IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 26, 2018
Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the night after Elimination Chamber and the first of six Monday Night Raws before we get to New Orleans for Wrestlemania XXXIV. Last night saw the most obvious of obvious endings with Roman Reigns winning the Elimination Chamber, basically taking him from not doing much to being in the biggest match of the year overnight. You can’t fight that script you see. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show.

And last night’s pay per view.

We open with a recap of Reigns winning the Chamber.

Here’s an abbreviated version of the HHH/Stephanie McMahon/Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey segment. Stephanie has DEMANDED an apology tonight. Well now it’s serious.

Here are Alexa Bliss and the now heel Mickie James for a chat. Bliss brags about the win last night and says she knew it would happen. Mickie gets some praise as well before Bliss talks about how she’s the greatest thing ever on Raw. Bayley is a lost cause and Sasha’s big ego caught up to her again.

Alexa hopes Asuka is ready for Wrestlemania so here’s Asuka in person. Asuka storms to the ring but Bliss cuts her off, saying Jax should have been in the match but she made one mistake. Cue Jax so Asuka goes after Bliss and James, only to get dropped by Jax. A triangle choke has Jax in trouble but Bliss and James come back in for the save. Cue Bayley and Sasha for the save but Jax lays them out too.

Bayley/Sasha Banks/Asuka vs. Nia Jax/Alexa Bliss/Mickie James

Joined in progress in the match you knew was coming. Bayley gets beaten down with a few shots to the back, including a hard one from Bliss. It’s quickly off to Banks though and the double knees in the corner get two on Alexa. Sasha gets sent to the floor though and Jax runs her over like she’s not even there.

Back from a break with Banks in trouble off a Mickie chinlock. Banks kicks her away and loads up a tag but Bayley drops to the floor and stands in the aisle. Instead it’s off to Asuka (so Sasha gets an upgrade) for the rapid fire kicks, followed by a rolling leg/armbar to make Mickie tap out at 10:53.

Rating: C-. I can’t count how man times I’ve seen some incarnation of this match. Bayley FINALLY wising up and doing something logical was nice to see but other than that, this was every six woman tag you’ve seen over and over again. You can pretty much book Bliss vs. Jax for the title and that’s the best option, but we need a better way of booking the women and soon.

Here’s John Cena to discuss his path to Wrestlemania. Last night he failed in the Elimination Chamber and then had a microphone shoved in his face. He wasn’t sure what to say but now he’s figured it out. After all these failures in the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber, it’s time for a Wrestlemania challenge. It’s time for John Cena to challenge THE UNDERTAKER for Wrestlemania.

The place goes nuts but Cena says that’s not happening either. Cena doesn’t make the matches around here and has been told that match is impossible. Therefore, his road to Wrestlemania now goes through Smackdown, because Cena is a free agent. He’ll be there tomorrow night to earn a spot, so see you then. It’s a good thing we can’t see Cena, because he’s sounding really dumb right now. Apparently everyone without a match right now has failed, meaning everyone but Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Lesnar and Reigns have failed. Just please don’t be Undertaker. Please.

Heath Slater vs. Bray Wyatt

Bray beats up Slater and Rhyno before the bell rings. The beating ensues and there’s no match.

Post match Bray sits in the corner with his eyes looking like he’s about to cry. This is all on Matt Hardy for driving Bray to this. The Great War is still going and they will face each other again. Well it didn’t work the first two times so maybe the third is the right idea.

We see the Rousey package again.

Here’s Miz to have his Wrestlemania opponent announced. First of all, we hear about how awesome Hollywood is and how Miz is only 62 days before becoming the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. After that, he’ll be the greatest champion of all time. Not Chris Jericho, not Edge, not Bret Hart and not Shawn Michaels. He’s still no Tito Santana.

Miz is tired of being treated like a joke without even having merchandise to be sold. He wants to know his opponent for Wrestlemania so earlier today he asked Kurt Angle. All he was told was that his opponent tonight MIGHT tell him who that is going to be. This sends Miz into a rant about how he deserves better than might because he’s carried this show for the last year. Here’s tonight’s opponent.

Seth Rollins vs. The Miz

Non-title. Rollins sends him outside in short order but the Miztourage get in a few shots to take over. Miz whips Seth into the barricade and they head back inside for a chinlock. The YES Kicks have Rollins in trouble and allow the announcers to debate who invented them again. Seth gets tossed to the floor again and we take a break.

Back with Seth getting back into it but not being able to hit the frog splash. Miz scores with the corner dropkicks but the top rope ax handle is broken up with a quick crotching. The superplex into a Falcon Arrow gets two on Miz but Rollins hits a dive onto the Miztourage. Back in and the frog splash (with a BIG leap) gives Rollins the pin at 14:24.

Post match here’s Finn Balor and it’s time for round two.

Finn Balor vs. The Miz

Non-title again….and the Miztourage comes in for the DQ at 24 seconds.

Anderson and Gallows come in for the save but Angle pops up on screen to say we’re continuing until there’s a winner or Miz isn’t going until Wrestlemania.

Finn Balor vs. The Miz

Non-title. Miz hits a running corner dropkick and gets two off a DDT. More shots to the back and a faceplant gets two on Balor as this is one sided so far. A running knee gives Miz two and we take a break. Back with Balor jawbreaking his way out of a chinlock and hitting a kick to the head. The announcers argue over who should be #1 contender.

Cole says Balor should get a shot if he pins Miz, just like Rollins. Graves logically points out that Miz isn’t fresh coming into this match, which makes far too much sense for this. Balor hits something like an Eye of the Hurricane for two, followed by the Sling Blade to rock Miz again. The Coup de Grace gives Balor the pin at 10:50.

Rating: C-. This was all angle but Cole sounded really stupid saying it was a fair exchange. As Graves pointed out, Balor beat a worn down Miz and somehow that’s supposed to be the same thing. I’m sure there will be several other wrestlers added to the match because that’s how the Intercontinental Title match works and it’s not like there’s a big match to be wasted otherwise where you can put these people in to make it matter.

Post match, Cole yells at Graves for being a Miz propaganda machine as Graves wants Mantaur and Abe Knuckleball Schwartz out here. Maybe they can beat Miz too and it’ll be the same thing!

Rollins says there’s more than one way to Wrestlemania and he knows how to get there. He wants Miz and the Intercontinental Title and he wants them at Wrestlemania.

Here’s Roman Reigns for the showdown with Lesnar. Actually never mind, because Reigns says something happened and Lesnar isn’t here. It’s not like it would matter as Lesnar doesn’t show up unless he’s getting paid. Lesnar hides behind his contract and shows up when he feels like it. Last night, Lesnar was in Las Vegas but he was running around with Dana White from the UFC.

Reigns is going to get in trouble for this but he’s here every single week no matter what. He cares about this place and doesn’t just call himself a businessman like Lesnar and Heyman. He’s going to go to the back and take his yelling like a man because he actually cares about this place. This was a few years late, but it’s Roman’s best promo ever. Build this up as a fight and it’s a much more interesting main event.

Braun Strowman is going to put a symphony of destruction on Elias tonight.

Black History Month video.

Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Titus Worldwide

The Bar is defending and this is 2/3 falls. Brogue Kick gives Sheamus the first fall over Titus at 9 seconds. Apollo comes in to give Titus a break and scores with a dropkick. It’s back to Titus for a slam, followed by Apollo’s jumping elbow for two. Back from a break with the champs still in control but Apollo getting over for a hot tag to Titus.

Something like a Dominator/shoulder breaker (looked a bit botched) plants Sheamus and Apollo adds a frog splash for two. The standing moonsault gets the same with Cesaro making the save. Apollo dives over the top onto Sheamus but gets crotched back inside. The assisted White Noise retains the titles in two straight falls at 11:19.

Rating: C+. We’ve seen this match several times now and it’s not exactly doing anything to show the depth of the tag division. Really at this point it has to be Bar vs. Revival at Wrestlemania as there’s no one left for them to face. That being said, I’m not sure who benefited from having them split this many wins. Titus Worldwide does get a rub, but it doesn’t matter if they’re done as a title contender with no one left to fight. But at least they killed a few months, which is the lone benefit from this thing.

Post match the Bar celebrates, saying they have Titus Worldwide’s number and it’s zero. They brag about their string of success but there’s no one left to face.

Jarrius Robertson, a double liver transplant survivor, is getting the Warrior Award at the Hall of Fame.

Here’s Elias with the guitar to talk about noise pollution. Braun Strowman is noise pollution. Everything Graves says is noise pollution. It’s time for the song and of course it calls the crowd a bunch of losers, just like Strowman.

Braun Strowman vs. Elias

Elias tries to bail to the floor but Braun easily catches him and throws Elias around the ring a bit. A double ax handle to the chest sets up a running splash in the corner. Strowman hits him in the head but gets his throat snapped across the top rope. Elias scores with a top rope ax handle but is quickly cut off as Strowman just runs him over. They head to the floor with Elias hiding grabbing a fire extinguisher to spray Strowman for the DQ at 5:04.

Rating: D. This was an angle instead of a match as they seem to be setting up a rematch at Wrestlemania. I’ve heard of worse ideas and it would be nice to have them put together something with two younger guys like this for a change. Strowman deserves a fun win at the show anyway. Well he deserves the World Title but that can’t happen here.

Post match Elias gets punched to the floor but slips out of the powerslam through the announcers’ table. Elias gets into the parking lot and escapes as a limo pulls up.

Here are HHH and Stephanie for the response to last night. First though, here’s the same video package for the third time. Stephanie says that was Ronda acting out of savage instinct and the slap was to remind her of who is boss. Now though we need an apology from Kurt Angle so we can get on the Road to Wrestlemania. Instead here’s a ticked off Ronda but Kurt runs down and cuts her off.

Ronda talks about having never been slapped before and how that took her to a different place. Angle says he needs this job but last night, he lied. The things he said HHH and Stephanie said aren’t true. Stephanie gets back in and says they’re not bad people and goes to leave again. Ronda says not so fast and says it’s Stephanie who needs to apologize to her. If she doesn’t, Stephanie’s arm is coming out of its socket. Stephanie gets in her face and apologizes in a funny bit. The bosses go to leave again but HHH punches Kurt in the face on the way out.

No word on who was in the limo.

Overall Rating: C. This was an up and down show as they kept teasing setting up stuff for Wrestlemania but nothing was actually announced. They have five shows left and it would be nice to have something actually set up instead of being hinted at. They’re running out of time and that needs to light a fire under them already. It’s not a bad show but they need to do something pretty soon.

Results

Bayley/Sasha Banks/Asuka b. Mickie James/Alexa Bliss/Nia Jax – Armbar to James

Seth Rollins b. The Miz – Frog splash

Finn Balor b. The Miz via DQ when the Miztourage interfered

Finn Balor b. The Miz – Coup de Grace

The Bar b. Titus Worldwide – Assisted White Noise to Apollo

Braun Strowman b. Elias via DQ when Elias sprayed him with a fire extinguisher

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Elimination Chamber 2018
Date: February 25, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

We’re only two stops away from Wrestlemania now because it just wouldn’t be right to not squeeze in a pair of pay per views between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Tonight is a show of pretty predictable endings but at least the Elimination Chamber matches themselves should be a lot of fun. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the go home Raw.

And last year’s show.

Kickoff Show: Anderson and Gallows vs. Miztourage

Axel headlocks Anderson to start but gets kicked in the face as the announcers talk about Sasha Banks. A clothesline takes Axel down again and there’s the HI-YAH kick in the corner. Back from a break with Axel slowly stomping Anderson down as the announcers talk about the stars being out in Vegas tonight. Anderson gets in a clothesline and rolls over for the hot tag to Gallows. A high kick to Axel has the Miztourage in trouble but the referee says there was no tag. Not that it matters as Anderson grabs the spinning spinebuster to set up the real hot tag. The Magic Killer puts Dallas away at 8:49.

Rating: D+. Total Raw level tag match here and that’s not the best thing in the world. The Revival needs to be in this picture a lot sooner, hopefully getting the titles somewhere around Wrestlemania (the night after would be a good place). Odds are this sets up a six man or Miz vs. Balor and that’s all it should be doing.

The opening video is standard fare: tonight is the last way to get to Wrestlemania and it involves the most dangerous structure.

We hit a long package on the Women’s Elimination Chamber. It’s a big part of the Women’s Revolution (take a shot every time you hear that in the video) as we’ve never had one before. The winner goes on to face someone, possibly Asuka, at Wrestlemania.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville vs. Mickie James

Bliss is defending, the entrance intervals are five minutes and it’s Mickie vs. Bayley to start things off. Feeling out process to start with Bayley taking over and hitting an early bulldog. Sonya sends her over the top and onto the cage floor but Bayley jumps onto the wall to avoid some pain. Sonya gets send hard into the Chamber wall for two and Bayley goes up. That sends Sonya back to the floor so Bayley drops the elbow there for two (inside the ring of course) instead. We hit the chinlock until Mandy is in third.

A quick Stunner over the ropes cuts Mandy off and the fans are behind Bayley in the glorified handicap match. Bayley gets taken outside and driven hard onto the floor as the numbers game starts taking over. The double teaming continues with Mandy hitting a middle rope knee to the chest for two. Bayley gets her arms hung up in the wall so Absolution can fire in strikes to the ribs but the clock starts ticking down. Mandy and Sonya actually realize it and are waiting in Sasha, who comes in fourth.

House is cleaned in a hurry and the running double knees get two on Sonya. With Mandy down, Sasha and Bayley double team Sonya into the Chamber. Mandy gets back up and hits a German suplex faceplant (Fan: “THAT WAS DOPE!”) on Sasha, only to get caught in the Bank Statement for the tap at 13:50. Mickie James (in Wonder Woman gear) is in fifth and cleans house, as is the custom for someone joining the match. A hurricanrana from the Chamber wall drops Deville and it’s only Mickie standing. James heads to the top of a pod and it’s a huge Thesz press to get rid of Deville at 17:40.

Not that it matters as the Backstabber into the Bayley to Belly eliminates Mickie at 18:03 (so much for the last few weeks of Bliss and Mickie being friends), leaving us with Bayley and Banks in the ring as we wait on Bliss. Alexa finally comes in and climbs the wall but is surrounded in a hurry. She tries to crawl from side to side and winds up on a pod….but Banks turns on Bayley by kicking her down.

Bliss sends Banks into the buckles though and slaps the heck out of Bayley for two. Bayley is back up and ties Banks in the Tree of Woe for a stomping but Bliss catches her on top in a superplex. Banks’ frog splash gets two on Bayley but she’s back up with a super Bayley to Belly. A rollup gets rid of Bayley at 25:39 and we’re down to two. Twisted Bliss hits Banks’ knees so she fires off knees against the Chamber.

One misses though and Bliss drills her from behind to take over again. Another Twisted Bliss on the floor crushes Sasha but it doesn’t count so Banks reverses into the Bank Statement. They head inside with Bliss driving her into the corner but Banks kicks her down. Sasha looks up to the top of a pod and this isn’t going to go well. Alexa kicks her face first into the pod and an elevated DDT retains the title at 29:42.

Rating: C. It got WAY better once Bliss came in but this didn’t need to be a Chamber match. No one bought anyone but Banks and Bliss (or maybe Bayley) as winning here and Bliss winning was the obvious choice. The Thesz press was a cool spot but the Twisted Bliss should have been the finish. Still though, not terrible and better than some of the men’s matches over the years.

Post match, with Banks crying on the steps, Bliss gives an emotional speech about how this is proof that you can accomplish your dreams. This is for everyone who has ever dreamed big….and none of you will ever accomplish anything. She is the one true goddess of WWE and that is never going to change. Thank goodness, as Bliss is a million times better as a heel.

Braun Strowman is ready to go to Wrestlemania and make Brock Lesnar his little beastie boy.

Tag Team Titles: Titus Worldwide vs. The Bar

The Bar is defending and jump the challengers early on, only to have Apollo hit a big dive to the floor. We settle down to Cesaro uppercutting Apollo for two, followed by Sheamus coming in for an armbar. Cesaro hits a front facelock and brings Sheamus back in for another armbar. It would be nice if they mixed the submissions up but that’s not likely to happen in a cool down match like this.

Cesaro grabs a chinlock and again it’s back to Sheamus for a front facelock. Geez at least pretend to try. Apollo sends Sheamus shoulder first into the post and it’s off to Titus for the power game. Cesaro gets pulled out of the air and Sheamus dives into the Clash of the Titus for two. Apollo’s high crossbody into the standing moonsault gets two but Titus gets sent outside. A chop block into the assisted White Noise retains the titles at 10:03.

Rating: D+. Another standard Raw tag match here, and actually worse than most of their previous matches. The ending was a bit of a surprise but I’d rather a bigger team take the titles from the Bar than a short run team. The problem though is who gets to take those titles from them, as there aren’t exactly a bunch of face teams worth much at the moment.

Trailer for the Andre the Giant documentary. That looks amazing.

Video on Asuka vs. Nia Jax. Nia wants to break the streak and that’s about it.

Asuka by the numbers video.

Nia Jax vs. Asuka

If Nia wins, she’s added to the Women’s Title match at Wrestlemania. Nia wastes no time in throwing Asuka around, including tossing away the jumping armbar. Something like a curb stomp into a running elbow gets two. Asuka strikes away for some effect but gets taken down again in short order. Another armbar is countered into a slam (close to a Jackhammer) but this time Nia isn’t following up as fast.

Asuka’s kicks to the chest are shrugged off for a Samoan drop and another near fall. A big kick to the face gets two and Asuka is looking frustrated. Asuka goes up top but gets slammed down, only to avoid the middle rope splash. The cross armbreaker goes on but Nia rolls over and drives her into the corner for the break. Nia shouts a lot and tries a powerbomb, which is reversed into a hurricanrana to give Asuka the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. And…well yeah really. I have no idea why this is surprising to anyone as it’s EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS TO NIA EVERY SINGLE TIME. This was the most predictable ending on the show and that’s saying a lot when you have Roman Reigns in a #1 contenders match for Wrestlemania.

Post match Nia is still livid and drives Asuka through the barricade.

Bliss says no one is ready for her.

Roman Reigns isn’t worried about Paul Heyman’s threats on the Kickoff Show because he’s winning the Chamber and the title.

We recap Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy. Matt was sick of losing and finally became awoken, setting up the battle of creepy characters with weird laughs.

Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt

Matt comes out first and Bray does his appear in the ring entrance….but Matt disappears. We get a Matt voiceover with him saying the words Jeff used to use in Impact Wrestling (you’ll fade away and classify yourself as obsolete). Matt says tonight we delete but Bray can’t find him. Finally Matt pops up and jumps Bray in a bit of an anti-climactic moment. The bell rings and Bray isn’t sure what to do, so Matt offers some applause. The Twist of Fate is broken up and Bray hits his running body block.

We hit the chinlock and it’s BEACH BALL TIME BECAUSE A WRESTLING SHOW NEEDS A BEACH BALL FOR ENTERTAINMENT! It seems to be taken away as Bray stomps on Matt but charges into a boot to the face. A tornado DDT drops Wyatt and the Side Effect gets two. Matt takes too long loading up the middle rope elbow and it’s a release Rock Bottom to take him down. The middle rope backsplash misses though and Matt reverses Sister Abigail into a Twist of Fate for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C. And that’s it for the feud being interesting, even though this wasn’t all that much in the first place. Matt has lost all of his steam and Bray didn’t have any steam in the first place. Wyatt needs to either go away for a long time or have a crisis and turn face, because this is making things worse and worse every week.

Long package on Ronda Rousey, the same that has aired on Raw.

It’s time for the Rousey signing, with Kurt Angle, Stephanie McMahon and HHH out with her. HHH gives her a big introduction and here’s Ronda, with Stephanie welcoming her as well. Ronda seems taken aback to be here and talks about how amazing it is to be in the ring with Kurt.

We stop for a Ronda chant but HHH wants to get down to business. They’re ready to sign the contract, which will put Rousey on the Wrestlemania card. Ronda doesn’t want to be given anything special so that’s fine with her. I mean, it puts her in Fandango territory. Rousey is about to sign but Angle has a look on his face. She asks if he has something to say and Kurt praises HHH and Stephanie.

They wanted to manipulate her for what happened at Wrestlemania XXXI (not XXI Kurt). Apparently HHH said “three years in the making and now we own the b….”. HHH: “KURT SHUT UP!” He blames the flu for Kurt’s statements and the men leave. Stephanie starts getting serious and wants to sign the contract but Angle says hang on a second. Apparently Stephanie has been calling Ronda a has been and even she could beat Rousey up. Rousey goes to the angry face and backs Stephanie up to the ropes but HHH makes the save. Ronda shoves his arms away too and slams HHH through the table.

That earns her the big slap from Stephanie….and then reality sets in. Fans: “YOU F***ED UP!” Stephanie bails and Rousey signs the contract. This was EXACTLY how it should have been and far better than the Rumble. It’s a perfectly done story and Angle in the tag match (possibly fighting for his job) is the right way to go. Have Rousey break Stephanie’s arm into 34 pieces in New Orleans and everything is fine.

Long recap of the Men’s Elimination Chamber. Everyone wants to face Lesnar and that’s about it.

Elias vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns vs. The Miz vs. Braun Strowman vs. John Cena

The winner faces Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Elias has a song for us about how he’s not scared of anyone, including Lesnar, who he’ll beat when he gets his chance. Miz, Balor and Rollins will start things off because quantity means quality. It’s Miz going for the early alliances but his Too Sweet is shot down. Instead it’s Rollins and Balor joining forces, only to roll Balor up for two in short order. Miz’s sunset flip is countered with a basement dropkick for two and it’s time to trade reversals.

Rollins is right back up with the springboard clothesline as Cole mentions Rollins having more pay per view wins in the last five years than anyone else. The Skull Crushing Finale is broken up so Rollins goes with the double Blockbuster for two each instead. It’s Cena in fourth and that means a showdown with Rollins. They talk a lot of trash about how this is to go to Wrestlemania and the shoulder blocks put Rollins down. A ProtoBomb to Miz sets up a double Shuffle. Balor is back in so Cena throws both he and Rollins onto his shoulders. That goes nowhere so Miz gets two on Rollins off the Reality Check.

Cena superplexes Balor and Rollins does the same to Miz, putting all four down until Reigns is in fifth. Miz DDTs Balor and winds up being the only person on his feet, meaning it’s a big circle of YES Kicks. Seth gets sent hard over the top for a crash onto the floor but Roman is back up with a sitout powerbomb for two on Miz. The clock begins and since Elias is left, Strowman is in sixth. Everyone goes after Braun so he suplexes Cena and Rollins (who has a great in pain face) at the same time. Balor is thrown into Reigns and it’s Braun staring Miz down. Miz tries to climb a pod….and STROWMAN GETS UP THERE FIRST!

Braun slams him head first into the Plexiglas and then tosses Miz onto the pile. With everyone else down, Braun stares at Elias, stops to throw Rollins over the top, and then stares at him again. The running powerslam eliminates Miz at 20:00 and we have five people in the Chamber. Elias comes in to complete the field….or at least he’s allowed to but stays in the pod, leaving the other four to pound Braun down.

A QuadrupleBomb with Cena helping Reigns gets two, even with everyone covering. The AA only gets one, the spear gets two, the Curb Stomp sends Strowman to the floor and Balor adds the Coup de Grace. Instead of covering though it’s an AA to Reigns but Rollins jumps Cena. Rollins and Balor crossbody each other so now Elias comes in for some near falls. Elias takes his shot at a few people but an electric chair into a sitout powerbomb only gets two on Reigns. Braun is back up though and Elias tries the electric chair on him. That means a running powerslam and Elias is gone at 26:35.

Rollins saves Reigns from a similar fate and it’s time to go after Strowman again. Cena dives into another powerslam though and we’re down to four at 27:05. Strowman is on his feet while Cena looks scared because HE MIGHT NOT GO TO WRESTLEMANIA! I’M SURE! Balor slips out of the powerslam and hits a pair of shotgun dropkicks to stagger Balor. A Coup de Grace to the back gets two but Rollins hits an enziguri on Balor. Finn is right back with the Pele and 1916 gets two on Seth. Another dropkick puts Reigns in the corner and the Coup de Grace connects but the powerslam gets rid of Balor at 30:24.

Rollins low bridges Braun to the Chamber floor and stomps away with Reigns helping things out. Strowman shrugs them off so Reigns hits a Samoan drop as Rollins goes to the top of the pod. With a look to the Wrestlemania sign, Rollins hits the frog splash for two and everyone is down. Back to back superkicks look to set up the Curb Stomp but instead it’s a fifth powerslam for a fifth elimination at 36:26.

Strowman takes the shirt off and waits on Roman as we hit the GET THESE HANDS chant. Reigns comes at him and sidesteps a charge to send Strowman through a pod (I’ve been waiting for that.). Braun is up so there’s the Superman Punch and the booing commences. Another one puts Strowman on a knee but the spear is blocked. Instead it’s a third Superman Punch and two spears to send Reigns to Wrestlemania at 39:57 to near silence.

Rating: B+. It’s been the same problem for the last year: there is no reason for this to be Reigns other than the script says so. Strowman has been built up for a year now and the fans want to see him. For whatever reason though, WWE would rather try Reigns AGAIN instead of pulling the trigger on what seems to be a big layup. I know Reigns probably has more potential long term, but right now it should be Strowman. We’ve tried Reigns before and it hasn’t quite worked (though it hasn’t failed), but now it should be the logical play.

The match itself was entertaining and I was getting behind Strowman more and more, even if the ending wasn’t exactly a secret. No one else really mattered in the match with Strowman eliminating everyone but Reigns. He looked like a star and should get a huge Wrestlemania match (Cena would be interesting) but the ending took away a lot of the momentum.

Post match Reigns celebrates but Strowman gives him two powerslams.

Overall Rating: C+. Certainly not a bad show but the completely worthless midcard didn’t help things, much like the show, with five matches, SOMEHOW HAVING ANOTHER OVERRUN. Like seriously, it’s 11:20 on a Sunday night. Cut something down or out (four minute intervals would have been a fine idea) but find a way to get these things under control. And in May we go to half an hour longer than this every month? Or will those have an overrun too? Overall though, good show with the main event and Rousey segments being the high points.

Results

Alexa Bliss won the Women’s Elimination Chamber last eliminating Sasha Banks

The Bar b. Titus Worldwide – Assisted White Noise to Apollo

Asuka b. Nia Jax – Hurricanrana

Matt Hardy b. Bray Wyatt – Twist of Fate

Roman Reigns won the Men’s Elimination Chamber last eliminating Braun Strowman

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Since WWE can’t just let us go from the Royal Rumble to Wrestlemania without multiple pay per views in between, we now have “Elimination Chamber 2018” and that means a double shot of Elimination Chambers. Why bother making one of the matches work better when you can just do it twice and hope people will care more that way? It’s a rather slim card but a double Chamber match should help a lot. Let’s get to it.

In case you’ve forgotten it, here’s last year’s show.

And the go home episode of Monday Night Raw.

Kickoff Show: Anderson and Gallows vs. Miztourage

This feels like a way to extend (Or is it start?) Miz vs. Finn Balor, and that’s not the worst idea in the world. I can always go for a battle of the goons, especially when Miz’s goons are very good at what they do. There’s a good chance this sets up a six man or just a singles match down the line and for a match that doesn’t have a lot of meaning to it, that should be just fine.

I’ll take the Miztourage as this feels like the kind of match where they would set you up for Gallows and Anderson to win easily and then throw in a swerve. Miztourage winning via cheating would make sense and draw Balor in, which seems to be the goal of the whole thing. This should be fine for an opener though and that’s all it needs to be.

Asuka vs. Nia Jax

Now this one doesn’t do much for me. The whole thing has been about Jax being the one to dethrone Asuka and end the undefeated streak and…..why would I believe that? We’ve been here multiple times with Jax now and she just doesn’t win the big matches. They’ve built her up as an unstoppable monster in both NXT and WWE and it’s the same thing every time.

So yeah, Asuka wins here and does so in the same manner she’s done it every single time now: survive Jax’s impressive offense and then win in the end with some kind of a hold. They’re not going to give her the Women’s Royal Rumble win and then lose the undefeated streak six weeks before “Wrestlemania XXXIV”. That doesn’t make sense and we’ve been here before. Stop with the same story.

Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt

This is another match we’ve seen before and it’s already lost a bunch of its steam. Wyatt is the same person he’s been for years and Hardy is now feeling like he’s playing the Woken character rather than being the Woken character like he was back in TNA. The fact that we’ve already seen them fight doesn’t help either and now we’re watching them again, which doesn’t make me care about it any more.

I’ll take Wyatt to win here as Hardy is already down lower than he was when he became the new character in the first place. Wyatt could be built up for a “Wrestlemania XXXIV” match but Hardy is seeming more and more destined for some thrown together match. That’s not the most surprising thing, but maybe they’ll throw him a win here and give it one more try. I wouldn’t be stunned, but I’m really not expecting it.

Tag Team Titles: The Bar(c) vs. Titus Worldwide

This is a thing that’s happening too and while I get why (we’ll get to that in a minute), it’s not the most thrilling match around. Titus Worldwide has been built up as being able to beat the Bar (except that one time they didn’t) so there’s some drama, but it’s not like this is the most thrilling match in the world.

That being said, I’ll go with new champions in WWE’s effort to celebrate Black History Month. This wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world and that’s not a bad thing, as the tag division really needs some fresh blood. Giving Titus Worldwide the titles, even for a short while, would offer that fresh blood and you could always go back there later if necessary. For now though, the Bar loses but they’ll likely get the belts back soon enough.

Women’s Elimination Chamber

Here we have another of those firsts that WWE loves to do anymore and….yeah I really don’t see why they shouldn’t. The women’s division has been built up well enough to support something like this so why not do one? It’s not as big as the Royal Rumble last month but it also doesn’t feel tacked on for the sake of tacking it on. It’s better than the tag version in 2015 at least.

I’ll take Alexa Bliss to retain here because really, what other options are there? Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are this match’s Carlito and Chris Masters, Mickie James isn’t winning anything anytime soon, and Bayley is a lost cause. I guess there’s a possibility of Sasha Banks winning it, but Jax vs. Bliss is about as logical of a match as you have for the title at “Wrestlemania XXXIV” so we’ll go with that.

Men’s Elimination Chamber

After this Monday’s insane gauntlet match, I can appreciate WWE trying to do something with this. Really, I can. The result has worked well enough too, as the obvious ending is still obvious but at least they’re giving us a reason to think something might be changing. The gauntlet match kind of gave it away, but at least they’re trying.

And of course Roman Reigns wins. Like really, what else are you expecting? It might take three or four spears to Braun Strowman, but Reigns is going to New Orleans whether we like it or not. Now, like I said, they’ve actually done a good job of making you believe it won’t happen and I completely applaud them for that. Before, ti’s been the most obvious result in the world from January on. Now it’s late February and we’re just getting to it, which should at least make things easier to sit through.

Overall Thoughts

I’m really not feeling this show, but that’s more to wanting to get to the big build more than anything else. We have six weeks to go before “Wrestlemania XXXIV” and all I ask for here is some good action. Yeah the booking is pretty obvious, but just let us have something fun along the way. The Chambers should be worth seeing, but the rest of the card doesn’t exactly thrill me. Still though, things might be ok.

Oh and Ronda Rousey’s contract signing. That’s certainly a thing that’s happening too. I’m betting Stephanie McMahon gets involved and that’s the setup for “Wrestlemania XXXIV”, because we’re ALL looking forward to McMahon getting that moment that has eluded her for….well at least a few days by this point.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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: September 25, 2003
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s time to start building to No Mercy and we have a new World Champion with Brock Lesnar having taken the title from Kurt Angle in last week’s Iron Man match. The other big story is Los Guerreros winning the Tag Team Titles to make Eddie a double champion. I’m sure there will be no animosity on Chavo’s part. Let’s get to it.

Last week was a big week and you should look at it again.

Opening sequence.

Tonight, the Cruiserweight, Tag Team and US Titles are on the line. That’s quite the show.

The World Title is on a podium in the ring and here are Vince McMahon and Sable for a presentation. Vince praises Brock for his win last week but here’s Angle to interrupt. Before Kurt can say anything, Vince knows he’s here to claim Brock cheated and to challenge him for the title tonight.

That’s not happening though, because Angle might have to wait a long time to get another chance. That means starting from the bottom so tonight he’s going to be here to present Brock with the title. Angle isn’t feeling that and says either Brock comes out here and gets a beating or Kurt can go outside and give him the beating there.

Instead here’s John Cena to accuse Angle of having female genitalia. The fight is on and Cena is thrown over the top with ease before he heads to the back. That’s enough waiting for Angle so he goes to the back and finds a door labeled Brock Lesnar. That might be a good place to start. All he finds is a gym bag but here’s Cena to jump Angle.

During the break, Cena ran to the parking lot and drove away. Angle commandeered Vince’s limo and driver for a very late pursuit.

Tag Team Titles: Los Guerreros vs. Matt Hardy/Shannon Moore

Matt, who has wrestled with strep throat and hates taking medicine, and Shannon are challenging. As someone with at least fifteen diagnosed cases of strep (to go with eight cases of bronchitis and three pneumonias, two of which were double pneumonia, I feel for him). Eddie and Matt start things off with Matt stopping for an early pose. It’s Chavo coming in off a blind tag to take Matt down as the champs start taking turns on Hardy.

Matt finally sends Chavo outside into the announcers’ table and Moore sends him into the apron for good measure. Shannon comes in and shows some nice fire with the forearms to the back. It’s not enough fire to keep Chavo in trouble for long though as he gets over for the hot tag.

Everything breaks down in a hurry with Eddie having to fight them both off, only to get caught in a neckbreaker from Matt. Chavo hits a high crossbody on Shannon to give Eddie two, only to have Shannon hit a dropkick to the back for the same. With Matt sent outside, Chavo belly to backs Shannon down so Eddie can drop the frog splash to retain.

Rating: C+. It’s always a good sign when a match makes me wonder what they could do with more time and that’s what happened here. Shannon is a pretty good high flier and he looked solid in support of Matt here. Los Guerreros are more than talented enough to make this work, especially when we get to the eventual split over Chavo being jealous.

Post match Matt jumps Eddie and gives him a Side Effect onto the belt.

During the break, Charlie Haas, who challenges Eddie tonight, ran out and attacked Chavo, followed by a Haas of Pain to Eddie. Tonight could make Eddie look like an even bigger star.

Here’s a ticked off A-Train for a chat. Now who thought this was a good idea? He’s tired of hearing that he can’t beat Chris Benoit because he can beat anyone. A-Train gives an open challenge but settles for beating up the timekeeper, even giving him a Crossface. Benoit runs out for the save and puts the Crossface on A-Train. That’s broken up with raw power though and A-Train chairs him down.

Eddie’s ribs are badly damaged but he swears he can wrestle.

Vince tells Sable how great she looks tonight and admires her figure. She takes off his jacket when a production guy comes in. Vince wanted to see him twenty minutes ago and yells as a result. Anyway, we’re doing the Brock presentation later. I’m sure nothing bad will happen.

Charlie says he’s taking the US Title tonight to make up for losing the Tag Team Titles.

We recap Tajiri’s heel turn and beatdown of Rey Mysterio to set up tonight’s title match.

Cruiserweight Title: Tajiri vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio is defending. Tajiri cranks on the arm to start and drops a knee for an early two. A hurricanrana into a victory roll gives Rey two and we hit a quick pinfall reversal sequence. Rey’s charge hits the corner though and we hit the Tarantula for a few seconds. Tajiri loads up the mist but misses, allowing Rey to knock him outside and follow with a good looking slingshot dive.

Back from a break with Rey getting kicked out of the air for two. Tajiri hammers away at the ribs and hooks something like an abdominal stretch. It’s off to the bodyscissors with Tajiri even throwing in a few rollups for two as a bonus. That’s so much better than what you usually get with this hold. How often do you see a hold like this go on and stop paying attention for a bit because nothing is happening? Those rollups aren’t anything great but they’re keeping it from being boring, which is more than you can expect otherwise.

Rey fights up and hits a sitout bulldog, followed by a moonsault press for two. Tajiri is right back with a Michinoku Driver but kicks the referee by mistake. The handspring elbow is blocked with a dropkick to the back and Rey scores with the 619. The West Coast Pop misses and Tajiri kicks him in the face. Cue a second ref to check on the first and count a very delayed two. Rey snaps off a standing hurricanrana but the replacement referee is still checking on the first. Tajiri goes with the red mist and steals the pin and the title.

Rating: B. This got the time that it needed to make things work, though the referee stupidly turning his head at the end didn’t work so well. Tajiri winning the title makes the most sense as it strengthens his heel turn and lets Rey do something else. It’s not like he’s going to regularly defend the title so let someone else have it and get some more momentum as a result.

Video on WWF and the Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Action Network coming together for a voting drive.

Cole and Tazz brag about UPN’s ratings successes. But did Smackdown beat the Mullets?

Basham Brothers vs. Jamie Noble/Bradshaw

Billy Gunn is hurt so Jamie bought half of the APA for the night. It’s a brawl to start with Jamie diving onto Danny as Bradshaw beats Doug up in the corner. Danny low bridges Jamie to the floor though and Shaniqua kicks him in the head to take over. Back in and we hit the chinlock for a bit until Jamie dragon screw leg whips his way to freedom. A swinging neckbreaker is enough for the tag to Bradshaw for the quick beatdown. The Last Call sends Doug flying but Shaniqua takes Nidia’s head off with a clothesline. Jamie checks on her so Bradshaw hits the Clothesline, drawing in Shaniqua for the DQ.

Rating: D. So the point here was to push Bradshaw and Shaniqua? This would have made more sense as the APA vs. the Bashams but if that’s the case, just have the Bashams get a win. As usual, WWE feels the need to push the worst possible options out of a match and for some reason I don’t see Shaniqua panning out as the latest force in the women’s division.

Long recap of the Iron Man match.

US Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas

Eddie is defending and has bad ribs while an angry Big Show is on commentary. Show claims that he’s tired of being ignored so he gets up and posts Eddie before the bell. Charlie is smart enough to stomp away and hits a backdrop to stay on the ribs. A quick toss to the floor gives Eddie a breather but Charlie is back in with a double leg takedown for two. The back is bent over Charlie’s knee until Eddie grabs the face for the break.

Charlie is right back up with another posting so here’s Chavo to check on him. That earns the nephew a right hand and an ejection but the distraction allows Eddie to grab the rope at two. The Haas of Pain goes on but Eddie slips out after a good while. Haas grabs the belt, which is quickly taken away and laid in the corner. Eddie of course grabs it and wraps it around the corner as Charlie shoves the referee. That’s not a DQ so Charlie dives at the buckle and knocks himself silly, setting up the frog splash to retain.

Rating: B-. So we’re heading towards Big Show vs. Eddie? That would be a good way to make Eddie look like a giant killer, but if history has shown me anything, it’s never bet against WWE’s ability to push Big Show over the wrong talent. Eddie looked great here as he fought through the injuries and he continues to be the best thing on this show every single week.

Here are Vince and Sable to try the presentation again. Vince demands us on our feet to welcome Brock, who at least gets to come out this time. After Brock’s posing, Vince declares him the new unstoppable face of Smackdown. Brock doesn’t mind the YOU TAPPED OUT chants because he’s the new champion. As for Kurt, he had him in the palm of his hand last week and was never in danger of not getting the title back. Brock says he’s unstoppable so here’s Undertaker because who else was it going to be.

Undertaker didn’t interfere last week because he has too much respect for the title but he’ll get in Lesnar’s face now. He doesn’t forget or forgive but he does have some advice for Brock: polish that title up because his first defense is against Undertaker. Vince wants to know how that happened and here’s Stephanie, because this is still about the McMahons. Stephanie explains the match but Vince says no because her authority is going to be rescinded. If she doesn’t change her mind right now, it’s Vince vs. Stephanie in a match at No Mercy.

Stephanie is completely taken aback by this (Someone wants to hurt Stephanie? What insanity is this?) but won’t change her mind. Vince makes it an I Quit match and yells at Stephanie so Undertaker grabs his arm. That earns Undertaker a belt shot but he’s back up with a chokeslam to Lesnar to end the show. That’s a really bad double main event but they’re still way ahead of Unforgiven, which says more about that show than No Mercy.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event angle and the Basham match were the only bad things going on this week as the rest was focused around Eddie Guerrero, which is never a bad thing. There was good wrestling here though and the stories are solid enough to make the show not feel long, which is a lot more than Raw can say.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: February 20, 2018
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix

We’re on the last night of the first round with what could be an interesting match. This week will see Charlotte/Bobby Roode vs. Nia Jax/Apollo. Now given that every match has been Raw vs. Smackdown with Raw winning the first three and Smackdown winning the next two, the ending shouldn’t be a huge mystery here. Let’s get to it.

Miss last week’s show?  I didn’t and here it is.

Cole explains how to keep comments on your screen. If you can watch Facebook Live, you probably know how to do that.

Jimmy Uso and Naomi are live commenting on the show.

First Round: Charlotte/Bobby Roode vs. Nia Jax/Apollo

Charlotte and Roode’s unofficial nicknames: the Robe Warriors. Apollo does the Titus Worldwide dance along with Titus and Dana Brooke, making Nia look like she wants to dive into a shark tank. The guys start but hang on a second as Roode needs to do some strutting. That’s not cool with Charlotte, who stops to give him a quick lesson. After a funny moment, Roode snapmares Apollo down and strikes the well received pose.

Apollo armdrags him into an armbar as we look at Nia. Back up and a dropkick gives Apollo two and let’s look at Nia again. Roode is frustrated so it’s off to the women, with Nia having to tell the cheering Titus to get off the apron. Dana Brooke grabs Charlotte’s foot so Nia yells at her, allowing Charlotte to unload with shoulders in the corner.

A dropkick puts Nia on the floor and Charlotte does Roode’s pose (though we seem to cut away when she shakes her hips). Back in and Nia runs her over but Charlotte knees her way out of a suplex attempt. Dana offers ANOTHER distraction so Nia can deck Charlotte, earning herself a rant from Nia. Charlotte slips out of a Samoan drop and a chop block sets up the Figure Four.

Unfortunately Nia is tall enough that she can headbutt her way out, meaning it’s off to the men as things speed up. The Glorious DDT is countered into a rollup for two, followed by Roode hitting a spinebuster for two of his own. Everything breaks down and Charlotte shoves Nia off the top, setting up the moonsault. Roode grabs the Glorious DDT to pin Apollo at 10:39.

Rating: C. I really wasn’t feeling this one as there wasn’t much of a way to convince people that either Apollo would beat Roode or that Nia would beat….well any big time opponent actually. They tried something with Nia being annoyed at Titus Worldwide but it’s not like there’s some kind of a deep history there.

Next week: Finn Balor/Sasha Banks vs. Miz/Asuka.

Balor says next week won’t be awesome, but it will be Too Sweet.

Asuka apparently still can’t speak English on this show so Miz says it’ll be Awe-ska.

Charlotte and Roode both do a WOO with Charlotte eventually giving Roode’s a pass.

After the winners leave, Nia has Titus take off his jacket and then yells at the entire team, blaming Titus and Dana for the loss. Apollo drops down behind Titus so Nia can shove him down. For some reason Dana takes a swing at Nia and that means a Samoan drop. Nia smiles to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Here’s the thing: this was a show we had to get through to get to the more interesting stuff. It’s not a good match in the first place and the Nia vs. Titus Worldwide stuff wasn’t anything either. You have to get that over with though to move on to the second round where things could get interesting. Not a terrible show, but the weakest so far.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: February 20, 2018
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s the final night of the first round of the Cruiserweight Title tournament, which means we only have two spots remaining in the quarterfinals. The first three weeks have been a lot of fun with some high quality action so hopefully the final week lives up to its predecessors. The two matches have already been announced so let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a refresher.

We open with a recap of last week’s matches and a preview of tonight’s matches in another well done package.

Opening sequence.

Cruiserweight Title Tournament First Round: Buddy Murphy vs. Ariya Daivari

This is Murphy’s (former NXT Tag Team Champion) main roster debut and PLEASE let him get rid of the somehow still boring Daivari. In a pre-match promo, Daivari mocks Murphy for having to cut weight to make 205lbs. Buddy isn’t stealing Daivari’s Wrestlemania moment. Murphy, who looks like he’s shredded the bottom half of his shorts, runs Daivari over to start and does it again for good measure.

A running hurricanrana sends Daivari outside but he grabs Murphy by the hair and gets a reverse DDT on the apron. Buddy is sent into the steps for one and a hard hiptoss into the corner gets two. We hit the chinlock with a knee in Buddy’s back (at least there’s psychology) for a bit but Buddy fights up with a middle rope dropkick. Buddy takes too long getting to the top so Daivari rolls outside, meaning it’s a HUGE flip dive over the top instead.

Back in and Daivari scores with a discus forearm, followed by the frog splash for two. And that’s it for Daivari’s chances. We actually get a Let’s Go Buddy chant but the hammerlock lariat cuts that off in short order. That’s only good for two as well and Daivari is stunned. Buddy hits some quick strikes and grabs a reverse pumphandle, throws Daivari onto his shoulders and snaps him down into a Death Valley Driver for the pin at 7:35.

Rating: C+. It’s a good debut for Murphy, who looked sharp and athletic, but one day he’s going to mistime that finisher (which needs a name) and it’s going to look bad. At least the interesting guy won here as Daivari may be a veteran, but he’s certainly not an interesting veteran. I’m not seeing Murphy going very far in the tournament but at least he got in a good first match, including kicking out of Daivari’s best stuff to make him look even better.

General Manager Drake Maverick unveils the quarterfinal brackets:

Cedric Alexander

TJP

Roderick Strong

Kalisto

Buddy Murphy

Jack Gallagher/Mustafa Ali

Drew Gulak

Mark Andrews

These matches take place over the next two weeks. Cedric and TJP come in with TJP saying it’s time for Cedric to choke at the finish line again. That’s funny to Cedric, who doesn’t mind putting TJP in a back brace.

Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado vs. Evan Daniels/Corazon Delgado

Daniels and Dorado start things off as the announcers argue about being invited to the lucha house parties. A hurricanrana takes Daniels down before it’s off to Delgado, whose name Nigel pronounces about five different ways. Metalik comes in and counters a headscissors with a faceplant but a quick distraction allows the tag back to Daniels.

A few shots to the back allow Daniels to mock the lucha dance. That’s it for the offense though and it’s back to Dorado as things speed up again. Dorado scores with a double Golden Rewind, followed by the stereo dives to the floor. Back in and Dorado drops the shooting star press to end Daniels at 3:55.

Rating: C. Just a quick squash here and really, that’s not a bad thing when you have the tournament eating up so much time. Of course you could have just let the show be a bit shorter but why do that when you can pump out more content? I mean, quantity is what matters instead of quality right?

Drew Gulak scoffs at the notion that he went too fast last week. Mark Andrews is all flash and none of that will help him when he’s tapping out.

Mark Andrews doesn’t like the idea of a no fly zone because he’s going to fly to Wrestlemania.

Cruiserweight Title Tournament First Round: Jack Gallagher vs. Mustafa Ali

Jack is in regular gear (which looks Slytherin inspired) on Maverick’s orders. Jack backs him up against the ropes to start and actually allows a clean break. Gallagher’s wristlock into a hammerlock has Ali in early trouble as someone says “fifteen and a half more minutes”. Back up and Ali’s leapfrog is countered into a Fujiwara armbar to stay on the arm but Ali is too close to the ropes.

Instead Ali tries a headlock into a half crab but that’s broken up as well. Jack goes into the corner for the upside down wave, only to have Ali flip around into a wave of his own. A pinfall reversal sequence gives us some nifty near falls and Jack is looking annoyed at Ali for being that crisp. They go into the corner again with a far dirtier break (or lack of a break) this time around.

Ali seems to get the better of it by sending Jack outside but a baseball slide gets caught in the ring skirt so Gallagher can hammer away. Back in and we hit the chinlock with an arm trap as we get POWER RANGER/RUSEV DAY chants. Ali is right back up with some kicks to the face and the rolling X Factor. It’s too early for the 054 though as Gallagher snaps the arm over the top. The same arm gets posted and Ali is in major trouble. We hit the double wristlock but Ali stacks him up for the break in a smart counter.

A hammerlock keeps Ali in trouble until he sends Jack to the floor. Ali tries a corkscrew flip dive but Gallagher is down, meaning Ali has to bail out halfway for a nasty looking crash. It’s either that or the arm gives out, but if it’s not at least they have a good explanation. Ali dives back in at nine so Gallagher grabs another Fujiwara armbar. This time Ali gets his feet in the ropes, earning himself a dropkick off the apron to send the arm into the barricade. The arm is posted AGAIN as this is getting to be a bit much.

For some reason the referee doesn’t stop it, even as Ali is tossed upside down into the corner. That’s only good for two and the kickout only gets a lukewarm response. Gallagher ties up the arm and fires in elbows to the head for ANOTHER two, frustrating Jack even more. With the holds not working, Jack tries a belly to back superplex but Ali hands on his feet. A superkick to the back of the head sets up the 054 for the pin at 17:10.

Rating: B. It’s good but they didn’t reach the level of epic that they were shooting for. The arm stuff went on just a bit too long (the same being true for the whole match) and I stopped feeling bad for Ali’s pain at one point. Still though, Ali moving forward makes sense and I could see him making a deep run in this tournament. Gallagher looked good and I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough.

Nigel gives it a standing ovation, which is a bit much.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event as good but this was probably the weakest of the last four shows. The wrestling was fine enough and I liked the addition of Murphy but it wasn’t the most thrilling show in the world. At least they have the tournament quarterfinals set, which is exactly what had to be done. Things should get a lot better in a hurry and that’s a great thing to see.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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: February 22, 2018
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

I’ve actually been looking forward to this show as I’m wondering how they’re going to air anything from the gauntlet match here. Unless it’s about a minute or two from each section, it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. Then again it’s not like Smackdown was all that interesting. Let’s get to it.

Just in case there’s not enough Smackdown, here it is.

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

Nese poses at him to start (some things never change) so Metalik snaps off the headscissors and forearms him into the corner. A nipup gets Nese out of the way of a kick to the chest and he blocks a moonsault with some raised boots. Nese grabs a bodyscissors with Nigel admiring the size of Tony’s thighs. A Quebrada misses and Metalik is back with the rope walk dropkick. Metalik sends him to the floor for a big flipping corkscrew dive and Nese is rocked. Back in and Nese gets crotched on top, setting up the Metalik Driver for the pin at 5:42.

Rating: C. Totally standard cruiserweight match which means there’s not much to say about it. It also felt like an old 205 Live match without much drama or intensity and rather just two smaller guys doing moves to each other. I’ve gotten into the 205 Live style as of late and it would be nice to see that happening more often rather than going back to the weaker stuff.

Now it’s gauntlet match time and since they air about fifteen minutes here and I’m not about to put a nearly two hour match when they’re airing about a seventh, here’s a link to the full think if you’d like to see it again, but it’s a little too much to put in full here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/02/19/monday-night-raw-february-19-2018-this-didnt-feel-like-the-longest-match-in-wwe-history/

Jeff Jarrett Hall of Fame announcement.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Revival

Slater and Dawson start things off with Heath working on the arm as the fans remind us that Slater has kids. Wilder tries to sneak in but Slater throws up some fists and rolls away. Heath actually beats them both up without too much effort and it’s off to Rhyno. Everything breaks down and a double backdrop puts Dawson down as we take a break. Back with Slater getting a hot tag to clean house, including a neckbreaker for two on Wilder. A small package gets the same but a blind tag sets up the Shatter Machine for the pin on Slater at 7:46.

Rating: C+. It seems that there’s a heck of a match in there if you take away the commercial. That’s not exactly a surprise either as Slater is the perfect guy for the heels to get heat on until Rhyno comes in on a hot tag. I liked what we saw but the gauntlet match took a lot out of this one.

Ronda Rousey video.

From Raw.

Sasha Banks/Bayley/Mickie James vs. Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville/Alexa Bliss

Bliss and James start but Alexa bails in short order. With neither getting anywhere, it’s off to Mandy vs. Sasha with Graves saying that if they studied art like Rose in college, he wouldn’t have dropped out. Bayley comes in with a hair whip, followed by a suplex to send Mandy outside.

Back from a break with Bayley in trouble but getting in a shot to Mandy’s jaw. Mandy pulls her right back though and Bliss tags herself in, much to Mandy’s annoyance. The running slap drops Bayley and it’s off to Deville for a chinlock. Bayley fights up and brings in Mickie for some house cleaning, only to have Rose take her down with a cheap shot.

Deville gets in a hard shot for two of her own, only to have Mickie get in a double neckbreaker for the break. Sasha comes in off the hot tag and house is cleaned, including the double knees to the chest to drop Bliss. The middle rope double knees gets two with Mandy making the save. Not that it matters though as the Bank Statement makes Bliss tap at 15:55.

Rating: C+. This was a way to give Banks some momentum heading into Sunday and that’s all it needed to be. I would have gone with Absolution as they don’t exactly have much momentum in the first place but Banks is a much more likely winner. It was nothing great, but at least it did something good as we head into the pay per view.

Post match Absolution destroys Banks and Bayley before turning on Bliss. Mickie makes the save though and it’s a double implant DDT to Deville to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a hard one to rate as the gauntlet match is the big centerpiece, but at the same time it’s cut up so badly that you can barely get anything out of it. What we did get was good though and that’s what matters most. Smackdown got no attention at all here but really, Monday wasn’t leaving it a lot of room anyway.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 22, 2003
Location: MCI Center, Washington D.C.
Commentators: Al Snow, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the night after Unforgiven and I know I always say that it has to be better this time around, but for once I’m not kidding myself. Goldberg is the new World Heavyweight Champion and that makes me think we’re going to be hearing about how HHH belongs as champion and will have it back soon. You know, so the world can be all as it should be. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s Raw if you missed it.

And Unforgiven if you missed it.

Opening sequence.

There are some soldiers here from Walter Reed Hospital.

Coach and Snow get their own entrance, with Coach again wearing the white cowboy hat. Snow on Coach: “YOU COULD SELL TOOTHPASTE TONIGHT!”

Here’s Goldberg for his big celebration, because the idea is to have him talking and make him a character of course. He promised to be here in Washington D.C. as champion and now you can believe the hype. Cue Steve Austin to say there isn’t too much in life that makes him happy. There’s drinking beer, middle fingers, four letter words and the United States armed forces.

Last night Goldberg made him happy too by becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. Austin will drink to that and beer is consumed….until Eric Bischoff interrupts, complete with a standing ovation from Coach and Snow. Bischoff takes credit for creating Goldberg and is speared before he can say much else. Snow: “NO!!!!” Are we going with Goldberg vs. Bischoff now? Is that necessary?

A soldier sends a message to his family in North Dakota.

Intercontinental Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Christian

Christian is defending. Van Dam wastes no time in hitting a middle rope crossbody for two and Christian bails to the floor. That means a big flip dive, followed by a middle rope apron legdrop to keep the champ in trouble. It’s WAY too early for the Five Star though and Van Dam’s ribs are banged up. A gutbuster gives Christian two and we hit the abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Rob comes back with a spinwheel kick, followed by Rolling Thunder for two. Rob gets in a head fake and scores with a split legged moonsault for another near fall. Not that it matters as Christian hits him with the belt for the DQ.

Rating: C-. They were starting to get going until the lame ending. This would seem to be setting up a rematch though and that’s not the worst feud for either guy. There’s a pretty solid midcard on Raw and if they actually have people fighting for the midcard title, it come make for some entertaining matches.

Post match Christian hits him in the head with a ladder. A splash off said ladder has Christian in more pain than Van Dam. So that’s likely at Survivor Series or a big Raw.

Chris Jericho goes to check on Bischoff and talks his way into a World Title match tonight. Now why couldn’t they do that in WCW?

Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade come out for a match but Evolution jumps them from behind for a beatdown. Coach thinks it’s due to HHH losing the World Title but isn’t sure. HHH talks about how he knows he’s still the best in the world and he breathes it every day. Last night, HHH beat himself and now it’s time to make Goldberg believe. HHH points to all the Game Over signs but for Goldberg, the game has just started. Standard heel who just lost the title promo, except overly long and with a lot of deep breathing.

Another soldier remembers a fallen friend.

Here’s Thuggin N Buggin Enterprises with Teddy Long wondering why there have been no black Presidents. He could change laws and be on the Dollar Dollar Bill. Teddy presents Rodney Mack as his Secretary of State and Mark Henry as his Secretary of Defense. It’s time for a White Boy Challenge!

Mark Henry vs. Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer’s weapons don’t get him anywhere (or disqualified for that matter) and it’s the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin in less than a minute.

Cade, Jindrak and Maven charge into Evolution’s locker room and a six man is made for later.

Trish and Lita are in the back and walk past Jericho and Christian. The guys look at them but Austin comes up and says they won’t crack him. Next week: JR vs. Coach with the announcing job on the line again. As a bonus, Austin debuts Christian’s CLB nickname. Next week, it’s RVD vs. CLB for the IC in a ladder match.

Another soldier saying hi.

Gail Kim/Molly Holly vs. Trish Stratus/Lita

Rematch from last night and Lita’s first Raw match in over a year and a half. Trish and Gail exchange headlocks to start until Trish mostly misses a basement dropkick for two. Molly comes in and gets monkey flipped, followed by the Matrish into a headscissors. Snow: “That’s what I admire in a woman: flexibility.”

Lita comes in to a big reaction and a one legged monkey flip and a headbutt to the stomach. A quick Gail distraction lets Molly hit a running flip neckbreaker though and we hit the double arm crank with a knee in the neck. Molly’s suplex is countered into a reverse DDT though (with a good thud) and a double clothesline….doesn’t set up the hot tag to Trish. Instead everything breaks down with Trish spearing Molly to the floor. A Twist of Fate puts Gail away.

Rating: C. I don’t know if it’s because she hasn’t been around in a long time but Lita looked like the biggest star the women’s division has ever had here, getting a crazy reaction and putting on a solid performance as well. The changed look (now in a tank top and shorts) makes her look a bit more serious too and that takes her up another level. The match was good too as you can see the talent really starting to shine.

Jericho asks Bischoff to be the guest referee for the title match. Bischoff is hurt but agrees in the name of screwing over Austin and Goldberg. This is another great example of SHUT THE DOOR WHILE MAKING EVIL PLANS Theater.

We get a music video on Test vs. Steiner (edited off the Network of course), because it’s just that epic.

Earlier today, Stacy Keibler apologized to Scott Steiner for messing up last night. Test comes up and makes Steiner carry his bags. Scott yells and Test hides behind Stacy and threatens a lawsuit.

The announcers talk about Shane McMahon vs. Kane last night. The video pauses before the impact on the big finish.

Shane, at an undisclosed medical facility (with the graphic saying Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), talks about how he hopes to be released in the morning. He’ll be after Kane again though….and here’s Kane, who of course is shirtless and in wrestling gear, suggesting that he’s likely murdered several security guards on the way here. Or security just sucks.

Kane pulls the IV out of Shane’s arm and pours a bag of blood on him before slamming the bed into a wall. Security arrives and Kane drops one of them with a good right hand. Shane is thrown against a door and Kane leaves. I remember watching this live and being annoyed that the feud was continuing. Nearly fifteen years later and it’s the same opinion.

La Resistance vs. Hurricane/Rosey

It’s Conway and Dupree here with both guys being heavily bandaged after last night’s tables match. Hurricane headscissors Conway down and Rosey takes Dupree’s head off with a clothesline. Sylvan Grenier hits Hurricane with the French flag and the soldiers in the front row aren’t happy. Back in and Dupree does his yet to be signature dance before handing it off to Conway. We hit the double arm crank for a bit with Hurricane fighting up without too much effort. Rosey comes in and drops the big leg on Conway and Hurricane makes a blind tag for a crossbody on Dupree. A Samoan drop/neckbreaker combination puts Conway away.

Rating: D+. Not too bad here and the fresh blood to the division is a nice upgrade. There’s only so much you can do with just two teams fighting for the titles so throwing a third in there helps a lot. Their vignettes have helped a lot too, but I have a feeling they’ll be pushed aside for another uninteresting team because that’s what WWE seems to roll with for some reason.

Post match the Dudleys come out to high five the troops. That was a pretty unnecessary cameo.

Earlier today, WWE and Russell Simmons got together for a voting drive. Wrestlers on the stage with Vince: Maven and JBL.

Evolution vs. Maven/Garrison Cade/Mark Jindrak

It’s a brawl to start with the young guys clearing the ring in short order. We settle down to HHH slugging Jindrak down in the corner before it’s Maven’s turn to take a beating. Maven backslides Flair for two and scores with some right hands before it’s off to Orton and Cade. Garrison gets caught in the corner so Evolution can take turns beating on him as the announcers recap Orton’s legend killing.

HHH slaps on the sleeper because he’s old school that way but a belly to back suplex gets Cade out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Maven as you can see the audience sitting in near silence. Maven cleans as much house as he can but Flair sends him outside. The referee takes a chair away from Orton, leaving Maven to hit a missile dropkick on Flair for no count. HHH comes in with a Pedigree to give Flair the pin.

Rating: D. The ending helped a bit but there’s not going to be anything positive coming from these three against Evolution. Cade and Jindrak are black holes of charisma and Maven is Maven so what were you expecting? This could have been a lot worse but it didn’t exactly do anyone any favors.

HHH says the fans need him more than he needs the fans.

Another soldier wants Austin to come help them fight in Iraq.

We go live to Hollywood for the red carpet premiere of the Rundown. Rock is excited for the movie and threatens to smack Marc Lloyd around. He thanks Vince, all the talent in the back and the fans for making all this possible. Rock gets annoyed at being asked about a scene where a monkey, shall we say, has his way with Rock’s face and accuses Lloyd of sucking on orangutan nipples. Lloyd says run down to the theater but Rock comes back to call him stupid for that one. Some rhyming wraps us up.

Raw World Title: Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho

Goldberg is defending and Bischoff is the outside referee. Jericho dances away from him to start but gets powered into the corner. The champ follows him to the floor but Bischoff cuts him off. That earns Eric an accidental collision from Jericho and it’s time to go back inside for a whip into the corner. A gorilla press to the floor has Jericho rocked but he sidesteps a spear and Goldberg hits the steps.

Jericho gets two off a missile dropkick and it’s off to something like a crossface chickenwing. Goldberg powers up and kicks Jericho in the face but a DDT gives Chris two. A gorilla press into a spinebuster plants Jericho again but Bischoff pulls the referee out at two. Jericho scores with a low blow and Lionsault for a Bischoff counted two. Cue Austin to pull Bischoff to the floor for a completely unprovoked right hand, leaving Goldberg to finish with the usual.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t great but they kept Goldberg looking strong and gave him a win over a credible opponent on his first night as champion. It also helps when Jericho can actually pick up the pace a little bit and not be like HHH, who managed to make Goldberg feel boring last night. In theory this sets up another round of Austin vs. Bischoff, because that’s what the world was clamoring to see.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s kind of amazing how much better this show is without Coach/King arguing with Snow/Coachman (the new commentary wasn’t terrible, but it certainly doesn’t validate the long story to get there). HHH didn’t have the long form promo and Goldberg got to look like a strong champion. The women continue their nice little roll too, which gave us some nice bright spots on an otherwise not very good show.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 21, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We have a main event quality main event here with Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano in a title vs. NXT career match. Gargano lost to Almas in a classic at Takeover: Philadelphia and now he has one more chance. The stipulations would suggest an obvious ending, but that’s not exactly the way NXT tends to operate. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show in case you need a recap:

We open with a long recap of Almas vs. Gargano, including the champ’s rise and their match in Philadelphia. Two weeks ago Gargano asked for one more title match and was granted his request, albeit with his career on the line.

Opening sequence.

Velveteen Dream vs. No Way Jose

The fans are WAY into Dream and Jose happens to be there too. Dream pops him in the jaw to start and gets in some forearms in the corner. Jose is right back with an elbow and backdrop to the floor, followed by a slingshot dive. The fans aren’t against Jose here but Dream is just crazy popular. Back from a break with Dream hitting a hot shot and a swinging neckbreaker. Jose gets in a small package for two but the Toma Punch is countered with a dropkick. The rolling Death Valley Bomb and the Purple Rainmaker (Dream: “DREAM OVER!”) is good for the pin on Jose at 7:15.

Rating: C-. What the heck happened to Jose? He seemed ready to go to the main roster as the house show opening act and now he’s little more than a jobber to the stars. Dream on the other hand is the hottest thing in NXT right now and if it weren’t for Black and Gargano, would be the biggest face in the promotion despite being a heel.

Post match Dream says he was the Competitor of the Year with the Match of the Year and his name is on everyone’s lips. If people don’t get that, he doesn’t have time for you.

William Regal announces the return of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which starts in two weeks. The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Takeover: New Orleans.

Nikki Cross vs. Vanessa Borne

Cross goes crazy to start and jumps on Borne’s back with a choke. Borne manages to throw her down for some near falls before grabbing a chinlock. The fans are entirely behind Cross here, even as she smiles at being in trouble. Borne looks scared as Nikki hits a running crossbody and a splash in the corner. The fisherman’s neckbreaker ends Borne at 2:54.

We look back at Killian Dain coming out to face Aleister Black last week.

TM61 have officially entered the Dusty Classic.

We look back at Kairi Sane saving Ember Moon from Shayna Baszler last week.

Moon vs. Baszler next week.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Almas is defending and Candice LeRae and Zelina Vega are the respective seconds. Gargano bails from an early hammerlock DDT attempt and we take a break. Back with Gargano loading up a dive but pausing when Vega steps in his way. Candice doesn’t mind diving onto her, leaving Gargano to cannonball off the apron and take the champ down. Candice fights Vega to the back and it’s one on one.

Almas is right back up and drives Gargano back first onto the apron for two before starting in on the arm. The shoulder goes into the buckle and Almas wraps the arm around the ropes to keep him in trouble. Back from another break with Gargano chopping in the corner but banging his arm up some more. The slingshot spear gets two but Gargano misses the superkick.

Almas takes him into the corner for two off the running knees. The hammerlock DDT is broken up again and they slug it out on the apron with Johnny getting the better of it. Another slingshot spear is countered into the Fujiwara armbar on the bad arm. With that not working, Almas reversed into the Gargano Escape, which is escaped pretty quickly. Gargano charges into a hiptoss in the corner and Almas loads up the Alberto top rope stomp to the apron.

That’s broken up as well and Almas shoves him to the floor, followed by a tornado DDT on the floor. The slingshot DDT gets two back inside for a VERY hot near fall with the fans buying into it the whole way. They slug it out from their knees but Almas decks the referee by mistake. The Gargano Escape has Almas ready to tap….and here’s Tommaso Ciampa to break a crutch over Gargano’s back. Almas hits the hammerlock DDT to retain at 22:23.

Rating: A-. It’s almost unfair to compare this to their first match but it was still very good as these two continue to have excellent chemistry together. You know they’re going to get to Gargano vs. Ciampa somehow (perhaps with Gargano as a visiting wrestler or a WWE wrestler or in an unsanctioned match etc.)

Johnny gets the big sendoff until the announcer says Gargano must now leave NXT. Candice consoles her husband and we get the THANK YOU JOHNNY chants. Ciampa looks on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The main event carries this show of course and there’s nothing wrong with that. The Dusty Classic should be more than enough to carry the midcard all the way to New Orleans, meaning you can probably guess four matches from here, most of which should be quite good. It’s another strong episode though as NXT continues to have goals and the steps to get there.

Results

Velveteen Dream b. No Way Jose – Purple Rainmaker

Nikki Cross b. Vanessa Borne – The Purge

Andrade Cien Almas b. Johnny Gargano – Hammerlock DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: February 20, 2018
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Last week saw a big change of pace as two more names were added to the Fastlane World Title match. Maybe this week we can just add more people until there’s nothing left to do but have one match take up most of the pay per view. I mean, they did the same thing on Raw last night. Let’s get to it.

Renee Young brings out AJ Styles to start things off. Hang on though as AJ has to strike a quick pose for the AJ STYLES chants. AJ explains the idea of a fatal five way and says he could lose the title to someone when he’s not even being pinned. One on one he can beat any of them but here’s Baron Corbin to disagree. Baron has beaten him twice in a row because he has AJ’s number. The difference is Corbin is a fighter instead of an athlete and he can pin anyone to win the title.

This brings out Kevin Owens, who says he can beat anyone at any time. AJ says Owens must have had a boil lanced off his back, meaning Sami. Owens blames all of this on Shane McMahon, who is next to interrupt. Shane makes Corbin vs. Styles and Owens vs. Ziggler for tonight. Actually let’s just do one of those matches right now. Standard opening here and at least they didn’t have all five participants come out and talk.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens

Owens forearms him down to start but eats a dropkick to send him outside. Kevin turns it into a brawl though and sends Ziggler into the barricade. That just means another dropkick off the apron but Owens drops him again. The backsplash misses though and Ziggler scores with a suplex. Owens whips him into the corner though and the Cannonball gets two as we go to a break.

Back with Ziggler hitting a DDT but getting thrown into the corner again. A Vader Bomb elbow gives Kevin two but Ziggler is right back with the Fameasser for two of his own. Ziggler slips out of the Pop Up Powerbomb and the Zig Zag gets another near fall. Cue Sami for a distraction though, allowing Owens to hit a superkick to the back of the head for the pin at 11:19.

Rating: C+. At the end of the day, Ziggler is going to Ziggle. The guy wins one week and then loses the next because that’s the kind of person he is. I’m not sure what the difference is supposed to be this time around, but maybe this version of MEGA ULTRA FOCUSED Dolph is different than MEGA ULTRA Focused Dolph.

Here’s Jinder Mahal to talk about Bobby Roode having a secret. Since Mahal is a man of honesty, he has Roode’s Smackdown Top Ten voting list. Roode of course is at #1 but Orton is nowhere to be seen. That makes Roode a glorious egomaniac and a glorious LIAR. Cue Roode to say that wasn’t his list but the truth is Mahal can’t make a top ten list. Roode knows Jinder wants to be US Champion so forget Randy Orton. This of course brings out Orton, who helps send Jinder outside before taking the Glorious DDT. Mahal comes back in with a Khallas to Roode.

Shane and Bryan are in the back with Shane talking down to Bryan again about the same issues with his decision making. As a result, Shane makes Roode vs. Orton (presumably for the title but not specified) at Fastlane. Shane calls it final, actually trying to make it seem like Bryan isn’t going to add Mahal.

Charlotte/Naomi/Becky Lynch vs. Riott Squad

Charlotte slides around Logan to start and quickly brings in Becky for the rapid fire legdrops. Everything breaks down and the Squad is sent outside as we take a break. Back with Becky holding Riott in an armbar as everything breaks down. Naomi hits a slingshot dive onto Logan and Riott but Morgan sends her into the steps to take over.

Logan comes back in with an Anaconda Vice until Naomi sends her into the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Charlotte. The strut into the neckbreaker rocks Logan but Morgan’s distraction prevents the Figure Eight. Logan chop blocks the knee but Charlotte gets over for the tag to Becky anyway. Everything breaks down and Riott has to be saved from the Disarm-Her. Instead it’s the Riott Kick to pin Becky at 13:13.

Rating: C. Morgan looked better than she has in a good while as she showed some energy here, which gives me some hope for her future. The rest of the match was what it was and you can probably pencil Ruby in for a title shot at Fastlane. That’s all fine and good, especially with Charlotte vs. Asuka probably lurking at Wrestlemania.

Sami comes in to see Owens and says he owes him. Until he joined Owens, he was frustrated all the time and nothing was working. Now he’s where he belongs though and it’s time to be Kevin’s guardian angel. That’s why at Fastlane, Sami will lay down for him so Kevin can become champion. Owens doesn’t know what to say and doesn’t look completely convinced. That sounds intentionally fishy.

New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable

Winners get the title shot at Fastlane. Woods is sent into a kick from Shelton to start and a hard slam puts him down again. Back from an early break with Woods hitting a missile dropkick and making the hot tag to Big E. House is cleaned but Gable muscles him over with a belly to belly. Big E. gets caught on the top rope so Kofi gets on the apron for some reason, allowing Shelton and Chad to hit the powerbomb/middle rope clothesline combination. Woods makes a last second save and it’s a Shining Wizard to end Shelton at 6:47.

Rating: C+. That’s a relief as I was worried they would do the 50/50 booking and give a team a title shot anyway. New Day winning is fine, though you can feel the Bludgeon Brothers getting closer by the week. I’d be surprised if they weren’t either added to the title match or replace the New Day, who don’t need another title shot at this point.

Post match the Bludgeon Brothers come out and scare New Day to death.

Bludgeon Brothers vs. ???/???

They’re tossed to the floor, Rowan hits a double splash, a sitout powerbomb crushes Jobber #1 and the double spinebuster ends Jobber #2 at 1:29.

Video on Shinsuke Nakamura.

Ruby Riott will face Naomi next week but wants Charlotte and the title at Fastlane.

Corbin, with words on the screen, promises to win the title at Fastlane.

Charlotte vs. Riott for the title is confirmed for Fastlane.

AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin

Non-title. AJ knocks Corbin outside to start and tries a slingshot dive, only to get caught in a chokebreaker. We take an early break and come back with Corbin hitting a hard clothesline but missing a charge into the post. AJ is thrown outside and having to dive over the announcers’ table to beat the count.

A short range Phenomenal Forearm gets two but one heck of a Deep Six gets the same. End of Days is broken up and AJ gets the Calf Crusher for the near submission to send Corbin bailing to the ropes. A faceplant drops AJ again but he pops back up with the real Phenomenal Forearm for the pin on Corbin at 12:11.

Rating: B-. That Deep Six was awesome and the rest was certainly good enough. I’m not sure on the ending as you want Corbin to look strong but you also don’t want the champion losing. Then again it’s not like this company knows how to build towards a multi-man match like this without just throwing them against each other so this is as good as we were going to get.

Post match Sami and Kevin come out for the beatdown but Corbin takes them both out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Well at least they didn’t add any more people. This show gave Fastlane a big boost as we now have four matches set for the show instead of the one that we came in with here. It also featured less Bryan vs. Shane, but there certainly seems to be something set up for a future show with that discussion about the US Title match. I’ll take what I can get though and this wasn’t bad.

Results

Kevin Owens b. Dolph Ziggler – Superkick to the back of the head

Charlotte/Becky Lynch/Naomi b. Riott Squad – Riott Kick to Lynch

New Day b. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable – Shining Wizard to Benjamin

Bludgeon Brothers b. ???/??? – Double spinebuster

AJ Styles b. Baron Corbin – Phenomenal Forearm

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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