IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: October 25, 2019
Location: Spring Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s another show with a purpose as we have the go home show for Crown Jewel. Therefore Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez are here, because that’s the biggest match on the show no one other than WWE wants to watch. I’m not sure what to expect around here but hopefully it picks up a little bit. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We start fast with MizTV with Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and most of their teams, with no entrance for anyone. You have Hulk Hogan’s theme available and you don’t think that’s a good way to start the show? Miz introduces everyone (including Shorty G, who is now in neon basketball gear with a big G on the front), including members of the teams who aren’t here. Hogan talks about forming a team so Flair rants about how awesome his team is. That sends Flair into a speech about how he’s never lost to Flair and how great his own team is.

Sami laughs at Hogan bragging about Shorty G, who can’t wait to shut Sami up. Ali, who is about the same height as G, makes fun of Sami for not wrestling anymore but Corbin cuts them off to say Crown Jewel was named in his honor. Corbin promises that Reigns will let everyone down as he always does. Reigns: “Corbin, shut up man.” Reigns insults Corbin’s king gear and a six man tag is set up, with Hogan calling Nakamura a young boy. Sami isn’t available though, due to a neck issue so he has a replacement ready: Cesaro, who starts the fight with Reigns right now. Team Hogan clears the ring and we get some Real American.

New Day vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

No Woods here as he had surgery for his torn Achilles today so you won’t be seeing him in the ring for a very long time. Ziggler starts fast by knocking Kofi to the floor and we take a break about a minute in. Back with Big E. cleaning house and bringing Kofi in off the hot tag for a launch onto Ziggler. Everything breaks down and it’s a spinebuster to Big E. Kofi springboards in with a double ax handle to Roode but gets rolled up with tights for the pin at 5:12. New Day was announced as getting a Tag Team Title shot on next week’s show and they lose here to set up the Tag Team Turmoil. This is an example of WWE being REALLY STUPID!

Post match Revival comes out to brawl with New Day but Heavy Machinery makes the save. I’m still trying to get over how completely stupid that match result was. It’s a match designed to set up next week’s big gauntlet so there are literally NINE other teams you could put out there other than the #1 contenders. How exactly did the decision making process go?

Video on Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman.

Lacey Evans vs. Camron Connors

Actually hold on as Lacey says she isn’t lowering herself to beat someone like Connors. She’s going to walk out instead of embarrassing her so Lacey says ring the bell so she can be counted out. Lacey dives back in at nine and hits the Woman’s Right for the pin at 47 seconds. Well that happened.

A far too excited Nikki Cross doesn’t like the insults that Bayley has thrown at her lately. Tonight, Nikki has to face Mandy Rose, who is certainly gorgeous, but wrestling isn’t a beauty pageant.

So we’re forty minutes in and we’ve had the following:

• Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, who have two of the most iconic entrances of all time, standing in the ring to start the show.

• Shorty G. in neon basketball gear.

• The #1 contenders losing in a five minute match when you could throw in multiple other teams (like one of the teams who made the post match save) to make the same point.

• Lacey Evans teasing walking out before coming back in to win in less than a minute.

I’m starting to get the mindset of the people who can’t stand this show lately. It’s like a bunch of people put in individual stuff but no one talked to each other as the show was being put together.

We look at the Firefly Fun House being burned down.

And now, the Firefly Fun House, featuring a funeral for Ramblin Rabbit. They get to say some nice words about him, including Huskus being glad Rabbit introduced him to carrot cake and the Mercy the Vulture saying he was a good dinner. Bray says it was supposed to be an open casket so he pulls out the bloody, charred remains of Ramblin Rabbit……who comes back to life. Mercy immediately eats him again and we’re done.

Drew Gulak vs. Kalisto

Well of course that’s what this show needs. Before the match, Lucha House Party talks about wanting to bring lucha libre to Smackdown. They do know that REY MYSTERIO is already on the show right? The bell rings and Gulak grabs a mic to introduce himself. He has a PowerPoint presentation on how Tyson Fury can defeat Braun Strowman. The slides won’t change so Kalisto kicks him down, only to get caught with a spinebuster. The referee stops to check on him but says it’s ok. Gulak loads up the Cyclone Crash….and here’s Braun Strowman for a distraction. The Salida Del Sol finishes Gulak at 2:15.

Post match it’s a running powerslam to plant Gulak. He does it again at the audience’s request and promises the same to Fury.

Here’s Daniel Bryan for a chat with Michael Cole. Last week he pinned the Intercontinental Champion and the arena erupted in YES chants. Bryan didn’t want to get involved though, so is the YES Movement back? Before that can be answered, here are Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn to interrupt. Sami shows us a clip of Bryan declaring the YES Movement dead back in November. The fans don’t like the new Daniel Bryan though because Sami wants to talk about the REAL Daniel Bryan.

Sami knows that Bryan is a real and honorable man but the people don’t care. It’s interesting that Bryan has a lot more in common with Sami and Nakamura, who care about the same things he cares about. They are all artists in the ring though, and now Bryan is at a crossroads. He can either go back to the people with the nitwits who chant YES or he can move forward with the two of them. The handshake is offered but Bryan walks away instead. This was the only good thing on the show so far.

Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose

Sasha Banks and Bayley (all in black) are on commentary. Mandy knocks her down to start and cuts off a comeback attempt with a forearm to the face. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Rose gets two off a fall away slam. Sonya Deville gets in a hard right hand to Nikki but she’s right back with a high crossbody for two. Another Sonya distraction backfires and it’s the Purge to finish Mandy at 4:37.

Rating: D+. Another match that just happened as this show is spiraling down. Bayley as the emotionless champion could go somewhere but Nikki as a title contender isn’t so likely. They’re trying to make someone new though and I can certainly give them points for that, but this wasn’t the best place to try and have something positive, at least not after the first hour of this show being such a mess.

Clip of the Undertaker on the WWE float in Riyadh.

Here are Rey Mysterio and Cain Velasquez for a chat. Rey is proud of his son Dominick for trying to fight back and now Rey knows he’s really a Mysterio. As for Brock Lesnar, Rey knows Cain is going to give Lesnar another scar. Lesnar and Paul Heyman need to get out here right now so we can do this face to face.

They pop up on screen instead, saying that Lesnar has more important things to do than go face to face with Velasquez. Brock has been doing something but Heyman won’t say where he has been doing it. Rey still wants them out here right now so Heyman says Rey should guess to whom Brock has been doing something. We pan down to the unconscious Dominick and Lesnar laughs.

Post break, Rey and Cain are checking on Dominick in the trainer’s room. Lesnar comes in with a trashcan to clean house, including an F5 to send Mysterio into the wall and another F5 to drop Cain onto Dominick.

Post break Velasquez shouts about Brock in Spanish and seems to swear vengeance.

Cesaro/King Corbin/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roman Reigns/Ali/Shorty G.

Hogan and Flair are here too. Team Flair jumps them at the bell and the fight is on outside, with Jimmy Hart having to hold Hogan back. Reigns and Corbin take turns hammering away at each other in the corner and Roman nails the Samoan drop for two. Nakamura comes in and gets hit in the face so it’s off to Gable (Cole said his old name so it’s good enough for me) to work on the arm.

Of course Gable can wrestle Nakamura down without much trouble as Cole brings up Gable’s Olympic career, with Graves pointing out that he looks like he belongs on the Tune Squad. Ignoring the fact that almost no fans under the age of twenty five are going to get that reference, that’s quite the mixed look at Gable. Ali comes in for a running hurricanrana to Cesaro, who muscles him over with a gutwrench suplex. Team Flair takes turns sending Ali to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Ali trying to fight back but having his tornado DDT blocked. Instead Cesaro picks him up by the throat, only to have Ali plant him with a DDT. Nakamura and Corbin break up the hot tag attempt though, only to have Ali enziguri Corbin. That’s enough for the tag to Gable, who suplexes Nakamura and neckbreakers Corbin. The moonsault gets two on Corbin (with Hogan in one of his elements as a cheerleader on the floor) and there’s a suplex to Cesaro.

Nakamura breaks up the ankle lock with a running knee so he and Corbin put Gable on top. That earns them a double missile dropkick and the hot tag brings in Reigns for the house cleaning. Cesaro takes Reigns down though and the Sharpshooter goes on until Ali breaks it up with a superkick. Everything breaks down and it’s the parade of secondary finishers. Reigns Superman punches Cesaro out of the air and hits the spear, setting up Ali’s 450 for the pin at 15:03.

Rating: B-. They took their time to get started here but once it was clicking, everything started to roll. The post break stuff was rather entertaining and Ali getting the pin was a nice touch. I’m not exactly thrilled in the ten man tag as it’s likely to go a long time and not be very interesting, but at least the six man version was pretty good.

Overall Rating: D. Oh I did not like this show. While it did pick WAY up starting with the Bryan segment, the rest of the show was a complete mess with the build to Crown Jewel taking over everything, even if it wrecked whatever else might be going on. In other words, if you’re not on Crown Jewel, your appearance here didn’t matter in the slightest. It’s another example of WWE trying to cram in so much stuff and the shows suffering as a result.

We’re less than a month away from Survivor Series and the show has not been mentioned once on WWE TV. By the time it is, which if we’re lucky will be next Friday (when the Smackdown roster is completely gassed from flying around the world in a day), when we’re about three weeks away. Then three weeks after that it’s TLC, with the Starrcade special in the middle. WWE has gotten a lot worse about this overdoing it lately and it’s really, really getting to be a problem. Just let things breathe for once so your fans aren’t so burned out. Why is that so much to ask?

Results

Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode b. New Day – Rollup with tights to Kingston

Lacey Evans b. Camron Connors – Woman’s Right

Kalisto b. Drew Gulak – Salida Del Sol

Nikki Cross b. Mandy Rose – Purge

Ali/Shorty G./Roman Reigns b. Cesaro/King Corbin/Shinsuke Nakamura – 450 to Cesaro

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: October 18, 2019
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Aiden English,

Things are not in a good place around here at the moment and that has been the case for far too long now. There is just no energy or life to the show and it gets more and more obvious every week. Couple that with NXT getting the Cruiserweight Title and there is only so much that can be done around here. Something needs to change but I’m not sure what can be done. Let’s get to it.

General Manager Drake Maverick talks about how the Draft took away a lot of the show’s talent. That has changed things around a bit around here so now we are going to be making a change. Going forward, NXT talents who meet the weight limit will be appearing on the show. Maverick does mention being drafted to Smackdown, which doesn’t seem to mess with his 205 Live status. If he can be, why can’t the rest of the drafted ones?

Opening sequence.

Jack Gallagher vs. Brian Kendrick

Jack jumps him in the aisle and uppercuts him against the barricade, followed by the running dropkick for a bonus. Kendrick comes back with a kendo stick to the ribs, which is fine as the bell never rang. They get inside for the bell so Kendrick spears him into the corner and gets two off a butterfly suplex. A hard whip into the corner has Gallagher down again so Kendrick does it a second time. Something close to a seated abdominal stretch goes on as you can’t fault Kendrick’s logic so far. Gallagher gets out with a hiptoss and hammers away to send Kendrick outside.

Back in and a good looking missile dropkick gives Gallagher two but Kendrick is right back with a superkick. The Captain’s Hook goes on with Kendrick flipping him away from the ropes. The second escape attempt works a bit better so it’s the Gentleman’s Dropkick for two. With the wrestling not working, Gallagher heads outside and grabs the kendo stick from earlier. Since the referee isn’t cool with that, Kendrick uses the distraction to send Gallagher ribs first into the buckle. Sliced Bread finishes Gallagher at 6:09.

Rating: C. This wasn’t an exciting match but it was performed well by two guys who know what they’re doing out there. Kendrick has been around forever and Gallagher is very polished in his own right, making this about as good as you were going to get in this situation. The crowd was silent for it though, and that’s the problem with the way 205 Live is set up, which we’ve covered more than enough times before.

Post match Gallagher sits in the corner and stares at Kendrick.

Video on Angel Garza.

Singh Brothers vs. Justin Alexander/Justin Morris

The Brothers are billed as the #1 overall pick in the Bollywood Draft. Samir headlocks Alexander to start and gets armdragged into an armbar in a hurry. That’s about it for Alexander though as as Sunil comes in for the chinlock. Alexander fights up in a hurry and gets over for the tag to Morris. Everything breaks down and it’s a double superkick, followed by the Bollywood Blast for the pin on Morris at 3:28.

Rating: D+. Yeah fine. I’m running out of ways to explain my level of disinterest in the Singhs and I don’t know what WWE sees in them. Is it another attempt to cater to the Indian market? The match was just a squash but the Singhs haven’t been interesting since they were the punching bags for Jinder Mahal’s opponents and they weren’t that great then.

Lio Rush is back next week.

Ariya Daivari vs. Tony Nese vs. Oney Lorcan

Lorcan gets double teamed to start before they take turns laying over the top. That’s broken up as Lorcan fights up and knocks them both to the floor so he can lay on the top for a change. Nese comes back in so Daivari can steal a rollup for two, only to get sent right back to the floor. That lets Tony come back in to strike away at Lorcan until Daivari steals a rollup for two. Everyone gets back in to exchange strikes, with Lorcan taking over.

Lorcan gets low bridged to the floor but Nese throws him back inside for the chinlock. That’s broken up after a good while so here’s Daivari for the reverse DDT on Lorcan. The middle rope shoulder is uppercut out of the air but this time it’s Nese coming back in to beat Lorcan up. Everyone is back in and the double teaming of Lorcan continues. A double delayed vertical suplex drops Lorcan again…and there’s Daivari turning on Nese, as it was just a matter of time.

Daivari’s charge in the corner sends Nese outside but Lorcan is back up with a pair of top rope flip dives to take Daivari down. The running flip dive to the floor takes Nese and Daivari down at the same time and there’s the top rope version for a bonus. Back in and a double running Blockbuster gives Lorcan two each. Nese kicks Lorcan down, only to walk into a Rock Bottom from Daivari.

An Iconoclasm sends Nese into Lorcan to give Daivari two but Lorcan is back up with the half and half. Nese is waiting with a superkick to Lorcan but has to take care of Daivari, meaning the 450 misses Lorcan. Daivari makes a save of his own and everyone is down. Nese loads up a superplex on Daivari until Lorcan breaks it up and hits his own superplex. That isn’t even good for a cover though as Nese runs back in for the sunset driver and the pin on Lorcan at 16:41.

Rating: B-. It was a rather action packed match but I rolled my eyes when I saw the three people involved. How many times have these people, or at least some of them, get into the main event for a future title shot? It’s these same people over and over and while the matches are good, it still isn’t something I care to see so often.

Post match Nese grabs English’s headset and says he’s coming for the Cruiserweight Title.

Overall Rating: C+. That main event helped a lot but you can feel the complete lack of energy around here. It isn’t that the show is all that terrible but there is such a low reason to care about anything going on here. WWE has made it clear that this show doesn’t mean much and that makes it very hard to get behind anything happening here.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: October 24, 2019
Location: Brentwood Centre, Essex, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a grudge match week around here with Trent Seven vs. Noam Dar in the main event. That’s the kind of match that may not sound like much on paper but hopefully they can pull off something good around here. There are good parts to the show and under the right circumstances we could be in for a solid night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Imperium in full to get things going. Marcel Barthel talks about how they are the most dominant force on the brand, including the most dominant champion who wishes to address his kingdom. Walter says no one can compete with Imperium….so here’s Gallus to interrupt. Joe Coffey makes fun of the track suits and says Imperium isn’t even on the top level of NXT UK. Every since big Jolly Wally came around here, it has been Gallus’ kingdom and Imperium is just living in it. You’re either Gallus or you’re against us. These teams had to fight at some point so this makes sense.

Xia Brookside talks about beating Nina Samuels last week before talking about Kay Lee Ray denying her a shot at the Women’s Title. One day Xia will get the shot and it will be the ultimate revenge.

Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Smith and Drake start things off with the feeling out process as neither can get anywhere on the arm. A dropkick puts Drake down and a suplex gives Smith two, allowing the tag off to Carter. That means a kick to the head into a fireman’s carry backbreaker but Gibson offers himself as a shield before a kick to the head can connect in the corner. Gibson is even smart enough to take Drake over to the corner so he can make an easier tag. Carter can’t stay on Gibson’s arm so Drake tags himself in and takes over.

It’s Carter being put on the floor for a slingshot elbow/backbreaker combination, followed by the chinlock back inside. Drake comes back in but Carter hits a quick middle rope moonsault, allowing the hot tag to Smith. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the double dive to the floor onto the Veterans. Back in and a very spinning Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Drake but Gibson comes back in. A cheap shot knocks Carter off the apron and it’s a surprise clothesline to the back of Smith’s head. Ticket To Mayhem finishes Smith at 7:55.

Rating: C. The Veterans win a fine enough match here with Carter continuing to be someone with hype but without any success. Smith on the other hand looks very athletic and like the kind of performer who you can beat a lot while still having some impact because he looks good enough in the ring. The Veterans will be doing something in the future I’m sure, so going with the easy win here made sense.

Post match the Veterans beat down Smith until Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews make the save.

Tyler Bate says he is just doing his thing in NXT UK and that includes going after Jordan Devlin.

The Veterans say they’re coming for the titles. Gallus comes in to say bring it.

Ligero vs. Travis Banks

They trade rollups into one counts each to start and that means the early standoff. The fight over a test of strength doesn’t go to either of them so Ligero armdrags him down into a headlock. That’s broken up and it’s another trade of rollups for two each into another standoff. Banks’ armbar has Ligero going over to the ropes to flip out, only to get armdragged down. Ligero’s suplex attempt is countered into a small package for two more as neither can get an advantage.

Banks finally gets smart by hitting some running knees and Ligero is in trouble for the first time. Some chops connect but Ligero tells him to bring it on. That means a slugout, which goes to Banks until Ligero kicks him in the head for a double knockdown. Banks is up first but misses the Slice of Heaven, allowing Ligero to twist into another rollup for two. An exchange of backslides gets two each so they fight over another until they both wind up on their shoulders for a double pin at 7:49. The fans chant for a replay as the referee explains the draw.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I expected to with neither being able to get the advantage and one rollup after another getting two each. I’m surprised at the booking though as Banks comes up short again while Ligero seems to completely overachieve. He seems to be someone who should just be a mask and little more but they’re treating him like someone who matters. It’s not like it’s completely out of left field so I’ll call this one a positive surprise.

Video on Dave Mastiff vs. Jordan Devlin.

Next week: NXT UK is on at 11am because of Crown Jewel. That show continues to be more and more annoying for fans every day. Next week’s show will include A-Kid’s debut and Mastiff vs. Devlin.

Noam Dar vs. Trent Seven

They’ve been annoying each other for weeks. Dar’s towel says RIP STRONG STYLE. Dar jumps him on the floor during Seven’s long entrance and uses the towel to tie Seven to the post. That means a dropkick to drive the arm into the post as we’re still waiting on the opening bell. Seven gets in and insists that he can go so Dar charges at him, right into a hard lariat for two. A legdrop gives Seven two but Dar slips out of a Burning Hammer and snaps Seven’s bad arm across the top rope.

The arm is fine enough to snap off a Rock Bottom out of the corner but Dar kicks him off the top. The crash makes Seven scream in pain and a fisherman’s suplex gives Dar two. A snapmare into the ropes gives Dar two and it’s time to start stomping at the leg. With the fans chanting something about Alicia Fox, Dar grabs something like an STF with a bend of the fingers and a shout about how much he loves Pete Dunne.

Back up and Seven blocks a Tyler Driver 97 but gets his leg kicked out again. Something close to a snap dragon suplex sends Dar outside for a change and Seven nails the suicide dive. The spinning moonsault misses though (partially due to the knee being banged up) but Seven’s Michinoku Driver gets two instead. Dar is right back with the ankle lock, sending Seven rolling over to the rope.

They fight to the apron with Seven getting in a DDT to drop Dar on his head. That’s only good for two as well so Seven dedicates this one to Tyler, setting up the Seven Star Lariat for two more. Seven is fired up but Dar kicks the knee out and hits a top rope double stomp to the leg.

The ankle lock with the grapevine goes on so Seven has to flail a lot, eventually making it over to the rope. Dar grabs the towel before kicking Seven in the head, ala Pete Dunne, for two more. The trash talk goes on so Seven bends the finger back, gets in the punch to the face and hits the Birminghammer (if that’s not what Tom said, it should be) for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: B. Yeah that worked. This is the kind of match that Seven hasn’t had very often so giving him the fighting from behind win, which also tying in the stuff with the rest of British Strong Style, worked very well. Dar is very easy to dislike and it’s even better watching Seven literally hit him in the face and drop him on his head for the win. This felt like a definitive win and a statement win for Trent, which was exactly what he needed to do.

Overall Rating: B-. The opening segment and the main event were both good but the stuff in the middle felt like you could skip it entirely. NXT has some trouble making their stuff feel important but they did it well here at least half of the time. I enjoyed the show well enough and it certainly wasn’t bad, but it rarely feels like a show you need to watch most of the time. The main event told a good story, though it still feels like a show you can miss.

Results

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter – Ticket To Mayhem to Smith

Ligero vs. Travis Banks went to a double pin

Trent Seven b. Noam Dar – Birminghammer

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: October 17, 2019
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Mickie James, Byron Saxton, Dio Maddin

Since everything has been so hectic in the last week, this is coming out a bit later, which can make for an interesting watch. A big part of the problem with this show is that it just reminds you how bad the previous week’s show was but now that we have moved on a bit, maybe it won’t be as bad. I mean, it probably will be but you have to have some hope. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Mojo Rawley vs. Zack Ryder

It never ends. Rawley shoves him around to start but charges into a boot in the corner. A quick Pounce gives Rawley two and the beatdown is on. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Rawley elbows him down again and stops to fling sweat at the crowd. The distraction lets Ryder get in a running clothesline and a middle rope dropkick, setting up the Broski Boot for two. A Downward Spiral gets two more but Mojo sends him into the corner for the running right hand. The Alabama Slam finishes Ryder at 5:10.

Rating: D. This is another instance where I just don’t get it. I know neither of these two are going anywhere so why keep Rawley as the big deal around here? Ryder isn’t anything of note but he’s a bigger deal than Rawley. If you’re not going to do anything with Rawley, and it’s clear that they won’t, why not let Ryder get a boost before he does something (as minor as it will be) on Raw?

We look at the Raw and Smackdown rosters.

From Smackdown.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. Heyman talks about how WWE is trying to make Brock Lesnar repeat October 23, 2010, when Cain Velasquez conquered Lesnar. Brock has never made an excuse for that because he has no excuse. That brings Heyman to last week, when Lesnar won the WWE Championship and then had to face the ghost of his past. Lesnar embraces his fears because he conquers them, which he will do at Crown Jewel on October 31.

You can roll this clip back in a few weeks and find out that this is a….moment that is being interrupted by Rey Mysterio and Velasquez. Rey shows us some stills of Velasquez massacring Lesnar in their UFC fight and busting him open, leaving a scar on Lesnar’s face. Cain promises to give him a matching scar on the other cheek at Crown Jewel.

From Smackdown again.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending. Bayley has cut her hair and doesn’t have it in a ponytail anymore, plus has a new theme. She also doesn’t dance on the way to the ring….but she does pull out an ax and DESTROYS THE BAYLEY BUDDIES! Bayley starts fast and gets knocked right back down. They head outside instead with Charlotte being sent into the steps and we take an early break.

Back with Bayley grabbing a headlock to keep Charlotte in trouble. That’s broken up with Bayley being sent outside for a slingshot dive and it’s time to start in on the knee. Some kicks to the leg put Bayley on the floor and Charlotte hits a moonsault off the barricade. Back in and Bayley grabs a quick Bayley to Belly for two, followed by the top rope elbow for the same. Bayley freaks out and gets caught with Natural Selection, but the Figure Eight is countered into a small package to give Bayley the pin and the title at 11:25.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing but thank goodness they got Charlotte another title reign of five days so she can be a ten time champion. Bayley’s heel turn was a very hard one and that’s a good thing in her case. It didn’t make a ton of sense for her to be upset and then come dancing out there so making her a harder heel is the right move. Not as right as giving her the title back, but a right one nonetheless.

Post match, Bayley grabs the mic and says “B******. Screw all of you!” Well that’s a hard shift.

Dana Brooke vs. Sarah Logan

FOR THE LAST TIME EVER!!! Brooke flips around and dropkicks her down to start, followed by a headscissors into the corner. The chinlock goes on as Mickie is sounding more comfortable with the analysis. Logan powers out and we take a quick break, coming back to Logan putting Brooke on top and hammering away. Brooke shoves her down and hits a suplex, followed by an enziguri. The cartwheel splash gets two but Logan dropkicks her to the floor. Back in and Logan pulls her off the top, setting up the standing Cloverleaf for the tap at 8:33.

Rating: D+. And that’s it for the feud because they’ve just run out of things to do. Unfortunately that was the case a month ago but no one seemed to notice. I still feel really sorry for Brooke, but this is the kind of thing she needs to do: get in the ring and learn how to work a match. The problem is she spent years wrestling above her head and all she is learning is how to wrestle Logan. At least it’s something though.

From Raw.

It’s time for the contract signing between Braun Strowman and Tyson Fury. Jerry Lawler recaps everything and brings the two of them out for the big staredown. Strowman talks about how big of an ego that Fury has and that’s why he was at the premiere of Smackdown. He isn’t letting Fury use him to advance his career so he’ll beat him at Crown Jewel.

Fury says he isn’t out of his element in any ring and Strowman will be looking up at him after Fury knocks him out. They stand up and Fury snaps the pen before leaving. Fury is a good promo but Strowman is still one of those forced promos where the writers have to get in their lines that they think sound good because they don’t know how humans communicate with each other.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. the Fiend inside the Cell.

From Raw.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House to end the show. Bray thinks Rollins is smart but the Fiend never forgets. Ramblin Rabbit says Rollins is on his way but Wyatt doesn’t think much of it. Rollins comes in and jumps Wyatt from behind so the beatdown is on (with the friends freaking out in a nice little touch). Seth breaks the pictures but Bray gets up and asks why Seth is doing this.

They go through a wall off camera and Rollins gets an evil look on his face. He says burn it down….and then lights Bray’s table on fire. The wall catches fire and the pictures burn as the Fiend starts to laugh to end the show. I mean, the character was in trouble anyway so they might as well get rid of the thing. Then again, odds are he’ll find a way back before losing to Rollins (again) in Saudi Arabia.

Overall Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t help anything and made me wonder how bad Crown Jewel is going to be. The show just is not looking good and having this show focused on the Draft shows without looking at the Draft itself shows you how worthless those shows really was. It was a bad show, but that’s because it was recapping bad stories and there isn’t anything Main Event can do to fix that.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 23, 2005
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re on the way to the next Raw pay per view now that Smackdown’s show is over, but not before a big time show tonight. This week will see Batista defend the World Title against Edge, who has been lit on fire with a now heel Lita and a win in the Gold Rush Tournament. Other than that, it’s time to start the build to Vengeance, which seems a long way off. Let’s get to it.

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

We recap the Gold Rush Tournament finals with Lita turning on Kane to join Edge. I heartily approve of heel Lita, and JR’s line of “the dirty rotten bastard is going to wrestle for the World Title!” is pretty awesome.

Here are Edge and Lita, flanked by a bunch of security guard. Lita tells this room full of saints to go ahead and pass judgment on her. Women use their husbands like she did to Kane all the time, and can you really blame her? Maybe it started with the kidnapping, the forcing her into sex, being pregnant with his baby, the forced marriage and losing her baby? So yeah, she used her husband to get somewhere and all it took was a really gross wet kiss last week.

The fans start a pretty expected chant at her but she says don’t be jealous because she gets more action in a month than the rest of the crowd does in their entire lives. She never loved Kane (well duh) and while he was following her around like a puppy, she fell in love with a real man. Kane couldn’t satisfy her, just like any man she has ever been with. Well save for one, and that is the man she has been seeing behind Kane’s back for months now.

Edge knows everyone is jealous of them for how they look and what they do. He has the girl and tonight he’ll get the gold. Edge won at Wrestlemania, and tonight he claims his destiny by becoming World Heavyweight Champion. Bank on it. Kissing ensues and the fans care a bit. This worked as well as it could with a bad premise. There was no secret to the fact that Lita didn’t want to marry Kane in the first place and never loved him in the first place, so why should I be upset about what happened to him? He was so evil about six months ago and now he deserves sympathy? It doesn’t quite work that way.

Kane is rather….I guess the word is serious in the back.

Eric Bischoff is making funeral arrangements for ECW when Shelton Benjamin comes in. Chris Jericho isn’t here for their tag match so Bischoff turns it into a handicap match instead. They bring up the Draft, with both thinking John Cena would be a good addition. Benjamin thinks Bischoff going to Smackdown would be better. Eh, even if Bischoff goes to Smackdown, I can’t see him lasting that long over there.

Muhammad Hassan/Daivari vs. Shelton Benjamin

Shelton comes up swinging but gets punched down by Hassan. A blind tag brings in Daivari but Shelton sends Hassan outside and armbars Daivari without too much effort. The fans get behind Shelton, only to be cut off as Hassan gets in a trip from the floor. Hassan comes back in for a hard elbow to the face and the chinlock goes on. It’s back to Daivari, who spends too much time shouting and gets suplexed down for his efforts. Shelton faceplants Daivari and nails a running knee lift on Hassan. Daivari tries to bring in a chair and the distraction lets Hassan hit a Downward Spiral for the pin.

Rating: D. Just a quick handicap match here to give Hassan a win over the champ to set up what should be a title match down the line. The match was the usual mess of a short form handicap match and that all but guarantees that it’s going to be terrible. At least they also advanced Jericho’s issues, as a heel turn has seemed to be in the cards for a few weeks now.

Post break Jericho arrives and is told that his match already happened. He’s been busy with the Fozzy tour so he’s got a lot on his mind. Whenever he finds Bischoff, he’ll face anyone tonight because Jericho equals ratings.

Christian and Tomko are in the back when Edge and Lita come in. Edge says Christian is probably staying on Raw so he has an offer: if Christian were to help Edge win the title tonight, Edge might be willing to part with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Christian gets it and says maybe he’ll see Edge later.

Chris Masters vs. Stevie Richards

This is for retribution after Masters broke Richards’ nose. Richards slugs away to start but Masters snaps off a suplex. The ax handle is blocked and Richards explodes with right hands. Masters takes out the knee and it’s the Masterlock for the quick win.

Post match medics come out and check on Richards.

Bischoff sends Todd Grisham to find out how Kane is doing.

Here are some of the women who might be finalists in the Diva Search.

Chris Jericho vs. Sylvain Grenier

Grenier is here on his own. Jericho gets taken into the corner to start and the Walls attempt is broken up. Instead Jericho forearms him in the head and hits the enziguri to the forearm. Grenier gets in a clothesline but Jericho snaps him throat first across the top. The Walls finish in a hurry.

Rating: D+. They were smart to not have Jericho break much of a sweat over Grenier here as Grenier is likely to be on the endangered species list with La Resistance done. The match was short and to the point though and that’s as much as you can expect. Jericho’s teased heel turn is a good idea though as he’s been in limbo for a long time.

Post match here’s Shelton but Jericho drops to the floor and talks about everything he has going on. Sometimes you’re going to have to put up with him being a little late because he’s Chris Jericho. The Jericholics will always be on his side.

Here’s Eric Bischoff for the ECW funeral, complete with a barbed wire wreath. Bischoff gives a rather laugh filled history of ECW, talking about the Bingo hall and how the roster thought they were rebels. Then he crushed ECW and it died, only to have rumors of a reunion pop up again. Therefore, he’ll crush it again, with the help of some Raw volunteers who are going to show up to the Hammerstein Ballroom on June 12. The rant continues but here’s Vince McMahon to interrupt.

Vince is here because he has a vested interest in the future of ECW because he supposed ECW for years (which seems to be news to Bischoff). Vince knew that one day, the ECW stars could become WWE superstars, including Mick Foley, the Dudleys and Steve Austin. Bischoff isn’t pleased but Vince brings up the loans that ECW owed him, totaling nearly $600,000. That’s why he wants the ECW show to be a success, which is why he advertised them himself.

As for tonight, he’s going to present the ECW match that Bischoff canceled last week. See, the only brand that is really dead is WCW and Vince killed it himself. With Bischoff’s legs cut off, here’s Paul Heyman to talk about ECW instead, which gives us the always awesome visual of the three promoters in the same ring at once (I believe for the first time ever). Heyman says Vince may own ECW but Heyman controls it.

That brings him to Bischoff, who gets a rant about everything ECW did, including the cruiserweights and submission style, with Heyman holding up the ECW press pass every time he says everything. We hear about ECW being in your face and hardcore, with Bischoff being invited to see the show in person, with Heyman getting in the date of the show as he always does.

Vince loves the idea of a good old fight so may the best man win. Heyman says Bischoff has started a fire that he can’t put out. The wreath is set on fire and Bischoff looks worried. This just turned into a big deal and that’s a good thing as the show feels special. You could feel the anger that Heyman had for Bischoff here and it must feel great to him to have ECW back instead of WCW.

Steve Austin is in the remake of the Longest Yard.

Chris Benoit vs. Tajiri

ECW Rules so Tajiri jumps him from behind with the kendo stick on the stage. Benoit takes it away but gets the mist to the face so Tajiri can bring in some weapons. Tajiri whips him into a trashcan in the corner but Benoit is right back with the rolling German suplexes. The Crossface with the kendo stick gives Benoit the quick tap. Lawler keeps jumping on ECW and JR defends it, which is completely bizarre to hear.

Ric Flair thanks Batista for the save last week. He even wishes Batista good luck against Kane tonight.

Grisham goes to interview Kane, who talks about all the pain he has gone through over the years. This is the worst ever though and he is so hurt that he starts to cry. Kane doesn’t want this pain and wants it off of him. Instead he wants to give the pain to someone else.

Post break, Kane walks out.

Here’s Maria to interview Viscera, who is rather impressive looking in his suit. Maria invites Lillian into the ring because it’s clear that Viscera likes her. That’s true, though Lillian never showed up last week. He has a surprise for tonight though and asks for lights and music. Maria has to go get him a hot dog (Viscera: “Yeah I got a hot dog for you too baby.”) so Viscera can dance and eat at the same time. Lillian gets into it as the jacket comes off and the tie follows…..but then the pants come down. Cue Coach to demand that this be stopped immediately because Bischoff doesn’t need to deal with a sexual harassment lawsuit. Viscera is ordered to leave so it’s a beatdown for Coach, including the pelvic thrusting on the mat. Lillian gets pulled in for her kiss and she doesn’t seem to be complaining.

Raw World Title: Edge vs. Batista

Edge is challenging and has Lita with him. Batista takes him into the corner to start and powers his way out of a bad comeback attempt. With Edge on the floor, here are Christian and Tomko as we take a break. Back with Edge hammering away and getting in a shot to the ribs to send Batista outside.

They head back inside with Edge staying on the ribs with a bodyscissors. A spinwheel kick gives Edge two and we hit the chinlock, which gets switched into a sleeper. Lawler keeps going on about Lita’s top and JR goes into one of his great rants about how this isn’t about Lita. Batista’s arm drops twice and the comeback is on, only to have Edge nail a dropkick for the stop.

Edge goes up top but gets superplexed right back down and Batista is getting fired up. The referee gets bumped so Christian and Tomko come in for the beatdown. Cue Ric Flair for the save but Edge spears him down. Another spear gives Edge two so Lita slides in the briefcase, only to have Batista catch him with the Batista Bomb to retain.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. We spent three weeks on a tournament and the whole thing is more than likely a way to set up HHH vs. Batista III (Why else would Flair be involved?). Edge loses again, though the briefcase is going to be more than enough to keep him relevant. Not a very good match, but with so much going on, that isn’t exactly surprising.

Post match Batista helps Flair up and hugs him but here’s the returning HHH so Flair can hit Batista low. HHH has the sledgehammer and looks at the title like Edge looked at Lita earlier. The very long beatdown ensues, with Batista being busted open. HHH says they’re doing it again, but this time inside Hell in a Cell. A Pedigree onto the title ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The big segment in the middle was good but the rest of it was pretty dull as we need to fill in time before Vengeance with One Night Stand. Now that show sounds very good and is likely to be a blast, but it doesn’t do much good when so much of the roster has nothing to do with it so far. Hopefully things pick up soon because this wasn’t much of a show, including an underwhelming main event.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 21, 2019
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Dio Maddin, Jerry Lawler, Vic Joseph

It’s time to see what this roster can do on its own after the Draft, but it also means that it’s time to deal with the fallout from the destruction of the Firefly Fun House last week. Unfortunately that means we’re building towards Crown Jewel, as we have ten days before the show. I’m not sure what we’re going to be seeing tonight but I’m not expecting the most thrilling show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt, including Rollins burning it down.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Ric Flair to announce his final pick for Crown Jewel. After talking to some Cleveland Browns, Flair talks about going to Saudi in two weeks (because not knowing the date of a show is a problem for legends too). Here’s his final member, who has kissed every girl in this town and made them cry: Drew McIntyre. Drew says Flair to grab a seat for a Crown Jewel preview.

Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre

Ricochet goes straight at him and gets knocked outside as Flair is rather pleased. Back in and Drew hammers away as the announcers make sure to point out that Ricochet beat Drew in their previous match (points for continuity). Drew brings him back inside and stomps away before cranking on an armbar. A shot to the face sets up the armbar’s sequel as Ricochet can’t get anything going.

Ricochet fights up but gets muscled up into a suplex, only to knee his way to freedom. McIntyre elbows him to the floor but Ricochet switches places with him for a running flip suicide dive. Back from a break with Drew grabbing another armbar so we go to a quick interview with Flair, who wants Hogan to be at Smackdown in whatever city they’re going to. Ricochet gets out and dropkicks Drew out of the air to finally get a breather. An enziguri staggers Drew and it’s a springboard clothesline to take McIntyre down.

There’s the running shooting star press for one and a Lionsault for two but McIntyre ax handles him out of the air as well. A Razor’s Edge buckle bomb sets up a sitout powerbomb for a rather close two. The Futureshock is countered and Ricochet kicks him in the face, setting up a Death Valley Driver. The shooting star press gets two more but the Recoil is countered with a nasty backdrop to the floor. McIntyre posts him and there’s the Claymore for the pin at 17:42.

Rating: B. They had a heck of a match here as these two have some very solid chemistry together. McIntyre comes back with a clean win which will hopefully move him up to the next level. That being said, I’ve been hoping that is the case for a long time now and nothing has ever happened so I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Either way, very solid match here between two guys who are awesome at what they do.

Post match Flair struts and McIntyre lays Ricochet out with a heck of a Futureshock. The reverse Alabama Slam into the steps leaves Ricochet like a bug on a windshield.

We recap the OC attacking the Street profits to set up a six man tag with the Street Profits bringing in a mystery partner.

The OC thinks the Street Profits should earn their keep around here and don’t like the team being the unofficial hosts of the show. They don’t like being in Cleveland and don’t care about who is going to be the Profits’ partner.

Video on Andrade, Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy.

Aleister Black is full of rage and wants a fight.

Aleister Black vs. Jason Reynolds

Black starts in with the kicks to the leg and a legsweep lets him sit down. A spinning elbow to the face drops Reynolds but he’s back up with some forearms to the back. That just gets on Black’s nerves and he knees Reynolds in the face. Black Mass is good for the pin at 1:45.

AOP says Raw signed them not to compete here but to keep them away from Smackdown. The next chapter in tag team history will be written in pain.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring for the King’s Court. He recaps the Bobby Lashley/Lana situation and brings out Rusev for his first comments on the situation. Lawler says marriages should be kept private but brings up some of the things that Lana has said about Rusev: he sends too much money back to Bulgaria, he interferes with her modeling career and he has cut down on the amount of money that he gives her.

Rusev blames Bob Lashley and promises to crush him, which brings Lashley and Lana to the screen. They are out at dinner, as Lashley needs to take care of her needs. Lana puts some whipped cream on his nose before saying Rusev would never take her here after asking so many times.

Lashley took her here though and she loves him. The feed cuts out and Rusev looks distraught, again. Rusev knows where they are and wants to go deliver that message personally. He runs off, presumably to….whatever city the two of them are in and happen to be sitting there for however long it takes Rusev to arrive, despite saying they were done with their meal.

Andrade vs. Sin Cara

On the way to the ring, Zelina Vega talks about how awesome Andrade is. Other than the Super ShowDown battle royal, this is Cara’s first televised match in fifteen months. Cara knocks Andrade outside and hits a suicide dive, followed by a high crossbody for two. A backbreaker out of the corner gives Andrade two but Cara sends him right back to the floor for a moonsault.

We take a break and come back with the slugout going to Cara and a springboard crossbody taking Andrade down. A Death Valley Driver puts Andrade down but he sends Cara hard into the corner. Andrade plants him with a tilt-a-whirl reverse powerbomb and hits Three Amigos. The Eddie dance looks to set up a frog splash but Cara is up there with a sunset bomb for two of his own.

Cara gets crotched on top though and the running knees in the corner get two. A backdrop puts Andrade on the floor and there’s a slingshot hurricanrana to take him down again. Zelina offers a distraction though and it’s a hurricanrana from the apron. The hammerlock DDT ends Cara at 12:00.

Rating: C+. This had no business being entertaining and wound up being a pretty nice match. Cara is 42 and does more than well enough in his matches, though I’m not sure how much he’s going to do other than something like this. He looks good enough and can fly around fairly well so he’s fine in this role. They got the ending right too so it’s hard to complain all that much.

Humberto Carrillo is watching from the back and wants to face Andrade. He wants to be Universal Champion and even mentions Seth Rollins. Stop playing above your head man.

The Street Profits talk about the OC being mother lovers but insist that their mothers love them more. Tonight, they’re in the main event and yes they have a mystery partner. Ford thinks it might be Ric Flair but he’s already at the after party. It won’t be Booker T. either because he hasn’t knighted Angelo Dawkins. The guy doesn’t like AJ though and he’s just like them. It’s going to be rather disappointing if it’s just Cedric Alexander.

R-Truth is hiding in the back but runs into Sunil Singh, who offers a distraction so Sumir Singh can roll Truth up and steal the title. Thankfully they are called the Bollywood Boyz, as they should have been for months now.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins wonder if they’ll get pyro tonight.

Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins vs. War Raiders

Non-title and no they don’t get pyro. The Raiders don’t waste time and run them over to start with Erik driving Ivar into Ryder in the corner. Things settle down and an STO/Russian legsweep combination puts Erik down to put the champs in trouble. Erik isn’t having a chinlock though and powers up for the hot tag to Ivar. Eric gets slammed onto Ryder and a big knee sends him outside. The Viking Experience finishes Hawkins at 3:43.

Rating: D+. This is exactly what it needed to be as Hawkins and Ryder shouldn’t be a threat to the monster champions. Until the AOP gets here for the mega hoss fight, no one should be making the Raiders sweat even a bit, which has been the case so far, save for Ziggler and Roode to a small extent. Dominant performance here, as it should have been.

Lashley and Lana are still at the restaurant when presumably the manager comes up and asks them to leave before Rusev shows up and makes trouble. So either someone either called the restaurant to warn them or someone at the restaurant was watching the show and saw Rusev was coming? And again, this is certainly a Cleveland restaurant or somewhere nearby, or this whole thing makes no sense, assuming Rusev shows up.

Post break, Rusev arrives at the restaurant and the fight is on as Lashley is not only a homewrecker but also doesn’t listen to management. Security splits them up as screaming ensues, including extra from Lana as Rusev is taken away.

Here’s Rey Mysterio, still with his arm in a sling, for a chat. Rey thanks everyone for the love and support he and his family have received since Brock Lesnar took him out. He was thinking about retiring but now he has a new way of thinking because he wants to see Cain Velasquez take the WWE Championship and put another scar on Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman pops up on screen to ask if Mysterio would say the same things if Lesnar was there in person.

Mysterio thought he had the perfect choice to go after Lesnar but Brock has spent nine years waiting for that day. Rey yells in Spanish but here’s Shelton Benjamin to ask how Cain got a title shot. Just for defending Rey’s kid when Rey couldn’t do it? Shelton and Brock are friends too because they roomed together at the University of Minnesota. Rey says Shelton has it all wrong but Shelton wants to know what happens if he shoves Rey around. Maybe one shove is a US Title shot and two is an Intercontinental Title shot.

Shelton asks where Cain Velasquez is….and here he comes, with Shelton realizing that he’s screwed up. Shelton can’t take him down so Cain tosses him to the mat a few times and hammers away, eventually choking Shelton for a quick tap. That….wasn’t very impressive and the fans don’t seem to care all that much.

Seth Rollins is ready for the Fiend and will burn it down again. He pauses though and goes over to Humberto Carrillo, who doesn’t seem to understand what it takes to be a champion. Rollins would burn it down again so let’s have a match tonight.

We see a parade in Saudi Arabia, featuring Undertaker on a huge WWE float.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Seth Rollins

Non-title. Carrillo armdrags him a few times to start but Rollins gets him on the mat for a quickly broken reverse chinlock. A half crab sends Carrillo to the ropes again so he’s right back with the high springboard into an armdrag. They head outside with Rollins snapping off a suplex to send us to a break. Back with Carrillo fighting out of a chinlock and flipping out of a belly to back suplex.

A springboard kick to the head staggers Seth again and it’s a springboard armdrag to bring him off the mat. The big running flip dive drops Seth on the floor but Seth is right back in to Falcon Arrow Carrillo for two. The springboard knee to the head gives Seth two, followed by the low superkick for the same. Carrillo gets in his own kick to the face and a great looking moonsault gets two, but a second attempt hits raised boots. The Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 12:03.

Rating: C+. I know it won’t mean anything going forward but I can’t help thinking about how many Stomps the Fiend got out of when it takes one to put Carrillo away. They’re not on the same level but when someone can survive a finisher eleven times (and then loses the match), it’s taking away the impact that it has while also making anyone who falls to it look weak.

Seth shows respect post match.

R-Truth rolls up the wrong Singh Brother in an attempt to get the title back. The real champ runs off. Truth: “SO THERE ARE TWO OF THEM!”

The Firefly Fun House is back on Friday. I certainly hope so.

Street Profits/??? vs. OC

The Profits do their big, high energy entrance and the fans….don’t seem to care. It gets a bit better but this thing was tailor made for a small place like Full Sail and it doesn’t work here. There’s no mystery partner so the OC mocks them, suggesting that he’s invisible or imaginary. We see a clip of the brawl that set up the match and take a break. Back with….no one as a partner so AJ is on the floor to start.

The Profits waste no time in clearing the ring so it’s gallows coming in for a big boot. Everything breaks down and Ford comes in to clean house, only to get thrown over the top for a crash. Anderson hits a running knee from the apron to take him down again and we take a break. Back with Ford not being able to dive over and get the tag to Dawkins so the beating can continue. The chinlock goes on but Ford fights up and hits a double clothesline. Anderson gets a blind tag but gets sent outside, allowing the hot tag to Dawkins.

House is cleaned but Gallows pulls Anderson out of a Doomsday Device. Anderson’s spinebuster gets two on Ford but AJ gets yelled at for interfering. That means an ejection…..and here’s Kevin Owens to fight AJ, presumably being the third man. Anderson is so stunned that he backdrops Ford to the floor, with Dawkins making the tag on the way through the air. The big frog splash finishes Anderson at 13:03.

Rating: C-. They put WAY too much into this at once as you had a crowd who didn’t know the Profits and then the focus was taken off of them twice. This was spent looking to see who the partner was going to be, wondering why it was then a regular tag match and then having Owens come out to get the attention off of the Profits again. Giving them the win was the right call and the match wasn’t bad, but it was too much going on to showcase them properly.

Overall Rating: D+. We hadn’t seen people like Carrillo, Sin Cara or the Profits around here much before and I think this show explained why. Their matches were fine to good but it was really hard to get hyped up about them. The whole show felt underwhelming and while it did a decent job of setting up for Crown Jewel, it doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence for the future of Raw. The show wasn’t the worst but it just wasn’t that interesting and nothing stood out aside from the opener and the lack of a women’s match (or even an appearance from the major women). I hope it gets better because this was dry.

Results

Drew McIntyre b. Ricochet – Claymore

Aleister Black b. Jason Reynolds – Black Mass

Andrade b. Sin Cara – Hammerlock DDT

Viking Raiders b. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder – Viking Experience to Hawkins

Seth Rollins b. Humberto Carrillo

Street Profits b. OC – Frog splash to Anderson

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Judgment Day 2005
Date: May 22, 2005
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 9,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s time for another Smackdown pay per view and that could go in a variety of ways. Granted it tends to be a variety of bad with these things but there are a few different levels. This time around there are two matches that look good with JBL vs. John Cena in an I Quit match and Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, which should be enough to get it past bad. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on Eddie vs. Rey with Eddie being presented as the sinner. Then there is Kurt Angle who has surrendered to his desires of passion. Finally, you have JBL and Cena, who are headed for guaranteed agony.

There isn’t even an intro from the announcers as we go straight to the first match.

Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Charlie Haas/Hardcore Holly

MNM is defending and Melina has a mic on the way to the ring. Charlie throws Nitro around to start and even lifts him into the air by the arm. An armdrag gets two (yes an armdrag) and it’s off to Holly, which sends Nitro bailing into the corner. Mercury comes in and jumps over Holly but gets caught (mostly) with the dropkick.

The hanging kick to the ribs set up the corner chops to Mercury, plus one for Nitro for a bonus. The Alabama Slam is loaded up but the referee yells at Haas, allowing Nitro to make the save with a superkick. We actually get a LET’S GO HARDCORE chant as Mercury hits a neckbreaker for two. Nitro grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back, which is broken up in a hurry with Holly hitting the full nelson slam for the double knockdown.

Haas gets the hot tag and hits a dropkick of his own to start the house cleaning. The big dive over the top connects and a small package gets two on Mercury. Everything breaks down and Holly goes shoulder first into the post, allowing Nitro to get in a cheap shot from the apron. The Snapshot retains the titles.

Rating: C. I came into this expecting nothing and got a completely watchable match so we’ll call this a nice surprise. Haas and Holly aren’t great challengers but they did what they could here and got the fans into it. MNM is a very good team though and should have the titles for a long time.

We recap Big Show getting taken down by Carlito’s poison apple and Carlito debuting Matt Morgan as his new bodyguard.

Big Show vs. Carlito

Before the match, Carlito talks about Randy Moss (former Minnesota Viking) saying he left because Minnesota wasn’t cool. They don’t respect talent like Matt Morgan, who is cool because he’s big and strong. Tonight, Morgan is going to watch Carlito destroy Big Show. Carlito bails to the floor to start with Show eventually tossing him into the corner for the overhand chops.

Morgan’s distraction doesn’t help as Show tosses Carlito again and stalks away a bit. A slam keeps Carlito in trouble so Morgan low bridges Show to the floor to finally put him in trouble. Back in and Show beats Carlito up even more but the referee gets bumped, allowing Morgan to offer another distraction. This one works a bit better as Carlito gets in a low blow into Morgan’s F5 so Carlito can steal the pin.

Rating: D-. This wouldn’t have even been a good TV match as it was more a way to set up Morgan vs. Big Show in the battle of the giants down the line. I still don’t get much out of Carlito. Maybe it’s the goofy looking hair or the character in general, but he just does not appeal to me. He has his moments and can do well enough in the ring, but it never has clicked for me.

We recap Booker T. vs. Kurt Angle. Booker eliminated Angle from a #1 contenders match so Angle got obsessed. This caused him to go nuts about Booker’s wife Sharmell, who he described as a “gutter sl**.” Angle went into full on stalker mode on Sharmell and claimed that she liked it, sending Booker further over the edge. Angle has promised to dominate both of them tonight so Booker superkicked a TV.

Sharmell gives Booker a pep talk but gets a delivery: lingerie and handcuffs, but they’re not from Booker. Cole: “Is Kurt Angle absolutely insane?” Yes, yes he is.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Paul London

Chavo is challenging. They trade kicks to the legs to start until Chavo takes him down and hammer away. After Cole explains that Chavo won the title from Chavo, he talks about a tilt-a-whirl knee to the knee. We hit something like a seated abdominal stretch to stay on the ribs which were banged up a few weeks ago. London gets up with a hurricanrana but the 450 hits raised knees to put the champ right back in trouble.

A belly to back suplex gives Chavo two and a dropkick to the ribs gets two. The rather logical abdominal stretch goes on but London slips out and hits his own belly to back suplex. A leg lariat keeps Chavo in trouble and an enziguri gets two. London spinwheel kicks him down again and there’s the big flip dive to the floor for a bonus. Chavo is back up with his own dive but London crotches him back inside. A backdrop puts Chavo down again and the 450 retains the title.

Rating: C+. The story of the match made sense and they beat each other up well enough, but the interest just wasn’t there for the most part. I’m not sure what you can do to make Chavo vs. London interesting and that’s one of the biggest problems with the title. The wrestlers are treated as second class talent and while the match was fine, it comes and goes and it doesn’t draw much interest.

Booker is looking for Angle. After searching a few bathrooms, Booker tells the locker room to tell him if they see Angle.

Sharmell is in Booker’s locker room when Angle appears and shoves her on the couch. He puts his hand over her mouth and says he can get her anytime. After the match, she’s his. As usual, Booker comes off as REALLY STUPID for leaving her alone when Angle is nowhere to be found.

Kurt Angle vs. Booker T.

Booker goes right at him (well duh) with right hands and a choke on the ropes as this is likely to be more of a fight than anything else. Kurt reverses in the corner and drives some shoulders into the ribs. The chinlock goes on early but Booker fights up and gets in a neck snap across the top.

Booker shrugs off a nearly desperation ankle lock attempt and drapes Angle over the top for the ax kick. Since that’s not big enough for a match like this, Angle posts him to take over again. Back in and Angle gets two off a suplex and we hit the chinlock with a bodyscissors. That’s broken up as well and Booker hammers away, only to crotch himself on a side kick attempt. Angle pounds away in the corner before putting on the waistlock to keep Booker down.

Booker gets back up and hits a spinning kick to the face as Angle is cut on the forehead. The ax kick and Angle Slam are countered so it’s the Book End for two on Angle. The comeback is on though as Angle rolls the German suplexes and nails an overhead belly to belly. Another Angle Slam is countered into a small package…for a very fast pin in what might not have been how things were supposed to go.

Rating: B-. The match was the usual upper midcard/main event style stuff but the story is just so disturbing in a lot of ways that it loses most of its positive value. Booker needed to be a little angrier here, but at least he started out aggressive, which is more than a lot of people seem to understand in this kind of a story. Odds are we’ll see this again, but hopefully without the need for a shower inducing Angle promos.

Post match Sharmell runs out as Angle beats up Booker some more. Angle pulls out the handcuffs but Booker makes the save and cuffs Angle to the ropes. Sharmell slaps the heck out of him and kicks him low for the feel good moment.

Boxing legend Roberto Duran is here.

Tazz has keys to victory in the I Quit match. #3: Don’t quit.

US Title: Orlando Jordan vs. Heidenreich

Heidenreich is challenging after beating Jordan in a non-title match on Smackdown. Hold on though as Heidenreich needs to find a new friend. This time it’s a young girl named Alex who screams a lot. She sits in a special chair (which looks rather unspecial) and he reads a poem about looking for friends in Minneapolis and wanting to hear the Heidenreich chant. Jordan dropkicks him through the ropes to start and stomps away in the corner with more aggression than usual.

Heidenreich doesn’t like Jordan yelling at Alex though and hammers away, only to get sent outside for his efforts. A belly to back suplex gets a very delayed two and we hit the neck crank. Heidenreich fights up and does his walk to start the comeback, including the pummeling in the corner. Jordan kicks him in the face and grabs a swinging neckbreaker for two more. A drop toehold sends Heidenreich throat first into the middle rope and a DDT retains the title.

Rating: F. It’s the United States Title and they can’t come up with ANYTHING better than this? Heidenreich is the big goofy face and you have him lose clean in five minutes? Jordan is just such a vacuum of charisma and the title is dying more and more every day he has the title. I know it isn’t in great shape at the moment, but they can’t find anyone else to fight over the thing?

Post match Alex helps Heidenreich up.

JBL talks about how lives are broken in a fight and you are no longer a man if you quit. A few years ago Cena was in the stands cheering for whoever JBL was beating for a championship. Tonight Cena has no backup plan and he’ll quit to the wrestling god.

We recap Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio. They had been partners but Eddie started to get jealous over the fact that he couldn’t beat Rey. Then Chavo Guerrero got in Eddie’s head and told Eddie that Rey would never be family. The two of them got in a few arguments until Eddie fully turned on him as he went completely over the edge. Now Rey wants revenge as Eddie needs to prove that he can beat Mysterio. This has been incredible stuff from Guerrero, who keeps falling further and further into the jealousy and it is going to near perfection.

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero

Rey has bad ribs coming in. Eddie tries to sneak up on Rey as he prays in the corner so Rey slugs away as it turns into an early fist fight. Some kicks to the ribs and shots to the head have Eddie in more trouble. They head outside and Eddie whips him into the steps and then the post for a bonus. We’ll add the announcers’ table too as Eddie stays on the bad ribs. Another drop onto the table has Rey in real trouble but the referee pulls Eddie off of him.

They head back in as the EDDIE SUCKS chants are in full swing. Eddie shouts down at Rey and there’s a belly to back suplex to bang up the ribs some more. The abdominal stretch goes on for a good while before Eddie plants him face/ribs first with a reverse powerbomb. The bandage comes off of Rey’s ribs and it’s a half crab to work them over even more. Rey slips out and scores with an enziguri and they’re both down for a breather. A springboard dropkick gives Rey two and they’re both a little staggered.

Eddie dropkicks the knee though and puts on a full Boston crab. Now it’s an STF with Rey crawling as hard as he can to the ropes. With that out of the way, it’s time to go to the floor with Eddie loading up the steps. Rey saves himself with a ram into the post though and they’re both down again. Back in and they slug it out with Eddie doing his dance until Rey hits….a big boot? From Rey Mysterio? The springboard seated senton gives Rey two so he hammers away in the corner with rights and lefts.

The missed charge goes shoulder first into the post though and Eddie hits a top rope superplex to destroy the ribs even worse. Rey slips out of the Third Amigo though and a hurricanrana (with a leg around the body instead of the head) looks to load up the 619. Cue Chavo for a distraction though and Eddie grabs a chair, which is dropkicked into his knee. Rey takes Chavo down and hits the 619 on Eddie, but the West Coast Pop is chaired out of the air for the DQ.

Rating: B+. This worked incredibly well with Eddie’s mind breaking down more and more every second until he forgot why he was here in the first place and got disqualified instead of going for the win. The ending keeps the story moving forward too as you can’t have Eddie win here and Rey pinning him has been done before. This advances things and gives Rey a reason to want revenge while knowing he can still beat Eddie. Well booked and well wrestled, but did you expect anything else?

Post match Eddie chairs him down and Rey has to be helped out.

We recap JBL vs. John Cena. JBL lost the title to Cena at Wrestlemania but has since been obsessed with the idea of getting the title back. He sees Cena as a poor champion because Cena is a street thug so it’s a match where someone has to give up, with an I Quit match. This is likely to be the violent showdown that Wrestlemania wasn’t, and that’s a good thing.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. John Cena

Cena is defending and this is an I Quit match. JBL, with the older title design, comes out in the limo so Cena rides out on the back of a flatbed truck, which features a turntable on the back. They trade some long form armbars to start until an armbar sends JBL bailing to the floor. A suplex brings him back in but he pounds Cena in the back to block a backdrop. JBL DDT’s him for a cover, though not for a count because, you know, there aren’t any in this match.

Things head outside with Cena sending him face first into various things before going into the crowd. A swinging neckbreaker onto the concrete doesn’t have much effect on Cena so it’s back to ringside. JBL grabs the mic and demands that Cena quit so Cena slugs away, only to get sent into the steps. Just like on Smackdown, JBL grabs a belt and whips away, followed by a choke around the post.

With that broken up, JBL loads up a powerbomb through the announcers’ table but gets backdropped through the other instead. Cena throws him across the other table so JBL comes up with the Eddie Guerrero chair to the face. The bloody Cena staggers to his feet so JBL hits him with the steps and mocks You Can’t See Me. The Clothesline From JBL connects and so does the second for good measure.

Now it’s time to choke with a chain as Cena is in big trouble. There’s a low blow to cut Cena down again but JBL talks too much trash, allowing Cena to initiate the finishing sequence. The FU connects so JBL takes a walk, with Cena following and sending him into the limo. Another swinging neckbreaker drops Cena onto the hood, which is now covered in blood too.

JBL chokes him with a cable and Cena is COVERED in blood with one of the nastier cuts I’ve seen in a long time. He won’t quit though and sends JBL face first through a TV to bust him open too. A suplex onto the top of the limo makes it even worse…so JBL tries to get inside the limo. That’s fine with Cena, who pulls him back and sends him into the open door a few times.

When it doesn’t break, Cena takes it off and drops it on the hood, meaning it’s time to go to the flatbed truck. JBL is sent into a C02 tank but is fine enough to hit a DDT onto the bed for the double knockdown. Cena uses a microphone to knock JBL off of a speaker and through the table as JBL can barely walk. With nothing else working, Cena grabs an exhaust pipe off of the truck and goes over to JBL….who quits out of fear.

Rating: A-. I’ve always loved this one as Cena looked like the warrior and the conquering hero who JBL completely underestimated what he was capable of doing. Cena needed a win like this and he looked like a champion here, which isn’t something that he had done before. This was a big step forward for him and the definitive end to the feud with JBL. Great match, better performance from Cena, and a heck of a blade job.

Post match Cena knocks him through a glass wall anyway and poses, COVERED in blood, to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The shorter run time (just over two and a half hours) helps this one quite a bit as those last two matches, which eat up about 40% of the show are both great and more than enough to make up for a lot of the problems with the other stuff. The two big matches being that good aren’t exactly a surprise and Booker vs. Angle was good enough to carry the rest of the show. Just don’t watch Jordan vs. Heidenreich ever again. Check out the two main events if you have time as they both hold up very well. The rest….eh just watch Wrestlemania again.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 19, 2005
Location: Tyson Events Center, Sioux City, Iowa
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Judgment Day and most of the card has been set. We could be in for a good show on Sunday with the two biggest matches looking solid, though there isn’t much underneath them. I’m not sure what to expect from this week’s show but I don’t exactly have my hopes up outside of Eddie Guerrero’s rapid fire loss of sanity. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Kurt Angle invading Sharmell’s dressing room last week and attacking Booker T. who failed in a rescue attempt. Cole asking what Angle did to Sharmell behind closed doors doesn’t bode well.

Opening sequence.

It’s Carlito’s Cabana to get things going. Carlito recaps last week’s edition, including Big Show turning down his offer and eating a poison apple as a result. Back in the arena, Carlito talks about having trouble getting the stains out of the Cabana’s carpet. Now though, Big Show has challenged him to a match on Sunday, which Carlito has accepted.

However, he isn’t coming into the match alone because he has a new bodyguard: Matt Morgan. Cue Morgan, who stutters so much that he can’t really say yes. Carlito: “You want some water?” The joke is so funny that he tries three times before going with a simple ok. So yes, he’s officially Porky Pig. Anyway here’s Big Show for the brawl but Morgan chairs him down and gets out with Carlito.

JBL goes to the inner city to explain to some kids why John Cena, and various rappers, are all about. Rappers belong in jail because they are thugs, just like Cena. JBL lists off some lyrics, which even approve of premarital sex. JBL is taking the title on Sunday and helping America.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

JBL kicks him in the face at the bell and drops the elbows. A swinging neckbreaker gets two but JBL charges into a boot in the corner. Scotty hits a superkick but JBL bounces off the ropes with the Clothesline. That’s not enough for JBL so he hammers away in the corner and that’s a DQ.

Post match JBL says he doesn’t care because nothing can stop him in three days. For tonight though, Scotty has the chance to quit but refuses to, meaning JBL punches him even more. JBL finds a belt and whips Scotty on the announcers’ table, eventually choking Scotty into saying he quits.

John Cena threw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game.

Booker yells at Theodore Long about what Angle did last week. There won’t be a match with Angle tonight though because he has been banned from the building. Instead, Booker can face Mark Jindrak, but that isn’t cool with him. Angle will apologize tonight, but that’s not enough for Booker.

Post break, Jindrak comes up to Sharmell and talks about Angle having a fetish for…..you know…..gutter sl***. This turns into an argument over whether or not Jindrak thinks she is one, so here’s Booker (who is rather lax about his wife being alone after last week) to beat him up. Booker knocks him into the arena and busts Jindrak open….as the match is starting now.

Booker T. vs. Mark Jindrak

Booker hammers away in the corner and hits the scissors kick. The referee tries to pull Booker off, allowing Jindrak to get in the big left hand. That’s enough for Booker, who comes back with the Book End and the ax kick for the pin.

JBL tells the Bashams to beat up John Cena tonight and promises to be out there with them. Long comes in and says he can’t get involved with the threat of a fine. Short, to the point, explained the situation. Why is that so hard to do so often?

Video on the awesome Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio feud. Eddie’s face and eyes last week were outstanding.

Here’s Eddie, still carrying Rey’s mask, for a chat. It takes a little time for Eddie to say anything so he stares at the mask, throws it down and stomps on it. He leaves without saying anything in another good segment.

Clips from the Judgment Day press conference.

Heidenreich vs. Orlando Jordan

Non-title and COME ON ALREADY. Hang on though as Heidenreich has to find a new friend. His quest includes a song and a quick dance, which is more charming than it should be. Jordan says hang on because you don’t keep the champ waiting. No one likes Heidenreich and after he loses, no one will want to be his friend.

Jordan stomps away and hits a clothesline to start, followed by a knee to the head. The hammering continues as Heidenreich pulls himself up, only to get stomped back down. We hit the chinlock until Jordan lets go to shout about it, allowing Heidenreich to get up and do his fist pump dance. A big boot gives Heidenreich two so Jordan pounds him down again. That’s about it though as Jordan charges straight into the Boss Man Slam for the fast pin.

Rating: D-. This one is bad just due to the people involved, though Heidenreich is FAR better in this role and the march could have gone somewhere in the long term. He just needed to stop being so serious and have his wrestling time cut down by about 80% and things get a little better. Why was that so complicated?

We look at Angle vs. Booker/Sharmell over the last few weeks.

Judgment Day rundown.

Joey Mercury vs. Hardcore Holly

Half of Sunday’s title match so Johnny Nitro and Charlie Haas are here too. Mercury hiptosses him down a few times to start so Holly goes with the chops in the corner. A neckbreaker (complete with a camera motion) gives Mercury two and we hit the neck crank. Mercury lets that go and gets crotched on top, setting up the top rope superplex. The backdrop into the dropkick sets up a full nelson slam but Holly won’t cover. Instead it’s a top rope clothesline for two and the Alabama Slam for the clean pin to put Mercury away.

Rating: D+. This is the kind of win that you need to give Holly from time to time and before the title match made it even better. The team has no chance of winning the titles on Sunday so giving them a win could help a little bit. I mean, it can only get so far but it’s better than not trying.

Raw Rebound.

Nelly thinks Cena is a talented rapper.

Kurt Angle is at WWE Studios in Connecticut where he has to give an apology to the fans, Booker and Sharmell. Last week was a mistake but you have to understand. He was on fire after Wrestlemania and it should have been a formality before he was WWE Champion again. Booker stopped that so Angle needed to get revenge but he went too far. So yeah he’s sorry.

Now that they have what they’ve wanted, it’s about what he wants. Angle wants Sharmell to admit that she is a gutter sl**, because he saw proof last week. He and Sharmell kissed last week when the door closed and she liked it. Sharmell molested and fondled him….and they both loved it. This Sunday, Angle is going to make Booker scream for a different reason. Then after dominating Booker, he’ll dominate Sharmell and show her how to do a real Spinarooni.

Booker superkicks a TV with Angle’s face on it. That promo was so uncomfortable that it damaged a television.

John Cena is reading JBL’s financial book, which includes chapters on diversifying your portfolio, making Orlando Jordan’s hair stand up (Cena: “THERE’S A PICTURE!”) and how to say I Quit when John Cena is beating you up. Cena says he isn’t a wrestling god but he is…..Josh Matthews: “A prophet! A street prophet!” Cena takes the mic and sends Josh away, saying it was as sad as JBL’s sex life. See, Cena can respect JBL for his success but on the streets, you never quit, and Cena won’t quit on the people.

John Cena vs. Bashams

Non-title and JBL is at ringside. Cena takes over on Doug to start by grabbing a headlock and running him over. Danny comes in but Cena is smart enough to bail to the floor before some cheating can ensue. Things settle back down with Doug hammering away but getting taken into the corner for choking from Danny and yelling from JBL. Another knockdown sets up the chinlock so JBL grabs the mic and demands that Cena quit.

Doug gets in a cheap shot to cut Cena down again and more JBL shouting ensues. A belly to back suplex gives Danny two but Cena fights up and grabs the rope to block a DDT attempt. JBL shouts more and more as some suplexes put Cena down. Cena blocks a double version though and slugs away, setting up the ProtoBomb on Doug. The FU finishes Doug for the pin after a bit more sweat than you would expect.

Rating: D+. JBL’s shouting was annoying but it was also the only thing that mattered int the match. The Bashams were nothing more than lackeys here and that’s a good role for them. The match wasn’t anything of note because it wasn’t like there were many options other than this or JBL running in for the DQ. Not a good match, but it was fine for a short form build.

Cena stares JBL down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a show built around the stories and the good outweighs the bad 2-1 with Eddie being incredible, the battle of the John’s being better than expected and Booker vs. Angle just being creepy. The wrestling wasn’t great though as a Hardcore Holly match and a Heidenreich match is a little too much. It made me want to see Judgment Day more than I did earlier though so they’re going in the right direction. Just do more of the good and less of the bad, which is pretty much a universal rule.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: October 18, 2019
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

This is an important show as we are officially into the new era with unique rosters for both Raw and Smackdown. That means they need to have something special here as they are running at half power and don’t have many excuses yet if the audience isn’t there. I’m not sure what to expect here but Roman Reigns is getting an Intercontinental Title shot against Shinsuke Nakamura. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is defending and has Sami Zayn with him. Sami sits in on commentary as Roman drives the champ into the corner to start but Nakamura is right back with the knees. The slugout easily goes to Reigns though and he plants Nakamura with the Samoan drop for two. That’s enough to bring Sami off commentary to help his buddy, which includes pulling Nakamura away from the apron kick.

Nakamura hits a kick of his own and we take a break. Back with Reigns fighting out of a sleeper and hitting the running clothesline. Nakamura goes for the cross armbreaker, which is muscled up into a powerbomb for two. The Superman Punch draws Sami to the apron for a distraction and Nakamura hits a kick to the back of the head. There’s the sliding German suplex but Reigns is right back with the Superman punch for two. The spear is loaded up but here’s King Corbin, who Reigns had argued with on social media earlier today, to hit Reigns with the scepter for the DQ at 11:55.

Rating: C. This worked well enough, even if the title never really felt in jeopardy. It’s nice to have Nakamura wrestling actually defending the thing against some bigger competition for a change, but it is still clear that Nakamura isn’t exactly giving his best effort in WWE. The Zayn connection helps though and what we got was a nice enough match, even if it seems to be setting up something else.

Post match Corbin hits Deep Six but it’s Daniel Bryan running in for the save. The numbers get the better of it though and Nakamura hits the running knee to the back of Bryan’s head.

New Day is singing in the back when Tucker brings in a table. After Kofi says he’s fine with losing the WWE Championship because of the power of positivity, Otis brings in a bowl of pancake mix and protein powder, which he pours into his mouth. Big E. does the chant and I’m really glad this segment is over.

Corbin has nothing to say about Reigns.

Shorty Gable vs. Curtis Axel

We actually get a video on why Gable is now named Shorty. If you don’t get why someone is named SHORTY, you might want a low level of intellect in your entertainment. Gable armdrags him to start but gets sent into the corner. The Hennig necksnap gives Axel two and we hit the armbar. Gable fights up, knocks Bo Dallas to the floor, and finishes Axel with the ankle lock at 1:55.

Post match Gable says be who you are, even if it means being short. He isn’t even Shorty Gable anymore. Now it’s Shorty G.

Seth Rollins is out of Team Hogan vs. Team Flair as Rollins has to defend against Bray Wyatt.

Hulk Hogan is on Skype and seems to announce Ali and Shorty G. for his team. The new captain will be announced tonight and he wants to beat up Ric Flair once and for all.

New Day/Heavy Machinery vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler/Revival

Tucker and Ziggler grapple for a bit to start until Tucker dropkicks him down. Roode tries to run in but it’s a double suplex from Heavy Machinery. Everything breaks down and Big E. and Otis seem to realize that they’re soul mates. Roode plants Woods with a spinebuster on the floor and we take a break. Back with Woods fighting out of Wilder’s chinlock and enziguring Dawson.

Ziggler and Roode are smart enough to break up the hot tag attempts and it’s Wilder coming in for something like the Demolition Decapitator (or at least its cousin). Woods gets in a dropkick to Ziggler and it’s the double tag to bring in Otis and Roode. House is cleaned and Roode’s chops just make Otis jiggle (though that may be automatic). We get some Caterpillarizing but Ziggler saves Dawson from the Compactor. Instead, Otis picks Dawson up for a suplex and hands him off to Big E. for the Midnight Hour and the pin at 10:25.

Rating: C-. Just a preview for the Crown Jewel Tag Team Turmoil. That isn’t something I’m going to get behind as there are all kinds of teams in the thing and it’s going to be a lot of filling in time on the already long show for a token prize. If that’s the best they’ve got for the division, normally I would say it’s a waste of time show, but that’s been the case since the Saudi Arabia shows began at last for the fans.

Bryan rants about Corbin and Nakamura and tonight he’s teaming with Reigns to face the two of them.

Video on Ali.

It’s time for MizTV with special guest Bayley, flanked by Sasha Banks, the latter of whom surprises Miz. Bayley and Sasha brag about the title change last week and we see a clip of Bayley’s new attitude, setting up the win over Charlotte. Thankfully the viral clip of the child crying is included. Miz asks Bayley what was up with that but she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. Miz: “Are you Brock Lesnar? Is this your Paul Heyman?”

Banks brings up Miz being a fifth rounds draft pick, which Miz laughs off because he’s always relevant. Bayley talks about crying after losing the title to Charlotte but no one was there to hug her. She has put herself second for years to be a role model but they weren’t there when he needed them. The reality is that Bayley has outgrown these people so here’s some reality: life sucks and then you die.

Cue Nikki Cross to interrupt and say that she is going to be the #1 contenders after winning her match tonight. This brings out Dana Brooke to say she is motivated by being underused and tonight is a new beginning. She’s bringing the Flex Appeal but here’s Lacey Evans to interrupt and it’s time for a #1 contenders match.

Carmella vs. Nikki Cross vs. Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

The winner gets a shot at Bayley for some point in the future. Lacey goes outside to start, leaving Mandy and Sonya to start taking over on everyone else. Cross’ comeback is cut off by Mandy’s clothesline, leaving Mandy and Sonya alone. Brooke takes them down on the floor, only to get run over by Lacey. Carmella crossbodies Lacey down though and we take a break.

Back with Mandy and Sonya in control again, this time beating on Carmella but she pops back up with a double Bronco Buster. The suicide dive takes Mandy and Sonya down again and Nikki dives onto a bunch of people. Back in and Dana powerbombs Lacey to set up the Swanton for two as Mandy and Carmella make the save. The Code of Silence is broken up and it’s time for the parade of strikes to the face. Cross grabs the Purge to finish Rose at 9:01.

Rating: C-. The match was the usual messy insanity that these things can be but at least they have a fresh challenger in there for a change. You can only do the Horsewomen stuff for so long and it is a good idea to find someone who hasn’t been in there for a long time. I doubt Cross gets the title but at least they are trying something new.

Video on Braun Strowman.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. the Fiend inside the Cell, followed by Rollins burning down the Firefly Fun House. The graphic for the rematch now says “cannot be stopped for any reason.” They seem to know that they screwed up, but I don’t think they’ll do anything to make it better.

Braun Strowman vs. Drew Gulak

Strowman scares him into the corner so Gulak grabs a mic. He declares himself an historian in the world of combat sports and if Strowman is too aggressive at Crown Jewel, he’ll get knocked out. Gulak has a 345 slide PowerPoint presentation to walk Strowman through his match against Fury. That earns him a toss across the ring and a big boot. A headbutt puts Gulak on the floor and there’s the running shoulder. The running powerslam ends Gulak at 3:05.

Rating: D-. I know the cruiserweights mean nothing but did we really need to have Gulak go back to doing the same stuff that he did for months? It was really goofy stuff back then and he moved on to a more serious character and won the Cruiserweight Title. Now he’s just a comedy guy again? And there was no one else on the roster to take this loss? Not a single one?

Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin/Shinsuke Nakamura

Reigns is named the new captain of Team Hogan and Sami Zayn is here with the villains. Corbin gets punched in the head and face to start and it’s quickly off to Bryan for the running dropkicks in the corner. Nakamura comes in for the slugout with Bryan, who knees him in the ribs for another knockdown. A low bridge from Sami sends Bryan to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Bryan backflipping out of a double belly to back suplex. A kick to the head should allow the hot tag to Reigns but Corbin pulls him off the apron for a ram into the steps. Corbin puts Reigns on the steps but throws the other set away thanks to a threat from the referee. Bryan dropkicks Corbin down and gets the LeBell Lock on Nakamura. That’s broken up by Corbin, who is speared through the barricade for his efforts. The YES Kicks have Nakamura in trouble and the running knee gives Bryan the pin at 9:01.

Rating: B-. I can certainly go for Bryan vs. Nakamura for the title and it could make up for a lot of the idea of Corbin vs. Reigns. This feels like Corbin getting moved back up towards the main event scene and while that isn’t as terrifying as it had been before, I don’t trust WWE to not push him way too far. The match itself was energetic as Reigns feels so much more acceptable as an upper midcarder who pops into the main event from time to time instead of the focal point of the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They kept the show moving fast enough and that’s the best thing that they could have done here. You don’t want to give the fans a reason to check out during the show and they kept things going here. What mattered most here was setting up some matches for the future and I’m looking forward to seeing some of the things they have coming up. It was a fun enough show and hopefully we can get on to the more normal shows instead of the special editions almost every week.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ when King Corbin interfered

Shorty Gable b. Curtis Axel – Ankle lock

New Day/Heavy Machinery b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode/Revival – Midnight Hour to Dawson

Nikki Cross b. Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville – Purge to Rose

Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns b. King Corbin/Shinsuke Nakamura – Running knee to Nakamura

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 16, 2005
Location: Qwest Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time to wrap up the Gold Rush Tournament as Edge faces Kane for the #1 contendership to Batista’s Raw World Title. Normally that would be enough, but we also have Christian vs. Ric Flair in what should be a good one and Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin vs. Muhammad Hassan/Khosrow Daivari. They’re certainly bringing it for what was likely sweeps week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence, now prominently featuring Shawn Michaels superkicking Shelton Benjamin out of the air.

The announcers run down the big card.

Muhammad Hassan/Daivari vs. Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin

Thankfully it’s just Daivari, which has a better ring than his full name. This was set up last week when Hassan and Daivari jumped both of them at separate times. It’s a brawl to start with Jericho whipping Shelton into the corner for a double Stinger Splash. We settle down to Jericho chopping Daivari and suplexing him down. Shelton comes in for a clothesline but Hassan grabs a backbreaker. It’s already back to Daivari for a double arm crank and then a chinlock to keep things slow.

Back up and Shelton’s clothesline isn’t enough for the tag thanks to Hassan’s diving save and it’s back to cranking on the arms. A Samoan drop gets Shelton out of trouble and Jericho comes in to clean house. The enziguri sets up a high crossbody for two on Hassan with Daivari making the save. That’s enough of a distraction for Hassan to hit his Downward Spiral for the pin.

Rating: C-. Hassan has certainly gotten a lot more watchable in recent weeks and a good portion of that is due to cutting down his mic time. It isn’t like the promos he’s giving have a lot of depth or variety to them so it’s a case of less being more. Daivari has been a big help as well as he can do a lot of the work in the matches, making this a good example of the pair being better than the solo act.

Post match Jericho storms off and Shelton is confused.

Chris Benoit and Tajiri are in the back. They’ve both been invited to ECW One Night Stand so tonight they’ll have an ECW Rules match for old times’ sake. William Regal comes up to find out what is going on so Tajiri explains in Japanese. Regal gets the whole thing but doesn’t care for the violence. Tajiri can go do it if that’s what he wants though.

We look back at the frustrated HHH leaving last week.

Coach literally runs into Eric Bischoff’s office with Ric Flair to tell him about the ECW Rules match. Bischoff doesn’t want to hear about it because Flair has to talk about how great HHH is. Flair demands Bischoff call HHH but that isn’t happening. If HHH wants to come back, HHH can make the call. Flair leaves and runs into Batista, who he blames for everything. How dare Batista cause HHH this many problems when HHH brought him into the business? Batista says it isn’t his fault and Flair got him started. They trade WOOs, with Batista’s being comically quiet.

Ric Flair vs. Christian

Feeling out process to start with Christian hitting a shoulder and offering his own strut. That just gets him a slap to the face so Christian grabs a backdrop. The slam off the top and a clothesline to the floor let Tomko get in a cheap shot. JR refers to this as physical molestation as Flair is thrown back in for two. A missed charge lets Flair chop away and it’s a Flair Flop from Christian. Tomko gets in a shot to break up the Figure Four so Flair grabs a rollup, the tights and the rope for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a Flair showcase as he got to do all the greatest hits and show that they still work. The problem is that he pinned Christian, who was seemingly ready to break through to the other side and has lost twice in a row since. I’m not sure why WWE bothered setting him up like that to bring him back down, but WWE has done more questionable things before.

Post match Flair is cornered by Christian and Tomko so Batista comes out for the save.

Lita fires Christy up for her lingerie pillow fight until Edge interrupts. He tells Lita to warn Kane about what’s coming tonight, and you can bank on it.

Christian limps around backstage so here’s Maria to ask if he’s hurt. Christian: “Where did you get your journalism degree from? A box of Cocoa Puffs?” This isn’t over with Batista.

Here’s Chris Masters for the Masterlock Challenge. This time the prize is $6,000 and a one way plane ticket to anywhere in the United States, because anywhere is better than Omaha. The fan loses in near record time so here’s Steven Richards to go after Masters and chase him off with a chair. So yes, after a month plus of these things, their best idea is a Steven Richards feud.

Kane grabs Edge by the throat and says stay away from Lita.

Chris Benoit vs. Tajiri

ECW Rules and weapons are provided at ringside. Tajiri starts fast with the Tarantula as Lawler goes off with the insults on ECW as only he can. The handsprings elbow is countered into a German suplex but Tajiri flips out and kicks him in the head. They go outside with Tajiri going face first into the steps and that means it’s ladder time. Tajiri is laid on the table and Benoit climbs the ladder in the ring….but here’s Coach to stop the match on Bischoff’s orders. Bischoff comes out as well to officially end the match. Not long enough to rate but it was there to advance an angle more than anything else.

Post match Bischoff trashes ECW and bans any mention of ECW on Raw whatsoever. You can’t even chant for it! Also, the Raw wrestlers are forbidden from appearing at ECW One Night Stand. Bischoff is even going to show up with a bunch of Raw volunteers to end ECW once and for all. This is an expected reaction from Bischoff and should set up something fun at One Night Stand.

Christy Hemme vs. Candice Michelle

Lingerie pillow fight so the bed is in the ring. They fight and feathers go everywhere, including a trip to the floor just because. Christy wins with a sunset flip.

With the women still in the ring, cue Viscera in a suit because the pillow fight has turned him on. The hip swiveling sends Christy and Candice running, but Viscera would rather talk about Lilian Garcia. Viscera sees the two of them and that bed and he has an idea. He kisses a fan at ringside to get her cotton candy, with JR not liking the idea of Viscera having more sugar.

Lilian gets in the ring and Viscera tells her to put some of the pillows on the bed. He lays down and offers her some cotton candy, which he licks rather, uh, suggestively. Viscera has a surprise for her, including a pickle in his pocket. He pulls out a hotel room key and Lilian isn’t sure about this. Viscera: “Room four sixty nine.” That’s enough to make Lilian to fall off the bed and end a rather horribly entertaining segment. Yeah it’s bad but it’s the overly cheesy bad where they know what they’re doing.

Kane and Lita breathe at each other a lot and kissing ensues.

We recap the Gold Rush Tournament.

Shelton comes up to Jericho to make sure everything is cool. Jericho lists off some of his accomplishments and everything he has going on at the moment, including a plug for a Fozzy album.

Tag Team Titles: Hurricane/Rosey vs. Simon Dean/Maven

Hurricane and Rosey are defending and debut Super Stacy as their new manager. Rosey slams Maven with no problem to start as Lawler tries to figure out what Stacy’s name should be. Hurricane comes in and gets pulled into the wrong corner with Dean taking him down by the neck. A double suplex lets Maven get in some situps but Hurricane fights up and brings in Rosey to clean house. Stacy offers the distraction and it’s a side slam/Eye of the Hurricane combination to finish Maven.

Rating: D-. The champs won the titles ice cold and now they have Stacy Keibler as a manager. Stacy is one of those people whose value was pretty limited in the first place and it has gone through the floor over the last few years. Putting her on this team seems like an act of desperation and it really doesn’t bode well for the champs’ future.

Smackdown Rebound.

Here’s the still injured Randy Orton for a chat. People have been asking him if he is coming back to Raw or going to Smackdown. After telling the fans to shut up, he says he can’t be drafted because he’s injured. That’s because of Batista and the Undertaker, so Orton wants Batista to keep the title until he gets back to take it from him. Orton goes to leave so here’s Vince McMahon to cut him off.

Vince: “What the h*** has happened to you?” He mocks Orton for losing weight but Orton blames the shoulder surgery. Vince doesn’t want to hear about the injury because no one is exempt from the Draft. The Draft begins three weeks from tonight and it’s going on for a whole month this time around. Orton might be standing in a Raw ring for the last time so gain some weight and let your hair grow out again.

Gold Rush Tournament Finals: Kane vs. Edge

Lita is out with Kane. An early big boot drops Edge with JR saying it’s going to be a quick one so don’t make a sandwich. Kane grabs a suplex and chokes away but Edge hammers away in the corner. They fight to the floor with Kane taking over again as they’re firmly in first and a half gear.

Edge takes over with some forearms to the back and the referee gets bumped for a second, allowing Edge to hit a low blow. Back from a break with Edge working on the knee and taking it outside again to stay on said knee. The leglock goes on as this is hardly exciting stuff. Kane fights up and uppercuts him out of the air for two, setting up Snake Eyes for a bonus. The Edge-O-Matic cuts Kane down again but the spear is countered with a grab of the throat.

Edge grabs the referee to escape and the Edgecution gets two more. Kane tries a Tombstone but the ref gets bumped for real this time. The spear barely keeps Kane down and he kicks the briefcase out of Edge’s hands. Lita takes it away but slides it to Edge as Kane goes up, allowing Edge to knock Kane out of the air with a shot to the face. Lita wakes the referee up and Edge gets the pin and the title shot.

Rating: D. This wasn’t very good for the first place but the ending was good with the result, and the way they got there, being what they needed to be. Edge is the bigger star and putting him with Lita should be a great match. Kane is now more of a sympathetic face, or at least as sympathetic as you can be given how he and Lita got together in the first place.

Post match Lita jumps into Edge’s arms and goes evil, which always worked very, very well. Given what was going on in real life, they would have been crazy not to go this way. The big kiss on the stage ends the show as Edge and Lita channel their inner Christian and Trish from last year.

Overall Rating: D. There were some nice storyline additions on here but the wrestling was REALLY bad with the best match being a short and not very good tag match to open the show. I was thinking that this one would be the big show that made up for some of the previous weeks but we’re still waiting, which is becoming quite the problem.

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

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

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

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