Monday Night Raw – February 10, 2020: Bite Me

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 10, 2020
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

We’re less than two months away from Wrestlemania and less than three weeks away from Super ShowDown. What matters most is that it feels like we are, with WWE seemingly turning on the jets last week to get us ready for the big shows. In this case we have Becky Lynch defending against Asuka in a Royal Rumble rematch. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Rollins has already made the preparations to set things up for revenge on Owens, who says Rollins sounds stupid. Rollins says Owens can always find partners but he can’t keep them upright. Cue the Viking Raiders, with Owens testing Ivar’s shoulder. It seems solid and the fight is on in a hurry. Rollins is alone in the ring so here’s Samoa Joe from behind with the Koquina Clutch, triggering the brawl in the ring (with Samoa Joe running around looking for someone to hit). Rollins and company bail in a hurry but here’s Becky Lynch to replace them as we get ready for the big title match.

Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka

Asuka is challenging and has Kairi Sane in her corner. A headlock and running shoulder have Becky in early trouble but she’s up with her own headlock. Sane offers a distraction though and Asuka gets in a kick to the floor as we take a break. Back with Becky making her comeback with a spinning kick to the ribs and a flying shoulder for two. It’s too early for the Disarm-Her so Asuka grabs a sitout spinebuster for two of her own.

They head outside with Becky forearming Sane (who shoved Asuka out of the way) down but getting shoved down. Back in and Asuka Codebreakers her out of the air for two before sending her shoulder first into the post. Asuka’s running hip attack misses though and Becky gets the Disarm-Her in the ropes. They fight on the apron with Becky hitting a layout reverse DDT as we take another break.

Back again with Asuka getting two off a superplex but her cross armbreaker is broken up. Instead Asuka goes with a triangle choke but Becky muscles her up for a powerbomb and a near fall. Becky’s middle rope legdrop misses and Asuka grabs the Asuka Lock. They spin into the middle but Becky slips out to set up a few rollups for two each. Becky grabs a Rock Bottom out of nowhere to retain at 17:53.

Rating: B. They really got going near the end here and the near falls were awesome. I don’t think there was any secret to who was going to win as all signs would seem to point to Becky vs. Shayna Baszler at Wrestlemania. The match was very good and maybe now Asuka and Sane can get back to actually defending their titles.

Post match Shayna Baszler runs in and jumps Becky from behind. She even BITES BECKY’S NECK to draw a bunch of blood for a scary visual. Medics come out and check on Becky, taking her to the back as we go to a break.

Post break Becky still insists on not wanting to go to the hospital but seemingly being in a bit of shock.

Street Profits vs. Riddick Moss/Mojo Rawley

The Profits make fun of the two of them and finish with the spinebuster into the frog splash (the Cash Out) for the pin at 46 seconds.

Post match Mojo yells at Moss, who rolls him up for the pin and the title.

Becky agrees to go to the hospital, though she steals the ambulance and drives off herself.

Here’s MVP for the return of the VIP Lounge. His guest is the man who single footedly eliminated Brock Lesnar from the Royal Rumble to earn his spot at Wrestlemania: Drew McIntyre, who isn’t interested in seeing if he is on the list. MVP talks about Drew going to Wrestlemania, which means Drew must point at the sign. With that out of the way, MVP tells him to not listen to the non-VIP people who have been saying Drew isn’t ready to be WWE Champion.

MVP is ready for the two of them to change that, but Drew doesn’t remember “we” winning the Royal Rumble. Drew isn’t sure on this offer of MVP being his business manager, advocate, or Paul Heyman (MVP: “A much better looking version perhaps.”). That’s not something Drew needs so a fight is teased, earning MVP the Glasgow Kiss and Claymore onto the couch. The countdown to the Claymore is getting some traction.

Angel Garza vs. Cedric Alexander

Garza is proud of his recent attacks but here’s Humberto Carrillo to go after him. Security breaks that up and we actually get the match. They exchange cross arm chokes until Alexander hits a running forearm in the corner. A basement dropkick to the back of the head sends Garza outside so Alexander loads up the baseball slide. That’s reversed into the reverse powerbomb onto the floor but Cedric sends him into the steps. Back in and Garza kicks a springboard out of the air, TAKES OFF HIS PANTS, and finishes with the Wing Clipper at 2:45.

We look back at Rhea Ripley challenging Charlotte for Wrestlemania.

Rhea is ready to do whatever she needs to do to get the match. Sarah Logan comes in to say Rhea can’t just come to Raw. Who does she think she is? Rhea: “I’m Rhea Ripley. Who are you?”

Lana doesn’t appreciate Bobby Lashley being interviewed while he’s warming up. She calls Ricochet a thief for stealing Lashley’s dream of facing Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown. Lashley will deal with Ricochet tonight because he’s not some scrawny kid with big dreams.

Sarah Logan calls out Rhea Ripley so she can prove who she is.

Rhea Ripley vs. Sarah Logan

Non-title and hold on because here’s Charlotte to watch. Big boot, clotheslines, dropkick, Riptide for the pin at 40 seconds.

Post match Rhea calls Charlotte out for not answering a challenge. Charlotte says she isn’t answering because Rhea might not even be the champion after Sunday.

We look back at Ricochet becoming #1 contender last week.

Ricochet isn’t scared of Lashley because nothing is stopping him from going to Super ShowDown.

Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet

Lana is at ringside with Lashley. Ricochet goes straight at him but has to slip out of a gorilla press attempt. Lashley kicks him in the ribs and hits a springboard missile dropkick (with the cameraman barely surviving). The big running flip dive takes Lashley out again and we take a break. Back with Ricochet being sent over the corner and out to the floor for a big crash. Ricochet is fine enough for a moonsault off the steps and Lashley is rocked again. He’s fine enough to send Ricochet HARD into the post though and Ricochet is down on the floor again.

Back in and we hit the neck crank and go split screen for a quick ad for the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Ricochet fights up again and flips forward with a dropkick into the corner. The springboard high crossbody into the running shooting star press gets two. One heck of a spinebuster gives Lashley the same but Ricochet flips out of a belly to back superplex attempt. Some running corner dropkicks put Lashley down and the 630 gives Ricochet the pin at 11:32.

Rating: C+. The action was a little hit and miss as they seemed to be jumping from spot to spot instead of having the match flow. That’s not the point here though as the idea was to have Ricochet beat someone who is similar to Brock Lesnar and that’s what they should have gone for. Good enough match here and what matters is that they’re getting Ricochet ready, even if it’s basically for an In Your House title shot.

We look back at Becky/Shayna.

Here’s Randy Orton to explain his attack on Edge but he still isn’t looking too sure. After taking his time, he says he owes everyone an explanation but here’s Matt Hardy to interrupt. Matt wants to hear it too but he knows Orton is wondering why Matt would care about Edge. There was a time when Matt hated Edge more than anyone else and everyone knows the history. Before that though, Matt and Edge were best friends and they shared hotel rooms with Jeff Hardy and Christian.

Then they revolutionized the ladder match and went on to steal the show at Wrestlemania. Edge was forced to retire due to his injuries but he kept asking what if. Then he came back nine years later but Orton took it away. Orton goes for the RKO but Matt fights back, only to take the RKO a few seconds later. The One Man Conchairto crushes Matt, possibly sending him off to AEW.

We look back at Ruby Riott returning to attack Liv Morgan.

Riott says she knows the real Morgan, who is someone you have to walk around on a leash. This isn’t the real Morgan because she is always a follower. Riott is back to put Morgan in her place because Morgan strikes when Riott says so.

Akira Tozawa vs. Aleister Black

This could be good. Black elbows him down to start but Tozawa is back with a middle rope dropkick. That just earns him a pop up knee to the chest and Black Mass (with the referee cringing) finishes Tozawa at 1:29.

Post match Black thanks everyone for being here tonight. Everyone tries to escape your given paradise, which is something he knows about very well. He is starting to feel like a caged animal though and everyone is in here with him.

Becky and the ambulance are back.

Here’s Becky, with a taped up neck, to calls out Shayna. She’s ready to break Shayna down week by week so come find her because she finds you.

There will be a gauntlet for the Tuwaiq Cup at Super ShowDown featuring Andrade, Erick Rowan, Rusev, Bobby Lashley, R-Truth and AJ Styles. That’s quite the interesting lineup given how things have been going lately.

Kevin Owens/Samoa Joe/Viking Raiders vs. Seth Rollins/Murphy/AOP

Rollins runs his mouth before the match but it’s a big brawl before the bell. We’re joined in progress with Murphy in trouble, including Joe hitting an enziguri in the corner. Owens hits a Vader Bomb elbow and throws in a crotch chop for good measure. Erik slams Ivar onto Murphy for two but it’s off to Akam to pound Erik down. Rollins comes in for the chinlock and there’s the Sling Blade for a bonus.

Erik jumps over Murphy out of the corner though and it’s Ivar coming in to wreck Murphy in various ways. A heck of a clothesline drops Murphy and we take a break. Back with Owens in trouble on the floor, meaning it’s actually not a chinlock for once (I could certainly go for that being a trend.). Rollins gets in a cheap shot on the floor but Owens manages a fall away slam to send Murphy into the barricade.

It’s still too early for the hot tag though as Rezar cranks on Owens’ neck instead. A DDT drops Murphy and it’s Joe coming in to hammer on Rollins. The AOP cuts off Joe’s dive so the Raiders cut off the AOP. Joe and the Raiders dive onto Rollins and the AOP and a Rock Bottom gets two on Rollins. Everything breaks down and Owens hits a huge flip dive to the floor. That leaves Murphy to tap to the Koquina Clutch but an AOP distraction lets Rollins hit the Stomp on Joe for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B-. I liked this one as they’re using the big tag matches to make things more interesting. They worked a good formula here and the match wound up being good as a result. Rollins stealing another win lets the good guys have a reason to fight him again and I’m looking forward to when we get to the singles matches with Rollins facing Joe and Owens. It’s a good story and they’re doing well with keeping this story alive.

Overall Rating: C+. There is something so nice to see when they try to make things interesting for Wrestlemania season. That being said, it is far from a perfect show with some of the stories just not being that great. What matters is that they’re moving forward though and they’re doing so in an effective way. If nothing else, these short matches are nice to see because there are some matches that just don’t need to go long. I’m looking forward to what they have coming up and if they can keep that going for a few weeks, Wrestlemania could be great.

Results

Becky Lynch b. Asuka – Rock Bottom

Street Profits b. Riddick Moss/Mojo Rawley – Cash Out to Moss

Angel Garza b. Cedric Alexander – Wing Clipper

Rhea Ripley b. Sarah Logan – Riptide

Ricochet b. Bobby Lashley – 630

Aleister Black b. Akira Tozawa – Black Mass

Seth Rollins/Murphy/AOP b. Viking Raiders/Samoa Joe/Kevin Owens – Stomp to Joe

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 – February 6, 2020: That Time Of The Year

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

OC vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

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

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

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

From Smackdown.

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

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

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

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

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

From Raw.

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

Shelton Benjamin vs. Cedric Alexander

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

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

We look at Randy Orton attacking Edge last week.

From Raw.

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

From Raw again.

Seth Rollins vs. Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wrestlemania XXXVII Goes……

They made next year’s announcement today.https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-get-your-calendars-ready-location-announced-for-wrestlemania-37/

It’s Los Angeles at the new stadium. I can’t say I’m surprised and there’s nothing wrong with going out west again. I’ll be staying away from the Los Angeles traffic but it’s cool to watch it from home and not have to deal with the insanity again.

Smackdown – September 9, 2005 (First Show On Fridays): After All This Time

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 9, 2005
Location: Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Georgia
Attendance: 4,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s a big night as Smackdown moves over to Fridays, where it would stay for a very long time to come. This is a stacked card with Batista defending the World Title against JBL in a bullrope match, Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio in a cage match and Heidenreich/Animal defending the Tag Team Titles against MNM. Let’s get to it.

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

A small note about this show: the first hour was aired on WWE.com due to a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Heidenreich/Animal vs. MNM

MNM is challenging with Melina at ringside. Heidenreich rushes both of them to start and the fight is on in a hurry, with Nitro’s flip over him only resulting in a crash. Animal drives Nitro into the barricade and punches Mercury in the face as the dominance is strong early on. Mercury’s arm is wrapped around the post but Melina offers a distraction so he can snap Heidenreich’s throat across the top.

A running knee in the corner lets Nitro hammer away and it’s back to Mercury for a front facelock. With Heidenreich down, Mercury goes up but takes his time, earning himself a slam right back down. The hot tag brings in Animal to clean house but the referee gets bumped. Melina brings in a title but gets caught, allowing Animal to belt Mercury in the head to retain.

Rating: D+. I was kind of surprised by how not horrible this was. Animal and Heidenreich have been champions for about a month now and while they really don’t need to be around much longer, they could have been worse. At least the ending wasn’t clean so there is a reason for a rematch in the near future.

Video on Randy Orton vs. Undertaker with Orton promising to retire the Undertaker.

Here’s Ken Kennedy for his match, but first he needs to tell Tony Chimmel that there are two things he sucks at: announcing and announcing. Kennedy handles his own introduction again and you really can feel the charisma dripping off of him.

Ken Kennedy vs. Paul London

Kennedy elbows him down to start and stomps away, setting up a middle rope elbow. A bearhug (what an odd visual) goes on but London is out in a hurry with a spinning kick to the head. London takes him up but gets caught with the middle rope Regal Roll for the pin, meaning Kennedy can handle the victory announcement.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one but Kennedy continues to roll. It’s easy to see what they see in Kennedy and I could go for more of him. The It Factor is strong with him, though it’s a little weird to have him go from beating Booker T. one week to beating Paul London the next. At least he looked dominant though and that’s the right idea early on.

Theodore Long and Palmer Cannon are shown watching. Yes, the bosses are in fact here.

Paul Burchill vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Fallout from an attack on Velocity and William Regal is on commentary to make our lives better. Burchill declares himself the most dangerous import since Regal, which makes his eyebrows go up. Scotty slugs away to start but Burchill takes him down by the arm and hammers away. The armbar with a chinlock goes on early on but Scotty fights up. That earns him three straight whips into the post, setting up a shoulder breaker. The Fujiwara armbar makes Scotty tap.

Rating: C-. Burchill is someone else who gets your attention and has the aggression that can take him a long way. That and being out there with Regal will always help him, as the evil British guys is a trope that has worked for years. I liked what I saw here and they’re doing some interesting stuff with the new talent, so well done there.

Kennedy comes up to Sharmell in the back and introduces himself, while bragging about beating Booker T. last week. Sharmell leaves but Kennedy brings up the lack of title shots that Booker T. has received. Like say, against Chris Benoit. Friends shouldn’t let friends drive drunk but they should give friends title shots.

Here’s the Undertaker to deal with the Ortons. Undertaker says that he and death wait for no man so Randy and Bob can get out here right now. Cue the Ortons on the stage and Randy brings out the check for $1,416 towards Undertaker’s retirement fund. If Undertaker wants it, come get it. Instead, Undertaker sends a bolt of lightning to light it on fire. The idea of Undertaker and money is just wrong.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

In a cage and Eddie has new music. Eddie walks right over to him before the bell and hammers away in the corner before sending him into the cage three times in a row. Rey is back up with a spinning armdrag and a monkey flip but the cage prevents a 619. It’s too early to climb though and Eddie powerbombs him down for a double knockdown. Eddie pulls him down again, this time wrenching Rey’s knee (yes, a Mysterio knee injury) and we take a break.

Back with Rey trying to pull Eddie down and getting kicked away. Instead, he jumps up onto the ropes for a super Russian legsweep, because going Russian usually works. Rey goes up again and this time they both wind up sitting on top of the cage for the slugout. It’s Rey getting his legs over the side first but Eddie pulls him back in and they wind up on the top rope instead. In a pretty unique spot, Rey dropkicks him into the cage and they both crash down.

Eddie is back up with a DDT but Rey grabs the leg for the save. Back from another break with Rey hurricanranaing him off the top but tweaking the knee again. Rey goes up again but makes the rather dumb mistake of trying a high crossbody, earning the crash and burn landing. Eddie has the chance to leave but goes up top instead and hits the frog splash to FINALLY beat Rey.

Rating: B. This felt like a weird afterthought with Summerslam already done but at least Eddie FINALLY got a win over Rey. It’s the only way the story could end from Eddie’s side and that’s the right call if they’re going that way. Both guys are ready for something new and that’s long overdue at this point.

Linda McMahon asks you to donate to Hurricane Katrina relief.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan

Benoit is defending and we see both full title matches during his entrance. Jordan misses a right hand and gets Crossfaced for the tap at 22.5 seconds. Yeah it’s still funny.

Video on Batista.

Long and Cannon announce Undertaker vs. Randy Orton for next week.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Batista

Batista is defending in the four corners variety bullrope match. JBL slugs away to start but Batista uses the rope to cut him off in about half a second. The rope gets wrapped around JBL’s neck for a few buckle slaps (complete with the lights so you know who has scored) but JBL breaks it up. That earns him some stomping in the corner so JBL has to hit a big clothesline to cut Batista off again.

A poke to the eye and a kick to the head have Batista down in the corner and a cowbell to the head knocks him silly. That’s good for three turnbuckles but Batista pulls him back again, despite laying on the ropes at the time. Maybe JBL needs to hit the gym a bit harder. JBL hits him low with the rope and we take a break.

Back with Batista carrying him on his shoulders for two buckles but it’s broken up again and reset. The Clothesline From JBL is blocked with a forearm and the whipping begins. The Batista Bomb connects and JBL is busted open. Batista doesn’t mind as we get the slow walk around the ring with both of them hitting three buckles. A spinebuster lets Batista get to the fourth buckle for the win.

Rating: D+. What were you expecting from this one? These matches are only going to be so good with the gimmick limiting what they can do. This was almost every version of this that you’ve ever seen with both of them going cutting the other off and then the near tie to end the show. That’s almost all you see here and the lack of drama really hurt things. Not the worst, but really lame for a main event.

An Undertaker vs. Orton video ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The cage match was good and felt like a big moment, but this show came off as underwhelming. They had a lot of matches that felt important but almost none of them lived up to the hype. For a show on a new night, they didn’t exactly treat it like some major change, but at least we had that one good match. It’s not a bad show, but I was expecting a lot more.

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 – February 7, 2020: Gotcha! I’m Not Sure Why But Gotcha!

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

The opening video looks at Goldberg returning.

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

Usos vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elias vs. Cesaro

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Bryan vs. Fiend at the Rumble.

Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater

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

We look at Braun Strowman winning the Intercontinental Title.

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

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

Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayley jumps Carmella to end the show.

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

Results

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

Elias b. Cesaro – Top rope elbow

Daniel Bryan b. Heath Slater – LeBell Lock

Sheamus b. Apollo Crews – Brogue Kick

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

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 – September 5, 2005: Masterlock Theater

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 5, 2005
Location: Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

We’re less than two weeks away from Unforgiven and that means things should be starting to pick up. I’m not sure what that is going to mean around here but it could cover a lot of ground. Kurt Angle vs. John Cena is starting to look like a solid main event and hopefully it lives up to the hype. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Kurt Angle vs. Eugene

Angle suplexes him down to start and stomps away in a hurry, which fits him rather well at the moment. The announcers talk about how Eugene might not know what he’s gotten himself into, which was never mentioned when they did this match several times before in the last month or so. Angle gets two more off another suplex and we hit the reverse chinlock. Some forearms to the face get two but Eugene fires up and tries a Jim Duggan three point stance, only to have his knee sent into the post. The ankle lock gives Angle the win.

Rating: D. There was nothing to the match which was just a squash but the important thing is they weren’t even hinting at the idea of Eugene being a threat to Angle. It was one thing in the three minute time limit matches where Eugene just had to survive but this should have been Angle massacring him, which is what we got.

Post match Angle keeps the hold and puts on the grapevine, drawing out John Cena for the save. Cena wins the brawl but Tyson Tomko runs in to boot Cena in the face. Angle throws in a You Can’t See Me because he’s awesome.

Post break Angle and Eric Bischoff are very happy. Tomko comes in and Bischoff gives him a match with Cena tonight.

Heart Throbs vs. Viscera/Val Venis

Romeo punches Val into the corner to start so Venis comes back with the usual clotheslines. A Russian legsweep gets two but the full nelson isn’t happening. Instead Venis hits a reverse suplex and brings in Viscera, who misses a splash. Viscera runs Thomas over but Romeo blocks Val from coming in with the Money Shot. That means it’s time for Val to get taken down so the Throbs can work on his knee as we get into the meat of things. Val kicks Romeo into Thomas though and the hot tag brings in Viscera for the house cleaning. The double running splash is blocked but a Samoan drop is enough to finish Romeo.

Rating: D+. This was an odd little match as neither team is likely to go anywhere but I guess you have to fill in the two hours somehow. It’s not a good match or anything but the fans are digging Viscera and Venis works as well as anyone else is going to as his partner. There are worse things to use for the show and if they can get a small reaction out of Viscera, it’s better than a short time of people sitting on their hands.

We get some Masterlock Challenge highlights. It’s a full nelson. How many highlights can you have?

Linda McMahon asks for donations to help with Hurricane Katrina. Nothing wrong with that.

It’s time for Carlito’s Cabana with special guest Ashley Massaro. Carlito: “Well hello A**ley!” He says she should use her big check to get a makeover but Ashley calls him out for complaining about hair. Carlito doesn’t like people coming on his show and insulting him, even if it’s Ric Flair. That was a big mistake, so Carlito jumped Flair last week and he’ll make it worse at Unforgiven.

Back to Ashley, we see Victoria destroying her last week. Ashley is ready for Torrie Wilson tonight but Carlito loads up the apple. Cue Flair, who is way too smiley for someone with bandages on his head. Flair goes with the testicular claw (several of them actually) and the beatdown is on. Carlito bails before Flair can throw a barrel of apples at him. Flair wants to know where Carlito is going, because he’s going to school at Unforgiven. That’s cool, and you know what else is? WOO!

More Masterlock Challenge highlights. He’s still putting people in full nelsons.

Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch debut tonight. Cade has to keep Murdoch from dropping his pants.

Video on last week’s Matt Hardy vs. Edge street fight.

Bischoff gives Matt a cage match with Edge at Unforgiven, but he also has to face Snitsky next.

Matt Hardy vs. Snitsky

Edge and Lita come out to have a seat on the commentary table for a chat. Snitsky jumps the distracted Matt to start and hammers away but Matt gets in a Side Effect. Matt goes after Edge and Lita though and Snitsky blasts him. A spinning sitout Rock Bottom gives Snitsky the fast pin.

Post match Snitsky loads up the bell again but Big Show comes out….rather slowly, allowing Snitsky to hit Matt with the bell and run in time.

Tyson Tomko vs. John Cena

Non-title. Cena is all fired up to start and slugs away in the corner, setting up some running clotheslines. A suplex gives Cena two but Tomko is right back with a spinebuster and a powerslam for the same. The reverse chinlock with a knee in the back goes on so Cena powers out (as he is known to do), earning himself a heck of a clothesline. The big boot is cut off though and Cena starts the comeback. Cena finishes with the usual in a hurry.

Rating: D+. There’s nothing wrong with setting up the monster of the week and having Cena fight through some adversity and overcome the odds. It’s something that has worked forever and it made him break a small sweat before he gets ready for the real challenge in Angle. The match wasn’t much, but it wasn’t supposed to be and that’s ok.

Post match Angle runs in and beats the heck out of Cena, including throwing him face first into the set. The Angle Slam on the stage leaves Cena laying. Angle holding up the title and Cena reaching for it is a great visual.

Post break, Todd Grisham asks Angle if attacking Cena three weeks in a row is a pattern. Angle ignores that stupid question and goes into an intense rant about how intense and real he is. Fair enough.

Torrie Wilson vs. Ashley Massaro

Victoria and Candice Michelle are here with Torrie. Victoria trips Ashley at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry. Ashley fights up and completely messes up a sunset flip so Torrie stands on her hair. A spear works a bit better and it turns into a catfight but even more cheating lets Victoria low bridge Ashley to the floor. She even drops Ashley face first onto the apron so Torrie can win with an X Factor. It took three women, including Victoria, to beat Ashley? Get new careers.

We get a THIRD Masterlock highlight package.

Another plea for Katrina funds. Now that’s a repeat that makes sense.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Rob Conway

The bell rings and here’s Kerwin White in the golf cart and dancing a bit to that snazzy theme song. Lawler compares the name change to Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali as Conway jumps Benjamin to start. The beating is on until Shelton hits a Samoan drop for two. They’re outside in a hurry with Conway sending him into the apron and then planting him on the floor for two back inside.

A neckbreaker gets the same and we hit the chinlock. Shelton fights up and makes the short form comeback with clotheslines, including the big one from the top for another near fall. An O’Connor roll gets the same but Shelton trips Shelton with the golf club, allowing Conway to get a rollup with trunks for the pin.

Rating: C. This wasn’t great but again, at least they’re trying to push someone new. Ok so it’s Conway and White, but Conway is slowly getting a little better and White….well Conway is slowly getting better. That being said, and I know I ask this a lot, WHAT HAPPENED TO SHELTON? It’s like they threw him overboard with a rock attached to him and I haven’t seen anything like it in forever. I can’t even remember the last time he won a singles match and six months ago, he was looking like a sure thing. That’s another level of dropping someone.

Mick Foley has a new book called Scooter. I liked that well enough.

Hurricane/Rosey vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Non-title and it’s Cade/Murdoch’s debut. Rosey slams Murdoch a few times to start and gets two off a running headbutt. Cade comes in for a double flapjack, elbow and clothesline, followed by a double suplex for two. The double teaming continues with Murdoch shouting a lot and handing it back to Cade in a hurry. Rosey finally powers out and brings in Hurricane to clean house. A headscissors puts Murdoch down and a crossbody gets two. Rosey and Cade fight to the floor, leaving Murdoch to hit a jawbreaker. The top rope bulldog finishes Hurricane.

Rating: D+. So Rosey and Hurricane are the biggest losers to ever hold the titles right? They’re making the Bodydonnas look intimidating at this point. Just put them on Cade and Murdoch already because maybe they can do something with them. Or at least not be complete disasters. It isn’t even Hurricane and Rosey’s fault either. If they are rarely on TV and regularly lose when they’re around, what’s the point in the titles?

Masterlock highlights part four. Austin and Rock didn’t do that much at Wrestlemania.

Unforgiven rundown.

Masters brags about the Masterlock.

It’s time for the Masterlock Challenge with Shawn Michaels. Shawn sits in the chair and waits for Masters to grab a towel. The hold goes on and Shawn starts flailing, even sending Masters into the corner a few times. That doesn’t work so Shawn climbs the corner and bounces back onto Masters but still can’t break it. More rams into the corner fail but Shawn eventually breaks the grip, only to have Masters hit him down. A chair to the head busts Michaels open and one more Masterlock ends it.

Overall Rating: D. Wow that was a rough string of matches but it didn’t feel like a terrible show at the end. I’m trying to dislike the Masterlock deal (though it got WAY too much attention with the ridiculous amount of highlights) but it’s a gimmick that has been done before and works well enough. It’s what Masters is known for and if he can evolve a bit more, he’ll be fine given his looks. Not a very good show, but they set up Unforgiven well enough, even if it’s the definition of a B pay per view.

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

New Column: We Need Somebody New

And for once, that’s what we’re getting (this isn’t just about McIntyre).

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-need-somebody-new/

Monday Night Raw – February 3, 2020: Worthy Of A Celebration

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 3, 2020
Location: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler

We’re about two months away from Wrestlemania and tonight is going to be very interesting. Not so much because we need to do anything special, but because there is a horrible snow storm in Salt Lake City. The show is going on as planned, but we could be in for a very sparse crowd. Like, even more so than usual. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of what happened to Edge last week at the hands of Randy Orton, including being taken away in an ambulance after the show.

Video on the Royal Rumble, focusing on Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar.

Lana vs. Liv Morgan

Lana fakes a wrist injury to start and gets two off a kick to the head instead. We hit the chinlock before Lana sends her head first into the mat. Posing ensues and Liv is back up with the springboard Downward Spiral for the pin at 1:24.

Post match Ruby Riott makes her surprise return….and knocks Liv down with a chokeshove. Riott beats her down even more and leaves, allowing Lana to lay out Liv again.

We take a quick look at the horrible blizzard.

We look back at Drew McIntyre challenging Brock Lesnar last week and getting beaten down as a result.

Drew McIntyre vs. Mojo Rawley

Non-title but first, Drew promises to Claymore Mojo’s head off three seconds after he puts the mic down. After thanking the fans for braving the weather, Drew talks about that clip of Drew getting attacked, pointing out that Brock had to take him down from behind. That’s all well and good, because Drew, has a secret weapon with the Claymore and he’s kicking Brock’s head off to become champion. Drew: “Geez Mojo I forgot you were there for a second. Claymore in six seconds and Drew didn’t even take his coat off. The “Mojo’s Only Fan” sign in the crowd is a nice touch.

Buddy Murphy and the AOP are ready for Kevin Owens and the Viking Raiders. Seth Rollins comes in to tell them to go get ready because he’s got this. Rollins is ready for a triple threat match tonight where he can become #1 contender at Super ShowDown. He’s beaten Brock Lesnar for the title twice (thanks for finally mentioning that) and Drew needs to get ready for a new Wrestlemania opponent.

Viking Raiders/Kevin Owens vs. AOP/Buddy Murphy

Elimination rules and Rollins is here with his cronies. The Vikings start fast with Ivar slamming Erik onto Murphy and we take a fast break. Back with Murphy hitting a jawbreaker on Erik so Rezar can come in for the slugout with Ivar. Akam comes in though and knees Erik down, setting up some hard right hands to keep him in trouble. Murphy strikes away as well but Erik knees him in the face, allowing the hot tag off to Ivar for a basement crossbody.

A seated senton out of the corner crushes Akam and a clothesline turns Murphy inside out. The springboard clothesline/German suplex combination gets one on Murphy with the AOP making a save. Everything breaks down and the Raiders hit some dives to take AOP down. Ivar misses a charge into the LED board though (knocking it offline in the process), allowing Rollins to Stomp Erik on the floor. That’s enough for Murphy to get the elimination at 8:06 as Ivar’s shoulder is out. Ivar goes to the back at about 9:00 so Owens is all alone against the three of them.

We take another break and come back with Owens hitting a suplex but Murphy pulls him down into a chinlock. Murphy takes it to the floor but gets caught with a fall away slam into the corner. Back in and Murphy kicks him in the face for two as frustration is starting to set in. Owens enziguris Rezar but walks into the side slam/middle rope stomp combination for two.

The chinlock goes on and Murphy cuts off another comeback attempt. A DDT plants Murphy but Akam is right back in to forearm Owens down. That doesn’t last long either though as Owens goes to the apron for a Cannonball to Rezar, followed by a whip to send Akam into the steps. The Swanton hits Murphy’s raised kneed but a Pop Up Powerbomb gets rid of Murphy at 19:21.

The Stunner eliminates Akam at 20:04 and Rollins is panicking. Rezar charges into the post and gets superkicked into the corner, setting up the Cannonball. Now the Swanton can connect for two so Owens gets a fireman’s carry, only to have Rollins offer a distraction. Rezar hits a heck of a clothesline and a spinebuster plants Owens again. A second spinebuster finishes Owens at 23:15.

Rating: C+. It was longer than it needed to be but that’s how you stretch out a match when there might not be a full load of talent due to the weather. I was surprised by the ending here as I never would have bet on Rezar winning once they got down to one on one. Fair enough given that Owens was spent though and enough to make everyone look good.

Post match Owens get the big standing ovation.

Ricochet is ready to earn a title shot because he wants to prove people wrong.

Aleister Black vs. Eric Young

Black starts with the striking and sweeps the legs out, setting up a knee to the face. Black Mass finishes Young at 1:18.

Post match Black talks about being told that he could be anything you want to be. Now he knows that isn’t true and that drives him. He will be knocking down the Raw locker room door because he was told he could be anything he wanted.

We look back at Andrade hammerlock DDTing Humberto Carrillo into the concrete last December, plus Humberto coming back to do the same thing to Andrade last week. Andrade is out indefinitely, though there is no word on the title being stripped or vacated.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Angel Garza

That would be Humberto’s cousin, who is accompanied by Zelina Vega. She puts Garza over as a former champion and a hot prospect, while also mentioning the family connection. Garza says that he is the leader of their family so Humberto answers to him. Humberto is a disgrace to the family, so he takes the mic away and rants in Spanish at both of them. Zelina slaps him in the face and Garza jumps him, including the Wing Clipper to knock Humberto silly. They go outside with Garza peeling back the mats but Rey Mysterio runs in for the save. Sounds like we have a replacement match. Garza looked like a star here. Again.

Rey Mysterio vs. Angel Garza

Garza stalls on the floor to start before Rey makes him bail into the ropes for another breather. Rey grabs a headlock before headscissoring him into the corner. That’s enough to send Garza to a knee with an offer of a handshake but Rey shakes a finger no. Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and throws them at Rey but misses a charge into the corner. A kick to the face staggers Rey again though and Garza puts him on the corner so the mask can be teased.

With that not working, Rey gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a running knee to the ribs. Rey is right back but misses the 619, allowing Garza to pull the ring skirt out to send him to the floor. Back from a break with Mysterio still in trouble as Lawler mentions that he and Honky Tonk Man are cousins (that’s something you don’t hear too often in WWE). Garza misses a moonsault though and they’re both down.

Rey gets two off a tornado DDT but Garza knees him in the head for the same. The Wing Clipper is broken up and Rey hits a running Canadian Destroyer. Vega breaks up the 619 so Rey springboards to the floor to drop Garza again. Rey yells at Vega so Garza gets in a superkick and whips him into the barricade. The hammerlock DDT onto the exposed concrete draws the DQ at 13:10.

Rating: B-. If you want to make someone look like a star, put them in there against Mysterio. Garza took a bit to grow on me but sweet goodness he has all the star power you could want. The ending tied into everything that the story was built upon and the match was good as a bonus. Nice stuff here and I’m hoping Garza gets even more of a push in the future.

Bobby Lashley isn’t distracted by Lana losing because that was her match. He’ll become #1 contender tonight because he deserves to face Brock Lesnar. Then he’ll go to Wrestlemania and beat up Drew McIntyre to retain the title. Posing ensues.

Asuka vs. Natalya

Asuka’s early headscissors doesn’t get her very far so she does it again and switches into a bodyscissors. A grab of the leg has Natalya in trouble so she kicks Asuka in the back for the break. Natalya knocks her into the corner and hits a sitout powerbomb for two, with Asuka bailing to the floor. Back from a break with Asuka kicking away at Natalya’s chest but missing the big one and getting rolled up for two.

A kick to the face sets up the Octopus Hold, followed by a Shining Wizard to give Asuka two more. The armbar keeps Natalya in trouble and Asuka switches to a guillotine to make it even worse. Natalya powers her up into a suplex for the break though and they’re both down. It’s Natalya up first with the discus lariat into the Sharpshooter but a rope is grabbed before too long. A quick Kairi Sane distraction lets Asuka grab the Asuka Lock for the tap at 12:01.

Rating: C+. It’s always nice to see Asuka in old school form of breaking people in half and that’s what we got here. Natalya is fine when you don’t let her talk and just go out for her stable and efficient match. The ending was a little flat as Sane just cheated to give Asuka the win but they had a good match coming up on the finish.

Post match Asuka rants about wanting a rematch with Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Title. Cue Becky (with checkered flag sunglasses) to say Asuka ducked her for a year and now wants to face her again. Of course she wants to drink from that fountain again but why put the title on the line again so close to Wrestlemania? Well, that’s because beating Asuka again would be better than doing it once so the match is on. Sane tries to jump Becky but gets thrown to the floor. Becky is even ready for the mist because she has superpowers, like eyes in the back of her head. No date on the match.

Charlotte will be on NXT this week to answer Rhea Ripley’s challenge.

Here’s Seth Rollins for the main event but first he needs to talk about it being his time. He’ll go to Super ShowDown and win the WWE Title, though the fans aren’t as happy with the announcement this week. Last year he won the title from Lesnar twice and then defended it around the world but the fans crucified him. He doesn’t hate the people for it though and actually he’s here to say thank you. Rollins is fighting right now and it’s for something that is going to be remembered in ten years. McIntyre is going to Wrestlemania but he’ll be facing the Monday Night Messiah.

Seth Rollins vs. Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley

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

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

Overall Rating: B. You can tell they’re in Wrestlemania Mode as the show flew by with nothing bad and some stories being advanced. It’s acceptable to focus on Super ShowDown as there is so much time left before Wrestlemania, but I really hope that it doesn’t turn into the usual mess where all of the focus is on the less important show and the big one suffers in the process. This show gives me hope though, because it was the best one in a long time.

Results

Liv Morgan b. Lana – Springboard Downward Spiral

Drew McIntyre b. Mojo Rawley – Claymore

Buddy Murphy/AOP b. Kevin Owens/Viking Raiders – Spinebuster to Rezar

Aleister Black b. Eric Young – Black Mass

Rey Mysterio b. Angel Garza via DQ when Garza DDTed Mysterio on the exposed concrete

Asuka b. Natalya – Asuka Lock

Ricochet b. Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley – 630 to Lashley

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 – January 30, 2020: The New Generation

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: January 30, 2020
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

We’re past the Royal Rumble and that means things can pick up in a big way. The problem is that they might not do that, which is always a possibility around here. This show can give you a good look at how things going but that is not always the case. In other words, I have no idea what to expect here so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Sarah Logan

It was good last week so maybe they can repeat it this time. Feeling out process to start with Logan reversing a waistlock but getting elbowed in the face for her efforts. Deonna gets sent outside and kneed against the barricade so Logan can shout a lot. Back in and Purrazzo hits another elbow to the face but she takes Logan outside again to send her arm first into the apron.

The nasty armbar follows inside, followed by Logan’s arm being wrapped around the bottom rope. Logan is fine enough to send her shoulder first into the post and a running dropkick has Purrazzo in even more trouble. A bridging belly to back suplex gives Logan two more but Purrazzo flips over into the Fujiwara armbar. That means a rope grab and likely the end of Purrazzo’s chances. Back up and Logan knees her in the face for the pin at 5:14.

Rating: C-. Yeah not exactly last week’s rather surprising performance but they could have done a lot worse. Logan is someone who might wind up being a midcarder on one of the major shows but that isn’t happening until she gets somewhere first. Maybe she can do that in time and some wins on Main Event are better than nothing.

Video on the men’s Royal Rumble.

From Raw.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to open the show. Drew loves the sound of being introduced as the Royal Rumble winner, so let’s get this out of the way: he challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania. Last night he saw the fear in Brock’s eyes and knows that he can beat Lesnar. He wants a Claymore party tonight though and that means it’s open challenge time. Cue the OC to say they’ll both fight him right now. That’s fine with Drew, so ring the bell.

Drew McIntyre vs. OC

Drew starts fast by chopping Anderson and beats up Gallows as a bonus. A top rope ax handle hits Anderson and there’s the Futureshock to Gallows. The Claymore hits them both and it’s a double pin at 2:21. Total squash and that’s how you make a star.

Post match here’s Lesnar to F5 McIntyre.

Video on the women’s Royal Rumble.

From Raw.

Here’s Charlotte to brag about winning last night but that’s what she does, because she’s Charlotte. We see some highlights from last night and Charlotte announces that she will be challenging….for a championship because she hasn’t made up her mind yet.

Cedric Alexander vs. Riddick Moss

This cameo makes some more sense after Raw. Moss works on a wristlock to start but Cedric reverses into a headlock. A rather hard shoulder puts Alexander in the corner and we take an early break. Back with Moss forearming away in the corner and shouting a lot. The chinlock goes on but Cedric is right back up with a running dropkick to the knee. The springboard Downward Spiral is broken up and Moss hits a heck of a Rock Bottom for the pin at 7:27.

Rating: D+. The key phrase here would be “they tried”. At some point you need to give us someone new and maybe Moss can go somewhere. I haven’t seen much from him to suggest that he can, but eventually you need to put someone out there and give them some wins to see what they can do. With all of the talent they have in this company, it’s worth seeing what you have.

Video on Edge returning at the Royal Rumble.

From Raw.

Here’s Edge for his big return speech. He soaks in some cheers and can’t believe that he’s here, because being back means so much to him. The reactions are why they do this so thank you. Edge gets to the big point: how can he be here? Nine years ago he was told he could never do this again but he doesn’t like living in a world of what if’s. A few years went by and he started to feel pretty good.

Then he started thinking about what if he came home. He had a second neck surgery and got in the best shape of his life because he wanted to do this one more time and go out on his own terms. Last night he was in the Royal Rumble and saw some names that he had seen before, plus some new ones. He hopes to see them again down the road, but he’s not sure how long this is going to last.

Edge wants us to join us on the ride, earning himself his first YES chant. Edge: “I’ve got to thank Daniel Bryan for that because that’s pretty cool.” Yeah he’s older now but he has one thing that you can’t fake: grit. This brings out Randy Orton, who hugs Edge and calls him a brother. Last night, Orton felt the energy and the chemistry that only they have. Edge was talking about what if’s, so what if Rated-RKO got back together one more time?

Before we get an answer, the RKO drops Edge. Orton grabs a chair and cracks Edge over the back for good measure. The chair is wrapped around Edge’s head (as his hand is shaking) and Orton goes to the middle rope. Orton gets back down and takes the chair off of his head….so he can get two chairs. The One Man Conchairto ends the show, with Orton whispering something to Edge. Good angle here, and Edge can bring the fire at Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: C. The original stuff wasn’t great, but it did tie in together with the overall theme of this time of year: trying something different. There are only so many things that you can do before you bring in someone new and WWE is finally doing something in that area. They have a long way to go before it means anything, but at least they’re trying.

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 – September 1, 2005: It’s The Little Things

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 1, 2005
Location: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the last night on Thursday and we have a pesky network boss running around trying to tell Teddy Long how to do his job. This is going to be an interesting show as it is mainly going to exist as a setup for next week’s big edition, meaning I wouldn’t expect too much to happen. Maybe they can surprise me though. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Heidenreich vs. Joey Mercury

Animal, Melina and Johnny Nitro are all here. Heidenreich and Animal clear the ring to start and Mercury’s cheap shot at the bell doesn’t work. They head outside with Heidenreich beating him up even more but Mercury catches him with a neck snap across the top rope to take over. Nitro even gets in a cheap shot so Mercury can drop a knee. We hit the chinlock but Heidenreich is straight back up with the one two combinations. A big boot staggers Mercury and a chokebomb gives Heidenreich the pin.

Rating: D. What else were you expecting? Animal and Heidenreich are the new monsters and there is no reason to have someone as small as Mercury be a serious threat. The tag match itself could be better but they’ve been very smart to keep things quick in these matches. It’s the best thing they could do, even though they haven’t exactly been great.

Post match Animal gets beaten down in the corner but Heidenreich makes the save. Mercury and Nitro have to save Melina from the Doomsday Device and Animal gets sent into the steps. The Snapshot leaves Heidenreich laying.

Here’s Cowboy Bob Orton to introduce his son Randy. After a lot of posing, Randy talks about his dad telling him that he would be the greatest wrestler ever. Eventually, every legend would fall at Randy’s feet and that makes Bob a genius. It’s interesting that no one has ever seen Undertaker has Summerslam because he’s running scared.

That’s why the two of them have signed Undertaker’s new DVD and you can bid on it at WWE.com. The money goes to the Undertaker’s retirement fund and Randy will match it dollar for dollar. Undertaker can even come here in person next week and accept his retirement fund. As for tonight, Randy has Rey Mysterio, who has lied to his son for years. Tomorrow, he’ll have to lie to his son again when his son asks if Rey won his match, because tonight it’s the RKO.

Chris Benoit wants to test his timing again so let’s see how long it takes him to, ahem, relieve himself. Benoit beats the time, though hand washing may not have been included.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan

Jordan is challenging and we have a clock on screen. Jordan unloads in the corner but gets Crossfaced for the tap at 23.4 seconds. This is great stuff.

Christy Hemme vs. Stacy Keibler

The bell rings but hold on as here’s Sylvain (Grenier) to say the two of them don’t compare to him. Cue Hardcore Holly to say that he doesn’t care about Sylvester because he’s here to see the girls. Sylvain calls him Bobby and gets beaten up.

Teddy Long and Palmer Cannon preview next week’s show and mention that next week’s JBL vs. Batista match will be a bullrope match. As for tonight, JBL has the night off, which is news to Long. Since he doesn’t like the surprise, he has one of his own: next week it’s Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio inside a cage.

Booker T. vs. Ken Kennedy

Christian, with a broken nose, is on commentary and Sharmell is here with Booker. Kennedy isn’t happy with Tony Chimmel’s introduction though, suggesting that he sounds like the adults in a Charlie Brown special. After handling his own introduction, Kennedy asks if you can dig that, earning himself a forearm to the face. Booker jumps him to start and stomps Kennedy down in the corner, which Christian seems to like. A superkick puts Kennedy down for two and a backdrop gets two as it’s one sided so far.

Kennedy misses a spinning kick to the face so he keeps spinning and catches him the second time around. Booker gets sent into the corner as Tazz diagnoses Christian’s thumb injury. Some shots to the face keep Booker in trouble but he’s right back with his own kick to the face. That just earns him a hot shot and a running neckbreaker for two so Booker grabs a spinebuster for another comeback. Hold on though as we need a Spinarooni as Sharmell goes over to yell at Christian. The distraction lets Kennedy catch him on top for the super Regal Roll and the pin.

Rating: C. Egads this Sharmell stuff needs to go far away as it’s just her yelling at people and being annoying. What matters here though is Kennedy getting a much harder push in a hurry. Beating Funaki is the Smackdown version of a participation award and the fans know it, so giving him a win over someone who matters is something that could actually get him somewhere.

Here’s Simon Dean, on his personalized Segway (the Dean Machine), to say that Batista is a Simon System user. It has made him bigger, stronger and faster, but not smarter. Hit the music.

Batista vs. Simon Dean

Non-title. Hold on though as Batista can’t remember trying the Simon System. He’s willing to try it though because he’s into fitness and open minded. Batista tries some and says he feels bigger, stronger….and more aggressive. The big clothesline starts us off and the beating is on in a hurry. Batista hits the spinebuster but stops for more to drink, which makes him shake the rope. The Batista Bomb connects but he grabs the drink and poses with it as he covers Dean with one foot. This gave me a few chuckles and was a different way of using Batista, which is a good idea.

William Regal/Paul Burchill vs. Scotty 2 Hotty/Funaki

Fallout from this weekend’s Velocity where Burchill debuted and helped Regal beat Scotty down. Scotty and Regal start things off with Regal’s arm getting worked over. Funaki comes in and monkey flips Burchill, only to miss a charge and get sent head first into the mat. Regal comes back in to suplex Funaki but an armdrag is enough for the tag off to Scotty. Everything breaks down and Regal gets in a cheap shot, setting up a shoulder breaker from Burchill. A Fujiwara armbar makes Scotty tap in a hurry. Burchill looked good in his debut.

We preview next week’s big show.

Eddie Guerrero is standing behind a piece of a cage and very quietly says Rey didn’t just get Eddie’s son. Rey got his whole family because Vickie Guerrero cost Eddie the match. That made Eddie realize something though: she wasn’t just shoving the ladder over to save Rey’s family because she had lost him too. It’s Eddie’s fault though because he had Rey at the edge of defeat so many times and toyed with him. Next week Rey will have to take him on, but how can he beat someone who has already lost everything? This was almost creepy.

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton

Bob is here with Randy, who starts with some early short jokes. These mesmerize Mysterio so much that Randy can kick him in the ribs and forearm him out to the floor. Back in and a heck of a clothesline drops Mysterio but he’s right back up with a hurricanrana to the floor. This time Mysterio gets to mock Orton a bit by stealing his pose on the ropes. Orton gets back in so Rey hammers away to really rock him for a change.

That’s a little too much for Orton who throws him under the bottom rope and we take a break. Back with Orton holding a standing chinlock of all things before saying Rey is as big as his ten year old brother. Mysterio is back with a dropkick to the knee but Orton hits….a delayed atomic drop. Not exactly a big heel move but Rey sold it sell enough. The chinlock goes on again for a good while, followed by a rake of the boot to the face.

Rey gets in a rollup for a quick two and the sitout bulldog puts Orton down again. Orton’s backbreaker gets a pair of near falls but he dives off the middle rope into the raised boots. As luck would have it, Orton falls into the ropes but gets up before the 619 can connect. Orton uppercuts him from his knees instead, only to run into a boot so Rey can hit the springboard seated senton. A headscissors sets up the 619 but Bob breaks up the West Coast Pop. Randy hits him low and puts Rey on top for a super RKO and the pin.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going but they’re talented enough that the match was almost always going to be good. Orton winning was hardly a secret but it helps when you have Mysterio out there to do whatever you want from him. Bob is fine for a short term addition but Orton has already been a main eventer on his own and doesn’t exactly need him out there. It’s a good act for now though and as long as it doesn’t drag so long, it should work out.

A promo for the show moving to Fridays ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. The show was fine enough, though not exactly something memorable. One thing I really do like at the moment is that the way that they’re doing short form stuff with some bigger names. Stuff like Batista and Benoit running through people is a good way to get them on television and pop the crowd without wasting anything. It’s a different way of doing things and rather nice for a change. Next week’s show is a big one though and that’s the one that matters.

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