Monday Night Raw – January 7, 2019: It’s Never Been This Hard To Watch

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 7, 2019
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the first show of the year and WWE has stacked the card. In this case we have the return of John Cena, the return of Brock Lesnar, the return of Braun Strowman, the return of Hulk Hogan and the return of the Tag Team Title match from Christmas Eve with the Revival challenging Chad Gable and Bobby Roode, this time in a lumberjack match. Oh and getting ready for the Rumble in case you didn’t have enough to pick from. Let’s get to it.

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

In memory of Gene Okerlund.

We open with a big fight in the back between Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley with wrestlers, agents and referees not being able to break it up. They fight into the arena with Rollins finally being dragged to the back to separate the two of them.

Less than five seconds after the fight is over, here’s John Cena to open things up. Cena welcomes us to the show and talks about Rollins and Lashley being all fired up because it’s almost Wrestlemania season. He’s not getting left out this year so he’s going to start stepping up right now. There is one match where any superstar can grab the golden ticket and that is the Royal Rumble. Nothing is handed to you and he’s planning on earning his golden ticket by officially entering the Rumble.

This brings out Drew McIntyre to say he’s been waiting on this for several years. Cena is standing in the middle of the ring and McIntyre doesn’t care what’s going on with him, including who is in his bed. What McIntyre cares about is Cena being the best of all time. See, Drew has a tendency to take out the best of all time, like the Shield and Kurt Angle. McIntyre is a dangerous man and now he’s coming for Cena. That makes Cena shake his head, because he had to leave so that everyone else around here could think of a different promo. He’s heard this before so why is McIntyre any different?

The match seems ready to happen but here are Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley to rant about how Rollins sent nuts. If something isn’t done, they’re getting a LAWYER. Cue Rollins to jump Lashley from behind and the fight is on all over again. Dean Ambrose comes out to go after Rollins so Cena and McIntyre get in on it as well. Finn Balor comes out and hits the big flip dive as we take a break.

Bobby Lashley/Drew McIntyre/Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins/John Cena/Finn Balor

We start fast with Balor working on Lashley’s arm but getting knocked into the corner. Ambrose comes in and gets caught with a basement dropkick, only to drag Balor into the corner for a hard chop from McIntyre. The beatdown continues with Lashley hitting a chinlock but not being able to hit the spinning Dominator. Balor gets up some boots in the corner (it’s always the boots) but Lashley drives him straight back into the corner again.

One more chance gets Balor over to the corner so Cena can clean some house but the Glasgow Kiss cuts him off as we take a break. Back with Cena dropkicking Ambrose, drawing Lashley right back in to break up the tag. Lashley stops to pose and the delay lets Cena hit the AA to put both guys down. Ambrose cuts off the hot tag bid though and we hit the chinlock. They head outside with Ambrose sending him into the steps as we take a second break.

Back again with Balor getting the hot tag to clean house, including a double stomp and shotgun dropkick to Ambrose. The Coup de Grace connects but McIntyre is right there with the Claymore to cut him down. It’s too early to finish things up though as Balor gets over for the tag to Rollins. That means a springboard clothesline to McIntyre and a moonsault to Lashley and Ambrose.

The Falcon Arrow gets two on McIntyre but the Stomp doesn’t connect. The reverse Alabama Slam is broken up by an AA but Lashley spears Cena down. That means a superkick to Lashley and another one to McIntyre. The frog splash (with some crazy height) misses McIntyre though and Ambrose tags himself in. Rollins blocks Dirty Deeds though and hits the Stomp for the pin at 21:15.

Rating: B. Good, hot match to open the show as they try as hard as they can (in vein that is) to fight off the National Championship game. Rollins pinning Ambrose to continue their feud is fine, especially if Rollins vs. Lashley is going to continue. Having Cena in there is a good idea as you might not want to have him in a long singles match when he hasn’t been in the ring much lately. Solid match and a very good start to the show.

Post match HHH is shown in the back talking to Sasha Banks and Bayley. That’s not cool with Seth, who storms to the back. Seth finds HHH and demands a title shot with Ambrose tonight. HHH agrees and makes it falls count anywhere. Egads they’re pumping this show up hard.

We look at some Tweets regarding Mean Gene passing away.

We get a ten bell salute to Okerlund.

Here’s Hulk Hogan, in a Mean Gene O Mania shirt (which he had back in the 80s), to pay tribute to Okerlund. Hogan talks about Gene loving to entertain and we get the big video tribute. Back in the arena, Hogan says Gene isn’t here, but he’s right here, with a point to his heart.

The fans start a THANK YOU MEAN GENE chant and we get one more WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING MEAN GENE with Hogan talking about Gene getting the angels singing Tutti Frutti. He’s making Randy Savage/Ultimate Warrior and Roddy Piper/Mr. Perfect with Andre the Giant as a special referee. Gene better be pumping the weights because he has to choose between Moolah and Mae Young. Whatcha gonna do when Mean Gene O Mania runs wild on you? That was awesome, with the tribute being worth seeing for old school fans.

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

Roode and Gable are defending in a lumberjack match and a rematch from two weeks ago when Gable and Roode pinned the illegal man to retain. Roode grabs a headlock on Wilder but it’s way too early for the Glorious DDT. The arm cranking begins until Dawson chops Gable down without much effort. Everything breaks down for a bit with Revival being clotheslined to the floor, allowing Roode to backdrop Gable onto both of them. Back in and Dawson gets in a clothesline on Gable to take over as we hit the break.

We come back with Roode getting the hot tag and coming in to clean house. A spinning Rock Bottom plants Wilder and the Blockbuster into the German suplex gets two on Dawson with Wilder mostly missing a save. The blind tag means Gable’s Rolling Chaos Theory to Dawson doesn’t count, allowing Wilder to come off the top with a splash for two more. Dawson and Gable fight over a backslide and manage to flip Wilder to the apron. Gable grabs a small package for the pin at 10:11, even though Dawson’s foot was underneath the bottom rope.

Rating: C. Can we please stop giving the heels sympathy? This is twice now that the faces have won the match and are then told that they haven’t quite gotten it. Not only does it mean we have to see a match that wasn’t great in the first place, but now we have a reason to feel sorry for the bad guys. That’s not how this is supposed to go and once they do win, it’s a reason to cheer for them because they finally got a fair shake. Why is this so complicated?

Here’s THE SAME NXT ARRIVAL VIDEO THAT WE’VE SEEN FOR A MONTH NOW! EC3 and Lacey Evans already debuted on Main Event this week so what’s the point in doing this again?

Here’s Elias for a song. He talks about 2018 being a great year with everything he accomplished. 2019 is going to be even better when he wins the Royal Rumble, but for now he wants to sing about how awful Baron Corbin is. This brings out Corbin to say he’s here to help. That starts by entering the Royal Rumble but for now, he’ll just beat up Elias.

Elias vs. Baron Corbin

They fight to the floor early on and Elias hits a falling crossbody as we take a break. Back with Corbin hammering away until Elias makes the comeback and slugs away in the corner. The fans try to care about egads man, it’s a Baron Corbin match. Elias gets him up in an electric chair but drops him down, setting up a swinging neckbreaker for two instead. The CM Punk chants start and Elias misses a top rope splash, allowing Corbin to send him shoulder first into the post. End of Days is good for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: D-. I don’t remember the last time a wrestler managed to suck the life out of a show like Corbin does. He’s not interesting, he’s not very good, and WWE has ruined the already not very high potential that he had. It’s not working, and now the solution is to keep him on TV. Corbin needs to go away for a very, very long time just to let people stop hating him so much because he’s actively destroying shows he’s on anymore. Elias isn’t that much better, but at least he doesn’t drag others down with him.

Dean Ambrose isn’t happy about the title defense tonight but he never liked six man tags anyway. Tonight he’s keeping the title from Rollins, because everything falls apart if Seth gets it back.

Here’s Braun Strowman for the showdown with Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman and Lesnar show up on the screen with Heyman talking about how Strowman is looking for a confrontation. The words that Strowman needs to understand are Card Subject To Change, because if Lesnar came out there right now, there would be no Royal Rumble title match.

Strowman stays in the ring, saying he’s waiting for Beastie Boy. Heyman tells Brock not to

worry about it and they stay in the back, with Strowman saying Lesnar must be scared. Lesnar finally comes out, walks near the ring, and starts heading to the back. Strowman says Lesnar needs to get back here….because he’s winning the title at the Royal Rumble.

This was AWFUL as they clearly have no way around the fact that Strowman is the challenger of the month and has no chance of winning. That’s what happens when you do this match twice with Lesnar winning both times, the most recent being without breaking a sweat. Side note: the last time Lesnar defended the title (not counting house shows) in a match that didn’t involve Strowman or Roman Reigns was in July 2017. And they wonder why his matches stopped meaning anything years ago?

Jinder Mahal/Alicia Fox vs. Apollo Crews/Ember Moon

Before the match, Alicia leads us in some breathing exercises and Jinder insults some fans for not getting into it. It’s like they want us to change the channel sometimes. Crews flips over Jinder to start and gets two off a crossbody. The guys head outside and it’s Moon hitting all of her usual, capped off by the Eclipse for the pin on Fox at 1:48. At least it was short.

Here’s Alexa Bliss for the debut of her talk show, A Moment Of Bliss. After demanding and receiving a cup of coffee, we see a video on Ronda Rousey’s rookie year. Rousey is of course the first guest and wants to talk about the future instead of the past. She talks about someone who is more athletic than Charlotte and had a tougher road here than Becky Lynch. Rousey means Sasha Banks, so here’s Nia Jax (Me out loud: “GOOD GRIEF!”) to say that sounds like someone has a girl crush on Sasha.

Nia wants to know when she’s getting her rematch from TLC but here’s Sasha, who says she’s honored by the words. She’d love to face Ronda for the title and teach her how to lose with grace. Nia says the line starts behind her before she’s a 300.5 ounce (not pounds, but ounce) Samoan. Sasha: “B**** what line?” Sasha challenges her to a #1 contenders match right now but Nia has a seat and we take a break.

Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

The winner gets Rousey, presumably at the Rumble. Nia does indeed get in the ring during the break as Bayley and Tamina are watching at ringside. Sasha kicks her in the face and tries a guillotine but gets thrown into the corner. A kick to the head rocks Nia until she runs Banks over with a knee. Nia drops her face first onto the barricade for a nine count as Bayley and Tamina get in a fight.

Back in and a Batista Bomb gives Nia two as we take a break. We come back with Nia holding her in a torture rack until Sasha slips out and starts in with the knees. The running knees in the corner set up the top rope Meteora for two but Banks can’t hold the Bank Statement. Nia misses the face breaker and it’s a Samoan drop to crush Banks again. There’s a corner splash and Nia loads her up in a fireman’s carry on the middle rope.

Instead of falling back though, Nia jumps down, dropping Sasha onto the corner in a nasty crash. That’s only good for two and Bayley dropkicks Tamina for a bonus. Banks comes back with a dropkick in the corner and tries a hurricanrana off the apron but Banks just falls off to the side in what looked like a botch. Back in and the Bank Statement finishes Nia at 13:23.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Ambrose is defending and it’s Falls Count Anywhere. Seth jumps him from behind to start and we’re off in a hurry. The fight heads outside immediately with Rollins clotheslining him over the barricade. They go backstage with Rollins throwing Dean into a ladder but missing a shovel shot. Ambrose sends him head first into a metal case for two and then gets in a ladder shot for the same.

Back from a break with the fight in the crowd and Rollins diving off a barricade with a crossbody for two. Rollins punches him straight in the nose and they head to ringside with Dean being tossed into the barricade. Ambrose is right back with a drop onto the barricade for two and it’s time to peel back the ring mats. After a kiss on the head, Dean’s Dirty Deeds attempt is countered with a backdrop onto the concrete.

They head inside with a superplex into the buckle bomb into a superkick keeping Dean in big trouble. The Stomp connects but here’s Bobby Lashley to pull Rollins out of the ring. Lashley beats the heck out of him on the floor, including an overhead belly to belly. Back in and the beating continues, including the spinning Dominator and a spear. Dean covers the finished Rollins to retain at 15:22.

Rating: B-. It was a good brawl but they telegraphed the ending by about nine miles. There was no hiding Lashley interfering to cost Rollins the match and that brings up the bigger problem: they set Rollins up as being back last week, have him in a great performance earlier tonight, and then oh dang he lost. Well thanks for letting us get reinvested in him for….oh a week or so. I’m sure Lashley vs. Rollins will be fine and Ambrose can find something else to do, but it didn’t make for a strong main event to end a bad show.

Post match Lashley puts Rollins through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This show was a perfect example of everything wrong with Raw right now. The wrestling was fine at times and even good at some points, but the people and stories that they keep bringing out are death. Between acts that the fans do not want to see (Jax and Corbin) to talented people who have no story and just float from match to match (Crews, Bayley) to feuds that keep going with whatever illogical booking they have going this week (Revival vs. Gable/Roode), there are so many problems with this show that the good stuff is completely drowned out.

I know they’ve had to deal with holidays and the big football game tonight, but we’re less than three weeks away from the Royal Rumble and three months away from Wrestlemania with almost nothing looking like it’s even gotten started. In theory Rollins wins the Rumble to set up a feud with Lesnar, which will be over Lesnar not being around often enough and Rollins being the man and all that. The problem though is what else do they have besides that and the women’s match?

It’s certainly not too late to fix things up but the show continuing like this is flaming death for a TV show. There’s no reason to care about so much of what people are going to do because they’re still in the same place they were in months ago. Elias, Corbin (outside of his time as GM), Strowman, Lashley, Balor and probably others, are all virtually in the same place they were in a year ago with no significant title reigns for any of them in that whole time frame. Why is that? Well it could be because the Intercontinental Title is the de factor World Title right now because Lesnar has to face Strowman for his quarterly defense and leave.

This whole show needs a completely different style of presenting itself, and it’s not like WWE doesn’t know how to do it. Smackdown, NXT, heck even 205 Live knows how to do this stuff but Raw can’t figure it out. I haven’t been this sick of the show in a very long time and so much of it comes from the fact that they know how to do it properly and just won’t. I don’t know if it’s the lack of a proper World Champion or the writers being hacks or Vince losing his touch or some combination of everything, but it needs to change and it needs to change soon. Terribly dull show, with the two good matches not being able to save it.

Results

John Cena/Finn Balor/Seth Rollins b. Dean Ambrose/Bobby Lashley/Drew McIntyre – Stomp to Ambrose

Chad Gable/Bobby Roode b. Revival – Small package to Dawson

Baron Corbin b. Elias – End of Days

Apollo Crews/Ember Moon b. Jinder Mahal/Alicia Fox – Eclipse to Fox

Sasha Banks b. Nia Jax – Bank Statement

Dean Ambrose b. Seth Rollins – Pin after a spear from Bobby Lashley

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

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


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


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




Hidden Gems Collection #7 (12 Days Of Hidden Gems Part 1): I Hope They Got A Gift Receipt

IMG Credit: WWE

Hidden Gems #7
Date: 1981, 1992

So the Network is going coconuts for the Christmas season with TWELVE (even though they’re starting this on the day after the regular Hidden Gems drop, meaning it should be THIRTEEN) STRAIGHT DAYS of of Hidden Gems, with new stuff being added every day through Christmas. Therefore, I’ll be putting these up in four three day blocks. Some of these are going to be much longer than others but the fun part is going to be seeing what surprises we’re in for. Let’s get to it.

Star Wars 1981
Date: December 25, 1981
Location: Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Bill Mercer

So this is most of a full show, with a Big Time Wrestling event (very soon to be World Class Championship Wrestling) under the Star Wars banner. Star Wars was a series of big shows that the promotion ran on certain important nights (often holidays) so expect a big night. The entire thing isn’t here but I’ll fill in the gaps where I can. Let’s get to it.

It’s a double ring show, which could make for an interesting night.

Ring announcer Marc Lowrance introduces the show and explains the two rings.

The first two matches aren’t present. First up was El Negro Assassin vs. Richard Blood (not Ricky Steamboat) in a fifteen minute draw and Tiny Tom defeating Little Tokyo in about ten minutes.

Texas Brass Knuckles Title: Jose Lothario vs. Ernie Ladd

Ladd, a monster with some of the greatest promos ever, is defending. The title is more a toughman title than anything else, as hardcore wrestling hadn’t exactly been invented yet. Lothario on the other hand is best known for training Shawn Michaels. Ladd backs up a few times in the first minute before taking Lothario into the corner. That just earns him a shot to the ribs and it’s time to stall some more.

Some right hands finally put Lothario in trouble and it’s off to a bearhug, which is rather awkward given Ladd’s foot or so height advantage. With that broken up, it turns into a boxing match and Lothario being a former boxer means Ladd is in trouble in a hurry. Ladd uses the distraction to load up a foreign object, which goes into Lothario’s neck. A right hand knocks Lothario to the floor but he comes back in with a top rope right hand to the head….for the pin and the title at 6:14.

Rating: D. Well that happened. The punching stuff made sense and both of them looked fine on their own, but it was still a dull match with neither of them having the time to do much. The ending, with a big right hand from the top, made sense for the gimmick of the match but it wasn’t much to see until we got to the finish.

There was another unaired match here with Blue Demon and Al Madril beating Arman Hussein and Carlos Zapata. I believe that’s the last missing match on the card.

UWA Light Heavyweight Title: El Solitario vs. Tim Brooks

Solitario is defending and this is a title from the Universal Wrestling Association in Mexico. Brooks on the other hand, apparently loves to have dog collar matches. That’s quite the random factoid. There’s also no way that he’s a light heavyweight. Solitario spins out of a leglock to start and we have an early standoff. Brooks hits a shoulder but charges into a hiptoss as Solitario sends him into the other ring.

They head back to the original with Brooks sending him into the corner and dropping a knee for two but a sunset flip gives Solitario the same. A dropkick puts Brooks on the apron and a posting sends him to the floor. Solitario hits a dive and Brooks is busted open, which at least came off a good spot. Back in again and another crossbody retains Solitario’s title at 5:21.

Rating: C-. Solitario’s dives looked good and were WAY ahead of their time but Brooks was any heel here, which meant he was a pretty lame challenger. At least they kept it short here and let Solitario be the star, which was the right idea given what was going on in there. Just not much to see here, aside from Solitario being insane for an American audience.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Great Kabuki

Kabuki has top heel manager Gary Hart with him. This is a Texas Death Match, which basically means Last Man Standing. Fritz is rather popular as ringside fills up with fans wanting autographs, which Fritz of course grants. The ring announcer explains that after every fall, there will be a thirty second rest period before a ten count begins. Fritz goes straight for the Claw but Kabuki does the smart thing by grabbing the wrist. The stomach version works a bit better until Kabuki makes a rope for a break. In a Death Match?

Back up and Fritz slugs away but another Claw attempt is blocked. So you’re saying he uses a Claw a lot? Kabuki chops him down in the corner but then Fritz does the same thing. They head into the other ring where another Claw attempt is countered with a kick to the head. This time Kabuki grabs Fritz underneath the arm for a nerve hold as this is getting awful in a hurry.

They fight to the floor and then over a chair with Fritz getting the better of it. Fritz punches him back inside and more bad looking right hands don’t do much damage. The Claw goes on for a three count and it takes him awhile to let go. Two referees have to pull Fritz off and he puts it on again.

That’s considered part of the rest period so Fritz beats up Hart to kill some time. Kabuki beats the count and it’s time to go after the cut on his head. That means more Claw (egads man learn a new move) as Hart takes off a turnbuckle pad. Kabuki is back up as Fritz beats Hart up and sends Fritz face first into the exposed buckle. A lot of choking keeps Fritz down until he punches his way to freedom (and that’s AMERICAN freedom mind you).

Both guys are down long enough that the rest period begins, followed by the ten count and neither can make it to their feet. We don’t have draws in Texas though and the winner is the first person on his feet in the ring. Fritz almost gets up first so Hart pulls him down and pours something on Kabuki’s face to wake him up, which is enough for the win at 18:11. That’s the first Texas Death Match that Fritz has ever lost.

Rating: F. I know he’s a legend in Texas and owns the promotion and all that jazz but this was HORRIBLE with Fritz looking about 90 years old and doing nothing but punching and the Claw. This might have been a nice treat for the fans live and meant something to them, but watching it back is an absolute chore as it’s just sitting there watching Fritz put his hand on Kabuki’s head for long stretches over and over. Terrible stuff here, no matter how big a WCCW fan you might be.

Kevin Von Erich comes in to clear the villains out.

Kevin Von Erich/David Von Erich/Kerry Von Erich vs. Frank Dusek/Bill Irwin/Ten Gu

Ten Gu is better known as Kendo Nagasaki in Stampede Wrestling. This is a six man tag with both rings being used, meaning it’s basically a singles match in both rings and one person able to tag into either ring at either time. That’s kind of clever. Before we can get going though, the Von Erichs are mobbed for autographs again. Mike is with them here with his brothers and that’s always kind of sad to see. Kerry and Irwin start in one ring and the rules are already starting to get confusing as the other four just stand there.

We settle down to David working on Gu’s arm and the camera still only focusing on one ring at a time. Kevin works on a headlock on Dusek before headscissoring Irwin down at the same time. There is WAY too much going on here at once with the tagging and it’s not flowing well at all. We go back to Kerry putting Gu in a sleeper until Dusek makes a save. That means a chinlock for a bit with Dusek fighting up and almost hitting Irwin in the other ring.

They FINALLY go to a wide shot that the match was begging for and we get to see just how slow everyone is keeping things. David gets a sleeper on Gu until Kerry hits a running dive over the ropes to take Gu down. A double ax handle gets two on David but he’s right back with a suplex for the same on Dusek. Kerry snapmares Irwin down and drops a middle rope knee for two of his own. Dusek gets in his own suplex on Kerry but misses a top rope splash and hurts his knee. Irwin misses his own running knee on Kevin, who pops up with the Claw on Gu. A middle rope ax handle hits Gu by mistake and Kevin pins him at 10:58.

Rating: D-. I’m going to blame this one more on the production and the layout as this needed to either stay wide the whole time or drop the tagging stuff to make it a regular brawl. There was too much going on with too many people involved and it caught up with them in a hurry. I couldn’t tell what was going on and there was no story to the whole thing. I’m not sure why the Von Erichs were fighting these three in the first place, and there’s just nothing good to say about it. Oh yeah Fritz wasn’t wrestling so it was slightly less bad than the previous match.

Battle Royal

David Von Erich, Bill Irwin, Kerry Von Erich, Big Daddy Bundy, Al Madrill, Armand Hussein, Blue Demon, Carlos Zapata, El Negro Assassin, Frank Dusek, Jose Lothario, Richard Blood, Ten Gu, Tim Brooks

Double ring battle royal (throw the people from one ring into the other, then out like a regular battle royal, the last two people involved have a two man battle royal for the win) for $10,000. The match is listed as having sixteen people, the records I can find say fourteen, and I see twelve. Thankfully we get a listing and it turns out that I can’t count or see everyone in a ring. It’s a big brawl to start and EGADS Bundy looks weird in jeans and with a full head of hair. The camera continues to focus on half of the ring instead of going wide, which would seem to be the solution to this whole thing.

Bundy keeps beating on everyone as we’re still waiting on the first elimination. David gets launched into the second ring and Brooks follows him as we look at this ring instead of the two next to each other. Madrill and Demon come to the second ring as well, followed by a bunch of others as things go nuts in a hurry. Bundy wins the first ring, followed by Hussein and Demon both being eliminated. Two other guys leave at the same time but they’re not important enough to mention.

Dusek is out and we’re down to eight left in the second ring as I try to figure out the other two eliminations. Madrill and Assassin go out, followed by Kerry and Ten Gu, leaving us with Lothario, Irwin, Blood and Zapata, meaning the other two unmentioned eliminations were David Von Erich and Tim Brooks. Now why couldn’t those names just be mentioned? Anyway Blood and Zapata go out and Lothario follows, leaving us with the heel vs. heel battle of Bundy vs. Irwin.

Bundy gets lured into the other ring and the fight is on, with both referees staying in the ring with them. Some forearms have Irwin in trouble until he avoids an elbow drop from Bundy. Wait is Bundy a face here? What kind of idiot would make Bundy a face? Commentary seems to confirm this as Irwin pokes him in the eye. I mean, it makes more sense for this match but makes far less sense otherwise. Irwin gets him to the apron but gets pulled out to give Bundy the win at 12:12.

Rating: D. The same production issues hurt this one as you couldn’t see a lot of what was going on when the action was still going on in both rings. Other than that, it was a bad battle royal with everyone running around and a bunch of people going from one quick fight to another. It’s not the worst, but it wasn’t very good. Bundy winning makes sense, especially since he’s a good guy around here, because reasons.

And now from another part of the country on the same night. The following few matches are from the 1981 AWA Christmas night show in St. Paul, Minnesota. The whole video is just over half an hour long so I can’t call it the full show, but you never know what you’re going to get on these things.

AWA House Show
Date: December 25, 1981
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Commentator: Rodger Kent

This isn’t my favorite time and/or promotion in the world but they could do big shows fairly well. As mentioned this isn’t the full show but hopefully we get the best of the what they had to offer that night. The big match is a non-title match, which is non-title for no adequately explained reason. Why would you want to waste a major match on something like Christmas? Let’s get to it.

Rene Goulet vs. Kenny Jay

Goulet was an agent with the WWF forever but wasn’t much in the ring. Joined in progress with Jay (never heard of him) working on a wristlock as the unnamed announcer talks about Japanese photographers in attendance. Goulet takes him down into a chinlock as the announcer talks about Goulet’s airfare in 1981 costing over $58,000.

A headscissors keeps Jay down until he reverses into a leglock to send Goulet bailing to the ropes. The hold goes right back on with Jay taking him down to keep Goulet in trouble. Goulet finally makes it over to the rope as we’re told there are five minutes left. Back up and some elbows get Goulet out of trouble before a middle rope knee finishes Jay at 6:14 shown (announced as 11:14).

Rating: D. What we saw wasn’t exactly thrilling stuff as it was a lot of leg work and not much else. Goulet never was the most interesting guy in the world and Jay seemed like just a guy for the most part. In other words, for once I’m rather glad about this being clipped instead of having to sit through the full thing.

Curt Hennig vs. Evan Johnson

This is very early in Hennig’s career and we’re joined in progress again with Hennig taking him down with a headscissors. The announcer talks about Johnson being an Olympic wrestler and only missing the 1980 games due to the boycott. Johnson fights up into a wristlock and Hennig can’t slam his way to freedom. The arm work continues as we’re told that Scrap Iron Gadaski is the referee. That name might not mean much to you, but he was Ric Flair’s first ever opponent. Hennig comes back with an armdrag of his own and then grabs a leglock to change things up a bit.

Johnson reverses into something like a crucifix but can’t get the other shoulder down. The fans aren’t pleased so Hennig gets up as we’re told there are three minutes left. Things get a lot more physical in a hurry as they fight up against the ropes without actually hitting each other. Johnson snaps off a belly to belly for two and they trade rollups as we’re down to a minute to go. Hennig hits an ax handle for two and Johnson grabs a backslide for two (with a great shocked look from Hennig) of his own as the fifteen minute time limit expires at 10:12 shown.

Rating: C-. This was a lot better than the previous match as they were trying to get a fall until the end with both guys working rather hard. They didn’t flip the switch until later in the match and that’s acceptable as the stuff after they started trying was a lot better. Hennig wasn’t quite his great self yet but you can see the potential there.

Jerry Blackwell/Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie vs. High Flyers

The High Flyers’ (Jim Brunzell/Greg Gagne) Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Joined in progress again with Greg taking the huge Blackwell down by the arm. Brunzell comes in without a tag to knock Adnan off the apron and gets in a shot at Blackwell as a bonus. Now he comes in off a tag and cranks on the arm before it’s off to Adnan. That means more arm cranking, including Brunzell coming off the middle rope with a knee. The fans are all over Blackwell as Brunzell stays on the arm.

To mix things up a bit, Gagne comes back in to work on the arm some more. Blackwell finally gets the tag for a headbutt, only to miss a splash. Some corner splashes work a bit better so Brunzell goes after the Sheik, allowing Blackwell to throw Gagne over the top. Blackwell is dumb enough to keep going after Brunzell to break up the count and Gagne gets back inside. Sheik comes in without a tag so Brunzell does the same, allowing Gagne to be pulled back into the corner.

We get the always classic tag that the referee misses and the fans are right back into things off the near explosion. The bearhug goes on instead with Gagne not exactly looking like he’s in pain, but rather being confused that he’s here. He finally slips out and crawls over for the tag to Brunzell for the house cleaning dropkicks. It’s already back to Gagne for a top rope knee to Sheik’s knee. Brunzell (or The Brunzy apparently) comes back in for a Figure Four but Blackwell crushes him with a splash. With Gagne being thrown out, Sheik gets the pin on Brunzell at 12:18.

Rating: D+. The AWA isn’t my favorite promotion and this wasn’t the most thrilling thing in the world. It’s not clear why this was a non-title match as it was a pretty clean pin for Blackwell and the Sheik, but that might imply that something changes around here and we wouldn’t want that. The match was formula based stuff and that works well enough, though the very long arm work part didn’t get them very far.

And now for something very different, we go to Tampa, Florida for a Christmas message from Randy Savage to a bunch of students. New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner set this up and talks about how it’s giving something back to the community. After a quick statement from Steinbrenner about how important it is to take care of at risk children and how Christmas is the most important time of the year.

We go inside the auditorium where Savage is played to the stage by a live orchestra. Savage talks about how a lot of people care about the kids here and how it’s no secret that things can be better. His big message is to believe in yourself and you can accomplish any goal you want. Be all that you can be and your best friend is yourself because you’ll never give up on yourself.

You want to be a leader and not a follower who makes bad decisions. Say no to drugs and stay in school. An education is incredible and something you should take advantage of. There will be challenges in life and things can go badly, but keep getting up and never quit. The person who gets back up again is the person that Savage respects because they’re the kind of person who is going to battle and win at all costs.

It’s nice to be important but it’s important to be nice. Savage even takes off his glasses to wrap things up, saying Merry Christmas and saying he’ll shake hands with everyone here. Savage packed in every cliché you could ask for here but for the sake of something like this, it’s perfectly fine. It also helps when you have Savage’s charisma and can make anything sound good.

Overall Rating: D. This is quite the mixture and it’s really not very good. To be fair though these were designed to be a bunch of one off watches rather than marathoning them like I’ve been doing, which isn’t helping things. The wrestling wasn’t all that great, though a lot of that is more due to the time frame not being one of my favorites. Savage’s message was rather nice and it’s always cool to see wrestlers doing something for a charity. We’ve got a long way to go though and that’s….going to be interesting, at least I hope.

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

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


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


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




Main Event – January 3, 2019: Welcome Back

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: January 3, 2019
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

We’re back in the arena this week after a pair of Best Of shows. That means more of your favorite lower card talents plus a bunch of highlights from some shows that a lot of people didn’t actually watch due to the holidays. Things should be at least somewhat interesting though as we see what the new year might hold. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Titus O’Neil vs. Curt Hawkins

Hawkins’ early waistlock attempt is shoved away without much effort, as expected. Titus throws him into the corner for some chops but Hawkins snaps his throat across the top to get a breather. A Russian legsweep sets up a chinlock with a knee in Titus’ back but the comeback doesn’t take long. An exchange of right hands goes to Titus and the Clash of the Titus is good for the pin on Hawkins at 4:52.

Rating: D. Just another match between these two as Hawkins is somehow still working in this role. It should have completely lost its impact about a year ago but it’s still amusing watching him be so desperate to get a win. They’ve got something if they ever do it, though I’m not sure how they ever get there.

From Raw.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre

In a cage with pinfall, submission or escape to win. Ziggler has thankfully lost the record scratch at the start of his song. An early escape attempt doesn’t work for Ziggler and Drew chops the heck out of him. That and a delayed vertical suplex are enough to put Dolph down for some writhing on the mat.

Dolph’s early comeback is cut off by the Glasgow Kiss but he catches Drew on top. That means a series of rams into the cage but Drew kicks the knee out for a crotching. Back from a break with Drew demanding that Ziggler fight and being set into the cage for his efforts. The superkick gives Ziggler two but Drew pulls him back inside. A double headbutt puts them both down again but Drew is up first, only to have Ziggler slam the cage door on his head.

The Fameasser gets two and we take a break. Back again with McIntyre superplexing him off the top of the cage and then sending Ziggler face first into the cage. The Claymore takes Dolph’s head off but Drew would rather sit and look instead of cover. Another Claymore finishes Ziggler at 19:29.

Rating: C+. It’s a good win for McIntyre but it’s way past time for this feud to be over. McIntyre is better than Ziggler and they need to move him on to something else already. They’ve been at this for months now and McIntyre has gotten everything he can from Ziggler. That doesn’t mean it’s stopping, but it means that it should.

Post match Drew isn’t done as he puts a chair in front of Ziggler’s head and Claymores it into Ziggler’s head, driving it into the cage. Drew says that he’s going to win the Royal Rumble and leaves, but comes back as Ziggler was sitting up in the chair. That means another Claymore to leave Ziggler laying. Ok are we done with these two now? I mean we should have been three months ago but are we done now?

From Smackdown.

Here’s John Cena, bad hair and all, for a chat. Cena thanks the fans for the energy and talks about the year in review. He bought a ticket to Wrestlemania and probably shouldn’t have had those beers before the match. His personal life was all over national television, he wrote a best selling children’s book that he’s very proud of and lived in China for six months. With all that though, he still thinks this hair is a good idea. On top of that though, he can still float like a butterfly and sting like a bumblebee, which is still certified fresh.

The question now is why is he here. Well he knows that someone is going to come out here right now and say Cena should leave WWE faster than Nikki Bella left him. That brings out Becky Lynch to some applause from Cena. Becky asks how it feels to expect a man to come out here but to get The Man instead. Things have gotten a bit more complicated since Cena left, because now Becky wants to take his place instead of Charlotte’s. He’s been THE star of WWE and now she wants to be on those posters and filling his shoes. If Cena has a problem with that, Nikki won’t be the only woman to drop him this year.

This brings out Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega, with the latter saying a fresh start was promised not too long ago. What she sees though is an old face in Cena and a still broken face in Becky. Vega introduces the two of them and promises that this will be the year of tranquilo. Cena: “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Cena and you may know me from being John Cena.” The challenge is thrown out and the mixed tag starts after the break.

John Cena/Becky Lynch vs. Zelina Vega/Andrade Cien Almas

The women start with a chop sending Vega bailing for a tag to Almas. That means Cena comes in as well and Andrade is rather pleased. The early tranquilo pose doesn’t have Cena very impressed and Almas’ headlock doesn’t make things much better. The fans want Becky but have to settle for more headlocking instead. Almas kicks him down but gets his suplex reversed. A running clothesline takes Cena down though and we take a break.

Back with Vega holding Cena on the ropes and Almas still in control. Cena fights up and avoids a charge, allowing the hot tag to Becky as the fans stay interested. Some kicks have Vega in trouble and the Bexploder makes things even worse. A top rope dropkick with almost no elevation (Becky might have slipped) gets two but Almas breaks up the Disarm-Her. Cena takes care of him with the usual, including the Lightning Fist. Becky shoves Cena out of the ring though and grabs the Disarm-Her for the win at 10:11.

Rating: C-. That ending was a great example of something that Becky would do and fitting her character. She didn’t ask permission from Cena to do what she wanted and just took the spot herself. That fits her very well and was the right call. It’s not going to mean anything, but it fit for the moment.

Post match Cena offers a handshake but Becky does You Can’t See Me instead.

Revival vs. Tyler Breeze/Zack Ryder

Breeze armbars Dawson to start and gets uppercutted for his efforts. That would qualify as the fists part of the offense. Wilder comes in and gets caught in a hurricanrana and there’s a dropkick to Dawson. Ryder helps out on a double backdrop and a slingshot dropkick through the ropes rocks Dawson again. A clothesline on the floor cuts Breeze down though and it’s time for the beatdown inside. Dawson slams him down and an assisted gordbuster gets two.

Ryder gets pulled off the apron for a distraction and the Hart Attack is good for another two. We hit the required chinlock (at least it’s a cobra clutch to mix things up a bit this time) before Breeze fights up with an enziguri. The hot tag brings in Ryder for the usual, including knees to Dawson and a flapjack to Wilder. A double Broski boot sets up the double neckbreaker before it’s back to Breeze. Ryder gets sent to the floor and the Shatter Machine finishes Breeze at 7:42.

Rating: C. That was a snappy little match with all four working hard. The Revival deserves so much better than what they’re getting and I hope they get the titles that have so eluded them for so long. There’s not much of a reason to not put the belts on them at least once, just for them being a different kind of team if nothing else.

From Smackdown.

Rey Mysterio vs Mustafa Ali vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

One fall to a finish and the winner gets Bryan at the Rumble. Everyone is in the ring at once so Ali goes right at Joe, who throws him down without much effort. AJ hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Rey before hammering away at Orton in the corner. Everyone but Orton heads outside with the aggressive AJ sending Ali face first into the post. Ali is fine enough to hit the rolling X Factor for two on Orton as Joe makes the save.

Rey dives in to take Joe down but AJ sends him hard into the corner. Mysterio is fine enough to hurricanrana AJ out to the floor, only to walk right into a powerslam. Joe suplexes Ali but charges into AJ’s elbow in the corner, setting up the moonsault into the reverse DDT for two. Back from a break with AJ taking over again but not being able to launch the Phenomenal Forearm. Joe drops him through the announcers’ table, only to have Ali take him down.

Rey does the same to Orton and we get an Ali vs Mysterio showdown. Ali flips out of a headscissors and catches Rey on top with a super Spanish Fly. That’s good for a delayed two with Joe making a save this time and firing off knees to Ali. The Satellite DDT plans Joe but the 054 misses. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch with Rey making a save off a 619. Another 619 hits Ali and there’s the RKO to make it worse, with Rey coming off the top with a legdrop for the save. A hurricanrana on the floor takes care of Joe and AJ hits the springboard 450 to pin Orton for the title shot at 13:09.

Rating: B-. Not too bad here with the right call. You don’t want to have AJ get that big moment last year and then lose his first match back. I don’t think they’ll put the title back on him but there’s a good chance he’ll get screwed out of the title, which is a fine enough way to set up a Rumble match. Ali got some nice offense in here as well and that’s a good sign for his future.

Overall Rating: C. They covered the good stuff from the big shows and the tag match wasn’t half bad. This was the Main Event that works so well as a recap as they didn’t miss any of the major stuff (the lack of Baron Corbin was rather refreshing) and it was an easy forty minute watch. Now if only Raw and Smackdown went this well every week.

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

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


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


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




205 Live – January 2, 2019: Quality Time

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: January 2, 2019
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

The title is the focus this week as Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy needs some challengers at the Royal Rumble. He actually needs three of them as Drake Maverick has put him in a fatal four way. That means we’ll be seeing two of three qualifying matches tonight, with the third taking place next week to find the three challengers. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Drake Maverick hypes up tonight’s qualifying matches and promises a big surprise at some point.

Opening sequence.

Kalisto vs. Lio Rush

The winner goes to the four way. The fans aren’t happy with Rush to start and it’s already time to run the ropes rather quickly. Kalisto’s handstand into a double backflip sends Rush bailing to the floor as Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese watch in the back. Rush comes back in for a slap to the mask and you can see Kalisto getting more serious. The chase is on with Rush swinging around the post so Kalisto uses them as a launch pad to get around the ring faster. A handspring kick to the head knocks Kalisto off the apron and that means a suicide dive as we actually get to the contact.

Back in and Rush snaps off a suplex before a knee to the back gets two. The reverse chinlock goes on for a good while until the cocky Rush sends him outside, setting up a quick rest on the top rope. A running elbow to the face cuts Kalisto down again and Rush snaps off the rapid fire strikes. Kalisto finally stops him with a raised boot in the corner, setting up a springboard flip dive to the floor.

Back in and Rush hits a spinning kick to the face and a second one….doesn’t get anything as Rush heads up top instead. That allows Kalisto a kick to the face of his own and a middle rope fall away slam backflipped into a World’s Strongest Slam (cool) gets two. They take their time getting up and the Salida Del Sol is countered into a spinning Unprettier for two more. Back up and the springboard spinning crossbody barely hits Rush, who kicks Kalisto in the face again.

A TKO onto the top rope sends Kalisto outside for a nine count and Rush’s frustration sets in. Rush loads up the Final Hour but Metalik and Dorado load up the noisemakers for a distraction. For some reason Rush is dumb enough to go after them and the Salida Del Sol sends Kalisto to the Royal Rumble at 14:19.

Rating: C+. The ending was a bit of a stretch but Kalisto winning is always a good idea. He comes off as one of the biggest stars around here and he’s going to make any match better. I wasn’t wild on Rush losing the way he did but he’s got enough going on over on Raw to make up for it. Nice match with a not great ending.

Nigel being annoyed at Kalisto winning is rather amusing.

We look back at last week’s street fight with Akira Tozawa and Brian Kendrick defeating Jack Gallagher and Drew Gulak.

Gulak doesn’t consider himself an underdog against Tozawa tonight because he’s a realist. Tonight isn’t about weapons because it’s a wrestling match.

Drake Maverick promises new faces coming around here in the near year. That may or may not be interesting.

Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak

The winner goes to the Rumble and there are no seconds here. Feeling out process to start with Gulak taking him down in a headlock. Tozawa grabs one of his own but misses a big kick to the face. That seems to make Gulak a bit more serious so he goes after Tozawa’s ear and asks HOW DARE YOU. The quick right hand to the face drops Gulak and we get a Tozawa scream. They head outside with Gulak kicking him into the barricade and slamming the weakened back onto the floor.

We hit the double arm crank with a knee in Tozawa’s back before Gulak switches to a regular chinlock. That doesn’t go far so Tozawa is back up with a spinning kick to the head for two. Gulak gets draped over the middle rope for a Fameasser but Tozawa’s back is banged up again. The delay lets Gulak powerbomb him into the corner and hit a heck of a lariat for two more. Tozawa wins a slugout though and it’s a Black Widow on Gulak, who reverses into a Brock Lock of all things.

The rope breaks the hold and Tozawa is fine enough for a backdrop diver. Tozawa’s knee gives out on top though and he gets pulled down into the Gulock. The hold lasts for more than a few seconds, meaning of course Tozawa can roll over to the ropes for the break. Gulak bails outside and there’s the big suicide dive that you knew was coming. It’s too early for the top rope backsplash though as Gulak is fine enough to crotch him on top. Gulak can’t superplex him from the middle rope and the top rope version is broken up with a headbutt. Now the top rope backsplash can send Tozawa to the Rumble at 17:13.

Rating: B. I liked this more than I was hoping as the old guard of the division continues to roar back. Tozawa is the kind of guy you can move up to the next level anytime you need to and that’s what they did here. Gulak’s fall continues as he never recovered from losing the Cruiserweight Title shots last year. Still though, good match as you almost always get from Gulak.

Brian Kendrick comes in to celebrate as Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese aren’t exactly impressed.

Cedric Alexander isn’t scared of Hideo Itami in next week’s final qualifying match.

Hideo Itami and Ariya Daivari demand RESPECT next week.

Overall Rating: B. This was a wrestling show and that’s where 205 Live tends to shine. They did things well here and made two of the necessary big steps towards the pay per view title match. If they have another great match next week to set up the entire thing, the four way is going to be a blast. I’m also interested in seeing where those new names are going to go. That could be a variety of people either from NXT or elsewhere, and that can shake things up around here, which is often a good idea. Anyway, strong match here.

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

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


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


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




Smackdown – August 5, 2004: Oh Yeah He Exists

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 5, 2004
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re getting close to Summerslam and the big story around here is over the US Title with Booker T. winning the title in an eight way match last week. John Cena isn’t happy though and is still coming for Booker and the title, which you have to imagine will take place at Summerslam. Oh and Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero still hate each other. Let’s get to it.

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

New General Manager Theodore Long opens the show with pictures of Vince McMahon and Martin Luther King Jr. in his office. One had a vision and the other had a dream but they’ve both made him want to make Smackdown a great show for the fans. If you thought last week’s show was great, you haven’t seen anything yet. Call your friends and knock on your neighbor’s door because we’re starting with a #1 contenders match.

John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam

The winner gets a shot at Booker at some point in the future. They trade waistlocks to start and that’s a clean break. Van Dam slips out of a headscissors of all things and that’s an early standoff. Another clean break gives us a handshake as the fans switch from Van Dam to Cena. Van Dam gets tossed outside where he kicks Cena in the head to take over. Cena is smart enough to get off the barricade before the spinning kick can connect. Now why has no one else ever thought of that?

They fight over a suplex on the apron with Cena suplexing him out to the floor for a nasty landing as we take a break. Back with Cena getting two off a release fisherman’s suplex but Van Dam kicks him in the head again. Another kick to the face keeps Cena in trouble as Booker is cheering both of them on in the back. The split legged moonsault gives Van Dam two and Rolling Thunder is good for the same.

Since it’s been a few minutes since we’ve seen one, Van Dam kicks him in the face and goes up top for….actually a guillotine legdrop instead of the Five Star. Cena grabs a DDT (Why did he stop using that?) for a delayed two of his own. One heck of an elbow to the jaw rocks Van Dam and the ProtoBomb plants him again.

The Shuffle gets two and Cena goes up, which isn’t likely to be a good idea. Indeed Van Dam kicks him in the head and grabs a superplex but Cena reverses into a small package for the pin (the stupid kind where they’re both laying down and then kick their legs up for no reason other than to get to the finish) and the title shot.

Rating: B-. Cena is looking more and more like the guy who could be the next star every time he’s out there. The comedy is starting to take a backseat to the good, quality matches and while this wasn’t a great one, it was solid with Cena helping Van Dam put on a nice performance. A feud with Booker is only going to help him.

We get a show of respect post match.

Long comes in to see Booker and says he and Cena are so equal that one match isn’t enough. There’s going to be a best of five series for the title with the first match taking place at “Summer Games”.

Here’s Eddie Guerrero for a chat, complete with Torrie Wilson, Sable and Dawn Marie in the low rider. All of Kurt Angle’s stuff that Eddie is auctioning off is in the ring and the auction ends tonight. That’s why the women are here: to help raise the value. This includes putting the cast on Torrie and having her sit in the wheelchair so the women can sign the cast. Then we have the signed photo of Angle but Eddie is staring at Sable instead.

The girls autograph that too before Eddie moves on to talking about Angle’s last match. That just happened to be against Eddie at Wrestlemania where Eddie pinned him in a classic. Eddie promises to win again and we see an Olympic themed commercial of Eddie gluing the other runners to their starting blocks to win a Gold Medal of his own.

Rene Dupree vs. Orlando Jordan

I had almost forgotten Jordan existed. Dupree knocks him outside and into the steps to start before throwing right hands inside. Jordan gets thrown to the apron so Dupree can hit the French Tickler. With the dancing done, Dupree turns around into a high crossbody to give Jordan the upset. Yay.

JBL arrives and asks Josh how he’s doing while using hand sanitizer after shaking hands. He’s not afraid of Undertaker you see and is calling him out tonight.

Kurt Angle vs. Charlie Haas

This is Angle’s first match since Wrestlemania with Luther Reigns and Miss Jackie here as well. Feeling out process to start as they trade takedowns and escapes. Angle hits a hiptoss and Haas is right back with an armdrag into an armbar. Another armdrag sends Angle bailing out to the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Haas grabbing a hammerlock but getting snapmared into a chinlock. With the wrestling not getting us very far, Angle starts hammering away in the corner to really take over. Haas grabs a suplex and hammers away in the corner but walks into the belly to belly. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on before Angle gets frustrated at the repeated kickouts.

A bodyscissors keeps Haas down but he fights up and sends Angle outside for a breather. Back in and Angle goes shoulder first into the post, setting up a springboard twisting ax handle (the announcers are surprised too) to give Haas two. That’s enough for Angle as he picks the ankle but gets sent into the corner. Angle isn’t having that either and takes down the straps, setting up the grapevined ankle lock for the tap.

Rating: B-. This was a good return for Angle as he wasn’t as sharp as he used to be but started to put it together as the match went on. Haas was a smart choice here as Angle is better at everything that Haas can do but Haas can still make him work. Angle is going to get better and better with some more matches, capped off by the big one at Summerslam.

Summerslam rundown.

Raw Rebound.

Tag Team Titles: Basham Brothers vs. Billy Kidman/Paul London

Kidman and London are defending. Danny starts with Kidman but it’s quickly off to London for a double hiptoss. A slingshot legdrop keeps Danny in trouble but Doug pulls Kidman off the apron to take over. Kidman gets dropped ribs first onto the top rope to make things even worse and we hit the bearhug. A kick to the head gives Danny two but Kidman scores with a dropkick and dives over for the tag off to London. Everything breaks down and Kidman uses London’s back as a launchpad for an enziguri. The 450 retains the titles.

Rating: C. Now this is the kind of thing that the champs needed. They had a nice little title defense here against a known team and won clean. Build up the credibility a bit and the reign will feel a little more important. The Bashams are so much better without Shaniqua, as they’ve gone from a joke to an average team, which is quite the upgrade.

John Cena wants you to vote.

Paul Heyman/Heidenreich video.

Rey Mysterio/Spike Dudley vs. Dudley Boyz

A loud Bubba drives Spike into the corner to start and a dropkick to Bubba only hurts Spike’s knee. Rey comes in and Spike walks it off on the floor as you might see something coming here. Mysterio’s springboard moonsault has Bubba in trouble and D-Von charges into a boot in the corner. In a questionable move, Spike tags himself in and missile dropkicks D-Von, only to hurt the knee again.

The distraction lets Bubba gorilla press Rey onto D-Von’s raised knee to bang up the ribs. The bearhug doesn’t last long and Bubba/s big elbow draws a smile. D-Von dives into a raised boot and the springboard seated senton puts Bubba down. Rey has to fight both Dudleys off at the same time with D-Von breaking up the 619. The 3D finishes Mysterio with Spike not being able to get in for the save.

Rating: D+. Just a match here and there’s a good chance that its main purpose was to set up a post match angle. Mysterio losing to both Dudleys in a glorified handicap match is fine and it gets the Dudleys some momentum back, though I’m not sure how interesting a story built around Spike is going to be.

Post match Spike helps Rey up and then turns on him, celebrating with his brothers instead. Spike wants a table and puts Rey through one with a top rope double stomp, setting up villainous posing. Uh, ok. I’m not sure why I’m supposed to care about Spike Dudley as a big villain, but this is somewhat (I think) better than having the Dudleys as the top heels. At least there’s no attempted murder involved.

Here’s JBL in the ring to call out Undertaker. He used to be a Texan but now he’s so glad to have moved to New York City. Now that he’s returned, he was hoping for the hero’s welcome that he deserved but tonight is about business. That’s why he’s calling Undertaker out right here and right now instead of waiting for Summerslam. The gong sounds and, in one of the famous WWE tropes, it’s a mini Taker. Tazz finds it hilarious, calling him the Undertoddler. JBL: “You look a lot bigger on television.”

He gets on his knees to look Undertaker eye to eye and makes a bunch of short jokes before loading the mini Taker up for a Tombstone. The gong goes off again though and the real Undertaker appears. It’s a quick beatdown to set up a Tombstone but Orlando Jordan of all people runs in for the save. Undertaker poses and the mini version does the same, earning a chokeslam to end the show. There were some good lines from JBL but this was eye rolling WWE comedy at its “finest”.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good here and they advanced some stories, there were a few things on here holding it back. The ending segment, along with Spike’s turn, aren’t exactly thrilling stuff and having Jordan be JBL’s lackey is far from interesting. I mean, there’s a reason that I had forgotten Jordan even existed until tonight. There’s some good stuff on here and enough to make the show easy to watch, which is about as you can ask for at times. Hopefully Summerslam is as good as the better half of the build has been, though it’s still not as strong as Raw at the moment.

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

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


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


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




So Kenny Omega Might Be Leaving New Japan

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/comes-kenny-omega-reportedly-leaving-new-japan/

 

Now isn’t this interesting.Omega lost the IWGP World Title at Wrestle Kingdom earlier today to Hiroshi Tanahashi and is allegedly wrapping up there.  That means there is a chance he could be coming to WWE (which seems to be the more likely option if he’s leaving) or AEW (which would be a major coup for them, though not the biggest surprise).  I’m firmly in a wait and see mode, but Omega at #29 in the Rumble (because remember, R-Truth has to be #30 because Mixed Match Challenge was important) wouldn’t shock me.

I know it sounds hard to buy, but remember that AJ Styles left around this time three years ago and was #3 in the Rumble that year.  It’s certainly a possibility, though I’ll believe it when I see it.

Where do you want him to go?




Monday Night Raw – August 2, 2004: Bring Me To My Milk

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 2, 2004
Location: SBC Arena, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re getting very close to Summerslam and that means things are starting to pick up. Last week saw Eugene cost HHH the World Title and I’m sure we’ll need to hear about HHH’s quest for vengeance, because this show is about HHH and no one else. That includes World Champion Chris Benoit, who will be defending against Randy Orton at the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the Iron Man match, including Eugene costing HHH the title.

HHH actually cuts off the intro because he can’t wait to hear himself talk about how important he is. After a brief wait for the fans to yell at him, HHH rants about how last week was supposed to be his time because he was doing something that very few men dare to do. He fought his heart out because his life depended on it. That title is his life but then Eugene took it away from him. A SIMPLETON took it away from him and Eugene can’t even comprehend what he has done. HHH demands that Eugene get out here right now by shouting his name over and over again in acting that would be bad in a WWE Studios film.

William Regal comes out instead, saying that Eugene isn’t here this week. Regal admits that it was his idea for Eugene to come out there last week and actually brings up their tag team in WCW. People like them are just born naughty and if it was anyone else but Eugene, Regal would have applauded what HHH did. If HHH wants a fight tonight, Regal will go put his gear on and fight him with every ounce of violent venom in his body. As usual, Regal’s fire was awesome here and it’s turning him into something.

After that fired up promo, we go to the Diva Search girls for the elimination. It’s Camille, one of the blondes. Good for her. Anyway, tonight the remaining women can have 20 seconds each to campaign for why they should stick around.

Rhyno/Tajiri vs. La Resistance

Non-title. The fight is on before the bell with Tajiri throwing Grenier inside for some kicks to the back. Rhyno hits a flying shoulder and Tajiri adds a running dropkick as Conway still can’t get his jacket off. A double flapjack drops Grenier and there’s the handspring elbow. Rhyno Gores Conway and Tajiri sunset flips Grenier for the pin. This wasn’t even two minutes long but they packed a ton of stuff into it.

Randy Orton says it was his destiny to lose the Intercontinental Title so he can become the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history. Brock Lesnar did it when he was 25 but Orton is only 24. Orton has killed off one legend after another and that’s what he’s going to do to Chris Benoit at Summerslam. Nice little promo here.

Smackdown Rebound.

Matt Hardy comes in to see Lita and, after getting rid of Stacy Keibler, tells her that he wants them to be together. Like, they should get married. I don’t see this going well.

Tyson Tomko vs. Rosey

..run away while you still can. Rosey has Stacy with him just because. Tomko’s headlock doesn’t last long so he forearms Rosey in the back a few times. That earns him a trip to the floor and Stacy stretches to the fans’ delight. Back in and Tomko chokes on the ropes but charges into a boot in the corner. Rosey drops a leg and Stacy does a cartwheel with her skirt flying up. Just in case you thought she had any value otherwise. The spinning legdrop gets two and let’s get a slow motion replay of the cartwheel. A Trish Stratus distraction lets Tomko kick Rosey in the face for the pin.

Rating: D-. I used to be a big Stacy fan but time has not been kind to her. She’s literally just there for her looks and that’s all she has going for her. I know the women’s division isn’t much, but keeping people like her around hasn’t aged well when you can see what the women’s division can become. That role can be done well by the right people, but Stacy just wasn’t that good. The match on the other hand was as bad as you would have guessed.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel and Jericho wastes no time in bringing out Edge as his guest. Edge very reluctantly shakes his hand, which isn’t a good sign when they’re in a tag match tonight. Jericho gets right to the point by announcing Edge defending the title at Summerslam against himself and Batista. We move on to the battle royal last week and Edge isn’t happy about Jericho eliminating him. Edge thought they were friends after they got rid of five guys together but then Jericho couldn’t put his ego aside.

That’s why Orton is getting the title shot at Summerslam because he threw Jericho out. Edge: “I haven’t seen you get dumped that badly since Trish Stratus.” Jericho talks about Edge’s theme song saying “you think you know me”. Well Edge is going to know Jericho when he takes the Intercontinental Title. The fight is on with Edge hitting a spear and destroying the set. Edge grabs a chair but throws it down, probably due to the two of them being in a tag match tonight. Jericho doesn’t want to be helped up though and drops Edge with a right. If Edge wasn’t a heel yet, he’s right on the brink and not a minute too soon.

How to vote for the Diva Search eliminations.

HHH vs. William Regal

Regal is busted open and HHH makes it worse by pulling out the sledgehammer. Regal knocks him down though and grabs the knuckles but walks into the sledgehammer to the head to make the bleeding even worse. Referees come out and Regal does a stretcher job (while saying Chris, his wife’s name, over and over in a nice touch) but HHH turns it over in a heel move that will always work. Good landing from Regal and HHH came off like the really evil version, even if it’s setting up a match with Eugene.

Post break, Eric Bischoff makes HHH vs. Eugene for Summerslam. Joy.

And now, the Diva Search campaigning.

Joy wants to be a Diva because she wants to be in front of a crowd.

Amy wants to be a Diva because she’s here for the long haul and will spank Evolution.

Chandra wants to win because this fits her personality so well.

Carmella wants to be a Diva because….well she doesn’t actually say as she’s just saying how great the fans are.

Tracy wants to be a Diva because she’ll fight hard and dirty. She strips as she talks and gives the number to call to vote for her in a smart idea.

Maria wants to be a Diva because this seems to be a fun place to work and they support the troops.

Christy wants to be a Diva because she has a lot of energy and wants to live this life.

Michelle wants to be a Diva because she’s been a huge wrestling fan since she was six and this is her dream.

They kept things shorter and WAY less dumb this week but that just brings it up to a waste of time instead of an all time disaster.

Kane chokes Lita and promises to get to Matt at Summerslam. Their match is official and Lita says Matt can beat him again. She’s so sure that she’ll marry the winner. Kane says it’s a pity that Lita won’t be able to wear white on their wedding day. Lita slaps him and he laughs.

Kane vs. Maven

Maven starts fast with a spinwheel kick and a pair of dropkicks to put Kane on the floor. The dive is kicked out of the air and the real beating begins. Back in and the chokeslam finishes Maven in a hurry. Just a squash, which makes Maven’s not bad performance last week seem like a waste.

Post match Kane says that’s what he’s going to do to Matt at Summerslam in the Til Death Do Us Part match.

The Diva Search girls do their bikini thing. They’ve managed to have this lose its impact.

Evolution vs. Chris Benoit/Edge/Chris Jericho

Edge runs by his partners and starts slugging away at Orton before choking with the t-shirt. It’s off to Jericho for a suplex to Orton and some chops to Flair. The fellow Canadians get in some shots from the apron and there’s the Flair Flop. Flair gets back up and spits at Benoit, which you know is going to bring him in. Some chops are no sold and Flair pokes him in the eye, only to get caught in a backslide for two. It’s off to Batista for the big shoulders in the corner and a good looking side slam.

Flair comes back in for the Figure Four to make Orton rather happy, but Flair makes the mistake of slapping Benoit in the face. That’s enough to fire up the comeback but Batista isn’t about to allow the hot tag. A basement dropkick to Batista’s head has no effect so Benoit avoids a charge to send him shoulder first into the post instead. That’s enough for the hot tag to Jericho who can’t get the Walls on Batista. He can however hit the running crotch attack to the back, followed by the Lionsault for one as everything breaks down. The Canadians clean house and we take a break.

Back with Orton holding Edge in a chinlock and Flair coming in for some shots to the face. A clothesline takes Edge down and Flair, never one to learn, goes up top and gets slammed off in short order. It’s off to Orton vs Jericho with the backbreaker taking Jericho down to put Evolution right back in control. The fans want tables (oh come on) as Jericho can’t get the Walls. What he can get is a tag to Benoit, who chops away at Flair in the corner and knocks him out to the floor.

Batista comes in instead and is put straight into the Crossface (JR: “That’ll bring you to your milk!”) with Orton making a save. Batista has to do the same to get Flair out of the Walls and a spinebuster plants Jericho. That gives Batista two and it’s off to Orton for a knee drop into some choking. The hard chinlock goes on for a good minute plus before Jericho comes back with the sleeper drop. It’s too early for the big hot tag though so Batista bends Jericho’s back over the knee instead. Jericho finally gets free and knocks Batista down, allowing the hot tag to Benoit so house can be cleaned for real.

The rolling German suplexes take care of Orton and Flair is sent outside. Batista sends Jericho into Edge though before blasting Jericho with the huge clothesline. More German suplexes get Benoit out of trouble and the Sharpshooter goes on Flair, only to have Orton score with the RKO and pin Benoit.

Rating: B+. I’m really going to miss these Canada vs. Evolution matches when they’re gone because any combination of them works so well together. This was more great action until the storyline advancing ending and that’s all you could ever want. While it’s not quite enough to save the full show, this was another great main event in a series between any mixture of these guys.

Overall Rating: B. The main event carries the show but there was other good stuff to fill in the night. They made sure to not have as much stuff focusing on Eugene, which helps a lot as well. The problem there though is Eugene has to face HHH at some point and things are going to fall apart from there. Other than that, the only bad things on the show were the Divas and Tomko vs. Rosey, making for a pretty easy night. Now if only Summerslam can live up to the hype.

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

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


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


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




Mean Gene Okerlund Passes Away at 76

https://www.wwe.com/article/mean-gene-okerlund-passes-away?sf205241548=1

 

Oh come on now.  You can’t take away Mean Gene.  This one hurts as he was one of those guys that was always around back in the day and would still pop up every now and then.  I got to meet him at Axxess in 2016 and apparently he thought my wife was attractive.  I was flattered…..I think.  Hopefully this isn’t a trend for the year.




Smackdown – January 1, 2019: It’s A Becky Thing

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: January 1, 2019
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the first show of the year and we’re taped again, though for the last time here. The big story this week is the return of John Cena, who is making one of his regular stops here in between movies. It’s not clear what he’s going to be doing but there could be some interesting interactions with some of the people on the roster. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s New Day, with Big E. as the New Year’s Baby, to open things up. They’re happy to be on the first Smackdown of the new year and we’ll start things off with an important announcement: all three of them will be in the Royal Rumble. Big E. goes into the Scott Steiner math promo, with Woods asking why he’s doing Steiner Math. If they win, they might be able to challenge for the Universal Title but Brock Lesnar won’t show up anyway. Kofi snaps about not being able to get a title shot so Big E. gives him some of the bottle.

On a sadder note, their doctors have told them to stop eating pancakes but Big E. pulls some out of the diaper. After Kofi freaks out, he and Woods have new year’s resolutions….which are the plots to Bumblebee and Bird Box. Big E. gets us back on track by talking about the fatal five way for the WWE Title shot at the Royal Rumble, but first we need to have a regular match to fill in the fifth spot. Let’s do that now.

Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe

Before the match, we get clips of their match last where Jeff snapped. See, why couldn’t they just combine the two matches? Either have last week’s match be for the spot in the five way or do something else and only have them do this match. That’s a big reason why these feuds feel like they go on forever. Anyway Joe pulls him down into a kneebar to start and punches away in the corner. Jeff slips down to the floor and wraps Joe’s knee around the post to keep things even. Joe gets mad and unloads the announcers’ table to send us to a break.

Back with Joe hammering away in the corner, which is rather different than the expected chinlock. Joe ties him in the Tree of Woe to break up the Whisper in the Wind, setting up a sliding dropkick. Jeff makes his comeback with all of the usual, including the Twisting Stunner to set up the Swanton but Joe bails to the floor. Hardy goes with him but gets caught in the Koquina Clutch. That gives Joe a nine, so he slaps it on again back inside to knock Hardy out at 10:26 for a spot in the five way.

Rating: C. The match was the usual stuff they’re capable of doing, but that doesn’t make it that much more interesting. Joe’s promos were great before the matches started but they’ve already done this match enough that it’s hard to care about it again. Joe just won clean, so why would I want to see them fight again? I’m sure they will, and that’s a problem.

We look back at Vince McMahon bringing out the animal in AJ Styles, who beat Vince down due to a slap.

Vince and Shane McMahon are in their office and explain the fatal five way in a fashion that they would never use. AJ comes in and asks if Vince is sure he wanted to see him. He’s not apologizing for what happened last week so watch the real AJ tonight. AJ teases showing the real version to Vince right now and Vince has to hold Shane back. With AJ gone, Shane tells Vince to be careful what he wishes for. Better advice: make sure that HHH isn’t doing the same storyline with Seth Rollins on Raw.

Here are Rusev and Lana for their celebration of winning the US Title last week. Rusev talks about how great he is, including his animal magnetism (Lana seems to approve) and smelling like a bacon flavored Cinnabon. We get a RUSEV DAY USA chant but here’s Nakamura to jump him from behind. Lana tried to jump on Nakamura’s back and Rusev uses the distraction to superkick him down. That crushes Lana, who can handle wrestling matches but not having a 220lb man fall on her. Nakamura uses the distraction to kick Rusev in the face and then hit Kinshasa.

We look back at Mandy Rose trying to get Jimmy Uso under the mistletoe last week, which didn’t sit well with Naomi.

Mandy Rose vs. Naomi

Mandy takes off the Mandy Rose shirt to reveal an Usos shirt….and apparently we have a change.

Sonya Deville vs. Naomi

Sonya uses the early distraction to hit a sliding knee for two and it’s off to the chinlock. Naomi comes right back with a Disaster kick but Mandy grabs the mic. She was getting ready earlier today and sent Jimmy a picture of herself in a towel (which is covering her more than her gear). That’s enough of a distraction for Sonya to hit a Hellevator (suplex into a Rock Bottom) for the pin at 2:23.

Randy Orton promises to make victims out of everyone else in the five way.

Rey Mysterio has shown that he can’t be pushed around and he’ll prove that he’s not just here for nostalgia.

Mustafa Ali used to be known as the heart of the cruiserweights but now he wants to be known as the heart of Smackdown. He may be the underdog but he has hope and heart.

We get some new year’s resolutions.

The IIconics want to be the first ever Women’s Tag Team Champions.

The Good Brothers want to eradicate Smackdown of all the nerds.

Shelton Benjamin doesn’t care because no one is going to live up to their promises, and pulls down the New Year’s resolution curtains.

Samoa Joe promises to win the five way and then win the WWE Title because he wants to prove himself to people like Jeff Hardy.

Here’s John Cena, bad hair and all, for a chat. Cena thanks the fans for the energy and talks about the year in review. He bought a ticket to Wrestlemania and probably shouldn’t have had those beers before the match. His personal life was all over national television, he wrote a best selling children’s book that he’s very proud of and lived in China for six months. With all that though, he still thinks this hair is a good idea. On top of that though, he can still float like a butterfly and sting like a bumblebee, which is still certified fresh.

The question now is why is he here. Well he knows that someone is going to come out here right now and say Cena should leave WWE faster than Nikki Bella left him. That brings out Becky Lynch to some applause from Cena. Becky asks how it feels to expect a man to come out here but to get The Man instead. Things have gotten a bit more complicated since Cena left, because now Becky wants to take his place instead of Charlotte’s. He’s been THE star of WWE and now she wants to be on those posters and filling his shoes. If Cena has a problem with that, Nikki won’t be the only woman to drop him this year.

This brings out Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega, with the latter saying a fresh start was promised not too long ago. What she sees though is an old face in Cena and a still broken face in Becky. Vega introduces the two of them and promises that this will be the year of tranquilo. Cena: “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Cena and you may know me from being John Cena.” The challenge is thrown out and the mixed tag starts after the break.

John Cena/Becky Lynch vs. Zelina Vega/Andrade Cien Almas

The women start with a chop sending Vega bailing for a tag to Almas. That means Cena comes in as well and Andrade is rather pleased. The early tranquilo pose doesn’t have Cena very impressed and Almas’ headlock doesn’t make things much better. The fans want Becky but have to settle for more headlocking instead. Almas kicks him down but gets his suplex reversed. A running clothesline takes Cena down though and we take a break.

Back with Vega holding Cena on the ropes and Almas still in control. Cena fights up and avoids a charge, allowing the hot tag to Becky as the fans stay interested. Some kicks have Vega in trouble and the Bexploder makes things even worse. A top rope dropkick with almost no elevation (Becky might have slipped) gets two but Almas breaks up the Disarm-Her. Cena takes care of him with the usual, including the Lightning Fist. Becky shoves Cena out of the ring though and grabs the Disarm-Her for the win at 10:11.

Rating: C-. That ending was a great example of something that Becky would do and fitting her character. She didn’t ask permission from Cena to do what she wanted and just took the spot herself. That fits her very well and was the right call. It’s not going to mean anything, but it fit for the moment.

Post match Cena offers a handshake but Becky does You Can’t See Me instead.

We look back at Shane finally agreeing to be Miz’s tag partner.

Miz comes in to see Shane and has ideas for matching gear. That means Shane in Miz’s coat, but Shane isn’t thrilled. He doesn’t seem that much happier with the red version with sunglasses either. Miz’s last idea is Shane in Miz trunks, with Shane looking rather ripped. Shane suggests coming up with something brighter and leaves.

The same video on the coming NXT stars. Good grief WE GET IT ALREADY.

HHH comes up to see Asuka in the back and asks her who should get a title shot at the Royal Rumble. Asuka is up for anyone because no one is ready for her. Charlotte pops in to say Ronda Rousey is the only reason she’s not champion. Carmella comes in to say she was champion for a long time, followed by Becky saying she’s the only option. Advisement has been undertaken.

Rey Mysterio vs Mustafa Ali vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

One fall to a finish and the winner gets Bryan at the Rumble. Everyone is in the ring at once so Ali goes right at Joe, who throws him down without much effort. AJ hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Rey before hammering away at Orton in the corner. Everyone but Orton heads outside with the aggressive AJ sending Ali face first into the post. Ali is fine enough to hit the rolling X Factor for two on Orton as Joe makes the save.

Rey dives in to take Joe down but AJ sends him hard into the corner. Mysterio is fine enough to hurricanrana AJ out to the floor, only to walk right into a powerslam. Joe suplexes Ali but charges into AJ’s elbow in the corner, setting up the moonsault into the reverse DDT for two. Back from a break with AJ taking over again but not being able to launch the Phenomenal Forearm. Joe drops him through the announcers’ table, only to have Ali take him down.

Rey does the same to Orton and we get an Ali vs Mysterio showdown. Ali flips out of a headscissors and catches Rey on top with a super Spanish Fly. That’s good for a delayed two with Joe making a save this time and firing off knees to Ali. The Satellite DDT plans Joe but the 054 misses. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch with Rey making a save off a 619. Another 619 hits Ali and there’s the RKO to make it worse, with Rey coming off the top with a legdrop for the save. A hurricanrana on the floor takes care of Joe and AJ hits the springboard 450 to pin Orton for the title shot at 13:09.

Rating: B-. Not too bad here with the right call. You don’t want to have AJ get that big moment last year and then lose his first match back. I don’t think they’ll put the title back on him but there’s a good chance he’ll get screwed out of the title, which is a fine enough way to set up a Rumble match. Ali got some nice offense in here as well and that’s a good sign for his future.

Overall Rating: C. The show wasn’t exactly great, but it set up things for the Rumble and advanced some stories without feeling long, which is a lot better than what you would see on the Monday counterpart. Things will pick way back up next week so this was little more than a filler, but at least we got a watchable show this time around. Hopefully we get more of the Rumble card next week, but what we’ve gotten so far isn’t too bad.

Results

Samoa Joe b. Jeff Hardy – Koquina Clutch

Sonya Deville b. Naomi – Hellevator

John Cena/Becky Lynch b. Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega – Disarm-Her to Vega

AJ Styles b. Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio and Mustafa Ali – Springboard 450 to Orton

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

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


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


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




Royal Rumble Count-Up – 1993: There’s No One To Stop Him

IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble 1993
Date: January 24, 1993
Location: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Attendance: 16,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

Historical note: this is 13 days after the debut of Monday Night Raw.

Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers

Scott avoids an elbow drop but Blake breaks up the hot tag again. The crowd is silent when the Beverlies are on offense. Scott comes back with a butterfly powerbomb to put Blake down and Scott actually dives through the ropes and tags at the same time. Rick cleans house and there are Steiner Lines for both Beverlies. Scott pounds on Blake in the corner and counters a Doomsday Device with a victory roll for two. The Frankensteiner to Beau gets the pin.

Rating: D+. Pretty dull match here as the Steiners were clearly going to dominate the entire time. The Beverlies never got above lower midcard status and their biggest feud was against the Bushwhackers. What were you going to expect them to do against the freaking STEINER BROTHERS? Nothing here but a squash.

Intercontinental Title: Marty Jannetty vs. Shawn Michaels

Jannetty controls to start, sending Shawn to the floor twice with a knee lift and a clothesline. Marty punches Shawn down on the floor and poses in the ring. He tries a punch off the top but gets caught in the ribs on the way down. Shawn loads Marty up on his shoulder and in one of the only times I can ever remember it working, rams Marty shoulder first into the post.

Sherri finally does something by slapping Shawn, who gets belly to back suplexed into the ring. Shawn gets launched to the floor again as the pace picks up a bit. A powerslam puts the champ down but Shawn avoids the top rope punch. Marty stops himself before crashing and gets two off a DDT. Shawn misses a superkick and gets caught by one of his own for two. The crowd is getting into this.

Marty slingshots Shawn so he gets to do his big bump onto the post. There goes the referee via an elbow to the face and Sherri comes in. She swings her shoe but hits Marty by mistake of course. Shawn yells at her a lot and then superkicks Marty in the chest for the pin to retain.

In the back, Gene yells at Sherri to calm down. Marty comes to the back for some more brawling.

Heenan and Gorilla argue a bit.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man

We get a clip from WWF Mania (Saturday morning show) of Razor beating up Owen to hype the world title match.

WWF World Title: Razor Ramon vs. Bret Hart

Feeling out process to start with Razor getting the early advantage with some right hands. A knee in the corner misses and Bret has on the Figure Four in less than 90 seconds. Razor gets the rope so Bret drops elbows on the knee instead. The leg gets wrapped around the post before Bret goes after the other leg in the corner for some reason. Ramon comes back with a whip to send Bret ribs first into the post.

Here are Caesar and Cleopatra to hype up Wrestlemania. They read a proclamation about it and this is really stupid.

Royal Rumble

Ric Flair is #1 and Bob Backlund, going through a career resurgence at the time, is #2. Backlund drops Flair with a shoulder and does his little dance. Flair pounds him into the corner but Bob backdrops him down. Papa Shango is #3 and is dumped out by Flair in less than thirty seconds. Backlund it sent to the apron and Flair stomps away. They chop it out until Ted DiBiase, I believe half of the tag champions here, is #4.

Heenan makes fun of Backlund as the double teaming ensues, prompting Gorilla to threaten to knock Bobby out. Backlund is beaten on even more until Brian Knobs is #5. The Nasties are good guys at this point and happen to be feuding with Money Inc. Guess who he starts swinging at. Knobs almost dumps Flair but only gets him to the apron. Things slow down for a bit until Virgil is #6. The faces team up to fight the heels as not a lot is going on at this point.

Ratings Comparison

Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty

Original: C

Redo: C+

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man

Original: D+

Redo: D

Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon

Original: B

Redo: B

Royal Rumble

Original: D+

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: D

Redo: D+

Not much change here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/12/royal-rumble-count-up-1993/

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


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