Money In The Bank 2024
Date: July 6, 2024
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re back up north and it’s one of the biggest shows of the year. As has been the case lately, we have a five match card, but those are five pretty big matches. In addition to the two namesake ladder matches, we also have the Raw World Title, the Intercontinental Title and a stacked six man tag. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is the spy vs. spy theme, with the idea of a heist to get the briefcases.

Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade vs. LA Knight vs. Chad Gable vs. Carmelo Hayes

It’s a brawl to start as you might expect, with Uso and Knight clearing the ring. The first ladders are thrown in, with McIntyre using one of them to clean house. Gable goes up top to catch McIntyre and grabs a cross armbreaker, with Andrade springboarding in to drop Gable with a legdrop. Hayes is in to take everyone out and it’s McIntyre vs. Uso, meaning the CM PUNK chants are out in full.

A spear cuts McIntyre down but Gable is back in, only to get kicked in the face by Uso. Gable is back up with some German suplexes, including rolling Chaos Theory to Hayes. Knight grabs a neckbreaker to drive Gable into a ladder and then takes Hayes outside for the rams into the announcers’ table. Hayes fights up again and goes for a big ladder, only for Gable to cut him off with a smaller ladder.

Andrade makes a save but McIntyre is there to break everything up as well. Knight is there with a BFT to McIntyre, setting up Uso’s Superfly Splash. Uso and Knight slug it out on top of the ladder but Hayes is back in to shove the ladder over, sending them into the ropes. Hayes flip dives onto Gable and goes up for Nothing But Net to Uso. Hayes goes up but gets caught in a NASTY sunset bomb onto a bridged ladder (Hayes bounced off that thing).

Gable suplexes Knight over the top and onto a ladder bridged onto the announcers’ table. That lets Gable go up but Uso moves the ladder, leaving Gable hanging. Uso spears him down and goes up but the briefcases is swinging. McIntyre THROWS a ladder at Uso and hits the Claymore, allowing him to pull the briefcase down and win at 16:33.

Rating: B-. It was a ladder match without much drama about the winner, which didn’t make for the most thrilling showcase. McIntyre felt like the only viable option to win the thing and then they went exactly in that direction the whole time. What we got was good, but there are only so many things you can do to make one of these things work after it has been done so often over the years.

We recap Sami Zayn defending the Intercontinental Title against Bron Breakker. Zayn is the underdog champion and Breakker is the physical freak with unlimited potential.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

Zayn is defending and gets thrown around to start. Breakker is so confident that he offers Zayn a slap, which Zayn accepts. That earns Zayn a drive into the corner but Zayn fights out with some right hands. Breakker is sent outside for the Arabian moonsault but Breakker is right back with a belly to belly.

Zayn gets back up with a rope walk tornado DDT for two and they need a breather. Breakker gets sent outside but Zayn’s moonsault is cut off. A posting slows Breakker down but the diving DDT is countered with a hard clothesline. Back in and the Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two, only to have Breakker catch him on top.

The Frankensteiner connects for two and they go outside again, with Breakker missing a spear but avoiding the contact into the steps (that’s the kind of learning he did against Dolph Ziggler during his NXT run). Instead Zayn is sat onto the announcers’ table for the clothesline and a big crash. Back in and Zayn is fine enough to hit the exploder into the corner, only for Breakker to cut off the Helluva Kick. The gorilla press powerslam looks to set up the spear but Zayn kicks him away. The Helluva Kick retains the title at 13:13.

Rating: C+. That was rather underwhelming, with the match never coming close to a higher gear. Breakker never seemed to go all out to beat him here and it showed rather badly. They were going for the idea of Zayn being the smarter champion over the inexperienced Breakker, which only kind of worked and was far from great in any way.

Here is host Trish Stratus to talk about her history in this arena. She won titles, had her retirement, and was the mystery partner of this man…..so here is John Cena. The fans go nuts, even as Cena’s towel says THE LAST TIME IS NOW ad his shirt says “After This, You Can’t See Me.” Cena says the fans are here to cheer, but tonight, he is here to officially announce his retirement from WWE.

Cena talks about his time in Toronto and how much he loves the Canadian fans. Whether WWE is hot or cold, Canadians always show up. So why retire now? It’s because this is Money In The Bank, the ultimate symbol of opportunity. Next year, Raw debuts on Netflix and he’ll be there for the first time.

We’ll also see some lasts, including his last Royal Rumble, the last Elimination Chamber, and in Las Vegas, the last Wrestlemania he’s going to compete in. He’s going to open the press conference after the show and answer all questions about his retirement. For now though, Cena wants to say thank you to everyone involved. He’ll be back in Toronto, but if you want some, come get some, because the LAST TIME is now.

Well that’s kind of a huge one and while you knew it was coming, it’s almost hard to fathom that it’s happening. Wrestlemania is going to be the Cena show all over again (I’m sure CM Punk will be thrilled) and at the end of the day, it really should be. Like him or not, Cena is one of the biggest stars ever and that is worthy of this kind of a spot.

Damian Priest wants to face Seth Rollins on his own and Finn Balor isn’t pleased.

We recap Seth Rollins challenging Damian Priest for the Raw World Title. Priest won the title at Wrestlemania but wants to prove he can beat Rollins, who was happy to get a title shot.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest

Priest is defending. Rollins chops away to start but gets taken out with the Broken Arrow. A lifting Downward Spiral gives Priest two but Rollins knocks him outside for a breather. The suicide dive sends Priest into the announcers’ table and they head back inside. A basement superkick rocks Priest and Rollins hits a springboard Swanton into a Lionsault for two.

Priest fights up and tries the Razor’s Edge but Rollins slips out and hits a running knee. A buckle bomb hits Priest, who is right back with a sitout powerbomb for two. We pause for Priest to make sure Drew McIntyre isn’t coming out before they slug it out. Priest’s kick to the head looks to set up South Of Heaven but Rollins slips out and hits the Stomp (or something close to it) for two.

Back up and Priest hits the Razor’s Edge for two and frustration is setting in. With Priest going up, Rollins runs the corner into the superplex and the Falcon Arrow gets a weird two (as the referee just kind of stopped counting. Cue Drew McIntyre with the briefcase and he’s cashing in so this is now a triple threat! And the bell…..rings so it’s on!

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre

Priest is defending and cuts off an early Claymore attempt. Instead a jumping kick to the chest (not quite the Claymore) hits Priest and CM Punk is here to go after McIntyre. Punk blasts McIntyre with the chair…but stops to look at the title. Punk picks up the title and clocks McIntyre before sitting down on the announcers’ table (Cole: “What are you doing Phil?”). The South Of Heaven chokeslam finishes McIntyre to retain Priest’s title at 15:50 (between both matches).

Rating: B. Ignoring how nice it is to have one of the briefcases already out of the way, there is something to be said to having Punk cost McIntyre AGAIN as it is one of the better stories WWE has presented in a good while. I want to see those two fight, and that will likely be happening sooner rather than later. At the same time, Rollins is no longer allowed to challenge Priest for the title, meaning Gunther vs. Priest is rather likely for Summerslam. That’s certainly a way to go, but Priest is being built up fairly well on the way in.

Post match Rollins yells at Punk, who doesn’t seem to care.

Naomi vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green vs. Iyo Sky

It’s a brawl to start (shocking I know) so Green is left alone with a ladder…but she’s scared of heights. Instead she tries to poke at the briefcase with the ladder, allowing Sky to springboard in with a dropkick. Sky knocks Stratton into a ladder in the corner and hits the running Meteora for a bonus.

Valkyria and Stark come back in to clear the ring, with Stark suplexing Valkyria down. A Samoan drop onto a ladder has Valkyria in more trouble and a twisting moonsault…completely misses Valkyria in a terrible looking crash. Naomi is back in to jump Stark and hits the splits legdrop onto the ladder. The split legged moonsault onto Stark onto the ladder connects but Stratton is back in to clean house. Stratton goes up and hits a big flip dive onto a bunch of people, leaving Green to set up the big ladder.

Valkyria goes up but Sky ties her up in a Tree of Woe in the ladder. That just leaves Valkyria to sit up and hit a German suplex to send Sky crashing down HARD. Stark and Stratton go up top and fight on top of the ladder until Naomi makes a save. Naomi winds up doing the splits between two ladders before taking Stark down at the same time. It’s time for some tables with Green and Stratton taking their sweet time setting them up.

A bunch of people go up but Green and Stratton make the save with some ladders. Stratton gets sent face first into the ladder and Valkyria gets powerbombed onto one of the bridged ladders for a nasty crash. Green cuts Naomi off and hits something like an Unprettier onto the ladder. Sky and Stark are up top and Sky kind of TOMBSTONES HER ONTO A BRIDGED LADDER. Green uses the chance to go up and….doesn’t quite win as Stratton comes up as well. Green gets launched off the top and through the tables at ringside, allowing Stratton to win at 16:51.

Rating: B+. Now this was more like it, as you had everyone going nuts and leaving it all in the ring with one big spot after another. That piledriver onto the ladder and Green’s free fall both made me gasp and that is a great sign. This was one of the better ladder matches I’ve seen in a long time and they picked the right winner on top of that. Awesome stuff here.

We recap the main event, with Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton teaming up against the new Bloodline. Solo Sikoa has turned the team into a group built on violence, even taking out Paul Heyman. Now it’s time to try to slow them down.

Trish Stratus is in the back when Tiffany Stratton interrupts her. Stratton wants her to offer some praise, but Stratus says it’s what matters when you cash in that briefcase. Stratton thinks it’s sad that Trishy Time is over.

Bloodline vs. Randy Orton/Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens

Sikoa starts with Rhodes but hands it off to Tama to really get going. Rhodes takes Tama into the corner so Owens can come in and hammer away, including a SUCK IT. It’s off to Orton for the right hands but Fatu gets the tag and you can tell the fans are into this. Orton hits the hanging DDT but Fatu pops up, scaring Orton as he loads up the RKO. A basement superkick takes Orton own and Sikoa is able to come in and glare menacingly.

The slow beating is on until Orton suplexes Tama down. Owens comes back in to hammer away a bit and there’s the Cannonball. A Swanton gets two, with Fatu making the save. Fatu hammers on Owens and it’s back to Sikoa for the running hip attack in the corner. Fatu’s hip attack connects as well and it’s back to Tama to hammer away.

The slow beating continues with all of the Bloodline getting in their shots, only to have Fatu miss a charge into the post. Cody comes in to clean house, including the Cody Cutter to Tama. Fatu gets backdropped into the timekeeper’s area, leaving Sikoa to hit a not great spear for two on Rhodes. The referee gets bumped, so the Cross Rhodes into a frog splash into the RKO to Sikoa doesn’t get a cover.

Fatu is back up to break up the TripleBomb but the referee gets crushed against the steps again. Owens superkicks Fatu and hits him with the big Prime bottle, setting up a frog splash to put Fatu through the announcers’ table. Owens loads up the package piledriver but Loa hits him low (twice, with the first one seeming to miss) Back in and Orton busts out a bunch of RKO’s but gets Samoan Spiked by Sikoa. Rhodes hits two Cross Rhodes on Sikoa but Fatu is back in with a twisting flip dive off the top. An implant DDT hits Rhodes and the Samoan Spike finishes for Sikoa at 24:40.

Rating: B. That ending probably sets up the main event of Summerslam and that’s all this needed to do. It was a good enough brawl at the same time, and while it might not have been an all time main event, it did its job. Fatu did rather well in his in-ring debut as well, as he felt like an unstoppable monster at times. Good stuff here, with the ending being what mattered.

Overall Rating: B. This wasn’t some blow away, all time great show, but for the main show of the month, it did well enough. Part of the problem with Money In The Bank is that it’s more about setting up things for later rather than doing anything on its own. That worked out more or less the same here, as the briefcases are for later (well, the one that made it through the night at least) and the main event set up a Summerslam match. Not a great show, but it did what you should have expected.

Results
Drew McIntyre won the men’s Money In The Bank ladder match
Sami Zayn b. Bron Breakker – Helluva Kick
Damian Priest b. Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre – South Of Heaven to McIntyre
Tiffany Stratton won the Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match
Bloodline b. Randy Orton/Kevin Owens/Cody Rhodes – Samoan Spike to Rhodes

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

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

AND

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

We have arrived at one of the biggest WWE events of the year as it is somehow already time to bring back the briefcases despite the previous cash-in being about three months ago. In addition to the ladder matches, we have the usual variety of matches taking place, but as has been the recent custom, there are only five total matches. Let’s get to it.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn(c) vs. Bron Breakker

This is a story that has been done before and thankfully it tends to be Zayn’s specialty: a monster opponent who leaves Zayn looking like he has no chance of survival. In this case though, Breakker seems like he could be in for his first big main roster title win, which could be the start of a major career. At the same time, it is only about three months removed from Zayn winning the title in the first place and that would be a quick turnaround.

I’m not sure how and it might not be a good idea, but I think Zayn retains here. We are so recently removed from the all time dominant title reign and putting the title on another beast like Breakker seems a bit soon. At the same time, they are going to need something to protect Breakker here, as there is zero reason for him to be taking a clean pin, even to a veteran like Zayn. They might change the title here, but I’ll say Zayn escapes for now.

Bloodline vs. Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton

Here we have what might be the biggest story in WWE at the moment, as Solo Sikoa is claiming to be the new Tribal Chief as Roman Reigns is out. That leads to a number of interesting options, including what happens when Reigns returns. Sikoa is going to need something big to keep him occupied on the way there though and I think it starts with an important moment here.

It’s hard to believe that this ends with anything but Sikoa pinning Rhodes to set up the title match at Summerslam. That makes all the sense in the world and seems to be what they are telegraphing, which is absolutely not a bad way to go. The makeshift team will put up a heck of a fight, but this is Sikoa’s chance to get the biggest win of his career and set the stage for probably his biggest match ever. We’ll go with the easiest way to get there as the Bloodline wins as Sikoa pins Rhodes.

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

As usual, this is a case of eliminating the options that are not going to happen and getting us down to the most realistic. We’ll get rid of Carmelo Hayes and Andrade as they just aren’t happening. That leaves us with LA Knight (not likely, with Logan Paul probably costing him the briefcase at some point), Gable (same thing, but with the Wyatt Sicks), Jey Uso (maybe but a long shot) and one more option.

I’ll go with the simple and easy pick here and say Drew McIntyre, as he is the best possible choice. After everything he has been through with CM Punk, it is time to give him a win and it would fit nicely as he was cashed in on just a few months ago. There is the option that Punk costs him again, but that might be once too many times, even after McIntyre attacked Punk last month. I’ll take McIntyre to win here, but it’s the definition of anything could happen, as always.

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

This one is trickier as there is only one option (Zoey Stark) who won’t be winning. That leaves the rest of the field rather wide open and that could make for an interesting situation. In this case, I’m not sure I can see Iyo Sky winning as she was just in the title picture at Wrestlemania. Lyra Valkyria doesn’t feel likely either, which leaves us with a couple of realistic options.

While Naomi holding the briefcase and possibly cashing in on her friend Bayley is an option (and maybe a strong one), I’ll go with what makes the most sense here and say Tiffany Stratton. There is a chance that Chelsea green wins for the nice Canadian moment, but Stratton having the briefcase and holding it over everyone’s head feels so perfect that I’ll go with that as the pick, but it’s another case where I’m far from confident.

Raw World Title: Damian Priest(c) vs. Seth Rollins

This is a match where the bigger question is where we’re going from here. The title match itself is big enough, but it brings up the question of what happens next month at Summerslam. Gunther is already waiting on the winner and I can’t imagine that Priest is going to be the one defending against him. That leaves the question of a possible cash-in or Rollins taking the title here, and I think you know where it’s going.

Even though it would feel like a return to where we were coming into WrestleMania, I’ll take Rollins to win here and go on to Summerslam for the big showdown with Gunther. That match was teased earlier this year and it could be a heck of a fight if we go there, so I’ll go with what makes sense. Rollins winning might not be the most interesting option, but it sets up the best possible outcome.

Overall Thoughts

These five match specials are a good way to go for WWE as they leave you wanting more but still deliver enough. There are some big matches on the card and we should be in for another solid one. Money In The Bank has a built in advantage of being a ladder match with some stakes, though the rest of the card is going to have to more than pull its weight. I’m optimistic about this one though and that’s always a nice feeling to have.

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: July 5, 2024
Location: Scotia Bank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We are a day away from Money In The Bank and that means it is time to get the final push towards the show. The ladder matches are officially set and now we are probably going to be seeing people sitting on ladders and talking to each other. Other than that, the Bloodline has gotten rid of Paul Heyman and now we are going to be seeing the start of the fallout. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jey Uso to get things going. He wants to win Money In The Bank but here is LA Knight to interrupt. Knight was the favorite last year and look what happened to him. Tomorrow, the people will be saying YEAH, not YEET. They get into a catchphrase off until Carmelo Hayes interrupts, saying no one wants to hear that.

Chad Gable cuts them off to say he’s been going through all kinds of problems in the last few weeks. Andrade interrupts and doesn’t say much before Drew McIntyre interrupts to brag about having CM Punk’s bracelet. McIntyre mocks most of the other people, including asking how Jey got across the border. The fight is on with Knight and Uso knocking McIntyre to the floor and standing tall. This was as paint by the numbers as you can get.

Bayley is in the back when Chelsea Green interrupts, threatening to cash in on Bayley soon. Piper Niven jumps Bayley, with Green saying that’s how she can cash in.

Post break, Bayley has gotten a match with Niven tonight.

Street Profits vs. Pretty Deadly

B-Fab is here with the Profits. Ford wrestles Wilson to the mat to start as Barrett is swooning over Pretty Deadly’s attire. Prince comes in and gets double hiptossed in short order, only to have Wilson hammer Dawkins down in the corner. We take a break and come back with Dawkins getting two off a sunset flip but getting knocked back into the corner. That doesn’t last long either though as Dawkins gets over to Ford for the house cleaning. Ford gets caught on top but Dawkins makes a blind tag and makes a save. Dawkins knocks Prince off the apron and hits a big dive. Ford’s frog splash pins Prince at 9:45.

Rating: C+. The Profits continue to get built back up, which shows that they might have been better off not being associated with Lashley in the first place. It’s a bit weird to have Pretty Deadly come back and lose, but at least one of the teams is getting a nice boost. For now, they had an ok match, but it’s nothing that is going to have an impact for any time.

A-Town Down Under is ready to retain the Tag Team Titles, with Grayson Waller giving Austin Theory a big pep talk.

We look back at the Bloodline wrecking Paul Heyman last week.

Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae vs. Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair

Joined in progress with Cargill kicking Hartwell in the face but some double teaming brings Cargill down. Cargill fights up and it’s a double knockdown, allowing the tag off to Belair so the pace can pick up. Belair kicks LeRae down and brings Cargill back in for stereo Jaded/KOD and the pin on LeRae at 4:12.

Rating: C. I’m surprised this wasn’t more of a squash, as Cargill and Belair are still the most dominant team in the division. Odds are they’ll get a title shot in the near future and we’ll see where things go from there, but for now they’re still wrecking teams like Hartwell and LeRae. The division could still use more fresh blood, but at least there are some regular teams.

Post match Belair and Cargill say they’re coming to get the Women’s Tag Team Titles back.

Video on DIY vs. A-Town Down Under.

Here are Kevin Owens, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes says they have heard enough from the Bloodline so they are ready for a fight. Orton is ready to end that fight with an RKO but it’s off to Owens, with the fans approving. Owens would rather talk about the last four days rather than the last four years, because he got a call from his dad.

Apparently his mom was rushed to the hospital, where he and his family have watched his mom fight for a few days. His mom is still in the hospital and won’t be at Money In The Bank, but that would be a problem for his mother. She did everything to make Owens’ dream come true, and she would be furious if he missed a show because of her. Excellent stuff here from Owens, which tends to be the case when you have a great talker with something important to talk about.

We get a video on the history of the Tag Team Titles, with even Demolition getting a mention.

Bayley vs. Piper Niven

Non-title and Naomi/Chelsea Green are here too while Iyo Sky is watching from the crowd. Niven runs her over to start and they head outside. Bayley is sent into the steps and we take an early break. Back with the Rose Plant being blocked and Bayley grabbing a sleeper, only to get planted down.

Bayley gets in a knockdown of her own as Naomi and Green get in a brawl on the floor. Naomi gets the better of things so Sky jumps the barricade and decks her. Cue Lyra Valkyria, Zoey Stark and Tiffany Stratton to brawl at ringside, with Stratton moonsaulting onto them. Bayley avoids Niven’s moonsault and hits the Rose Plant for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C+. As you might have been able to tell, this was much more about the insanity going on outside rather than the match itself. They had to do something to give the women’s match a final push but it only worked so well. Not exactly a great match, but they could only do so much with so much else going on.

Post match Nia Jax runs in to lay Bayley out but Michin runs in to make the save with a kendo stick.

Money In The Bank rundown, complete with Trish Stratus being announced as the official host.

DIY talks about their history in this building.

Tag Team Titles: DIY vs. A-Town Down Under

A-Town Down Under is defending and jump them to start, only to get knocked outside for stereo slingshot dives. We take an early break and come back with Gargano in trouble but managing a twisting Canadian Destroyer to plant Waller on the floor. Theory is right there to cut him off though and Gargano gets dropped for two back inside.

We take another break (we aren’t even eight minutes into the match) and come back again with Ciampa hitting Willow’s Bell so Gargano can superkick Waller for two. Waller hits Theory by mistake and gets rolled up for two more. The Shatter Machine hits Waller for a very near fall and you can feel some energy go out of the place on the kickout.

Theory saves Waller from getting taken out but it’s Project Ciampa to drop Waller again. Meet In The Middle gets two, with Theory putting the foot on the rope. Waller’s rollup with trunks gets two but Gargano pulls him into the Gargano Escape. Theory’s save is cut off with a Sicilian Stretch and the double submission gives us new champions at 14:15.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but they nailed the big ending, which was all that mattered. DIY getting the titles gives them by far their biggest moment on the main roster, which they’ve been needing for a long time. Other than that, it likely brings an end to A-Town Down Under, which seemed to have reached their peak, at least for the time being.

Solo Sikoa holds the lei in his hands and says it makes him the Tribal Chief. This isn’t what he wanted but it’s what had to happen. Roman Reigns was not man enough to defend the title from Cody Rhodes so Sikoa is going to take it back himself. Then if Reigns still wants it, he can come take it from Sikoa.

Overall Rating: C+. The ending helped but this was a show where they were stuck in a tough spot. Other than the main event, there was very little here that mattered as it was mainly about filling in time on a show that had to take place before the big event tomorrow. That rarely makes for a good show but they did well in the end and gave us a nice moment. There’s nothing worth seeing besides that, but it did end on a high note.

Results
Street Profits b. Pretty Deadly – Frog splash to Prince
Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair b. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae – Jaded to LeRae
Bayley b. Piper Niven – Rose Plant
DIY b. A-Town Down Under – Double submission

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

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

AND

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

ECW On Sci Fi
Date: July 22, 2008
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tazz, Mike Adamle

We’re done with the Great American Bash and that means we need a new #1 contender to the ECW Title. Mark Henry dispatched Tommy Dreamer to the shock of no one and needs someone else to crush next. There is a chance we find that out here as Summerslam is less than a month away. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Teddy Long to present a much bigger ECW Title to Mark Henry. Thank goodness as the one he had looked like a toy. Henry, with Tony Atlas, comes out and is rather pleased with the new belt. Atlas talks about how this is a new ECW in the home of the original. That beautiful new title is something you can all be proud of and it is held by the World’s Strongest Man. If you try to hold onto the past, you will be swept aside, but if you go along with it, you will be fine.

Like Colin Delaney, who joins us in the ring for an explanation of why he betrayed Tommy Dreamer. Delaney wanted to be just like Dreamer, but it just got him beaten up over and over. Then he saw Atlas and Henry and wanted to be like them, so here we are. Delaney calls them his future, but Long says Dreamer is Delaney’s future. As in his immediately future.

Colin Delaney vs. Tommy Dreamer

Delaney hides in the corner to start so Dreamer powers him into and then back out of said corner. They go outside with Delaney getting in a cheap shot but Dreamer runs him over with a clothesline. Dreamer ties him in the Tree Of Woe for a running dropkick, followed by a pumphandle throw. The DDT finishes Delaney in a hurry.

Miz and John Morrison are unhappy with losing their Tag Team Titles but they’re ready to win the fatal four way tonight to crown a new #1 contender to the ECW Title. Well one of them anyway. Morrison: “May the Buddha of luck sit in your corner.”

Jenny McCarthy doesn’t like autism.

Evan Bourne vs. James Curtis

Chavo Guerrero, with Bam Neely, is on commentary. Bourne takes him down with an armbar to start as Chavo brags about his various accomplishments. Curtis makes the rope so Bourne hits a nice dropkick into a hurricanrana for two. Bourne grabs a sanding armbar but a monkey flip is blocked with a grab of the rope. A belly to back suplex gets two and we’re off to the chinlock. Bourne fights up and strikes away, with another hurricanrana setting up the shooting star press to finish Curtis.

Rating: C+. Curtis has been around a few times now and he’s done well in his short appearances, but there is only so much you can get out of a match that doesn’t even last five minutes. Other than that, Bourne continues his ascent as he is slowly becoming a bigger star around here, which is what ECW really needs.

Post match Guerrero and Neely go after Bourne but he gives them the slip.

Finlay is ready to win the four way to get an ECW Title shot. Finlay: “Who needs luck when you’ve got a shillelagh?”

Raw Rebound.

Tiffany talks to Ricky Ortiz about her marketing background when Teddy Long interrupts. Ortiz has been working on some ideas, including a nickname: The Latin Assassin, complete with hand gestures! Long points out the whole “you’ve had one match” issue so next week we’ll double that.

Video on Mike Knox.

Matt Hardy is ready to get back to winning.

Matt Hardy vs. Miz vs. John Morrison vs. Finlay

One fall to a finish for the ECW Title shot at Summerslam. As you might have expected, a mini tag match breaks out, with Miz and Morrison being sent outside rather quickly. Finlay backs Hardy into the corner for some trash talking before Finlay drops him with a left arm clothesline. Miz and Morrison get back in to take over, which is cut off rather quickly. Hardy’s middle rope elbow to the back of the head drops Morrison and a backslide gives Hardy two. Hardy stands alone and we take a break.

Back with Morrison hitting a neckbreaker on Finlay as Miz chokes Hardy on the ropes. Finlay gets back up to go after Miz and Morrison, including an atomic drop and right hand to Miz. Some rollups get two each before Miz sends Hardy into the buckle. Finlay grabs a Fujiwara armbar on Morrison as Hardy suplexes Miz for…no cover as the referee is WAY out of position. With that broken up, Finlay takes over and gets two each on Hardy and Miz, only to get posted by Morrison.

For some reason, Morrison goes after Hornswoggle, earning a toss over the barricade. Miz has to save Morrison and drives Finlay into said barricade as there is a bunch of water on the camera lens. Some double teaming puts Finlay down so Hardy gets the chance to beat up both villains for a change. The double teaming takes Hardy down in the corner though, with a double gutbuster making it even worse.

Posing ensues until Morrison rolls Hardy up for two, meaning it’s time for angry Miz. The argument is on but they go after Hardy instead, only for the Flying Chuck to take Miz out by mistake. Finlay remembers he’s in the match and comes back in with the Regal Roll for two on Hardy.

For some reason Finlay actually goes up for a middle rope dropkick to put Morrison down but Hardy is back up to take everyone out. Finlay is back with the running seated senton to Morrison, with Hardy making the save. Miz’s corner clothesline hits Hardy but goes after Hornswoggle due to reasons of Miz isn’t that smart. Finlay shillelaghs Miz but gets kicked in the head by Morrison. The distraction lets Hardy kick Morrison out of the air and hit the Twist of Fate for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: B-. Good enough stuff here, with Hardy being the best choice for the next challenger. I’m not sure I can imagine Finlay challenging Mark Henry on a major show and that leaves the other two and….no. The match got some time and that made things a bit more interesting as Hardy had to overcome some odds, which went about as well as it could have gone.

Mark Henry comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event got some time, but it really did feel like it was just there to fill in a lot of the show. That’s still the biggest problem with ECW: there is very, very little here, as you had three stories in an hour. That isn’t much to go on, and it only worked fairly well here. Not a bad show, but they still need a lot more depth as there is very little to get interested about.

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 1, 2024
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We are less than a week away from Money In The Bank and that means we have a few qualifying matches to go for the ladder matches. That could make for some big stuff, but we also have the Wyatt Sicks and their love of old school technology to deal with first. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jey Uso for a chat to get things going. Uso promises to win the Money In The Bank briefcase no Saturday but here is Chad Gable to interrupt. Gable gets straight to the point: YEET IS NOT A WORD! He is a walking miracle, after surviving both the Wyatts and his family leaving him before qualifying for the ladder match last week. Uso thinks Gable is scared of the Wyatts but Gable says Uso is the one who took the Fireflies.

The fight is on until Uso gets the better of it and goes up, only to have Gable roll away before the Superfly Splash. Gable: “You think I’m just going to lay there while you splash me?” Cue the Wyatts, with Gable running off but only finding more of their silhouettes. Nikki Cross shows up at commentary to give Cole something else.

Post break, it’s another VHS, saying “PLAY ME”.

Xavier Woods vs. Karrion Kross

Kofi Kingston and the Final Testament are here too. Woods chops away to start but gets thrown down with a t-bone suplex. Kross gets sent to the floor for a suicide dive, only to powerbomb Woods against the post as we take a break. Back with Woods making the comeback, including some right hands in the corner. A kick to the head rocks Kross but he forearms a diving Woods out of the air. Then Woods grabs a small package for the pin at 7:26. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: C+. Woods getting a big win of his own is always nice to see as he’s a talented star who doesn’t get to showcase his skills all that often. At the same time, it’s almost hard to fathom that Kross is losing again, as it’s yet another case of him getting some momentum and then having the rug pulled out from underneath him. It explains why he’s never gotten anywhere on the main roster, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

Post match the Final Testament wrecks New Day, including a nasty armbar on Kingston.

Damian Priest tells Dominik Mysterio to deal with this Liv Morgan stuff. He just talked to Rhea Ripley and she isn’t happy. It’s time to deal with Morgan….who is in the Clubhouse for some reason. Morgan quickly leaves because her match is next, leaving Finn Balor to yell at Priest for not trusting anyone. Priest is ready to beat Seth Rollins on Saturday.

Video on Sika.

Zelina Vega says she is after the title and not Dirty D.

Raw Women’s Title: Zelina Vega vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan is defending. Vega charges at her to start and snaps off a springboard armdrag. Morgan chokes away in the ropes but gets dropkicked to the floor as Dominik Mysterio comes out to watch. The distraction lets Vega hit a Meteora as Rey Mysterio is out here to even things out a bit as we take a break.

Back with Morgan hitting Three Amigos before pointing at Dominik and putting on Rhea Ripley’s Prism Trap. That’s broken up and Vega snaps off a quick moonsault for two. Morgan hurricanranas her way out of trouble and blows a kiss to Dominik, who might smile. Vega is back with a super Code Red but Morgan rolls outside. Hold on though as Rey goes after Dominik, earning himself a baseball slide from Morgan. Vega hits a 619 into a tornado DDT for two so Dominik throws in a chair. That doesn’t work either, as the distraction lets Morgan hit Oblivion for the pin to retain at 11:33.

Rating: B-. This was more about Morgan and Dominik than anything else but they did a good job with some nice near falls from Vega. The title match kind of came out of nowhere but it was nice to see Vega getting a chance. Nice match here as Morgan and Dominik are still the best thing on the show, with the big moment still to come.

Post match Morgan dedicates her win to Dominik.

Drew McIntyre promises to win tonight and go on to win Money In The Bank.

We look at the first few minutes of the Wrestlemania documentary.

Here is Seth Rollins to say he thinks he’ll be back in this ring next week as World Heavyweight Champion. Rollins talks about how this is a championship city and they know why he has to win on Saturday. If he can’t win at Money In The Bank, he has to take another look at himself, but he is at his best when the pressure is on.

Cue Finn Balor to interrupt to say he’s in a bad mood because everything is changing. Rollins thinks Balor is changing, like Priest being the World Heavyweight Champion. Cue Priest to interrupt, with Rollins thinking it’s a trap, but Priest accuses Balor of getting in his business. Rollins is ready to fight and superkicks them together, setting up the Stomp to Balor. Priest gets in the South Of Heaven to leave Rollins laying.

Ludwig Kaiser has broken ribs and swears vengeance on Sheamus.

Post break Damian Priest tells Finn Balor that he appreciates the help but he has this on Saturday. Balor seems to accept that.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile

Kai kicks Nile to the floor to start but gets baseball slidden by Stark. Back in and Starks stays on Nile in the corner as we take an early break. We come back with Stark hitting a double super bulldog to put the other two down, followed by a double German suplex for two. Kai is back up with a Scorpion Kick, allowing Nile to German suplex Sky for two. The Kairopractor gets two on Nile with Stark making the save. Cue Damage CTRL so Isla Dawn and Ivy Nile run in to jump them. The distraction lets Stark hit the Z360 to pin Kai at 9:45.

Rating: C+. As usual, you can only get so much out of a match that runs about ten minutes and has a long stretch spent in a commercial. Stark going forward is a good way to go and Kai taking the fall is going to make things even worse for her status in Damage CTRL. Nice enough match, but there was so much taken up by the commercial.

We get the Wyatts video from earlier, with another interview between Uncle Howdy and Bo Dallas. Howdy asks what Dallas was thinking and Dallas says they are the ones who were forgotten. They were clay in the hands of the potter and now they are a family. The false prophets must pay for their sins. They talk about being the reckoning and their voices start to merge together.

Then Howdy disappears, leaving Dallas to say he sets them free. Then Dallas disappears, with Howdy popping back in to say there you are. Of note, which I’m assuming was true last week too: they are sitting in the Firefly Funhouse. Good stuff here again, as the motivations are continuing to be revealed. That’s better than having them attack people every single week and makes their actual attacks more important.

Chad Gable tries to talk Otis into coming back into the fold but Otis isn’t convinced. The rest of the former Alpha Academy pops in to stand by Otis.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Dominik starts fast and runs him over, only to get dropkicked to the floor. Rey grabs a hurricanrana from the apron and we take a break. Back with Rey in trouble and getting elbowed in the face for two. Rey sends him into the corner though and hits a top rope seated senton, followed by a kick to the head for two more.

Cue Liv Morgan for a distraction, allowing Dominik to grab a half crab of all things. Dominik hits Three Amigos but Rey knocks him onto Liv, who seems to like being underneath him. Cue Vega to go after Morgan, with Dominik hitting a 619. Dominik goes up but Vega sends Morgan into the apron, crotching Dominik in the process. The 619 into Dropping The Dive gives Rey the pin at 10:15.

Rating: B-. These two work well together but, again, this was much more about Morgan and Dominik than the match itself. That’s not a bad thing either, as the story could take a bit of a turn with Morgan costing Dominik a big match. For now though, we’re getting closer and closer to the big stuff, which can happen whenever Rhea Ripley can show up again.

Sheamus is ready to hit hard and get his chance to become a two time Mr. Money In The Bank.

Here is Sami Zayn for a chat. He knows people are thinking Bron Breakker is going to destroy him, so here is Breakker to interrupt. Breakker knows Zayn has guts after he accepted the challenge, but it also shows that Zayn is nuts. Breakker promises to win the title, but Zayn has heard that far too many times.

Zayn thinks Breakker might not be as smart as he says he is….and then Breakker spears him in half. Breaker goes to leave and tries the big run around the ring, only to spear the steps instead. Zayn suplexes him into the corner and loads up the Helluva Kick but Breakker spears him in half again. Good stuff here, with that last spear looking awesome.

Damage CTRL isn’t happy and here is Lyra Valkyria to make it worse. The fight is quickly on and broken up shortly thereafter.

We look at the Bloodline turning on and destroying Paul Heyman.

Money In The Bank rundown.

Ilja Dragunov is ready to qualify for Money In The Bank.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Ilja Dragunov vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

Sheamus and McIntyre stare at each other with the later shoving Dragunov away. That doesn’t work for him as breaks things up with a headbutt, leaving Dragunov vs. Sheamus. The brawl is on with Sheamus hitting an Irish Curse before knocking Dragunov outside and into the barricade. McIntyre is back up to send Sheamus over the barricade but gets posted by Dragunov. Sheamus is back up with the ten forearms from over the barricade and we take a break.

Back with McIntyre sending Dragunov flying off an overhead belly to belly suplex but Sheamus hits a top rope clothesline. Dragunov drops Sheamus and hits an H Bomb each for two on McIntyre. We take another break and come back with Dragunov pulling the other two down out of the Tower Of Doom. The fans declare this awesome as Dragunov hits a Constantine Special on Sheamus.

Back up and the Torpedo Moscow cuts off the Claymore so Dragunov goes up. Coast To Coast is kneed out of the air to give Sheamus two and frustration is setting in. The Brogue Kick hits Dragunov but McIntyre pulls him outside. Back up and the Brogue Kick is countered into a rollup for two but Sheamus hits him with a jumping knee. Not that it matters as the Claymore hits Sheamus to send McIntyre to Money In The Bank at 17:43.

Rating: B+. What is there to say here? You had three physical guys beating the fire out of each other until McIntyre got the win. McIntyre is the right choice to go forward as he has the biggest story going of the three and needs to be in the ladder match. They had an awesome match on the way there too and it was more than worthy of the main event spot.

Post match McIntyre promises to win the briefcase and shows off the stolen CM Punk bracelet to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The main event is by far the best thing about this show but they also kept a few other stories moving with some good action as well. The Morgan/Dominik story is the best story going on and it should be setting up for a big moment at Summerslam. I’m interested in where things are going around here and that is a great sign as they are coming up on some of the biggest shows of the year.

Results
Xavier Woods b. Karrion Kross – Small package
Liv Morgan b. Zelina Vega – Oblivion
Zoey Stark b. Dakota Kai and Ivy Nile – Z360 to Kai
Rey Mysterio b. Dominik Mysterio – Dropping The Dime
Drew McIntyre b. Sheamus and Ilja Dragunov – Brogue Kick to Sheamus

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 21, 2008
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

So it’s been a bit since I’ve been on these but I might as well at least get through Summerslam. The Great American Bash has wrapped up and the big story is that CM Punk is still the Raw World Champion after going to a double DQ with Batista. At the same time, he is probably also going to have to deal with Kane, who attacked Punk after the match, and John Bradshaw Layfield, who actually beat John Cena. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Great American Bash if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Great American Bash, or at least the main event scene on the Raw side.

Batista is in the production truck and doesn’t like the recap of Kane attacking him.

Opening sequence.

Here is a ticked off Batista to get things going. He planned on coming out here as the new World Heavyweight Champion but then Kane got involved to cost him that title match. Since the McMahons aren’t here now, he’s going to put himself in charge, meaning he’ll be getting a rematch for the title against CM Punk. If anyone has a problem with that….and here is JBL on the Titantron to interrupt.

JBL asks why Batista should get the World Title match when he lost last night. He is entitled to the next World Title shot, but Batista thinks JBL should come out here and discuss that idea. JBL is banged up though and it’s feeling that tonight…so here is CM Punk to interrupt. Punk doesn’t want to hear from JBL right now (JBL is aghast) because he isn’t happy with Kane either.

Punk wanted to prove that he was the better man last night against Batista….so let’s do it again tonight. JBL rants on the Titantron but Batista says cut his mic. Punk is on for the match against Batista, with the title on the line, tonight. There are a bunch of matches to be had out of here and that is certainly one of them.

Jenny McCarthy welcomes us to join her in the ring to fight autism on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Oh dear.

Here is Shawn Michaels……’ music, with Lance Cade coming out instead. Cade used to look up to him as his mentor, but then things changed. He wants Shawn out here right now to have some words but here is Paul London instead.

Lance Cade vs. Paul London

London slugs away to start and jumps over him in the corner but Cade is right back with a backbreaker. London’s back gets bent over Cade’s knee for a bit before Cade sends him ribs first into the post. The sitout Rock Bottom spinebuster finishes London in a hurry to complete what was more or less a squash.

Post match Cade says that since Michaels won’t come out here, we’ll have Chris Jericho come out instead. Jericho says Michaels isn’t coming out tonight and he won’t be coming back. We look at Jericho beating Michaels the previous night via stoppage due to Michaels’ eye being destroyed, complete with the big dramatic music.

Back in the ring, Jericho talks about how Michaels knew how bad things were going to be and got in the ring anyway because he had to take another chance. Jericho talks about all of Michaels’ injuries, including a detached retina, which means he will never be able to see properly again. The thing is though that when Michaels’ eye closed, Jericho’s opened instead. Michaels never mentored Jericho, and now he is happy with what he did last night. The lack of remorse here was rather good and that has some potential, especially whenever Michaels gets back.

Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Kelly slips behind her to start and sweeps the leg but a rollup is easily blocked. Phoenix muscles her up for a slam and we hit something like a seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Kelly’s enziguri his shoulder, setting up the screaming headscissors. The handspring elbow is loaded up and quickly blocked though, setting up the Glam Slam for the pin.

Rating: C. This felt like it was more about Kelly getting in some offense instead of being wrecked by Beth, which was quite the surprise. Beth already beat Santino Marella last week so it is clear that she is in for something big, though Kelly certainly got a focus here. She has a lot of the tools already and if she can get the in-ring aspect down, it could go rather well for her.

Here is Jim Duggan for a chat. He isn’t going to take up much time, but he is thinking about hanging up his boots. Last week, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes said this was a game for young men, and maybe his time has passed by. He wanted to come out here and say thank you, but Jerry Lawler cuts him off. There is no age limit around here and Duggan can keep going as long as he wants to. Duggan can do something that Barack Obama and John McCain would love to do: get people to stand up and cheer USA. Duggan seems to like that and says no, he doesn’t want to give it up.

Cue Rhodes and DiBiase, with the latter thinking this is amazing. Just because Lawler likes to date women younger than him, he doesn’t get to explain things. Rhodes says he was two and a half years old when Duggan won the Royal Rumble, but they weren’t even alive when Lawler slapped Andy Kaufman. Lawler demonstrates the slap and DiBiase has to hold Cody back. For now though, they can deal with this later, but watch what’s about to happen.

Cody Rhodes/Ted DiBiase/John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Cryme Tyme/John Cena

Both Cena and JBL are rather banged up after last night but they start things off….with JBL handing it off to Cody instead. Cena punches him in the face and gets two off the bulldog before stopping to glare at JBL. Gaspard comes in for two off an elbow and a rather hard clothesline in the corner.

It’s off to DiBiase, who is quickly suplexed for two as the one sidedness continues. JTG comes in but gets caught with a cheap shot, which is enough for JBL to come in for a change. The big shoulder drops JTG and it’s back to Cody for the bearhug. That’s broken up due to reasons of it’s Cody doing a bearhug but DiBiase comes in to cut off the tag.

A middle rope double stomp gets two and Cody adds a top rope knee to the ribs. DiBiase drops some elbows on the ribs and grabs a bodyscissors as the villains certainly have a target here. JTG finally fights up and hits a quick dropkick for a breather. Cody comes ni but misses a charge into the post, allowing the tag off to Cena to start the house cleaning. JBL bails through the crowd, leaving Cena to fireman’s carry both Cody and DiBiase at the same time. Cody gets tossed and the FU finishes DiBiase.

Rating: C+. The heat segment on JTG was pretty long but Cena coming in to smash people is always worth a glance. While I could have gone without one of the Tag Team Champions losing, getting pinned by Cena is hardly the end of a career. Cryme Tyme continues to do well as Cena’s friends and that is certainly better than what they had been doing.

Chris Jericho and Lance Cade are going to lave but run into Kane, who still has that mask.

Various celebrities support Jenny McCarthy’s autism charity, which is working with WWE.

Mickie James/Kofi Kingston vs. Paul Burchill/Katie Lea

Mickie knocks Katie into the corner to start so Burchill comes in for some glaring. Kingston high crossbodies him to break that up but Burchill hammers him down rather quickly. The leg cranking goes on for a bit before Kingston is up with a sunset flip for two. The women start brawling on the floor so Burchill breaks it up before ducking Trouble In Paradise, which hits the post. Back in and the Wicked Sister gives Burchill the pin.

Rating: C+. This had some nice high spots from Kingston but it was mainly there for Burchill to get the pin, likely setting up a title match. That could be fine for a one off match, though I’m not sure if Burchill is going to be the biggest threat. He’ll do for now though, even if Lea might not be so equal to James.

Jamie Noble is hitting on Layla when Batista comes in to ask if Noble has seen Kane. That’s a rather rude no, so Batista chokes Noble and says if he sees Kane, let him know that Batista is looking for him.

CM Punk says if he goes down, he’s going down swinging. JBL comes in to say he wants the World Title shot at Summerslam. He threatens to make Punk a transitional champion but Punk points out that he already beat JBL. Glaring ensues.

We look at Chris Jericho damaging Shawn Michaels’ eye again last night. It’s the same footage from earlier.

Here is Santino Marella for an open challenge. Well open to anyone but women that is.

Santino Marella vs. D’Lo Brown

Well there’s a surprise and cue Beth Phoenix to watch. Brown throws him into the corner and there’s a suplex to put him down again. A basement clothesline sets up the Low Down to give Brown the easy pin.

Post match Brown leaves so Phoenix gets in the ring and decks Marella. She wants a fight and they do a standing switch….then they stare at each other and kiss. As it tends to go.

Toby Keith doesn’t like autism, but he does like Jenny McCarty trying to fight autism.

Raw World Title: Batista vs. CM Punk

Batista is challenging…and here is Kane before the match gets started. The brawl is on, with Punk running in and getting beaten down as well. After some questions from the referee and the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go. Punk’s headlock doesn’t last long as Batista kicks him in he face to take over.

Back up and Punk gets in a neckbreaker and kicks away for two. A drop toehold lets Punk take him down and hammer away as the fans don’t seem thrilled so far. Punk fires off some knees to the back and puts on a choke, which is broken up even faster. The Figure Four necklock goes on for a bit before Punk hits a running knee to the face for two more. The running knee into the bulldog gets two but Punk’s springboard clothesline is spinebustered out of the air. Batista fires off the shoulders in the corner and hits the spear, only for JBL to come in for the DQ.

Rating: C. This really didn’t work and that might be because Punk was on offense for so much of it. Punk beating on Batista is only so easy to believe in the first place and it doesn’t help when he’s already presented as an underdog champion. On top of that, you had the fans waiting on what was likely going to be some kind of run in, so there was only so much reason to get into things here.

Post match John Cena runs in to go after JBL but hits Batista by mistake. Cena and Batista have to be held back and there’s Summerslam.

Overall Rating: C+. This show wasn’t so much about doing anything here but rather about setting the pieces up for later. You can pretty clearly see Batista vs. Cena being set up at the end, which leaves JBL to challenge Punk because we’re that lucky. Other than that we probably have another Jericho vs. Michaels match coming up, which makes for a heck of a top of the card on the Raw side. Not a great show here, but it has set the stage for the good ones later.

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: June 28, 2024
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re in the World’s Most Famous Arena and it could be interesting to see what that means for the new version of WWE. The big story coming out of last week’s show is the debut of Jacob Fatu as the Bloodline is looking stronger than ever. That could make for some serious trouble for Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton, who are facing the Bloodline at Money In The Bank. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at last week’s Bloodline ordeal, with Solo Sikoa suggesting that Roman Reigns isn’t coming back and then the debut of Jacob Fatu as a wrecking ball.

The Bloodline, minus Jacob Fatu, arrives. Paul Heyman asks where Fatu is but gets no answer as Solo Sikoa and the Tongans come to the ring for a chat. Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton aren’t far behind and the brawl is on. Owens hits a huge Swanton off some equipment to put Sikoa through a table as Nick Aldis and security come out to break it up. Hot start to the show here.

Post break Aldis can’t get the good guys out of the ring so they beat up security. With security gone, threats are made to the Bloodline. Rhodes talks about how this arena deserves a World Title shot but instead he has to deal with something he ended at Wrestlemania. When he looks at Solo Sikoa, he doesn’t see a Tribal Chief, but rather a seat filler. That was a good line.

Post break, we look back at what we just saw.

Nick Aldis has the Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton leave the arena.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Candice LeRae

Cargill shrugs off some double teaming attempts to start and neckbreakers both of them. A superkick sends Stratton outside and Cargill throws LeRae onto her for the big crash. Cue Nia Jax and we take a break. Back with Bianca Belair at ringside as well and Cargill fighting out of trouble. Stratton avoids a charge to send Cargill outside, where Belair cuts off Jax’s stalking. Cue Indi Hartwell to post Cargill, allowing LeRae to grab a rollup for two on Stratton. Not that it matters as Stratton is back up with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to finish LeRae at 9:08.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and had a good way to avoid Cargill winning while moving Stratton forward. It wasn’t exactly a game changing performance from any of them, but it did what it needed to do on the way to the match that matters. Stratton is certainly a contender to win the briefcase and that is exactly where she should be right now.

Bayley and Naomi find Stratton annoying and wonder what happens if Naomi wins Money In The Bank. Blair Davenport comes in to mock Bayley, with Naomi swearing vengeance.

The Pride comes in to see Nick Aldis, who says they can’t fight the Bloodline tonight but they might be able to do it next week. Pretty Deadly returns and suggest a musical but get a match with the Pride instead.

Solo Sikoa tells Paul Heyman that Jacob Fatu isn’t here but tonight, Heyman is officially becoming his wise man.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Santos Escobar vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul

Non-title and Paul brings Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (who helped beat the New York Knicks) to show New York what a real winner looks like (with the feed cutting, suggesting a lot of swearing). It’s a brawl to start with Knight getting double teamed down. Paul and Escobar tease a fight but Knight is up again, only to get dropped again. Escobar gets sent outside, leaving Paul to plant Knight and take over. Paul dives onto Knight but gets taken out by Escobar as we take a break.

Back with Escobar hitting a super hurricanrana for two with Paul making a save. Knight slugs away on Paul and DDTs Escobar for two. Knight’s spelling elbow is cut off by Escobar so Knight slams him down for the elbow instead. Escobar is back up with a Phantom Driver to Knight, leaving Paul to make the save this time. Knight German superplexes Escobar off the top so Paul drops a Swanton for…two. Haliburton loads up the knuckles but New York Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson jumps the barricade for a staredown. The distraction lets Knight roll Paul up for the pin at 12:22.

Rating: B-. The NBA stars were a nice touch and made the match/show feel a bit more important. Other than that, this should get Knight into the ladder match, where Paul can cheat him out of the win and likely set up a title match at Summerslam. Escobar not being the designated victim was a nice surprise, but this was all about Knight vs. Paul.

Post match everyone but Escobar has a staredown, with the villains leaving.

Baron Corbin talks to Apollo Crews, who is happy that Santos Escobar has no chance of being Mr. Money In The Bank. Carmelo Hayes comes in to brag about how he’ll win Money In The Bank.

We get a tribute video to Sika.

Andrade talks about what it would mean to win Money In The Bank.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Blair Davenport vs. Naomi vs. Indi Hartwell

Naomi dropkicks them both down to start but a double crossbody is cut off. Davenport tries to get the pin but Hartwell doesn’t like it, meaning the alliance lasts all of 18 seconds. They go outside with Davenport taking the other two down as we take a break. Back with Naomi making Hartwell DDT Davenport to leave everyone down for a breather. Naomi hits a spinning middle rope kick to the head to put Davenport down before hitting some running forearms in the corner.

Hartwell gets in a shot of her own and covers both of them for two, with commentary not quite getting why. Back up and they all trade forearms until Naomi knocks Davenport down in the corner. The split legged moonsault misses though and they head outside, with Jade Cargill coming out to jump Hartwell as payback for earlier. Naomi’s Bubba Bomb into a rollup finishes Hartwell at 9:28.

Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as it didn’t exactly come off as smooth, with some of the spots just not quite clicking. It’s also a bit much to have the qualifying matches be triple threats, as the novelty, or whatever novelty there might be, wearing off quickly. Not the worst match, but it didn’t exactly work.

DIY is ready for their Tag Team Title shot next week. Austin Theory comes in to say he and Grayson Waller will win next week, but Johnny Gargano suggests that Waller is only in this for himself. Waller comes in to jump Gargano but Theory gets him out of there.

Here is the Bloodline for an acknowledgment ceremony. Paul Heyman handles the induction but Solo Sikoa cuts him off and says he’s introducing the newest member of the Bloodline: Jacob Fatu, Sikoa’s personal enforcer. Sikoa has the Tongans and Fatu acknowledge him, which goes rather quickly. That leaves Heyman, who is rather hesitant. He loads up the lei and says he acknowledges….that Sikoa IS NOT his Tribal Chief.

Sikoa Samoan Spikes Heyman and Fatu adds the top headbutt before a TripleBomb (with Fatu as Reigns) puts Heyman through the announcers’ table. Fatu gives Sikoa the lei to end the show. The countdown to Reigns’ return continues and now we pretty firmly know which side Heyman is going to be on. I believe that’s called the battle lines being drawn.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and ending segment were the good parts of the show, with the rest being more things that needed to be covered rather than all that interesting on its own. That is only going to get you so far and while the show wasn’t bad, it was being carried by the Bloodline. Hopefully next week is better, as while this wasn’t terrible, it was beneath what Smackdown, and WWE in general, has been doing lately.

Results
Tiffany Stratton b. Jade Cargill and Candice LeRae – Prettiest Moonsault Ever to LeRae
LA Knight b. Logan Paul and Santos Escobar – Rollup to Paul
Naomi b. Blair Davenport and Indi Hartwell – Rollup to Hartwell

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 24, 2024
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: The Miz, Michael Cole

We have less than two weeks to go before Money In The Bank but the big story here is that the Wyatt Sicks debuted last week and it’s not clear where that is going to go. Odds are we are going to hear something about it this week, along with Drew McIntyre attacking CM Punk on Smackdown. Let’s get to it.

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

Pat McAfee is not here this week, with Miz taking his place. Michael Cole says we aren’t going to read anything into that and we go into the Wyatt Sicks (with the name being official). Drew McIntyre walks by though and comes into the ring for a chat.

McIntyre talks about attacking Punk on Smackdown and we see exactly what happened. After everything Punk did, the people still chant his name. Punk attacked everything McIntyre has and cost him the World Title. McIntyre had promised his wife the title but Punk took it from him, so if you still chant his name, you are dead to him.

He hopes that Punk is at home in pain and eating through a straw because McIntyre put him there. McIntyre also has the bracelet he took from Punk, which was made by a fan and says AJ and Larry, the names of Punk’s wife and dog. Punk wears that with him on the road to take his family with him, but now McIntyre has them instead. McIntyre will be taking that bracelet to Toronto when he wins Money In The Bank. Now there’s a personal touch that makes sense and gives Punk another reason to want to fight McIntyre.

We look back at the Wyatt Sicks’ attack last week, including an attack on Chad Gable.

Gable arrives with security and doesn’t want cameras looking at him.

Post break, Gable’s locker room is guarded by security and various wrestlers are apparently surprised that he is even here.

Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser

In the back, Kaiser promises to show Breakker that he is no Kaiser. They slug it out to start until Breakker runs the ropes and plows through Kaiser as only he can. Kaiser gets powered into the corner and Breakker fires off some shoulders to the ribs, only to have Kaiser go to the eyes. Breakker is sent shoulder first into the post but he’s able to drive him into the apron. With Kaiser sat on the announcers’ table, Breakker dives off the apron for a clothesline in a ridiculous athletic display as we take a break.

Back with Breakker getting fired up and hammering away (the fans approve), setting up a jumping elbow. A super Frankensteiner has Miz losing his mind but Kaiser slips out of the gorilla press and knocks Breakker outside. The spear hits the steps though and Kaiser has an opening….which is closed as Sheamus comes in with a Brogue Kick to Kaiser for the DQ at 10:06.

Rating: B. That’s a case where the ending makes sense as Sheamus has issues with both of them, though he owed Kaiser one after previous weeks. This could lead to some interesting outcomes, with the Intercontinental Title hanging over the whole thing. Good match here too, with Kaiser continuing by far the best streak of his time in WWE.

Post match Sheamus loads up the announcers’ table but gets speared in half by Breakker.

Judgment Day is having some food and playing video games when Damian Priest comes in. Apparently this is all from Liv Morgan, which doesn’t work for Priest. Mysterio holds up something Morgan sent him on his phone (Carlito: “THAT’S COOL!”) but Priest says Mysterio needs to figure out how to explain to Rhea Ripley why Morgan has his number. Oh and they ALL need to worry about Braun Strowman.

Bron Breakker goes to Adam Pearce’s office and rants about being sick of everyone interrupting him. Sami Zayn pops in to say Breakker can challenge him for the title anytime, anyplace. Breakker issues the challenge for Money In The Bank and the match is on.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Lyra Valkyria vs. Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler gets knocked into the corner to start as Miz talks about what the briefcase can mean for your career. Sane grabs a headscissors to take both of them down and hits a big dive to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sane dropping Baszler but getting kicked down by Valkyria. A fisherman’s buster gives Valkyria two on Sane but Baszler is back in with her own suplex.

Sane adds a running Blockbuster, only to miss the Insane Elbow. They trade running shots to the head to everyone is down, with the fans deeming this awesome. The Kirifuda Clutch has Valkyria in trouble but Sane breaks it up with the Insane Elbow. Valkyria is right back up with the Nightwing to finish Sane at 8:26.

Rating: B-. This was almost all action and the only thing keeping it from being that much better was the break in the middle. Valkyria gets a win to make up for some of the loss at King And Queen Of The Ring, though I’m not sure I can imagine her winning the briefcase. The field is still fairly wide open and that should make for an interesting ladder match, which comes after a solid match here.

Drew McIntyre wants in Money In The Bank but Adam Pearce isn’t sure. McIntyre threatens various chaos if he isn’t in.

Next year’s Royal Rumble and a future Summerslam/Wrestlemania are coming to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Here is Liv Morgan (after a long tracking shot from the back) for a chat. She’s here to get Dominik Mysterio’s attention and hopes he likes those gifts she sent him, especially the text. Morgan invites Mysterio out here right now for one more gift but gets Zelina Vega instead. Vega doesn’t get Morgan’s obsessions but she’s here about the title. Vega has fought to get here and that’s because her why will always be bigger than Morgan’s libido. The title challenge is sent out and Morgan says they can do it next week.

Cue Mysterio, who says he doesn’t like the gifts, but Morgan knows he likes the texts. The fans chant SLOPPY SECONDS and Mysterio is booed out of the building, with the two women trying to calm them down so he can say anything. Mysterio wants anyone but Morgan to have the title so Morgan decks Vega. Rey Mysterio runs in to break it up but Dominik decks him, with Morgan looking so happy. Morgan follows Dominik out. This continues to be one of if not the best things on Raw at the moment.

Adam Pearce leaves Chad Gable’s locker room and says Gable is shaken up after last week but he’s medically cleared.

We look back at Seth Rollins’ return last week, with Damian Priest giving him a World Title shot at Money In The Bank. It also includes a look at Rollins’ rise through WWE and how hard he has fought to get here.

Liv Morgan hugs a not so thrilled Dominik Mysterio. With Dominik gone, R-Truth comes in and says he loves reluctant heroes. Morgan says she can get Dominik a match with Rey this week, but for this week, the Judgment Day can get a Tag Team Title shot. R-Truth agrees because he’s always loved Carmella.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Braun Strowman vs. Bronson Reed vs. Chad Gable

During his entrance, Gable (with a bandage on his head) asks if we believe in miracles. The rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated because CHAD GABLE LIVES! He promises to win Money In The Bank and we’re ready to go. Gable chops at Reed to start and it goes as well as you would expect. That leaves Gable on the floor so the monsters can chop away at each other. Strowman is sent outside with Gable being tossed onto him, leaving Reed to hit a big dive onto both of them.

We take a break and come back with Gable avoiding Reed’s backsplash. Reed doesn’t seem to mind and sends Gable into Strowman’s raised boot in the corner. Strowman clears Reed out and hits the running shoulders at ringside, only for Gable to German suplex Reed for two back inside. Strowman breaks up the moonsault and slams Reed on the floor. Cue the Judgment Day to jump Strowman, leaving Gable to moonsault Reed for the win at 8:23.

Rating: B-. Gable winning after the loss last week is interesting, but they are still playing into the idea that he is more than a little shaken up. That should open up a lot of options and I’m curious to see where it goes. Gable escaping the two monsters is a fine enough idea, especially with Strowman being taken out by the Judgment Day.

Post match Gable is in the ring and we’ve got Wyatts. Nikki Cross crawls through the smoky ring and chases him off before presenting Michael Cole with a box and walking out. She was the only who appeared.

Post break the box is addressed to Pat McAfee and it’s a VHS (yes Cole explains what it is) which says PLAY ME. Cole sends it off to be played.

Chad Gable runs into the Alpha Academy and apologizes to them, but Otis says Gable hurt them, so they’re still done. Maxxine Dupri seems more sympathetic but a reunion isn’t likely. They leave, only for Gable to run into the Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile, who ask if he needs help.

Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre

Non-title. The champs are knocked to the floor to start and Carter throws Chance onto them as we take an early break. Back with Fyre having to make a rope for a break as Cole recaps his commentary partner issues. The Keg Stand gets two with Fyre having to make the save. The After Party is broken up and the Downward Spiral/Gory Bomb combination finishes Carter at 5:53. Not enough shown to rate but this was rather short.

Post match Damage CTRL comes in to take out the champs.

Finn Balor tells Damian Priest about the matches Liv Morgan has gotten them set up but Priest thinks it’s too good to be true.

Miz catches up to R-Truth and asks him about the Tag Team Title match (apparently it took him 20 minutes to get back find R-Truth). This is all about love, but Miz isn’t sure about this. R-Truth loves him…but only as a friend.

Here is Damian Priest for a chat. He saw that video on Seth Rollins earlier and thinks they have a lot in common. They are both the kind of wrestlers who could be in a group and stand out as a leader. For now though, as long as Priest is World Heavyweight Champion, Rollins will never see the mountaintop again.

Cue Rollins to interrupt and, after hyping up Indianapolis for the Royal Rumble, asks what Priest meant by that. Rollins talks about how Priest is part of a team, but Priest says he didn’t ask for any help to win the title. After waiting for the fans to stop yelling about him, Priest says he has the title and Rollins has nothing. Rollins: “For now.” Priest one upped him last week, but Rollins wants to one up him here.

Let’s add a little side bet: if Rollins can’t win the title, he can never get another shot at Priest. But if Rollins does win the title, Priest has to stand on his own two feet and leave Judgment Day. Priest says the Judgment Day needs him ore than he needs them (the fans know that was dumb) and he’s in. Cue Gunther to say he understands that there is a lot on the line here and wishes them both good luck. He’s excited for the match and may the best man win…but that man will be the lesser man at Summerslam.

We see the tape the Wyatts had for Pat McAfee. It features Uncle Howdy asking how we eel since the loss. Do you feel forgotten? Do you remember who you are? We cut to Bo Dallas, sans mask, saying he is no one. Howdy asks Dallas how it felt when his brother died, with Dallas saying it felt like the most important thing in his life was taken from him.

Howdy asks if this is exploiting Bray Wyatt’s legacy, with Dallas saying he wanted to be like his brother. Dallas worked his entire life to be next to him and they were going to rule together. They had finally made it and then everything was taken away from him. No one knows what it feels like and he will not let Wyatt be forgotten.

They wanted to forget about everyone but Dallas said they made everyone remember. Howdy: “Yes we did.” They stare at each other and the tape ends. That’s definitely a way to go and they are probably smart for leaning into the Wyatt stuff. Making it clear that Wyatt’s brother is behind everything should help, along with making it clear that they don’t have powers and such.

Karrion Kross vs. Kofi Kingston

None of the seconds stick around. Kingston starts fast and knocks him to the floor for the big flip dive. Back in and a suplex puts Kingston down for two as we take an early break. We come back with Kingston hitting a dropkick and getting two off a crossbody. Hold on though as the Final Testament pops up on the Titantron, showing the AOP beating up Xavier Woods. The distraction lets Kross hit the Final Prayer for the pin at 5:49. Not enough shown to rate but this feels like it has a long way to go.

We look at the debut of Jacob Fatu on Smackdown. Set for Money In The Bank: Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton vs. the Bloodline.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Awesome Truth vs. Judgment Day

Judgment Day is challenging. Truth starts fast by kicking McDonagh down and Balor gets double hiptossed as well. Cue Liv Morgan to watch as we take an early break. Back with R-Truth having to fight out of trouble, allowing a tag off to Miz to stomp away on McDonagh in the corner. Miz sends Balor face first into the apron as Dominik Mysterio and Carlito come out as well. A double DDT connects on the challengers and the Skull Crushing Finale hits McDonagh, with Carlito putting the boot on the ropes.

Cue Braun Strowman to chase off Mysterio and Carlito, leaving R-Truth to go into the John Cena finishing sequence. The STF is broken up so R-Truth is back with a Ten Knuckle Shuffle. Morgan gets on the apron to shout about how this is about love before snapping R-Truth’s throat across the top. The distraction lets Balor get in a cheap shot. The Coup de Grace gives Judgment Day the titles back at 11:32.

Rating: B-. This was the fun match with all of the moving parts and everything going nuts until we had a big moment with the title change. Awesome Truth got their big moment at Wrestlemania but I don’t think there was any reason to believe they would be long term champions. This was good enough for what it needed to be, as it tied a bunch of stories together and got the titles onto bigger names.

Morgan poss with the new champs, who aren’t sure what to think of her but will take their titles.

Overall Rating: B. This show started hot and kept going, with a bunch of stuff either taking place or being set up to take place later on. There are a lot of things going on where I either don’t know where they’re going or want to see where they’re going and that is a great feeling. WWE is clicking right now and they’re doing it on both Raw and Smackdown. Rather solid show this week, and hopefully fans saw it with Game 7 of the Stanley Cup on.

Results
Ludwig Kaiser b. Bron Breakker via DQ when Sheamus interfered
Lyra Valkyria b. Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler – Nightwing to Sane
Chad Gable b. Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman – Moonsault to Reed
Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre b. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter – Gory Bomb/Downward Spiral combination to Carter
Karrion Kross b. Kofi Kingston – Final Prayer
Judgment Day b. Awesome Truth – Coup de Grace to R-Truth

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: June 21, 2024
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

It’s time for the return to one of the bigger cities and as you might expect, that means CM Punk is here for a special appearance. We’re getting closer and closer to Punk being able to return to the ring and it would not surprise me to see the recently departed Drew McIntyre show up to go after him here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash At The Castle if you need a recap

We open with a look at CM Punk costing Drew McIntyre the Raw World Title at Clash At The Castle. This led to McIntyre quitting WWE the following Monday on Raw.

The fans chant for CM Punk and here he is to get things going. Punk talks about the pressure of live TV and doing it in your hometown is even more pressure. It is even harder to make a promise to your hometown and then have to deliver. He gets nervous every time he hears that static and “LIKE MUSSOLINI” (there’s your Cornette reference) and it always works. Punk brings up promising to win the WWE Title at Money In The Bank 2011 and he lived up to the pressure.

Drew McIntyre couldn’t do that and now McIntyre has quit….and here is Paul Heyman to interrupt, with Punk giving a pretty great surprised reaction. Heyman says this isn’t about disrespect before talking about how hot it is out there and in here. Punk sat next to his children at the Hall Of Fame induction when he was still the wise man to Roman Reigns. The fans chant for Reigns, with Punk saying Heyman is the only person who can get away with hijacking his promo like this.

Heyman gets in and we get a rather emotional hug in a nice moment. The reason Heyman is here is that he heard a radio shot host say that Chicago is Punk’s town and Solo Sikoa doesn’t like that. If Punk doesn’t get out here right now, the Bloodline is coming for him and the extra security is here for the Wyatts rather than a bunch of ticked off Samoans. Heyman is here out of respect to try and keep Punk safe but Punk isn’t worried.

Cue the Bloodline, with Sikoa saying either pay respect to him or never be medically cleared. Punk asks Heyman what he wants to do if Punk does him this favor. Heyman: “Take me with you?” The fans rather approve of that idea so Punk acknowledges….that he is looking at a bunch of fake a** Usos (Heyman buries his face in his hands). Punk: “And a phone cosplay Tribal Chief.”

The fight is teased but Cody Rhodes runs in with a pair of baseball bats and the Bloodline runs. Cody says Sikoa fashions himself as the Head Of The Table (Sikoa: “You d*** right.”) but Cody has already beaten one Head Of The Table. The challenge is on for tonight. This was a long opening segment but dang Punk and Heyman being together again, even for a few moments, felt special. Heyman continues to nail it as the person who is scared of all the changes and just wants Roman Reigns back to make everything better but has to deal with the terror that is the Bloodline.

Jade Cargill talks to Bianca Belair and says that while tonight is about Money In The Bank, they need their Tag Team Titles back. Works for Belair.

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens offer to have Cody Rhodes’ back tonight but Rhodes says he has a plan

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Bianca Belair vs. Michin vs. Chelsea Green

Green gets caught between the other two and battered about the head and shoulders to start. She’s fine enough to cut off a flipping Belair and everyone heads outside, where Belair decks Michin by mistake. Green hits a dive onto both of them and we take a break. Back with Green going up but getting double belly to back superplexed down again. Michin and Belair slug it out until Michin gets two off a sunset flip. Eat Defeat sends Belair outside and the Styles Clash hits Green for two. Belair is back in with the KOD to Michin but Green sends her outside and steals the pin at 7:24.

Rating: C+. I can go for more of Green on TV as she is becoming one of the more entertaining things about WWE as of late. She’s had the character stuff down but the last few weeks have shown more and more of her in-ring talents. She’s not likely to win the briefcase, but it’s rather nice to see her getting a win here.

Blair Davenport comes in to see Bayley and promises to not only win Money In The Bank, but also cash in on her.

Solo Sikoa tells Paul Heyman to tell Kevin Owens and Randy Orton that the Tongans are going to….something, as the audio goes mute. Heyman goes to do it, but Sikoa says they need to have a talk when he gets back.

Grayson Waller is ready for his Money In The Bank qualifying match while Austin Theory is at home. DIY comes up to mock him….and a garage door opens. CM Punk is laying on the ground and Drew McIntyre, with his hands bloody, is standing over him. McIntyre carries the unconscious Punk into the arena and drops him onto the stage before stealing a bracelet or a watch. Nick Aldis comes out with referees but McIntyre shoves him as well. Punk is taken out on a stretcher. This is feeling more and more like a featured match at Summerslam and I’m more than down for that.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Tama Tonga vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Randy Orton

Apparently the message that Sikoa gave to Heyman was to make sure Kevin Owens and Randy Orton don’t qualify for Money In The Bank. Makes sense. They fight heads outside fast but Hayes saves Tonga from being dropped onto the announcers’ table. That doesn’t last long as Orton drops both of them onto the table and we take a break. Back with Tonga elbowing Hayes down and hitting him in the face for two.

We hit the chinlock as the fans want Orton back but have to settle for Hayes fighting back to his feet. A facebuster gives Hayes two but a springboard….something is countered into a spinning backbreaker. Orton is back in for the powerslam on Tonga and there’s the superplex for two on Hayes. A poke to the eyes staggers Tonga and Hayes hits Orton with the First 48. Orton is back up with the double hanging DDT but here is Tonga Loa for a distraction. Kevin Owens runs out to cut him off, only to have Hayes roll Orton up for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: C+. Much like Green, I’ll take Hayes getting a win of any kind. What matters here is that Hayes didn’t take a pin. He’s felt like a target practice dummy since he debuted on the main roster and while stealing a pin on Orton isn’t a big game changer, it’s better than looking up at the lights again. Hayes could be something, but he needs to win to make that a reality.

We look at the Wyatt Sicks debut on Raw.

Here is LA Knight for a chat and he gets right to the point: he wants Logan Paul and the US Title out here right now. There is no Paul, which doesn’t work for Knight, as he is tired of Paul no showing everywhere. Next week there’s no running because they’re going head to head (with Santos Escobar) in a Money In The Bank qualifying match.

Then Knight can beat him, win the briefcase, and then beat Paul again to win the US Title. Cue Escobar to interrupt, saying he doesn’t like this disrespect. Escobar comes after Knight, who lays him out with the BFT. Cue Paul to jump Knight from behind and knock him cold with the big right hand. Pretty to the point here, with Knight’s match likely coming at Summerslam, which could be weird in Paul’s hometown.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Grayson Waller vs. Andrade vs. Kevin Owens

Hold on though as the Tongans jump Owens during his entrance, with Randy Orton running in for the save. Owens of course says he can fight so the bell rings, with Andrade clearing the ring to start. The limping Owens fights back and they fight to the apron, where Owens clotheslines Andrade into the ring. Andrade is right back with a running sunset bomb to send Waller to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Andrade cleaning house, including the running knees to both of them in the corner. Owens fights up but walks into a double Downward Spiral from Waller. An A-Town Down attempt is broken up so Waller kicks Owens in the bad leg. Andrade and Waller go into the corner but Owens powerbombs both of them down. The Swanton gets two on Andrade so Owens drops him with a Stunner. Waller breaks it up and goes after the knee, only to walk into the Message to give Andrade the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C+. They’re going in some interesting directions with Money In The Bank and that is nice to see. Andrade is someone else who has been looking for something to do since his return and while this isn’t likely his big break, it’s a nice enough spot for him for the time being. Owens has more important things going on and Waller is already a tag champion so let Andrade have the spot instead.

We look at Cody Rhodes retaining the WWE Title against AJ Styles at Clash At The Castle.

Tiffany Stratton mocks Michin for her loss, with Nia Jax running in to jump Michin from behind.

CM Punk is staying overnight in a hospital and Drew McIntyre will be at Raw.

Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

Non-title. Before the match, we cut to Paul Heyman telling Solo Sikoa that he has done his bidding. However, this goes against some of Roman Reigns’ bidding, as Reigns had said that CM Punk was off limits. Punk is personal to Heyman and Cody Rhodes is only supposed to be in check. Sikoa cuts him off and says Roman isn’t coming back. Heyman is devastated and asks what that could mean as Sikoa leaves, only to follow him to ringside. Rhodes takes the brawl to the floor to start and whips Sikoa into the steps. Not that it matters as the Tongas come in for the DQ at 1:41.

Post match Randy Orton and (the limping) Kevin Owens come in for the save and lay out the Tongans, leaving Sikoa backed into a corner. Sikoa begs off….but then starts to smile. JACOB FATU debuts and cleans house with superkicks, setting up a Samoan drop to put Owens onto the steps. Rhodes gets speared through the barricade and drops Cody onto the apron. A Superfly Splash from the top through the announcers’ table crushes Cody and Fatu poses with the Bloodline to end the show.

Of note: commentary did a great job here of selling that Fatu is the crazy member of the family and put him over as the most dangerous of them all. That’s how you use commentary to make someone feel important and catch the fans who might not know him up in a hurry. Well done there, as that’s the kind of thing that can really boost up a first impression.

Overall Rating: B. This was a VERY story heavy show and it seems that they’re turning their attention towards the bigger matches at Summerslam. I’m curious to see where all of that goes and the Bloodline stuff is the icing on the whole cake. They were moving things forward this week and that made for an interesting show which has me wondering where the stories are going. Good show here, and the bigger stuff is on the way.

Results
Chelsea Green b. Bianca Belair and Michin – KOD to Michin
Carmelo Hayes b. Tama Tonga and Randy Orton – Rollup to Orton
Andrade b. Grayson Waller and Kevin Owens – The Message to Waller
Cody Rhodes b. Solo Sikoa via DQ when the Tongans interfered

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 17, 2024
Location: American Bank Center Arena, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We’re done with Clash At The Castle and have about three weeks before Money In The Bank. Therefore, it’s time to start qualifying matches, which should be pretty straightforward. Other than that, Drew McIntyre is even more ready to kill CM Punk so let’s get to it.

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

Long recap of Clash At The Castle.

Here is Seth Rollins for a big surprise return to get things going. Rollins welcomes us back to Monday Night Rollins and introduces himself back to the crowd, who seems to remember him. With that out of the way, he’ll cut to the chase: he wants the World Heavyweight Championship back and with Money In The Bank just a few weeks away….and cue Damian Priest to interrupt.

Priest offers a sincere welcome back (Rollins isn’t sure about that) but this isn’t Rollins’ show anymore. Rollins compares their careers, including starting in groups and cashing in to win their first World Title at Wrestlemania. The catch though is that Rollins grew a set and learned to stand on his own. Priest talks about how he wants to prove that he’s the better man so Rollins can have a title shot at Money In The Bank. The fans approve and yes Rollins is in. Rollins being back is a big boost and it’s not like he’s out of line as the next challenger. This works, and it’s a nice way to set up a title match without much time to spare.

Earlier today the Alpha Academy came in to see Adam Pearce, with Chad Gable wanting another title shot against Sami Zayn. That isn’t happening, but Gable is willing to earn it. Works for Pearce.

Chad Gable vs. Braun Strowman

The Alpha Academy is here with Gable, who tries a German suplex to start. That goes as well as expected, with Strowman shouting about how he doesn’t like bullies. Gable’s armbar over the ropes doesn’t work very well as he gets knocked to the floor as we take a break. Back with Gable running away from Strowman and throwing Akira Tozawa at him. That doesn’t work at all, as he gets caught in the powerslam to finish for Strowman at 6:32.

Rating: C. It’s a bit weird to see Gable getting wrecked like that but that’s the point of a monster like Strowman. He can go in there for a one off match and destroy someone because that’s what a monster does. I’m not sure what is next for Gable, but he is going to need some kind of a fresh story, which may or may not be a feud with Otis.

Post match Gable orders the Academy into the ring and starts yelling at Tozawa, but Maxxine gets in his way. Gable takes her crutch away (geez) so Otis helps her to the floor, leaving Gable to slap Tozawa. That’s too far for Otis, who shoves Gable into the corner. Otis helps everyone else leave. If they hadn’t split on Saturday, that’s more or less it.

We look back at the Liv Morgan/Dominik Mysterio shenanigans from last week.

Judgment Day isn’t sure what is going on with Braun Strowman but Damian Priest wants to know what is up with Finn Balor stealing Morgan’s hotel room key last week. Balor says he took it to protect Dominik, so Priest asks about Money In The Bank. The plan is indeed for Balor to cash it in….on Cody Rhodes that is. In other news, Dominik can’t find his purple cow vest. I’m assuming we’ll see how Morgan looks in purple soon enough.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Zelina Vega vs. Kiana James vs. Iyo Sky

They all trade rollups to start until James is sent outside early on. Sky moonsaults onto her but gets Meteoraed by Vega and we take a break. Back with Vega and Sky slugging it out until Sky manages a butterfly backbreaker. James is back up but gets sent into the corner, leaving Sky to hit a springboard missile dropkick on Vega. The 619 hits Sky but James breaks up the Code Red. Cue Liv Morgan and yes, she’s wearing Dominik’s purple vest. The distraction distracts Vega so she can be knocked to the floor, leaving Sky to hit Over The Moonsault for the pin on James at 8:33.

Rating: B-. Sky winning is the right move here as she’s the bigger name, though I could have seen Vega winning for the sake of an underdog spot. James was there to take the pin and little more, as I’m assuming that’s the only reason she was called up from NXT. It’s not like she has made any impact so far and her future isn’t exactly looking bright thus far.

We look back at Bron Breakker wrecking Ilja Dragunov and destroying Ricochet last week.

Here is Sami Zayn for a chat. After a break, Zayn talks about how he is happy to still be the Intercontinental Champion. He beat Chad Gable again, after a big fight that started after Zayn beat him in a wrestling match. Zayn feels bad for the Alpha Academy but it is time to leave. The Academy will leave Gable when they are ready but for now, Zayn has to worry about defending the Intercontinental Title against anyone.

Cue Bron Breakker to interrupt, with Breakker saying Zayn knows why he is here. Breakker is coming for the title, which Zayn holds up, but cue Sheamus to interrupt. Sheamus has been chasing that title for years now, so maybe he should be in line for a title shot. Breakker isn’t having this and threatens Sheamus, who isn’t worried about being on a list. Zayn thinks they need to sort this out so he’s going to go get the match made. Either of those two would make a good challenge for Zayn, though I’m not sure they should be having Breakker lose to either of them.

Dragon Lee wants revenge on Carlito for costing him a Wrestlemania match.

We look at Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

The new champs are happy but Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark come in to issue the challenge. Sure.

Dragon Lee vs. Carlito

The LWO and Judgment Day are here too. Lee kicks him to the floor to start and tries a dive, which is pulled out of the air. Carlito gets in a ram into the barricade but Lee snaps off a hurricanrana from the apron as we take a break. Back with Lee hitting a running knee but walking into a neckbreaker for two. Carlito takes him to the corner but gets caught with the top rope double stomp. Lee’s sitout powerbomb gets two…and here is Liv Morgan for a distraction. Zelina Vega goes after her and the big brawl is on, with JD McDonagh getting in a cheap shot on Lee. Carlito hits the Backstabber for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C+. There were some nice spots in there and Lee can look good with just about anyone, but this feud feels like it has been going on for the better part of ever without much progress. I do like the idea of giving Carlito some wins here and there though, as he needs to be elevated a bit before a bigger loss down the line. Good enough match, but not an interesting story.

We look at CM Punk getting a referee shirt so he could cost Drew McIntyre the World Title at Clash At The Castle.

Chad Gable yells at the Alpha Academy, who leave him on their own. Gable promises to win Money In The Bank.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. He says CM Punk a few times….and then quits. Adam Pearce pops up to say McIntyre can’t do this but McIntyre keeps walking as we take a break.

During the break, McIntyre told HHH that he quit too and then left. This has me interested, though seeing McIntyre use it as a way to sneak attack Punk in Chicago on Smackdown would make a lot of sense.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Damage CTRL

Carter and Chance take Kai down to start and an apron splash takes her down to the floor. Back in and Sane drops Carter for the Insane Elbow as Lyra Valkyria is here to support Carter and Chance. The distraction lets Carter get in a DDT and the After Party finishes for Chance at 2:29. Rather quick and to the point there, though it wasn’t exactly a smooth match.

Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest is set for MITB.

Iyo Sky tells the rest of Damage CTRL to fix things or she’ll fix it herself.

Sheamus vs. Bron Breakker

Sami Zayn is at ringside. Breakker powers him into the corner to start before they crash to the floor, with Breakker getting the better of things. Back in and Sheamus hits the Irish Curse into the Regal Roll before throwing Breakker outside. There’s the clothesline from the apron but Breakker sends him over the announcers’ table. A hard clothesline off the apron rocks Sheamus and we take a break.

Back with Breakker hitting a fireman’s carry gutbuster for two but Sheamus tells him to bring it. Sheamus’ swinging Rock Bottom gets two and he goes up, with Breakker getting a running start and….slipping on the ropes (looked like a running Frankensteiner). A quick White Noise gives Sheamus two and he cuts off the spear with a knee for the same. There are the ten forearms to the chest and the Brogue Kick is loaded up, only to have Ludwig Kaiser jump Sheamus for the DQ at 12:12.

Rating: B. This was what you would have expected and I like the ending, as it gives them a way out without Breakker taking a pin or setting him up for a loss against Zayn. Sheamus getting one more shot at the title works if that is the way they want to go as the match will be good, though Breakker as the unstoppable force running around is a good fit for him as well.

Post match Sheamus fights back on Kaiser but gets speared by Breakker. Kaiser is back up to go after Sheamus but Breakker runs around the ring (with an AWESOME overhead camera shot to show exactly what is going to happen) to spear Kaiser down. I wonder if a certain Austrian monster will be mad about that.

Dominik Mysterio finds Liv Morgan and wants his vest back. That’s cool with her, as long as she takes it off of her himself. She starts the unzipping and he helps, only for Damian Priest to come in and tell Dominik to get out. Priest says Dominik wants nothing to do with her but that’s not how Morgan sees it. These mind games are interesting and again, the reaction for Rhea Ripley returning to crush Morgan will be great.

Karrion Kross wanted to hurt Xavier Woods but instead he offers a challenge to either member of the New Day for next week, no seconds allowed.

New Day is interested, with Kofi Kingston accepting the match. Ignore him cutting Xavier Woods off twice in there.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Finn Balor vs. Jey Uso vs. Rey Mysterio

Balor bails to the floor to start so the other two show respect before Jey grabs a headlock. Jey takes over but Balor pulls him to the floor for some rams into the apron. We take a break and come back with Jey and Balor slugging it out. Rey breaks it up with a top rope seated senton to Balor and a crucifix for two on Jey. Back up and Balor drops Rey but gets kicked in the head by Jey, who gets dropped with a Pele as we take a break.

We come back with Balor shoving Jey to the floor but getting 619ed in the ribs. The regular version of the 619 hits Balor, followed by a top rope hurricanrana to both Balor and Jey. Rey goes up but cue Judgment Day for a distraction, with Braun Strowman coming out to chase him off. Balor takes Rey down and hits the Coup de Grace but gets caught with the Superfly Splash to give Jey the pin at 16:44.

Rating: B-. This got time but as usual, having two breaks in the middle didn’t do it any favors. The thing that interests me the most here is Rey though, as I don’t think we quite appreciate how good he is. He’s pushing 50 and is still having quality matches with knees that are held together with duct tape and prayer. You can cut his career in half and still have a Hall Of Fame worthy resume. I know he’s good, but I don’t think enough people realize how much of an all time star he really is.

Post match Jey goes to celebrate in the crowd….and the lights go out, Fiend style. We get the door with light behind it ala Bray Wyatt’s return in 2022, which busts open, showing a woman (Nikki Cross) crawling towards a lantern. We see a large man in an evil rabbit mask (Erick Rowan) with a bunch of people knocked out next to him as he holds a mallet labeled HELP. Everyone in the Gorilla Position has been attacked as some men stand over them. Chad Gable is down and bloody (looking like he got shot in the head), with Uncle Howdy appearing.

All of the people come into the arena and the five of them pose together. Howdy says “WE’RE HERE” and blows out the lantern to end the show. It was certainly intense and they took over the end of the show, but it’s still firmly too early to know how they’re doing. Anyone can start off with a bang and then fizzle out (Retribution) but if they’re treated as a monster faction who has an impact, this could be something.

Overall Rating: B. Well it wasn’t boring. This show had all kinds of big moments, with Rollins returning, McIntyre quitting, Breakker and Sheamus having a hard hitting match and the big angle at the end. They’re setting things up for Money In The Bank and while the ending debut might wind up crashing hard, they’re certainly off to an intriguing star. I had a good time with this show and I’m wanting to see where it goes, so well done indeed.

Results
Braun Strowman b. Chad Gable – Running powerslam
Iyo Sky b. Kiana James and Zelina Vega – Over The Moonsault to James
Carlito b. Dragon Lee – Backstabber
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Damage CTRL – After Party to Kai
Sheamus b. Bron Breakker via DQ when Ludwig Kaiser interfered
Jey Uso b. Finn Balor and Rey Mysterio – Superfly Splash to Balor

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

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

AND

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