Smackdown – March 13, 2020: This Is Weird

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 13, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, HHH

Welcome to what might be the norm for a long time to come as we’re at the Performance Center with no fans in attendance. That’s going to be interesting as we’re building towards Wrestlemania at the same time, even though there’s a very good chance the show won’t be happening. Let’s get to it.

HHH welcomes us to the show and explains that we’re in the Performance Center. The wrestlers trained here and tonight they’re here to perform.

Opening sequence.

Here are Sasha Banks and Bayley to open things up and they tell Cole and HHH (the first of several guest commentators tonight) to quiet down and cut the music. They want to know where Paige is but Cole says she has had travel issues. HHH: “I don’t know about you guys but I’m sick of his excuses.” Cue Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross to challenge them to a match, as it might get the Kabuki Warriors’ attention. Bayley says get a referee out here.

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Cross kicks Bayley in the corner to start and it’s off to Bliss for the knees to the ribs. Everything breaks down in a hurry with Banks having to pull Bayley away from Twisted Bliss. A baseball slide sends Bayley into the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with Bliss in trouble as Cole explains what a promo class is. Bliss gets two off a rollup but gets suplexed into a chinlock.

As HHH asks the producer to feed him pop culture references so he can be like Mauro Ranallo, Bliss powers up but gets clotheslined right back down. Bayley gets knocked off the apron and the missed knees in the corner allow the hot tag to Cross. House is cleaned, with HHH calling it “Vintage Cross, eh Cole?”. Everything breaks down again and here’s Asuka to send Bliss into the steps. The distraction lets Banks hit the Backstabber into the Bank Statement for the win at 10:59.

Rating: C-. Aside from getting used to how completely bizarre this whole setup is, the match was the usual not great match between these teams, but that almost goes without saying. It feels like a match I’ve seen half a dozen times now in one form or another and that doesn’t exactly get me interested in seeing it again.

Asuka dances on the ramp in celebration.

Here’s Roman Reigns for a sitdown interview. Reigns says it’s weird to not have people here when wrestling is built on a reaction. We quickly move to the Goldberg match, with Reigns asking if he can main event a small town in front of 5000 people, why shouldn’t he be in the biggest match of the year? Goldberg has said that he is going to bulldoze Reigns, but since Goldberg went to Georgia, he might not be smart enough to operate a bulldozer (HA!). Reigns calls Goldberg a part timer while Reigns has been bred to do this his entire life. At Wrestlemania, Reigns is setting this place right.

Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura interrupt an interview to say it’s time to celebrate.

The real interview is with Jeff Hardy but King Corbin interrupts to ask what Hardy has in store for tonight. Maybe he can walk a straight line, recite the alphabet backwards or reach out his finger and touch his nose. As it turns out, they’re fighting tonight, which Corbin somehow didn’t know. Hardy leaves so here’s Elias with a song, but Corbin walks off.

We look at Daniel Bryan beating Drew Gulak at Elimination Chamber.

Bryan comes up to Gulak in the back and says his neck is still sore from Elimination Chamber. If Gulak is still willing to teach about Bryan’s weaknesses, he’s willing to learn. Zayn and company come up to laugh a lot and it’s Bryan vs. Cesaro tonight.

From Elimination Chamber (only clips are shown but here’s the full version).

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. New Day vs. Lucha House Party vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler vs. Heavy Machinery vs. John Morrison/The Miz

Miz and Morrison are defending and it’s Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado for the House Party. New Day (with white paint by numbers gear) is in at #1 and the Usos are in at #2. Some quick trash talk sets up the fight with Kofi dropkicking Jimmy, only to get punched down by Jey. Kofi slips off a springboard and falls onto Jey for two but goes up again anyway. This time Big E. has to break up a double superplex and it’s a standoff until Lucha House Party in at #3 (after about three and a half minutes instead of the announced five).

The Luchas pick up the pace, including the Golden Rewind and the missile dropkick into three straight moonsaults for two on Jimmy. Big E. throws Dorado and Metalik over the top for back to back crashes, followed by launching Kofi onto both of them. Back in and Kofi jumps over Big E. but misses a double elbow, leaving Big E. to go outside. Dorado tries a springboard onto the Chamber wall but slips, with his foot going through the chain.

Thankfully he doesn’t break his leg and is fine enough to climb on top of a pod. Kofi follows him for the slugout with Metalik joining him to knock Kofi down. The Luchas hit big flip dives and Miz and Morrison are in at #4 (as the time continues to be WAY off). Dorado gets double spinebustered down and Morrison’s standing shooting star press gets two, with Metalik making the save. Miz and Morrison tie Metalik in the Tree of Woe and kick away, followed by a double DDT for two on Jimmy.

Jey gets caught in a neckbreaker/springboard double stomp combination for two more, followed by a spinning Razor’s Edge slam for the same on Dorado. Metalik goes on top of a pod and snaps off a great looking hurricanrana to Morrison for another near fall. Kofi is back in with the Boom Drop to Miz but Trouble in Paradise misses. That means the spinebuster/Flying Chuck combination for two more but Big E. is back up for a powerbomb/top rope knee to the chest combination for two on Miz.

Heavy Machinery is in at #5 and starts wrecking things before stopping cold in a weird moment (someone might have missed a cue). Big E. gets crushed by Tucker and Otis and the Caterpillar gets two….as Dorado is hanging from the top of the Chamber. He pulls himself up for a shooting star onto everyone but Heavy Machinery for the spot of the night. The Compactor finishes Metalik at 17:14 and it’s Ziggler and Roode in at #6 to complete the field.

Miz and Morrison help them beat down Heavy Machinery and the fans start cheering for Otis again. Tucker fights back so Otis goes after Dolph, sending him up to the top of a pod. That means Tucker follows him up and throws him onto Otis, who drops him throat first onto the top rope. Tucker flip dives onto New Day and the Usos, leaving Roode and Ziggler to jump Otis.

The Glorious DDT on the outside is broken up but Otis misses a charge into the pod…and crashes all the way out to the floor. The arena goes QUIET as Tucker checks on Otis before turning back to Roode and Ziggler. That just earns him a superkick into the Glorious DDT to get rid of Heavy Machinery at 23:43. Roode and Ziggler mock Otis as he is carried out but it’s Trouble in Paradise and the Big Ending to set up Superfly Splashes off the pods to get rid of Roode and Ziggler at 25:12.

The fans are glad to see them leave and it’s down to New Day, the Usos and Miz/Morrison. The champs get stared down by all four of them and the beatdown is on in a hurry. Miz and Morrison are sent over the top and it’s a superkick to Big E., followed by a pop up Samoan drop for two on Kofi. Big E. comes back to clean house so Kofi can go on top of the pod, only to miss a high crossbody. Miz and Morrison come back in to steal the pin at 29:04, leaving us with the Usos vs. the champs. Double superkicks give the Usos two but only one Superfly Splash connects, with the other hitting knees.

That means a double near fall as they thankfully didn’t manage to screw up the Elimination Chamber as well. Miz sends the Usos into each other and hits the Skull Crushing Finale for two on Jimmy. The Figure Four goes on and Morrison takes care of Jey, setting up Starship Pain at the same time. Jey breaks up the cover with a rollup for his own two but it’s a Miz rolling Jey up with feet on the ropes and Morrison grabbing the legs (totally legal) to retain at 32:53.

Rating: B. This was a weird match as the fans were into the big spots (which were awesome) and they REALLY cared about Otis vs. Dolph but the crowd just gave up after that part of the match was over. It’s a strange situation to have the titles mean almost nothing by comparison to the story but I get why they booked it the way they do. Now they have two stories in this division, though the fans don’t care whatsoever about one of them. It was a good match, but the build was so lame that it isn’t likely to leave much of an impact. Heavy Machinery vs. Roode/Ziggler at Wrestlemania should be awesome though, if it’s done right.

Here are Miz and John Morrison in the ring to brag about their title win. They ask if anyone thinks they aren’t the greatest team ever, but they get into a bit of a disagreement about whose movie was better. No one comes out to interrupt so they hit their singing chant.

Since we’re shorthanded, HHH is running the camera.

We look at the announcement on Backstage of Rob Gronkowski possibly signing with WWE.

Mojo Rawley joins us and confirms that Gronkowski will be signing, but hasn’t officially done so. Either way, Gronkowski will be in the building next week. Mojo demands that people get hyped.

Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro

Sami is on commentary and Nakamura is at ringside. Bryan starts kicking away in the corner but Cesaro uppercuts away to get himself out of trouble. We take an early break and come back with Bryan fighting out of a chinlock but getting thrown down for his efforts. Bryan fights back with the moonsault out of the corner into the running clothesline. The Crossface goes on but Bryan reverses into a rollup for the pin at 6:29. Not enough shown to rate but it felt like a tease for something else later.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Gulak not being able to make a save. The numbers game leaves Gulak laying but Bryan makes the real save with a suicide dive to send the villains running.

HHH helps Cole by coloring in his facial hair.

King Corbin vs. Jeff Hardy

Elias is on commentary. Corbin jumps Hardy during the entrances and takes it outside before the bell rings. We officially get going with Jeff fighting back and hitting the basement dropkick into the twisting Stunner but Corbin shoves him away, likely due to Hardy shouting TWISTO. HHH: “Corbin must have hit him pretty hard because he was trying to fire this crowd up.” Elias gets up with his guitar, allowing Hardy to hit the Twist of Fury (Twist of Fate into a swinging neckbreaker. HHH: “Whatamaneuver!”) into the Swanton for the pin at 2:21.

HHH talks about how WWE has earned the right to say THEN NOW AND FOREVER. Ok then.

Here’s John Cena for the big interview with Cole. Cena says he can’t wait to get back to the fans before moving on to Bray Wyatt. Cole brings up the Wrestlemania XXX match and Bray saying that it led to his downward spiral and the birth of the Fiend. Cena is used to being blamed for things and it has been a long list of people with potential. That’s a dangerous thing because it can get you a long way but it can also make you believe your own hype.

Six years ago, Wyatt lost and got lazy but blamed Cena instead. Cena never gives up and some people say it’s because he wins a lot. That’s true, but what about all of his big losses to Miz, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, The Rock, Brock Lesnar and others? It’s because Cena always keeps going and rising up again without blaming everyone else. So how does he respond to Wyatt? Give him a chance and he’ll give the Fiend an Attitude Adjustment.

After we look back to two weeks ago with the start of Cena’s promo about not wrestling at Wrestlemania, Cena says that he’s facing Bray because he wants to invest in the future. People like Drew McIntyre, Tommaso Ciampa, Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream deserve the chance instead of giving Bray his fifth or sixth chance. Wyatt pops up in an empty seat and says Cena can say this while having everything. A lot of people want to imagine what it’s like to be Cena for one day.

In reality, Cena is the sick one because no one believes that it’s about the future. Cena will smash and bury everyone as long as he gets the spotlight. He craves it like an addict and even fiends for it. Six years ago, Cena took something from Bray and he’s thought about it a lot since. He wanted to crush his brain for five seconds of peace from the voices but then he started listening. Those voices became a fun house and he was put back together as the Fiend. At Wrestlemania, it’s going to be a slaughter. Let him in.

This was very good stuff as the silence made Bray’s words a bit creepier. I love that they’ve taken something that seems so disconnected and turned it into a big story for Wrestlemania. I’m not sure if the Cena match was always the catalyst for the Fiend stuff or if they made this up at the last minute, but it ties in logically and that’s all you can ask for in a story.

Overall Rating: C-. That ending promo saved this, but it’s really hard to treat this like a regular show. They had a VERY limited crew tonight (Raw is going to be fascinating, likely in all the wrong ways) and made the most of it. Throwing in the Chamber match was fine, though I wouldn’t have minded them trimming a bit more to give Bryan vs. Cesaro extra time. It’s not a traditional show but with almost nothing else on in the sports world, having something is better than nothing.

Results

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss – Bank Statement to Cross

Jeff Hardy b. King Corbin – Swanton

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

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Monday Night Raw – October 10, 2005: Guess Who’s Back

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 10, 2005
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

Last week was a big show with Homecoming and now we get to build towards the next big thing with Taboo Tuesday. There is a lot of fallout to deal with from last week, including HHH turning on Ric Flair and beating him to a bloody pulp last week. Other than that, Steve Austin Stunned every McMahon in sight, including Linda for the first time. That doesn’t bode well so let’s get to it.

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

We look back at Homecoming, which means the Austin/McMahons segment.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Stephanie McMahon to open things up. She’s livid at Austin for Stunning every member of her family last week and there was even a poll on WWE.com asking which of them they liked seeing get Stunned. It was her, and that’s because everyone is intimidated by her looks and her mind, but also because she’s Vince McMahon’s daughter.

That means no one can stop her…and something has her attention. A production worker is telling Stephanie to wrap it up so we can go to a commercial (six minutes into the show). Stephanie slaps him, plus Lilian Garcia for looking at her wrong, with Stephanie promising that Vince is going to fire someone. She goes to leave but Stephanie gets up on the announcers’ table and says the b**** is back. And it’s going to take her years to leave isn’t it?

Doink the Clown vs. Rob Conway

Doink starts fast with some rollups for two each and a poke to the eye annoys Conway even more. That’s too far for Conway, who knocks him into the corner and chokes a bit, setting up the Ego Trip for the quick win.

Post match, Conway calls out the legends, saying he’s coming for them. Cue Eugene for the save but Conway beats him down as well. Conway vs. low level legends would be fine enough, as long as he’s on a different show than Randy Orton.

Video on HHH returning and attacking Ric Flair last week.

It’s time for Carlito’s Cabana. Carlito talks about how people are wondering who should be the #1 contender and after last week’s Iron Man match….but here’s Kurt Angle to interrupt. Before he can yell at Carlito, here’s Shawn Michaels to interrupt him. Shawn says nothing was clear last week, which is why he wanted sudden death but Angle walked away. That tells Shawn that either Angle doesn’t want to be WWE Champion or he doesn’t want any more of Shawn.

Angle doesn’t like that but here’s Big Show to interrupt as well (with Shawn grabbing a drink out of a coconut). Big Show has realized something but here are Edge and Lita to interrupt. Edge says he’s the only one with a guaranteed title shot and he retained it last week. He thinks Stephanie and Vince should freeze all title shots until he cashes in the briefcase.

Carlito doesn’t think so because he should be #1 contender. Cue John Cena and the place is rather pleased to see him. Cena raps about all of them (believe it or not, there are a lot of gay jokes), including that Lita is just a sl**. He also gets in the line about how he’s a pinwheel so Edge can blow him, which he would use on Rock in his first big response in 2011. In short, Cena doesn’t care who he faces.

Chris Masters vs. Tajiri

Tajiri jumps him during the entrance and strikes away for two inside. Masters gets in a few shots to knock Tajiri down, only to get kicked in the head a few times. The Tarantula does its thing, followed by a superkick for two. Masters is right back with the Masterlock for the fast win.

HHH runs into Shawn in the back. Shawn says last week was too much but HHH just laughs at him and keeps walking. Next up is Big Show with a threat, followed by Cena, who has lost respect for HHH. That doesn’t work for HHH, who says Cena should watch his place. Cena says come get some, so HHH says when he wants it, he’ll take it. There’s your seed planted.

Here’s HHH for the big fallout interview. HHH laughs at people thinking he went too far because no one was a bigger Flair mark than him. That’s why he was so excited when Flair came here in 2001, but Flair was a shell of himself. Then HHH let Flair sit at his right hand and Flair appeared to be great again. HHH spent some time at home though and he saw Ric Flair getting spat on, with apple hanging off his face. Then the people cheered when Flair fought back and won the Intercontinental Title, when Flair reveled in his newfound mediocrity.

That’s when HHH knew what he had to do: he took the horse behind the barn and pulled the trigger. The fans want Flair but HHH tells Flair not to listen to that. They’re just driving him further into the ground because without HHH, Flair is nothing. He’s not the dirtiest player in the game because he’s not in the game anymore. For Flair, the game is over. That’s a good explanation and last week’s beatdown was good, but Flair’s promo better be as fiery as it can be to live up to the hype.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

Trish is defending and starts fast with the Matrish but Stratusfaction is broken up with straight power. Victoria stands on her hair and pulls before the spinning side slam gets two. Some forearms get Trish out of trouble but the Stratusphere is countered into the Boston crab. That’s broken up as well and Trish grabs a northern lights suplex to retain.

Rating: C. It was rather action packed but there is only so much you can do in just shy of four minutes. Trish is still dying for some fresh competition and Victoria really doesn’t qualify. It’s better than having her face Torrie or Candice though, as that would be little more than a disaster.

Post match the beatdown is on but a woman runs in through the crowd and beats up Victoria before handing the title to Trish.

Post break Trish is hobbling through the back when the woman comes up and introduces herself as Mickie James (and she’s recently signed with Raw so security isn’t as bad as it seems). Trish recognizes the name and Mickie says she’s written Trish a bunch of letters because she’s Trish’s biggest fan. Trish seems a bit weary.

Carlito/Kurt Angle/Edge vs. Shawn Michaels/John Cena/Big Show

Lita is here too. Cena and Edge start things off with the Canadian getting a boot up in the corner. It’s already off to Show, who chops Carlito hard in the corner. For some reason Edge tries to suplex Show and gets sent into the corner for his efforts. A triple splash crushes the villains and we take a break.

Back with Angle suplexing Cena and it’s Edge coming in for a kick to the head. Cena gets over for the tag to Shawn anyway though and Sweet Chin Music is loaded up, only to have Angle clothesline him down. Angle snaps off a German suplex and we hit the bodyscissors to work on the ribs. A quick distraction lets Angle throw Shawn outside for a spear from Edge and we take another break.

Back again with Angle suplexing Shawn for two as Cena makes a save. Carlito’s chinlock doesn’t last long so he hits a dropkick for two instead. Shawn fights up on Carlito and almost falls over to make the tag to Show, meaning house can be cleaned. Show even throws in a You Can’t See Me to Angle so Cena NEEDS to come in. The Shuffle gets two on Angle and Show superkicks Edge over the barricade. The FU to Angle is broken up so Cena grabs an ankle lock, only to get rolled up to give Angle the pin.

Rating: B. This was your big time main event and the pin should set up the title match at Taboo Tuesday, in case you didn’t get enough of Cena vs. Angle so far. They could get another match or two out of this one as well so that’s some rather efficient booking. Rather good main event style tag match and that’s what they were going for with this one.

We look back at Stephanie being a psycho.

Kane is back next week.

Here’s Vince McMahon to fire someone. He recaps the situation and says someone has to be blamed because that’s what Americans like to do. Maybe Eric Bischoff should be fired, but that’s too easy. It’s Steve Austin who should be blamed, but Vince won’t do that either. Instead, he blames the fans for encouraging the Steve Austins of the world. Therefore, everyone around the world should consider themselves a WWE employee. Therefore, they’re ALL FIRED!

There were three people who enjoyed it too much though so the announcers need to get in the ring. Vince and Shane can take care of themselves but the three of them let Stephanie and Linda take Stunners last week. Vince wants an apology and yes their jobs depend on it. Coach apologizes as you would expect him to and Lawler says if he has to in order to save his job, then so be it. Lawler and Coach are dismissed and JR apologizes that Linda got Stunned.

Vince accepts that as well…..but he wants JR to apologize to Stephanie personally. Stephanie demands her own apology so JR says he’s sorry her mama got Stunned. Vince calls Shane out but gets Linda instead, with Vince and Stephanie being rather surprised. Linda can’t let this keep going because the only way to get what you want is by taking action. Therefore, JR is fired, as well as kicked low to end the show with Vince being very pleased, even mocking the Rockette kicks for a funny moment.

Overall Rating: C. This show flew by and while they have a few interesting things coming up, the heavy focus on the McMahons is not exactly giving me hope for the near future. It seems that they are going to be the focal point for a long time to come and that is rarely a good thing. If nothing else, having Stephanie back as the Billion Dollar Princess could get old in a hurry and that seems to be where we’re going. Maybe the rest of the stuff can overcome it, but that has rarely been the case before.

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Monday Night Raw – March 9, 2020: Can You Hide It Next Time?

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 9, 2020
Location: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler

We are FINALLY on the Road to Wrestlemania with nothing in the way. Elimination Chamber has come and gone and in the shock of shocks, Shayna Baszler became the new #1 contender to the Raw Women’s Title. Other than that, we have a grand total of very little on the way to Tampa. Let’s get to it.

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Becky Lynch for a chat. She’s glad to know her Wrestlemania challenger and we see a package on Shayna Baszler running through the Chamber last night. Shayna says she’s coming for the title and there’s nothing Becky can do about it. Back in the arena, Becky praises Shayna’s accomplishments but calls her a black hole of charisma. Becky saw her as the constipated robot of NXT but she remembers Shayna as the one who wouldn’t shake her hand last year at Wrestlemania. People like Becky don’t beat trained killers like Shayna, but that’s what she does. Shayna is underestimating her so Becky is going to smash her face in.

Rey Mysterio vs. Angel Garza

Zelina is Garza’s corner and it’s non-title because it’s Garza, not Andrade. Garza gets sent into the corner to start but he’s fine enough to block a hurricanrana and score with a superkick in the corner. That means Garza can TAKE OFF HIS PANTS and we take a break. Back with Rey having to break up Garza’s 619 attempt and send him outside for the sliding splash.

Garza catches the springboard crossbody and hits a slingshot reverse suplex for two. Rey misses another 619 and gets caught with a heck of a superkick for…no cover actually. Instead Rey fights back up and hits another 619, setting up the springboard splash for the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C. I’m not sure who is supposed to benefit from these revolving door matches between luchadors but they’re not exactly blowing the doors off the place. They’re just trading wins and losses and while it could lead to a four way for the United States Title at Wrestlemania, that doesn’t make it very interesting. This came and went, just like all of the other matches involving these two, Humberto Carrillo and Andrade.

Earlier today, Kevin Owens arrived and got beaten up pretty badly by Murphy, the AOP and Seth Rollins (who did at least offer Owens some popcorn).

We see a video of Rhea Ripley in Raymond James Stadium, talking about how she can’t believe she’s going to be wrestling here. Ever since she got to NXT, it has been about being herself while being a star. She looked like Charlotte when she got here and now it’s time to face Charlotte herself.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat. She liked the Ripley video too but is confused by Ripley wanting to be the best, as in like Charlotte, but not wanting to be like Charlotte. It’s one thing to stand in an empty stadium, but it’s another to stand in a full stadium and be humbled by the queen. Cue Ripley but Charlotte says this is her kingdom and Rhea is excused. That earns Charlotte a right hand, allowing Rhea to smile as she leaves.

Bobby Lashley vs. Zack Ryder

Shoulder, running shoulder in the corner, spinning Dominator for the pin at 1:24.

We look back at Drew McIntyre taking out Brock Lesnar last week.

Aleister Black is in his room when someone knocks. It’s Seth Rollins and Murphy, who understand that Black has been having some issues with the numbers game, so maybe he should join up. That won’t be happening, but Black does accept the challenge for a fight tonight.

Erick Rowan vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre steps over the cage, with commentary again not sure what’s in there. So we’re already forgetting last week? McIntyre gets a boot up in the corner to start and clotheslines him to the floor. That means a posting and an overhead belly to belly for the power display. McIntyre uses the steps to crush the cage (fake animal hater) and it’s the Futureshock into the Claymore pin on Rowan at 2:20. Now PLEASE tell me we’re not doing the cage thing anymore.

We look back at Randy Orton’s explanation last week, setting up the RKO to Beth Phoenix. You know, the Hall of Famer who was a dominant force in the Royal Rumble less than two months ago but who gets hit with a single move and we need to act like she’s dead.

Kabuki Warriors vs. Liv Morgan/Natalya

Non-title because title matches don’t exist for these belts. Before the match, the Warriors yell in Japanese about Asuka’s wrist injury and the Elimination Chamber. They do call out Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross but here’s Natalya to cut them off. Sane and Morgan start things off with Liv taking them down. It’s quickly off to Natalya as Ruby Riott comes out and we take a break.

Back with Morgan fighting out of an armbar and handing it off to Natalya, who gets her bad arm pulled onto the top rope. Lawler: “What about the injured wrist of Aksana?” A middle rope ax handle to the arm keeps Natalya in trouble and Sane kicks at it a bit more. Sane adds a running dropkick to the ribs so Asuka can get two, followed by the armbreaker.

Asuka switches to a near guillotine and here’s Sarah Logan to stand next to Riott. Natalya slams her way out of trouble as Logan and Riott start fighting. Morgan dives onto the two of them so Natalya clotheslines Sane for two. The Sharpshooter goes on but Asuka kicks Natalya in the head for the pin at 10:57.

Rating: D+. This is the kind of match where I can hear Tony Schiavone shouting “What in the world is going on? And who is on who’s side?” That’s the case here as it had a bunch of stories going on at once and the main thing I could think of was this was four women who have been destroyed by Shayna Baszler in the last week. The titles (the most useless in WWE) weren’t even on the line, so what are the stakes here? A fight between a loser trio who are now individual losers?

Here’s the OC, with AJ Styles complaining about Undertaker interfering in his business twice. We look at Undertaker helping Aleister Black beat AJ last night so the fans chant for Undertaker. Back in the arena, AJ talks about Undertaker losing to Roman Reigns three years ago at Wrestlemania, fold his clothes nicely, and then ride off into the sunset. He probably should have done that when Brock Lesnar broke the Streak but that’s beside the point.

But then Undertaker ruined that powerful moment by coming back to the WWE. That’s going to cost him because AJ wants Undertaker at Wrestlemania. AJ doesn’t see a monster anymore, but a broken down, old man named Mark Callaway. He knows what keeps Undertaker coming back: his wife, Michelle McCool. She plays him like a fiddle, because anything she wants, she gets.

Undertaker does whatever she wants, because he gets hurt every time he gets in the ring. They have a beautiful family but she’s the most conniving person he’s ever met. AJ tells Undertaker that Michelle is going to run his life into the ground and AJ is going to help. At Wrestlemania, Undertaker dies in the ring, so accept the challenge and put the final nail in your own coffin.

Randy Orton has not thoughts on Edge returning tonight.

24/7 Title: Riddick Moss vs. Cedric Alexander

Moss is defending and runs Alexander over to start. Cedric gets sent outside and we hit the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up and Cedric hits the springboard swinging Downward Spiral for two but a springboard is cut off. Moss’ neckbreaker retains the title at 2:04.

Here’s MVP to insult Washington DC and talk about how he’s transitioning into a management role. He needs a centerpiece to his stable though, and that would be Edge. As great as Edge is, he has a problem focusing so MVP can help guide him back to prominence.

We see Edge arriving at the arena and MVP is thrilled to see him. Edge storms the ring and demands Orton get out here right now but MVP asks him about his wife. That earns him a spear but here’s Orton to go after Edge…who hits an RKO on Orton. Edge grabs some chairs but Orton bails, leaving him to choke MVP out and hit an RKO onto the chair. Edge shouts that this is Randy and gives MVP the one man Conchairto. After a long staredown, Edge charges after Orton and we take an abrupt break. As usual, Edge’s facial expressions are second to none and tell you how intense Wrestlemania is going to be.

Next week: AJ and the Undertaker sign the contract.

We see HHH receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Arnold Classic over the weekend.

Paul Heyman talks about Brock Lesnar’s career of dominance and how no one has ever been so dominant for so long. We go to Drew McIntyre, who says everything Heyman just said is true, but then Lesnar ran into him. This includes McIntyre Claymoring Lesnar half to death last week, with Drew promising to become the new reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Champion at Wrestlemania.

Edge is still looking for Orton, who has left the arena.

Seth Rollins vs. Aleister Black

Rollins has his popcorn and Murphy with him. Feeling out process to start with Black armdragging his way out of a wristlock but getting kicked in the ribs. Both finishers miss early and Black sends him to the floor, only to moonsault into the middle of the ring as we take a break.

Back with Black being sent throat first into the ropes and a Sling Blade giving Rollins two. The Downward Spiral into the middle rope sets up a running knee to the head to rock Black. Back in and Rollins misses the springboard knee, allowing Black to strike away. The middle rope standing moonsault drops Rollins and the German suplex gets two with Murphy coming in for the DQ at 7:37.

Rating: C+. You might as well line up the tag match right now as I don’t believe there is anything else scheduled for the rest of the show. The match was getting somewhere until the ending, though I can get them wanting to protect Rollins after back to back losses. That doesn’t make it much better, but at least it’s something.

Post match the beatdown is on but here are the Viking Raiders and Street Profits for the save. The eight man is on, as is my eye rolling because I’m sick of this trope.

Seth Rollins/Murphy/AOP vs. Street Profits/Viking Raiders

Ford starts fast against Murphy and it’s already off to Dawkins for two off a dropkick. Ivar and Akam come in for the slugout before it’s quickly off to Erik for his own shot to the face. Rollins comes back in and misses a splash in the corner so it’s Murphy getting slammed down and having Ivar slammed down on him for a bonus. The fast tags continue with Ford coming in to dropkick Rezar into the corner as we see the full Owens beatdown from earlier.

A crossbody is countered into a fall away slam and Murphy comes back in for the chinlock. Ford fights up and brings in Erik, whose suicide dive is cut off by Rezar. Murphy Meteoras Erik off the apron though and we take a break. Back with Erick in trouble in the corner and then being sent into the barricade. Erik whips him over the barricade but Murphy and the AOP break up the hot tag attempt.

A knee to the chest gives Rezar two and we hit the chinlock. Rollins chokes in the corner and Murphy gets in a cheap shot as the CM PUNK chants begin. Back up and Erik scores with a knee to Rollins’ face and the hot tag brings in Ford to clean house. A DDT plants Murphy and we take another abrupt break. Back with Rollins clotheslining Ford down and grabbing the neck crank.

Murphy replaces Rollins with a chinlock but Ford superkicks his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Erik and everything breaks down with a parade of secondary finishers. Ford Frog Splashes Rollins for two with Murphy making the save, leaving the Raiders to dive onto the AOP. That’s followed by a big dive from Ford but he comes back in and leaves his head down so Rollins can hit the Stomp for the pin at 23:38.

Rating: C. This is a great example of why Raw’s structure needs a big shakeup. As soon as they went to that first break, you could tell this was closing the show. In other words, yes it was going to be a 23 minute match, but there was no reason to believe that it might end beforehand. With nothing else announced for the show, this is what you were getting for the rest of the night. If you watch WWE regularly, you can tell what they’re going to do most of the time and that was the case here, which wasn’t a good thing. The match was fine, but when there is no drama or interest, it’s a bit hard to invest in it.

Post match here’s Owens again to go after Rollins but he has to Stun Murphy. That means a trio of Stomps knocks Owens out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It was an up and down night and the main event matches totaling about 40 minutes of TV time didn’t help things. The story has stalled a good bit and I’m not sure if there is enough juice for it to get that much time in a given week. The main point of this show was to start the real push towards Wrestlemania. While the top of the card is looking solid, there is so much other stuff that you have to use to fill in a three hour Raw and a lot of that isn’t making Wrestlemania (or isn’t going to mean anything if it makes it). I liked a lot of the show, but that third hour continues to grind them down, as it always does.

Results

Rey Mysterio b. Angel Garza – Springboard splash

Bobby Lashley b. Zack Ryder – Spinning Dominator

Drew McIntyre b. Erick Rowan – Claymore

Kabuki Warriors b. Liv Morgan/Natalya – Kick to Natalya’s head

Riddick Moss b. Cedric Alexander – Neckbreaker

Aleister Black b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Murphy interfered

Seth Rollins/Murphy/AOP b. Viking Raiders/Street Profits – Stomp to Ford

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

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205 Live – March 6, 2020: They’re Building Something

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: March 6, 2020
Location: Keybank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Jon Quasto, Aiden English

We actually have something to build to for once as next week will see the five on five elimination match between 205 Live Originals and NXT. That has the potential to be an awesome match or the potential to be rather disappointing. Either is equally possible but I’ll take any kind of a direction over none whatsoever. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with a look at the end of last week’s show, including the return of Jack Gallagher. Due to the attack, Lio Rush is out of the elimination tag.

Isaiah Scott promises payback and there won’t be a new captain to replace Rush. There will be a fifth member, but no captain.

Isaiah Scott vs. Ariya Daivari

Scott’s attempted armbar sends Daivari straight to the rope so he settles for a dropkick to the side of Daivari’s head. With Daivari out on the floor, Scott kicks him in the head and grabs the modified Rings of Saturn, with Scott using the leg to wrap the arm back. Daivari gets out and hits him in the neck, followed by a hanging neckbreaker to really take over. The throat is laid across the middle rope so Daivari can kick the rope into said throat and we hit a neck pull to keep Scott in trouble.

Back up and Scott scores with a discus lariat and there’s the middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. Some YES Kicks against the ropes set up the rolling Downward Spiral for two on Daivari. Scott has to slip out of the hammerlock lariat and grabs a rollup for two, only to get DDTed for the same. Another hammerlock lariat attempt is broken up and it’s the House Call….for two? With that not working, Scott stomps on the arm to bend it back (Pop Culture) and finishes with the top rope double stomp at 8:34.

Rating: C-. That’s probably as good as you’re going to get from Daivari and it’s nice to see Scott getting a win. I’m not sure what the two of them are going to do in next week’s elimination match but the more Scott and less Daivari the better. The House Call only getting two was weird, but the double stomp might be an even better finisher for Scott.

Tony Nese/Mike Kanellis vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

Nese shoves Burch away to start and hits the bicep pose, only to get knocked down so Burch can do his own. Lorcan comes in to headlock Kanellis but gets run over with a shoulder so it’s back to Burch to take over. A wishbone pull has English wondering how many more kids he can give Maria so Mike slaps Burch in the face. The chase is on outside and Nese gets in a cheap shot to take over.

Back in and the tag brings in Lorcan, who is taken down with a quick blindside clothesline so the villains can stomp away. Kanellis gets two off a knee to the face and we hit the chinlock. Nese comes in for his own chinlock but misses a Lionsault, allowing the hot tag to Burch for a kick in the corner. A DDT out of said corner puts Kanellis down but Nese breaks up a Doomsday Device. The pumphandle slam/middle rope knee to the head finishes Burch at 8:31.

Rating: C. Better match than the opener here and hopefully we get something bigger and better next week in the huge elimination tag. Burch and Lorcan are great for the face tag team around here as they can have good matches against anyone and that includes getting Kanellis and Nese over as a team. Fine enough match and that’s what you need for the 205 Live version of a go home show.

Overall Rating: C. That’s what they’ve been building towards for a few weeks now and if that goes well, I’m curious to see where this is going. If nothing else, it’s nice to see the show getting ANY kind of attention after months of nothing. Just please let next week work. Otherwise, I’m not sure what else is going to actually matter around here because they don’t even have to build up an entire show, but just one match. Make it work and have even a passable mystery partner and everything should work out well enough.

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

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Main Event – March 5, 2020: Prelude to the Prelude

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: March 5, 2020
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

It’s the go home show for Elimination Chamber and most of the show is already set up. At the same time though it is another show helping to set up Wrestlemania. That’s an interesting combination and I’m not sure how well it is going to work here. Things might work out well enough, but you never can tell. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Curt Hawkins

Time for a hometown boy to lose again. Hawkins snaps off some armdrags to start and Shelton needs an early breather. Back in and Shelton sends him shoulder first into the post for two and a flying armbar makes the arm even worse. We hit the armbar but Hawkins fights up and slugs away, setting up a Falcon Arrow for two. An enziguri gives Hawkins two but Shelton pulls him into the reverse cross armbreaker for the tap at 5:02.

Rating: D+. Just a short match here to give the crowd something to moan about, because that’s what we get around here most of the time. That’s the kind of thing that WWE certainly enjoys doing more often than not because…well I’m not sure why but it’s certainly something WWE feels the need to do. Not a good match of course, but it’s not like Main Event matters in WWE’s eyes.

From Smackdown.

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

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

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

From Raw.

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar to get things going. Heyman does his usual shtick and then says he can’t do this. It’s their job to make you interested in Wrestlemania and yes, this year’s card looks like the best in years. The problem is the main event, which is a sham. Drew McIntyre is overhyped, because he eliminated Lesnar from the Royal Rumble with the help of a low blow from Ricochet.

There is no reason to believe that McIntyre can pin or submit Lesnar because the next time Lesnar sees McIntyre or gets his hands on him…and here’s McIntyre. Before Drew can say anything, Lesnar teases leaving but then charges at him, only to get his head kicked off with the Claymore.

McIntyre leaves and the fans sing goodbye to Brock, who is having trouble standing after the kick. Brock staggers up the ramp and here’s McIntyre to take him down with another Claymore and pose with the title. The fans want one more so McIntyre delivers and Lesnar is out cold. You don’t see someone take Lesnar down like that every day so well done.

Elimination Chamber rundown.

Akira Tozawa vs. Eric Young

Young jumps Tozawa at the bell but Tozawa chops him to the floor. That earns Tozawa a neckbreaker and it’s Young taking over again. Another neckbreaker off the apron drops Tozawa and we take a break. Back with Young stomping away in the corner and elbowing him in the face for two.

We hit the neck crank as commentary talks about Elimination Chamber to avoid talking about the match. Tozawa fights up and hurricanranas him to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and a missile dropkick drops Young again but he blasts Tozawa down for a change. The top rope elbow gets two but Tozawa is back with the Black Widow. That’s broken up so Tozawa goes up, shoves Young down, and finishes with the top rope backsplash at 11:20.

Rating: C. Nice stuff here with Tozawa continuing to be able to have a good match against anyone around here. That’s what he did again, as Young is fine for a solid performance almost any time. It’s a lot better than the opener, though that might be due to not having the hometown star lose.

From Smackdown.

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

Recap of Edge returning and getting destroyed by Randy Orton.

From Raw.

Here’s Beth Phoenix for the medical update on Edge. Before she can get anywhere though, it’s Randy Orton interrupting to offer her a hug and a handshake. Those aren’t happening so Orton sits on the top, only to cut her off again. Orton talks about going to a show in 1999 when he was 19 years old with his dad Bob Orton introducing him to agents Tony Garea and Jack Lanza. Orton was just a fan back then and couldn’t believe that he was seeing all of these stars.

Edge was the only wrestler to come up and shake his dad’s hand though and Randy was so proud. Bob introduced the two of them and Edge said maybe one day they could work together. That gave Orton some confidence and just a few years later, they were fighting for the Intercontinental Title and stealing the show every night. Then they came together as Rated RKO and won the Tag Team Titles.

Orton started making some bad decisions though and got himself into a hole that he shouldn’t have been able to get out of. He was able to be there for his family though and now he wants Edge to be able to do the same thing for their daughters. Everyone has blamed Orton for what he did but it wasn’t Orton’s fault at all. It’s Beth’s fault because she has enabled Edge, who is a junkie for the roar of the crowd.

Beth did nothing to stop him so Orton had to stop him so Edge could be a husband and father. Orton has realized that he loves Edge’s kids and Edge more than Beth ever could. Beth finally slaps him and it’s an RKO to drop her, with Orton immediately storming off. A bunch of referees and wrestlers come down to check on her to end the show. There’s your other big incentive for Edge to come back and the fiery promo should be great. Orton’s explanation was good and fits his rather crazy outlook on things, which is all you need most of the time.

Overall Rating: C-. There are some good things being set up for Wrestlemania and what matters is that they have a card in sight. With so little time left, they have to do something to get the rest of the card ready and there is a good chance that we are going to be starting that run on Monday. Then again they might have yet another show lined up to do in between because WWE loves running as many shows as they can. Fine enough show for its purpose here, but it wasn’t anything worth seeing, as usual.

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

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Elimination Chamber 2020: They Can Only Go So Far

IMG Credit: WWE

Elimination Chamber 2020
Date: March 8, 2020
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s time for the show the company mostly forgot until the last second. Thanks to being sandwiched between Super ShowDown and Wrestlemania, this is a show that has received very little attention and the build has suffered as a result. Neither World Champion is involved here and the likely main event is a #1 contenders match to the Raw Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Viking Raiders vs. Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins

It’s like a rejected Main Event match. Ryder and Ivar start things off and it’s an early power display from Ivar, who throws Ryder all over the place. Hawkins comes in and gets the same treatment but a cheap shot from the apron lets Hawkins grab a suplex for two. Hawkins’ neckbreaker gets the same and we hit the chinlock.

That doesn’t last long so Erik gets sent outside for a clothesline from the apron and we take a break. Back with Erik fighting out of a chinlock and hitting Hawkins in the face, allowing the hot tag to Ivar. Everything breaks down and the Rough Ryder hits Hawkins by mistake, setting up the Viking Experience to finish Ryder at 4:49.

Rating: D+. So they’re turning Hawkins and Ryder heel and then have them get beaten by the Raiders in a short match? Good, as that’s exactly how it should have gone, heel turn or no heel turn. You can’t have a team like Ryder and Hawkins beating the Raiders no matter what they do because it would be beyond reasonable, as Hawkins and Ryder have been nothing for so long. I could go for the two of them as heels, but at least let them do something else before getting this high.

The opening video talks about the Road to Wrestlemania but to get there, you have to go through the Chamber. Shayna Baszler promises to have some horrible things planned.

Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak

Gulak is the hometown boy. Feeling out process to start and a shoulder puts Bryan down in the corner, leaving him a bit surprised. Gulak goes with a headscissors on the mat so Bryan headstands his way out and they tie their legs together. An exchange of kicks on the mat puts them both in the ropes and Bryan needs another breather on the floor. Back in and Bryan ties Gulak’s legs up and pulls on his face but Gulak slips out of the surfboard attempt.

Gulak reverses into one of his own as he continues to know a counter for everything Bryan throws at him. Bryan slips out and hits him in the face so they go into the corner for the chop off. Gulak gets in a dragon screw legwhip (remember that he told Heath Slater to work the knee a few weeks ago) and it’s back to the headscissors on the mat again. This time Bryan tries to spin out but gets dropped on his head (from about four inches) to put him down again.

Gulak grabs him by the neck and puts Bryan over his back for a spinning neckbreaker and another near fall. Back up and they suplex each other over the top for the big crash to the floor, leaving Bryan with his back banged up. They head back inside for a Saito suplex to drop Bryan, leaving him favoring his arm, possibly due to the neck. A seated full nelson stays on the neck until Bryan fights up for two off a dragon suplex.

Gulak suplexes him again for another two (with Bryan landing HARD on the back of his head) to send Bryan outside. He has to dive back in to beat the count and the running clothesline takes Gulak down. What looked to be a belly to back superplex is broken up so Gulak hits a reverse superplex into the Gulock. Bryan flips out though and pulls Gulak into the YES Lock for the knockout win at 14:19.

Rating: B+. I dug the heck out of this as it was a rather well done story, even tying into the stuff that Gulak had been saying for weeks. It was giving me a Bret Hart vs. 1-2-3 Kid vibe from about 25 years ago with Bryan not taking his opponent all that seriously at first before realizing he was in a real fight. The neck stuff made sense and it was as solid of a put together match with no stakes that I’ve seen in a very long time. Good stuff with the psychology and storytelling both shining brightly.

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode don’t need luck to win the Tag Team Titles tonight, with Ziggler dedicating the win to Mandy Rose. The ring of lights popped up on the screen behind them, with no one noticing it again.

US Title: Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo

Andrade is defending and has Zelina Vega with him. A spinning back elbow to the face gets an early two on Carrillo but he’s back up with a dropkick. Carrillo clotheslines him to the floor and scores with a very high angle spinning crossbody for two back inside. Andrade gets in a shot to the face for a breather though and it’s time to start in on the arm. The armbar goes on as Cole lists off some great United States Champions. Lawler: “You want to list Humberto Carrero with those stars?”

They head outside with Carrillo being sent into the barricade, giving Lawler a chance to praise countout victories. Carrillo dives back in to beat the count at nine (twice in two matches) and the armbar goes on again. That’s broken up and Andrade is kicked outside for a breather, followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker back inside. They go to the top where Carrillo can’t hit a superplex, but he can hit a super hurricanrana for the delayed two.

Andrade is right back with the running knees in the corner for two so Zelina pulls back the ring mats. The hammerlock DDT is countered with a backdrop and Carrillo flip dives over the referee to take Andrade down. Back in and Andrade rolls through a high crossbody for two and it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence. Carrillo grabs a victory roll but Andrade reverses into a rollup with tights to retain at 12:30.

Rating: C+. The spots are good and the action was there but the lack of caring about Carrillo could not be any more clear. The fans just are not interested in him and while they may react to his spots, they don’t seem to care about him in the slightest. I don’t see that changing, and the fact that he lost again here should seal his fate for the future. It won’t because of the cheating, but it should.

AJ Styles doesn’t think much of Aleister Black’s music and tattoos but it doesn’t matter because Black isn’t a challenge. The Good Brothers are going to be in his corner and no it’s not going to be a fair match. How could it be a fair match when Black is facing AJ Styles?

The Chamber is lowered.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. New Day vs. Lucha House Party vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler vs. Heavy Machinery vs. John Morrison/The Miz

Natalya is disgusted by Randy Orton and promises that Beth Phoenix will survive this so she can see Edge destroy Orton. Oh and she’ll win the Chamber match tonight.

Aleister Black vs. AJ Styles

No DQ and the Good Brothers are at ringside. Feeling out process to start with AJ bailing to the ropes early on before striking away to slow Black down a bit. Black kicks him in the chest as the UNDERTAKER chant starts up. A Gallows distraction lets AJ get in a dragon screw legwhip though and he crushes it in the corner to make things even worse. It’s kendo stick time with a few shots keeping Black in trouble until he gets in a shot to the face for a breather.

A dropkick puts Black on the floor though as the fans want tables. AJ dives into a knee and Black makes the fans happy with a table. That takes too long though as AJ is back with some chair shots. The chair is wedged in the corner and the fans want Undertaker again. A kick to the head drops Black again and we hit the leglock. That’s broken up as well so Black can start striking away, only to get pulled into the Calf Crusher.

Since the ropes aren’t an option, Black crawls over to the stick and crushes it against AJ’s face for the break. The stick shots have AJ in trouble so he Peles his way out, leaving them both down. AJ gets in the Phenomenal Forearm to a kneeling Black and a brainbuster gets two more. Black starts striking away again and the middle rope moonsault connects for another near fall.

The bridging German suplex gets the same but AJ is back with a fireman’s carry backbreaker. Another moonsault from Black is countered into an attempted Tombstone but Black rolls through into a rollup for two. Black kicks him into the chair in the corner and it’s time to go outside again. This time AJ sends him over the announcers’ table but Black kicks him onto the table. The Meteora drives AJ through the table and they’re both down again, with Black holding his leg.

Black Mass is loaded up inside but Black has to kick the Good Brothers down. All three jump him though and there’s the Magic Killer to drop Black. The Phenomenal Forearm is loaded up….and there’s the gong so the fans can explode like they’ve been wanting to all match. AJ gets chokeslammed and the lights go out again so Undertaker can disappear. And Black Mass gives Black the pin at 23:14.

Rating: B-. I know I’m going to get some glares for liking this show so much but it’s another good match in a string of them tonight. Black gets his big win that he’s been needing and it’s another completely legal win. It was an even match and he almost had it won until the Good Brothers got involved so there isn’t even an asterisk on the thing. A handicap match (or a tag match if Kane is there too) could be a better way to go at Wrestlemania but what matters here is Black getting a big boost. Good match too, though it took its time to get going.

We look at the Street Profits winning the Tag Team Titles on Raw.

The Street Profits want the smoke.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Seth Rollins/Murphy

The Profits are defending and the AOP are in the challengers’ corner. Dawkins works on Murphy’s arm to start and it’s Ford coming in to do more of the same. The fans want the smoke but have to settle for more of the Profits working on the arm. Rollins comes in and gets in a shot to the face before handing it back to Murphy in a hurry. Dawkins comes back in with a dropkick and back to back double Japanese armdrags put the challengers on the floor.

Back in and Rollins takes over on Dawkins’ leg but Murphy gets kicked over the top. The hot (Already?) tag brings Ford back in for the house cleaning, even though he slips when trying to stick the landing on a backdrop. The big flip dive hits Murphy but the AOP grabs Ford. Cue the Viking Raiders to fight them to the back and we settle down to Murphy chinlocking Ford to take over. Another Meteora gets another two but Ford is back up and tags Dawkins in.

That means dropkicks a go-go as everything breaks down, including Ford splashing Rollins for two. Rollins Sling Blades Dawkins and a double superkick gets two. Murphy tries a Pedigree but gets catapulted into the corner, setting up a right hand to Rollins. Ford’s frog splash hits knees so Rollins can get two and it’s the buckle bomb/enziguri combination to drop Ford again. Dawkins makes the save and suplexes Rollins on the floor, leaving Murphy to get loaded up in a double superplex.

Rollins is back in though and turns it into a Tower of Doom to put everyone down. Cue Kevin Owens through the crowd with a bucket of popcorn but instead of having a ticket, he hops over the barricade and sits on the announcers’ table. That distracts Rollins but Owens points at Dawkins, who drives Rollins into the barricade. A double powerbomb puts Murphy against the barricade as well, setting up the Cash Out to finish Rollins and retain at 18:14.

Rating: C+. The match was ok but there was too much going on and it got a bit too messy. What matters is the Profits retaining though and the match with Owens seems all but a lock for Wrestlemania in one form or another. It’s the big feud on Raw outside of the World Title scene and the match makes sense, though I’m curious if they’ll do anything other than just a straight singles match.

Post match it’s a Stunner for Rollins, plus a popcorn shower.

We recap the Kickoff Show match.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura. Strowman beat Nakamura to win the Intercontinental Title and is fighting all three of them to up the ante a bit.

Sami knows that the fans want to see Strowman wreck people but in all the months they have been dealing with Strowman, Sami has avoided him every time. Tonight, Sami is going to face him one on one and he wants Cesaro and Nakamura to stay on the apron because he needs to do this.

Intercontinental Title: Sami Zayn/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is defending and Sami starts for the team but tags Nakamura in after about ten seconds of staring. Nakamura’s headlock is shoved away and his running clothesline has even less effect. A running splash in the corner crushes Nakamura but Sami distracts Strowman, allowing Nakamura to kick the knee out. The trio starts taking over on Strowman with Sami being willing to stay in and jab away at a downed champ.

Nakamura grabs a sleeper but Strowman fights up and tosses Cesaro from corner to corner. Sami runs away from Strowman, who runs over Cesaro and Nakamura as Sami hides underneath the ring. The other two catch Strowman and a missed charge sends him shoulder first into the post. Kinshasa into the post knocks Strowman cold and Sami adds the Helluva Kick for the pin and the title at 8:24.

Rating: D+. The big idea here is that Strowman can’t get his hands on Sami, which works fine when you’re a manager but not so much when it’s a former NXT Champion who has beaten big names. Odds are this sets up a squash to give Strowman the title back at Wrestlemania, which makes you wonder why they needed to give Strowman the title in the first place. Anyway, it could lead to a nice payoff and that’s what matters at the end.

We run down the Wrestlemania card.

We recap the women’s Elimination Chamber, which is not a total lock for Shayna Baszler. Nope not at all.

Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott vs. Sarah Logan vs. Natalya

The winner faces Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania and it’s Riott at #1 and Natalya in at #2. Ruby goes straight at her to start but gets taken outside for some kicks from the chatty Natalya. The Sharpshooter goes on outside with Natalya shouting TAP until it’s broken up. Some shots to the ribs put Natalya in trouble and she gets bounced off the cage to make it worse. More cage shots keep Natalya down and it’s Sarah Logan in at #3 as Natalya is double kneed into a pod.

Logan climbs onto a pod as Natalya manages to powerbomb Riott off the Chamber. That means a big dive off the pod, with Logan seeming to kick Natalya in the face on the way down. Back in and it’s a Tower of Doom to put everyone down until Shayna Baszler in at #4. A faceplant sets up the Kirifuda Clutch to eliminate Logan at 7:45. Baszler knees Riott in the face and Clutches her out at 8:13, leaving her alone with Natalya. That means several rams against the pod and the Clutch makes Natalya tap at 9:24, leaving Baszler alone for a bit.

Baszler poses a lot as Liv shouts that she’s going to Wrestlemania. It’s Morgan in at #5 and she manages a kick to the face, only to get swung into the Chamber wall. Another swing sends her into the pod and Baszler chokes her in front of Asuka, as the crowd (and commentary) goes silent for a bit. Another Clutch knocks Morgan out at 13:58, leaving Baszler to wait on Asuka. The pod finally opens and Asuka hits the hip attack, only to have Shayna kick and knee her down.

A quick Asuka Lock attempt is countered but so is the Kirifuda Clutch, with Asuka getting the Lock on the second try. They roll outside to break it up and Asuka gets rammed hard into the wall. Back in and the Clutch has Asuka in trouble but she rolls into a cover to force the break. Another spinning faceplant sets up another knee to the face and Asuka is in trouble. The Clutch sends Baszler to Wrestlemania at 21:00.

Rating: D+. So you know how WWE made it clear that Shayna was going to face Becky at Wrestlemania? Well we just saw Shayna run through four jobbers and Asuka to guarantee the match. It couldn’t have been booked much better, but it also couldn’t have been much less interesting. Baszler looked like a monster, but how impressive is it to have her squash Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan? It was logical and told the right story, but that doesn’t mean it was fun to watch for the most part.

Overall Rating: C+. It was better than it had any right to be but man alive did this show die near the end. There comes a point where hard work isn’t going to be enough to overcome such a weak card and that point came right at the end of Black vs. Styles. The first four matches are all quite good, but everything after that is ok at best. This wasn’t a good looking show coming in and some people managed to overcome it, but there was too much weak/predictable booking weighing it down.

Results

Daniel Bryan b. Drew Gulak – YES Lock

Andrade b. Humberto Carrillo – Rollup with a handful of tights

Miz/John Morrison won an Elimination Chamber match last eliminating the Usos

Aleister Black b. AJ Styles – Black Mass

Street Profits b. Seth Rollins/Murphy – Cash Out to Rollins

Sami Zayn/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Braun Strowman – Helluva Kick

Shayna Baszler won an Elimination Chamber match last eliminating Asuka

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

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No Mercy 2005 (2020 Redo): Mercy Sounds Nice Right Now

IMG Credit: WWE

No Mercy 2005
Date: October 9, 2005
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s a Smackdown only pay per view this time around and that could go in a variety of ways. We have a two match card here with Eddie Guerrero challenging Batista for the World Title, but the more interesting part of the story is whether or not Eddie has really changed. Other than that, we have the Ortons vs. Undertaker in a handicap casket match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about Eddie’s addictions and evils being gone….and then cuts to a graveyard to talk about Undertaker vs. the Ortons. Well that was chilling.

MNM vs. Animal/Heidenreich/Christy Hemme

Animal has a bad shoulder coming in so Heidenreich pulls Nitro up from the floor by the hair to start things off. Heidenreich runs him over and hands it off to Animal, who misses a charge into the corner to hurt the shoulder again. The Snapshot connects early on but Nitro takes his time knocking Heidenreich down so Nitro can only get two. The arm is pulled around the middle rope and Mercury grabs a neckbreaker for two more.

Animal grabs a quick powerslam for his own two and Heidenreich comes in without a tag. That earns him a backdrop to the floor (good for him, the filthy cheater) and Melina tags herself in for no logical reason. Animal catches her in midair and brings Christy in to play Bret on a Hart Attack. A bad hurricanrana sets up a Doomsday Device to finish Melina (after Christy figures out how to cover).

Rating: D. The match was pretty bad, mainly because these teams have feuded for months now and there has never been any reason to believe that MNM has a chance against them. I get why they want Christy in there (it’s not difficult to figure out) but have her as the manager or something because she’s terrible in the ring. There’s a place for someone with her looks and charisma, but it’s not here.

Eddie Guerrero wishes Batista good luck, though he doesn’t seem the most sincere. Batista wishes him the same, albeit a bit more nicely.

Simon Dean vs. Bobby Lashley

Dean has a guy with him, carrying a plate of burgers. Simon talks about how how Houston is the fattest city in America, which is why he brought these twenty double cheeseburgers. You can have one and be ok, but the problem is eating all twenty at once. He’s so confident tonight that if he loses, he’ll eat all of them. Dean tries an early cheap shot and gets suplexed for his efforts. Lashley misses a charge into the corner so Dean throws the burgers at the referee. The distraction lets Dean get in a shot to the head with the cheeseburger tray….and Lashley just glares at him. The Dominator finishes in a hurry.

JBL isn’t worried about Raw wrestlers interfering because they’ll see what he does to Rey Mysterio. Cue Rey to speak Spanish, which doesn’t sit well with JBL. Rey hands him a mask, because JBL is going to want to hide in shame after the beating Rey gives him tonight. Or maybe Jillian Hall can wear it instead.

Teddy Long welcomes Lashley to Smackdown when he goes to answer some questions online. Shouldn’t that welcome have come either when he was signed or in the previous few weeks? Does Long usually just let people wander around the locker room and have matches?

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T. vs. Christian

Benoit is defending, it’s one fall to a finish and Sharmell handles Booker’s entrance. It’s a brawl to start with Benoit getting sent outside and Booker having to fight out of the corner. A double clothesline gets Booker out of trouble as Cole brings up the first assembly after 9/11 in this building. That’s how you keep the energy up man. Benoit comes back in and suplexes Christian onto Jordan, followed by Booker missile dropkicking Christian.

It’s Benoit vs. Booker for a bit and the fans are back into this one. Nothing actually happens though as Christian and Jordan come back in to break it up. Booker and Jordan clothesline each other for the double knockdown, leaving the Canadians to slug it out on top. They both fall to the floor and Booker forearms Jordan down for two.

Christian sends Benoit into Booker but Benoit is back up with the rolling German suplexes. More suplexes look to set up the Swan Dive but Christian gets out of the way. Instead, Benoit gets him in the Crossface but Jordan makes the save because he’s the only one who gets to tap out to that in big matches. With Jordan dispatched, Benoit Sharpshooters Christian to retain.

Rating: B-. This was a fun match and the three of them (plus Jordan) looked solid here. Benoit vs. Booker seems to be the next big feud based on that staredown but egads the idea of that much more Sharmell yelling at Booker for weeks on end makes my soul hurt. At least turn Booker hard heel if that’s what we have to sit through.

Post match Sharmell tells Booker that Benoit made him lose.

Lashley makes Dean eat the burgers, even though they were on the ground and on the mat.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Hardcore Holly

Kennedy does his usual so Holly pulls him over the top and starts hammering away in the corner. The dropkick puts Kennedy down again and the fans aren’t exactly thrilled with him being in control here. Kennedy begs off and manages a shot to the ribs so he can throw Holly outside. A ram into the corner makes it worse and the armbar goes on. Holly armdrags his way out, only to get taken down with a DDT on the arm.

We hit another armbar (albeit a different kind, which is always appreciated) but this time Holly backdrops his way to freedom. A full nelson slam gives Holly two and he picks Kennedy up…but just drops him. I’m not sure what that was supposed to be but Holly kicks him in the lower gut and gets two off a rollup. Kennedy hits a spinning kick to the head but Holly just stands there, completely no selling the thing. A big boot gives Holly two and he heads up top, only to get caught with the super Regal Roll for the pin.

Rating: D+. That was a weird sequence leading into the ending as Holly just dropped Kennedy for some reason and then didn’t sell a pretty big kick. Maybe he was mad at Kennedy for something but it didn’t look good at all. Then again neither does having these two having these two on pay per view, as you could see a bunch of empty seats popping up throughout the match.

Post match Holly is favoring his ribs so here’s Sylvan to attack the ribs even more.

Simon is still eating and finds a hair in one of the burgers.

Sharmell yells at Booker for losing but Kennedy interrupts to brag about winning. Sharmell yells at Booker even more, saying he’s his own problem.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Rey Mysterio

Jillian Hall is here with JBL. Rey slugs away to start, including some kicks to the thigh. That earns him a headlock takeover as we talk about the growth on Jillian Hall’s face. Rey fights up and avoids an elbow, allowing him to kick JBL outside. The chase is on until Rey hits a baseball slide, only to have JBL hit him in the back.

Rey goes right back to the knee but it’s too early for the 619. Instead JBL bails to the floor and gets caught with a bulldog from the apron. JBL sends him hard into the timekeeper’s area and it’s time to pound Rey down in the corner. The super fall away slam sends Rey flying and a regular version makes it worse.

There’s a third on the floor and it’s time to hit the bearhug back inside. Rey fights out so JBL sets him on top, only to get caught with a “spinning tornado” DDT, according to Cole, who presumably doesn’t know what a tornado is. Rey’s moonsault press gets two but JBL shoulders him down. The Clothesline From JBL is countered with a dropkick and Rey hits the 619, only to walk into the Clothesline for the pin.

Rating: B-. That’s tied for the match of the night so far and that’s not really saying much. You could have gone with either winning here as JBL is still a big star on the show and keeping him strong makes sense for future matches. Mysterio isn’t someone who is going to be hurt by a loss, especially when he’s a foot shorter than JBL. Good enough match here and better than I would have bet on.

We recap the Ortons vs. Undertaker. Randy is still annoyed at Undertaker for beating him at Wrestlemania so he brought in his dad to help him. Tonight, it’s a handicap casket match.

Undertaker vs. Randy Orton/Bob Orton

Casket match, with Tony Chimmel incorrectly saying it is the first handicap casket match in history (HHH had one against Mideon and Viscera on Smackdown in 1999). Druids bring down the casket before Undertaker’s entrance to stretch it out even longer. The two of them can’t surround Undertaker as he slips between them and hits some shots to the face. Undertaker knocks Bob onto the casket but Randy gets in a low blow and drops a knee.

That’s broken up and Bob gets thrown into the casket, only to have Randy send Undertaker knees first into the steps. Undertaker fights out of the casket and drives his shoulder into Randy’s, setting up a Downward Spiral. Randy has to save his dad from Old School and a double superplex brings Undertaker back down. Bob tries to cover but then calls for the lid to be opened after realizing what’s going on (fair enough as this isn’t quite in his wheelhouse).

For some reason they try to suplex Undertaker over the top and into the casket instead of, you know, rolling him in, which goes as well as you would expect. A double DDT gets Undertaker out of trouble and Bob is thrown into the casket. Snake Eyes takes too long though and Bob gets out. That means Randy has to go into the post and a chair shot puts Randy in the casket. Undertaker triangle chokes Bob (because you can’t just chokeslam Bob) but the delay lets Randy pull the two of them inside with him.

Bob gets left inside with the lid shut but Randy powerslams Undertaker inside. Randy hammers away in the corner and, of course, gets caught in the Last Ride, though he’s able to slip out instead. Undertaker tries to throw him in but Bob pops out of the casket with a fire extinguisher to blind Undertaker, setting up the RKO. That and a fire extinguisher to the head put Undertaker down but he grabs Randy and pulls him in with him. The lid is closed, which should be an Ortons win, but they pop back out. One more fire extinguisher to the head is finally enough to put Undertaker in alone for the win.

Rating: C-. This was longer than it needed to be but Bob added enough to the match to be worthwhile. If nothing else it leaves the door open for a bigger one on one rematch down the line, likely in the Cell. They could have cut off about five minutes from this though and it would have been a lot better. Undertaker will be back because he always is, and it’s going to be time for revenge.

Post match the casket is locked and the Ortons wheel it up to the stage. Just like Kane in 1998, the light it on fire as everyone freaks out. Unlike 1998 there is more to go, and let’s get straight to that.

Cruiserweight Title: Juventud vs. Nunzio

Juventud is challenging after winning a battle royal on Velocity and Vito/the Mexicools are at ringside. During the entrances, we’re told that the Ortons are doing an interview backstage, because that’s what you do after LIGHTING SOMEONE ON FIRE ON LIVE TELEVISION! They trade rollups for two each to start as the camera suddenly won’t stay on the standard shot.

Could it have something to do with the large empty sections opposite the hard camera during this match? Juventud hurricanranas him off the top and then dropkicks him in the face for two. A kick to Juvy’s face sets up the middle rope legdrop but Juvy gets out of the way and takes out Vito. Back in and a northern lights suplex sets up the Juvy Driver for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. This was short, disjointed, and in between the big matches on the show. What else were you really expecting to happen here? The fans didn’t care, the match was thrown onto the card and it’s for the most worthless title this side of the Western States Heritage Championship. What else was going to happen?

Post match Juvy cuts a promo with the Spanish announce team before leaving on his lawnmower.

Simon Dean can’t take anymore and runs for the bathroom after nineteen burgers.

We recap Eddie Guerrero vs. Batista. Eddie got the title shot at Palmer Cannon/the Network’s suggestion and suddenly decided that he was a changed man. It isn’t clear if he is or not, but Batista has warned him about what is going to happen if Eddie stabs him in the back.

Smackdown World Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Batista

Batista is defending. They stare each other down to start until Eddie takes him down by the legs. That’s broken up with a standoff and they stare each other down….to a standing ovation? Ok then. Batista easily takes over with a test of strength so Eddie climbs the ropes, only to get slammed back down. A headlock keeps Eddie in trouble but the Texas crowd gets behind him all over again.

The hold stays on for a good while until Batista slams and shoulders him out to the floor. Eddie grabs a chair and that’s too far for Batista, but Eddie snaps his throat across the top rope. The frog splash to the back gets two and it’s a bodyscissors to stay on the back. Eddie switches over to a half crab but Batista makes the rope without breaking much of a sweat.

That lets Eddie grab a tag rope, which he throws down without using. Instead it’s back to the bodyscissors with a chinlock but this time Batista powers up to his feet. Batista charges but this time Eddie takes the knee out and grabs a Texas Cloverleaf. That’s broken up and the referee gets bumped, meaning it’s time for an evil smile.

Eddie picks up the chair but still can’t do it. Instead he throws the chair to the floor but Batista saw it in his hands and isn’t happy. The beatdown is on, including the spear and a spinebuster for a delayed two as Batista’s back is banged up. That’s enough for Eddie to hit Three Amigos but Batista is back up with another spinebuster to retain.

Rating: D+. I don’t know if it was a lack of chemistry or trying to do too much storyline stuff and not enough wrestling, but this didn’t exactly work. There’s more to this one though and while I can understand not doing the big blowoff in their first match, this was a disappointing end to a bad show. It could have been worse, but it needed to be a lot bigger after the rest of the show so far.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh yeah this was bad, with the two good matches barely being able to headline a regular Smackdown. The main event didn’t deliver and the Ortons vs. Undertaker wasn’t that much better. It could have been worse and the two matches two help, but this felt like a bad B show and underwhelmed even with almost no expectations coming in.

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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Smackdown – October 7, 2005: It Might Be Time To Rethink Things

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: October 7, 2005
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for No Mercy and that means the show needs one more push towards the pay per view. Last week Eddie Guerrero may or may not have hit Batista in the back with a chair on purpose. That’s the kind of thing that could go either way for Eddie and that is making the story more interesting. We also need to deal with the fallout from Monday, when Smackdown and Raw got in a big brawl at Homecoming. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Raw vs. Smackdown brawl.

Opening sequence.

Here are Teddy Long and Palmer Cannon in the ring. Teddy announces that tonight, it’s the six man tag that Eric Bischoff wouldn’t let you see last night: JBL/Christian/Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio/Chris Benoit/Batista. Cannon grabs the mic to say Smackdown can fight Raw again anytime with the network’s full report. Teddy knows Bischoff is going to want some revenge so the Raw wrestlers can come to No Mercy and start something that Smackdown will finish.

Cue the Ortons with Randy asking Long and Cannon to leave. Teddy has something to say but Cannon says they’ll leave the ring for the future of Smackdown. Randy is hoping Undertaker is watching, because tonight another legend is being destroyed. The Ortons are going to destroy the legend of Roddy Piper in a handicap match. Bob talks about his time with Piper and they were friends, but this is family. Why did Piper get all the glory when Bob did all the work? Cue Roddy Piper, with a pipe, to take both of them out without much trouble.

Booker T. vs. Orlando Jordan

Sharmell introduces Booker. They lock up to start and the fans go straight to the YOU TAPPED OUT chants for Jordan. Some cheap shots in the corner put Booker down as I’m just waiting for Jordan to screw something up. A running elbow gives Jordan a delayed one and Booker strikes away without much trouble. Jordan is right back with a knee to the ribs and the chinlock goes on.

Back up and Jordan elbows him in the face before turning Booker inside out with a clothesline for two. They head outside and Booker kicks a chair out of Jordan’s hands and it’s time to go back inside. Jordan tries to suplex him back in from the apron but Sharmell trips him up (Booker couldn’t see it) so Booker can land on top for the pin.

Rating: D+. That might be the best one on one match I’ve ever seen Jordan have and I’m not sure how much of that is due to Booker being able to make anyone look at least passable. At the same time though, Sharmell continues to be annoying and drags Booker down more and more every time. What does it say when you need help to beat Orlando Jordan?

Post match Booker sees what happened on the Titantron and isn’t happy with Sharmell.

Hardcore Holly vs. Sylvan

Mr. Kennedy, in a suit, comes out to introduce himself as a guest commentator. Sylvan starts fast and hammers away in the corner as Kennedy makes Sparkplug references. Holly is back with chops and the dropkick, followed by a clothesline to the floor. Back in and Holly hits his kick to the rather low abdomen but as the referee checks on Sylvan, allowing Kennedy to hit Holly with a microphone. Sylvan is up with a vertical suplex into a DDT for the pin.

Post match, Kennedy announces Holly as the loser. In a match involving Sylvain, he’s always the loser.

Piper talks about his history with Bob Orton. See, Bob isn’t quite the sharpest guy in the world and complained about the light being in his eyes so Piper bought him his hat. Then he complained about being called Jr. so Piper called him ace instead. Then Orton broke his hand, but who really had the handicap? This was one of those Piper promos where he goes in one direction and then says something where you’re kind of left scratching your head. In other words, it was more coherent than almost anything he has said in fifteen fifteen years.

Animal/Heidenreich vs. Paul Burchill/William Regal

Non-title and Animal and Heidenreich have Christy Hemme in their corner. Burchill gets thrown around to start so it’s off to Regal, who sends Animal shoulder first into the buckle. The arm gets posted twice in a row but Animal uses the good arm for a backdrop. Heidenreich comes in and everything breaks down. Christy gets on the apron to call for the Doomsday Device but Melina comes out to pull her down as MNM comes in to jump the champs for the DQ.

Post match Animal and Heidenreich are sent outside, leaving Christy to take the Snapshot. That might make the six person tag a little unfair. I mean to MNM and Melina, as Christy being out can only help Animal and Smackdown.

Eddie Guerrero, in a Batista shirt, says he showed he had Batista’s back last week because they’re close.

Here’s Eddie for a chat. He’s the #1 contender and that means he has the privilege of facing someone he admires in Batista. Eddie shows us some footage from after Raw went off the air of….the Smackdown wrestlers slowly backing up the ramp. This proves that Eddie had his back so on Sunday, the two of them will still be friends after the match. With that faulty logic out of the way, here’s Batista, in the same shirt, with Eddie playing cheerleader.

Batista shows us a clip of the chair shot from last week and he’d like an explanation. He’d also like a chair from ringside, which has Eddie a bit nervous. Batista hands it to Eddie and turns around, saying we should bring it out into the open. Eddie throws the chair down and says he was wrong about Batista. He thought Batista was just like him, but if the roles were reversed last week, it couldn’t have been Batista hitting him?

Eddie goes to leave but Batista says he wants to believe he has changed. Batista has eyes in the back of his head and if Eddie tries to screw him, it’s going to mean pain. That’s what Eddie wants, because the Batista he knows could hurt someone. Eddie promises to prove himself on Sunday and he’ll show it tonight too. I’m getting into this more and more every week as the mind games have been pretty awesome.

Raw Rebound.

Randy Orton/Bob Orton vs. Roddy Piper

Piper bites Randy to start and pokes him in the eye so it’s off to Bob for the old man slugout. It’s back to Randy for a dropkick and some right hands but Bob begs his son to let him get the pin. Bob loads up an elbow and there’s the gong strike. No one comes out so Bob hits the elbow anyway….and the gong goes off again, this time with the lights flickering. The distraction lets Piper small package Bob for the pin.

Rating: D. This had a bit of history to it but mainly felt like Piper was brought in because he was around for Homecoming. They were very smart to keep this short as you don’t want these guys trying to have a long match. There’s nothing wrong with Piper pinning Bob so while the match was bad, it was all you could have asked for in this situation.

Post match the druids are here to bring out a casket built for two. Undertaker pops up on screen to dare the Ortons to look inside. The lid pops up and Orton mannequins are inside to freak out Bob and Randy. Then the lights go out again and Undertaker is in the ring to scare them off.

Bobby Lashley vs. Eddie Craven

Hold on though as here’s Simon Dean, with his hand in a cast, to interrupt. Lashley broke his hand last week because he needed to take away the strength advantage. On Sunday, Simon is going to win because of advanced cardiovascular conditioning. Therefore, he’s going to do squats during the match. Lashley sends Craven into the corner to start and puts Craven in a fireman’s carry for some more impressive squats. A clothesline sets up an overhead suplex but Simon grabs Lashley’s leg. That goes nowhere so Lashley finishes with the Dominator in a hurry.

Eddie Guerrero/Christian/John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Rey Mysterio/Chris Benoit/Batista

The match that would have been on Monday and Jillian Hall is here with the villains. Joined in progress with Benoit and Christian fighting over a lockup in the corner to no avail. Benoit gets serious and tries a Crossface but Christian goes straight to the ropes in a smart move. It’s off to Eddie for another version of a match that never gets old.

Neither can get anywhere with the technical stuff so they go to a test of strength with Eddie headbutting and kicking away. Eventually he flips forward into a hurricanrana for a rather unique way out. It’s off to Batista and Eddie isn’t sure what to do. A quick takedown attempt doesn’t get Eddie very far as Batista kicks him away and hits a gorilla press. JBL comes in and gets his knee dropkicked out by Rey, only to come back with a hard shoulder.

Rey goes to the apron but an Eddie distraction lets JBL knock him to the floor. Back from a break with Christian putting Rey in an abdominal stretch to keep him in trouble. Rey slips out and misses a springboard crossbody, allowing JBL to come in with a swinging neckbreaker. Eddie charges into an elbow in the corner though and Rey hits the sitout bulldog. The hot tag brings in Batista and it’s house cleaning time in a hurry. Eddie low bridges JBL to save Batista, allowing the spinebuster to finish Christian.

Rating: C+. Pretty standard main event six man tag but the talent involved is more than enough to carry it. Eddie vs. Batista has some potential on Sunday but a good build doesn’t necessarily mean a good match. The other matches were barely touched on but they have been set up well enough already. I can always go for mixing up a bunch of feuds into one match so this was as good of a main event as you could have had.

Post match Eddie hugs Batista but JBL and company jump both of them. Eddie and Batista clear the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. No Mercy isn’t looking great and this show didn’t do much to make me think otherwise. I like Eddie vs. Batista but the rest of the card is really showcasing just how weak the Smackdown roster is at the moment. The top talent is doing what they can but when you have Orlando Jordan, Hardcore Holly, Sylvan and Heidenreich getting pay per view matches, it might be time to rethink things a bit.

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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Smackdown – March 6, 2020: Please. They Need It.

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Naomi/Lacey Evans

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sheamus vs. Apollo Crews

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

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

Carmella/Dana Brooke vs. Fire & Desire

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

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

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

Video on Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg.

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

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

This week in WWE History: Occupy Raw in 2014.

Tag Team Gauntlet Match

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

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

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

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

Morrison’s slingshot elbow gets two and he hammers away with rights and lefts. A hard clothesline gets Tucker out of trouble and a dropkick to Miz…doesn’t set up the hot tag as Miz pulls Otis off the apron. Some running shots in the corner put Tucker down and Morrison’s 450 elbow gets two as Otis makes the save. Tucker small packages Morrison for the pin at 30:45, because THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS NEED TO LOSE THEIR FIRST TWO MATCHES SINCE WINNING THE TITLES!

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

Otis is back up and sends Roode face first into the announcers’ table. Ziggler neckbreakers Tucker for two but the Stinger Splash misses, allowing the hot tag to Otis. Everything breaks down and the right hands make Otis dance….and do jumping jacks. Roode dropkicks him into the corner and misses a charge, allowing Otis to hit a running splash. The impact knocks Ziggler to the floor and it’s the Caterpillar…but Ziggler comes in with the superkick for the pin at 42:28.

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

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

Results

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

Sheamus b. Apollo Crews – Brogue Kick

Fire & Desire b. Carmella/Dana Brooke – Running knee to Brooke

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

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

2019 Wrestling Observer Awards Announced

Believe it or not, they like these AEW and New Japan guys.

It’s that time of year again. Dave Meltzer and his minions have voted on their End of Year Awards for 2019 (which makes me feel better for only getting mine done the day after the Rumble). I’m sure there are going to be a lot of AEW/New Japan stuff in here and that’s fine enough. I’ll throw in a few thoughts on each but some of them aren’t going to have much need. I’ll so be skipping the MMA awards because they’re not wrestling and I still have no idea why they’re included here.

Wrestler of the Year – Chris Jericho

Jericho was a nominee for me so it’s far from out there. I’m not sure I could go with him as he only wrestled a dozen times last year, but he carried AEW on his back for the first three months of Dynamite so I can see where this would make sense.

Outstanding Wrestler of the Year – Will Ospreay

I’m still not sure why this needs to be two awards (I’ve had it explained to me every year, still don’t see the need) but Ospreay had a heck of a year and some outstanding matches so I can see this. There are a lot of people with some great matches this year so you could pick from a bunch here. Ospreay is fine enough though.

Tag Team Of The Year – Lucha Bros

That breaks a six year run for the Young Bucks and it should. The Bucks are good but the Bros are on another level every time they’re out there. WWE’s tag teams are nothing for the most part so it’s not like there was much competition. I went with Undisputed Era but I consider stables as well.

Best on Interviews – Chris Jericho

The only person in his league is Maxwell Jacob Friedman but Jericho’s stuff has had me cracking up multiple times. I can’t bring myself to argue against Jericho’s talking so no complaints here.

Promotion of the Year – New Japan Pro Wrestling

They had a down year but there isn’t anything that jumps off the page for this one. It kind of amazes me that WWE has won this award twice in the nearly forty years they’ve been running. I’m not saying they should win it, but you would think they would sneak in a win here or there.

Best Weekly TV Series – Dynamite

I couldn’t go with a show that was on the air for a fourth of the year. NXT was its usual self for most of the year and better than Dynamite most weeks, but you knew AEW was going to get some major accolades this year.

Match of the Year – Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi (Best of the Super Juniors)

Didn’t see the match so can’t comment on it, though I did hear great things.

US/Canadian MVP – Chris Jericho

Japan MVP – Kazuchika Okada

Mexico MVP – Rey Fenix

Europe MVP – Walter

Non-Heavyweight MVP – Will Ospreay

Women’s Wrestling MVP – Becky Lynch

I’m going with a collective “uh, sure” on these as I’m not sure how much need there was for individual MVP awards by continent and weight class. Lynch winning was as much of a layup as you can get, as it should be.

Best Box Office Draw – Chris Jericho

I’m assuming there are numbers to back this up so sure.

Feud of the Year – Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Same for me.

Most Improved of the Year – Lance Archer

I didn’t see much of him this year but I heard this over and over so fair enough.

Most Charismatic – Chris Jericho

One question: how in the world has he never won this before???

Best Technical Wrestling – Zack Sabre Jr.

Six in a row and like it could be anyone else.

Best Brawler – Tomohiro Ishii

Six years in a row as well.

Best High Flying Wrestling – Will Ospreay

Only four years in a row for him. Pick up the pace man.

Most Overrated – King Corbin

I’m torn here. On the one hand, yeah. On the other hand, anything involving Corbin receiving praise is too much for me.

Most Underrated – Shorty G

I think you can call this “Wrestler We Feel Most Sorry For” and it would apply just as well.

Rookie of the Year – Jungle Boy

Normally I would say I don’t know how you can be a rookie in 2019 when you started in 2018 but I gave it to Ricochet as newcomer of the year so I can’t complain much. And yeah Jungle Boy has been rather good.

Non-Wrestler of the Year – Paul Heyman

This is your safe default pick and I didn’t have anyone jump out in front so that’s fine.

Best Television Announcer – Kevin Kelly

It was him or Mauro Ranallo and I can see why Mauro isn’t the biggest favorite.

Worst Television Announcer – Corey Graves

It’s going to be whomever has the most Vince McMahonisms in their ear but Graves can get especially annoying in a hurry. As long a she doesn’t have Renee Young there to bicker with, things are at least looking up a bit.

Best Major Wrestling Show of the Year – Double Or Nothing

I’m not sure if Takeovers are eligible in this one (they very well may be) but I had Double Or Nothing nominated so it’s not a big stretch.

Worst Major Wrestling Show Of The Year – Super ShowDown

This was one of my three nominees but WOW that’s an upset over Hell in a Cell. My goodness I’m actually surprised by this one.

Best Wrestling Maneuver – Storm Breaker (Will Ospreay)

Really? I mean….it’s fine but…..really? There’s nothing better? Not a 630 or anything else?

Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic – WWE’s Relationship With Saudi Arabia

Could it be anything else?

Worst Television Show – Monday Night Raw

Not only is it not even the worst WWE show, but am I really the only person who watches Ring of Honor? This feels like a bunch of people who don’t watch Raw voting for it as the worst show because they don’t watch it. It’s bad, but there are multiple worse shows out there.

Worst Match of the Year – Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend – Hell In A Cell

That’s going to be an all timer so it was going to run away with this one.

Worst Feud of the Year – Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend

Like it could have been anything else.

Worst Promotion of the Year – WWE

Ring of Honor was literally drawing a few hundred fans a year and had people falling asleep during a World Title match at a major show, with the year capped off by PCO winning the World Title. But yeah, it’s WWE, because WWE SUCKS AND IT ALWAYS WILL! Give me a break.

Best Booker of the Year – Gedo (New Japan)

They might as well name it after him anymore.

Promoter of the Year – Tony Khan (AEW)

Again: you might want to wait until they’re running for the full year before calling it the best thing around. But that’s not fair to AEW or something I’m assuming.

Best Gimmick – The Fiend

Like it could have been anything else.

Worst Gimmick – Shorty G

It takes something special to actually make me mad in wrestling and that’s what they did here. Easy win.

Best Pro Wrestling Book – 100 Things A WWE Fan Should Know Before They Die – Bryan Alvarez

I’m sure the author has nothing to do with this.

Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary – Dark Side of the Ring

Given how much people have been drooling over the second season trailer, this was a pretty easy pick.

So yeah, not as many annoying ones but it was the AEW/New Japan love fest that you knew it would be. The Worst Promotion of the Year award though is rather ridiculous