IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: December 11, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Renee Young, Vic Joseph, Michael Cole

We’re finally at the finals as the winners of tonight’s two matches are heading to TLC this Sunday. Unfortunately you can pretty clearly see who is winning based on what is already booked for the pay per view so there isn’t much mystery, but at least we’re finally done with this thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division Finals: Bayley/Apollo Crews vs. Jinder Mahal/Alicia Fox

Crews is the replacement for the ill Finn Balor, because we can’t go a week on this show without a replacement. Mahal headlocks Crews to start until Crews comes out of it with a backslide for two. It’s off to the women with Bayley rolling her up a few times for two each, sending Fox outside for some quality shouting. Back in and Fox’s suplex is countered into a small package for two more and it’s already back to the men. Well to be fair it’s not like Bayley was pinning her. Crews jumps over Mahal in the corner and flips forward a bit until Mahal knees him in the face.

More knees keep Crews down and we hit the required chinlock. Apollo comes up with the jumping enziguri and it’s back to the women to pick up the pace again. Everything breaks down and Bayley hits the Stunner over the middle rope for two with the Singh Brothers making the save. Fox and the Brothers take Bayley to Bellies but Mahal superkicks Crews. After the melee, Bayley goes outside to get Fox but walks into a big boot to give Fox the unlikely pin at 9:35.

Rating: D+. Well you knew that was coming and there was no way around it. As soon as Bayley and Balor made the Raw finals, there was no way Mahal and Fox were losing. It’s the usual WWE idea: have a team that only they want to go on to win something win it, just because….whatever they see in Mahal. Anyway at least it’s not exactly in an important match.

Mahal and Fox take credit for the win in their own unique ways. Asuka comes in and laughs at them a lot.

Smackdown Division: R-Truth/Carmella vs. The Miz/Asuka

Miz and Asuka argue over who should start until Asuka finally gets the nod. Now why couldn’t Carmella or Truth start and make the decision for them? Miz demands to be tagged in so Asuka chops him for the tag. Truth shoulders him down and hops around in a circle, followed by the hip thrusting. With Miz on the floor, DANCE BREAK! Asuka even joins in on a second edition and since Miz is annoyed, Truth hammers away in the corner. That’s finally enough for Miz, who kicks Truth down and slaps on a chinlock.

The announcers are so bored that they talk about Mike Chioda refereeing. Miz’s short DDT gets two and a heck of a clothesline takes Truth down again. Truth gets in a shot of his own though and the hot tag brings in Carmella. That means a lot of screaming as Asuka loads up a German suplex.

Some knees to the chest have Carmella in trouble but Truth comes in with a Lie Detector to Miz. Carmella loads up the superkick on Miz but he pulls Asuka in the way like a true jerk. The Little Jimmy gets two on Miz, who pops up and throws the good ones to the floor. Asuka isn’t happy though and FINALLY snaps on the cheating Miz, kicking him in the head and walking away. An Unprettier gives Truth the pin at 11:38.

Rating: D+. Yeah this was obvious last week and there wasn’t much doubt a few weeks back either. As soon as Asuka was announced for the TLC match, there was no way she was making it to the finals. I’m not a fan of the things but points to Truth and Carmella for getting some crazy mileage out of the dance breaks. It’s gotten them a pay per view match, which is about 10,000x more than it should have done.

Overall Rating: D. And thank goodness it’s over. The Mixed Match Challenge is something that can work, but PLEASE take it back to the format from the first season. This was a nightmare with a bunch of matches that didn’t go anywhere because they had nothing to fight over and the two teams who only got into the playoffs on the last week making the finals. Just have things go the way that actually worked and things can be better, unlike this season.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: December 11, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s the final show before TLC and the card is actually stacked. This week we have a rap battle between the Usos and the Bar, a Wrestlemania rematch between Asuka and Charlotte and, surprisingly enough, Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali. That’s a good thing for 205 Live fans but I’m not sure what to expect. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Asuka vs. Charlotte and previews Ali vs. Bryan.

Here’s Bryan for an opening chat. Last week he called the fans sheep who were destroying the world with their endless consumption. With some more thought on it though, he’s decided that they’re really all parasites. These fans take and they take and give nothing in return, especially here in Vegas. They took from the old Daniel Bryan over and over and that’s done for good.

Bryan quotes author William Gaddis (who Bryan says he’s discussed this with, even though Gaddis died about twenty years ago) by saying “stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance” and that sums up Vegas perfectly. Cue Ali to cut him off but Bryan won’t let him introduce himself. Bryan tells him to get in and introduces him, saying that the fans won’t give Ali a fair chance due to being xenophobic. These people don’t deserve to see a match between then because they’re FICKLE, FICKLE, FICKLE!

Ali wants to know what happened to Bryan. The old Bryan would want to fight, which is what Ali wants. Bryan: “What kind of car do you drive?” Ali drives an SUV, so Bryan calls him a small little man who doesn’t need such a big car. It’s because of his wife and two children, so Bryan slaps him in the face and calls him ignorant. Bryan loads up another one but gets forearmed in the face. A hurricanrana sends Bryan to the floor for a big flip dive. Here’s a referee to have our match now.

Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali

Joined in progress with Bryan kneeing him in the ribs and putting on a surfboard for some ripping at the nose. The YES Kicks (with some fort of chanting that isn’t YES) have Ali in trouble but he gets in a kick to the face of his own for two. Ali follows him to the floor but gets posted to put him in even more trouble.

Back from a break with Ali caught in the YES Lock and hanging on for a good while until he makes the rope. Bryan puts him in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs but Ali flips out of a belly to back superplex. Ali gets two off a tornado DDT but misses the 054. Bryan wraps the leg around the post a few times and a chop block makes things even worse. A heel hook makes Ali tap at 10:03.

Rating: C+. Ali held his own there and it’s not like losing to Bryan hurts him at all. He got to hit a bunch of his big stuff and that’s the kind of attention that he’s long since earned. I really do want to see him get the Cruiserweight Title at some point, but if this is the start of a move to the main shows, I think I can live with it.

Post match Bryan puts the hook on again, this time on the stage. Just to prove the point you see.

TLC rundown.

Here’s New Day, with Big E. in a suit, to host the rap battle. Back from a break with everyone in the ring so New Day can set up the match on Sunday. Big E. demands no funny business from the Bar….who proceed to do their own version of Ice Ice Baby (Ice Ice Sheamy). Cesaro: “Word to your mother.” And they even drop the mics.

The Usos rap about being ripped off last time and how they’ve already beaten the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so now it’s time to take care Bebop and Rocksteady. They reference Cesaro greasing Sheamus’ mohawk and the turnbuckle destroying Cesaro’s teeth last year. The Usos promise to win the titles on Sunday but have to send the Bar to the floor. The brawl is on with the Bar standing tall. There were some good lines in there and for a comedy segment, that’s all you can ask.

Asuka admits that Charlotte was ready for her because she stopped kicking. This Sunday, Asuka won’t stop kicking and tonight, Charlotte won’t be ready.

Here’s Miz, with the Best in the World trophy. It’s Shane McMahon’s week to have custody but Miz needs to talk to him about something and this is the only way to get Shane out here. Miz even begs on one knee for Shane to come talk to him. Shane does come out so Miz again begs him to be his partner. It’s starting to get weird, but Miz says that this is important. Miz wants to show Shane what this means….so let’s have a referee out here for a tag match.

Vegas Boys vs. Shane McMahon/The Miz

They’re named Chip and Chad and jump Shane from behind. Shane sends we’ll say Chip to the floor and hammers away on Chad, who has a Hart Foundation skull on his trunks, before mostly botching a floatover DDT. A triangle choke makes Chad tap at 1:29.

Post break the Vegas Boys invoice Paige for $5000 each, as promised by Miz. Paige throws them out.

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat, but first he has to grab a chair. Orton says you need a good chair and shows us some clips of him abusing Rey Mysterio with a chair over the last few weeks. On Sunday, everyone is going to be worried about TLC, but everyone needs to be worried about RK….and here’s Mysterio with a chair of his own to lay Orton out.

Becky Lynch is asked about how much of an advantage she could get if Asuka and Charlotte destroy each other tonight. She says there’s no advantage in a TLC match but fighting against the odds is what she does. Tonight, she’ll be at ringside scouting the two of them. On Sunday, they’ll see the chaos when the Man comes around.

Samoa Joe/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy/Rusev

Hold on though as here are R-Truth and Carmella for a DANCE BREAK, because that joke isn’t old yet in WWE’s minds. Nakamura uses the distraction to jump Hardy from behind and it’s quickly off to Joe. That means Hardy gets sent hard into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Joe cranking on both of Hardy’s arms before charging into Hardy’s elbow in the corner. The Whisper in the Wind drops Joe and it’s off to Rusev to knee Nakamura in the ribs. The running shoulder in the corner sets up a spinwheel kick, followed by the Machka Kick for two. Hardy dives onto Joe, leaving Nakamura to charge into the jumping superkick to give Rusev the pin at 7:02. Lana is VERY happy with the win.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere but it did its job of advancing Joe vs. Hardy. At the same time though, I have a bad feeling that it’s going to be used to set up Rusev vs. Nakamura for Sunday, which would be the thirteenth match on the card. The match should take place, but let it be a big featured Smackdown match instead of something else on Sunday.

An annoyed Shane yells at Miz and takes the trophy for everything Miz did tonight. Miz loves the McMahon aggression and says that after everything he’s done, he was never considered the best in the world until Shane came along. Shane walks away from the offer of a handshake. This gets dumber and dumber every week.

Lars Sullivan video.

Video on Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles.

AJ Styles is ready for TLC and counting down the days, hours and minutes until he gets his hands on Bryan. This is the real Daniel Bryan, but there can be only one AJ Styles.

Asuka vs. Charlotte

Before the match, Charlotte promises a preview for Sunday. Becky comes out to watch, as promised. Asuka goes for a kneebar almost immediately before throwing Charlotte HARD with a release German suplex. Charlotte kicks her down and tries the moonsault, which is countered into the Asuka Lock. That’s broken up with a drop down onto the back but Asuka grabs it again.

Charlotte gets out a second time and we take a break after a hot start. Back with Charlotte getting caught in an Octopus Hold, which she switches into a triangle choke. Charlotte punches and powerbombs her way out so it’s time for the Figure Four. Asuka turns it over so Charlotte goes right back to the knee in a smart move.

The spear is countered with a Codebreaker and Asuka starts firing off kicks, as the leg is just fine. Now the spear connects for two so Charlotte goes up again. The second moonsault attempt is blocked and the Figure Four attempt is countered into the Asuka Lock. Charlotte fights to the ropes and they fall outside, where Charlotte finds a kendo stick for the DQ at 15:23.

Rating: B. Good match here with both of them hitting everything they were going for here, including the big, hard shots and holds. They made it feel like a big showdown and that’s exactly what you needed in a match like this. I’m fine with the non-finish as you don’t want to take away the momentum from either of them before Sunday.

Post match Charlotte beats Asuka up some more and gets a swing at Becky. This doesn’t go well with Lynch, who sends Charlotte into the steps and unloads on her with stick shots. Asuka gets the stick away and unloads on both of them before posing with the stick to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I think I’ve firmly established how much better this show is than Raw and why that’s the case every week so I’ll spare you from another repeat. They did a nice job of setting up Sunday and that’s what mattered most. I mean, I still don’t need to see more matches added to the card and the Shane/Miz stuff is still annoying, but there’s more good than bad here and I want to see what happens on Sunday, at least with the Smackdown matches.

Results

Daniel Bryan b. Mustafa Ali – Heel hook

Shane McMahon/The Miz b. Vegas Boys – Triangle choke to Chad

Rusev/Jeff Hardy b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Samoa Joe – Jumping superkick to Nakamura

Asuka b. Charlotte via DQ when Charlotte used a kendo stick

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 10, 2018
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re at the go home show for TLC and the question now becomes how bad can things actually get. Tonight is likely going to be focused on the final push towards the bigger matches, even if there isn’t any interest in those bigger matches. In other words, expect another Baron Corbin night as he has to hammer in his power before possibly losing it on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Seth Rollins to get things going. He isn’t happy with Dean Ambrose and tonight it’s time to spit some truth. Rollins is tired of hearing Baron Corbin (you and me both brother) talking about things so Corbin can get out here right now. Corbin says his door is always open to a superstar of Rollins’ caliber but Rollins tells him to cut it. Since Rollins has been dealing with Dean Ambrose, he hasn’t had the chance to tell Corbin how much he sucks as General Manager.

Rollins talks about everything Corbin has done wrong, including ruining a team like the Revival in whatever a Lucha House Party Rules match is. If Corbin keeps firing people, is it just going to be him, Lashley and McIntyre out here? Rollins: “That’ll send ratings up.” Or maybe they can have more urination segments. Then there’s BROCK LESNAR, who is never around and hasn’t wrestled on Raw since 2002. Right now, morale and TV ratings are at an all time low and it’s all because of Corbin’s job as boss.

Corbin says he doesn’t care about any of this because he’s in charge. If Rollins isn’t careful, it’s going to get worse for him. Rollins: “I don’t think it can get much worse around here pal.” Corbin talks about becoming permanent GM of Raw on Sunday after Rollins loses his Intercontinental Title. Then it’s time for Rollins’ life to become a nightmare.

Rollins tells him to start doing it tonight so the challenge is on. Actually, if Corbin wants to have a TLC match so badly, let’s do that tonight. Corbin says no so Rollins calls him a coward over and over. That’s eventually enough to get Corbin to agree to the match and it’s going to be for the Intercontinental Title.

I’m of two minds about this. On one hand, it’s a good sign that WWE is acknowledging how much people have been rejecting the show. The problem though is that this isn’t making things better. Having a TLC match is going to be cool, but not if Corbin is involved as he’s a big part of the problem. It’s one thing to admit that something is wrong, but until you do something to fix it long term, the problem is still there.

Post break Rollins says he wants to be a leader and has to take a stand. If he won’t, he doesn’t deserve the title.

Tag Team Titles: Drake Maverick/AOP vs. Chad Gable/Bobby Roode

Maverick and the AOP are defending in a handicap match. Fallout from last week when Roode lost a match he had to win to earn a title shot. Gable has his own robe and is now in regular gear. Akam takes Gable down to start and hands it off to Rezar for a knee to the ribs. Everything breaks down for a few seconds and AOP are knocked to the floor, leaving Maverick to be hiptossed inside. That’s followed by a heck of a toss over the top and we take a break.

Back with Gable in trouble again as even Maverick can get in some shots to the ribs. Maverick runs back over to Akam for a tag but Gable sends him into the corner and makes the hot tag to Roode. House is cleaned for a few moments until everything breaks down. The Super Collider takes Roode down but Gable reverses his into a hurricanrana. The sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination plants Gable but Maverick wants the pin on Roode. As expected, he takes a little too long posing and gets rolled up to give Roode the pin and the titles at 8:24.

Rating: C-. This feels like part of the course correction that the show seems to be on. Either that or it’s another example of giving the fans a thrill for the sake of making them ignore how bad some of the other things are. Either way, it’s a nice moment and thankfully erases some of the mess from the whole robe situation.

We look back at Dolph Ziggler defeating Drew McIntyre last week, followed by Drew attacking Finn Balor for interfering.

Post break, Roode and Gable are proud of their win and say there hasn’t been much hope as of late. They knew if they put the work in it would be worth it and now they feel GLORIOUS.

Here’s Natalya to talk about what Ruby Riott is putting her through. Natalya has gone through so much just to get to WWE, including a little thing called the Montreal Screwjob. We’ll ignore how stupid that is and move on to Natalya dedicating her match on Sunday to Jim Neidhart. You know, the guy who worked for the company after the Montreal Screwjob. She’s going to use everything she has to put Riott through a table on Sunday.

This brings out the Riott Squad, with Morgan and Logan bringing out a table with a sheet on it. Ruby talks about Natalya feeling sorry for herself all the time and how she needs to get a good therapist already. Since Ruby won’t be invited to the Hart Family Christmas, she has a gift for Natalya. That would be the table with a picture of Jim Neidhart on it, so he and Natalya can be closer than ever. As usual, Natalya can’t talk and Ruby is a great promo.

Dolph Ziggler says he brought Drew McIntyre in from obscurity. Tonight, he’s not the good guy or the bad guy. He’s Dolph Ziggler and he’s taking McIntyre out.

Here’s McIntyre for a chat before his match. No one stays undefeated forever, including Andre the Giant or the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. The loss has made him even more dangerous and Finn Balor can explain that to you. Tonight, he’s kicking Ziggler’s head off.

Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler goes right after him to start but has to fight out of the corner as Drew slugs him down. A belly to belly suplex sends Ziggler flying and we take a break. Back with McIntyre hitting Super White Noise with Ziggler almost falling out for a nasty looking landing. They head outside with Ziggler posting McIntyre for a close nine but Ziggler collapses trying a superkick back inside. McIntyre talks a lot of trash so Ziggler snaps off the Zig Zag for two. They both take a good bit of time to get up and it’s Ziggler trying another superkick, only to get caught with a quick Claymore for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: D+. Nothing much to this one and I really, really hope that Balor isn’t going to be replaced by Ziggler on Sunday. I don’t get how he could possible be the third biggest face on the show, mainly because he’s not a face but rather a heel who was beaten down by another heel. At least McIntyre won though.

Post match McIntyre destroys Ziggler some more but referees break up a powerbomb on the floor. Instead, McIntyre kicks Ziggler’s head into the LED ring skirt.

We look back at Corbin forcing Heath Slater to face Rhyno and end his career as a result.

Bayley vs. Alicia Fox

Sasha Banks, Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers are all here. Apparently since Finn Balor is hurt, Apollo Crews is taking his place in Mixed Match Challenge. That thing is cursed man. They fight over a lockup to start with Fox actually driving her into the corner. That’s more success than I would have bet on for her. A takedown sets up the early chinlock until Bayley fights up, only to get caught with a sunset flip out of the corner.

That’s countered into an elbow drop, followed by a belly to back suplex to drop Fox. A Stunner over the middle rope means it’s time to adjust the ponytail. The Singh Brothers offer a distraction so Fox can kick her in the face, drawing out Crews to deal with the Brothers. Banks gets involved as well, leaving Bayley to hit the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 3:47.

Rating: D. Bad stuff here, but that’s to be the case when you have five people getting into a fight on the floor. I’m completely ready for Mixed Match Challenge to be over and at this rate, the entire roster will have been involved in the thing in one way or another. However, how in the world are they supposed to fill in the spots left over from the lack of Mixed Match Challenge preview matches?

Dean Ambrose talks about how that was the real Seth Rollins earlier tonight: he was insane, off the hinges and going without a plan. Rollins isn’t an architect, but if he’s still Intercontinental Champion after tonight, Dean is taking the title on Sunday. As for Roman Reigns, who apparently doesn’t know what’s going on between Dean and Seth, who cares? Dean is asked to talk about a video of Roman’s farewell speech on the same night Rollins and Ambrose won the Tag Team Titles and the ensuing fallout. This goes on for several minutes and Dean has no reaction.

Here’s Elias for a song. Before he gets to that though, Elias talks about Lashley having an interview earlier today where he said all the San Diego sports teams should move to a cool town like Los Angeles. Elias on the other hand would rather perform downtown in San Diego than in front of a bunch of LA trash. He’s not happy with himself for hitting a child like Lio Rush in the back with his guitar last week but tonight he’ll beat him in a match. As for the song, it’s mainly about how much Lashley sucks. Therefore, here are Lashley and Rush to interrupt.

Elias vs Lio Rush

Heath Slater makes his refereeing debut. Rush gets gorilla pressed to start and Elias tosses him around with a heck of a hiptoss. A whip into the corner sends Rush through the ropes (that’s a new one) but Lashley gets in a cheap shot, allowing Rush to start his flipping around back inside. A sitout Last Ride crushes Rush so Lashley comes in….not for the DQ for some reason. Lashley stares Slater down and a spinebuster plants Elias. Rush brings in the guitar so Lashley can break it over Elias’ back and Slater counts the pin at 4:13.

Rating: D. Much more of an angle than a match, as you had to expect. Slater as the intimidated referee could be interesting and it’s not like we’ve seen that story in recent memory. There isn’t much else for him to do in the ring at the moment so mix things up a bit and see if we can get people to care more. What can it hurt?

A disgusted Slater leaves.

We recap the opening segment.

We recap the Tag Team Title change.

We recap Ruby Riott revealing the Jim Neidhart table.

We recap Drew McIntyre injuring Dolph Ziggler.

Corbin comes in to tell Slater he did a good job. Slater is ready to go home but Corbin says he has another match to referee tonight.

Tamina vs. Ember Moon

Ember throws her outside to start and we pause for a Nia vs. Tamina staredown. Back in and Tamina gets in a hard shot for two. A whip into the corner sets up a chinlock for longer than it needs to go on. Ember fights up and starts in with the kicks but gets caught in a powerslam. Some knees to the face put Tamina down and with Rousey throwing Nia over the barricade, the Eclipse finishes Tamina at 5:10.

Rating: D-. Good. Now fire Tamina, tell her to never disgrace us with her presence again, and keep her away from anything involving television. I don’t remember the last time I saw anyone who can suck the life out of a show like her and what could have been an entertaining Moon match was a barren wasteland of joy because Tamina is that bad.

Baron Corbin doesn’t like being accused of abusing his power. Then on Sunday, he’s going to win by forfeit because Strowman is too hurt to compete. Charly Caruso asks him about rumors that Strowman is going to show up but Corbin laughs them off.

TLC rundown, with Elias vs. Lashley now a ladder match.

Lars Sullivan video.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin is challenging in a TLC match with Slater as referee. Rollins stomps him down in the corner and knees his way out of a suplex. They head outside with Rollins grabbing a chair but getting punched in the face for his efforts. Corbin orders Slater to get him a ladder but the delay lets Rollins hit a spring clothesline and we take a break. Back with Corbin cracking a chair over Rollins’ back and whipping him into the barricade to make things even worse. Rollins gets in a dropkick and tries for a ladder but Corbin suplexes him into said ladder in the corner.

Corbin hits the slide under the ropes clothesline and stops to hit the Strowman pose. A backdrop sends Rollins to the floor but he springboards in to catch Corbin on the ladder and hammer him down. Corbin is fine enough to knock him outside and we take another break. Back again with Corbin hitting a Deep Six and some big right hands to the head. Corbin tries another slide but walks into an enziguri.

That means it’s time for the big beating with a chair as Cole recaps the opening segment again. Back to back suicide dives connect but the third sees Corbin throw him through a table. Corbin can’t climb fast enough though as Rollins chairs him down. One of the chair shots hits Slater and knocks him off the apron, though Rollins doesn’t seem to mind as he hits a huge splash off the top through Corbin through a table.

Back in and Rollins goes up but Slater shoves the ladder over, sending him arm first into a table in the corner, which doesn’t break. Corbin climbs up and…..gets powerbombed through the table as Rollins won’t stay down. With Slater down, a Stomp is enough for Rollins to climb up and retain the title at 24:30.

Rating: C+. It’s hard to screw up a TLC match and there was some drama at the end, even though the Slater turn (I think?) didn’t mean much. The problem here is even more Corbin, which is the last thing this show needed. Rollins winning to give us a hero we can believe in helps, but my goodness did we need a twenty five minute Corbin match to wrap things up?

Overall Rating: D. Much like the opening promo, I’m not sure what entirely to think here. First of all, there were some better parts this time around. The main event was good if you ignore everything going on before it and the Tag Team Title change was a nice little surprise that offered something to cheer for.

The problem though continues to be Corbin, who is all over the show and not interesting enough to warrant more than about five minutes a week. This week he opened the show, closed the show (with nearly half an hour in the main event) and appeared in multiple backstage segments. That’s too much for almost anyone not named The Rock or Steve Austin and Corbin, like almost any other wrestler ever, is nowhere near those two. Most of this show was about “will Corbin keep his power” but he’s killed off so much interest in the show that I don’t care what happens to him or the show itself.

Rollins trying to be the hero is a good thing, but like he said, with no World Champion to chase, what’s the point? If Strowman wins on Sunday, it’s probably six weeks until Lesnar defends the thing again and I’d be rather surprised if Strowman gets the title. If Corbin wins on Sunday, nothing changes around here and we wait for a new challenger to get a shot. Either way, it’s a lot of sitting around waiting, which isn’t helping the show’s problems. I need a reason to watch and Baron Corbin getting 25 minutes after being the anchor that drags this show down isn’t it, no matter how many things Rollins jumps off.

Results

Bobby Roode/Chad Gable b. AOP/Drake Maverick – Rollup to Roode

Drew McIntyre b. Dolph Ziggler – Claymore

Bayley b. Alicia Fox – Bayley to Belly

Lio Rush b. Elias – Guitar to the back

Ember Moon b. Tamina

Seth Rollins b. Baron Corbin – Rollins pulled down the title

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Vengeance 2004
Date: July 11, 2004
Location: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the final pay per view before Summerslam and that makes this one kind of a quick stop more than anything else. The main event is HHH getting yet another shot at the title because that’s his inalienable right. The wildcard this time is Eugene, who HHH has manipulated into thinking World Champion Chris Benoit is out to get him. I’m sure this will go according to plan. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Benoit’s path to the title. HHH doesn’t like that Benoit is holding his title and tonight, it’s time to set things right.

Rhyno/Tajiri vs. Garrison Cade/Jonathan Coachman

This is mainly about Tajiri vs. Coach but I don’t think anyone was going to tolerate that on pay per view so this was set up on Heat. Coach freaks out upon seeing Rhyno as Tajiri’s partner. Appropriately enough, Coach and Rhyno start things off….with Coach tagging out five seconds later. Rhyno shoulders him down without much effort so Cade yells at the referee and slaps Rhyno in the face.

The beating begins in a hurry with Cade bailing to the floor to avoid the Gore. Tajiri comes in and hits Cade in the face before getting two off la majistral. A Coach distraction lets Cade get in a few shots though and Tajiri is in trouble for the first time. That means Coach gets to be on offense and somehow he’s more coordinated than a lot of full time wrestlers.

A double suplex drops Tajiri to give Cade two but Coach charges into a boot in the corner to set up the Tarantula. The mule kick is enough for the hot tag off to Rhyno so the pace can pick up. Tajiri tags himself back in as Rhyno is sent to the floor and it’s a handspring double elbow to Cade and Coach. There’s the mist to Cade (King: “Cade’s been mystified!”) and the big kick to the head gives Tajiri the pin on Coach.

Rating: D+. Fine enough for a Heat main event, but this wasn’t exactly pay per view worthy. At least they had something with some energy and a villain that the fans wanted to see get beaten up. That doesn’t make it a good idea though and it’s some time that could have been better used elsewhere.

Evolution has a meeting about Eugene and HHH says it’s cool. Flair isn’t convinced but HHH says when the time is right, Eugene….wait where is Eugene? They’re not sure if he’s here so HHH goes to find him. He does indeed find him, talking to Benoit, who tells him that Evolution only cares about HHH getting the title. Benoit tells Eugene to be careful and leaves. HHH isn’t pleased.

Batista vs. Chris Jericho

These two have been having some issues in tag matches so tonight it’s a regular match. Batista starts with the straight power by throwing knees to the ribs in the corner. Jericho gets smart by low bridging him to the floor, giving us a perfect summation of the match in a nutshell in the early going. A missed charge lets Batista pull Jericho outside for some shots to the head and a neckbreaker of all things gives Batista two. I’ve never seen him use that before or since and it was weird to see from him.

That’s followed by a seated half nelson as I wonder where all of this offense came from and went. Batista pulls him down into a regular full nelson but Jericho gets up and leverages him outside a second time. Back in and a dropkick to the knee staggers Batista so he forearms the heck out of Jericho in return. Again: power vs. intelligence and cunning. Jericho’s top rope back elbow to the jaw gets two, followed by Batista’s side slam for the same. It’s back to the back with back to back shots to the back, followed by a backbreaker. You can’t say Batista isn’t focused.

Jericho flips out of another backbreaker attempt (more intelligence) and hits a chop block. The Walls are broken up though and Batista hits the big spinebuster for two. The Batista Bomb is reversed into a rollup for two and Batista is getting mat at Jericho for not letting it end. Jericho bulldogs him down but the Lionsault hits knees. He’s fine enough to hit the running enziguri for a delayed two but it’s another spinebuster to destroy Jericho. The Batista Bomb is good for the pin, even with Jericho’s foot on the ropes.

Rating: C+. There was a nice story here with Jericho trying to outsmart the powerful Batista but not being able to overcome the huge power advantage. That’s a great rub for Batista who beat a former World Champion and never felt like he was in any real trouble at all. He’s becoming a bigger and bigger deal every single time and it’s not like Jericho is going to lose much by putting him over here. He’s Chris Jericho, and that’s going to keep him over no matter what.

An upset Eugene sits on Evolution’s couch and HHH starts up the manipulation machine, saying that Benoit is just lying to him to protect the title. Remember when Benoit hit him with a chair a few weeks ago? Tonight, they’re taking the title back, but first they have a surprise for Eugene. It’s an old Ric Flair robe, with Flair staring bullets through Eugene as he hands it over. The manipulation stuff is great, but I’m kind of dreading where it’s going.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Ric Flair/Eugene

Flair and Eugene are challenging. Flair’s music cuts off O Canada and Flair looks so annoyed at having to be here. Eugene and Conway start things off and let’s have a WOO first. The second WOO comes after Conway is taken into the corner and Flair’s frustrations continue. A drop toehold lets Eugene grab a headlock in a Flair spot and it’s time for the chops. Flair: “THAT’S MINE!!!”

Grenier comes in and wants Flair but gets Eugene doing Flair’s shinbreaker instead. A few shots stagger Eugene and he does the Flair Flop in a funny bit. The Figure Four is broken up though and Eugene is kicked into the corner, allowing Flair to tag himself in and work off some annoyances. Flair WOO’s a lot and shows Grenier how to throw the chops and punches in the corner. A suplex drops Conway and there’s the strut, meaning NOW we go to school with the Figure Four.

Some easy cheating lets Grenier break it up though and now it’s Flair in trouble for a change. Grenier hammers away in the corner and hands it off to Conway, who actually wins a chop off. Flair can’t chop his way out of trouble and a backdrop gives Grenier two. The required chinlock, with Grenier kneeling to the side behind Flair for a unique style, goes on and the fans cheering for Flair in this situation still feels weird.

The front facelock keeps Flair in trouble and Conway runs around to pull Eugene off the apron for a ram into the steps. Back in and Au Revoir hits Flair but Eugene is all fired up for the save. Conway’s legs get wrapped around the post and Eugene pounds on Grenier in the corner but a shove to the referee draws the DQ.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match as Eugene knows how to do the Flair tribute act, which in this case makes a lot of sense. I’m glad they didn’t change the titles here as the wacky champions thing really isn’t necessary here when you already have HHH as the real big bad in the whole thing. La Resistance are fine as the heel champions and they can hold onto the belts in this role for a good while.

Post match Eugene hits a Stunner, Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. Flair looks so annoyed as Eugene tries to hug him to make things better after the loss.

We recap Kane vs. Matt Hardy. Lita agreed to sleep with Kane to get him to leave Matt alone and got pregnant in the process. Matt is furious (and rightfully so), meaning tonight it’s a No DQ match so Matt can get revenge and Kane can have some fun.

Matt Hardy vs. Kane

No DQ and no countout. They start the fight in the aisle with Matt getting in a few right hands. The Twist of Fate on the announcers’ table is shoved away, with Matt nearly crushing a production guy in the process. Kane pounds away on the floor some more and then takes it inside for the first time for some choking in the corner. He switches it up to ripping at Matt’s face before cutting Matt down with a clothesline. Matt can barely stand so Kane asks why he doesn’t fight.

With Matt still down, Kane grabs a chair but gets caught with a Twist of Fate over the ropes. Kane’s feet get tied in the ropes so he’s hung upside down and there’s a bell shot to the head. The top rope legdrop to the back of Kane’s head connects and the Twist of Fate is good for two. Kane hits a chokeslam but would rather grab the steps than cover. Cue Lita (you knew this wasn’t ending until she came out) to beg for Kane’s forgiveness so he throws the steps down. Then he picks them back up, allowing Matt to hit them into his face with a chair for the pin.

Rating: D. This was Kane slipping on a banana peel to give Matt the win that doesn’t mean much. There’s nothing that is going to stop Kane from attacking Matt again and you can set up the bigger rematch at Summerslam from here. I haven’t been big on this whole story but I feel sorry for Matt after Lita had to save him again. Normally I would ask how much worse it can get but that’s never a good sign in wrestling.

In the back, Lita begs Matt to talk to him. Matt recaps the whole thing and asks her to stay away from the ring so both her and the baby can be safe. I’m sure she’ll listen too.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Edge. Orton has held the title for a long time now and has grown up during his reign. He’s becoming a bit too cocky though and Edge is ready to take a stand and become champion as he wants to run through Evolution.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Edge

Edge is challenging and JR gets in his stat of the night by saying the Intercontinental Title has changed hands more in July than in any other month. Doesn’t mean much, but that’s the kind of little trivia note that I like to hear. They trade headlocks to start as the fans are firmly behind Orton. Not what you would expect but I can kind of see the new version of Edge not being as popular. He’s been pushed pretty hard and hasn’t had the performances that made him a star since his return.

A crisscross goes on for a long time until Edge takes him down with another headlock. The threat of a dropkick sends Orton outside but Edge isn’t letting him walk up the ramp. Orton gets in a shot of his own though and suplexes Edge back in for two. As the champ rakes a boot over Edge’s face, Lawler has it figured out: Edge is jealous of Orton’s ability to get women. I’ll let you figure out how JR responds to that one. The chinlock goes on for a good while until Edge fights up with a clothesline to the floor.

Orton goes to get the title so Edge baseball slides him down and the fans are behind the champ again. A missile dropkick gives Edge two but the spear gets kicked away. Orton hits an elbow to the chest and now it’s a LET’S GO EDGE chant. Egads these people are fickle. Back in and Orton gets two off a legdrop to the back of the head as the announcers are rather confused by the crowd. Dude it’s a live wrestling crowd. Why would you expect them to make sense?

Orton chokes on the ropes and gets two off a dropkick, followed by another chinlock. A legdrop sets up another chinlock as they’re certainly dragging this one out. The fans accurately call this boring as the latest chinlock eats up two full minutes. Edge fights up and dropkicks Orton out of the air, followed by a neckbreaker to put both of them down again. A slugout goes to Edge and he gets two off a Russian legsweep. After shoving Orton off the top, Edge hits a high crossbody with the champ rolling through for two.

Orton pokes him in the eye and takes off a turnbuckle pad, which has to be some Flair influence. The Edgecution gets two more so Edge hammers away in the corner, only to get dropped face first onto the exposed buckle. That and a rollup with feet on the ropes are good for two but this time it’s Orton going into the buckle. The spear hits unexposed buckle but Edge is right back up with a whip into the steel, followed by the spear for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. This was much more long than good as there’s a lot that could have been cut out to do the same match. The ending was really strong though and you could tell the fans were getting into things and wanted to see the title change. Even with the title loss though, you can tell that Orton is going to be getting a huge push as you don’t have him lose a long match clean like that without having something bigger planned. Good match, but much longer than it needed to be.

Orton gets the Goodbye Song because they really can’t make up their mind about what the heck they want.

Molly Holly vs. Victoria

#1 contenders match. Molly works on the arm to start as JR tries to figure out why she’s still wearing the wig. You would think it would have grown back in nearly four months. Victoria scores with a monkey flip but the shaking moonsault takes way too long. Instead it’s a moonsault press out of the corner for two on Molly so she heads outside with Victoria nearly screwing up a slingshot dive.

A trip sends Victoria’s face and shoulder into the steps for a near countout. Since that doesn’t work, Molly starts in on the arm with a seated armbar as you can’t fault the psychology here so far. A Fujiwara armbar keeps Victoria down but Molly misses an elbow. Victoria gets two off a powerslam but the arm gives out on the Widow’s Peak attempt. With the arm not an option, Victoria nails a superkick for the pin.

Rating: C+. Considering the spot they were in with this being an added match and in between the show’s two big matches, this had no expectations coming in and turned out to be a very nice match. It didn’t have any reason to be much but the girls did had a rather nice match with some psychology and good looking offense. Well done here in a very nice little surprise.

We recap HHH vs. Chris Benoit. HHH lost the title to Benoit at Wrestlemania and hasn’t really left the main event since. Now it’s time to get the title back and HHH has manipulated Eugene into being in his corner for this one, while Benoit is trying to convince Eugene of what’s really going on. The manipulation has been great on this story and while the fans aren’t exactly enamored with Eugene, it’s still good stuff.

Raw World Title: Chris Benoit vs. HHH

Benoit is defending and, as always, looks cool holding the title over his head on the stage. A fight over a lockup goes nowhere so Benoit armdrags his way out of a top wristlock. HHH’s headlock takeover doesn’t work so he tries it again and gets reversed all over again. Benoit finally gets sent into the corner and HHH….lets him get back up. It’s too early for the Crossface though and HHH gets outside for the breather. Back in and HHH scores with a jumping knee to the face, followed by a hard elbow to the jaw for two.

Instead of the face, HHH switches over to the back with a backbreaker before pulling Benoit out to the floor. Again he lets him back in though and it’s a snap suplex to take HHH down. A catapult sends HHH into the corner and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Benoit isn’t done and sends him into the steps as this is starting to pick up a few gears. Back in and Benoit misses the Swan Dive, setting up a heck of a Bret Hart chest first bump into the corner. HHH does it again for good measure and starts in with some kicks to the chest.

A release front suplex drops Benoit on his chest again and HHH does it again in a smart move. HHH puts a knee in the back and stretches both arms to stay on the chest as the targeting continues. They head outside with Benoit being whipped into the barricade, followed by another whip into the buckle for a few near falls. The abdominal stretch goes on and thankfully Lawler is right there to talk about how painful the hold is. Benoit reverses into one of his own but gets hiptossed down in short order.

The Sharpshooter works a lot better and HHH finally makes the rope, because just touching them a few seconds earlier didn’t count. HHH is in trouble so Benoit rolls the German suplexes. That’s enough to send HHH outside for the big dive through the ropes and they’re both down with the fans rather pleased. Back in again and this time the referee gets knocked out to the floor in a heap, which you had to know was coming. A Crossface attempt is countered into a DDT and they’re both down, allowing HHH to shout for Eugene. As Eugene comes out, HHH gets caught in the Crossface.

Benoit wisely shouts at Eugene to get the ref before flipping HHH back to the middle for the tap. There’s no referee so Eugene starts getting in, earning himself a big right hand from Benoit. That would be in the better safe than sorry category, though it lets HHH get in a low blow from behind. Now the Pedigree connects but there’s still no referee. Eugene brings in the chair this time as the referee is now face down on the mat.

Hang on though as Eugene grabs the chair, earning himself a shove to the floor and a lot of yelling. Benoit gets in a forearm to the face but has to chair down an interfering Batista and Flair. HHH kicks him in the injured chest but Benoit gets in a low blow so everyone is down. Now it’s Eugene with the chair and he’s not sure who to hit. Benoit grabs it as well but then lets go, sending it into HHH’s head. That’s enough for Benoit to grab a rollup and retain the title.

Rating: B+. I was digging the heck out of this until the Eugene stuff came into play but it wasn’t enough to derail everything. HHH was working on the chest for most of the match and then used it again in the end, though it was ultimately his own plans being a bit too big and evil that cost him. Benoit retaining is a good thing of course but I have a bad feeling I know where that ending is leading. At least it was a good, long match though and the ending was right, even with Eugene getting so much attention near the end.

Post match Benoit leaves so HHH can stare at a panicking Eugene to end the show. Make sure you end things on the real stars there guys.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, Raw is just that much better than Smackdown at the moment because the wrestling is that much better. While some of the storyline moves aren’t the best (again: Eugene), you’re almost guaranteed a few good matches on the show and pretty logical storyline progression. That might not be anything that reinvents the wheel but it gives you a good show, which is what this company needs after all the weekly messes on Smackdown.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/09/28/vengeance-2004-a-forgotten-little-gem/

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 8, 2004
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s title night around here as John Cena is defending the US Title against Booker T., who earned his shot at the title by winning a triple threat match last week. Other than that it’s time to build things up for next week when JBL defends the Smackdown World Title against Eddie Guerrero. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Rob Van Dam vs. Mark Jindrak

Rene Dupree is on commentary. I had forgotten Jindrak is a thing, though he’s now called the Reflection of Perfection, meaning he has Lex Luger’s mirror in the ring. He and Teddy Long have also split, but it’s described as amicable. Jindrak knocks him to the floor at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry with some rams into the barricade. Back in and the choking continues with Jindrak nipping up to show off a bit.

Rob tries to go up top but Jindrak hits an awesome looking standing dropkick (at one point Jindrak had the highest vertical leap in WWE history) to knock him into the barricade. The reverse chinlock with a knee in the back has Van Dam in more trouble but Rob comes back with a kick to the face. Rob’s rolling monkey flip out of the corner sets up another kick to the face but Rolling Thunder hits knees. A belly to back superplex is broken up though and Van Dam hits the Five Star for the pin.

Rating: C-. Jindrak was an amazing athlete and could jump like few others but everything between those jumps didn’t work so well. At least he’s a fresh name though as we haven’t see him do anything in recent months. That’s better than having Van Dam and Dupree fight each other time after time and a lesson that WWE could learn a lot from today.

We look back at JBL defending the World Title against Spike Dudley last week and Eddie Guerrero coming in for the post match beatdown. Eddie announced a cage match for the title two weeks later. Good ending after a dull match.

JBL talks about how much better a champion he is because Eddie didn’t offer handshakes or come to Canada while he held the title. Eddie is no gentleman and he probably didn’t even graduate from high school. JBL isn’t worried because he’s a champion’s champion and a man’s man who doesn’t belong in a cage. The growing JBL fan club will carry him through though and he can hear the chants starting from here. Tonight, he’s facing El Gran Luchadore, the champion of Mexico, who he’s fought before and comes in to see him here (looks to be Shannon Moore this time around). This time, it’s going to be a massacre.

Tag Team Titles: Paul London/Billy Kidman vs. Dudley Boyz

The Dudleys are defending and this is a rematch from Velocity where the champs had to get themselves disqualified to save the titles. It’s a brawl to start with London hitting a top rope missile dropkick, followed by an assisted moonsault for two on D-Von. London unloads with right hands until Bubba low bridges him out to the floor. Back in and D-Von hits a Hennig neck snap of all things and it’s Bubba coming in to stay on the neck.

Actually make that the knee as Bubba finally takes notice of the big brace. D-Von comes back in to grab the foot and….really that’s about it. He doesn’t twist on it or anything and is really just putting his hands on the foot. Bubba adds the apron legdrop and it’s a reverse chinlock to keep D-Von in control.

The middle rope headbutt misses though and there’s the hot tag to Kidman, in full accordance with the tag team formula. Everything breaks down and it’s D-Von and London being sent to the floor. What would have been the longest What’s Up ever is broken up so Kidman rolls through and lets London hit it on Bubba instead. London’s superkick sets up the shooting star press to give Kidman the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. The title change is quite the surprise but the big deal here is how fast the Dudleys fell. They went from main eventing a pay per view to losing the titles completely clean here in about two weeks. That’s an incredible collapse and really, something that needed to happen. Amazingly enough, that would be the team’s last title reign in WWE. It’s almost hard to believe that they never did it again but they would be gone in a few months and then left for about ten years. Quite the low key ending to their title years.

Post break the celebration is on, complete with champagne and congratulations from Billy Gunn. Well now it’s certainly a big deal. The Dudleys come in and shake their hands and no violence ensues.

Kenzo Suzuki has Hiroko translate a promo for him. He doesn’t like what John Cena has been saying about him lately and wants revenge. Kenzo is misunderstood and has great respect for America because it’s the land of opportunity. Kenzo: “God bless of America!”

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

Cena is defending but before the match he needs to remind us that the champ is here in Manitoba. Booker isn’t getting the title back tonight because Cena is five times better and has five times the groupies. Cena isn’t losing to a Whoopi Goldberg lookalike, which is a line that the fans rather like. Cue Kenzo Suzuki for a fight but Cena beats him down with ease. With Suzuki down on the floor, Luther Reigns comes in and lays Cena out with the reverse swinging neckbreaker. I guess the match will be taking place later, because Kurt Angle will send his goon in to lay Cena out, but he’s fair about things.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. El Gran Luchadore

Non-title and JBL makes sure to shake hands on the way to the ring. It’s such a relief to have this new “I love you people” gimmick than what we were getting before he won the title. It’s still bad, but it’s not insufferably bad and that’s a step up. Hang on though as JBL needs to sanitize his hands. That’s very important in a foreign company. Luchadore rolls away to start but gets caught with a right hand to the mask.

Back up and Luchadore poses a bit too much, earning himself another knockdown. A running dropkick has JBL in trouble and a moonsault press gets two. JBL has had it with this and sends him outside so the real beating can begin. The huge clothesline drops Luchadore and there’s a second one to make it even worse as the fans chant for Eddie. Luchadore gets tied in the Tree of Woe with JBL ripping at his face for painful measure. A belly to back superplex makes things even worse and JBL kicks him out to the floor.

Cue a second El Gran Luchadore from underneath the ring to throw JBL outside and leave a banana peel on the mat before hiding again. The referee is so confused that the Luchadores are able to switch and the Eddie Guerrero dance might give you a clue as to what’s going on (in case you’re REALLY slow). Three Amigos (Cole: “That’s Mexican!”) have JBL bailing to the floor and it’s a countout as Luchadore says there’s no running next week.

Rating: D+. This was an entertaining squash until the angle, which went on a little longer than it needed to. JBL not taking a pin is a good idea as he doesn’t have the highest standing in the world at the moment and having him get beaten so soon would have been a bad idea. Not as bad of an idea as making him champion in the first place, but a bad idea nonetheless.

Luchadore says play Eddie’s music because they’re close.

Booker says he’ll win the title because he’s better than Cena. That’s about as to the point as you can get.

Raw Rebound.

Rey Mysterio, Scotty 2 Hotty and Spike Dudley are ready for their six man tonight when Bubba and D-Von come in to talk to their cousin. Scotty and Rey leave and advise Spike to help defend the family name tonight because he already let them down last week. Spike says he didn’t want their advice last week when they were champions. Why would he want it now? Sick little burn there.

Rey Mysterio/Scotty 2 Hotty/Spike Dudley vs. Chavo Guerrero/Akio/Jamie Noble

It’s off to Scotty to clean house and everything breaks down. Spike drops a top rope double stomp to the ribs and stomps on Chavo in the corner. The Dudley Dog gets two on Noble with Chavo making a quick save. That earns Chavo the Worm but Akio knocks Scotty outside. Chavo ducks the 619 so Rey catapults him outside, setting up a top rope Asai moonsault onto Chavo and Akio. Back in and Noble tiger drives the heck out of Spike for the pin. Like I said: Rey didn’t need partners.

Rating: B-. This was a heck of a fun little match with all six guys going out there and getting in everything they could in a little bit of time. Mysterio needs a fresh challenger though and it would make sense to have Noble (or anyone for that matter) come after the title. They could have had something special with more time, but what we got was quite good.

Paul Heyman doesn’t care about the Dudleys losing the Tag Team Titles because he has to worry about the Undertaker. Fair point actually. Heyman needs to say something to Undertaker and he’ll do it in the ring tonight.

We look back at last week’s completely unshocking moment with Undertaker announcing that with Paul Bearer gone, he’s going to destroy Paul Heyman.

Speaking of Heyman, he’s in the ring, with the Urn, to address Undertaker. He pulls out a statement, which says that everything that happened to Bearer was the Dudleys’ fault. Then the Dudleys got what they deserved so now Heyman wants to make a peace offering: the return of the Urn. Near tears, Heyman gets down on his knees and begs for a pass, rather than begging for forgiveness. No one is backing him up out here and he’s a little lamb lost in the wilderness, begging the reaper to pass on by. If Undertaker lets him live, Heyman will cross his path no more. And that’s it as I guess we’ll get to that later.

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

The banged up Cena is defending. Hang on though as here’s Kurt Angle, still in a wheelchair but now carrying a cane. The distraction lets Booker get in a cheap shot and the beating is on in a hurry. A superkick gets two and it’s off to a top wristlock instead of staying on the bad neck. Cena starts the early comeback with a powerslam and hip toss for two each, followed by the Shuffle for two more.

The FU is blocked with the grab of the rope and Booker dumps him. Angle gets to his feet for the first time in months and limps over to Cena for a cane shot (breaking the cane) to the back. We take a break and come back with Booker dropping a knee and grabbing the chinlock. What a change of pace to coming back to the chinlock. Totally different you see. Cena fights up like a good guy fighting out of a chinlock but walks into a spinebuster.

The jumping kick to the face gets a delayed two and it’s right back to the chinlock. Cena kicks out of three straight covers and, you know it, back to the chinlock again. Back up yet again and Cena grabs a DDT for two of his own. Booker’s snap suplex gets the same and a Cactus Clothesline puts them both on the floor. Cena isn’t done and clotheslines Booker into Angle. Back in and Cena hits the FU but Reigns comes in for the DQ.

Rating: D. Quite the slog of a match here with Booker using a ton of chinlocks and Cena’s neck injury not having much to do with the match. With Booker jumping Cena from behind, you could have written the Reigns attack from earlier out entirely and not changed a thing. These two should be capable of so much more and that’s kind of a shame given how the match had been set up.

Post match Reigns beats Cena down but Angle says bring the title with him. Cena causing Angle to be knocked over is enough for him to be stripped of the US Title. Angle is very happy to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a very good show here with the six man tag being the only really strong part. The Eddie/JBL segment did its job but took too long to make it work as well as it should have. Other than that, the show was pretty mediocre at best and that’s not enough to make a full show work. That being said, I’ll take this over the horrible shows they were putting on just a few months ago any day.

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

A bunch of words say it all.

Daniel Bryan is actually pretty good as a heel. I enjoyed his first major heel run in WWE when he cashed in on big show, but he’s actually impressing me thus far with his skills. Is there any way he can get someone else to his WM30 level as a face? I guess the only option is Styles. Daniel Bryan’s build build was well in progress by this time.

I can answer this in….well in several words actually.

No. No no, no no no, no no.

Here’s the problem: Bryan’s face run was one of a kind. It was lightning in a bottle with the fans wanting to cheer for Bryan. Not someone like Bryan, but Bryan himself. I mean, if it was just someone like Bryan, why wouldn’t they do the same thing again? Look at how many times WWE has tried to recreate Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. It’s a great story, but it’s only really worked that one time because A, it was the right people at the right time and B, everything that comes after it looks like they’re trying to recreate the same idea.

As for now though, Bryan is still trying to find his footing as a heel. I’ve liked a lot of what he’s doing and he’s going to be great at it (again, because he’s done it before) but building him up to that level by Wrestlemania isn’t going to happen. That Wrestlemania was a years long process (you could easily argue that it was started all the way back at Wrestlemania XXVIII, if not earlier) and had the right people with the right stories and the right precision with the right people involved. And a great story which I still think was a complete work from the start (yes, I think the 2014 Royal Rumble was WWE’s plan all along).

Overall though, Bryan’s title reign can be a great story that can have an awesome finish as someone finally shuts him up to take the title and become a big star in the process. However, it’s not going to be the kind of story that takes over the company, at least somewhat because Bryan is on Smackdown and that’s just not how something like this works in WWE. It’s going to be an awesome angle, but not the kind of game changer that Bryan’s road to New Orleans was. That was once in a lifetime and you can’t recreate it, no matter how much WWE may want to.

These came out a few weeks back and I finally got around to checking them out. I think I’m glad I waited.

Chronicle: Dean Ambrose

This one is the more interesting one as it’s much more kayfabe based. The idea here is basically a big explanation of why Ambrose turned on Seth Rollins back in October, which wasn’t really something that has been explained in full on WWE TV. They look back over the course of Ambrose’s rehab and up to the point he turns on Rollins, which he explains on the way to and in the time after.

The difference here though is you can see the issues building up towards Ambrose’s turn and what finally makes him snap. At the same time though, you get a good look at the mind of Ambrose and how he really is just off a few steps. Ambrose is one of the more closed characters in wrestling and it’s nice to see behind the curtain just a little bit. This one is interesting if you want to see a good backstory and someone building up until they’re ready to snap. They do it really well here and it’s an interesting character study into a rather unknown person. It helped fill in some gaps in the story, which I’ll always appreciate.

AJ Styles: 365

Now this is more WWE’s regular speed with a documentary covering a year in Styles’ WWE career, mainly looking at his long Smackdown World Title reign. The idea is to look at everything AJ has done over the course of the year and seeing some of the places he’s been. This includes trips around the world, big matches and various little details, like tearing his hamstring around the time of Money in the Bank, that weren’t mentioned before.

What’s interesting here is how much they focus on the other places AJ has been, with a long section on TNA and a trip back to the Impact Zone for the first time since AJ left the company (with Jeremy Borash accompanying him). The ending even hints at possibly leaving WWE, as AJ has been wrestling for a very long time now and doesn’t have much left to accomplish. He’s currently in contract negotiations (not mentioned here of course) so there’s a little more real life included. This is more a traditional documentary and since that might be what WWE does best, it’s certainly worth seeing, as are all these things.

Both are good, even if you get a very different perspective from the two of them.

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: December 5, 2018
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

Last week saw Cedric Alexander pin Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy in a tag match, which should set him up as the next challenger to the title. With a pay per view coming up, the timing couldn’t be much better. As for tonight, we have the Lucha House Party vs. Mike Kanellis and TJP in a Texas Tornado match. Let’s get to it.

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

Drake Maverick previews the show, which works very well every week.

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak vs. Brian Kendrick

Jack Gallagher and Akira Tozawa are at ringside. The empty seats are AWFUL this week with far more red seats than people visible, meaning we start with the lower camera angles. Nice idea, but it just shows how bad the problem is around the arena. Gulak takes him to the mat to start but can’t get him anywhere. More grappling gives us a stalemate so Gulak nails him with a clothesline to take over.

A modified half crab (with Gulak pulling back on the foot instead of wrapping his arm around) starts in on Kendrick’s knee and Gulak takes him down by the leg for good measure. Kendrick tries a full nelson of all things, followed by a tiger suplex of all things for two. That just earns him a powerbomb into a regular half crab as Gulak’s logical moveset continues. It’s off to a headlock as Gulak moves towards the neck for a change.

With that not being as weakened, Kendrick fights up so it’s another leg hold to cut him down again. A front facelock keeps Kendrick in trouble but he flips out into the Captain’s Hook. That means a crawl over to the ropes for the break so Kendrick goes with a dragon suplex for two instead. A quick trip to the floor goes nowhere but Gallagher sends Tozawa into the post for a distraction. The rollup gives Gulak two and Sliced Bread #2 gives Kendrick the same as Gallagher comes in for the DQ at 8:49.

Rating: C. Technically fine but I still have no reason to care about what these people do. The feud has been going on for weeks now and it seems like they’re in about the same places they were before. That’s the case with the opening match around here most of the time, but it doesn’t make things any more interesting.

Gallagher and Gulak destroy Tozawa and Kendrick post match.

We look back at last week’s tag team main event.

Maverick sits down with Buddy Murphy, who isn’t worried about facing Cedric Alexander in a rubber match. Murphy cuts him off and says he’s glad to face Alexander one more time. Besides, Mustafa Ali is the tougher opponent. That sounds manipulative to me.

Ariya Daivari vs. Clay Roberts

Daivari is in street clothes and is all aggressive to start with stomps in the corner. A kick to the head has Roberts in more trouble as Hideo Itami is watching from the back. The hard standing clothesline gets two and a hammerlock lariat is good for the same, with Daivari pulling him up both times. Three more clotheslines knock Roberts silly and the referee stops it at 1:48 before Daivari can do it again. Good idea, but it’s still Ariya Daivari hitting a bunch of clotheslines. Maybe it gets better, but they’re facing an uphill climb.

Itami seems pleased.

Mustafa Ali is down after losing but he’s getting back up, which is the harder part. He’s rooting for Cedric, but he’s coming for the title no matter who has it.

Alexander isn’t letting Murphy get into his head and wants his title back.

Noam Dar wants Buddy Murphy too and the title doesn’t even need to be on the line.

Lucha House Party vs. TJP/Mike Kanellis

Tornado tag with Kalisto and Lince Dorado for the Party, without Gran Metalik around. Maria is around though and that’s a good thing. During his entrance, Kalisto puts a hat on a young girl’s head and she looks LIVID in a funny bit. TJP gets sent outside to start and Kalisto’s splash off Dorado’s shoulders (after a little balancing) connects with Mike. Both villains are put on the floor so Dorado can hit a dive off the post to take them both out. Kalisto pulls a noisemaker out of a Christmas sack before grabbing a tornado DDT for two on TJP.

Mike gets in a spinebuster on Dorado on the floor but Kalisto kicks him in the face. That’s a little too much offense though and Maria grabs the pinata and threatens to destroy it. The distraught Kalisto gets taken down and Mike gets in a good shot. TJP kicks the pinata away and hits his half of a double clothesline on Dorado. Now it’s time to pull out a spare mask and hammer away a bit more, followed by an elbow drop for two. Yeah he covered off an elbow drop and was surprised as the kickout. I don’t get it either.

Kalisto gets a bit too close to getting back in so Mike knocks him into the barricade. Dorado is back with a double Golden Rewind, followed by Kalisto with a springboard high crossbody to TJP. The hurricanrana driver is countered into an STF and it’s time to go for Kalisto’s mask. As TJP goes for the eye, we see a replay of Mike hitting a Russian legsweep off the apron on Dorado. You don’t see WWE cameras missing things like that very often. With the mask not working, it’s time for the kneebar on Kalisto, who eventually makes the ropes. TJP gets caught up top and Kalisto’s knee is fine enough to superkick an invading Mike.

A top rope hurricanrana sends TJP into Mike and Dorado is back in to help things out. Another superkick to Mike sets up the Super Crazy triple moonsaults for another near fall. The masked guys yell at each other a lot and it’s time to bring in the Christmas bag, which is full of mini pinatas. Dorado has to fight out of a bunch of suplexes onto the pinatas and it’s time to fight over who gets tossed from the corner onto them.

A double superplex finally puts TJP onto them but Mike makes a very fast save. TJP powerbombs Kalisto for two more and now he wants the BIG pinata. Maria and Kalisto get in a fight over the thing until he throws it at her, knocking him off the apron and onto Mike. The springboard Salida Del Sol into the shooting star press finishes TJP at 14:17.

Rating: C+. At first I wasn’t really feeling this one as it was all kinds of carnage and insanity….and then I realized that was the point. It’s called a Texas Tornado match for a reason and the match was fun as a result. This was an entertaining match with all four guys getting involved, plus Maria as a bonus. I could go for fewer pinatas next time, but at least what we got was entertaining with the right ending.

We get a preview of next week’s matches.

Tony Nese is ready to finish Cedric for good next week.

Overall Rating: C. The main event helped but this was a show that didn’t exactly showcase some of the more entertaining wrestlers on the roster. It helps that we’ll be getting Ali, Murphy and Alexander in the next few weeks though and that’s a great sign for the show going forward. This wasn’t a bad show or anything, but it didn’t have quite the pop that it needed.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: December 6, 2018
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

This could be an interesting one as this week’s Raw and Smackdown were as polar opposites as you could ask for. Raw was a slog to get through while Smackdown was a heck of a show with everything you could want in two hours. Now the question is how much of Raw’s awful can they cram in here. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Dynamite Kid.

Opening sequence.

Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Breeze

Feeling out process to start and this match is so important that the announcers start talking about Mixed Match Challenge and where they would take their vacations if they won. Hawkins knocks him into the corner and offers a handshake but Breeze is too smart for that. Some right hands don’t go very well for Breeze as he gets caught in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick. Breeze is right back with some right hands and stomping of his own in the corner, though the fans aren’t too thrilled with him.

After a quickly broken reverse chinlock, Breeze ties him in a Tree of Woe of his own but misses a dropkick. So….is Hawkins face here? The fans are treating him like one and he seems to be wrestling like one, and since faces and heels are switched week to week around here, it wouldn’t shock me at all. Hawkins makes a comeback with right hands and a Michinoku Driver for two. A running lariat gets the same but Breeze hides in the ropes, allowing Breeze to score with a superkick. The Unprettier extends Hawkins’ losing streak at 5:57.

Rating: D. Well I’m confused. I mean, I get the idea of the rapid fire changes, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. Hawkins has been a heel for the better part of ever (he has a cane so he has to be evil) and while Breeze reluctantly teamed with Ascension last week, I don’t get how this is supposed to just be ok. That being said, Hawkins has a much better chance of winning a match as a face as you can only have the plucky good guy lose so many times.

From Raw.

A bunch of security guards in gas masks come out to escort Ambrose, in a gas mask of his own, to the ring. Ambrose, still in the mask, says you can’t be too careful in a horrible city like Houston so he has some guards to protect him from that madman Seth Rollins. The mask comes off and Dean talks about how Rollins wanted something from him, just like all the people. Like all those people who would always stick their phones in his face to try and add some excitement to their lives.

Seth tried to control him and that’s the worst feeling in the world. Those people are sitting in the crowd right now but none of them have the courage to slap them in the mouth right now. Ambrose is proud to sit in this ring as the moral compass and at TLC, he could take the Intercontinental Title but he’d rather just teach Rollins a lesson. At TLC, Rollins will lose control of himself, his emotions and the Intercontinental Title. Don’t worry though, because he’ll be right there to save the title.

Cue Rollins from behind (at least he wasn’t a guard in disguise) to get in a few shots and then beat up the guards. Ambrose uses the distraction to get out but Rollins chases him down for the brawl. They come back to ringside though and Dean gets in a shot to the face with a gas mask. Ambrose even hits Dirty Deeds on the floor, followed by another inside. This was good but that’s the problem: it’s just good. This feud started off red hot and hasn’t lived up to the hype since then. The match will be very good as these two almost always are, but it’s not what it could have been.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for MizTV but hang on because we need R-Truth and Carmella for a dance break. Miz’s guest tonight is Daniel Bryan, who has been on the show several times but never as WWE Champion. Miz says that Bryan’s comments last week were proof that Miz was right all along. Bryan says he came to the realization that he doesn’t care about the people and he’s allowed his dreams to take control. He doesn’t have a lot of intellectual peers to discuss this with (Miz included) but he can consult great minds of history in his books. Men like Alexander Hamilton for instance.

Bryan calls the fans fickle for chanting YES because they’re sheep who regurgitate things from twenty years ago for reasons they don’t know. Anyway, Bryan talks about the abilities of the old Bryan being mixed with the mentality of the new Bryan. Miz thinks that sounds like EXACTLY WHAT HE TOLD BRYAN FOR YEARS. Bryan talks about doing one bad thing to one man while all these people do horrible things to harm the planet every single day. They drink from their plastic water bottles and eat their processed meat that releases methane into the air and causes permanent changes to the climate.

All he did was kick one man in the groin and he’s the bad guy? Bryan tells us to count the sins and Miz is confused. Miz: “Did you think I brought you out here to talk about Alexander Hamilton, methane gas and water bottles?” He’s not cool with Bryan not admitting that he was right and wants a simple answer: was he right nor not? Bryan finally says yes….and then no….and then yes and no again over and over.

It really doesn’t matter either way, because the old Daniel Bryan and the YES Movement are dead. Bryan throws down the YES plates from the side of the title and holds up the title while calling the fans fickle again. This brings out AJ Styles so Bryan throws Miz into him and runs off but can’t get away fast enough. Bryan tries to use Miz as a shield again and this time it works, as a Skull Crushing Finale drops AJ. This was more gold from Bryan, who is playing a great heel. That’s very impressive given how big he was as a good guy.

And from later in the night on Smackdown.

AJ Styles vs. The Miz

Miz grabs a headlock to start as Bryan talks about how the fans wanted him to come back but weren’t willing to put in the work with him on the way. Saxton reads some comments from hurt fans and Bryan calls them idiots. AJ gets two off a slingshot splash (Bryan: “I could do that.”) as Bryan wishes that his daughter kicks thousands of men in the groin, including Saxton.

The reverse chinlock goes on to put AJ in some trouble so Bryan calmly goes off about ruining the environment. Saxton continues to come off as the lamest commentator ever, again asking about Bryan’s new attitude and getting laughed off. AJ gets dropped to the floor and we take a break.

Back with both guys down and Saxton again trying to question Bryan, who cuts him down with ease. AJ hits a running clothesline in the corner and gets two off the fireman’s carry backbreaker. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered so Miz gets two off a DDT instead. AJ sends him outside for the slingshot forearm but Bryan gets up for a distraction, allowing Miz to send AJ into the steps. That and the Finale are good for two back inside and that should be about it for Miz. Bryan grabs AJ’s leg so Miz charges, only to get caught in the Calf Crusher to make him tap at 13:02.

Rating: C+. This was much more about Bryan, though as awesome as he was, he made me want to strangle Saxton all the more. He’s just so annoying and comes off like a child in an adult’s world. Anyway the match was fine and helped advance AJ vs. Bryan, which is exactly the point of what they were doing here.

Post match Bryan goes after AJ’s leg with a chop block and wraps it around the post. Bryan puts on a heel hook until referees break it up so he settles for a kick to the head. The multiple stomps to AJ’s head have Bryan doing a victory lap, only to come back for even more stomping. Bryan insists on being announced as the NEW Daniel Bryan and then rants about the fans being fickle. One more chop block ends the show.

TLC rundown.

Mojo Rawley/Ascension vs. Zack Ryder/B-Team

Mojo and Axel start things off and that means some dancing from Curtis. We get a very early stalemate into a big brawl as it’s off to a break. Back with Ryder diving over for the hot tag to Axel for the house cleaning. Ryder hits a pop up Rough Ryder on Viktor and a sunset flip gives Axel the pin at 5:57. There must have been a lot cut out of there.

From Smackdown.

Ladders surround the ring and it’s Paige at a table to host the contract signing. Paige mentioned making history so Becky says it must be Tuesday because that’s what she does every time she gets in the ring. She doesn’t care what happens at TLC because she plans to win and doesn’t care what happens to these two dopes. Charlotte doesn’t like Becky implying that she was handed a title shot because she beat up Ronda Rousey on her own. Then it took Nia Jax one time to knock Becky onto the shelf so Charlotte won’t have any trouble.

Asuka cuts off the argument and says Becky has never beaten her so she’ll beat Becky at TLC. They all yell at each other (as WWE women tend to do when they’re in large groups) but Becky says neither of them can beat her and signs. That’s it for Becky, which Charlotte says is appropriate because Becky is all talk these days. Charlotte promises to win too and signs as well. Asuka wants a fight right now but cue Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to cut them off. They promise to beat up Asuka and Charlotte the first chance they get so Paige makes the match for later. Why not just do it now?

And from Smackdown to close things out.

Ronda Rousey/Ember Moon vs. Nia Jax/Tamina

Rousey walks hard to the ring but gets jumped 2-1 until Moon comes in. A middle rope Codebreaker rocks Nia and Rousey hits a running forearm off the apron to take her down again. Back from a break (with no bell beforehand) with Ember in trouble and Rousey bouncing back and forth on the apron. Ember gets over and makes the tag a few seconds later….and Rousey tags back out after a few kicks to Tamina. Nia loads up the big right hand, which she uses on Ember’s ribs after a quick tease.

Ember hurricanranas her way to freedom but Nia breaks up the hot tag, only to get knocked off the apron by Tamina. That means the hot tag can bring Rousey in for the clotheslines and knees to Tamina, who is knocked into the corner. Rousey demands the tag to Nia so she comes in and tags right back out. Rousey flips Nia back in and then beats Tamina up with the rapid punches in the corner. A jumping knee to the face gets two on Tamina but the Eclipse rocks her again. The armbar makes Tamina tap at 5:57.

Rating: D+. This was exactly what it needed to be with Nia being the loudmouth who won’t actually fight but at the same time, I’m not sure how much WWE can make me buy her as a threat to Rousey at TLC. She’s really living on that one right hand to Becky from a few weeks ago and that’s not exactly a lot of material. At least the ending was the right call here and Moon didn’t get treated like an afterthought again.

Overall Rating: C. Well, they did balance things out a bit. Aside from the weird Hawkins turn which likely won’t go anywhere, you had a nice selection from Raw and Smackdown to make the show feel far less one sided. Unfortunately the good stuff from Smackdown was weighed down by the Raw counterparts. That being said, the lack of Baron Corbin helped so much. I didn’t realize just how bad he was on Raw but my goodness what a difference it makes when he’s gone.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 5, 2004
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Eugene is in charge tonight and I think you know what that means. The chaos should be in full swing and Eugene is the kind of guy who can make something like that work well. He plays the character so well and actually comes off as the idiot savant that he’s supposed to be. Let’s get to it.

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

Eugene’s face has replaced Bischoff’s after the opening for a positive reception.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Ric Flair to join a bunch of other people, with a bunch of chairs, in the ring. We have Flair, Jerry Lawler, Coach, Tajiri, Tyson Tomko and Stacy Keibler and Chris Jericho, the hometown boy, comes out to join them. Eugene comes out to the stage in a blazer and jumps up and down a lot. He’s in charge tonight and wants everyone to have fun. Even Coach! For a special treat tonight, Eugene thought we should have a title match tonight. Jericho gets a loud cheer before Eugene announces that we’re playing Musical Chairs for the title shot.

Flair struts after Stacy and then shoves her down to steal her seat like any villain should do. That leaves us with Tomko, Jericho and Flair, but Ric does a bit too much strutting and is out as well. As the music stops, Jericho pulls the chair away and hits Tomko in the back before having a seat to win the Intercontinental Title shot tonight. This was the kind of fun, wacky thing that they need with Eugene in charge. It just freshens things up a bit, which is something Raw is dying for a lot of the time.

La Resistance vs. Rhyno/Val Venis

Non-title, which at least they’re getting right as of late. The non-champions charge the ring to start and the fight is on in a hurry. Conway gets sent outside and a double shoulder drops Grenier early on. Things settle down with Rhyno getting caught in the corner and choked a lot. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Rhyno scores with a flying shoulder. The hold was broken in there if that wasn’t clear. It’s off to Venis and everything breaks down in a hurry. Rhyno’s Gore is broken up by Grenier with a hard crotching against the post and Au Revoir finishes Venis.

Rating: D. As nothing as Rhyno and Venis were, this is the kind of match that La Resistance can use. They win a quick match and it’s not like they were in any real danger for most of the time. Venis and Rhyno weren’t going to be a threat to the titles and odds are they won’t team again after this, so it’s not like they have anything to lose.

Randy Orton isn’t happy with having to face Jericho tonight but Flair is more upset about playing Ring Around the Rosey. Uh, totally different game there Naitch. Come on. Eugene on the other hand is in his office: a bounce house. He asks Orton about that one time when Kane said he was Eugene’s friend and punched him before bringing up HHH. Batista is worried that Eugene is going to have HHH beat up Kane, but it’s going to be Batista vs. Kane instead.

Eugene: “You remember that one time when La Resistance beat Val Venis and Rhyno?” After Orton explains that it just happened, Eugene makes La Resistance vs. Flair and…..we pause while Eugene plays with action figures. Flair demands to know his partner and of course it’s Eugene. Flair lunges so Eugene retreats into the safety of the bounce house. Wacky fun.

It’s time for a change though, and this Sunday Edge is taking the Intercontinental Title. After that, Edge is taking the team out one by one. Someone has to take a stand and Edge is that man. HHH says that he’s heard it before but he’s still right here on top of the world. HHH: “Nothing changes.” The fight is on with Edge getting the better of it until Evolution chases him off. That’s one of the smarter face moves of the year, because even he’s not dumb enough to fight all four of them at once.

Kane vs. Batista

The power lockup starts us off until Batista hits a running clothesline in the corner. That just earns him a whip into the corner and a side slam for no cover. The spinebuster is no sold and Kane kicks him to the floor, drawing in Matt Hardy for the DQ. Just a means to an angle at the end.

Post match Matt wrecks Kane, sending him into the steps over and over.

Post break Matt says he’s happy with the idea of a No DQ match with Kane on Sunday because he can do even more than he did tonight. Lita is mentioned but Matt won’t talk about her. Instead he awkwardly stares at Todd Grisham for a long time.

Divas Search Los Angeles edition, with Christy Hemme appearing and having more charisma than anyone. Coach seems enamored with most of them in the swimsuit section and….well yeah.

Earlier today, Jericho was named a member of the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, the highest honor in Manitoba. Jericho with long hair in a suit is a weird visual.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho

Hometown boy Jericho is challenging. Orton gets taken down off an armdrag to start and Jericho throws in a little dance. A battle over a top wristlock doesn’t get Orton very far as he’s thrown into the corner to keep the pro-Jericho chants going. Jericho suplexes him down and gets two off the arrogant cover. Something out of the corner gets dropkicked out of the air though and we’re off to the neck crank as the fans think Orton sucks.

Not being happy with the chants, Orton sends Jericho to the apron but takes too long posing, allowing Jericho to come off the top with a back elbow to the jaw for two. The running enziguri gets the same with Orton getting his foot on the ropes. With that not working, Jericho backdrops him over the top and out to the floor. Cue Batista for a distraction and we take a break.

Back with Jericho hammering away in the corner until Batista low bridges him out to the floor. Jericho goes arm first into the post and the fans are all over Batista in a hurry. Back in and Orton starts kicking away before the light bulb goes off and he wraps the arm around the ropes. The armbar goes on for a bit with Orton pulling him back down by the air. Some knees to the arm keep Jericho in trouble and it’s right back to the armbar, though a different kind. It’s nice to see things get mixed up a bit as there’s no reason to have the same stuff over and over.

Back up and a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown and the fans have some hope. Jericho scores with a flying forearm but Orton cuts him off with the backbreaker. The swinging sleeper drop gives Jericho a near fall of his own but the shoulder gets sent hard into the post again. Orton’s high crossbody gets two and the fans are right back into it after the kickout. The bulldog drops Orton but Jericho has to dropkick Batista. He’s fine enough to counter the RKO into the Walls and the fans are going NUTS. Another Batista distraction breaks the hold though and Orton rolls him up with feet on the ropes to retain.

Rating: B-. The fans helped carry this one a little further than it would have gone otherwise and that’s not the worst thing in the world. Jericho winning the title was pretty much out of the question here but at least he didn’t lose clean, which can set up a rematch down the line. Orton still can’t make a full match like this work, but he’s getting the important parts, such as the strong finish, down.

HHH joins Eugene in the bounce house and they make an unspecified deal. That’s enough for HHH to leave with Flair helping him up. Apparently HHH was in there for twenty minutes and didn’t get around to breaking up the Eugene/Flair team. Flair: “We could lose! Or worse yet, we could win!” HHH’s plan is more about the World Title though, because tonight it’s Flair/HHH/Eugene vs. Edge/Benoit. Everyone will see his plan after tonight.

Smackdown Rebound.

Victoria vs. Nidia vs. Molly Holly

Envelope on a pole match with the winner getting a shot at Trish Stratus at some point in the future. Therefore, Trish is out on commentary along with Tyson Tomko. Nidia goes straight for the pole and gets pulled down just as fast. Molly knocks Victoria outside but gets elbowed off the top. The delay is enough for Victoria to get back up and kick Molly in the head to put all three down again. Molly knocks both of them to the floor and hits a slingshot dive on Victoria to keep her in trouble. Back in and Molly plants Victoria with a superplex but Nidia climbs up and gets the contract.

Rating: D-. This was just a step above the Vince Russo era with no particular reason for it to be a pole match, other than Nidia not being the best in the ring in the first place. I’m not sure why I’d want to see her get a title shot, but to be fair they need something fresh in the women’s division after the same matches over and over.

Post match Trish, with a broken wrist, comes out and says Nidia can have a shot when Trish is ready. Trish knocks her cold with the cast and says she’s ready.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Nidia

Pin in three seconds to retain. Thank goodness they booked a match that they could blow off two minutes later. That’s just what the show needed.

Divas Search: Los Angeles, with unnamed women being worried about moving on to the next round. Candice Michelle and Christy Hemme both made the cut.

Vengeance rundown.

Trish and Tomko come up to Lita in the back and ask about morning sickness. Lita doesn’t say anything back so they leave, but not before this from Trish: “And they call me a sl**.”

HHH praises Eugene for his job tonight but brings up Edge wanting to tear Evolution down. Eugene doesn’t like that so HHH tells him about how Edge and Benoit represent everyone who has ever been mean to him. Tonight, Eugene needs to be mean to them. Hugging ensues and they agree to be best friends tonight.

HHH/Ric Flair/Eugene vs. Chris Benoit/Edge

Benoit wants to start with HHH but gets Eugene instead in a smart move from the villains. An early high five to Flair doesn’t constitute a tag so Benoit and Eugene try some technical work instead. Eugene is more than capable of hanging with Benoit though and drives him into the corner as JR goes into one of his trademark anti-HHH rants. Benoit reverses though and decks HHH and Flair, which isn’t something you do with Eugene around.

Eugene tries to come in but HHH holds him back so Flair can take over on Edge. It’s time to start working on the arm, with HHH telling Eugene to break the arm, which seems a step too far for him. The fans think Eugene sucks as HHH and Flair come in for a distraction as Edge tags Benoit. Therefore it’s Edge being dragged back into the corner so the beating can continue, including a Flair strut this time.

One WOO too many allows Edge to get in an enziguri and Benoit gets to come in and unload. The rolling German suplexes have HHH in trouble and the Swan Dive connects, with Flair breaking up the count in a hurry. Edge takes Flair to the floor but misses a charge to send him over the barricade.

Benoit knocks down both Eugene and the referee at the same time but is still able to knock a chair out of HHH’s hand. Eugene grabs the chair and pulls it back at Benoit, who manages to talk him out of it. HHH tries to Pedigree Benoit but gets reversed into the Sharpshooter for the unseen tap. At HHH’s urging, Eugene hits Benoit with the chair to break it up. The booing ensues as HHH pins Benoit.

Rating: C+. Another match focused on storytelling instead of the wrestling for the most part but the talent involved was more than enough to make it watchable. The Eugene push is starting to blow up in their faces though as there’s only so much that can be done before the fans just get tired of him. Eugene was a very fun character, but having him as the focal point of the show and involved in the top story is a bit much for someone like him.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was back and forth all night. It started off strong and had a pair of good matches, but stuff like the Divas Search eating up time and the Eugene story being hammered into our heads didn’t do it any favors. There is still good stuff going on around here, but very simply put, we need a break from HHH. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine that’s the case anytime soon.

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