NXT
Date: December 20, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night for NXT as we have a pair of title matches this week. Pete Dunne will be defending the UK Title against former champion Tyler Bate and Sanity defends the Tag Team Titles against the Undisputed Era. That’s not bad for a one two punch (Bop and Bang perhaps?) so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Sanity vs. Undisputed Era

Eric Young/Killian Dain (defending) vs. Bobby Fish/Kyle O’Reilly here. Dain and Fish start things off with Bobby’s sleeper doing as well as any sleeper works on a monster. The challengers bail to the floor as the fans are behind Sanity. A gutbuster drops Kyle and Young drops a middle rope elbow for two. Young gets in a shot tot he head but Fish trips him up to send us to a break.

Back with Young in more trouble and getting suplexed into the corner. We hit the armbar for a bit until Young knees O’Reilly in the ribs. A neckbreaker gives us the double knockdown but Fish is smart enough to draw Dain in to prevent the hot tag. Young low bridges Kyle outside though and now the tag brings in Dain for the house cleaning.

Dain drops Kyle with a Michinoku Driver for two and it’s already back to Young for a powerbomb. Cue Adam Cole to crotch Young though, drawing in Nikki Cross to dive onto Adam. Young gets two more off a neckbreaker to Kyle but Cole posts Dain. A suicide dive takes Cole down but Young walks into a High/Low for the pin and the titles at 14:58.

Rating: B. Sanity feels like transitional champions and that’s ok. The Undisputed Era are the guys who will be getting the big matches and big title defenses, meaning whoever takes them down them will look like world beaters. It’s an entertaining match with all four moving quite well, along with making Dain look like more of a monster as O’Reilly and Fish were running scared of him for a long chunk of the match.

Cole celebrates with the new champs, showing off near elation to really sell the moment.

Video on Roderick Strong before his Fatal Four Way Qualifying Match later.

Shayna Baszler is coming.

Heavy Machinery admires Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss’ car until the owners show up. Trash is talked but the rich guys drive away. I can approve of more of Tino on TV.

We look back at Sonya Deville beating Ruby Riott a few weeks ago.

Sonya challenges Ember Moon for next week. The title match is confirmed.

Video on Lars Sullivan.

We look back at Aleister Black kicking Adam Cole’s head off last week.

Fatal Four Way Qualifying Match: Roderick Strong vs. Lars Sullivan

Strong goes right at him to start but gets taken down with a hard shot to the face. The Angle Slam doesn’t work either and Lars forearms him in the back. We hit the bearhug until Strong strikes his way to freedom. Some running forearms stagger the big man but he blasts Strong in the head. For some reason Lars goes up top but gets superplexed down for two with the near fall barely getting one. Some jumping knees give Strong two but a pop up powerslam cuts him off again. The Freak Accident sends Sullivan to the #1 contenders match at 5:43.

Rating: C+. They’re pushing the heck out of Sullivan and that’s exactly what they should be doing. The guy looks like a monster and he’s being treated like one as well. If there’s one thing NXT knows how to do (and there are more than one), it’s make build up the next big thing in short order. Sullivan was barely a name months ago and now he’s looking like the biggest monster around here since…..Bray Wyatt maybe?

The Street Profits talked to some fans earlier this week. The fans seemed to like them.

The four way is next week with Aleister Black vs. Killian Dane vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Lars Sullivan.

Tyler Bate is ready to take his title back.

United Kingdom Title: Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne

Dunne is defending. The fans are split to start as Dunne takes Bate down into an armbar. Bate reverses into one of his own but has to jump out of a headscissors (with a wave to Dunne for a nice bonus). They fight over a test of strength on the mat with Bate getting powered down but bridging out in an impressive power display. A left handed sucker punch drops Dunne for two but Pete gets in a hard forearm outside to take over.

Bate stomps Pete’s hand into the steps, only to get suplexed off the steps for a cool visual. Back in and Dunne stomps on the hand to pop a finger out of joint. Tyler pops it back in so Pete stomps on it AGAIN like a true villain should. Back up and Tyler tells him to bring it before countering a kick into a t-bone suplex. A rolling kick to the head looks to set up the Tyler Driver 97 but Dunne reverses into a triangle.

Bate’s powerbomb counter doesn’t work so he picks Dunne up AGAIN, drapes him onto the middle rope and catapults him into the top for the break. Not bad at all. The airplane spin into the reverse airplane spin is followed by a THIRD spin but Bate’s delayed cover only gets two. Dunne crawls over to the ropes so Bate climbs the ropes for another superplex and two more. They trade hard kicks with Bate getting the better of it as Dunne looks out. Dunne grabs the arm for a quick Bitter End but Bate is up again.

They trade clotheslines before heading to the apron to slug it out again. Back in and Dunne punches him in the face and gets two off an X-Plex into a sitout powerbomb. Bate knocks him outside for a big dive, followed by the Tyler Driver 97 for an even closer near fall. Back up and Bate tried a German superplex but Dunne lands on his feet, setting up the Bitter End to retain the title at 22:54.

Rating: A-. I was thinking this would be a downgrade from their previous match and while that was the case, it was still one heck of a slugout with both guys hitting each other as hard as they can. There’s a poise between these two and it makes for some outstanding matches. They need to find Dunne some new challengers now as you don’t want to burn the fans out on something like this, no matter how good the matches are.

We’re off the air thirteen minutes after the hour. That might be the third or fourth time that this show has ever run long.

Overall Rating: A+. And that’s why NXT is the best wrestling TV show in years. In an hour and fifteen minutes we had an instant classic, a #1 contenders qualifying match and a title change. That’s some of the tightest TV you’ll see anywhere and it was outstanding stuff. The build to Takeover should start soon and that could be an incredible show given where some of the pieces seem to be setting up. Incredible TV here and one of the best NXT’s ever.

Results

Undisputed Era b. Sanity – High/Low to Young

Lars Sullivan b. Roderick Strong – Freak Accident

Pete Dunne b. Tyler Bate – Bitter End

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 21, 2003
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

So Kane is still the big monster, even though we already have HHH as the evil World Champion. As usual, this show seemingly has no idea how to push a face other than Steve Austin, who might be in line to be fired tonight. The good thing is we should be starting the build towards Summerslam soon, meaning we can get away from these big TV shows. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Kane setting JR on fire last week, because that’s the kind of thing going on around here. More importantly though, Austin might be fired by Linda McMahon, because we don’t have enough of that family.

Opening sequence.

Eric Bischoff is in the ring and brags about Austin being fired tonight but Linda cuts him off. She needs Eric to listen up because she’s only going to say this once (I’m sure there will be half a dozen replays though so he’s covered): Kane and Kane alone is responsible for his actions. JR hasn’t pressed charges against Kane but Kane will have to undergo extensive psychological counseling and is under house arrest. That being said, he can still come here and earn a living, which is why he’ll be facing Rob Van Dam tonight. I’m…..really not sure that’s how that works.

Anyway, Bischoff still wants Austin fired so here’s Austin in person. He won’t apologize for anything he’s done in this role because he’s always thought it was the right thing to do. If JR doesn’t want to press charges, Austin will beat Kane up himself. I’m sure there’s a rule against beating up someone under house arrest.

Linda doesn’t think either of them have done anything wrong but Austin can’t keep beating people up. If he wants to keep his job, he won’t be putting his hands on anyone anymore, unless he’s physically provoked. Austin says he has a lot to think about but Linda says if Austin steps down, Bischoff is in full control. He’ll think about it, but Linda can only give him a week. As for tonight, they both have the week off. The Goodbye Song is sung and beer is consumed.

Trish Stratus/Gail Kim vs. Molly Holly/Victoria

Molly and Gail start us off but thankfully it’s off to Trish a few seconds in. Lawler talks about being distracted due to JR. Just to be clear, JERRY LAWLER is talking about not paying enough attention to women’s wrestling. While that one settles in, Molly hits her handspring elbow on Trish to what sounds more like a golf clap. Victoria’s slingshot flip legdrop gets two but an enziguri drops Molly.

Gail comes back in with a high crossbody for no cover, instead botching the run up the corner. Maybe she’s slippery due to the big beer stain on the mat? Or she’s just not that great yet? Everything breaks down and Gail gets one off the hurricanrana. Victoria rips Gail’s top off but Trish kicks Gail in the head by mistake, giving Molly the pin.

Rating: D-. Maybe it’s just too early in her run but Gail is almost shockingly limited and flat out bad so far. Her offense is limited and she has no character to speak of, which somehow puts her on the low end of the division. Bad and sloppy match here, but that’s what you have to expect from a women’s match around this time.

Terri is waiting for Kane to arrive when Chris Jericho comes in to ask why she’s not talking about his match with Shawn Michaels. Because that’s not her assignment? He sings a bit, which is likely why this is missing from the Network version.

Austin and Bischoff run into each other in the parking lot. An argument over what ended WCW ensues.

Here’s Evolution for a chat, debuting the Motorhead version of their theme music in the process. Orton talks about Mick Foley wanting him to make a name for himself, which Orton did by throwing Foley down a flight of stairs. He officially dubs himself the Legend Killer.

Randy Orton vs. Val Venis

HHH is on commentary. Venis takes over with a hammerlock to start and ties the arm up with his feet. Orton shoves him back as HHH wonders why JR didn’t stop, drop and roll. Back up and Flair grabs Venis’ foot, allowing Orton to hit his dropkick. Val makes a comeback after a full ten seconds on defense, including a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. HHH panicking for a split second on the near fall is a nice touch. The Money Shot misses and it’s the RKO for the pin.

Rating: D. Just another quick win for Orton and that’s what this should have been. Orton gets to look good (albeit not too good) in a showcase match, which hopefully leads to something in the future. Having him out there showcasing his athleticism and the good finisher is all he needs right now though and this is a lot better than having him on the losing end of tag matches.

Post match Evolution gets in the ring with HHH bragging about their high level of awesome but Goldberg returns for the first time in a few weeks. Goldberg talks about HHH not looking invincible but just another victim. So now he’s Taz? Goldberg says HHH is next, thankfully keeping his talking short and to the point. Evolution bails of course.

Post break, Evolution has a plan, which seems to focus on Orton.

Wrestlemania Recall: Michaels vs. Jericho.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

They go technical to start with Shawn getting in a hammerlock before tossing Jericho outside. Back in and Jericho headlocks him down as the slow pace continues. A pinfall reversal sequence leads to a Shawn headlock as the announcers talk about Kane and JR some more.

Jericho finally gets in a backbreaker and blocks skinning the cat, only to get low bridged out to the floor. A springboard crossbody drops Jericho again and Shawn decks an invading Flair for good measure. The Walls of Jericho go on though and we take a break. Back with Shawn hammering away in the corner, making me think they wasted a bit of a moment with that break. A big backdrop puts Shawn on the floor and it’s Flair getting in a few cheap shots as only he can.

Back in (again) and Shawn dropkicks him out of the air for a double knockdown. It’s Shawn up first with some clothesline and a catapult into the corner for two. Jericho is right back with a suplex and Lionsault for two. A top rope superplex is broken up though and Shawn drops the top rope elbow.

Sweet Chin Music misses and the referee turns his head for no reason other than allowing Jericho to get in a low blow. Jericho grabs a chair but gets it superkicked into his face but the referee was with Flair. The nitwit referee goes to yell at Flair, allowing Orton to come in with an RKO onto the chair. It’s only good for two but Jericho grabs the Walls and Shawn (eventually) taps. That’s certainly better than the RKO getting the pin.

Rating: B-. This was more long than good as the interference took away too much focus from the match. If this leads to Orton beating Shawn then things are a little better, but for not it feels like they’re just wasting what could have been a major pay per view match. Now that being said, what we got was good, but these two are capable of so much more and it’s disappointing that they didn’t approach that level. At least Jericho got the win though, which should do him some good in the near future.

We look back at the opening segment.

Here’s Lance Storm to show off his talents to all the Hollywood elite tonight, including Rob Reiner in the front row. Storm reads off a statement about why he would be a great box office attraction but we cut to Kane, in shackles, arriving.

Ivory and Terri entertained some troops earlier this week.

Intercontinental Title: Test vs. Booker T.

Booker is defending and slugs away to start as Christian is shown watching in the back. A knee to the ribs cuts Booker off and Test gets in a few right hands. Test stops for some exercises because the Scott Steiner feud is still a thing. Booker elbows him in the face as Lawler AGAIN asks about JR pressing charges against Kane. This is probably the tenth time tonight and I have no idea how much more there is to say about it.

Test charges into a spinebuster but runs Booker over. Cue Steiner with a chair but it’s only so Stacy can come out and give him a lap dance on the stage. The distraction (with a great view) lets Booker grab a rollup for two. Not that it matters as the Bookend connects to retain the title a few seconds later.

Rating: D. I had no issues with Stacy here but egads why is this feud continuing? Weren’t we supposed to get Nash vs. Test? Booker winning is the right idea and it’s nice to see him getting some success but even he can’t get much out of Test. Hopefully this story wraps up soon as it’s really not getting any better.

Some wrestlers are talking about Kane in the back while Hurricane and Rosey talk about Kane going insane. Hurricane thinks Rosey is a superhero in training and Goldust comes up to explain the joke.

Video on Kane vs. Rob Van Dam.

Kane vs. Rob Van Dam

Kane has to be unshackled. Van Dam charges to the ring and kicks Kane outside for a big dive before the bell. Kane takes over and beats Van Dam up the aisle before loading up a chokeslam off the stage. Agents come out for the save and break it up but here’s Linda to really make things serious. Kane grabs her by the throat with Lawler failing to make a save. Everyone else is knocked down and Kane Tombstones Linda on the stage to end the show. The bell never rang so no match.

Overall Rating: D. So the Kane Show continues and that part is working fairly well actually. There’s a story there (and if you don’t know it, give Lawler five seconds and he’ll talk about it again) and Kane is selling the heck out of it, but where is it supposed to lead? He’s not getting the World Title and the top face on Raw (and really the only one who hasn’t been destroyed) is busy with HHH. There’s really just squashing Van Dam or Booker T. and neither of those are going to mean anything. Kane needs someone to destroy and Linda isn’t going to be enough.

As for the rest of the show, it was the usual Raw drek. The wrestling ranges from Shawn vs. Jericho being underwhelming (but still good) to everything else being pretty disastrous. There’s some stuff on here which could be good but they need to actually have some watchable matches for a change. A hot midcard feud would help too, though we seem destined for Evolution dominating and Kane running through the already damaged face pool. Maybe Summerslam can help, but not if it’s just more of the same.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: December 19, 2017
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s the first show after Clash of Champions and the bosses have some splainin to do. This past Sunday, Shane McMahon refused to count the fall in the tag match but Daniel Bryan one upped him with a fast count. Other than that, it’s time to start the build to the Royal Rumble, which could mean several different things. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Sunday’s tag match. No title matches, including the main event, are mentioned.

Here’s Bryan to get things going. After mentioning the women’s Royal Rumble, he plugs tonight’s main event. Cue Shane and it’s time for the awkward conversation. They talk about Sunday’s match and Shane says the emotions got the better of him. When he was about to count the three, he thought of Owens beating his father up and the two of them screwing Smackdown at Survivor Series.

Bryan cheated too though, and Shane wants to know why. Daniel says he did it to protect Shane from himself, which Shane says he doesn’t need. What Bryan did on Sunday was to protect their idea: making this place the land of opportunity for everyone, not just the people Shane likes. Shane warns Bryan that Sami and Kevin will turn on him when they’ve gotten what they can out of him. Bryan accuses Shane of doing what’s best for business, and if that’s the case, fire him now because he doesn’t want to see Shane turn into Mr. McMahon. Shane teases firing him but says he’ll let Daniel run the show tonight.

Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable

Non-title. Gable takes Jimmy down to start but the Usos take him into the corner for some alternating splashes. Back with Jey enziguring Shelton down and the hot tag bringing Jimmy in. The Samoan drop plants Chad, followed by a wicked Umaga attack in the corner. A superkick looks to set up the Superfly Splash but Shelton makes the save. Rolling Chaos Theory sets up the powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination for the pin on Jimmy at 7:42.

Rating: C-. They needed to do something with Benjamin and Gable so hopefully this sets up their definitive title shot. I don’t think we’ll actually get new champions out of this but at least we’re setting something up here. The Usos need some new challengers and it’s pretty clear we’re going to be seeing the Bludgeon Brothers there sooner or later. Odds are Gable and Benjamin lose in short order, but at least the match should be good.

We look back at the women’s Royal Rumble announcement, including a bunch of reactions from wrestlers.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat. She talks about how excited she is and can’t wait for the match. She’ll be waiting to defend her title at Wrestlemania against the winner, but here’s Naomi to interrupt. She officially enters the Rumble and promises to see Charlotte at Wrestlemania. This brings out the Riott Squad with Naomi ripping on the three of them. Naomi goes a step further by challenging them to a match after the break.

Naomi/Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott/Sarah Logan

Joined in progress with Charlotte chopping Logan but missing a big boot. Logan chop blocks her down and hands it off to Ruby for a leg lock. Charlotte finally breaks out and knees Logan in the ribs, allowing the hot tag to Naomi. A long series or rapid fire forearms and a kick to the head rock Logan as everything breaks down. With Charlotte taking Riott down, the Rear View ends Logan at 3:36.

Rating: D. No time to go anywhere here but is there a reason the Riott Squad lost again? I mean other than to separate them from Absolution of course (One loses, the other doesn’t. That’s totally different!). Charlotte not being in the Rumble is going to make it a bit more difficult to get to 30 but at least there’s a real prize for the winner.

New Day, in Christmas gear, gives out presents, including flapjacks and shirts. Rusev and Aiden English, dressed as Santa and Frosty respectively, show up to plug the Happy Rusev Day shirt. Rusev only has a naughty list and English sings a challenge (“Oh Rusev Day, oh Rusev Day. We challenge you to a contest!”). Rusev stomps on the pancakes so Big E. says he just flapped the wrong jack.

Here’s Dolph Ziggler to say he knew he belonged around here with the US Title being proof. It’s not even his first reign and we see a clip of him winning the title at Capitol Punishment (That was SIX YEARS AGO???). We see his Intercontinental Title wins as well, followed by winning Money in the Bank and the successful cash-in. Ziggler says people need something to remember him by, so he lays the title down and walks away. If that’s how they get rid of Ziggler, fine, but what was the point of taking the title off Corbin?

Sami and Owens present Bryan with a bottle of champagne but he tells them to go get ready for their match before he fires them himself.

New Day vs. Rusev/Aiden English

We get a LOUD Rusev Day chant before things get going. I’m sure they’ll be punished later. English (Frosty) and Kofi (gingerbread man) start things off with Kofi being sent outside for a little dance. Rusev (Santa)gives chase, leaving English to take a dropkick. Big E. (elf) grabs the bag of presents and throws some shirts to the crowd. There are some homemade Happy Rusev Day underwear as well though, allowing English and Rusev to jump them from behind.

Back from a break with Kofi in trouble as the fans want pancakes. Rusev charges into Kofi’s boot and a tornado DDT takes him down. Woods (reindeer) comes in off the hot tag but the Honor Roll is countered into a fireman’s carry spinebuster for two. The pancakes are put on the table and English covers them with whipped cream. Woods won’t go into them so English does instead. English is ready to fight (“FOR RUSEV!!!”) but charges into a shot to the face. The top rope elbow ends English at 8:38.

Rating: C. I’m usually into these Christmas matches but sweet goodness Rusev and English need to run with this thing while they can. The fans are eating it up like pancakes with whipped cream and they’re losing every single week. Even if it’s just for a little while, let them see where they can go. It’s better than putting Woods in a white suit and calling them Speed Force.

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura/AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal/Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Rematch from Tribute to the Troops. Orton and Mahal get things going but everything breaks down before anything happens. Everyone winds up on the floor with Orton bouncing Mahal off the announcers’ table. Back in where Nakamura is driven into the wrong corner so Sami can start in on the arm. Nakamura lays on Sami’s chest on the ropes and pulls his chest hair out for a rare bit of offense. Orton drapes Sami over the top rope for two and it’s back to Mahal. The referee tells him thirty seconds and about thirty seconds later we go to a break with Owens stomping on Orton.

Back with Orton fighting out of a chinlock and bringing AJ in to….get sent outside in short order. Sami gets in some right hands for two of his own as the villains start taking turns on Styles. AJ DDT’s his way to freedom and brings in Nakamura for the real house cleaning. A series of kicks and knees to the head rock Sami and that means Good Vibrations. More strikes look to set up the exploder but Nakamura settles for a cross armbreaker instead.

Owens is right there with the backsplash for the save but gets sent outside. Everything breaks down again with AJ slingshotting onto Owens with the forearm. The Singh Brothers break up the Kinshasa but only get ejected instead of drawing a DQ. Not that it matters as Mahal eats an RKO, drawing them back to ringside. That means a double draping DDT, a Phenomenal Forearm for Owens and Kinshasa for the pin on Sami at 15:21.

Rating: C+. Standard house show main event here and that’s fine enough. I like the idea of Nakamura getting some feature time for a change as he could become a big time player in the main event scene soon enough if need be. That being said, was there ANY reason for Sami to take the pin here instead of Mahal? Come on already.

A long celebration seems to set something up but just ends the show instead.

Overall Rating: C-. Well it’s nice to see how much effort they put in this week. This show was their version of a Smackdown Christmas special, meaning one match felt different than any other week. It’s not bad and it didn’t drag along like Raw, but don’t expect any kind of major developments here. I know it’s the holidays and this is all they can really do given how few people will be watching, but that doesn’t make it any less dull.

Results

Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable b. Usos – Powerbomb/Top rope clothesline to Jimmy

Charlotte/Naomi b. Riott Squad – Rear View to Logan

New Day b. Aiden English/Rusev – Top rope elbow to English

Randy Orton/AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal – Kinshasa to Zayn

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 18, 2017
Location: Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.

We’re officially past the last pay per view of the year and that means it’s time to get ready for the Royal Rumble. Tonight we might find out what’s going on with the Universal Title match as Brock Lesnar is here and Braun Strowman and Kane are both ready to meet him face to face. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event with Kane vs. Strowman going to a double countout in a #1 contenders match.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Kurt Angle to get things going. He recaps last week’s main event as well (they really need to stop doing that just after we watched a video saying the same thing) and promises to solve the problem by the end of the night. Strowman comes out to say he should get the shot, followed by Kane to do the same. Before anything can happen, Paul Heyman comes out to say Lesnar needs to be involved in this. Brock hits the ring and Angle speeds through an announcement of the triple threat at the Rumble so he can get out. Lesnar cleans house and F5’s Kane.

Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe

Hang on as Jason Jordan comes out and says he should be the one facing Samoa Joe, which he’s been wanting to do for two weeks. Rollins says he doesn’t care but here’s Joe to say fight each other and the winner fights him later tonight.

Seth Rollins vs. Jason Jordan

Joe is at ringside. Jordan wrestles him to the mat for a bit until Rollins superkicks him in the ribs. A clothesline knocks Jordan at Joe’s feet and we take a break. Back with Jordan working on the back off some Irish whips into the corner. It’s off to a chinlock with a knee in the back before the running shoulder in the corner gets two.

Jordan gets in another suplex and we take a break. Back again with Rollins getting in some offense of his own, including the springboard clothesline. Jordan clotheslines him down again but gets knocked outside for a suicide dive. The second springboard clothesline is countered into rolling northern lights suplexes for two more as this keeps going.

Jordan takes him up top but gets shoved down, setting up the frog splash for two more. They head outside with the Wind-Up Knee smashing into Jordan’s face. Seth throws Jordan into Joe before superkicking the Samoan down. Back in and the Wind-Up Knee finishes Jordan at 19:49.

Rating: B-. WAY longer than necessary here and another match that showcased the problem with Jordan: he can have good matches but he’s one of the most annoying, whiny characters around. The good thing is they seem primed to turn him heel (the right move) so it might get better, but for now he’s being rather annoying.

Post match Joe lays out both guys. Booker: “It’s called a love tap in our business.”

Back from a break with Rollins, Jordan and Dean Ambrose saying they want a piece of Samoa Joe. Angle makes a six man tag match with the three of them facing Joe/the Bar.

We look back at Matt Hardy being woken.

Bray Wyatt wants to know why people are drawn to Matt. Is it the childish laugh? Or maybe the funny faces he makes? Bray is here to make sure that the right people get hurt, like Matt and all of the fans. He starts singing before saying she is sorry because the Great War must end.

Finn Balor vs. Miztourage

Bo Dallas starts for the team as the announcers can’t stop laughing at each other in that forced way that only they can do. Balor takes care of him in short order so it’s off to Curtis Axel for some stomping in the corner. Axel right hands Balor down and continues his variety of stomping, followed by some knees from Dallas. Finn knocks Axel off the top and loads up the Coup de Grace, only to have Dallas come in for the double beatdown and the DQ at 5:44.

Rating: D+. I can live with a loss like this as you don’t want Balor to be that much of a world beater. Miz should be back soon so we can do the real feud, which should be Balor destroying him in all of five minutes. If nothing else this gives Balor a much needed win in a feud as they try to rebuild him. Granted that won’t help if he just keeps losing but it’s better than nothing.

Post match Hideo Itami makes his main roster debut for the save. I love it when WWE basically admits that 205 Live means nothing.

Hideo Itami/Finn Balor vs. Miztourage

Joined in progress after a break Itami working on Dallas’ arm and handing it back to Balor, who gets caught in a backbreaker. We hit the chinlock for a long while with Cole explaining Itami’s WWE history (minus the series of injuries). Back up and Itami gets the hot tag to clean house, including a running knee for two on Dallas. Balor takes Dallas down, leaving Itami to GTS Axel for the pin at 4:29.

Rating: C-. Itami is a rather small guy but it’s cool to see him thrown in there with the heavyweights. If nothing else it continues WWE’s rather hilarious attempts to pretend like 205 Live needs to exist, given the fact that Itami just beat up two heavyweights with practically no problem. That being said, it would have been interesting to see him debut next week in Chicago and hitting the GTS there, assuming it didn’t set off two hours of CM Punk chants.

Cedric Alexander is only going to be overlooking Drew when he’s looking over him with his hand raised in victory.

Drew Gulak vs. Cedric Alexander

The winner gets Enzo Amore for the title at some point in the future. Before the match, Enzo talks about his microphone being a lightsaber. Drew: “If we’re talking Star Wars, I’ve always considered myself a Jar Jar Binks.” The PowerPoint is loaded up but Cedric cuts him off as you knew he would. Cedric starts fast and sends Drew to the floor for a big flip dive.

Drew suplexes him over the top but gets pulled out as well, leaving them both in a heap as we take a break. Back with Gulak in control as Enzo keeps making up names for Drew. A chinlock sets up a pinfall reversal sequence, followed by Drew walking into a C4 for two. Gulak comes back with something like a sitting STF but Cedric makes the rope. Enzo looks at his phone and leaves, much to Gulak’s dismay. The springboard clothesline (the third of the night) into the Lumbar Check for the pin and the title shot at 12:52.

Rating: C. This was any given 205 Live main event and while completely acceptable, it was again mostly about Enzo. Cedric winning is the right call (despite Gulak rocketing up the entertainment charts as of late) but good night he better win the title. Enzo has destroyed everything he touches as of late and a change is needed.

Post break Enzo comes up to see Nia Jax, who seems interested in a little alone time. Gulak, with a bloody piece of gauze in his nose, comes in to ask if they can go over what happened. Enzo shouts that he did a lot of things wrong and leaves.

Asuka vs. Alicia Fox

They circle each other for a bit until the screechy Fox bails from the threat of a cross armbreaker. Back in and Fox’s northern lights suplex sets up a chinlock, only to have Asuka kick her in the head. The armbreaker makes Fox tap at 3:43.

Rating: D. Is there a reason Asuka isn’t just mauling people like Fox? Since WWE doesn’t let Asuka actually beat anyone of note, we’re stuck with her having issues with Fox and Dana Brooke. I mean….they clearly get the idea of her dominating everything but she doesn’t actually dominate most of the time. Why is this so complicated? Just let her fight a name already.

The Bar/Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Jason Jordan

Jordan tags himself in and gets to face Sheamus, who clotheslines his head off. The triple stomping sets up a Sheamus knee drop for two as Jordan is in trouble. Back from a break with Rollins in trouble this time, including a Demolition Decapitator for two. The Irish Curse keeps Seth down but a DDT gives him a little hope. Joe breaks up the hot tag attempt though and hits the corner enziguri.

Sheamus goes shoulder first into the post but Rollins still can’t make the tag. Everything breaks down with a big brawl on the floor with Ambrose cleaning house. Cesaro cuts off another hot tag attempt but Dean comes in anyway. A big suicide dive cuts everyone off but Dean is holding his elbow. The referee calls the doctor over and a very quick Brogue Kick ends Rollins at 13:30.

Rating: C. Well that’s not good. They went straight to the finish and while they did keep the camera on Dean longer than they usually would in an injury, that seemed a bit too realistic. Hopefully he’s not hurt and doesn’t have to miss any time, though given how things have gone for the Shield it wouldn’t surprise me.

Stephanie arrives. Oh come on now we were doing so well without her.

Matt Hardy is playing chess with a goldfish named Napoleon. After beating the fish and agreeing to a rematch, Matt talks about Bray Wyatt and how WWE is like a chess board. Matt goes back to the board (whose pieces have been moved) and promises to delete Bray and Sister Abigail.

Joe and the Bar attack Rollins and Ambrose, including crushing the bad arm with an anvil case.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Revival

Slater gets punched in the face to start as we see Titus Worldwide, including a note taking Dana Brooke now in black with glasses, watching in the back. Wilder and Slater bang heads but Wilder is up in time to pull Rhyno off the apron. The Shatter Machine ends Slater at 3:04.

Rating: D+. Pretty much a squash here but it’s just nice to see Revival back and being dominant again. They’re still awesome and could be a good addition to the title scene, assuming they don’t break down again in all of five minutes. Slater and Rhyno are good for something like this and that’s all this needed to be.

Post break Angle comes up to Slater and Rhyno, saying they need to step it up if they want opportunities next year. Slater panics but Rhyno says his attitude needs to change and has an idea of how to fix it. Slater: “Is this going to hurt?”

Elias is in the ring and talks about being an inspiration to Tom Brady. This turns into a list of insults about Brady as Elias continues to know how to work a crowd. Angle is scared of him and it’s going to be even worse when he’s in the Royal Rumble. Elias is about to sing a song about Roger Goodell but Sasha Banks’ entrance cuts him off.

Sasha Banks/Mickie James/Bayley vs. Absolution

Banks throws Paige around to start but gets caught in the wrong corner. Absolution takes turns on her with Paige stomping her down. Paige gets tossed to the side though and the bot tag brings in Bayley as everything breaks down. The fight heads outside until Banks hits her top rope double knees on Deville, only to have the rest of Absolution come in for the brawl. The referee throws it out at 3:08.

Rating: D. That ending screams a post match angle and I’m pretty sure that’s where we’re going. I mean, we’re less than two months away from the Royal Rumble and a women’s version has been discussed. They certainly have the numbers to pull it off at this point and with Stephanie around, it sounds like announcement time.

Post match the brawl is on with the rest of the roster (including Brooke changing from her street clothes to ring gear and changing her hair) coming out. Cue Stephanie to talk about the Women’s Revolution and how important it is. We hear about all the things the women have done and the women’s Royal Rumble is announced to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show felt very long and that’s not a good thing. The announcement at the end helped a lot (save for Stephanie’s regular screeching and everyone stopping their hatred because of her mere presence) but the wrestling wasn’t great and it felt like it was eighteen hours long again. I do however take some solace in the fact that WWE continues to treat 205 Live like it’s nothing, with Itami debuting and the #1 contenders match taking place on Raw. This wasn’t a very good show, but it’s Rumble time and that means things will get good in a hurry.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Jason Jordan – Wind-Up Knee

Finn Balor b. Miztourage via DQ when Axel and Dallas double teamed Balor

Finn Balor/Hideo Itami b. Miztourage – GTS to Axel

Cedric Alexander b. Drew Gulak – Lumbar Check

Asuka b. Alicia Fox – Cross armbreaker

The Bar/Samoa Joe b. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Jason Jordan – Brogue Kick to Rollins

Revival b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Shatter Machine to Slater

Mickie James/Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Absolution via DQ when Absolution triple teamed Banks

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Clash of Champions 2017
Date: December 17, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the final pay per view of the year and this time the focus is on champions. Well, at least some of it is as the rest of the focus has been on Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Shane McMahon, who has put together Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura to fight for him. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Mojo Rawley vs. Zack Ryder

They were partners who kept losing so Rawley turned on him. Rawley has new music as well. Ryder dropkicks him at the bell and we start in a hurry. They head outside with Ryder slugging away until Rawley rams him back first into the barricade. A spinebuster plants Ryder again and a running splash in the corner gets two.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Ryder gets shoved off the ropes and outside again. Back from a break with Ryder caught in another chinlock. A big boot gets two more but Ryder is back up with some forearms in the corner. Mojo gets serious and chop blocks the knee, setting up the running right hand for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: C-. Fairly entertaining glorified squash here and that’s all it could have been. Ryder was always going to lose this and that’s the right idea with Rawley potentially becoming a midcard act as a result of the split. It served its purpose and if Rawley gets something out of it, even better.

The opening video is split between looking at the title matches and the tag match. This show’s name is going to be its undoing.

US Title: Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin is defending. They circle around to start until Corbin is sent outside, leaving the challengers to trade rollups. Ziggler sends Roode outside as well and it’s Corbin with a hard clothesline to take Bobby down. Dolph takes some right hands as well and it’s Corbin standing tall early on.

Back in and Roode is whipped hard into the corer as we’re firmly in the two in/one out triple threat formula. After a good stomping on Roode, Ziggler comes back in and takes one of his own. At least the champ is consistent. It’s Roode coming back in with a Blockbuster for two on Corbin. Ziggler runs in for a Fameasser on Roode, forcing Corbin to dive back in for a save.

Roode hits a swinging Rock Bottom but walks into Deep Six. With everyone else down, Roode goes up for some reason, only to get caught on the bad end of a Tower of Doom. Ziggler throws Corbin outside but the superkick is countered into Roode’s spinebuster. The jumping DDT gives Ziggler two though and everyone is down again. A charging Corbin is low bridged and Ziggler eats the Glorious DDT but Corbin pulls Roode out at two. Back in and Corbin loads up End of Days, only to have Ziggler grab the Zig Zag for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: C+. I….what? Like seriously what? Ziggler was there to take the fall and winds up winning the title? Was this just for the sake of shutting him up on Twitter? The match was every triple threat match you’ve seen with a nice sequence in the middle, but my goodness Ziggler winning does nothing for anyone.

Daniel Bryan thinks his referee shirt is a little big when Shane McMahon comes in to say his, which of course is customized, fits fine. Shane wants to know what’s up with Bryan as of late as he just added himself to the match out of nowhere. They’re both going to be in the ring tonight and more discussions will be had later on.

Corbin is livid and promises to get the title back.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable vs. Rusev/Aiden English vs. Usos

The Usos are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Before the match, English sings the Twelve Days of Rusev so the Usos sing about having all twelve days on lock. There are four in the ring at a time here so it’s Gable, English, Kofi and Jimmy starting things off. Four straight rollups lead to a quadruple tag as everything breaks down. Of course a bunch of them wind up on the floor with Jey diving onto Big E. and English.

Benjamin runs the corner to superplex Jimmy down with Big E. having to make a save. New Day takes over inside and loads up some Unicorn Stampedes, only to have Rusev come back in and run everyone over. Cue the RUSEV DAY chants, meaning WWE will destroy him in short order. Gable and English put on holds at the same time with a staredown thrown in.

English of course wins by singing, because that’s what a good man does. A hard suplex drops Jey and we settle down to Gable and Benjamin working Kofi over in the corner. Byron won’t shut up about English’s singing and Graves keeps berating him, meaning advantage Graves. English has to make a save and gets in a shoving match with Gable. Double hot tags bring in Jimmy and Big E. as this is WAY messier than it needs to be.

A running Umaga Attack and a Warrior Splash gives us a double two. The Usos clean house with superkicks until Shelton powerbombs Jimmy and Gable grabs a Texas Cloverleaf. Rusev makes a save with a superkick to the back of the head and grabs the Accolade on Gable. Big E. makes the save but eats the jumping superkick. There’s the Accolade on Big E. until Gable makes a very delayed save of his own. Chad starts suplexing everyone, including Rolling Chaos Theory on Big E. The Usos make a blind tag though and it’s the superkick into the Superfly Splash to retain at 11:56.

Rating: B-. The action was good but egads this was messy. There was too much going on and a lot of that is due to the four in the ring at once. Hopefully they don’t keep that up if they do something like this again in the future. The Usos retaining is acceptable but the titles could use some fresh blood pretty soon. Hopefully that means Rusev/English, at least before Rusev Day loses its steam.

We recap the Women’s Title match. Charlotte beat Natalya to take the title but the debuting Riott Squad interfered in the rematch. The solution was a lumberjack match, including the Riott Squad at ringside.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Natalya

Charlotte is defending and the lumberjacks get individual entrances to fill in time. Oh and we get Big Match Intros in case you didn’t get the idea yet. Charlotte wastes no time in kicking Natalya outside where Naomi gets in a shot of her own. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Charlotte two as Graves says he has 20/13 vision, making him better than Saxton. Normally this would be annoying but Saxton is so worthless that it’s actually fine.

Natalya knocks the champ outside and the beatdown is on with the Squad getting annoying at the other lumberjacks trying to get in their own shots. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a basement dropkick to keep Charlotte in trouble. Natalya gets sent outside and, of course, is tossed back in unscathed. Charlotte makes a comeback but decides to dive onto Ruby Riott instead.

We get the required lumberjack brawl until Naomi dives onto everyone. Back in and Natalya grabs a Sharpshooter until Charlotte gets over to the ropes. That’s not cool with the lumberjacks, who pull Charlotte outside to keep up the beating. In the melee, Carmella grabs the Money in the Bank briefcase but the Squad breaks it up. Charlotte moonsaults outside onto the pile but gets posted by Natalya. Back in and Charlotte reverses the Sharpshooter into the Figure Eight to retain at 12:33.

Rating: D+. As usual, Smackdown seems to have no idea how to book this division without throwing everyone into the match at once. All the people running around got old in a hurry and there was no way around it. On top of that we still don’t have the Money in the Bank cash-in out of the way, despite having the most perfect of a moment imaginable at the CHAMPIONS pay per view. This was more annoying than anything else and that’s not good. On a side note though, this felt like it was planting some seeds for a women’s Rumble and that could be interesting.

Post match Natalya says Charlotte used her family’s name to cut corners and talks about giving everything to the division in the last ten years. Now the WWE and the women want to turn their backs on her. Well she’ll turn her back on all of them. Ok Nattie. You do that and see if we can make people care about you even less. I mean, I doubt it, but maybe your cats will be interested. Just don’t talk again. Like ever. I’d rather listen to your cats being swung around by their tails.

Long video hyping up the Network because THIS SHOW IS WAY TOO SHORT IF YOU DIDN’T GET THE IDEA YET!

The Singh Brothers won’t allow any interviews with Jinder Mahal. They do however note that he heard what AJ said “on the Clash of Champions Kickoff Show”. As opposed to the Barney Miller marathon kickoff show?

1. Who listens to this and thinks humans talk like this?

2. What do I have to do to get a Barney Miller marathon?

Anyway they tease that they won’t get involved in the title match.

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Breeze now has short tights. Harper punches Breeze in the jaw to start and it’s quickly off to Rowan. Tyler gets in an enziguri, only to have Harper smash Breeze with a big boot (which the camera missed). Breeze is dropped face first onto the apron and a double powerbomb plants Fandango. The double spinebuster ends Fandango at 1:58. I know the Brothers need to be established but they couldn’t have done this to the Hype Bros? Or jobbers or something? Or can we just have Breezango win something for once?

Post match the Brothers promise more destruction.

Zayn and Owens like Bryan playing fair and promise that the YEP Movement will rage on. They walk away from a question of what if they lose.

We recap the tag match, which I can’t believe isn’t the main event. Owens beat up Vince McMahon so it turned into the Shane McMahon Avenging Hour. Zayn joined forces with Owens and turned into the double big bad, setting up a tag match between Owens/Zayn vs. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura. Shane and Daniel Bryan are both going to be refereeing and if Owens/Zayn lose, they’re fired. The bosses are rather divided on what to do about Owens and Zayn, meaning there’s some tension around here.

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura

Both referees are in the ring at once as Orton headlocks Sami to start. Orton clotheslines Sami down and let’s have an argument over the counts. Shane yells at Sami for punching in the corner while Bryan just stands back. Nakamura comes in and reverses a wristlock into one of his own. It’s off to Owens who hammers away in the corner, only to have Shane pull him off.

Orton comes back in and completely misses a right hand but gets two anyway, triggering another argument. Eventually they agree to cover half of the ring each and we seem to have peace at the moment. Owens superkicks Orton to take over, allowing Zayn to chop away in the corner. Orton breaks a chinlock (he would know about them) and drops Sami ribs first across the top.

It’s back to Owens for a chinlock of his own until a belly to back suplex gets Orton to freedom. Nakamura comes in for the hard strikes and some Good Vibrations. We hit a triangle choke on Owens but he powers out in a bit of a surprise. Sami comes in for two off the Blue Thunder Bomb as everything breaks down. Orton’s throat is snapped across the top rope but he’s able to crotch Sami into a superplex.

Owens pulls Orton outside so the brawl can continue, including the overactive referees. The villains start loading up the announcers’ table and a splash drives him through. Orton is back up though and the hanging DDT gets two on Sami with Shane freaking out over the kickout. There’s an RKO to Owens but Zayn rolls Randy up for two as Shane just stops counting. Bryan snaps so Sami rolls Orton up again with Bryan fast counting the pin at 21:00.

Rating: C+. The match was a mess due to all the people involved but egads this better be a Shane heel turn. I like the ending, but I have a bad feeling about what it’s going to lead to. If nothing else it basically guarantees more Shane dominating TV, even if it’s not all that interesting anymore. Shane was a full on heel here, even if that is likely to change nothing because Shane is the cool guy or whatever their logic is.

A lot of staring ensues.

We recap the World Title match with a cool video about the history of the title and some great champions. AJ hopes to be such a champion one day and started the process when he won the title in England. Tonight is Mahal’s rematch.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal

AJ is defending and the Singh Brothers are here. Mahal powers him into the corner to start until AJ kicks him in the knee for a breather. They head outside with AJ sending the knee into the barricade and grabbing a leglock back inside. Mahal fights up and drops him ribs first across the top rope for another trip to the floor. A piece of the barricade padding is ripped off and AJ goes crashing through it as the fans are just dying here.

Mahal gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and we hit the reverse chinlock with a knee in the back. It’s off to a bodyscissors as this match is somehow getting even more boring, completely defying my expectations. Mahal stays on the ribs with an abdominal stretch, followed by a middle rope right hand to the jaw. AJ dropkicks the second attempt out of the air but it’s too early for the Phenomenal Forearm.

Some right hands in the corner are countered into an electric chair, followed by the seated forearm. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Mahal, followed by a northern lights suplex for the same. There’s the Pele but the tornado DDT is countered, allowing Mahal to kick him in the face for two more. With nothing else working, Mahal loads up a super Khallas but AJ breaks it up without much effort.

The springboard 450 connects, only to bang up the ribs. The Singh Brothers try to pull Mahal outside but get beaten up for their efforts, including a Styles Clash on the floor. Back in and the Khallas gets two so Mahal tries a Styles Clash. Since that would probably result in a bad case of death, AJ reverses into the Calf Crusher to retain at 22:57.

Rating: B. Much like in Manchester, AJ carries Mahal to a good match. NOW GET THE HECK OVER MAHAL AND GET HIM OUT OF THE MAIN EVENT FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER! I’ve been sick of the guy for months now and hopefully he drops down to the midcard (where he would be perfectly fine and should have been all this time) while someone interesting and/or talented gets the spot that they deserve.

Overall Rating: C-. While not the worst show ever, it certainly was one of the least important ever. The problem again comes down to the fact that the idea of a pay per view focusing on the titles doesn’t need to exist when every pay per view is like this. Maybe if you have a dual branded version it could work but this didn’t stand up very well on its own.

As has been obvious for weeks though, the bigger problem is how little this show needed to exist. Smackdown just doesn’t have the lineup for a stand alone pay per view at the moment as they ran a six match card here with almost nothing feeling like it belonged on pay per view. The main event was good but nothing that blew away the TV match from England and the tag match was a plot device. As for the rest….yeah it existed and ate up pay per view time, which is about the extent of its positives.

The show was far from terrible, but it wasn’t very interesting and didn’t need to exist. Granted we’re heading into the Rumble though and that’s going to guarantee things pick up in a hurry. In other words, this was the throw away December pay per view which only exists because they need a show in December. At least the boring stretch is out of the way though and things can start looking forward.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode – Zig Zag to Corbin

Usos b. Aiden English/Rusev, New Day and Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable – Superfly Splash to Gable

Charlotte b. Natalya – Figure Eight

Bludgeon Brothers b. Breezango – Double spinebuster to Fandango

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura – Rollup to Orton

AJ Styles b. Jinder Mahal – Calf Crusher

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Smackdown
Date: July 17, 2003
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re almost to Vengeance and the good things in the build towards the show have been quite good. At the same time though, the bad thing is very bad. Vince vs. Stephanie is running wild and for some reason we’re supposed to want to see Vince vs. Zach Gowen at the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

This was actually taped on Sunday as the Smackdown roster was going on an Asian tour.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event with Big Show chokeslamming Brock Lesnar through a table.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Vince to get things going. He recaps the Gowen story (minus the Hogan aspect) up to last week and blames Kurt Angle for Gowen winning his contract. The point is everyone needs to be taught a lesson, which is what Gowen learned last week (I think he meant to say Lesnar there).

Last week ended with Lesnar being chokeslammed through a table while Angle was in Vince’s office. Vince had Angle stay in the back because if he interfered, he would be out of the triple threat at Vengeance. Therefore tonight, Angle will be facing the same match tonight: no holds barred, falls count anywhere against Big Show/Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin.

Cue Lesnar to say he’s here to beat the boss….and Vince actually makes himself vs. Brock. Just not tonight of course. Vince wants Brock to be at 100% so tonight, Brock has the night off. That includes keeping him out of tonight’s handicap match. If he interferes, he’s stripped of the title and fired. Brock leaves, but since he can’t give Vince an F5, he’ll settle for FU.

US Title Tournament Semifinals: Matt Hardy vs. Chris Benoit

Matt, who’s beard is much cooler than Benoit’s and tans wearing only a sock, has Shannon Moore back in his corner. Benoit tries a Crossface less than ten seconds in (you don’t insult a man’s beard) but settles for a regular armbar instead. Matt gets tied up in the ropes so Shannon sneaks in for a neckbreaker to change control. It’s off to a seated full nelson for a bit until Benoit pops up with a running forearm to the head.

Shannon comes in again and is promptly suplexed over the top and out to the floor. The Crossface goes on but Matt, with a bloody nose or lip, is in the ropes in a hurry. A Side Effect gives Matt two but he misses a Swan Dive. Benoit rolls some German suplexes, only to miss a Swan Dive of his own. Matt takes him up top for a super Side Effect, only to be countered into the Crossface to send Benoit to Vengeance.

Rating: B-. Matt was trying hard out there and the finish looked awesome. This was a solid match and that’s not the most surprising thing in the world, especially given the fact that Hardy is back to his normal range of opponents. Hopefully this is the kind of match the US Title starts to represent and if that’s the case, Benoit will be just fine.

Vince is in Stephanie’s office when she comes in to say she expected to find him here. Sable isn’t here tonight but has sent a peace offering: Midol. It’s as funny as it sounds.

Brock goes to leave but and Angle can’t stop him.

Ultimo Dragon vs. Jamie Noble

Before the match, Jamie ups his offer to $25,000 for a night with Torrie Wilson. Nidia walks away in a huff. I’d have expected her to approve actually. Dragon kicks him down to start and seems surprised at Noble kicking out. Noble heads outside and there’s the Asai moonsault for good measure. Back in and Jamie kicks him down, only to have Billy Gunn and Torrie come out for a distraction. Dragon grabs a rollup for the pin. If Dragon needs Billy Gunn to beat a comedy cruiserweight, just leave now.

John Cena is in a cemetery and raps about Undertaker being gay and a dead issue. He also relieves himself on a grave.

We look back at Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman becoming #1 contenders last week.

The APA invites Brian Kendrick and Spanky to the first ever APA Invitational Bar Room Brawl at Vengeance. Kanyon can’t go because his cable guy is coming. That’s not an option so threats of violence make Kanyon agree to reschedule.

Rey Mysterio/Billy Kidman vs. Los Conquistadors

These would be Conquistador #45 and #47, who I believe are Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore. 45 (Conway) starts things off with Kidman and a headscissors takes the masked man down. Mysterio comes in but gets cheapshotted from the apron so 47 (who certainly looks like Dinsmore) can get in some forearms.

The masked men make a switch with no tag (the referee doesn’t notice despite 45 having blond hair sticking out from underneath the mask) and a neckbreaker gets two on Kidman. A powerbomb is broken up and there’s the 619 into the shooting star for the pin on 45. Not bad actually, but that’s not surprising given who was under the masks.

Here’s Vince for another chat. He’s not happy with being interrupted earlier because he wanted to talk about Sable, who is in the Presidential box. She’s up there for Stephanie’s protection and Vince explains her sexual prowess. This shifts into a discussion of Gowen, who has a handicap. That must make the fans feel a little uncomfortable and everyone here knows it. Sure they might give a few bucks to charity but that’s just a way to keep the conditions at arm’s length.

Cue Cena of all people, with Vince dancing a bit to his music. Cena talks about Gowen winning being an impossible mission because just like Ted Turner, he’s no competition. At Vengeance, he’s killing a dead man while Vince fights Christopher Reeves. Cena: “What’s better than a one legged wrestler? Being able to walk!” Vince: “Word life.” Undertaker comes out and clears the ring without much effort.

Rhyno vs. Sean O’Haire

They fight outside before the bell but here’s the APA to invite them to the Bar Room Invitational. I know Piper leaving messed with O’Haire’s push but this is all they have for him? Fighting ensues.

Sable complains about the service in her suite.

US Title Tournament Semifinals: Eddie Guerrero vs. Billy Gunn

Feeling out process to start until Gunn punches him down. A powerslam gets two and a delayed vertical suplex is good for the same. Eddie sends him into the corner and hammers away before getting two off a snapmare of all things. We hit a chinlock with Tazz making jokes about Torrie bouncing as she plays cheerleader. Billy fights up and hits a release faceplant, only to get caught in a half crab (looked to be the Lasso From El Paso but it fell apart).

Eddie’s brainbuster sets up the frog splash but Billy rolls away because this needs to keep going. Billy’s cobra clutch slam gets two (he’s no Jinder Mahal) and here’s Jamie for a distraction. Eddie gets in a chair shot and drops to the mat to make sure the referee doesn’t know who did it. So for once the referee actually heard the chair shot? That might be a first and Eddie gets the pin.

Rating: C-. So now the US Title tournament is being used to set up Gunn vs. Noble? They really are going for it this time around. Anyway, Eddie winning was the only option here and that’s the right move. At least we should get a classic out of the title match and Gunn vs. Noble can be five minutes long for the thrilling conclusion.

Sable is being interviewed when Stephanie sneaks in (read as walks in wearing a waiter’s uniform) to pour wine over Sable’s head. Catfighting ensues and food is spilled everywhere.

Kurt Angle vs. Big Show/World’s Greatest Tag Team

Hardcore. Angle gets double teamed in the corner to start as Show stands on the apron for the sake of dramatic convenience. Charlie gets sent head first into Shelton’s crotch though and it’s off to Big Show for a headbutt. A trashcan lid to the back gets two on Angle and the villains finally realize triple teaming is perfectly fine.

Back in and Show gets low bridged outside, leaving Angle to German suplex the normal sized opponents. A heck of a chair shot drops Show and we take a break. Back with Haas being sent over the barricade and Benjamin getting clotheslined down. They head into the crowd with Benjamin being thrown through a gate and Charlie getting caught in the ankle lock. Show makes a save and takes Angle to the stage.

The group beatdown continues until Angle cleans house with a trashcan lid. Show gets in a clothesline though and here’s Gowen for some jumping knees to the head. Angle Slams take down Show and Benjamin but Show is up fast enough to save Haas from the ankle lock. Gowen gets thrown into the barricade but Angle hits Show with the steps. Back in and Shelton kicks Charlie by mistake, setting up the ankle lock for the submission.

Rating: B-. I liked this more than I expected to as they allowed the match to build up and let Angle hang in there long enough to steal a win. The interference helps a bit and while it’s a stretch to have Angle beat them, he didn’t pin Show and outsmarted the champs rather than flat out defeating them. Good match, especially with Angle one upping Lesnar after last week.

Overall Rating: C-. They kept the Vince/Stephanie/Sable/Gowen stuff on more of a leash this week and it helped a lot. Unfortunately we got two Gunn vs. Noble segments instead so it kind of balances out. The wrestling was better this week with some matches getting time, though there are still a lot of problems around here. That being said, Vengeance is looking better each week as there’s a chance that they’ll give the matches enough time to pay off all the build put into them. Not a great show, but they’re fixing some of the problems.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Tribute to the Troops 2017
Date: December 14, 2017
Location: Naval Station San Diego, San Diego, California
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton

It’s the fifteenth annual special and that’s rather impressive. You never can know what to expect from these but it’s always cool to see WWE do something like this. The wrestling means very little at this show and there’s going to be a lot of filler but to complain about that would be missing the point. Let’s get to it.

The show is outside again for the first time in a good many years for a very cool setting.

Lillian Garcia performs the National Anthem at her usual amazing standard.

We look at a history of the show.

Shield vs. Samoa Joe/The Bar

Rollins and Reigns start things off with the troops in the audience telling Sheamus he’ll get sunburned. Some rapid fire elbows have Cesaro in trouble and it’s off to Dean for more of the same. Ambrose gets caught in the wrong corner though and it’s Joe hammering away. Everything breaks down and it’s the Shield cleaning house in short order. Back from a break with Rollins hitting a suicide dive and making the hot tag to Reigns. Everything breaks down again with Reigns Superman Punching Cesaro for two. The Wind-Up knee into Dirty Deeds drops Sheamus and it’s a spear to end Cesaro at 9:49.

Rating: C. I’m going to be a lot more lenient on the wrestling tonight because like I said, it’s just not the point. I’d be stunned if a heel wins tonight because this is the definition of a send them home happy show. You’re going to see these teams fight again on a big stage at some point and this was a nice preview.

Post match Reigns says the Shield brings the fight but the people in the audience here bring the big fight. Rollins and Ambrose say similar things and everyone smiles.

The cast of Star Wars loves the troops.

Clips of John Cena’s involvement with the troops over the years.

Carmella vs. Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott

Non-title with most of the division on the floor. Ruby bails to the floor to start before sneaking back in to jump Charlotte from behind. Charlotte gets in a few shots of her own but here’s Natalya to offer a distraction as we take a break. Back with Charlotte making a comeback but getting caught on top. Carmella pulls Ruby down and hits a Stratusphere for two on Charlotte and things slow down. Charlotte is back up with a double suplex and the rapid fire chops. A big boot sets up the Figure Eight to make Carmella tap at 10:04.

Rating: C. More of the same here with the face dominating and pulling off a win without much effort. Above all else though, how nice is it that the women aren’t in the Santa’s Little Helpers matches or whatever they want to call it this time? It’s really cool to see them have an actual match, even if it’s something this simple.

Charlotte thanks the troops, particularly the women.

Package of the wrestlers with the troops.

The cast of Pitch Perfect 3 love the troops.

Luke Bryan loves the troops.

Stephen Colbert loves the troops.

Machine Gun Kelly performs.

The cast of Daddy’s Home 2 loves the troops.

Sgt. Slaughter doesn’t want a fake Marine like Miz pretending to be the real thing. Dolph Ziggler is here too but doesn’t have much to say. Mark Henry comes in to tell Sarge to keep at it.

New Day/Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable/Rusev/Aiden English

Before the match, New Day changes up their signature chant to a USA version. Big E. hits the abdominal stretch with some spanking on Gable to start and it’s off to Jey for a running Umaga Attack. Jey gets sent outside and into the barricade though as we take a break. Back with Rusev keeping Jey in trouble and Shelton coming in for a hard spinebuster. The Samoan drop allows the hot tag to Jimmy so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and the Midnight Hour puts Shelton away at 8:03.

Rating: C-. New Day was a requirement on a show like this as the fans are going to eat them up and the chants are always fun. It was perfectly fine with the right guy taking the fall and the right team winning. If nothing else it’s cool to see English getting a chance to do something with that sweet voice of his.

The cast of Ferdinand loves the troops.

The cast of This Is Us loves the troops.

The cast of the Today Show loves the troops.

Sasha Banks/Bayley/Mickie James vs. Absolution

Mandy shoves Bayley into the corner to start but gets forearmed away for her efforts. Mickie comes in to kick away at Sonya and a running forearm gets two. Everything breaks down and they fight on the floor as we take a break. Back with Mandy kneeing Bayley in the face for two but getting caught in a Stunner. Sasha comes in for the running knees in the corner but Sonya makes a save. Mickie’s top rope Thesz press gets two on Paige and she dives onto the other two for good measure. Not that it matters as a quick Rampaige ends Mickie at 10:06.

Rating: C+. If any heels were going to win tonight, this makes the most sense. Absolution needs to stay strong, which includes a match like this. The match was rather energetic and it’s fine to have Mickie take a fall as that’s pretty much all her job entails at the moment. Of course none of this matters for the most part as Asuka is the big target but we’ll get to her soon enough.

Stormtroopers were at the base today as Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuts this weekend.

Machine Gun Kelly performs again.

Clint Eastwood loves the troops.

The cast of Father Figures loves the troops.

Randy Orton/Shinsuke Nakamura/AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Orton wastes no time with the threat of an RKO to send Owens bailing to the floor. Back from a break with Owens stomping at Orton long enough that he can bring Mahal in. Nakamura comes in for the knees to the ribs, including the big knee drop for no cover. Mahal takes him into the corner for a bit but Nakamura fights away and gets it back to Styles.

The belly to back faceplant gets two on Owens and Mahal has to break up the Calf Crusher. Orton DDTs both Singh Brothers but walks into a superkick from Owens. Nakamura and Zayn come in as everything breaks down. We hit the parade of finishers, capped off by Kinshasa for the pin on Sami at 10:18.

Rating: C+. Like there was any doubt in this one. Nakamura might not have gotten the best reaction in the world but he has a good looking finisher and this isn’t exactly a normal show. Styles and Orton were crazy over of course and there’s nothing like beating up three foreigners to end the show.

One last music tribute wraps things up.

Overall Rating: C+. As you might expect, the ratings here mean nothing. This is like wondering what the audience is for a Best Of show or something like that. Tribute to the Troops is for the live crowd and there’s nothing wrong with that idea. The wrestling doesn’t matter and as long as there’s a good atmosphere, which there was, everything is fine.

Results

Shield b. Samoa Joe/The Bar – Spear to Cesaro

Charlotte b. Carmella and Ruby Riott – Figure Eight to Carmella

New Day/Usos b. Shelton Benjamin/Chad Gable/Rusev/Aiden English – Midnight Hour to Benjamin

Absolution b. Mickie James/Bayley/Sasha Banks – Rampaige to James

Randy Orton/AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal – Kinshasa to Zayn

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Main Event
Date: December 14, 2017
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for Clash of Champions 2017 and for once that might mean something around here. The recent change towards having Smackdown clips as well as Raw stuff is a nice idea and that’s a very cool thing for the time being. Maybe we can even build towards the pay per view a bit. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Curt Hawkins vs. Rhyno

Feeling out process to start until Rhyno scores with some chops and an elbow. Hawkins is right back with a clothesline for two but stops to pose. Nigel isn’t pleased with Hawkins’ offensive choices and we hit the chinlock. Rhyno fights up without much effort and runs Hawkins over again. The spinebuster is good for the pin on Hawkins at 5:04.

Rating: D. I’m not even sure what to say about these matches anymore, though to be fair I’m not sure there’s supposed to be much to say about them in the first place. Hawkins losing is a guarantee but you can pretty much write out every Rhyno match for the rest of his career. It’s not a horrible match or anything but it’s the same thing we’ve seen so many times now.

From Raw.

Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro

Reigns is defending and starts fast with uppercuts and clotheslines. They fight to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Cesaro cranking on the arm after swinging it into the barricade for a sick thud during the commercial. Reigns fights out with a backslide for two, followed by a rollup. That’s reversed into a Fujiwara armbar and then a regular armbar. Reigns fights up again and hits the apron kick to the face for two, only to get pulled into a Crossface.

Reigns reverses into a Samoan drop for two, only to be sent HARD into the post. It doesn’t seem to matter that much though as Reigns scores with a Superman punch off the apron. The arm won’t let him follow up properly though, allowing Cesaro to grab another Crossface. The Swing is reversed into a sitout powerbomb for two more but Reigns can’t follow up. Cesaro slugs away in the corner but the Neutralizer is countered with a backdrop, followed by the spear to retain the title at 16:53.

Rating: B+. It’s a long match but it actually needed a little more time. I would have liked a lot more of Reigns fighting back and something better than “spear, ow my arm, pin”. Cesaro working on the arm for that long looked like it was going somewhere but then they just went to the finish. That being said, they beat the heck out of each other for a long time and it was a heck of a match. Just have a better finish and it’s a classic.

From Raw again.

Video on Strowman vs. Kane.

Kane vs. Braun Strowman

The winner gets Lesnar at the Rumble. Strowman wastes no time by splashing Kane in the corner, followed by a running dropkick for one. Kane avoids a charge though and a chokeslam gets two. Another chokeslam gets the same before Strowman chokeslams Kane for good measure. They fight into the crowd and Strowman spears Kane through the barricade for a double countout at 4:31.

Rating: C-. It was fun while it lasted in a Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at Wrestlemania kind of way but that’s about all it had. I don’t think anyone expected Kane to win here and Strowman not winning is likely a good idea, especially if it would have meant losing to Lesnar again at the Rumble. I really hope Lesnar does defend at the pay per view (assuming he’s not injured or something) but this doesn’t give me a lot of hope.

The fight continues post match with both guys picking up steps. Said steps are rammed together with Strowman getting the better of it but he can’t crush Kane’s throat again. Kane chairs Strowman in the knee and then the back, finally taking the monster down. Kane sets up a table but a double clothesline gives us a double situp. Strowman muscles him up for the powerslam through the table to end the show.

Video on the Riott Squad wrecking the Smackdown women’s division.

Pay per view rundown.

Brian Kendrick/Jack Gallagher vs. Gran Metalik/Akira Tozawa

Gallagher and Tozawa get things going with Jack doing his headstand in the corner and jumping over a charging Tozawa. It’s quickly off to Metalik vs. Kendrick with the masked man speeding things up, including a rope walk middle rope dropkick. Kendrick hits a super atomic drop of all things and we take a break. Back with the Metalik Driver getting two with Kendrick grabbing a Captain’s Hook for the save. Everything breaks down and Metalik drops a rope walk elbow for the pin on Kendrick at 7:10. Not enough shown to rate but it was energetic while it lasted.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Styles to open things up. He won the title a little over a month ago and wants to be a fighting champion. This Sunday he defends against Mahal and lists off what Mahal will do to get the title back, including bringing in Great Khali. Cue the Singh Brothers, who say they’re not introducing Mahal tonight. We look back at Mahal attacking the two of them two weeks ago so AJ wants to hug it out. AJ: “Come hug it out with Uncle Al!”

The Brothers get in the ring and say they want to be in Mahal’s corner on Sunday. One of them rants about how horrible Mahal is (“He thinks we’re twins!”) while the other tries to calm him down. AJ doesn’t buy it and shows a still of the Brothers being in Mahal’s corner this weekend in India. They swear they’re done with Mahal, who comes out looking rather angry. AJ of course doesn’t buy any of this (thank goodness) and lays the Brothers out.

And we’ll wrap it up with more Smackdown.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens

Bryan is on commentary to continue a trend tonight. Owens grabs a headlock for a bit before getting kicked in the chest for his efforts. A knee to the ribs cuts Nakamura down though and a backsplash gets two. We hit the chinlock as Bryan talks about how Shane’s stipulations aren’t exactly fair. Nakamura fights up but can’t hit the knee in the corner. Instead he gets sent hard into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Owens stomping away until Nakamura gets in a running kick to the face. Some YES Kicks have Owens in more trouble and there’s Good Vibrations for a bonus. The running knee in the corner gets two but Owens breaks up a superplex. His Swanton hits knees but Owens blocks the reverse exploder. The referee gets bumped and Bryan takes over instead. Nakamura’s spinning kick to the head gets a delayed two as Orton and Zayn get in a fight. The distraction lets Owens hit a Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 14:29.

Rating: C+. Good match, but the sledgehammer of plot didn’t help things. This was supposed to be the smoking gun that proves Bryan is going to be biased on Sunday but it feels a bit forced. Granted some of that might have been Byron Saxton hammering home the same idea over and over again, which makes anything sound annoying. I would say I look forward to this story ending on Sunday but I’d be surprised if it’s done by Wrestlemania at this point.

Kevin and Sami say no one is taking their careers away because they’ll win at the Clash.

Overall Rating: D+. All this show did was reinforce how boring WWE TV has been as of late. On top of that it also shows how unnecessary Clash of Champions is, but never let that get in the way of putting a pay per view on for the sake of putting a pay per view on. This didn’t do anything to change those issues and that’s becoming a problem. Hopefully it gets better after next week but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 14, 2003
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler

So Kane is running around like a monster again and that could mean a lot of things. Well more likely it means Kane gets a big push and doesn’t win anything of note, but it’s still better than Kevin Nash. We also have Evolution back on the rise, albeit without any major challenger for HHH. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Kane being motivated by Steve Austin last week, turning him back into the monster in the process.

Opening sequence.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel with a ticked off Chris Jericho. Enough is enough and it’s time for something to be done tonight. Raw has broken down into chaos over the last few weeks with superstars being attacked, grown men being terrified and even Jericho himself being scared. There’s one man who could save things though and that man is his guest tonight: Eric Bischoff, sporting a neck brace.

Jericho praises Bischoff’s courage for coming out here with Eric saying there was no way he was taking the suggested eight weeks off. Bischoff is back to deal with Kane, who has been running amok. He even has exclusive footage from last week with Kane attacking Rob Van Dam. As for tonight, Eric has sent JR to Connecticut to interview Kane but here’s Austin to cut him off. Austin was ready to deal with Kane tonight and if that means beating him up, so be it.

Bischoff doesn’t think much of the plan and puts the whole thing on Austin’s head for berating Kane a few weeks ago. Austin is ready to leave with no violence but Jericho opens his mouth and calls him worthless, earning a Stunner to give the fans something to cheer for. This was nearly fifteen minutes long and went pretty much nowhere.

Trish Stratus/Kevin Nash/Scott Steiner vs. Steven Richards/Test/Victoria

This is supposed to be a fair match? Steiner and Richards start things off, meaning it’s an early belly to belly suplex into the pushups. The women come in and Trish Matrixes into the Chick Kick for two. Test trips Trish up from the apron though and comes in for a clothesline. Victoria’s slingshot suplex gets two but a neckbeaker gets Trish out of trouble. It’s off to Nash, now billed as Big Nasty, for a big boot to Test’s face. The Jackknife ends Richards.

Rating: D. So we were really supposed to buy Test and Steven Richards as a match for two former World Champions? That’s the best they can do for a midcard match around here? The women were trying here but there was too much bad going around to really allow this to work. Well that and the uninteresting story and trying to set up what seems to be a Test vs. Nash feud.

Jericho demands Bischoff do something about Austin.

Lance Storm vs. Maven

Before the match, Storm threatens to sue the fans for chanting BORING. As weird as this might sound, Storm might be too boring to make this work. They hit the mat to start with the boring chants beginning early. Maven manages to botch a hiptoss so Storm goes down for two anyway. Storm gets all fired up and throws off his elbow pad as Lawler points out that no one has ever chanted BORING at him. We hit an armbar as the crowd just keeps dying.

Storm grabs a long chinlock to try and set something up, only to have Maven fight up with some weak clotheslines. Maven’s high crossbody is rolled thru but Maven rolls thru that for a sloppy two. The announcers aren’t exactly hiding how bad this is as Storm gets two of his own off a superkick. The Maple Leaf goes on and Maven grabs the rope before reversing the unbroken hold into a rollup for the pin.

Rating: F. It takes a lot to bring down Lance Storm, who is one of the most technically sound wrestlers you’ll find. Maven managed to do it though and that can’t be a huge surprise. Basically WWE is having a guy who would be just getting started on the indy circuit to come on Raw and have high level matches. That’s just dumb thinking and I have no idea why WWE kept putting him out there like this. You have a developmental system for a reason.

JR is ready to interview Kane.

Here’s La Resistance for a chat. They’re glad Bischoff is back because Austin held them off the show last week. Today is Bastille Day so let’s hit that French National Anthem. They’re still at it after a break until all three Dudleys, carrying the American flag, come in for the save. Grenier takes a 3D and the Dudleyz sing the Star Spangled Banner because the French National Anthem sucks.

Dudley Boyz vs. Evolution

Elimination rules. Bubba and Flair get things going with a backdrop sending Ric into his swearing fit. Ric flips Spike off to bring him in and a single slap gives us the Flair Flop. A dropkick makes things even worse but Flair pokes him in the eye to stop the nonsense. Orton comes in for his own dropkick which nearly clears Spike’s head. HHH gets in a few shots before it’s back to Orton, who is taken down this time.

Spike’s top rope double stomp connects and everything breaks down. The Dudley Dog is countered into an RKO for the first elimination and it’s looking bad for the brothers. A Doomsday Device plants Orton and Bubba splashes the other two in the corner. Maybe it’s not looking so bad. There’s What’s Up to HHH and a 3D to Orton (who shakes his head no as he’s falling into the cutter for a great touch) but Flair makes a save.

HHH is back up with a French flag shot to D-Von though and the elimination leaves Bubba all alone. D-Von leaves but Bubba calls him back to get the table. Dude GET YOUR OWN TABLES FOR ONCE! Referees cut him off though and we take a break. Back with Flair having to let go of a reversed Figure Four. Bubba fights up and hits HHH low, followed by a Bubba Bomb to Orton. HHH is laid out on a table at ringside but Flair makes a save, allowing the Pedigree to connect. Orton gets the final pin to wrap things up.

Rating: D+. The wrestling wasn’t much but they FINALLY gave Orton something here as he scored all three pins. They need to do something to make him look like a big deal and while this isn’t enough to pull the job off, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. Let him pick up the Intercontinental Title in the near future and things will be just fine for him.

Rob Van Dam tells Bischoff he wants Kane so the match is made for next week. Bischoff tells him to proceed with caution but Van Dam says he started this with Kane and next week he’ll finish it.

Jericho is gathering signatures on a petition to get rid of Austin. A bunch of people have signed but Tommy Dreamer seems hesitant.

Before the next match, Teddy Long says he and Rodney Mack signed the petition to get rid of Austin. There should be a black man replacing him, but Teddy can’t do it himself due to obligations to Players Inc. He has other ideas though, like Snoop Dogg or Johnnie Cochran.

Rodney Mack vs. Rosey

Rosey shoulders him down and hits a corner splash but Long breaks up the Samoan drop with a low blow to give Mack the fast pin.

Post match Hurricane comes in with a missile dropkick on Mack.

Evolution signs the petition.

Intercontinental Title: Booker T. vs. Christian

Booker is defending in the feud that won’t die. Some early forearms have Christian in trouble as Coach dares to question the power of the peepulation. A missile dropkick attempt is broken up and Booker is sent into the corner. Christian whips him into the steps for two and it’s time for the chinlock with a knee in Booker’s back. Booker fights up with a spinning kick to the face and a spinebuster for two as Lawler sings Christian’s praises.

We get a ref bump (here we go) and Christian hits the Unprettier for no count. A second ref comes in for the two and Christian isn’t happy with the near fall. He makes up for it with a rollup while grabbing ropes and the trunks for the pin and the title. That’s all well and good but the first referee gets up and says not so fast. Cue Austin to bring in a THIRD ref and restart the match so Booker can hit a quick ax kick to retain.

Rating: C-. I could live with this a little more if the matches weren’t so bad but these have been the very definition of average at best. The guys don’t have chemistry together and it becomes more clear every week. It also doesn’t help that there are a bunch of people who could use an Intercontinental Title feud (or even a match or two) and we’re stuck with this stuff over and over. It’s not awful but it’s been covered quite thoroughly.

Post match Christian beats up a referee so Austin runs back in for a Stunner.

Bischoff gets a call from Linda McMahon.

Kane gives JR a present but it’s left on a table for now.

Women’s Title: Gail Kim vs. Molly Holly

Gail is defending. They trade wristlocks to start with Gail wristdragging her out of the corner. Lawler asks Coach what he knows about Gail’s background. Coach: “Well I know she looks good.” I know it’s only been a few weeks but they probably should have more than just that to go on. Molly gets rolled up for two as Lawler talks about liking Molly’s high estrogen levels. Gail gets in a dropkick and a hurricanrana, followed by a second hurricanrana to retain.

Rating: D-. The commentary actually summed up the problem with Gail, and most of the women on the roster for that matter. Can someone tell me any details about almost any of the women? Molly is annoyed at almost everyone, Victoria is basically crazy, Trish is plucky, Jacqueline is loud, Ivory is….well her name is Ivory, and Gail is an attractive rookie. Am I really missing anything important? The match was terrible too as Gail showed the ability to do fewer moves than a banged up Kevin Nash.

JR opens his gift and finds….a gas can. If he makes fun of Kane once, he’ll be set on fire. Since security around here sucks, we go ahead with the interview. After JR sucks up to avoid a bad case of being burned alive, we see the same video that opened the show. Kane’s reactions to that: anger and hatred. He doesn’t understand why so many people want to see his face because it brings him pain.

JR brings up the lack of scars or horrible skin that Kane always talks about. Kane says JR sounds like the doctors from when he was a kid who told him to go see a shrink. The towel comes off as Kane keeps ranting about how much of a monster he is. JR says he sees a man who needs help so Kane asks him for help.

We get some Oklahoma psychiatry with JR saying no one cares what Kane looks like. That sets him off and screaming ensues, only to have Austin come into the arena to calm Kane down. I mean, I’m not sure how well that’s going to work when Austin is in Indianapolis and Kane is in Connecticut but I’m no Austin.

Kane yells at Austin and JR before punching the latter down. JR is lit on fire (I wonder if it would be wrong to ask him which kind of barbecue sauce would go best on him.) and put out rather slowly. Bischoff comes out to say this is Austin’s fault so Linda will be here to fire him next week. So yeah, a guy was just lit on fire (didn’t need to happen as Kane was nailing it before things got silly) but let’s cut back to the bickering bosses to end the show. You know, because THE GUY BEING LIT ON FIRE is totally forgettable.

Overall Rating: D. There are moments of acceptable on here but egads the bad stuff is really bad. It’s a bunch of horrible wrestling but the worse part is the lack of much of a direction. Why am I supposed to be interested in Test vs. Nash, Rosey vs. Mack and Storm vs. being boring? That’s really as good as they can get at this point? You can’t throw Goldberg out there for a squash just to wake the crowd up a little bit? A pay per view might help, but above all else they need something interesting just to give me something to look forward to on these shows. As usual, really boring show with almost nothing worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

205 Live
Date: December 12, 2017
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

So you remember how last week’s show was basically a placeholder before we got to the #1 contenders match on Raw this week? You remember how the first question a lot of people had was why is the #1 contenders match happening on Raw and not on the Cruiserweight show? Well we’re in the exact same place this week. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at last night’s Second Chance four way with Cedric Alexander earning a spot in Monday’s #1 contenders match.

Opening sequence.

Before the first match, Drew Gulak is here with Ariya Daivari and says he’s getting closer to his vision of a better 205 Live. Gulak compares Cedric to the Grinch for stealing Daivari’s second chance and says tonight, Alexander is pounded into dirt. On to sadder news: Noam Dar has had to undergo knee surgery and will be missing some time. However, Drew has a 93 step plan for rehabilitation in the form of a POWERPOINT PRESENTATION!  And never mind as we have another interruption.

Cedric Alexander vs. Ariya Daivari

Cedric wastes no time in working on a wristlock while Drew uses his bullhorn to tell the fans to stop chanting. A dropkick sets up the armbar as dueling WE LOVE CEDRIC/POWERPOINT chants start up. Cedric misses a springboard but Drew breaks up a dive while demanding that Alexander stay off that top rope.

Gulak gets in a cheap shot on the floor and the dueling chants begin again. A bulldog gives Daivari two and we hit the chinlock. Cedric fights up without much effort and elbows him in the face. It’s too early for the Lumbar Check though and Daivari breaks up a Neuralizer. Instead it’s a spinebuster to plant Cedric again but Daivari goes to the top. The frog splash gets two but the second Neuralizer attempt works just fine. Cedric Lumbar Checks him for the pin at 8:03.

Rating: C-. Acceptable but lifeless match here with Gulak stealing yet another show. The problem here was very clear: why would you have any other ending besides Alexander winning clean? He’s going on to face Gulak on Monday in a big match and that made this a waste of time. Alexander is always worth a watch but with Raw being where the important stuff happens, it’s hard to care about something like this.

We look back at last night’s segment with Enzo looking to yell at Gulak but getting cut off by a lovesick Nia Jax.

Enzo yells at the Zo Train but Gulak apologizes for what he said last night. It’s not impossible that he could become the next Cruiserweight Champion though. Enzo yells but Tony Nese cuts him off, only to have Enzo call him stupid. He built the Zo Train with his fist and built this show from the ground up. Things calm down a bit but Enzo says he wants the Zo Train at ringside when he faces Nese tonight.

Kalisto vs. Jack Gallagher

Before the match, Brian Kendrick talks about his dream of being Cruiserweight Champion in WWE. Since he lost the title, he hasn’t been given a chance to get his title back. Kalisto showed up and got opportunity after opportunity though and that’s not right. Gallagher tells Kalisto to watch his step or he’ll springboard into a spider’s web. Kalisto doesn’t seem scared and we’re ready to go.

A headlock takes Kalisto to the mat to start but he pops up and sends Gallagher into the corner without much effort. Gallagher gets dropkicked out to the floor but blocks a kick and sends Kalisto’s leg into the post. Back in and Gallagher starts working on the knee like an evil Englishman should. The bad leg is wrapped around the ropes and a twist pulls it back down to the mat.

Jack even mocks the LUCHA dance before grabbing a Brock Lock. I can always appreciate it when someone mixes up their holds like this. There’s no reason to keep doing the same stuff over and over, especially when you’re billed as a submission specialist. Kalisto gets out and hits a middle rope moonsault press for two. The hurricanrana driver gets a delayed near fall of its own, followed by a nipup hurricanrana for the pin on Gallagher at 8:53.

Rating: C+. This would have been better if there was any reason to believe that Gallagher was going to win. You really can tell who is going to win most of these matches and that’s the case far more around here than on any other show. There’s a hierarchy around 205 Live and people like Gallagher, despite being immensely talented, is on the wrong end of it.

Post match the beatdown is on but Gran Metalik makes the save.

Gulak tries to talk Enzo out of the match with Nese, but Enzo promises a technical spectacle.

Hideo Itami arrives next week.

Enzo Amore vs. Tony Nese

Non-title. Nese doesn’t seem thrilled with this, not even showing off his physique on the way to the ring. Before the match, Enzo calls the Zo Train an unbreakable unit, which seems to annoy Gulak. Enzo runs his mouth to start and shows off his foot speed. Trash is talked as there’s no contact in the first minute and a half. Enzo finally slaps him and asks what Nese is thinking. Nese backs him into the corner but Daivari comes in for the DQ at 2:40.

The post match beatdown is on and Gulak really doesn’t seem happy with any of this. Enzo loads up the Jordunzo but lets Nese go, telling Gulak to get in and prove his worth. Gulak finally gets on the apron as the fans aren’t thrilled with this stuff. He gets in Enzo’s face…and then kicks Nese down, albeit reluctantly. Now the fans are chanting THIS IS BORING as Gulak slaps Nese in the face a few times. Enzo puts his coat on and hits the Jordunzo (Oh no. Nese’s head went down a full ten inches!) to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. What is the point of this show anymore? To fill in time before we get to the big stuff on Monday? In theory they’re setting up Alexander winning on Monday and Gulak not helping Enzo in the title match (I’d be stunned if they put the title on Gulak) to get the title off of Amore, but they’re beating Nese down to get there? This story might wind up making sense (it probably will) but egads they’re making this show feel more and more worthless every week.

The other problem is Enzo himself. Back when he moved to 205 Live, I thought Enzo would have a short shelf life. We’re already reaching that point. You can only go so long with the smoke and mirrors of him never wrestling or doing anything more than cutting funny promos. That’s where we are now and he’s bringing other people down with him. There’s enough fresh blood and upgraded characters to make 205 Live every bit as worthless without Enzo around so just give us something new already.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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