IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: August 28, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re still on the way towards….whenever the next Cruiserweight Title match is going to be as Drew Gulak seems ready to get another shot at Cedric Alexander. Last week’s main event saw Lucha House Party defeat Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese, but we could still get a thing or two more out of the feud, especially since Kalisto got involved at the end. Let’s get to it.

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

Drake Maverick gives us the recap/preview.

Opening sequence.

Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa

Before the match, Kendrick and Brian Gallagher rip on Toronto a bit for being a secondary Commonwealth city. In addition to that, Tozawa doesn’t know his place and needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. Tonight, Tozawa is taking the beating that he deserves. Kendrick bails to the floor to start so Tozawa dives onto both he and Gallagher. Back in and the hard kick to the chest sets up the screaming backsplash as Kendrick is in big trouble early on. Gallagher offers a distraction though and Kendrick knocks Tozawa out to the floor.

They head back inside with Kendrick nailing a butterfly suplex and slapping on a chinlock. The Captain’s Hook doesn’t work and Tozawa snaps off a hurricanrana. It’s too early for the top rope backsplash so Tozawa goes with the suicide headbutt instead. Back in and the extra aggressive Tozawa wraps the leg around the post before a Saito suplex knocks Kendrick silly. Three straight corner dropkicks to the knee set up a missile dropkick and the top rope backsplash finishes Kendrick at 6:15.

Rating: C-. This was just a step below a squash win for Tozawa, who needed something like this to get him back to normal after the losses to Lio Rush. Kendrick is fine for someone to put Tozawa over as he’s going to stay relevant due to his past success. In other words, a perfectly fine bit of booking.

We look back at Buddy Murphy costing Kalisto a match against Buddy Murphy. Last week, Kalisto made up for it by costing Murphy the fall in the tornado tag.

Murphy and Nese are ready to get rid of Kalisto and the Lucha House Party.

Hideo Itami vs. Michael Blaise

Before the match, Itami talks about feeling bad over Mustafa Ali. He should have hurt Ali even worse a few weeks ago. Itami hammers away in the corner as Vic name drops Hulk Hogan being at his debut press conference. Some kicks put Blaise down and some shots to the back have him in even more trouble. A Falcon Arrow gets two as Itami pulls him up. That GTS thing gets the same but Itami would rather hit the running corner dropkicks. Before he can hit the third, here’s Ali to interrupt. That’s enough for Itami, who bails into the crowd for the no contest at 3:50ish because countouts don’t exist when they’re not scripted.

Rating: D. Just a squash with an angle finish here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Itami still needs more than RESPECT ME and maybe some different gear would help. He’s a very small, skinny guy and that doesn’t exactly make him intimidating. They’re still looking for the right formula for him and I’m not sure how much longer that search can go on.

We recap Drew Gulak wanting a rematch with Cedric Alexander but running off when Alexander showed up.

Alexander says Gulak was a hypocrite last week but next week, he’ll be waiting in the middle of the ring for Gulak to come finish things.

Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto

Tony Nese, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik are at ringside. Murphy wastes no time in throwing Kalisto down and the fans are behind him here. Back up and Kalisto does the pose but makes the mistake of trying a test of strength. Of course he’s powered down with ease so it’s time for some nipups. Kalisto finally gets smart by walking the ropes, setting up a hurricanrana to take Murphy down for the first time. Nese blocks a dive though and the noisemakers are already out.

The rescheduled dive takes the two of them out instead so everyone tries to come inside. The distraction lets Murphy hit Kalisto in the back to take over as things settle back down. Back in and another hurricanrana is countered so Kalisto tries a suicide dive….which is caught and reversed into a suplex. Well ok then. Another skirmish on the floor gets the House Party ejected while Nese is allowed to stay.

Murphy takes him back inside but misses a kick to the back. Kalisto slaps on a sleeper but Murphy powers out again, this time hitting Kalisto in the face for two. Nese tries a grab of the ankle and that’s enough to get him tossed as well. Things settle down and it’s Kalisto hitting a springboard seated senton and kicking away, followed by the reverse hurricanrana. The hurricanrana driver has both guys down and the referee has a quick chat with them. Murphy blocks the Salida Del Sol but gets his head kicked off to give Kalisto two.

They head to the apron and Kalisto gets launched hard into the announcers’ table for the loud crash. Murphy would rather send him into the barricade over and over than go for a pin but he’s smart enough to break the count. Kalisto tries a springboard (minus the spring) off the barricade, only to get kneed out of the air.

Now Murphy is willing to take the countout but Kalisto taunts him right back out. A monkey flip puts Murphy in the timekeeper’s area for nine but Kalisto catches him with another hurricanrana driver for another two. Murphy hits a helicopter bomb for two and we have a rare 205 chant. Murphy’s Law is reversed but Murphy knees him in the head again, followed by Murphy’s Law for the pin at 16:45.

Rating: B. They could have had a better match had it not been for all the shenanigans with the seconds but what we did get was quite good. Murphy continues to be someone way too good for this show, though the same thing is true of Kalisto. But they don’t weigh enough (allegedly in Murphy’s case) so they’re stuck here instead. Such is life in WWE, though the match was rather awesome.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event saved what was a pretty much otherwise lame show and there’s nothing wrong with that. Gulak and Alexander not being around isn’t the best idea in the world as the show is little more than a good standalone night, but you can only do those shows so often if the series is supposed to mean something. Good main event, but they’ve done better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: August 31, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’ll wrap up Canada week here with the highlight package show. This week has been better than most for WWE as the followup to Summerslam has actually been pretty strong. The promos and stories have all been good and we’ve even had some nice matches to go with them. Hopefully the short form versions are good as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Tyler Breeze

Please don’t turn Breeze heel. Breeze armdrags him down to start and lays on the top, only to have Jose dance at him in return. Some right hands in the corner have Breeze in trouble so he takes out the knee to put Jose down. A half crab stays on the knee until Jose kicks him to the floor. That’s broken up after Breeze pulls him back to the middle but a dropkick to the knee makes things even worse. Jose is fine enough to catapult him into the corner and the pop up right hand is good for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: C-. Breeze is an interesting choice here and he was “aggressive” here, which sounds like the start of a heel turn. It’s not like he has anything else going for him at the moment but I still don’t want to see it happen. He’s rather amusing with the Fashion Police thing and I’d love to see them go somewhere when Fandango comes back.

Clip of Shield reuniting to cost Braun Strowman his Money in the Bank cash-in.

Clip of Strowman saying he was cashing in for a Cell match and agreeing to team with Reigns to face Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre on Monday.

From Raw.

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman

Roman and Ziggler start as it’s already after 11pm. A clothesline puts Ziggler on the floor and Strowman approves. The apron dropkick rocks Ziggler but McIntyre kicks Roman in the face to take over. Back in and Ziggler gets two off the running DDT, followed by the sleeper. The big jumping elbow gets two and it’s right back to the sleeper.

Reigns finally shoves him away and the big boot drops Ziggler. The hot tag attempt is broken up by McIntyre, who throws Reigns with an overhead belly to belly. Reigns Superman Punches Ziggler out of the air and Strowman gets the hot tag….but doesn’t get in. Reigns gets stomped down as Strowman watches from the apron. The referee disqualifies…..I’m not sure actually but the match ends at 8:50.

Rating: D+. Just an angle and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s something wrong with wasting the last year plus on Strowman for the sake of having him be Reigns’ first victim, but that’s another rant for another time. As usual McIntyre looks better in ten second than Ziggler looked working most of the match, but that goes without saying.

Post match Strowman says he’s not finished with Reigns and beats him down. Ziggler and McIntyre join in until Ambrose comes in for the failed save. Rollins runs down and gets beaten up as well. A bunch of powerslams leave the Shield laying and Strowman poses with his new friends to end the show.

From Raw again.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Rollins is defending and Owens is still rather popular here. Feeling out process to start with Rollins hitting a clothesline to put Owens on the floor. Back in and Rollins hits a slingshot Fameasser onto the middle rope. A clothesline off the steps puts Owens down and we take a break.

We come back with Owens holding a chinlock and getting two off a backsplash to the arm. The armbar goes on and Rollins starts to scream. They head outside with Owens missing the Cannonball into the barricade, allowing Rollins to chop away. Back to back suicide dives have Owens in trouble but he blasts the third attempt with a right hand. Rollins hits the other dive anyway and we take a second break.

We come back with Rollins hitting the frog splash, stopping to shake his bad arm, and then getting two. Owens sends the bad arm into the post and puts on a Crossface. As Rollins crawls to the ropes, Owens turns it into something like a camel clutch to keep Rollins in trouble. A foot on the ropes gets Rollins out of trouble and frustration is setting in. Some right hands to the face just annoy Rollins and he jumps over the Pop Up Powerbomb. A low superkick rocks Owens but he counters the Stomp into a Stunner of all things for two.

The fans are WAY into this and Owens takes him up top, only to get reversed into a running buckle bomb. Owens no sells it and superkicks Rollins for a hot near fall and they’re both down. It’s Owens up first but Rollins catches him on top and they slug it out. Rollins gets shoved down and lands on the arm but is still able to avoid a moonsault. The Stomp retains the title at 22:11.

Rating: B+. Heck of a fight here and I was actually buying the chance that the title was going to change. Owens is someone who can bring the great stuff when he’s given the chance and that’s what happened here. It’s amazing how much better Rollins is when he doesn’t have Ziggler doing the same stuff every week as this was a nice change of pace.

Post match, Rollins nods at him in respect.

Back from a break with Owens sitting in the ring in a chair. He says he quits and leaves, taking the tape off his hands as he goes.

Pay per view rundown.

Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riott

Moon headlocks her to start but gets legsweeped down. A right hand doesn’t have much effect on Moon as she flips over and wristdrags Riott, only to get distracted by the Squad. Riott forearms her off the apron and we take a break. Back with Moon shrugging off a cravate and hitting a butterfly suplex. The front flip forearm in the corner gets two but another distraction lets Moon miss a corner charge. Riott gets two off a falling middle rope backsplash but walks into a gutbuster. The Eclipse is loaded up but the Squad offers another distraction, allowing Ruby to Riott Kick her down for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C. They actually had a story here with the Squad interfering over and over until Moon couldn’t stop them anymore. Riott has been a nice surprise in the last few months but egads what has happened to Moon? She was one of the big surprises on the post Wrestlemania Raw and now she’s jobbing on Main Event less than five months later?

Legends give their predictions on Undertaker vs. HHH.

From Smackdown.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Carmella

Charlotte is defending and they have a lot of time. Carmella gets two off a rollup as the fans are already asking for Becky. A headlock keeps Charlotte in trouble so she suplexes Carmella down, which at least quiets the BECKY chants for now. The moonsault takes too long to set up though and Charlotte gets shoved into the barricade. Carmella hits the suicide dive for two and we take a break.

Back with Carmella hitting a headscissors and shouting a lot, as is her custom. Charlotte gets kicked in the chest but rolls through a high crossbody for one. The champ goes up but gets pulled back down in a pretty good looking super hurricanrana. Carmella slaps her in the back and screams a lot, followed by a pair of not very superkicks for two. Charlotte shrugs it off and hits a spear, followed by Natural Selection. The Figure Eight goes on and Carmella finally taps at 13:02.

Rating: D+. As usual, I have no reason to buy Carmella getting in any kind of offense on Charlotte but that’s what we’re stuck with. Thankfully Carmella lost clean here and we can get away from her for a bit. She’s fine as a short term champion but the four month title reign and seeing her ruin Asuka was WAY too much from here. Now we can move on to the better stuff and I think you know what’s coming.

Post match here’s Becky to jump Charlotte (to some loud cheers) and says she’s getting the title back at Hell in a Cell, “you b****”. Becky leaves and we get a bunch of replays to fill in the show as it feels like they went home way too early. That was more full on heel from Becky (and it went about as well as the other stuff) so I’m not sure what was up with that edited promo last week.

Overall Rating: C-. Well so much for Smackdown. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe can’t get time, but we can hear predictions on a legends match six weeks from now? There was good stuff on Raw but they can choose how much is shown from each clip. You can’t cut some of that out and get in one more thing from Smackdown? I know it’s standard around here but egads man.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Undertaker vs. HHH that is.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-just-like-toy-story/

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 29, 2004
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the first week with the new cast of characters and hopefully we can get something a little better than having the new wrestlers in completely run of the mill (at best) matches like last week’s Smackdown. HHH is already back on Raw, having never actually gone to Smackdown in the first place. You can’t have the company’s diamond on the B show or something like that. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Draft Lottery and the trade that brought HHH back to Raw while sending Booker T. and the Dudley Boyz over to Smackdown.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Evolution, minus HHH, to open things up. Flair talks about being thrilled to defend the Tag Team Titles against Chris Benoit/Shawn Michaels tonight but they’re much happier about HHH being back in the Raw locker room. That’s it for the good stuff though, as Flair is tired of the lack of respect around here. There’s no respect for HHH and there’s no respect for Randy Orton, who defeated the hardcore champion (little slip there) Mick Foley at Wrestlemania.

More respect is demanded and Orton, who had a tonsillectomy last week, says he knows that Foley is a coward. Cue Foley to say Orton proved himself at Wrestlemania. That match showed that in a 3-2 situation, Orton can defeat a Hollywood actor and a guy who writes children’s books. That’s why Foley wants a one on one chance to face Orton at Backlash for the Intercontinental Title in a street fight with Evolution banned from ringside. In other words, if Orton agrees, he gets hurt. Orton actually agrees and Flair starts the pep talking.

La Resistance and Garrison Cade (Huh?) tell Tajiri to mist the next guy who comes through the door as his welcome to Raw. Eventually Coach comes in so screaming and flailing can ensue. The French guys say he’s in trouble because Coach is Eric Bischoff’s boy.

Nidia vs. Molly Holly

Let’s see how good Molly, who now has curly brown hair, really is. Molly takes her down with a judo throw and sends Nidia to the apron. That means a hard posting and Molly wraps the banged up arm around the ropes. The arm gets wrenched down some more but it’s fine enough to catapult Molly into the corner. A northern lights suplex gets two so Nidia pulls off the wig, setting up a rollup for the surprise pin. Nothing wrong with this one, though I don’t think anyone is buying Nidia as anything of note.

Clip of Edge returning last week and spearing Bischoff.

Bischoff isn’t happy with the clip being aired, Edge not being here, or Johnny Spade calling him EB. Edge gets Kane at Backlash.

Hurricane comes out for a match but HHH jumps him from behind. HHH doesn’t think much of the locker room being glad he was traded last week. Those people meant so little that Bischoff traded three of them to get him back. Bischoff wants this show to be the biggest in the world, which is why he needs HHH right here.

Now that he’s back on Raw (after being gone a total of zero weeks), Bischoff is going to come out here right now and give him the World Title shot at Backlash instead of Shawn Michaels. Bischoff comes out for some sucking up but since he’s already given Shawn the title shot and doesn’t want to annoy Steve Austin, he’ll just make another triple threat match. I’m really not sure that they should be running a rematch just a month later with no changes. But hey, we wouldn’t want to be without HHH.

Post break Batista yells at Shelton Benjamin for laughing at HHH last week. HHH knocks him into a cabinet and welcomes him to Raw.

Here’s Lance Storm for a chat. Storm says cut his bad music because he can’t stand it anymore. The having fun hasn’t gotten him anywhere because everyone is still mocking him. Last week he could have been drafted to Smackdown and gotten a new beginning. Cue Rhyno and it’s time for a match.

Lance Storm vs. Rhyno

Spinebuster and the Gore finish Storm in about thirty seconds.

Tajiri tries to apologize to Coach and Bischoff but Coach adds a few details to the story to get Tajiri a match with Kane instead. You kind of deserve it dude. Tajiri’s panicking is funny.

The WWE received an award from the USO.

Tag Team Titles: Chris Benoit/Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair/Batista

Flair and Batista are defending. Actually hang on as we have a guest referee in the form of Johnny Spade. Actually hang on again as that’s now Johnny Nitro. The threat of an early superkick sends Batista bailing to the floor, leaving Flair to have the Figure Four reversed into the Crossface. Batista makes a fast save so Shawn dives onto the two of them as the hot start continues. Somehow Batista is legal as Benoit starts in on his leg, followed by Shawn coming in for some splashes to the knee.

It’s off to Flair but Shawn takes him down into a quick Figure Four. With Nitro not knowing what to do, Flair grabs the rope for the break. Benoit chops him down in the corner and it’s already back to Batista. That doesn’t go well either as Shawn hammers away in the corner, knocks Flair off the apron, and continues punching Batista. A spinebuster finally gets Batista out of trouble as JR talks about Trish Stratus.

Flair butterfly suplexes Shawn and now it’s time for JR to complain about Nitro wearing a big belt buckle, suggesting that he’s heading to a rodeo after the show. I’ll let that one sink in for a second as the champs start in on Shawn’s ribs. Shawn gets in some chops though and it’s a double shoulder for a double knockdown. Flair goes up (JR: “Flair thinks he’s in Kentucky somewhere.”) and gets slammed down, allowing Benoit to come in and clean house.

The Sharpshooter to Flair is broken up in a few seconds so Shawn jumps Batista. A staredown with Nitro takes us to a break pretty late in the match and we come back with Benoit hitting an enziguri on Flair. Shawn comes in and everything breaks down again, with the legal Batista being knocked to the floor. The Swan Dive sets up Sweet Chin Music on Flair for the pin and the titles. The celebration doesn’t last long though as Nitro says Flair wasn’t legal so the match restarts. Shawn wastes no time in punching Nitro down for the DQ.

Rating: B-. Kind of messy at times but at least they didn’t go with the Tag Team Champions heading into a World Title match in a few weeks. The fans popped hard for the title change as you would have expected them to, though the match was nothing that hasn’t been done better before.

Post match, Nitro gets beaten up before.

Shelton comes in to Bischoff’s office and, thanks to an intervening Steve Austin, gets a match with HHH instead. I didn’t realize this was so soon after the Draft. Unless there’s a small cameo later, that’s Austin’s last appearance until next Wrestlemania.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel with Trish Stratus as the guest. Before she comes out though, Jericho has to promise revenge. See, he can’t do anything or he’ll get fined and suspended, but tonight is all about an explanation. This brings out Trish, doing the Jericho pose first. Trish says that Jericho can’t touch her, even if he wants to. She talks about the knee injury that kept Jericho from saving her, even though “Hello, I’m Trish Stratus.”

Christian was there for her at her hotel room though and he explained everything. Jericho just tried to use her like he used Christian. Trish is a three time Babe of the Year and he’s not even in her league. She and Christian planned all night long, plus did something else all night long. I hope not at the same time. Jericho calls her the s*** of the century and Trish freaks, as she should.

Jericho: “All I did was put my foot in my mouth, and that’s nothing compared to what you put in your mouth.” Kurt Angle isn’t the one who really sucks and Trish may be a three time Babe of the Year, but wasn’t Babe a talking pig? Jericho congratulates the CLB and the FDDBBFTBH (filthy, dirty etc.) and even starts a chant of the second, which is enough to get Trish to leave. Trish’s stuff was fine, even though it didn’t really explain anything new. Jericho’s response though was great as he had some hilarious lines and had Trish looking like she was going to kill him.

Post break Trish freaks out to Christian, who has gotten another match with Jericho at Backlash.

Tajiri vs. Kane

No DQ. Tajiri strikes away to start but the handspring elbow only knocks Kane back a step. The big boot puts Tajiri down but he ducks the top rope clothesline. The Tarantula attempt works as well as you would expect and they head to the floor. A posting has no effect so Tajiri mists him and dives back in for the countout win.

Post match Kane chokeslams Tajiri, taking away whatever limited benefit Tajiri got from the win. Edge runs in to spear Kane.

Benoit tells Benjamin to take HHH down because no one likes him. Hurricane and Mick Foley want him to do the same.

Smackdown Rebound, looking at Kurt Angle being announced as GM and the new talent making their debuts. JBL also gets a focus, because that’s the world we live in.

Flair gives HHH a pep talk.

Shelton Benjamin vs. HHH

Shelton now has his own generic rock music. HHH takes him into the corner to start and offers a polite slap to the face for the break. Shelton easily wrestles him down twice in a row, with a little slap of his own after the second. A shoulder drops Shelton but he pops up before HHH can even try the knee drop. The Pedigree is escaped but HHH says it was that close. A backslide gives Shelton a very close two and he does the “that close” gesture right back to HHH (which was in Shelton’s Titantron video for a long time).

HHH chops away in the corner as the fans remind HHH that he tapped out. The dragon whip gives Benjamin two and it’s off to an armbar. Cue Flair to back HHH up but Benoit follows him out and we take a break. Back with Shelton holding another armbar until HHH sends him in for the jumping knee. Shelton goes shoulder first into the post twice in a row and you can hear the relief in Lawler’s voice.

Right hands and the knee drop give HHH two and it’s time for the sleeper. You can hear Benoit playing cheerleader (there’s an image) until Shelton sends HHH face first into the buckle for the break. A jumping back elbow puts HHH down as he just can’t put Shelton away. Lawler is starting to panic a bit but HHH suplexing his way out of a sleeper calms him down a bit.

HHH dives into some raised boots (still the least believable spot in wrestling) and falls to the floor, allowing Shelton to hit a clothesline from the apron. The top rope clothesline gets two back inside and a powerslam is good for the same. A Pedigree attempt is countered into a jackknife cover for two more but Flair gets in a cheap shot. Benoit goes after Flair to distract HHH and it’s a Stinger Splash into a rollup to give Shelton the big upset.

Rating: B. So he won’t work Tuesdays but he’ll do the job on Mondays. This is the way you make someone look like a star and that’s exactly what they did here. Shelton is a great choice for a major push and it’s not like HHH is going to lose anything by putting him over here. It was even mostly clean with HHH getting distracted on his own and not being able to put Shelton away earlier. They did a good job here at making Shelton look good here though and that’s the right idea.

Overall Rating: C+. There were two good matches on the show and while I’m not wild on the triple threat rematch at Backlash, it’s hardly the worst decision in the world. Some of the weaker stuff here wasn’t great but it was mostly fast enough that it wasn’t that hard to get through. They’ve gotten rid of a lot of the worst stuff and that’s always an improvement.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: August 28, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Things continue to chug along around here as we have the continuing stories of AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe and The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan, plus a title match between new Women’s Champion Charlotte and Carmella. The latter could be the most interesting as it seems WWE has already pulled the plug on Becky Lynch’s heel turn and might be giving the spot to Charlotte instead. Let’s get to it.

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

They are now Lord Xavier the Wise, Sir Kofi the Brave and Big E. Hang on though as Big E. wants a cool name too. Booker says he already has it though. Big E.: “You just went FULL SAXTON ON ME!” Booker: “Tell me you didn’t just say that.” Booker officially welcomes them to the Five Time Champions Club and the celebration is on, including the Spinarooni. Woods and Kofi do one of their own (Woods’ was better) and Big E. does one, albeit with some help from his partners. The Booker cameo was fun and this was all it needed to be without going long.

The Bar vs. The Colons vs. Good Brothers

The winners face the winners of another triple threat for the right to face New Day at the pay per view. New Day has their own commentary table again as Anderson and Sheamus hit the mat to start. Sheamus can’t do much with him so it’s off to Cesaro, who gets taken into the wrong corner for some double teaming. Primo tags himself in so Anderson sunset flips him, only to have Epico come in for the save.

New Day is busy trading pancakes as the regular announcers talk about World Records. Anderson hits a running kick to the head in the corner but Epico shoves him to the floor. Back from a break with Anderson fighting out of an over the shoulder backbreaker and finally bringing Gallows back in. A pumphandle slam and running splash get two on Cesaro. Everything breaks down and it’s a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to drop Cesaro. Epico saves Primo from the Magic Killer and it’s a double Backstabber to Gallows. Cesaro breaks up the cover though and steals the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C-. New Day didn’t add a thing here as their commentary was only played for about ten seconds combined. We’re likely looking at New Day vs. the Bar at the pay per view and while that’s a good match, it’s not something that I need to ever see again. Get some fresh blood in there already.

In the back, Rusev Day comes in to see Paige, who says they’ll be in the other triple threat match along with Sanity and the Usos. Rusev thanks Lana for getting the opportunity but it was actually Aiden English.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte, with Becky’s edited promo which makes her sound like she’s been ripped off instead of snapping.

Here’s Jeff Hardy, with RKO painted on his face, to talk about Randy Orton getting inside his head. Orton has messed with his mind and made him believe that he can fly. We see a clip of last week with Hardy Swanton Bombing Orton through a table. That made Jeff feel rebroken by fate so Orton needs to get out here and finish what he started.

Orton is glad to see Hardy being back to what he truly is but he’s not finished working on Jeff yet. This version is the one that Orton is going to take away. You can call him whatever you want, but all that matters is RK….Jeff: “NO!”. They’re going to be inside the Cell. Egads Jeff is going to die. Orton doesn’t say yes but that seemed official.

Carmella laughs about how she’s beaten Charlotte twice and tonight she completes the trifecta because Charlotte didn’t beat her at Summerslam. She leaves and R-Truth comes in asking which way she went. Tye Dillinger comes in to try and talk him down but Truth thinks that’s good planning. Tye is rather confused and says this is his life.

Naomi vs. Billie Kay

Before the match, Billie says she’s clairvoyant and sees Naomi losing again, just like she lost to Peyton Royce last week. Naomi knocks her down and stands on the hair while dragging Billie around. That seems to annoy Billie more than anything else and she yells a lot, only to get kicked in the head. Naomi bulldogs her into the corner and gets two off a rollup. The kickout sends Naomi’s head through the ropes, where she waits on Peyton to hit her spot and kick her in the head, allowing Billie to get a rollup pin at 1:53.

Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella look at Brie punching the Miz last week and seem rather proud.

Here are Bryan and Brie for a chat. Bryan is tired of Miz acting like he’s not a coward and bragging about his punching. That’s why it was so nice to see Brie come in last week and punch him in the face. Brie talks about how great it was and Bryan says it was also really hot. He can’t wait to see her in the mixed tag but here are Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega to interrupt.

Vega brags about Almas and thinks that since Miz has already outsmarted Bryan, it’s time for Almas to outwrestle him. Almas says he’s the only star in this ring so let’s do this right now. Bryan can’t do that, but does ask for someone to come make it for them. Paige eventually does come out and, after catching her breath, makes the match.

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Daniel Bryan

Feeling out process to start with Bryan sending him into the ropes, allowing Almas to hit the tranquilo pose. With Miz and Maryse, in matching AWESOME jerseys, watching in the back, Almas grabs an inverted Gory Stretch before hitting one of the loudest chops I can remember in a long time. Bryan avoids the running knee in the corner though and Almas falls to the floor. The running knee from the apron doesn’t miss and Miz and Maryse walk away from the monitor as we take a break.

Back with Almas holding Bryan in a triangle choke over the ropes because Smackdown knows how to do something other than a chinlock. Bryan catches him on top but here’s Miz (no Maryse) for a distraction. A suicide dive takes him out but the distraction lets Almas hit a springboard corkscrew dive. Almas hits an inverted tornado DDT for a close two but the moonsault hits raised boots. The YES Lock has Almas in trouble but Brie has to deal with Vega. Maryse runs in and posts Brie so the hold is broken, allowing Miz to run in for the DQ at 9:25.

Rating: C+. We’ll call the ending a pleasant surprise as I was fully expecting Almas to tap there. Almas doesn’t need to be losing big matches like that over and over again so protecting him is a good sign. Now just give him a win or two and maybe we’ll see someone get elevated towards the top of the card.

Post match Almas hits the Hammerlock DDT and Miz Crossfaces Bryan. With Bryan helpless, Brie takes the running knees from Vega and a DDT from Maryse. The Skull Crushing Finale plants Bryan and Miz kisses Maryse.

Charlotte is sick of being blamed for Becky not being able to win the big one. She’s worked hard to get here and Becky can have the spotlight, after Charlotte takes care of Carmella.

Here’s AJ Styles to discuss Samoa Joe attacking him again last week. The rematch is official for Hell in a Cell (not announced as being inside the Cell) and AJ admits that Joe is great with the mind games. Why can’t Joe just come face him like a man though? It’s because Joe isn’t a man and the mind games are going to end right here, right now. AJ doesn’t have to wait for their match so Joe can get out here right now.

Joe pops up on the screen and is standing in the parking lot. He calls AJ’s wife and asks how “our” little Annie (AJ’s daughter) is. He knows why Wendy is angry and says he’ll keep the promise that AJ never kept. Make sure to save him a plate at the back to school barbecue next Sunday and maybe he’ll stop by next Tuesday. More good stuff here, as you had to expect.

Hardy vs. Orton is confirmed in the Cell.

AJ is running through the back to find Joe and nearly knocks out a production guy.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Carmella

Charlotte is defending and they have a lot of time. Carmella gets two off a rollup as the fans are already asking for Becky. A headlock keeps Charlotte in trouble so she suplexes Carmella down, which at least quiets the BECKY chants for now. The moonsault takes too long to set up though and Charlotte gets shoved into the barricade. Carmella hits the suicide dive for two and we take a break.

Back with Carmella hitting a headscissors and shouting a lot, as is her custom. Charlotte gets kicked in the chest but rolls through a high crossbody for one. The champ goes up but gets pulled back down in a pretty good looking super hurricanrana. Carmella slaps her in the back and screams a lot, followed by a pair of not very superkicks for two. Charlotte shrugs it off and hits a spear, followed by Natural Selection. The Figure Eight goes on and Carmella finally taps at 13:02.

Rating: D+. As usual, I have no reason to buy Carmella getting in any kind of offense on Charlotte but that’s what we’re stuck with. Thankfully Carmella lost clean here and we can get away from her for a bit. She’s fine as a short term champion but the four month title reign and seeing her ruin Asuka was WAY too much from here. Now we can move on to the better stuff and I think you know what’s coming.

Post match here’s Becky to jump Charlotte (to some loud cheers) and says she’s getting the title back at Hell in a Cell, “you b****”. Becky leaves and we get a bunch of replays to fill in the show as it feels like they went home way too early. That was more full on heel from Becky (and it went about as well as the other stuff) so I’m not sure what was up with that edited promo last week.

Overall Rating: B. Smackdown is just a fun show and that was the case here. They kept things moving with nothing really dragging and advanced some stories that I want to see. I’m curious about why Joe vs. AJ isn’t worthy of the Cell but Orton vs. Hardy is. They could do a bit better with their pay per view choices but at least the TV is good and they’re setting up stuff that could go in some interesting directions. Nice work this week.

Results

The Bar b. The Colons and Good Brothers – Double Backstabber to Gallows

Billie Kay b. Naomi – Rollup

Daniel Bryan b. Andrade Cien Almas via DQ when Miz interfered

Charlotte b. Carmella – Figure Eight

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 27, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

I’m interested in where the big story goes this week. Last time around Shield came in and cost Braun Strowman the chance to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, which in theory should make them villains. I mean, Strowman told everyone what he was going to do and Reigns knew he was there but Shield came out anywhere. Maybe we’ll get something this week, especially with the Cell coming up. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Roman Reigns to open things up and the fans aren’t exactly thrilled. He does however do the always cool fist bump to a very excited kid. Cole recaps last week’s match with Finn Balor, calling it a “thirty minute barn burner”. Eh, nineteen minutes, thirty minutes. Close enough. Cole also talks about Reigns defending the title over the weekend at live events, which is a nice touch.

Reigns says he told Braun Strowman to meet him out here at 8pm and it’s 8:05. If Strowman isn’t out here, the open challenge is on because he won this title to defending it. Cue Strowman to say he doesn’t think much of Reigns because of how he got out of trouble last week. Reigns says the Shield is a brotherhood of workhorses. All Strowman knows how to do is say GET THESE HANDS, but those hands never raise titles. Reigns has won everything there is to win around here so cash in that briefcase and let’s have this title match.

Strowman isn’t doing that tonight because he knows Rollins and Ambrose will run straight in for the save. Instead, he’ll cash in on September 16 inside the Cell, where no one can help Reigns. That’s cool with Reigns, but here are Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre to interrupt. Ziggler says Summerslam was a crime because the Intercontinental Title was stolen from him. He’ll cash in his rematch clause on his terms, but for now he needs a new challenge.

Drew says Reigns and Strowman are at the top of them mountain and now they have to come tumbling down. That’s a challenge, but Reigns wants to do it right now. Baron Corbin comes out, approves Strowman’s cash-in for the Cell, and makes the tag match that was just announced.

I’m split on the Strowman vs. Reigns announcement. I really, really like the idea of announcing the cash-in in advance to mix things up for a change, but Strowman is done when he loses again (which he will). It’s almost like having Reigns wait an extra four months to get the title was a really bad idea as Reigns is going to keep the belt for a LONG time, meaning Strowman still isn’t going to win and we spent over a year waiting on him to get a grand total of nowhere. But hey, at least Reigns had another crowning moment, because winning the World Title in the main event of Wrestlemania was just a thing.

Corbin comes to the ring and announces himself vs. Finn Balor, right now, meaning he’s ready and Balor isn’t.

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin runs him over and does the slide underneath the ropes clothesline. The chinlock (take a shot) goes on as the fans think Corbin can’t wrestle. Balor fights up and jumps over the ropes, only to get knocked to the floor. Back in and we hit the chinlock again (that has to be a rib of some sort) before Corbin throws him outside again. A Sling Blade on the floor puts Corbin down and we take a break.

We come back with, you guessed it, Corbin holding a chinlock. The second slide underneath the ropes is cut off by a forearm but Deep Six gets two. Corbin gets knocked outside for the big flip dive but he can’t hit the Coup de Grace. Instead Corbin hits him with the chair for the DQ at 11:10. Actually hang on as Corbin says he forgot to mention that this was No DQ. More chair shots set up the End of Days for the pin at 12:38. So Balor goes from squashing Corbin at Summerslam to nearly winning the Universal Title to losing to Corbin in a pretty weak match to continue their already too long feud. Thanks for that WWE.

Rating: C-. This can be added to the list of matches I never need to see again. That being said, I could probably see the match coming up again at the pay per view, possibly even in the Cell. The problem continues to be that WWE seems to have no idea how to end a feud, because there’s no good reason to keep this going after the destruction at Summerslam. Give Balor ANYTHING else to do, like feud with Ziggler or McIntyre for example. Actually we can’t do that either, because their several months long feud with Rollins is still going. See how this is a problem?

Clip of HHH’s big speech against Undertaker last week.

Various legends (Jeff Jarrett, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Christian and Mick Foley) have weighed in on the match. It’s not that big of a deal.

Dana Brooke and Apollo Crews talk about flips and getting Dana on Evolution. Titus O’Neil comes in and says she has a match tonight. It’s against Sasha Banks. Dana is nervous and leaves as Apollo thinks Titus is nuts. Titus believes in her though and Apollo goes along with it.

Sasha Banks vs. Dana Brooke

Dana rolls her up for one to start and seems to let Banks up before the kickout. The threat of a Bank Statement sends Dana bailing to the floor but it’s time to pose back inside. A step up enziguri gives Dana two and she hammers away with some right hands. The top rope Meteora drops Dana and the Bank Statement is good for the tap at 2:31. Dana got in some offense here and it was nice to have Banks and Bayley get away from the Riott Squad for a bit.

Jinder Mahal comes up to Dean Ambrose and talks about all the anger inside him. Meditation is offered and Dean sees himself breaking a lot of Mahal’s bones. That’s enough for Mahal.

Here’s a well received Seth Rollins for a chat. He looks at the Shield shirt and says it’s time for the family business. They’re proud of being workhorses (second member of the team to say that) so let’s have an Open Challenge. Cue Kevin Owens to a MONSTER pop to say that his return to Raw has been a nightmare. If he had his best friend at Summerslam, he would be Universal Champion right now. The terrible summer ends tonight because he isn’t leaving here without a title, even though he’d rather be in Montreal. Owens speaks some French

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Rollins is defending and Owens is still rather popular here. Feeling out process to start with Rollins hitting a clothesline to put Owens on the floor. Back in and Rollins hits a slingshot Fameasser onto the middle rope. A clothesline off the steps puts Owens down and we take a break.

We come back with Owens holding a chinlock and getting two off a backsplash to the arm. The armbar goes on and Rollins starts to scream. They head outside with Owens missing the Cannonball into the barricade, allowing Rollins to chop away. Back to back suicide dives have Owens in trouble but he blasts the third attempt with a right hand. Rollins hits the other dive anyway and we take a second break.

We come back with Rollins hitting the frog splash, stopping to shake his bad arm, and then getting two. Owens sends the bad arm into the post and puts on a Crossface. As Rollins crawls to the ropes, Owens turns it into something like a camel clutch to keep Rollins in trouble. A foot on the ropes gets Rollins out of trouble and frustration is setting in. Some right hands to the face just annoy Rollins and he jumps over the Pop Up Powerbomb. A low superkick rocks Owens but he counters the Stomp into a Stunner of all things for two.

The fans are WAY into this and Owens takes him up top, only to get reversed into a running buckle bomb. Owens no sells it and superkicks Rollins for a hot near fall and they’re both down. It’s Owens up first but Rollins catches him on top and they slug it out. Rollins gets shoved down and lands on the arm but is still able to avoid a moonsault. The Stomp retains the title at 22:11.

Rating: B+. Heck of a fight here and I was actually buying the chance that the title was going to change. Owens is someone who can bring the great stuff when he’s given the chance and that’s what happened here. It’s amazing how much better Rollins is when he doesn’t have Ziggler doing the same stuff every week as this was a nice change of pace.

Post match, Rollins nods at him in respect.

Kurt Angle isn’t sure if his vacation is permanent or not.

We recap the opening segment.

Strowman officially gives Corbin the briefcase to confirm the cash-in.

Back from a break with Owens sitting in the ring in a chair. He says he quits and leaves, taking the tape off his hands as he goes.

Ziggler and McIntyre are ready to face Strowman and Reigns because there is no way they’re healthy either physically or mentally after last week. It’s time to change things around here.

B Team vs. Revival

Non-title and JoJo seems to laugh during the B Team’s entrance. Scott Dawson really isn’t happy with B Team holding the titles and sent out a tweet apologizing to the Midnight Express for allowing it. Axel gets sent into the corner to start but comes back with a running dropkick. The announcers talk about Owens, which does mean more at the moment. Revival is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Dallas trying to fight out of a chinlock but getting taken down with a drop toehold.

A tornado DDT doesn’t work though and Dallas hits his hanging swinging neckbreaker. Wilder seems to be holding his neck and brings Dawson in while laying on the apron. The hot tag brings in Axel to clean house but Wilder breaks up the PerfectPlex. A small package has Axel covered but Dallas turns it over again, just like at Summerslam. Unlike at Summerslam, this one is only good for two and the Shatter Machine finishes Axel at 8:50. That’s the B Team’s first loss and thankfully Wilder seems fine.

Rating: D. Another match that just came and went as WWE gets to show off its creative muscles by using option B to set up a title match. The whole point of the B Team is they use dumb luck to win matches and now they’re just losing clean in a short match on Raw. That’s the result of their face turn though, because WWE doesn’t know many ways to book a face act.

Post match the Revival holds up the titles and says we went from the Road Warriors to the Andersons to this. They can take the titles whenever they want them so keep the them warm. Top guys out.

Here’s Elias for some guitar. He talks about how things will get tough but never stray from the truth: WWE stands for Walk With Elias. The fans seem to agree but it’s time for Elias to sing. Actually hang on as Elias just had a moment of clarity. When Drake said he started from the bottom, he meant Toronto. Cue Trish Stratus of all people to interrupt and of course that gets a reaction. Elias makes this seem like a big deal for her and Trish says she’s a fan.

Trish tells him to hold his applause and shut his mouth but Elias says another performance in Toronto is like the Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup: it’s never happening in their lifetimes. Trish: “Kind of like you winning a WWE Championship.” She talks about ending her career here in Toronto but she’s coming back to face Alexa Bliss at Evolution. Elias says he’s looking forward to the swimsuit pillow fight so Trish tells him to get out. She clearly just wants to walk with Elias but he doesn’t date women in their 60s. That’s good for a slap and here are Ronda Rousey and Natalya as Elias bails.

Natalya vs. Alicia Fox

Before the match, Alexa Bliss says Trish is looking great but all that Stratusphere Yoga isn’t going to get her ready for the beating at Evolution. For tonight though, Bliss says she’s invoking her rematch clause against Rousey at Hell in a Cell. Of course it’s not here because she doesn’t like Canada and those accents freak her out. Mickie James comes out to keep an eye on Trish and we’re ready to go.

The threat of an early Sharpshooter freaks Fox out so Natalya dropkicks her in the ear instead. Back in and Fox knocks her down for two and asks WHAT IS GOING ON. The chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s the Sharpshooter to make Fox tap at 2:15. Like the Canadians were losing here.

Post break Trish, Ronda and Natalya run into the Bellas and take a picture.

More legends speak on HHH vs. Undertaker.

Corbin is calling for a masseuse when Bobby Lashley comes in to laugh at him. Therefore, Lashley can face someone next.

Bobby Lashley vs. Ascension

Lashley runs Viktor over with a shoulder to start but Konnor gets in a shot from behind to take over. Viktor’s front facelock has almost no effect and gets thrown away. The spinebuster gives Lashley the pin at 2:26.

Dean Ambrose vs. Jinder Mahal

Dang he looks a lot like HHH. Ambrose clotheslines him outside in a hurry and chops Mahal up against the barricade. Back in and Mahal knees him in the face, followed by a knee drop for two (I guess they’re both like HHH). Ambrose drops him ribs first on the top rope, shrugs off the Khallas, and finishes with the Dirty Deeds at 3:48.

Rating: D. The match was nothing but happy days are here again with Jinder being treated like the jobber that he always should have been. A win over him doesn’t mean anything but Dean gets to look dominant after a competitive match last week. Thankfully they didn’t try to make this competitive because Mahal is right back where he was two years ago, but with a big line on his resume.

Strowman and Reigns don’t like each other but they’ll work together tonight. In 20 days, Strowman destroys him. Reigns says in 21 days, Strowman is waking up.

Next week: Bellas vs. Riott Squad, B Team vs. Revival for the titles and Shawn Michaels talking about HHH vs. Undertaker.

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman

Roman and Ziggler start as it’s already after 11pm. A clothesline puts Ziggler on the floor and Strowman approves. The apron dropkick rocks Ziggler but McIntyre kicks Roman in the face to take over. Back in and Ziggler gets two off the running DDT, followed by the sleeper. The big jumping elbow gets two and it’s right back to the sleeper.

Reigns finally shoves him away and the big boot drops Ziggler. The hot tag attempt is broken up by McIntyre, who throws Reigns with an overhead belly to belly. Reigns Superman Punches Ziggler out of the air and Strowman gets the hot tag….but doesn’t get in. Reigns gets stomped down as Strowman watches from the apron. The referee disqualifies…..I’m not sure actually but the match ends at 8:50.

Rating: D+. Just an angle and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s something wrong with wasting the last year plus on Strowman for the sake of having him be Reigns’ first victim, but that’s another rant for another time. As usual McIntyre looks better in ten second than Ziggler looked working most of the match, but that goes without saying.

Post match Strowman says he’s not finished with Reigns and beats him down. Ziggler and McIntyre join in until Ambrose comes in for the failed save. Rollins runs down and gets beaten up as well. A bunch of powerslams leave the Shield laying and Strowman poses with his new friends to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m not sure what to think of this show. I wasn’t bored and they kept things moving, but there were so many issues in it that the good took some hits. First of all there’s the big angle, which makes me shake my head at how long we waited on Reigns to win the title, all while Strowman was the most popular guy in the company. I’m so glad that we spent all that time, just so Reigns can have a big name victim. It’s nice that they have something in mind, but this company really doesn’t buy into the concept of striking while the person is hot.

Then there’s the women’s stuff, which was more of the “oh we’re all sisters and love each other” between the Bellas and Rousey and Natalya, which is really just rather annoying. Then again that may be the Bellas in general (I guess wine and lingerie weren’t paying the bills now that Cena is gone).

Evolution is turning into one of the weirder builds they’ve done in a long time, especially since it’s over two months away and there are two other big shows in the middle. I’m curious about where Lashley and Owens’ stories are going, though at the same time you have Balor vs. Corbin killing interest every time the non-Demon version of Balor is out there.

It’s like they’re trying to focus on everything at once and that doesn’t really work when the stories aren’t the greatest in the first place. The show wasn’t bad, but I could go for them cooling it with Super Show-Down and Evolution for a week or two. At least until after the Cell, which should be a bigger deal than it’s being made out to be with two and a half weeks of shows left.

Results

Baron Corbin b. Finn Balor – End of Days

Sasha Banks b. Dana Brooke – Bank Statement

Seth Rollins b. Kevin Owens – The Stomp

Revival b. B Team – Shatter Machine to Axel

Natalya b. Alicia Fox – Sharpshooter

Bobby Lashley b. Ascension – Spinebuster to Viktor

Dean Ambrose b. Jinder Mahal – Dirty Deeds

Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman b. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre via DQ when Ziggler and McIntyre double teamed Reigns

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: March 25, 2004
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Attendance: 4,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re past the Draft Lottery and the big move saw HHH come over to the blue brand. That opens up several doors and after the end of Raw, there’s a good chance that we’ll be seeing him challenge Eddie Guerrero for the SmackDown World Title again soon. Other than that, the big name would be Rob Van Dam, who could help move some people forward. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a long recap of the Draft picks, with a long look at HHH and Paul Heyman. With Heyman quitting, there is no Smackdown General Manager. I think we have a plot point.

Opening sequence, featuring a lot of Eddie Guerrero.

Here’s HHH….’s music but instead we get Kurt Angle in a suit. He gets straight to the point: Heyman ha quit so we need a new General Manager. Tazz: “It’s gotta be Stephanie McMahon. It’s gotta be.” And it’s Angle, because Tazz isn’t that bright. Angle is putting his wrestling career on hold so he can be in charge. He won’t back down from anyone, including HHH.

Earlier today, HHH demanded a rematch with Eddie Guerrero but got turned down, partially because he’s been traded back to Raw for the Dudley Boyz and Booker T. (along with Miss Jackie and Rico, with A-Train and Chuck Palumbo also going to Raw, though none of those are announced here). Booker comes out to say he’s not happy to be here. He liked wrestling on Raw because the fans over there appreciated him.

Video on the European tour, including John Cena in a kilt.

Rob Van Dam vs. Charlie Haas

After we hit the pose, Van Dam sends him into the ropes but gets carried like a fireman. Some spinning kicks have Haas in trouble and some armdrags set up an armbar. Van Dam tries to go up top but gets shoves off and into the barricade, which tends to happen to him quite often. Back in and Charlie ties the leg up in the rope for some stomping and it’s off to a half crab.

Since Rob is Rob, he uses the free leg to kick his way out of trouble. Another kick to the face has Charlie in trouble and Rolling Thunder gets two. Haas’ rollup in the corner gets the same, though the feet on the ropes help a bit. Charlie unhooks the turnbuckle pad but gets small packaged for the fast pin.

Rating: D. That was certainly a match. Van Dam isn’t exactly the best in the world in this situation and even someone talented like Haas can’t get much out of him. Van Dam needs to either be a big underdog or on a team as he’s not exactly going to get much otherwise. Pretty bad match here but Van Dam is going to be a big star no matter what.

Clip of Rene Dupree being drafted to Smackdown.

Clip of the big brawl that ended this week’s Raw with Steve Austin getting involved.

Billy Kidman vs. Rene Dupree

Rene has Fifi the poodle with him. Kidman can’t get a hiptoss to start but he can get a hurricanrana to bring on the early frustration. Back in and one heck of a whip into the corner allows Dupree to pose and the French Tickler elbow gets two. We hit the bearhug, which isn’t something you would expect from Dupree.

That’s broken up in a hurry and Kidman makes the comeback, including a middle rope elbow. Kidman does his own French Tickler and hits a dropkick but gets crotched while going for the shooting star. An over the shoulder sitout powerslam (which had no snap or force to it and Cole called it a powerbomb) gives Dupree the pin.

Rating: D+. Dupree has charisma and works better as a singles guy than in La Resistance but there’s only so much you’re going to get out of a three and a half minute match with a pretty weak looking finisher. Kidman is very good for a role like this though and is a big reason why he stayed around so long.

Post match here’s John Cena to say Tazz is a thug and Cole is gay. He wants to make sure that Dupree is prepared bro: don’t leave your wallet anywhere near Guerrero. More gay jokes aren’t funny and that’s that. Cena has found his swagger since winning the title and it’s sending him through the roof.

Video on Undertaker beating up Paul Heyman last week.

Teddy Long tries to recruit Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi and gives them a card. Josh Matthews looks interested but they’re “playas only cracka”.

Eddie comes in to welcome Rob Van Dam and Spike Dudley to the show but Booker doesn’t have time for this nonsense. He talks down about Smackdown and that’s not cool with Eddie, who won’t stand for someone disrespecting the show. Booker: “Consider yourself insulted.” The fight is quickly broken up and I think we have a main event.

Dudley Boyz vs. Basham Brothers

It’s a fight to start until we settle down to Bubba chopping Danny into the corner. D-Von comes in for some right hands but it’s off to Doug as the punching match continues. A neckbreaker from Bubba mixes things up a bit but it’s right back to the crossface shots. The double flapjack gets no cover and it’s time for some Twin Magic so Danny can come back in and take over. The abdominal stretch goes on for a little while but D-Von powers out and brings Bubba back in. That means more hard shots to the face and a sidewalk slam gets two on Doug. The Flip Flop and Fly into What’s Up sets up the 3D for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was every Dudley Boyz match I’ve seen in years and your mileage may vary on that. There’s no way around the fact that they haven’t changed things up in a long time and that was the case here all over again. They can be a nice addition to the division but they’re not going to be anything special.

Booker comes in to ask what Angle is going to do about Eddie so Angle goes into an explanation of how worn out Eddie is. Therefore, Booker gets a title shot tonight. Why is that not at the next pay per view?

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Spike Dudley

Chavo is defending and the Dudleys are still at ringside. They trade hammerlocks to start and a frustrated Chavo hides in the ropes. The Dudley Dog is broken up with a nasty bump out to the floor but Bubba and D-Von scare Chavo Sr. away. Back in and Chavo puts on a seated abdominal stretch for all of a few seconds. Spike gets free and small packages him for two, followed by the top rope double stomp for the same. The Gory Bomb is reversed into a sunset flip for two more but Spike misses a missile dropkick. Now the Gory Bomb can retain the title.

Rating: C-. Spike was trying here and this was a much better fit for him. You can only have him do the ultra underdog role for so long and putting him against someone like Chavo, who isn’t that much bigger than Spike, worked well. Not much time to do anything, but Chavo needs some fresh challengers.

We look back at the APA splitting last week and Bradshaw talking about being a big time financial analyst.

Here’s Bradshaw in a suit with the white cowboy hat, now under the name John Bradshaw Layfield. Bradshaw says he was horribly misunderstood last week because he and Faarooq have been up and down more roads than almost anyone. He can’t be held responsible for what Ron Simmons did for him though, because Bradshaw has all kinds of things going on. We hear about his portfolio, his book, his upcoming radio show and appearances on FOX News. He can’t give all that up and no one would give up all he has.

There is no right or wrong in society but rather everyone is out to get something for themselves. People like him run industries and governments and he’s never sold anything but stock. He’s succeeded in everything but wrestling, because he thought a friendship was better than success. The impact is coming and business is about to pick up.

And so it begins. This seems like the kind of gimmick that would be a lame midcarder but since WWE has a tendency to go insane with some of its pushes, we could be in for a very long and rough road from here. At the end of the day, Bradshaw hasn’t been more than a Stan Hansen ripoff and now he’s some mixture of Money Inc. That doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence.

Bob Holly speaks for some of the locker room, telling Booker that no one wants him here. After Eddie gets done with him, the Smackdown locker room is waiting for him. Given that names such as Holly, Billy Gunn and Funaki are here, I get why Booker isn’t feeling threatened.

Smackdown World Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T.

Eddie is defending. Feeling out process to start with Eddie taking him down but getting punched in the corner. A snapmare sets up a very early chinlock on Booker until he jawbreaks his way to freedom. Booker gets his own chinlock and has it broken up just as fast. The slingshot hilo gives Eddie two and it’s off to the third chinlock in….well way too little time to have three chinlocks.

Back up and Eddie gets in a very snappy dropkick but walks into a hot shot. We come back from a break with Eddie in another chinlock (two apiece now) before Booker gets creative with a sleeper. A cover gets two and we hit the sleeper again. This time Eddie gets out a little faster and hits a flapjack for a breather. It’s way too early for the frog splash though and Booker hits a superplex for a delayed two.

A side slam stays on Eddie’s back and IT’S ANOTHER CHINLOCK. He’s been working on the back and he can’t do a half crab? Booker chokes on the rope but only manages to fire Eddie up for some right hands. Another backbreaker is countered into a headscissors but the Book End gives Booker two. The side kick gets the same and Booker can’t believe these kickouts. Eddie ducks the ax kick though and the Three Amigos connect. The frog splash looks to finish but we’re edited to Bradshaw coming in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. Once they got past the crazy amount of chinlocks, they settled down and had a pretty good match. The ending isn’t exactly a brilliant idea though as Booker would have been perfectly fine as a one or two off pay per view challenger for the title while Bradshaw established himself a bit more. Instead though, we seem to be sailing straight into the new character getting a mega push right off the bat. We’re so lucky.

Bradshaw Clotheslines Eddie down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Not great wrestling and a pretty horrible new villain to wrap up the show doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence. This was all about a big welcome to all of the new stars and….yeah they’re people who have been around for a long time now and are now just on a blue show instead of the red one. It’s not their worst effort, but it’s another restart without much fire behind the new cast.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: August 23, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

Here are Summerslam results if you need a recap.

No Way Jose vs. Mike Kanellis

Mike headlocks him to start as we hear about Maria Kanellis injuring her wrist but trying to get back by Evolution. That’s one of the first times we’ve heard any specifics about her status. Jose pops up without much effort and grabs a hiptoss, only to miss a charge into the corner. Showing some intelligence, Mike stomps away on the arm but spends too much time blowing a kiss, allowing Jose to avoid a charge of his own. A fireman’s carry flapjack gets two but Mike snaps the arm across the top rope. Kanellis’ superkick gets two but he’s slow going up, allowing Jose to punch him out of the air for the pin at 5:16.

Rating: C-. Better than most Main Event matches and that’s always nice to see. They were trying something with the arm and Kanellis was a little better than usual here. I get why Jose stays on Main Event so often as his energy is going to be more than enough to get the crowd going at the start of the night. Mike though….just hope Maria gets back soon.

From Raw.

The women’s division is around the ring (including the Bellas) for the presentation to Ronda Rousey and here’s Stephanie strutting to the ring to soak in their applause. After putting over Evolution, we see a package on Rousey destroying Alexa Bliss last night to win the title. Stephanie is proud of Rousey because this never would have happened without Stephanie’s business prowess. She shined Rousey up like a diamond and now everyone around the ring wants to be like Stephanie and Ronda.

Here’s Rousey but Stephanie wants to know why the fans aren’t chanting for her. Rousey says this isn’t about Stephanie for once and wants to know why the women aren’t all in the ring. They get on the apron and Rousey cuts Stephanie off again, saying that this is about everyone instead of just one person. Rousey puts over Natalya as the cornerstone of the division and the Banks vs. Bayley match from Takeover a few years back. She’s not Brock Lesnar because she’s going to be a fighting champion.

Stephanie says it’s true that Rousey isn’t Lesnar because this isn’t the Rousey who wanted to break people’s arms. Just look at poor Alexa Bliss, like in this clip where Rousey dislocated her elbow. Rousey wants to break everyone’s arm and take all of the spotlight. Actually that’s not true as Rousey is only going to break the arms of those who deserve it.

Stephanie gets her arm barred again (with the elbow being regularly bent, meaning it shouldn’t hurt that much) and since it’s not Wrestlemania, it works just fine. The face women, including the Bellas, pose with Rousey and it’s a big group hug because they’re all sisters or something. I’m not sure why this was necessary but at least it ended well.

From later in the night.

Stephanie is getting her arm looked at with Corbin and Bliss in the trainer’s room with her. Angle comes in and Stephanie yells at him, saying he needs a vacation. Stephanie makes Corbin the new acting General Manager. If that means one less boss, fine. I’m so sick of this story anyway that I’ll take any change at this point.

We get a clip of the Becky Lynch promo and subsequent brawl with Charlotte from Smackdown, but I’m not going to copy it from the old review as usual because it’s rather different. The version aired here doesn’t include Lynch ranting against the fans or really anything to suggest that she’s a heel. In other words, it’s made to look like she’s a fired up woman who got ripped off, suggesting that they’re changing the entire story. That might not be the worst idea, though it’s a pretty hard about face.

From Smackdown, unedited this time.

Miz and Maryse open things up with Miz looking rather serious until the Daniel Bryan chants start up. Miz says he was able to close his eyes and feel that in a way he never could before. Two nights ago, something happened at Summerslam and now he has a family to think about. Maryse is hugging Miz as he looks near tears and says that with a heavy heart….hang on as he needs to cry some more. He announces his retirement and there’s a YES chant.

Actually it’s his retirement of ever facing Daniel Bryan again because Sunday was a satisfying conclusion. Miz did exactly what he promised to do when he beat Bryan in front of a sold out Barclays Center. The 100 punches from Bryan didn’t equal one Miz punch because he has the hardest punch in this entire arena. Bryan promised to punch him but when Miz did it, he got the pin. Miz praises Maryse and plugs Miz and Mrs. but here’s Bryan to interrupt.

Bryan calls Miz a coward over and over again as Miz hides behind Maryse. It doesn’t matter what Bryan calls him because the record books will always say that Miz got the win at Summerslam. Bryan asks him to shut up for once because Miz is just hiding behind things, like the makeup he’s wearing right now. On Sunday, Bryan got to do what he wanted: expose Miz as a wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a wrestler.

Maryse tells Bryan to change his name to Daniel Bella but here’s Brie to punch Miz in the face. Miz and Maryse bail and Bryan announces a mixed tag for Hell in a Cell. Good thing Maryse chose now to bring Brie into it. I can go with this as A, Brie was always less annoying than Nikki and B, this isn’t the kind of match that should be in the Cell so having it move forward in another way is the right idea.

From Smackdown again.

Renee Young brings out AJ for an interview on the platform. AJ isn’t happy with what happened at Summerslam but he wouldn’t change a thing. He has a promise for Joe: the next time Joe mentions his family’s name, he’ll rip Joe’s heart out. Joe trips AJ from behind and pulls him down off the platform for the Koquina Clutch knockout. Joe: “OH WENDY!” AJ can’t come home and tuck in the kids because he’s already gone to sleep.

Stills of New Day winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

Rhyno vs. Mojo Rawley

Mojo grabs the rope to get out of an early armbar attempt and we take a very abrupt break. Back with Rhyno fighting out of a chinlock and a collision staggering Mojo. The running shoulder in the corner sets up a belly to belly for two but Mojo chop blocks the knee. A running right hand in the corner sets up the sitout Alabama Slam to finish Rhyno at 6:52 in a match that had a lot clipped out in the middle.

Rating: D+. That clip in the middle didn’t do them any favors and I’m curious about what they did in the middle. Rawley has completely stopped meaning anything on Raw after his short push came to an abrupt ending, which is kind of a shame as he’s not a bad heel. Rhyno is the same guy he’s been for the last ten years and that’s why he’s still got a job to this day.

From Raw to wrap things up.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor

Reigns is defending and runs Balor over to start. Balor does his jump over the top to avoid a charge but gets punched in the face to send us to a break. Back with Balor fighting out of a chinlock (good grief come up with something else) and kicking Reigns into the barricade. The running apron kick is broken up and Reigns drops him onto the apron. A hard whip sends Balor into the corner and Reigns yells at him a bit.

Balor takes him down though and scores with the double stomp to the chest. That’s all for the comeback as Reigns takes him into the corner for the clotheslines but Balor knocks him to the floor again. A good looking running flip dive has Reigns in trouble and we take a break. Back with Reigns hitting an uppercut but getting caught by a Pele. Balor gets all fired up and stomps away with an aggression you don’t often see from him. Reigns is right back with a sitout powerbomb for two but the Superman Punch is countered into an Eye of the Hurricane for a very hot two as the fans are completely into this one.

Rating: B+. The fans helped carry this one and they had me believing that a title change might happen. I mean, that went away as soon as Cole kept saying “HE’S GONNA DO IT!” but they had me for a few seconds. Reigns needs a win like this and as usual, when he’s putting in the effort, the match was very good. Really strong main event and the post match stuff is going to be a big deal.

Post match Strowman is in the ring and kicks Reigns down as the cash-in is…..hang on a second as we’ve got Shield music (and no bell, meaning the cash-in didn’t take place). Cue Rollins and Ambrose in the Shield gear as the fans are VERY pleased. Strowman goes after Reigns but the triple beatdown is on. The trio knocks Strowman outside but he fights off the TripleBomb, only to get speared down. Now the TripleBomb connects to end the show.

I’m not sure what the thinking here is, but Strowman looked like a face with the cash-in and Shield looks like heels by thwarting the cash-in, but since Shield won’t be booed, they’re going to wind up being the faces no matter what. It should be fun seeing WWE try to twist Strowman into a heel, especially when he was willing to fight Shield on his own and Reigns welcomed the challenge of a cash-in.

Overall Rating: C+. The talking carried this show (again) as the promos have been on fire as of late. This was an interesting week for WWE as it felt like they were more worried about keeping the Brooklyn crowd from taking the shows over, but that made for some very good television. I know it gets boring at times and I’m right there with those making the same complaints, but when WWE turns it on, they can still do some great stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: August 21, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

I’m not sure what to expect from this show. Sure there was a big time Cruiserweight Title match on Sunday, but it’s not like that meant much for the post-Wrestlemania show. Cedric Alexander is still Cruiserweight Champion and now he needs a new challenger. That might not be established tonight, but we will have a tornado tag team match between Lucha House Party and Buddy Murphy/Tony Nese. Let’s get to it.

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

Drake Maverick recaps the title match and hypes up tonight’s matches. That’s a rather nice way to open the show, even if it’s just a way to kill time while the shows change over.

Opening sequence.

TJP vs. Noam Dar

Rapper Wale is on commentary for celebrity reasons. TJP has a slightly different version of his theme. Before the match, TJP says he can’t wait to get back to Los Angeles. He brings up Dar’s knee issues and his kneebar finisher so tonight is close your eyes time. Or you could just leave, as one more empty seat in a sea of them won’t matter that much. Wale brings up Dar’s relationship with Alicia Fox, which ended last April. This guy is going to be on commentary all night isn’t he?

Dar drives TJP into the corner as Wale can’t get the initials in the right order. Hang on a second though as TJP bails to the floor and grabs a mic so he can introduce Wale. TJP dabs at him (Wale: “Nobody dabs anymore!”) and gets dropkicked by Dar, leaving Wale to call him PJ. Dude, it’s THREE LETTERS. TJP gets sent into a variety of things and a snapmare sends him into the ropes. Dar slugs away as Wale talks about hosting the New Day vs. Usos rap battle from last July. A running dropkick sends TJP outside as Nigel can’t pronounce Wale’s name (it’s Wah-Lay).

Back in and a quick DDT gives TJP two as Wale talks to his rap friends. We hit a Tequila Sunrise on Dar to work on the knee for all of two seconds. Another leglock allows TJP to point at Wale and then a curb stomp keeps Dar down. Dar stops a slingshot hilo with a raised knee, which is a bad idea when your knee has been worked over for a few minutes. Wale has moved to intentionally misspelling TJP’s name. It doesn’t make it any funnier, but at least it’s a change of pace.

A right hand to the face gets Dar out of trouble and a release northern lights suplex gets two. TJP pulls him down into the kneebar though but Dar is too close to the ropes, as is almost always the case with the first kneebar attempt. Back up and Dar kicks him in the leg, followed by the Nova Roller for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C+. I like TJP far more than Dar but it seems that WWE wants to push Dar a bit harder at the moment. The running kick is better than another frog splash or 450 so at least it’s a little change of pace. TJP is still one of the best guys on the roster with the leg stuff, but I get why they would rather have him making people look good instead of pushing him.

That’s it for Wale, thank goodness.

Clip of Sunday’s title match.

Earlier today, Drew Gulak was in the empty arena and said Cedric got lucky on Sunday. If Cedric cares about his legacy, he’ll give Gulak a rematch.

Drake Maverick isn’t so sure because Gulak needs to earn a rematch. Request denied at the moment.

Akira Tozawa vs. Colin Delaney

Or not as Gulak, Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher run in and beat up both guys.

Gulak accuses Cedric of running scared and wants an answer to the challenge right now. Cue Cedric to say that if he’s the scared one, why does Gulak have Thing #1 and Thing #2 out there? Maverick comes out to hold Cedric back as Gulak goes full Green Eggs and Ham. Gulak wants to know what the Age of Alexander is. Whatever it is, is absolutely sucks. The fans want a fight and Cedric finally gets through the referees to chase Gulak off.

Lucha House Party vs. Tony Nese/Buddy Murphy

Tornado rules with Lince Dorado/Gran Metalik for the House Party. Lince starts fast with a high crossbody to take them both down, followed by a launch into a double dropkick. The running flip dives are broken up so the House Party settles for the hard chops on the floor instead. Stereo backdrops over the top set up stereo top rope Asai moonsaults as Dorado and Metalik are moving as one so far. Things settle down with the fights splitting off, including Murphy slamming Dorado’s head into the ramp.

Dorado dropkicks both of them off the apron but the big running flip drive is caught in midair, setting up a powerbomb against the barricade. Back in and Nese starts in on Dorado’s injured thumb but Murphy can’t get the case off. Metalik gets up and walks the rope for a dropkick on Nese, only to have Murphy powerbomb him down. A pumphandle slam/running neckbreaker (more like a running shove to the back of the head) keeps Metalik in trouble and Dorado gets sent into the post.

It’s not much of a posting as he’s back in with a double missile dropkick just a few seconds later as the back and forth continues. Murphy hits Nese by mistake and a hurricanrana gives Dorado two as everyone is down. Dorado tries a double springboard moonsault press but only Nese goes down, which drags Murphy down with him in what might have been a botch. A running tornado DDT has some more luck on Murphy with a near fall but Nese crotches Dorado on the top.

Metalik breaks up the double superplex and actually doesn’t set up a Tower of Doom. I’m as shocked as you are. Nese gets knocked down and the shooting star gets two, leaving everyone down. Murphy and Dorado head up top but Nese is right there with a German superplex, though he ties himself in the Tree of Woe, allowing Metalik to walk the ropes for a dropkick.

Murphy is still up top though and hits a top rope Meteora to put Metalik down, meaning another four way knockdown. The House Party is up first with the superkicks and some alternating moonsaults get two on Nese with Murphy diving in for a save. Even Nigel is impressed by the House Party here so you know this is good. Nese German suplexes Metalik into the corner but the running knee is blocked.

Dorado misses a dive off the apron so Metalik walks the ropes for a hurricanrana to pull Nese off the top and into Murphy for a crazy looking crash, causing Metalik to lose his mask (Kalisto is right there to cover his face like a good buddy). Murphy shoves Kalisto against the announcers’ table so Kalisto trips him down (the first time he’s gotten involved), setting up a Code Red to give Metalik the pin at 17:20.

Rating: A-. I had heard some high praise for this match coming in and they more than lived up to the hype. The House Party has lost a lot over the last few months so giving them a big win is a good idea, while also showing how much better they are as a team. This was a wild and fun brawl and that’s the kind of match that these guys needed. Just a lot of fun with the match getting the time to reach that other level that this show doesn’t reach often enough.

Overall Rating: B+. Sometimes you need to have things just go nuts and put on an entertaining show. The Cruiserweight Title stuff was good too, though I need a little better reason to see a rematch than “I want a rematch and you’re a coward”. Still though, if it means Gulak gets the title one day, everything will be fine. Throw in Wale leaving after about fifteen minutes and the show became a combination of a lot of fun and a relief at the same time. Check out that main event.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: August 16, 2018
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for Summerslam and that means we’re in for a lot of talking, which is usually the best way to go around here. The wrestling was far from strong on Raw and Smackdown so why bother wasting time on them? Then again it’s not like this show’s scheduling makes the most sense in the first place. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Jim Neidhart.

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Curt Hawkins

Percy and Tom dance to Jose’s song and Nigel is having none of it. Apparently Hawkins has found a weakness in Jose and knows he can win this week. An early dropkick has Jose in trouble and he goes into the buckle to make things worse. Jose is right back with some right hands and the conga line is rather pleased.

Hawkins school boys him into the corner though and stomps away, meaning it’s time to pose a bit. The chinlock goes on twice in a row and Hawkins takes forever going up top. He’s fine enough to shove Jose off though and the top rope elbow gets two. Hawkins goes up again and dives into a right hand to give Jose the pin at 4:47.

Rating: D. This was ever Jose vs. Hawkins match, which we’ve seen probably half a dozen times now. We’re now to the point where Hawkins can be in control for a good four and a half minutes and then loses to a single right hand. What more can possibly happen to him? I mean to be fair, Jinder Mahal lost all the time on this show and wound up being WWE Champion.

From Raw.

Here’s Roman Reigns for his last big speech before Sunday. Reigns says every day he tells himself to leave a place better than he found it. He can’t do that with Brock Lesnar still around though and Lesnar needs to go. Reigns is sick of hearing about him and seeing him so it ends at Summerslam. On Sunday, he’s taking back his Universal Title (which he’s never held) and sending Lesnar so far back into the UFC that his head will be stuck inside Dana White.

Cue a perky Paul Heyman to say it’s a new day, yes it is. If he was going to steal a line from someone on Smackdown though, it would be the Usos, who are the future of the tag team division. He doesn’t actually steal an Uso line, but he’s looking at the future of another division in Roman Reigns. Roman: “This is gonna be good y’all.” After being accused of crying on command, Heyman says Reigns can make history right here, right now. He brings up what he was about to mention last week in the interview: he’s willing to tell Reigns each and every single one of Lesnar’s secrets.

Reigns thinks he can beat Lesnar on his own, but with Heyman in his corner, he’s GUARANTEED to win the Universal Title. Heyman extends his hand and that gets a big YES chant. Reigns says he knows all those secrets already because he won in Saudi Arabia and would have done it a lot faster without Heyman. That’s true and Heyman hopes his sins won’t be held against him. Heyman sees himself as the new advocate for Reigns next week and offers his hand again.

Another YES chant gets turned down as Reigns talks about his father teaching him to swim with the sharks. He also knows how to see someone who is drowning, like Heyman. The thing is Heyman isn’t worth saving so the answer is no. Heyman talks about riding with Reigns’ father Sika and speaks some Samoan, which gets Reigns’ attention. Heyman even has an agreement written up, which Reigns can answer on Sunday.

As Reigns looks at it, Heyman pepper sprays him and leaves. Cue Brock Lesnar to beat Reigns up and put him out with a guillotine choke. Lesnar and Heyman walk up the ramp but Lesnar goes back for an F5. So did Heyman and Lesnar make up or was two weeks ago a big ruse? I ask rhetorically because I don’t expect an answer from WWE. Heyman was great here as usual and Reigns sounded good for a change. I still don’t want to see the match, but they did a nice job here.

Summerslam rundown.

Quick clip of Dean Ambrose returning.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Ascension

Slater and Viktor get things going with a running forearm rocking Viktor. It’s already off to Rhyno so Viktor rolls over to give us the power vs. power match. This goes a bit better for Konnor as the chopping begins, only to have Rhyno and Slater clean house as we take a break. Back with Slater working on Konnor’s arm until Konnor runs him over. Viktor grabs a chinlock until it’s back to Konnor for a legdrop.

The double teaming continues with Konnor hitting Slater in the face as this is getting more time than I expected. Konnor misses a charge in the corner and eats a neckbreaker, allowing the hot tag off to Rhyno. Everything breaks down and Rhyno gets two off a belly to belly suplex. Konnor and Slater are sent outside, leaving Viktor to take the spinebuster for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C-. Slater and Rhyno continue to be a completely entertaining team and that’s all they’re supposed to be. There’s something fun about a power/speed team and Slater/Rhyno are perfectly competent in their role. Ascension has been sad for years and there’s no changing that no matter what happens.

Long and great video on Miz vs. Bryan.

From Smackdown.

Here’s AJ Styles for the big closing segment. He talks about his time in this business, which has allowed him to travel the world and face the best in the world. Sure there’s pressure to being WWE Champion, but Samoa Joe hit his pressure points. We see a clip of Joe attacking AJ and signing the contract, followed by Joe talking about AJ’s family cheering for Joe at Summerslam. That was too far for AJ, who was ready to take Joe out until he saw his family. AJ’s wife told him to not lose his cool and AJ is ready….to be cut off by Joe.

With a piece of paper in his hand, Joe says AJ knows that’s not true. The paper is a letter from a fan which AJ needs to hear. The letter says that Joe’s comments a few weeks ago made the person physically ill. Not because he was wrong, but because what Joe said was true. Now it’s clear that AJ never wanted kids or a wife, which is why AJ is such a great champion: he’ll do anything to stay away from his family. The fan hopes Joe wins because he lost AJ a long time ago. Signed Wendy Styles (AJ’s wife). Well that worked. Very well actually.

Overall Rating: C. As I thought (it’s not like it was that hard), the recaps were much better than the wrestling but when you have the same matches over and over again, that’s just the way things are going to go. This wasn’t much of a show, but the Bryan vs. Miz video stuff is always worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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