers for a change?

Classic Cena Moment: the sixteenth World Title.

Here are Miz and John Morrison to brag about being the new Tag Team Champions. You know the original, but the reality is that the sequel is going to be even better. Since they won, it’s time for a singing celebration, complete with the Miz and Morrison chant plus Miz’s theme song playing as a bonus. Hold on though as we have a referee and we have a title match….at Elimination Chamber against New Day, the Usos, Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party and Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler.

Usos vs. John Morrison/Miz

Non-title. Jimmy takes Morrison into the corner to start and we get the circle of lights breaking into the feed again. When did that become the go to way to promote someone debuting/returning? It feels like they’re everywhere these days. Miz takes over with a DDT for two so it’s off to Morrison for a kick to the ribs. The chinlock goes on with the Usos in trouble as we take a break.

Back with a double tag picking up the pace until Jey is caught with a neckbreaker/top rope double stomp combination. Everything breaks down and Jimmy dives onto Miz, only to have Jey’s Superfly Splash hit knees. Starship Pain is broken up so Jimmy hits a middle rope Canadian Destroyer, setting up the Superfly Splash to give Jey the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. Bad night for the champs here, though at least they can blame it on the jet lag or something. That and it really doesn’t matter given that the Elimination Chamber is coming up so soon. However, you really couldn’t do a DQ here or have the Usos beat another team? Or just not have the champs involved at all? Pretty good match though, after a series of less than inspiring ones so far.

Here’s John Cena for the big close. After taking in the crowd reaction, Cena says that he’s back so it must be Wrestlemania season. So what is he doing at Wrestlemania this year? He knows his role has changed so now it’s time to do something a little different. Cena always listens to the biggest superstar there is, which would be the fans. He knows he can probably say or do whatever he wants and have it happen at Wrestlemania, but he’s going to do the right thing.

This year’s Wrestlemania should go on without him. It’s not goodbye but it’s goodbye for now, because Cena cares about the future. Wrestlemania spots should be earned and not demanded so this year’s he’s betting on the future and sitting out. That makes tonight special because he doesn’t know when he’s going to be back. He has an announcement tonight and he wanted to make it in front of his friends and family.

The fans cheer for him and Cena drops the mic before heading to the front row to shake hands with some kids. Cena goes up the ramp and salutes….and there go the lights. They come back up and the Fiend is…..right behind him. Cena looks at the Fiend, who points at the sign. Cena looks at the sign, looks at the Fiend, and nods, as the lights go out and we get the laugh to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show picked WAY up in the second half and that’s the best thing that could have happened. The first forty five minutes or so were a complete slog with almost nothing happening and then things got a lot better in a hurry. It’s like the exhaustion was turned off and they were trying to build towards some major shows, which made things that much better. You can’t ask for much more than two big Wrestlemania matches being made in one night so well done, as the top of the card is now mostly full. Just take care of the rest of it and we’ll be fine.

Results

Naomi b. Bayley via DQ when Sasha Banks interfered

Naomi/Lacey Evans b. Bayley/Sasha Banks – Sunset flip to Bayley

Robert Roode b. Kofi Kingston – Rollup

Daniel Bryan b. Curtis Axel – LeBell Lock

Usos b. Miz/John Morrison – Superfly Splash to Morrison

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: February 21, 2020
Location: Gila River Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

As tends to be the case far too often these days, WWE is building to several things at once. This time around it’s the go home Smackdown for Super ShowDown, Elimination Chamber is in about two weeks and we’ve got Wrestlemania (and its sign) looming over everything. The big story tonight is Goldberg being in the arena for a change as he’s ready to face the Fiend next week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are the Usos to get things going. They aren’t happy with Miz and John Morrison targeting them last week so tonight is about revenge. They’re not coming in alone though so here’s New Day. The Usos are glad to have them here, though they better be keeping those titles warm. Both teams put over the others’ accomplishments but Big E. points out that they’re up 7-6 in title reigns over the Usos. That makes them the better team, but the Usos want one more shot after Super ShowDown. Now it’s Miz and Morrison interrupting and they have a song the fans can sing about their names. They have partners too.

Usos/New Day vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler/Miz/John Morrison

Joined in progress with Ziggler in trouble in the corner, including Big E. whipping the Usos into Ziggler. The Usos send Kofi into him as well but Morrison throws Kofi to the floor for a big boot from Miz. Kofi gets sent into the barricade as Big E. has to be held back. Roode chinlocks Kofi back inside and sends him into the corner for the tag to Ziggler. With the referee distracted, Kofi gets triple choked but Miz spends too much time posing.

Kofi goes up top but gets shoved outside in a big crash. Back from a break with Kofi backdropping Ziggler to the floor and hitting a running stomp on Roode. That’s enough for the hot tag to Big E., who comes in and beats the heck out of Miz. Morrison cuts off the spear through the ropes so Big E. gives him the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two (during the kickout, the screen glitches to show what looks like a letter).

Morrison’s running knee to the face into the standing shooting star press gets two so it’s a spinebuster/Zig Zag combination (more like a spinebuster/slap to the back combination) for two on Jey with Jimmy making the save. A bunch of superkicks have Ziggler in trouble and, after escaping the Glorious DDT, another finishes Roode at 11:45.

Rating: C. It’s a formula tag match which mixed up two feuds and that is something that works far more often than not. The Usos are back at full speed and that’s a very good sign for the future of the division. You can only do New Day vs. Usos so many times though and a title change to someone fresh would be a smart move. Also, what was up with the glitch?

Drew Gulak offers Daniel Bryan a PowerPoint presentation about what is wrong with him but Heath Slater comes in. Heath is annoyed at Bryan for beating him (Heath: “You made my kids cry. Nobody makes my kids cry but me!”) so he wants a rematch. Bryan is game.

Long video on the Mandy Rose/Otis saga, including last week’s failed date.

Tucker accuses Mandy of inviting Dolph Ziggler but Mandy says Ziggler was there when Otis was late. She doesn’t seem to know anything about sending out a text saying she was going to be late.

We get a sitdown interview with Lacey Evans, who was hurt by the loss to Bayley but she isn’t finished until the job is done. Yes she used to be a bully but then Sasha Banks and Bayley brought her daughter into it and that made her change. Now, her sights are on the Elimination Chamber and she will win the Women’s Title at Wrestlemania. Wait, how many Elimination Chamber matches are we getting??? The Raw women’s match has already been announced and you would assume a men’s match so…..at least three?

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Elias/Braun Strowman

This is a Symphony of Destruction match, meaning there are musical instruments around the ring and falls count anywhere. Elias sings a song to introduce Braun, which actually isn’t interrupted. Braun brings out the huge bass for a nice callback to the first version of this thing. Elias hiptosses a tambourine out of Nakamura’s hands to start and then knees him out to the floor.

Everything breaks down in a hurry and Strowman breaks a drum over Cesaro’s head. That earns him a ukulele to the back from Sami Zayn, which has even less effect than you might have expected. Nakamura catches Strowman with a mic stand to the face though and we take a break. Back with Cesaro playing the cowbell and then sending Elias through a table.

That just earns him the running shoulders from Strowman, followed by a chokeslam onto the apron. Sami offers another distraction though and it’s a double suplex to send Strowman through the bass. It’s Elias with another guitar to the back but Nakamura breaks up an elbow through a table. Instead, Strowman powerslams Nakamura onto (not through) a piano, leaving Elias to elbow Cesaro through the table for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: C+. I liked this one well enough as the sight gag of the big bass coming back alone helped. Then you have a powerslam onto the big piano, which was a cross between painful and impressive. I’m not sure how far anything in this feud is going to go but it gives some people something to do for the time being so good enough.

Video on Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin.

Corbin is tired of Reigns’ face being everywhere and he’s ready to get rid of Reigns one on one at Super ShowDown. Then Corbin becomes the face of the company.

It’s time for a Moment of Bliss, with Alexa Bliss talking about the Hall of Fame. This year’s class includes the NWO and Batista, and now it will also include the Bella Twins, her guests tonight. They can’t believe how awesome this is and they’re all about breaking barriers, like making this announcement on the first ever women’s talk show. Brie brings up being pregnant at the same time and….uh yeah everything is awesome. Daniel Bryan comes out for his match and brings his daughter for a nice moment.

Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater

Drew Gulak is on commentary and is rather pleased with Slater starting on on Bryan’s knee. A knockdown gives Slater two and he goes up, only to have Gulak yell at him. The distraction lets Bryan move and the YES Kicks are on. The running knee finishes Slater at 2:44.

Mandy is in the back (with another letter glitch, though it might look like a ticking clock) when Ziggler comes up to offer her a ride. She accepts and they leave, with Otis popping up behind them, looking rather sad.

Sheamus is going to be in the Elimination Chamber. So that’s three, minimum.

Shorty G. tries to fire Apollo Crews up but Apollo doesn’t want to hear it. He’ll handle Sheamus his way.

Naomi vs. Carmella

The winner gets Bayley, at ringside, for the Women’s Title at Super ShowDown. Naomi pulls her into a headlock to start but Carmella reverses into one of her own. That’s broken up as well so Naomi gets two off a sliding clothesline. The very spinning headscissors has Naomi in trouble but she’s back in with a high crossbody for two. A quick Bayley distraction lets Carmella get two off a middle rope hurricanrana. That’s enough for an ejection and Carmella takes Naomi out with a suicide dive as we take a break.

Back with Carmella cutting off the dancing kicks and getting two off an Edge-O-Matic. Naomi misses a springboard kick to the head so she settles for a slingshot corkscrew dive to the floor. A sunset flip gets two back inside and Carmella reverses into the Code of Silence. That’s escaped into a Rear View for another near fall on Carmella. A middle rope Blockbuster sets up the split legged moonsault to pin Carmella for the title shot at Bayley at 12:47.

Rating: D+. That’s about as good as you were going to get here as neither of them are exactly known as ring generals. You could have gone with either winning but Naomi’s entrance inside a stadium will be worth seeing. I’m not sure what this means should Bayley win, but since we’re getting another Chamber match, it should be explained in a hurry.

John Cena is back next week.

Here’s Goldberg for a chat. He’s glad to be back and whatever the Fiend is, he’s ready. Cue the Firefly Fun House with Bray doing some construction. Bray wants Goldberg to get to know his friends, including most of the cast. There is one person left though….and the lights go out. The Fiend is here but Goldberg is smart enough to turn around and spear him.

Goldberg loads up another one but the lights go out again and Fiend disappears to end the show, complete with Fiendish laughter. As usual, Goldberg is at his best when things are kept simple. He hit Fiend hard and Fiend went down, can he do it again? What more do you need?

Overall Rating: C. This was the annoying show that we have to get through but thankfully next week will only have two things to build towards. That’s the big overarching problem at the moment: there is too much stuff coming up on the calendar and it is causing a lot of issues. This week’s show was designed to set things up for next week and beyond, which is fine, but doesn’t exactly make for a thrilling show. It did its job, but that job isn’t an exciting one.

Results

Usos/New Day b. Miz/John Morrison/Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Superkick to Roode

Elias/Braun Strowman b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura – Top rope elbow through a table to Cesaro

Daniel Bryan b. Heath Slater – Running knee

Naomi b. Carmella – Split legged moonsault

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: February 6, 2020
Location: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

We’re coming up on Super ShowDown because we’re just that lucky. Things are starting to take shape as we now have a WWE Championship match, meaning it is time to recap everything that got us here. I’m not sure how much there was to recap but that has never stopped this show before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

OC vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

Gallows shrugs off a headlock attempt to start and shows Hawkins how it’s done. That means a big shove to put Hawkins down but he’s smart enough to kick away rather than go for a test of strength. Ryder comes in for a slingshot dropkick through the ropes to take both of them down but Gallows kicks him in the face.

Back in and Gallows unloads on Ryder in the corner, followed by a chinlock from Anderson. Gallows’ snap suplex sets up some elbows to the chest and another chinlock. Ryder fights up and makes it over to Hawkins for the hot tag so the pace can pick up. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Anderson but Ryder misses a dive and get sent into the barricade. The Magic Killer finishes Hawkins at 5:11.

Rating: C. This was a snappy little tag match and that’s better than you would expect from this show. That’s one of the things I like about Main Event: sometimes you get a surprisingly good match from people who have little reason to try. The reason they do have though is pride, and it’s nice to see people working hard just to make the fans happy in a match that means nothing in the slightest.

From Smackdown.

Usos/Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin/Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

The losers must eat DOG FOOD, which Cole has repeated about 37 times tonight. Corbin punches Jey down for an early two and a low bridge puts Jey on the floor. Roode, now in long tights, hits a spinebuster on the floor as Cole puts over how bad the dog food smells. We take a break and come back with Roode cranking on Jey’s arms. Jey slips out so Ziggler comes in, only to miss a Stinger Splash in the corner.

Corbin gets the tag and breaks up the hot tag though, allowing him to make Jey look at the dog food. That’s enough to make Jey get over for the hot tag to Reigns as everything breaks down. A big boot connects for Reigns but Corbin is back with a chokeslam for two. Ziggler adds a superkick and it’s the Deep Six for two more on Reigns. Jimmy is back in and sends Roode over the announcers’ table, setting up another dive to Ziggler. Reigns misses the spear but rolls Corbin up for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: C-. Yeah it’s another watchable match but it’s everything else that is making it bad. Between Cole shouting about the dog food over and over and over again and the fact that we’ve seen these people fight for months now and how this was nothing new as far as a six man formula goes, this wasn’t exactly thrilling. It’s fine for a house show stipulation where the kids can laugh, but when you have to hear about it all night long, it’s way too much.

Post match Corbin tries to leave but he gets speared down and handcuffed, meaning he gets chained up like he did to Reigns months ago. The buckets of dog food are poured over him so Reigns and the Usos can pose to end the show. It’s a poetic way to go about things with Corbin, but the feud has gone on for so long now that the impact is really, really weakened. Also it’s not exactly brilliant, cutting edge stuff in the first place.

From Raw.

Here’s Charlotte to announce her Wrestlemania decision. She has held the Raw and Women’s Titles more than once and….there’s a Rhea chant. Charlotte says she’s done that too and yes NXT has love for it’s queen but….here’s Rhea herself. Rhea says Charlotte has beaten Bayley and Becky, but Rhea has beaten her. She holds up the NXT Women’s Title and Charlotte smiles at her, only to walk around and leave. Charlotte throws in one more WOO for good measure. I’m not sure where they’re going with this and I like that.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Cedric Alexander

Shelton suplexes him down to start and a backdrop cuts off Cedric’s early comeback attempt. The anklescissors is blocked as well with Shelton kicking him in the ribs for two instead. The chinlock goes on and of course brings Cedric back to his feet, only to get hit in the face again. Cedric is sent to the apron and tries a springboard but gets kneed out to the floor.

Rating: C+. Another nice match here with both guys working. Cedric continues to be the guy who can do anything you ask from him in the ring and if he ever has the slightest bit of charisma to back it up, he’d be a star in the blink of an eye. I could go for a lot more of him, but I can also see why WWE is a bit hesitant to push him.

We look at Randy Orton attacking Edge last week.

From Raw.

Here’s Orton to explain himself. Orton takes his time before posing on the roles and the fans are not thrilled to see him. He thinks he owes an explanation but the fans are booing him out of the building in a hurry. That turns into an Edge chant and Orton still can’t bring himself to say anything. He finally says he can’t do this, puts the mic down, and walks away.

From Raw again.

Seth Rollins vs. Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is sent outside early and Rollins is right there with a Sling Blade to Ricochet. Another shot knocks Lashley off the apron so Rollins can get a quick two. Lashley is back in though and hits a DDT to Rollins and a neckbreaker on Ricochet at the same time. A clothesline puts Rollins on the floor but Ricochet gets in a kick to Lashley’s head. The rolling dropkick puts Lashley outside again and there’s the big flip dive.

The running shooting star press gets two with Lashley having to make a save. Another spinebuster hits Ricochet and a lifting Downward Spiral gets two on Rollins. A Blockbuster gives Rollins his own two on Lashley with Ricochet making a save this time around. The Buckle Bomb hits Ricochet but he’s back up with an enziguri to catch Rollins on top. There’s the Tower of Doom, though Lashley lets go of the two of them so it was more like Ricochet superplexing Rollins as Lashley just fell. The 630 hits Lashley for the sudden pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. Ricochet makes sense as the big winner as we’ve seen Rollins and Lashley vs. Lesnar isn’t exactly thrilling to anyone but Lashley. Ricochet may not have a chance to win but there’s a great Jeff Hardy factor him where there might be a .01% chance that he could win, but it’s very fun to think about. The match was good and it had the right winner so I can’t really complain.

Post match Lesnar runs in for a quick F5 to end the show. Lesnar might have been on screen for fifteen seconds and got a full payday for it. That’s why he’s smarter than we are.

Overall Rating: C+. Oh yeah you can tell it’s Wrestlemania season as they’re trying a little harder with both the wrestling and the story. It’s a show where you can tell the effort is a little harder and that’s the kind of thing you can’t fake. I’m looking forward to Wrestlemania and if they keep this up for the next few weeks, we’re in for a big night in Tampa.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: February 7, 2020
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than three weeks away from Super ShowDown and that means it’s time to line up some major guest starts. We’ll likely start that tonight as Goldberg is here and is going to need a match. I’m not sure who that is going to be but I’m hoping we might get to see him face the Fiend. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Goldberg returning.

Opening sequence.

Here are Miz and Morrison for the return of the Dirt Sheet. Morrison: “My name is John Morrison. My shirt has buttons but I don’t use them.” In honor of the Academy Awards, we see a clip of Once Upon A Time On The Dirt Sheet, a film which is guaranteed to win all the Slammys (it’s also rated A for AWESOME). We see a trailer featuring various cameos, including Miz’s dad, Lance Storm and Johnny Ace. Basically Miz needs to prove himself again, Morrison is back and the two of them want to show they’re better than New Day. This is all in a Once Upon A Time In Hollywood style and words aren’t doing it justice.

Back in the ring, Morrison talks about how interesting it is that people want to talk to them now that they’re the cool kids again. Cue New Day, with popcorn buckets, to talk about how awesome the trailer was. They saw the amazing athlete in Mr. Miz and your trivia for the night: Kofi is Mr. Miz’s favorite superstar. Kofi: “That’s a shoot.”

It had comedy too, like the idea that Miz and Morrison could win the Tag Team Titles. Cue the Usos to say Miz and Morrison never beat them so welcome to the Uso Penitentiary. That sounds like an interesting match so here are Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode because we were this close to having some fun and that’s not what Ziggler and Roode are all about. Miz and Morrison jump New Day and the match is next.

Usos vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Well yeah of course it’s this match. What else was it going to be? Roode and Jimmy exchange chops to start until it’s Jey coming in to chop as well. Ziggler gets the tag and hits a dropkick, followed by the Fameasser for two. The Zig Zag/spinebuster combination gets two on Jimmy as Jey makes the save. Jey hits an enziguri and goes up, only to have Ziggler offer a distraction so Jey can get knocked off the top in a crash.

Back from a break with Roode stomping Jey down in the corner but Ziggler gets punched in the face a few times. A kick to the jaw allows the hot tag to Jimmy as the pace picks up. The Samoan drop hits Ziggler and Roode, the latter of whom is right back with a powerslam. Ziggler takes too long loading up the superkick though and it’s Jimmy hitting one to each of them. The Superfly Splash hits knees and Ziggler gets two off a small package. The double superkick hits Roode though and now the Superfly Splash can connect for the pin at 12:33.

Rating: C+. They’re both good teams (or great in the Usos’ case) but the lack of interest that hits as soon as Ziggler’s music hits is astounding. I don’t need to see him do anything else ever again but more importantly, I don’t need to hear anything associated with the Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin feud again and this was a spinoff of that feud, meaning I’m good with not watching them associate in any way.

Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss are ready for Bliss’ chance to become #1 contender.

We look back at Corbin getting covered with dog food last week.

Corbin storms into the production truck and the out the guy who played the tape. Agents prevent further violence.

Here’s Elias for a song. He’s facing Cesaro tonight and needs all the support he can get, so this song is called Third Time’s The Charm. After two words, here’s Cesaro to cut him off, with Sami Zayn as a bonus. Elias points out that he always gets interrupted but Sami goes on a rant about how Elias laughed when Shinsuke Nakamura lost the Intercontinental Title. Therefore, it’s time to learn a lesson.

Elias vs. Cesaro

Joined in progress with Corey’s microphone not working and Cesaro hammering away against the ropes. A Sami distraction cuts Elias off and we hit the chinlock. An elbow gets two and there’s a gutwrench suplex to keep Elias down. The chinlock goes on again but this time Elias gets up for a jumping knee to the face.

Elias’ top rope elbow is broken up with a running uppercut and the apron superplex gives Cesaro two. Elias gets fired up and stomps away in the corner, which is a lot more offense than you usually see from him. A slam sets up the top rope elbow for the completely clean pin at 7:33.

Rating: D+. Elias is such a weird case as I’m still not sure how he should be used. His character is fine and the songs will keep him around for years, but the wrestling just isn’t there. He can be passable in the ring but that’s about his ceiling, which isn’t going to get him very far. Then there’s Cesaro losing clean and….are you really surprised? Even to Elias?

We’re ready to talk to Goldberg but here’s King Corbin to interrupt. Everyone should respect him because last week was an abomination. Roman Reigns should have lost last week, just like the 49ers lost to his Kansas City Chiefs. Reigns can’t do anything without his lapdogs because the Usos had to bail him out again.

If Reigns was as tough as he says he is, he would have fought one on one at the Royal Rumble. Then Corbin would have won and been the one headlining Wrestlemania. Corbin demands one more match with Reigns and pours a drink over a fan’s head. Cue Reigns with a Superman Punch and Corbin runs off. Reigns accepts the match and they’ll do it in a steel cage at some point. Reigns makes sure to talk to the fan who got the drink on his head.

Goldberg joins us live via satellite from Texas and gets straight to the point: he watched the Royal Rumble and it gave him the itch again. Brock Lesnar is already dealing with Ricochet and Drew McIntyre, but what about the Fiend and the Universal Title? He never got a rematch, so here’s some Breaking News from Firefly Fun House News. William Goldberg is considering challenging the Fiend and that’s bad news for Billy, because he accepts.

Mercy the Buzzard gives us the weather report: it’s going to be a cold day in h*** before the Fiend loses the Universal Title. Goldberg says he won’t be intimidated and the only thing he’s taking is the Universal Title. The Fiend is next and the fans like that idea. Goldberg leaves and Bray says that wasn’t very nice. Let him in. Bray: “Bye! See you Bill! Bye!”

Daniel Bryan is watching in the back when Heath Slater comes in. Slater recaps the Fiend going after Bryan….or maybe it was Miz. Heath reminds Bryan about the beating that he got from the Fiend and rambles on about how evil Fiend is. Bryan offers to face Slater right now and walks off, leaving Heath rather confused.

Video on Bryan vs. Fiend at the Rumble.

Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater

Slater is in street clothes. Running knee, suicide dive, missile dropkick, YES Kicks, another running knee, stomps to the head and the LeBell Lock for the win at 1:47. More of an angle of Bryan being more aggressive than the match. Commentary played up the idea of the Fiend changing Bryan.

We look at Braun Strowman winning the Intercontinental Title.

Here’s Strowman for his first comments as champion. He can’t believe this is happening because after everything he has done, he has never won a singles title. Cue Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura to demand a rematch, Strowman says they’re on but that’s not what Sami means. They’re going to use their resources for as long as they can, so here is the Revival to jump Strowman from behind. The beatdown is on but Strowman fights them off with ease but he spends too much time going after Sami, allowing Nakamura to hit Kinshasa.

Tucker helps Otis get ready for his date with Mandy Rose, including exercise (situps into a bite of pizza), clothing advise (suit jacket with the sleeves ripped off) and table manners, which results in the table being turned over. Tucker: “You’re ready.”

Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus

Crews starts fast with the kicks to the head, only to miss a charge and get Brogue Kicked for the pin at 29 seconds. That’s how it should have gone.

Post match Sheamus loads up another Brogue Kick so here’s Shorty G. for the save. In this case, that means some chops before Sheamus Brogue Kicks him again. See, they needed Gable to get beaten up three times in a row because he’s short and Sheamus is big and WWE doesn’t want to leave ANY doubt about who is better.

Super Showdown rundown, with Reigns vs. Corbin added to the card.

Dana Brooke vs. Carmella vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a shot at Bayley (ringside). Only Naomi gets an entrance and they start fast with a series of rollups, followed by Carmella being taken into the corner. Dana hits the handspring elbow and everyone goes to the floor, leaving Naomi to hit a corkscrew dive. Bayley holds up the title so Naomi shoves her down to trigger a brawl with Naomi being sent into the steps.

Back from a break with Naomi fighting back up and cleaning house, much to Bayley’s annoyance. Bliss is back in to take Naomi down, leaving Carmella to hit the Bronco Buster on Brooke. Naomi is back up with the split legged moonsault as Dana has to make a save. Brooke tries a wheelbarrow to Naomi but gets caught with a Stunner for two.

Naomi’s legdrop gets two on Bliss but she shoves Naomi off the top for two of her own. Brooke gets back on the apron so Naomi suplexes her in and hits the split legdrop for another near fall. Bliss sends Naomi into the corner but Twisted Bliss hits knees. The Rear View hits Bliss but Carmella is back in with a superkick to finish Naomi at 11:43.

Rating: D+. Is this Graves’ February bonus or something? They did a good job of setting up Naomi as the obvious winner before pulling the surprise….but Carmella? Naomi was set up as the next challenger to Bayley last week and now it’s just Carmella due to reasons of surprise. The match was your usual two in, two out for the most part and that has been played out for years. Carmella is the bigger deal here as she may be a fresh challenger, but she isn’t the most logical one.

Bayley jumps Carmella to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was a weird one as I didn’t mind a lot of it but by the ending I was wondering what was supposed to have been good on the show. Goldberg vs. Fiend is interesting for a short, one off match but other than that, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to cheer for. More Reigns vs. Corbin? Carmella getting a surprise title shot? An Elias match? The Dirt Sheet was the highlight of the show and then they were just gone for the sake of Roode and Ziggler. This wasn’t a good show and I kept waiting on the good moment that never came. Hopefully they fix this soon because it didn’t make me want to watch next week.

Results

Usos b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Superfly Splash to Roode

Elias b. Cesaro – Top rope elbow

Daniel Bryan b. Heath Slater – LeBell Lock

Sheamus b. Apollo Crews – Brogue Kick

Carmella b. Naomi, Alexa Bliss and Dana Brooke – Superkick to Naomi

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 31, 2020
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and since Drew McIntyre won, we need a new #1 contender to the Smackdown World Title. Granted that probably won’t be happening until Elimination Chamber or whatever else is next, but you can almost pencil in Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin in some form for the title shot. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We see the dog food incident again, with Cole saying we’ve seen this “ad nauseum”, as even WWE admits that this feud has gone on WAY too far. Reigns accuses Corbin of having a dog food fetish and offers a stipulation: the loser of the main event eats dog food. A bunch of dog food is wheeled out and Cole suddenly finds the possibility of Corbin eating dog food to be HILARIOUS. It’s almost like he’s suddenly 74 year old man child who is entertained by juvenile ideas.

Heavy Machinery vs. Lucha House Party vs. Miz/John Morrison vs. Revival

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Super Showdown and Kalisto is the odd luchador out. Tucker bearhugs Wilder to start and it’s quickly off to Otis, so Tucker throws Wilder to him as the bearhugging continues. That’s broken up and it’s Morrison coming in to get caught with a springboard hurricanrana from Metalik. Revival breaks up a sunset flip for two as everything breaks down.

Heavy Machinery is sent outside for double dives from the House Party, followed by Morrison hitting a huge top rope corkscrew dive. Miz teases his own dive but Dawson cuts them off, allowing Metalik to hit his own dive as we take a break. Back with Dorado hitting a double Golden Rewind on Miz and Morrison and everything breaks down again. Otis hits a double Caterpillar on Miz and Morrison for two but Dawson knocks Otis into a tag from Metalik.

A springboard crossbody from Metalik sets up a top rope splash from Dorado but Otis comes back in to clean house. Dawson DDTs Otis but Dorado slips out of a slingshot suplex. Back to back moonsaults connect but the third is cut off, setting up Wilder’s belly to back superplex on Kalisto. Miz sneaks back in with the Skull Crushing Finale into Starship Pain to Dawson for the pin and the title shot at 11:57.

Rating: C+. They didn’t bother with anything but action here and that made for an entertaining match. There was no reason to do anything more than go all the way with something like this and we even got the logical challengers out of it. The match was fun and that’s as good as they could have done.

Video on Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend in the strap match. Daniel Bryan thinks he might have gone too far because his wife wouldn’t let his daughter see the scars on his back.

Video on Halftime Heat, twenty one years ago today.

The winners COULD get a future title shot. It’s a brawl before the bell with Sonya getting tied in the ring skirt and Nikki having to be dragged off. Bliss gets knocked into the announcers’ table but says she’s good so the bell can ring. The chinlock goes on before it’s off to Mandy, with Nikki having to be taken out. Bliss forearms her way out of the corner and gets in a hard shot to Sonya. A roll underneath Mandy is enough for the hot tag to Nikki so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and the Purge into Twisted Bliss finishes Mandy at 3:28.

Rating: D+. The usual shortened women’s tag here which had little going for it as commentary talked about Otis and Mandy. Therefore, of course it makes sense for Mandy to take the fall here. The two stories aren’t connected, but Mandy is the only one of the four doing something interesting and it’s not like her getting pinned advances anything else. It’s a little thing but why mess with a story that is getting somewhere?

Intercontinental Title: Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is defending and has Sami Zayn and Cesaro with him. Strowman shoulders him down to start and hits a running splash in the corner to make it even worse. Sami gets in a cheap shot from the floor though and Nakamura takes over with a front facelock. Some kicks in the corner have Strowman rocked so he blasts his way out with a clothesline.

The running shoulder on the floor has Nakamura down again but Strowman misses a charge. Nakamura kicks him in the head and hits the running knee to the back of the head for two. Sami goes for the turnbuckle pad and Cesaro offers a distraction, only to have Strowman send Nakamura into the buckle instead. The running powerslam gives us a new champion at 4:35.

Rating: D+. It took long enough. Strowman winning a title does feel like a big deal and even though it should have been the World Title and over a year ago, I’ll take what I can get. This actually came off as something important and the fans seemed happy with what they saw. Not much of a match, but Nakamura had held the thing since July and not done a thing with it. I can’t imagine that changes under Strowman, but at least he FINALLY won something that matters.

Post break Sami is livid but Elias is in the ring to interrupt them. Sami tries to rant but Elias keeps interrupting with the guitar. That’s enough as Sami sends Cesaro to the ring to deal with this. Elias beats Cesaro up and stands tall.

Video on Shorty G. vs. Sheamus.

Sheamus vs. Shorty G.

Gable jumps Sheamus from behind on the ramp and we take a break before the bell. We’re joined in progress with Gable fighting out of a chinlock but getting taken to the floor for the Regal Roll. Back in and Sheamus hits a reverse Wasteland but Gable ties him in the ropes and slugs away. The Liger kick in the corner sets up the moonsault for two but Sheamus is right back up. The Irish Curse into the Brogue Kick finishes at 3:49.

Rating: C. Just in case you didn’t get the point on the Kickoff Show. This was the same result as Gable tries hard but can’t overcome the size difference, because we need to hammer home the one thing that the company sees in him. Why or how this is the best thing they can do with him is beyond me but I guess we’re just lucky that way.

Here’s a very happy Bayley to brag about retaining the Women’s Title at the Royal Rumble. You can’t recreate her and she crushed Lacey Evans’ dreams for injuring Sasha Banks and putting her on the shelf. Bayley did all this with Lacey’s daughter Summer in the front row so now she knows what a failure her mom is. If Summer needs a role model, she can sit in the crowd with these idiots and watch Bayley. We all know Charlotte is going to pick her for the title match so just get out here right now.

Cue Naomi instead (now with what looks like a light up bowl around her head during her entrance) to say she can’t help but hear the trash talk around here. Bayley has never beaten her and that title could use some glow. Before the challenge can be on, Bayley drops her with one shot. The belt shot misses though and Naomi hits a springboard kick to the head. This is a fresh challenger with some credibility so good for them.

Usos/Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin/Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

The losers must eat DOG FOOD, which Cole has repeated about 37 times tonight. Corbin punches Jey down for an early two and a low bridge puts Jey on the floor. Roode, now in long tights, hits a spinebuster on the floor as Cole puts over how bad the dog food smells. We take a break and come back with Roode cranking on Jey’s arms. Jey slips out so Ziggler comes in, only to miss a Stinger Splash in the corner.

Corbin gets the tag and breaks up the hot tag though, allowing him to make Jey look at the dog food. That’s enough to make Jey get over for the hot tag to Reigns as everything breaks down. A big boot connects for Reigns but Corbin is back with a chokeslam for two. Ziggler adds a superkick and it’s the Deep Six for two more on Reigns. Jimmy is back in and sends Roode over the announcers’ table, setting up another dive to Ziggler. Reigns misses the spear but rolls Corbin up for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: C-. Yeah it’s another watchable match but it’s everything else that is making it bad. Between Cole shouting about the dog food over and over and over again and the fact that we’ve seen these people fight for months now and how this was nothing new as far as a six man formula goes, this wasn’t exactly thrilling. It’s fine for a house show stipulation where the kids can laugh, but when you have to hear about it all night long, it’s way too much.

Post match Corbin tries to leave but he gets speared down and handcuffed, meaning he gets chained up like he did to Reigns months ago. The buckets of dog food are poured over him so Reigns and the Usos can pose to end the show. It’s a poetic way to go about things with Corbin, but the feud has gone on for so long now that the impact is really, really weakened. Also it’s not exactly brilliant, cutting edge stuff in the first place.

Overall Rating: D+. So that’s how we start up the Road to Wrestlemania: building to Super Showdown, a Valentine’s Day comedy angle, a Royal Rumble rematch and dog food (plus a title change and a new challenger for the Women’s Title as it did have some good stuff). This could have been a show from any time during the year and I’m not exactly thrilled with how the important season started off. There were some positives here but the negatives were more as it didn’t exactly feel inspired.

Results

Miz/John Morrison b. Heavy Machinery, Revival and Lucha House Party – Starship Pain to Dawson

Braun Strowman b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Running powerslam

Sheamus b. Shorty G. – Brogue Kick

Roman Reigns/Usos b. King Corbin/Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – Rollup to Corbin

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 24, 2020
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means we need the final push towards Houston. The men’s Royal Rumble is probably as set as we are going to get in advance but there are only give names announced for the women’s match. It’s hard to imagine not getting some names announced tonight and that is long overdue. Let’s get to it.

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

Usos/Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin/Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

At least they’re getting it out of the way early. The Usos elbow Ziggler down and drop more elbows for a bonus, meaning it’s already off to Roode. Everything breaks down with Roode backdropping Jimmy to the floor and Ziggler sending him hard into the steps. It’s a knee injury and that means we’re going to be having a handicap match. Back with Jey coming in and being dragged into the wrong corner.

Jey slugs away on Corbin but walks into a heck of a Deep Six for two. Roode’s neckbreaker is good for the same and Ziggler gets in his big jumping elbow. The spinning enziguri drops Roode but Corbin pulls Reigns to the floor to break up the hot tag attempt. To make it even worse, Reigns is sent into the barricade a few times and we take a second break. Back with Jey still in trouble until he sends Corbin hard into the post.

The hot tag brings in Reigns to beat up Ziggler with the raw power as everyone else is knocked to the floor. Roode offers a distraction though and Corbin breaks up the spear, allowing Ziggler to hit a superkick for two. Reigns gets sent outside for the stomping and Ziggler drops another elbow for two more. Corbin comes back in and hammers away with right hands but the Glorious DDT (you knew that’s what it was going for as Roode shouted GLORIOUS and tried a DDT) is countered with a slam.

Ziggler pulls Jey off the apron though and sends him into the barricade, just like they did to Reigns earlier. The superkick is broken up with a Superman punch and here’s Jimmy back to ringside to get the hot tag. The knee is fine enough for the fired up comeback, including a high crossbody for two on Roode with Corbin making the save. Corbin gets Superman punched and Reigns throws him into the crowd. Jey dives onto Ziggler and Jimmy hits the Superfly Splash for the pin at 25:01.

Rating: C. I’d love for WWE to explain what they see in this feud to give it twenty five minutes to open the show, especially when Corbin vs. Reigns is likely to get nearly that much time on Sunday. The feud isn’t that interesting and odds are we’ll be seeing Roode/Ziggler vs. Usos added to Sunday as well. WAY too long here and they really could have cut ten minutes out and had a better match.

Video on Bayley vs. Lacey Evans.

Here’s Lacey for a chat. She has fought back against Bayley and Sasha Banks because she doesn’t put up with bullies. Her upbringing wasn’t all that great and her father lost his battle with addiction. Lacey wants to use her platform to show that you play the hand you’re dealt and you can make it. She’s worked hard to be a mom and a Marine and we see a clip of Banks mocking Lacey’s family. It’s hard to be a mother when your daughter is scared by two bullies….and here’s Bayley to jump her from behind. Bayley: “WHERE’S YOUR DAUGHTER NOW???”

Carmella and Dana Brooke are ready to win the Royal Rumble. We pan over to Lacey throwing Bayley into things so Dana and Carmella run over in a failed attempt to break it up.

Sonya and Mandy are in the Rumble too. They seemed to make up earlier in the day. Lacey Evans and Bayley brawl to the ring and it’s a double DQ at 21 seconds.

Elias is strumming his guitar when Braun Strowman comes in to say they need to go to work.

Here’s Elias to sing his new song, Texas Dream, which is a short one about the Rumble and a way to introduce Strowman. Before we get to the match, Elias asks the fans if they want to see Strowman sing with him. They start things up but here’s the interruption for, you know, some wrestling.

Elias/Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro

Sami Zayn is out with Nakamura and Cesaro. Elias gets uppercutted to start but he sends Cesaro face first into the turnbuckle to get out of trouble. A Nakamura distraction gets Elias in trouble but Strowman runs people over as we take a break. Back with Elias in trouble but Kinshasa is broken up with a jumping knee to the face.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Strowman so house can be cleaned, including the big forearm to Nakamura’s chest. Nakamura comes back with the middle rope knee to the chest and Strowman is sent shoulder first into the post. Cesaro comes in but Sami’s distraction doesn’t work. The running powerslam plants Cesaro and Elias’ top rope elbow gets the pin at 8:31.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here, almost in the vein of a house show actually. I’m a little surprised, as well as a bit relieved, that Strowman didn’t pin Nakamura again. They still haven’t announced the title match for Sunday so maybe they’ll wait a little longer before setting that up. Nakamura has held the title for a long time now and I’m curious to see how long he can keep going as champion.

We look back at Daniel Bryan challenging the Fiend to a strap match at the Rumble.

Big E. is VERY oiled up, which is his strategy to avoid being eliminated from the Royal Rumble. Kofi Kingston comes in and is ready for John Morrison tonight. They’re ready to go on to Houston for the Royal Rumble and this year it’s for Xavier Woods.

We look back at the opening match.

Corbin doesn’t like being asked questions.

Rumble By The Numbers time!

1070 total competitors

6,596 feet in height

1:16:06 Bryan lasted in 2018

56:01 Natalya lasted in 2019

1 second for Santino Marella

2003 Royal Rumble won by Brock Lesnar

7 people have won two Royal Rumbles

3 Royal Rumbles won by Steve Austin

2 others have won from #1

64,000,000 views of Royal Rumble videos since the Network launched

3 brands

2 Royal Rumbles

1 night

Note that they mentioned this being the 33^rd Royal Rumble, though they now included the Greatest Royal Rumble in the record books.

Sheamus is ready for Shorty G.

Kofi Kingston vs. John Morrison

Before the match, Miz talks about how he’s the same person who lets you into his home every week on Miz and Mrs. Oh and he and Morrison are now in the Royal Rumble. They’re not exactly leaving many spots left. Morrison dodges away from Kofi to start so Kofi lands on his feet out of a monkey flip. Kofi’s monkey flip sends Morrison face first onto the mat and Morrison misses a dive over the top to crash on the floor. Kofi adds a flip dive so Miz is right over there for some applause.

Back from a break with Kofi kicking Morrison in the face and sliding through the legs, only to get kneed hard. Kofi is right back with a faceplant for two but Trouble In Paradise is kicked out of the air. The referee gets distracted for a bit so it’s a poke to the eye, setting up a middle rope Spanish Fly for a close two on Kofi. The SOS gives Kofi his own two but Big E. and Miz get into it on the floor. Kofi kicks Miz off the apron but gets knocked down, setting up Starship Pain (best one Morrison has hit in forever, and this time he jumped up instead of pulling himself up) for the pin on Kofi at 9:55.

Rating: C+. There was some good action in here and the ending should set up a Tag Team Title shot, in case they hadn’t done enough to get that ready yet. I’m not sure when they’ll do that match as the Rumble card is already loaded, but that has never stopped them before. Miz and Morrison still work well together though and that’s what matters.

It’s time for the contract signing for the strap match. Bray’s music hits but he comes up on screen instead, trying to fax in the contract from the Firefly Fun House. That might be better for everyone though because there is no reason to tie yourself to the Fiend. Bray tries to call customer service (Bray: “Yes. English or ancient Sumerian please.”) but Bryan wants him out here right now.

That isn’t happening due to Bray’s lawyer (Mercy the Buzzard) advising against it, so Bryan says he’s seeing through Bray. Bray hears Bryan mention a mistake and that is the Word of the Day. This is all about Bryan’s big mistake when he betrayed Wyatt and now it is time to pay. Since Bryan isn’t competing against Bray on Sunday, it’s only fitting that He sign the contract.

Cole bails as the lights go out and the Fiend is in the ring, holding the strap. Bryan goes after him and is Mandible Clawed in a hurry. Sister Abigail plants Bryan and Fiend rips off Bryan’s shirt for a whipping with the strap. Fiend sits down at the table and grabs the pen, which he stabs into his own hand. He rubs the blood over the contract and throws it at Bryan, which counts as signing (I don’t think evil monsters are that well versed in law). The lights go out and Fiend disappears to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Pretty meh show overall but it did a decent enough job of setting up Sunday. If nothing else it was nice to nearly double the amount of names in the women’s Royal Rumble. The wrestling was pretty lacking but that’s not usually the point on a show like this. Sunday is all that matters anyway and no one is going to remember this one after that anyway. Not much to see this week, but it’s one of the least important shows of the year anyway.

Results

Usos/Roman Reigns b. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Superfly Splash to Roode

Braun Strowman/Elias b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura – Top rope elbow

John Morrison b. Kofi Kingston – Starship Pain

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 17, 2020
Location: Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re nine days away from the Royal Rumble and everything is pretty much set. We still have some time to set things up though and that includes a tables match between Roman Reigns and Robert Roode, with the winner getting to pick the stipulation for Reigns vs. King Corbin at the Rumble. That’s the brilliant “stipulation begets stipulation” booking, which makes so much sense. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Kane to open things up. It’s his favorite time of the year because we’re coming up on the Royal Rumble. The match gives wrestlers a chance to go through h*** to get to immortality and Kane is proud of having eliminated more than anyone ever before. It was a lot of fun….and here’s the Firefly Fun House.

Bray is glad to see Kane but doesn’t like someone bragging at someone else’s misfortune. He gives Kane a chance to say he’s sorry but nothing happens. Oh and before we move on: Ramblin Rabbit is alive and well (complete with an IV of carrot juice). Anyway, winning the Royal Rumble isn’t the best deal in the world because it means you get to challenge for the Universal Title at Wrestlemania. Kane’s picture is on the wall though because he and the Fiend got it on.

Bray says he’ll never forget Kane and we see a clip of their match at Summerslam 2013 (Bray’s in-ring debut). Neither will he, and there go the lights. The red lights come on and Kane is on the floor as Fiend crawls through the ring. Kane: “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?” Cue Daniel Bryan with the running knee to the Fiend and a bunch of right hands to send Fiend into the hole. The smokes comes up as Fiend disappears….and Bryan pulls out some of Fiend’s hair. The lights come back up and Kane and Bryan do the YES pose. Good segment.

Post break Bryan says the Fiend is best at disappearing, so let’s make the Rumble match a strap match. Bryan is done with the mind games and the running so Fiend isn’t running down the hole anymore. At the Rumble, Bryan is changing the Fiend.

Big E. vs. John Morrison

Kofi Kingston (with blond hair) and Miz are the seconds and yes the slow motion is back. Morrison starts fast by kicking Big in the head a few times and hammering away, setting up a neckbreaker off the apron as we take a break. Back with Big E. fighting out of the chinlock but getting kicked back down. Morrison’s spinning splash gets two but Big E. powers him up.

Morrison kicks him in the head and springboards into a flip over Big E., only to get caught in the belly to belly suplexes. The Warrior Splash connects but Morrison cuts him off with the Moonlight Drive. Kofi and Miz get into it on the floor and Morrison flip dives off the top onto Kofi (with his knee getting dangerously close to Kofi’s head). Back in and Morrison kicks Big E. in the head again, setting up Starship Pain (which still looks bad) for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C. Morrison is back and it’s still really hard to not want to make him a face. He looks great, he has the flips and a high flying finisher. The problem is he hasn’t exactly done well as a face before so I get why they don’t go there, but the temptation must be strong. I could certainly go for Miz and Morrison taking the titles from New Day as singles runs might be the way to go for Kofi and Big E. for the time being.

Video on Roode vs. Reigns.

Reigns and the Usos are in some dark place and they’re ready to go tonight.

Usos vs. Revival

Scott and Jey run the ropes to start until Dawson gets knocked down. Jimmy comes in but it’s a cheap shot from Dash to put him in trouble in a hurry. We hit the chinlock for a bit but Jimmy fights up and hits the spinning enziguri for the break. Wilder comes in and cuts off the hot tag, only to give it up seconds later. Double superkicks put Dash down and the Superfly Splash from Jimmy (as Jey dives onto Dawson) finishes Wilder at 5:00.

Rating: C-. This was rather underwhelming as there was little drama and they went through the formula in a hurry. It wasn’t a bad match but you expect a lot more from these teams. I can go with getting the Usos back on track, but it would have been nice to see this get a little more time and energy.

Post break Revival says they’re frustrated and a change needs to be made. Hold on though as we hear a fight and pan over to see Bayley and Lacey Evans brawling as Sasha Banks is down and holding her ankle. Referees break it up.

We look back at Mandy Rose giving Otis the cake last week and Otis….staring at her for lack of a better term, while eating it.

Mandy is ready for Sonya Deville’s match tonight but Sonya asks her if Otis can be at ringside tonight. She won’t say why but if Mandy asks, Sonya will do it.

Sasha is icing her ankle while she and Bayley rant about Lacey. Adam Pearce comes in and says Bayley is facing Lacey instead, albeit in a non-title match.

Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Non-title. Bayley starts forearming away to start so Lacey snaps off a headscissors to sent her outside. Back in and Lacey small packages her for two but Bayley’s rollup with feet on the ropes doesn’t get anything. Bayley grabs the hair to snap the back of Lacey’s neck across the rope and we hit the armbar (Wouldn’t a chinlock make more sense after you started on the neck?).

Lacey fights up and kicks her in the ribs, followed by the running clotheslines. Another kick to the chest puts Bayley in the corner for the slingshot Bronco Buster but the double jump moonsault hits knees (looked great otherwise though). Lacey gets sent outside for a whip into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Bayley being sent back inside again but she snaps off a belly to back for two. A middle rope back elbow to the face gets two for Bayley but she misses a high crossbody. The Woman’s Right finishes Bayley at 11:25.

Rating: D+. This was a weird one as I like both of them but there were parts here that felt like they didn’t know what they were doing. It felt like some of this was a bunch of stuff instead of something that flowed from the beginning to the end. Lacey saluting time after time didn’t help either as it’s as pandering as you can get. It also didn’t help when this whole thing was filling time until we could get to one of WWE’s favorite booking tropes. At least there is a bit of an explanation this time as Bayley wasn’t ready, but it’s still more of the same.

Shorty G doesn’t like Sheamus coming back and talking down to everyone so he’s willing to teach him a lesson. Sheamus comes in to ask if anyone has seen Shorty G. After finding him, Sheamus pats Shorty on the head and gets double legged for some right hands to the face. Referees break it up and Sheamus is furious.

Braun Strowman wants an Intercontinental Title shot anytime. For now though, he’ll settle for entering the Royal Rumble.

Here’s Elias for a song, though he makes it clear that he needs our help. The song is about walking in Greensboro but here are Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn and Cesaro to interrupt. Sami is sorry to interrupt the sing song, but they have to deal with Braun Strowman to deal with right now. Strowman isn’t getting any Intercontinental Title show because he’s in no position to demand anything. Sami calls the shots around here and reminds everyone that Nakamura has won the Royal Rumble. Elias sings a song about how Sami needs to shut up so the fight is on. Strowman runs in for the save and cleans house.

Video on Rocky Johnson, who passed away earlier this week. It’s quite the tribute actually and Johnson was a lot of fun to watch in the little I’ve seen of him.

Alexa Bliss vs. Sonya Deville

Mandy Rose, Nikki Cross and Heavy Machinery are at ringside. Sonya knees her in the chest and ribs for two to start and we’re in the chinlock less than thirty seconds in. Bliss fights up and slugs her down so Mandy gets on the apron, only to get knocked into Otis’ arms. The distraction lets Bliss grab a rollup for the pin at 1:48. This is feeling more and more like the days of women’s divisions past every week.

King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler give Robert Roode a pep talk before the main event.

Shorty G. vs. Sheamus and Lacey Evans vs. Bayley for the title have been added to the Rumble card.

Roman Reigns vs. Robert Roode

Tables match and the winner gets to pick the stipulation for Corbin vs. Reigns at the Rumble. Roode jumps him from behind to start but Reigns punches his way out of trouble and loads up the announcers’ table. That earns him a whip into the steps but Reigns fights up again, only to miss a VERY hard spear through the barricade. Cue King Corbin on the throne and we take a break.

Back with Reigns slipping out of a superplex attempt but not being able to powerbomb Roode through a table. Instead Roode is sent outside as Reigns sets up a table in the corner. Corbin runs down and offers a distraction, allowing Dolph Ziggler to run in with a superkick (or Sweet Chin Music according to Cole). Reigns is sat on the announcers’ table but the Usos run in for the save. Ziggler is splashed through the table and Reigns spears Roode through the table for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: C. This was just a way to get to the stipulation at the end and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not like Roode was any serious threat to Reigns and they advanced the story a bit by having the Usos there to make things even, which allows Reigns to be the better man even against adversity. I really hope they blow off Reigns vs. Corbin on Sunday though because egads I don’t think I can take much more of it.

Post match Reigns picks Falls Count Anywhere.

Overall Rating: C. The point of this show was to set up the Royal Rumble and they did that rather well on a lot of fronts. At the same time though, it was a rather uninteresting show on its own, with none of the matches being worth seeing and almost everything just coming and going with little impact tonight. It’s a watchable show, but something that you would be better off recapping rather than watching.

Results

John Morrison b. Big E. – Starship Pain

Usos b. Revival – Superfly Splash to Wilder

Lacey Evans b. Bayley – Woman’ Right

Alexa Bliss b. Sonya Deville – Rollup

Roman Reigns b. Robert Roode – Spear through a table

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: January 9, 2020
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

It’s time to start setting up the Royal Rumble and that could go a few different ways. The big story this time around is having Brock Lesnar enter at #1, which could make for a few cool moments in the early going, plus a big deal when someone throws him out. I’m not sure what we’ll be seeing in the way of highlights but it’s nice to get a refresher. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Mojo Rawley vs. Curt Hawkins

Zack Ryder is here with Hawkins. Rawley chills in the corner to start before clotheslining Hawkins down and talking a lot of trash. Hawkins manages to knock him down and go up, only to have Mojo bail to the floor. That means a neck snap across the top rope and the chinlock is on. It’s broken up in a hurry though as Hawkins jawbreaks his way to freedom. Some dropkicks put Rawley in the corner and the top rope elbow gets two. Rawley runs him over though and it’s a fireman’s carry faceplant to put Hawkins away at 4:39.

Rating: D+. I know his career barely exists at this point but it’s great to see Hawkins trying so hard every time he’s out there. It means a lot to see someone working like that and it makes these matches a lot more fun. He likely won’t ever get anywhere significant, but he’s doing something and it’s better than just sitting around doing nothing for months at a time.

From Raw.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. Heyman talks about Brock wondering who will be facing him at the Royal Rumble but realizing that no one from Raw, Smackdown or NXT is worthy. That’s why Brock is going to do something unprecedented, which is what he does. Brock promised to beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania and then he did it. So what is his next unprecedented move? Brock is entering the Royal Rumble at #1 so he can fight twenty nine people at once. Heyman promises Lesnar will throw everyone out and win the whole thing and yes, that is a spoiler. No word on if the title will be on the line.

I saw someone suggest this same idea somewhere else and it’s an interesting idea. I’d prefer this over having Lesnar face and destroy someone else like he’d done over the last few years, though I’m almost scared to imagine who we might get as the person who throws Lesnar out. Still though, interesting idea.

We look at Daniel Bryan becoming #1 contender to challenge the Fiend at Royal Rumble.

From Smackdown.

Roman Reigns/Daniel Bryan vs. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler

Corbin jumps Reigns at the bell and gets punched in the face for his efforts. It’s off to Ziggler, whose neckbreaker is easily broken up so Reigns can hit a big boot. Bryan comes in and kicks away….but we have the Fiend laughing and lights flickering. Back from a break with Reigns kicking Corbin in the face but running into Deep Six for two. Corbin sends him into the steps and Ziggler begs Reigns to do something.

The Superman Punch finally gets Reigns out of trouble and it’s back to Bryan to pick up the pace. Bryan elbows Ziggler down and hits the YES Kicks, only to miss the big one. Ziggler’s rollup is reversed into the LeBell Lock with Corbin making the save. Reigns spears Corbin and Bryan knees Ziggler….as the lights go out. The Fiend is here so Bryan hits him with a suicide dive.

Fiend gets posted but is right back with the Mandible Claw to send Bryan through the barricade. The Claw goes on again and there go the lights, meaning the Fiend is gone. Ziggler and Corbin jump Reigns as he goes to check on Bryan, meaning it’s time for the handcuffs and dog food. Cue the returning Usos for the save though, which is pretty long overdue. We’ll say the match ended at about 10:00.

Rating: C-. This was all just a means to get to the end of the match and that’s fine as it didn’t exactly overstay its welcome. That being said, this didn’t help hide the fact that Ziggler and Corbin aren’t exactly as interesting as a lot of the other people on the show, including the three other people involved in the match. Not a bad match or anything, but a means to an end more than anything on its own.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Natalya vs. Chelsea Green

They go to the mat and trade headscissors until Chelsea is up with a wristlock. Natalya goes for more grappling though and Green dives over for the ropes in a smart move. A hammerlock doesn’t do much to Natalya and Green has to go to the ropes again. Green shoulders her down but gets sent into the corner, only to have to escape the Sharpshooter attempt. A cheap shot puts Natalya down though and we take a break.

Back with Green choking in the corner but getting rolled up for two. The chinlock goes on to keep Natalya down, followed by some choking on the rope for a similar effect. It’s another chinlock, as Green certainly likes working that neck. Natalya powers out and hits her slingshot belly to back drop for two. A hard clothesline sets up the Sharpshooter to make Green tap at 10:24.

Rating: D+. Green isn’t exactly thrilling in the ring but she has charisma and makes you pay attention, which is more than a lot of women on the main roster can say. The match was nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s nice to see someone fresh getting a chance for once. Granted she’s already back in NXT, though at least she got her feet wet on the main roster for a bit.

Video on Bobby Lashley and Lana’s wedding, with Liv Morgan interrupting.

From Raw.

Here are Lashley and Lana with the minister from last week in the ring (apparently the minister was the fan, which would be some major miscommunication). Lana is furious about last week and wants things made right so they get married in a hurry, because the minister can officiate weddings in multiple states.

Lana kicks the minister out for being boring but still doesn’t seem happy. It’s because of all these people here who don’t want to see this ring on her finger. Last week a bunch of exes came out to interrupt the wedding over and over again because so many people are so jealous of their love. Lashley says Rusev is the sorriest of them all but here’s Rusev on the screen, standing in front of a superimposed island.

Since Lana and Lashley didn’t have a honeymoon, he’s taking it for them. But first, he needs to give them their wedding gift: a wedding album, with pictures from last week’s fiasco. Lana rants about how much she hates Rusev….and Lashley tells her to shut up. Lashley says Rusev used to be a man but they need to fight one more time. Rusev agrees to fight him next week and the Bulgarian Brute will be back. There was no reference to or mention of Liv Morgan.

From Raw.

Seth Rollins/AOP vs. Samoa Joe/Kevin Owens/???

Rollins is officially dubbed the Monday Night Messiah and says he knows what is best for everyone. The mystery partner is….the Big Show, who hasn’t wrestled in over a year due to hip surgery. Show cleans house to start and hits a big chop on Rollins to send us to a break. Back with Rollins still in trouble as Owens hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Rezar gets in a cheap shot though and sends Owens into the barricade, as the fans want Big Show.

Back in and we hit the neck crank on Owens to slow things down so Show starts playing cheerleader (the veterans are always good at that). The side slam/middle rope stomp combination gets two on Owens and it’s off to Rollins for a chinlock of his own. Owens fights up and hits an enziguri on Akam, so Rezar comes in to knock Joe off the apron. That earns him a superkick from Owens and the hot tag brings Show back in. Joe gets sent into the steps, leaving Show to pull Rollins out of the air. The double chokeslam to AOP is broken up with a chair shot from Rollins for the DQ at 10:15.

Rating: C-. I know the fans were chanting for him a bit during the match, but Big Show? I don’t think he’s going to be a big feature attraction but I don’t exactly see this as being the impactful move that WWE thinks it might be. It has been a long time and I was surprised to hear that music again, though the excitement died down in a hurry as you knew the DQ or countout was coming. It’s a nice surprise in the short term but long term, they’re going to need something else.

Post match the beatdown is on but Show punches Rollins out to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show did the same thing that so many bad episodes of Main Event have done over the last year or two: showed just how uninteresting Raw and Smackdown can be. The full shows have some different perks that you don’t see on here, but the shortened versions aren’t exactly making me want to watch more of the main shows in the future.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 10, 2020
Location: Ford Center Evansville, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re getting closer to the Royal Rumble and things started to pick up a lot this week on Raw. Therefore, you can probably assume the same thing here because these shows tend to follow each other. I’m sure we’ll get more from Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin now that the Usos are back, because this feud just needs to keep going. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

It’s MizTV to get things going. People have said Miz has changed since his issues with Bray Wyatt but last week was just a bad day. Sometimes people want to tell you to smile but he didn’t want to do that last week. He wants to apologize to Kofi Kingston for what he said last week but he has been going through a lot. One of the few bright spots has been the return of an old friend though, so here is the returning John Morrison as his guest.

We get a highlight package of Morrison’s time in WWE and he talks about his big comeback. He was promised new music, a new shirt, a team of pomeranians pulling him to the ring at the Royal Rumble (Morrison: “Small dogs only because there’s only one big dog around here.”), but he’s been doing some thinking. The more he thinks about last week, the more disappointed he is in the fans. Miz had one bad day and the fans say he sucks?

These people don’t know what it’s like to be in the ring but here’s New Day to interrupt. Big E. thinks Miz is such a bad actor that he couldn’t be cast as the back end of a centipede. With that image out of the way, Kofi talks about how Miz should have just said he had a bad day and it would have been so much better. Miz respects Kofi’s six month reign as WWE Champion but not the six seconds it took him to lose the title right back. Kofi says Miz is changing and he sucks….and that’s it in an abrupt ending as we need a commercial.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz

Morrison and big E. are on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Kofi dropkicking him into the corner before we go to a far too long look at the commentary table. Miz knees him in the ribs as Morrison asks why Kofi didn’t give Big E. a title shot during his six months as champion. Kofi elbows him in the face as Big E. explains that the team is a brotherhood and they were all World Champion at the same time. A suicide dive takes Miz out but he shoves Kofi into Big E. as we take a break.

Back with Kofi fighting out of a chinlock with Morrison and Big E. off commentary. Miz goes after the knee to cut Kofi off and hits some YES Kicks. The Skull Crushing Finale is blocked and Kofi gets two off the SOS. Miz charges into a kick to the face in the corner but kicks the knee out of the air and slaps on the Figure Four. With that broken up, Morrison dives onto Big E. and the distracted Kofi walks into the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 11:29.

Rating: C. You knew the 50/50 booking was coming as soon as this match was announced as we set up a likely Tag Team Title match at the Rumble. That’s a rather interesting match on paper and I can go for cocky Morrison as something for him to do. It’s not like this show is dying for faces as you could argue Otis is one of the top faces on the show at this point.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray saying he loves everyone here. That feels special but not everyone is worthy. He means Daniel Bryan because whatever the opposite of what love is is what HE feels about Bryan. Daniel has been naughty lately and he’s in a heap of trouble at the Royal Rumble.

First, the Fiend wanted him to remember, and we get some clips of Bryan’s time in the Wyatt Family, plus his rebellion. Then he wanted to change Bryan, with clips of the haircut. Now that Bryan wants the title, HE wants to destroy Bryan. Bray: “Bye! I love you! Not you Daniel!” I’m as shocked as you are that WWE actually remembered a history between these two from so long ago but it’s rather nice to see for a change.

Here’s Elias for a song. He sings about the Royal Rumble, including about how he’ll win and how much more interesting he is than Brock, mainly because he’s actually here.

Alexa Bliss vs. Mandy Rose

Bliss and Nikki Cross are both in the Rumble. They shove each other to start and Bliss doesn’t like it, earning Rose a slap to the face. Another slap puts Rose on the floor for a baseball slide but Sonya offers a distraction. Cross breaks that up but Mandy gets in a knee to the head for two. They trade kicks to the face and a double clothesline puts them both down. Bliss is up first with Insult To Injury….and here’s Heavy Machinery with the cake. The distraction lets Rose grab a rollup for the pin at 4:02.

Rating: D. What was this supposed to be? They needed to have the freshly face Bliss lose to the distraction rollup here? Right after they announced her as one of the first names in the Rumble? This felt like one of the most standard WWE booking tropes around and it came after a match that seemed to exist to fill time until the finish. I like the Mandy and Otis stuff though, just because of the weird charisma that Otis has.

Mandy smiles at Otis.

Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks

Hold on though as Bayley pops up on screen to say Sasha is AWOL tonight and even a jar head like Lacey can understand that. Bayley is here tonight because she has to be so Lacey talks about how she loves to be in the heartland. She wants a title match tonight but Bayley isn’t her kid and won’t be doing what Lacey says. Lacey goes to the back and gets jumped by Bayley, who says put on her mom jeans and go home. Referees break it up.

We recap last week’s main event with the Fiend attacking Daniel Bryan.

Bryan says Fiend wants a lot and Bryan does remember the Wyatt Family. He also remembers outsmarting them and Fiend must not be happy with that. Then Fiend wants him to change so Bryan feels more dangerous. The one thing Fiend can change about him is that he can’t be broken. Ramblin Rabbit pops up on screen behind him and offers to tell Bryan the secret to defeating the Fiend but Bray grabs him and says snitches get snitches. Bryan nods a bit. I need scenes of Bryan trying to meet with Rabbit in secret to get information, preferably in wacky costumes with false identities.

Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title and Nakamura has Sami Zayn and Cesaro with him. Nakamura avoids a charge in the corner to start and starts striking away but runs into a big boot. Now the running splash in the corner connects but Sami pulls Nakamura to the floor before a second can hit. A distraction lets Nakamura post Strowman and we take a break. Back with Nakamura kicking Strowman down for two and putting on the chinlock.

Another kick to the face looks to set up a middle rope shot to the head, only to have Strowman clothesline him out of the air. The forearm to the chest gets two but Nakamura hits a running dropkick. A running knee to the head connects for two more but Strowman is back with a spinebuster. Cesaro tries to bring in a chair and Nakamura tries to bring in the title but Strowman just powerslams him for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C. I kind of liked this one and I could go for another one, even though I’m not sure I can imagine Strowman winning the title. That’s his deal: look unstoppable in the build and then get stopped when it matters most. Normally I would say he has to win this time but I’ve said it so many times that I don’t believe it myself anymore.

Post match Strowman holds up the title but Sami runs in and takes it back.

Sheamus calls Shorty G. an example of everything wrong with Smackdown since he left. Small is something to be crushed and disposed of because size does matter. Sheamus wants to embrace chaos.

Bryan finds a present in his locker room. It’s a deformed Ramblin Rabbit, who has had half of his head ripped off.

Here’s Roman Reigns for a chat before the main event. He’s been dealing with King Corbin and his friends so Reigns knew he needed friends. This time he needed more though so he needed family. This is going to be his year and he’s going to win the Royal Rumble so he can move on and main event Wrestlemania for the fifth time. He’ll do it with the Usos by his side.

Cue the Usos to say they have this show on lockdown. Corbin disrespected the family with the dog food but this brings out Corbin and Ziggler to say the three of them are scared. Reigns would love to beat up Corbin twice in one night so they should fight twice at the Rumble. Corbin agrees and is now in the Rumble as well. The Usos hit big dives and the main event is next.

Usos vs. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler

Jimmy shoulders Ziggler down to start and it’s a double elbow drop for two. Corbin comes in for a clothesline and Jimmy gets caught in the wrong corner. Some right hands in the corner stagger Corbin a bit and a jumping enziguri puts him down. Jimmy goes up but here’s the Revival to distract him, meaning Ziggler can send him into the barricade.

Cue Reigns (Why did he leave?) to beat up the Revival and we take a break. Back with Jey hitting the running hip attack in the corner but diving onto Corbin, who pulls him out of the air. Corbin sends Jey into Reigns so Jimmy superkicks Ziggler to set up the Superfly Splash. Back up and Corbin gets speared down by Reigns for the DQ at 8:55.

Rating: C. You knew someone was going to get disqualified here as the Usos may be back but we can’t have Corbin and Ziggler lose because they’re the major heels. The Usos looked like their old selves and that’s rather good as they’re still one of the best teams in the world. Just find someone more interesting for them to face.

Post match Robert Roode returns and hits the Glorious DDT on Reigns on the floor. The Usos get laid out as well and it’s a spinebuster/elbow drop to put Reigns through the table to end the show. Just in case you weren’t overwhelmed by the levels of boring in Corbin and Ziggler already, now Roode is back.

Overall Rating: D+. Not a very good show here, though again you can see where each of the stories are going and you know what they’re going for in each case. Now that doesn’t mean that they’re very good or interesting, but that’s more about the booking and the way the wrestlers are presented. Tonight we had two distraction finishes, a failed distraction finish and a DQ. That’s not much on a show that included two half hour segment/match portions. There are good parts to the show but the presentation isn’t that interesting and it’s becoming more and more of a problem.

Results

The Miz b. Kofi Kingston – Skull Crushing Finale

Mandy Rose b. Alexa Bliss – Rollup

Braun Strowman b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Running powerslam

King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler b. Usos via DQ when Roman Reigns interfered

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

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