I’m listening to the sweet Wyatt Family theme (Broken Out in Love) and started to think.Bray Wyatt and his Family are coming to Raw.  As most of you likely know, Wyatt used to be on the main roster as Husky Harris.  Bray Wyatt is a completely new gimmick for him, which is something that is becoming more frequent lately.  This means that fans are likely going to chant Husky Harris at him, which will get annoying in a hurry.  Why do fans insist on doing this?  They did it to Tensai by chanting Albert and I’m sure they’ve done it before then.  It’s no secret that he’s a different guy and it’s not like no one has ever been repackaged before.  Why do fans insist on reminding everyone else that they recognize someone?  It doesn’t work that way in movies or on TV, so why do we constantly have to be reminded of someone’s past identity in wrestling?

NXT
Date: June 1, 2010
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews

We come at last to the grand finale and the last episode of NXT that I haven’t reviewed yet. I’m kind of excited for this as the ending of the first one had me very interested indeed. Anyway, the finalists are Justin Gabriel, Wade Barrett and David Otunga. Otunga is probably the weakest one but maybe I’m wrong. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the entire season which is always cool to see. The first season of this show was actually pretty good. This show is live for once.

Striker points out the previously eliminated rookies who are here tonight. Here are the Pros as we’re filling in a lot of time here. Now we bring out the finalists. There will be two eliminations tonight and up first it’s a triple threat match!

Before that though we need to introduce some rookies for next season! First up is Husky Harris who is a third generation star. His pro is Cody Rhodes. He isn’t Dashing yet. Maybe just jogging lightly at this point.

Monday is Viewer’s Choice Raw.

Another Pro is John Morrison who has Eli Cottonwood who is kind of odd.

Justin Gabriel vs. Wade Barrett vs. David Otunga

We’ve got elimination rules here too just to make it awesome. Finally we get going after 9000 announcements. Barrett gets sent to the floor early as Otunga beats on Gabriel. Wade back in now as Gabriel hits the floor. We’re told that in the second season of NXT there will be a 50/50 split between the Pros and the fans which is important. Otunga vs. Gabriel at the moment.

Really bad powerslam puts Gabriel down. Barrett can’t stay in the ring here for too long which is kind of funny. Gabriel puts Otunga down and gets the 450 but Wade pulls him out to get the pin on Otunga instead. We take a break as we’re down to one on one. Back with Gabriel breaking up an armbar on the mat. Off to an abdominal stretch by Barrett. He’s working on the ribs so that the 450 is less of a weapon. Wouldn’t the knee be smarter then?

If nothing else this is a rematch from last week which is kind of good for some reason. Gabriel gets some nice kicks and a cross body for two. Wasteland is countered into a sunset flip for two. Gabriel gets him down and it’s 450 time again. SICK counter as Gabriel lands on the knees of Barrett. That looked incredible. Small package is academic for Barrett.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t bad at all from an in ring perspective, but the idea here was that Barrett looks good. That’s exactly what was supposed to happen here and it worked perfectly well. Fun match and it’s cool to see them all in the ring at once in straight competition. This worked exactly like it was supposed to so I can’t complain.

The Pros are getting ready for the new Poll.

MVP introduces Percy Watson who likes to party. I didn’t like the idea of Watson at first but he had insane charisma and was definitely someone that caught my attention which was very good.

Zach Ryder introduces Titus O’Neil who really wasn’t all that bad I didn’t think.

The rookies are in the ring so it’s time for the first elimination. First though we’re going to hear the predictions of the eliminated rookies. Tarver says himself. Yeah he was a bit out there. Bryan says Otunga can’t wrestle and Gabriel can’t talk so Barrett should win. Sheffield says he doesn’t care. Young says Barrett should win because he’s strong mentally and physically. Slater says Barrett due to what he’s proven tonight.

Time for the poll.

1. Wade Barrett. No shock at all.

2. David Otunga

3. Justin Gabriel

REALLY disagree here as Otunga had nothing but a celebrity wife going for him. Gabriel had a very flashy finisher going for him which was something that would make me want to stop and see what that was. He says he’ll be back like almost everyone else has said. Matt says Justin is like him. Oh dang he’s screwed.

Laycool have Kaval. Let the internet explode.

Mark Henry has Lucky Cannon. Henry is somehow the more talented one. It sounded like Cole gave Lucky a first name which sounded like Jesson or Jason.

One last rookie showdown as both get 60 seconds to tell the other why they should be gone. Otunga says Barrett is ugly. He makes fun of Barrett’s physique so Wade does a mini-pec dance. Basically Otunga says he’s more charismatic which is pretty much true.

Barrett says he’s ugly because he’s a fighter. Barrett says Otunga has the IT factor because there’s nothing else that Otunga has going for him. Wade was definitely more insulting here but made better points I think. The final Pro’s Poll is next.

Kofi Kingston is a Pro and has Michael McGillicutty who was my favorite from last season.

It’s time for the announcement of the winner, but Miz has something to say. He’ll be back as a Pro next week with his rookie Alex Riley. Riley talks about how awesome he is for a bit.

We delay the vote again as the Pros get into an argument. Regal thinks it’s over before the announcement and congratulates Jericho and Barrett. He asks anyone to do something about it so Truth does his stupid dance. Christian says sit down because he hasn’t won a match in a year. Punk leaves. Jericho tries to calm Regal down but says that Barrett is winning because of Jericho, not because of Barrett’s own talents. Regal says he’s always like Jericho’s two moves. This is hilarious stuff so Striker cuts us off.

Naturally Barrett wins as he certainly should have. Otunga says he’s the real star and thinks he’s being Punk’d. Barrett says he told you so which he did. He warns the Pros that this is the beginning of a new era and talks about the Winds of Change. Is Wade Barrett an Obama fan?

Overall Rating: B. This was a good way to close out the season. The match was good and more importantly: the right man won. Barrett dominated the entire season and other than Bryan has been the best since, which granted no one knew going into the show. Anyway, this was a good finale and I remember enjoying it as I watched it live. Good stuff indeed and this set up the following Monday, which was the Nexus.

So that’s the last of NXT. We’re most of the way done with Season 4 as I’m writing this and the first season is still by far and away the best. The talent was there, the intrigue was there, the challenges are far more interesting and the drama worked. Also the poll was a nice touch. Either way, this was good stuff and it worked better than anything else they’ve done yet. Check these shows out as for the most part they’re rather entertaining.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon at:

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 30, 2011
Location: Qwest Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Josh Matthews, Michael Cole

Three weeks out from Capitol Punishment and we now have some new stories set up. It’s looking like we’re setting up some form of Truth vs. Cena at the PPV which is probably the best option right here. Other than that it’s kind of hard to say where we’re going with major matches as other than that, Show vs. Alberto is probably coming later with the knee injury angle. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a tribute to Memorial Day and soldiers that have died in combat. Nothing wrong with that.

And now we have a black screen. Oh wait here’s R-Truth at a merchandise stand destroying stuff. And never mind as we’re gone again with a graphic saying there are technical difficulties. Ok now he’s destroying the stand with no audio. He messes with a concession stand and we cut to black again. We have some background audio but whatever he’s saying into the microphone isn’t heard.

Cole and Lawler are talking but their words don’t match their movements. Lawler says it’s something to do with the conspiracy. Now Truth is coming down the steps in the audience and yelling at people in Cena gear. There goes the audio again. Truth comes down to a family in Cena gear and the audio is way out of sync. He calls the kid little Jimmy and the kid’s father big Jimmy. The father says What’s Up and Truth isn’t happy. The sound sounds like it’s in a tunnel or something and is about 8 seconds ahead of the video.

He’s in the ring now and ranting about how the fans are the problem instead of him. It’s about Little Jimmy apparently. Here comes Cena as Vince must be losing his mind right now. Cena says that Truth is losing it because he thinks everyone is named Jimmy and there is no conspiracy. The audio is in sync now, about 10 minutes into the show. Truth says it’s the fans and Cena that are crazy, not Truth.

The fans chant for Cena and the picture is still jumping a bit. Cena says that these are the greatest fans in the world and they agree that Truth should be in a straightjacket. Cena says he has no problem knocking some sense back into Truth. Truth wants a match so all the little Jimmys can watch him beat Cena down. Cue the GM for an E-Mail read by Cole and the main event is Truth vs. Cena with no little Jimmys allowed at ringside. Truth thinks it’s a joke and says Cena will get got.

Kharma will speak tonight.

Dolph vs. Kofi next.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston

Cole says he’s thankful for being back at ringside to call this show. Dolph is blonde again which is a big improvement for him. Technical stuff to start as Lawler says Vickie looks good tonight. I know they were having technical difficulties but dang man they’re messing with Lawler’s words now. Slower paced match than was probably expected. Ziggler takes him down with a shoulder block but Kofi speeds things up a bit.

The referee has an elbow pad on for some reason. Cole keeps sucking up to Vickie as Kofi takes over a bit. No one has really had an extended advantage yet. Kofi tries his jump into the punches in the corner but Dolph moves, allowing Kofi to land on the top rope. Dolph shoves him to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Dolph holding an armbar and pulling Kofi back down by the hair. Elbow drop gets two and we go to a chinlock. Stinger Splash in the corner misses for Dolph and Kofi speeds things up again. He can’t get the SOS but the jumping clothesline does hit. There’s the Boom Drop but Trouble in Paradise misses. Sleeper almost goes on and Kofi hits a pendulum kick. Top rope cross body misses and a Fameasser gets a close two. Small package gets two for Kofi but he walks into the Zig Zag for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: C+. This got a lot better near the ending but the first part of it was kind of uninspiring stuff. Not a great match or anything but it’s nice to see them get about ten minutes to go out and let a match build upon itself instead of being like three minutes long. Not bad but nothing great, especially compared to what they did on Smackdown last year.

Here’s Alberto in an Audi. We get a clip from last week where Big Show was hit by the car driven by Ricardo. Part of the clip shows Alberto was driving and Ricardo switched places with him in the background. Ricardo explains his side of the story in Spanish. Alberto says bad things happen to bad people. They owe him money for damaging his car and Ricardo will send them the bill. Get well soon Big Show. So it took almost 8 minutes to say “I’m not sorry”?

Kelly Kelly/Eve Torres vs. Bella Twins

Eve vs. Brie to start as Eve does her gymnastics. She hooks some kind of a choke/arm lock on but Twin Magic prevails. The Bellas beat down Eve for a good while as the crowd really doesn’t seem to care. There’s the tag to Kelly who does what is supposed to be a Thesz Press I think. Kelly’s belt goes flying off and she gives whichever Bella that is a Stinkface. Everything breaks down and the K2 ends let’s say Nikki at 2:56. Just your typical Divas match with the looks being the only thing of note.

There’s a cookout in Nebraska. No real reason for it being shown but it’s the second time we’ve seen it tonight.

Cole is in the ring to talk to Riley about his attack last week. The Raw GM has apparently signed Alex Riley again. We see the beatdown on Miz from last week. Here’s Riley with his own theme song and a decent reaction from the crowd. Cole yells at Riley about how he betrayed Miz after Miz had done so much for him. What about Miz apparently? Miz looked at Riley like a brother and Cole wants to know how Riley can do what he did to Miz last week.

Riley says he’s never felt better and Cole suggests Riley beg Miz for forgiveness. Cole rants on him a bit more and Riley cuts him off. Riley says Cole has a big mouth and is starting to get annoying just like Miz. Cole calls Riley a bastard an Riley grabs him. He of course takes too long and here’s Miz for the beatdown. He looks manly in pink. Miz tries to get a kick in but Riley takes him down. Miz tries to run but Riley takes him down in the aisle and continues the beating. Riley throws him onto the table and Miz runs into the crowd and out the door as Riley stands tall in the ring.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Ryan is with Punk here. Cole can’t wait to tell us that a guy on American Idol wore a Punk shirt. You know, for all the WWE fans that watch American Idol. Punk takes over to start but gets caught in a kick to the chest and a headscissors. Into the corner but Punk gets out of the way and sends Rey to the floor. Rey gets on the apron but Ryan sends him into the post as we take a break.

Back with Punk holding Rey in something like a Gory Stretch for a bit. Rey escapes but a headscissors is countered into a backbreaker for two. Punk hammers away but Rey manages to dropkick him into 619 position. CM hits the floor but Rey hits a suicide dive to send Punk over the announce table. Back in Rey hits the seated senton and the springboard cross body for two. A sweet pinning combination gets two.

Big spin kick misses and Punk gets another backbreaker for two. Punk loads up the GTS but Rey counters into a rana to set up the 619. Ryan blocks it so Rey dropkicks him to the floor. Rey tries to skin the cat back in but Punk catches him in the GTS position. Rey counters again but a big kick to the head is enough for Punk to pin him at 9:05.

Rating: B-. Pretty good match here as they let both guys do their thing. Punk and Nexus’ push continues and it’s definitely not a bad thing. Also seeing Rey lose is always a plus as it gets a good deal annoying to see him beat every single person he’s in there with. Either way, good stuff here and Punk’s push continues, which is a good thing.

We get a clip of Austin on Jimmy Fallon.

Here’s Kharma to explain what happened last week. Her voice is a lot softer than you would expect. Her dream was to be a WWE Superstar (not Diva) and here she is. She tried out for season 2 of Tough Enough and JR apparently told her she was too fat to be a Diva. She went to Japan where she cleaned floors for training. She went to every wrestling promotion in the world (no mention of TNA) before WWE called.

Her other dream was to be a mother. She’ll be a mother because she is currently with child. This is a high risk business and she can’t risk anything happening to her because it’s a high risk sport. She’ll be back though. Here are the Bellas to make fun of her. They say they’re impressed that she found a guy to hook up with. It must bother her to not be able to beat them up right now. They make fat jokes and the Bellas try to run. Kharma will be back in a year and she hopes they’ll still be here because then she has a new dream. Her music plays her out.

We get the really stupid press conference promo on Capitol Punishment. At least mix it up a bit. I think this one is different but still, the joke is over.

Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger

Swagger hammers away to start but an attempt at a belly to back suplex puth both guys on the floor. Back in and it’s all Swagger so far with him hammering away on the back of Bourne. Rather slow match here but Bourne tries to speed things up a bit, only to walk into a sidewalk slam. Swagger keeps smacking him in the head and seemingly wasting time. And yep there it is as Bourne grabs a victory roll for the pin at 3:14.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match there to have Swagger mess up and continue this feud with Bourne. I hope this leads to a face turn for Swagger as his character can only go so far as a heel. He has the talent but they haven’t really gone anywhere with it. Pretty much a nothing match but with 3 minutes what can they do?

Truth talks to himself some more.

Cena talks to Ryder who looks like he has something resembling the IC Title.

R-Truth vs. John Cena

We do get part of the segment to open the show from earlier tonight with working audio. Cena’s music hits at 10:58 so this is going to be a pretty short match. Cena sends him to the floor almost immediately and Truth rants at some fans. Truth gets something going but is sent to the floor again where he runs his mouth some more. They’re intentionally not having a ton of contact here.

There are the dueling chants as Cena gets going. At least he’s not gone get got. Cena takes him to the floor again and Cena gets frustrated. Truth escapes the Attitude Adjustment and hits the crowd this time. Cena goes after him but gets caught with a shot to the head and it’s a count out win for Truth at 4:00.

Rating: D+. Not even a match really as there might have been a total of 30 seconds of contact the entire time. Still though they’re setting up for later on, likely with a PPV title match coming up. If that’s the case then this is fine as the point was to not have them actually do anything yet. Not even a match though so the grade means nothing really.

Truth goes back into the crowd and throws soda in the face of the fans from earlier. Cena gives them his wristbands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather good show overall with the pacing being far better than it’s been in recent weeks and a good deal of wrestling to go with it. Truth being all insane is a nice touch to his character as he’s playing that character to perfection. A lot of stuff was advanced tonight and we got a high amount of wrestling too. What more can you ask for? Very solid show here indeed.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Kofi Kingston – Zig Zag

Kelly Kelly/Eve Torres b. Bella Twins – K2 to Nikki Bella

CM Punk b. Rey Mysterio – Kick to the head

Evan Bourne b. Jack Swagger – Victory Roll

R-Truth b. John Cena via countout

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon at:

Smackdown
Date: May 31, 2013
Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Josh Matthews

It’s the final show of the Canadian tour and the main story tonight is of course Shield vs. whomever they can find to face tonight. Other than that we’ve got Ryback trying to get people to care about his feud with Cena and the three guys fighting for the Intercontinental Title. Right now is a pretty lame time in the WWE as they’re in a very slow mode so tonight’s show probably won’t change much about that. Let’s get to it.

We open with a list of names that Shield has taken down in the last week. Tonight Shield is in singles matches against various people.

Seth Rollins vs. Kane

Rollins pounds away on Kane to start but all the speed only gets him taken down by a shoulder. Seth jumps over Kane in the corner but gets kicked in the head for two. A delayed vertical suplex gets two more for the big man and it’s off to the chinlock. The fans are really into Kane here for some reason. Rollins finally gets in a shot and goes after Kane’s knee with some solid kicks and elbow drops. Kane comes back with some right hands, only to have his knee kicked out again.

Rollins cannonballs down onto the knee but has a leg lock blocked before it can go on. Seth goes to the middle rope and kicks away a chokeslam attempt before hitting a tornado DDT for two. Back from a break with Kane slugging Rollins down and hitting the top rope clothesline. Reigns gets on the apron, only to be shoved to the floor. The distraction lets Rollins hit a dropkick, but Reigns’ distraction lets Bryan shove Rollins off the top and a chokeslam ends this at 9:22.

Rating: C-. For a nine minute match, this was pretty overdone. Rollins losing a singles match is fine because Shield is always about the team mentality. I’m not sure if they need to keep going with HELL NO vs. Shield at this point, but it’s not like there are any other teams worth fighting right now.

Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan

This starts immediately after the previous match ends. Bryan sends Reigns into the corner and kicks away at the arm to take over early before tying his legs into Roman’s and dropping forearms to the face. The fans also love Bryan which isn’t all that surprising. He fires off more kicks in the corner before hooking a dragon screw leg whip to put Roman down again. Roman hits a hard clothesline to take over as we take a break.

Back with Bryan trying to speed things up but getting caught by another clothesline for two. Bryan gets all fired up and hits a hard set of kicks to the chest followed by a running dropkick in the corner for two of his own. Reigns drills him in the stomach to slow Bryan down but Bryan hooks the NO Lock out of nowhere. Reigns crawls over to the ropes but only gets there with Seth pushing the rope towards him. Kane goes after Rollins but hits Reigns for the DQ at 9:20.

Rating: C. This was a better match than the opener, but that’s likely because the smaller guy as the face is an easier formula to work with. Bryan’s kicks get more awesome every week and it’s very wise of him to use those as his main strike. I mean, can you imagine him throwing a convincing punch given his size? Kicks are far better for a guy like him.

Post match Bryan yells at Kane for costing him the match. Bryan is completely right here but Kane walks off anyway. Bryan follows, shouting that he doesn’t need Kane’s help.

Here’s Damien Sandow with something to say. He says that last week he proved that his mental strength is superior to Sheamus’ physical strength. Apparently Canada has limited mental strength because they gave away Wayne Gretsky. When it comes to intelligence, Sandow is the real Great One. To prove his intellect, he has a simple challenge in the form of a shell game. There are three cups and a ball on a table. The idea is to put the ball under a cup and shuffle them around. It should be easy to win, but here’s Sheamus to interrupt.

Sheamus congratulates him for tricking him with the knot last week, but now Sandow is out here playing with his little balls. Sandow lets Sheamus play the game and shuffles the cups pretty slowly. Sheamus guesses wrong, thereby renewing his idiot license for another year. Sandow allows him to try again with just two cups but Sheamus gets it wrong again after a lot of thinking. Sheamus wants to see the ball under the third cup but Damien seems reluctant. Fans: “SHOW YOUR BALLS!” There’s no ball but Sandow says it was magic, earning himself a Brogue Kick. Are we really building towards a big match between these two?

Curtis Axel vs. Sin Cara

Man they drop the level of competition for Axel on Smackdown. On the way to the ring, Heyman says that he always tells the truth about his clients. In his first two weeks, no one has accomplished what Axel has done. Axel says that Cena and HHH have 26 world titles between them, but in two matches he’s made HHH refuse to continue and made Cena get himself counted out. When you’re a Paul Heyman guy, life is perfect. Cole: “That was cute.”

Axel hits a quick backbreaker and dropkick to take over before ripping at the mask a bit. After a quick chinlock Sin Cara comes back with some kicks of his own, followed by a springboard crossbody. A Tajiri elbow is countered by a forearm to the back of the head though and a PerfectPlex ends Cara at 2:00.

Big E. Langston vs. Alberto Del Rio

Langston pounds him into the corner to start and fires off some shoulders, but Del Rio comes back with a kick to the ribs. Big E. drapes him across the top rope and Del Rio is right back down. Del Rio comes back with more kicks and a running clothesline, only to walk into a belly to belly for two. The Backstabber staggers Langston and a German suplex puts him down again.

A hard kick to the face gets two more for Alberto and there’s the armbreaker but Langston picks Alberto up to escape. Langston runs him over for two but gets caught in the armbreaker over the ropes. Del Rio falls to the floor and gets posted after an AJ distraction, allowing the Big Ending to finish Albert back inside at 4:50.

Rating: D+. This match is firmly in the category of matches we don’t need to see for a good while. They’ve fought something like four times in two weeks now, which is way more than any pair should be going at it. The match was nothing special either as they didn’t have time to go anywhere with it.

We look at Cena’s challenge for a 3 Stages of Hell match from Raw.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ryback

Kofi charges right at him and pounds away in the corner before getting two off a springboard dropkick. There’s the Boom Drop but Ryback catches trouble in Paradise in mid air. Kofi rolls through that as well and hits a middle rope cross body for two. Ryback blocks a kick in the corner though and slams Kofi down to take over. The Meat Hook sets up Shell Shock for the pin at 2:48. This was better than I expected, although Kofi injured his elbow somewhere in there and will be out 4-8 weeks.

Post match Ryback powerbombs Kofi through three tables.

Jericho talks about all the diseases Punk has from sleeping with dogs like Heyman.

Chris Jericho vs. Cody Rhodes

Jericho starts fast and takes Cody to the floor, only to walk into a front suplex onto the top rope for two. A boot to the face gets two more for Cody and it’s off to an armbar. Jericho comes back with a top rope ax handle but the Walls are broken up. An Alabama Slam gets two for Cody but he jumps into a right hand to the ribs. Cross Rhodes are countered into a Walls attempt which is countered into a small package for two. Now the Walls get the submission at 4:46.

Rating: C-. My goodness Cody Rhodes matches are hard to sit through anymore. It’s not that they’re bad or anything because Cody is really good at making his matches work, but there’s no reason to believe he’s got a chance. Cody hasn’t won a match of note in months now and it’s hard to care about watching him lose to anyone at all.

Wyatt Family video. These guys are awesome.

Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean takes it to the corner to start and goes Anderson by raking Orton’s eyes across the top rope. Orton comes back with right hands of his own in the corner, only to have Ambrose fire off some knees to the chest to take over again. They head to the floor with Orton dropping him on the barricade, only to be sent into it himself as we take a break. Back with Ambrose in control with knees to the back followed by stomps in the corner.

Randy comes back with a quick suplex to get himself a breather and they trade headbutts and right hands. Orton gets the advantage but has the Elevated DDT countered by Ambrose. Dean goes up but jumps into a dropkick followed by the Elevated DDT. Ambrose bails to avoid the RKO and here’s the Shield for the DQ at 11:55.

Rating: C-. Not much here but they were getting a nice flow going right at the end. The good thing about Shield is they’ve attacked so many people that you can swap in any combination and have a good match with them. Not a bad match at all and thankfully you never can tell if Shield is going to run in or not, meaning the endings aren’t obvious.

Post match HELL NO comes in for the save, with Bryan down almost all of the work himself, and Shield is sent running. A HUGE YES chant ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Is there any reason to watch Smackdown anymore? It’s nothing but a supplement to Raw as nothing significant happens here and all the good long matches happen on Mondays as well. The show isn’t even really bad, but rather really uninteresting. I need a little more fresh content than Sheamus playing a shell game with Damien Sandow. Shield continues to be a highlight and there’s some decent stuff in the midcard, but anything with Sandow or Rhodes in it is incredibly dull, although that can’t be blamed on them. Very uninspiring show this week.

Results

Kane b. Seth Rollins – Chokeslam

Roman Reigns b. Daniel Bryan via DQ when Kane interfered

Curtis Axel b. Sin Cara – PerfectPlex

Big E. Langston b. Alberto Del Rio – Big Ending

Ryback b. Kofi Kingston – Shell Shock

Randy Orton b. Dean Ambrose via DQ when Shield interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @Kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon at:

NXT
Date: May 29, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Brad Maddox

Tonight we have some main event stuff to get to as it’s time for the #1 contenders battle royal, with the winner getting a shot at Langston at some point in the future. Other than that it’s hard to say what we’ll get which is one of the most interesting parts of a show like NXT. Odds are everyone will be in the battle royal with some working other matches tonight. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Wyatt Family vs. Travis Tyler/Sawyer Fulton

Non-title. There’s something very wrong about the Family having Twitter handles. Sawyer and Harper get things going with Lke running over Fulton like one half of a monster tag team running over a jobber in a squash match. Off to Rowan who pounds away in the corner with a headbutt and a chop before it’s back to Harper for more chops. Tom says that the tag is off to Fulton, making me think he has no idea which is which. Not that it really matters as Harper charges at Fulton in the corner and the discus lariat is good for the pin at 2:30.

Here’s Stephanie McMahon (in a studio) for a big announcement. She says that there will be a tournament to crown the first NXT Divas Champion. The tournament starts next week.

Emma vs. Audrey Marie

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m warming up to the dancing. Why this isn’t a first round tournament match is beyond me but the more interesting part is the crowd going NUTS for Emma. She wants her music started again after the bell rings for more dancing but Audrey smacks her in the face. More dancing ensues but Emma gets two off a sunset flip. A bad looking gutwrench suplex gets two for Marie and they trade some backslides for two each. Emma even busts out a Tarantula, called the Dilemma. Emma hits a slingshot to set up a bridging Indian Deathlock (complete with dancing as she bends back) for the win at 2:52.

Scott Dawson and Garrett Dylan are in the back but their loud and annoying manager with a French accent. The manager isn’t named but it might be that Enzo Amore guy from last week.

Scott Dawson/Garrett Dylan vs. Brandon Traven/Jake Carter

Apparently the manager is named Sylvester LeFort. Dawson and Dylan look like Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. Apparently LeFort is an eccentric French investor who travels the world looking for interesting business opportunities. That’s not one you hear everyday. Carter pounds away on Dawson in the corner to start but Scott sends him out to the floor to take over. A few knee drops get two before it’s off to Dylan.

Garrett hooks a chinlock on Carter for a bit as Maddox describes Dawson as someone who likely doesn’t flush. I’m not touching that one. Anyway Carter fights out and crawls between Dylan’s legs for the tag to Traven who is almost immediately clotheslined down. Dawson hits a spinebuster followed by a middle rope ax handle to a laid out Traven for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: D+. Not much here and I’m not all that wild on Dylan and Dawson. The manager has some potential but two good old boys (Maddox’s words) aren’t going to make me all that interested. They’re trying here, but guys named Garrett and Scott don’t really sounds all that intimidating you know?

Big E. Langston vs. Derrick Bateman

Bateman has a haircut which makes him look even more bland if that’s possible. Langston doesn’t have the I’m A Soldier part at the beginning of his music now. Bateman jumps Big E. to start but gets shoved down and thrown into the air to put him back down. Langston runs him over and the Big Ending ends Derrick at 58 seconds.

Another Big Ending sets up the five count post match.

The Raw ReBound is about the main event between Cena and Axel.

Next week it’s Ohno/Graves vs. the Wyatt Family.

Langston is on commentary for the battle royal. This should be awesome.

Battle Royal

Corey Graves, Sami Zayn, Bray Wyatt, Yoshi Tatsu, Kassius Ohno, Bo Dallas, Adrian Neville, Mason Ryan, Sakamoto, Briley Pierce, Alexander Rusev, Curt Hawkins, Knuckles Nelson, Baron Corbin, Aiden English, Conor O’Brien, Dante Dash, Mojo Rawley

I think I’ve got everyone in this listed. Ryan throws out Sakamoto and Pierce with ease and sends out Curt Hawkins and Alexander Rusev for good measure. Ohno and Wyatt keep brawling as everyone goes after Ryan. He throws them all off and screams a lot as Corbin and Nelson are tossed out. Rawley and Tatsu are out as is Dash.

English goes after Ryan and is thrown out with Zayn being thrown on top of them. Ryan has eliminated every single person so far and we’re barely two minutes into this. Mason loads up a powerbomb but Neville ranas him out to the floor. We’re down to Neville, Ohno, Wyatt, Dallas, O’Brien and Graves as we take a break. Back with Wyatt squaring off with O’Brien and Bray being kicked through the ropes very quickly, meaning he’s not eliminated.

Ohno knees Conor in the head and teams up with Graves to dump him out. Bray dumps Ohno and Graves at the same time, leaving us with three guys. Wyatt pounds on both guys in opposite corners and hits Sister Abigail on Dallas. Neville comes back with an enziguri and knocks Wyatt out before low bridging Dallas but the feet don’t touch.

Dallas sends Neville over the top but only one foot touches. Both guys get back in but Neville is backdropped to the apron. Dallas charges into a kick to the head to knock him down, but the Red Arrow hits Dallas’ knees. Neville is thrown out to give Dallas the win at 7:23 shown of 9:53.

Rating: D+. No matter how much fans loathe him, WWE has decided that Bo Dallas will be pushed to the moon in NXT and there’s nothing we can do about it. Maybe the teased heel turn will help him, but at this point a Dallas push does nothing to excite me at all. The fans didn’t react at all to him winning either, which is something you never see in NXT. Other than that, the only thing of note here was Ryan but it’s not like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

Overall Rating: D+. This was probably the worst episode they’ve had in Florida. It was a night of squashes and a lame battle royal with a winner that isn’t the most popular guy in the world. The most interesting thing here though is the Divas Title tournament next week. Can you imagine Cole reminding us to be back next week for a Divas Title match? Dawson announced it here and it worked fine. Not an entertaining show tonight by any stretch.

Results

Wyatt Family b. Travis Tyler/Sawyer Fulton – Discus Lariat to Fulton

Emma b. Audrey Marie – Emma Lock

Scott Dawson/Garrett Dylan b. Brandon Traven/Jake Carter – Ax handle to Traven

Big E. Langston b. Derrick Bateman – Big Ending

Bo Dallas won a battle royal, last eliminating Adrian Neville

Remember to follow me on Twitter @Kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon at:

Smackdown
Date: May 29, 2009
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Todd Grisham

We’re nearly two weeks past Judgment Day and Edge is world champion, presumably still feuding with Hardy, who he beat to retain the title at said pay per view. Other than that we’re in the middle of Jericho vs. Mysterio in an excellent feud for the Intercontinental Title. That would be your pairing for your weekly Smackdown main event tag match. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio to open things up. The belt looks huge on Rey’s shoulder. He’s glad to be back in his home state and speaks a lot of Spanish for good measure. Apparently he’s fighting Jericho for the title at Extreme Rules in a no holds barred match. Some say it’s going to be dangerous but Mysterio thinks it’s going to be off the hook because he can do whatever move he wants. He can use a 619, a 232, a 323 or even an 818, whatever it takes to shut Jericho up.

Cue Jericho in a suit as he’s still very serious at this point. Jericho wants to know if Mysterio will think it’s off the hook when he bashes Rey’s head in with a chair, or when he hits Rey in the face with the belt after winning it. Mysterio tells Jericho to shut up because the title isn’t changing hands. Mickey Rourke is here apparently. Mysterio says Jericho’s words are worthless, so Jericho aims his next words at Rourke. Now Jericho wants to know why Rey wears a mask and what he’s hiding. Jericho promises that the mask is going to be Rey’s downfall and the fight is on but Jericho avoids the 619.

Great Khali/R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler/Mike Knox

Khali says What’s Up before the match to blow the fans’ minds. Knox has an AWESOME beard and Ziggler is a very low level heel still here. A few weeks back though Ziggler hit Khali in the leg with a chair over and over which was partially what got him noticed. Truth and Ziggler get things going with Truth taking over by out maneuvering Ziggler, which isn’t something you would see today. An armdrag takes Dolph down but Ziggler scampers away when Khali gets the tag.

Instead it’s off to Knox who gets kicked in the face and dragged back to the corner for the tag off to Truth. Knox puts him back down with a clothesline and a knee drop to the chest before it’s back to Ziggy. An elbow drop gets two for Dolph, whose nickname is apparently Mr. Congeniality. Off to a chinlock on Truth which is quickly broken, only to have both guys hit cross bodies at the same time. A double tag brings in the big men but Ziggler gets knocked out of the air by a Khali chop. Khali boots Knox down and Dolph walks out, allowing the Punjabi Plunge to pin Knox.

Rating: D+. This was fine but I don’t think Ziggler vs. Khali is going to go much of anywhere. Ziggler would of course get a lot better in the future while the other three guys wound up doing a lot of nothing. It would take Kofi Kingston showing up on Smackdown to really set fire to Ziggler as they would feud forever over whatever midcard title was on the blue show at the time.

Melina vs. Alicia Fox

Melina is Women’s Champion and the hometown girl but this is non-title. Alicia has Michelle McCool with her, who is the one really feuding with Melina at this point. I keep forgetting how good looking Michelle was. Alicia slaps Melina down but gets kicked in the face for her trouble. Melina does Trish’s Matrix move and kicks Alicia again from there before going outside to stare at McCool. Back in and Alicia gets two off a backbreaker but, say it with me, gets kicked in the head again. Melina mixes things up a bit by kicking her in the ribs for two before hitting a standing legdrop for the pin. Not much to see here other than the girls.

John Morrison thinks Umaga is stupid. Shelton Benjamin comes up and wants to fight Morrison again but John points out how little Benjamin has done in years.

Video on Edge vs. Hardy in their ladder match at Extreme Rules.

Here’s Hardy with something to say. Jeff says people think he’s crazy but this is where he fits perfectly. He talks about being with Edge in the first tag team ladder match and now they’ve taken different paths. At Extreme Rules he’s going to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke when he wins the title again and that’s that.

John Morrison vs. Umaga

Umaga has a leather strap with him which he’ll wear in his match with Punk at the PPV. Umaga kicks the strap to the floor and we’re ready to go. John pounds away to start but gets caught in the chest by a headbutt to put him down. Morrison starts speeding things up by goes after Umaga’s head like a schnook. Umaga misses a charge and falls to the outside, allowing Morrison to dive off the top to take out the Samoan.

Back in and Umaga’s counter to a sunset flip misses, followed by John hitting a running kick to the face for two. A Samoan drop puts Morrison down and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Umaga holding a nerve hold which apparently messes with John’s brain, as he actually tries a suplex like an idiot. Umaga casually puts him on the apron and kicks Morrison out to the floor as Morrison deserves.

John gets back in and has his head taken off by a clothesline as Umaga is dominating at the moment. We hit the nerve hold again to make Morrison scream for mercy. Morrison comes back with an enziguri, only to be taken down by a spinning Rock Bottom for two. John tries to fight back and grabs a running DDT out of nowhere to put both guys down. Now Morrison gets smart and goes after the knee, only to be hit square in the throat to put him down. John gets back up for the Flying Chuck (Cody Rhodes’ Disaster Kick) to send Umaga back to the floor where he picks up the strap and blasts Morrison for the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was getting going by the end as they were doing the David vs. Goliath/power vs. speed formulas to a pretty effective degree. Both of these guys had good potential but never quite reached the highest point they could have, due to either drugs or drugs and Melina. Decent match here that would have been better with a good ending.

Post match Umaga hangs Morrison with the strap until Punk comes out and blasts Umaga with his MITB case to send him to the floor. Punk says at Extreme Rules he has no strategy as is his custom. He talks about how many things he’s done that no one said he could do, so why can’t he drag Umaga to all four corners?

World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. Cryme Tyme

For those of you who forget, this would be Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin vs. JTG/Shad Gaspard in a match set up because Cryme Tyme cost the other two a match last night on Superstars. Charlie and JTG get things going with Charlie quickly taking it to the mat and pounding away. JTG comes back with a quick Fameasser for two before bringing in Shad for some big generic power. Shad charges into a pair of knees in the corner and it’s off to Benjamin for a slugout.

Shelton tries a go behind but Shad easily powers him into the corner before taking Shelton down with a shoulder block. Gaspard launches JTG onto Shelton in a splash for two but Haas interference lets the actually challenging team take over. We take a break and come back with Charlie getting two before bringing Benjamin back in. Oh and before I forget: Haas and Benjamin are officially “the team formerly known as the World’s Greatest Tag Team.” I for one certainly care am more interested in them now.

Shelton hooks on a neck crank for a few moments before it’s back off to Charlie. He drives some knees into JTG’s shoulder while talking a lot of trash. Back to Shelton who pounds away in the corner but misses a splash. JTG goes for a tag but gets caught in a sweet German suplex for two. Charlie comes in again but gets kicked in the knee and taken down with a spinning clothesline, allowing for the hot tag to Shad. A big powerslam gets two on Shelton as everything breaks down. Benjamin counters a backdrop and hits Paydirt (jumping downward spiral) for the pin on Shad.

Rating: D+. At the end of the day, Cryme Tyme sucked and there isn’t much else to it. The guys just weren’t that talented or interesting at all and it really started to show. How JTG is still employed in the year 2013 is beyond me, especially given that Shelton and Charlie didn’t make it to the end of 2010.

Eve Torres vs. Layla

This is the result of a dance off gone wrong. In 2009 that’s the story of a Divas match. In 2013, it’s the story for continuing a Chris Jericho feud. Wrestling is funny that way sometimes. Layla charges at Eve to start and pounds away before they brawl on the mat. They head out to the floor for more brawling before going inside again for some….what would I call this…..oh bad wrestling. Layla cranks on Eve’s arms before getting caught in a hair drag to the mat. Eve gets two off a sunset flip and rolls through a bad looking cross body to pin Layla.

Rating: D. They look good in their outfits, they look good in their dance offs when they can shake their hips, and that’s about the extent of the good things about this crop of Divas. Layla would hook up with Michelle in a bit to form Laycool which was the best thing to happen to the Divas in YEARS. Also did anyone need two Divas matches in one show?

Jericho and Edge have a mini argument in the back with Jericho saying he’s done and Edge is on his own tonight.

Edge/Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy/Rey Mysterio

Jeff pinned Edge last week, five days after losing to him at the PPV. Before the match Edge talks about Jeff wasting his potential by picking a ladder match. Edge says he has more success in ladder matches than anyone else, but Jeff is in a lot of them too. That’s the difference between them in ladder matches: Jeff always makes the highlight reel but Edge always wins. That’s a great line actually.

Just as Jericho warned, he isn’t here. During Mysterio’s entrance he talks to the fans as he is known to do, but one jumps him and lays Mysterio out, revealing himself to be Jericho. Hardy makes the save when Jericho goes for Rey’s mask, but Mysterio is taken to the back. Apparently we’re going to have a handicap match.

Jeff quickly takes Jericho down and loads up the Swanton but has to dive on Edge instead. Edge is sent to the floor and taken out by a plancha but Jericho catches Jeff with a springboard dropkick to send him back to the floor. We finally get down to a regular match with the world champion coming in to take over on the beaten down Hardy. A clothesline gets two on Jeff and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and it’s off to Jericho for a splash over the top for two. Hardy tries to fight back but misses a dropkick, only to get his knees up on the Lionsault. Back to Edge who gets clotheslined down and sent into the corner for the slingsthot dropkick, getting two. Edge is sent into Jericho to give Jeff two off a rollup and a Whisper in the Wind takes the Canadians down. Jericho botches the selling on a Twist of Fate but the spear is enough to pin Hardy.

Rating: C-. What were you really expecting here? At the end of the day there’s no way to have Hardy look like a real threat against these two and he barely lasted five minutes. This is a good way to let Edge get one over on Hardy without making Jeff look bad because there’s no way Hardy could realistically win here. Not much of a match but at least it was short.

Post match Edge crushes Hardy in a ladder to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a decent enough episode as the main event and Intercontinental Title stuff was REALLY solid at this point. Umaga vs. Morrison was decent enough too, but the rest of this show just didn’t work for the most part. The tag match and Divas match were pretty lame and felt like they were there to just fill in time rather being good matches. Smackdown was still miles ahead of Raw at this point though so this was the better show of the week by far.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade for just $4 from Amazon at:

Gee I wonder what he’ll do when he gets back.  Perhaps bounce around the midcard title seen with next to no career direction?

I kid you not, this is real.– It was announced today, via press release, that WWE & Warner Bros are teaming up for a new Flintstones film that will be released in 2015. The film, which is expected to be straight to DVD, is described as follows…

Fred, Barney and the whole Bedrock gang join up with Vince McMagma (Vince McMahon), and WWE Superstars and Divas including John Cenastone (John Cena®) and CM Punkrock (CM Punk®) as part of the very first WWE main event.

Michael Luisi, President, WWE Studios had the following to say about the project….

“WWE is family-friendly entertainment, so partnering with Warner Bros. on a Flintstones/WWE project was a natural extension of our Scooby Doo deal. This new, animated feature allows us to showcase our brand with young fans and loyal Flintstones enthusiasts alike.”

As a lifelong fan of both WWE and the Flintstones, my mind is currently blown.  This should be awesome.

Here’s the latest proof:– On the May 17th edition of WWE Main Event, Sin Cara made his in ring return and defeated IC Champion Wade Barrett in a non-title match. Sin Cara was then supposed to challenge for the title on the May 24th edition of WWE Main Event, but the match never happened. With WWE looking to run Barrett vs. Miz vs. Fandango, it appears that Sin Cara has simply been left out of the mix.

So to clarify, they have seven hours a week of television to fill but they can’t fit in a seven minute Barrett victory over Sin Cara to close this story out?  It’s THAT complicated for them to work on two things at once, one of which is a one off match?

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 27, 2013
Location: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

The main story tonight is what happened last week with HHH collapsing. Tonight we’re likely to get an update on his condition, meaning we’re likely to hear from Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel about what they did to him. There’s also a good chance that Cena will be back from the beating he received at Ryback’s hands. Let’s get to it.

We open with the traditional moment of remembrance due to Memorial Day which is always classy.

Recap of the end of the show from last week and Ryback’s challenge to Cena.

Here’s Cena to open the show. He talks about the ending to the last man standing match being controversial and about how Ryback called him out for an ambulance match. After stopping for a WE WANT BRET chant, Cena makes the counteroffer of a 3 Stages of Hell match, with stipulations of a lumberjack match, a tables match, and then the ambulance match. Cue Ryback who calls himself Beelzebub because of where he tried to take Cena. I’m assuming that means the match is on.

After Ryback leaves, here’s Heyman to introduce Cena to Curtis Axel. He talks about how Axel “beat” HHH last week and proposes Cena vs. Axel for later tonight. Cena says that Axel has guts but says he needs to stay away from Heyman. Axel isn’t impressed and wants a fight, so Cena says it’s on.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Big E. Langston

Langston pounds Del Rio into the corner but gets caught by a quick dropkick. Del Rio low bridges him to the floor and hits a suicide dive as Cole runs through the list of networks that carry the show in different countries. Big E. drops Alberto face first on the steps for two back in the ring as Cole is now plugging the WWE App and we get a quick partial interview from Ziggler on him wanting to come back.

A backbreaker puts Del Rio down but he avoids a charge into the corner, sending Langston into the post. There’s the Backstabber and a hard kick to Langston’s head for two but the armbreaker is countered into a belly to belly. Langston pulls the strap down but AJ gets on the apron and takes off a turnbuckle pad. The armbreaker goes on but Langston lifts him up into the air to counter. Del Rio gets to his feet and shoves Langston chest first into the exposed buckle, allowing him to get a rollup for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: C. These two have some chemistry together but this existed for the angle with AJ. It seems like they’re wanting to split Langston off from Ziggler and AJ which would be one of the best things they could do for him. The match here wasn’t bad and I could see these two having a much longer match in the future.

Post match Langston is upset at AJ and walks away from her.

Kane and Bryan are in the back with Bryan pacing back and forth. Bryan is muttering about the weak link until Kane yells at him, saying that only Bryan thinks he’s the weak link. If they want to beat Shield tonight, Bryan needs to pull himself together. Bryan interprets this as Kane calling him the weak link.

They get into the yes/no argument but stop because Bret Hart is here. Bret calls them one of the best combinations he’s ever seen, so Bryan asks Bret if anyone ever saw him as the weak link in the Hart Foundation. Hart says not really and leaves. Kane wants to know why that means something from Bret and not him. Bryan says because he’s Bret Hart and you’re Kane. I love how simple that is.

US Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose

This is another rematch because of Shield interfering in the one on Smackdown. Kofi starts with a quick armbar but gets pounded in the corner by the champion. Ambrose ducks a quick Trouble in Paradise attempt and bails to the floor as we take a break after less than two minutes of action and less than three minutes after the end of the last commercial.

Back with Ambrose getting two off an elbow drop but Kofi fires off some elbows of his own to recover. A cross body out of the corner gets two but Dean rolls away from the Boom Drop. They trade near falls in a string of rollups before the SOS gets two for Kofi. Orton and Sheamus are watching the match on the WWE App as Kofi gets two off a springboard clothesline. Ambrose trips Kofi up and sends him off the apron into the steps, allowing the bulldog driver to end him clean at 8:23.

Rating: C. Not much to see here and the ending was more abrupt than I was expecting. Thankfully though that was a definitive ending and we don’t have to drag out the rematches anymore. Dean won cleanly and looks like the better man, which is exactly what Kofi was there to make happen. Not a great match, but it was the perfect way to go about things here.

Post match Shield celebrates until HELL NO come out to start the tag title match after the break.

Tag Titles: HELL NO vs. Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins

This is joined in progress after the break with Bryan being double teamed. Rollins stays in and gets caught in the ribs by a running knee before Bryan fires off kicks in the corner. Kane tags himself in and Bryan isn’t pleased. A slam gets two for Kane and there’s a Hart Attack by the challengers (not that the announcers make note of it or anything). Back to Bryan who fires in elbows to the jaw before dragging Seth into the corner for a tag to Kane.

The big man loads up a chokeslam but Rollins counters with a LOUD enziguri. Off to Reigns who pounds Kane down while showing no problems with his ankle from Smackdown. Roman hooks a chinlock on Kane to slow things down a bit before getting two off a slam. It’s back to Seth to stomp away at the ribs and put on a chinlock of his own. Oh wait: WE GET SOMETHING ELSE FROM THE APP! This time it’s the Prime Time Players watching the match. Why would I want to get that thing if that’s what I’m going to get?

Anyway Kane fights back and clotheslines Rollins down, allowing for the hot tag to Bryan. He cleans house on the Shield, hitting a wicked German and a running dropkick to Rollins for two. Here are the rapid fire kicks to the chest and one to the head for two more. Seth loads up a superplex but Bryan slips underneath him and puts Rollins in the Tree of Woe for more kicks to the chest. Bryan belly to back superplexes him down as we take a break.

Back with Rollins working over Bryan and putting him in a surfboard, only for Bryan to counter. Reigns gets the tag before Bryan can do anything else though and the beating continues. Roman gets two off a shoulder and it’s back to Rollins for the downward spiral into the buckle while calling Bryan the weak link. Back to Reigns who gets caught by a running kick to the face, allowing for the hot tag to Kane.

The big man cleans house as he is known to do, getting two off the side slam to Rollins. Reigns makes the save but gets dropkicked down by Bryan. The referee tells Bryan to quit beating on Reigns on the floor but he dives off the apron into a spinebuster anyway. Rollins uses the distraction to hit the springboard knee to the head of Kane for the pin at 18:40.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty good tag match and hopefully now we don’t have to see these guys fight anymore. Not that the matches have been bad or anything, but WWE has a really bad tendency to pound matches into the ground and make the fans loathe them no matter what. Just like earlier though, Shield looks good here and they get the rub they needed.

We recap the opening segment.

We recap the end of last week’s show and get some post show stuff with HHH saying he doesn’t remember any of the matc.

Apparently the injury took place from the sledgehammer shot to the head from Brock, meaning that Axel’s offense had no extra damage. HHH could be back next week.

You can vote as to whether Miz should be guest commentator, ring announcer or referee for Wade Barrett vs. Fandango.

After the break, Miz is going to be guest referee by a huge margin. I’m as shocked as you are.

Wade Barrett vs. Fandango

Fandango hits a quick chop to take over and pounds the champion (this is non-title) into the corner. An elbow to the jaw gets two but Barrett pounds away to put Fandango down for two. Barrett hits the boot to Fandango in the ropes, only to have Miz lay out Wade with the Skull Crushing Finale. Fandango gets the pin at 2:43.

Post match Miz kicks Fandango in the head as he and Summer are dancing, knocking Summer on top of him. Miz counts three because he can.

Shawn Michaels pops in to see Cena and says Cena is crazy. Cena thinks he’s doing what Shawn would do and leaves.

Tons of Funk/Great Khali vs. 3MB

This is over a destroyed birthday cake apparently. Khali destroys McIntyre with chops to start before it’s off to Tensai for his cannonball attack in the corner. The rest of the Band interrupts to take over but it’s quickly back to Brodus. A splash in the corner and a powerslam get two on Slater as everything breaks down. The splash finishes Slater at 2:53.

Apparently it’s Natalya’s birthday so Khali sings Happy Birthday to her.

Video on Cena’s patriotic stuff to celebrate Memorial Day.

Time for the Highlight Reel with guest Paul Heyman. After sucking up to Calgary, Jericho brings out Heyman for some insults as only Jericho can do. He talks about Heyman developing talent which Heyman agrees with, such as Chris Jericho. It was Heyman who gave Jericho his first break which Jericho agrees with. “Yeah and you still owe me money.” Heyman says he’s going to do the same thing with Curtis Axel tonight as Axel beats Cena later in the show.

Jericho would rather talk about Heyman’s other client and Heyman goes into his schtick about Lesnar. Instead, Jericho wants to talk about CM Punk, who has been gone for a month and a half. We get a clip of Punk walking out back in April and the fans chant for Mr. CM. Jericho talks about Heyman having the same suit and look on his face in both the clip and right now. Apparently Heyman was surprised to see Punk leave, but Heyman says he’s wearing the suit out of respect for Jericho.

That’s not enough for Jericho but Heyman doesn’t know what Chris wants. Heyman goes into his usual schtick about Punk’s accomplishments but Jericho cuts him off and asks where Punk is. Heyman says a statement is coming soon but that’s also not good enough for Jericho. Jericho says that Punk can’t be called the best in the world after being gone this long, but wonders if Punk will be at Payback in Chicago. Chris thinks he’s the best in the world which ticks Heyman off. The challenge is issued by Jericho but Heyman laughs at him. After more goading from Jericho and the fans, Heyman accepts for Punk and that’s that.

Bella Twins vs. Kaitlyn/Natalya

We’ll say Nikki starts with Kaitlyn and a lot of choking ensues. Off to a chinlock for good measure until Kaitlyn fights up and makes the tag off to Natalya. Sharpshooter goes on for like 30 seconds but there’s no tap out. Instead Brie comes in and breaks it up, only to be speared down. Kaitlyn spears Natalya by mistake, giving Nikki the pin at 3:45.

Rating: D. Whatever. That is all.

The Bellas sing Happy Birthday to Natalya.

Bret comes in to see Axel and advises him to dump Heyman. Axel says no one gave him the time of day before last week but Heyman finally did. He’s completely right but we’re supposed to be offended I guess.

Bray Wyatt video. He and his Family are coming soon. For those of you NXT fans, you know why this is awesome.

Randy Orton/Sheamus vs. Rhodes Scholars

Orton and Rhodes start things off with Randy running him over. Off to Sheamus with the slingshot shoulder for two before Sandow and Orton come in again. Damien pounds him down in the corner and brings Rhodes back in, only to have him caught in a suplex. Back to Sheamus who is stomped down in the corner before coming back with a neckbreaker for two. Sheamus goes up but gets slammed down by Sandow as we take a break.

Back with Sandow choking on Sheamus before it’s back to Rhodes for a body scissors. Back up and there’s the Irish Curse, allowing for the tag off to Orton. Both Scholars walk into powerslams and there’s the Elevated DDT to Sandow. We head to the floor with Rhodes and Orton colliding before Sandow throws Orton in for two. Cody hits the front suplex before it’s back to Damien with the Wind-Up Elbow for two.

Back to Cody who walks into the t-bone suplex, allowing for the tag to Sheamus. House is cleaned and there are ten forearms to Damien. Cody hits the Disaster Kick on Sheamus for two, only to have Sheamus escape the Terminus and hit White Noise. Brogue Kick and we’re done at 15:40.

Rating: D+. The match was fine but DEAR GOODNESS I never want to see any combination of this match again. Sheamus and Orton have beaten the Scholars for what feels like 10000 times each and I’m just over it. It’s not entertaining, it’s not fun, it’s never in doubt and there’s no part of me that wants to watch it ever again. Find ANYBODY new for Sheamus and Orton to beat up, please.

Curtis Axel vs. John Cena

Cena hits a quick hiptoss and we’re already at a break. Back with Axel in control on the floor before heading back in for more pounding. A snap suplex gets two as the fans are looking at something in the audience. Axel wisely goes to an armbar until the fans are paying attention again. Back up and Axel clotheslines him in the back of the head for two as the fans are paying attention again. Cena fights up and hits the shoulders and ProtoBomb.

The Shuffle connects but Axel pops out of the AA and hits a dropkick for two. A middle rope ax handle connects but the second one misses, allowing Cena to hit a standing powerslam for two. Axel channels his Papa with a Hennig necksnap and a kick in the face for two. The PerfectPlex is escaped into an STF attempt but Axel escapes again. The AA is countered into a PerfectPlex for two but Axel misses a splash in the corner. Cue Ryback with the ambulance and Cena walks towards it, earning a countout at 11:54.

Rating: C-. Cena didn’t beat him, Cena didn’t hit the AA, Cena didn’t get the STF, Cena didn’t kick out of Axel’s finisher, Cena was barely on offense at all. This is how you give someone a rub, unlike last week where it was ALL about HHH. This is a great showing for Axel and something that should have happened last week.

Ryback jumps Cena from behind because he isn’t in the ambulance. He tries to ram Cena through the set like at the PPV but Cena escapes. The AA off the stage doesn’t work either and Ryback bails. Important point: Axel is announced as the winner and poses with his music playing to end the show. Cena even applauds him as we go off the air.

Overall Rating: C-. The show wasn’t bad here and there were some good matches, but there was nothing that made me want to see more. That’s the problem with WWE right now: there’s nothing really interesting and everything feels like it’s warmed over stuff that we’ve done a dozen times before. It’s just like we’re killing time to get to something else but there’s no indication that there’s a plan for what that is. I do know however that I can watch people watching the same match I’m watching if I download the App so at least there’s that.

Results

Alberto Del Rio b. Big E. Langston – Rollup

Dean Ambrose b. Kofi Kingston – Bulldog Driver

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins b. HELL NO – Springboard knee to the Head

Fandango b. Wade Barrett – Skull Crushing Finale

Tons of Funk/Great Khali b. 3MB – Splash to Slater

Bella Twins b. Kaitlyn/Natalya – Spear to Kaitlyn

Curtis Axel b. John Cena via countout

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