Mae Young Classic – Episode Two: The Future Is Bright. And Tall.
Mae Young Classic Episode #2 Date: August 28, 2017 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita
It’s kind of nice to have all four episodes of the first round up on the same day as we’re going to be able to get to the final sixteen in one day. The first four matches were all fine and we already have some names to watch. This show will get us down to twenty four names left in the competition so let’s get to it.
Mauro Ranallo narrates the opening video, which looks at last week’s show and previews tonight’s four matches.
Opening sequence.
JR and Lita preview tonight’s matches.
Video on Xia Li, a signee from China who trains in Chinese martial arts.
Video on Mercedes Martinez, who has been a big star on the independent circuit for years and is covered in tattoos.
First Round: Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li
Li has a fan in her hand, which gives me a nice flashback to Mulan. Martinez gets rather evil by doing the crane kick pose instead of shaking hands. A headlock into a front facelock has Li in early trouble but she comes right back with a spinning kick to the ribs. More kicks get two and a forearm knocks Martinez straight down. A spinebuster cuts Li off for one though and Martinez’s shocked face is rather over the top. Martinez stays ticked off enough to grab a surfboard into a dragon sleeper for the tap at 3:06.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t quite a squash with the far bigger star winning despite selling a lot of Li’s offense. Li has a good look and seemed poised in the ring. If she can learn English I could see her going somewhere down in developmental. Martinez is going to be a big deal in this thing and that really shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise.
Video on Rachel Evers, the daughter of Paul Ellering who has made several appearances in NXT. She’s well rounded and ready to fight any style.
Video on Marti Belle, who is best known from her time in TNA. She leads the pack instead of following it.
First Round: Marti Belle vs. Rachel Evers
The fans are entirely behind Evers here and Belle is a very clear heel. A single underhook suplex gives Marti two and she brags about how close that was. Back up and Evers gets one off a springboard spinning legdrop out of the corner. Marti snaps the throat across the top as the dueling chants begin.
Rachel comes back with some forearms and a COME ON, followed by a running backsplash. A pretty bad looking spinebuster gets two on Marti so Rachel loads up a fisherman’s buster but slams her forward for two instead. Marti comes back with a Stroke for two of her own as this needs to end soon. A very quick small package pins Belle at 6:31. It’s as sudden as it sounds.
Rating: D-. Yeah this really didn’t work. Rachel has all the requirements to make something of herself (good look, good pedigree) but the in-ring work really isn’t there. The match was sloppy and looked completely disjointed at times, easily making it the worst match of the tournament so far. That only puts it in sixth but I can’t picture much beating this. Really bad match.
Video on HHH welcoming the 32 entrants.
Video on Miranda Salinas, who was trained by Booker T. She’s 5’ and from what I can find, has less than twenty matches in her career. I can’t imagine that’s all she’s had but if so, well done on getting here.
Video on Rhea Ripley, a 20 year old phenom (I’d like some more details on that description) from Australia with a soccer background.
First Round: Rhea Ripley vs. Miranda Salinas
Miranda definitely has some charisma to go with her small stature. The far bigger (probably by a foot) Rhea headlocks her down before hitting a good looking dropkick to send Salinas outside. Ripley fires off some chops in the corner but gets kicked in the back of the head. A running knee to the chest gives Miranda two but a forearm to the face just seems to get on her nerves. Ripley hits a running kick to the face in the corner, followed by a running basement dropkick for two. Something like a Chick Kick sets up a full nelson slam to put Salinas away at 3:51.
Rating: C+. If she’s only 20, they might be on to something with the prodigy thing. I really liked this match a lot more than I was expecting to and there’s something to both of them. Rhea has a good look, solid size and the in-ring work. Her charisma was a bit below average but she can work on that. Salinas’ size is going to work against her but if she can get the work down, she’ll be fine. I was impressed by these two and they had a much better match than I would have bet on. Well done and keep an eye on Ripley coming to NXT.
Video on Mia Yim, who you’ve probably seen in various promotions, including TNA as Jade. She talks about her domestic violence story last year, which got some mainstream attention.
Video on Sarah Logan, better known as Crazy Mary Dobson, who is a backwoods tough girl from Kentucky who trained in Japan.
Natalya and Beth Phoenix are here.
First Round: Mia Yim vs. Sarah Logan
Mia works on a wristlock to start and a dropkick gets two. Sarah comes back by taking her down and hammers away with some right hands for two of her own. A basement dropkick keeps Mia in trouble but she kicks Sarah right into the corner. That’s fine with Sarah, who screams at her to do it again.
Mia obliges and puts on the Tarantula before getting two more off a jumping knee. A rolling guillotine choke has Sarah in trouble but she slips out and it’s time for a seated slap off. Logan is back up first with a running knee to the face for another two but Mia grabs a pair of bridging German suplexes for near falls of her own.
Sarah gets two more off a Samoan drop and a fisherman’s suplex out of the corner gets the same. Sarah: “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” She then misses….I’m not sure what actually but Mia kicks her in the head (Mia: “Off with YOUR head!”), setting up Eat Defeat (still don’t like that move) for the pin at 7:17.
Rating: B-. Yim is one of the bigger stars in this thing but she’s going to be facing Shayna Baszler in the second round, meaning she’s probably done after two matches. Logan has some skills but at the same time she’s only going to go so far with the Kentucky tough thing. She needs more time in front of the crowd though and that’s going to come with time.
The recap ends the show.
Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t as good of a show as the first one and a lot of that is due to the Belle vs. Evers match, which really brought things down. The big thing I got out of this one though was the future is looking bright. There’s a lot of talent in this tournament and several of them have been signed to developmental deals. If they can go somewhere with this stuff, the NXT women’s division is going to be in good shape in the near future.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Mae Young Classic – Episode One: It’s Ladies Month
Mae Young Classic Episode #1 Date: August 28, 2017 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita
It’s finally here. In the tradition of last year’s Cruiserweight Classic, this is a thirty two participant women’s tournament held down in Florida. The field is comprised of an international group of talents, some of whom you probably haven’t heard of before. There are four shows up today with the finals taking place live on September 12. Let’s get to it.
The opening video, narrated by Stephanie McMahon (because of course), talks about the history of women’s wrestling and how the biggest stars have helped lead us here. The result was the Women’s Revolution and it’s allowed something like this to be possible.
Opening sequence.
One note: I’m not familiar with most of the names in this so if I miss something big about one of them, I apologize in advance.
Video on Kay Lee Ray, a Scot who describes herself as a hardcore daredevil.
Video on Princesa Sugehit (pronounced sue hay). She was the only woman in her gym in Mexico and is here to win the tournament.
First Round: Kay Lee Ray vs. Princesa Sugehit
Sugehit starts with the kicks and a big one to the chest gets two. They trade some trips until Ray grabs something like a Gory Stretch. That’s reversed into a sunset bomb for two as the crowd is WAY into this so far. Sugehit drops three elbows for two but gets kneed in the face for the same. Back up and Kay chops her in the corner as Lita laments never wrestling in a mask.
A reverse DDT sets up a Koji Clutch on Sugehit for a few moments and the fans stay split. Sugehit gets out and rolls her around the ring into a cradle before a hard kick to the head gets two. More kicks are countered into something like a Gory Bomb for a slightly delayed two on Sugehit. Ray misses a splash though and a Fujiwara armbar makes her tap at 5:58.
Rating: B-. Good choice for an opener here with two easy to identify styles and Sugehit being the more polished of the two. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it was the right idea: get the crowd into things (shouldn’t be that hard) and something like a masked woman kicking another one in half was an easy choice.
Video on Serena Deeb who has a lot of history in WWE as part of the Straight Edge Society and a long stint in developmental. She had a bit of a drinking issue though and left the company, meaning she had to earn her way back.
Video on Vanessa Borne, who used to be a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals and a dancer for the Phoenix Suns but now she’s here to be the star instead.
Naomi is here.
First Round: Serena Deeb vs. Vanessa Borne
Of note: Jessika Carr, the new female full time referee, is working this match. Feeling out process to start as the announcers focus on Deeb’s previous issues that sent her away from the ring for two years. Some armdrags have the rookie Borne in trouble but she headbutts her way out.
The aggressive style doesn’t seem to sit well with the fans, who are notably more silent for this match (though to be fair these could have been taped out of order). A sliding headbutt gets two on Deeb and we hit the chinlock. Serena fights up with some left hands and a neckbreaker but she goes shoulder first into the corner. A flip neckbreaker and Samoan drop give Borne two each but Deep is right back up with a spear for the pin at 6:06.
Rating: C-. There’s your first story of the tournament and it’s a good one with Deeb’s road to redemption. She never was the biggest star in the division as she barely wrestled singles matches for the company but it’s an easy story to tell. It’s easy to imagine her making a long run in this thing as she’s one of the more experienced names in the field and that could help her go a long way.
Video on Zeda, who learned martial arts to deal with bullying as a kid. She didn’t have a hero to look up to so she became one herself.
Video on Shayna Baszler, a former UFC fighter with a long career. She’s here to try something new now but the style will be the same. Baszler has wrestled in Shimmer so she’s not coming into this as a rookie.
Ronda Rousey is here to cheer on her former Four Horsewoman teammate.
First Round: Shayna Baszler vs. Zeda
Lita and Zeda were in the same judo club, albeit many years apart. Shayna won’t shake hands but the fans know Zeda is going to die anyway. An early cross armbreaker doesn’t work on Zeda and it’s back to a standoff. A ZEDA chant goes nowhere and Baszler easily strikes her into the corner. Zeda gets in some elbows and a monkey flip is good for two but Shayna is done playing around. A suplex backbreaker into a choke makes Zeda tap at 2:21.
Baszler poses with the Horsewomen.
Video on Jazzy Gabert. She grew up in Germany and throws people all around. It’s like a demon comes out in the ring when she hurts the little girls. You might remember her from a few matches in TNA as Alpha Female.
Video on Abbey Laith, who is better known as Princess Kimber Lee.
First Round: Abbey Laith vs. Jazzy Gabert
Gabert is rather intimidating looking with a very blonde mohawk. It’s also odd hearing JR talk about Chikara, where Abbey was Grand Champion. Abbey slugs away to start but gets thrown down by the hair. A Jazzy chant starts up as she throws Abbey down into the splits. That’s fine with Abbey who has a ballet ground for some great flexibility. We hit something like an Anaconda Vice of all things as Abbey is being completely overwhelmed here.
Back up and Abbey is sent into the turnbuckle as the dominance continues. It’s off to a chinlock before a rolling forearm knocks Abbey’s block off. Abbey slips out of something and grabs a Tarantula into a choke on the ropes. Some kicks to the chest stagger Jazzy and some bicycle kicks make things even worse. There’s a dropkick into the corner and a Swanton gets two on Gabert. One heck of a clothesline puts Laith down but she rolls off Jazzy’s back -into an Alligator Clutch (a rollup used by Mae Young) for the pin at 7:12.
Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to as they seemed to be going with a squash and then turned it into a better story with Laith winning in the end. There’s a good chance that they’re going to be sending her pretty far in the thing. Good idea here as Laith looks like a star now and should get a nice reception as a result.
Gabert shakes her hand post match.
We wrap it up with a quick recap of the night’s events.
Overall Rating: B-. Good start for the tournament here as they showcased four names and we’re already getting a good chunk of the second round ready. They should be flying through this pretty easily and that makes for a fun tournament. I also like having four episodes released at once as we can get through the first round in a single day instead of stretching it out for months. Lita was completely acceptable on commentary and seemed to be starting to get the hang of it more as the show went on. Good show here and that’s a positive sign.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Smackdown Date: March 27, 2003 Location: HP Pavilion, San Jose, California Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz
It’s the final show for Wrestlemania and also my dad’s fiftieth birthday. Everything is pretty much set so there’s a good chance this is going to be little more than a slow paced final push towards the show. Hopefully it’s better than Raw, which really shouldn’t be all that difficult of a task. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Rey Mysterio/Brian Kendrick vs. Matt Hardy/Shannon Moore
Kendrick now has theme music, but it’s not as catch as Matt’s, whose Mattitude will make Wrestlemania a success and is very humble. Shannon starts with Brian and gets two off an early snap suplex. A hurricanrana puts Shannon down though and it’s off to Rey to speed things up. Some raised boots in the corner slow Rey down but Rey dropkicks Matt for two.
It’s back to Kendrick but he’s quickly pulled into the wrong corner to start the double teaming. Shannon’s belly to back gets two and Matt gets the same off a wicked Splash Mountain Bomb out of the corner. Brian slips over for the hot tag and it’s off to Rey for the bulldog and springboard seated legdrop for two on Matt. A tornado DDT gives Kendrick the same and he drops Shannon with Sliced Bread #2, only to walk into the Twist of Fate for the pin.
Rating: B-. Heck of an opener here with all four getting to show off a bit. I’m glad they didn’t have the fall between Mysterio and Hardy for a change and it’s not like pinning Kendrick is a big stretch. If nothing else it’s nice to see a match with some energy in the week before Wrestlemania as they were certainly absent from Raw.
Post match Rey hurricanranas Moore but walks into a Twist of Fate.
Hulk Hogan arrives with his son and Jimmy Hart.
Roddy Piper is interested in Hogan vs. McMahon.
Video of last week’s contract signing.
Here’s Hogan for hopefully (and not likely) the last big push towards the match. Hogan talks about having a business relationship with Vince for over twenty years but he never really knew the man. He’s seen Vince do some horrible, evil and often illegal things but he never knew how twisted Vince really was. If Vince is a genius, he’s an evil genius (no brother so you know he’s serious). He recaps the No Way Out ordeal and it made him so mad that he agreed to make Sunday’s match a street fight.
This won’t be his last time on Smackdown because Sunday is going to be a fight twenty years in the making. You’ll see a Hogan you haven’t seen in twenty years because you’ll have to see it. Hogan promises to leave Vince in a pool of his own blood to wrap it up. It’s a good promo, but we’re still talking about two guys who aren’t wrestlers at this point fighting over which of them is responsible for them both being multi-millionaires. That’s at worst the second biggest match on the show and it’s pretty hard to get behind that idea.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas
They trade leg trips to start and get two each as the fans are very behind Eddie early on. Eddie shoulders him down but seems to bang up his own shoulder. Charlie grabs a hammerlock and drops him arm first onto the rope to take over. A clothesline gets two and Charlie cranks on the arm even more. Eddie suplexes his way out of an armbar but lands on the shoulder again. A hammerlock northern lights suplex gets two but another suplex is countered into a rollup for the fast pin.
Rating: C+. The arm stuff was a good idea here but the time hurt them a bit. Eddie and Chavo are starting to get over as faces due to pure in-ring ability and charisma, plus the whole not fighting the FBI anymore. Haas and Benjamin continue to lose, which almost guarantees that they retain on Sunday.
John Cena promises to teach Brock Lesnar a lesson like he’s Mr. Miyagi.
Video on the FBI, which is actually really well produced. Like, more so than their usual great production.
Lesnar isn’t worried about Cena.
Nathan Jones has beaten up Chuck Palumbo off camera instead of having a match. So five minutes ago we get a good video on the team and now one of them is left laying off camera. Well done WWE.
Vince training montage with Shane as his coach. Can he still catch a chicken though? This is missing from the Network version for no apparent reason.
Nidia and Jamie Noble are in the back when they see Torrie Wilson’s Playboy cover. Jamie can’t bring himself to say that Nidia is prettier.
Wrestlemania Moment: Morton Downey Jr. in Piper’s Pit.
Video on Torrie’s Playboy press conference with Stephanie introducing her for whatever reason. Torrie has the best body she’s ever seen, which is the endorsement that Playboy has been looking for.
Torrie Wilson vs. Nidia
Nidia jumps her from behind and grabs a chair as this is already more physical than I was expecting. A baseball slide sends the chair into Nidia’s face for two and Tazz starts singing. The fans want puppies but settle for Torrie hitting a DDT for the pin.
Big Show and A-Train run into Nathan Jones and make fun of his prison sentence.
Sean O’Haire tells us to eat whatever you want.
Big Show/A-Train vs. Chris Benoit/Rhyno
Cole thinks Heyman had something to do with this for the sake of softening up Rhyno and Benoit for Sunday. For once, that’s almost insightful. A-Train muscles Rhyno into the corner for a rare visual but gets stomped back for a nice reaction. Benoit comes in for some hard chops but one heck of a shoulder drops him hard.
It’s off to Show and Benoit gets tossed hard into the corner, only to come out with some chops. Show clotheslines him down and the beating begins. There’s the required big toss across the ring, which still looks cool every single time. A big headbutt sends Benoit into the corner and it’s off to A-Train for some stomping.
Something like a Gory Stretch has Benoit screaming but a Vader Bomb hits boots. Benoit finally gets in a German suplex and makes the hot tag to Rhyno, who has no issues running through the monsters. Everything breaks down but here’s Jones to go after Show for the lame but logical DQ.
Rating: C. This was actually going somewhere until the ending, which was the only option they had here. Rhyno continues to impress and I’m starting to appreciate his rather simple but effective style. Everyone was game here and it made for a better match than I was expecting, which isn’t that hard for a Big Show/A-Train match.
Undertaker comes in and helps clear the ring.
Kurt Angle is looking for Brock. Post break he’s in Lesnar’s locker room and says they’re a lot alike. The difference is that Brock is a 25 year old rookie and he’s not ready. This match is going to change wrestling forever because they’re the best in the business. If Angle gets destroyed on Sunday, he’s done enough already. He’s bringing everything on Sunday and is willing to end Lesnar’s career to win.
Lesnar doesn’t think this is as brave as Angle hopes it is because Kurt knows he’s safe until Wrestlemania. Brock is willing to lay it all on the line on Sunday. At Wrestlemania, here comes the pain, because Lesnar will do anything to win the title. Good stuff here, and I liked it not being in the ring for a change.
Wrestlemania card, with the Raw Tag Team Title match being moved to Sunday Night Heat.
Another Vince training video.
Gene Okerlund is ready for Hogan vs. McMahon and says they were both responsible for the boom.
Chavo Guerrero vs. Shelton Benjamin
Some amateur stuff goes nowhere so Chavo speeds it up with a headscissors and a dropkick for two. Shelton goes after the leg though and Chavo is in quick trouble. Benjamin grabs a leg lock but Chavo is next to the rope for a break. Shelton puts on a different hold (always appreciated) but Chavo reverses into a small package for two. It’s off to the third hold until a cradle gives Guerrero two more. An enziguri finally gets Chavo a breather and both guys are down. Eddie cuts off Charlie’s interference attempt, leaving Chavo to grab la majistral for the pin.
Rating: C. Oh yeah Team Angle is winning and they’re not even trying to hide it at this point. Chavo looked good here, which isn’t the biggest surprise despite his abilities often being overlooked. This was basically the same formula from earlier but with a different limb, which makes it no surprise that it worked.
Post match Team Angle attacks, only to have Rhyno and Benoit make the save and clean house.
Rikishi vs. John Cena
Cena debuts Basic Thuganomics as his theme music. He jumps Rikishi during his entrance and hammers away until a single right hand puts him on the floor. Rikishi gets whipped into the steps though and Cena pulls off the barricade padding to ram him back first. Back in and we hit a crossface chickenwing of all things as things slow way down. Rikishi fights up and hits the Samoan drop. A superkick sets up the corner splash and Stinkface but the Rump Shaker hits knees. The ref bump allows Cena to hit the chain shot for two, followed by I believe the debuting FU (much closer to a Death Valley Driver here) for the pin.
Rating: D+. It’s kind of fascinating to see so much of what defined Cena debuting in one match as he had the music, the finisher and most of the signature look all at once. It made him look like a star instead of the goof that he was for months leading up to this. They almost have to do Lesnar vs. Cena now and that’s not the worst idea in the world.
Cena calls out Lesnar and after a break (with Arnold Schwarzenegger hyping Vince vs. Hogan) gets his wish, only to have Angle jump Lesnar from behind with a 2×4. Lesnar is down and in pain to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. This was a back and forth show with good action (FAR better than Raw) but at the same time there was so much Vince vs. Hogan stuff that it took away the limited interest I had in the match in the first place. I’m still not wild on Wrestlemania but this show did help a lot as they focused on a lot of stuff. Unfortunately one match got so much of the hype and it’s really not one of the best things on the card. It’s all going to be about the presentation and in-ring results on Sunday but they’ve got their work cut out.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
205 Live – August 22, 2017: It Was The Best of Times and the Worst of Times at the Same Time
205 Live Date: August 22, 2017 Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves
For the first time in a long time we have a big time main event on 205 Live with Neville defending the Cruiserweight Title against Akira Tozawa for the third time in eight days. I’m sure the rest of the division being completely worthless and that being more and more a reality every single week has no connection whatsoever. Let’s get to it.
We look at the previous two matches between Neville and Tozawa which set up tonight’s rubber match (assuming you don’t count the previous matches of course).
Opening sequence.
Cedric Alexander/Gran Metalik vs. Tony Nese/Drew Gulak
Rematch from last week. On the way to the ring, Nese rips on the crowd for never hitting the gym. Nese and Alexander start things off with Tony grabbing a rollup but walking into a dropkick to stagger him all over the place. It’s off to Gulak who gets forearmed square in the jaw before Metalik comes in some loud spot calling and a handspring backflip.
Gulak pops him square in the jaw to take over as Joseph offers some nice analysis by pointing out Drew’s hypocrisy of criticizing high fliers for showing off and then teaming with a showoff like Nese. It’s a good point and a nice catch. Metalik avoids a baseball slide from Nese and moonsaults down onto them in an impressive bit of timing. Back in and Nese loads Metalik into the Tree of Woe for the Full Contact Cardio but Alexander is smart enough to move his partner out of the way before anything can start.
Metalik comes back with a high crossbody to set up the hot tag to Alexander as things speed up. The springboard clothesline gets two on Gulak as everything breaks down. Cedric launches Metalik into a dropkick on Gulak, followed by a springboard splash for two more. Stereo flip dives take the heels out again and it’s the Lumbar Check to put Gulak away at 7:42.
Rating: B. These guys were FEELING IT here and they had a heck of a match as a result. I was having a great time with this one and they barely stopped the whole time. Metalik is a guy who I like more every time I see him and Alexander is still one of the top performers on the roster. Not that it’s going to lead him anywhere but at least he’s getting in good matches like this one.
Titus O’Neil gives Akira Tozawa a pep talk before his title match tonight. Titus: “Now give me two claps and a Ric Flair!”
Here’s Jack Gallagher for his gentleman’s duel with Brian Kendrick. Jack explains the idea behind the duel but says he hasn’t been very gentlemanly as of late. Sometimes though, people just rub you the wrong way and you have to knock them out. If Kendrick is so afraid of what Gallagher can do with his fists, just imagine what he can do with the selection of weapons in the ring.
Kendrick pops up on screen and laughs off the idea because only a clown would have a duel. He’s found Jack a suitable opponent though and here’s an actual clown. The clown sprays Jack with water (Fans: “KILL THE CLOWN! STUPID IDIOT!”) and gets beaten down for his efforts. Cue Kendrick from behind to attack Gallagher with an umbrella and powerbomb him through the table. Kendrick also issues a challenge for a No DQ match next week. This was long and bad as the clown stuff is really being forced into the whole thing. Just have them fight and be done with it already.
We look back at Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari from last week with TJP coming out on crutches to distract Swann to cost him the match.
TJP is playing video games in the back with his leg in a cast (Why did he show up tonight?) when Swann comes in asking for an explanation. It turns out that TJP hurt his knee in their match two weeks ago and was just coming out to see Swann win. TJP is willing to settle this with Swann if Rich can beat Daivari, presumably next week.
Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Neville
Neville is defending. They start slowly with Neville working on the arm until Tozawa chops him against the rope. Oh yeah they’ve got a lot of time to use here. A headlock takes Tozawa down again before switching to a cravate. How British of him. The fans chant a rather rude term at Neville before neither guy can hit a kick to the ribs.
They trade some hard strikes as this is mostly even in the first few minutes. Neville snaps the bad shoulder across the top rope and it’s time for a hammerlock with the leg. A dropkick to the shoulder puts Tozawa on the floor and a gorgeous moonsault takes him down again. The referee has to check on the shoulder but Tozawa says he can keep going. Neville sends him into various things but gets dropkicked off the top for a comeback.
The suicide dive connects and Tozawa snaps off a belly to back for two. Neville comes back with the superplex but Tozawa interlocks the legs into a small package for two more. I’ve always loved that spot, especially when it looks natural. Neville is up first with something like a sitout F5 and a heck of a kick to the head for two.
Back up and Tozawa nails him in the jaw to floor the champ, followed by a running boot in the corner. We hit a pinfall reversal sequence before Tozawa kicks him in the head again. The top rope backsplash misses though and the Rings of Saturn retains the title at 16:11.
Rating: B. Another good performance between these two but I’m kind of sick of seeing it. I also have no idea what the point was of having Tozawa win and then lose the title so soon when they could have just had the second title change here. I mean other than filling the Summerslam card up as much as they can of course.
Post match Neville says Tozawa’s title reign was pathetic and nothing more than a footnote. Cue Enzo Amore (Graves: “VIC DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS???”) for his usual promo and to say this is now the realest show in the room. Neville sneers at him and leaves so Enzo calls him sawft to end the show.
Where do I even begin? First of all, this sums up everything wrong with 205 Live. You have those four in the first match going nuts and having a great match but none of them are getting anywhere near the title picture because, presumably, they’re not interesting enough. Heaven forbid they get promo time or vignettes or something to build interest in them, because obnoxious catchphrases and a lack of anything interesting in the ring makes you a more worthy challenger.
That’s one of the biggest problems around here and a great example of why the show isn’t necessary: you have the champion, the title contenders (as in all two of them) and then EVERYONE else who comes off like they’re several notches below two or three people at most. Even former champions like TJP and Rich Swann feel like they’re miles beneath Neville and Tozawa. Enzo isn’t going to be any better in that area as he’s a glorified comedy guy most of the time.
That being said, Enzo is PERFECT for this show. He’s instantly the biggest star on the roster and has more personality than the rest of the roster put together. It’s also not like he has anything else to do on Raw now that Cass is on the shelf. He would never be seen as a physical threat to anyone on the show but there are some names here he could hang with. It’s the right move for Enzo, but another example of why 205 Live doesn’t work as a concept.
Overall Rating: B+. That’s probably the best episode they’ve ever had though I have a bad feeling about where things are going. Enzo is going to become the focus of the show and since I wouldn’t mind seeing him stampeded by a herd of wild buffalo, that might make things a bit hard to sit through. The rest of the show ranged from awesome to a clown show, which makes this a great week and a nice addition to a lot of the Brooklyn run.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Main Event – August 24, 2017: You Never Get Used To This
Main Event Date: August 24, 2017 Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves
I just can’t get away from the Barclays Center. If my math is right, this is the seventh show WWE taped from the venue in four days and hopefully that means they’ll be all beach balled out. Odds are this is going to be a run of the mill show though as it’s not like these things are really any different no matter where they are. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Heath Slater vs. Curt Hawkins
Slater sucks up with the Brooklyn 3:16 shirt. Hawkins does the FACE THE FACTS pose so Slater does a bit of a striptease to take the shirt off. A side kick gives Slater two and it’s off to the armbar. Hawkins knees him to the back to send Slater into the corner and that means it’s time for more posing. We hit the chinlock for as long as a chinlock is going to go before frustration starts to set in. A knee drop gets two and we hit the second chinlock. Heath fights up but gets tripped straight down, only to small package Hawkins for the pin at 4:36.
Rating: C-. This was actually better than you would expect with Hawkins playing a heel who was ahead but got too caught up in bragging to finish the job. Slater hung in there until he had an opening to capitalize on and won as a results. It might not be in depth but it’s a story, which is a lot more than you would expect most of the time for Main Event.
Off to Raw.
Here are Lesnar and Paul Heyman to open things up. Heyman says this isn’t a tape delay because we’re live with Brock Lesnar still your reigning and defending Universal Champion. He talks about the conspiracy against Lesnar, who fought off everyone else last night to keep his title. For the first time in his life, Lesnar was taken off the battlefield in an attempt to get rid of him without having to pin him or make him submit. But Lesnar wouldn’t have any of that and marched back down the aisle so conquering could ensue. As for tonight, there is no one in WWE or UFC history, like Lesnar himself.
Cue Braun Strowman and you can see Lesnar wince a bit. The fans cheer for Strowman as Brock gets in his face. A chokeslam is countered but Braun kicks him in the face and hits a powerslam to put Lesnar down. He starts to get up so it’s another powerslam, leaving Strowman to hold up the title.
And then again.
Here’s Sasha Banks for her first comments after winning the title. She may be from Boston but she’s always left her heart right here in Brooklyn. Like when she and Charlotte tore the house down last year at Summerslam, which allows her to wish Ric Flair well. Sasha plans on defending the title the right way but here’s Alexa Bliss to interrupt. She laughs off the idea of Sasha being the right kind of champion but wants nothing to do with a rematch tonight in front of these Brooklyn fanboys. They’ll fight soon enough but for now, Bliss is fine making Sasha wait.
Lince Dorado vs. Brian Kendrick
Brian takes him to the mat to start but Dorado flips up without too much effort. A quick trip to the floor earns Kendrick a hurricanrana and we take a break. Back with Kendrick getting two off a big boot and slowing things down with a cravate. Like WAY down as the hold stays on longer than it needs to.
A belly to back superplex is reversed into a crossbody to drop Kendrick and Dorado has a breather. There’s a spinwheel kick into a hurricanrana for two, followed by the springboard Stunner for the same. The shooting star hits knees though and Kendrick grabs the Captain’s Hook for the tap out at 11:19.
Rating: C. Another match that was better than I was expecting though again that’s not covering a lot of ground. Dorado is fine for a low level face and Kendrick has completely exceeded expectations in his run with the company. I’m still not sure how good of a finisher the glorified chinlock was but he’s making it work to a certain degree.
We’ll wrap it up with Monday’s main event.
Miz/Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns/John Cena
Cena bulldogs Miz to start and the fans are very pleased as it’s already off to Joe. The fans go nuts over something and Cena actually pauses to look at it…..because it’s a freaking beach ball. It seems that the ball is taken away with Cena looking annoyed, earning himself a beating from Joe. Miz comes in to stomp away and it’s time for the wave again. Now Cena joins in the wave, earning himself a quick DDT for two.
The cheering and booing continues as a beach ball is put into play and confiscated as the match continues to be ignored. Cena gets ax handled for two as Miz stops to tell the fans to pay attention. Miz misses a charge and it’s off to Reigns to clean house with clotheslines to no reaction. Roman gets taken down as well for the YES Kicks. The last one is countered into a powerbomb though and both guys are down again.
Joe Rock Bottoms Roman but Reigns heads outside to beat up the Miztourage. Back in and the hot tag brings in Cena for the finishing sequence. Joe cuts off the Shuffle though and it’s off to the Koquina Clutch. Reigns tries a save with the Superman Punch but Joe sidesteps it, causing Cena to get hit instead. The second Superman Punch hits Joe but Cena pops up and grabs the AA to pin Miz at 13:03.
Rating: C+. I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls. As usual, whenever you ask a crowd to pay attention for this long (to something they paid for of course), it’s bound to cause them to lose their interest and set off something like this. Naturally their response is screw anyone who doesn’t like it, because wrestling fans are selfish creatures by definition. I couldn’t stand this stuff in Orlando and it’s really annoying now, much like WWE encouraging this nonsense. As for the match, it was exactly what you would expect though Cena pinning Miz made me roll my eyes.
Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the better shows they’ve done in a long time with two completely watchable matches and some good stuff from Raw. I’m not sure how to live in a world where Raw is completely outshining Smackdown but that’s been the case for a long time now. That makes the recap show a lot easier to watch and two pretty good matches helped quite a bit. Nice show this week.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
I originally wrote this as a comment on a blog post about why Bayley isn’t working. It was originally going to be a paragraph or two and wound up being two pages. Here’s my take on why Bayley has completely missed on the main roster and why that’s not a surprise at all (nor is it her fault).
As a big Bayley fan who has been more angered by how she’s been used on the main roster than most, this is going to be a long one.
This is the NXT to WWE issue in a nutshell: NXT is all about the journey moreso than the result while WWE is all about what’s going on right now.
Bayley started off as nothing in NXT, much like so many others down there. She slowly started building herself up and then started getting over with the hugging stuff. Then she was the biggest thing in NXT, either male or female (just listen to that pop for her entrance in London).
The other key was how people could relate to her. It’s similar to Mick Foley in a way. Bayley had wanted to do this her whole life and fought and worked to get there. Her success wasn’t due to being Snoop Dogg’s cousin or a 6’0 physical specimen like Charlotte. She got where she was because she never gave up and kept working hard no matter what knocked her back. That kind of character will always work in any form of entertainment because people naturally appreciate hard work and fighting for your dreams. When she finally won the title in Brooklyn, people were connected to her and it was like they were beating Sasha with her (the fact that it was a great match helped too).
Now let’s look at her WWE run.
She shows up in August and is treated as the latest challenger to Charlotte since Sasha Banks is out with an injury. That makes her look like a second tier performer right off the bat. After losing the title match (with Banks also involved), she trades wins with Dana Brooke of all people.
This is where her big problem begins: is she one of the Four Horsewomen and the latest awesome NXT talent or is she someone who lucked her way into being so popular? Charlotte, Sasha and Becky all came up and hit the ground running. Bayley came in and looked like she was in WAY over her head, despite being treated like a big deal at first. You can’t have that both ways.
Then she’s suddenly in the title hunt and gets the title shot at Royal Rumble. She loses there, only to win the rematch the next month with Sasha’s help. That was Charlotte’s first pay per view singles loss and instead of Bayley getting the focus, it was all about Charlotte losing. The fact that Banks interfered to help her is basically brushed aside, making Bayley look like she’s less important/talented than Charlotte all over again. She wins the four way at Wrestlemania, again pinning Charlotte, but the big moment was at the previous show instead of Wrestlemania. Again, that doesn’t make sense just from a logical booking perspective. Who books the big moment at the nothing show and then the far less interesting rematch at the biggest show of the year?
Then she makes the greatest mistake of her life: she’s born in a town where WWE is having a pay per view. Therefore, by definition, she must lose to Alexa Bliss. Now there’s nothing wrong with Bliss, who rocketed up the main roster far faster than I think anyone would have realistically expected. She was suddenly the loser who couldn’t get it done again, which was a complete reversal from being able to pin the previously unbeatable Charlotte twice in a row. She then basically got squashed in the Singapore cane match where she never got a comeback and never got to prove Bliss wrong.
That brings us to her latest stuff, where after weeks of being humiliated, she’s suddenly winning two or so matches in a row and getting a title shot at Summerslam because that’s all the time we have for character rebuilding. Is she over losing to Bliss? Is she upset by being humiliated like that? Eh no time to worry about that because we’ve got to get moving to the next pay per view. The fans will just get over those losses because, as WWE seems to think, wins and losses mean absolutely nothing, despite Cole and company never shutting up about them more often than not.
The general problem is rather simple: NXT is more about setting up a character and putting them on a path. They actually take their time in setting something up and want to get them to an eventual goal. WWE would rather rush everything together and put the character development (as limited as it is) in later. Aside from Wrestlemania (or any show Roman Reigns is on), it seems to be a concept of just throwing people into matches and filling in the details between the start and finish later.
The fans in NXT were given a reason to care about Bayley and exploded when she first won the title. WWE fans, who might not be familiar with Bayley, see a woman in weird looking clothes who they’re told was a big deal in NXT, get the title and then the details can be filled in. WWE seems to think that making a person a champion is character development and actually taking the time to tell their backstory and give us a reason to care about them is a big waste of time. I’m sure the fact that NXT has had many more successful new characters than WWE in recent years is just a coincidence.
There are two more big things to cover.
Let’s talk about the promos real quick. While I don’t think Bayley is nearly as bad as some people think she is, she’s not great on the mic. Imagine that: someone whose main training in talking was in short, mostly pre-taped promos that had a lot of time to edit and prepare, isn’t great at being handed a mic and told to talk for five minutes in front of a live audience. Bayley never was a great talker in NXT in the first place and now she’s expected to be good at doing something that’s much harder that she has no training in? Of course she is, because in WWE, one size fits all and everyone is expected to be able to go out and talk like they’re Austin, Rock or Flair.
As for her looks, this is a tricky area. First and foremost, she’s mainly worked with Alexa Bliss over the last few months. Almost anyone in wrestling history is going to pale in comparison next to Bliss, who is one of the best looking sexiest women the business has ever seen. Other than that it’s usually Charlotte, who looks like she was carved out of stone or Sasha, who has a lot more charisma than Bayley in the first place. Bayley was never meant to be the hot woman in the Trish mold. She’s the one there for the younger girls to gravitate towards: the nerd who was comfortable in her own skin. She’s not supposed to be the plastic Nikki Bella or the blonde bombshell like Lana. She’s the more average woman that girls can look up to, which doesn’t do much for men who tend to think that if you’re not Trish Stratus, you’re just not good enough. Bayley is a very good looking woman but she’s not supposed to be sexy. For some reason, this is a problem for a lot of fans and it’s rather unfair.
Overall, Bayley is another victim of the same problem so many NXT callups have: despite having far more time and far more writers, the main roster sees very little incentive to actually build up a character with some solid roots. Instead they would rather throw them in the middle of the lake and see who can swim. It’s a lack of time and effort that could lead to greater results, but they need to spend more time coming up with great “natural” sounding quips for Cole to read off a paper or ways to force the Roman Reigns peg into the top star hole. People like Bayley, who don’t have the family pedigree or natural talents to get them to a certain standard, are in trouble because WWE seems to think that if you’re not the greatest thing in the world immediately, you’re not worth the effort. It’s a complete shame, but unfortunately it’s how WWE thinks anymore. Bayley has the talent, but in the system she’s in, it’s not likely to get much of a chance to be shown properly.
Monday Night Raw – March 24, 2003: Overtime with Recaps
Monday Night Raw Date: March 24, 2003 Location: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania but more importantly we’ll be seeing the first ever Rock Concert with Rock giving us a performance for the ages. Other than that though it’s time for the final push towards Seattle, which likely means we won’t be seeing a lot of wrestling around here for the sake of avoiding a last minute injury. Let’s get to it.
Lillian Garcia sings the National Anthem. That’s quite the celebration for the twelve year anniversary of Wrestlemania VII: Stars and Strikes Forever.
Opening sequence.
Here’s the unscheduled Steve Austin with something to say. He’s really not cool with Rock coming out here last week and giving him a Stone Cold Stunner and a Rock Bottom. Austin isn’t going anywhere until the Rock comes out here (down an aisle as there’s no ramp this week) for a beating. Cue Test and Stacy Keibler with the former saying he just wants to have a match tonight. It’s a Stunner for Test and Stacy runs off as Austin has a seat at ringside.
Lance Storm, who is scheduled to face Test tonight, comes in and covers with Austin counting the two. That means a Stunner for Storm so here’s Eric Bischoff, flanked by cops, to issue a restraining order. After a fairly long time and threats of being shot, Austin finally leaves so Bischoff can plug the Rock Concert.
Jeff Hardy/Trish Stratus vs. Victoria/Steven Richards
The genders have to match. The guys start things off with Richards taking him into the corner, only to get shoved right back out for the legdrop between Steven’s legs. Jeff’s slingshot dropkick sends Richards over to Victoria, meaning it’s off to Trish for the first time. Jeff dives onto Richards, leaving Victoria to hit her spinning side slam. The Stratusphere sets up the Stratusfaction off Richards’ chest for the pin.
Jeff and Trish are about to kiss again when Jazz jumps her from behind.
Coach tells Bischoff that there’s a security issue that needs to be taken care of right now.
Goldust is ready to fight in the tag match tonight and says HHH sounds like a dic….dic….dic….dictator! This STILL isn’t funny.
The security issue is that Austin is still in the parking lot because the restraining order only covers the arena. Bischoff has plans for Austin and threatens to fire Coach if he doesn’t go deal with this.
Scott Steiner vs. Christian
Christian’s gear is extra neon green here, meaning it shines rather brightly when Steiner throws him outside. Back in and it’s the clothesline into the push-ups, followed by multiple reps on a gorilla press. A reverse DDT puts Steiner down for two with the kickout sending Christian flying. Christian gets in a neckbreaker and some choking until Steiner hits the first suplex. Steiner catches him on top with something like a super Angle Slam for the pin.
Rating: D. It’s amazing that Steiner has nothing to do at Wrestlemania but it’s really not surprising. Steiner has become as generic and slow of a power wrestler as you’ll ever find and now he’s going over perfectly acceptable wrestlers like Christian. Thankfully Christian has settled into a fine role as an upscale lackey like Jericho.
Coach tells Austin about Bischoff’s threats but Austin doesn’t say a word. I’m sure the fans who were waiting for Austin to come back are thrilled by watching him sit there stoically.
Wrestlemania Moment: Shawn wins the title.
Morely says that William Regal can’t wrestle at the moment so Morely and Storm are the new champions. It’s about time. WWE officially recognizes this as two reigns for Storm, which is yet another stretch for the titles’ history. Kane and Rob Van Dam come up and want a title shot at Wrestlemania. Morely backs away but agrees to make Van Dam and Kane vs. the Dudleys in a #1 contenders match for later tonight.
Remember when Austin was sitting outside doing nothing? Well now he’s sitting outside and playing with his windshield wipers.
HHH/Ric Flair vs. Goldust/Booker T.
All four get their own entrances to really stretch things out. Goldust, still with the bad arm, start things off and we get the traditional exchange of WOO’s. Some right hands puts Flair down as JR and Lawler go over the history of the Rhodes Family. HHH comes in but Booker does the same, meaning it’s time to slow things way down. A leapfrog into a hiptoss sends HHH into the corner and Lawler is panicking.
Booker kicks him into the other corner so it’s off to Flair, whose chops have no effect again. HHH offers a distraction though and it’s a chop block to put Booker down. Back from a break with Booker reversing Flair’s Figure Four and hitting a few chops to set up the hot tag. Goldust fires away, only to have the bad arm flare up again.
A missed crossbody sends Goldust outside so HHH can send him into the steps and the fresh heat segment begins. HHH offers a distraction so Flair can get in a good low blow and choking as only Ric can do. A neckbreaker gives HHH two and it’s back to Flair, who allows the tag. The referee doesn’t see it of course so HHH has to charge into a boot in the corner for the real hot tag.
Booker comes in to take over, including the hard whip to send HHH sailing over the corner to the floor. Goldust and Flair fight into the crowd as Booker busts HHH open. Flair comes back in and gets caught with a spinebuster for no count as the referee actually remembers who was legal. Get that man a raise! The Pedigree is broken up and it’s a catapult into the post, followed by the scissors kick for the pin.
Rating: C+. The match was long but had the right ending. Unfortunately it’s also the WWE way of saying HHH is going to retain on Sunday, which would be the dumbest idea that WWE could possibly have. I’m sure this now qualifies as HHH putting someone over though, and that’s all he needs to do to be the best of all time right?
Post break HHH is staring at the title while Flair gives him a pep talk.
Here’s Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho is ready to face Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania but needs to say something to his face right now. This brings out Shawn, with Jericho saying he modeled himself after Michaels for years. Jericho has a video of the two of them side by side, showing how similar they are due to Jericho imitating him.
After all those years of being talked up as the next Shawn Michaels, he wanted to be the first Chris Jericho because he was better than Shawn. Then Shawn left in 1998 and Jericho became the workhorse and backbone of the company. Jericho is ready for Wrestlemania and slaps Shawn in the face. Shawn slaps him back and….that’s it as we cut to a break.
Rock comes in to see Bischoff and has an idea for tonight: put speakers in the parking lot so he can listed to the Rock Concert.
We run down the Wrestlemania card. For some reason this isn’t on the Network version.
Rob Van Dam/Kane vs. Dudley Boyz
The winners get Storm/Morely at Wrestlemania. It’s a brawl to start with Kane taking Bubba into the corner for some right hands. A German suplex puts Kane down and D-Von adds a jumping clothesline, which only seems to annoy the monster. It’s off to Van Dam for Rolling Thunder but D-Von comes right back with a neckbreaker to put both of them down.
The spinning kick to the head drops Bubba and it’s back to Kane and D-Von. Everything breaks down and Bubba hiptosses Van Dam into a neckbreaker (cool spot). Cue Storm to kick D-Von by mistake before being chased off by Bubba. The chokeslam and Five Star send Kane and Van Dam to Wrestlemania.
Rating: D. Nothing match here but they went with the logical ending which should have been obvious the whole time. The ending just makes you think that Bubba and D-Von are about to be back to normal almost immediately, making the last few weeks even more uninteresting and a waste of time than I had previously thought. At least they got to the right ending though.
The speakers are set up next to Austin’s truck.
Here’s Rock for the Concert. Rock has a chair, a music stand and some fancy looking bottled water on a table next to him. He’s glad to be in Sacramento because it means he can be out of here in about an hour. Rock sings about how hideous the women here are and how bad it is to live here. Eh I think I prefer Elias. We see Austin sitting in his truck and shaking his head as Rock makes jokes about the Sacramento Kings.
Now it’s time to sing an Austin version of Hound Dog before suggesting that Austin smokes something funny to go with the beer. Next up it’s a Willie Nelson song about beating Austin up before finishing off with some Frank Sinatra about how much pie he can get. Outside, an ambulance drives in and Austin drives the truck in to follow. Rock panics and demands the security come to the ring, followed by Austin’s truck.
It’s driven by Hurricane though, with Austin hiding in the back of the truck. Rock goes back to singing, allowing Austin to come in and beat up Rock as you knew he was going to do. Austin destroys the guitar as security just stands around watching. This is edited WAY down on the Network, cutting out the better part of five minutes (meaning every time Rock sang anything).
And now, here’s Vince to show us the whole contract signing from Smackdown.
Since this show hasn’t gone on long enough (and it’s already in overtime), we go back to Smackdown to see the Angle brothers demand an apology from Brock Lesnar, resulting in Kurt injuring Brock’s ribs to FINALLY end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. There’s not much to talk about here save for the extra stuff at the end, which was just a commercial for the Smackdown side of things. The few matches we got were nothing special though at least one match was added to the card. As has been the case throughout the build to the pay per view, there’s nothing going on to make me want to see the show. It’s just not good TV building stories that aren’t great either. It could be worse but the HHH vs. Booker stuff has been a horrible second level story for the red show. Another weak show here but that’s normal around here anymore.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Smackdown – August 22, 2017: Definitely Not Glorious
Smackdown Date: August 22, 2017 Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
It’s the final night in Brooklyn as Summerslam has come and gone. Jinder Mahal is still the Smackdown World Champion and AJ Styles is still the US Champion. One of these titles was retained in a much better match than the other and I’ll let you guess which of those was which. Let’s get to it.
Here’s AJ Styles to open things up. He says this is still the place that he built because he beat Kevin Owens on Sunday. Therefore, tonight he’s reinstating the US Title Open Challenge and it starts right NOW. The fans want a certain Canadian but get Kevin Owens instead. AJ says this isn’t happening because he’s already beaten Owens. Kevin blames the whole thing on Shane McMahon so here’s Shane to offer a rebuttal.
The boss wants to know what Owens’ issue is so Owens goes on a rant about how Shane can survive a helicopter crash and fall out of buildings but he gets grazed on Sunday and can’t get up. We see a clip of AJ being pinned though his foot was on the rope before one. Owens says this isn’t fair and complains until AJ agrees to put the title on the line tonight.
Shane agrees to make the match, but Owens wants one more thing: he wants to pick the referee. AJ says the referee doesn’t matter because he’d count the pin no matter what. There’s a little girl in the front row who could probably count a three count just fine so he’ll agree to anyone as referee. The match is made for later tonight but Shane says that this is Owens’ last shot as long as AJ is champion.
Daniel Bryan is in his office when the Singh Brothers come in to introduce Jinder Mahal. Jinder takes credit for Summerslam but Daniel says he’s tired of seeing the Singh Brothers interfere. Therefore, tonight Shinsuke Nakamura gets to face the two of them in a handicap match.
Owens runs into Sami Zayn in the back and wants him to be guest referee. Sami watched his DVD recently and says they’ve been fighting for so long that it seems like they don’t even remember why they’re fighting. Owens points out that Sami hasn’t done much since arriving here and wants Sami to think about it. Sami doesn’t say no.
Here’s Aiden English to sing his song but he’s cut off……by GLORIOUS DOMINATION!
Bobby Roode vs. Aiden English
The fans go INSANE for the entrance and Roode seems to be a face, at least for the night. They take turns posing at each other with Roode clotheslining English to the floor and sending us to a break. Back with English in control but Roode drives him into the corner for some chops. A forearm sets up the Blockbuster as JBL says Roode needs to win to get some beer money. English hits a Director’s Cut for two but walks into a spinebuster. The Glorious DDT ends English at 6:28.
Rating: C-. Barely enough to rate but this was all about the debut and the fans going nuts for the entrance. Roode was definitely a face here but that can easily be changed once we’re out of a smark haven like New York. He’s a natural heel and once you have him wrestle like this for a few weeks and then let his real self shine through.
Post match Roode says everything he does is big box office and in a New York minute Smackdown has gone from great to GLORIOUS.
Chad Gable comes in to Bryan’s office where the boss says he’s sorry for the Jason Jordan thing. There was a catch to moving Jordan to Raw though: Angle suggested someone to be signed to Smackdown. That would be Shelton Benjamin, who is Chad’s new partner. They’ll be having a match next week, though Shelton doesn’t seem thrilled.
Sami won’t be the referee.
Usos vs. Hype Bros
Non-title. Jey and Mojo start things off with the twins taking him down into the corner. That doesn’t last long though as Mojo kicks him away and brings in Ryder to clean house. Everything breaks down and Mojo heads outside to run Jimmy over. A superkick drops him though, allowing Jey to superkick Ryder down for the pin at 3:14.
Rating: D+. Just a quick match here to remind you that the Usos are awesome and one of the best teams on Smackdown. Unfortunately it also reminds you that they’re one of the only teams on Smackdown as the division is looking weaker and weaker every single day. The Usos need challengers and this didn’t do that problem any favors.
Post match the Usos say the whole division is on notice.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Singh Brothers
Mahal is at ringside and the Brothers, in dress pants and dress shirts, don’t have to tag. An early Good Vibrations has them in trouble and the Brothers are quickly sent outside. Nakamura tells Mahal to come on and the Brothers jump him from behind, only to have Nakamura grab a triangle choke for the tap out at 2:47.
Mahal jumps Nakamura from behind but takes Kinshasa for his efforts.
Breezango offers to be the referee but Owens tells them to get away. Baron Corbin comes up and offers his services. If Owens wins though, he wants the first shot. That’s cool with Owens.
Here’s Natalya, now with a Hart Foundation style jacket, for her first comments as champion. Summerslam will be remembered as the day the Glow was unplugged because she’s the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. She holds up the title and says she’s restoring it to glory, meaning it’s back to normal. Carmella comes out for their tag match but says she’s biding her time to cash in.
Natalya/Carmella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi
Feeling out process to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Becky dropping a leg on Natalya until a forearm cuts her off. Natalya tries for a tag to Carmella but she drops to the floor and tells Natalya to do her thing. Becky gets the tag off to Naomi for the reverse Rings of Saturn but Natalya slips out. Carmella gets tagged from behind and caught in the Bexploder, setting up the split legged moonsault for the pin at 7:43.
Rating: D+. Sweet goodness I forgot how much I can’t stand the “I’M GOING TO CASH IN ANY DAY” period. They tease the heck out of it for weeks if not months at a time and it’s the same story every year. For now we’re stuck with Natalya as champion and Carmella almost as a mustache twirling villain. Lucky us.
Dolph Ziggler mocks a lot of the characters who get more TV time than him and has plans for next week.
Lana is on the phone in the locker room and says she’ll see someone next week. Tamina comes in and asks what’s up with her path to the title. Lana tells her to close her eyes and think about everyone who has been against her over the years. The path to being the dominant champion begins next week.
Corbin cuts AJ off and says he wants a shot at the title. AJ tells him to answer the open challenge.
US Title: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens
Styles is defending with Corbin as guest referee. Owens bails to the apron to start and Corbin cuts AJ off from going after him. The distraction lets Owens get in a forearm to take over early on. A forearm cuts Owens off though and we take a break. Back with Owens getting two off a fall away slam into the barricade.
We hit the chinlock for a bit until AJ fights back with his series of strikes. The running seated forearm gives AJ two but he stops for a staredown with Corbin. There’s the Calf Crusher and Owens gets a finger on the ropes. AJ rolls it over tot he middle of the ring and AJ is annoyed at the rules being called properly. Owens knocks AJ into Corbin to start another argument with Corbin shoving AJ into a rollup for two.
A double clothesline puts both guys down though and we’re at a standstill. Cue Shane McMahon because we can’t have these two in a match without all this extra stuff. He yells at Corbin, allowing Owens to hit a low blow for two with Shane pulling Corbin out of the ring. That’s enough for Corbin who walks out and throws Shane the shirt. Owens is livid and the Phenomenal Forearm retains the title at 12:45.
Rating: C+. Just like Sunday, there’s a good match in there underneath all the nonsense with the referees. I get that they want to get to Owens vs. McMahon (possibly in the Cell because that’s how the calendar works) but do we really have to sacrifice what could have been a pair of great matches to get there? There’s good stuff in there somewhere but it was the same problem as Sunday: too much focus on anything but the wrestlers and that gets old.
Owens looks furious to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. This show really didn’t work and there’s not much other way to put it. Mahal isn’t interesting on top, there’s little of interest in the midcard, the tag division basically doesn’t exist and Shane seems ready to swallow up another good chunk of the show to set up one more match to prove that he’s still got it. Aside from Roode’s debut, there’s nothing on here to get excited about and that’s really rare for Smackdown.
Results
Bobby Roode b. Aiden English – Glorious DDT
Usos b. Hype Bros – Superkick to Ryder
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Singh Brothers – Triangle choke to Samir
Naomi/Becky Lynch b. Carmella/Natalya – Split legged moonsault to Carmella
AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens – Phenomenal Forearm
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Monday Night Raw – August 21, 2017: Can Brock Smash A Beach Ball Please?
Monday Night Raw Date: August 21, 2017 Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves
With Summerslam behind us, it’s time to start heading towards No Mercy, which ultimately leads us to Survivor Series. The big story is a combination of Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Title and Braun Strowman arriving as the new monster as he manhandled Lesnar last night. If that’s not a title program at some point in the near future, I have no idea where WWE’s head is. Let’s get to it.
Here are Lesnar and Paul Heyman to open things up. Heyman says this isn’t a tape delay because we’re live with Brock Lesnar still your reigning and defending Universal Champion. He talks about the conspiracy against Lesnar, who fought off everyone else last night to keep his title. For the first time in his life, Lesnar was taken off the battlefield in an attempt to get rid of him without having to pin him or make him submit. But Lesnar wouldn’t have any of that and marched back down the aisle so conquering could ensue. As for tonight, there is no one in WWE or UFC history, like Lesnar himself.
Cue Braun Strowman and you can see Lesnar wince a bit. The fans cheer for Strowman as Brock gets in his face. A chokeslam is countered but Braun kicks him in the face and hits a powerslam to put Lesnar down. He starts to get up so it’s another powerslam, leaving Strowman to hold up the title. Strowman is the only person who should be challenging Brock right now and they would be crazy to wait any longer than Survivor Series (and even that’s a stretch) to do this match.
Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass
Street fight as this feud MUST continue. Before the match, Enzo talks about his history with Cass, including the two of them breaking bread together as his family’s house. Enzo grabs a shopping cart full of weapons, which he throws at Cass, who easily dodges and clotheslines Enzo down. A shopping cart shot to the ribs drops Enzo and they head inside with Cass throwing Enzo a chair.
That just earns Enzo a big boot to the face and we take a break. Back with Enzo hitting a jawbreaker but getting crushed in the corner again. A big boot misses though and Cass falls out to the floor. Cass kicks the chair away from Enzo again but seems to have hurt his knee on the fall. The knee gives out and the referee throws up the X and stops the match at 8:55.
Rating: D-. In a way I hope that was legit as I really, REALLY don’t need this feud to continue. Enzo has gone from being entertaining to one of the most annoying people I’ve seen in years as there’s just no point to have him fight Cass over and over again. The match was a squash anyway with Cass losing via basically slipping on a banana peel. He deserves better than that while Enzo deserves a root canal with no medication.
Emma is annoyed at Sasha Banks getting all this attention and complains to Dana Brooke about it. She runs her mouth about Nia Jax as well, who just happens to be standing right behind her. I think you know where this is going.
Nia Jax vs. Emma
Emma goes after her to start but gets run over and crushed with some elbow drops. A dropkick has no effect and it’s the Samoan drop for the pin on Emma at 1:14. So yeah, the division has three active wrestlers of any value but let’s make sure to squash Emma over and over and over to punish her for daring to question the company’s oh so brilliant planning. As usual, WWE would rather cut off its nose to spite its face and then wonder why people stopped caring about the division.
Here’s Elias for a song. He teases singing R-Truth’s song but says he’s kidding and it’s time for some real music. The song mocks Truth so here he is to interrupt.
R-Truth vs. Elias
Truth takes him down to start but runs into an elbow as Booker’s microphone isn’t working properly. Drift Away ends Truth at 1:22.
Here’s Kurt Angle to announce a new surprise: John Cena, who is now back on Raw. Cena isn’t sure why he’s here before saying he was asked to come here by Angle himself. That’s what Cena wanted because he wanted to go face to face with a certain superstar. Cue Roman Reigns and I’m rather curious to see who the fans will boo more. Cena says that’s the man he was looking for but Reigns says Cena has only been running his mouth on Twitter.
Reigns wants to know if Cena will run his mouth to his face. The fans chant for Undertaker, which Cena says is them holding a bit of a grudge. Cena didn’t come here to talk though and the mic’s are dropped. The fight is teased but here are Miz and the Miztourage to interrupt. Miz: “So this is what a sold out Barclays looks like. I wouldn’t know.” He asks how many moments Cena and Reigns get, earning himself a round of applause.
Miz wants to know why the two of them get this time while he was stuck on the Kickoff Show last night. A quick fan poll says Cena isn’t welcome here so Miz says there are 18,000 people wanting him to leave. Cena goes to leave but Miz spins him around and says he’s not done yet. Miz rants about how no one knows what to do with Cena or Reigns and that hurts him, the only champion in this ring. He wants to know when he gets his moment because he’s spent twelve years earning it.
Cena suggests he team up with Reigns to face Miz and either of Miz’s lackeys. Miz says no because that would be a moment for Cena and not him. This brings out Samoa Joe of all people to say that he’s going to be Miz’s partner whether Miz likes it or not. Joe doesn’t want to waste his time on Reigns because he owns Roman one on one.
Instead he slugs away at Cena as Reigns beats up Miz and the Miztourage. The AA is countered into the Koquina Clutch with Reigns making the save via a Superman Punch. Roman and Cena are left alone and the fans tell them that they both suck. I fully support these two singles matches, especially at No Mercy.
Drew Gulak/Noam Dar/Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari vs. Rich Swan/Mustafa Ali/Gran Metalik/Cedric Alexander
No one gets an entrance and it’s Metalik walking the ropes to dropkick Gulak down. It’s quickly off to Ali vs. Daivari for a quick strike exchange. Swann comes in for the threat of a spinning kick to Daivari, which sends him over to the corner. Dar won’t tag in so Nese does it instead, earning himself a dropkick.
Nese runs Swann over though and we take a break. Back with Swann slugging away at Dar but not being able to get over for a tag. The fans are doing the wave as Cedric gets the hot tag and starts cleaning house with kicks to the head. Everything breaks down and Metalik moonsaults out to the floor, leaving Cedric to Lumbar Check Nese for the pin at 8:45.
Rating: D+. So that’s a thing that existed and that’s about all I can say about it. Really, the cruiserweight division is a big waste of time save for maybe the champion and his top challenger, which makes 205 Live an even bigger waste of time. It’s not even an entertaining match where most people didn’t even get involved. Just nothing to say here.
Neville is in the back and says the fans are hilarious for wanting someone else as champion. Cue Titus O’Neil and Akira Tozawa to say Daivari gets his rematch tomorrow night on 205 Live.
Jason Jordan comes in to see Angle and says he wants Finn Balor tonight. Kurt reluctantly agrees.
Here are Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for a chat. Rollins is glad that they got back together and now they’re champions. Dean says he slept with the title under his pillow last night, which confuses Seth for a second until he says this is one big party. Seth says he wants to get the rematch with Cesaro and Sheamus out of the way but here are the Hardys to interrupt instead. Matt understands that brothers fight and thinks it’s time to make things wonderful. They’ve revolutionized tag team wrestling for twenty five years and it’s time to do it again in Brooklyn. Here’s a referee and we’re ready to go after a break.
Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins vs. Hardy Boyz
Non-title. Dean headlocks Matt to start but an early double team slows Ambrose down. It’s quickly off to Rollins for a kick to Jeff’s chest for two. The Spin Cycle gets two on Rollins but he drop toeholds Matt into a knee drop from Ambrose for two more. Neither finisher can hit though and it’s off to a stalemate.
A big slugout takes us to a break and we come back with Rollins enziguring Jeff. Matt and Dean come in with both champs being sent outside. Jeff nails Poetry in Motion over the top to drop them both again. Back in and Seth pulls Dean out of the way of the Whisper in the Wind before grabbing a front facelock. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Jeff dropkicks both of them down.
It’s back to Matt as everything breaks down. A Sling Blade drops Matt so Dean can get two before the Hardys are sent outside. There’s the double suicide dive but Matt hits a Side Effect on Rollins on the apron. Another Side Effect gets two on Dean but he comes back with an attempt at a super Dirty Deeds. That doesn’t work of course so it’s the Twist of Fate to set up the Swanton, which hits raised knees. The wind-up jumping knee to the face sets up Dirty Deeds to end Jeff at 17:45.
Rating: B. Good, long match here with Seth and Dean getting a big win over a much more high profile team. They’ve got something with that jumping knee into Dirty Deeds too, which is a lot more than a lot of teams can say. The Hardys definitely seem to be shifting into the role of putting other teams over and there’s nothing wrong with that for them, especially at this point in their careers.
We look at the opening sequence again.
Here’s Sasha Banks for her first comments after winning the title. She may be from Boston but she’s always left her heart right here in Brooklyn. Like when she and Charlotte tore the house down last year at Summerslam, which allows her to wish Ric Flair well. Sasha plans on defending the title the right way but here’s Alexa Bliss to interrupt. She laughs off the idea of Sasha being the right kind of champion but wants nothing to do with a rematch tonight in front of these Brooklyn fanboys. They’ll fight soon enough but for now, Bliss is fine making Sasha wait.
Jason Jordan vs. Finn Balor
Jordan takes him down to the mat to start and a rollup gets two, earning Balor a quick smile. Another technical sequence puts Jordan down, only to have Finn hit a dropkick to stagger Jason. Balor wants nothing to do with a handshake and snapmares him down instead. A leapfrog is countered into a powerslam to give Finn two and we take a break.
Back with Jordan putting him down again and dropping an elbow to the ribs. They fight over a butterfly suplex with the fans very upset about something that seems to be off camera. Balor stops a charge with a boot in the corner before sending Jordan to the floor for a baseball slide. The running apron kick has Jordan in more trouble but Jason comes back with the belly to belly.
The shoulder in the corner looks to set up the wheelbarrow neckbreaker, only to have Finn counter into a crossbody. A Pele drops Jordan again and both guys are down. Jordan drives him into the corner but gets caught with a Sling Blade. The shotgun dropkick puts Jordan in the corner and it’s the Coup de Grace for the pin at 11:45.
Rating: B. Definitely Jordan’s best singles match to date and it made him look like a bigger deal. Balor winning was the right call as Jordan shouldn’t be beating a former World Champion just yet. It was a good, competitive match though and that’s much better than what you usually get from Jordan at this point.
Alexa gets her title rematch next week.
Miz/Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns/John Cena
Cena bulldogs Miz to start and the fans are very pleased as it’s already off to Joe. The fans go nuts over something and Cena actually pauses to look at it…..because it’s a freaking beach ball. It seems that the ball is taken away with Cena looking annoyed, earning himself a beating from Joe. Miz comes in to stomp away and it’s time for the wave again. Now Cena joins in the wave, earning himself a quick DDT for two.
The cheering and booing continues as a beach ball is put into play and confiscated as the match continues to be ignored. Cena gets ax handled for two as Miz stops to tell the fans to pay attention. Miz misses a charge and it’s off to Reigns to clean house with clotheslines to no reaction. Roman gets taken down as well for the YES Kicks. The last one is countered into a powerbomb though and both guys are down again.
Joe Rock Bottoms Roman but Reigns heads outside to beat up the Miztourage. Back in and the hot tag brings in Cena for the finishing sequence. Joe cuts off the Shuffle though and it’s off to the Koquina Clutch. Reigns tries a save with the Superman Punch but Joe sidesteps it, causing Cena to get hit instead. The second Superman Punch hits Joe but Cena pops up and grabs the AA to pin Miz at 13:03.
Rating: C+. I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls. As usual, whenever you ask a crowd to pay attention for this long (to something they paid for of course), it’s bound to cause them to lose their interest and set off something like this. Naturally their response is screw anyone who doesn’t like it, because wrestling fans are selfish creatures by definition. I couldn’t stand this stuff in Orlando and it’s really annoying now, much like WWE encouraging this nonsense. As for the match, it was exactly what you would expect though Cena pinning Miz made me roll my eyes.
Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was much better tonight with two very good matches but there was also a lot of stuff that felt like filler. As usual, if you cut out an hour of this show, it gets far better in a hurry, though at least the stuff that was good was very good. Strowman vs. Lesnar should be amazing and it would be even better if Cass’ legitimate knee injury isn’t serious. Good show tonight, which is a positive sign after last night’s hit and miss effort.
Results
Enzo Amore b. Big Cass via referee stoppage
Nia Jax b. Emma – Samoan drop
Elias b. R-Truth – Drift Away
Rich Swan/Mustafa Ali/Gran Metalik/Cedric Alexander b. Noam Dar/Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari/Drew Gulak – Lumbar Check to Nese
Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose b. Hardy Boyz – Dirty Deeds to Jeff
Finn Balor b. Jason Jordan – Coup de Grace
John Cena/Roman Reigns b. Miz/Samoa Joe – Attitude Adjustment to Miz
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Some are nicer than others.1. Strowman vs. Lesnar is official for No Mercy. Freaking yay and the only way they could go.
2. Screw beach balls. Seriously, screw them. If you’re that bored at a show, go do something else and quit messing with the fans who don’t care about that nonsense.
3. It looks like Cass’ injury is legit. There’s no word on the severity but that would suck if he has to miss time. It also doesn’t look good for Enzo either, as he doesn’t have much else to do other than deal with Cass.
4. Again, screw beach balls and screw WWE for encouraging them.