Summerslam 2002
Date: August 25, 2002
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial, Uniondale, New York
Attendance: 14,797
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Tazz, Jim Ross

The main story coming into this show would be the Brand Split but that’s not really an issue here as the main four PPVs weren’t brand exclusive. As for the show itself it’s another double main event with Rock defending his WWE (yeah E) Title against a beast named Brock Lesnar and the returning Shawn Michaels fighting his best friend HHH in a street fight. This is considered one of the best shows of all time so hopefully it holds up. Let’s get to it.

There’s no opening video this year for some reason.

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey beat Angle in a tag match and has been an annoyance for him lately. This is right after Mysterio debuted as part of probably the best year for new talent in company history. In 2002 WWE got Mysterio, Brock Lesnar, Batista, Randy Orton and a guy named Cena. This is when Rey’s knees weren’t held together by glue so it should be awesome. Rey comes in from behind and takes Angle down with a quick springboard dropkick but he has to go to the ropes to escape the ankle lock. An early 619 attempt misses and Angle pulls him to the floor. Very fast start.

Angle kicks at the leg as they come back in. An uppercut staggers Rey and a wheelbarrow suplex puts him down. Rey grabs the rope to avoid a German and gets a quick two off a rollup. Kurt gets two off a backbreaker and bends Rey’s back around the ropes. The fans are all over Angle but he shrugs off some forearms and catches a headscissors into a side slam for two.

Off to a wicked half crab on Rey but he somehow sneaks out and gets two off a rollup. Kurt takes his head off with a clothesline, only to get caught in a jawbreaker. Rey tries to speed things up but walks into the overhead belly to belly. There go the straps but Rey armdrags out of the Angle Slam and sends Angle to the floor. Rey loads up a dive but the referee stops him, drawing the most heat of the night. Mysterio will have none of that and dives OVER THE REFEREE to take Angle out.

Back in and a springboard legdrop gets two as the crowd is on fire. Rey tries a victory roll but gets caught in the ankle lock. Mysterio rolls out and send Angle to the ropes for the 619. The West Coast Pop gets a VERY close two and a spinwheel kick puts Angle down again. Mysterio goes up top but Angle runs the ropes for the suplex, only to have Rey flip over him but he tweaks the ankle on the landing. He’s fine enough to pop back up and dropkick Angle on the corner though and he loads up a hurricanrana. Angle falls forward on it though and the ankle lock is good for the submission.

Rating: A-. EXCELLENT opener here with Mysterio showing he could hang with anyone in the company. He really was amazing to watch when he wasn’t banged up and bloated like he is today and this might be his best match ever. This was a great choice for an opener and both guys looked amazing.

Eric Bischoff (Raw) and Stephanie McMahon (Smackdown) agree to share the GM’s office tonight.

Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair

Flair is a legend, Jericho is a young punk. This led to Jericho running down Flair over and over again so Flair destroyed a bunch of Jericho’s band Fozzy’s equipment as they were performing on Raw. Jericho takes him into the corner so Flair slaps him in the face. Feeling out process to start as Flair looks to be in a dancing mood tonight. A backdrop puts Flair down and a belly to back suplex does the same.

Back up and Flair hits some LOUD chops to take over. They head to the corner and it’s Jericho firing off some chops of his own to set up a Flair Flip in the corner. A clothesline puts Flair on the floor and Jericho hits an elbow off the top to crush him against the barricade. Back in and Jericho fires off punches before doing a little dance. The Canadian gets two off a middle rope missile dropkick and chokes Flair with some tape. Flair fires off some chops but gets dropped by a single right hand.

Jericho goes up top but Flair pulls a page out of every opponent he’s ever had to slam him down. Chris misses a charge into the corner and Flair backdrops him down. NOW we go to school but Jericho escapes a suplex and tries the Walls. Flair rolls out but Jericho hits an enziguri to put Naitch down again.

The Lionsault misses and Flair goes back to the chops to take over. Flair tries a half crab but Jericho escapes and puts Flair in the Figure Four. Ric makes the rope but taps out anyway, which isn’t a submission apparently. There’s a rule clarification if you ever need one. The referee goes to tell the timekeeper that the match is still going, allowing Flair to hit a low blow and put on the Figure Four for the submission. Don’t bother setting up the move or anything Ric.

Rating: C. I’m sorry for not having much of note to say but it’s almost impossible to add stuff to good matches. Nice match here as Flair gets to be the dirtiest player in the game again but it wasn’t anything spectacular. Jericho was still awesome as a heel and it felt good to see Flair make a comeback and beat him in the middle of the ring. This was at a point when Flair could still look decent in a pair of trunks so it wasn’t an embarrassment at all.

Heyman gives Brock a pep talk for the main event tonight. Brock is in Rock’s head and the next big thing arrives tonight. This is when Brock was the unstoppable monster instead of being HHH cannon fodder for a year. I still can’t get over that it lasted that long.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge

Edge is still finding his footing as a singles guy and the potential is through the roof, so the solution is the same as it was with DDP back in 97: put him with really talented people who can make him look awesome. This resulted in Edge vs. Regal, Angle and Guerrero for about six months, making everyone love Edge like few thought possible. Apparently Eddie is jealous of Edge’s popularity and his status as a sex symbol. Cole’s words, not mine.

Technical stuff to start until Edge suplexes Eddie to the apron but gets his neck snapped across the top rope. Edge comes back with a hot shot and a standing powerslam for two before tying Eddie up in the ropes. There’s the spear to Eddie’s ribs but Eddie avoids the second attempt to send the Canadian to the floor. Edge is holding his shoulder (the spear arm) and Eddie has something to focus on. The bad shoulder goes into the steps and Edge is in trouble.

Back in and Eddie DDTs the arm before driving some elbows into the shoulder. A jumping DDT to the arm off the top gets two and it’s off to a keylock. Edge finally gets to a rope so Eddie stomps even harder on the shoulder. Now it’s a cross face chickenwing of all moves shifted into a Fujiwara Armbar. Back up and Eddie belly to back suplexes him down but stays on the arm with a top wristlock. Edge finally slams him down to get a breather and fires off some clotheslines.

The half nelson faceplant gets two and Edge suplexes Eddie to the floor. A cross body off the top to the floor puts Guerrero down but Edge injures the shoulder again. Back in and Edge goes up but has to counter a superplex into a front superplex for two on Eddie. Edge loads up the spear but Eddie dropkicks him in the shoulder to put him down.

The frog splash hits knees and there’s the Edgecution for two. Another Edgecution is countered into a northern lights and Eddie hits the frog splash onto the bad shoulder for two. Some IDIOTS are chanting boring at this. Eddie goes up again but gets slammed down allowing Edge to hit the spear (with the bad shoulder with no problem) for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was chugging right along until the STUPID ending. You cannot have Eddie working over on the arm for ten minutes and then hit the finisher like it’s nothing. What’s the point in even working on the arm if that’s how you end the match? It was going fine until that point but the ending just stopped it cold, much like the spear should have done for Edge.

The Un-Americans are ready to beat Booker T and Goldust to prove that America sucks. The only bad part though is they have to do it here in Long Island. This is a classic gimmick and would work at almost any point in history.

Raw Tag Titles: Goldust/Booker T vs. Un-Americans

The Un-Americans are Lance Storm and Christian (with Test) and they have the gold coming in. Goldust and Christian start with the Canadian being run over and uppercutted down for two. Off to Storm who gets caught in an atomic drop and it’s Booker T in to fire off right hands. Booker drops a big knee for two and brings in Goldust, only to have Storm poke him in the eye to take over.

The fans chant USA like the true xenophobes they are. We get some classic heel cheating as the Canadians double team until Christian gets two off a backbreaker. Back to Storm who walks into a kind of Boss Man Slam but Christian distracts the referee so the hot tag doesn’t count. The beating continues but Goldust catapults Christian into Storm to buy himself some time.

Goldust slaps the mat to try to fire up the crowd but Storm takes out Booker again so there’s no one for Goldie to tag. The champions miss a Conchairto and NOW the hot tag goes through. Booker cleans house and lays in the chops to Christian. A missile dropkick gets two but Booker accidentally superkicks the referee. Booker hits a double ax kick to take out both champions and there’s the Spinarooni. Christian is kicked down but here’s Test with a big boot to lay out Booker, giving Christian the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a BIG step down from what we’ve had so far tonight. The match was just dull and nothing we haven’t seen done better a hundred times. Booker and Goldust had chemistry and fan support so we had to wait four months for them to get the titles. The Un-Americans were a find midcard heel act but the titles should have changed here.

Nidia is at The World (WWF New York) and makes out with a fan for some reason.

Bischoff and Stephanie continue their stupid back and forth.

Intercontinental Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is defending and a Smackdown guy in this brand vs. brand match. Van Dam hits some quick kicks to send Benoit to the outside but Benoit takes him down back inside. Van Dam spins away from a kick in the corner and hits a spinning cross body out of the corner for two. Benoit ducks another kick and hits a great release German suplex to take over. An elbow to the face gets two more for Benoit and it’s time to work on the back.

Benoit gets another near fall off a backbreaker and a snap suplex gets the same. Off to an armbar as Benoit wants the shoulder now. Rob gets some quick twos off rollups but Benoit runs him over with another elbow to the face. Benoit runs into a boot in the corner but the split legged moonsault hits knees. The Swan Dive misses but Benoit rolls away from the Five Star as well.

Now the Crossface goes on for a good while but Van Dam makes the ropes. The challenger goes up but Benoit shoves him off the top and shoulder first into the barricade. Back in and Benoit hits a shoulder breaker (see that people? It’s called psychology. LEARN IT!) for two as the fans are distracted by something. Benoit wisely puts on a rest hold until their attention is back again.

They trade cross arm chokes with Benoit taking over again. Van Dam kicks his leg out but misses Rolling Thunder, allowing Benoit to put on the Crossface again. Rob elbows out but gets rolled up for two. Benoit goes back to the arm and sends him shoulder first into the post. A northern lights suplex onto the arm has Van Dam….looking confused and two more don’t really change that.

Back to the Crossface and Van Dam looks more annoyed than anything else. Rob (with his hair down for maybe the only time I ever remember) makes the rope and puts a Crossface on Benoit for a few seconds. A jumping kick to the face puts Benoit down for two and now Rolling Thunder connects.

Van Dam hits a shoulder to the ribs but injures the shoulder again (thanks for selling Rob). Not that it matters though as he kicks Benoit in the face for two. Rob gets crotched on the top but counters a belly to back superplex into a cross body to put both guys down. Van Dam pops up and hits the Five Star for the pin and the title. Extra points for Rob doing the finger point from the mat when he’s announced as the new champion.

Rating: B. This bad shoulder selling is getting on my nerves. Benoit had RVD in one of the best submissions ever three different times and Van Dam looked like he had a five year old child on his leg. The rest of the match however was very solid with Rob hanging in there with Benoit who was his usual awesome self.

Stephanie, having just lost the IC Title to Raw (giving them all the belts I believe) laughs. This story continued to not make sense until they just gave up.

Video on the Un-Americans who hate American. Undertaker wasn’t going to stand for this and turned face to deal with them. Well among other reasons but this was his first major feud as a face.

Undertaker vs. Test

Feeling out process to start with Taker sending Test into the corner and cranking on the arm. A big clothesline takes Test down for two but he shoves the referee into the ropes to break up Old School. Test sends him into the steps and into the turnbuckle to keep Taker in trouble. A running clothesline in the corner staggers Taker and it’s off to an armbar. Taker suplexes out but misses an elbow drop as this continues to drag.

Test misses an elbow as well and now Old School connects. Snake Eyes connects but Test ducks the big boot. Taker shoves him off and hits the chokeslam for two. Christian and Storm come in as a distraction but take a chokeslam each, allowing Test to hit his big boot for two. Test tries a chair shot but hits the ropes, sending it back into his own face. The Tombstone finishes this.

Rating: D. This wasn’t horrible but come on. It’s Undertaker vs. Test at the second biggest show of the year with Test being as an Un-American. Did you really expect ANY other result here? The match was passable enough but it’s definitely the lame match on the show. To be fair though it’s not even nine minutes long and it’s not a disaster.

Now let’s get to the real reason this show rocks.

We recap Shawn Michaels vs. HHH. They were best friends back in the late 90s but Shawn broke his back and had to retire. Over the next four years, HHH rose to the top of the company and a higher level than Shawn ever achieved. Shawn came back to Raw and offered to reform DX, but HHH laid him out, saying they were never friends and he just used Shawn.

Then someone rammed Shawn through a windshield and HHH vowed to find out who it was. Shawn found security video revealing it was HHH, who said he did it to prove Shawn is vulnerable. Shawn’s doctors said he’d make a full recovery. Say by, Summerslam? The match isn’t sanctioned and is a street fight because it couldn’t be anything else. This is a great example of a feud based on hatred instead of some convoluted idea and it made the match much better.

Shawn Michaels vs. HHH

Shawn is in jeans tonight to hide the knee braces. Michaels comes out with right hands but HHH sends him to the outside. Not that it matters as Shawn is right back inside with more right hands. HHH is tossed to the floor and Shawn hits a nice dive to take him out. Remember that this is Shawn’s first match since March of 1998, or four and a half years ago.

A clothesline puts HHH down again and it’s garbage can time. HHH gets in a shot to the ribs and drops Shawn face first onto the barricade to get a breather. Shawn comes back in and is tossed over the top again but he skins the cat to a big pop. A trashcan shot caves in HHH’s head and a top rope fist to the head puts him down again. Shawn tunes up the band but HHH counters into a backbreaker to get to the meat of the match.

Another backbreaker has Shawn in agony and flopping like a fish as only he can. HHH gives a crotch chop and kicks Shawn down with ease. It’s chair time but a shot to the back only gets two. Shawn escapes a suplex into an O’Connor Roll for two but walks into a facebuster. A DDT onto the chair is only good for two but Shawn is busted open. HHH takes off Shawn’s belt and whips him in the back as the screaming continues.

And now it’s sledgehammer time. Shawn gets in some shots to the ribs to escape and HHH drops the hammer. The fans are behind HBK but he gets whipped into the corner and it’s off to the abdominal stretch. HHH gets caught holding the ropes and Hebner physically breaks the hold before yelling HHH into the corner. They slug it out again and HHH loads up a superplex but Shawn shoves him off, only to get crotched. HHH blasts Shawn’s wide open back with the chair and the crowd is somber.

A backbreaker onto the chair has Shawn lying motionless but HHH only gets two. He covers a few more times and HHH is very frustrated. A side slam onto the chair gets another two as JR screams for a fast count. Shawn counters a Pedigree onto the chair with a low blow and both guys are down. The HBK chant starts up again and HHH has the chair superkicked into his face. Now HHH is busted open too and Shawn slugs away before hitting the forearm and the nipup to blow the roof off the place.

Shawn backdrops him down and cracks HHH in the head with the chair. HHH is whipped over the corner and out to the floor where Shawn gets to beat on him with the belt. Shawn knocks him onto the announce table and hits him in the head with Hugo Savinovich’s shoe (Lawler: “A heel for a heel!”). HHH is sent into the steps and here’s a ladder being slammed into HHH’s face.

Some shots to the ribs have HHH screaming and the ladder is placed against the post with HHH being catapulted face first into the steel. That’s only good for two so Shawn heads outside again to get the ladder. HHH baseball slides the ladder into Michaels and pounds away at the cut head. For some reason HHH tries to come in off the top and gets caught in a superplex for two.

The crowd is losing their minds off these kickouts. A sunset flip gets two for Shawn but he gets caught by the knee to the face for two. HHH brings in the steps but Shawn drop toeholds him face first into the steel. A clothesline puts HHH on the floor and Shawn pulls out a table. Well why not since we’ve used everything else.

Shawn puts him on the table and splashes him from the top rope in the big spot of the match. Both guys are DONE and the fans are in awe. Shawn sends the ladder back inside, says he loves us all, and drops the elbow from the top. Michaels has that look in his eye and tunes up the band but HHH catches the kick coming in. He loads up the Pedigree but Shawn sweeps the legs and rolls HHH up for the pin to blow the roof off the place again.

Rating: A+. Anyone who has read my stuff over the years knows I do not like a lot of things about HHH. For tonight, forget all that because this is one of the best matches of all time. I’ve seen this match several times and it still had me smiling to see Shawn make comeback after comeback and give HHH every single thing he deserved. It goes to show how great Shawn is as he came in after being gone nearly FIVE YEARS and does this. That’s remarkable when you think about it and is one of the greatest performances of all time.

Let’s talk about the match a little bit. It’s an excellent example of how to book a comeback, which is probably Shawn’s greatest strength. Shawn had the people believing that he was DEAD but he kept hanging in there time after time and made the huge comeback just like the crowd wanted. The other thing that works so well is the ending which a lot of people overlook.

The crux of this match was the destruction of both guys and seeing how far they could take it. At the end though, Shawn uses a basic wrestling counter and a cradle to win, totally shifting gears and beating HHH, the Cerebral Assassin, by thinking. That’s INCREDIBLE psychology and the perfect way to end this match. All in all, it’s a masterpiece and arguably the best performance of all time, all things considered.

Post match HHH becomes the universal evil by hitting Shawn square in the back with the sledgehammer and leaving him laying. Shawn is taken out on a stretcher.

Now that we’ve had that amazing match, it’s time for something completely stupid. Howard Finkel of all people has something to say. He’s been here forever and while Major League Baseball may be going on strike, he’ll be here forever. This brings out Trish Stratus who slapped him in the face recently. Howard insults Long Island women and Trish says he has a sexy voice. He makes various references and they hug but it’s a ruse to have Lillian Garcia come in and kick Howard low.

We recap Rock vs. Lesnar. Brock is the new monster and Rock is the warrior champion and there isn’t much more to it than that. The videos of Rocky going through special training (actually for The Rundown) were pretty awesome.

WWF World Title: The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar has his agent Paul Heyman with him. Rock charges into the ring and walks into a belly to belly suplex for two. Lesnar hits a pair of backbreakers for two and we head to the floor with Brock clotheslining him into the crowd. Apparently Rock has bad ribs coming into this match. Back in and Brock hits another overhead belly to belly suplex for two before dropping some elbows. A powerslam puts Rock down for two as this is one sided so far. Brock fires off some shoulder in the corner but misses a charge and hits the post.

Rock hits a belly to back suplex of his own and both guys are down. Both guys nip up at the same time and Rock isn’t sure what to think. Rock hits some clotheslines but it takes three of them to finally drop Brock. The champion hooks a Sharpshooter and Brock is in trouble. Heyman throws in a chair which distracts Rocky, allowing Lesnar to to get out and blast Rock in the ribs with the chair. Off to the bearhug which ended Hogan and takes Rock down to the mat here.

The fans are entirely behind Lesnar here which is very strange to hear. Rock doesn’t let his arm drop a third time and now we get a Rocky chant. The champion finally escapes the hold but gets a hard shoulder into the ribs to slow him down again. Rock comes out of the corner with a running clothesline and the crowd reaction is mixed at best. A series of right hands knocks Lesnar out to the floor and Rock loads up the announce table. After scaring Heyman to death, Rock launches Lesnar face first into the post.

There’s a Rock Bottom through the table for Heyman and the announcers couldn’t be happier. Back in and the Rock Bottom hits Lesnar for a VERY close two. The fans shift affiliation again, now cheering for Brock. Their current hero hits a Rock Bottom of his own for two and both guys stagger to their feet. Rock hits the spinebuster but as he loads up the Elbow, Brock pops up and hits a HUGE clothesline. Here comes the F5 but Rock escapes and tries the Rock Bottom. That and another attempt at the same move are both countered and the F5 gives Lesnar the title.

Rating: B-. The match was just ok until the very hot finish, but the last two minutes or so made up for a lot of the earlier problems. This was a great example of how to make a guy like Lesnar look like a monster. Rock left to film The Rundown immediately after this so Lesnar was the only one left standing. Great way to put Brock over here and a pretty solid match overall.

Lesnar celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: A+. As I said this is considered one of the best shows of all time and it’s easy to see why. The main event was the start of a new era in the company, there’s a masterpiece of a match, the upper half of the card is stacked and the worst match is passable. I can’t put it as high as Wrestlemania X7 on the all time scale but the fact that it’s even in the conversations speaks volumes. This is absolutely worth seeing though and HHH vs. Shawn is must see.

Ratings Comparison

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio

Original: A+

Redo: A-

Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair

Original: B

Redo: C

Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge

Original: C+

Redo: B-

Un-Americans vs. Booker T/Goldust

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit

Original: B

Redo: B

Undertaker vs. Test

Original: D

Redo: D

Shawn Michaels vs. HHH

Original: A+

Redo: A+

The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: A+

Redo: A+

Still a masterpiece.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/05/history-of-summerslam-count-up-summerslam-2002-best-summerslam-ever/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

We’re in Summerslam mode now and it’s very fun to see where things are going. You can see most of the card now and I’m actually liking the card that is being presented so far. Last week was about Cena vs. Rollins, so now it’s time to focus on the other main event, assuming Cena can actually go for the pay per view. It’s an Undertaker vs. Lesnar night though so let’s get to it.

The show opened the only way it could have, as we had a ten bell salute to Roddy Piper. He deserves every tribute he receives, including people wearing Piper shirts all night and throwing some Piper lines into some promos. I have no issue with any of this whatsoever and it made me smile all night long. I’ll miss Piper quite a bit as his talking is as great as anyone ever could have been and his promos should be homework for any wrestler today.

Seth Rollins, in a NEVER SHUTS UP shirt, opened the show and we got our first handful of roughly 1839 viewings of Cena’s nose being busted open last week. Rollins has the idea of a match vs. Cena at Summerslam with both titles on the line, but if Cena can’t show up, he can just forfeit the title instead.

I’m not a fan of title vs. title matches, but since Rollins has made it clear that he doesn’t care about the US Title, why not let him cost Cena the title so someone can get the win over Cena while also keeping Cena look strong going forward? The match will be fine, but I’d rather it just be a regular World Title match for the sake of the US Title going forward.

As for tonight, Rollins is issuing an open challenge of his own, but the opponent has to be under 6’0 and weigh under 200lbs. The idea was that it would be El Torito, but Neville came out for a good match instead. This was a better match than I was expecting with some awesome false finishes, including Neville hitting the Red Arrow but Rollins got the foot on the ropes. Rollins wound up winning with the Pedigree and it still doesn’t work for him. He’s a fast paced, high flying wrestler and then he stops to use that kind of a move for the sake of his daddy figure. This was a solid match and did you really expect anything else?

New Day and Ascension beat Los Matadores and the Lucha Dragons. This is completely different than when the opposite happened on Smackdown, because this match actually matters and is likely going to lead to New Day getting the shot at Summerslam. They seem to be building to a multi-team match, which could be interesting if they did it right, which means it isn’t likely to be all that interesting.

Charlotte/Becky Lynch beat the Bellas when Nikki tapped out to the Figure Eight. As I’ve covered about a dozen times already, none of this is going to matter until we get to September when Nikki can actually lose the title. My guess is there’s a big tag match at Summerslam because we haven’t seen enough of them lately. As long as we don’t get the rumored Divas Tag Team Titles, as that would be one of the worst ideas WWE has had in a very long time, which is covering a lot of ground. They’re not needed and would just be another trophy for the Bellas, which is why we’re likely getting them so Nikki can be a Triple Crown Champion or whatever.

Paige and Naomi set up a match for later with Naomi calling out Ronda Rousey. I doubt it leads anywhere, but imagine the reaction if she actually shows up and just destroys one of them one night.

MizTV started with Miz saying none of this would be happening without Piper’s Pit. Simple, true, classy, and a moment that gave me a genuine smile. The guests were Owens and Cesaro, who argued about the merits of actually winning something vs. walking out all the time. Cesaro wanted to fight then and there but Owens bailed again. Cesaro is looking like a star, but both guys need the win at Summerslam. I’m not sure who is winning though and that’s the best feeling in wrestling.

Rusev squashed Mark Henry with superkicks instead of the Accolade, which is nice for a change.

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Sheamus were ready for the main event. Sheamus kind of fit with this group, but it felt far more like the presentation than Sheamus itself.

King Barrett squashed Zack Ryder. It’s not much, but it’s better than Barrett losing all of his matches before winning the rematches. I’ll take small victories where I can get them.

Paul Heyman came out for his big speech about Undertaker. I think you can fill in the details yourself, but the highlights saw Heyman reading last rites to Undertaker and saying that this match is bigger than Wrestlemania. That’s a great line that makes you feel how big the match really is, and I bought the whole thing. I’m not wild on the match happening and I don’t really want to see either guy win (though Brock should) but the idea is solid.

Paige beat Naomi with the PTO in an average match. There isn’t much else to say here.

Arrow’s Stephen Amell will be here next week to face off with Stardust. This could be really cheesy, but Amell is in great shape and looks tough so it won’t be a disaster if they treat it well.

Ambrose and Reigns are all out of bubblegum. That gave me another smile.

Ambrose, Reigns and Orton beat Sheamus, Wyatt and Harper in every main event six man tag you’ve ever seen. I’m kind of digging these six man main events to close the show, but it doesn’t give me a ton of incentive to stick around until the end of the show if there’s nothing big to build towards. At least the matches have been at least ok.

Overall, this was another moving day episode as most of the card can be figured out or has already announced, so it’s time to make the fans want to see those matches. They’ve done a solid job of keeping the matches from being obvious, which is a really good sign going into the second biggest show of the year. Summerslam looks good on paper, but they’ve got two more Raw’s to mess it up.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Just felt like throwing it on (and I can because the Network is amazing).  It’s the opening segment with Hogan and Austin and…….dang man.  When the glass shattered, even watching it now, I could feel my heart beating in my chest.  It takes something really special to get me fired up again a year and a half after it happened and knowing it was coming, but this is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.  As soon as Austin came out I knew Rock was coming next but it couldn’t have been better.

Then later on there’s something else that isn’t given the credit it deserves.  When Lesnar hits the third F5 on Undertaker, Heyman has his evil grin and the cocky look on his face says “yeah I told you so”.  But then when the three count goes down and Brock wins, Heyman is STUNNED.  Sure Heyman thought his man could do it, but then when Brock actually does it, even Heyman is shocked.  That was such an amazing moment.

Smackdown
Date: August 5, 2015
Location: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Jimmy Uso, Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler

Summerslam is mostly set at this point so it’s time for another supplemental show that can help firm up the midcard a little bit. We aren’t likely to see much in the main event scene tonight after everything we saw on Monday, but that’s what Smackdown does these days. The show has been fun lately so hopefully that keeps going. Let’s get to it.

We get the Piper tribute video and a nice chant from the crowd.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Roman Reigns to get things going. After a quick sucking up to the crowd, Reigns says he wants to talk about Bray Wyatt. He thought Battleground was going to be a one on one match but that wasn’t quite what happened. Instead it was a family reunion with Luke Harper, and Reigns only has one family member. Reigns asks if the fans want to see a family war, and shockingly enough, they’re more than up for it. That’s a challenge for Summerslam and you can believe…..fans: “THAT!” So he’s got a catchphrase.

Cue Rusev and Summer Rae, as Rusev has Reigns later tonight. Rusev tells Reigns to get out of the ring right now because he has more interesting things to talk about. Reigns thinks this sounds important but Rusev tells him to be worried about their match later tonight.

Roman wants to know what Rusev has to talk about and wonders if it’s about turning Summer into a Lana clone. Reigns: “She’s not a Barbie.” Uh….yeah she kind of is actually. Rusev rants in Russian but Reigns is one step ahead of him again. “This is America baby. We have NO idea what you just said.” Rusev is welcome to come down here and have a chat with Reigns in a language that everyone understands but Rusev just walks away.

New Day vs. Mark Henry/Prime Time Players

Didn’t we see this a few weeks back? Well to be fair we saw a rematch from last week’s show on this week’s Raw so I guess this is payback. Kind of? Big E.: “RETIRE ALREADY!” Woods hides from Darren in the corner to start before going right after Young with right hands and headbutts. We get a nice little back and forth wrestling sequence with Darren getting two off an atomic drop and boot to the head.

It’s off to Kofi but he’s quickly taken to the apron for a belly to back suplex. A big staredown takes us to a break. Back with Titus chopping the skin off Kofi’s chest (Jimmy: “THERE GO THE NIPPLE!”) before it’s off to Henry for a right hand to the ribs. Kofi makes a blind tag to Big E. as Jimmy says he thinks the Lucha Dragons should be #1 contenders. How rare is it to hear someone make an actual pick instead of just saying “oh it could be anyone.”?

Big E. sneaks in and takes Darren down as the New Day finally takes over. Woods whips Darren into a kick from Kofi, followed by a superkick. Big E. adds a Warrior splash for two but Young drops him with an enziguri, allowing for the hot tag to Titus. A powerslam plants Kofi but everything breaks down, allowing Henry to tag himself in. Titus catches Woods diving at him and fall away slams him into the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin at 10:56.

Rating: C. Well the ending was cool and I’m hoping this drops New Day out of the title match at Summerslam, or at least opens the doors for another team to get a chance. We’ve seen the Players vs. New Day twice already and it’s really not that interesting. This was a fine match though with everyone doing their thing and even some nice wrestling sequences to fill in the holes between spots.

Clip of Swerved.

Post break New Day says Mark Henry just beat them, not the Prime Time Players. Henry should have retired a long time ago and they will NOT stand for this negativity. They are clean and pristine and the next Tag Team Champions. There’s a new chant: “HEY! WE WANT SOME NEW DAY!”

Video on Charlotte.

Charlotte vs. Naomi

Feeling out process to start until Charlotte is taken into the corner for Naomi’s headscissors shake, which is still really stupid. Charlotte doesn’t take kindly to it either and slaps Naomi in the face, setting up an early Figure Eight but also drawing in Sasha Banks for the DQ at 1:56.

Time for a tag match playa! Who knew Mike Chioda was Teddy Long in disguise?

Charlotte/Becky Lynch vs. Naomi/Sasha Banks

Charlotte takes Sasha down to start before it’s off to Becky for a double elbow. Naomi comes in and elbows Becky in the head to take over but Lynch grabs some nice rollups for two each. Some snap legdrops from Becky set up a kneedrop from Charlotte for another two, followed by the rolling headscissors. Tamina offers a distraction because she’s still a thing, setting up a superkick to knock Charlotte out to the floor as B.A.D. takes over.

Naomi scores with a basement clothesline for two of her own and it’s chinlock time. Jimmy brings up Nikki being the Divas Champion and says until then, Team Bella is the winning team. I’m digging the stable wars idea, but Nikki needs to defend the thing already. Give her a squash win or something but she hasn’t defended the thing since Beast in the East. Sasha’s Backstabber sets up a double arm choke with her knees in the back instead of the Bank Statement, allowing Charlotte to roll free and flip Sasha backwards.

The tag brings in Becky for a bouncing kick to Naomi’s face, followed by a t-bone suplex for a near fall. That earns her a superkick and legdrop from Naomi and it’s time for another chinlock. We take a break and come back with Sasha kneeing Becky in the back and Naomi taunting Becky by making her look at Charlotte. Nice touch there.

Back to Sasha for a double arm choke until Becky is able to dive over for the tag off to Charlotte. A quick spear gets two on Sasha but Naomi comes in without a tag and takes Sasha’s place. They fight over a small package and Naomi gets the clean (well as clean as you can be while being in there illegally) pin at 14:58.

Rating: C+. Treat them seriously, get a good match. That’s one of the major things about this whole Divas Revolution idea: they’re treating the Divas seriously for a change and it’s become a much better division. This was another quality match which was given the time to get somewhere, which helps quite a bit. However, GET TO THE TITLE STUFF ALREADY.

Clips of Neville vs. Rollins on Raw.

Stardust vs. Zack Ryder

Before the match we get clips of Stardust calling out Stephen Amell on Raw, setting up a showdown on next week’s show. Ryder works on the arm to start but Stardust does a kind of handstand to kick Zack in the head. Off to a bow and arrow hold on Ryder but Zack flips out and scores with a flapjack. A middle rope missile dropkick sets up the Broski Boot but the Rough Ryder is countered, setting up the Queen’s Crossbow for the pin on Zack at 3:55.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure where this Stardust/Neville/Amell feud is going (though in theory it’s just a match at Summerslam with Amell in the corner) but I’m getting into this more and more every week. Then again it could be that I’m a comic book geek and really like Arrow and both guys are pretty awesome in their roles.

Stardust is thrilled that Amell is coming to Raw on Monday.

We see Heyman’s last rites promo from Raw. The line of “the match bigger than Wrestlemania” is a great touch.

Big Show is throwing punches in the back and says Ryback is like Rocky. The idea is fine, but Show’s Rocky voice is horrible. As for Miz, he’s trying to turn this part time role into a full time role, and if he doesn’t drop it, Big Show is going to turn his face into a Halloween mask.

Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

We get a big staredown to start in a vain attempt to recreate the awesome ending to the battle royal last year. They shove each other around to start with Rusev running Roman over, only to have Reigns do the same, followed by a headlock. Back up and Reigns is flipped over to the apron, where he punches and kicks Rusev in the face like a good gladiator should. Rusev is able to post him though and it’s off to a commercial.

We come back with Rusev holding a nerve hold to kill some time. A spinning belly to back suplex gets two on Reigns but he avoids a middle rope headbutt. Reigns finally scores with a clothesline, followed by another clothesline and then a series of clotheslines in the corner. After hitting the apron boot and spitting a bit, Reigns charges into what’s called a spinning heel kick but looked more like a flying hip to the face.

Rusev hammers away in the corner until Reigns powerbombs him down for two more. The Superman Punch connects but Summer starts lurking. Cue Lana for a catfight but Rusev nails Reigns with the superkick for two. Rusev freaks out over Reigns getting up at two and walks around long enough for Reigns to spear him down for the pin at 15:30.

Rating: C. Remember when pinning Rusev was a big deal? Well now it’s happened twice in a few weeks with Cesaro and Reigns both getting three on him. It’s not the biggest shock in the world as that’s the nature of undefeated monsters but it’s still a bit disappointing to see. This was fine for a Smackdown main event but not much more.

The show looks to be over but Bray Wyatt’s clapping hands appear on screen. He tried to warn Roman that Bray’s hands would be the ones that would tear down the Roman Empire. The challenge for Summerslam is accepted. Roman can bring his lunatic because Bray will bring his brother, because Bray welcomes this war.

Overall Rating: C+. This was fine. That’s about as much as I can think of for it though. The show had some good wrestling, some story advancement and absolutely nothing that is really going to matter once the next Raw comes and goes. It’s the nature of Smackdown: they can do whatever they want and it means nothing, which is likely going to be the case after they move to USA as well, but I can hope at least.

Results

Prime Time Players/Mark Henry b. New Day – World’s Strongest Slam to Woods

Charlotte b. Naomi via DQ when Sasha Banks interfered

Naomi/Sasha Banks b. Charlotte/Becky Lynch – Small package to Charlotte

Stardust b. Zack Ryder – Queen’s Crossbow

Roman Reigns b. Rusev – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

NXT
Date: August 5, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re on the road to Brooklyn and most of the card can be seen from here. With just three shows left, it’s time to add some build to a lot of the midcard matches as the main event is pretty much set. There’s a good chance we’ll be seeing more of Charlotte vs. Bayley tonight as Bayley is aiming for the Women’s Title again. Let’s get to it.

In memory of Roddy Piper.

Opening sequence.

Charlotte vs. Bayley

They’re starting fast this week as the bell rings less than three minutes into the show. After a handshake, Bayley grabs a headlock and takes Charlotte over, only to have Charlotte nip up to her feet. A hammerlock and headscissors earn similar results for Bayley but Charlotte comes back with the rolling figure four headscissors to put Bayley down hard. Things get a bit more aggressive as Bayley scores with some ax handles to the chest, only to get kneed in the face for two.

Back from a break with Bayley countering the Figure Eight into a small package for two of her own, followed by the middle rope elbow to the jaw. Bayley lifts her up onto the top rope for a hurricanrana (that’s a new one), dubbed awesome by the fans. They slug it out (fans: “WOMEN’S WRESTLING!”) and a spear gets two for Charlotte. The young Bayley fan in the crowd freaking out on these near falls is great to see. Charlotte gets the Figure Eight but Bayley is too close to the ropes.

They fight over a backslide with Bayley climbing the ropes and flipping over Charlotte into the Bayley to belly for……two? That’s a very rare kickout. Now a German gets two more on Charlotte so she rolls Bayley up, sending Bayley head first into the middle buckle for a cool move. Charlotte goes up but Bayley grabs a super Bayley to belly for the upset pin at 12:22. The same fan that freaked out on the kickout is shown crying.

Rating: B. This was a really fun back and forth match with both of them working hard to one up the other. The big spot to end the match makes more sense as Bayley had to bust out something big to finally beat Charlotte and prove she’s worthy of getting a shot. Above all else though, the young girl being happy tells you all you need to know about Bayley. Wrestling has rarely had a character girls her age can look up to and Bayley is nailing the role to perfection.

Post match Bayley gives the girl her headband. That’s awesome.

We get a sitdown interview with Kevin Owens, who doesn’t like Michael Cole implying that his apology for jumping Finn Balor and William Regal wasn’t sincere. Regal said he wanted to see Owens lose and it takes a real man to say that behind someone’s back. “Or a real man’s man should I say.”

Owens needs the NXT Title back, not just because it’s worth more money, but because it reminds him of what he did to Sami Zayn and he likes that feeling. However, he’s scared of Regal screwing him like Montreal, which is where Owens is from after all. Therefore, why not make the rematch a ladder match? Cole asks if Owens can beat Balor and Kevin walks off. I like making it a ladder match as we’ve covered a regular match so why bother doing it again?

Bull Dempsey doesn’t like the video of him trying to get in shape last week and wants to do it right. This doesn’t go well either but it’s to be continued.

Baron Corbin vs. Steve Cutler

I’m starting to recognize these jobbers. The jobber would be the guy losing to Corbin via End of Days at 22 seconds.

Bayley comes in to see William Regal and nervously asks him for a Women’s Title match. Regal thinks she deserves one, but so does Becky Lynch. Therefore, next week it’s Bayley vs. Becky for the shot at Sasha in Brooklyn. Regal throws in that Bayley is his niece’s favorite wrestler. I’m getting into this story more and more every week. I want to see Bayley win the Women’s Title and it’s going to be an awesome moment when she finally does.

Tyler Breeze vs. Aaron Solo

We haven’t see Tyler in the ring in awhile. Breeze stomps Solo down in the corner to start, then pounds him down on the mat, then hits the Beauty Shot for the pin at 52 seconds. Well that worked.

Post match here’s Regal to announce Tyler’s opponent: Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger. The fans are STUNNED and we get a Liger video, which is one of those things you never expected to see in WWE.

Uhaa Nation video, who is now known as Apollo Crews. His debut is in Brooklyn.

Finn Balor gets a sitdown interview of his own and talks about what an honor it is to be NXT Champion. He’s known Kevin Owens for about a year now and after getting to know him, he really isn’t surprised by what happened at the contract signing. Owens may be a man of words, but Balor is a man of actions, and Owens’ actions don’t back up his words. Sami Zayn has been helping Balor get ready for the title match and Finn doesn’t care if it’s a ladder match, a cage match or a street fight, because he’s going to prove that Tokyo wasn’t a fluke. When asked if the Demon will appear, Balor gives a vague “we’ll see.”

Dash and Dawson vs. Hype Bros

Mojo and Dawson get things going with Rawley cranking on a wristlock and bringing in Ryder for the double knees in the corner. We get a WOO WOO WOO chant to the New Day rhythm but a Dash distraction lets Dawson pull Ryder off the middle rope and take over. Ryder takes a quick double teaming before slipping over for the hot tag to Mojo. Rawley cleans house and holds up Dash for the elevated Rough Ryder and the pin at 3:33.

Rating: C. This tag division continues to have depth and I’m so glad that Ryder is getting some TV time out of the deal. I’ve never liked how WWE wasted him and it’s nice to see him getting something other than a jobber’s treatment. Mojo and Ryder compliment each other in a weird way and should be fine as a meal for some big heel team.

Dash and Dawson beat up Ryder post match and lay him out with the Shatter Machine.

The Vaudevillains are given a rematch for the NXT Tag Team Titles in Brooklyn. Regal advises them to come up with a way to counter Alexa Bliss.

Bull Dempsey has some more success with his training and seems to be making progress, even being able to turn over a big tire.

Rhyno vs. Samoa Joe

This should be a hard hitting ending to a pretty nothing feud. Joe fires off right hands to start but Rhyno rams him face first into the buckle. That’s fine with Joe who sends Rhyno outside and scores with the suicide dive. Back in and the corner enziguri drops Rhyno again but he comes back with a spinebuster as we take a break.

After the commercial it’s Joe coming back with an STO, earning him a TKO for two. Joe’s middle rope boot to the face puts Rhyno down but he grabs a belly to belly. The Gore hits a boot so Rhyno settles for a clothesline for two instead. Rhyno makes the mistake of going to the middle rope, earning himself another enziguri and the Muscle Buster for the pin at 12:57.

Rating: C-. It’s a good enough power brawl but Joe is still “Samoa Joe: that guy you’ve seen elsewhere”. He hasn’t been wasted but after a big debut, Joe has just been a midcarder doing nothing of note since. I could see him being the opponent for Corbin in Brooklyn though, followed by a run higher up on the NXT ladder.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, NXT provides a great blueprint for how to build up a big show. They didn’t have much of a midcard set for Brooklyn but in an hour they set up a Women’s Title match, a Tag Team Title match and a match with a legend, along with (for all intents and purposes) adding a stipulation for the title match. I had a good time with this show, but swapping the opener and main event would have been a good idea.

Results

Bayley b. Charlotte – Super Bayley to belly

Baron Corbin b. Steve Culter – End of Days

Tyler Breeze b. Aaron Solo – Beauty Shot

Hype Bros b. Dash and Dawson – Middle rope Rough Ryder to Dash

Samoa Joe b. Rhyno – Muscle Buster

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 3, 2015
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

We have less than three weeks to go until Summerslam and the big question is whether or not John Cena will be able to breathe well enough to challenge Seth Rollins for the World Title. Rollins broke Cena’s nose last week to put him on the shelf, but tonight is all about Brock Lesnar, who is back to address the issues with Undertaker from two weeks ago. Let’s get to it.

As you might expect, this show is dedicated to Rowdy Roddy Piper and we get a ten bell salute with the roster on stage in Hot Rod shirts.

We see the Piper tribute video, set to a song about never taking your life for granted.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Seth Rollins, in a NEVER SHUTS UP shirt to mock Cena, with something to say. Rollins says he’s the only person that can slow himself down but he has a problem with sympathy. Last week he destroyed John Cena’s nose and if a picture is worth 1000 words, then this video is priceless. We see the knee to the nose from last week (that’s four times tonight) and hear a THANK YOU ROLLINS chant from the crowd.

Rollins didn’t feel bad about what happened because he’ll break more noses down the line. However, it’s the first time he broke the nose of the face that runs this place. We see some post show pictures of Cena’s nose and my goodness it looks awful. As soon as Rollins saw that, he knew that it was time to stop the match and award him the US Title, but Cena took advantage of the sympathy and stole a win.

That will never happen again, so Rollins has a proposition for Cena: one more match at Summerslam, title for title. If Cena doesn’t accept, Cena should just forfeit the title to Rollins, who promises to walk out with the belt anyway. As for tonight, San Jose is the place to be. “Not because of any of you. It’s because I’m here.” This is the place where John Cena held his first US Open Challenge, but everyone knows Rollins can do anything Cena does even better, so let’s have a WWE World Heavyweight Championship Open Challenge…….now.

After a break, Jojo is in the ring to ask Rollins about the open challenge. There are two rules to this challenge: the opponent must be under 6’0 and under 200lbs. Therefore, the only option is El Torito. Torito’s music starts playing but that’s not who comes out.

WWE World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Neville

The fans are behind Neville as he spins out of a wristlock to start. Neville flips over him in the corner and Seth gets caught in the running hurricanrana but is smart enough to roll away before the Red Arrow can launch. Instead it’s a cross body to put Rollins on the floor and a huge corkscrew dive to take him out as we go to a break. Back with the champion in control and getting two off a running clothesline.

Off to a chinlock for a bit before Neville comes back by superkicking Rolling out of the air. A German suplex off the ropes followed by a dropkick get another two, followed by the delayed German for a third straight near fall. The Pedigree is countered into a rollup for a two so close that the fans gasp at the kickout.

Seth goes up top but Neville is right there with a top rope hurricanrana, setting up the Red Arrow for three but Rollins had a foot on the ropes. Dang these are some hot near falls. JBL has the right idea: “COVER HIM AGAIN!” Neville takes his sweet time before going up again and only hits the mat. The Pedigree retains Rollins’ title at 13:16.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match that Rollins needed after last week’s loss. It’s no classic or anything but Rollins won clean over a guy he should have beaten. Neville loses nothing by getting pinned and Rollins gets a good looking win. What more can you possibly ask for in a TV match?

New Day/Ascension vs. Lucha Dragons/Los Matadores

Rematch from Smackdown with the Prime Time Players on commentary again. Los Matadores double team Kofi to start and a springboard flip dive gets two for Diego. Viktor comes in and kicks Diego to the floor and we go to a break. Back with Diego getting dropkicked down for two before it’s off to Viktor for a jumping knee to the face. Diego dives over for the hot tag to Sin Cara as everything breaks down. Cara hits a bunch of dives to the floor and Kalisto gets two on Kofi off a high cross body. Xavier kicks Torito away but the distraction lets Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise for the pin on Kalisto at 8:24.

Rating: D+. Why do I bother watching Smackdown? They did the same match on Smackdown but for some reason this one matters more. I’m guessing we get New Day vs. Prime Time Players for a third straight pay per view because Kalisto rolling Viktor up on Smackdown to win the same match doesn’t count.

Bella Twins vs. Charlotte/Becky Lynch

In pre-match video inserts, the Bellas say the Divas Revolution started when Nikki won the Divas Title and Charlotte/Becky/Paige dub themselves the Submission Sorority. I’ve heard worse names and at least it’s not Team “Insert Name Here”. Becky takes over on Brie to start before it’s off to Charlotte vs. Nikki with the champ coming in off a blind tag. They trade front facelocks until Charlotte grabs a cravate.

A Figure Eight attempt is countered and Nikki pulls Charlotte off the middle rope for two. Brie comes back in for a chinlock but Charlotte fights out (because it’s Brie Bella) and tags in Becky to clean house. The Disarm-Her has Brie in trouble until a rope is grabbed and Nikki takes Becky down as we go to a break.

Back with Becky fighting out of Nikki’s chinlock but walking into a facebuster for two. Brie stomps away in the corner (thank goodness she stopped doing the lame attempts at YES Kicks) and gets two of her own off a bulldog. Becky fights out of a chinlock and makes the tag to Charlotte, who runs over Nikki with a neckbreaker and spear. Everything breaks down and Nikki plants Charlotte with a spinebuster for two. Charlotte gets right back up though and the Figure Eight makes Nikki tap at 13:14.

Rating: C. I really don’t like it when WWE wastes my time. I’d assume this sets up Charlotte’s title shot at Summerslam, where I’d bet quite heavily that Nikki retains through shenanigans to get to the middle of September and the record because Heaven forbid a current WWE Diva doesn’t hold a record that the fans only care about because Cole and company keep telling us about it.

Team Bad isn’t pleased with all the attention Paige is getting so tonight it’s Paige vs. Naomi. Naomi even throws in an insult to Ronda Rousey for claiming that she’s the baddest woman on the planet. Something tells me that’s not going anywhere, but my goodness it would be entertaining if it did.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz in a Hot Rod shirt and a kilt. Before he gets going, Miz says that there wouldn’t be a MizTV, a Heartbreak Hotel, a Highlight Reel or any other talk show without the original Piper’s Pit, because Piper was the best ever at this and he’ll be missed. Here here Miz.

After a legitimately cool moment, Miz talks about his accomplishments and describes himself as on fire right now. That brings him to his guests tonight: two men who have also been on fire recently: Cesaro and Kevin Owens. Kevin is out first and sucks up to Miz a bit by saying he owns all of Miz’s movies on DVD. Before Cesaro can get much further though, here is Cesaro in a suit to interrupt.

Miz makes sure Cesaro isn’t here for a fight but Cesaro says he’s just here to hear what Walk Owens Walk has to say. Kevin gets right to the point: Cesaro is jealous of him because of Owens accomplishing all of the things that Cesaro never could, including beating John Cena. Owens says Cesaro has been whining about missing all those life moments, but no matter what he does, Cesaro will never be better than Owens because Cesaro lacks the love for this business.

Cesaro says the real lack of respect and love is shown every time Owens walks away from a match because it makes Owens an embarrassment. Kevin is ready to fight but says tonight isn’t the right price. “Yeah why don’t you do what you do best and walk Owens walk.” Miz tells Cesaro to go do something but Owens jumps them both from behind, only to run away when Cesaro gets up. Good, solid program building segment here.

We get a clip of Ronda Rousey paying tribute to Roddy Piper after her win on Saturday night.

Rusev vs. Mark Henry

Can we just have Henry tap out now and save five minutes? Rusev stomps away in the corner but gets shoved down, only to come back with a dropkick for one. Off to a front facelock from the Russian, followed by a pair of jumping superkicks for the pin at 2:05.

Rusev gives him a third superkick for good measure.

Clip of Swerved.

Bray Wyatt rips the petals off a flower and compares it to Roman Reigns when you rip away everything that the world sees. Roman is no different than anyone else. Harper warned Ambrose but Dean chose wrong. Sheamus comes in and says he’s going to make this short and painful. Bray likes the idea of the enemy of his enemy being his friend.

Zack Ryder vs. King Barrett

Barrett says Ryder is King of the Internet (wasn’t that like three years ago?) but there’s no crown on his head. A knee to the ribs puts Ryder down and it’s off to an early chinlock. Ryder fights up and hits the Broski Boot but Barrett throws him into the buckle to break up the Rough Ryder, setting up the Bull Hammer to give Barrett the pin at 1:56.

Here’s Paul Heyman to talk about the Undertaker attacking Brock Lesnar two weeks back. We see a clip of the end of Battleground, but Heyman says that’s a different Undertaker than we’ve seen running roughshod over the WWE in the last 25 years. Would you ever see the old Undertaker kicking Brock Lesnar in the groin? Of course not, because the old Undertaker wasn’t scared of anything. We see a clip of the brawl from two weeks ago and Heyman brings up the 1 in 22-1 before bringing out Brock himself.

Lesnar doesn’t immediately get in the ring but rather throws some steps inside. With Brock standing on the steps, Heyman has a story to tell us. After the beating last year, Undertaker called Vince McMahon and begged for a rematch with Brock at this year’s Wrestlemania. Vince wisely said no because he knew what would happen the next time the Undertaker faces Brock, leaving Undertaker to do what he did at Battleground this year.

The WWE had to book the match at this point because the match was going to have to happen somewhere. Heyman says this isn’t just the rematch of the year, decade or century. This is the rematch that is bigger than Wrestlemania. Undertaker may look big and bad but he’s going to Suplex City. Last time Undertaker needed a year to recover, but this time he’ll rest in pieces as his career receives last rites at the hands of the conqueror. Heyman had me at that bigger than Wrestlemania line.

Here are the same Cena pictures from earlier tonight.

Paige vs. Naomi

They lock up to start and Paige actually gets a two count out of it. That’s a new idea. Paige takes her into the corner but Naomi catches her in her corner headscissors and shake which does nothing, aside from look stupid of course. A kick to the head gets two for Naomi and it’s time for a chinlock.

That goes nowhere so Naomi bends the ribs around the post and drives Paige back first into the apron. Paige fights out of another chinlock and scores with a fall away slam before sending Naomi face first into the buckle. A kick to the head staggers Paige but Naomi misses a high cross body, allowing Paige to slap on the PTO for the submission at 7:28.

Rating: C. At least Paige got to win something for a change. I like the submissions idea a lot as it fits their characters and adds a new dimension to the Divas instead of their one or two signature moves. Naomi has gotten lost in the shuffle of this whole thing but it’s nice to see her getting some time like this.

Clips of Neville vs. Rollins.

Stardust laughs at Neville for listening to the fans chant ONE MORE TIME and losing earlier.

Roddy Piper tribute video.

Ambrose and Reigns say they’re all out of bubblegum. It’s time to bust some heads and Orton comes in to agree, as long as he gets Sheamus to himself.

Arrow’s Stephen Amell will be here next week.

Luke Harper/Bray Wyatt/Sheamus vs. Randy Orton/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns

Ambrose and Harper get things going with Dean throwing Luke outside. Everyone else comes in for a brawl and the villains are knocked to the floor, setting up Dean’s big elbow to take us to a break. Back with Reigns taking Sheamus’ head off with a running right hand to take the fight back outside. That goes nowhere so Reigns comes back in and says he wants Wyatt but it’s Harper first. Dean comes in to hammer away in the corner but Harper dropkicks him in the face to get a breather. Now Wyatt is willing to come in and hammer away before knocking Dean off the top and out to the floor for a rare second break.

Back again with Harper and Ambrose trading slams, allowing Dean to make the tag off to Orton for the powerslam to Wyatt. Sheamus takes a right hand as well and Orton counters the Rock Bottom into the backbreaker to put everyone not named Randy down. Harper breaks up the RKO to Bray with the discus lariat before getting dropkicked out to the floor by Dean.

That earns Ambrose a big boot to the face but Reigns takes Harper out, leaving us with Roman vs. Sheamus in the ring. Everything breaks down again and Reigns takes Bray and Sheamus down with apron boots. Both guys get Superman Punches to go with them but it’s Harper again with a superkick to take Roman down. Ambrose tries to dive on Harper but has to fight out of Sister Abigail first. An RKO drops Wyatt and Sheamus eats Reigns’ spear for the pin at 16:25.

Rating: C+. Nice main event tag here with the good guys looking awesome and Harper continuing to show how awesome he can be in the ring by doing things that just aren’t normal for someone his size. This helped set up Summerslam a bit more as you can pretty much guarantee Orton vs. Sheamus and the tag match. Good stuff here.

Overall Rating: C. I liked the show but as is the case so often with Raw, the length took away a lot of the good feelings it had built up. They’re building to what should be a strong Summerslam, but these Raw’s aren’t the easiest to sit through. They just go on too long and whatever they have going is often replaced by thoughts of “let this end already.”

Results

Seth Rollins b. Neville – Pedigree

New Day/Ascension b. Lucha Dragons/Los Matadores – Trouble in Paradise to Kalisto

Charlotte/Becky Lynch b. Bella Twins – Figure Eight to Nikki

Rusev b. Mark Henry – Jumping superkick

King Barrett b. Zack Ryder – Bull Hammer

Paige b. Naomi – PTO

Randy Orton/Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose b. Sheamus/Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper – Spear to Sheamus

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Uh…..I really don’t have much of an intro here. We’re coming up on Summerslam and this is one of the Raw’s on the way there. Let’s get to it.

The big opening talking segment was, of course, the Authority and Seth Rollins. The idea of this one was to make Raw a night of first, including Big Show vs. Dean Ambrose. In the words of Jon Stewart, let me stop you right there. Much like a lot of these first time EVER matches, just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea. I mean, we could have Blake from NXT come up and fight Hornswoggle. IT’S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE so that makes it cool right? I don’t know of anyone who would go out of their way to see Big Show vs. Ambrose, nor do I see a lot of fans being happy with the outcome.

Other than that, we’re also getting, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER SO YOU KNOW IT’S AWESOME: Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton, Paige vs. Sasha Banks (well for the first time on Raw at least) and Alicia Fox/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Charlotte. In other words we have “man Owens gets to lose again?”, “that could be good” and “well at least we have something to look at.” This is their big solution for the ratings being so far down?

Finally, Rollins ran his mouth for a long time until Cena came down and thought he should get a title shot against Rollins for the first time ever on Raw. HHH thought it was a great idea but made it a US Title shot instead, which pretty much sealed the winner, or at least who was walking out with the title, as soon as the words were out of his mouth. We’ll come back to the match later for a change, but the talking segment took too long to get to the point.

Big Show beat Dean Ambrose via countout, with the idea being that Ambrose kept fighting but couldn’t put Big Show down. I like the plan, but Big Show has lost to people like Miz recently. So Miz is tougher/smarter than Ambrose? I don’t know of anyone who would buy that but it’s what we’re supposed to believe now?

In theory they’re building up Big Show for someone, but they could have given anyone a rub with the same ending. Ambrose looks weaker than usual by comparison but we’re supposed to cheer him anyway because Dean is bulletproof, which WWE interprets as loss proof. Dean sidestepping a post match spear was supposed to make up for it or something but as is so typically the case, it doesn’t work like WWE thinks it does.

Neville beat Fandango and listened to Stardust rant about saving the WWE Universe from false hope. The more I see of this feud the more I like it, but I have a bad feeling they won’t get enough time at Summerslam. You know, the FOUR HOUR show.

Paige and Sasha traded some insults before Sasha made Paige tap clean. This was a solid, long match with some arm work for a story, but more important than anything else, the match felt important. I wanted to see where it was going instead of having two girls out there to waste everyone’s time. That’s a major step forward and a completely new way to look at the division.

Rusev gave Summer Rae a dog named Ziggler and a fish with no head. Lana came out, beat Summer up and shoved her face into the fish. I really don’t think this needs any further explanation.

The Lucha Dragons beat Los Matadores as the Prime Time Players were on commentary. This was little more than an excuse to have the New Day come out, though it seems to set up a multi-team title match at Summerslam. The idea is fine, but again it makes last week’s loss look like a waste of time.

Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper did a long in ring promo where they talked about Harper coming home. Since this was Wyatt though, it took him five minutes to get to the point, even though we knew the point in the first place. It was still effective though and you can feel the old Wyatt vibes coming back. Now, that being said, none of it matters if the Wyatts are treated like jobbers all over the place, especially Bray himself.

Becky Lynch/Charlotte beat Nikki Bella/Alicia Fox in a match taking place FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER when Lynch made Fox tap. As usual, there was nothing of note involving Nikki because she isn’t the longest reigning Divas Champion yet and therefore nothing can happen, at least not until there’s roughly a week before the record is broken.

Kevin Owens and Randy Orton had a pretty lame match until Sheamus came in for the DQ. Owens is pretty firmly in that transitional period between main eventer and midcard but you can see him trending down. Cesaro came in for a save but ate a powerbomb, likely setting up a tag match at some point in the near future. There’s nothing wrong with combining two feuds into one.

The big main event was a good fight between Cena and Rollins where Cena retained the US Title. They beat each other up and put on an entertaining match as you would expect, but of course the story here is John Cena’s nose, which pretty much erupted due to a knee to the face.

The big question now is whether Cena is going to be back for Summerslam. They never actually announced Cena vs. Rollins for the pay per view, but at least there’s an easy reason why Cena isn’t fighting. Everyone say the nose and it was hardly something you could hide. Keep Cena off TV until Summerslam if you can, but if you can’t……I’m really not sure what you do. Make Undertaker vs. Lesnar a triple threat with Rollins for the title I guess, because there aren’t a lot of other options, unless you throw Orton out there again. I mean, it’s not like you can give someone new a shot right?

This show was a copy of last week’s but with Cena and Rollins in Lesnar and Undertaker’s places. They’re both one idea shows with some midcard stuff thrown in, and that’s all these shows should have been. The main event and what should be the other main event assuming Cena can breathe by then are both set and you can build the rest of the card from here. It’s one of those shows where you knew what was going to happen from the opening bell but there’s nothing wrong with that. Good, effective show this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

And I was very surprised.This book received some rave reviews when it came out and my first reaction was “but it’s Bob Holly.”  I mean, the guy wasn’t exactly a huge star over the years but people were losing their minds over this.  I started reading it on Friday and I was done by the end of Saturday because I couldn’t put it down.

Holly has a style that is every easy to read and he has no problem ripping on anyone he didn’t like.  That being said, he’s just as willing to praise anyone who he thinks is worthy of it and there are several names he likes quite a bit.  There are a lot of good stories in here, but the tone is what makes it work.

Holly is really good at keeping things simple and doesn’t seem to think he’s the greatest thing in the history of wrestling, which is really refreshing.  Yeah he has some issues with some pushes being stopped on a moment’s notice and some criticisms of some booking decisions, but he keeps coming back to the same line: it was his job and he did what he was told to do because he had to pay his bills.  So many wrestlers seem to forget that they’re employees at a job.  If you told your boss that you weren’t going to do something, how well do you think it would go?

This is a rare wrestling book that really is worth checking out as it’s awesome stuff and a very easy read.  Holly is a guy who knows his place in wrestling and was around for some of the most important moments in wrestling history.  There are some things in there that I don’t agree with, but it’s never dull and worth a read.

I knocked this out tonight instead of Thursday so we’ll see how this goes early instead of waiting for showtime.

Smackdown
Date: July 30, 2015
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Jimmy Uso, Jerry Lawler, Tom Phillips

Smackdown has the potential to be interesting this week as we could get some more midcard build for Summerslam, which could be some of the more interesting stuff going on in WWE at the moment. The big story is likely to be Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens, which could be the match of the night at the pay per view. I don’t like that many could’s. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Seth Rollins to open things up. Seth: “SO WHAT?” Those are the words he’s heard so many times over the year. He heard them when he was the first person to cash in Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania and the man who stood toe to toe with Brock Lesnar at Battleground and came out with the title. This past Monday he reached his breaking point and the victim of his rage was John Cena, who went to the emergency room with a broken nose.

We see a clip of the knee that broke Cena’s nose and Rollins calls himself an artist, but here’s Cesaro to interrupt. Cesaro really doesn’t want to hear Rollins go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about how great he thinks he is like he does every single week. See, Rollins is leaving out the part where Cena made him tap out. Rollins calls it a strategic move that he made because he has bigger things to worry about than the US Title. Cesaro says he’ll see Rollins later tonight, unless they both want to have their match right now.

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins

Non-title. Cesaro goes after the leg with some dragon screw leg whips to start but the threat of a Sharpshooter sends the champ bailing to the floor. Cue Kevin Owens to watch as we take a break. Back with Rollins holding a headlock and Owens’ head holding a headset for commentary. Cesaro double stomps Seth for two and catches a diving Rollins in midair. That’s not enough of a power display for Cesaro though so he throws Rollins up for a suplex. As I say every week, that man is scary strong.

Rollins is able to send him into the buckle with the release Downward Spiral and now it’s Seth with the European uppercuts for a change of pace. A chinlock doesn’t get Rollins very far as Cesaro powers out (I’m as shocked as you are) with a belly to back suplex. Cesaro loads up the Swing but Owens comes in for the DQ at 8:35.

Rating: C. This was fun while it lasted but it didn’t have enough time to go anywhere, especially with a good chunk of this match taking place in the commercial. Cesaro vs. Owens could be one heck of a brawl, especially if they let them have fifteen minutes or so. I mean, it’s a four hour show so there’s no reason every match shouldn’t have a lot of time right? Assuming there’s no lame musical guest so……yeah Cesaro vs. Owens is going to be lucky to get eight minutes right?

Owens lays out Cesaro and Rollins gets in a few shots of his own.

Los Matadores/Lucha Dragons vs. New Day/Ascension

Weren’t the two masked teams fighting on Monday? Before the match, New Day says the Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores could be #1 contenders, so if New Day wins tonight, they should be the #1 contenders! After some WAY over the top introductions, it’s Woods on the floor as Diego leg sweeps Viktor to start. A slingshot elbow from Diego sets up a slingshot hilo from Sin Cara, who starts working on the arm.

It’s off to Konnor for some hard kicks to the ribs before New Day breaks up a dive and sends Cara out to the floor. Well that sucks. Back from a break with Woods calling Cara stupid as the villains take turns stomping away in the corner. Viktor’s chinlock doesn’t work very well as the Players say they’d love to face the Usos. Big E. holds Cara for a running knee to the face (well mask) from Kofi as Woods is still going on.

Darren passes the time by wearing glasses and taking notes. That’s not something you often see but it makes sense. Viktor runs Cara over for two more as hear about Big E. making Young sick for some reason that Young doesn’t want to get into. A Crossface keeps Cara in trouble but he finally avoids a charge, allowing for the Kalisto. Everything breaks down and Kalisto kicks Big E. down, leaving Torito to hit a kind of 619 to knock Woods silly. Big E. loads up the Midnight Hour but Viktor takes Kofi’s tag, only to get rolled up by Kalisto for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. Standard face in peril tag match here but I liked Woods on the floor and the Players on commentary. They’re setting up some decent stuff here with the division, but it says a lot that the NXT tag team division has equal depth with half the roster. I could see a big multi-team match at Summerslam, even though I’m really not a fan of them. Just give me a feud with a story.

Owens is told that the Authority has made Owens/Rollins vs. Cesaro/whomever he can find. Kevin isn’t pleased and is going to take it out on Cesaro’s partner.

Video on Becky Lynch, complete with some old school pictures of her in Japan with Natalya.

Luke Harper says Bray Wyatt saved him by showing him the truth so now Harper has everything he needs. Wyatt talks about Harper liking where he is now and deciding to stay. Anyone but you Roman.

Rusev comes out for his match but first up he and Summer have something to say…..about the fish thing from Raw. Lana ruined the hot Summer because she’s jealous and now Rusev would never fall for her again. After winning tonight, Rusev is going to take Summer and Dog Ziggler for a walk anywhere but Oklahoma. Maybe they’ll lay on a blanket, stare into each other’s eyes and….oh geez here we go again.

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger

SERIOUSLY??? Well to be fair we’re in Oklahoma and Swagger hasn’t lost to Rusev recently. Swagger starts with some AMERICAN armdrags to send Rusev outside as Tom makes the mistake of talking about their rivalry last year, because that’s so thrilling to hear about. Back in and Swagger wrestles him to the mat but Rusev just throws him into the corner and drives a knee into the face.

Rusev starts in on the back but since Swagger used to be something years ago, Rusev can’t just beat him in three minutes and shorten our agony. The slow stomping continues as the fans try to believe. So Oklahoma is the new center of delusion? Swagger comes back with some clotheslines and punches in the corner, only to have Rusev blast him in the face as we go to a break, because this feud just has to keep going. Back with Rusev holding a front facelock as the fans are already dying.

Swagger fights up and kicks Rusev’s ducked face but the Vader Bomb misses. Instead Jack plants him with a belly to belly and is promptly nailed with a spinwheel kick. The back and forth continues as Swagger goes after the leg to set up the Vader Bomb. Tom: “What is it going to take to put away Rusev?” A different opponent Tom. The superkick sets up the Accolade so Swagger can tap to Rusev at 14:40, because that’s the entirety of Swagger’s job description.

Rating: D. I know I wanted the old Rusev back but did we really need to see ANOTHER destruction of Jack Swagger? I know he isn’t ever going anywhere but good grief we get the point already. Find ANYONE else, even if it’s some rookie jobber, for Rusev to beat up every time you want to do Rusev vs. Swagger because it’s dead.

Post match Swagger pulls himself up and avoids a charge, followed by the Patriot Lock to Rusev for Oklahoma’s consolation prize.

Cesaro isn’t going to hunt for a partner because no one here owes him anything. He’s gotten here on his own (I’d try to forget the Heyman era too) and if he has to, he’ll fight on his own. I liked this but Cesaro can’t connect to me so maybe it’s a desire for nachos that I’m interpreting as caring about a wrestler.

We recap Neville vs. Stardust. It might not lead anywhere, but it’s certainly different.

Stardust vs. R-Truth

R-Truth has been using that theme song for over 12 years. When is it time that he gets started? He’s really bad about procrastinating. They run the ropes to start and we get a bit of an awkward pause as Truth has to hit a running fist to take over. Stardust gets in some shots, R-Truth gets in his kicks, Stardust sends him into the buckle and the Queen’s Crossbow (Cross Rhodes) is good for the pin at 2:01.

Stardust says Neville has failed this city (a line from Arrow) so here’s Neville to save Truth from further beating. Again, nothing great, but I’m kind of liking this.

Sheamus says he kicked Orton in the face on Monday for Orton showing him up at Battleground. He did it because he’s a real man, unlike Orton who just thinks he’s a real man. How many REAL MAN characters are there going these days? The idea of WWE without Orton is like Oklahoma without Tulsa: a dream come true. Hey, did you know that Vince hates Oklahoma?

Video on Undertaker vs. Lesnar. Brock is back on Monday.

Cesaro/??? vs. Kevin Owens/Seth Rollins

Cesaro is here alone until Dean Ambrose comes down as a surprise. It’s a big brawl before the bell with the good guys cleaning house twice in a row as we wait for the opening bell. We take a break and come back with the bell (THANK YOU!), meaning it’s Dean vs. Seth before Cesaro quickly comes in to keep the champ on the mat. Owens gets punched off the apron but the distraction lets Rollins gets in a shot to take over.

The bad guys take over with Owens firing off knees in the corner and it’s back to Rollins for a chinlock. Back to Owens for some right hands for two (seriously?) and a chinlock of his own. Rollins comes back in and misses the top rope knee to the head, allowing the hot tag to Dean. He backdrops Seth to the floor for a suicide dive. Dean’s superplex doesn’t work as well as Rollins counters into a buckle bomb for two. You wouldn’t expect a power move like that to work for someone like Rollins but he makes it look good.

The top rope knee to the head and low superkick get two more but Owens takes too much time going up and gets crotched for his efforts. You don’t try to superplex Kevin Owens though as he counters into the swinging superplex for another near fall as Cesaro dives in with a double stomp for the save. The backsplash misses too and it’s the real hot tag to Cesaro.

That kind of reverse Angle Slam sets up the Crossface on Owens but Rollins’ attempt at a save earns him a Swing. Cesaro clotheslines Owens outside, leaving Dean to stop Rollins from diving on the two of them. Instead Dean superplexes Rollins down, only to have Owens try the Pop Up Powerbomb. Dean is ready though and slips out, setting up a rollup from Cesaro for the pin on Kevin at 14:03.

Rating: B-. I had a better time with this than I was expecting as it felt like an old Coliseum Video exclusive where they took two random pairings and gave them time to have a fun match. It’s nice to see Cesaro getting a big win for a change, but I’m not sure where Owens goes if he loses at Summerslam.

Overall Rating: C. The main event and Rusev vs. Swagger mess cancel each other out so we’ll say the show was in the middle. I can easily live with Smackdown as a wrestling heavy show focusing on the midcard instead of the lame show it’s been for so long, though I have almost no faith in WWE to keep this up. Maybe they’ll start fixing things when Smackdown moves to USA in January, but I don’t have a reason to get my hopes up. Fun enough show this week if you ignore the really dull Rusev vs. Swagger mess.

Results

Cesaro b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Kevin Owens interfered

Los Matadores/Lucha Dragons b. New Day/Ascension – Rollup to Viktor

Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade

Stardust b. R-Truth – Queen’s Crossbow

Cesaro/Dean Ambrose b. Kevin Owens/Seth Rollins – Rollup to Owens

NXT
Date: July 29, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We have a clear path towards Takeover: Brooklyn now with a main event of Finn Balor defending against Kevin Owens in a rematch from their Beast in the East showdown. Other than that it seems that we’re going to get Bayley challenging for the Women’s Title, but first she wants to get through Charlotte. However, Charlotte first wants to go through Dana Brooke, who she faces tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Cass keeps it simple here, just saying that you’re S-A-W-F-T if you’re not a certified G. Enzo and Scott get things going with Enzo taking it to the mat and walking over Dawson’s back so he can do some dancing. Everything is about to break down when Dawson and Wilder realize that Cass is a foot taller than everyone else in the ring. Off to Cass, who seems to be a bit more over with the fans.

Back to Enzo for two on Wilder from a high cross body, only to charge shoulder first into the post. Wilder and Dawson start alternating as we get some NXT house show ads. The heels crank on the arm and Wilder stops Enzo from diving through the legs for a hot tag. A slingshot suplex (that’s so appropriate for a team like these two) gets two on Enzo but the bad guys collide, allowing for the hot tag to Big Cass. Everything breaks down and Enzo chases Wilder around the ring, only to be caught in a 3D into a Codebreaker (Shatter Machine) to give Wilder the pin at 6:39.

Rating: C. Well ok then. Unless they’re going to do a quick turn around and put Enzo and Cass in the title match in Brooklyn, I can’t imagine these two are going to be around NXT much longer. There’s not much left for them to do in NXT if they’re not going to win the titles, so let them go replace Santino on Raw.

Chad Gable and Jason Jordan say they’re not your common team but they get things done when they need to. They’re not as loud as the Hype Bros or Enzo/Cass, but they find a way to win. Jason doesn’t want to say they’re ready, willing and Gable.

We recap Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke, which is over Charlotte being in the Tap Out commercial, because Dana says Charlotte has been given all of her chances because of her last name. Dana wants a match to show her abilities and gets her chance tonight.

Baron Corbin vs. Jesse Sorensen

Yes that’s TNA’s Jesse Sorensen and he gets taken out by End of Days in 22 seconds.

Tyler Breeze comes in to Regal’s office and yells about Regal not answering his Twitter, Facebook or Instagram messages. Regal: “I sent a carrier pigeon.” Breeze will fight anyone from around the world but Regal says be careful what you wish for.

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable vs. Elias Samson/Levis Valenzuela Jr.

Jordan rides Levis down to start so it’s off to Samson (who looks like Damien Sandow and Wade Barrett’s lovechild) who wants Gable. Chad comes in and casually spins out of a wristlock before taking Samson down to the mat and cranking on the legs. Chad’s smile as he does this is great stuff. Back up and Levis gets in a knee to Gable’s back to take over before a slam gets two. Chad shrugs it off (because it’s just a slam) and makes the hot tag to Jason, who quickly puts on the double belly to back suplex (now called the Grand Amplitude) for the pin on Levis at 4:23.

Rating: D+. They’ve got something special here with Gable. The guy has that grin that is so cocky that you want to cheer him and see him get his face kicked in at the same time but can also get on the mat with anyone NXT has to offer. The finisher is great too and the pair have great chemistry together. Well done NXT as they develop more teams in a year than WWE has developed in the last ten years.

Dana Brooke is ready to conquer Charlotte, just like she’s conquered everything else she’s ever done. So she’s the female Brock Lesnar?

We recap Bull Dempsey’s struggles to stay in shape before seeing him trying to work out at the Performance Center. This goes badly, though some of it might have to do with his workout gear looking like it’s made of trash bags. The tagline is “It’s time to get Bull-Fit”, which is kind of catchy. There’s comedy potential here at least.

Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke

Charlotte shoves her down to start but has to go after Emma. The distraction doesn’t work for once but Dana is able to pound Charlotte down in the corner for two. It’s off to a bodyscissors on Charlotte until she lifts Dana up, only to have Brooke fall on top for two. Brooke cranks on an arm and a leg on the mat while shouting about Charlotte wanting to pose for Tap Out. A catapult sends Charlotte throat first into the bottom rope but she pops up with a neckbreaker and spear, followed by Natural Selection for the pin at 4:23.

Rating: C-. Not much of a match here as Charlotte shrugged off everything thrown at her and just beat Brooke up for the pin. Still though, that’s kind of the point as Charlotte is on to something bigger and better while Brooke is just kind of there at this point. Emma could still do something entertaining though and that’s all she needs to do, especially with so many of the NXT girls moving up to the main roster.

Samoa Joe is targeting Rhyno because they’re both predators. Joe is going to choke Rhyno out.

Last week, Regal was upset that Kevin Owens ran him over, but Owens comes up and apologizes for going into fight or flight mode. Regal can’t wait to see him take a beating.

Eva Marie says last week was just the beginning and she’s coming for Sasha Banks and the title. They really can’t be serious can right?

Kevin Owens vs. Martin Stone

Stone is a British wrestler who looks like a shorter Luke Gallows. Owens nails a clothesline to start and the backsplash. Stone runs into a release German suplex, followed by the Cannonball, a swanton bomb and the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 1:48. Total squash.

Owens gives Stone an apron powerbomb post match.

Video on Rhyno’s time in NXT.

Tag Team Titles: Blake/Murphy vs. Vaudevillains

Blake and Murphy are defending. Fans: “DOWN WITH DUBSTEP!” Blake and Gotch fight over a top wristlock to start until Simon grabs a monkey flip into a cross armbreaker, followed by a dropkick for two. English comes in and stays right on Blake with a top wristlock of his own. Murphy comes in but both champions take Japanese armdrags as this is all Vaudevillains so far.

Back from a break with the Vaudevillains working on Murphy’s arm some more. English throws both champs to the floor but Blake is able to kick him in the side of the head to finally take over. Running forearms in the corner set up a chinlock on Aiden but he fights up and dives over for a tag to Simon. Fans: “OH MY GOTCH!” Gotch cleans house and the Whirling Dervish is loaded up, only to have Bliss grad English’s leg, allowing Blake to roll him up and grab the tights to retain at 10:18.

Rating: C. This was a squash until the ending which seems to be there to set up a rematch in Brooklyn. The Vaudevillains are ready to take the titles as Blake and Murphy feel like a glorified transitional team and have since they won the belts. Bliss is the star of the team but they’re far from bad.

The Vaudevillains clean house until they’re alone with Bliss. Fans: “CHIVALRY! CHIVALRY!” They hold the ropes open for her but Bliss slaps both of them and leaves with the champs to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is one of the areas where NXT shines: they had a show here with almost no main event or top level story advancement, but they showcased their tag division with five regular teams, all of whom could be considered contenders for the titles (in addition to mentioning a sixth in the Hype Bros). On a one hour show, NXT has managed to build up a full tag division and made the title match feel like a big deal. It’s a great illustration of what you can do when you treat things like they matter. Well done here on a show that got to brag about the hard work they’ve put in to get here.

Results

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – Shatter Machine to Amore

Baron Corbin b. Jesse Sorensen – End of Days

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable b. Levis Valenzuela Jr./Elias Samson – Grand Amplitude to Valenzuela

Charlotte b. Dana Brooke – Natural Selection

Kevin Owens b. Martin Stone – Pop Up Powerbomb

Blake/Murphy b. Vaudevillains – Rollup to English with a handful of tights

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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