This aired on Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday so it’s worth another look.

Survivor Series 2018
Date: November 18, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,325
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the second redo of the year and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. I remember this one a little bit better than some of the more recent shows for some reason and I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. It’s hard to say how well these things hold up but that’s kind of what I’m going for here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Teams vs. Raw Tag Teams

Smackdown: Usos, New Day, Sanity, Anderson And Gallows, Colons

Raw: Bobby Roode/Chad Gable, Revival, B-Team, Lucha House Party, Ascension

A suplex gives Epico two as the apron looks ridiculous with so many people up there. Hold on though as Kalisto injures his knee so it’s off to Dorado for a quick splash. Kalisto comes back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down, allowing Primo to come in and hit a basement dropkick. Primo is sent into Epico and knocks him off the apron by mistake. Dawson makes a blind tag through and it’s a quick Shatter Machine to get rid of the Colons at 3:10.

It’s off to Dain vs. Gable after we nearly got Gable vs. Big E. in the match I didn’t know I needed to see. Dain hits a quick Divide for two so it’s Young coming in for two of his own off a neckbreaker. Roode makes the save and it’s a neckbreaker/moonsault combination to finish Young at 6:32. Konnor comes in to kick Big E. in the face but gets pulled into the spanking abdominal stretch. It’s off to Woods, who gets tossed with a fall away slam in short order. Viktor grabs a chinlock but Woods fights up for a discus forearm. Just to show off, Woods lifts Big E. onto his shoulders for a splash to finish Viktor at 8:48.

The Luchas try to go after Gallows and it goes as well as you would expect. Dorado has to slip out of the Magic Killer and it’s a Stunner to Gallows. Anderson gets hurricanranaed into the ropes and it’s the Luchas hitting stereo Asai moonsaults onto Anderson and Gallows. Back in and a rope walk Swanton gets rid of Anderson at 10:40 as the apron is finally clearing out a bit.

We’re down to the Usos/New Day vs. Roode/Gable/Revival/Lucha House Party so Jimmy comes in for the first time. Dorado chops him into a rollup for two and a Lionsault gets the same. Jey comes in off a blind tag and comes pretty close to catching Dorado in a Samoa drop for the pin at 11:57.

It’s Dawson coming in to grab Woods and a Wilder distraction lets him get in a cheap shot to really take over. Dawson misses a charge though and Woods hits a dropkick, allowing the double tag to Big E. and Wilder. Big E. clotheslines Dawson outside but gets rolled up for two, allowing Gable to come in for a suplex. Rolling Chaos Theory into a neckbreaker gets two on Big E. and everything breaks down with Wilder hitting a tornado DDT on Woods on the floor.

That means the dive from Big E., leaving Roode and Gable alone in the ring. Roode backdrops him onto everyone else but Jey superkicks Roode down. Jey does the GLORIOUS pose and dives onto the pile rather than, you know, covering the knocked silly Roode. Just to get nuts, Gable German superplexes Jimmy onto everyone else for the big crash. Back in and Woods hits Roode with the Honor Roll, leaving Big E. to catch Gable’s moonsault. That means UpUpDownDown to finish Gable at 18:33 but Dawson sends Big E. outside.

Woods goes up for the rope walk….undetermined move that is countered into the Shatter Machine to tie us up at 19:31. It’s the Usos vs. Revival and a slugout goes to the non-brothers. A reverse powerbomb/top rope clothesline (felt like a Steiner Bulldog with some miscommunication) gets two on Jey so Jimmy enziguris Dawson. Wilder is back up though and we go old school with a PowerPlex for two as Jey has to make a diving save. The Shatter Machine is broken up and it’s a bunch of superkicks to set up the Superfly Splash (with a Roman Reigns fist pump on the way down) for the pin at 23:15.

Rating: C. It was fun once they got down to the last bit but sweet goodness there was too much going on here. There is only so much you can do with enough people for a nice battle royal at first, plus seconds on the floor. It’s an idea that makes sense but when so many of these teams are looked at as jokes, they would have been better off cutting this in half and doing individual eliminations. Still though, perfectly watchable, especially once they got rid of the dead weight.

The opening video focuses entirely on the battle for Brand Supremacy because that’s all this show is about anymore. Even the huge champion vs. champion matches are just part of Raw vs. Smackdown.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Bayley, Sasha Banks

Smackdown: Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Asuka

The injured Alexa Bliss and Naomi are the captains, which is Naomi comes out second for her team. This is fallout from the moment of the year with Becky Lynch and Smackdown invading Raw, setting up Nia Jax punching Becky in the face and putting her on the shelf, setting up the main event of Wrestlemania and changing their careers forever. It’s funny how that works somehow no?

Naomi and Tamina start things off as the fans want Becky. A dropkick sends Tamina into the ropes and everything breaks down in a hurry. Naomi’s Disaster Kick puts Nia on the floor but Tamina hits a superkick to get rid of Naomi at 1:21. Carmella is right back in to roll Tamina up and get us down to 4-4 at 1:32. The fall leaves Carmella alone in the ring so DANCE BREAK.

Nia comes in behind her and Carmella’s rollup has no effect, as expected. Therefore it’s off to Mandy, who gets taken down with a single knee. That means it’s Mickie coming in for two off a neckbreaker but Mandy is right back up with an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up in a hurry though and it’s off to a quickly escaped Muta Lock. Asuka comes in to face Mickie, which Cole says is a match everyone would want to see. Then watch it from Takeover: Toronto on the Network!

Asuka starts with the hip attack into the dance, setting up the Octopus Hold. Sonya comes in to charge into Mickie’s boot and a snapmare takes her down. Bayley tags herself in and Mickie is rather annoyed, even as Banks comes in for the double knees in the corner. Now it’s Mickie tagging herself back in for the super Thesz press but Sonya knees her in the face. That should finish but Mandy tags herself in and steals the elimination at 7:38.

Sonya doesn’t know what to think, even as Bayley runs in for two off a rollup. The Moon Walk DDT lets Carmella mock Banks but she walks into the Bayley to Belly for the elimination at 9:12. Mandy comes in and stomps away at Bayley as the announcers get into their usual bickering session that has nothing to do with the match. Bayley kicks her away and brings in Banks to take over in a hurry, including the Bank Statement for the tap at 10:49.

Asuka comes in and takes over on Banks, allowing Sonya to grab a bodyscissors and shout a lot. That doesn’t last long either as it’s Banks getting up and bringing in Bayley for the waving running knee in the corner. A spinebuster gives Sonya two with Jax making the save and earning some of the loudest booing of her career.

Jax goes shoulder first into the post and Asuka kicks her to the floor, only to get caught by the Meteora from Banks. Bayley and Sonya tackle each other to the floor and it’s a Bayley to Belly….but neither can beat the count at 15:18. That leaves us with Nia/Sasha vs. Asuka with Banks coming in for the team. Asuka knocks her down and shows off the Smackdown top before hitting a knee to the face. A heck of a German suplex puts Banks down and a hip attack knocks Jax off the apron.

Banks trips her up to send Asuka into the apron but she’s right back with a missile dropkick for two. The Asuka Lock is broken up and the running knees in the corner crush Asuka again. Banks goes up but Nia shoves her off the top for some reason, meaning it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap at 19:36. Nia comes in and drops a bunch of legs before finishing with the Samoan drop at 20:15.

Rating: C. You have to remember that Nia was public enemy #1 at this point and pushing her as the monster like this made sense. Normally I would complain about pushing someone who has a history of injuring people and who is hardly interesting in the first place, but WWE has shown their love for Jax for a long time and no amount of complaining is going to change a thing.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 0

Stephanie McMahon, in that instantly irritating way of speaking, tells Acting General Manager Baron Corbin that he better win the rest of the matches if he wants to have the job permanently. Shane McMahon and General Manager Paige come in and suggest Raw will be feeling blue. More trash talk ensues with Shane looking forward to Corbin being fired. This kind of banter is just horrible and feels so forced, which is why it almost never goes away in WWE.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw (Intercontinental) vs. Smackdown (United States) champion vs. champion here. Yes Nakamura is wrestling in the blue shirt over his jumpsuit, because A BIG BLUE JUMPSUIT doesn’t tell you which brand he is on. Rollins goes after the arm to start but Nakamura slips out and invites Rollins to COME ON. The wristlocking is back on as they seem to have a lot of time here.

A way too early missed Kinshasa attempt lets Rollins do his own COME ON. The threat of a ripcord knee sends Nakamura to the apron and Rollins onto the top for some lounging. Nakamura sends him to the apron though and it’s the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes to put Nakamura on the floor. That means the suicide dive, but since that is the most obvious move ever, it gets cut off with a kick to the face instead.

Back in and Nakamura works on a double chickenwing, plus a front facelock to mix it up a bit. Rollins fights up and sends him into the corner, setting up the Sling Blade for a breather. Nakamura gets thrown outside for the back to back suicide dives but two is a nasty number in wrestling so there’s a third. The springboard clothesline gets two back inside and things slow down a bit. Rollins’ suplex is escaped and Nakamura kicks him in the face, followed by the running knee to the ribs in the corner.

A Backstabber….doesn’t do much for Nakamura as Rollins is right back up with a superkick for two. Rollins slugs away but his clothesline is countered into a triangle. Since it’s Rollins, the traditional powerbomb counter is swapped for a Buckle Bomb instead, which at least gives us some variety. The ripcord knee is broken up again and Nakamura’s Landslide gets two. In a bit of a rare move, Nakamura goes up top, earning himself the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for a nice near fall.

They slug it out with Nakamura daring him to swing harder so it’s a reverse exploder to drop Rollins. Kinshasa misses though and it’s the ripcord knee for a close two. The frog splash misses though and Nakamura’s running knee to the back of the head gives him his own two. Nakamura still can’t hit Kinshasa so Rollins superkicks him, only to miss the Stomp. Kinshasa misses again though and it’s the Stomp to give Rollins the pin at 21:27.

Rating: B. It was very good though I was left wanting and expecting more. These two can be great against each other, though it is another case of Nakamura never rising up to that next level. He is still very entertaining and someone worth watching almost every time, but his big matches always feel a bit disappointing. Still though, rather hard hitting back and forth match, which is exactly why these two were out there. It’s rather good, just not great.

Raw – 2

Smackdown – 0

Braun Strowman doesn’t like his partners on the Raw men’s team and he doesn’t even know who Bobby Lashley is. If they don’t help him win tonight, they’re getting these hands. Drew McIntyre says he’s in charge and violence is about to ensue so here’s Corbin to remind Strowman that he can’t touch him. Instead, Strowman throws Lio Rush at Corbin to let off some steam. Cue R-Truth for the pep talk, until he is reminded that he’s not on the team. Confused R-Truth may be one of my all time favorite gags.

The Bar vs. AOP

Smackdown vs. Raw in a battle of the Tag Team Champions with Big Show and Drake Maverick as the thirds. Rezar throws Sheamus into the corner to start as Byron accuses Drake of drinking….cuckoo juice? The Bar gets in some double teaming on Akam and, after the catchphrase, the Swing has to be broken up. Akam takes the Swing instead, only to have Rezar come back in for the backbreaker/middle rope stomp combination to take over.

The chinlock goes on before Akam just powers Cesaro down and hammers away. Rezar knees Cesaro in the face for two so Sheamus tries to come in, allowing Cesaro to grab a rollup for….well nothing actually as the referee is with Sheamus. Not the best plan there man. Cesaro’s uppercuts don’t do much good as Rezar takes him right back down and grabs a chinlock.

That’s broken up as well and it’s the springboard uppercut to allow the tag to Sheamus. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the Brogue Kick to Rezar with Maverick putting the foot on the rope. The chase is on until Cesaro knocks Maverick down, allowing Show to grab him. Maverick is so scared that he, ahem, relieves himself in fear. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Sheamus at 9:04.

Rating: D+. This was a pretty boring power match with both teams only going in spurts until the big joke of an ending. There is only so far you can go with that as the big joke and you can imagine where things are going to go as a result. I mean, the fact that this show is now a year old makes it easier to figure out, but that doesn’t make it better.

Raw – 3

Smackdown – 0

The Miz has Shane McMahon fire up Team Smackdown. R-Truth is here as well to talk about getting on the Smackdown roster. He already is, which is a relief as Raw is a mess.

We recap Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight Title. Ali won a match to become #1 contender and now we have the title match. The idea here is the champ vs. the never will be champ as Ali tries to grab the brass ring again. Sometimes it really can be that simple.

Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali is challenging. They start fast with Murphy’s power not exactly working as he drives Ali into the corner, only to have him flip over the champ. That means a dropkick to the floor into the big flip dive but Ali’s back is banged up. The second dive is blocked with a shove off the top into the barricade, followed by some rams into the apron. A heck of a backdrop sets up the chinlock with a knee in the back until Ali jawbreaks his way out of trouble.

The rolling X Factor is countered with a show to the floor though and Murphy hits his own running flip dive. Back in and Ali scores with a superkick into a tornado hanging DDT (awesome) for his own two. The 054 (I miss that) is broken up with a shove to the floor and this time it’s Ali’s face hitting the apron on the way down.

Murphy loads up the announcers’ table but Ali hits a Spanish Fly down to the floor again because he’s crazy and can do stuff like that. Back in and Murphy is fine enough to hit a superkick into a pair of powerbombs for two before kneeing him out of the air. Murphy’s Law retains the title at 12:20.

Rating: B-. It was entertaining, it was hard hitting, and almost no one cared because there is little reason to be interested in 205 Live. The wrestling can be very entertaining and some of the matches are great, but the show is as important as a bicycle to a fish. That has been a problem since the show debuted and it isn’t going to get better in the future.

When asked about his recent heel turn, Daniel Bryan….just smiles.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Raw: Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler

Smackdown: Shane McMahon, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy

Corbin (at ringside but not on the team) and M are the captains. Strowman and McIntyre nearly get in a fight before the bell but Strowman gets to start….until McIntyre tags himself in after about three seconds. The Koquina Clutch has Drew in early trouble but he backflips out and Claymores Joe for the pin at 37 seconds. I’m going to assume Joe was hurt (again), or we need Shane to get more ring time.

After a quick meeting, Hardy comes in second with the fans going to the DELETE chants in a hurry. Jeff tries running around a bit, earning himself a hard clothesline so Ziggler can come in. Shane tags himself in for a rematch of Crown Jewel, because that nightmare needs to be touched on again. A dropkick rocks Shane, who is right back with some armdrags. The Fameasser gets two but Shane scores with a spinning elbow. The jumping elbow is countered into the Zig Zag but Miz makes his own save.

Strowman comes in but McIntyre tags himself in again, meaning it’s on in a hurry. For some reason Smackdown breaks it up so they can gang up on Strowman, who isn’t having it. Rey manages a 619 though and they head outside with Strowman getting knocked onto the announcers’ table. The big Shane elbow knocks them both out, because WE NEED TO GET THAT IN. Back in and Miz kicks Drew down for one as we see Paige and Stephanie watching backstage. As long as they don’t talk, I’m good.

McIntyre gets away to go over for the tag….but he won’t do it, even as Balor yells at him to make the tag. Instead McIntyre smacks Miz in the face, allowing Balor to tag himself in. Balor kicks McIntyre down before kicking Miz in the head, followed by the baseball slide. Back in and the Sling Blade rocks Rey and a dropkick puts him in the corner. The Coup de Grace misses though and it’s a 619 into the springboard splash to tie it up at 12:04.

McIntyre is right there to deck the eliminated Balor so Lashley tags himself in to throw Rey into the corner. The delayed vertical suplex is delayed too long though as Rey rolls out and hits an enziguri. It’s Ziggler’s turn to tag himself in so Rey faceplants him and brings in Hardy. Everything breaks down and Hardy tornado DDTs McIntyre on the floor, allowing Ziggler to grab the running DDT for two on Jeff. The rapid pace comeback is on for Jeff, but the Swanton hits raised knees.

For some reason this hurts the knees this time so Mysterio is able to bring Miz in. The beating is on in the corner and it’s Shane coming back in for Coast to Coast to eliminate Ziggler and cement Shane as Best in the World (remember he beat Ziggler in the finals) to make it 4-3 at 18:10.

Lashley is back in to suplex Shane right over to Miz, who gets beaten up this time around. Miz gets in a few shots of his own to set up the running clothesline. It’s back to Shane for ANOTHER Coast to Coast, though thankfully Strowman chops him out of the air. Strowman comes in and wastes no time with the powerslam to eliminate Hardy at 20:45. That leaves Strowman/McIntyre/Lashley vs. Mysterio/Miz/McMahon, and the powerslam takes Mysterio out at 21:26.

Miz starts to panic (Graves: “Does this mean there won’t be a Marine 7”) and it’s another powerslam for the pin at 22:27. Shane is alone against the monsters and you can feel the fans panicking from here. Shane pulls himself up to face Strowman and says bring it on, so Strowman dropkicks him into the corner (Graves: “A T-REX DROPKICK!”) and hits the third powerslam for the pin at 24:01.

Rating: D+. This doesn’t hold up as it’s another Shane showcase, with one big spot after another and Shane getting to go out there and look like the toughest man in the company. Raw winning was more confusing than anything else as it already guarantees them the night, but they did have me believing that they might have had Shane pull the miracle. Consider that great selling or really sad.

Raw – 4

Smackdown – 0

Post match Corbin jumps Strowman and poses with McIntyre and Lashley.

Here’s how to help victims of the California wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Seth Rollins has been focused on Dean Ambrose as of late but for tonight, he’s due for an ice bath and some cold ones. Charly tells him that he has to defend the Intercontinental Title against Ambrose at TLC. Rollins likes the idea because Ambrose will have nothing left to hide behind.

We recap Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey. This was supposed to be Becky Lynch vs. Rousey but then destiny happened in the form of the mega brawl on Raw and Becky’s face being broken. Becky picked Charlotte to take her place, which was out of left field but they didn’t have another option.

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte

Raw vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion so we get the Big Match Intros. Rousey (with the ridiculous eye makeup) starts swinging early so Charlotte grabs her by the ropes and throws her down. The armbar is blocked and Charlotte has to flip out of Piper’s Pit to get us to a standoff. Charlotte grabs a headlock and sends her face first into the bottom buckle to really take over for the first time. It’s time to start on the leg as Rousey is bleeding from the mouth.

She’s fine enough for an enziguri to get a breather and what looked like a triangle over the top has Charlotte in trouble for a change. Charlotte crotches her on top but Rousey is right back with a triangle. That’s reversed into a Boston crab but Natural Selection is blocked. The armbar is blocked again so Charlotte goes up, only to have the moonsault hit raised boots. Rousey spends too much time yelling though and gets speared in half for two.

The Figure Four goes on until Rousey turns it over, with Rousey managing to talk trash while screaming at the same time. They roll to the floor and Rousey is all fired up, meaning it’s time to start striking away. Some chops knock Rousey into the corner and Rousey looks shaken for the first time.

Another chop is blocked so Charlotte gets two off a big boot. Rousey is right back with a hurricanrana and Piper’s Pit but Charlotte gets away from the armbar again. It’s time for a breather on the floor and Charlotte is smart enough to break the count for an extra break. Rousey isn’t waiting so she goes out after her, only to walk into a kendo stick shot from Charlotte for the DQ at 14:10.

Rating: A-. This felt like the main event level match that they were hoping for, which is all the more impressive given Rousey’s complete lack of experience. She knows how to feel like a big deal and Charlotte having to use her natural abilities to counter all of the submissions was a great story. Charlotte snapping and admitting that she can’t beat Rousey worked perfectly too and I had a great time with this all around.

Raw – 5

Smackdown – 0

Post match the beating is on with the referee having to take the chair away from Charlotte. She isn’t done though and it’s Natural Selection onto the chair to knock Ronda silly. Charlotte beats up the referees trying to make the save and wraps the chair around Rousey’s neck. Pillmanizing ensues and Charlotte’s eyes are bugging out. Fans: “THANK YOU CHARLOTTE!” Rousey takes a long time to get up but does it on her own, because PILLMANIZING SOMEONE’S NECK IS A FIVE MINUTE ANNOYANCE!

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan, which is a rapid fire change as Bryan only turned heel and won the title five days before this show. Therefore, the entire video is about Bryan’s turn, setting up the match here. It was annoying, but since WWE didn’t want AJ losing to Brock, they had him lose to Bryan instead. That is the kind of logic only WWE can go with and no, it still doesn’t sound like an intelligent idea.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

Battle of the World Champions with Brock trying to complete the Raw sweep. Bryan mocks Lesnar during his entrance and smiles a lot. A running dropkick to Lesnar’s knee starts things off as the mind games are on. Bryan heads outside for a run around the ring so Lesnar follows him, only to have Bryan run back inside and mocks Brock’s bounce. Brock comes back in and hits Bryan in the face as things change in a hurry.

The first German suplex has Bryan nearly done on the apron so Brock starts a SUPLEX CITY chant in a great heel move. The second German suplex has Heyman worried and the third has Bryan rocked again. An overhead belly to belly puts Bryan on the floor and Lesnar even gets to pose with the title. Brock throws him hard into the barricade and we hit the bearhug with Cole saying this isn’t about brand supremacy anymore. Then what the heck is it about now Cole? And what has the last hour and a half been about?

More suplexes ensue and the fans are not happy with the repetitive Lesnar offense. The second bearhug makes it even worse and Brock throws another overhead belly to belly. The F5 connects (Brock: “Goodnight everybody!”) but Brock pulls him up at two. Bryan kicks him in the face twice and, after a ref bump, gets in a low blow. The running knee connects for two (how Bryan won the title) so Bryan kicks away to put Brock down in the corner.

A bunch of stomps to the face have Brock stunned and Bryan low bridges him to the floor. The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air but Bryan slips out and posts him. Bryan tries the suicide dive though and gets posted hard to cut off the big rally. The steps are picked up but only hit the post, allowing Bryan to hit another knee. Back in and another running knee gives Bryan another two as Heyman is losing his mind.

Bryan switches gears by going after the knee with a chop block and a wrap around the post. Lesnar is sent into the corner for the running dropkicks (or a running knee and a running attack from Cole) but he pulls Bryan into the F5….as the knee gives out. The YES Lock goes on but Bryan makes the mistake of switching to a triangle, which is reversed into the F5 for the pin at 18:43.

Rating: B+. It’s nearly a copy of the same match that Brock had with AJ last year but it was still a heck of a fight with Bryan coming close to picking up the upset. That being said, it’s still the brand new WWE Champion losing clean five days after he won the title. I know WWE MUST DO THE BRAND SUPREMACY deal but was there really no better option for something like this? Like AJ vs. Brock II with a countout or something? Annoying, but at least it came after an awesome match.

Raw – 6

Smackdown – 0

Bryan smiles at Lesnar to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well they threw the Brand Supremacy stuff out the window at about the halfway point, leaving the wrestling to carry the rest. As luck would have it, the last two matches were awesome and left me wanting more so well done all around there. Some of the matches aren’t that great with no particularly good Survivor Series matches, but what we got for the rest of the show was quite entertaining, even if the core concept was lost.

Ratings Comparison

Raw Tag Teams vs. Smackdown Tag Teams

Original: D+

2019 Redo: C

Smackdown Women vs. Raw Women

Original: C

2019 Redo: C

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

AOP vs. The Bar

Original: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

Original: B

2019 Redo: B

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Original: C+

2019 Redo: D+

Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey

Original: B

2019 Redo: A-

Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: A-

2019 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2019 Redo: B

The two main events almost swapping is interesting but, other than the men’s Survivor Series match, this is all in the same ballpark or identical.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/18/survivor-series-2018-layeth-the-smackdown-down/

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

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

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

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

205 Live
Date: June 26, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Drew Gulak, Byron Saxton

Last week’s edition of the cruiserweight show featured a pair of rather large monsters and a guy we aren’t allowed to speak about anymore. That doesn’t leave many options for this week but maybe they can surprise us. Last week they surprised me by actually doing something interesting with the show so maybe they can go back to back. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Isaiah Scott vs. Tony Nese

Nese poses to start and then waistlocks Scott down. That means an early standoff as they seem to have some time here. They go to the mat until Scott grabs a headscissors into an armbar. Scott has to slip out of a headscissors so Nese is back with the strikes to the ribs and face. An armbar gets Scott out of trouble again as they are still in first gear.

Nese fights up and snaps Scott throat first across the top, but Scott follows him to the floor for some chops against the Plexiglas. A belly to back onto the apron cuts Scott off again though and there’s a running elbow for two back inside. Nese trips him down to cut off a comeback and the Lionsault gets two.

Scott snaps off a suplex but Nese is back with a spinning kick to the face for his own near fall. A bodyscissors stays on Scott’s ribs until he fights up and unloads with shots in the corner. The middle rope elbow to the back of a seated Nese gets two and the rolling Downward Spiral is good for the same.

Scott’s German suplex gets two but the House Call is reversed into a Boston crab. A rope is grabbed so Nese hits a pumphandle powerslam for another near fall. They head outside again with Nese sending him into the steps, setting up the 450 for two back inside. The frustrated Nese grabs a chair but Scott knocks him into the ropes, setting up a slingshot stomp to send Nese to the floor. Back in and the Swerve Stomp finishes Nese at 19:59.

Rating: B. See, this was at least a little different than usual. Let them do something that feels like a big match and the whole thing comes off as more important. That’s a good idea and something that we haven’t seen around here for a long time now. Scott continues to look like a star and that’s a very good thing for the future, despite taking too long to make it happen in the first place.

Next week: Legado de Fantasma is here.

Scott says he wants the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There isn’t much else that you can say about a show that is literally one match from beginning to end, but that was nice for a change. I’m really not sure about the need to do this show under the current circumstances, but at least they’re starting to do something with the show. It helps when it’s a good match too, so they actually made use of the less than twenty five minute run time here.

Results

Isaiah Scott b. Tony Nese – Swerve Stomp

 

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

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

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

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Main Event
Date: June 25, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, MVP

It’s back to the full schedule of both Raw and Smackdown this week, which may or may not be an improvement. The show has been featuring some slightly bigger names in recent weeks so the original wrestling has been a little easier to watch. Then again you never know what is going to happen around here so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bianca Belair vs. Ruby Riott

They start slowly with Belair catching Riott’s kick to the ribs. That means a snapmare into a standoff so Riott pulls her into a rollup. Belair grabs a cravate and hits a running clothesline into a hiptoss. Riott is right back with some rams into the buckle into a Downward Spiral. A front facelock has Belair in more trouble but she snaps off a suplex. Belair grabs a spinebuster and after shrugging off a knee to the ribs, finishes Riott with the KOD at 5:55.

Rating: C-. Belair has grown on me a lot in recent months and I’d love to see her get some more time on Raw. Why she can’t at least be involved with the Street Profits a little more than she has been in recent weeks is beyond me, but at least we’ve been getting the Viking Profits, whatever that’s worth.

From Smackdown.

There are wrestlers around the ring for Styles’ Intercontinental Title presentation. AJ is glad that everyone got their cheering right and he’s just here to say he told you so. Life’s rewards are for the people who go and claim the brass ring instead of waiting for a handout. He’s ready for the title presentation but Renee Young isn’t the right person to do it. Instead, AJ wants Daniel Bryan to do it himself.

Bryan gets in the ring and AJ says put it around his waist, but make sure not to do anything stupid. AJ says Bryan doesn’t have to do it if he’s a coward. Bryan finally puts the title on and says that last week, AJ was the better man. Bryan gets all fired up and says AJ is going to be a great champion. Imagine AJ vs. Gran Metalik or against Big E. (they both seem game), but AJ sees it a little different.

That’s fine with Bryan, who thinks Drew Gulak should get a shot because he beat AJ two weeks ago. AJ thinks Bryan is trying to get himself a title shot so he has to become #1 contender. The next person to challenge for the title is going to have to suffer the consequences. Cue the debuting Matt Riddle, much to AJ’s annoyance. AJ sees another human being looking for a handout. The fight is on with Riddle cleaning house so AJ says get a referee out here.

AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle

The wrestlers are still around the ring. Hold on though as AJ says no shoes, no shirt, no title shot. The bell rings and Riddle hits a German suplex into the rolling gutwrench suplexes for two. Riddle hammers away on the mat and kicks him in the head for two more. More shots have AJ in the corner so he snaps off a dropkick to get a breather.

Back up and Riddle kicks him down in the corner but this time AJ hits a running clothesline to the apron. Riddle gets knocked into King Corbin and gets in an argument as we take a break. Back with AJ in control but the YES Kicks just fire Riddle up. A right hand to the head puts him down though and a snap suplex gives Styles two. AJ takes him down again and a dragon screw legwhip sends Riddle into the corner.

Riddle’s comeback is cut off with a shot to the leg but a jumping knee to the face rocks AJ. A quick suplex drops AJ again and the Broton gets two. Riddle grabs a rear naked choke but has to let go when Styles bridges back for two more. The Calf Crusher goes on so Riddle goes to the ropes, meaning AJ heads outside to get in Bryan’s face. AJ yells at Bryan before loading up the Phenomenal Forearm, only to get caught in the Bro Derek to give Riddle the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B-. That’s a good way to have a debut and the lack of a clean finish helped a bit. AJ has no one to blame but himself here and that makes for a good way to set up some potential matches in the future. You could go with Styles vs. Riddle or Bryan or maybe even all three (hopefully not), or perhaps Riddle vs. Bryan for the #1 contendership. It’s nice to have the options like that though and that’s what they did here.

Post match the lumberjacks get in the ring to celebrate with Riddle, who strikes his still awesome pose.

From Raw.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to open things up. He explains last week’s title defense….but here’s Dolph Ziggler to interrupt. Ziggler explains that he and Robert Roode have been traded to Raw in exchange for AJ Styles. We hear about McIntyre’s redemption story, with Ziggler bringing him up from nothing and now McIntyre is WWE Champion.

That sounds like a reason for Ziggler to get a title shot at Extreme Rules, but McIntyre doesn’t remember Ziggler winning many matches without Big Daddy Claymore there to help him out. Ziggler has become exactly what the two of them used to despise: an entitled jackass. It was Ziggler who named him the Scottish Psychopath so imagine what McIntyre will do with the title on the line. Ziggler wants the match, so it’s set for Extreme Rules for the title.

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet vs. Austin Theory/Murphy

Again, did these people come to the wrong show? Murphy works on Ricochet’s arm to start until the reversal lets Ricochet do the opposite. They flip up to a standoff and that means a double tag. Alexander snaps off a rollup into a basement dropkick as everything breaks down. Ricochet and Alexander snap off stereo headscissors to the floor and the teased dives take us to a break.

Back with Murphy hitting a DDT for two on Ricochet and kicking him in the back for the same. A front facelock is driven into the corner but Murphy sends him face first into the corner. Ricochet rolls out with a dropkick and a kick to the face is enough for the hot tag to Alexander. House is cleaned in a hurry, including a tornado DDT to Theory. Everything breaks down and Theory escapes the Lumbar Check. Murphy hits a running knee to finish Alexander at 10:44.

Rating: C. This is another good example of a match that could be on any given Raw but for some reason they’re stuck on Main Event. At least Austin and Murphy are able to get on the show for the sake of the Seth Rollins stuff. Ricochet and Alexander….I really don’t get it and I can’t imagine I’m alone in my confusion.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray has been gone for a long time so he has joined a book club, learned the new Tik Tok moves, learned how to raise the dead, learned how to knit, and taken over a reptile society. Ramblin Rabbit pops in to say Bray has just been sitting in the corner muttering about losing to Braun Strowman. After a clip, a distressed Bray thanks him for the reminder. It’s true that he lost, but in defeat, he learned that he went about this the wrong way.

We cut to the arena where Braun Strowman comes out (now with what sounds like a train at the start of his music), causing Bray to give him thumbs down. Bray wasn’t lying about raising the dead and he morphs into the Wyatt Family version, saying that in order to move forward, they have to take a step back to where it all began. Bray created him so now Braun needs to come see him. Follow the buzzards and run. The lantern is blown out to end the show. Does WWE really think that Strowman’s time with the Wyatt Family was that important? And they’re going to fight at the Wyatt Compound aren’t they?

From Raw.

Here are Rey Mysterio and Dominick for a chat. Rey talks about how scary it can be to not be able to get in touch with your child. That was the case last week when Rey didn’t know Dominick was coming here to go after Rollins. Mysterio isn’t happy with what Dominick did and no matter how big or strong he may be, he’s still Rey’s son. Last week, Dominick fought for him, so tonight, Rey is going to fight for him. He needs to get revenge on Rollins, but he needs to do it on his own.

Dominick isn’t going anywhere though, so Rollins can come fight a family. Cue Rollins to say Mysterio has put him in a difficult situation. Should he come to the ring to destroy a father in front of his son, or should he sacrifice Dominick in front of Rey? Actually never mind, because this is fate, prophecy and destiny, so he’ll take both of them at once. Austin Theory and Murphy join Rollins….but Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo jump them from behind.

The brawl is on with Theory and Murphy being taken down, leaving Rollins surrounded. Mysterio gets in a 619 and the good guys try to take out Rollins’ eye like he did to Mysterio, only to have Murphy and Theory make the save. Rollins goes for Dominick’s eye but Black and Carrillo make the save to end the show. Dominick still isn’t all that interesting but this was a hot brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It wasn’t a bad show or anything close to it but having people this talented on Main Event is rather mind boggling. Raw isn’t exactly overflowing with interesting stuff at the moment and for some reason we’re getting people like Ricochet and Murphy in action here. It’s not the most logical thing, but then again, nothing about Main Event ever has been.

 

 

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

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

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 29, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We’re in uncharted territory here with so many names possibly missing due to the Coronavirus outbreak. So far we have two contract signings for Extreme Rules planned, which certainly sounds like something that could manage to be as uninteresting as Raw can actually be. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Bayley and Sasha Banks brawling with Asuka in the ring as Samoa Joe is standing next to the contract table. Referees come out and break it up so Joe can do the introduction. The brawl is on again with Joe begging referees to get them apart. With the women separated, Joe introduces Dolph Ziggler as we’re doing both signings at the same time. Ziggler handles Drew McIntyre’s introduction and we’re finally settled down and ready to go. We’ll start with the men, with Ziggler talking about ending McIntyre’s nineteen year journey as McIntyre looks rather serious. Both of them sign with Drew saying it’s official.

McIntyre calls those serious words from Ziggler and talks about how they used to be family. As family, McIntyre is going to let him pick the stipulation for the title match. Asuka cuts him off by shouting in Japanese and signs her own contract. Banks promises to become Two Belts Banks and stamps her own signature on the contract. The brawl is on with Ziggler trying a superkick but McIntyre pulls it out of the air. The threat of a Claymore sends Ziggler bailing, along with Bayley and Sasha. Book the mixed tag for later.

We look at Angel Garza and Andrade jumping the Street Profits after last week’s Tag Team Title match.

Garza is talking to Jessika Carr when Charly Caruso comes up and doesn’t seem pleased. Zelina Vega makes fun of her and promises that the team is getting some gold. Big Show comes in and says he’s going to the ring next to deal with Randy Orton.

Here’s Big Show in the ring to call out Orton. Instead he gets Andrade, Garza and Vega, who Show calls Smurfette. Show says he isn’t in the mood for this tonight so don’t try him. Garza laughs off the idea that Show is a legend so Show says he has boots older than him. More talking ensues but Show cuts him off and says come fight if he wants to. Vega says Show’s days on Raw are numbered and he can say hi to Edge and Christian in the retirement home.

Cue Ric Flair to say he respects Vega but needs to have a word with his old friend. Flair has been hanging out with Orton while Big Show is making cartoons on Netflix. That’s cool because everyone wants that spot in Hollywood and Show will be in the Hall of Fame, but don’t try Orton. For now though, Garza and Andrade can deal with Show. Cue the Viking Raiders though and the brawl is on to take us to a break.

Viking Raiders vs. Angel Garza/Andrade

Joined in progress with Zelina on commentary and Erik throwing Garza down. Ivar drives Garza into the corner for two and we hit the armbar. Erik slams Ivar onto Garza for two but Andrade uses a distraction to come in with a superkick. It’s Erik in trouble with Garza hitting a hard kick to the head for one as Vega explains the power of fiery Latinos. Erik punches Garza into the corner but Andrade comes in to kick Erick in the face. Andrade stops to yell at Garza….and walks out. Vega tries to calk things down and we take a break.

Back with Andrade on the apron as Garza unloads on Erik in the corner. Erik fights up and runs Andrade over though and the hot tag brings in Ivar to clean house. The handspring elbow is cut off with a dropkick to the back and everything breaks down. The powerbomb/release World’s Strongest Slam combination plants Andrade and Garza but Garza and Ivar fight to the floor. Andrade hits the running knees in the corner on Erik and the Wing Clipper gives Garza the pin at 11:36.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and it’s nice to see some fresh challengers being set up for the Street Profits. They have done the Vikings vs. Profits for so long now that it’s time for someone else. The problem is that there are only so many teams to be able to do anything at the moment. Andrade and Garza are as good as we can get at the moment.

We look back at Natalya beating Liv Morgan last week, followed by Ruby Riott trying to make up with Morgan later on.

The IIconics come up to make fun of Riott, who mentions them losing their Tag Team Title match. A challenge is made for later.

Flair wants to talk to Andrade, Garza and Vega.

24/7 Title: Akira Tozawa vs. R-Truth

Tozawa, with Ninjas, is defending and grabs a quick rollup for two. Hold on though as Tozawa needs to poke finger guns at Truth, who avoids a charge with ease. Back up and Truth leapfrogs him but hurts his knee, only to catch Tozawa in a rollup for the pin and the title at 1:07.

Post match another Ninja rolls Truth up for two, allowing Truth to run off with the title.

We look at Bobby Lashley taking Apollo Crews down with the full nelson last week.

Lashley doesn’t think much of MVP going after Crews, but MVP calms him down by saying Crews’ offer to join us is gone. Now the kid needs to learn something before we get to the complete destruction. The two of them walk past Murphy and Seth Rollins (no Theory) with Rollins holding a Rey Mysterio mask. He needs to deliver his most important message now.

Here are Rollins and Murphy for the message. We see a recap of the issues with Rollins vs. Mysterio/Dominick, including Humberto Carrillo and Aleister Black nearly taking out Rollins’ eye last week. Back in the arena, Rollins talks about the duty that Mysterio has to his son. The problem is that Rey hasn’t been, ahem, seeing things clearly. Rollins talks about how he gave Rey a chance to get out with honor but Mysterio refuses to leave. They are bound by fate and as fate would have it, Mysterio is meant to be a sacrifice for the greater good of Raw.

Rollins is going to tear him down piece by piece, but here are Mysterio and Dominick on the screen. Rey says that there will be no forgiveness for Rollins no matter what. Mysterio loves Dominick, but now he has to do something even worse to Rollins. It’s an eye for an eye and it won’t be fate, because it’s going to be by design. Dominick can forgive Rey, but he’ll never forgive Rey, which will be ordained by fate. Rollins: “Oh bravo.” Cue Carrillo and Black and it seems that we have another match being booked on the fly.

Post break, Rollins and Murphy are still on the floor to yell at Carrillo and Black. Carrillo says Rollins will never be the man Mysterio is. Black knows evil when he sees it and promises to make Rollins atone for it. Rollins says this ends now and we’re ready to go.

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black vs. Seth Rollins/Murphy

Black kicks away at Murphy to start and scares Rollins off the apron. The distraction lets Murphy kick Black to the floor and Rollins stomps away next to the barricade. Back in and Rollins whips Black hard into the corner, setting up Murphy’s reverse chinlock. Black fights up with a shot to the head and it’s a hot tag to Carrillo, who has to chase Rollins to the floor. That lets Murphy get in a cheap shot but Carrillo enziguris him without much trouble.

A middle rope crossbody connects and Rollins comes back in, only to be sent outside. Another enziguri sets up the missile dropkick to Murphy and Rollins has to save Murphy from the 619. Carrillo hits the big springboard dive to the floor and we take a break. Back with Carrillo getting in a shot to Rollins for a breather. The diving tag brings in Black to beat up Murphy and moonsault onto both of them. Murphy counters Black Mass into a rollup so Black knees him in the face.

Carrillo comes back in for a 619 to Murphy for two with Rollins diving in for the save. Rollins dives onto Black and Murphy hits a running knee for two on Carrillo with Black making a save of his own. The Cheeky Nandos kick hits Carrillo and it’s a powerbomb/jumping knee to the face combination….for two. If you’re going to debut a big spot like that, don’t have it be for a near fall. Black and Murphy head to the floor, leaving Rollins to Stomp Carrillo for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced match and it’s nice to see Rollins win something for a change. That’s been part of the problem with this rather lacking story: Rollins hasn’t really done anything other than taking out Mysterio. He loses most of his big matches and the promos feel like something that has been done in every indy promotion in the world at one time or another. It’s not horrible, but I can’t find any interest in the whole thing.

Post match the brawl stays on with Carrillo taking the steps to the face, with Rollins putting Mysterio’s mask on him. Black has to save Carrillo’s eye from the steps so Rollins gives Carrillo the Stomp onto the steps instead.

Asuka and Drew McIntyre are ready for their mixed tag tonight. McIntyre dubs her the Empress of Claymore Country and Asuka says Ziggler isn’t ready for Drew.

We look at the tribute to Undertaker from Smackdown, including the legends talking about how great he is. A highlight video is included.

Lana tries to recruit Ruby Riott, who tells her to go ruin another promising career. Lana talks about how great Natalya is and says that’s the kind of leader the women’s division needs. Ruby doesn’t seem convinced.

Peyton Royce vs. Ruby Riott

Billie Kay is here with Peyton and a quick distraction lets Peyton take Riott down by the arm to start. Another Billie distraction sets up the hammerlock on Riott, but she’s back up with some forearms. An STO gets two on Peyton but the third distraction lets Royce grab a rollup for two. Riott gets her own rollup but walks into a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: D+. There isn’t much you can get out of this but the IIconics are a rather solid midcard act. I’m not sure why Riott needs to lose so much, but if there is one thing WWE likes to do, it is have people lose a lot and then expect us to care about them. If they can do it with Riott and Morgan at the same time, that’s even better.

Big Show talks about growing up in South Carolina where Ric Flair was the most important man in the world. Now Flair is mentoring Randy Orton, so Orton has to be the most dangerous man in wrestling. Show is ready to take care of Andrade and Garza tonight.

We look back at the opening segment.

Big Show vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

Andrade and Garza bail to the floor and agree to get back inside together. It’s Andrade who stays on the floor, leaving Garza to chop the heck out of Garza. That’s enough to send Garza outside, where Andrade tells him to get back in there. Garza tags Andrade in so he can fail at a waistlock attempt on Show. A slam puts Andrade down and Show steps on his ribs.

It’s back to Garza, who gets chopped in the corner again before kicking away at the knee. The low superkick doesn’t quite keep Show down so Garza stomps away even more. Andrade comes in and argues with Garza, who decides to walk out this time. Vega can’t keep the peace and it’s a chokeslam to finish Andrade at 5:35.

Rating: D+. This was pretty much every Big Show handicap match you would care to see as he threw the two of them around, they got in a little something, and then he hit a chokeslam for the win. I know Show is an old, dependable star, but he isn’t exactly doing anything new when he’s out there, and it can get a little repetitive at times. Like it was here for example.

Post match gives Andrade the KO Punch.

R-Truth has escaped the Ninjas and runs into Cedric Alexander, Apollo Crews and Ricochet. Truth thinks Alexander may be a Ninja, but his favorite superhero, Richard O Shea will take care of things. For now though, Truth has an idea.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley for MVP’s match, but first MVP talks about how no one can be him. However, he’s a legend and wants to give back. That’s what he was trying to do with Crews, who just disrespected him. That isn’t going to stand, but here’s Crews to interrupt. Crews doesn’t want to hear about disrespect because MVP wouldn’t listen to Crews say no in the first place. Ring the bell.

MVP vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title with Crews starting fast by snapping off a hurricanrana. MVP is sent to the floor for the big flip dive onto Lashley, allowing MVP to send Crews into the steps. Back from a break with MVP hitting a big boot and putting on a dragon sleeper. There’s a knee drop for two but Crews fights up and hits a Stinger Splash in the corner. A spinebuster gets two on MVP but Lashley offers a distraction so MVP can crotch Crews on top. MVP hits a running big boot and grabs a fisherman’s suplex for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: C-. MVP has shown to be very valuable as a talker for Lashley though I’m not entirely sold on him as a wrestler at this point. It’s ok to have him win over Crews thanks to the interference, and it’s not like this is setting up anything more than Lashley getting a title shot at Extreme Rules anyway.

Post match Lashley puts on the full nelson until Ricochet and Cedric Alexander come in for the save.

Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley

Joined in progress again as we now have four out of seven matches being made during the show. Lashley throws him around to start and drops Ricochet with a release suplex. Ricochet tries to fight up but gets caught in the spinning Big Ending for two. Lashley throws him outside and then tosses him around even more, followed by a ram into the post. The count is broken up at nine even though Ricochet is mostly dead. Lashley sets for the spear but Ricochet collapses.

Ricochet slips out of the full nelson and sends Lashley to the floor. Lashley gets him in a fireman’s carry, only to have Ricochet slip out and post him. MVP sends Lashley back inside where Ricochet hits a Lionsault for two. Cedric Alexander takes out MVP and Ricochet hits some kicks to the head. A big kick is countered into a powerbomb though and the full nelson finishes Ricochet at 6:35.

Rating: C. This started off as a squash and turned into a nice David vs. Goliath match by the end. Lashley wasn’t going to lose to anyone here, let alone Ricochet, so the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. At least they got Ricochet and Alexander on the card though and that’s a good thing after so many weeks away.

Post match, Lashley full nelsons Alexander as well.

Bayley and Sasha Banks tell Ziggler not to screw this up for them.

We look at the contract signings again.

Drew McIntyre/Asuka vs. Sasha Banks/Dolph Ziggler

Bayley sits in on commentary as the guys start. McIntyre powers him around early on and chops away in the corner as Asuka is very pleased. A quick Fameasser doesn’t even give Ziggler one and it’s off to the women (Bayley: “MAIN EVENT TIME!”). Asuka shoves her around to start but Sasha avoids a charge. That means the threat of the Asuka Lock but the guys come in, allowing Banks to slip out. A spinning elbow to the face drops Banks to the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Ziggler rolling him up for two and hitting the delayed DDT. For some reason Ziggler tags Banks in and Asuka gets to come in as McIntyre is still banged up. Asuka hits a running knee to the face for two on Banks but Bayley offers a distraction. That lets Banks hit a Meteora off the apron (though she seemed to overshoot it) to knock Asuka silly. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Banks hits the double knees in the corner for two more.

Asuka gets in some knees of her own and it’s a double tag to bring the men back in. McIntyre hits the top rope shot to Ziggler’s head but Banks tags herself in. Banks yells at McIntyre, who punches Ziggler off the apron as the yelling ensues. Asuka comes in to kick Banks in the head for two but Banks reverses into a rollup for two. The Bank Statement is countered into the Asuka Lock but Banks flips back onto her for the pin at 14:04.

Rating: C. Just a main event tag match here and they did a good job of making Sasha feel like more of a threat. It’s better to go there than having McIntyre take a fall as they’ve done a great job of making him seem like the most important person on the show. This was one where you could probably guess how the match was going to go and that’s not a bad thing.

Overall Rating: C-. This show started fast and then just died starting with the Rollins segment. It wasn’t the worst show but it went from a hot show to a show focusing on people like Big Show, Andrade, Garza and Ziggler. There was a lot of stuff on here that really didn’t work, and with more than half of the matches being made throughout the night, it felt like they were scrambling to fill three hours. I can get the issues they were dealing with here, but this felt every second of the three hours and that’s not a good thing.

Results

Andrade/Angel Garza b. Viking Raiders – Wing Clipper to Garza

R-Truth b. Akira Tozawa – Rollup

Seth Rollins/Murphy b. Aleister Black/Humberto Carrillo – Stomp to Carrillo

Peyton Royce b. Ruby Riott – Fisherman’s neckbreaker

Big Show b. Andrade/Angel Garza – Chokeslam to Andrade

MVP b. Apollo Crews – Fisherman’s suplex

Bobby Lashley b. Ricochet – Full nelson

Sasha Banks/Dolph Ziggler b. Asuka/Drew McIntyre – Rollup to Asuka

 

 

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: January 27, 2006
Location: Bi-Lo Center, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means we should be in for very little of note, as most of the card is already set. The Rumble itself hasn’t gotten that much attention, but it’s not like the match is going to need that much help. Other than that, we’ll be seeing more from Mark Henry and Kurt Angle, which could be a good thing. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Mark Henry vs. Kurt Angle, with Daivari being revealed as Henry’s new manager.

Opening sequence.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mark Henry

Before the match, we see a clip of Rey dedicating his Royal Rumble to Eddie Guerrero. Daivari is on commentary as Rey hammers on Henry to start. Some dropkicks to the leg earn Rey a clothesline but Henry misses a sitdown splash. Henry is right back up and knocks him to the floor before dropping him onto the mat with a gorilla press. The splash doesn’t warrant a cover so he throws Rey outside to start the stalking.

Rey avoids a shot to the steps though and takes Mark back inside for some sliding dropkicks to the head. A moonsault gets one and Rey snaps him throat first across the top. There’s the 619 into the springboard seated senton, but Henry throws him off. Rey gets back up and charges into the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin.

Rating: C. This was the classic big man vs. little man formula and it was fine again. Henry is at his best when someone is bouncing off of him and he stands there to do power stuff. They were smart enough to not try anything too complicated here and in a situation like this, that was easily the best choice.

Matt Hardy is ready to win the Royal Rumble because he will not die.

Booker T. comes in to see Randy Orton before his match with Chris Benoit tonight. Orton is ready to win the Royal Rumble and Booker seems ready to return to the ring. They’re good for now, but Orton might be ready to take Booker up on that favor sooner or later.

Video on the Mexico tour.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Mexicools vs. FBI vs. The Dicks

The winners get the final two Smackdown spots and we’re joined in progress after a break with Vito powering James up and bringing in Nunzio. The Mexicools low bridge Nunzio to the floor though and it’s Crazy coming in to clean house. James has to save Chad but Nunzio tags himself in to drag Psicosis into the corner. The double stomping sets up Vito’s camel clutch on Psicosis and it’s right back to Nunzio for an armbar. That’s broken up in a hurry and Psicosis gets over to Crazy to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and a wheelbarrow slam/X Factor combination gives Psicosis the pin on Nunzio.

Rating: C-. They got in and out here fairly quickly and that is the best thing that they could have done. There was no need to do anything else here and at least they let the best choice win. The Dicks have gone nowhere since debuting and I can’t imagine that was ever in doubt. Finally you have the FBI, who are a fine midcard team and nothing more than that.

Classic Rumble moment: Chris Benoit wins.

Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit

No holds barred. They lock up to start and Benoit grabs a to wristlock, with Orton reversing into a headlock. Orton is smart enough to grab the rope before a German suplex and bails to the floor as we take a break. Back with Orton rolling away from the threat of a Crossface and uppercutting him outside. Orton sends him into various things and gets two on the floor, even though falls counting anywhere wasn’t mentioned at the beginning.

Back in and Orton grabs the chinlock before snapping off the dropkick to put Benoit on the floor again. The trashcan is pulled out but a drop toehold sends Orton into it face first instead. Benoit starts chopping away to put Orton onto the announcers’ table, where a thumb to the eye gets Orton out of trouble. Back in and Orton hits a rather aggressive chinlock but Benoit fights up for a failed Sharpshooter attempt.

A knee drop gives Orton two and it’s right back to the chinlock. This time it’s a northern lights suplex to get Benoit out and they head outside again. The chop off goes to Benoit and it’s back inside for Three Amigos to Orton. Benoit keeps it up with a top rope superplex and they’re both down. Orton rolls outside to pick up the trashcan and gets in a heck of a shot to Benoit’s head as we take a break.

Back with Orton holding ANOTHER chinlock, followed by the over the back neckbreaker. Orton takes him outside and peels the mat back, with Benoit backdropping him onto the concrete. They head inside again for the rolling German suplexes but the Swan Dive hits trashcan lid. Benoit isn’t having that so he blocks the RKO, smashes the trashcan lid over Orton’s head and Crossfaces him for the win.

Rating: B. Good brawl here and I liked that it was more about the two of them beating each other up instead of using weapons all the time. There were a few weapons shot here including the ending, but it wasn’t the focal point of the match and that’s a good way to go. Orton does need to lighten up on the chinlocks though, because we’ve covered those extensively enough.

Animal wants to win the Royal Rumble because it’s all he has left to accomplish.

Finlay vs. Funaki

Finlay knocks him down to start and kicks Funaki in the head. Funaki’s enziguri looks to set up the tornado DDT but Finlay throws him down but the yet to be named Celtic Cross (White Noise) finishes Funaki in a hurry.

Post match Finlay keeps up the beating so the referee reverses the decision. Finlay does not approve of this and doesn’t like Americans. He isn’t going away so get over it.

JBL tries to convince Jillian Hall that the Boogeyman is scared of him. Hall is having nightmares about the Boogeyman eating her beauty mark. She asks if JBL ever noticed it and JBL’s eyes panic in a funny bit.

Bobby Lashley is going to win the Rumble.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Raw Rebound.

Melina shows Teddy her taped up ankle and says he has done nothing about this. That’s strike two and he is officially on notice.

Daivari and Mark Henry say Angle loses on Sunday.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Kurt Angle vs. MNM

Non-title and Melina is here with MNM. We’re joined in progress with Mercury getting headlocked down and then taken down with ease. A shoulder puts Mercury on the floor so Nitro comes in instead. Angle armbars him without much trouble and then hammers away in the corner. A Melina distraction lets Nitro get in a knee and Mercury low bridges Angle to the floor.

Nitro pulls Mercury out of the way of a charging Angle to send him shoulder first into the post and there’s a running knee in the corner. The Snapshot is broken up with Mercury being sent outside, where Melina slips him something. Melina offers a distraction so Mercury can get in a loaded right hand for two. The Angle Slam drops Mercury and a suplex sends Nitro to the floor. Angle grabs Mercury’s ankle for the tap.

Rating: C. Match was fine but they really needed Angle to survive cheating and make one of the champs tap? They couldn’t have had some kind of shenanigan or had Henry come in for the DQ? Anyway, Angle has looked awesome as of late and they’ve done a great job of turning him face in a hurry, though it isn’t exactly hard to cheer the guy.

Post match here’s Henry, who is Angle Slammed in a hurry. The ankle lock is broken up with raw power and Angle is stunned to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They did a little more for the Rumble itself but this was the Angle vs. Henry show. That isn’t the kind of match that should work on paper but the build they gave it here worked out pretty well. Benoit vs. Orton was a good, long match but it’s the only other thing of value on the whole show. Then again, with the Rumble on Sunday, everything is cranked up for Wrestlemania, meaning this is the most inconsequential show of the season.

 

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

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

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

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

Smackdown
Date: June 26, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

This one has gotten interesting in a hurry as the WWE is facing a horrible Coronavirus outbreak (I’m as shocked as you are) so it isn’t clear what we’re going to be seeing here. One thing is going to be the Boneyard match in its entirety, which will eat up over a quarter of the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a tribute to the Undertaker, with a pretty awesome highlight package.

The roster is on the stage to chant THANK YOU TAKER.

We open with a look at Undertaker debuting at Survivor Series 1990. The nearly silent reaction is about as clear cut as you can get that it worked.

John Cena and Roman Reigns talk about how awesome Undertaker is.

From Wrestlemania XXXVI:

Undertaker vs. AJ Styles

They are in a graveyard for this one and there goes the gong as a hearse pulls up to the gate. The casket is pulled out by some druids and it’s AJ inside for a good surprise. Undertaker rides in on the motorcycle to Metallica and AJ talks about Michelle McCool digging the grave. Undertaker goes after him so AJ grabs a rock, only to get sent into an open casket. Undertaker punches through a window and cuts his arm open but throws AJ on top of the hearse anyway.

Some right hands knock him off the hearse and Undertaker has a seat while asking if AJ wants more. After Undertaker quotes Clubber Lang (“You want some more? I got a lot more.”), AJ throws some leaves in his face and gets in a low blow. Undertaker stands up after some right hands and knocks AJ down again, this time into a grave. Cue the OC as this has turned into a western.

A bunch of light comes out of a building and the walls come down to reveal a bunch of masked men. They surround Undertaker and do the eternally brilliant thing of attacking him one at a time. With that taken care of, Anderson and Gallows jump Undertaker but he isn’t about to be hit with a shovel. Instead Undertaker takes it back and beats them down, allowing AJ to break a tombstone over his back.

AJ hammers away and calls him an old man but breaks his fingers on Undertaker’s head. They fight through a wall and both lay on the ground sound like they’re dead. AJ says Undertaker is nothing but Undertaker flips him off and says come on. A shovel over the back puts Undertaker down in a grave and AJ goes to the machine with a barrel of dirt. Then a light shows up behind him and Undertaker pops up to beat on him some more. AJ climbs up a well placed ladder to get on the roof of the barn, so Undertaker makes flames come up to keep him in place.

Anderson and Gallows are up there too, with Gallows being thrown off. Anderson gets Tombstoned onto the metal roof and Undertaker chokeslams AJ off the roof. Undertaker climbs down and asks AJ what his wife’s name is now. They’re just getting started as Undertaker carries him over to the grave. AJ apologizes so Undertaker picks him up and says AJ put up a great fight. Undertaker hugs him and says most people wouldn’t have given him that kind of a fight. Undertaker turns to leave….and then knocks AJ into the grave. Undertaker gets in the machine and pours the dirt on AJ for the win at about 18:30.

Rating: A+. I don’t know what else you could have wanted from this match. This went so far beyond anything resembling sane or rational and went into complete insanity territory, making it one of the most entertaining things I can remember WWE doing in a LONG time. Of course it’s not good but that’s the point. This was entertaining, and that’s a lot more than you are going to get out of most Undertaker matches these days. Watch this and be prepared to laugh quite a bit, because it’s like Final Deletion but with production value.

AJ’s hand sticks out of the dirt as Undertaker gets on his bike. He throws up the fist so more fire comes up on the building and the Undertaker symbol lights up to end the show.

As we came back from commercials during the match, Edge, Christian, Bret Hart, Kane and Ric Flair talk about how awesome Undertaker is.

Back in the arena, King Corbin talks about how Undertaker left after a thirty year career of kissing up to the McMahons. Undertaker was a charter member of Vince McMahon’s special club, which is why he was around for thirty years. He has been stealing a living from this company for twenty years and now people are out here chanting THANK YOU TAKER. That’s why Corbin wants to leave Mark Calaway with this thought: you suck. Cue Jeff Hardy for the save, because, according to Cole, he has a long, storied history with Undertaker.

Steve Austin and Kurt Angle think a lot of Undertaker.

In the back, Hardy says the Mount Rushmore of WWE would be Undertaker’s face four times. He’ll beat up Corbin tonight because he has a degree from Deadman U.

Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross vs. Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans

The winner faces Bayley for the title at Extreme Rules. It’s a brawl to start until Cross rolls Bliss up for two and immediately apologizes. Bliss rolls her up for two as the other two are down on the floor. That lets Bayley and Banks insist that they would never turn on each other, even as Lacey throws Bliss into the barricade. Back in and Brooke’s cartwheel splash hits Cross for two.

Bliss comes in and gets caught with a handspring elbow in the corner. Lacey hits the slingshot bronco buster onto Bliss and Cross at the same time before taking Brooke down for right hands to the head. Brooke elbows Evans down though and hits a Swanton for two. Twisted Bliss misses Brooke so Cross dropkicks Brooke to the floor. Lacey hits the slingshot elbow for two on Cross but has to give Brooke the Woman’s Right. The distraction lets Cross roll Lacey up for the pin at 5:17.

Rating: C. Just a quick match to set up Cross as the challenger and that’s fine for a one off title defense. There is no reason to think she’ll win the title, which has been the problem for so many of Bayley’s title defenses for so long now. Then again, I’m sure they’re just waiting for the right time for Sasha. Totally happening any show now.

HHH and Shawn Michaels think Undertaker is alright.

New Day/Lucha House Party vs. Miz/John Morrison/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Big E. punches and elbows Miz to start and there’s the apron splash. Dorado adds a top rope splash but it’s off to Cesaro, who has to flip out of a powerbomb. An anklescissors takes Cesaro down and Metalik climbs onto Dorado’s shoulders for another splash. Cesaro powers him into the corner though and it’s off to Nakamura, who has to duck Trouble in Paradise. It’s quickly off to Morrison, who gets dropkicked down.

Nakamura takes Kofi down to the floor though and sends him into the Plexiglas. Everyone comes into the ring for a big staredown and we take a break. Back with Miz and Morrison working over Kofi until Big E. makes the save. Kofi finally gets away and brings in Metalik to start cleaning house. Metalik gets in a running sunset bomb for two and Dorado adds a top rope shooting star press for two. Everything breaks down and the Golden Rewind hits Morrison, followed by Metalik’s rope walk elbow to finish Miz at 11:10.

Rating: C+. They surprised me here as I would have bet on Nakamura and Cesaro pinning New Day to set up the pay per view title match. They can still go there but Lucha House Party getting the win is surprising. The division needs some more depth and there will always be room for some masked high fliers.

Corbin says he’ll beat up Hardy, even if he’s a student of Undertaker. What did that teach him? How to be an alcoholic jailbird?

Here’s Braun Strowman to talk about Bray Wyatt making him afraid. One night they were sitting in the swamp when Bray saw a snake coming out of the water. Strowman wanted to stomp it but Bray said that was his friend. Bray got face to face with the snake and it bit him, so Bray laughed. It was then that Braun knew he was facing something evil, so he started doing the devil’s work. And he loved every second of it.

We get one of the old Wyatt feed interruptions before Strowman talks about how he still has some of that evil inside him. Braun can’t keep living like this so let’s go back to the swamp. He’s either coming out of this a broken man or knowing that he beat evil. Then he can feed Bray to the alligators in the swamp. Bray’s laughter is heard and Strowman laughs with him.

There’s your cinematic match and there is also your latest Strowman segment that doesn’t make me want to watch him defend the title. I don’t want to see them in the swamp, I don’t want to see them fighting each other and I don’t really want to see Strowman. What is the big appeal here? “Hey, now look where we’re having a match!” Maybe find someone interesting enough that you don’t need to do all these bonuses?

Batista and Mick Foley talk about what it means to face Undertaker.

Jeff Hardy vs. King Corbin

Corbin elbows him in the face to start and Hardy is rocked early on. The slow stomping and shots to the back have Hardy down but he manages to knock Corbin outside. Corbin drops Hardy with a single shot to the face, only to have Jeff send him over the announcers’ table. Back in and the Whisper in the wind misses so Corbin sends Hardy shoulder first post into the post. Corbin mocks Undertaker’s kneeling pose and we take a break.

Back with the roster around the ring and Hardy fighting out of a chinlock. Corbin knocks him down again but gets sent into the corner, where he slides under the corner and decks Hardy with the running clothesline. The chinlock goes on again but Hardy jawbreaks his way to freedom. Some right hands into a basement dropkick gets two but one heck of a Deep Six gives Corbin the same. They head outside with Corbin crashing into the steps, setting up the Swanton to give Hardy the pin at 12:17.

Rating: C. Not too bad here but it felt like a low level house show semi main event. As weird as it is to have Hardy suddenly be Undertaker’s representative, it’s not like they had a much better option given their limited circumstances. Corbin getting beaten up is always worth a quick glance and it worked just fine here.

Post match Corbin jumps Hardy again but Big E. Braun and Matt Riddle all come in to take him down. A big celebration, with Undertaker appearing on the screen (Cole: “The most intriguing character in WWE history.”) and Jeff kneeling in respect, ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It was pretty clear that this was going to be a weird one coming in and they did what they could with what they had. They didn’t have much of a crew here and that is completely understandable. With so many people who aren’t going to be around for a little (or maybe a long) time, they did what they could have and focusing on Undertaker was a good idea. It felt like a half regular show and half tribute show and that…..I guess you could say it worked. It’s a weird week, but they didn’t have much of a choice.

Results

Nikki Cross b. Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke and Lacey Evans – Rollup to Evans

New Day/Lucha House Party b. Miz/John Morrison/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Jeff Hardy b. King Corbin – Swanton

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 23, 2006
Location: Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 7,900
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means it’s probably going to be time for a bunch of people to be thrown over the top in a big segment near the end of the show. Other than that we need Edge’s final night as champion before John Cena takes it back from him after three weeks. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video, in the form of a movie trailer, looks at Edge winning the title and his path of….well a lot of things actually, on his way to the Royal Rumble.

Here are Edge and Lita for the opening chat. Lita promises that Edge is on the way to Wrestlemania as champion because he won’t be a transitional champion. He’s no Iron Sheik or Mick Foley or someone who lost the title 16 times like Ric Flair. Ric is a walking joke, but he isn’t exactly walking right now. He isn’t here tonight and he is NEVER receiving another title shot. The WE WANT FLAIR chants start up as Edge talks about John Cena joining Flair at the back of the line soon. Edge is ready to win on Sunday so he and Lita can celebrate with mirrors on the ceiling and the spinning hydraulic bed.

Cue Cena to offer Edge congratulations on the movie trailer. See, Cena saw the trailer but he has a bootleg copy of the actual movie. Cena has a review of the movie, which is the classic Boy Meets Ho story. This means various ho puns about Lita until the boy goes to Miami for the Royal Rumble, where he takes the worst beating of his life. Then she falls in love with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, because….you get the idea. Lawler: “I’ve got to see this movie.”

Lita doesn’t know what Cena is talking about but knows Cena and Edge need to find partners for tonight’s main event. She knows Edge will have options but Cena will have to play with himself. Cena: “It’s great to see something coming out of your mouth for once.” Cena promises to win on Sunday.

Kane vs. Carlito

Calito ducks the big shot in the corner and hammers away so Kane goes with right hands and elbows. Kane charges into an elbow though and Carlito’s middle rope dropkick gets two. The tornado DDT is broken up and Kane starts snapping off the clotheslines. A legdrop gets two and the side slam sets up the top rope clothesline. The Tombstone is countered into a Backstabber for two and a springboard twisting Swanton gets two. The chokeslam is broken up with a thumb to the eye and Carlito hits him with a chair for the DQ.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do much to hide the fact that Carlito isn’t a threat to anyone in the ring. His big move got a non-close two on Kane and they moved on like it was nothing. I know he can talk but you need something to back it up somewhere and that just isn’t the case with anything he does in the ring.

Edge suggests Lita, ahem, convince someone to be his partner. She goes into Big Show’s locker room.

Some Carolina Panthers are here.

Lita tries to convince Big Show by taking off her shirt but Edge comes in to say she’s not finishing anything until after the match. That’s a no.

Trish Stratus is warming up when Mickie James comes in to freak out over Trish teaming with Ashley tonight. Trish can’t calm her down and Mickie leaves.

Coach says there is one spot left in the Royal Rumble and he’ll be taking it himself. Jerry Lawler doesn’t like that and, after calling Coach a skinhead, challenges him to a qualifying match. Deal.

Trish Stratus/Ashley vs. Victoria/Candice Michelle

Torrie Wilson is in the villains’ corner. Ashley and Victoria start things off with Ashley hitting a springboard ax handle (not bad) and bringing in Trish. That means a super hurricanrana to take Victoria down again but Victoria kicks Ashley in the head. A wheelbarrow splash gives Candice two but the slingshot flipping legdrop misses. Trish comes in to clean house, including a spinebuster to Victoria. With Trish and Candice fighting on the floor, Ashley high crossbodies Victoria for the pin.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how many times they can have some combination of the same six women but they are certainly giving it every chance they can. Ashley looked better here than at any time in the ring so far. She still can’t do much more than spots, but she’s doing them with some confidence and that is a step forward for her.

Post match, Mickie runs in and jumps Ashley again. Trish and a referee can barely break it up.

Mama Benjamin is cleaning the locker room because it needs to be nice around here. Shelton comes in and says Shawn Michaels called him a mama’s boy. Mama says Shawn is just jealous, and she could whip Shawn’s mama too.

Video on Billy Graham, who has a book and DVD out. He’s also here, because he doesn’t hate Vince this week.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels

Mama Benjamin is here too. Hold on though as here’s Vince McMahon to say that if Shawn loses here, he’s out of the Rumble. They trade hammerlocks to start until Shelton grabs a sunset flip for two. A headlock takeover takes Shawn over with a headlock and then he does it again to make his point especially clear. Back up and Shawn hits a chop and a clothesline puts Shelton on the floor.

Mama is checking on her boy but Shawn is back with more chops. They head inside again with Shelton springboarding in but stopping short of the superkick in a callback to their classic last year. A kick to Shawn’s head takes us to a break and we come back with Shelton hitting a suplex.

We hit the chinlock, setting up a Samoan drop for two more. The chinlock goes on again but Mama wants to see a whipping. The superplex attempt is broken up and Shelton runs the corner to kick Shawn in the head for a crash to the floor. We take another break and come back with Shawn slugging away, setting up the forearm.

Shelton runs the corner for a belly to belly superplex and connects with the Dragon Whip for two. Shawn hits another running clothesline and tunes up the band, only to have Mama offer a distraction. That means there’s no referee to count Shelton’s rollup, allowing Shawn to reverse into one of his own and grab the trunks for the pin.

Rating: B. It wasn’t their match from last year but that is a pretty high standard to reach. The Mama stuff has been toned down a lot since her debut and they are settling into more of a rhythm. The gimmick is still death for Shelton, but he was long past the point of having any significant value after the last five months or so.

Post match, Shelton tears a bit.

Edge and Lita pitch the main event spot to HHH. He’ll think about it.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Vince comes in to see Shawn, who wants to know why Vince has gone so psycho on him. Vince just wants to be happy, so he’ll spend some of his money on himself. For now though, he wants WWE to be more about sex, drugs and rock and roll. He offers Shawn a part in the decadence because he’s played the loving husband long enough. Shawn says no, but Vince seems to have a plan.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Jerry Lawler vs. Jonathan Coachman

Coach shoulders him down to start but misses a charge in the corner. There’s a suplex to Coach….and the Spirit Squad debuts, much to Lawler’s confusion. He doesn’t seem to mind though as he hits Coach and goes to the middle rope. The Squad offers another distraction though and Coach grabs a rollup for the pin. So there’s your introduction to one of the more infamous acts of the era.

Post match the Squad does a cheer in Coach’s honor.

Battle Royal

Big Show, Gregory Helms, Rob Conway, Lance Cade

This is a weird one as anyone who throws Show over the top is in the Rumble, but Show doesn’t have anything to win. Show cleans house and wins in a hurry in exactly the way you would expect.

Post match here’s HHH to say he’ll win the Rumble. Edge is on his own tonight because HHH is done with making stars. He’s going to Wrestlemania to win either World Title.

Lita offers to calm the nervous Edge down but he’s too worried about not having a partner. Someone comes in and Edge thinks they’re perfect. As usual, the person doesn’t say anything and isn’t seen.

Edge/??? vs. John Cena/???

The partners are…..Chris Masters and Ric Flair. Well the latter was about as obvious as you could get and that’s not a bad thing. Edge is nice enough to let Masters start with Cena as the WE WANT FLAIR chants start up again. Cena grabs a fisherman’s suplex on Masters and hands it off to Flair, getting rid of any possible mixed reaction for a little while. Flair chops Edge off the apron but gets slammed down by Masters.

Edge adds a suplex on the floor and stomps away a bit so Masters can get two. Flair’s chops don’t do much good and it’s a powerslam into a bearhug. Another gorilla press connects but Edge misses a top rope chop. The diving tag brings in Cena and everything breaks down. Flair chop blocks Masters to break up a Masterlock attempt and it’s the FU into the STF for the win.

Rating: C-. Standard main event style tag match here with the best logical ending they could have. If nothing else it makes sense to put Flair out there in Charlotte to let him do something simple. Edge being scared of Cena was exactly what you would expect of him and it makes Cena seem like even more of a threat to the title, if that is possible.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a weird show as the Rumble card is mostly set, leaving this show mainly focusing on enforcing what was made. There were a few minor changes, but it wasn’t a show that you needed to see. Shawn vs. Shelton was good, but there is nothing left but the Rumble for now and it’s time to get to Wrestlemania season.

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

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

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

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

205 Live
Date: June 19, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

We’re in for a somewhat historic moment here with what is going to probably be Jack Gallagher’s final WWE appearance. I don’t know if anyone is going to notice that he is gone but it is something that does at least show WWE is willing to cut people over the SpeakOut situation. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Oney Lorcan vs. Chase Parker

Matt Martel is in Parker’s corner. Parker takes him down to start and slaps Lorcan in the back of the head. That earns Parker a headlock and a toss into the corner with Lorcan saying bring it on. Some chops out of the corner have Parker in trouble but a Martel distraction lets Parker jump him from behind. Lorcan’s arm is wrapped around the rope and the armbar goes on, followed by the armbar. That’s broken up in a hurry and Parker dives into an atomic drop. The Blockbuster finishes Parker at 5:03.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but at least Lorcan got a win. I’m not sure what the appeal is of Ever Rise but at least they put the brakes on them a bit here. Lorcan and Burch are a solid team who can be swapped up or down the card as necessary. They’re above Ever Rise though and that was on display here. Well at least half of it was.

Post match Ever Rise jumps Lorcan and Burch, but here are Malcolm Bivens and Indus Sher to beat down Lorcan and Burch instead.

Video on Santos Escobar and company.

We go back to NXT where the trio took out Drake Maverick.

Jake Atlas vs. Jack Gallagher

Atlas works on the arm to start but Gallagher kicks him in the ribs to slip out. A cartwheel gets Atlas away though and he gives Gallagher a little bow and there’s an armdrag to annoy Gallagher again. Gallagher is right back to the arm though and the cockiness goes up in a hurry. Some shoulders and strikes in the corner put Atlas down and we hit the double arm crank.

Gallagher’s dropkick to the back gets two but he can’t get a cross armbreaker. The abdominal stretch works a bit better until Atlas suplexes his way to freedom. Atlas grabs a jumping neckbreaker for two but Gallagher is back with a guillotine. A rope is grabbed, as is a snap German suplex on Gallagher, followed by the Rainbow DDT for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. And that’s the last you’ll ever see or hear of Gallagher in WWE. It was a good thing to see Gallagher lose on the way out and Atlas is someone who can go somewhere in the division. Now do something with him instead of letting him languish in one nothing match after another around here.

Overall Rating: C. It seems that they have finally figured out that having something, even a tiny something, around here is better than just having matches for the sake of having them. While I have no interest in seeing Indus Sher or Ever Rise, it’s better than nothing and I’ll take that over what we were getting. They’re trying to give me a reason to care so at least it’s a step up.

 

 

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

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

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

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

Main Event
Date: June 18, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, MVP

It’s the rare half Main Event as there won’t likely be anything from Smackdown this time around. Not only has Backlash come and gone, but Raw was a packed show with all kinds of things going on. That makes for some interesting highlight choices, though I’m almost scared to see who might be relegated to Main Event with Paul Heyman out of power. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Shane Thorne

Carrillo starts with a fast crossbody and knocks Thorne outside in a hurry. Back in and a springboard is broken up with Thorne sending him hard into the corner. There’s a kick to Carrillo’s back for two, followed by the neck crank. That’s broken up as well and Carrillo hits a spinning kick to the head. A missile dropkick into a moonsault finishes Thorne at 5:19.

Rating: C-. Another quick one here with Carrillo being a little more acceptable in the short form like this. They didn’t bother trying to do anything too special here, but it’s not like you’re going to get anything out of a Main Event opener anyway. Just don’t have Carrillo try to do anything character wise and he’ll be fine.

Video on the Intercontinental Title tournament.

Video on AJ Styles beating Daniel Bryan in the tournament finals.

We look at Drew McIntyre retaining the Raw World Title over Bobby Lashley at Backlash.

From Raw.

Raw World Title: MVP/Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre/R-Truth

McIntyre is defending and Lashley or MVP can pin either McIntyre or Truth to win the title. Drew drives Lashley into the corner to start and it’s a Glasgow Kiss to rock Lashley in a hurry. Lashley goes with the power and starts elbowing McIntyre in the head, allowing the tag to MVP. Drew gets to clothesline Lashley outside and hits a neckbreaker on MVP, but Truth tags himself in.

A suplex sends Truth into the corner and it’s off to Lashley to send Truth into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Truth kicking MVP down and making the hot tag to McIntyre to clean house. McIntyre suplexes MVP and hits the top rope shot to the head for a bonus. The Futureshock connects with Lashley making a save. Lashley’s spear to Truth goes into the steps and the Claymore hits MVP….but McIntyre tags in Truth. A Rocket Launcher pins MVP at 9:12.

Rating: C. This felt like it could have been a fine house show main event around the horn for a few weeks and that’s not bad for a quick TV match like this one. They were playing up the drama but it wasn’t exactly easy to buy early in the third hour on Raw. Still though, what we got was good enough for a short deal.

Andrade vs. Ricochet

Did these guys wander onto the wrong show? Zelina Vega is here with Andrade. Ricochet gets caught in an armbar into a headlock to start, with Andrade driving him into the corner. Back up and Ricochet snaps off a headscissors but hurts his knee on a springboard. Andrade kicks the knee out on the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Andrade cranking on a half crab and then wrapping it around the rope. Ricochet is fine enough to snap off a rollup for two but it’s right back to more leg cranking. Back up again and Ricochet kicks him away, setting up the top rope hurricanrana. The running shooting star press gets two but Andrade kicks the leg out again. A snapmare sends the leg into the ropes and it’s the hammerlock DDT to give Andrade the pin at 10:45.

Rating: C. The match was better than the usual efforts around here due to the star power, but my goodness what has happened to Ricochet? How do you go from one of the brighter futures on the show to this in the span of just a few months? He’s a lot better than this but for some reason this is as good as he can get. The matches and charisma are there, but not the chance, which is what matters more than anything else.

From Raw.

Here’s Randy Orton to open things up. He talks about seeing Edge’s intensity back in January and knew that he needed to save Edge from himself, just like Edge saved Orton back in the day. Orton knows he’s the greatest and doesn’t need the WWE Title to prove it. He owes Edge a thank you though, because Edge reignited a fire to be the Legend Killer. Orton wishes Edge was here to see him face to face but he’s in a hospital having his muscle reattached to the bone. He’s heard that Edge is going to be cleared in July…..of 2029. Maybe their paths can collide again, say in nine years?

Cue Christian of all people to say Edge’s redemption is not done. Orton injured him but Christian knows that Edge will be back. Orton thinks Christian wants one more match but Christian says no way because he isn’t medically cleared. There is a way around that though: tonight, Christian vs. Orton, unsanctioned. Orton turns his back on him and says the offer expires at the end of the night. If Christian says no, it proves that he’s nothing more than a coward.- Christian doesn’t say anything as Orton leaves.

And from later in the night.

Randy Orton vs. Christian

Unsanctioned…and here’s Ric Flair before the match starts. Flair has talked to Edge and he isn’t cool with this happening right now. Christian takes the mic and says he has to do this so the bell rings….and Flair hits Christian low. Orton hits the Punt on Christian and, after looking like he regrets it a bit, gets the pin at 1:01. I’m curious about where this could be going, but Flair and Orton reuniting doesn’t do much for me.

Post match Orton says he didn’t want this to happen and asks why Christian is here. Medics check on Christian and Orton says he didn’t want to finish Christian….but it’s Christian’s fault. He interrupted Orton a few hours ago and now this is what he gets. More glaring ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This could have been worse but the lack of Smackdown can only give you so much material here. Ricochet vs. Andrade on Main Event is still a weird thing to see on this show but at least they did some stuff that was different enough. Now if only the regular television could get better as we go forward, which is often the case with this show.

 

 

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 22, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re less than a month away from Extreme Rules but tonight is going to get a serious focus on the title picture with four title matches in one night. There almost has to be a title change in there somewhere, though the threat of Charlotte winning the Raw Women’s Title again makes me cringe. Let’s get to it.

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

A voiceover runs down the four title matches, plus everything else.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to open things up. He explains last week’s title defense….but here’s Dolph Ziggler to interrupt. Ziggler explains that he and Robert Roode have been traded to Raw in exchange for AJ Styles. We hear about McIntyre’s redemption story, with Ziggler bringing him up from nothing and now McIntyre is WWE Champion.

That sounds like a reason for Ziggler to get a title shot at Extreme Rules, but McIntyre doesn’t remember Ziggler winning many matches without Big Daddy Claymore there to help him out. Ziggler has become exactly what the two of them used to despise: an entitled jackass. It was Ziggler who named him the Scottish Psychopath so imagine what McIntyre will do with the title on the line. Ziggler wants the match, so it’s set for Extreme Rules for the title.

Here’s Nia Jax to sit in a chair and complain about Charlotte getting another title shot at the snap of her fingers. Where is the fairness after Nia got cheated out of her title match last week? Cue R-Truth to interrupt, saying he was supposed to face some ninja here. Unless Nia is Akira Tozawa, because ninjas are masters of disguise. Nia doesn’t want to deal with this, but here’s Tozawa behind the commentary table.

The Ninjas appear to chase Truth off, leaving Nia alone in the ring to say she isn’t leaving….and here’s Charlotte. She’s glad to explain that Nia just dropped the ball again, but Nia brings up how much Charlotte’s dad helped her career. Charlotte says it wasn’t her dad who beat Asuka for the first time. The insults are on as is the brawl, with referees breaking it up. Charlotte comes up favoring her left arm.

We recap the Viking Raiders vs. the Street Profits, setting up their Tag Team Title match.

The Raiders and Profits agree that they are friends, but they’re fighting for the titles once the bell rings. That’s cool, and the four of them head to the ring. Zelina Vega pops in to smile.

Tag Team Titles: Viking Raiders vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending and the winners win their entire series. Erik drives Dawkins into the corner to start and Ivar is sent into Dawkins’ face fort he early two. Dawkins comes up with a heck of a right hand and it’s off to Ford for a pair of leapfrogs. There’s a dropkick to put Erik on the floor for the big flip dive….but Erik catches him in a crazy power display. Ford is powerbombed onto Dawkins and we take a break.

Back with Ford making the hot tag to Dawkins so house can be cleaned. A Viking Experience gets two on Erik so it’s a shot to Ford’s face to take him down. The handspring elbow drops Ford again but he’s right back with an enziguri. Dawkins comes in and it’s a cartwheel off until Erik powerbombs Ford and World’s Strongest Slams Dawkins at the same time. Ivar’s top rope splash misses Dawkins so it’s the Cash Out to Ivar for the pin as Dawkins spears Ivar down at 8:35.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice match, though I’m not sure if it was worth the two month setup. What matters though is they FINALLY had a match and got somewhere with the story. I could have gone with some more of this but what we got was good enough. Somehow the Profits have the longest reign since New Day’s record run, which makes you realize how weak the division really has been in recent years. Still though, nice match here.

Post match respect is shown but Angel Garza and Andrade run in to jump the Profits. The Raiders make the save.

A serious Seth Rollins has a message for Rey Mysterio tonight.

We recap Dominick jumping Rollins last week and then running away from near destruction.

Rollins talks about how sometimes in life, people are put in roles they aren’t ready for. The difference between himself and Mysterio is that Rollins has accepted his role while Mysterio has allowed his son to get involved in the situation. The greater good is coming and Rey needs to know that legends never die, but they can outlive their welcome.

We look back at Nia and Charlotte getting in a fight earlier.

Charlotte’s arm is taped up but she’s not postponing anything tonight.

Charly Caruso asks Zelina Vega what was up with the attack but has to shake off Angel’s advances. They’re a united front and coming for the titles.

Raw Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Asuka

Charlotte, with the bad shoulder, is challenging and stomps Asuka into the corner to start. Back up and Asuka is smart enough to kick at the arm and send it into the mat. The running hip attack in the ropes misses but Asuka snaps the arm across the top. There’s a kick to the face for a bonus but a dropkick off the apron misses, allowing Charlotte to hit her own boot to the face. They head back inside with Charlotte grabbing the Figure Four Neck Lock but she has to bail out of the moonsault.

Instead it’s a Downward Spiral to send Asuka into the middle buckle and we take a break. Back with Charlotte hammering away in the corner until Asuka grabs a German suplex. Asuka gets kicked in the face but manages to pull Charlotte into a cross armbreaker. Charlotte gets over to the ropes though and the spear connects for two. Asuka is right back with a triangle, so Charlotte powerbombs her way to…well actually right into the Asuka Lock for the tap 11:41.

Rating: B-. Well she beat Charlotte, and all it took was a bad shoulder injury. It wasn’t exactly a straight up win but I’ll take it over Charlotte getting the title again. That being said, I see no reason to believe that she won’t have it by the end of say Summerslam, but that is always the case with Charlotte around. It was a good match as usual, though I was more relieved than happy that Asuka won.

In the back, Nia says it would be a shame for someone to kick the Queen when she is down.

We look back at Randy Orton beating Edge at Backlash, then challenging Christian to a match and Punting him as well, thanks to a Ric Flair low blow.

Edge is sitting in a ring and says Orton won at Backlash but he didn’t live up to his claim of being the better pure wrestler. He tore Edge’s tricep off the bone so it’s another surgery but Edge felt the panic. The Anti-Venom was about to be locked in and it was an accidental low blow so Orton could save himself. Edge is disappointed that he didn’t do it first and now this injury has kept him from hugging his daughters on Father’s Day. The second that Orton hit the Punt and then backed Jay into a corner, Orton showed what kind of a man he was.

Christian was ecstatic to be back for one night but then Orton went too far. Edge is thankful for waking up a side of Edge that has been gone and he doesn’t care how many backs he has to step on to be back. Now he’s going to make Orton wish that Cowboy Bob was firing blanks on the night he was conceived. Orton’s kids are going to come running up to him and ask if he’s ok, but he won’t be. Edge is going to be screaming louder than all of the voices in Orton’s head. Thank you for waking up the evil.

Orton talks about what happens when you back a snake into a corner. That snake is going to defend itself and do what it has to do to survive. Edge and Christian backed him into a corner and he struck so he’s going to do what he has to do to protect things. That’s Mother Nature and he hopes Edge and Christian recover and live healthy lives far, far away from him.

Charlotte is about to be interviewed by here’s Nia to jump her from behind.

24/7 Title: Akira Tozawa vs. R-Truth

Tozawa is challenging and has the Ninjas with him. Hold on though as here are Bobby Lashley and MVP to beat up the Ninjas before getting in the ring. There’s the full nelson on R-Truth to leave him laying in revenge for last week. Tozawa runs in to steal the pin and the title. The bell never rang so the match never actually started but….yeah you get the idea.

Natalya interrupts an update on Charlotte and says the division needs her leadership. Charlotte isn’t the kind of person to give motivational speeches and since the interviewer screwed up and didn’t schedule an interview with her, everyone will have to wait on Natalya’s announcement.

Liv Morgan vs. Natalya

Lana is here with Natalya. A discus lariat gets an early two on Liv and it’s a bunch of stomping in the corner. An over the shoulder backbreaker sends Morgan over to the ropes so Natalya tosses her to the floor. Liv gets in a shot of her own but Lana’s distraction lets Natalya hit a chop block. The Sharpshooter makes Liv tap at 2:00.

Post match, the celebration is on. No announcement is made.

Big Show is confused by all of the Ninjas around here. He was only here last week to see some old friends but when else is he going to get to punch a ninja? After a plug of the Big Show Show, he reminds us of the angry giant inside him. That man is heading to the ring right now.

Ziggler vs. McIntyre is confirmed for Extreme Rules.

Here’s Ric Flair to anoint Randy Orton as the Greatest Wrestler of All Time. Before we get to that, Flair warns Nia Jax of what is coming for her when Charlotte is healthy again. That brings Flair to Orton, who Punted Edge and Christian back into retirement last week. Cue Orton, with Flair holding the ropes open for him. Flair offers a bunch of praise and Orton talks about getting rid of Edge and Christian for the last time. It made him the Legend Killer again and now he’s back where he….can be interrupted by Big Show.

Edge and Christian are his friends so Orton is going to pay. Show has always known Orton is a parasite and they both know Edge isn’t done. Orton doesn’t like Show threatening Flair because Flair paved the way for people like them. It’s true that Show may be a legend but he’ll suffer the same fate as Edge and Christian. Show is ready to fight but Orton bails to the floor. Orton is motivated, and he’ll deal with Show later.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: IIconics vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Bayley and Banks are defending. Kay kicks Banks in the face for a very fast two but Bayley breaks up the running knee. Royce is sent into the announcers’ table so Kay gets tossed into the corner. Bayley comes in but gets sent into the other corner for a knee from Peyton as we take a break.

Back with Kay winning a slugout with Bayley but getting sent into the corner again. Bayley’s running elbow in the corner connects so Royce tags herself in. The fisherman’s suplex give Peyton two with Banks making the save. A double powerbomb gives the champs two on Royce, who gets caught in two of Three Amigos. The third is broken up but Banks is back with the Bank Statement to retain the titles at 6:47.

Rating: C-. They might have something here with Banks getting the win while Bayley keeps getting her into trouble, but at some point they need to just have the big title match already. The build has been on long enough now and with Boston not likely for Summerslam, just do it already. They need some new challengers for the titles, but I have a bad feeling it’s going to wind up on Natalya/Lana somehow.

Post match Banks says she’s a little tired of hearing Bayley bragging about having two titles. She wants a title shot at Extreme Rules….against Asuka. Cue Asuka to yell in Japanese and the match is on. The beatdown is on as well with Banks getting the Bank Statement.

Bobby Lashley and MVP say this is the new Lashley, just like it could be a new Apollo Crews. See, MVP say what Crews used to beat Shelton Benjamin last week, which makes it more confusing to see Crews agree to face Benjamin again tonight.

Liv Morgan is banged up when Ruby Riott stops her. Morgan isn’t interested right now because she couldn’t feel much worse.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP talking about how great Apollo Crews has been lately. Crews comes out, with MVP talking about how Crews is talented but he needs someone to help guide his way through these stupid decisions. MVP mentions Crews’ daughter but Crews cuts him off, saying he got here without MVP’s help so the answer is no.

That doesn’t work for MVP, so Crews asks what MVP is going to do to take the title. See, MVP has won the title twice but isn’t going to hold it a third time. Crews doesn’t like what MVP is saying so here’s Shelton Benjamin to cut things off. An MVP distraction lets Benjamin get in a cheap shot though, with MVP saying always watch your blind side.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title and joined in progress with Crews’ favoring his shoulder from before the match. Shelton kicks away but Crews gets in a shot of his own, setting up the standing moonsault. That’s pulled into a quick armbar, which is quickly countered for a crash out to the floor. Shelton’s charge hits post so Crews takes him back inside for the Toss Powerbomb and the pin at 2:10.

Post match MVP gets in Crews’ face again but Lashley runs in for the full nelson to leave Crews laying.

Rey Mysterio assures Dominick that he’s ready to do this.

Here are Mysterio and Dominick for a chat. Rey talks about how scary it can be to not be able to get in touch with your child. That was the case last week when Rey didn’t know Dominick was coming here to go after Rollins. Mysterio isn’t happy with what Dominick did and no matter how big or strong he may be, he’s still Rey’s son. Last week, Dominick fought for him, so tonight, Rey is going to fight for him. He needs to get revenge on Rollins, but he needs to do it on his own.

Dominick isn’t going anywhere though, so Rollins can come fight a family. Cue Rollins to say Mysterio has put him in a difficult situation. Should he come to the ring to destroy a father in front of his son, or should he sacrifice Dominick in front of Rey? Actually never mind, because this is fate, prophecy and destiny, so he’ll take both of them at once. Austin Theory and Murphy join Rollins….but Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo jump them from behind.

The brawl is on with Theory and Murphy being taken down, leaving Rollins surrounded. Mysterio gets in a 619 and the good guys try to take out Rollins’ eye like he did to Mysterio, only to have Murphy and Theory make the save. Rollins goes for Dominick’s eye but Black and Carrillo make the save to end the show. Dominick still isn’t all that interesting but this was a hot brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did some interesting things and that’s a good sign for the future. One thing I did like was they kept some stories going throughout the show instead of having a segment end and the person never being seen again. You can do that without burning through a bunch of stories in one night and that is what they did here. They’re getting ready for Extreme Rules and while Ziggler getting a World Title match makes me cringe (like focusing on Natalya), they do seem to have a plan on the way to the pay per view. Now just don’t do stupid stuff to slip up.

Results

Street Profits b. Viking Raiders – Cash Out to Ivar

Asuka b. Charlotte – Asuka Lock

Natalya b. Liv Morgan – Sharpshooter

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. IIconics – Bank Statement to Royce

Apollo Crews b. Shelton Benjamin – Toss Powerbomb

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

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

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

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