IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 25, 2004
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s Thanksgiving and that means we’re likely in for a heavily themed show. That’s rarely a good idea around here as WWE doesn’t have the best track record with these things. That being said, there are worse things they could do, like focus on Orlando Jordan vs. Josh Matthews again. Let’s get to it.

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

Vince McMahon narrates a video thanking the troops.

Opening sequence.

Joy Giovanni is setting the Thanksgiving table and happens to be leaning over quite a bit.

Here’s Torrie Wilson, tonight’s ring announcer, to wish us a happy Thanksgiving and hopes we saved room for dessert: Smackdown. With that bad line out of the way, she introduces the first match.

Rey Mysterio vs. Rene Dupree

Kenzo Suzuki and Rob Van Dam are barred from ringside. Dupree has a black eye coming in and the announcers try to figure where it came from. Maybe a match perhaps? Rey starts fast with the top rope wristdrag but the springboard crossbody is dropkicked out of the air. A guillotine legdrop misses, which is far better than jumping straight down with nothing in mind. Rey’s sitout bulldog gets two more but the 619 attempt is sidestepped for a crash to the floor. Rene’s bad luck continues with a posting and the springboard seated senton gets two. Now the 619 can connect, setting up the springboard legdrop for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was as generic of a match as you can get with both guys doing their regular stuff and getting out of there in a few minutes. You’re only going to get so much out of a match like this but since there are almost no other teams on the show, this is about all you can expect for a build towards the title match. They might as well bring out Van Dam and Suzuki for their match now.

In the back, Hiroko explains Thanksgiving to Kenzo Suzuki, who is too busy fawning over Torrie. Hiroko gets the point and leaves in a huff.

We recap last week’s Tough Enough competition.

Here are Al Snow and the Tough Enough competitors for this week’s shenanigans. Ryan Reeves has two broken ribs but he isn’t quitting. This week’s elimination: Daniel Rodimer, who would bounce around developmental for a long time as a Stephanie McMahon project that never worked out. Tonight it’s arm wrestling with Mizanin having to compete right handed to make it even less fair. Puder beats Mizanin in about a second and Reeves beats Smith, albeit with some more effort. After Smith and Mizanin give their predictions, Puder actually beats Reeves without much trouble.

Eddie and Booker T. are ready for their tag match tonight against JBL and Orlando Jordan. Amy Weber comes in and offers her services as an image consultant, which manages to drive a wedge between them over who will be winning the upcoming title match. Booker talks about Eddie already getting his rematch but Eddie explains why those weren’t fair. Eddie talks about Booker being a five time WCW World Champion and it turns into an argument over family. Amy breaks it up by saying they’re forgetting about Undertaker. Eddie says he doesn’t forget anything and leaves angry.

As we transition to the announcers, we get a CGI version of JBL’s entrance….with JBL as a turkey in the limo. These have been going on throughout the night and they’re as bizarre as they sound.

We recap John Cena winning the US Title from Carlito last week and getting attacked by Jesus after. His kidney is messed up pretty badly.

Carlito and Jesus brag about the injury with Carlito saying Jesus took care of Cena. They still have the chain that injured the kidney last week, which was like a drive by. Jesus says he showed Cena what it was like to be from the streets and if Cena ever comes back, he’ll do it again anywhere Cena wants. Carlito spits apple at the camera.

Rey and RVD alternate between Spanish and English about Rob vs. Suzuki.

Rob Van Dam vs. Kenzo Suzuki

Rey and Rene are barred this time. Rob starts fast with the kicks to the face but gets crotched on top to cut off the momentum. A running clothesline gives Kenzo two as the announcers talk about Japanese Thanksgiving. Kenzo drops a running knee, which Cole describes as “well that was a knee to the nose”, because he’s good at explaining the obvious. Rob fights up with a kick to the face, followed by a springboard kick to the face for good measure. Rolling Thunder connects to set up the Five Star but Hiroko gets in the way. She also hands over her sash, which Kenzo uses to choke Van Dam for the DQ.

Rating: D. So the solution to the boring Tag Team Champions is to have them wrestle two bad matches. They can’t drop the titles soon enough as this has been a terrible reign between two guys who couldn’t get a strong reaction if their lives depended on it. Kenzo going after Torrie isn’t going to work either, though at least it seems that they’re moving towards the team dropping the title.

Post match Hiroko goes after Torrie to set up a catfight with Kenzo breaking it up and gyrating in front of Torrie. Rob kicks him in the face.

Joy has put all the food in the ring with Josh Matthews hosting Big Show’s Thanksgiving. Show is happy to celebrate his favorite holiday and says he’s glad to celebrate with the greatest announce team of all time. Well he would if this was Monday and Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were here. Show plugs the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD before asking Tazz not to have a flashback and suplex him through the pumpkin pie. Fans: “ECW! ECW!” Show: “You should buy the DVD!”

Show talks about eating a bunch of food when he was a kid, to the point where his dad put a lock on the refrigerator. Then one Thanksgiving his sister brought her boyfriend over. That wasn’t working for Show, so he waited until no one was looking, knocked him out with a turkey, tied him up and threw him into the neighbor’s yard. He told the sister that the boyfriend went home so she went after him, meaning more food for Show.

Now it’s on to all the food he liked to eat, including the cranberry sauce that better be shaped like a can. He calls Cole, Tazz, Tony Chimmel and the production staff to the ring to eat because it’s time to share the wealth. Everyone goes to eat but here’s Luther Reigns to interrupt. Reigns talks about never having a Thanksgiving because he was always in prison.

These people talk about not having enough to eat but he spent his time trying to stay alive. Reigns gets in the ring and makes Joy put him some food together, earning herself a pie to the face. Show sends him into the food and Reigns bails, leaving everyone else to get in a food fight. Joy pies Show to make things even.

I remember watching this live and the same thing stood out to me nearly fifteen years ago: Show sounded natural. This wasn’t scripted and was pretty obviously him being told “go talk about Thanksgiving for a few minutes.” Show is a good talker so it’s not like there was any danger there. Why that isn’t done today is one of the great mysteries of modern WWE.

The announcers are covered in food.

Here’s Kurt Angle, with armed security, for a chat. Angle is thankful for this holiday but not as thankful as the fans are for him starting the Kurt Angle Invitational. The security holds up the Gold Medal and tonight it’s time for someone else to get a shot at it.

Kurt Angle vs. Cody Steele

The fans chant what sounds like LIAR when Cody says he’s from Rochester. Angle even volunteers to drop down to all fours so Cody can have an early advantage. The reversal takes all of five seconds and Angle hits him in the face. That means a breather for Steele, who agrees to go down as well because he doesn’t seem that bright. Of course Angle kicks him in the face and it’s the Angle Slam into the ankle lock for the fast tap.

Angle gets in a little more ankle cranking for a bonus.

The remaining Tough Enough participants get twenty seconds each to tell us what they’re thankful for.

Mizanin is glad to be here, for the Mizfits who vote for him and for not being Daniel Puder.

Reeves is thankful for food and family. He does a survey asking who the people are here to see and Snow has to take the mic away from him for taking too long.

Smith thanks God, friends, family and the fans.

Puder says just about the same thing as Smith while promising to win. His three favorite words are Snap Crackle and Pop and he’ll show us what that means soon.

We look back at Heidenreich breaking down last week.

Paul Heyman talks about Heidenreich being under round the clock supervision and on medication. He knows a different side of Heidenreich, who is a very sensitive man. Heyman actually bows his head in prayer for him. I’ll give WWE this: they’re trying everything they can with Heidenreich, even if he’s that terrible.

Jackie Gayda and Michelle McCool are stretching for obvious reasons when Charlie Haas comes in. Michelle leaves and Charlie likes Jackie’s pilgrim outfit. Jackie is ready to rip Dawn Marie’s costume off and then her head is coming with it. That makes Charlie happy and he doesn’t like the rumors of him cheating on her with Dawn Marie. Kissing ensues. That’s better than Charlie talking again.

Dawn Marie vs. Jackie Gayda

Indian vs. Pilgrim. Catfight, referee shoved, done in thirty seconds.

Post match Charlie tries to break it up and pulls Dawn off. It says a lot when a story about two gorgeous women fighting in small outfits is this uninteresting.

Booker T./Eddie Guerrero vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/Orlando Jordan

JBL and Eddie start by throwing the towel at each other until Eddie snaps off some armdrags. Booker comes in and side slams Jordan for two because Jordan is really not very good. A JBL cheap shot from the apron lets Jordan take Booker down and we hit the chinlock. It’s back to JBL for an elbow to the face and some elbow drops get two.

Jordan grabs another chinlock as Cole thinks the fans are split on who they want as champion. As long as it’s not JBL that is. Booker gets up pretty easily and makes the hot tag off to Eddie so house can be cleaned. Three Amigos keep JBL in trouble and everything breaks down. JBL powerbombs Eddie out of the corner and boots Booker in the face.

Booker pops up for the ax kick but a fan in a Rey Mysterio mask decks Booker in the jaw. There’s something hilarious about the smartened up security guard sitting there with his arms crossed as a fake fan attacks a wrestler. So much for suspension of disbelief. It’s Danny Basham, followed by another “fan” (Cole: “Now who could this be?” I’m guessing the other fan helping Danny Basham is…..Funaki probably.) shoving Eddie off the top. That would be Doug Basham, who smiles as the Clothesline From JBL finishes Eddie.

Rating: D. Believe it or not, Jordan was in fact able to bring down a pair of Hall of Famers and JBL, who should be in there too. There’s no way to believe that he’s a threat to these two and yet he’s in there week after week for reasons I still don’t understand. It’s another bad match to close out the show, which really doesn’t surprise me.

Post match Undertaker comes out to crush JBL, leaving the Bashams as an afterthought to end the show.

Overall Rating: F. I’ve had to say this a lot lately but I feel so sorry for the fans who bought tickets to this. Quick matches from the Tag Team Title feud, an Angle squash, a thirty second match between Dawn and Jackie, a food fight and a thirty second long arm wrestling tournament from people fighting for a chance to train in developmental. Then their big main event: an Orlando Jordan match. If I paid money for this show, I wouldn’t be coming back and that’s been the case for a few weeks now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Worlds Collide: Cruiserweights Collide
Date: April 17, 2019
Location: Pier 12, New York City, New York
Commentators: Aiden English, Tom Phillips

In case the last one’s name wasn’t obvious enough for you. This time is more of an international flavor though with wrestlers from NXT UK and 205 Live facing off in a series of matches. There is always some potential there and if the matches are given some time, we could be in for a fun show. Let’s get to it.

The announcers give us a quick preview.

Tyler Bate vs. Brian Kendrick

During the entrances, we get a cool photo of Bate when he was about fifteen, meeting Kendrick at an indy show in England. Naturally there’s a handshake before the bell and Kendrick thinks the BIG STRONG BOY chants are for him. A BRIAN KENDRICK chant is a little more clear as they lock up to start. Bate easily gets the better of a test of strength and Kendrick seems like he wants to try something else.

The hammerlock (Kendrick: “HA HA!”) works a bit better until Bate bounces up and down, picks up his own foot, and puts it on Kendrick’s arm for the escape. How British of him. Kendrick uses the more traditional rope break to get out of a hammerlock and tries a headlock. That means a flipping escape and right hands for the first real show of aggression. The power sends Kendrick outside, where he asks a fan why he wasn’t informed of Bate being a big strong boy.

Back in and Kendrick pokes him in the eye, which makes the referee think the match shouldn’t continue. They keep going though and Kendrick tries it again, only to have Bate block this attempt and get in an eye poke of his own. Back up and another pair of eye pokes are blocked so Bate punches him in the face instead. The referee actually yells about the punch though, allowing Kendrick to knock Bate to the floor. The USA vs. UK chants begin as Bate is holding the back of his head after a hard shot. Kendrick sends him head first into the buckle and it’s off to a double arm crank.

Since Kendrick is a veteran, he gets a USA chant going again to make sure the fans don’t get too bored. A neckbreaker gets two but Bate Hulks Up and snaps off a rather un-Hulk like hurricanrana. The running shooting star gets two and a backslide is good for the same. Kendrick is staggered but manages to snap on the Captain’s Hook in the middle of the ring. You don’t use a hold on a guy as strong as Bate, who powers him up into the airplane spin. The rolling Liger kick drops Kendrick again and the Tyler Driver 97 finishes Kendrick at 13:57.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but they built it up into something good by the end. Kendrick can still go in the ring every single time and he helped Bate have a good match. Bate is awesome, and the more than he gets to spend time in the ring with veterans who work a different style like this, the better he’s going to be.

Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews vs. Ariya Daivari/Mike Kanellis

No Maria with Mike, lowering his interest level by at least 73%. Mike does however get a rather strong chant before the match and the fans are very pleased when he starts against Andrews. And like someone who knows what he’s doing, he hands it off to Daivari to really start instead. Another tag continues the stalling as there’s no contact in the first minute. They finally lock up at about a minute and a half with Andrews snapping off some armdrags.

A hair pull takes him down though as the fans are completely behind Kanellis again. Andrews is right back up with an armbar but it’s quickly off to Kanellis vs. Webster for a change. Webster grabs a drop toehold and it’s a standing moonsault from Andrews with Webster adding a standing Swanton for two on Kanellis.

It’s back to Daivari who has some luck by stomping Webster down in the corner, followed by a sliding boot from Kanellis for two. Daivari’s hip swivel neckbreaker gets two as he and Kanellis are getting into a nice groove with the alternating beatings. The big boot gives Kanellis two and Daivari slaps on a chinlock. Webster finally gets in a clothesline and it’s back to Andrews for a double crossbody.

The double stomp to the ribs sets up the standing moonsault to Daivari and Kanellis gets knocked down. An assisted 450 gets two more on Daivari and there are the stereo flip dives to the floor. Back in and Webster gets crotched on the top so Kanellis nails a Michinoku Driver. Kanellis superkicks Daivari by mistake though and Andrews hits the Stundog Millionaire. Webster’s Swanton to the back finishes Kanellis at 13:06.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get into but it turned into a straight formula tag match with the time to set it up. That’s something that is going to work every time, which is why it became the formula over the years. Webster has grown on me so much in recent weeks and his tagging with Andrews has been a big part of that. Nice match here.

Albert Hardie Jr. vs. Gran Metalik vs. Ligero

Hardie is better known as ACH. Just to make sure he fits in, he even puts on an invisible ask as the feeling out process begins. Ligero runs Hardie over but walks into an armdrag from Metalik. That means an early standoff as the fans seem to be behind Metalik so far. Ligero gets kicked to the floor so Hardie can flip around a lot and send Metalik to the floor. Back in and Ligero returns the kick to Hardie’s face, meaning it’s already time for Ligero vs. Metalik. The latter’s rope walk dropkick gets two but Hardie is back in to kick Metalik’s leg out.

Hardie slows things down with an abdominal stretch until he has to get rolled up to give Ligero two. A big flip dive to the floor takes Metalik down and it’s time to rip at Ligero’s mask to make Hardie a bit of a heel. It’s back to the abdominal stretch as Hardie continues to be a little different.

Metalik is more of a traditionalist and superkicks Hardie in the face to break it up. The handspring back elbow drops Ligero and Hardie and a suicide dive drops Hardie again. The Metalik Driver gets two on Hardie with Ligero making the save. Ligero’s springboard Stunner drops Metalik and there’s the big flip dive to take him down again. A bridging German suplex gives Hardie two on Metalik and a kick to the face sends Metalik outside. That leaves Ligero to hit C4L to put Hardie away at 11:12.

Rating: C. This was a moves match as they went from one spot to another with nothing in the middle. I’ve never been a big ACH fan and a lot of the problem stems from this being his go to match: a bunch of very athletic stuff, minus anything to bridge it together. It’s a perfectly watchable match, but it feels like something I’ve seen a dozen times.

Akira Tozawa vs. Jordan Devlin

Devlin starts slowly with some kicks to the leg so Tozawa takes him down for a stalemate. A hammerlock into a front facelock has Devlin in trouble so he reverses into a leglock as the grappling continues. With that not working, Tozawa kicks him in the face and drops the backsplash, setting up the hard corner stomps.

A backbreaker gets Devlin out of trouble and he kicks Tozawa in the back to make it worse. The release Rock Bottom into the standing moonsault (onto Tozawa’s side) gets two and it’s off to a waistlock. That’s broken up with elbows to the face and a knee to the face drops Devlin again. Devlin is smart enough to roll away from the top rope backsplash so Tozawa hits a suicide dive instead.

The Black Widow makes Devlin scream but Tozawa is no AJ Lee so it’s not quite enough. Tozawa wins a slugout until an exchange of kicks to the head puts both guys down. Devlin is up first but the slingshot cutter is countered into a bridging German suplex for two. The top rope backsplash hits knees though and Devlin’s pull up Saito suplex finishes Tozawa at 13:08.

Rating: B-. Another good match here as Devlin has found his groove and become one of the best things about whatever show he’s on anymore. Tozawa was his usual entertaining self as his charisma and work are more than enough to carry him in any match. Devlin seems destined to be a star though and that’s a good sign for NXT UK’s future.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty solid show here, even if it’s nothing that you need to see and nothing I’m going to remember in about a day. That’s the problem with these shows: they feel like they’re just content for the sake of content and that’s not the most thrilling thing in the world. Check this one out though as it’s four rather good (at worst completely watchable) matches in front of an energized crowd.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 22, 2004
Location: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time to continue the Survivor Series fallout, this time with someone else running the show. Last week’s Maven Show is going to be hard to beat as Maven challenging for the title wasn’t fooling anyone. At least that’s out of the way now and we can stop pretending that Maven is anywhere near that level. Let’s get to it.

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

We open in the locker room with Shelton getting ready for his match when Trish Stratus comes in wearing a towel. She asks where he’s off to looking so pretty. That would be a six man tag because William Regal and Tajiri need him. Trish asks about her needs but Shelton thinks she’ll find someone else. An aghast Vince McMahon comes in and freaks out because it’s a woman in a towel. It’s scandalous because the moral fabric of America is being pulled apart by the sexual and racial overtones. Shelton: “EXCUSE ME?”

Vince: “Well Shelton, you may not realize this but you’re an African American. And everyone knows that African Americans are attracted to attractive white Canadian women with broken noses!” Vince goes on a rant about how this isn’t the NFL or the NBA where such actions could send Shelton into the audience in a violent rage. Shelton tells Vince to lighten up and the towel comes down as the Monday Night Football theme plays. Vince can’t kiss her because of the nose guard so he looks to the camera and asks if we’re ready for some wrestling.

So for those of you who weren’t watching American television in 2004, there was a Desperate Housewives vignette that aired before a Monday Night Football game, featuring Nicolette Sheridan and Terrell Owens doing the same thing. This was treated as the biggest disgrace in the history of television with people freaking out over a WOMAN IN A TOWEL (ok it was more her dropping the towel). It was stupid and completely overblown, though this opening has always been one of my favorites. Vince informing Shelton that he’s African American cracks me up every time as Shelton just looks lost.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Chris Benoit, who is in charge this week. He loves the idea of more wrestling and wants to simplify things tonight. There is a contract on his door and anyone who wanted a match tonight just had to sign up. Some people have already signed up so tonight it’s Maven vs. Gene Snitsky, Batista vs. Chris Jericho, Trish Stratus defending the Women’s Title against Lita and Molly Holly, and Jonathan Coachman against JR. We need a main event though and as luck would have it, there’s a steel cage above the ring. As you might have guessed, Benoit himself will be challenging HHH for the World Title inside that cage.

Maven vs. Gene Snitsky

Maven is still banged up but is fine enough to snap Snitsky’s throat across the top rope on his way in. A dropkick sends Snitsky out to the floor and seems to annoy him more than anything else. Snitsky pulls him down and crushes Maven’s head against the post for two as the announcers talk about how Maven should have joined Evolution last week (egads people let it go).

A half crab keeps Maven down and Snitsky slides him across the mat into the post. Maven can barely do that right as the slide is in slow motion. Snitsky misses a charge and Maven hits a high crossbody for two, followed by the top rope bulldog for the same. A big boot cuts Maven down though and it’s the pumphandle slam to give Snitsky the pin.

Rating: D. What else were you expecting? Neither of these two are worth much in the ring, though at least Snitsky beat him pretty decisively. It’s not working with Maven and WWE is right to move him back down the card where he belongs. Snitsky doesn’t have the highest ceiling in the world, but it’s a lot higher than Maven’s, at least right now.

HHH is panicking over the cage match but Batista says they have his back. That doesn’t work well because Batista has been screwing up left and right lately. Ric Flair tries to calm things down but HHH says the point of this team is to keep the title on him. HHH bets that Batista is losing tonight. They separate and things aren’t good.

Here’s Stacy Keibler to shoot t-shirts into the crowd. She pulls out a copy of the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD but that brings out Simon Dean to interrupt. He thinks the people need a DVD that they could actually use. It’s a Simon System DVD, which the people need to protect themselves around Thanksgiving. Women like Stacy are interested in men like him, because he’s actually in shape. Stacy says no because he looks in the mirror more than she does, which doesn’t sit well with him. Threats are made so here’s Hurricane for the save. Simon beats him down with the weightlifting belt so Rosey makes the real save.

Two women (Candace Michelle and Melina) are in the back talking about Batista and HHH when Batista and Flair (Flair: “Maybe later ladies.”) come by with Batista ranting about how he can beat Jericho and he’ll prove it tonight.

Batista vs. Chris Jericho

Rating: D+. This was starting to get somewhere but they were smart to end it that way. Batista looks like the monster who was out to prove himself at all cost, which is exactly what they should have done. Jericho didn’t get squashed, but the point here was to make Batista look like the Animal and that’s what they did.

Post match Batista lays Jericho out with the big clothesline to the back of the head.

Post break, HHH sarcastically claps for Batista and asks for his $100. Batista doesn’t want to hear it because he walked out while HHH got carried out. HHH doesn’t like it because he wanted Batista to win. Batista has a million dollar body and a ten cent brain and if HHH needs to find a replacement, he’ll have no problem getting one. Flair is sent to talk to the livid Batista, but he tells HHH to back off.

Edge looks at a clip of him attacking Christian last week while shouting that it wasn’t his fault. He’s a lone wolf now and deserves a shot at the World Title, but Benoit is getting his own shot. Everyone knows he’s earned a shot so let’s take a poll of people in the back about whether Edge should get a shot at the title. Christy Hemme says no so Edge tells her to apologize to her mirror every morning. A production guy says no because he voted for Shawn Michaels at Taboo Tuesday. Edge is about to kill him so here’s Benoit to break it up. Edge storms off instead.

Jonathan Coachman vs. Jim Ross

Hang on though as Benoit pops up on screen to say that there has been a misunderstanding. See, Coach wrote JR on the signup sheet, which Benoit thought meant Just Rhyno.

Jonathan Coachman vs. Rhyno

Coach gets in a microphone shot and some right hands before the Gore finishes him in less than thirty seconds.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Lita vs. Molly Holly

Trish is defending in fallout from Lita getting beaten down by the two of them. The heel alliance starts early and they take turns choking Lita on the ropes. Lita slips out of a double suplex and grabs Trish’s mask. A double clothesline in the corner has Molly and Trish in more trouble but Trish is right back with a middle rope clothesline.

Lita gets in a quick rollup for two before hammering on the champ in the corner. Trish’s face is slammed into the mat but Molly throws Lita outside. The Molly Go Round connects with Lita diving back in for the save, followed by the hard DDT to Molly. Trish makes her own save and steals the pin to retain.

Rating: C. The match might have been a little sloppy and short, but they were showing an extra fire that you don’t often get from the women’s division of this era. Trish vs. Lita is building up rather well and as soon as Lita can keep her head on straight, she should be running through Trish for the title in a nice moment.

Post match Lita chokes Trish out and grabs at the mask again.

Flair tries to calm Batista down again as Batista gets his arm wrapped up, saying everyone goes through something like this. When HHH is ready to leave, Batista is ready to be the man. That’s not worth it to Batista, who is tired of waiting his turn. Flair: “I’VE BEEN TIRED FOR THIRTY TWO YEARS!” Flair doesn’t want this to turn into another Orton situation, but Batista says he wouldn’t regret it.

Video on Shelton Benjamin’s hometown, which included a lot of drug dealings and violence. Shelton got into trouble when he was in high school and was even a shoplifter who carried a gun with him to school. He got expelled, but he’s not proud of it. Rather random video, but these are effective most of the time, which was the case here.

Shelton Benjamin/William Regal/Eugene vs. La Resistance/Christian

Tyson Tomko is here with the villains. Regal gets taken into the wrong corner to start but Grenier is right back with a snapmare to take over. It’s off to Eugene for a headlock but he’s taken into the corner as well, allowing Christian to snap the back of his neck across the top rope. The choking begins and Conway makes it even worse by grabbing Eugene in a reverse chinlock (like a neckbreaker but with pulling instead of dropping).

Since it’s another chinlock, Eugene gets out without much effort and brings Shelton in to clean house. The top rope clothesline gets two on Conway with Tomko breaking up the cover. La Resistance hits a Hart Attack for two on Benjamin but Regal wrecks both of them. Eugene Stuns Conway into the exploder to give Benjamin the pin

Rating: C-. Completely watchable match here with the two feuds (Are these feuds?) being thrown into a single match for the sake of simplicity. Regal and Eugene are a fun team and while they’re not going to hold the titles very long, they’re a nice pickup every week. Benjamin on the other hand is looking like a star every time he’s out there.

Eugene brings the kids in for the post match dance.

Muhammad Hassan and Daivari complain about travel and threaten to beat respect into anyone who gets in his way.

Smackdown Rebound.

The cage is lowered.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit vs. Edge

Inside a cage. Benoit starts swinging right away and takes Edge into the corner for the chops. A hard whip takes Benoit down though and Edge gets a chance to hammer away for a change. Edge starts going after the back so Benoit sends him face first into the cage. There’s a baseball slide to drive Edge into the cage as this is more about the violence so far than the win. Edge slips out of a Crossface attempt and sends Benoit shoulder first into the post.

Benoit is right back with a catapult into the buckle for two as JR compares this to being trained in the Dungeon. Something tells me there weren’t a lot of catapults into buckles in there. A good crotching slows Benoit down and Edge kicks away in the Tree of Woe. They collide in the corner as Batista is shown watching in the back. We come back from a break with Edge chinlocking a bloody Benoit.

With that not working so well, Edge hammers away with right hands and sends him into the cage again. It’s still too early to escape though as Benoit pulls him back down, sending Edge face first into the buckle. The rolling Germans are on with Benoit hitting five in a row this time. Now it’s Benoit’s chance to go up but Edge makes a save of his own.

Rating: B-. Nice cage match but going from what was supposed to be a World Title match to this didn’t do it any favors. Edge messing up again and costing himself the big win will fuel his rage all the more, but does this really change anything? There’s no storyline advancement for this and Benoit winning is just a consolation prize.

Batista tells Flair he’s going to the ring and wants to see HHH out there. Flair needs to decide whose side he’s on.

They even pay off the doctor, who HHH says was worth every penny. HHH wasn’t going to fight in a cage because Benoit was running the shoe. He explains the entire play (which doesn’t have that many steps) and gives the MVP award to Batista. That was a performance worthy of an Academy Award (IT’S AN EMMY BECAUSE IT’S ON TELEVISION!!! STOP GETTING THAT WRONG!!!). HHH: “Or at least a Slammy!”

After posing with the title, HHH calls out the women but gets Randy Orton instead. He’s in charge next week, which doesn’t scare HHH because Orton can’t get a title match. Orton has two options for HHH: they face off one on one next week and if Orton wins, that stipulation is gone. HHH cuts him off before the second option is read and says no, so Orton goes with option #2: HHH defends the title in a battle royal. The roster comes out to the stage so the champ can panic to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The matches did get better as the show went on, but there is no hiding the fact that nothing is happening at the moment. We’ve literally gone two weeks and the biggest development is Regal and Eugene winning the Tag Team Titles. HHH has had to defend the title against Maven and tonight he gets to be the genius who keeps the title again. You know there are going to be shenanigans next week as well, because that’s what this show is all about anymore. Nothing happened on this show, and that seems to be by design.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: April 23, 2019
Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re officially into the new era of Smackdown after last week’s brand split and believe it or not, Roman Reigns is the focal point of the show again. Last week saw Reigns attack Vince McMahon, which has started off rumors that he might be fired. In other words, it’s McMahon time again and that’s likely to be the case for the time being. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Shane McMahon to get things going. After making Greg Hamilton do the big intro, Shane wants to talk about Roman Reigns. We see the clip of Reigns hitting Vince last week, which is like disgracing the American flag or defacing Mount Rushmore (which Shane stumbles over). That man is a national treasure and it’s time for payback.

Shane lists off some options before saying that he’ll deal with Reigns right now in this ring. Reigns comes out and they both drop their mics. Cue Elias from behind and the beatdown is on. Drift Away leaves Reigns laying. Great. More McMahon Family Fun as Shane and Vince like each other again.

Post break Elias and Shane promise more to come for Reigns.

We look back at Kevin Owens becoming an honorary member of the New Day.

Kofi Kingston is proud to be WWE Champion and Owens comes in to shout a lot. He’s happy to be part of the team and wants to do them proud.

Finn Balor vs. Andrade

Non-title. During the entrances, Vega and Andrade say Balor can’t run and promises to extend Andrade’s legacy with the Intercontinental Title. A very early Vega distraction lets Andrade kick him to the floor, setting up a corkscrew dive to send us to a break. Back with Balor reversing a powerbomb into a DDT. The Coup de Grace is broken up so Balor gets in a sunset flip for two instead.

Andrade is sent outside and that means the running flip dive (good looking one too) to crush Andrade again. Back in and Andrade elbows him in the face, setting up the running knees in the corner for two. Vega tries to interfere with a high crossbody but Andrade catches her instead, allowing Balor to hit the shotgun dropkick into the corner. Now the Coup de Grace can finish Andrade at 7:51.

Rating: C+. This has been WWE telling you that their first match didn’t matter, as Balor should have no reason to face Andrade again. Now of course he will because we need a trilogy match between two people whose first two matches might have been fifteen minutes combined. Just make sure the title is on the line next time because losing to the champ gets you a title shot.

Elias sings a challenge to Roman for Money in the Bank. Shane pops up and likes the idea before they leave together.

Earlier today, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville told Paige that they were above her now and Absolution wasn’t happening again.

Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce

Before the match, the IIconics declare Kairi and Asuka super lame-os instead of superheroes. Last week, Peyton only got pinned because she was dehydrated. Tonight though she’s had a whole GALLON OF WATER (Billie: “Really? A whole gallon?”) so she’s ready to give Kairi her first loss on Smackdown. Kairi kicks her in the arm to start and kicks Peyton in the back, setting up the Interceptor spear. The Sliding D in the corner sets up the Insane Elbow to finish Peyton at 1:35.

Post match Sonya and Mandy come out to applaud Kairi.

Aleister Black sits down in a dark room and says he won’t explain his tragic backstory. You’ll learn about him soon enough.

Jinder Mahal vs. Chad Gable

Mahal is another bonus Superstar Shakeup move. And never mind as Lars Sullivan jumps Gable from behind during his entrance. Mahal runs so Sullivan beats up the Singh Brothers. R-Truth runs in and tries to go after Sullivan but gets laid out as well. No match.

We look at the Shane/Reigns/Elias segment again.

Reigns accepts the Money in the Bank challenge.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat. She talks about the main event of Wrestlemania but there’s a problem: Ronda Rousey lost the Smackdown Women’s Title for her and now Becky is carrying it around without beating Charlotte. This brings out Becky, who says it was Winner Take All at Wrestlemania. Becky did what Charlotte couldn’t and now she’s Becky Two Belts. Charlotte laughs it off and says that every time Lacey Evans knocks her out, it’s Charlotte in her head.

They start talking over each other with Becky saying she wants fresh challengers but management keeps putting Charlotte in front of her. If Charlotte wants to work her way up, Becky can beat her again and still be Becky Two Belts. This brings out Bayley, who says Becky has never beaten her. Charlotte tells Bayley to get in the back of the line so Bayley calls her out for always getting title shots. Bayley slaps the mic out of her hand and says earn a title shot for a change.

Bayley vs. Charlotte

Bayley shoves her down to start and hits the running elbow to the back. That’s shrugged off and Charlotte chokes on the ropes, only to get rolled up out of the corner for two. A middle rope crossbody gives Bayley the same and she hits a running shoulder in the corner. Charlotte pops back up and goes after the knee as we take a break.

Back with Bayley kneeing her in the face but holding the knee in pain. Charlotte runs her over again but misses the moonsault. A belly to back gives Bayley two and the running elbow in the corner gets the same. Bayley gets pulled off the ropes but is fine enough to small package her way out of the Figure Eight for two. The spear finishes Bayley at 10:38.

Rating: C. Why yes, they did bring Bayley over to Smackdown to lose to Charlotte to set up another Becky vs. Charlotte match. I mean, they haven’t gone one on one on pay per view in over a month so it’s time to do the same thing all over again. Someone really needs to introduce WWE to the law of diminishing returns as it seems to be a very foreign concept.

Post match Becky says that she’ll give Charlotte a title shot at Money in the Bank, meaning she’s working twice that night.

We see the Firefly Fun House video, though they make sure to cut to a shot of the crowd watching it, just in case you started to get into what they were presenting.

Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title, Rusev and Lana are at ringside and Owens and Woods have their own announcers’ table. Nakamura misses an early kick to the head and gets sent to the floor. Kofi teases a dive so Nakamura can get back in, where he takes Kofi down into a cross armbreaker. That’s switched into a cross armbreaker but Kofi stacks him up for two and the escape. Kofi’s top rope splash to the back gets two and a dropkick puts Nakamura on the floor again. A dive is cut off with a kick to the face though and Nakamura adds the knee drop off the apron.

Back from a break with Nakamura hitting more knees, followed by a kick to the head. They head outside with Nakamura kicking him out of the air for two as we go to New Day for more commentary. Kofi flips to his feet and goes to the middle rope but Nakamura hits the sliding German suplex to take him down again. Kinshasa is countered with the standing double stomp. Trouble in Paradise misses so Kofi settles for the SOS, drawing in Rusev for the DQ at 13:23.

Rating: B-. The ending wasn’t exactly in doubt as WWE isn’t about to push Nakamura into the World Title scene all of a sudden. Kofi not winning isn’t the biggest problem in the world as it’s basically a matter of time until he loses the title. Good match from two good workers, but what comes after is probably what really matters.

Post match Owens and Woods make the save with Woods being taken down. Owens cuts the nonsense and superkicks Kofi, setting up the big beatdown. He shouts that Kofi’s kids better have had a good time because Owens is coming for the title. Kofi tries to fire up but gets stomped down in the corner. Woods breaks up the apron powerbomb so Owens gives it to him instead to end the show. I know it seemed obvious from the beginning, but that’s because it was obvious from the beginning. Why stretch it out for another few weeks instead of just getting to the point already?

Overall Rating: C+. I don’t know if it’s the lack of Baron Corbin or the show just not trying to feel so big and important but this is such an easier night to watch than Raw. Kofi vs. Owens isn’t the most interesting in the world but it’s fine for Kofi’s first feud, especially when it’s a very strong possibility that Owens could win the title. The rest of the show had some questionable decisions but the action was good and nothing was all that bad. Or maybe it is just the lack of Corbin.

Results

Finn Balor b. Andrade – Coup de Grace

Kairi Sane b. Peyton Royce – Insane Elbow

Charlotte b. Bayley – Spear

Kofi Kingston b. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ when Rusev interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 22, 2019
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s kind of a new world around here as we have the first show with all the new talent brought over in the Superstar Shakeup. That could be a good or a bad thing, but given how many changes they’ve managed to make since the Shakeup took place, your guess is as good as mine about what they’re doing here. Let’s get to it.

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

Tonight it’s a pair of triple threat matches with the winners facing off later in the night for the #1 contendership to the Universal Title.

Here’s HHH to open things up but before he can say anything, Universal Champion Seth Rollins (the hometown boy) joins him. We get a quick hug before Rollins gets to soak in the cheers. Rollins talks about everything he’s been through in recent weeks, including stomping Brock Lesnar’s bucket head three times at Wrestlemania. HHH seems impressed but we pause for a BURN IT DOWN chant.

The landscape has changed recently and that brings them to Money in the Bank. Rollins knows all about that because he’s cashed in and been cashed in on, but that’s not happening again. HHH says worry about the night of Money in the Bank rather than the briefcase, which Rollins thinks means Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. Actually it means the two triple threats, which we heard about five minutes ago.

This brings out Samoa Joe, who likes the Becky Lynch plan of a belt on each shoulder. Rey Mysterio comes out to say he wants Seth at Money in the Bank. Now it’s Drew McIntyre saying that he would be the Universal Champion if he had gotten to Lesnar first. Miz is out next, saying that he’s been rebooted thanks to Shane McMahon. Nothing sounds better as a headliner for Money in the Bank than Miz vs. Rollins but now it’s Baron Corbin (with some loud booing) to interrupt.

Corbin should get the title shot because he’s the only person to retire a Gold Medalist at Wrestlemania. Just to complete the set, here’s AJ Styles to say Corbin’s face is almost as annoying as his voice. Styles says he’s ready to make Raw the house that he built by winning the Universal Title at Money in the Bank. Rollins is ready for all of them because he’s Seth Freaking Rollins and he’ll burn it down. This was WAY longer than it needed to be with six versions of “it’s my title shot”.

AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe

One fall to a finish. Rey gets knocked into the corner to start and AJ hits Joe with forearms. A pop up hurricanrana drops Joe as I try to figure out why Mysterio and Joe are on the same level after Joe annihilated him at Wrestlemania. With Joe on the floor, AJ snaps off a backbreaker and knees Joe through the ropes. That’s too much fun though and it’s Joe coming back in to run both of them over and hammer away on Rey in the corner. Mysterio is sent hard out to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Rey charging into the scoop powerslam with AJ making a save. Rey gets up and drops AJ but Joe is smart enough to roll to the floor to avoid the 619. That means a dive onto Joe so AJ and Rey can go up top at the same time. Joe comes back in and super backdrops both of them for the triple knockdown.

We take another break and come back again with Rey sending AJ to the floor and hitting a nasty crucifix bomb on Joe. There’s the tornado DDT to plant Joe again and everyone is down. The 619 is countered into the Koquina Clutch but AJ makes a save. That means a 619 to Joe but AJ comes in again and hits the Styles Clash to Rey onto Joe for the pin on Joe (of course) at 17:48.

Rating: B. I’m not even going to bother yelling about Joe taking the fall as it’s just not worth it anymore. AJ advancing on to the main event makes sense, though I’m scared about the idea of Corbin getting the title shot. The action was good here with three hard workers in there, though my hopes for Joe running through the roster is already looking unlikely.

We look at John Cena guest hosting the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Naomi vs. Billie Kay

Before the match, the IIconics tell Naomi thank you next, but can’t remember who sings the song. After remembering who it is, they wonder who is backing the Glow. Billie takes her down into an armbar but Naomi is right back up with the sitout jawbreaker. After knocking Peyton off the apron, it’s a sunset flip to finish Billie at 1:11.

Creepy dollhouse vignette.

The Miz vs. Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre

Again, one fall to a finish. McIntyre and Corbin double team Miz to start, knocking him to the floor and then bringing him back inside to keep up the beating. Corbin switches over to punching McIntyre in the face and going outside, where McIntyre sends him into the barricade. Back in and McIntyre suplexes Miz for two but Corbin’s distraction lets Miz get back up for the Daniel Bryan offense. McIntyre takes Miz up top for a super White Noise but Corbin adds a powerbomb for the Tower of Doom as we take a break.

Back with Miz diving onto the two of them on the outside. Miz throws McIntyre back inside for the Figure Four until a thumb to the eye breaks it up. Deep Six gives Corbin two on Miz but Corbin misses a charge into the steps to knock himself out. That leaves Miz and Corbin to trade pinfall attempts until a short DDT gets two on McIntyre. Another gets the same on Corbin so Drew sends Corbin outside. The Claymore drops Miz and Corbin comes back in to shove McIntyre to the floor and steal the pin at 15:01.

Rating: C+. You knew Corbin was winning, I knew Corbin was winning, the fans should have known Corbin was winning, and the world should have known Corbin was winning. Why? He’s the guy who wrestles in gear that makes him look like an assistant manager at Applebees, was the focal point of Raw when the show’s ratings tanked like never before, and has fewer great matches than I have terms as Governor of New Hampshire. And now we get to see him wrestle again tonight!

AJ Styles says he’s ready for Corbin and lists off the accolades, with AJ winning every one of them.

Here’s Sami Zayn to say he’s here to tell you the truth about yourself. No one likes to hear about how negative they are, which triggered the denial and deflection. The fans have created this false narrative of everything wrong with Sami, even though he understands what it’s like to be outside these walls. We see some photos of him in various nature locations and some historic locations.

Sami points out the huge smile on his face which goes away when he comes back here. There must be a problem and it’s all the fans here. It’s the toxic culture that the fans put on both him and themselves. It’s easier to blame him than accept the blame for all of this because the fans get in this mob mentality. That won’t keep them safe from him though because he’d rather be in any of those places than here. If the fans don’t like that, they can all take a trip to h***.

Video on Cedric Alexander.

Cesaro vs. Cedric Alexander

Cesaro is freshly on Raw as well. Alexander gets powered into the corner to start but an anklescissors sends Cesaro outside. Back in and Cesaro slams him down, setting up a neck crank to keep things slow. Cesaro forearms him in the back a few times before going back to the chinlock.

A boot to the face drops Cedric again but he fights back up with forearms and a spinning back elbow to the jaw. Cedric grabs a rather nice Michinoku Driver for two and the Neuralizer keeps Cesaro in trouble. The big running flip dive to the floor connects but Cesaro uppercuts him out of the air for the knockout pin at 6:25.

Rating: B-. Cedric looked great here and the more he can get in the awesome work he’s capable of the better. Just keep him away from longer promos as he really can’t talk well enough to survive on this level. Cesaro being back on his own and getting a win is a good sign, but I’m not believing anything about his push until I see some results.

The Usos are ready to fight everyone around here (including the Viking Raiders, as the name was so bad that even WWE buckled under the negative response). The Revival comes in and laughs off the idea of the Usos being great. That’s not cool with the Usos, who are ready to fight whenever.

Viking Raiders vs. Lucha House Party

The Raiders jump them from behind and the beatdown is on with the masked guys taking a beating. The pop up powerslam is now dubbed the Viking Experience because those WWE names MUST BE HEARD NO MATTER HOW MUCH EVERYONE HATED THEM!!! No match.

Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder aren’t worried about the new competition around here.

Here’s Becky Lynch for a chat. She talks about Lacey Evans being her first challenger around here and doesn’t mind being sucker punched. Becky has thrown a few punches of her own but it’s the person throwing her that bothers her. Lacey is another bleach blonde who uses certain skills to curry favors with management.

While Lacey is back there “furthering her career”, Lynch wants a fight right now. This brings out Lacey to say that it’s typical of a man to disrespect a lady, though maybe it’s just the Irish in her. At Money in the Bank, Becky will understand respect and those two titles (Two?) will belong to Lacey. Becky says she’s been on a journey and Lacey is on her last nerves. Do not confuse happiness with contentment because Becky is coming for her at Money in the Bank.

Becky Lynch vs. Alicia Fox

Non-title. Fox’s headlock doesn’t work and Becky sends her outside without much effort. Becky goes to the floor as well and gets driven hard into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Becky getting a sloppy headscissors but being sent outside before the Disarm-Her can go on. Becky drives her into the barricade this time and it’s the Disarm-Her to make Fox tap at 8:02.

Rating: D-. Yes they really brought back Fox for this horrid match which managed to bring Becky down. I tried to defend Fox for as long as I could because I liked her charisma but egads this was hard to sit through. It didn’t help that the match felt like eight hours instead of eight minutes. Terrible stuff and get rid of Fox already.

Post match Lacey punches Becky out twice in a row.

Corbin says he deserves to win the title and is ready to make Rollins pay for making his life miserable.

Ricochet vs. Robert Roode

Yes it’s Robert and he has a Rick Rude mustache to go with the new name. During his entrance (still with Glorious), Roode talks about losing 150lbs of dead weight with Chad Gable being gone. Now he can show why he’s glorious. Graves promises a spike in pregnancies after all the women see Roode’s mustache, which sends Renee off commentary in laughter.

A headlock slows Ricochet down to start but he’s right back with an anklescissors to send Roode into the ropes. Ricochet sends him outside and hits a picture perfect moonsault from the middle rope to the floor. Back from a break with Roode holding a chinlock and Graves continuing his pregnancy theories. A suplex gives gives Roode two more and we hit the reverse chinlock.

Ricochet fights up and hits a hurricanrana, followed by kicking the buckle into Roode’s head. The springboard clothesline sets up a standing shooting star press for two but Roode hits a spinebuster for two of his own. The Glorious DDT is countered into a swinging GTS but the 630 misses. Roode sends him into the buckle and hits the Glorious DDT for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: C-. They see more in Roode than in Ricochet? The Roode who is now ripping off Rick (and Silas Young in a way) Rude and hasn’t exactly been thrilling in his WWE run? I get the idea of trying to push someone while you can, but did this need to be Ricochet taking the fall? There’s no one else around whatsoever?

We go to the Firefly Fun House, which looks like a children’s program. Bray Wyatt (looking slim) in a longsleeved shirt comes in and introduces himself, saying he knew we would be together again. Offscreen children cheer and Bray can’t wait to show what he’s learned. He ducks his head and looks to come up evil but he’s just kidding. Bray introduces us to his special friends: Mercy the Buzzard and Peppy the Witch (the stars of the creepy vignettes). See, Bray used to be a bad man, which makes the children boo.

That part of him is dead now, but he always keeps a memory with him to prevent that from ever happening again. That would be a cardboard cutout of his old look…..and Bray whips out a chainsaw and cuts it in half. The fun is just getting started and remember that he’ll always light the way, so all you have to do is let him in. I have no idea what to think of this but it was disturbing in a lot of ways.

Next week: the Money in the Bank names are revealed.

Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles

The winner gets Rollins at Money in the Bank. AJ seems to have an ankle or leg injury so it’s right hands instead of the dropkick. AJ’s springboard is blocked with a right hand to the face and Corbin sends him hard into the corner. They head outside with AJ being whipped in the barricade and getting dropped ribs first onto said barricade as we take a break. Back with AJ fighting out of a chinlock but getting slammed down onto his face for two.

Styles gets in some kicks to the leg but it’s too early for the Calf Crusher. Instead AJ goes with the running seated forearm and a spinning backfist to rock Corbin. A rollup into a Styles Clash attempt is broken up and it’s Deep Six for two. The Calf Crusher goes on this time though until Corbin slams him head first into the mat for the break. AJ gets sent into the corner but comes back with a kick to the head. The Phenomenal Forearm sends AJ to Money in the Bank at 13:05.

Rating: C-. I can’t remember the last time I felt such a relief, but there is no way that Corbin isn’t getting his title at some point. It’s clear that WWE sees the world in him for some reason and there doesn’t seem to be a way around it. At least we can have Rollins vs. Styles while it lasts though and that match should be awesome.

Post match Rollins comes out for the staredown. A handshake ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The ending helped, but this was a show where the matches don’t add up to the overall total. There was way too much Corbin, too many champions losing and that nonsense with Fox looking like she belonged in OVW. At the same time, there were things like Bray’s new character (WHAT WAS THAT?) and Cesaro getting a win, though the Corbin push continues to elude me, even if he lost here. Rollins vs. Styles should be more than enough to help for a long time though, even with Money in the Bank coming up.

Results

AJ Styles b. Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio – Styles Clash to Mysterio onto Joe

Naomi b. Billie Kay – Sunset flip

Baron Corbin b. Drew McIntyre and the Miz – Claymore to Miz

Cesaro b. Cedric Alexander – Uppercut

Becky Lynch b. Alicia Fox – Disarm-Her

Robert Roode b. Ricochet – Glorious DDT

AJ Styles b. Baron Corbin – Phenomenal Forearm

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

I know it’s a little late but the next shows haven’t started yet so it’s still acceptable. Last week WWE had the Superstar Shakeup (also known as Designated Fun/All Things Happen Night) where a bunch of people moved from one show to the other. Today we’re taking a look at all of them, even if some have already been moved back. Some of these will be very short as there isn’t exactly much to say about them.

To Raw

1. The Miz

Cool, even if he’s been traded every single year (and yet it still somehow feels like Miz has been on Smackdown forever). Miz is likely there so they can plug his reality show even more, because that’s what wrestling is all about these days. Oh and more with Shane McMahon because reasons.

2. Andrade

It’s a good idea, even if they put him over the Intercontinental Champion on his first night. Then again it doesn’t matter as he’s already back on Smackdown. You know, because they can’t make their mind up for that long.

3. Ricochet

This guy just oozes charisma and the bigger stage he’s on the better. I don’t trust WWE to not turn him into a jobber, but at least he’s on his own now.

4. Aleister Black

Already moved to Smackdown, because WWE still can’t make their minds up.

5. The Viking Experience

I’m going to get this one out of the way before I come up with 14 more jokes about the name. The move is a surprise, but if there was ever a team ready for the main roster the day they debuted in NXT, it’s these two.

6. Rey Mysterio

Does it matter which show he’s on? Rey is a legend and is going to be able to help put over young talent no matter where he is so this is pretty inconsequential.

7. Usos

The most overdue of the whole thing and the move that the team has needed for years now.

8. Naomi

Sure. Given that the champ defends on both shows, most of the women’s division moves mean absolutely nothing at the moment.

9. Zelina Vega

Already back on Smackdown so we’ll move on.

10. Eric Young

The Shakeup ended Sanity and I think we’re all in a better place because of that. The team has done nothing since debuting so maybe they can be better off on their own.

11. EC3

At this point, he’d be better off as a garbage collector so the move doesn’t exactly change much for him.

12. Cedric Alexander

He has the charisma of a bowling ball so hopefully his work is good enough to make him stand out. That’s certainly not out of the question, but his talking abilities are average at best.

13. Lars Sullivan

Moved over to Smackdown the following night so more on him later.

14. Lacey Evans

It’s about time they did something with her. Putting Evans on Raw is fine, though she had more success punching Becky on Smackdown. Her win was good though and hopefully this goes somewhere as there’s a hard to describe appeal to her, which could take her somewhere.

15. AJ Styles

Well what else was he going to do on Smackdown? Give him some fresh opponents.

16. Cesaro

Allegedly moved after the Shakeup. The Bar has run its course anyway so let him see what he can do on his own, a mere five years after it was almost too late to pull the trigger.

To Smackdown

1. Finn Balor

Feels like a big deal, but it comes after Andrade beat him on Raw in another meaningless and unnecessary loss for a champ. Such is life for a champion in WWE these days, but I’m sure it’s fine because he was the Demon at Wrestlemania.

2. Ember Moon

See what I said about Naomi, though Moon vs. Becky is oddly intriguing.

3. Bayley

This one is a little different as Bayley needs to get far, far away from Sasha Banks because that’s the same story they’ve run for over a year now. Come up with something else for Bayley and maybe her career can be saved.

4. Kairi Sane

Hey did you know that she’s from Japan and so is Asuka? We better make them a tag team….with Paige as their manager?

5. Lars Sullivan

He could work on either show and having a resident monster around is a good idea. Let him wreck people and then get into a big spot where he may or may not win. It works in its simplicity, as has been the case forever in wrestling.

6. Buddy Murphy

It took me some time to warm up on Murphy but man alive has he nailed everything that he’s done in the last year. This is well deserved and maybe now we can stop pretending that he doesn’t weigh 230.

7. Elias

His act works wherever it goes, but he’s not getting any higher up the card than where he is now.

8. Roman Reigns

They needed an ace and now they have one. Seth Rollins is happy too as Raw can be his (and AJ’s) show now.

9. Liv Morgan

All the rest of these were announced on WWE.com. Morgan….I’m not sure if she can hang on her own. She doesn’t talk much but when you look like her, you’re going to have a job for a long time in WWE.

10. Chad Gable

Another team broken up, though he’s not going anywhere. I’d like to see him get a push, but he’s too small and too gimmicky (An Olympic wrestler who can talk. What chance would that have?) to get a real shot these days.

11. Apollo Crews

I’m sure his guaranteed rocket push is coming any day now.

12. Mickie James

Just another name moving that doesn’t change anything.

13. Heavy Machinery

This one intrigues me as you could have them as the cult favorite team. Otis is going to draw people to him so there’s nothing wrong with letting them get a chance. Their interactions with New Day alone should be great.

So that’s the Shakeup this year and….eh. WWE has made it so no one is allowed to break out, but it’s nice to have a mixture of NXT callups and some fresh faces around, though it’s little more than changing names around for some new matches. That’s a good idea, but WWE is going to push the same people more likely than not, as is always the case.

Shield’s Final Chapter
Date: April 21, 2019
Location: Taxslayer Center, Moline, Illinois
Commentators: Renee Young, Corey Graves, Michael Cole

Welcome to your weekly “WWE must have fresh content” show as we get a special look in at a house show where the Shield is teaming together for THE LAST TIME EVER WE PROMISE AND WE’RE NOT CHANGING IT AGAIN FOR REAL THIS TIME. This would be at least the third farewell moment for the team, but this time it’s televised. Oh and we get an Intercontinental Title match for a bonus. Let’s get to it.

The announcers welcome us to the show and run down the card, which does indeed have a third match added.

Video on the history of the Shield, which really is quite the dominant run. They do include the split, which is one of those things that has to be included to really complete the story.

Intercontinental Title: Finn Balor vs. Elias

Balor is defending and is in trouble at the opening bell as Elias jumps him again and stomps away. Elias starts working on the arm, meaning it’s off to the armbar early on. A pull of the arm cuts off Balor’s comeback and the arm goes hard into the buckle. Balor does the same thing to Elias and gets two off a rollup. A Fujiwara armbar has Balor in more trouble and for some reason his skin looks yellow.

The hold is broken up and the Sling Blade connects but Elias clotheslines him right back down. Balor goes up and gets caught, nearly getting knocked onto the announcers’ table right next to the apron. With Renee running for cover, Balor grabs a sunset flip for two, which seemed to be the planned finish but Elias’ shoulder was up (that’s kind of a big deal at the moment). La majistral finishes Elias at 6:46.

Rating: D+. It was watchable enough and nothing that we haven’t seen done better on Raw in recent months. That being said, this wasn’t the focal point of the show and there’s nothing wrong with throwing it onto the card to pad things out a bit. Both guys get good reactions from the crowd so starting the night off with a quick match worked well enough.

Post match Elias loads up another song but the Riott Squad cuts him off. They want to sing along and try their hand, but the song turns into one about loving them instead of him. The dejected look on Elias’ face is funny, even as he gets cut off again.

Bayley/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

This is announced as a six woman tag but it’s two on two with Liv Morgan on the floor. Bayley sends Logan into the corner to start and gets thrown down on her face as a result. Logan gets in her own toss into the corner and it’s off to Riott vs. Moon, which is treated as a big deal. That doesn’t last long before Logan comes in again and takes a Stroke of all things. Bayley adds a baseball slide but Morgan breaks up the top rope elbow. Logan’s running knees in the corner rock Bayley again and it’s off to the standing Cloverleaf.

With that broken up, a hot shot into the buckle (this match likes corners) almost allows the hot tag to Moon but Riott breaks it up. As is the case EVERY SINGLE TIME, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later with Moon getting to clean house. Riott kicks her in the face and grabs a rollup for two with Liv holding on as a bonus. The referee does his job for a change and ejects Morgan, leaving Riott to take the Eclipse for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: C-. Another Raw level match and I can’t even get annoyed at Riott taking another pin. That’s the kind of thing that is just going to happen over and over again and it’s not worth getting annoyed over. What did annoy me was that false hot tag into the hot tag thing. Just do something else now and then to mix it up a bit. Like, let the tag go through on the first attempt for once.

The Shield goes old school with the pick up the camera promo, talking about how many changes they’ve caused around here. Those changes are still going. Believe that.

We look at Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin interfering in a Lucha House Party six man earlier tonight, beating up both teams to show off how awesome they are.

Shield vs. Baron Corbin/Drew McIntyre/Bobby Lashley

Before the match, the villains get to say something. Corbin says we’re not going to get a happy ending, just like we didn’t at Wrestlemania. Lashley promises violence. McIntyre wraps it up by saying history is written by the victors and the beating will be real tonight. Rollins has his original Shield vest in a nice touch. Rollins and Corbin start things off in what is likely a future pay per view title match.

Corbin shoulders him down and we hear a story about Renee and Dean’s first date, which included Rollins. It’s off to Dean for the first time with a sliding clothesline putting Corbin in more trouble. Lashley comes in and gets a clothesline of his own as the Shield starts picking up the pace on the villains. We settle down to Reigns vs. McIntyre with the Samoan drop giving Reigns two. Ambrose comes in again and the suicide dive hits McIntyre. Lashley and Corbin are right there to beat Dean down though and it’s Ambrose in trouble for the first time.

Corbin knocks Rollins and Reigns off the apron though and Dean slaps on a surprise Figure Four with McIntyre making the save. A snap suplex almost lets Dean get over for the tag so Lashley is right back with a belly to belly. Dean finally gets in a neckbreaker so Rollins can come in with the springboard clothesline. Corbin’s chokebreaker is countered into a rollup for two but Lashley clotheslines him from behind.

Rollins is fine enough to knock both of them off the top and high crossbody Corbin, allowing the tag to Reigns. Everything breaks down and the standing elbow lets Dean drop Drew. There’s a Rebound Lariat from Dean and a superkick from Seth at the same time, plus a spear to cut Lashley down. The Stomp into Dirty Deeds plants Corbin and it’s the final TripleBomb for the pin at 14:26.

Rating: C+. It’s almost every Shield match you’ve seen for years, but very thankfully about ten minutes shorter than the original match at Fastlane. There was no doubt about who was winning here and there was no need to have these goons and McIntyre put them in trouble for very long. This was the Greatest Hits version of the Shield and that’s exactly what it should have been in their swan song.

Post match the Shield poses and the fans thank Ambrose, including a PLEASE DON’T GO chant. Rollins: “Don’t you think we tried that already?” Seth talks bout how long it took to get us here and how none of this would be possible without the family in the ring. They hug and say something the mic isn’t supposed to hear and it’s time for Ambrose’s big farewell.

Dean talks about how the three of them are just like everyone else: if you work hard enough you can get anywhere you want to go and (with a point to Reigns) overcome any obstacle in front of you. If someone tells you that you can’t do something, stick your middle finger in the air and go get it. Reigns actually doesn’t say anything and it’s posing to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It wasn’t a show that you need to see whatsoever but they were in and out in about an hour and ten minutes so it’s not like it’s overly long. It’s really more of a footnote than anything else and after saying goodbye to the Shield so many times already, it’s kind of hard to get invested in it all over again. For a third of a house show with a special main event, it was completely fine but only worth seeing if you’re a major Shield fan.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Worlds Collide: NXT vs. NXT Alumni
Date: April 14, 2019
Location: Pier 12, New York City, New York
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Percy Watson

So you might remember the When Worlds Collide tournament from over Royal Rumble weekend. Well now they’re doing a series of one off shows with nothing on the line, though this time around we have some interesting concepts, such as this one with a pretty simple name. This could be entertaining or it could be rather boring so let’s get to it.

The announcers run down most of the card.

Kassius Ohno vs. Aiden English

Yes English does still wrestle. The fans given Aiden an AIDEN DAY chant and Ohno congratulates him for getting a chant while being a commentator. That’s too much for Aiden, who hammers away with right hands in the corner and a running elbow makes it worse. Ohno shoves him off the top to the floor though and follows Aiden outside for a right hand (Ohno: “OHNO DAY!”).

Back in and we hit the chinlock until Ohno switches to a double arm crank. Aiden fights up and reverses a neckbreaker into a falling DDT for two. The big running flip dive to the floor (When did Aiden learn to do that?) knocks Ohno down again and a backsplash gets two more back inside. Ohno isn’t having any more of this and kicks Aiden in the face, setting up the Roaring elbow to the back of the head for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C-. Ohno’s shouting insults were a very nice addition here and they helped what was an otherwise dull match. There’s only so much you can get out of Ohno vs. English as Ohno is a role player and English hasn’t had much success outside of his Vaudevillain days in NXT. Not terrible, but the ending coming out of nowhere didn’t help things.

Harper vs. Dominik Dijakovic

This is Harper’s big return after his wrist injury. The fans welcome him back and it’s Harper going straight at him for a lockup in the corner. After the clean break, they trade shots to the face with Harper’s knocking Dijakovic outside. Back in and Dijakovic blocks a suplex attempt and nails the suplex toss in a great power display. More of the same gives Dijakovic two but Harper is right back with a DDT to put them both down.

A heck of a right hand lets Harper hit a slingshot hilo and a big boot gets two. The swinging Boss Man Slam gets the same but Harper goes up and gets chokeslammed back down. They slug it out on the apron and it’s Harper neckbreakering him out to the floor in a crash. Back in and a half nelson suplex drops Dijakovic on his neck again but it’s too early for the discus lariat. Dijakovic shouts DIE so Harper superkicks him, only to get kicked right back in the face to give Dijakovic two.

Rating: B. And that’s pretty much it for Harper, who asked for his release a few days later. At least he went out on a very good match between two big monsters, with both guys trading bombs until one of them couldn’t get up. I had a good time with this one and that’s all you can ask for from a hoss fight like this.

Post match respect is shown in a nice touch.

Sanity vs. Undisputed Era

Alexander Wolfe/Killian Dain (with Eric Young) vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish here. Fish and Wolfe start things off with Kyle going to his back and Wolfe waving down at him. A hiptoss lets Wolfe wave again and the threat of wild swinging sends O’Reilly bailing to the floor. Back in and Wolfe spins around and has a seat on the mat, freaking O’Reilly out enough that he bails over for a tag.

O’Reilly is sent outside and it’s Dain coming in to clean house. The Samoan drop/fall away slam combination is as impressive as ever and a backsplash into the Vader Bomb gets two on O’Reilly. Fish’s exploder gets two on Wolfe with Dain making the save. The Backstabber into the backsplash from Dain crushes Fish for two but O’Reilly comes in off a blind tag and chop blocks Dain. High/Low finishes Dain at 9:07.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have anywhere near the heat you might have expected, though can you blame Sanity for not being all fired up here? They’re almost on the same level as the Colons at this point and I don’t see that getting any better. The match was entertaining enough though because of the talent in there, but not exactly must see.

Post match the Era goes after Dain again so Young comes in for the save.

Tyler Breeze vs. Roderick Strong

Feeling out process to start with Strong going to a wristlock. Breeze spins out and puts on a wristlock of his own before snapping off a dropkick to send Strong into the corner. A catapult makes it even worse for Strong but he’s fine enough to knock Breeze off the top and out to the floor.

Back in and we hit the first backbreaker (you knew those were coming), setting up Strong putting his knee in Breeze’s ribs and pulling on the neck. Strong’s dropkick gets two and he mocks Breeze’s picture taking abilities. It’s off to another backbreaker, this time with Strong keeping Breeze over his knee. The chinlock with a knee in the back stays on the designated target before Strong mixes things up with a modified Gory Stretch.

With that broken up, Breeze is fine enough to hit an enziguri for a quick near fall. The Supermodel Kick gets two more and there’s a crucifix for the third straight two. The Beauty Shot is countered into a backbreaker to give Strong two of his own and Breeze is in trouble again. Some kicks to the face get Breeze out of a Strong Hold attempt but he gets caught in the belly to back faceplant for two more. Back up and another backbreaker is countered into a quick Unprettier for the pin on Strong at 13:13.

Rating: B-. Good match here, which is the case every time Breeze is around NXT. You would think that this could mean he gets to go somewhere because he’s capable of pulling it off, but WWE has decided that someone of Breeze’s size, look and gimmick isn’t going anywhere and that’s a big problem with the whole brass ring concept. At least he can do things like this here though, and that’s as good as it’s getting for him at the moment.

Overall Rating: C+. Perfectly watchable yet also skippable show here, with the matches mostly working and the wrestling being pretty good at times. It’s an interesting concept that could be done on a much bigger scale in the future, though I would be worried to see what kind of things would happen if WWE was actually paying attention to the idea.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 18, 2004
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re done with Survivor Series and unlike Raw, there isn’t much to go on at this point. Team Guerrero won the big match on Sunday and World Champion John Bradshaw Layfield retained the title by cheating to beat Booker T. There is one big match set up for this week though, as United States Champion Carlito defends against John Cena. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s a serious John Cena to get things going. Cena says the champ is back and talks about Carlito thinking he’s man enough to steal a chain. Carlito tried to have him taken out in a nightclub to take everything away from him. That’s why tonight we’ll see if Carlito is man enough to go face to face and handle his business. With the serious part out of the way, Cena starts rhyming about being on fire and how Carlito needs to retire. It’s time for the tides to switch and everyone knows that payback is a censored (their censoring, not mine). As usual, serious Cena brings the goods.

And now, Tough Enough. At least they didn’t open the show with them for a change. Chris Nawrocki still won’t quit. This week’s elimination: Chris Nawrocki. With that out of the way, the remaining five head to the ring where Snow introduces them again and it’s time for a challenge. This week there’s a flag set up in a corner and you have to get by the Basham Brothers to capture it. Al Snow reads off a bunch of rules, basically saying it’s grappling and strength instead of fighting.

Everyone has thirty seconds and it’s Mike Mizanin starting things off. He’s taken down with ease and the Bashams lay on him until a rope break lets Mizanin get up. The remaining nine seconds don’t work either and time is up.

Ryan Reeves goes next and powers into them, which works better but he still can’t get past the middle of the ring. He certainly got closer than Mizanin.

Daniel Rodimer is third and uses the size to get close but they have to stop the clock at nine seconds because they’re in the ropes. Why they didn’t stop it when Reeves was in the ropes isn’t clear but the Bashams take him down again and time expires.

Justice Smith goes fourth and tries a straight ahead approach, which gets him the closest so far, though still not that close.

Daniel Puder goes last and gets a foot or two away before being pulled back by the numbers game.

Snow says the Bashams win the contest.

Rey Mysterio walks in on Michelle McCool and Rob Van Dam stretching. This is in no way an excuse to have Michelle stretching in limited clothing or to have Van Dam bridging up from his back and managing to do the finger point anyway.

We look at Carlito’s debut where he won the US Title.

Carlito and Jesus come in to see Theodore Long with Carlito claiming a shoulder injury to keep himself out of the match. Even the doctor’s note and the x-rays aren’t enough to sway Long, because Cena was stabbed six weeks ago and is wrestling anyway. Carlito yells in Spanish but Long only understands Ebonics. Oh and swallow that apple.

Paul Heyman straps Heidenreich into the straitjacket and tells him that the match against Undertaker was a moral victory. Heidenreich is Undertaker’s own personal demon and Heyman has never seen Undertaker look at anyone that way. For tonight though, Heidenreich needs to focus on Charlie Haas. Heidenreich says let’s get this over with (amen brother), sounding more solemn than ever.

Heidenreich vs. Charlie Haas

Haas is ready to fight but Heidenreich needs to fold up his straitjacket so Heyman can hold it. Charlie jumps him from behind, knocking Heyman and the straitjacket to the floor. Heidenreich snaps and hits a shoulder breaker but doesn’t cover. Instead he slaps the mat and bails to the floor, shouting about how he didn’t fail until it’s a countout.

Post match Heidenreich goes into the crowd, lays on the ground, and shouts about how he can’t fail.

Rob Van Dam/Rey Mysterio vs. Kenzo Suzuki/Rene Dupree

Non-title. Kenzo kicks Van Dam to start and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Rob picks Rey up and hits a double legdrop with Cole describing them as supple tonight. Uh, yeah. Kenzo starts in on Rey’s knee and Rene trips him to the floor like a true villain. With Rob making the save, Rey is fine enough to hit a top rope dropkick on Suzuki. Back from a break with Rey still in trouble and Kenzo possibly having a broken nose.

A top rope hurricanrana sends Dupree flying but Kenzo is right back in to whip Rey into the corner. The chinlock goes on as Cole talks about Kenzo being part of the Japanese national rugby team. Tazz finds this to be the most amazing thing ever and goes into a rant about Japanese baseball players for reasons I don’t think I want to understand.

Kenzo drops a knee for two and it’s off to an armbar. The sitout bulldog plants Kenzo and it’s off to Van Dam for the stepover kick and a top rope kick to the face to put Dupree outside. Rey’s springboard seated senton sends Kenzo into a sunset flip from Van Dam for two. The 619 into the Five Star finishes Suzuki.

Rating: D+. Imagine that: Suzuki and Dupree are enough to bring down two of the best performers in the company. This was another lame performance from the champs as they desperately need to drop the belts already. They’re a bad evil foreigner team and at the moment, Mysterio and Van Dam are the only viable option to take the titles.

We look at Carlito taking the US Title from Cena via shenanigans.

Here’s Kurt Angle for a chat. He’s the most giving superstar on the roster and to prove it, he’s introducing the Kurt Angle Invitational. Every week, a hometown star can get in the ring with him because he’s here to prove that no one can beat him. If by some miracle he loses though, the winner will receive his gold medal.

Kurt Angle vs. Dean Visk

Visk wrestled in OVW for awhile. Angle wrestles him to the mat for some slaps to the back of the head as the confidence is already high. Dean takes him down as well but Angle’s offer of a handshake is a ruse for a poke to the eye. It’s a belly to belly into the Angle Slam into the ankle lock to make Dean tap.

Orlando Jordan meets JBL’s new image consultant Amy Weber.

We look at Carlito denying being involved in John Cena’s attack.

Here are JBL and Orlando Jordan for the Survivor Series victory speech. It is morning in American and the swing state of Ohio is coming up JBL. Every few years, someone comes up head and shoulders above the rest. Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Dominique Wilkins were great but then came Michael Jordan. Eddie Guerrero, Booker T. and the Undertaker have been cornerstones of this company but they came along in the JBL Era.

The fans here will remember this night forever and it’s all because of JBL. Since JBL has been champion, the economy is up, unemployment is down and there has not been a major terrorist attack on American soil. He is the symbol of America but here’s Booker T. to interrupt. Booker calls Orlando a house boy who slid the title in to save JBL’s championship. He wants a rematch right here tonight but here’s Eddie Guerrero.

Here are the Tough Enough guys. Each one gets a chance to get you to vote for him, with each of them saying it’s their dream to get in this business. Go vote.

Joy Giovanni works on Carlito’s shoulder because the Diva Search women are now just working in various jobs in WWE.

We look at Cena chasing Carlito out of Survivor Series.

US Title: Carlito vs. John Cena

Carlito is defending and has a bad shoulder. Cena beats up Jesus and throws Carlito into the barricade for some right hands to the head. A chair show crushes the shoulder and we get the opening bell. We also get the FU to give Cena the title back in less than thirty seconds.

Post match Cena goes to get the chain back but Jesus jumps him from behind, going after the bad kidney. A chain to the kidney has Cena down and the medics run in to check on him. Even Tazz is in there as Cena does a stretcher job to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This wasn’t exactly a wrestling show with three matches too short to rate and a fourth that was rather boring. Cena winning the title back but going on the shelf again with the kidney deal is just about the same situation that we had before, albeit with Cena holding the title instead of Carlito. Other than that, it was a lot of talking to set things up for later, which doesn’t make for a good show here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: April 18, 2019
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Sam Roberts, Renee Young, Byron Saxton

Can we please get something fresh around here? I’m tired of having this show treated like a salad bar at a low rent pizza place. This week will actually have some recapping to do after the Superstar Shakeup. I would say I don’t know what to expect from the original matches but come on now. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dana Brooke vs. Tamina

Oh come on. Tamina wastes no time in elbowing Brooke in the face and sending her into the corner. Some kicks to the legs get Dana out of trouble but Tamina throws her outside in a heap. With Sam ripping on Dana every chance he can, Dana comes back in for some shoulders to the ribs. Nia tosses her again and gets two off a slam. The chinlock goes on as Tamina’s amazing veteran offense continues. Dana jawbreaks her way to freedom and hits an enziguri but walks into a powerslam. Tamina lifts her up again but gets reversed into a rollup to give Dana the pin at 5:59.

Rating: D. The match itself was boring but Roberts was really irritating on commentary as he tried way to hard to be the condescending heel. He’s not the most thrilling personality in the world in the first place and to have to listen to him for full matches, even short ones like these, is going to get annoying in a hurry.

Puppet in the box vignette.

From Raw.

Lacey Evans vs. Natalya

Natalya starts fast with her belly to back drop and a botch of the step over dropkick to the back. Lacey is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Natalya fighting out of a neck crank but getting sent face first into the middle buckle. The chinlock goes on and Lacey drops a knee to keep her in trouble. Natalya fights up and grabs the Sharpshooter, sending Lacey to the rope, which she makes on the second attempt. After being rammed into the barricade, Lacey is right back with the Woman’s Right. The springboard moonsault finishes Natalya at 9:35.

Rating: D+. Well it’s good to see them pushing someone fresh for a change, but having Natalya in there sucked a lot of the energy out of the thing. Lacey vs. Becky will be fine for a quick win for Lynch and it’s not like losing to her is going to destroy Lacey right off the bat. The cameos did enough of that already.

We look at the names moving to Raw.

From Raw.

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins/??? vs. Drew McIntyre/Bobby Lashley/Baron Corbin

The mystery partner is….AJ Styles. Lashley runs into Seth’s boot to start and it’s Reigns coming in for an uppercut. AJ hits his dropkick and it’s off to McIntyre, which is a heck of a showdown. That sounds a little too fun so here’s Reigns instead, with Drew suplexing him down. Drew sends him outside for a ram into the barricade as Corey talks about Corbin having all the necessary tools.

Back in and Corbin’s chokebreaker gets two as we take a break. We come back with Rollins getting two off a sunset flip to Corbin but it’s too early for the Stomp. Instead the suicide dive is blocked with a right hand and a faceplant gets two. The Blockbuster gets Rollins out of trouble and it’s a hot tag off to AJ to strike away on Lashley. Everything breaks down and some Pele Kicks drop Lashley and Corbin.

The Styles Clash is broken up with a Claymore and McIntyre throws Reigns with a suplex. McIntyre misses another Claymore and falls over the barricade, leaving Lio Rush to catch Styles’ springboard with his spinning Dominator. That’s broken up with the Stomp into a spear, leaving AJ to hit the Phenomenal Forearm to finish Lashley at 12:48.

Rating: C+. Pretty run of the mill main event tag match here and that’s a good way to end the show. AJ coming over is a smart move as he doesn’t have anyone left to fight on Smackdown so some fresh challengers can help him. The lack of pinning Corbin makes me even more nervous though as you can feel the title reign coming.

Creepy doll vignette.

Heavy Machinery vs. B Team

Otis and Axel start things off with a feeling out process until a rather large headlock has Axel in trouble. For some reason Curtis tries a drop toehold, which fails in every sense of the word. Otis starts dancing and it’s Tucker coming in to help clean house. The Ode to the Bushwhackers sends the B Team outside and we take a break.

Back with Axel DDTing Tucker for two and grabbing the armbar. Dallas drops some knees for two of his own and it’s the B TEAM B TEAM GO GO GO stomps in the corner. Tucker takes him down by the knees though and it’s back to Otis to clean house. The Caterpillar to Dallas sets up the Compactor to Axel for the pin at 9:32.

Rating: D+. These teams both have great charisma but we’re stuck with Hawkins and Ryder as the Tag Team Champions because we needed to make the New York fans happy. Heavy Machinery could be a fun comedy relief act on Raw every few weeks and hopefully they get back to that after the Wrestlemania season wraps up.

From Smackdown to wrap it up.

Here’s Vince McMahon to introduce the biggest acquisition in Smackdown history. He rarely endorses someone but this guy has so much charisma that he’s going to be the biggest star on Smackdown. That would be….Elias (Graves: “I QUIT!”), who likes Smackdown but doesn’t like Montreal. He starts up the guitar and here’s Roman Reigns for the real big move to take Elias out. Vince yells so it’s a Superman Punch for him as well. Reigns declares Smackdown his yard now and hits a spear on Elias to end the show. That’s a good move as Reigns could use a change of scenery. It’s also going to help Seth Rollins a lot.

Overall Rating: D. How has Main Event gotten so complicated? They’re coming off the Superstar Shakeup and instead of focusing on all the insanity and changes going on, we got a focus on about three names moving. I do get the thinking, but there’s so much more going on that could have been covered and just wasn’t in the name of Lacey Evans and the six man from Raw. What we got wasn’t awful but it could have been so, so much more.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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