IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 18, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves

We’ve got four shows left between now and Wrestlemania and that means it’s time to really crank things up. This time around it means that Brock Lesnar is actually here for a change and is likely going to get in Seth Rollins’ face. We also get to find out who will face Kurt Angle in his retirement match. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar to open things up. The fans boo a lot so Lesnar holds up the title, drawing a BURN IT DOWN chant. Since commentary can’t be quiet, Cole points this out for everyone. Heyman takes a shot at the fans and then moves to Seth Rollins, who necessitated an appearance from Lesnar tonight. Rollins acts like he’s a Suplex City arsonist (good line) who suggests that Lesnar has a problem with the smaller guys. Heyman points out the problem with that theory: Lesnar won all the matches.

Now Rollins is out here talking about Lesnar on the same night he has to fight a career killer like Drew McIntyre. Heyman: “WHAT ARE YOU THINKING SETH ROLLINS???” This brings out McIntyre for the showdown I’ve wanted to see for a long time. Last week he took out Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns and after tonight, Lesnar is going to need a new challenger. Cue Rollins with a chair to knock McIntyre silly before chasing Lesnar out of the ring. It’s nice to have Lesnar around, but I still don’t really want to see Rollins win the title. He’s just kind of there, but at least he’d be around every week.

We look back at Bobby Lashley regaining the Intercontinental Title last week.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat before a tag match. Last week the luck of the Irish wasn’t with him but he’ll get the title back. This brings out Lashley and Rush with Lashley showing off his new favorite pose: holding up the title, because Chicago doesn’t get many championships. Balor says enjoy the pose, because he’s getting the title back soon. He has a partner tonight though.

Bobby Lashley/Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor/Braun Strowman

This would have been better if Cole hadn’t said it was going to be a MONSTROUS tag match before the break. Strowman and Lashley take turns shoving each other around before Lashley bounces off of him to send us to a break. Back with Balor kicking Rush into the corner, allowing Lashley to run in and break up a hot tag attempt. The Downward Spiral gets two and Lashley punches him in the head to stop the tag again.

The missed charge sends Lashley into the corner and Balor dives over for the tag. Rush gets thrown off some hiptosses but Lashley breaks up a powerslam with a spear. A frog splash gives Rush two with the kickout sending Rush into the corner. He heads outside but is suddenly surrounded but Strowman runs Lashley over instead. There’s a chokeslam to Rush as Lashley leaves, followed by the running powerslam for the pin at 7:26.

Rating: D+. I could go for Strowman being added to the Intercontinental Title match, if nothing else for the sake of having something new over just Balor vs. Lashley. The feud isn’t exactly on fire and getting Strowman involved with something like this is certainly better than just being the celebrity guy.

We look back at Ronda Rousey wrecking Dana Brooke last week, including slapping a referee.

Rousey, with husband Travis Browne, arrives and gets yelled at by a referee for being late. The referee now has his own security.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss, with Alexa Bliss throwing it to the announcers for a rundown of the big matches. Bliss talks about how the show deserves a big host, just like her. Now it’s time for her guest, so ladies and gentlemen, Elias. Bliss announces that Elias has an announcement: he’ll be the headlining musical act for Wrestlemania. Last year’s interruption serves as motivation for this year because he hates being embarrassed.

This is going to be better than Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison or Queen at Live Aid. Cue No Way Jose’s conga line (minus Jose), with Heavy Machinery included. Bliss apparently invited them but they’re here way too early. As she yells, one of the people in the line jumps Elias and reveals himself as Jose.

Elias vs. No Way Jose

Jose, with the green braids, runs Elias over to start and armdrags him into an armbar. A running clothesline in the corner sets up a missed high crossbody and Elias unloads in the corner. Elias drops a knee to set up a top rope elbow, followed by Drift Away for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: D. It’s such a relief to have Elias as a heel again, but it feels like he’s right back where he was a year ago. I’m sure someone is going to interrupt him at Wrestlemania to do something and it should be entertaining, but there’s nothing new for him to do other than the same thing again?

Here’s Kurt Angle to announce his opponent for his final match. There are a lot of people he wants to face but only one he wants to beat. That would be Baron Corbin, which the fans don’t seem to like. As for tonight though, Angle gets to have one final match in Chicago.

Kurt Angle vs. Chad Gable

Gable says the pleasure is all his and that this is an honor for him because Angle is a hero to him. A running shoulder takes Angle down to start so he wrestles Gable to the mat. Chad walks into an overhead belly to belly to send him outside for a breather. Back in and they hit the mat with Gable starting in on the arm.

Angle whips him into the corner and grabs a front facelock but Gable kicks him to the floor. Some shots to the knee have Angle in trouble and we take a break. We come back with Gable skinning the cat but walking into some clotheslines. The ankle lock is reversed so Angle grabs a German suplex, which is reversed into an ankle lock from Gable. That’s broken up but Gable misses the moonsault, allowing the ankle lock with the grapevine to make Gable tap at 12:16.

Rating: D. I know I’ve seen Angle looking worse at a steady pace but this was the first time where it was actually hard to watch. He looked like he was laboring to pick Gable up for another German suplex and that’s very tough to take after seeing him in his prime. Even his TNA days were better than this and he only had sparks there. I’m very glad he only has a few matches left because it’s getting worse by the week.

Post match Corbin comes out to say how much he’s looking forward to humiliating Angle.

Post break Corbin talks to the Revival when Apollo Crews comes up. He doesn’t like what Corbin did out there and a match is made for later tonight. Corbin says the Revival likes him. Revival: “H*** no!”

Here’s the Boss N Hug Connection for a chat. Sasha Banks isn’t happy with the IIconics saying they’re ducking them but Bayley says they’ll be on Smackdown tomorrow. This brings out Natalya and Beth Phoenix with Beth talking about wanting to contend for the titles….when she was active. She was happy as a commentator but then she saw Nia Jax and Tamina’s pettiness. They awoke the dragon and now she’s thinking that the one missing thing could become a reality.

Beth is ready to step out of retirement and challenge for the titles along with Natalya. Bayley thinks Beth needs to train a bit more but Natalya points out that Bayley is talking to a Hall of Famer. The fight is on and we have a referee. This was another terrible, terrible example of WWE having no idea how women talk to each other as Bayley felt out of character and there was no real reason for the champs to turn down the challenge.

Natalya vs. Sasha Banks

At least it’s not the non-title match. Natalya slams her down for her running basement dropkick and knocks Sasha outside….and here’s Nia to talk about how Beth is jealous of her. She’s more successful and the prettier version of the Glamazon. Tamina superkicks Beth and Bayley as the bell rings at 2:35. Nia says she’ll see them at Wrestlemania.

Mojo Rawley is looking in the mirror again (after about a two month break) and talks about how much he hates potential. Mojo: “FIGURE IT OUT!”

Ricochet vs. Jinder Mahal

Ricochet starts fast and hits the springboard missile dropkick, followed by the moonsault into the superhero pose. Back in and the Singh Brothers breaks up another springboard, allowing Mahal to get two off a slam. We hit the chinlock with Jinder adding in some shots to the ribs. Ricochet fights up and rolls into a dropkick, followed by a springboard….kind of a crossbody (more like a rib attack) to send Mahal outside. The Space Flying Tiger (as called by Graves) takes out everyone and the 630 finishes Mahal at 6:45.

Rating: C-. There was no reason for Mahal to get in this much offense but it’s nice to see Ricochet getting to showcase what he can do. He’s just fun to watch and it’s more impressive when you consider Ricochet is more average sized than most high fliers. Throw in the cool look in general and it’s really easy to cheer the guy.

Warrior Award announcement for Sue Aichison, who has worked for the company for 33 years.

Seth Rollins is ready to burn Suplex City down.

Dana Brooke says this is the Road to Wrestlemania and she’s ready to shake things up.

Raw Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Dana Brooke

Ronda is defending and if there is any justice in the world, Dana shouldn’t lay a finger on her and then lose in about thirty seconds. Rousey knees her in the face, knees her in the ribs and the armbar finishes Brooke in 19 seconds.

Rousey won’t let go of the arm until some referees come out. Ronda beats them up too and goes over to her husband, who hits a guard for trying to hold her back. Browne pulls Ronda over the barricade.

Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews

Corbin charges at Corbin to start and slides underneath the ropes, where Crews nails a moonsault. Back in and Corbin nails a shot to the face, followed by an elbow into a chinlock. That’s broken up in long order so Corbin grabs Deep Six for two. The fans get on Corbin as Cole and company talk about fans not being happy with Corbin being Angle’s opponent. Crews loads up the End of Days but gets reversed into a small package for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: D. Please let that be a sign that Corbin is being swapped out for anyone else. I can’t believe how pathetic Corbin is every week and it just never stops. Corbin is like a low level infection that you can’t get rid of: he doesn’t harm much, but he just won’t leave no matter what.

We recap last week’s argument between HHH and Batista.

Batista joins us via satellite and says he doesn’t like HHH. He’s wanted one more match with HHH but can’t get his attention. Batista has heard about how he owes his career to HHH but all HHH ever did was groom him to be the muscle. There’s more to him than just being a meathead and it was HHH who caused him to quit nine years ago. There were goals that Batista wanted to accomplish but HHH was cutting him off. Now look at what Batista has accomplished since leaving WWE.

Cole defends HHH but Batista doesn’t buy it. HHH is a cerebral assassin and now he’s gotten in Cole’s head too. The real HHH is a manipulative control freak so hopefully Vince McMahon fires him one day and ends his corporate career. Then at Wrestlemania, Batista can end his in-ring career. Interview over. That’s the explanation I’ve been waiting on and it cleared up enough to make the story work. It’s still a stretch, but at least it’s a story that can make sense.

We look back at Braun Strowman breaking a car from the SNL guys last week.

Strowman wants an apology from the two of them and he’s so mad that he’s entering the Andre the Giant Memorial battle Royal so as many people as possible can get these hands. Then he’ll deal with the SNL guys. Bliss comes up and says that can’t happen but she’ll deal with it.

Charlotte talks about Serena Williams for Women’s History Month.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for a chat before his match. We see a clip of McIntyre laying out Roman Reigns last week. Drew talks about how everyone around here believes in fairy tales, which is why he took Reigns out last week. McIntyre wants to speak to Joe, the man behind Reigns. Joe was sitting on his couch because of Drew, so let’s do it at Wrestlemania.

Reigns needs to say no but he knows what is going to be said. All bets are off at Wrestlemania and what he did to Dean and Reigns last week will be nothing. Rollins comes up on screen and says that’s why he did what he did to Drew earlier tonight. We see a replay of the beatdown, which was for his brothers. This is for Seth.

Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins

The fight is on in the aisle with referees and security out to break it up. Joined in progress with Drew pulling him down into an armbar with the pressure on the face. A hard shot to the face keeps Rollins in trouble and they head outside, where Seth misses a moonsault off the steps to send us to a break. Back with Drew stomping on Seth’s back as it’s all McIntyre so far.

Seth gets knocked outside for a belly to belly onto the barricade…and it’s time for a chair. That takes too long though and Rollins scores with a kick to the face. Back to back suicide dive set up a Sling Blade for two but the reverse Alabama slam knocks him silly again. McIntyre takes him up top gets punched in the face, only to have Rollins slip out for the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two. The fans are WAY into this as Heyman and Lesnar come out for a distraction, allowing McIntyre to hit the Claymore for the pin at 14:13.

Rating: B. This was starting to rock at the end and as tired as I am of that ending, it did what it needed to accomplish. Lesnar gets to prove that he’s smart enough to mess with Rollins and McIntyre looks strong before going on to face Reigns. Lesnar’s distraction might not have been inspired stuff, but at least it went the right way after a pretty awesome match while it lasted.

Lesnar and Heyman laugh to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to make of this one. They did advance a lot of stuff towards Wrestlemania, but they made sure to go with a lot of the least interesting stuff possible. Nia/Tamina being added to the Women’s Title picture, Corbin as Angle’s opponent and Strowman still dealing with the SNL guys. There was enough stuff on the show to keep me going, but there were a lot of times where I was rolling my eyes and wondering how much longer there was to go.

Results

Braun Strowman/Finn Balor b. Bobby Lashley/Lio Rush – Running powerslam to Rush

Elias b. No Way Jose – Drift Away

Kurt Angle b. Chad Gable – Ankle lock

Natalya vs. Sasha Banks went to a no contest

Ricochet b. Jinder Mahal – 630

Ronda Rousey b. Dana Brooke – Armbar

Apollo Crews b. Baron Corbin – Small package

Drew McIntyre b. Seth Rollins – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

We might have a big hint about Lesnar’s future.https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/might-know-lot-brock-lesnars-future-might-include-big-change/

Assuming Lesnar sticks around WWE, it makes perfect sense to have him go to Smackdown.  It also kind of explains that Lesnar will be sticking around, which isn’t all that surprising either.

IMG Credit: WWE

Invasion 92
Hosts: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes

Now this is more my speed. I’ve been doing a lot more indy level stuff lately so let’s take a major step away and go with something I grew up on with a Coliseum Video. This sounds like a bunch of international matches and I’m not sure what to expect from that. These tapes can be from one extreme to the other so it could a lot of ways. Let’s get to it.

Sean Mooney, dressed up like a Star Trek officer (in theory at least as I’ve never seen a single thing from Star Trek), welcomes us to the show and we’ve got a fan request.

From December 2, 1991 in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Hulk Hogan vs. Typhoon

Someone smack this fan in the face. Typhoon has Jimmy Hart with him and Hogan still gets a very strong reaction, even though we’re pretty close to the end of Hulkamania’s first run. Mooney bills Hogan as 6’9, which is the biggest I’ve ever heard him described. Hogan circles him to start but gets shoved into the corner, which shocks him all over again. A big shove sends Typhoon into the corner and we hit the posing, as this seems to be a bit of the greatest hits.

Right hands in the corner keep Typhoon in trouble and more in the middle make things even worse. Hart takes a right hand of his own but Typhoon gets in a shot from behind. The announcers talk about how these two used to be friends, with Mooney saying that Hogan isn’t at fault for being so popular. Yeah, totally not his fault and it never has been all the other times this has happened. The bearhug goes on, Hogan is near death, the splash hits in the corner, Hogan kicks out at two, the usual connects and the legdrop finishes at 5:52.

Rating: D. I could watch Hogan fight off monsters almost all day (you need a break for lunch and tap dancing) but Typhoon really wasn’t doing it for me. What exactly was I supposed to buy into here? Even Earthquake would have been a better option here, and Hogan more than dispatched him over a year ago. Hogan’s act was running thin here, but a lot of that is due to a lack of opponents.

Back on the ship’s deck (just go with it), WWF Champion Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect beam in a signal and talk about how there is no one on any planet who could give them a challenge.

We see a clip of Flair winning the 1992 Royal Rumble to win the title, giving us some classic Heenan.

From November 13, 1991 in New Haven, Connecticut.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair

Bret is defending, though Flair has the Big Gold Belt. Thankfully a graphic says that this is from before the 1992 Rumble to explain why Flair isn’t champion. Now is that so hard to explain? The bell rings and Bret goes outside to give the glasses to a fan so we have no contact for nearly two minutes. Bret grabs some headlock takeovers and it works so well that he does it again, followed by another to reverse a belly to back suplex.

The announcers use this time to debate if there are other wrestling titles beside the WWF Titles. Back up for good this time with Flair slapping Bret and getting punched down with a single right hand. Bret already goes for the leg but Flair slips out and yells at the referee, who shoves him right back. A fight over a top wristlock goes to Ric so Bret nips up and Flair bails into the corner. Some hair pulls take Bret down so he nips up a few more times and punches Flair down for the Flop.

Flair is right back with the chops in the corner but let’s talk about what would happen if Flair ever fought Hulk Hogan. Bret doesn’t take kindly to being ignored and clotheslines the heck out of Flair, who begs off in classic style. A rollup with feet on the ropes gives Flair two (and includes a SHUT UP to a fan for pointing it out) and another whip gets the same, complete with the same cheating. Bret escapes a sleeper by ramming Flair face first into the buckle so Flair starts in on the leg, including the fastest Figure Four I’ve ever seen him put on.

The rope is grabbed because Flair is in full on cheating mode tonight until Bret turns it over for the break. Bret gets fed up with the chops and there’s the Flair Flip over the corner for the crash to the floor. A ram into the barricade has Flair begging off and Bret hammers away, which screams for blood but it’s not happening at this point.

Perfect breaks up a Sharpshooter and distracts Bret from putting it on again. Flair sends him to the floor before going with a rather late headlock takeover, which Bret flips over into the bridging backslide for two. They fight outside again and Perfect pulls Hart off the apron so Flair can win by countout at 19:11.

Rating: B+. You knew you weren’t getting a clean fall in a match like this and that shouldn’t be the case. Hart going move for move with Flair was very quality stuff and there was almost no way it wasn’t going to work this well. Bret was clearly one of the best in the world at this point and giving him someone that was an actual test made for a great match with Bret wanting to prove that he could hang with someone as established as Flair. This felt like an even match, which is both impressive and not that surprising for a weird combination.

From December 2, 1991 in Corpus Christi, Texas, the same show as Hogan vs. Typhoon.

Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair

Shawn is still a Rocker at this point but the announcers know they’re in for something special. Michaels starts fast with a hiptoss into a headlock takeover as the pace slows in a hurry. A missed charge in the corner lets Shawn get two off a top rope spinning sunset flip and it’s right back to the headlock. You think Shawn might be trying to show off a bit here? A slap sends Flair outside and Shawn knocks him back down upon re-entry.

Shawn’s suplex makes Flair beg off and it’s a thumb to the eye to finally give him a real breather. That’s it for the offense at the moment though as Shawn knocks him to the floor and hits a backdrop before stopping to glare at Perfect. A sunset flip is broken up with a right hand but Flair Flops anyway. Perfect finally helps things out and it’s time to start in on the knee. Since Flair can’t get anything going here, Flair gets slammed off the top and a high crossbody gives Shawn two.

A dive hits the barricade though and Shawn seems to have died from the impact. Perfect goes after him so here’s Marty Jannetty to FINALLY even things up a bit. Thanks for being out here for the last ten minutes dude. Shawn is still down as the announcers point out that Marty hasn’t been here, furthering the issues between the team. What used to be Shawn is thrown back in and pinned with feet on the ropes at 10:14. That almost had to be a legitimate injury as the match just stopped cold out of nowhere.

Rating: B-. This was starting to rock (pun intended) and then the ending crippled it, which again makes me think that there was an actual injury there. You just don’t stop a hot match like this out of nowhere and you know these two could have gone on for hours. What we got was very good, but the lack of an ending hurt things a lot.

From December 2, 1991 in Corpus Christi, Texas. This show is getting more play than Wrestlemania.

Tag Team Titles: Legion of Doom vs. Beverly Brothers

The Beverlies are challenging of course with the Genius in their corner. They take their sweet time with the stalling, waiting about two minutes before any significant contact. Fair enough as it’s not like the Beverlies have any real chance once this gets going. Blake gets shoved all the way to the floor and we stall even more.

Back in and Blake forearms Animal in the back and gets thrown across the ring again, this time for a consultation with Beau. It’s Beau coming in for an exchange of powerslams, which goes even worse than you might expect. A very hard clothesline sends the Beverlies outside and Genius offers some advice (“Get a famous brother!”). They get back in with Beau getting to face Hawk and actually trying his luck with right hands.

That earns him a dropkick to the floor and a neckbreaker back inside as the LOD doesn’t seem interested in being on defense here. You know, for a change. Hawk goes shoulder first into the post and the Brothers finally take over for a bit…by going after the back instead of the shoulder. No wonder these nitwits never went anywhere. Beau runs into Hawk in the corner and a double clothesline allows the hot tag to Animal. They botch a backdrop (yes a backdrop, with Blake seeming to jump straight up instead of going forward) as everything breaks down. The Doomsday Device finishes Blake at 8:58.

Rating: D. Oh come on like this should have been ANYTHING else. Who was going to buy the Beverlies as any kind of a threat to the LOD and the titles. There’s nothing to say about this one, though it’s always kind of fun to see the LOD completely not caring and just beating people up because they don’t have to do anything else.

Hayes repairs the ship and we go warp speed to….Sensational Sherri’s Manager Cam.

From January 8, 1992 in Fort Myers, Florida.

Ted DiBiase vs. Tito Santana

Well if I just have to….but Sherri is mic’d up here to make sure we don’t get to properly enjoy things. Sherri: “He ain’t no matador! He didn’t kill no bull! It was a moo cow!” There’s no regular commentary here as it’s just Sherri shouting, which isn’t exactly a camera. Sherri shouts about Tito slapping her Teddy Bear so shoving him into the corner makes her even angrier.

DiBiase hides in the corner as Sherri yelling at the referee has already gone beyond annoying and into migraine inducing. Some lame brawling on the floor is followed by Tito taking it back inside and throwing him outside for a crash. Back in and Sherri grabs Tito’s leg but swears she didn’t do anything to Taco Bell. Sherri gets in a cheap shot on the floor as this is far more boring of a match than these two should be allowed to have.

The villains take turns choking on the ropes and Ted gets two off an elbow. A second one missed though and Tito makes his comeback, sending Sherri into a panic over Teddy Bear getting hurt. Tito has FINALLY had enough of Sherri and goes after her, allowing Ted to follow him out for the double countout at 8:07. That’s almost identical to the finish of DiBiase and Brutus Beefcake at Wrestlemania V.

Rating: D. These are two of my all time favorites and I couldn’t have been more disappointed. This was ENTIRELY about Sherri being mic’d up and that gimmick got really annoying in about ten seconds (they lost me at moo cow). Just let these two have a great fifteen minute match and stop trying to reinvent….well the wheel was useful so we’ll call this reinventing My Mother The Car knee socks.

And now, the Nasty Boys go to a video store, which just happens to be full of Coliseum Videos. Oh be still my beating childhood (the fronts of those tapes are burned into my memory forever). The Nastys aren’t happy with the selection and beat up the manager (who appeared to be longtime WWE director Kerwin Silfies). They take over the store and yell at a guy coming in for ballet tapes. So for once, this really ain’t ballet.

Now normally that would lead to a Nasty Boys match.

From October 1, 1991 in Huntington, West Virginia.

Hercules vs. Big Boss Man

Not quite the Nasty Boys and Gorilla Monsoon replaces Mooney for commentary here. Hercules has Slick in his corner and the dancing is strong during the entrances. An exchange of shoulders goes to Hercules but Boss Man grabs a rollup while Hercules is posing. Boss Man blocks a slam (A guy named HERCULES can’t slam someone?), slides outside to punch Slick, and backdrops Hercules to the floor.

Since it’s the early 90s, we get a double noggin knocker, followed by the running crotch attack to the back. A second attempt misses and an atomic drop stays on the, ahem, damage to give Hercules two. They slug it out with Hercules getting the better of it but Boss Man sends him into the corner a few times to break things up. The Boss Man Slam finishes out of nowhere at 7:35.

Rating: D-. This was AWFUL with both guys looking exhausted after about two minutes. At the end of the day though, Hercules not even being able to slam Boss Man (who was still big but far from huge at this point) summed up everything you needed to know about the show. Terrible match here and I’d be scared to see what was rejected from this tape.

From September 1, 1991 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.

Million Dollar Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil

Ted is actually challenging here and has Sherri (thankfully quiet here) with him as Randy Savage is guest referee. Now why do I think that the rather intricate history between the various combinations of these people won’t be mentioned very often? Virgil starts fast with right hands and clotheslines to send Ted outside and he gets to pose with the title. I smell a customized photo for sale! Back in and DiBiase gets slammed a few times, sending him right back to the floor.

DiBiase gets in a shot to the face to take over and sends Virgil outside, meaning it’s a ram into the steps. A suplex gives Ted two more and it’s time for an argument with Savage, who still has the hat on like a real referee should. Another cover gets another two as he pulls Virgil up. DiBiase throws him very far off a backdrop but picks it up again. Savage yells at him again so DiBiase sends him outside and grabs the Million Dollar Dream on Virgil. That’s broken up with a top rope ax handle from Savage and Virgil gets the pin to retain at 7:12.

Rating: D. What do you want from a Virgil match? This was the extent of the story that you can do with him and I’m not sure why anyone is surprised that he didn’t last. The more disappointing part here was no mention of Savage vs. DiBiase or Savage and Sherri, both of which are interesting stories. But at least they got in and out in a hurry, which is the best thing you can do with a match like this.

Mooney and Hayes beam down to a planet for a quick discussion of the weather and an introduction to our main event.

From December 4, 1991 in Austin, Texas.

Jake Roberts/Undertaker vs. Randy Savage/Jim Duggan

The announcers recap Roberts ruining Savage and Elizabeth’s wedding reception as Savage goes after Jake. It’s the other two starting though with Undertaker zombie choking Duggan in the corner and then staring down at the Urn in that creepy way only he can pull off. A missed charge lets Duggan clotheslines him over the top with Undertaker landing on his feet in a spot that always looks cool.

The Stunner over the ropes gets Undertaker out of trouble and it’s off to Roberts who gives up a hot tag to Savage pretty quickly. Savage hammers away and nails the top rope ax handle but it’s back to Undertaker, who scares Hebner half to death in a funny bit. The smother to Savage’s face keeps him in trouble but a missed elbow allows the hot tag to Duggan. The villains cut him off in almost no time though but Savage has finally had it and chairs both of them for the DQ at 7:10.

Rating: D+. The energy was there and I can understand why they went with the finish they chose here, but egads it wasn’t much of a match. Duggan was kind of a random choice here but at least it was the more serious version than the goofy guy who felt out of place. Savage vs. Roberts was still white hot, though it never quite got the blowoff that it deserved.

Mooney and Hayes are stranded on the planet and abandoned by their annoyed crew to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: D+. The two Flair matches are the only things that you need to see her eon an otherwise boring effort. That’s always the case with these things though as you never know what you’re going to get. It was a bad time for the company too and while Wrestlemania would help things, the rest of 1992 wasn’t exactly great. Things were transitioning at this point and unfortunately they were going in the wrong direction.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

And believe it or not, it’s a mixed bag.

These things really pile up, though that might be because WWE likes to crank them out at a crazy rate. That being said, they’re mostly good so let’s take a look at a few of them, plus something from a long time ago.

Untold: The Second Coming Of ECW

This is a series called Untold which only has a few episodes so far. It’s basically a mini documentary over a given subject with this one being WWECW. In short, the ECW Originals completely bury the thing while some of the people who came up on the show like it a bit better. Paul Heyman sums it up perfectly: if this show was ANYTHING other than ECW, it would have been fine.

Even Big Show has to admit that his match against Batista that drew the CHANGE THE CHANNEL chants was a disaster and that’s putting it mildly. The fans wanted ECW and got WWE3, which was never going to work. Not much new here, but it’s rare to see WWE admit that they completely botched something this badly.

Arrival: Matt Riddle

I believe this one aired in parts on one of WWE’s YouTube channel but this is the full (and still short) edition. Riddle is a former UFC fighter and seems to be one of the most can’t miss prospects in years, which has seemed to be the case every time he’s been on NXT TV. This is basically an introduction to him as we see his transition from the indies to WWE.

Riddle comes off as the most laid back, likable guy who happens to be incredibly talented. He’s also an athletic freak who can work with almost anyone, meaning it’s a matter of time before he shatters through the glass ceiling. If WWE doesn’t go that way I don’t know what to tell them, because Riddle is awesome both in and out of the ring. If you’re not familiar with him, check this out and see what WWE has waiting in the wings.

The Mark Henry Story

Now this one was surprising as Henry’s strongman stuff got a lot of focus and you got to see just how great he was. The main thing that stood out here though was how charismatic and entertaining Henry can be. He was making me laugh throughout, which just made me wonder where that Henry was throughout his 20+ year career (yes 20+). If you had someone with those physical gifts and that kind of entertainment value, he could have been a much bigger star than before.

It was cool to hear Henry get this kind of praise as he’s not really the kind of guy who gets that much attention. I was never the biggest fan of him but this one gave me a lot more respect for the guy. It’s a rare thing for me to want to hear and see more of someone but I was wanting to hear more from Henry after this. He could have been a lot more than he was, though when you’re literally the strongest man in the world, why deviate from that style?

Chronicle: Roman Reigns

This is the main event for the documentaries as no one with a soul didn’t feel at least somewhat bad for Reigns. This covers the time from the night he announced his diagnosis to his return, without much actually being covered in the middle. We see a lot of the day of his return announcement with a long time spent at Georgia Tech’s football stadium where Reigns played college football. It’s good stuff though and the thing flies by.

That being said, the biggest thing I took from this was how human Reigns felt. You don’t get that from Reigns when he’s on TV for the most part but he came off as very likable and charming here, which is how they should present him more often. In other words, act like he’s a human instead of this monster who gets pushed whether you like him or not. Give us this side of him and people might actually like the guy a lot more. It’s not like much else has worked.

Ted DiBiase: The Million Dollar Man

DiBiase has written two autobiographies, one on his own and the other with WWE. This is the latter and….it’s really not very good. Dibiase has an interesting enough story and is absolutely a legend, but the writing is rather bland and the conversations/dialogue are written as generically as possible (fair enough, but not exactly entertaining reading).

It’s one of those wrestling books where you get the basic story, a few details, and not much else. What amazed me was the amount of factual errors (Randy Savage was a heel at Wrestlemania IV? Bret Hart and Lex Luger were both named King of the Ring for being eliminated from the Royal Rumble at the same time?), which you don’t often see from a WWE product. If you’re a HUGE DiBiase fan then maybe skim through it for some pretty good stories, but don’t waste your time (which won’t be much as it’s a short book).

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: October 14, 2004
Location: Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the first ever Smackdown in England and we’re coming off a big surprise last week when the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool won the US Title from John Cena. That wasn’t it though as Cena was attacked in a nightclub after the show, meaning he probably won’t be here tonight. However, we do get Hardcore Holly vs. JBL in a hardcore match for the World Title. That’s WWE’s gift to England: a Hardcore Holly title shot. Let’s get to it.

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

Teddy Long addresses the roster, including Rey Mysterio in a black suit, about Cena’s condition. Apparently he wanted this to be kept quiet, which makes me wonder why it was mentioned on Raw. Cena was stabbed in the kidney and it’s not clear when he will be back. The show must go on and now we need a #1 contender to the US Title. Therefore, it’s a battle royal later tonight for a shot later tonight. The roster is happy and leaves with Carlito coming in to say what happened to Cena was bound to happen sooner or later.

Opening sequence.

The color seems a bit more washed out for some reason. Must be a British thing.

Rob Van Dam vs. Rene Dupree

Dupree rants in French, which somehow gets Kenzo Suzuki ejected. I’m not sure I get the connection there. Van Dam starts fast and monkey flips Dupree out to the floor but misses a suicide dive. The chinlock doesn’t last long for Dupree as he switches to the French Tickler, earning himself a SCARY release German suplex with Van Dam dropping him on the back of the head. Thankfully Dupree can still walk and even knocks Rob down before going outside for a chair. Rob kicks him in the face though and hits the Five Star for a fast pin.

The announcers get serious to talk about Heidenreich going into the crowd and attacking fans last week. The only thing we see is a kid crying for an effective visual.

Theodore Long yells at Paul Heyman for Heidenreich’s actions and rants about being responsible for the fans’ safety. They’re just lucky that they didn’t get sued. Tonight, Heyman and Heidenreich are going to apologize and they better be sincere. If Undertaker comes out there, they can deal with it.

Charlie Haas vs. Billy Kidman

Haas has a bad knee and no Jackie due to a neck injury, both suffered at Kidman’s hands. Charlie chokes away in the corner to start so Kidman gets smart and kicks at the knee like any intelligent villain. The knee gets wrapped around the post so here’s Dawn Marie to check on Charlie. Kidman doesn’t mind and hits the shooting star onto the knee for the pin. Using that as a weapon is an interesting way to go and Kidman has gotten a lot better in short order.

Post match Charlie gets put on a stretcher as Dawn screams a lot.

Luther Reigns rubs oil on himself and hits on the Page 3 girls. If they’re lucky, they’ll see him in action after the show too. They’re already seeing someone tonight though and of course that’s Eddie Guerrero. Reigns calls that a mistake and isn’t happy. Oh and he lied: they’re not that hot.

JBL is annoyed at what Undertaker did to him at No Mercy and now he has to face Hardcore Holly tonight. He’s a technical wrestler like Mil Mascaras or Bret Hart instead of a brawler. Now he has to come over here and defend the title in front of these barbaric fans. No one cares about England anyway but if the country was getting an enema, he would start it right here in Manchester. I’m sure Bret loved the comparison and stolen line in the same promo.

We look back at Cena losing the US Title last week.

Battle Royal

Kurt Angle, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak, Nunzio, Johnny Stamboli, Orlando Jordan, Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio, Spike Dudley, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Rico, Scotty 2 Hotty, Rob Van Dam, Eddie Guerrero, Rene Dupree, Kenzo Suzuki, Funaki

The winner gets a US Title shot later tonight and I think I’ve got everyone. The fans are behind Eddie as everyone starts punching to start. Eddie backdrops Jordan out for the first elimination and Funaki follows him out thanks to Angle. Dupree and Suzuki throw Nunzio out but Dupree dumps Suzuki immediately thereafter. Stamboli and Spike go out next as the ring is cleared out a bit.

The remaining Dudleys get rid of Van Dam (pretty early elimination for him) as the fans are still behind Eddie. Rey gets rid of Bubba and D-Von at the same time and Rob runs back in to dive onto Bubba as we take a break. Back with no more eliminations and Eddie raking Reigns’ eyes to get out of a gorilla press attempt. Scotty hits the Worm on Kidman, which seems a good bit excessive and indeed, Angle uses the distraction to toss Scotty without much effort.

Rico slugs away at Dupree and then kisses him, sending Rene over the top to eliminate himself. Rey headscissors Kidman out and Jindrak tosses Rico. We’re down to Mysterio, Guerrero, Angle, Jindrak and Reigns for a solid handicap match. Eddie hurricanranas Jindrak out in a hurry but gets knocked out as well to leave us with three. Eddie isn’t done though and distracts Reigns, allowing Rey to dropkick him out. Angle slams him down hard but it’s too early to throw him out.

A headscissors gets Rey out of trouble but the ankle lock over the rope makes it even worse. Angle grabs a suplex and throws him over the ropes again but still can’t stomp him out. A springboard dropkick staggers Angle and there’s a tornado DDT for good measure. They fight up top with Rey crotching Angle but only being able to knock him to the apron. The 619 is blocked and the straps come down but Rey hurricanranas him to the apron. This time the 619 to the back is enough to give Rey the win and the title shot.

Rating: B-. They had a lot of potential with the final five but went straight to the final two instead. The good thing is those two worked very well together and the last stretch was good. Rey as the first challenger to Carlito is a nice choice and the match advanced some feuds at the same time. It was long but didn’t feel long, which is about as good as you can get for a match like this.

Post break Rey is proud of his win but Carlito comes up to interrupt. He wants the title match tonight (which I thought was already established), as long as Rey doesn’t mind wrestling twice in one night. Rey says it’s on and turns away like a moron, allowing Carlito to deck him and spit the apple.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Hardcore Holly

JBL is defending in a hardcore match and comes out in a Rolls-Royce. Holly goes with the dropkick to start and clotheslines the champ outside as it’s already time for the weapons. He takes a bit too long looking at them though and gets sent into the steps, leaving JBL to look at them too long as well. That means a street sign to the head over and over before sending JBL into the announcers’ table.

A monitor to the head doesn’t do much to Holly as he comes back with a cricket bat. For the third time so far, Holly takes too long to swing something and gets kicked in the face. The fans want tables but have to settle for Holly backdropping out of a piledriver attempt and trashcaning JBL in the head. The steps take too long though and a nasty chair to the head retains JBL’s title.

Rating: C+. These two have chemistry together and they were smart to keep this short. Holly isn’t going to be taken seriously as a challenger so they were smart to get in and get out with the hard weapons shots being the focus. It’s not like this was anything more than a way to kill time before JBL’s next challenger emerges but at least we got some far better than expected matches.

We see Heidenreich making the kid cry again.

British fans are glad to have Smackdown.

Here are Heyman and Heidenreich to apologize. Heyman gives a simple one and makes Heidenreich read one off a paper. That’s not it though as Heidenreich says he’s sorry for what happened last week, but not what he did to Undertaker at No Mercy. That was done with malice and intent and now, he wants Undertaker to bring the fight to him. With no Undertaker appearing, Heidenreich heads outside and threatens some people, including Heyman, before letting it go.

We look back at Eddie Guerrero cheating to beat Luther Reigns at No Mercy.

Chavo Guerrero is back next week.

US Title: Carlito Caribbean Cool vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio is banged up and challenging. Feeling out process to start until Rey gets sent to the apron for a quick springboard seated senton. Carlito is back up with a shot to the ribs but gets knocked off the apron for a heck of a dive from Mysterio. Back from a break with Rey in an armbar (better than a chinlock) before being thrown face first out to the floor. The armbar goes on again but this time Rey fights up and hits a dropkick for his second escape.

Something close to la majistral gives Rey two and a tornado DDT is good for the same. Carlito gets back up and just throws Rey into the air for a crash before getting two off a flying armbar. A hammerlock slam stays on the arm but Carlito decides to go up for the rather obvious dive into raised boots. The 619 looks to set up the West Coast Pop, which is countered into a Fujiwara armbar. Rey finally makes a rope so Carlito rolls him up and grabs the rope for the pin to retain.

Rating: C+. I liked this way better than the Cena match last week as it had more of a focus and wasn’t just Carlito getting destroyed until he stole a win. The arm work was fine and Carlito cheating when he couldn’t win through normal means worked well. A win over Mysterio will help solidify Carlito, who needs to establish himself so soon out of the gate.

More Tough Enough contestants.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Luther Reigns

Eddie rides in with the Page 3 girls. Reigns isn’t happy and goes after him to start but gets dropkicked down for his efforts. That earns him a crotching and a belly to back suplex as Reigns is mad enough that he throws Eddie’s shirt to the floor. A few backbreakers keep Eddie in trouble with Reigns bending the back over his knee for some extra pain. Eddie dances up though and slugs away but the Third Amigo is blocked. Reigns’ swinging neckbreaker is countered as Eddie walks the ropes into something like a Sliced Bread #2 but an invading Jindrak breaks up the frog splash. Reigns throws him into the steps for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Not enough time here as they only had a few minutes before a DQ ending. That being said, Reigns is FAR better in the short form matches as he’s really not able to do much aside from the basics. Jindrak interfering to mess with Eddie is fine, though there’s still not much to care about with Jindrak so far. Has he actually won a match yet?

Post match the beatdown is on and here’s Angle with the clippers. Big Show makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a well paced show as they kept things moving and nothing felt like it was longer than it needed to be. They advanced some of the stories as well and while it’s a long way before we get to Survivor Series, there’s at least enough to keep me interested going forward. More than anything else, I’m surprised at how tolerable JBL has been as champion. Maybe the bad comes later, but so far it’s been acceptable. Granted that might change over time, but I can’t complain much about the recent months. Good show here, and one of the better ones in a few months.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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: March 14, 2019
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Renee Young, Percy Watson, Byron Saxton

It’s recap week during one of the most important times of the year. I wouldn’t mind if they just dropped the original stuff during this season as it’s just taking up time when they could talk about more important things. Then again Main Event has never made the most sense in the first place. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

EC3 vs. Tyler Breeze

Did Breeze forget to go to the tanning bed this week? He looks like Aiden English. EC3 elbows him in the face to start and drops the EC3 elbow as Watson talks about how awesome he is. I mean yeah, but he needs more results. Another EC3 elbow is countered by a superkick for two but a hard clothesline gets the same. A powerbomb is countered into an enziguri but it’s a TKO to drop Breeze again. Not that it matters as Breeze grabs a hurricanrana for the pin at 4:09 (Nothing can stop him, nothing can touch him. Ask your parents).

Rating: D. The lack of time killed this one, as did whatever EC3 did to Stephanie and HHH’s cat. At this point, what else could it possibly be? Everything Watson said about him was true and it’s rather sad that the best they can do with him is the guy who hits on the good looking blondes.

From Raw.

Here’s the Shield for their big farewell speech. Roman Reigns talks about how he’s learned you’re not promised tomorrow so if they rode together for the last time, he has no regrets. As for now though, he hasn’t had a one on one match on Raw in five months so we should correct that. Ambrose has business of his own too, and even if no one knows what it is, we love him anyway. That leaves us with Rollins, who has been chasing the dream for a long time now. The fans give us a SLAY THE BEAST chant, which Reigns turns into BURN IT DOWN.

We see the ending of Drew McIntyre vs. Dean Ambrose from Raw.

Harlem Heat Hall of Fame announcement.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Vince McMahon to talk about offering Kofi Kingston a title shot at Wrestlemania. First though, we look at Kofi’s handicap match at Fastlane in a ruse. Back in the arena, Vince talks about how the fans heard what they wanted to hear because he never said Kofi was getting the shot. Vince says everything is a teachable moment but here’s New Day to interrupt. Big E. isn’t going to learn anything right now because they do everything he tells them to.

They flew halfway around the world to India on Vince’s orders and haven’t ever threatened to leave if they don’t get what they want. Kofi has been here for eleven years and deserves a chance. Vince goes into a rant about how no one deserves anything, including him. Big E. says this is bigger than anything, including Vince’s ego. Vince: “Now there is nothing bigger justifiably than my ego.” Xavier talks about Kofi pinning the WWE Champion multiple times but he’s never gotten a one on one shot.

The WWE Universe demands that Kofi get s chance to compete but Vince isn’t buying it. He wishes Kofi deserved this and while he’s done all kinds of great things in the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber, he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame….as part of New Day instead of on his own merits. Kofi is smart enough to take the glory and have these two younger guys do all the work. Vince wishes Kofi was championship material and earlier today, Daniel Bryan called him a good B+ player.

Kofi finally speaks, saying he doesn’t want a handout. He goes around the world doing what he loves but it’s cost him a lot. Kofi has missed birthdays, weddings and has never even gotten to take his kids trick or treating. He wasn’t there earlier this week when his son lost his first tooth. Through all that, Kofi has never complained, even though Vince has never let someone like him compete for the WWE Title.

What Kofi needs right now is to be told what he needs to do so he can do it. This brings out Orton….and Joe….and the Bar….and Rowan in a gauntlet match next week to get his title match. Everyone comes to the ring and the fight is on with New Day fighting off the villains to end the show. Awesome promos from New Day, who have earned this status over the years but never really used it.

Video on Ronda Rousey/Charlotte/Becky Lynch.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Becky Lynch for a chat, though first she has to throw away the crutch. She limps to the ring and recaps the entire story, which doesn’t make sense when she sums it up. Becky is glad to be here and happy to be in Wrestlemania after Fastlane, even though it took quite a feat. Do you know how hard it is to play mind games on someone with no brain? She got exactly what she wanted from Ronda Rousey though and will pay it back at WrestleMania when she breaks the arm and takes the title.

This brings out Charlotte to say Becky is now in Charlotte’s main event. It’s one thing to be hot for six months but Charlotte has been hot for six years. That’s why she was chosen and she’ll get the job done. Becky was chosen because people felt sorry for her, including Rousey. Becky doesn’t buy it and says she’ll see Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

Lucha House Party vs. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers

If we just have to. Sunil starts with a dancing wristlock on Lince, who dropkicks him down without much trouble. Metalik comes in for the abrupt commercial and we come back with Kalisto fighting out of a chinlock. The Singhs’ double suplex is countered into a double DDT and the hot(ish) tag brings Metalik back in. Sumir gets caught grabbing the ropes on a sunset flip so Metalik kicks him in the head, setting up Dorado’s shooting star press for the pin at 7:43.

We recap Batista attacking Ric Flair at his birthday party.

From Raw.

Here’s an angry HHH in street clothes to address Batista. This brings out said Batista, with security guarding him. HHH asks if Batista is getting in the ring or standing there as a nose ring model. Batista laughs and says he learned from HHH and Flair over the years so yeah, they’re here for him. He’s getting what he wants one way or another. HHH talks about Batista quitting over the years and promises to run through the guardians of the independent circuit to get to him.

Batista goes into a rant about how he quit to get away from HHH for holding him down so many times. He wants HHH at Wrestlemania and the match is on. That’s what Batista wanted: one more match to end his career on his terms and one more match to end HHH’s career on his terms. HHH says the match is going to be on his terms because it’s going to be No Holds Barred.

That’s the best idea given the circumstances and certainly fits the story that much better. Batista’s explanation for why he wants to face HHH…..well it’s an explanation. It’s not a particularly good one and it’s something we could piece together ourselves, but I’ll take it over us being left to figure it out or Batista saying his words spoke for themselves. The stipulation should help a lot and it gives me more hope for the match.

Overall Rating: C. They did a MUCH better job of balancing the two shows here and covered most of the big stuff (No mention of Kurt Angle’s retirement though?). This felt like a show designed to make you watch Wrestlemania and that’s exactly what it should have been. Good effort this week and that’s a rather nice thing to be able to say for a change.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

So earlier this week on Raw, a lot happened. Like, a lot happened. As in Wrestlemania season of stuff happened. With so much stuff going on it deserved a better look at things but since I did an In Other News column last week, I complained about Wrestlemania instead. Therefore today, I’ll take a quick look at some of the things that happened this week on Raw.

Bobby Lashley Wins The Intercontinental Title Back

In what was quite the surprise, Lashley won the title back after losing it to Finn Balor just three weeks earlier. I’m going to assume that this is going to be setting up a rematch at Wrestlemania, which really makes me cringe if that’s the best they can come up with for Balor. That being said, I’ll take it over some big multi-person match, which is all but guaranteed to be coming.

The big problem here is another title change in short order. Out of the last eight title reigns, a grand total of one (Seth Rollins’ second reign) broke three months. Changing the title over and over again doesn’t make the title any more valuable, meaning that I’m not likely to be thrilled or interested if/when Balor gets it back. It’s just another month long title reign that doesn’t help anything, which has worked so well for the title in recent….decades?

Alexa Bliss To Host Wrestlemania

Works for me. I mean, how can you not like watching Bliss do whatever a host is supposed to do on Wrestlemania? She’s gorgeous, she plays an awesome character, she can talk and she can work with just about anyone. What more could you possibly ask for out of the host? I mean, aside from not having a host because they’re not needed of course.

At the moment it seems that Bliss isn’t going to be wrestling, at least not full time, anytime soon so giving her something like this makes sense. She was working very well as the boss of the Raw women’s division but since we need more and more McMahons randomly giving themselves powers, Bliss can’t do that anymore. Letting her be on camera over and over is a good thing, even if she’s not likely to do much on the show.

HHH vs. Batista No Holds Barred

Well yeah. Were you expecting anything else out of the whole thing? Batista has wrestled for like three months out of the last ten years and HHH is barely going to be medically cleared in time for the match. Letting them do a garbage brawl is the right call as it seems that they’ve actually learned from Wrestlemania XXV (I’m as shocked as you are). It also fits with HHH being furious at Batista over the Ric Flair attack….which is still a problem.

Apparently Batista attacked Flair to get HHH’s attention for the match. That’s not a surprise, but why Batista wanted to have the match wasn’t exactly well explained. He just wanted to have one more match with HHH and this was the best way he could do it? I mean, it worked but I’d like something better than “I wanted a retirement match”. The brawl will be fine and while the story is shaky, it’s better than nothing and I can go with what we’re getting.

Kurt Angle’s Retirement Match

Angle is FINALLY going to hang up the boots at Wrestlemania and I think we’re all the better for that. He’s not exactly good in the ring anymore and he’s likely to explode during a match one day. The big deal here is Angle getting one retirement match at Wrestlemania, with the question now being who he’ll face. There are a few theories out there, but one makes sense.

Chad Gable. He’s basically a mini Angle (complete with being an Olympic wrestler) and since Jason Jordan’s career seems to be over, this is about as good as it’s going to get for him. It makes as much sense as anything else…but it’s going to be John Cena, which is about as good of an idea as you’re going to get. It’s the whole Cena debut to Angle retirement and that’s a perfect way to do something at Wrestlemania. Also, who else would you want to walk Angle through a match at this point?

So yeah, a lot happened on Raw and I’m sure I missed something. It’s cool to see WWE actually putting forward some effort and it made the show that much better. Just go through with some of these ideas and stop doing so many Intercontinental Title changes, because those aren’t helping anyone.

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: March 12, 2019
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Aiden English

The tournament season continues around here with the final four of the Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender tournament. In this case, there aren’t exactly a ton of great options but that’s the case with a lot of the title scene at the moment. Cedric Alexander is probably the favorite to win the whole thing, as tends to be the case, but bigger surprises have happened before. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Drew Gulak for a change. He loves tournament semifinals because it’s where you separate the men from the boys. In other words, it’s the round where Tony Nese collapses under the pressure. Drew owns him and tonight will be no different.

Nese knows that Gulak is different than anyone else on the roster because Gulak will dissect every mistake that Nese makes. His focus is his best asset and Gulak knows nothing about him.

Oney Lorcan says this is all business and he had no ill will towards Humberto Carrillo. Now Cedric Alexander is the man to beat and that’s what Lorcan is going to do tonight when he breaks Alexander.

Cedric Alexander knows that Lorcan is an amazing talent and sees him as the future of the division. It’s not his time though because Cedric is still here and he’s going back to Wrestlemania.

Opening sequence.

Buddy Murphy joins us from Australia to talk about who could win the tournament.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Oney Lorcan vs. Cedric Alexander

The fans seem behind Cedric, which may be due to not knowing much about Lorcan. Cedric spins out of a wristlock as English wonders if it’s better to get to the title and fall or never get there at all. Uh, winning the title? A headlock takes Cedric down for a bit, though he rolls Lorcan up for some one counts. Back up and Lorcan chops Cedric so hard that he looks ready to scream but he comes back with his own chops.

It’s way too early for the Lumbar Check so Lorcan gets two off a strong clothesline. We hit a waistlock on Alexander, followed by an abdominal stretch to stay on the logical target. Some headbutts get Alexander out but he’s right back in the hold about two seconds later. The real comeback is on with some elbows to the face and the Neuralizer actually staggers Lorcan.

There’s the springboard Downward Spiral for good measure with Lorcan’s head bouncing off the mat for two. Lorcan is fine enough to get his own two off a running Blockbuster as the frustration is setting in. Maybe you should hit more than one move? The half and half suplex gets two and now it’s ok to be frustrated.

Cedric is back up with a Michinoku Driver for two of his own, plus the big shocked face. The real frustration sets in and Cedric stomps away, only to get caught on top for a half and half superplex for two more, all but guaranteeing that Lorcan isn’t winning. Lorcan blasts him in the face a few more times, only to take the Lumbar Check for the pin at 15:13.

Rating: B. Standard Cedric performance here: rather high quality but nothing that we haven’t seen in the last year plus of Cedric’s run in 205 Live. He doesn’t have much in the way of charisma and that’s making it harder and harder to get invested in the same stuff that we’ve seen him do over and over. He’s still better than most, but this can only go on for so long and we’re reaching that point.

We look back at Mike Kanellis’ no contest last week when he could have had an easy win.

The Kanellises rant to Drake Maverick for putting him in an easy match when he deserves competition. Drake agrees and gives him a match next week with an unnamed opponent. The losing isn’t going to last much longer though, because this place is for winners. There’s so much wrong with that logic I’m just going to move on.

Ariya Daivari isn’t pleased with being left out of the tournament and says the leash is coming off soon. Good. Maybe he’ll run away and not come back.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak

The rather confident Gulak grabs a headlock to start but gets elbowed in the face. Nese tries a rather unnecessary moonsault and has to bail to the floor to avoid the Gulock. Back in and Nese goes after a wristlock and then a headlock as they seem to have a lot of time here. They head outside with Nese kicking him in the ribs and hitting a rather quiet chop. He should have gone harder as Gulak is fine enough to drop him throat first across the top as the build towards the Gulock continues.

Said build continues with a neck crank before Gulak ties up the legs and hits him in the back of the head a few times for two. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Gulak takes him down again, albeit now more annoyed at Nese for fighting back. Nese manages a whip into the corner but since it’s just a whip, Gulak grabs a t-bone suplex to put Nese right back in trouble.

The chinlock goes on again so Nese fights up with some kicks to the face, including a dropkick for two. The split legged moonsault is good (well, the little that actually hit) for the same, drawing some rather weak applause. Gulak goes aerial with a very rare dropkick, which does a nice job of showing how desperate he is here. Back to back powerbombs gives Gulak two but Nese is right back up with a super hurricanrana.

The 450 misses and they’re both down as the fans are trying to get into this. Neither finisher connects so Gulak goes with a snappy sunset flip for two. Nese rolls through another Gulock attempt and German suplexes Gulak into the corner. The running knee misses and Gulak clotheslines the heck out of him for two. Now the Gulock goes on but Nese gets his foot on the rope and flips backwards for the quick pin at 17:08.

Rating: B+. So I’m supposed to cheer for Nese now? This was certainly a feel good moment but Nese has teased face turns before and none of them have exactly been interesting. Having Nese overcome Gulak doesn’t make him interesting and possibly seeing Nese vs. his training partner at Wrestlemania isn’t thrilling either. I mean it’s something, but it’s not something interesting and that’s a rather questionable choice.

Gulak is stunned to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Two very good to great matches and a Maria cameo. What more could you ask for in a fifty minute show? The tournament was excellent last year and the sequel has been another treat with the wrestling being more than good. The problem is who we’re getting to see, as Nese vs. Alexander is far from the most thrilling selection. I’m sure the matches will be good, but a more interesting final would be nice.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 11, 2004
Location: Evening News Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Somehow this is the first time the show has ever taken place in England. We’re eight days away from Taboo Tuesday, the show that half the roster seems to hate. I’m not exactly wild on it myself given how the build has gone, but I’m sure this week’s show will end with HHH taking a beating but walking out as champion anyway. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Women’s Title: Stacy Keibler vs. Trish Stratus

Trish is defending and Stacy is in a Manchester United jersey (with her name spelled Kiebler on the back) with a barely existent skirt. Of course we get the early cartwheel and the boot choke in the corner because that’s all Stacy is good for in something like this. A rollup out of the corner gives us yet another upskirt shot before Trish bails out to the floor.

The champ is smart enough to pull Stacy down and crotch her against the post, followed by wrapping the leg around the post. A half crab keeps Stacy in trouble until she makes a slow crawl to the ropes. Trish gets slammed off the top for two but she gets bored with this mess and hits the Chick Kick to retain.

Rating: D-. Yeah Stacy has long legs and wears revealing outfits. That’s the extent of her talents here it was on full display here (among other things). I get the point of the whole thing but that doesn’t make it a good idea. These are the kind of matches that WWE has gotten away from thanks to the Women’s Revolution, but the history isn’t kind to them.

Post match Molly Holly, Nidia, Gail Kim and Victoria run in for the brawling. I’m sure Taboo Tuesday waits for all of them.

Simon System ad. These are still worth a chuckle.

Tag Team Titles: William Regal/Eugene vs. La Resistance

La Resistance is defending and insult the British fans, who aren’t worthy of hearing the French national anthem. You can imagine the pop Regal gets and carrying the Union Jack makes it even louder. Why the challengers have generic music instead of either of their themes isn’t clear but maybe it’s some international copyright deal?

Regal and Conway start things off with the fans cheering Regal for just breathing, let alone actually doing anything of note. An exchange of forearms to go Regal and I don’t remember the last time I’ve heard a crowd this invested. Eugene comes in with Grenier loaded up in Shattered Dreams position and the Conway goes head first between his legs. The airplane spin makes it even worse for Conway as the fans already want Regal again.

That’s exactly what they get when Conway spends too much time nipping up, allowing Regal to come in for a t-bone suplex. The champs fight back with Au Revoir for two with Eugene making a save. A Stunner takes Conway down so Grenier brings in the title belt, only to walk into the Power of the Punch for the pin and the titles. Regal looks happier than I’ve ever seen him.

And never mind as we come back from a break with Eric Bischoff having restarted the match, earning a loud BULL**** chant from the crowd as Eugene is fighting out of an armbar. The shoulder is sent into the buckle and it’s back to Grenier for some stomping. Conway comes in to tell Eugene to fight like a man and, after drawing Regal in for some double teaming, walks into a collision with Eugene for the hot tag to Regal

Everything breaks down with Regal throwing suplexes for two, with Grenier hitting Conway for a save as Regal had already moved. A Rock Bottom into a People’s Elbow (with Eugene telling Regal to drop the actual elbow) gets two but a flag pole shot to Regal is enough for the pin (with trunks) to retain.

Rating: D. Well, that was stupid. There was little reason to change the title win like that when you could just turn it right back the next week with nothing having been significantly changed. WWE likes to go way too far with these gotcha moments and they’re really annoying when you had a great moment like this.

Taboo Tuesday ad.

British fans are happy to have Raw.

La Resistance is happy but Bischoff isn’t, because that wasn’t enough punishment to Eugene. Therefore, they can defend the titles against the two who don’t face HHH for the World Title. Doesn’t Bischoff hate the three people who could face HHH? And…actually never mind as this is quicksand.

Ric Flair and Batista try to calm HHH down about the fan vote. They’ve got HHH’s back and front.

Video on Kane/Lita/Gene Snitsky. The melodrama is strong on this show, though they’re doing a nice job of making Snitsky a star overnight.

Snitsky joins us via satellite from Connecticut. Last week’s attack on Kane wasn’t his fault because Kane is the bloodthirsty monster attacking him. Was Snitsky just supposed to take it or should he have made a preemptive strike? Snitsky: “Kane said I was a dead man. Well Kane, the only thing dead around here is your baby.” WOW. Anyway he’ll win at Taboo Tuesday and crying like a baby, which Snitsky imitates, complete with a rocking motion. How is this guy not World Champion yet?

Hurricane/Rosey vs. Val Venis/Stevie Richards

Or not as Kane comes out and beats up all four of them with a chair. Venis gets taken out on a stretcher.

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat about his mixed emotions over this upcoming match with Flair. Yeah Flair is a legend, but he’s one of the people who cost Orton the World Title. Based on that, Orton has to get even but if you look at Flair, you have to feel pity. That’s not the Flair Orton wants though. He wants the legendary Flair, so here’s Ric to a roar. Flair heard Orton say he felt sorry for him but Flair rode up in a long limousine earlier today and a man asked him how to spell his name.

That would be f-a-m-o-u-s, which is what Flair is. He sees Orton showing off in a custom made suit with a Rolex watch but Flair invented being the man. Flair brags about all the women he’s had before talking about how great Orton has already been. He’s no legend killer though because Flair is still right here. Flair is so sure that he’s going to win that if Orton pulls the miracle, he’ll throw in the limo and some women. Orton turns them down because he has his own but he’ll win anyway. This was promos 201, but it’s not like this is anything more than a pit stop as we build towards the next Orton vs. HHH title match.

Lawler is with the Page 3 girls and looks at some of their pictures (off camera of course). This was what it was.

Chris Jericho vs. Rhyno

Fallout from last week’s lumberjack match with Rhyno costing Jericho the win. Rhyno grabs a headlock to start as the announcers try to find a way to sell Jericho facing one of fifteen people at Taboo Tuesday. The fans are behind Jericho as Rhyno cranks on the arm but Jericho fights out of the corner. A headbutt to the arm puts Rhyno in control again though and we hit a chinlock. A spinebuster takes Jericho down for two but he’s right back with the bulldog. The Lionsault hits knees and it’s time for the Gore, which is cut off by Christian and Tyson Tomko for the DQ.

Rating: D+. The chinlock hurt things but these two always worked fairly well together. The match was fairly slow with Rhyno dominating for the most part, which worked well enough as a way to make him seem like a threat for the title shot. I mean, he has no chance of winning the poll, but at least they’re trying.

Post match Jericho gets beaten down but here’s Coach to announce that we’re not done.

Rhyno/Chris Jericho vs. Christian/Tyson Tomko

Joined in progress with Rhyno running Christian over and handing it off to Jericho for a suplex. Rhyno adds a slam as the announcers recap the show so far. Well what else are they supposed to talk about in a match like this? Tomko shoves Rhyno off the top for a crash to the floor and it’s back to Christian for a chinlock.

Just like in the previous tag match, Christian draws Jericho in and starts with the double teaming (it’s a classic move and still works every time). Christian talks too much trash (a common theme as of late) and gets belly to bellied so Rhyno can bring Jericho back in. The springboard dropkick puts Christian on the floor and it’s a Gore to Tomko, setting up the Lionsault for the pin.

Rating: C-. Somewhat better than the singles version which is probably due to getting more time. Jericho getting the fall seems a bit counterproductive, but then again so does most of everything they’re doing with Taboo Tuesday. I’m hoping we don’t get another Christian vs. Jericho match but I don’t think the fans will go that way, which is quite the relief after watching them feud for so long.

Post match Christian hits Rhyno in the face with the Intercontinental Title but walks into the Walls. Batista makes the save and takes out Jericho before posing with the belt.

Shawn Michaels comes up to Chris Benoit and promises to do what’s best for himself in the main event tonight. Benoit isn’t surprised and promised to do the same thing tonight. Edge comes in and doesn’t like being left out, though Shawn and Benoit don’t seem to care.

Smackdown Rebound.

JR gets serious to talk about John Cena getting stabbed in a nightclub after Smackdown, leaving him in a medical facility. Lawler instantly transitions into a discussion of the Diva Search girls fighting at Taboo Tuesday. From STABBING to an eye candy feud. Such is life in 2004.

We recap Carmella vs. Christy, setting up their match at the pay per view.

Taboo Tuesday voting begins next Monday night at 10pm. They’re cutting it pretty close with the timing.

Taboo Tuesday rundown. The six women from earlier plus Jazz will be in a battle royal and you get to pick their outfits.

More British fans are happy to be here.

Evolution vs. Shawn Michaels/Chris Jericho/Edge

Benoit and Batista start things off with Benoit slugging away as you had to expect him to do. The Sharpshooter is easily kicked away and it’s off to Edge for some staring. The fans really don’t like Edge as he forearms away at Batista and shoulders him out to the floor. Back in and Shawn chops away with less success, allowing Flair to come in for a collective WOO. Since Shawn can’t hang with an old man, Benoit comes in and fires off chops in the corner.

That means a Flair Flop and everything breaks down with the good guys all slapping on Figure Fours for a nice visual. Back from a break with Benoit in trouble as Evolution takes turns working on his back with a variety of forearms. HHH hits a British Bulldog style delayed vertical suplex for two and it’s back to Flair, who still gets a nice reception.

Some right hands in the corner keep Benoit in trouble and it’s back to Batista as a fan runs in with Shawn and Edge diving on him with no trouble. Flair kicks Benoit low and puts on the Figure Four as the fans watch/sing to the fan being ejected. Benoit starts to turn the hold over so Flair tags Batista as it’s reversed in a smart move.

An enziguri drops Batista and it’s off to Shawn vs. HHH for old times’ sake. Everything breaks down and it’s a facebuster to Shawn but it’s too early for the Pedigree. Instead it’s a backdrop for the counter, setting up Benoit’s Swan Dive. Edge tags himself in to break up Sweet Chin Music though, leaving Shawn to have to superkick HHH to break up the Pedigree. That’s enough for Edge to steal the pin in a real jerk move.

Rating: B-. These six can do any combination of matches/tag matches for years to more than acceptable results and that’s what they did here. It was another good match but the ending was a bit annoying as we continue to drag through the muck towards Taboo Tuesday. It made sense and is something Edge (suddenly a heel again) should be doing, but it’s still quite the annoying story as it would take a minor miracle for anyone but Shawn to get the shot.

Post match Edge said he told them what he was going to do. A vote for Shawn or a vote for Benoit is a vote wasted, which doesn’t sit well with either of them. Shawn does an informal poll of his own with Edge getting booed, Benoit getting a nice reaction and Shawn getting…well speared actually. Bischoff comes out and announces a triple threat for next week. Edge spears Benoit to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Pretty good main event aside, do you know who is coming off the best on these shows? Snitsky. He’s one of the only people who doesn’t have some kind of a swerve or a stupid move in most of his segments and they aren’t exactly hammering in what they want the fans to vote for at the show.

Taboo Tuesday is screaming REALLY BAD IDEA more and more every week and this was no exception, with HHH worrying about who he has to face, Orton in an acceptable yet not exactly thrilling feud with Flair (though the promos are good) and Jericho facing a field. It’s making it hard to build towards the show and the problem gets worse by the week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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 12, 2019
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Now believe it or not, this show is going to mainly be about the McMahons. It’s a Vince and Shane night in this case, with the former being here to address Kofi Kingston and the latter to explain why he attacked the Miz. Maybe that’s why this year’s Wrestlemania build isn’t exactly setting the world on fire. Let’s get to it.

Here are Sunday’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Shane to open things up and the heel turn seems to have worked. With the Best in the World trophy in the ring, Shane orders the ring announcer to refer to him as the Best in the World, getting angry when it’s not up to his standards. Shane gets right to the point by saying he’s tired of Miz needing him all the time, just like everyone else around here. After pausing for a WE WANT KOFI chant, Shane rants about having to do something for everyone behind the scenes.

That stopped on Sunday when he got to beat Miz up in Miz’s hometown. The reality is that he’s the best in the world because he was born that way, and now he’ll be doing things for himself. Attacking Miz on Sunday so that the last thing he saw was his father’s baked potato face was incredible and that spark isn’t going away. He’s even going to do it again at Wrestlemania, and it’s going to be awesome. This was better than anything Shane has done in a long time and changed absolutely nothing about the fact that probably a dozen people could be better served in this spot.

Aleister Black/Ricochet/Hardys vs. The Bar/Shinsuke Nakamura/Rusev

The seeds of the multi team match begin. Black and Nakamura start with a strike off (I was expecting a spirited debate) before it’s off to Matt in the very old school shirt. That means some shouting without much offense so he hands it off to Jeff to get beaten down by Cesaro. Rusev adds the shoulders in the corner and the chinlock goes on until Jeff jawbreaks his way to freedom.

It’s off to Ricochet to speed things up but Rusev knocks him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Ricochet tagging in Matt to clean house. The yelling clothesline in the corner allows another tag to Jeff for the Twisting Stunner. The Swanton hits Cesaro but everyone makes the save as everything breaks down. Cue the New Day to join the fight as the match is thrown out at 9:52.

Rating: C+. I can go for multi team matches like this and the ending sets up whatever big match they have for Wrestlemania (please not another ladder match). Throw in the Usos and you have a six team match already set, though I’m not sure where that leaves the Revival. Anyway, good while it lasted but the ending was what mattered.

Post match New Day beats up all four teams with Kofi hitting Trouble in Paradise on Nakamura.

We cut to the back where the Usos like what they saw. They warn all the teams about what’s coming and welcome them to the Uso Penitentiary. I’d be fine with just them vs. the Hardys, but why have two teams when you can have far too many?

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat. In 2002, AJ Styles was wrestling for $10 in front of 12 people. In 2004, AJ was in a Bingo hall while Orton was winning the World Title. Orton has been a champion every year while AJ doing nothing. This brings out AJ, who says Orton certainly followed AJ pretty closely over the year despite him not mattering that much.

Orton wouldn’t have made it in his world with a lame pose and a knockoff Diamond Cutter. Randy laughs at the idea of an indy guy talking about someone ripping things off and holds up the Too Sweet sign. AJ says look around, because indy guys like that have taken over. Orton lists off his accomplishments but AJ talks about all the groups that Orton has been part of over the years because Orton has needed a lot of babysitters.

Orton has jumped a lot of people over the years and AJ isn’t going to be the next victim. That’s not cool with Orton, because it may be AJ’s house but Orton is the landlord and rent is due. AJ can make the check out to RKO. AJ points at the sign and says come take the rent. The challenge isn’t accepted….but come on now.

Asuka vs. Sonya Deville

Non-title. They go to the mat to start with Sonya not exactly being able to hang with the champ. Back up and Sonya spears the heck out of her but gets a knee to the face. The sliding knee to the face sends Sonya outside and Asuka baseball slides Mandy by mistake. Mandy pulls the ring skirt down and Sonya slips, allowing Asuka to kick her into the Asuka Lock for the tap at 2:39.

Post match Sonya is mad and won’t leave with Mandy.

The Iiconics declare that un-Iconic and want to know where Sasha Banks and Bayley are. They want the next title shot.

Here’s Becky Lynch for a chat, though first she has to throw away the crutch. She limps to the ring and recaps the entire story, which doesn’t make sense when she sums it up. Becky is glad to be here and happy to be in Wrestlemania after Fastlane, even though it took quite a feat. Do you know how hard it is to play mind games on someone with no brain? She got exactly what she wanted from Ronda Rousey though and will pay it back at Wrestlemania when she breaks the arm and takes the title.

This brings out Charlotte to say Becky is now in Charlotte’s main event. It’s one thing to be hot for six months but Charlotte has been hot for six years. That’s why she was chosen and she’ll get the job done. Becky was chosen because people felt sorry for her, including Rousey. Becky doesn’t buy it and says she’ll see Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

Daniel Bryan and Rowan leave Vince’s office but say it was a private discussion. They’re in a tag match later.

Rey Mysterio/R-Truth vs. Samoa Joe/Andrade

Rey goes after Andrade to start but a blind tag brings in Joe for a hard faceplant as we take an early break. Back with Rey hitting the Code Red on Andrade and making the tag to Truth for the John Cena offense. Everything breaks down and Rey hits a double 619 followed by a frog splash to Andrade. The backsplash breaks it up but Rey victory rolls Joe for the pin at 6:13. Not enough shown to rate, but at least they waited one whole title defense to pin Joe.

Post match Joe snaps and beats up Truth and Andrade.

We look at Alexa Bliss being announced as Wrestlemania host.

Kevin Owens/Mustafa Ali vs. Daniel Bryan/Rowan

Bryan and Owens start fast with an elbow taking Daniel down. Owens says it’s his show and it’s off to Rowan for a slightly slower pace. The slugout goes to Owens so he can bring in Ali to face Bryan. A snap DDT plants Ali and we take a break. Back with Rowan driving Ali ribs first into the turnbuckle, setting up Bryan’s butterfly superplex.

The LeBell Lock sends Ali to the ropes, but Bryan has until five. Ali hits a dropkick for a breather and a Backstabber gets two, despite Owens telling him to come tag. Owens comes in anyway and a double superkick puts Rowan on the floor. Rowan sends Owens into the barricade and comes in off a blind tag, allowing him to claw slam Ali for the pin at 9:20.

Rating: C+. There’s a good chance that Ali not tagging could lead somewhere between himself and Owens, which isn’t the worst idea in the world. Ali sticking around the higher parts of the card is interesting though at some point he needs to win something else to validate being this high up.

Here’s Vince McMahon to talk about offering Kofi Kingston a title shot at Wrestlemania. First though, we look at Kofi’s handicap match at Fastlane in a ruse. Back in the arena, Vince talks about how the fans heard what they wanted to hear because he never said Kofi was getting the shot. Vince says everything is a teachable moment but here’s New Day to interrupt. Big E. isn’t going to learn anything right now because they do everything he tells them to.

They flew halfway around the world to India on Vince’s orders and haven’t ever threatened to leave if they don’t get what they want. Kofi has been here for eleven years and deserves a chance. Vince goes into a rant about how no one deserves anything, including him. Big E. says this is bigger than anything, including Vince’s ego. Vince: “Now there is nothing bigger justifiably than my ego.” Xavier talks about Kofi pinning the WWE Champion multiple times but he’s never gotten a one on one shot.

The WWE Universe demands that Kofi get s chance to compete but Vince isn’t buying it. He wishes Kofi deserved this and while he’s done all kinds of great things in the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber, he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame….as part of New Day instead of on his own merits. Kofi is smart enough to take the glory and have these two younger guys do all the work. Vince wishes Kofi was championship material and earlier today, Daniel Bryan called him a good B+ player.

Kofi finally speaks, saying he doesn’t want a handout. He goes around the world doing what he loves but it’s cost him a lot. Kofi has missed birthdays, weddings and has never even gotten to take his kids trick or treating. He wasn’t there earlier this week when his son lost his first tooth. Through all that, Kofi has never complained, even though Vince has never let someone like him compete for the WWE Title.

What Kofi needs right now is to be told what he needs to do so he can do it. This brings out Orton….and Joe….and the Bar….and Rowan in a gauntlet match next week to get his title match. Everyone comes to the ring and the fight is on with New Day fighting off the villains to end the show. Awesome promos from New Day, who have earned this status over the years but never really used it.

Overall Rating: B. The promo at the end helps carry this but the best thing about the show, as always, is how it feels focused. There’s nothing on here where I wonder why they’re doing this or where I feel like it’s a waste of time. You can see a lot of the matches being built for Wrestlemania, though I’m not wild on some of the directions they’re taking. At least the card is taking shape, even if it’s one with a lot of people being packed onto a show when they shouldn’t be. Rather good show tonight, with the stories carrying things.

Results

Aleister Black/Ricochet/Hardys vs. The Bar/Shinsuke Nakamura/Rusev went to a no contest when New Day interfered

Asuka b. Sonya Deville – Asuka Lock

Rey Mysterio/R-Truth b. Samoa Joe/Andrade – Victory roll to Joe

Daniel Bryan/Rowan b. Mustafa Ali/Kevin Owens – Claw slam to Ali

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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