Main Event – August 29, 2019: What The Show Is Good For

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 29, 2019
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton

For once, this is kind of nice for a change as we’re fresh off the wrestling marathon weekend with three major shows from three different companies so I can barely remember what happened on Raw and Smackdown other than some King of the Ring stuff. That’s what a recap show is for so I wonder if it’s going to actually work. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke

Well it’s not Sarah Logan again. We go old school with a test of strength to start but Lacey’s cheap shot completely fails. Lacey gets thrown down and needs a time out on the floor, which goes as well as you would expect. Back in and Lacey hits a pair of knees to the back, meaning it’s already time for the chinlock.

With that broken up, Lacey chokes in the ring skirt and drives some more knees into the back. The tissue gets on Brooke’s nerves and she rolls into a clothesline to drop Lacey. The cartwheel splash gets two and a powerbomb out of the corner is good for the same, only to have Lacey go to the eyes. That’s enough to set up the Woman’s Right for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: D+. I know she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon but Dana has grown a lot on me in the last few months. She’s looking more confident in the ring and is trying some new stuff, though she needs more time like this. It’s almost like she needed more time in developmental, though she got to do developmental here in Main Event. Hopefully she gets a chance one day, but only once she is ready because otherwise it is just going to cause a bigger problem.

Video on Sasha Banks attacking Natalya two weeks in a row.

From Raw.

Here’s Sasha Banks for a chat, but first we see a recap of Banks attacking Natalya (twice) and Becky Lynch. To be fair Natalya kind of earned it. So why did Banks do it? She worked so hard to get where she is over the years and then took her Wrestlemania paycheck to take a much needed vacation. That was the same Wrestlemania where Becky main evented the show for so much more money without putting in the work. Sasha is back because she runs the division because she is the talk of the division. Now she’s back to deserve all the glory but here’s Natalya for the brawl. Officials and agents need some time to break it up.

From later on Raw.

Sasha Banks vs. Natalya

Natalya, with a bad arm, comes straight at her to start and they brawl to the floor early on. Back in and Natalya keeps hammering away, setting up a heck of a release German suplex (Sasha landed hard) for two. Banks tries to get to the floor and manages to wrap the bad arm around the post. A whip into the timekeeper’s area and then the post has Natalya in trouble. The arm gets pulled around the middle rope but Banks misses the running knees in the corner. The Sharpshooter doesn’t work and Banks gets in the Bank Statement, complete with pulling the bad arm around Natalya’s throat for the tap at 4:00.

Rating: C+. This was short but they packed a lot into the time they had with Sasha looking like a killer. She comes off like a threat to Becky Lynch at Clash of Champions and that’s what’s been lacking over the last few months. Banks brings the star power, but how long is it going to be before she brings another headache if she doesn’t get the title?

Post match Banks comes back and hooks the Bank Statement again.

Clash of Champions rundown.

From Raw again.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Braun Strowman

Styles is defending and the OC is barred from ringside. Strowman throws him over the top almost immediately and it’s time for the running shoulders around the ring. Back in and the Phenomenal Forearm is countered into a chokeslam for two with AJ having to put his foot on the rope. A big boot puts AJ on the floor and we take a break. Back with AJ grabbing a sleeper to take Strowman down to a knee. That’s broken up with a ram into the corner but AJ chop blocks the leg in a smart move. A Lionsault gives AJ two and it’s off to the Calf Crusher in a logical move.

Strowman powers out of it and knocks AJ down again but a missed charge sends Strowman shoulder first into the post. AJ hits Strowman in the back to send the referee outside, allowing a low blow to take Strowman down. A chair is brought in but Strowman hits the powerslam, only to have the OC come in for the beatdown. Strowman fights back with the chair but AJ does the old Eddie Guerrero drop down. The referee says he HEARD the chair shots (that opens up a good number of historical gaps) and that’s a DQ at 9:56.

Rating: C. They did what they could to protect Strowman here and while “I HEARD CHAIR SHOTS” is quite the stretch given how deaf referees have seemed over the years, it’s about as good as you can get outside of the OC running in for the DQ. The match was fine enough and I’m glad they didn’t change the title here as it would be a bit too much for one pay per view.

Strowman cleans house and holds up the US Title to end the show.

Heath Slater/Titus O’Neil vs. Eric Young/Mojo Rawley

What a random heel team. Titus throws Young into the corner to start and it’s Slater coming in to work on the arm. The villains are sent outside with Heath getting in some dancing on the apron as we take a break. Back with Slater in trouble in the corner and getting caught in a chinlock. That’s broken up and Slater gets in a shot of his own for the hot tag off to Titus. Everything breaks down and the Clash of the Titus finishes Young at 6:48.

Rating: D. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere and was running against the fact that it was Slater Gator vs. Eric Young/Mojo Rawley. I would say that Slater Gator could be an interesting team to have around Main Event but it’s not like any of this is going to matter from week to week as odds are we’re going to be seeing Sarah Logan vs. Dana Brooke again next week.

Video on Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton.

From Smackdown for a change.

Here’s Kofi Kingston for a chat, but first we see a video on Randy Orton’s attacks since Summerslam. Kofi has heard Orton calling him stupid but who got knocked out last week? Now Orton is trying to turn this personal and he’s bringing in the Revival to help him out. That means Orton is seeing the look when you mess with Kofi’s family so Kofi is ready for Clash Of Champions. Kofi starts the hip thrusts but Orton appears on screen to say STUPID over and over.

Earlier today, Orton was in his hotel room when someone knocked on his door and slid a letter underneath. Normally he doesn’t reply to fan mail but this one was different. It says that Orton is hurting Kofi and he needs to stop hurting him every night. Kofi isn’t just his hero because Kofi is his daddy. It’s from Kofi’s son Kai, and Orton realized that he is staying in the same hotel as Kofi’s family. Maybe he should pay them a visit. Kofi charges to the back and the fight is on in the gorilla position, with Kofi getting hit with the hanging DDT onto the concrete. Kofi is out cold and medics are requested. That was certainly a great THUD.

Long video on Roman Reigns being attacked.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Roman Reigns for the apology to Bryan and Rowan. The two of them appear on screen with Bryan demanding his apology. We see a video of the forklift attack and Rowan is shown pushing some of the crates onto Roman. Bryan slaps him in the face, shouting about how he hates liars. With Rowan gone, Bryan comes to the ring and says he trusted Rowan for almost the last year and now he has been betrayed. Bryan comes to the ring and says he didn’t know what happened but it’s a spear to put him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well it certainly exists. The problem here is the same as always: nothing that matters wrestling wise and a recap that shows you just how little some stuff means on TV. They couldn’t even mention the King of the Ring other than in passing but Sasha Banks attacking Natalya warranted a segment and a match? It was nice to get a recap but that’s the best they can do?

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

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Monday Night Raw – September 2, 2019: What Am I Watching?

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 2, 2019
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

The King of the Ring continues as we find out the final names on the Raw side. This time around it’s Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin vs. Cedric Alexander, meaning you should be able to guess where both matches are going. Other than that we’ll likely get some more build to Clash of Champions. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins to open things up with a contract signing. Rollins knows they can work together to beat Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler but his intentions are to walk out of Clash as a double champ. Strowman says he’ll win but Rollins brings up slaying the beast to win the Universal Title, which is something Strowman doesn’t know about. At Clash, he’ll slay the monster.

Seth signs but here’s the OC to interrupt before Strowman can do the same. AJ explains the double title concept and asks who he’s going to face. He’ll just walk around showing off his title because that’s how you get a title shot around here. AJ wants to know why the Good Brothers aren’t getting their title shot and threatens to slap Cole’s teeth down his throat. Once inside, he rips up the contract that Strowman hadn’t signed, so the table is turned over and the fight is on.

Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins vs. OC

Non-title and joined in progress with Rollins kicking at Anderson before it’s off to Gallows for the power. Strowman comes in and kicks Gallows down without much trouble so it’s back to Anderson for an armbar on Rollins. Seth gets sent outside and into the barricade for a knockdown as we take a break.

Back with Rollins hitting an enziguri on Gallows and bringing Strowman in for the house cleaning. The running powerslam is broken up and everything breaks down, with AJ getting on the apron for a distraction. That’s broken up and Rolling grabs a rollup to finish Anderson at 11:43.

Rating: C-. Just a match here with the break in the middle breaking up the momentum. That being said, I’m much happier with the champs winning instead of having them lose so soon into their title reign. I know they’re not going to be long term champions or anything, but there is no need to have them lose here. For once WWE gets that and doesn’t have the champs lose, which is nice for a change.

Post match Strowman does the run around the ring shoulders but hits Rollins by mistake. Cue Roode and Ziggler to help with the beatdown as all five lay out Strowman and Rollins.

Post break the OC lays out Cedric Alexander before he can give an interview. Cedric seems to have a bad arm injury.

Dolph Ziggler/Bobby Roode vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

Ziggler starts fast on Hawkins with Ryder getting knocked off the apron. Roode drops Hawkins ribs first across the top rope but an elbow to the face lets Ryder come in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and it’s a superkick into the Glorious DDT to finish Hawkins at 4:01.

Rating: D. Just a squash for Roode and Ziggler, which is a fine way to do things. It’s nice to give them a chance to establish themselves a bit more as they have only teamed together once so far. It’s not like beating Hawkins and Ryder means much either way but it’s better than having a team go from debuting to the title match with nothing in between.

Natalya vs. Lacey Evans

Natalya jumps Lacey from behind during the entrances and takes her down to start. They head outside early on and a whip into the barricade has Natalya in trouble for a change. Back in and Lacey calls her a nasty before throwing on the chinlock. The double jump moonsault misses so Natalya hits a discus lariat for two. Lacey grabs a tissue and throws it at Natalya though, setting up the Woman’s Right for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: D. I get that Natalya was angry and emotional, but the cat ears took something away from the emotion they were going for. This felt like a way to get Evans back on track, which she certainly needs, though a win over Natalya isn’t meaning as much as it has before. Evans is a good heel, though she needs someone to feud against.

Here’s Becky Lynch to respond to Sasha Banks. Becky wants to know where Sasha is after she heard a bunch of reasons Sasha left after Wrestlemania last week. She remembers Sasha being a star in NXT while Becky was off to the side. Then Sasha and Charlotte came up to the main roster while Becky was trying to get TV time. Sasha even got bouquets of flowers after her matches. Then Sasha left after Wrestlemania and Bayley has done just fine without Sasha, which has to sting her a bit.

Sasha should be the center of attention, just like Becky is now. If Sasha wants to do this right now, come out here right now you little blue haired freak. Cue Sasha, who laughs off the idea of wanting to be Becky. Sasha: “Haha I wish Nia Jax broke my face so people cared about me!” Becky offers to fight right now but Banks laughs it off because she isn’t fighting for the people. She’ll do it for the paycheck at Clash of Champions. Becky accepts and Sasha promises to make the man the Boss’ b****. Banks is much better as a heel and already the best challenger Becky has had since she won the title.

The Street Profits aren’t sure what to think about that so they send it to commercial.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Cedric Alexander vs. Baron Corbin

Cedric’s arm is injured coming in and Corbin promises to win. Corbin starts fast with the slide under the ropes for the heavy clothesline but Cedric scores with a dropkick. The Neuralizer sends Corbin outside and a springboard clothesline gets two back inside. Corbin has had it with this and sends him arm first into the post twice in a row as we take a break. Back with driving elbows into the shoulder and cranking on the chinlock. Alexander fights up and hits a corner dropkick but the springboard Downward Spiral is countered into Deep Six for two.

Cedric gets back up and sends him shoulder first into the post four times in a row, followed by some hard kicks in the corner. The running flip dive to the floor hits Corbin again and a missile dropkick gets two (not bad as it barely connected). The Michinoku Driver is good for the same but another springboard is broken up. Corbin gets serious and finishes with End of Days at 14:30.

Rating: B-. Easily one of the better Corbin matches to date, though I have little faith in him to keep this up. At the same time though, it’s the problem of everything that he’s done over the last few months being a bit harder than that to shake off. Having him come back and win three or four matches doesn’t make up for the horrible last nine months, but I have a feeling WWE will see it differently.

Corbin sits on the throne again.

Long video on the attacks on Roman Reigns.

We look back at the opening segment.

Bayley has no comments on Sasha Banks. Yeah they’ve talked about what is happening lately and their conversations are personal. Banks left but Bayley stayed and took the opportunities. Tonight she is teaming with Becky so ask her a question about that. She isn’t worried about Becky overshadowing her tonight because she’s the Smackdown Women’s Champion.

Viking Raiders vs. ???/???

Before the match, the jobbers say they came all the way from Pittsburgh and are going to make the Raiders look like some Balti-morons. German suplex/springboard clothesline, crossbody against the barricade to another, Razor’s Edge toss sends one into the other and the Viking Experience is good for the pin at 1:24.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet

The winner faces Corbin next week. Before the match, Joe promises to make this his kingdom. Ricochet on the other hand talks about always redefining what is possible. Ricochet goes for the arm to start so Joe kicks away at the knee to take him down. The comeback out of the corner lets Ricochet get in some shots of his own but a sunset flip doesn’t work.

A low bridge to the floor does though and Ricochet’s moonsault off the barricade drops Joe again. Back in and Joe goes after the knee again by slamming it off the mat and putting on the half crab. Ricochet grabs a rope and is fine enough for two off a Lionsault (that’s a fast healing knee). Joe doesn’t like the lack of selling so he takes it outside for a suplex into the barricade.

We hit the neck crank before a toss across the ring has Ricochet in trouble. Back from the break with Ricochet fighting out of another chinlock and hitting the springboard clothesline. The running shooting star press gets two and Joe is sent outside for the Space Flying Tiger Drop. Back in and Ricochet goes up, meaning it’s the Koquina Clutch from Joe. Ricochet drops back for the big crash though….and it’s a double pin at 16:00.

Rating: C. The knee being fine after the break was a bit much but I’m more worried about where this is going. This sounds like a way to get Corbin to the finals while not having Ricochet lose and other than him, I don’t see anyone stopping Corbin in the whole thing. It’s going to be a long Clash if that’s where we’re going and I have a feeling it is.

The referee goes outside to get a headset and seems to call another referee for a ruling. That ruling….will come later so Ricochet beats up Joe a bit more.

Strowman isn’t happy that Steve Austin is back to moderate the next contract signing next week. Rollins laughs off the idea that he and Austin are in this against Strowman, so Strowman threatens to give Austin these hands.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray saying that what the Fiend did to Finn Balor was super duper rude. He apologizes to Balor on behalf of everyone here but it’s Demon Vince popping in to say Bray shouldn’t have challenged the Universal Champion at Hell in a Cell. It’s almost time to be fired but Bray pulls out the money he has been making and feeds it to Vince.

That’s enough for Vince, leaving Bray to say Seth and Braun aren’t a great team but they stole something from him before. We see Bray’s team, which is all of his puppet friends. They help him cope with pain but the Fiend helps him inflict it. Bray: “See you in h***. Let me in. BYE!”

The official decision: a triple threat match next week with Corbin involved.

Rey Mysterio talks about Dominick convincing him not to retire. They had a father and son talk about what it means for Dominick to grow up in the WWE family. It’s a parent’s responsibility to push their children to pursue their dreams but Dominick is pushing him to pursue him. Rey isn’t done because he has more to accomplish.

The Miz vs. Cesaro

The running uppercut gives Cesaro two at the bell and another uppercut gets the same. Miz comes back with some YES Kicks, only to get uppercutted down again. To mix things up a bit, Cesaro uppercuts him off the top and busts out the apron superplex. We hit the armbar for a bit until Miz fights up with kicks in the corner. Swiss Death cuts Miz off for two more but his grab of the rope gets him caught. Miz slugs away but gets uppercutted again, only to come back with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D. As much as Cesaro showed over in the UK, it was nothing but uppercuts here and that got a bit annoying. Can you blame him though? He has a rather good match over at NXT and comes here to put over Miz before another run at the Intercontinental Title in five minutes. I know someone had to take the loss, but can we find ANYONE other than Cesaro? The fans have long since caught on that he isn’t going to get a big win so the returns are going to diminish in a hurry.

Bayley/Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

The Stunner over the ropes but Bliss cuts off the tag this time around. That’s not enough to cut the tag off three times though as it’s Becky comes in to clean house with MMA style strikes. A middle rope legdrop gives Becky two and she unloads on Bliss in the corner, only to have Banks come in for the DQ at 10:53.

Rating: D+. This was tag team formula stuff until the ending and I can give them a few extra points for not having a champion get pinned (they’ve been doing a bit better about that as of late). Banks vs. Lynch could be an interesting match and certainly feels bigger so the ending works well in that area.

Post match Banks grabs a chair but Bayley takes it away….and turns on Becky with chair shots of her own. The beating continues to end the show. Now that’s interesting as Bayley is more likely to retain over Charlotte while also throwing in a curve ball to Becky vs. Banks. Smart booking choice there, and it’s not like face Bayley was working anyway.

Overall Rating: C-. What an odd show with mostly bad wrestling, good creative and….Baron Corbin with the match of the night? Huh? Anyway, it’s nice to see the champions getting a focus for a change, though it’s kind of annoying that it takes the calendar to make them feel extra special. It’s quite the mixture of good and bad overall but there were a few too many instances of wondering when something was going to end to tilt it down just a bit. That being said, I’ll take them getting rid of the especially annoying stuff and replacing it with slightly uninteresting stuff so they’re moving in the right direction to an extent.

Results

Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman b. OC – Rollup to Anderson

Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode b. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder – Glorious DDT to Hawkins

Lacey Evans b. Natalya – Woman’s Right

Baron Corbin b. Cedric Alexander – End of Days

Viking Experience b. ???/??? – Viking Experience

Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet went to a double pin

The Miz b. Cesaro – Skull Crushing Finale

Bayley/Becky Lynch b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross via DQ when Sasha Banks interfered

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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205 Live – August 27, 2019: They Need A Better Bridge

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: August 27, 2019
Location: Raising Cane’s River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Aiden English, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips

We’re getting close to the next pay per view and that means it’s time to find a new #1 contender. Odds are that’s going to be either Oney Lorcan or Humberto Carrillo, or maybe both at the same time. Carrillo would be more interesting but they would need to find a way for him to get around Lorcan first. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s pretty solid elimination tag with Humberto Carrillo and Oney Lorcan as the last two men standing.

Earlier today, Lorcan requested a title match but Drake Maverick put him in a #1 contenders match with Carrillo instead. That makes as much sense as anything else. They shake hands over it and everything seems cool.

Opening sequence.

Kalisto vs. Ariya Daivari

Daivari runs him over with a hard shoulder to start and lays over the top for a breather. Kalisto hits a running headbutt/shoulder and, after slipping a bit for a chuckle, lays on the ropes as well. The suicide dive hits Daivari but he trips Kalisto off the apron, setting up a running dropkick to send Kalisto flying into the barricade.

Back in and a reverse layout DDT gives Daivari two but Kalisto elbows him in the face. The strikes to the face have Daivari staggered for a bit until hope is lost with a big clothesline. We hit the chinlock again, followed by a hard spinebuster (it’s a Minnesota thing) for two. The chinlock (at least from a different angle) goes on again, this time triggering the comeback with a hurricanrana driver.

They head to the apron for an enziguri and another hurricanrana to send Daivari outside. Back in and Kalisto gets a 450 but the cover pulls Daivari’s feet into the ropes for a smart save. The Salida Del Sol is blocked by a mask pull (EGADS MAN! Rake the eyes or something but come up with something new already!), setting up the hammerlock lariat to finish Kalisto at 13:05.

Rating: C-. The mask thing is getting really tiresome and I don’t see it going away. Daivari has gotten better in the last few months, mainly because it’s not the same tired “I’m rich and better than you” shtick that has been done to death. The bad times for the Lucha House Party continue and I’m not sure where things are going for them, with the attack on Gran Metalik making it more interesting.

Post match Daivari stays on him but Metalik and Lince Dorado make the save. Dorado gets in his face but Daivari talks a lot and Dorado doesn’t hit him, much to Kalisto and Metalik’s confusion.

We look at Tony Nese being eliminated last week. That’s how you use a week like that: by setting up a bunch of stories off of one match. It’s not something you can do very often but if you do it right, you can get several weeks if not months out of one match.

Tony Nese isn’t sure if being the premiere athlete is enough anymore.

The Singh Brothers haven’t been award winning as of late so they’re going inside the Bollywood Actor Studio for a film study. When they get back, they’ll be the best tag team in 205 Live history. Have there even been five of them?

Oney Lorcan vs. Humberto Carrillo

The winner faces Gulak for the title at Clash of Champions. They shake hands to start as we hear about Carrillo not being pinned in five months. That’s a sneaky winning streak. Lorcan headlocks him down into a headscissors counter before headlocking him down into a headscissors counter. Back up and Carrillo commences the flipping, setting off a pinfall reversal sequence for two each.

Lorcan gets a little more brawlingish and knees him in the ribs, followed by a whip into the corner to keep Carrillo in trouble. Carrillo’s handspring elbow is cut off with an elbow to the back and it’s a bodyscissors to stay on the ribs. Since the arms are free, Lorcan throws on a sleeper for a bonus. Carrillo rolls around a bit and gets to his feet but has to elbow out of the half and half. An elbow to the face sets up a standing moonsault for two on Lorcan and he bails to the floor.

You don’t do that to a luchador, who hits a running flip dive to take Lorcan out again. Back in and Carrillo hits a springboard spinning kick to the face for two, followed by a rolling moonsault for the same. Lorcan blocks a moonsault with raised boots and it’s time to head back to the apron for slugout. Carrillo gets in a slap to the face and a top rope dropkick to send Lorcan outside.

The Aztec Press is broken up but so is the half and half. A sitout powerbomb plants Lorcan for two but he rolls outside for a breather. Carrillo follows and this time the half and half connects to knock him silly on the floor. The suicide dive rocks Carrillo again and it’s time for a superplex, which is knocked off again. The twisting 450 finishes Lorcan for the title shot at 17:30.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up rather well here with the high flying vs. the brawling. Carrillo is a more interesting challenger than Lorcan at the moment as we’ve been there before. I’m not sure Carrillo will win the title but there is certainly some logic to moving him to the title as they could use a new top face.

Post match Carrillo celebrates until Gulak comes up on screen to applaud his former student for winning. Gulak is a different teacher now and he is going to teach Carrillo a new lesson at Clash of Champions. He is the law.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was the better match and got us to the logical title match at the pay per view so that’s certainly the better part. At the same time though, the opener wasn’t all that good and there wasn’t anything all that interesting in the middle to bridge them together. It’s another perfectly watchable show and at less than fifty minutes, it’s hard to get too annoyed.

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Smackdown – March 31, 2005: We Need To Get There Soon

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 31, 2019
Location: Reliant Arena, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

It’s the very last show before Wrestlemania and that can’t come soon enough. This week’s Raw was a great example of what happens when the show is set in stone and there is nothing worth doing to get us to the pay per view. Hopefully that isn’t the case this time around but I don’t have the highest hopes. Let’s get to it.

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

Eddie Guerrero vs. Danny Basham

There’s no Rey Mysterio, which seems to be at Eddie’s request. Danny starts in on the arm as Jerry (replacing Tazz who is having family issues) gets in the LATINO HEEEAT line. Eddie spins up so Danny poses at him, earning a poke to the eye. You don’t need an eye for a powerslam though as Danny is already showing more fire than Muhammad Hassan did in his match with Shawn on Monday.

Basham misses a splash in the corner and gets dropkicked as the comeback is on. Right hands in the corner draw Doug up for a failed save attempt, meaning it’s time for Three Amigos. Now Doug’s cheap shots can work though, drawing out Rey for the save. Rey kicks Eddie by mistake though, knocking him into a rollup to give Doug the big upset pin.

Rating: C. There was some fire in the match but what mattered here was the story advancement, which was better than I would have guessed. Eddie and Rey’s issues have been slowly simmering over the last few weeks with Chavo starting to get inside Eddie’s head, which can make for quite the match on Sunday. Who knew that Danny, another of the OVW stars who was great on his own, could hang here? It’s almost like it should have been obvious while he and Doug were wasting time trying to get Shaniqua over.

We look at last week’s JBL vs. John Cena debate.

JBL yells at Theodore Long for letting it get out of control last week. It better not happen tonight or the Wrestlemania main event is off.

Cruiserweight Title: Battle Royal

Spike Dudley, Akio, Scotty 2 Hotty, Nunzio, Funaki, Billy Kidman, Paul London, Chavo Guerrero

We’re down to Kidman, Scotty, London and Akio as London stomps on Akio’s back. Scotty gets sent to the apron and a middle rope kick from Akio is good for the elimination. Kidman gets all aggressive and pounds on London but can’t get rid of him. London gets in a dropkick to both of them and Kidman accidentally backdrops Akio to the apron. A dropkick gets rid of Akio and London headscissors Kidman out for the title.

Rating: D+. London is as good of a choice as any here as the fans react to him and it’s not like the title has any real value at the moment. I can appreciate them getting a spot like this, though I can imagine it isn’t living up to a Wrestlemania payday. Hopefully they got thrown onto the DVD as an extra for the sake of an extra payout or something.

Akebono arrives.

Dirty Harry Wrestlemania trailer.

Carlito comes in to see Theodore Long and has an idea: he can get back in the ring tonight but Long says no. He isn’t medically cleared, so Long has a better idea. Some Carlito protests get him back in the ring….against John Cena.

Eddie comes up to Rey, who tries to apologize but Eddie knows it was an accident. Eddie is just frustrated, so Rey agrees to wrestle Doug Basham tonight, even though he’s not scheduled. Just to make Wrestlemania fair you see.

Booker T. vs. Luther Reigns

In the back, Sharmell gives Booker a pep talk about how he needs this win. Reigns powers him into the corner to start and then hits Booker in the face a few times. Booker’s hook kick to the face drops him but a missed side kick crotches him on the ropes. The side slam sets up the chinlock but Booker’s comeback doesn’t take long. A superkick sets up the Spinarooni into the scissors kick for the pin.

Rating: D. Booker goes from a Heidenreich feud to facing Reigns? What did he do to deserve something like this? With everything else that he can do, you put him against those numskulls? The match was every Reigns match, as he can’t do anything in the ring other than generic power stuff. Booker deserves better.

Long finds Bob Orton in his office. Bob is worried about what Randy is going to be doing and wants to talk to the Undertaker about it. Long is cool with it out of respect for Orton.

Classic Steve Austin Moment: the zamboni.

Here’s Bob Orton for a chat. He’s honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and he’s honored to have a World Champion son, but Randy is taking it too far. Bob calls Undertaker out and after the full entrance, Bob talks about how he has no problem with Undertaker. Randy has taken it too far though and Bob nearly begs Undertaker to not kill him. Undertaker says Randy’s fate is sealed and he will rest in peace at Wrestlemania. Cue Randy for a quick RKO so he and his dad can leave. It’s not a sign if they need to bring in Randy’s dad to make this work. It was going fine enough with just the two of them.

Doug Basham vs. Rey Mysterio

Eddie and Danny are both at ringside and a Danny distraction lets Doug get in a cheap shot from behind. A ribs first drop across the top rope sets up the abdominal stretch but Rey gets out in a hurry. The standing Lionsault gives Rey two and the 619 connects but Danny’s distraction draws in Eddie, who accidentally crotches Rey. Doug steals the pin to even things up between Rey and Eddie.

Post match Rey accepts that it was just an accident.

Braveheart Wrestlemania trailer.

Kurt Angle doesn’t like being told that he failed on Raw. He beats up Josh Matthews and carries him to the ring due to a bad case of being Josh Matthews. Angle beats him around the arena, including on the stage and at ringside. Josh actually gets in a right hand so it’s the ankle lock with a grapevine. After letting go, Angle says he’ll do the same to Shawn on Sunday and sets up a video package about his career. The highlight reels alone from these two have been worth everything else.

Classic Hulk Hogan Moment: the Saturday Night’s Main Event match against Paul Orndorff.

Cole is in the ring for the weigh-in between Big Show and Akebono. They both come out and Cole explains sumo wrestling. Show weighs 493 and Akebono (barefoot) weighs 504, which surprises Show, who last week said he expected Akebono to weigh more. He says this is the first time in his life that someone has weighed more than him, meaning he has forgotten the match with Loch Ness (which wasn’t all that bad). Show talks about how big of a deal Akebono is in sumo but this is the WWE. Akebono is looking forward to their match on Sunday and wants a match right now.

Akebono vs. ???

Thrust to the chest and a squatting cover is good for the pin. For Akebono that is.

Wrestlemania rundown.

John Cena vs. Carlito

Carlito hides in the ropes to start, which is probably the best thing he can do. The chase goes badly for Carlito as well so he pokes Cena in the eye for what is likely the peak of his offense. Cena explodes with the clothesline and sends Carlito head first into the buckle over and over. The FU is loaded up but here are JBL and the police to arrest Cena as the match is thrown out.

Cena is arrested for destroying JBL’s limo and the trash talk is on as the cops take Cena away. JBL does put a hand on Cena so Cena can get a shoulder to the ribs. That earns him a low blow and a You Can’t See Me from JBL to end the show. JBL had to get in a little something on Cena before Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: D+. The Rey/Eddie stuff was good but other than that, they were out of ideas for Wrestlemania a few weeks ago so it’s quite the relief to finally get to the show. The stuff that has nothing to do with Sunday plus the sumo wrestling thing made me want to fast forward instead of see Wrestlemania. They did a good job with one match though and Eddie vs. Rey needed the help. The last few weeks have not been kind to Wrestlemania, but Sunday is all that matters so it might be all right in the end.

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 – March 28, 2005: The Home Stretch

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 28, 2005
Location: Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas
Attendance: 7,300
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania and odds are that means a lot of final pushes towards the show. You might see less action than usual as well as WWE won’t be wanting to risk any unnecessary injuries before the biggest night of the year. Batista and HHH are going face to face tonight so we’ll see where they go with their last chance. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Jericho is in the ring for the Highlight Reel and of course there is a ladder in the middle with the briefcase above it. Jericho talks about making history by becoming the first Undisputed Champion and he’ll do it again by winning the first Money in the Bank ladder match. He knows what it feels like to be World Champion and he wants to feel it again. That brings him to his guests: Chris Benoit and Shelton Benjamin.

Jericho says the three of them are kind of friends but he’ll do whatever it takes to win the briefcase. That’s fine with Benoit, but what isn’t fine is Jericho saying he wants to win more than anyone. Shelton interrupts to say that he’s never been World Champion but he’s the only one with gold right now. Cue Christian and Tyson Tomko to say that they’re all lame and that Christian is winning on Sunday. Christian asks what will happen when he gets his first World Title shot. Shelton: “Probably get your a** beat by Batista or HHH.” That was funny.

Christian takes credit for winning two ladder matches at Wrestlemania so here’s Edge to interrupt. He had something to do with those wins but on Sunday, he’ll be winning his third on his own. Edge doesn’t want to hear about Intercontinental Titles or broken necks because he’s done all of that. He’ll do whatever it takes to win the title so Benoit lunges to start the brawl.

Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin/Chris Benoit vs. Tyson Tomko/Christian/Edge

Joined in progress with Christian coming in to hammer on Jericho in the corner. Jericho grabs a suplex and brings Shelton in for two off a very fast running shoulder. Benjamin fights out of the corner without much effort but Tomko catches him with a Boss Man Slam. The villains start taking over on Shelton as Lawler explains the details of the MITB contract. That sounds like old hat now, but explaining that someone could cash in on an injured champion at a moment’s notice was a new concept back then.

Shelton powers over to the corner but the referee doesn’t see it and the trouble continues. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Shelton fights up for a double clothesline. The diving tag brings Benoit in for a quick suplex into the Sharpshooter with Christian having to save Edge. Therefore, Benoit German suplexes Christian over and over but Edge crotches Benoit on top. A superplex brings the bloody Benoit (busted open off a headbutt to Tomko) down and we come back from a break with Benoit covered in blood.

He’s also fighting out of a chinlock and getting elbowed in the face for two with Benjamin making the save. Benoit is fine enough to headbutt Christian off the top and hit the Swan Dive, setting up the real hot tag to Jericho. Everything breaks down and Edge spears Tomko by mistake, only to have Shelton Dragon Whip Benoit by mistake. The exploder plants Christian but Tomko hits a heck of a big boot on Shelton. Jericho doesn’t mind and puts Tomko in the Walls for the win.

Rating: C+. This was your standard “get (almost) everyone in the big match in this match for a preview” and the talent in there made it worked. Tomko was a good enough Kane substitute as he was only in there for the power stuff. The good thing about having this much talent is you can throw them into any combination and get a nice match, which is what they had here.

Post match Christian brings in the ladder but here’s Kane to take everyone out.

When Harry Met Sally Wrestlemania trailer.

Eric Bischoff comes in to see Batista and makes him promise a lack of physicality when he and HHH face off tonight. Bischoff can’t afford an injury, so Batista says HHH shouldn’t get injured. Batista promises to not start anything tonight, but he’ll finish anything HHH starts. That’s enough for Eric, but he comes back to ask about Batista’s used car salesman last week. Bischoff brings up Batista’s movie trailer and thinks he could be a Hollywood star (the man knows talent). Batista appreciates that and thinks Bischoff reminds him of someone in Pulp Fiction. That would be the Gimp.

Trish, Christy (in a dress, with Lita), arm wrestling, Christy wins after delays, Christy wins a rematch, Trish nails Lita in the leg. Every one you’ve ever seen of these things.

Classic Steve Austin Moment: the beer truck.

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat. We see a clip of him attacking Stacy Keibler last week, earning Orton a mixed reaction. Perhaps from fans who are glad Stacy is gone? Last week, Stacy hesitated when Orton asked if he could beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Orton isn’t waiting because you’re either with him or against him and he wants no distractions. Undertaker is undefeated at Wrestlemania because everyone is beaten before they get into the ring. His future involves a Hall of Fame plaque, which says he beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. The Undertaker is a legend but Orton is a legend killer.

The lights go out and we see a video counting down the Undertaker’s victims at Wrestlemania over the years. These Wrestlemania videos are always well done and they played a big part in making the Streak feel so important. Back in the arena, the posts catch on fire and Orton is scared to death on the floor. These segments have been good, but I’m not quite buying Orton as a threat after how far he’s fallen in the last few months.

Post break Kane comes up to Orton and sees through his confidence. Kane was lucky to escape two Wrestlemania matches against Undertaker. Orton says he knows what he’s getting into but Kane says Orton needs to prove that he isn’t scared of Undertaker. He has six days to prove it. So there’s a Smackdown segment.

Tag Team Titles: Simon Dean/Maven vs. La Resistance vs. William Regal/Tajiri

Regal and Tajiri are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Dean and Maven hit a double hiptoss on Tajiri to start so Regal comes in for a double elbow to Maven. La Resistance make their own save so Dean can hit a swinging neckbreaker on Regal. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Grenier gets in a cheap shot from the apron but Regal is right back with a snap bell to back suplex. The hot (though you wouldn’t know it by listening) tag brings in Tajiri for a bunch of kicks, including a big one to pin Maven and retain the titles.

Rating: D. So that didn’t do much. These four were thrown on the show because they had nothing to do at Wrestlemania (save for maybe being in the battle royal), which doesn’t seem to matter despite Regal and Tajiri being champions. I know they’ve been around forever, but would dropping them be the worst thing? Just for now? Other than house show matches, do they really serve an important purpose?

Bischoff tries to convince HHH to stay calm tonight but HHH says Bischoff is forcing him into the ring tonight. HHH will stay calm but if Batista blinks at him in the wrong way, it’s on. These segments feel like filler but what else are they going to do on this show? Promote something else for Wrestlemania?

Smackdown Rebound.

Muhammad Hassan vs. Shawn Michaels

Hassan and Daivari do their usual stuff before the match and it’s a bit more over than usual in Texas. Hassan goes with a knee to the ribs to take Shawn down early and hammers away with right hands. Back up and Shawn is smart enough to stomp on Daivari’s interfering fingers as we take a break.

We come back with Shawn’s back in trouble as Hassan’s offense continues to not be impressive in any way. A back elbow gives Hassan two and the chinlock goes on. There’s a hard whip into the corner to hurt the back even more as they’re managing to kill a Texas crowd in a Shawn Michaels match.

More whips into the corner have Shawn’s back in more trouble and the USA chant proves Hassan’s point all over again. The camel clutch (loose, to be countered version) is broken up with a grab of the ropes and the fans….don’t seem to care. Shawn’s comeback is on with the atomic drop into the forearm into the nipup into the top rope elbow. Sweet Chin Music is loaded up for a very long time but Kurt Angle runs in for the DQ.

Rating: D. This was a great example of what happens when you’re just not that good. Hassan tries but his whole appeal is his gimmick, which isn’t that good either. It’s such a one note promo and idea and while it can work in small doses, we’ve heard the same promo about prejudice time after time. Then he gets in the ring and is so boring that there is no reason to care about anything he does. Even Shawn couldn’t lift him up so who else can make it work?

Post match Angle hits Muhammad by mistake and Shawn fights him off, sending Angle into the crowd as security comes out.

Bischoff tells security to be ready for the Batista vs. HHH brawl.

Wrestlemania Taxi Driver trailer.

Bischoff is in the ring to moderate the big showdown so here are HHH, Flair and Batista. HHH gets to go first and takes his time (shocking) to call Batista ungrateful. After everything HHH has done for him, this is how Batista repays him? No one knew who he was before he met HHH and now Batista is a star.

This goes on and on (shocking) until Batista gets to talk about how he’s going to win on Sunday. He does make sure to throw in some compliments to Flair, because we must praise Flair. Batista promises to take HHH out on Sunday so there goes the table. HHH slaps him in the face (so much for Bischoff’s warning) and security has to be dispatched, leaving Batista standing tall to end the show. That was about as uneventful as you could get, with Batista doing everything he has done before and HHH saying everything he has said before. It changed nothing for Sunday, but the match has been set for so long now that it doesn’t matter.

Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t into this one as they basically shut down everything for some of the same builds toward Sunday, which we’ve covered extensively in the last few weeks. The six man was good but that’s not enough to carry things. This was what happened when the big show is already set and has been for months now. I’m no more interested in watching Wrestlemania than I was before and I felt like I needed to get through this show more than enjoying it and that’s not good with six days to go.

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 – August 27, 2019: Score One For Easy E

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 27, 2019
Location: Raising Cane’s River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

The first round of the King of the Ring wraps up tonight and it’s getting pretty clear that Raw is the favored side. The talent pool just feels deeper over there as this show is going to include Shelton Benjamin getting a first round match. Maybe that would have been interesting fifteen years ago but it doesn’t quite work right now. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the same video on Roman Reigns’ attacks that we saw last night.

Reigns promises a response to Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan in the ring tonight.

Post break, Big E. assures us that Kofi will be ready for Clash of Champions but after his match with Orton tonight, Randy might not be.

Recap of the first round of the King of the Ring.

King of the Ring First Round: Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

The winner gets Elias next week. Ali starts fast with a running hurricanrana to put Murphy on the floor. The running flip dive doesn’t work as Murphy catches him with a running knee to the face and we take an early break. Back with Ali catapulting him chest first into the corner and hitting a pop up dropkick to put Murphy on the floor again.

Murphy is right back with a shot of his own and that means the big running flip dive, which is quite the landing given Murphy’s size. Back in and Ali ducks the top rope Meteora, setting up the reverse hurricanrana for a close two. Murphy comes back with another knee to the face and a brainbuster for two of his own. The fans deem this awesome as the slugout is on, including Ali’s spinwheel kick. A tornado DDT from the apron back inside plants Murphy and Ali’s 450 is good for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: B. I can see why these two are the choice for the dark match so often. They beat the heck out of each other and it’s easy to cheer for either of them. That being said, it’s probably not a good sign for Murphy’s future if he’s losing clean in the first round of the tournament. Being able to have that kind of a match will keep him around for a long time though and he should be fine, albeit maybe not as fine as he looked last week.

They do the big respectful handshake.

Ember Moon comes up to Bayley, who seems to be worried about Charlotte. Moon doesn’t want to talk about Summerslam but also doesn’t want to hear about Charlotte being the face of the division. It’s all about bringing everyone up, so here’s Lacey Evans to say Bayley is bringing the title down. Egads it’s like the return of the summer. Bayley against Evans tonight.

Here’s the Miz to address Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn attacking him last week. Nakamura is a champion and Sami is a hanger on who couldn’t make it in the ring himself. Nakamura may be the King of Strong Styles but Miz is the man who made the Intercontinental Title relevant and he can do it again. The challenge is made for Clash of Champions but here’s a laughing Sami to interrupt. Sami says Miz still doesn’t get it because he has liberated Nakamura.

Instead of the King of Strong Style, Miz is the King of Soft Style. Miz throws out the challenge to face Sami right now but that’s a no. Miz goes after Sami but Nakamura jumps him from behind as Sami talks about how awesome the artistry is. Kinshasa against the LED board leaves Miz laying. Sami: “AHAHAHAHA!” They get inside with Sami talking about Miz’s lack of respect for artistry, setting up another Kinshasa.

Kevin Owens comes in to see Shane McMahon but finds Elias playing the guitar instead. There is no Shane tonight (yet his roving office was set up) so Owens leaves.

Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Non-title. Lacey takes her time removing the glove but her cheap shot is blocked. An armbar doesn’t work very well for Bayley as Lacey slams her way out of it and kicks away in the corner. They head outside with Bayley hitting a running clothesline but here’s Charlotte for a distraction.

Back from a break with Bayley hitting a middle rope crossbody but getting caught in….a layout DDT I think? Lacey slams the arm onto the apron and the slingshot Bronco Buster gets two. A dropkick to the back gives Bayley a breather and some clotheslines have Lacey rocked. An Indian Deathlock of all things has Lacey….in the rope about two seconds later.

Lacey knocks her down again and hits a good looking spinning moonsault for two. Charlotte is NOT impressed as Bayley goes outside and manages a suplex off the barricade. Back in and Bayley gets more aggressive, including a knee to the head. The Bayley to Belly gets two so Bayley hits it again and drops the top rope elbow for the pin at 14:28.

Rating: C+. They had some time here and the match was entertaining enough but they still can’t get out of Charlotte’s shadow. Even if Bayley retains the title at Clash of Champions, how long before Charlotte gets a rematch and wins the title again anyway? They don’t have anything else for her to do though and this is about as good as they’re going to do.

Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan aren’t leaving until they get an apology from Reigns.

Randy Orton vs. Big E.

Big E. isn’t playing and knocks Orton outside early on. Orton is thrown into various things, including over the barricade. Back in and Big E. does the spanking abdominal stretch, which isn’t exactly playing into the angry theme. Some hard running clotheslines keep Orton down as it’s completely one sided so far. Big E. misses the apron splash though, with his face bouncing off the apron in a nasty landing.

Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with Big E. dropping him onto the table to even things up and it’s time for the belly to belly suplexes. Cue the Revival for a distraction and cheap shot from the floor, setting up the RKO to give Orton the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C. One of these days, WWE is going to open their eyes and see what they have in Big E. and strap a rocket to his back. Or at least they should, because there is almost nothing that he can’t do. The idea here was to have Orton continue to take out the New Day and while the idea of “Kofi can’t do it by himself” is played out, at least they’re actually doing something about it to set things up. If nothing else, the Revival should get the titles out of it.

Post match Orton and the Revival hit the super RKO.

Chad Gable is ready for his King of the Ring match when Shelton Benjamin comes up. Shelton can’t see him because he’s short.

We look at the weekend’s 24/7 Title shenanigans.

Elias is sitting on the throne and says none of the previous winners will be able to wear the crown like he can. But what would a bunch of Louisiana people understand about that? Cue Owens to jump Elias and hit the Stunner in the ring. Cue R-Truth to steal the title but Drake Maverick breaks it up and gets the title for himself.

King of the Ring First Round: Shelton Benjamin vs. Chad Gable

The winner gets Andrade next week. Shelton hits a spinebuster for a very early two and whips him hard into the corner for the same. One too many short jokes wakes Gable up though and he hits a running flip neckbreaker. A scary looking German suplex drops Shelton on his head but he’s right back up with a hard clothesline. Gable knocks him off the top but misses the moonsault, allowing Shelton to knee him in the face. Shelton’s powerbomb is countered into a very fast sunset flip for the pin at 3:43.

Rating: B-. That was a heck of a sub four minute match as they were hitting each other rather hard and packed a bunch into so little time. I was surprised that it was such a short match as it felt like something that would have needed twice as long. If nothing else, maybe we don’t have to listen to the short jokes anymore because that’s about as bad as you can get.

Overall Rating: B. This was a heck of a show with storyline developments and nothing bad throughout the show. What mattered here was getting things ready for Clash of Champions while also moving things forward in various places, including the main event and King of the Ring. I had a really good time with this show and it flew by for a nice plus. Very good show and easily the best of the Bischoff Era so far.

Results

Ali b. Buddy Murphy – 450

Bayley b. Lacey Evans – Top rope elbow

Randy Orton b. Big E. – RKO

Chad Gable b. Shelton Benjamin – Sunset flip

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 – August 26, 2019: They’re Going In A Dangerous Direction

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 26, 2019
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

The King of the Ring continues tonight but we also need to start the build towards Clash of Champions. The show is in less than three weeks and there is barely anything set up so far. That needs to start changing tonight and odds are it will, including a likely Universal Title match between Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman. Let’s get to it.

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

The Street Profits hype up the show, including listing off everyone in the Tag Team Turmoil #1 contenders match. Dawkins: “What is a Tag Team Turmoil match????” Ford: “Graphic please.” The winning team gets a title shot and ALL OF THE SMOKE.

King of the Ring Tournament First Round: Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre

The winner gets Samoa Joe in the quarterfinals next week. Ricochet wants to wear the crown like his heroes and Drew has a seat on the throne. Drew doesn’t care about former winners because they were all disappointments. He’ll change that though. Ricochet gets thrown around to start but Drew gets tossed to the floor for the middle rope moonsault.

Drew is out of the way so it’s a standoff, only to have Drew side slam him onto the barricade. Without putting Ricochet down, it’s a side slam onto the steps as we take a break. Back with Drew working on the back some more but a missed charge in the corner sets up a kick to Drew’s head. A springboard missile dropkick puts Drew on the floor and it’s the big twisting dive over the top to wipe him out.

Back in and the reverse hurricanrana is countered into the reverse Alabama Slam to give Drew two, with the fans reacting to the kickout. Ricochet gets in a rare power display by catching a corner splash, only to have Drew hit the suplex toss (I guess he wasn’t impressed). Ricochet’s springboard clothesline sets up the running shooting star for two but Drew punches him in the face. Well that’s what you get for trying this flying stuff.

They head outside with Ricochet diving off the steps and getting headbutted out of the air for his efforts. Back in and the Claymore is countered with a superkick but Drew clotheslines the heck out of him. A sitout powerbomb gets two so Drew tries to take him up top, only to get shoved down. The Recoil off the middle rope knocks Drew silly though and the 630 sends Ricochet to the next round at 12:51.

Rating: B. This was a great example of power vs. heart with Ricochet winning clean in the end. They’re getting dangerously close to making him into a star, though I have a bad feeling that we’re going to see him lose to Baron Corbin in the Raw final. We’ll worry about that later though and just enjoy a heck of a match here with Ricochet continuing to be pushed as a big deal.

We look back at Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman winning the Raw Tag Team Titles.

Rollins says he’s ready to defend two titles at Clash of Champions but Strowman is looking at the Universal Title. Strowman wants to know who is getting the title shot and Seth gets the idea in a hurry. Rollins accepts the challenge for Clash of Champions. Note: the graphic says this took place last week but Strowman says they won the titles last week.

King of the Ring Tournament First Round: The Miz vs. Baron Corbin

The winner gets Cedric Alexander next week. During the entrances, Miz talks about all the things he’s won in the ring and says this is the first step to becoming King AWESOME. Corbin slugs away at him but gets knocked to the floor, only to have him drive Miz into the barricade. Back in and we get the slide under the bottom rope into the clothesline as Graves and Renee argue over Corbin’s merits.

We come back from a break with Miz knocking Corbin down and hitting running knees in the corner. The chokeslam is countered into a DDT for two so Corbin tries the slide underneath the ropes. That lands Corbin in the Skull Crushing Finale for two (dang it he’s winning, mainly because his head didn’t seem to hit the mat), followed by the End of Days to give Corbin the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C. The match was pretty good but they’re going to give Corbin his mega push whether we like it or not and there’s no way around it. This is a lot better than what we had to put up with from Corbin over the summer but that doesn’t make it good. Corbin switching to a tank top doesn’t make him interesting but that doesn’t matter to WWE because they see him as a star because…..I would say I’d love to know why but the reasoning could scare me.

Post match Corbin puts on the crown and sits on the throne, saying that there was a poll of WWE fans, saying ANYONE but Corbin for the winner. Corbin laughs it off by saying that he’s accomplished everything on his own and soon we will be hearing ALL HAIL KING CORBIN. Thank goodness we got that riveting promo.

The OC isn’t happy with having to be in an eight team Tag Team Turmoil match tonight. They run this turf.

NXT to USA announcement, a mere six days after it was first announced because they waited until Tuesday morning for whatever reason.

We look back at Rey Mysterio teasing retirement but being stopped by Dominick. Mysterio is back with an update next week.

Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

Non-title. For some reason Bayley had her entrance before the NXT and Mysterio videos. Why bring her out like that if it’s just going to be a bunch of standing around that cools the crowd off? Renee and Graves start fast here as Bayley sends Nikki to the floor, only to get sent into the apron a few times. The bodyscissors has Bayley in trouble so Cross can yell at her about being mean to Bliss. Bayley gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs but she is right back with a suplex. The ribs get banged up again but Bayley is fine enough to hit a running knee to the face. The top rope elbow finishes Cross at 4:01.

Rating: D+. Well that happened, and none of it matters as it feels like a bunch of waiting around to get to the Charlotte title win. That’s the problem with having someone as dominant as Charlotte and it’s crippling there rest of the division. This match made it seem like they were building to Bliss vs. Bayley though and that’s not a place anyone needs to go again. In addition to that, we never need to have Graves vs. Young taking over a match like they did here because that was getting a lot more focus than the match.

Strowman is ready to win the US Title to go with his Raw Tag Team Title and then the Universal Title.

Tag Team Turmoil

Winners get a title shot at Clash of Champions. War Raiders are in first and B Team is in second (out of eight total teams) with Erik getting beaten down in the corner early on. That doesn’t last long though as he powers Dallas into the corner for the tag to Ivar. House is cleaned and the Viking Experience gets rid of the B Team at 1:20.

The OC is in third and some double teaming puts Ivar down early. They head outside with Ivar hitting a suicide dive, only to take out Erik and Anderson at the same time. The brawling continues and the referee disqualifies both of them 3:25. That’s as good of a way as you can have to get rid of the Raiders. They stay in the ring to stare at each other as Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode are in fourth and Lucha House Party in fifth.

We’re back from a break with Dorado enziguring Ziggler and making the hot tag to Metalik. The handspring elbow connects with Ziggler and it’s the rope walk dropkick for two. A sunset flip gets the same on Ziggler but he superkicks a handspring out of the air to get rid of the House Party at 10:05. Revival is in sixth with Ziggler headscissoring Dawson down in a hurry. That should be a near fall but the referee is COMPLETELY out of position, with Graves and Young yelling at him over it.

Dawson fights up and a top rope knee/backbreaker combination gets two on Ziggler. A waistlock keeps Ziggler down and Dawson ties him in the ropes for some kicks to the face. Dawson’s slingshot suplex gets two as I can’t help but smile at the old school feels here. An elbow to the face gets Ziggler out of trouble and everything breaks down with what looked to be a tornado DDT not quite working. They keep going though with Dawson hitting a brainbuster on Ziggler but Dolph isn’t legal. That lets Dawson hit the Glorious DDT to eliminate Revival at 15:58.

Ziggler’s neckbreaker is good for the same and it’s off to the chinlock. Tucker fights up and gets the tag to Otis so house can be cleaned. The Caterpillar is broken up so Otis splashes both of them in the corner, meaning NOW the Caterpillar can connect (Renee: “MAKE MAMA’S DREAMS COME TRUE!”) for two with Roode making the save. Ziggler breaks up the Compactor with a superkick though and the Zig Zag sends Otis and Roode onto Tucker. The Glorious DDT sends Roode and Ziggler to Clash of Champions at 26:56.

Rating: D+. YES! YES IT IS ZIGGLER GETTING ANOTHER PAY PER VIEW TITLE SHOT! ON THE SAME SHOW WHERE CORBIN IS LIKELY TO WIN KING OF THE RING! AND YES! THE FALLOUT IS GOING TO BE GOING AGAINST MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO WANT TO WATCH IT!!! WHY CAN THESE PEOPLE NEVER LEARN THEIR LESSONS?????

Long video on Roman Reigns’ attacks, which seems to be the same video with new footage added at the end.

Total Divas is back in October, featuring Ronda Rousey.

Sasha Banks vs. Natalya

Post match Banks comes back and hooks the Bank Statement again.

AJ Styles isn’t worried about facing Strowman tonight, even if the OC is barred from ringside. Tonight, he’s giving Strowman what he deserves: nothing.

Cedric Alexander vs. Cesaro

Cesaro wastes no time in knocking Alexander into the corner so Cedric starts the flips into the anklescissors. The suicide dive is blocked with an uppercut though and a gutwrench suplex gets two. Cedric gets in a big boot and the springboard Downward Spiral puts Cesaro on the floor, setting up the big flip dive. Back from a break with Cesaro working on the knee but Alexander is fine enough to hit a Michinoku Driver for two.

The knee is too banged up for a springboard though and Cesaro kicks the knee out again. The apron superplex sets up a half crab on Alexander, who gets over to the rope without much trouble. Cedric’s standing Spanish Fly gives him two more but it’s back to the half crab to stay on the leg. With that broken up, Cesaro tries an ankle lock but gets rolled out, setting up the Lumbar Check to finish Cesaro at 10:55. That should damage the knee even more but not quite in WWE.

Rating: B-. They told a nice story here, with some of Cedric’s selling issues aside. What mattered here was giving Cedric momentum going into next week though, as he needs to look good before Corbin finishes him in the tournament. I’m not sure how well that’s going to go, but at least they’re doing something to make it seem like a bigger deal, much like Cedric.

Video on the 24/7 Title changes over the weekend.

Ziggler and Roode say they’re drawn to each other because of shared greatness. They belong together and they’ll become Raw Tag Team Champions, which will be glorious.

The Street Profits talk about the Rollins/Strowman situation but Dawkins is too worried about the after party on Bourbon Street. He has a Mardi Gras mask and beads ready too. Strowman appears and scares them before they can make their pick for the main event.

Video on the Firefly Fun House and the debut of the Fiend.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman cleans house and holds up the US Title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t too bad with Ricochet vs. McIntyre being quite the match, but seeing more Ziggler/Corbin pushes didn’t do much for me. Clash of Champions is going to be an interesting night if they do things one way but it has the potential to be a show where the fans aren’t happy and don’t get much of what they want coming out of the night. This show didn’t make me all that confident, though they have a few weeks to straighten things out.

Results

Ricochet b. Drew McIntyre – 630

Baron Corbin b. The Miz – End of Days

Bayley b. Nikki Cross – Top rope elbow

Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode won Tag Team Turmoil last eliminating Heavy Machinery

Sasha Banks b. Natalya – Bank Statement

Cedric Alexander b. Cesaro – Lumbar Check

AJ Styles b. Braun Strowman via DQ when the referee heard chair shots

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

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Main Event – August 22, 2019: 6/10

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 22, 2019
Location: XCEL Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton

Things are starting to get interesting in WWE again as the King of the Ring Tournament kicked off this week, plus we move closer to finding out who attacked Roman Reigns. The World Title pictures are both getting into some interesting territory as well. Now let’s see how Main Event messes it up. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dana Brooke vs. Sarah Logan

Counting this show, these two have fought on six of the last ten Main Events (and they were in a tag match two weeks before that). Feeling out process to start, because these two don’t know each other well enough yet. Brooke sends her into the corner for the handspring elbow and the cartwheel splash gets two.

Logan is right back with some rolling suplexes for two and goes nuts with right hands near the corner. That’s not cool with Brooke, who is right back with her own forearms in the corner and on the mat. She shouts about hating Logan, which you almost have to after facing her so many times in a row. The Swanton hits knees but Brooke small packages her for the pin at 4:25.

Rating: D+. Normally I would say something like NOW NEVER FIGHT AGAIN but maybe if I don’t, we can get something new. It amazes me how we can’t possibly have anything other than these two fighting more often than not as there are so many people on the roster. It’s not even like the matches are any good, though they did throw something in here with the aggression.

From Smackdown.

King of the Ring First Round: Elias vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. Elias’ music now has his catchphrase at the start and sounds like him singing. Owens doesn’t waste time in clotheslining him out to the floor but Elias walks away before the big flip dive. A whip sends Owens into the barricade but he’s right back with the Cannonball for two. Cue Shane to watch from ringside as we take a break. Back with Elias holding a chinlock and throwing in a rake to the eyes for a bonus. Owens fights up and gets caught with a jumping knee to the face for two.

Rating: C. This story just won’t end. I’m not sure why it needs to keep going, but WWE certainly sees value in having Shane do the same stuff he’s done for months now. I’m sure we’ll see a rematch, possibly all the way at Hell in a Cell for a rematch from two years ago. The match was just waiting around for Shane to reveal the shirt, because that’s the only way it could have ended.

Long recap of Roman Reigns being attacked, along with the involvement of Buddy Murphy, Rowan and Daniel Bryan.

From Smackdown again.

Reigns comes in to see Bryan and Rowan to find out who is under the hood. The hood comes off and it’s….someone who looks like Rowan plus twenty years. Nothing is said to end the show. So I guess Murphy was confused and thought it was the Rowan lookalike, who we’ll have explained to us later? That’s certainly a different way to go with things.

Video on Sasha Banks returning last week.

From Raw.

Natalya has just seen the WWE doctor again but needs to rant about Sasha for interrupting her last week. Cue Banks to jump Natalya again and send her into an anvil case. Banks: “Go to h*** Nattie. And tell your daddy I say hi.” That was a good line. There’s something hilarious about Natalya trying so hard to be serious and just getting destroyed every week because people don’t care about her.

Lucha House Party vs. Eric Young/Robert Roode

Mexico vs. Team Canada with Kalisto as the odd man out. Commentary mentions the history between Roode and Young as Dorado’s flying mare takes Young into the corner. A headscissors sends the Canadians into each other and we take a break. Back with Young punching Dorado in the face for two and Roode breaks up the tag to keep Dorado in the corner.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Young lets go to knock Metalik off the apron. The hot tag goes through a few seconds later and Metalik comes in with a middle rope dropkick for two on Roode. Metalik’s rope walk elbow is nearly botched as he almost loses his balance but Roode is there to shake the ropes and bring him down. The Glorious DDT finishes Metalik at 8:38.

Rating: C-. This was looking like a nice little tag match so I wonder how good the full version was. Main Event has those weird commercials that come in the middle of nowhere and they never feel like they’re supposed to be in there at the moment. Roode and Young would be fine enough to reform as a lower card tag team, but it’s not like that’s likely to happen.

We look at Randy Orton and the Revival injuring Xavier Woods’ leg on Raw.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Randy Orton to open things up. After a clip from last night’s attack on the New Day, Orton talks about Kofi cheating to get out of a fight with him at Summerslam. But Kofi isn’t done yet because Kofi is stupid. Last night was fun but here’s New Day’s music, with Kofi sneaking in from behind with Trouble in Paradise to drop Orton. Kofi grabs a chair and wraps it around Orton’s ankle but here’s the Revival for the save. That’s fine with Kofi, who cleans house with the chair as the villains run.

From Raw.

Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman vs. OC

The OC is defending and has AJ with them. Strowman runs Gallows over to start and it’s off to the taped up Rollins to work on Gallows’ arm. Anderson comes in but a quick tag brings Gallows back in, meaning Rollins has to knee him to the floor. A running kick to the head puts Anderson outside as well but the numbers catch up with him.

That means Gallows gets to drop Rollins ribs first into the barricade a few times and we take an early break. Back with Anderson hitting a spinebuster on Rollins, but Anderson gets knocked off the top. That means the Blockbuster, but Rollins bangs up the ribs again. With the hot tag near, Gallows is smart enough to post Strowman and cut him off. Gallows comes back in as everything breaks down, with Rollins getting to clean house again.

A low bridge puts Gallows on the floor, leaving Anderson to take the Falcon Arrow for two. The numbers catch up with Rollins again as AJ crotches him on top but it’s Strowman back up to run over AJ and Gallows. Back in and Rollins rolls over for the hot tag to Strowman and it’s time to wreck things. Rollins cuts Styles off with the Stomp and Strowman hits the running powerslam on Anderson for the pin and the titles at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Good match here with a surprise ending and that’s not a bad thing. This seems to be the way to set up the Strowman vs. Rollins match next month so odds are we’ll be seeing the OC get the titles back pretty soon. It’s a booking trope that has been done for years and it’s going to work fine enough here.

Overall Rating: D+. Main Event is kind of amazing in a way. Some times it can be a nice recap show with a passable match in there, but at times it goes absolutely nowhere with the same warmed up match that we’ve seen time and time again. Then you have this show, which is somehow a mixture of both. I know the wrestling means nothing but would it really hurt to do a minor story in here? With the 485 writers they have, no one can be asked to do the three minutes of storylines that this show would have? Or just let the wrestlers do what they want? Impossible it seems, and I’m not sure why.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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205 Live – August 20, 2019: Everybody In The Ring For A Ten Man Tag

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: August 20, 2019
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Aiden English

This is a special show as the whole evening is dedicated to one match. In this case that would be a ten man elimination tag, which has been built up all week on WWE.com. That’s a good thing though as the general lack of effort being put into the show doesn’t do it any favors, so having something like this is a good idea for a change. Let’s get to it.

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

Captain Drew Gulak goes over his picks and talks about how he isn’t worried tonight.

Captain Oney Lorcan doesn’t have any of his partners’ attributes but he knows how to fight. Gulak’s days as champion are numbered. Aren’t they always though? It might be a big number but it’s still a big number.

Opening sequence.

Team Gulak vs. Team Lorcan

Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese, Mike Kanellis, Angel Garza

Oney Lorcan, Isaiah Scott, Jack Gallagher, Akira Tozawa, Humberto Carrillo

Garza and Carrillo are cousins. It’s a big staredown to start with Gulak sending his teammates into the others for a fight with the ring being cleared early on. Gallagher brings in matching umbrellas for four stereo Mary Poppins Drops. We finally settle down for the opening bell with Gulak having to escape Lorcan’s half and half suplex attempt. Scott comes in to work on Gulak’s arm but it’s quickly off to Garza (Nigel: “The most beautiful man in the world!”) to face Carrillo with the latter flipping around to take over.

Hang on though as it’s time for GARZA TO TAKE OFF HIS PANTS! Garza suckers him in with a handshake and it’s time to stomp away in the villainous corner. Gulak and Kanellis take turns stomping on Carrillo with Gulak slapping on a chinlock which doesn’t last too long. Carrillo is back up and brings in Tozawa to start cleaning house. After a flip dive from the apron puts Gulak down, Tozawa puts Kanellis in the Iron Octopus. Kanellis slips out though and sends Tozawa into Gallagher, setting up the spinning neckbreaker to get rid of Tozawa at 6:09. Gallagher is in immediately with the headbutt to get rid of Kanellis at 6:25.

Gallagher and Nese grapple on the mat for a bit until Gallagher starts hammering away in the corner. Daivari pulls Gallagher down by the arm though, sending Nese into a bit of a rant about how he doesn’t need the help. Gallagher puts Nese on the floor but Daivari’s low bridge breaks up a suicide dive (and nearly breaks an umbrella). The crash lets Nese hit the sunset driver to get rid of Gallagher at 8:39.

Scott comes in for an anklescissors on Nese and an Austin Aries middle rope elbow to Nese’s seated back. A cartwheel splash of all things gets two but Nese pulls him over to the corner for the tag off to Garza. The camel clutch goes on and we cut to the back where Tozawa and Gallagher are arguing with Brian Kendrick saying he didn’t do anything last week. Kendrick and Gallagher will fight next week.

Back to full screen with Nese holding Scott in a bodyscissors as they’re finding a smart way to set up next week while having one match. Scott is back up and backdrops Nese to the floor but Garza pulls the ring skirt and sends him into the steps. They have a lot of time here so it makes sense to keep Scott in trouble for a long time.

It’s back to Gulak for more arm cranking, followed by Garza’s abdominal stretch. You would think villains would get the hint at some point but, again, Scott escapes and hits a superkick. Nese comes in and sends him hard into the corner….right next to Lorcan. The running knee hits Scott in the corner but the legal Lorcan comes in for a failed half and half attempt. Nese and Lorcan chop it out as they are known to do but Lorcan slips out of the sunset driver. The half and half suplex finishes Nese at 18:30 and we’re tied at three each (Lorcan/Carrillo/Scott vs. Gulak/Daivari/Garza).

Lorcan wants Gulak but gets Garza instead, meaning it’s back to Carrillo (Nigel: “The lesser Garza.”) instead. Carrillo kicks him down and hits a fast standing moonsault for two and it’s already back to Scott for stereo basement superkicks (Nigel: “NO! NO! NOT TO THE FACE!!!”). Scott’s running jump kick to the back of the head rocks Garza and it’s the Alberto double stomp to Daivari in the corner. Scott’s top rope stomp gets two on Garza with Gulak diving in for a save. Scott and Gulak take turns pulling on each other’s hair with Scott going throat first onto the top rope. The Cyclone Crash eliminates Scott at 21:59.

The remaining five stare each other down but Daivari throws Garza at Carrillo to get is down to one on one. Carrillo gets cheap shotted into the corner and it’s Daivari grabbing a neckbreaker for two. The chinlock goes on and we go split screen to hear the Lucha House Party talk about pudding and Kalisto facing Daivari next week. Back to full screen and Daivari blasts Carrillo with a clothesline for two. Gulak’s chinlock is broken up with an armdrag and it’s a pair of stereo crossbodies with Garza for a double knockdown.

The hot tag finally brings in Lorcan (though it’s not “well over thirty minutes into the match” as Vic would have you believe) for a double running Blockbuster on Daivari and Garza, followed by the running flip dive to take out Gulak. Everyone winds up on the floor and Gulak chairs Lorcan in the ribs for the DQ at 29:23.

Gulak gets in another shot to Lorcan’s back against the post and then does it again in the ring. As Gulak poses in the ring, we go split screen for an NXT commercial. Back with Garza crotching Carrillo on top for two and not being able to believe the kickout. Carrillo and Garza slug it out from their knees until Carrillo gets up for the springboard spinning headbutt.

Lorcan is fine enough to come back in and chop away at Daivari and hit the running elbows in the corner. One too many charges lets Daivari get up a superkick but the top rope splash misses. The hammerlock lariat is countered into a rollup to get rid of Daivari at 32:59, leaving us with Lorcan/Carrillo vs. Garza. Carrillo is back in with a springboard spinning kick to the face for two on Garza. Things slow down for another slugout until Garza dropkicks him out of the air for his own two. A basement dropkick gets two more on Carrillo but Garza misses his moonsault. The Aztec Press finishes Garza for the final pin at 37:05.

Rating: B. This was very long and was given the time to go where it needed to, which is exactly the point. What mattered here was pushing Carrillo as another potential challenger to Gulak, who can only get so much out of another match with Lorcan. Couple that with the fresh blood of Scott and Garza (who may or may not be sticking around) and this was a rather efficient match/show.

Overall Rating: B+. This is what could help 205 Live get some attention as the wrestling has been good but there is only so much you can do by watching the same shows over and over. Mixing things up like this a little bit is a great way to change up the show and they even set up some stuff for next week. It’s a good show with the one big match being solid for a very long stretch. Well thought out show here with everything working all together.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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Smackdown – March 24, 2005: Not A Wrestling Show

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 24, 2005
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Attendance: 7,300
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We have two Smackdowns left before Wrestlemania and it seems that they’re running out of ways to hide the fact that John Cena is becoming WWE Champion. You can only go so long before it’s the most obvious result in the world (other than Batista beating HHH that is) and we’ve been there for a few weeks now. It would be a good idea to focus on some other things this week so hopefully WWE gets the idea. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tonight: a debate between Cena and JBL. Well JBL is better at talking than he is wrestling.

Tazz brings Big Show to the ring for a chat. After recapping what is going on (a sumo wrestler challenged Show and Show accepted), Tazz hypes up next week’s weigh-in with Akebono. Show doesn’t care if Akebono weighs more than he does because he’s still bigger. Cue Luther Reigns in a jeep to interrupt and this isn’t going to end well.

Reigns talks about how Show is in over his head and has no chance of winning because he’s smaller and inexperienced (the man has a point). That’s going to embarrass Theodore Long, Smackdown and the whole locker room, including Reigns himself. It should be Reigns facing Akebono, but he has an idea. This jeep weighs 4,400 pounds and Reigns is going to flip it over with his bare hands.

That is as much of a failure as you can imagine so Reigns hits the ring for the brawl. Show doesn’t have time for this and chokeslams him in short order. Before leaving though, he (eventually) turns over the jeep as expected (with a last second camera switch). This was as much of an effort as you could get to make a sumo match interesting and it didn’t work, mainly because it’s an attempt to hype up a sumo match.

Eddie Guerrero tells Chavo to leave but Chavo says they’re family. Eddie: “Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t.” Chavo asks Eddie what happened last week, with Eddie saying Rey got the pin because he was the legal man. Chavo wants to know what legal has to do with the Guerreros but Eddie doesn’t want to hear it. Maybe he should listen to himself though, because Chavo knows Eddie needs to know who the better man is. That gets Eddie thinking.

Classic Hulk Hogan Moment: Wrestlemania IX. Still one of the all time dumb moments.

Sylvester Stallone will be inducting Hogan into the Hall of Fame. And make sure to watch his new show the Contender.

Orlando Jordan vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Non-title. Hold on though as JBL takes Scotty out but Scotty fights back and hits the Worm on JBL. That’s too far for JBL and we have a change.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Non-title again and the beating is on in a hurry, including the fall away slam. The Clothesline finishes Scotty in about a minute.

Kurt Angle has a special surprise.

Here’s Theodore Long to talk about how much fun we’ve been having tonight. He has another idea though and brings out Elvis, as played by Carlito. He comes out to what sounds like Cool Cocky Bad in Spanish and promises to prove that he’s a better singer than this Elvis guy. Carlito speaks the opening words to Jailhouse Rock and then storms off when the fans aren’t happy.

Eddie has an idea for Mysterio at Wrestlemania: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio. Rey likes the idea and then realizes that Eddie is serious. Eddie wants him to think about it but they’ve got a title defense tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio vs. Hardcore Holly/Charlie Haas

Holly and Haas are challenging…..and we have a gong. Undertaker appears on screen to say that many dragons have laid siege to his kingdom over the years. Randy Orton has tried to use him to make a point and has sealed his own destiny. All Orton has done is wake him up and tonight, there will be a sacrifice. And now, for the title match.

Eddie and Holly start things off with Guerrero taking him to the mat and grabbing a headlock. With that not working, Haas and Mysterio come in….and we have more thunder and lightning. We take a break and come back with Mysterio being snapmared into a double arm crank. Rey gets out of the corner and hits the springboard seated senton for a breather.

Eddie comes back in to pick up the pace with the headscissors and the Three Amigos to Haas. It’s too early for the full nelson though and Holly grabs a full nelson slam for two. A whip knocks Rey off the apron and Charlie busts out the Haas of Pain (I miss that one). It’s Rey coming back in with the springboard save so Eddie pops Rey up into a super hurricanrana to Haas. Now the frog splash can retain the time.

Rating: C. This was about the storytelling more than the wrestling, which was kind of clear when it was Holly and Haas getting the title shot. Eddie gets to feel a little better as he got the pin for a change but something like this never ends well for either partner involved. The match is going to be awesome but it’s probably going to mean new champions and given this level of competition, I don’t know who could take them.

Post match, Rey accepts the challenge for Wrestlemania and Eddie is happy.

Classic Steve Austin Moment: Austin Meets Mike Tyson.

And now, here’s Kurt Angle to Shawn Michaels music in Shawn style gear (though the HBK shirt is crossed out) but he waves someone out. That would be Sensational Sherri and Cole sounds terrified. Angle even strikes Shawn’s pose (though he leans in the wrong direction) and promises to show how he’s a bigger star than Shawn. That’s why he’s brought out Shawn’s first manager, even though Angle didn’t need a manager when he won a gold medal. Every time you hear Shawn’s music you hear Sherri’s voice. Well Angle thinks that song sucks so he’s going to do it better.

Angle then belts out his own version of Sexy Boy, saying he has the moves, including the ankle lock and declaring his sexiness (“I’m just a sexy Kurt. I’ll make your ankle hurt!”). Shawn cuts him off from the screen and says he isn’t surprised by this and we get a Shawn highlight package. Back in the arena, Angle thinks Sherri is laughing and puts her in the ankle lock. She could probably take him in a good fight so he might want to break both ankles.

This was hilarious and some of the best proof of how outstanding Kurt can be with comedy. He sold the heck out of this and the dancing made it even better. I’ve always remembered this one and it more than holds up. Oh and Shawn’s highlight package is outstanding because he’s Shawn Michaels and has more great matches than almost anyone ever.

Dawn Marie vs. Michelle McCool

Dawn jumps her to start and goes straight to the middle turnbuckle pad. Michelle takes her down to start the cat fighting portion and Dawn’s top comes off before the first two count. A headbutt puts Michelle down and Undertaker makes the lights flicker again. Dawn sends her into the buckle and grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin. I’m glad that is settled.

Carlito is leaving and threatens to beat up Funaki if he tells Long about it.

Taxi Driver Wrestlemania trailer. Still a good one.

You can vote for the Movie Trailer Awards!

Booker T. vs. Rene Dupree

Booker gets in an early kick to the face for two but Rene stomps him down in the corner. We hit the French Tickler but there’s the gong again. This time Undertaker is actually here to destroy Dupree as Booker walks off. The Tombstone onto the steps destroyed Dupree.

It’s time for the possibly above average debate between JBL and John Cena. As Cena wraps the chain around his hand, JBL wants Long to reinforce the rules from last week. That’s fine with Long, but if JBL physically provokes Cena, he can fight back. The first question goes to JBL, who is asked why he’s the better choice to be WWE Champion. JBL sucks up to the Memphis fans and talks about how great he is. Yeah HHH is a ten time champion but that means he’s lost nine times. JBL is the only champion in history to never lose his title (uh…..) and has held the title longer than anyone in ten years.

Cena asks why a rich and successful man like JBL is driving around in a broken down limo. JBL doesn’t understand so Cena goes to the floor and stabs a tire. With Long insisting that there is nothing wrong with this as Cena isn’t touching JBL, Cena busts out some spray paint and writes JBL SUCKS on the side. Cena: “I see a limo that says JBL sucks! YOU DROVE OUT HERE IN A LIMO THAT SAYS JBL SUCKS!”

Cena gets back in the ring and tells JBL to do something about it but JBL is ready for the next question. That would be “how important is one’s social and economic upbringing in being champion”. JBL rants about the rich being better for America and the only way Cena will have that kind of money is winning the lottery or turning to crime. Cena knows JBL doesn’t think much of how he dresses so maybe it’s time for a suit and tie. Since his pants have no limits, Cena busts out a big pair of scissors and cuts off JBL’s tie, which he puts into his chain. That’s not going to work either as he feels too much like a banker.

JBL’s jacket comes off and Cena sticks out his jaw but JBL turns him down. Back to the podiums with Cena cutting off Long’s question by asking what he has to do to get JBL to hit him. This time Cena steals JBL’s ten gallon hat (JBL: “I hate you.”) and wants to know if it holds ten gallons. Cena takes the pitchers of water from the table and pours it in the hat, which holds less than a gallon. With JBL’s lying confirmed, Cena puts the hat full of water back on his head.

The fight is nearly on with Cena saying JBL looks ridiculous. Cena busts out more spray paint and puts a yellow streak up the back of JBL’s shirt. A red FU (the third color of paint Cena has had) on the front of the shirt is Cena’s preview for Wrestlemania to end the show. This was WAY too long at nearly twenty minutes and Cena isn’t ready to do that kind of talking just yet. It wasn’t terrible at all and helped reinforce the story but they’ve established everything already and this didn’t add anything new.

Overall Rating: D+. This is absolutely not a wrestling show and that’s ok in a case like this. Other than Rey vs. Eddie finally being established, this was a lot of building up matches that were already set, making this a pretty skippable show (classic Angle segment aside). We’re wading through that weird period where the card is ready and there is nothing left to do but get to Wrestlemania, but we’re not all the way there just yet. This is a great example of a show where you could get by on the highlights and while it flew by, there isn’t much to see.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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