I think the title covers this one.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-you-should-be-in-the-hall-of-fame/

IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble 2015
Date: January 25, 2015
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 17,164
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Pre-Show: Tyson Kidd/Cesaro vs. New Day

Back with Cesaro holding Kofi in a chinlock but Kingston comes back with a dropkick to Kidd. Big E. starts cleaning house with clotheslines and the fans are REALLY not pleased. Cesaro charges into a Rock Bottom (well close enough to one) out of the corner for two. Kidd is sent to the floor for a flip dive from Kofi, followed by Big E. spearing Cesaro through the ropes for a big crash.

New Age Outlaws vs. Ascension

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Damien Mizdow/Miz

The Usos are defending but Mizdow is the most over guy in the match. Speaking of things that have changed a lot in a year. The Usos took the titles from Miz/Mizdow to close out 2014 so this is the rematch. Jey and Miz get things going and the fans already want Mizdow. Something like a top rope Demolition Decapitator gets two on Miz as Cole recap Miz trying to get Naomi on their side with promises of Hollywood fame.

Anyway, Jimmy gets away and tags in Jey to take over with the running Umaga Attack in the corner but Miz grabs a DDT for two. Everything breaks down and both Usos hit a dive to take out both challengers, though Jey almost misses Miz, drawing a rather rude chant from the fans.

The pre-show panel chats a bit and we look at the pre-show match.

Wrestlemania ad. I had forgotten how much I hated that theme song.

Bella Twins vs. Paige/Natalya

Fandango says no one understands the power of the tango.

YES, Daniel Bryan thinks he can get back to the main event of Wrestlemania.

We recap the triple threat for the World Title. Rollins tried to cash in Money in the Bank on Lesnar at Night of Champions while Cena was challenging, triggering a feud between Rollins and Cena. Tonight they both get their shot in what should be awesome.

WWE World Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar

Rating: A. Good grief what a battle. This was the night where Rollins became a star and people knew that he was going to be champion soon. Cena put in his normal amazing performance here as well, but good night Brock looked like a monster. This is the beast that WWE wanted to build up for someone to take down and it worked perfectly here. Just outstanding action here with all three looking like they had been through a war. This was the instant match of the year leader and it would take something special to knock it off.

Brock walks off as the medics are stunned.

Rumble By The Numbers video.

Royal Rumble

Ziggler superkicks the giants and takes them both down with the running DDT. Barrett is sent to the apron and superkicked out but Ziggler gets caught in the Cesaro Swing. Cesaro sends him to the apron but Dolph gets him to the apron for a superkick and an elimination, only to have Big Show and Kane put Ziggler out. That also gives Kane the all time record for Rumble eliminations.

Rock poses with Reigns and the fans STILL boo. The Authority comes out to glare a lot as Reigns celebrates and points at the sign to end the show.

Ratings Comparison

Tyson Kidd/Cesaro vs. New Day

Original: B

Redo: B-

Ascension vs. New Age Outlaws

Original: D+

Redo: D

Miz/Damien Mizdow vs. Usos

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Bella Twins vs. Paige/Natalya

Original: D-

Redo: D

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Original: A

Redo: A

Royal Rumble

Original: D+

Redo: D-

Overall Rating

Original: C+

Redo: D

How in the world did I add that one up last year?

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/01/25/royal-rumble-2015-more-teasing-than-a-15-year-old-on-prom-night/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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: August 23, 2004
Location: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time for a wedding! The big story on this week’s show is the wedding of Kane and Lita, the latter of whom isn’t exactly thrilled with the whole thing. Other than that there’s the whole removal of Randy Orton from Evolution as HHH turned on him. The problem of course is that doesn’t make him a face as much as it makes him a heel who was attacked by a heel, though I don’t think WWE understands that. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Orton being thrown out of Evolution.

Opening sequence.

Here are the Diva Search girls in the swimsuits, likely to pop ratings or something. After Lawler points out the lack of blondes remaining, Tracy is eliminated. That brings us to tonight’s challenge: everyone gets two minutes to tell Coach how great he is. Actually let’s make it five minutes…but here’s Rock to interrupt. Yes they’re using THE ROCK on the Diva Search girls. After a quick threat gets rid of Coach, Rock certainly seems to approve of the girls in front of him. He knows they’re all getting wet…..with perspiration from the hot lights above. Maria nearly died from that line.

Rock talks about Lilian Garcia getting fired from the sperm bank for drinking on the job as the ad libbing is strong with this one. That brings Rock to Carmella, who he knows everyone hates. After a quick yell at a fan for trying to get attention, Rock talks about everyone hating him back in the day. We get an IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK to Carmella and Rock talks about the ice cream segment from a few weeks back. That wasn’t entertaining though because no one wants to see them eat ice cream.

No they want to see the girls eat pie, so let’s have a pie eating contest. For no apparent reason, Tajiri brings out the pies (some of which have already been eaten). Before the eating begins, Rock asks Tajiri about his pie preferences. That would be “poontong”, which Rock wouldn’t mind trying. Just to keep this long, each one gets twenty seconds to eat pie instead of doing it all at once. Joy goes first and eats the cherry while talking about wanting to see Carmella eat crow. She wants a match with Carmella (Heaven help us) “WWE style”.

Rock admits that that one was bad so it’s off to Amy, who pulls her hair back. You can hear Rock biting his lip to avoid the jokes. Amy slowly licks the whipped cream and this one goes down a lot better. Carmella is up next next and uses her fingers to rub the whipped cream all over herself, plus feed Tajiri a bit. Notice the lack of the women actually eating the pie, save for Amy (and that was mainly the cream).

Maria puts some cream on her nose and licks it off, which Rock deems as talent. Christy goes last and sits on the pie instead. With that mess out of the way, Coach brings out La Resistance to interrupt. Is it still an interruption when there’s nothing going on? The beatdown is on until Rhyno runs in to save Rock and Tajiri. You know, because Rock needed help from these three. Coach gets beaten down for the only entertaining part of the thing.

This was horrible and ran over twenty minutes with Rock clearly not caring in the slightest. It was obvious that he wasn’t interested and I can’t blame him. They brought him back for the first time in months for this? The Diva Search is just dumb and some midcard goon could have done this just fine. I believe this is Rock’s last live appearance on Raw until 2011 and they used him as a host for an unfunny, uninteresting segment with women who are competing to be eye candy. Can you blame him for staying in Hollywood?

A whistling Kane, in his ring gear, arrives, carrying his tuxedo over his shoulder.

Long recap of Orton vs. Benoit from last week and the ensuing beatdown from Evolution.

Evolution has a meeting in the back and Flair asks if Orton will really do it. HHH says they’re in charge of Orton’s destiny.

Kane comes in to see Lita and says nothing will stop their perfect wedding. It’s an all white affair to signify the purity of their child so he pulls out a white dress for her. It’s a nice day for a white wedding.

Hokey smoke a match!

Intercontinental Title: Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Edge is defending and bails to the rope to get out of an early hammerlock. Jericho knocks him outside and we take an early break. Heaven forbid we see wrestling on this show. Back with Jericho fighting out of a chinlock and catching Edge with a spinwheel kick. The top rope back elbow gets two but Jericho’s spinning middle rope crossbody is countered into a DDT. A quick rollup gives Edge the pin, though Jericho’s foot was in the ropes so let’s keep this going.

Back from a break with Jericho elbowing him in the face for two and choking in the corner. The running enziguri sets up the running bulldog but the Lionsault (after a running start) misses and Jericho jams his knee. The Edge-O-Matic gets two and Edge spears him off the apron for a crash into the barricade. Back in and Jericho rolls through a high crossbody for two of his own, followed by the Walls to send Edge bailing to the ropes. Back up and Edge crotches him on top….for the DQ. Yeah it’s one of those matches and that doesn’t make it any better.

Rating: C-. This was off by a few steps but even that level for these two is certainly watchable. The finish was stupid though, which is one of the biggest eye roll inducing moments that you can have. I don’t know how much I want to see another match between them but they’re doing enough good at the moment to warrant a rematch.

Post match Edge spears him down and is surprised by the DQ. Fair enough there.

Here’s Evolution for Orton’s ultimatum. HHH doesn’t believe that life is predetermined so there are consequences to every action. Take Randy Orton, who doesn’t want to be a failure like his father and grandfather. Orton was allowed to associate with the best of the best, but then he made a decision to go out there for himself and take the World Title instead of softening Benoit up.

That title is HHH’s but Orton was out here with all the ballyhoo (yes BALLYHOO) and then he faced the consequences. Tonight it’s time for Orton to make another choice: he can hand HHH the World Title and lay down so Evolution can walk away from him. On the other hand, Orton can keep trying this fighting against Evolution thing and face more consequences. This brings out Orton so HHH can tell him to lay down.

A referee comes out and HHH grabs the belt but Orton doesn’t let go. Instead he spits in HHH’s face and runs away before Evolution can kill him. Now if they had done that last week, they could have been there. It feels like they’re trying to do fix things after Orton got destroyed last week, though not without HHH getting to talk about how awesome he is first.

Victoria is yelling at Eric Bischoff about the wedding when HHH storms in and demands retribution. The title match is set for Unforgiven. You can hear the groan from the arena.

William Regal vs. Ric Flair

Eugene is back and in Regal’s corner. This is fallout from Regal knocking Flair cold with the brass knuckles at Summerslam. Regal goes with the cravate to start and Regal can’t do much to get out. Some chops in the corner have Regal in trouble but the uppercuts slow Flair down all over again. Another cravate takes Flair down (how British of Regal) as JR lists off Batista’s statistics. Imagine how JR would be if Batista had played college football too. They head outside with Flair taking a backdrop on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Flair dropping a knee on the head and chopping Regal down. As King suggests that Kane get Lita some edible underwear for the honeymoon, Regal comes back with more strikes to the face and Flair gets slammed off the top. Flair is right back with the Figure Four with an assist from Batista, so Eugene comes in to turn it over. As Eugene beats up Batista (erg), here’s Chris Benoit for the same. Eugene is sent into the post (good) as Flair and Regal pull out brass knuckles. Regal’s punch is faster though and Flair is out for the pin.

Rating: C. This took some time to get going and the ending was fine, assuming you ignore Eugene being able to go toe to toe with Batista like that. There’s only so much you can get out of a match like this but Regal is rolling along with this new push. It’s almost like he’s perfect for an angry guy who likes to fight. Now if only this can go somewhere.

Smackdown Rebound.

The Diva Search girls are in the back for the voting information. Thankfully they don’t waste arena time with this.

Lita is in the wedding dress and breaks a mirror.

The ring is prepared for the wedding, because that always goes so well.

Kane is in a white tuxedo, which oddly works for him.

It’s time for the wedding, starting with some small people as the flower girl and….I guess usher. Kane comes out and kisses the flower girl on the cheek, followed by Lita in a black wedding dress. The minister says someone wants to speak and Lita gets her hopes up but it’s Eric Bischoff, also in a white tuxedo. He has a podium on the stage and reads a passage from the Bible, talking about how the best is yet to come. In a rather weird moment, the fans WHAT the Bible.

The minister says this is clearly a unique relationship and we see a video prepared by Kane, chronicling the entire thing. It’s exactly what you would expect, though this is already starting to drag. Minister: “Uh…..moving on.” Kane has written his own vows and says he originally saw her as a vessel and nothing more. Now she is his property and will do whatever he says. There is no escape and Lita is with him until the day she dies. As the minister looks ready to have a stroke, Lita talks about always loving Matt Hardy and praying every day that Kane is in a horrible accident that kills him instantly. Kane: “That was lovely.”

We get to the “if there is anyone here” line and Lita is almost begging for Matt to come out here. Instead here’s Trish Stratus in white lingerie (….well that works) to be Lita’s maid of honor. She knew Lita couldn’t wear white because she knew Lita couldn’t. Trish knows Lita can be happy if she opens her heart, just like she opened her legs. The fight is on with Kane breaking it up and it’s time to get on with things.

Lita swallows hard and says I do. It’s Kane’s turn but Matt Hardy runs in through the crowd and the fight is on. Kane moves quite well for someone in a white tuxedo. Matt gets the better of it but a wall of fire prevents he and Lita from leaving. That’s enough for Kane to chokeslam Matt off the stage and the minister marries them. Kane kisses her and carries Lita off to end the show.

WAY too long here with the whole thing dragging. Save for the snappy fashion sense (Kane and Trish in particular), this could have had a good ten minutes trimmed off. Oh and that’s the last time you’ll see Matt for nearly a year as he had a really bad knee and was released while recovering.

Overall Rating: D. Did the wrestlers just take a week off here? There was the WAY too long Rock/Diva Search segment, the HHH/Orton segment (better, but still long), the eternally long wedding and two matches, neither of which were very good. That’s your two hours of Raw this week and egads it was a rough one to watch. I don’t know if this was them trying something new or just not thinking it out, but it really didn’t work, to put it mildly. Hopefully next week is better because this was a big miss.

I’ve actually done this one before so here’s the original if you’re interested:

Monday Night Raw – August 23, 2004: Unlike Anything I’ve Ever Seen

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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: January 22, 2019
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and as luck would have it, we’re getting a 2/3 falls match between Rey Mysterio and Almas (still not liking the new name). There are still some spots available in the Royal Rumble matches so maybe we’ll fill some of those in tonight. Hopefully some are left open though, as the surprises are always nice. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Becky Lynch to open things up. She’s sick of hearing about everyone telling her about what the Man should be doing. The only thing the Man should be doing is main eventing Wrestlemania and slapping everyone on the way there. That includes Asuka, because Becky will do anything to get the title back. This brings out Asuka who shouts without a microphone but here’s Charlotte to interrupt as well. Charlotte says she’s winning the Rumble and coming for the title, allowing Asuka to jump Becky from behind. The fight is on with Becky throwing her over the announcers’ table, leaving Asuka screaming as Becky leaves.

Post break Becky and Asuka are being held apart in the back. Good angle advancement here as Asuka doesn’t get shaken too often.

Long recap of Naomi vs. Mandy Rose due to Mandy trying to steal Naomi’s husband Jimmy Uso.

Mandy Rose vs. Naomi

Naomi jumps her in the aisle to start and slaps Mandy straight out to the floor. We take a break less than thirty seconds into the match and come back with Naomi hammering away with forearms into a running hurricanrana. Sonya Deville offers a quick distraction though and Naomi gets posted for the pin at 5:58. Not enough shown to rate but this was nothing.

Rey Mysterio talks about winning the Royal Rumble for honor but tonight is about respect. Tonight, Zelina Vega is banned from ringside and it’s a fair fight.

The Miz vs. Cesaro

Cesaro starts with the power but Miz kicks the leg out and gets an early Figure Four. That’s broken up and they head outside for a staredown with the partners as we take a break. Back with Miz fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the running dropkicks/clothesline in the corner. Cesaro uppercuts him out of the air though and Sheamus gets in a cheap shot, setting up the Neutralizer for the pin at 5:50. Again not enough shown to rate, but it was didn’t go anywhere.

Post match the brawl is on with Shane getting in his usual shots that of course do damage to a multiple time World Champion. Sheamus shoves him off the top and into the barricade though and it’s a Brogue Kick to knock Shane silly. Miz covers him up and gets beaten down as well. The Bar lays Miz on the table and powerbombs Shane through both of them for a good visual. This was a nice beatdown segment, but it’s not enough to overcome my apathy every time Shane shows up on camera.

We look back at Samoa Joe beating up Mustafa Ali last week.

Ali is on the streets of Chicago and talks about patrolling them as a cop. One thing he learned in that time is that eyes don’t lie. When Samoa Joe was attacking him last week, Joe kept asking if Ali understood. Ali understood, but it was the eyes that told him that Joe thinks Ali is beneath him. Now Joe needs to look into his eyes and understand that Ali is telling the truth when he says he can beat Joe. More great stuff here, as Ali’s stuff stands out due to being very well put together and different.

Miz and Shane are still being helped up.

Here’s Vince McMahon to moderate a final discussion between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan. Daniel won’t get in the ring though and complains about last week’s attack that saw him covered in concessions. Bryan uses his power for good, though AJ thinks he uses it to be a jackass. That sends Bryan into a mini rant about AJ exciting the fans but Bryan makes them think.

Bryan is the planet’s champion, not the people’s champion. AJ talks about Bryan’s change of mindset, which he sees as fickle. Bryan starts to quote Carl Sagan but Vince tells him to get in the ring. He won’t though, instead going on a rant against Vince’s generation being the biggest parasites ever. Then the people bow to him for it and trade Instagram likes while Vince and his generation ruin the world.

Vince tells him to shut up and get in the ring but if Vince wants a face to face, AJ is willing to make that happen. The fight is on outside until AJ throws him inside with Bryan hiding behind Vince. That’s enough to set up the running knee so Bryan can escape. Good segment here, though it took some time to get going.

R-Truth and Carmella talk about using their Royal Rumble wins for World Title shots. There’s no chance that Truth is going to use his win to ace Brock Lesnar because he doesn’t want to be sent to Sioux Falls City. Carmella says he can’t challenge for the Cruiserweight Title because of the weight limit and Truth walks off. Carmella walks over to Charlotte and gives her some advice about the tornado that is the Rumble, especially with her waiting at #30. Charlotte says Carmella should be the worried one.

This was really, really bad at the whole “no one talks like this” aspect, with Carmella saying “what about the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar” sounding cringe worthy. Anyone who watches this show knows who Brock is, and there are better ways to have Truth get the point across. Like: “Are you crazy? I’m not facing a suplex machine like Brock Lesnar! I don’t want to go to Sioux Falls City!” They’re already assuming that you know what Suplex City is, meaning you know who Lesnar is. Stop making this sound so bad.

Mustafa Ali vs. Samoa Joe

Joe throws him around to start and knocks Ali off the apron to send us to another early break. Back with Joe’s corner enziguri getting two and Ali not exactly making Joe nervous. We hit the neck crank for a bit until Ali fights up and nails Joe in the face for a double knockdown. They fight to the floor with Ali hammering away, followed by some superkicks back inside. The great tornado DDT gets two but the 054 is broken up and Ali grabs the Koquina Clutch. Ali taps at 8:02.

Rating: C+. Ali continues to have that Jeff Hardy underdog quality and that’s going to take him a long way. It’s not a bad thing to have him lose to a big, over star like Joe, who has to win something to keep him afloat these days. This was entertaining while it lasted, and the ending wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Royal Rumble rundown.

New Day is preparing for the Rumble by watching some Kofi clips. They’re tired of being asked this question every year by every interview. Is Tony Chimmel going to ask them next? Here’s Tony Chimmel to ask them and get thrown out (Big E.: “Do you see Edge here???”). Kofi isn’t sure if he can figure out a big save this year but he has an idea. No hints though.

Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

2/3 falls with Zelina Vega banned from ringside. Rey starts fast with a hurricanrana to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Rey hitting the springboard seated senton but Andrade dropkicks his springboard crossbody out of the air. Andrade sends him into the corner with the knee getting banged up, only to get caught up top. That’s fine with Andrade, who counters a hurricanrana into a super Batista Bomb for the first fall at 8:36.

Another big powerbomb gives Andrade two but Rey counters a third into a sick Canadian Destroyer (Andrade’s head hit hard) for the pin at 9:48. We’re tied up as we go to a break and come back with Rey sliding underneath the ropes into a powerbomb to send Andrade into the barricade. Back in and the West Coast Pop gives Rey two but the 619 is countered into an armbar over the ropes. Rey hurricanranas him to the floor but Almas moonsaults onto his feet, setting up a powerbomb into the post.

The hammerlock DDT connects for two back inside with Rey having to use the ropes for the break. A Fujiwara armbar has Rey in more trouble but Rey fights up and tries a springboard….I think into a rollup but they botch the landing with Rey going into a regular rollup instead. Rey gets two more off a reverse hurricanrana and the 619 takes Andrade down again. Cue Samoa Joe to break up another springboard with an apron powerbomb for the DQ at 23:15.

Rating: B. Oh man they were rolling there until the (slightly necessary) interference ending. I get that you don’t want either jobbing but my goodness they were on their way to something special. Andrade is getting somewhere with this new intensity, though having the matches be against Mysterio isn’t hurting things.

Post match Joe chokes Rey out and says that he’s doing the same thing to everyone on Sunday. As he’s talking, Randy Orton runs in for the surprise RKO (that always looks cool) and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This one is going to depend on how you looked at it. The wrestling and story advancement were good and as a regular show this was one of the better shows in a few months. However, as a go home show it has some flaws with the US Title match receiving no time and the Shane/Miz beatdown going on too long. What we got was very good though and it was a breeze to watch. The Rumble is looking good, especially if they space things out well enough.

Results

Mandy Rose b. Naomi – Mandy sent her into the post

Cesaro b. The Miz – Neutralizer

Samoa Joe b. Mustafa Ali – Koquina Clutch

Rey Mysterio b. Andrade via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Royal Rumble 2014
Date: January 26, 2014
Location: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Pre-Show: Tag Team Titles: Goldust/Cody Rhodes vs. New Age Outlaws

The Outlaws reunited as a nostalgia act and pinned the champs to earn this shot. Dogg and Cody get things going with Dogg hammering away, only to miss his Shake Rattle and Roll punch. Cody misses the Disaster Kick but sends both Outlaws to the floor. The champs hit dives on the Outlaws as we take a break. Back with Goldust in trouble as Dogg puts on a chinlock.

Rating: C. This was fine for an opener and the fans were into the nostalgia. The Outlaws were only transitional champions anyway as the Usos would get the belts before Wrestlemania. Cody and Goldust had them back before the year was over too so no one was really hurt by this.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

Bray huddles with his Family on the floor, allowing Daniel to take him down with a plancha. Back in and a high cross body gets two on Wyatt but he chops Daniel off the middle rope and out to the floor. Bray charges at Daniel but drives the bad knee into the steps to put him back down again. Back in and Daniel starts kicking at the leg before snapping off a dragon screw leg whip. A modified curb stomp gets two for Bryan but Bray drives him back into the corner.

Some kicks stagger Bray and a drop toehold sends him into the middle buckle. Daniel kicks away in the corner and nails a top rope hurricanrana for two. Another running clothesline is countered by a running elbow to the chest as Bray takes over again. Bryan low bridges him to the floor and hits a running tornado DDT off the apron. A running dropkick sends Bray into the barricade and a missile dropkick puts Wyatt down in the ring.

The YES Kicks get two but Bray turns him inside out with a clothesline for two. Sister Abigail is countered but Bray bites his way out of the YES Lock. Daniel scores with more kicks and hits a top rope splash but Bray ducks to the floor to avoid the running knee. The Flying Goat is blocked though and Bray hits Sister Abigail into the barricade to knock Bryan silly. Back in and another Sister Abigail is good for the pin.

Paul Heyman says Brock Lesnar is going to challenge the winner of Orton vs. Cena for the World Title. However, first he has to make an example out of Big Show.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is here.

Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar

These two have had a feud for years and this time Big Show has been getting the better of it through pure power. Lesnar takes Show down before the bell and pounds on him with fists and then a chair. As Big Show is down, Lawler says Big Show gave Lesnar his first loss at the 2002 Royal Rumble, which would be three months before Lesnar debuted. We get the opening bell with Lesnar getting another chair but Show nails him with the KO Punch. Lesnar is rocked and Show takes him outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Big Show loads up another KO but Lesnar ducks and throws him up for the F5 for the easy pin.

WWE World Title: Randy Orton vs. John Cena

No countout and no DQ with Orton defending.. The fans loudly chant for Daniel Bryan before and after the bell. They hit the mat and the fans are already bored less than twenty seconds in. Cena fights up and gets two off a bulldog but charges into an elbow in the corner. Now a Randy Savage chant starts up and Orton stops for a second before kicking Cena even more.

The fans chant for Bryan as the Wyatts destroy Cena even more.

Tribute video to the recently passed away Mae Young.

We get some classic Rumble promos.

The Usos are cool with having to fight each other.

Batista just says exactly.

Ryback says there are 29 superstars and one Human Wrecking Ball.

Mysterio will shock the world again.

The expert panel makes their picks. Duggan likes Ziggler, Shawn goes with Shield or Punk and Flair takes Batista.

Royal Rumble

90 second intervals with Punk at #1 (as ordered by Kane) and Seth Rollins at #2. Punk takes him into the corner to start for some shoulders to the ribs. Some kicks stagger Rollins but he comes back with a big kick of his own. A clothesline drops Rollins again but he pops back up with an enziguri. Both guys are down as Damien Sandow is in at #3. The fans loudly chant for Punk as he DDTs Sandow and drops Rollins with a neckbreaker at the same time.

Kevin Nash makes a required return at #14. He eliminates Swagger with ease and goes after Ambrose and Rollins. Punk has Ziggler dangling but Dolph gets his feet back in. Roman Reigns completes the Shield at #15, giving us Punk, Rollins, Rhodes, Kingston, Goldust, Ambrose, Ziggler, Nash and Reigns. Roman cleans house with punches and spears before launching Kofi out.

Ziggler puts Roman down with a DDT but eats a spear to cut him in half. Reigns throws Ziggler out with ease and the fans suddenly hate him. Nash gets the same treatment as Reigns now has three eliminations in less than two minutes. Great Khali is in at #16 and goes after the Shield but gets tossed by Reigns. Goldust eliminates Cody to make up for the last two years but Reigns gets rid of Goldust a second later. That leaves the Shield alone with Punk but Sheamus returns after being out six months with an injury at #17.

El Torito is in at #20, giving us Punk, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Sheamus, Miz, Fandango and Torito. Of course the bull cleans house until Punk stands up. Punk grabs him by the head but takes a headscissors, only to have Fandango run Torito over. The referee checks on Punk as Torito dropkicks Fandango out. Reigns catches Torito with ease and dumps him out for his sixth elimination. Punk gets back up as Cesaro is in at #21. He immediately starts swinging Miz but Shield breaks up a Swing attempt on Punk. Instead Rollins gets swung a ridiculous THIRTY TIMES. Luke Harper is in at #22 as Reigns spears Cesaro down.

Rollins and Cesaro slug it out until Jey Uso is in at #23. The brawling slows down a bit now and JBL is in at #24. Cole: “The JBL character has never entered the Royal Rumble.” Good grief. JBL wears his full suit into the ring but asks Cole to go get his jacket, allowing Reigns to dump him out. Fans: “YOU STILL GOT IT!” Erick Rowan is in at #25 as JBL tries to talk about ANYTHING but being in the Rumble. Rowan kicks Miz out to clear things up a bit but everything slows back down again.

Harper tosses Jey Uso but the Wyatts turn around to see the Shield. Ryback is in at #26 and goes right for Cesaro as the fans chant Goldberg. Alberto Del Rio gets lucky #27 and things slow down yet again. Batista is in at #28 and the fans just rip him apart. He quickly dumps Rowan and has a staredown with Ryback before dumping him as well. Del Rio, the man who has been going after Batista since he returned, superkicks him down but gets lifted into the air and dumped with ease.

Batista is booed out of the building as we see a highlight package ends the show.

Ratings Comparison

New Age Outlaws vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes

Original: C

Redo: C

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

Original:A

Redo: A

Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Original:B

Redo: B

Royal Rumble

Original:B

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original:A

Redo: D+

Hokey smoke that’s quite the drop.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/01/26/royal-rumble-2014-the-night-the-crowd-died/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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: January 21, 2019
Location: Chesapeake Energy Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the last Raw before the Royal Rumble and last week saw a pretty big change. Finn Balor has taken Braun Strowman’s place in Sunday’s Universal Title match and that means things are a lot more interesting in a hurry. I doubt something that big is going to change tonight but you never know. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the traditional Martin Luther King Jr. Day video, which absolutely never misses.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to get things going. Heyman sounds rather disgusted this week and talks about Finn Balor winning the title shot last week. Balor pinned John Cena, who them endorsed Balor for his win. Everyone got on their feet and said they believed in Balor, who is going into a Universal Title match.

Lesnar was ready for Braun Strowman and now he’s going to take that out on Balor. Finn is going to be sacrificed for believing that he can defeat Lesnar and for the sin of believing that he can take what Brock has. Here’s your spoiler alert: Balor will be destroyed for his sins and conquered by the conqueror.

This brings out Vince McMahon to say Heyman believes this one more than usual. Vince sees this as David vs. Goliath. See, one day David went out and ate every mushroom he could find and decided he could beat Goliath. Then Goliath beat David to death, but David was reincarnated as Finn Balor. Vince calls this hillbilly land (Heyman: “You’re speaking too fast for them Vince.”) and says no one should believe Balor can win.

This brings out Braun Strowman, much to Vince’s annoyance. Strowman says last week was the worst night of his life because of Baron Corbin, who cost him $100,000 and his Universal Title shot. That makes Lesnar a lucky man too because it means Strowman won’t be waiting for him on Sunday. He’ll be waiting after Sunday though and it’ll be time for Lesnar to get these hands. This brings out Balor, who says he earned the title shot last week by beating the best of all time in John Cena. Heyman: “Second greatest of all time after Brock Lesnar. Continue.”

Strowman chimes in again but Balor says to keep his nose out of it because Balor is going to do something that Braun never did. Lesnar leaves so Balor explains the story of David to Vince. No one bought what David was made of, just like Balor will do on Sunday. Vince tells Lesnar to hang on because we’ll have Strowman vs. Balor right now in a David vs. Goliath match. No Chance playing us to the break seems rather appropriate. Also, how long did it take for Vince to turn heel? My goodness.

Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor

Joined in progress with Balor’s dropkick not having much effect. Strowman knocks him to the floor for the running shoulder and it’s off to the nerve hold back inside. They head outside again and this time the running shoulder is countered with a Sling Blade. Back in and Balor grabs a sleeper to knock Strowman down. It’s too early for the Coup de Grace though as Strowman throws him off the top and down onto Lesnar for a belly to belly.

The bell didn’t ring and it’s Balor going back in to attack Strowman. A running flip dive takes Lesnar down and there’s another Sling Blade to Strowman. Balor dropkicks Lesnar through the ropes and dropkicks him into the barricade for a bonus. Strowman pulls Balor back inside but misses a charge into the post. The shot gun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace but Lesnar comes in with an F5 for the DQ at 7:46.

Rating: C. This was much more about the brawling at the end than the match and that’s fine. Balor needed some momentum heading into the pay per view, though having Lesnar come in for the DQ wasn’t the best idea in the world. I guess they didn’t want Strowman taking a pin, though that begs the question of why book the match in the first place.

Here are Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Title celebration. Rush brags about how good Lashley is and says we’re having an open challenge (non-title of course), because Lashley fights for money. The lights are turned low so Lashley can pose until Apollo Crews comes out to interrupt. Apollo knows that Lashley is a stud but no one paid money to see Lashley pose.

Rush says that Crews doesn’t have the stature to do this but if he can beat Lashley in a pose off, he can have the match. Lashley poses but Crews dances into his pose. They do it again to the same result, followed by Lashley doing his most muscular pose. Lashley finally jumps Crews but gets sent outside. Rush is tossed on top of him to really hammer the point home.

Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title and joined in progress with Lashley powering him down. Crews is right back with a press slam of his own (dang) for the double knockdown. Crews makes the mistake of going after Rush though, meaning another gorilla press. That’s enough of a distraction for Lashley to spear him down for the pin at 2:45.

After Lashley’s win, Seth Rollins comes out for a staredown. Post break, Rollins says this day is about Martin Luther King Jr., including a quote talking about a man being measured by what he does when he’s surrounded by tragedy. That’s what Rollins has felt for the last few months because he now has his ring all around him. He’s going to Phoenix this weekend and winning the Royal Rumble.

It’s a long shot, but he’s betting on himself because of what’s inside his chest. This brings out Drew McIntyre, who says he can’t wait to take everything away from Rollins both tonight and on Sunday. If you had Rollins’ heart and put it in Drew’s body, the person would be unstoppable. That sounds like the setup of a match to me.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Joined in progress again with Rollins elbowing him in the face for two. Rollins sends him outside but the suicide dive misses, allowing McIntyre to put on an armbar. That delay lets Cole tell us that Cena is out of the Rumble with an ankle injury. I guess that’s how they get him back on the movie set. Rollins fights up but misses a charge into the post, allowing the armbar to go on again. Drew kicks him in the ribs to the floor and the reverse Alabama slam takes us to a break.

Back with Rollins hitting the Sling Blade but having the Buckle Bomb reversed. Rollins gets two off a hurricanrana and the Falcon Arrow gets two. The Stomp is countered but the Claymore is countered with a heck of a superkick for two more. They’re certainly trading the heavy shots so far. It’s McIntyre up first and he takes Rollins up for the super White Noise into another near fall. The frustrated McIntyre tries a clothesline but gets rolled up for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. This shouldn’t have been on Raw and I’m not sure I can go with the idea of McIntyre losing to anyone clean at this point. At least there’s a good chance that Rollins is winning the Rumble on Sunday so it would make sense to give him a win this big. The loss doesn’t do serious damage to McIntyre, but it doesn’t exactly help him either. Kind of a weird choice, though if they go all the way with Rollins it makes more sense.

The Revival (hey they’re still here) sucks up to Vince to get a title shot. Vince agrees, but this time we need a special referee. Someone like….Curt Hawkins. The Revival immediately starts sucking up.

Lucha House Party vs. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers

Dorado goes right after Jinder to start but gets driven into the corner. We hit an early chinlock but Dorado is quickly up. Sunil comes in and almost immediately allows the hot tag to Kalisto. The step onto the shoulders into a splash gets two on Sunil but a knee to the back puts Kalisto down. A kick to the head allows the hot tag off to Metalik so house can be cleaned. Metalik wastes no time in hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker….to pin Sunil at 3:22. Everyone is surprised by that pin, as they should be.

Rating: D. Were they just running short on time this week and needed to fill in some time? The match wasn’t anything interesting and I was half expecting Mahal to take a pin in there instead. The ending came out of nowhere and while I didn’t like how fast it was over, it did mean I didn’t have to watch it anymore so that’s an improvement.

Video on EC3.

Dana Brooke seems awestruck by EC3 and asks him a bunch of questions about his nutrition.

Here’s Elias for a song. He talks about what a great year it’s going to be until Baron Corbin interrupts. Corbin threatens to come beat him up so Elias wants the mic cut. Since Corbin isn’t in charge anymore, Elias gets what he wants. Elias goes on to sing about how much Corbin sucks and the fight is on. You know what’s next.

Elias vs. Baron Corbin

Joined in progress because opening bells are the enemy tonight. Elias hits Old School into an armdrag and clotheslines Corbin down before sending him outside. That means the slide underneath the ropes into the big clothesline but Elias is right back with the jumping knee to the face. A swinging neckbreaker gives Elias two but Corbin punches him in the throat, setting up End of Days for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: D. Another match that didn’t have time to mean much here, but I’ll certainly take a Corbin match going as short as possible. This feud hasn’t done anything for me, though it’s sad to see Elias fall so far so fast. He wasn’t going to be a big star with the rather simple gimmick, but this face turn and losses to Corbin have killed him.

It’s time for A Moment of Bliss with Alexa talking about the Women’s Royal Rumble. After listing off 21 names in the match so far, she brings out her former best friend and the odds on favorite to win: Nia Jax. Before Nia can answer who she would want to face with a win, Ember Moon interrupts to says he’s staking her claim right now. This brings out Alicia Fox to says he’s the captain of the division and navigating the ship towards Wrestlemania.

Mickie James comes out (much to Bliss’ annoyance) and says she’ll win. A fight breaks out and a bunch of other women come out, sending Bliss onto her chair to say ENOUGH. The fight breaks out again and heads to the back so Bliss announces herself for the Royal Rumble. This brings out Lacey Evans to say that was messy. She’ll be bringing class to the Royal Rumble, including taking care of the sawed off girly runt Bliss.

Titus O’Neil announces his introduction into the Royal Rumble when a production guy bumps into him. Titus isn’t happy as the guy leaves….and that’s it.

Ascension vs. Heavy Machinery

Otis spins Viktor around with a slam to start and it’s off to Tucker for a double headbutt. The Bushwhackers double knee to the head sets up the Caterpillar, followed by the Compactor for the pin at 2:12. Total squash and fun match that Heavy Machinery can do.

Tag Team Titles: Revival vs. Bobby Roode/Chad Gable

Roode and Gable are defending and Curt Hawkins is guest referee. Wilder and Gable start things off and it’s time to take over in the corner early on with a tag to Roode not counting due to a lack of grabbing a tag rope. Everything breaks down in a hurry and it’s stereo t-bone suplex to send Revival outside. Gable is backdropped onto Wilder but gets clotheslined down by Dawson as we take a break.

Back with Gable making the hot tag so Roode can clothesline away, followed by a spinebuster to Wilder. Dawson tries the Ultimate Warrior/Bobby Heenan leg trip on a suplex but gets caught at two. Wilder’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets the same treatment, as does Dawson pulling the trunks on a rollup. Dawson has had it and shoves Hawkins, allowing Gable to grab a rollup for a fast counted pin at 8:04.

Rating: C-. They had a story here and while I’m not sure if this is enough to keep the Revival happy, it’s still something that has been done as of late. Would it really hurt to give them the titles at some point? It’s not like Gable and Roode are anything special and they’ve been a team for all of a few months anyway. Not a bad match, but I just want to see the Revival get to do something.

Post match Hawkins gets beaten down until Zack Ryder runs in for the save to a rather mild reaction from the announcers.

Ronda Rousey says she doesn’t owe Sasha Banks a thing because Banks insulted her as soon as she got a Women’s Title shot. She’s the Boss’ boss, and she’ll prove it at the Royal Rumble.

Ronda Rousey/Natalya vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Before the match, Banks talks about Rousey not being around very long and being ready to stop her on Sunday. That sets Rousey off to the point that Natalya has to hold her back. Banks and Natalya start things off with Sasha getting in a cheap shot on Rousey to knock her off the apron. Rousey comes in to clean house and we take an early break. Back with Bayley coming in for a running knee to Natalya’s face. Sasha adds the Meteora for two but Natalya gets over for the hot tag to Rousey.

Banks slips out of a quick fireman’s carry and rolls Rousey into the Bank Statement with Natalya having to make a save. Bayley gets beaten up as well but takes Rousey into the corner for an ax handle to Rousey’s arm. That doesn’t seem to bother Rousey as she pulls Banks down into an armbar attempt. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Natalya for a suplex into the Sharpshooter. Everything breaks down and Banks slaps on the Bank Statement to Natalya for the tap at 7:41.

Rating: C. The match was as watchable as you would expect, but what matters here is I’m much more interested in seeing Rousey vs. Banks than I was before. Rousey showed some fire here and that’s what makes her matches that much better. I don’t think Banks will win the title, but I think there’s the tiniest chance that it could happen, and that’s what matters. Good job on that, and that’s what mattered most.

Banks and Rousey stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt fast and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Everything felt like it was happening at a breakneck pace and that gives it a benefit of never dragging. At the same time though, very little felt very good or even worth seeing, though I’ll take that over boring or dragging every week. The Rumble itself isn’t getting a lot of attention at the top, though that’s mainly because Seth Rollins is such a heavy favorite. The rest of the card is looking good though and that’s a fine way to go. Not a bad show, but it went flying by.

Results

Finn Balor b. Braun Strowman via DQ when Brock Lesnar interfered

Bobby Lashley b. Apollo Crews – Spear

Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre – Rollup

Lucha House Party b. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers – Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to Sunil Singh

Heavy Machinery b. Ascension – Compactor to Viktor

Chad Gable/Bobby Roode b. Revival – Rollup to Dawson

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Ronda Rousey/Natalya – Bank Statement to Natalya

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Someone is out of the Rumble.https://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/article/john-cena-injury-mens-royal-rumble-match-question

John Cena is questionable for the Royal Rumble, which might be their way of getting Cena back on the movie set in time.  Nothing wrong with that, and Cena put Balor over before he left.  Kind of annoying to false advertise him, but I like this better than him just leaving again.

IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble 2013
Date: January 27, 2013
Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 13,00
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Pre-Show: US Title: The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro

Smackdown World Title: Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio

Big Show blocks the armbreaker with one arm and slams Del Rio down, sending him outside. Del Rio gets back in as Big Show gets a chair but the champion dropkicks him in the ribs to knock it out of his hands. A series of chair shots (crowd: “SI! SI! SI!”) has Big Show down but Alberto dives into a chokeslam for an eight count. We head outside again with Del Rio getting chopped to the floor with ease. This is a very slow paced match so far.

Send Slim Jims to the military!

Cena is ready for the Rumble because it means he can be champion again.

We recap Miz vs. Cesaro on the pre-show.

Tag Titles: HELL NO vs. Rhodes Scholars

JBL rants about Cole and Lawler hugging as Kane kicks Sandow in the face, knocking him out to the floor. The FLYING GOAT takes out the challengers but Cody low bridges Bryan to the floor to take over. Back in and a half crab has Daniel in trouble but he reverses into a small package to escape. Damien comes in again and drops an elbow for two before dropping the Wind-Up Elbow.

We look at the Royal Rumble Fan Fest which is another name for Axxess. This included a tournament of NXT wrestlers for a spot in the Rumble, won by Bo Dallas.

Royal Rumble

Everybody goes after Tensai to make a big cluster in the corner. That goes nowhere at all so Brodus Clay comes in at #13. We get a Tons of Funk preview before Goldust backdrops Cody to the apron, only to get pulled to the apron as well. Cody gets back in and sends Goldust into the post for the elimination and a lot of booing. Rey Mysterio is #14 to make the crowd happy again. Ziggler and Jericho get quick 619s and the top rope splash crushes Jericho. Things slow down a bit until we reach the halfway point with Darren Young at #15.

Coming Home ad for Wrestlemania. That still should have been Wrestlemania XXX.

Raw World Title: The Rock vs. CM Punk

Punk of course has Heyman with him. He charges right into the brawl and actually pounds Rock down into the corner. A quick Rock Bottom is countered but Punk is sent outside. Rock follows him outside and sends the champion into the barricade before loading up the announce table. Punk comes back with a shot to the ribs and puts the table back together in a great bit. Back in and Rock scores with more right hands to knock Punk to the floor again.

More choking follows and a knee to the back has Rock on the apron, followed by a springboard dropkick to send him outside. Punk tries a top rope ax handle to take Rock down but injures his knee in the process. Rock scores with some kicks to the knee but the champion easily sends him out to the floor to stop the comeback. Back in and Punk misses the springboard clothesline and reinjures the knee, giving Rock his opening.

A DDT gets one on Punk but he fights out of the Rock Bottom. The GTS is countered into a Sharpshooter attempt but Punk counters into the Anaconda Vice in a nice sequence. Rock rolls over into a cradle, forcing Punk to let go of the hold. Back up and tries the Rock Bottom but Punk counters into a rollup for two, only to be countered into a low seated Sharpshooter. Punk is next to the rope so naturally he takes thirty seconds to get the break.

Rock celebrates for about three minutes to end the show.

Ratings Comparison

Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show

Original: B

Redo: C-

HELL NO vs. Rhodes Scholars

Original: C

Redo: C

Royal Rumble

Original: C+

Redo: B

The Rock vs. CM Punk

Original: B

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: A-

Redo: B

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/01/27/royal-rumble-2013-by-the-book-and-still-awesome/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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: January 17, 2019
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

This is the kind of week where you need a recap. All kinds of things took place this week on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, meaning we could be in for a heck of a week on Main Event. I don’t think we actually will be, but there’s always the chance that they could surprise us. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Zack Ryder/No Way Jose vs. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Breeze

Time for this week As Breeze Turns. There’s something amusing about No Way Jose’s conga line still dancing as Breeze and Hawkins come out. An early Breeze distraction lets Hawkins get in a few shots but it’s quickly off to Jose, who gets beaten up as well. Ryder comes back in but walks into a suplex for two. Hawkins misses a split legged moonsault of all things and it’s back to Jose as everything breaks down. House is cleaned until Hawkins clotheslines Ryder for two. The Supermodel Kick gets the same with Jose making the save and hitting the pop up punch on Hawkins. The Rough Ryder finishes Breeze at 5:06.

Rating: D+. That’s as Main Eventish of a match as you’re going to see. These four have barely done a thing of note on Raw in months (if not years) and here they are in a short match on Main Event. Ryder still gets good reactions but I’m not sure how much of a future he has. The second half of that is true for just about everyone involved here and that’s pretty sad.

From Raw.

Intercontinental Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Before the match, Rollins says this is his last chance to win the title back and knock Ambrose’s teeth out. All that matters out there is what you do bell to bell and no one can do it like him. Dean offers Rollins a partnership against Lashley and gets sent outside for his efforts. Rollins dropkicks Lashley outside as well and hits a dive before punching Dean again.

Back in and Rollins gets double teamed to put him in trouble for the first time. Lashley hits a running shoulder to the ribs in the corner but a second charge misses, allowing Rollins to slug away. One heck of a spinebuster puts Rollins down and Dean sends Lashley outside. That’s enough of a delay to let Rollins clothesline Dean to the floor for a suicide dive to both. Rush tries to go after Rollins but has to bail to the floor instead. The chase is on so Lashley hits a spinebuster on Rollins and a belly to belly on Dean as we take a break.

Back with Dean hitting a clothesline on Lashley and forming a rather loose partnership with Rollins to keep him in trouble. That gives us the big staredown but they go with more stomping on Lashley instead. A shot with the steps puts Lashley down again and NOW it’s time for the big showdown. Rollins hits the Falcon Arrow for two with Rush coming in for the save because there are no DQ’s. Ambrose knocks Rush to the floor and gets superkicked, only to have Lashley come back in to steal two.

Dirty Deeds is broken up by Rollins’ springboard clothesline and there’s an enziguri to Lashley. Rollins adds the frog splash but Dean sends Rollins outside to steal the near fall. Ambrose and Lashley get together for a Doomsday Device on Rollins, who pops right back up. Rush offers ANOTHER distraction and gets Seth knocked outside, leaving Lashley to spear Ambrose for the pin and the title at 13:15.

Rating: C. It was exciting at times though I’m a little surprised by the title change. Lashley hasn’t really been doing anything of note but at least it’s something fresh. Ambrose didn’t have many people to feud with but it’s not like Lashley has that many more. Not a bad match, just a surprise ending.

From Smackdown.

Back from a break with AJ Styles in the concourse at the concession stand. Last week Bryan said these people weren’t healthy and happy but they look happy to him. Eat what you want if it makes you happy. If you want a hot dog, go get yourself one. These people are no different than the ones in Phoenix, where AJ is getting the title back. Off to the merchandise stand now, as AJ grabs some shirts and throws them into the crowd. Cue Bryan for the brawl until security breaks it up. More good stuff.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Dana Brooke/Ember Moon vs. Mickie James/Alicia Fox

Mickie grabs a wristlock to start and pulls Ember down by the hair four times in a row to keep control. Everything breaks down early on and it’s Brooke and Moon hitting stereo handspring elbows in the corner. A quick distraction lets Mickie take over on Moon as we get into the meat of things. That means chinlocks a go-go until Ember throws Fox down but Mickie is right there to break up the hot tag attempt.

It’s already back to Fox for something like Natural Selection for two, followed by Mickie’s hurricanrana out of the corner. Moon shrugs it off and brings Dana back in for an assisted Swanton of all things for two more. A blind tag brings Mickie back in though and it’s a big boot into the MickDT for the pin on Brooke at 6:49.

Rating: C. All things considered, not too bad at all here as Fox and Brooke were far better than what I would have expected here. The assisted Swanton was way more than what you would have thought the two would have done here and the match was really quite good. I don’t expect anything to come from this, but it was still fun while it lasted.

From Raw.

Here’s Braun Strowman to a rather strong reaction. Strowman talks about Lesnar being scared of him, including the time that he had to be saved at WWE World Cup (still not the name of the show). He’s getting the Universal Title at Chase Field but the only thing that Lesnar is getting are these hands. This brings out Baron Corbin, with Strowman reminding him that he got fired. Corbin says the people are going to listen to him and if he’s up there for five minutes, it’ll be longer than Strowman lasted against Lesnar.

The chase is on with Strowman heading to the back and throwing Sunil Singh over a table for not knowing where Corbin went. Strowman goes off to find Corbin and we get a quick song from Elias. The lyrics say he knows where Corbin went so here’s Strowman, who couldn’t possibly have heard the song from where he was, to hear Elias say Corbin is in the limo. Strowman finds a pipe and breaks the window before just ripping the door off. Vince comes up and isn’t happy with the broken door but doesn’t say anything.

Post break Braun can’t put the door back on so Vince says he’s a wrecking ball. That’ll be a $100,000 fine, which Strowman says is crazy. Vince doesn’t like being talked to that way, so the Universal Title match is canceled. Vince leaves so Strowman turns the limo over. Did Corbin ever get out of there?

And from later in Raw.

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre vs. John Cena

One fall to a finish and the winner goes to the Rumble to face Lesnar. Balor starts fast by heading up top for an early Coup de Grace on Corbin but gets pulled down into a chokebreaker for two as we take a break. Back with Corbin knocking Balor off the apron to keep the ribs in trouble. Cena hits a tornado DDT for two on Corbin with McIntyre making the save.

McIntyre comes back in and gets caught with some of Cena’s usual until Corbin makes a save of his own. Balor and Cena load up Corbin for a double superplex but McIntyre powerbombs them both down, only to get crotched on top by Corbin. That’s fine with Drew, who does his situp into a choke superplex as we take another break. Back again with Balor charging into the End of Days, leaving Corbin to take the Glasgow Kiss.

Cena goes up top but dives into a powerbomb from McIntyre for two. Drew and Corbin start stomping away until the good guys fight back. Cena takes Balor up top for the super AA with Corbin throwing him outside to steal two. Now it’s Corbin grabbing a chair to unload on Cena and McIntyre but Cena is right back with an AA. The Claymore takes Cena down but Balor hits a tornado DDT of his own on McIntyre. The Coup de Grace to Cena gives Balor the title shot at 19:13.

Rating: B-. They weren’t exactly hiding this one and that’s ok. Having Balor pin Cena after coming in injured and having already wrestled a match earlier in the night is about as strong of a push as you can give someone and it should suit him very well going into the Rumble. The match was entertaining for what it was and that’s all this needed to be.

Post match Cena says he believes in Balor and says he’s the next Universal Champion.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s amazing to see how much better Raw is when they actually do something. This week’s show was all about moving things forward and setting things up for the Royal Rumble, which is a show that they kind of need to put together in a hurry at the moment. The Smackdown stuff was its usual goodness, which made for a rather entertaining and quick show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble 2012
Date: January 29, 2012
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 18,121
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

The opening video is of course about going to Wrestlemania.

Smackdown World Title: Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry

Long video on Cena and all the stuff he does for WWE. The man is insanely committed to that company.

Divas of Doom/Bella Twins vs. Eve Torres/Alicia Fox/Tamina/Kelly Kelly

We recap Ryder getting hurt at the hands of Kane. This was during the period where Ryder went from one of the hottest things in the company and US Champion to a rag doll that Kane destroyed over and over and over in the span of a few weeks until his push was completely destroyed. Eve blamed Cena for Ryder having his back broken for some reason.

Kane vs. John Cena

BE A STAR!

Drew McIntyre vs. Brodus Clay

This is right after Brodus redebuted as the Funkasaurus so he was still a new character at this point. Brodus dances a lot, Drew punches him in the corner, Brodus headbutts him and hits the cross body (called WHAT THE FUNK) for the pin in about a minute.

Buy Slim Jims! For the troops!

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler

Punk finally gets his hands on Ziggler and puts on an abdominal stretch, complete with a wrapped toe and slicking back his hair ala Ziggler. Dolph heads to the floor and gets taken out by a suicide dive but shoves Punk off the top rope once they get back inside. Ziggler drops about eight elbows in a row and a jumping version gets two. We hit the chinlock with Ziggler cranking on the head way more than necessary.

Rating: B+. This took awhile to get going as we were all waiting on the Ace stuff. The feud would go on for weeks until Jericho finally showed up to give Punk someone with charisma to feud with. The near falls at the end were a lot better than Ace, but it occurs to me that this was pretty much the same match he had last year. Good stuff though.

Rumble by the Numbers:

30 Superstars

1 winner

31 Hall of Famers in the Rumble

21 main events those Hall of Famers have been in at Wrestlemania

695 entrants who have been eliminated

39 entrants eliminated by Michaels, a record (Kane is second at 35)

13 consecutive Rumbles for Kane

11 eliminations for Kane in 2001

194,107lbs that have been in the Rumble, or over 97 tons, or 430 Big Show

421,883 people who have attended the Rumble

62:12 Rey Mysterio spent in the Rumble in 2006, a record

3 wins for Austin

1 second that Santino lasted in 2009

2 women who have competed in the Rumble

1, the entrant that has produced the same amount of winners as #30 at two each

27, the entrant with more winners than any other at four

55 percent of winners that have won the title at Wrestlemania

Royal Rumble

Ricardo takes Cody down and pounds away before proposing an alliance with Foley of all people. They actually do team up and toss Gabriel, allowing Ricardo to do a CM Punk knee slide. We keep the comedy going with Santino at #9 and Ricardo runs from the Cobra. Santino beats on Ricardo and literally rolls him around the ring before pulling his trunks up and tossing Rodriguez.

Kofi Kingston is #11 and hits a double springboard clothesline before hitting a double Boom Drop. In at #12 is Jerry Lawler (Cole: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”) and he causes Miz to hit Cody by mistake. Lawler speeds things up and hits the middle rope punch with the lowered strap, only to be put out by Cody. Ezekiel Jackson is #13 and gets to do the usual power moves on each guy while the others lay around.

Jinder Mahal is #14 and the fans start chanting USA, even though the only two Americans in this match are Rhodes and Miz. Great Khali comes in at #15 and Mahal panics. Everyone gets chops and Mahal is out in just a few seconds. Jackson tries to pound away and is put out almost immediately as well. Hunico is #16 on that stupid bicycle of his and hits a spinning cross body on Miz and his Angle Slam on Cody.

Sheamus is #22 to give us some A level star power. Well maybe B+ level. Things speed up with Sheamus destroying everyone and tossing Kofi out. There are the ten forearms in the ropes to Cody and ten to Miz as well. The Zig Zag is countered and Road Dogg is another surprise return at #23. He gets to clean house for a bit and earns a “you still got it” chant. In far less than 90 seconds, Jey Uso is #24.

Rating: A-. This is one of those Rumbles that is great fun as you watch it live but it loses some steam on a second viewing. They spent a bit too much time on nostalgia and funny ideas here but they were still really good ideas. The ending with Sheamus and Jericho ROCKED and I have no idea why they never got to have a long PPV match. This is a really good Rumble but it never reaches that excellent level that some of them get to.

Sheamus celebrates a lot to end the show.

Ratings Comparison

Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry vs. Big Show

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Bella Twins/Divas of Doom vs. Alicia Fox/Kelly Kelly/Eve Torres/Tamina

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Kane vs. John Cena

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Brodus Clay vs. Drew McIntyre

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler

Original: B

Redo: B+

Royal Rumble

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B-

Redo: B

Just like last year, not much difference here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/01/29/royal-rumble-2012/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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