Monday Night Raw
Date: May 8, 2023
Location: Vystar Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It’s tournament time as we are getting at least two matches in the tournament to crown a new World Heavyweight Champion. In addition, we have the new Raw roster after the Draft so everything needs to settle in. On top of that, it’s also the first show after Backlash so we could be in for a very busy night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Backlash if you need a recap.

We open with a look at the people involved in the tournament, all of whom could be the first World Champion.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He is happy to be back in Jacksonville, where he helped make a lot of memories during the pandemic. In addition, after Backlash, Cody knows what Brock Lesnar is made of. How you ask? It was all over his hands, but he won anyway. With Lesnar in the rear view mirror, it’s time for the tournament, which will not end until Rhodes is announced as the new champion. We see the brackets, and now, LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round: Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Before the match, we get a look at Bad Bunny beating Damian Priest at Backlash. As a result, Priest is ready to win the match because either he or Finn Balor is going to be the next champion. Priest starts fast and knocks both of them into a corner. Some running shoulders connect but Nakamura is back with a kick to the head. Rollins knocks Priest outside and a quick double teaming puts him down again as we take a break.

Back with Priest and Rollins slugging it out until Nakamura comes back in. Rollins knocks both of them outside and the suicide dives are on. They get back in and Priest misses a charge in the corner, allowing Nakamura to hit his running knee in the corner. Priest punches Nakamura down though and hits a lifting Downward Spiral for two on Rollins. Nakamura kicks both of them down but can’t followup and we get a breather.

Some kicks drop Priest and Rollins knocks Nakamura down as well. Priest is back up to crotch Rollins on top but seems to be favoring his knee a bit. Rollins is fine enough to Stomp Priest for two, with Nakamura making the save. Priest clotheslines Nakamura down and sends Rollins outside, only to get pulled into a kneebar from Nakamura. Rollins breaks that up and Pedigrees Nakamura to advance at 13:14.

Rating: B. It was a match that has been done better before, but what matters is that it felt like a match that mattered. There was an atmosphere to this one and it made the match that much more interesting. I’m not sure how much sense it makes for Nakamura to get pinned on his debut, but at least they got the most logical winner.

Imperium warns everyone that Gunther will arrive next week before running into Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens. They aren’t interested, but Imperium doesn’t like the disrespect. Sami says they can come back in five minutes but gets a finger in his face. Imperium says they can take the titles but Owens wants to know what is up with these people having henchmen and the challenge is on for tonight.

Otis vs. Mustafa Ali

Maxxine Dupri and Chad Gable are here with Otis, who shoulders Ali down without much effort. Ali fights back up but gets crushed in the corner again. Otis loads up the Caterpillar but Gable and Dupri argue over whether or not he should. Instead Otis misses a charge into the post, allowing Ali to hit the 450 for the pin at 2:16. We seem to get one step closer to Otis having to decide and that could make for an interesting moment.

The Miz promises to win the tournament and the title.

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round: The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Cody Rhodes

They start fast with Balor clotheslining Rhodes, allowing Miz to get two off a rollup. Cody sends both of them outside for the big suicide dive and we take a break. Back with Rhodes dropkicking both of them down, setting up a double Cody Cutter (almost Cody Stunner). There’s the Disaster Kick for two on Balor but Miz is back in to take them both down.

The Skull Crushing Finale doesn’t work on Cody, who clotheslines Miz to the floor. Balor takes Cody down but misses the Coup de Grace, allowing Miz to hit the Finale for two. Rhodes breaks that up and hits the series of Cross Rhodes on Miz….but here is Brock Lesnar to pull Cody out. The F5 drops Rhodes, leaving Balor to hit the Coup de Grace on Miz to advance at 9:34.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t quite as good as the opener, but Balor vs. Rollins should make for a fine showdown. Miz was there to take the fall and Lesnar was there to take out Cody, which makes sense for him after Backlash. This was more about getting Rollins an opponent than anything else, but it worked well for what they could do.

Post match Lesnar grabs the mic and says look at this face (complete with stitches on the forehead) before asking what Cody wants to talk about. Lesnar wants to talk about ME ME ME because he wants a fight with Cody at Night of Champions. Lesnar leaves as Cody is tended to. That’s about par for the course from Lesnar, who is somehow one of the more logical people in WWE.

Rhea Ripley vs. Dana Brooke

Non-title. Ripley knocks her down to start and shrugs off a quick comeback attempt. The Riptide into the Prism Trap finishes Brooke at 1:39.

Post match Ripley hits another Riptide into the Prism Trap and…..Natalya makes the save. I have no idea who thinks Ripley having to face Natalya is a good thing, but that’s what we seem to be getting now, because Natalya must be around no matter what.

Video on the NXT stars coming up to the main roster via the Draft.

Zoey Stark doesn’t seem impressed by Nikki Cross’ general existence, setting up a match for later.

We look at last week’s European tour.

Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Imperium

Non-title. Sami works on Kaiser’s arm to start but it’s off to Vinci. A clothesline takes him down but Vinci hits one of his own to take over. We take a break and come back with Zayn kicking Vinci away, allowing the tag to Owens to clean house. The Swanton gets two with Vinci making a save, setting up a clothesline/legsweep combination for two on Owens. A double clotheslines allows….almost a double tag as Vinci knocks Sami off the apron just in time. The Imperial Bomb is blocked and Owens Stuns Kaiser to the floor. A superkick to Vinci sets up the Helluva Kick for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: B-. Another loss for newcomers, albeit to bigger stars. You don’t want Owens and Zayn losing, but it might not have been the brightest idea to have them facing Imperium in their first week on the new roster. Owens and Zayn need challengers and Imperium isn’t likely to be part of that list at the moment. Why burn someone off that fast?

Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green have a petition to get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot but Indi Hartwell, Dexter Lumis, Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano (all previously part of The Way in NXT) aren’t convinced.

We look at the Bloodline defeating Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn/Matt Riddle at Backlash.

Zoey Stark vs. Nikki Cross

Stark starts fast with a hard clothesline and a springboard flip dive makes it worse. A chinlock doesn’t last long for Stark but she superkicks Cross back down. The Z360 (a flip into a knee to the face) finishes Cross at 2:20.

Rhea Ripley, with Dominik Mysterio, is asked about feeling pressure but Xavier Woods and Akira Tozawa interrupt. Dominik vs. Woods is made for later, with Rhea accepting on “Dom Dom’s” behalf.

Here is Trish Stratus (with a Becky Lynch missing person shirt on) to say she is concerned about how Lynch is missing. Everyone should be saying “Thank You Trish” for trying to find her, but at the end of it all, she is going to be found in some corner of Iowa, crying again. No one is going to steal Trish’s spotlight but here is Becky……’s music for a fake out. Trish talks about her daughter wanting a doll that she was going to call Becky Lynch, because she was pretty and….now the real Becky comes out to wreck Trish in a hurry.

Cody Rhodes is getting checked on in the trainer’s room with Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens staying with him.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods

Rhea Ripley is here too. Woods grabs a headlock to slow Mysterio down to start, followed by a dropkick to make it better. Dominik sends him into the corner and blows a kiss to Ripley, only to have Woods break up the 619. Woods’ running knees to the back set up a high crossbody but Dominik sends him over the top and down onto the steps as we take a break.

Back with Woods fighting back and hitting the Honor Roll to drop Mysterio. A springboard tornado DDT plants Mysterio again but Woods gets elbowed in the face. Woods manages to drape him over the top for a middle rope dropkick to the back. The Limit Breaker misses though and Dominik grabs a rollup (with tights) for the pin at 10:36.

Rating: C. Not much to see here as it was a thrown together way to get Dominik a win. That’s not a bad thing either, as he has to have something other than his feud with Rey to do around here. You also have to give him some wins over some credible opponents, such as here or the one over Johnny Gargano a few weeks ago. It might not have been the most exciting, but it can pay some dividends.

Jinder Mahal and Indus Shera are all menacing and evil.

Miz yells at Shinsuke Nakamura for not having his back. Nakamura sets up a match between them for next week, promising that it will be awesome.

Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville continue looking for signatures but run into Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. They two of them would be happy to sign, which has the villains rather happy. Apparently the petition is for a match with Damage Ctrl. Ok then.

Cody Rhodes is all upset but now Brock Lesnar has attacked him from behind twice for no reason. Is it because he’s all upset about not being the star anymore? That’s why Brock is attacking him, so let’s fight.

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins grabs a hammerlock to start as commentary talks about their Summerslam 2016 Universal Title match. Balor fights back and takes him to the floor, where a powerbomb against the barricade (how Rollins hurt Balor in 2016) drops Rollins and we take a break. Back with Rollins getting in a shot of his own but the frog splash (while favoring the arm) only hits raised knees.

Balor goes to the Fujiwara armbar but Rollins slips out and hits a superkick for two. They head back to the floor and ram each other into the apron, with Rollins getting the better of things. Back in and an exchange of kicks to the head gives us a double knockdown but Balor rolls through for the double stomp to take over. The Coup de Grace is broken up with a superplex but the Falcon Arrow is countered into 1916 for two more. Rollins pulls him down and hits a one armed Pedigree for two, followed by the Stomp for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. These two having a good match isn’t shocking in the slightest as they’re both that talented. Rollins continues to feel like the logical choice to win the whole thing, if nothing else because of the resume that he already has. It would give the title some instant credibility, if nothing else because he is the one guy that Reigns hasn’t beaten during the title run. For now though, at least he had a heck of a match here with Balor, who can make almost anyone look good.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather strange show as it was focused around the tournament, which was quite good, but everything else felt like they were hitting the reset button. Some new stars were introduced and a lot of them lost, while some of them were thrown into matches which were made earlier in the day. It felt like the setup for this show was “it’s tournament night” and the rest of the details were just kind of thrown together. The action carried this show well, but I’m not exactly thrilled with where everything else might be going in the next few weeks.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Shinsuke Nakamura and Damian Priest – Pedigree to Nakamura
Mustafa Ali b. Otis – 450
Finn Balor b. The Miz and Cody Rhodes – Coup de Grace to Miz
Rhea Ripley b. Dana Brooke – Prism Trap
Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn b. Imperium – Helluva Kick to Vinci
Zoey Stark b. Nikki Cross – Z360
Dominik Mysterio b. Xavier Woods – Rollup with tights
Seth Rollins b. Finn Balor – Stomp

WWE, 2023, Monday Night Raw, Otis, Chad Gable, Maxxine Dupri, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Imperium, Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, Mustafa Ali, The Miz, Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Zoey Stark, Nikki Cross, Chelsea Green Sonya Deville, Xia Li, Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell, Dexter Lumis, Trish Stratus, Dominik Mysterio, Xavier Woods, Akira Tozawa, Indus Sher, Jinder Mahal, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez,

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: April 21, 2023
Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re getting closer to Backlash and now some more of the card needs to be set up. That can be easier said than done as WWE does like to take its time to set up some of its shows. The good thing is that a lot of the show is all but officially announced so we could see something added this week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Judgment Day vs. Santos Escobar/Rey Mysterio

Finn Balor/Damien Priest for the team. Rey snaps off a hurricanrana to Balor to start but a Lionsault hits raised knees. Priest comes in to deck Rey before it’s back to Balor. The chinlock is countered into a sitout bulldog, allowing Rey to bring Escobar back in to clean house. Rey misses the sliding splash on the floor though and Balor decks Escobar as we take a break.

Back with Priest kicking Escobar in the face for two and grabbing the chinlock. With that broken up, Escobar fights out of the corner and it’s back to Rey to pick the pace way up. Rey hits the 619 to Balor to set up Escobar’s top rope splash but Priest is legal. That lets Priest come in with South of Heaven for the pin at 12:51.

Rating: C+. While this seems to be building towards the Bad Bunny/Mysterio vs. Judgment Day match at Backlash, it would be nice if Escobar didn’t have to be sacrificed so much on the way there. The Bunny match is what matters, but they couldn’t sacrifice the other two who aren’t doing anything else? On a more positive note, it was nice to keep Dominik out of this one for a change, as just mixing things up helps a bit.

Post match Priest says he’s looking forward to Bad Bunny returning on Raw.

We look back at Solo Sikoa taking out Matt Riddle last week. Tonight, they do it again, No DQ.

Zelina Vega comes in to see Adam Pearce and asks for the Smackdown Women’s Title match at Backlash. Vega says she’s the only Puerto Rican woman on the roster and needs the match. Pearce will talk to various people about it.

We look back at the return of Shinsuke Nakamura last week.

Karrion Kross talks about taking things away from people, saying Nakamura’s honor is next.

Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders

Valhalla is here with the Vikings. Ivar powers Strowman into the corner to start but Strowman does it right back to him. Erik comes in for the double teaming but Strowman clears them away and hands it off to Ricochet. Strowman launches Ricochet….a foot or short of where he was aiming, meaning it’s a bit of a nasty crash as we take a break.

Back with Ricochet fighting out of a chinlock and flipping out of a suplex. That’s enough for the diving tag off to Strowman, who busts out a dropkick of all things. The Strowman Express runs over the Vikings but doesn’t seem to scare Valhalla. The distraction lets Ivar run Strowman over and a top rope splash gives Ivar two. Ricochet comes back in and picks the pace way up as everything breaks down. Ricochet’s Swanton off of Strowman’s shoulders finishes Ivar at 10:18.

Rating: B-. Ricochet and Strowman are a good small/big man team and there will always be room for something like that, but I’m still not sure why the Vikings have been reduced to jobber status. They’re big, they are former champions and they never seem to win anything important. You need a team like that, but the Vikings are the best options for that role?

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez want to retain their Tag Team Titles and get some revenge.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

Morgan and Rodriguez are defending and get threatened with a drink to Morgan’s face (as she got on Raw) before the bell. Morgan dropkicks Deville down at the bell and it’s off to Rodriguez. A waistlock throw drops Green, who manages to knock Rodriguez to the floor. The dive is pulled out of the air but Deville hits a running knee from the apron to cut Rodriguez down.

Back in and Green takes over on Morgan, including Deville getting in some nefarious cheating behind the referee’s back. That doesn’t work for Morgan, who gets over to Rodriguez for the tag and house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Morgan dropkicks Green down but Rodriguez is sent outside. That lets Morgan throw a drink in Green’s face, allowing Morgan to get an (assisted) rollup to retain at 6:09.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see something of a feud, or at least a story, for the titles but this is hardly anything groundbreaking. The problem with the division has always been a lack of depth and that is the case again, but at least they are having matches on the shows and trying to do something. It’s a long road though, and that is likely going to be the case for a good while to come.

Matt Riddle swears revenge on Solo Sikoa tonight.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Xavier Woods

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending but the other two are sent to the back. Woods tries to strike away to start but gets dropped by a chop as we take an early break. Back with Gunther striking him down for two and snapping off a suplex to cut off a comeback bid. A bit too much trash talking lets Woods slug away and actually knock Gunther down.

Woods tries to go up top but gets chopped hard, only to knock Gunther back down again. The top rope legdrop gives Woods two, followed by a wheelbarrow faceplant for the same. Woods gets two more off a crucifix bomb but Gunther sleepers him out of nowhere to retain at 10:35.

Rating: B-. This was another match where there wasn’t a ton of drama about the result, but at least Woods got in some nice offense and gave the fans something to cheer for here and there. Instead, the match was more about having Gunther out there to abuse someone with those chops and add another title defense to his already incredible list.

We look back at Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defeating the Usos to win the Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania. The rematch is next week.

Backlash rundown, including Seth Rollins vs. Omos and Austin Theory defending the US Title against Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed. Those are a bit random but I’m at least somewhat intrigued by both.

Here are the Usos for a chat. They’re not sure how they’re feeling about their Wrestlemania loss but they’ll get the titles back next week. They talk about what a big match it is and dedicate the win to Roman Reigns and introduce Solo Sikoa for the main event.

Solo Sikoa vs. Matt Riddle

No DQ and Riddle jumps Sikoa from behind to start. A clothesline out of the corner cuts Riddle off though and an elbow to the jaw cuts him off again. Riddle’s triangle choke in the corner just earns Riddle a powerbomb and it’s time for some weapons. Riddle manages a kick to the head for a breather and the kendo sticks rock Sikoa for a change. A Broton on the floor hits Sikoa and we take a break.

Back with Sikoa hitting the Samoan drop for two and wrapping the chair around Riddle’s neck in the corner. The running Umaga Attack is cut off though and Riddle slugs away with a chair. A knee to the chair to Sikoa’s face gets two and a high collar suplex through some open chairs gives Riddle two more.

The Penalty Kick from the apron is broken up and Sikoa throws him over the announcers’ table. Riddle won’t let him turn the table over on him though and turns it on Sikoa instead. Cue the Usos to go after Riddle but he clears them out, only to get Rock Bottomed on the apron. Back in and the Samoan Spike finishes Riddle at 14:05.

Rating: C+. It was a hard hitting brawl but this is the kind of thing that felt like it would have fit in as a B level house show main event. Riddle hasn’t exactly looked great since his return, though that might be more Sikoa being treated as a bigger star. Sikoa isn’t going to be a top star, but he can be a heck of an enforcer/monster and that seems to be where he is heading.

The Usos 1D Riddle through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show had enough good action but it wasn’t the most interesting week. Other than some surprise matches being set up for Backlash, it felt like a show that didn’t change much of anything. I’m not sure how much of this really changed anything, and that’s not a good thing to see happen. That being said, the Draft starts next week and that’s a huge reset button, so this show wasn’t going to mean much of anything in the first place.

Results
Judgment Day b. Santos Escobar/Rey Mysterio – South of Heaven to Escobar
Ricochet/Braun Strowman b. Viking Raiders – Swanton to Ivar
Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan b. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville – Rollup to Green
Gunther b. Xavier Woods – Sleeper
Solo Sikoa b. Matt Riddle – Samoan Spike

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: April 7, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Wrestlemania and based on Raw, may be done with a way of life in WWE. The question now becomes if Raw was a one off or if it is the new normal. Triple H is apparently here for some kind of announcement and that could go in a variety of directions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania (Night One and Night Two) if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Wrestlemania.

Imperium vs. Brawling Brutes

Butch starts fast and chases people off before handing it off to Holland to bring in the power on Kaiser. It’s right back to Butch, who works on Vinci’s finger and stomps on the arm. Kaiser shoves Butch off the middle rope into a suplex from Vinci (who catches him in the air in a scary power display) as we take a break.

Back with Butch fighting out of a chinlock and bringing Holland in to clean house. Imperium isn’t having that and catches him with a triple boot in the corner. Gunther comes in to chop Holland down, setting up the running dropkick into the corner. A powerbomb gets two with Butch having to make the save. The Boston crab goes on but the crawl lets Holland get the tag to Sheamus. The ten forearms have Gunther in trouble and White Noise gets two. Vinci and Kaiser are back in with a high/low to Butch but Sheamus knees Vinci out of the air. The Brogue Kick finishes Vinci at 11:41.

Rating: B-. These guys work well together and there is nothing wrong with letting them beat on each other for awhile. It’s nice to see Sheamus getting some momentum back after the loss at Wrestlemania and I can go for having all of the Brutes together again for a change. Good opener here and it’s nice to see that on WWE TV again.

Long recap of the Cody Rhodes/Brock Lesnar saga from Raw.

Paul Heyman, with Solo Sikoa, says he will pass over a question about Lesnar and thank Roman Reigns for the amazing Wrestlemania. Jey Uso comes in to say he hasn’t seen Jimmy Uso all night. Heyman says Jimmy isn’t here, because Reigns wanted Jey to face Sami Zayn on his own tonight. Jey leaves, and Heyman tells Solo to solve the Sami Zayn problem tonight, or solve the Bloodline’s problems tonight. Well that’s ominous.

Ricochet vs. Ivar

Both partners have been banned from ringside but Valhalla is here with Ivar. Ricochet starts fast by sending Ivar outside, where Ivar crushes him against the apron. Back in and Ricochet flips out of a suplex and hits a running knee. Ivar knocks him down again and for some reason Ricochet tries a fireman’s carry. That level of brilliance earns him a spinning kick to the face but Ricochet knocks him out of the corner. The shooting star press finishes Ivar off at 4:05.

Rating: C+. I can go with Ricochet fighting a monster and getting a nice boost out of it as a result. More Ricochet is a good thing and it would be great to see him being elevated again. I’m not sure what is next for any of the teams from the showcase match but at least Ricochet is getting a little momentum.

Kevin Owens is looking at the titles but insists that he is LEERING at them. Sami Zayn is happy to be here and Owens talks about how big Sami vs. Jey Uso is going to be tonight. They can put the Bloodline behind them but Sami thinks something about this feels off. He can’t shake the feeling that he has to talk to Jey about…something. Everything Owens has said is true but Sami feels obligated to talk to him. Owens wants to know what Sami thinks is going to happen but knows he can’t talk him out of this. Sami knows he’s right but is going to do it anyway. I don’t see this going well at all.

Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi

Natalya and Shotzi send Rodriguez outside with Shotzi hitting a dive so hard that Rodriguez kind of belly to belly suplexes her. Back in and Shotzi hits a knee but a springboard hurricanrana is countered. It’s off to Morgan, who trades rollups with Natalya to limited avail. A release German suplex into a discus clothesline drops Morgan and Shotzi is back in for an assisted Sliced Bread. Rodriguez breaks up a Hart Attack and Oblivion finishes Shotzi at 2:50. This was very fast paced and gives Morgan and Rodriguez a bit of a boot on the way to their title match.

Madcap Moss and Xavier Woods are playing WWE2K23 when LA Knight comes in to complain about all the gaming. Why was Woods on Wrestlemania for video games and not him? Woods is tired of this and says he’ll beat Knight again if he has to.

Here is HHH for a chat. After saying there is nothing like that kind of a reaction, HHH brags about Wrestlemania and all of the successes it has had. Now though, Wrestlemania is behind us and we look to the future. Are you ready? In just a few weeks, it is time for the WWE Draft. This year’s will be bigger than ever with every single superstar eligible. When it is time, this year’s Draft will truly change the game. Speaking of that, here is someone who is doing just that: Rhea Ripley (with the rest of the Judgment Day.

Ripley says that everything changed at Wrestlemania when she did the impossible. She’s the star now and it is time to rise for Mami. Finn Balor talks about how Edge hut him but he is still standing (PLEASE tell me that story isn’t continuing). Dominik….has to pause for the fans booing him before talking about how he couldn’t bring himself to really hurt his father at Wrestlemania. He can’t stand Bad Bunny though and we see the big brawl with Bad Bunny on Monday. Damian Priest can forgive Bunny for what he did, but hopes Bunny can forgive Priest for what he had to do. Cue Rey Mysterio and the LWO as we’re ready to go.

Rey Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Judgment Day

It’s Dominik Mysterio/Damian Priest for the team here and Dominik tags out rather than face his dad to start. With Priest knocked down, Dominik comes in to hammer away and gets one off a suplex. Rey manages to flip out bring in Escobar to pick up the pace. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker drops Dominik and stereo dives take the villains down.

We take a break and come back with Dominik grabbing a front facelock on Escobar. A backdrop gets Escobar out of trouble and it’s Rey coming back in. Rey starts firing off some dropkicks but Rhea Ripley has to chase Zelina Vega. The 619 hits Dominik but Priest breaks up the Phantom Driver. South of Heaven finishes Escobar at 10:06.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced match that you would expect from Escobar and company, but unfortunately there was no real way to end this other than Escobar getting pinned. Since you can more or less pencil in Rey/Bunny vs. Priest/Dominik at Backlash, how else could they have gone? For now, it’s nice to see Priest getting a win as it doesn’t happen very often.

Shinsuke Nakamura is back next week.

Sami Zayn comes up to Jey Uso and says it’s fine if Jey doesn’t want to talk. Zayn says it’s the same as it has been for the last few months: everything Zayn has said would happen has happened. Jimmy Uso isn’t here and Roman Reigns isn’t here, while Solo Sikoa is looking like he is ready to drop the hammer. Now Sami will beat as much sense into Jey as he has to, but he’d rather not. Jey doesn’t say anything but we hear some kind of a fracas. Kevin Owens has been attacked by Solo Sikoa, who has dropped an anvil case on Owens’ leg.

Jey Uso vs. Sami Zayn

Before the match, Sami says Kevin Owens was right but he’s about to show Uso that he isn’t the only one with a problem. Jey shoulders him down to start but gets sent to the floor. Cue Solo Sikoa for a distraction as we take a break. Back with Sami hitting a superplex and hammering away. Sami gets superkicked out of the air but exploder suplexes Jey into the corner. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two and they go up top, where Sami gets headbutted to the apron. Sikoa gets in a cheap shot and Jey superkicks him for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: B-. If the Bloodline is continuing for the time being (or beyond), Uso needed to win here as the non-Reigns members needed the boost. If nothing else, this keeps up the idea of Sami/Owens needing each other to deal with the Bloodline, though Owens is not going to be happy here. In other words, the saga continues, despite a huge step being taken at Wrestlemania.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jey breaks up the Samoan Spike. Then he superkicks Sami himself and has Sikoa get a chair. Cue Matt Riddle for the save (remember that Sikoa put him on the shelf in December) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was just the comparison to Raw, but this was a rather good show and felt like everything before this Monday’s debacle. There were good matches and storylines advanced so it was a totally useful two hours of TV. That is better than I would have expected and we’ll it a huge relief. On top of that there is the Draft announcement so something big is on the horizon.

Results
Brawling Brutes b. Imperium – Brogue Kick to Vinci
Ricochet b. Ivar – Shooting star press
Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan b. Natalya/Shotzi – Oblivion to Shotzi
Judgment Day b. Rey Mysterio/Santos Escobar – South of Heaven to Escobar
Jey Uso b. Sami Zayn – Superkick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Wrestlemania XXXIX Night One
Date: April 1, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
America The Beautiful: Becky G

Dang it feels good to get to write that again. It’s the first night of the show and the card is pretty stacked. This time around, we have the Usos defending the Tag Team Titles against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, John Cena challenging Austin Theory for the US Title and Charlotte defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Rhea Ripley. Let’s get to it.

Becky G. sings America The Beautiful.

The opening video features a voiceover talking about how only one man could host this cold open and that is…..Kevin Hart! He talks about how this is the greatest show in the world and it is taking over Tinseltown. Everyone is going Hollywood tonight, which sends us to some of the Wrestlemania trailers.

The set is designed like the Academy Awards stage and looks GREAT. WWE knows their production stuff and they’re showing it again here.

Here is Wrestlemania Host the Miz with….Snoop Dogg. Miz compares their resumes and says they’re the same person. He declares them both to be champions, with Snoop saying the real champions are the ones in the audience. Miz runs down the card and says it’s time to go, so let’s do that.

US Title: Austin Theory vs. John Cena

Cena is challenging but first we look at Cena’s record setting Make-A-Wish numbers. There are a bunch of Make-A-Wish kids on stage as Cena makes his entrance (with a new GI Joe themed shirt). Cena runs him over with the shoulder to start and powers Theory into the corner without much trouble. Back up and Theory seems to bite Cena’s ear, allowing him to take Cena down for a change.

Cena gets in a few right hands but Theory is back with a rolling Blockbuster for two. A quick STF is broken for Cena and Theory stomps him down as the cockiness continues. Theory slips out of the AA and knocks him into the corner again but Cena comes out swinging. The sleeper cuts him off but Cena powers out and initiates the finishing sequence. The referee gets bumped so there is no one to see Theory tapping out to the STF. A low blow sets up A Town Down to retain the title at 11:18.

Rating: C. This was in the very basic mode but what matters is Theory pinned him in the middle of the ring. That is the only way this should have ended and the cheating doesn’t matter. Cena can lose every match he’s in for the rest of time and still be an all time legend, so the loss means nothing. You can tell Cena has lost a few steps, but he was perfectly fine out there all things considered. It should be a big one for Theory though and that’s what matters.

Braun Strowman/Ricochet vs. Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders vs. Alpha Academy

Titus O’Neil is on commentary and Valhalla is here with the Raiders. Gable ankle locks Ricochet rather quickly to start before Otis comes in to run Ricochet over. Everything breaks down though (Titus approves) and the Vikings clear the ring. Ragnarok plants Ford but the Raiders stop to pose, allowing Strowman to run them both over.

Gable is back in and….somehow he manages rolling Chaos Theory to Strowman. The fans REALLY like that one but Dawkins breaks that up. Ivar drops Dawkins and goes up, only to miss a moonsault. Strowman comes off the top with a splash of his own to Ivar (dang) but a bunch of people make a save.

We get a Tower Of Doom, but this time it’s Otis and Ivar holding up Dawkins and Gable with Ford above THEM, allowing Ricochet to hit a high crossbody to break it up. Now the Strowman Express gets going until Dawkins shoulders him down for a big surprise. Ricochet springboard shooting stars down onto Erik and Dawkins but the shooting star inside hits knees. Ford adds the frog splash to pin Ricochet at 8:23.

Rating: B. This feels like eight people were told to go out there and have fun with one big spot after another. You got to see the talented stars showing off (almost showcasing themselves) and it worked well. There were no stakes and it doesn’t mean anything for now, but this was a lot of fun.

The UpUpDownDown team previews Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul via video games.

We recap Paul vs. Rollins. Basically Rollins isn’t happy that Paul is getting this much attention without actually being a wrestler. Paul eliminating him from the Royal Rumble and costing him the Elimination Chamber didn’t help either. Since then, Paul has knocked Rollins out a few times (the steel plate in the hand helps), setting up the match.

Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins

Paul comes down on a zipline (and yes he’d mic’d up) and is accompanied by a dancing bottle of his Prime energy drink. On the other hand, Rollins has a conductor from the Los Angeles Symphony (or something close to it) conducting the crowd as they sing his entrance song. Eh point to Rollins. They circle each other a bit to start with Rollins taking him down without much effort. The Stomp misses but Paul pops back up and sends him outside.

Back in and Rollins sends him into the corner, where Paul snaps Rollins’ throat across the top. The Maverick (Buckshot) Lariat connects and Paul stomps away at the ribs. A standing moonsault gives Paul two and it’s off to an Octopus hold on the mat. With that broken up, Paul jumps from the mat to the top but misses the moonsault, allowing Rollins to throw him over the top.

Three straight suicide dives connect for Rollins and he stomps Paul’s hand on the steps. Back in and they trade rollups for two each before Paul hits the loaded right hand….but he can’t cover because of the stomp. The very delayed cover gets two so Rollins loads up another stomp, only to have the Prime mascot pull Rollins out of the way. It’s…..KSI, Paul’s business partner (and a YouTuber/boxer), which allows Paul to knock him onto the announcers’ table.

The big splash is loaded up but Paul hits KSI as Rollins pulls him in the way. Back in and the Pedigree gets two but the stomp is countered into a fireman’s carry gutbuster (or GTS according to commentary). A frog splash gives Paul two so he tries to go Coast To Coast, only to get superkicked out of the air. The Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 16:11.

Rating: B+. As has been the case, Paul continues to be scary good at this stuff. There were some great near falls in there and Rollins was the right choice to help walk Paul through the match on such a hue stage. Sometimes it’s ok to just let the guys go out there and hit one high spot after another, though they even had the hand injury and Rollins going for the Stomp over and over to tie it together. Paul as a special attraction still works well and it will be great to have him around for the future if he wants to.

We recap Trish Stratus/Lita/Becky Lynch vs. Damage Ctrl. Becky needed some help with the numbers game so Lita showed up for the save. Then they won the titles and Trish Stratus showed up to help as well. Now it’s a six woman tag, with Trish slightly miffed at the suggestion that she is Becky’s backup.

Trish Stratus/Lita/Becky Lynch vs. Damage Ctrl

Trish and company get a comic book themed video and come to the ring in black and white with CGI rain. Well that’s different. The brawl is on before the bell and Becky can’t get the Manhandle Slam. An assisted double neckbreaker drops Becky and Sky hits a running boot in the corner. Becky kicks her way out of trouble but Kai breaks up the tag attempt. The second attempt works though and it’s Lita coming back in to clean house (while looking rather slow and hesitant at times).

A cheap shot puts Damage Ctrl back in, uh, control and the beating is on. Lita suplexes her way out of trouble though and it’s Trish coming in to fire off on Kai in the corner. A neckbreaker gets two on Kai but the Stratusphere is broken up. Instead, Trish sends Kai down onto the other two in a big crash. Back in and Becky’s top rope legdrop sets up the legdrop but the Disarm-Her is broken up.

The Manhandle Slam is broken up and Sky gets in a cheap shot, allowing Bayley to hit the Rose Plant for two, with Lita making the save. Everything breaks down and Stratus hits Kai with Stratusfaction. Becky rolls Bayley up for two and everyone but Sky falls to the floor. Sky moonsaults onto the pile and everyone heads back inside for a slugout. Lita hits the Twist of Fate and Trish hits the Chick Kick, setting up the Litasault. Becky adds a super Manhandle Slam to finish Bayley at 14:37.

Rating: C-. This could have been a lot worse. It wasn’t exactly great but this was more about having Trish and Lita on the big stage again. They are still legends and of course they’re nowhere near what they once were. Neither of them has wrestled a regular schedule and they’re shells of their former selves. The big thing though is they’re still some of the biggest names ever in women’s wrestling and wrestling legends period. Becky got the pin so it isn’t like one of the legends beat a modern star. It wasn’t very good, but it was also far from some disaster.

We recap Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio. Rey has tried to be the best father he can to Dominik but wasn’t always there because of wrestling. Eventually Dominik got sick of living in his shadow and joined Judgment Day, who he says is his real family. Then Dominik got arrested for invading Rey’s house on Christmas Eve, earning him a jail sentence of…a few hours. Then earlier this month, Dominik insulted his mom and that was enough to get Rey to FINALLY agree to fight him.

We see Dominik being taken from his cell and being put in the back of a police van…which is then backed into the arena. Dominik, still cuffed and in a lucha mask (looks like Rey’s from Halloween Havoc 1997), is taken to the ring by armed guards. Because of course he does.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Rey on the other hand comes to the ring in a low rider, as driven by Snoop Dogg, complete with the VIVA LA RAZA start to Eddie Guerrero’s theme. After Rey greets Bad Bunny (on Spanish commentary), we’re ready to go. Dominik shoves him around a bit and poses but Rey sends him outside to even things up a bit. Back in and Rey snaps off a running hurricanrana before sending him into the corner for a spanking with a belt.

Dominik rolls outside to throw a drink at his sister Aliyah, drawing her over the barricade. Rey isn’t having that and helps get her back over, allowing Dominik to get in a cheap shot. A Falcon Arrow drops Rey again and Dominik goes outside to yell at his mom. She slaps the heck out of him (oh yeah there’s a reaction) and Rey makes the save, while throwing in a kiss. Dominik gets in a cheap shot back inside as the rest of Judgment Day is here.

Dominik loads up a powerbomb and sends Rey backwards, face first into the buckle (that looked NASTY). Three Amigos are broken up and Rey fights back up but the Judgment Day distraction lets Dominik get in a cheap shot. Cue the LWO (took them long enough) to go after Judgment Day but the distraction lets Dominik hit a 619 into the frog splash for two. With nothing else working, Dominik whips out a chain but Bad Bunny takes it away. The 619 and a frog splash connect to finish Dominik at 14:28.

Rating: A-. This was GREAT and I had a blast with the whole thing. The main thing here is the fans were into it the whole way and carried it so much further. The key to the whole story is that it is something you can relate to. How many parents have had a kid who thought way too much of themselves and ran their mouth to the point where you wanted to (emphasis on those words) smack them? The action was awesome and I wasn’t sure who was winning until the ending, so well done all around. Quite likely Rey’s best Wrestlemania match ever too.

Backlash ad.

We recap Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley. They have met before at Wrestlemania and Charlotte beat her, which has Charlotte believing that she can do it again. This is a different Ripley though and she is ready to prove that she is the best.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is challenging. They hit shoulders to start with Charlotte going down, allowing Rhea to tell her to suck it. Back in and they slug it out, with Ripley knocking her into the corner. Ripley bodyscissors her, followed by a German suplex to cut off the comeback. Charlotte gets in a shot and goes after the knee, as is her custom, but Ripley isn’t having that. Riptide is blocked and they trade big boots to leave them both down.

They slug it out until Charlotte snaps off a fall away slam and goes up top. That takes too long though and Ripley catches her with a release German superplex for two, leaving Ripley stunned. Charlotte goes to the knee again and Natural Selection gets two. They go outside with Charlotte missing a charge into the steps, allowing Ripley to hit a belly to back faceplant for two.

Charlotte rolls some German suplexes but Ripley gets one of her own (with Charlotte almost landing on her head). Charlotte is fine enough to hit a big boot and Ripley is sent outside, where the moonsault connects. The Figure Four is blocked and Charlotte almost runs into the referee, leaving Ripley to hit Riptide for…two (yeah you knew Charlotte would get to kick out of that at least once).

The stunned Ripley gets small packaged for two and the Prism Trap goes on instead. Charlotte makes the ropes and the referee is almost bumped, meaning a spear can give Charlotte two. They slug it out until Charlotte hits another big boot into the Figure Four but Ripley is right next to the ropes. Ripley goes to the apron and they both go up, with Charlotte being dropped face first onto the post. Charlotte is out and the super Riptide gives Ripley the pin and the title at 23:32.

Rating: B+. This started slowly but once they got into the big falls they had me wondering where it was going. While it would have been hard to imagine Ripley losing, there is always that chance with Charlotte in there. What matters is Ripley gets the win that matters and becomes the new star. Charlotte needs to go away from Ripley for a bit (it feels like she hasn’t been on Raw in a long time) and let her be the big deal. For now they, I’ll take Ripley getting the title that she has earned and getting it by pinning Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

Austin Theory brags about his win and asks if you believe in Theory now.

Miz and Snoop Dogg announce the attendance: 80,497. Dogg says the only thing better than those numbers would be if Miz had a match. As it turns out, Miz has put out an open challenge for a Wrestlemania match (even on MySpace) and no one answered. Cue Pat McAfee to say he didn’t see an open challenge but he’s in his Wrestlemania tank top.

Miz says he would love to but just because he is the Wrestlemania host doesn’t mean he can make matches. That’s good for a TINY BALLS chant and McAfee asks who can make a match. Snoop decides he can and the match is on. Miz yells at him but Snoop says “I don’t do this. I rap.” And we’re off.

Miz vs. Pat McAfee

Miz is in street clothes and walks into a spinebuster. McAfee puts him on top and backflips off, allowing Miz to dive into a superkick to send him outside. Miz yells at San Francisco 49 (and wrestling fanatic) George Kittle, who jumps the barricade and clotheslines him, allowing McAfee to flip dive off the pose to take Miz out. Back in and the punt finishes Miz at 3:31.

Rating: C. It was quick, it was funny, they had the celebrity stuff includes and Miz losing is hardly anything new. This was a nice way to give the fans something easy between the Women’s Title match and the main event. Throw in Graves losing his mind over all things McAfee and this was a quick side trip that didn’t hurt anything.

Wrestlemania XL is in Philadelphia.

We recap Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. the Usos. Zayn was at his lowest point just after Wrestlemania last year and needed help. He tried to join the Bloodline and finally got them to say yes, though Jey Uso didn’t trust him. During his attempts to get the team to trust him, Zayn attacked on/off again friend Kevin Owens. Then Roman Reigns changed his mind on Zayn, who turned on Reigns to leave the Bloodline. Jey, who had finally embraced him, walked away as Zayn tried to get Owens on his side. Zayn finally begged enough and got Owens to join him again to fight the Bloodline, including the title match here.

Lil Uzi Vert (a rapper from Philadelphia) performs before the Usos’ entrance and then poses with them.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Owens and Zayn are challenging and it’s pretty amazing that they have made it here. Zayn starts with Jimmy but let’s make it Jey instead. Jey takes over and sends Zayn outside for a clothesline and posting. Back in and the champs start taking turns on Zayn, who gets to stagger around like he’s barely hanging in there as he does so well. Zayn finally gets away though and hands it off to Owens who comes in and goes nuts.

A Swanton off the top to the floor takes out both Usos and a bullfrog splash gets two back inside. The Swanton only hits Jimmy’s knees though and Jey adds the Superfly Splash for two. Owens pops back up though and kicks Jimmy into the corner for the Cannonball. Zayn brainbusters Jey into the apron and the Swanton gives Owens two on Jimmy in a near fall. Zayn’s Superfly Splash gets two on Jimmy and there’s the Blue Thunder Bomb but Jey comes in off a blue tag.

A jumping superkick hits Zayn for two and even more superkicks get two more, with Owens making the save. Double basement superkicks get two more on Zayn, who won’t give up. Owens breaks up the 1D though and sends Jimmy into the announcers’ table over and over. Jey makes the save though and it’s a double chokeslam to send Owens through the table. Now the 1D connects on Zayn for two and Jey is livid.

Jey unloads on Zayn in the corner and Zayn of course looks like he’s dead on his feet (or incredibly drunk), with a Helluva Kick from Jey making it worse. The trash talk is on but Zayn hits an exploder into the corner. Owens is back up for the tag and it’s a Helluva Kick to Jimmy and a Stunner to Jey….for two in a heck of a false finish (they got me there). They both stand up (Owens: “LET’S END IT”!) and it’s time for the barrage of superkicks.

Owens gets dropped and Zayn is kicked on the floor, setting up the double Superfly Splash for the very near fall. More superkicks drop Owens but he reverses a superplex into the swinging superplex, allowing the big tag to Zayn. The Helluva Kick in the corner hits Jey and, after Zayn whispers something to him, another Helluva Kick knocks him silly. Owens Stuns Jimmy and the third Helluva Kick finishes Jey and ends the title reign at 24:07.

Rating: A-. This was all about the moment and it was a smash hit. They had set this story up months ago and now they got the chance to pay the whole thing off. The last few minutes were the kind of situation where you could feel the big moment coming but they made you wait for it anyway. It was a heck of a match (cut out the superkick spamming and it’s even better) and the best way to close out a pretty awesome night.

Owens and Zayn celebrate in an emotional moment.

The big highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show with only a little bit that wasn’t very good or better. Wrestling aside though, this was built around one important thing: stories that had been set up months in advance and are being paid off. Theory vs. Cena, Rey vs. Dominik, Ripley vs. Charlotte and the main event were all set up a good while ago and we got to see how it went to get us to the payoffs. That made them all the sweeter and it was a much more emotional moment as a result.

As for the show itself, you had a series of strong matches, with Rey vs. Dominik, the Women’s Title and the main event all being awesome, plus a very good showcase match. The six woman tag wasn’t very good and the opener was just ok, but the rest of the show worked well. I had a blast with this show and it felt special, which is the point of Wrestlemania. Nicely done and Night Two has its work cut out.

Results
Austin Theory b. John Cena – A Town Down
Street Profits b. Braun Strowman/Ricochet, Alpha Academy and Viking Raiders – Frog splash to Ricochet
Seth Rollins b. Logan Paul – Stomp
Trish Stratus/Lita/Becky Lynch b. Damage Ctrl – Super Manhandle Slam to Bayley
Rey Mysterio b. Dominik Mysterio – Frog splash
Rhea Ripley b. Charlotte – Super Riptide
Pat McAfee b. Miz – Punt
Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Usos – Helluva Kick to Jey

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: March 17, 2023
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We are just over two weeks away from Wrestlemania and that means things are serious around here. Tonight is going to be about finding a new #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title as Sheamus faces Drew McIntyre. Other than that, there is a good chance that we hear from Cody Rhodes again. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. Rhodes asks what we want to talk about and suggests Wrestlemania. He respects Roman Reigns and is looking forward to seeing him in this ring on Raw. He’s looking forward to seeing him at Wrestlemania as well, where he will be Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. Rhodes doesn’t want to talk about someone though, because he would rather talk to someone. So Kevin Owens, come on out here.

Cue Owens, with Rhodes saying he respects him….but there is someone else we need here. Rhodes requests and receives Sami Zayn, leaving us with a rather tense staredown with Rhodes in the middle. Rhodes talks about how he told WWE good luck in their future endeavors and needed someone to watch his back. Owens introduced him to some people who helped him reach his goals and that is a favor he can never repay.

The fans want them to HUG IT OUT and Zayn talks about the horrible things he and Owens have done to each other. Somehow though, they’ve always found a way to get back on the same page and Zayn doesn’t get why this time is different. If there is something Owens needs to get off his chest, DO IT! If Owens needs to scream at him or hit him in the face, DO IT, so they can get back together again. Owens asks Rhodes if he got what he wanted so he can leave.

Cody: “What I want?” Rhodes says everyone wants the same thing, with Zayn talking about them taking down the Bloodline. Owens has heard all of that before but why would he fight for someone who doesn’t want to be his friend? Zayn is stunned and Owens thanks Rhodes before walking away. They’re taking their time with this and the moment when Owens finally saves Zayn is going to be great.

Post break, Owens is getting in his car when Zayn cuts him off. Zayn says they’re friends, they’ll always be friends, and they’re brothers. If Owens never wants to talk to him again, that’s fine, but Zayn loves him. Owens goes to leave, quickly looks back at Zayn, and drives away, clearly moved by that in some way.

Zelina Vega/Santos Escobar vs. Rhea Ripley/Dominik Mysterio

Escobar forearms Dominik down to start, with Dominik having to bail to the ropes. Ripley comes in but gets her boot to the ribs caught. Vega comes in for a top rope seated senton into a hurricanrana driver to send Ripley outside. A middle rope moonsault takes her down again and we take a break.

Back with Escobar hitting a loud dropkick on Dominik and adding a standing legdrop for two. Ripley gets in a cheap shot though and a double crossbody leaves both of them down. Vega comes back in as everything breaks down, with Rhea getting dropped by a kick. Ripley sends Vega outside and grabs a powerbomb to set up a Tower of Doom on the men. A Vega knee to the face rocks Ripley but she’s right back with Riptide to finish Vega at 7:07.

Rating: C+. Vega got a lot of shine here but there is no way she was going to be a major threat to a monster like Ripley. Escobar continues to be protected and I’m curious to see what he can do when he gets away from the Mysterios. It was a good use of all four though and there is some potential to be seen.

Post match Dominik gets the mic and says his Hall of Fame father was a deadbeat. Cue Rey Mysterio on the Titantron and we take a break. Back with Rey coming to the ring and Dominik saying his father is finally here for once. Dominik wanted Rey around all kinds of times but he is just a scared excuse for a father. He is about to call Rey a piece of s….but Rey cuts him off.

Rey asks if Dominik wants the truth because yeah, he has missed all kinds of things. No matter what though, Dominik was still his world. He sacrificed a lot of things so his family could have the best life they could imagine. No matter what Dominik did to get in trouble, the Mysterio name bailed him out. Rey gets emotional as he brings up going into the Hall of Fame….and he wants Dominik standing next to him on the stage. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!”

Rey says that maybe it’s too late for that, because his greatest regret is what Dominik has become. He doesn’t like some punk kid calling him out so he’d be glad to beat Dominik up at Wrestlemania. But he won’t because it would be a disgrace as a father. Rey will not fight him now, ever, or at Wrestlemania. Dominik calls Rey out as he walks away, calling him a scared, scared little man. Rey leaves, but looks very upset. Much like the opening segment, they’re teasing the big moment and kind of need to just make the match already.

There will be two four way tag team showcase matches at Wrestlemania and we are going to have qualifying matches starting now.

Wrestlemania Qualifying Match: Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Emma/Tegan Nox

Liv throws Rodriguez into Nox in the corner to start but gets taken into the wrong corner. The double teaming is on but Liv gets over to Raquel for the house cleaning. The fall away slam and spinning Vader Bomb hit Emma, followed by a Codebreaker from Liv to Nox. Liv and Nox fight to the floor so it’s the Texana Bomb into Oblivion to finish Emma at 3:43.

Rating: C. So we’re having a four way tag match with possibly thrown together teams at Wrestlemania? And the battle royals were seen as worse ideas? Are they fighting for anything? Maybe a title shot? I would hope so, as otherwise this is going to be up there with the worthlessness of Dino Bravo vs. Texas Tornado matches of Wrestlemanias gone by.

We look back at Charlotte and Rhea Ripley yelling at each other last week.

Here is Charlotte (in a mostly there bright yellow body suit) to say that when she was growing up, it was Rhodes as a challenger and Flair as a champion. Charlotte has always gone into Wrestlemania as a challenger or the champion, but Rhea Ripley can never get there because she isn’t a Charlotte level star.

Cue Ripley (with Dominik) to say that she did choose Charlotte. Ripley walks through the locker room, everyone turns away in fear. She is dangerous and bloody good at what she does, which makes everyone feel her….except Charlotte. That ticks Ripley off and it makes her NEED the Women’s Title. Ripley promises to make Charlotte fear her and Dominik talks trash, allowing Ripley to drop Charlotte with a shot. Dominik and Ripley leave but Charlotte cuts them off and the fight is on, with security not being able to hold them back. They fight over the barricade and are FINALLY separated after a rather energized brawl.

Sami Zayn talks about how two people who he has considered his brother have left him. It’s time he thought about things.

Xavier Woods vs. LA Knight

This is the result of Knight mocking Woods for playing WWE2K23 earlier. Knight pounds away to start as Barrett says Knight has the shoes of a champion. Woods is right back with a middle rope missile dropkick but Knight runs him over. That’s fine with Woods, who grabs Backwoods for the pin at 2:22.

Great Muta is going into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

LA Knight runs into Rey Mysterio, signing autographs, in the back. If Rey won’t fight Dominik Mysterio, Knight certainly will. Rey hits him and speaks Spanish, with Knight wondering what he said.

We recap Gunther and Sheamus co-winning last week’s #1 contenders match, meaning tonight it’s one on one for the Wrestlemania Intercontinental Title shot.

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

The winner gets Gunther, watching from ringside with Imperium, for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania. They shove each other around to start as Wade Barrett gets Gunther a headset for a quick interview. Gunther is having none of this lack of preparedness in the interview and drops it as McIntyre hits a Michinoku Driver for two. Sheamus fires off some knees but gets sent into the corner. McIntyre charges into a raised boot but catches Sheamus on top. The huge superplex leaves them both down and we take a break.

Back with McIntyre hitting a neckbreaker and nipping up as Sheamus is in trouble. The Claymore is cut off by a hard knee though and they’re both down again. They both hit big boots for another double knockdown….and Gunther gets inside. Gunther asks which one it’s going to be but Imperium jumps both of them from behind for the double DQ at 11:44.

Rating: B-. I think you know where this is going and there is a good chance that was the case when the match was announced. Gunther and Imperium seem to be the latest group to not remember history, meaning the triple threat is likely coming. For now though, I can take these two powerhouses beating each other up for ten minutes to set up them beating up Gunther at Wrestlemania.

Post match the beatdown is on but Adam Pearce pops up on screen to announce the triple threat title match at Wrestlemania, because Gunther clearly didn’t mean it when he said he wanted one challenger.

Here is Jey Uso for a showdown with Sami Zayn. Cue Zayn to ask how Jey wants to do this. Jey says he didn’t like or trust Zayn since day one. Eventually, everyone started to like him though, including Roman Reigns himself, but Jey never bought it. Then the one time he finally let his guard down, Zayn betrayed him. Jey knew that Zayn was a fake Uce, but Sami accuses Jey of taking Reigns’ abuse. The reality is Jey is mad at himself and wanted to hit Reigns with the chair.

The brawl is on, with Jimmy Uso running in for the beatdown on Zayn. Cue Kevin Owens through and the Usos are quickly wrecked despite Zayn still being down. The Usos are gone and Zayn and Owens have the big reunion…..as Cody Rhodes is watching in the back. There’s your big moment, as the team to go after the Bloodline at Wrestlemania is officially united.

Overall Rating: B. Like many Wrestlemania season TV shows, this wasn’t about the wrestling at all, but rather everything that was going on around it. You had the long awaited Owens/Zayn reunion, Rey Mysterio finally starting to stand up to Dominik, and a pretty awesome Charlotte/Rhea Ripley brawl. That was the focus of the show, with Sheamus vs. McIntyre getting their Wrestlemania match as a result. The wrestling, which was ok to good, wasn’t the point here and that’s how the final shows before Wrestlemania should go.

Results
Dominik Mysterio/Rhea Ripley b. Zelina Vega/Santos Escobar – Riptide to Vega
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez b. Emma/Tegan Nox – Oblivion to Emma
Xavier Woods b. LA Knight – Backwoods
Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre went to a double disqualification when Imperium interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: March 10, 2023
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are just over three weeks away from Wrestlemania and the biggest development coming into this show was Jey Uso rejoining the Bloodline by taking out Sami Zayn. That seems to be the step that we have been waiting for on the way to whatever the Usos and Zayn are going to be doing at Wrestlemania so we might see something big tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Jey rejoining his brother Jimmy on Smackdown in a great turn. Cody Rhodes made the save to tie it into the World Title situation.

The Usos arrive and are greeted by Paul Heyman. Jey asks where Roman Reigns is but Heyman hugs him. Jey says let Reigns know he’s here so Heyman goes to find him. When asked why he turned on Sami Zayn, Jey says he’ll make it clear tonight. Jimmy says Cody Rhodes needs to stay out of the Bloodline’s business.

Opening sequence.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. LA Knight vs. Xavier Woods vs. Karrion Kross

The winner gets Gunther for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania and only Scarlett is here as a second. Sheamus and McIntyre clear the ring to start and bicker at each other, only to get jumped from behind. We take a break and come back with the brawl on the floor and Kross/Knight double teaming McIntyre down. Sheamus is back up with a top rope clothesline. Knight neckbreakers Sheamus down, with Kross letting go of his half crab on McIntyre for the save.

Woods is back up and takes out Knight with a fireman’s carry gutbuster. The Limit Breaker gets two with everyone else breaking it up. Cue Imperium to watch as we take a break. Back with McIntyre doing his situp in the corner to superplex Kross and McIntyre down for the big crash. McIntyre gets to clean house but Knight takes him down.

Sheamus is back up with the forearms to Kross and Knight but McIntyre breaks up the Brogue Kick. McIntyre and Sheamus have the staredown but Sheamus has to Brogue Kick Woods out of the air. The Claymore hits Knight and Sheamus and McIntyre get a double pin at 17:32.

Rating: B-. The match got some time and the ending probably sets up a triple threat, which is more interesting than Sheamus vs. Gunther again. I could go for McIntyre vs. Gunther in a singles match, but this should make for a heck of a fight. Gunther is on a record setting title reign and having him face two former World Champions at Wrestlemania sounds like a worthy challenge.

Paul Heyman, looking distracted, talks about how Roman Reigns has been champion for almost 1000 days and the two of them have managed to outsmart everyone. They have done it by getting inside everyone’s heads but now there is Cody Rhodes as a stylistic nightmare for them. Should they go after him like gangsters like they have done before? The smart thing is to go after him with the truth and weigh his mind down. He’s going to walk into Wrestlemania as a defeated man and that is why Reigns will retain.

The first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame (it took long enough): Rey Mysterio. I didn’t have that one coming but yeah that’s a headliner.

Here is Rey Mysterio to talk about his induction but Dominik Mysterio and the Judgment Day interrupts. Dominik talks about how much time Rey sacrificed with him for the sake of his career. Cue Legado del Fantasma, with Santos Escobar saying they have a match scheduled for later but let’s do it right now.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Judgment Day

Joined in progress with Balor hitting a basement dropkick on Del Toro. Priest comes in to stomp away in the corner, followed by the jumping elbow to the face. Del Toro manages a quick hurricanrana so Escobar can come in for some running knees to Balor in the corner. Legado takes turns with some running corner clotheslines but Priest runs Del Toro over. The toss suplex sets up Dominik’s slingshot hilo and we take a break with Legado in trouble.

Back with Escobar making a comeback and handing it off to Del Toro for the springboard crossbody. A standing C4 gets two on Dominik and a rope walk dropkick sends Priest outside. Everything breaks down and the double dives take out Judgment Day. Vega’s hurricanrana off the steps is pulled out of the air and Rhea Ripley throws her into Legado. Dominik takes out Rey and Priest hits a basement superkick to give Dominik the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. This got going and turned into a fast paced six man tag, with judgment Day beating the team that has barely been a team for the last month or so. Escobar has mainly been a solo act but having his friends with him is not a bad thing. Good, fun match here and I can always go for a nice six man.

Post match Dominik asks to talk to Rey man to man, even asking Judgment Day to leave him alone. Dominik says the only Hall of Fame Rey belong in is the one for deadbeat dads. He should have been Eddie’s son and knocks Rey down, but Rey ducks a charge to send Dominik outside. Dominik screams at Rey to fight him but Rey still says no. Legado comes in to calm Rey down. This match is actually going to feel big when we get there.

Adam Pearce runs into Charlotte in the back and wants a match, any match, tonight. He’ll see what he can do.

Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders

Ricochet takes Erik down to start but Ivar comes in to hit him in the face. It’s off to Strowman, who LAUNCHES Ricochet over the top onto both Vikings as we take a break. Back with Ricochet getting his neck cranked and getting punched down for daring a comeback. Ivar distracts Strowman so Erik can drive him off the apron as the dominance is on.

Ricochet fights back and rolls Erik up for two, only to get caught in a good looking sitout powerbomb for two more. A springboard moonsault press drops Erik as Strowman is getting back up to the apron to take the tag. Strowman gets to clean house and Ricochet kicks Ivar down. Valhalla offers a distraction though and the 450 misses. Ivar kicks Ricochet in the face and hits a top rope splash for the pin at 10:55.

Rating: C. The ending had me a bit scared as I was wondering if Valhalla was going to do some weird supernatural stuff but thankfully they didn’t go that way. The Vikings are a team who keeps getting started and stopped and right now seems to be the former. Maybe they can put something together, as there is value in having a pair of monsters like this in any tag division.

Gunther asks Adam Pearce about the Intercontinental Title match and is told there will be potential challengers. That’s not cool with Gunther, but Pearce makes Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre next week for the title shot at Wrestlemania.

Charlotte vs. Shotzi

Non-title and Charlotte runs her over to start. Shotzi grabs a rollup for two but gets waistlocked down. Cue Rhea Ripley for a distraction but Charlotte grabs a suplex anyway. We take a break and come back with Charlotte booting her off the apron. Charlotte gets driven into the apron but is fine enough to cut off a dive attempt. A fall away slam sends Shotzi flying and the spear sets up the Figure Eight to finish Shotzi at 8:22.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a workout for Charlotte, who ran over Shotzi without much trouble, even with Ripley there for the distraction. Charlotte needs a few wins of her own to keep up with Ripley, who is on a roll at the moment. This helped make Charlotte look like a killer, which she hasn’t been in recent weeks.

Post match Ripley gets in the ring and says that she can see why she chose to face Charlotte at Wrestlemania. She can see all of those insecurities and now she is going to take Charlotte’s title. Charlotte says that she has improved every day and can outwork anyone, male or female. Ripley can rip apart anyone, except for her.

Here are the Usos for their big speech. Jimmy talks about the team being back together and Jey says let’s flip roles for a bit. If your family is in trouble, you’re going to take their side and help them out. If they need a ride to work or their power is about to be shut off, you’re going to help them.

Jimmy is his twin and his blood and of course he helped his brother out. The only person Jey blames is Sami Zayn because the reality is, Sami is selfish. All Zayn had to do was fall in line but he isn’t blood and never will be. The only problem left is Cody Rhodes….and here he is to interrupt.

Cody says if you’re going to say his name, say it straight to him. He doesn’t answer to Reigns but rather the people….and here is Sami Zayn to jump the Usos. The big brawl is on and they head into the crowd until it’s back to ringside. Sami and Cody clear the ring to end the show. That was a hot segment but I’m not sure I can imagine Cody/Sami vs. the Usos, as that feels pay per view worthy rather than TV.

Overall Rating: B-. This was another show where they were mainly building up things already set, or all but set, for Wrestlemania. The Usos’ reunion didn’t mean much but at least they were on the show and confirmed Jey’s status. Next week’s #1 contenders match should be good and we took a big step towards the battle of the Mysterios. It was another show that felt like it had a big to do list and checked off one item at a time. Good show here, as Wrestlemania is getting a proper build instead of the rush jobs that we have seemed to get in recent years.

Results
Sheamus and Drew McIntyre b. Xavier Woods, Karrion Kross and LA Knight – Double pin
Judgment Day b. Legado del Fantasma – Superkick to Del Toro
Viking Raiders b. Ricochet/Braun Strowman – Top rope splash to Ricochet
Charlotte b. Shotzi – Figure Eight

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: October 14, 2022
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re on the road to Crown Jewel but this is going to be the Bray Wyatt Show. After not appearing on Monday Night Raw Wyatt is advertised for this week’s show, meaning we might get an idea of what the new version will be like. Other than that, we find out the new #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with Scarlett and Karrion Kross having been in a car wreck outside the arena and barely able to walk. Drew McIntyre runs up and jumps Kross, ramming him into the side of a truck over and over, with the trunk being dented. The door is slammed on Kross and referees break it up, with McIntyre shouting that this is just the beginning. Major points for starting with something different for a change.

Opening sequence.

Kofi Kingston vs. Sami Zayn

Before the match, New Day talks about the Usos challenging their Tag Team Title reign. We cut to the back where Jey Uso isn’t happy with Sami Zayn. The phone rings and it’s Roman Reigns, who seems happy with Sami but not happy with Jey. Rather than fighting though, Jey goes along with whatever Reigns (who we can’t hear) is saying. As for the match, Kofi sends him outside to start and we take a break less than a minute in.

Back with Sami hitting a suplex and adding a running Umaga attack in the corner. Sami goes up top, only to be dropkicked out of the air for a big crash. Kofi seems to try a hurricanrana out of the corner but they mistime something, with Sami managing to turn it into a rollup (that was a sweet save and it could have been WAY worse). Sami knocks him off the top and out tot he floor as we take a break.

Back with Sami being sent outside for a change so Kofi can hit a dive. Jimmy Uso drops Woods with a heck of a superkick on the floor, allowing Sami to hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Kofi flips out of a suplex and rolls him up, only to have Jey make the reversal and Sami gets the pin at 14:50.

Rating: B. These two are both better known for their out of the ring antics (or at least well known for them) and I think people forget just how good they are once the bell rings. Kofi vs. Sami is a match that could work well under almost any circumstances because they’re both so talented at what they do. Jey biting the bullet and helping Sami win should calm things down for the time being, but that explosion is coming one day.

HHH is here when Rey Mysterio comes up to him. Rey talks about how bad things are going with Dominik on Monday Night Raw. He doesn’t see a way forward….so he quits. HHH says hang on a second and asks to talk about this in his office.

NXT’s Roxanne Perez is here with Shotzi to pick Cora Jade’s opponent for next week’s NXT. She picks Raquel Rodriguez, but Damage Ctrl comes in. Bayley says she should be the pick, but instead, we’ll have a six woman tag tonight.

Braun Strowman vs. James Maverick/Brian Thomas

The destruction is on but Omos and MVP come through the crowd for a distraction. Strowman doesn’t mind and it’s the powerslam into a powerbomb for the double stack pin at 1:57.

Post match MVP mocks the idea of Strowman being the monster among monsters. Next to Omos, Strowman looks normal. Strowman calls Omos to the ring but MVP seems to think we’ll do this later.

Jey Uso wants Sami Zayn to thank him for that out there but neither Sami nor Solo Sikoa saw it. Sami is happy that Solo is following in his footsteps.

Mansoor vs. LA Knight

Mace and Maxxine Dupri are here too. Knight backdrops him to start and hits a running clothesline to the floor. Mace offers a distraction though, allowing Mansoor to get in a cheap shot. A DDT drops Knight but he’s right back with a jumping neckbreaker. The slingshot shoulder drops Mansoor and BFT (Blunt Force Trauma) gives Knight the pin at 2:52. Knight looked just fine here as usual, making me wonder why they bothered with the Dupri stuff in the first place. I mean ok so the answer is “Vince” but it’s still an odd choice.

Post match Knight mocks the fans for cheering him and puts the locker room on notice. It’s his game so everyone can line up to get their ticket punched.

We look back at Bray Wyatt’s Extreme Rules return.

Damage Ctrl vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Roxanne Perez/Shotzi

Perez and Kai start things off with Perez managing to hit a headscissors. Sky comes in and takes Perez into the corner. That’s broken up and Perez sends her outside for a suicide dive. Back in and it’s off to Shotzi to knock Sky to the floor. Back in and Shotzi gets caught in the wrong corner, only to come back out to send Kai face first into the apron.

The hot tag brings in Rodriguez to clean house, including loading up a powerbomb to Kai on the floor. Sky breaks that up with an Asai moonsault, leaving Shotzi to hit a big dive. Back in and the Bayley to Belly gets two on Perez, leaving Bayley stunned. Bayley goes up top but gets super hurricanranaed right back down. The Rose Plant is countered into a rollup which is countered into a crucifix to give Bayley the pin at 6:42.

Rating: C+. This was all about showcasing Perez and she nailed her part out there. That sequence at the end with Bayley saw her going move for move with an established veteran and I think WWE knows they have something special with her. The other four more or less vanished near the end and let Bayley vs. Perez go, which wound up being great.

We look back at Ronda Rousey taking the Smackdown Women’s Title from Liv Morgan.

The Viking Raiders are coming back.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Hit Row

Santos Escobar/Zelina Vega/B Fab are here too. Hit Row starts the fight in the aisle until Top Dolla throws Cruz del Toro inside for a dancing jumping elbow. Santos Escobar pulls Ashonte Adonis off the apron for a crash into the steps though, albeit by being smart enough to go down as well so the referee doesn’t know what happened. The distraction lets Legado hit Sacrificio to finish Dolla at 1:22.

Sonya Deville trash talks Liv Morgan, who runs in and beats Deville down. Morgan puts her on a table, climbs up a scaffolding and drives through Deville to leave her laying.

Sheamus vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Ricochet vs. Rey Mysterio

The winner gets a future Intercontinental Title shot and Mysterio is replacing an injured Karrion Kross. House is cleaned rather quickly and Rey hits his big dive as we take an early break. Back with Sheamus powerbombing Ricochet as we’re told that Rey is officially part of Smackdown. We get a Sheamus vs. Sikoa showdown and slugout until they fight to the floor.

Sikoa hits a Samoan drop so Rey dives onto him, setting up a showdown with Ricochet back inside. Ricochet flips out of a running hurricanrana but Sikoa is back in to run them over. A running spinwheel kick drops Sheamus and we take another break. Back again with Sikoa still in control until Sheamus knocks him down.

Rey and Ricochet catch Sheamus on top but Sikoa powerbombs the two of them down. Sheamus breaks up Sikoa’s cover with a top rope knee to the back and grabs the Cloverleaf on Sikoa. Cue Jey Uso and Sami Zayn for the save and a beatdown on Sheamus, though they get in a fight over who should get to beat him up. The Brawling Brutes come out to help Sheamus and they all brawl to the back. That leaves Rey to 619 and frog splash Ricochet for the pin at 16:19.

Rating: B. Another match built around action and near carnage and that isn’t a bad thing. Once Mysterio was introduced, it felt like a pretty safe bet that he might be winning but Sheamus being there for a potential trilogy match with Gunther added just enough intrigue. It was fun insanity and that is what you tend to get out of these things.

And now, Bray Wyatt. The lights go out and the door near the entrance opens, with Bray coming out for the full lantern entrance. Bray gets on the mic and says he never thought he would get to be here. This is just him being himself for the first time and he seems rather choked up about this whole thing.

Over the last year, he lost a lot of things, like his grandmother, his career, his self confidence and two people who were very close to him. He thought nothing he ever did mattered and he was wrong. Once he was done feeling sorry for himself, people started asking him to come back. There were people he met who said he helped get them through some tough times and those people would say thank you Bray. Fans: THANK YOU BRAY!

The thing is, he could sit right here and say they were there when he was weak and vulnerable so thank you for saving his life. He talks about the reason things got better….and then the (limited) lights go out. The mask pops up on screen and says to forget the future and follow him. The new Wyatt logo appears and that’s the show. That was definitely different and that’s a good thing, though I’m curious about where it goes. This feels like the kind of story where we’re going to get a little bit each week and that’s not a bad thing.

Overall Rating: B-. Well it wasn’t boring. This was one of those shows where it felt like a lot of stuff was happening but it might take awhile before we see where some of it goes. The opener and main event were both rather good and the Bray promo….well that’s going to get some very polarizing responses. What matters is they moved things forward and added some intrigue throughout the show, so now we wait and see what is going on. As you’re supposed to want to do when a wrestling show ends.

Results
Sami Zayn b. Kofi Kingston – Rollup
Braun Strowman b. James Maverick/Brian Thomas – Double pin
LA Knight b. Mansoor – BFT
Damage Ctrl b. Shotzi/Roxanne Perez/Raquel Rodriguez – Crucifix to Perez
Legado del Fantasma b. Hit Row – Sacrifico to Dolla
Rey Mysterio b. Ricochet, Sheamus and Solo Sikoa – Frog splash to Ricochet

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 13, 2022
Location: Albany Armory, Albany, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the Bound For Glory fallout show, as the biggest pay per view of the year ended with Bully Ray as the next challenger to Josh Alexander. Since there was no way to have him show up on Impact and make a challenge, Ray won a twenty man match by pinning Steve Maclin to get the shot. I’m sure nothing but good will come from this. Let’s get to it.

Here is Bound For Glory if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Bound For Glory.

Here is Josh Alexander to get things going. The fans are rather glad to see Alexander, who talks about how Eddie Edwards said their match was going to be a war. That is what it was, but now the war is over because here he stands, still the World Champion. He is the champion but he has made mistakes. Now he knows that the next challenger is waiting so Bully Ray, get out here right now.

Cue Bully, who Alexander welcomes back to the company, but wants to know why Ray helped him at Bound For Glory. Bully talks about how he could have stabbed Alexander in the back but didn’t. He has been here longer than he has any other company he has ever worked for, just like he did to Sting, Hulk Hogan, Brooke and his own brother. Ray says he has done it all, but now he needs to do it right. He knows that no one has a good thing to say about him and he wants to change that. Ray isn’t cashing in his title shot like Moose did last year, so Alexander is going to see him coming.

Cue Steve Maclin to interrupt because he doesn’t trust Ray. How exactly did Ray get into Call Your Shot anyway? Maclin talks about how he has done things the right way but now he wants to know what it takes for him to get his title shot. Cue Moose to say Maclin is in the presence of World Champions so step aside. As for Ray, he is a scumbag, but that’s ok, because Moose likes scumbags. Moose learned his bad ways from Ray, just like how he won the title last year.

He would go after Alexander again….but here is Bobby Fish to interrupt as well. Fish agrees that Moose has turned into quite the scumbag himself and Maclin is becoming quite the locker room politician. Sure Ray is a scumbag, but he didn’t scumbag Alexander at Bound For Glory. For tonight though, Fish wants his own match against the champ, with Alexander saying it’s on. This was a good bit longer than it needed to be and hopefully it isn’t the start of a new style.

The Motor City Machine Guns are happy with their win on Before The Impact and they want another Tag Team Title shot. They walk off and run into Heath and Rhino, who are getting a title shot next week. Rhino wants revenge on Honor No More so they’ll get it next week. Don’t worry though, as the Guns can have a title match when they win the belts.

Killer Kelly vs. Tasha Steelz

No DQ and Savannah Evans is here with Steelz. Evans doesn’t waste time by jumping Kelly before the bell to start fast. Kelly gets dropped face first onto the apron but sits up to glare at Steelz for a cool visual. A basement dropkick drops Kelly and it’s time for a chain. With that taking too long, Steelz has to counter an attempt at the Killer Klutch. Kelly gets two off an Alabama Slam and grabs a chair but settles for two off a Death Valley Driver. Evans comes in to grab Kelly but she fights both of them off. Steelz gets in a superkick and grabs the chain, only to get choked into the Killer Klutch for the tap at 6:52.

Rating: C. Kelly winning in what should be the last match of the feud is a good thing but I was expecting a bit more out of a No DQ match. I did like Evans not bothering to just stand around as she got involved from the beginning, but Steelz and Evans are pretty clearly on the downside of their run. Kelly has a charisma that makes me want to watch her and that is a major step towards being a star.

Zicky Dice and Johnny Swinger are bragging when Dirty Dango comes in to say he should cuff them for being stupid. Swinger invites him to Swinger’s Dungeon.

Sami Callihan jumps two guys in yellow because they part of Violent By Design. Good. Get rid of all of them.

Scott D’Amore praises Josh Alexander for his recent efforts but tells him to keep an eye out for Bully Ray.

Black Taurus vs. Trey Miguel vs. Kenny King vs. Alex Zayne vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Laredo Kid

It’s a brawl to start with no one actually getting an entrance. Taurus is sent outside into a pile of people, leaving Zayne to work on King’s wrist. Zayne’s dive is broken up and it’s a series of dives to send us to a break. Back with a bunch of reverse DDTs into King’s Blockbuster, setting up a spinebuster for two on Miguel. Uemura comes in with a high crossbody to King and a super hurricanrana brings Taurus off the top. Back in and Miguel grabs something like a reverse Angle Slam for the pin on Zayne at 5:20.

Rating: B-. The match was the usual insanity that comes with this kind of a scramble match, meaning that it was only going to be so good. You can’t put together any kind of a serious story in something like this as it’s all about flying around and getting in whatever you can. Miguel winning is nice, but it only means so much in a match with this format.

Mike Bailey gives Frankie Kazarian a very respectful congratulation. Trey Miguel comes in to say he’s coming for the title but Kazarian says we’ll see what happens. Bailey continues to be quite less than interesting.

VXT/Gisele Shaw vs. Death Dollz

Jessicka slugs away at Shaw to start and takes her into the wrong corner for the running knees from Taya. Purrazzo comes in and gets caught in Rosemary’s Upside Down, sending Rehwoldt into a frenzy. A Green distraction lets Purrazzo hit a Backstabber on Taya though and the villains take over with the stomping in the corner.

Taya and Green go down off a double clothesline though and it’s back to Rosemary for the house cleaning. Green catches Rosemary with a Bully Bomb into a faceplant but Rosemary is right back up with a spear for two. Everything breaks down and Rosemary hits a spear on Purrazzo, only to get kneed in the head to give Shaw the pin at 5:38.

Rating: C. Another match that didn’t have much time to do anything and it hut things a lot. What mattered was giving Shaw and VXT a win to give them some momentum back. The Dollz having success without Rosemary continues as well and that should make for an interesting story down the road.

Tommy Dreamer begs Bully Ray to not lie to everyone about his intentions. Ray says he’s telling the truth and they’ll team together.

Maria Kanellis gives Honor No More a pep talk but they think the company is trying to kill them off again. They’re not sure where Eddie Edwards is but next week, they’ll retain the Tag Team Titles.

Matt Cardona vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Cardona’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Gujjar hits a dropkick into a slingshot elbow for an early two. They head to the floor with Cardona knocking him down for a change, setting up a hangman’s neckbreaker for two back inside. The middle rope missile dropkick misses though and Gujjar strikes away but here is Brian Myers for a distraction. Radio silence finishes Gujjar at 4:22.

Rating: C. Not much to see here but Cardona and Myers being back together is a good thing. Cardona being back in general is nice to see as he really is good at his heel stuff, though Myers does add a nice bonus to the mix. Gujjar continues to seem like he has potential and he’s starting to feel more like one of the regular guys around here, but please give him something else to make him interesting.

Video on Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich.

Mickie James would love to face Grace if she gets to the top of the mountain. VXT and Gisele Shaw interrupt, saying Mickie should respect them instead of losers like Mia Yim. Chelsea Green mocks James for beating her but James challenges Deonna Purrazzo instead.

Bullet Club would love to face Tommy Dreamer/Bully Ray next week.

Here’s what’s coming up next week.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Bobby Fish vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is defending. Feeling out process to start as they grapple up against the ropes. Some headlock takeovers work well for Alexander but Fish is back up with some knees to the ribs. Alexander is right back with an overhead belly to belly but the crossbody to the back doesn’t get to launch.

Fish is fine enough to drop him with a dragon screw legwhip on the ramp and we take a break. Back with Fish hitting a slingshot elbow and kicking away in the corner. Neither of them can hit a suplex so Alexander goes with a clothesline and then drops Fish with a hard right hand.

The C4 Spike is blocked and Fish kicks him in the head, setting up a Saito suplex for two. The ankle lock is broken up as well though and Fish catches him on top. Alexander knocks him down and hits a moonsault, only to have the ankle lock pulled into a triangle choke. That’s countered into a backbreaker and now the C4 Spike can retain at 16:18.

Rating: B-. This was another match that had no story and was a showdown between two technicians, meaning it was only going to be so good. They had no reason to be mad at each other and it was hard to imagine that Fish was going to be a real threat to the title. The action carried it to pretty good, but they had a firm ceiling above them.

Post match Frankie Kazarian comes out to congratulate Alexander for being a great champion. For now though, he is cashing in his X-Division Title, using Option C, to get a World Title shot.

Overall Rating: C+. I don’t know if it’s the focus being on Bully Ray or the X-Division Title being vacated but there was a lack of interesting stuff going on this week. Hopefully things pick up again as we get back to normal next week, but this show didn’t feel like it was coming off the biggest night of the year. Granted any show with an announcement of Ray and Tommy Dreamer getting a featured match the next week isn’t going to do me much good, but the rest wasn’t exactly great.

Results
Killer Kelly b. Tasha Steelz – Killer Klutch
Trey Miguel b. Black Taurus, Kenny King, Alex Zayne, Yuya Uemura and Laredo Kid – Snap neckbreaker to Zayne
VXT/Gisele Shaw b. Death Dollz – Running knee to Rosemary
Matt Cardona b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Radio Silence
Josh Alexander b. Bobby Fish – C4 Spike

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: May 20, 2022
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

We are about two weeks away from Hell In A Cell and I think that means you know what you’re getting. The big story tonight is the Tag Team Title unification match between RKBro and the Usos, which will probably get quite a bit of hype. Other than that, we have a lot more to cover before the pay per view so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is the Bloodline to get things going, with Michael Cole saying that if the Usos unify the titles, it will establish the Bloodline as the greatest faction in WWE history. This has been the latest “NO ONE TALKS LIKE THIS” moment. Roman Reigns tells the fans to acknowledge him and then has Paul Heyman tell the people why this night is so important.

Heyman talks about how the Bloodline is amazing, including Roman Reigns, who is better than Hogan, Austin, Sammartino and Cena. Tonight though, the Usos are unifying the Tag Team Titles and beating the best team on Raw to become the greatest tag team of all time (with all due respect to the Wild Samoans). And that is a SPOILER! Roman tells the Usos to deliver what he wants.

Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Feeling out process to start with Zayn getting the better of things and punching away in the corner. A clothesline lets Zayn choke away on the ropes but Nakamura knocks him off the top. Kinshasa misses though and Sami shoves him off the top and out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Nakamura fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a kick to the head. Zayn sends him outside though and it’s a Falcon Arrow onto the floor. Nakamura beats the count back in, pulls Zayn outside and posts him, but Zayn beats the count. Back in and Kinshasa finishes Zayn at 10:34.

Rating: C. It’s kind of a far cry from the Dallas masterpiece, but at least these two are getting on television with something to do. Nakamura is being built up again in the singles ranks after the Rick Boogs team was derailed so he very well could be set up for some kind of bigger role. Whatever that might actually be.

Video on the Usos.

It’s time for Happy Talk, with Happy Corbin standing next to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy. Corbin has never been happier and we see a clip of him using the trophy to Pillmanize Madcap Moss’ neck. Corbin talks about being sick of Moss and asks who is laughing now. Then Corbin smashes the trophy.

We look at Gunther chopping the heck out of Drew Gulak last week.

Gunther vs. Drew Gulak

We’re joined in progress with Gulak hitting his own chop, earning himself a kick to the face. A series of chops takes Gulak down and the powerbomb finishes at 1:04.

Post match Gunther puts on the Boston crab but Ricochet runs in for the save. Now this has me interested.

Max Dupri, the head of the hottest male modeling agency, introduces himself to Adam Pearce. Adam had no idea Dupri was coming, but apparently he was signed by Sonya Deville. This is awkward, but Pearce can’t quite pronounce Max Du-PRE! That would be LA Knight, because WWE needed to change THE NAME THAT THEY INVENTED LAST YEAR!

RKBro is ready to beat the Usos.

Shotzi and Aliyah argue about not being able to make it out to the ring to face Ronda Rousey last week. Raquel Rodriguez comes in so Shotzi yells at her, even calling Gonzalez an absurd Amazon.

Shotzi vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Rodriguez powers her into the corner to start and then does it again for a bonus. Shotzi tries a choke on Rodriguez’s back but gets thrown down again. A fall away slam sets up the twisting Vader Bomb and the Chingona Bomb gives Rodriguez the pin at 2:55. Mostly a squash.

Xavier Woods isn’t happy with Butch beating Kofi Kingston last week. Kofi is on New Day business this week, so Butch can come see him alone.

Sheamus tells Butch to go take care of Xavier Woods.

Butch vs. Xavier Woods

Butch and company (with the company not here tonight) are now dubbed the Brawling Brutes. They start fast with Woods sending him outside but bringing it back inside, where Butch takes him down by the arm. Woods is right back with the Honor Roll for two but Butch kicks him in the head. That’s broken up and Woods grabs Backwoods for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what WWE’s deal is with Butch not being able to beat Woods, but this is the third time that Butch has lost to him via the same move in less than two months. In theory the feud is going to be wrapped up sooner than later, because both teams need to move way on. This is especially true of Butch and Woods, as I don’t know if I get the thinking here.

Post match the Brutes beat Woods down.

Video on RKBro.

Xavier Woods says this ends next week, because he has a partner to face the Brutes.

And now, the big story, as Michael Cole talks about Sasha Banks and Naomi “letting us all down”. Cole explains the walk out and now the titles are vacant, with a tournament coming soon. Banks and Naomi are suspended indefinitely. So yeah, you know those titles that were barely defendable because there were no teams? Well now it’s TOURNAMENT TIME! Also, WWE acting like changing the card at the last minute is the ultimate sin is pretty freaking funny. WWE would NEVER do something like that.

Oh look: the Tag Team Title unification match is next. Sure how WWE doesn’t advertise that and then turn it into a six man tag.

Raw Tag Team Titles/Smackdown Tag Team Titles: RKBro vs. Usos

Winner takes all and Paul Heyman is on commentary. Orton takes Jimmy down to start but Riddle gets taken down into a chinlock. This lets Cole say the Usos are trying to do what the Wild Samoans never did: unify the Tag Team Titles. That would be really impressive for the Samoans to do as THERE WAS ONLY ONE SET OF TITLES TO WIN BACK THEN! Riddle is whipped HARD into the buckle and we take a break.

Back with Riddle having suffered a bruised hip off that whip but he’s fine enough to keep going. A hard belly to back suplex cuts off the hot tag attempt but Riddle strikes his way over to the ropes for the tag. Orton comes in and starts cleaning house, with the RKO hitting Jimmy. Jey makes the save and pulls Jimmy over for the tag. Orton gets kicked into the corner for the tag back to Riddle, who suplexes various Usos. The super RKO is loaded up but Roman Reigns comes out to grab Riddle. Jey shoves him off the top and it’s a Superfly Splash for the pin and the titles at 11:35.

Rating: B-. RKBro is the only team that could hang with the Usos at this point but there was little reason to believe that the Usos weren’t going to have both sets of titles sooner or later. WWE doesn’t need to have two sets of titles so the Usos having the one remaining set is the right choice. Now just find some teams who could give them a run for their money, which is easier said than done.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Riddle being choked out. The Superfly Splash through the announcers’ table crushes Riddle and we cut to a fan crying in a great visual. Reigns chokes Orton out too. The Bloodline poses with all six belts to end the show. Cool shot, but three people having six titles doesn’t make me impressed. It makes me think there are too many belts. Also, Riddle vs. Reigns at the pay per view should be good.

Overall Rating: C+. Not too bad of a show here with the Tag Team Title match being the biggest deal. I fully expect a rematch to take place at the pay per view but for now, the Usos having the titles is the way to go. Other than that, I want to see Gunther vs. Ricochet, which is someone stepping up to a bigger level. That’s not a bad show, with some other good things sprinkled in.

Then you have the Banks/Naomi reaction and…that is up there on the all time list of hypocritical WWE responses. Banks and Naomi did indeed walk out, but WWE acting like making some last minute change to an advertised match is this unpardonable offense had me laughing quite hard. It’s weird for WWE to actually do what they say they are going to do from one week to the next, but now it’s horrible for Banks and Naomi to do the same thing? That’s a very WWE reaction and I don’t mean that in a good way.

Results
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn – Kinshasa
Gunther b. Drew Gulak – Powerbomb
Raquel Rodriguez b. Shotzi – Chingona Bomb
Xavier Woods b. Butch – Backwoods
Usos b. RKBro – Superfly Splash to Riddle

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: May 13, 2022
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

We’re fresh off of Wrestlemania Backlash and the biggest story coming out of the show is Ronda Rousey breaking Charlotte’s arm to become the new Smackdown Women’s Champion. Other than that, Roman Reigns continued to dominate and has pretty much no one left in front of him. That isn’t good with the Cell in less than a month. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania Backlash if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the six man main event at Wrestlemania Backlash, with Roman Reigns spearing Riddle for the pin.

Here is RKBro to get things going. Riddle takes the blame for the loss on Sunday but they want Roman Reigns out here right now to let the Usos make the Tag Team Title unification match. Instead, here is Sami Zayn, in a Bloodline shirt, to answer. As the locker room fleader and representing the Bloodline, no one wants this unification match.

Zayn thinks the Raw Tag Team Champions need to go back to Raw, but Riddle dubs Sami as Rusty, because his hair is the color of rust. That’s not his name, but Orton says Sami is calling shots for the Bloodline. That gives Randy an idea: Riddle vs. Sami, and if Riddle wins, RKBro gets their unification match. Orton: “RUSTY! RUSTY!” Sami isn’t sure, but Adam Pearce shows up and he sure is…but it won’t be for the title match, because Zayn doesn’t have that authority.

Sami Zayn vs. Riddle

Riddle goes for a quickly broken triangle choke and Sami gets in a few shots. The chinlock is broken up so Riddle kicks him in the head for a knockdown. A suplex gets Sami out of trouble but Riddle blocks the Helluva Kick. Riddle goes up and gets shoved down onto the barricade (ala Rob Van Dam) as we take a break.

Back with Riddle kneeing Sami out of the air for two but Sami knocks him to the apron. Sami’s hanging DDT is broken up and Riddle sends him outside for a Floating Bro. Back in and the snap powerslam but Sami bails to the floor before the RKO can launch. With Riddle going after him, Sami gets in a ram into the timekeeper’s area, only to have riddle dive back in at nine. The Bro Derek gives Riddle the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where they were allowed to do their thing and they made it work. Riddle and Zayn could have a decent match in their sleep and they had ten minutes to make that happen here. Riddle bringing back the Bro Derek was nice, especially after Orton mentioned him using the RKO a bit too much this week on Raw Talk.

In the back, Roman Reigns isn’t happy about RKBro being here. The Usos have this though and they’re going to do something about it.

Post break, Sami Zayn runs into Shinsuke Nakamura and calls him the table’s a** (I think). Laughter ensues and Sami looks crushed.

Here is Ronda Rousey to brag about her title win. See, Charlotte was a 13 time Women’s Champ (uh, she still is Ronda) but look who has the title now. Rousey says Charlotte was tough but she would die before quitting. She’s going to be a fighting champion though so it’s open challenge time.

Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Rousey is defending and gets powered into the corner to start. An early Piper’s Pit attempt is countered with a knee, setting up a clothesline for two. Back to back fall away slams send Rousey flying and an over the shoulder backbreaker makes it even worse. A side slam cuts Rousey off again but Rodriguez misses something off the middle rope.

Rousey strikes away and tries a tornado DDT, only to switch it into a guillotine. That’s powered into a suplex for two on Rousey and a swinging torture rack slam gets the same. The Chingona Bomb is countered though and Rousey gets the ankle lock. Rodriguez breaks that up though and a big boot gets two. A powerbomb is loaded up but Rousey reverses into a hurricanrana to retain at 5:54.

Rating: B. Where the heck did that come? This was a star making performance from Rodriguez, who beat Rousey up for the better part of five minutes and got caught instead of getting beat. I liked this a lot more than I would have expected and Rousey was in all kinds of trouble before escaping with the win. Good stuff here and quite the surprise.

Respect is shown post match.

In the back, Aliyah and Shotzi argue over how that should have been their title shot but Adam Pearce doesn’t really know what to say. End of segment.

Here is Madcap Moss for a chat. He is proud of his win over Happy Corbin, even if Corbin could have won by making him tap out with one more story about his watch. Now Moss wants to do everything, from forming a team with Sasha Banks called Madcap Boss, win Money in the Bank, replace title belts with title suspenders….and here is Happy Corbin to chair him down, because this feud must continue. Then Corbin slides in the Andre the Giant trophy and uses it to Pillmanize a chair around Moss’ neck.

Post break, Moss is being loaded into the ambulance and here is Corbin to say it’s off to the Mosspital.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Natalya/Shayna Baszler vs. Sasha Banks/Naomi

Naomi and Banks are defending and it’s Naomi ducking under Baszler’s shot to start. Banks comes in and takes Natalya down, setting up an exchange of rollups for two each. Baszler saves Natalya from the Bank Statement and we take a break. Back with Banks getting caught in a Hart Attack with Naomi having to make the save.

Naomi avoids the stomp to the arm on the apron and gets the tag, allowing her to clean house. The springboard spinning kick to the face gets two on Natalya but Natalya takes Banks down. The Sharpshooter attempt on Naomi is countered into a small package to retain the titles at 8:33.

Rating: C. This match was the culmination of a feud that started and then came to an end. I’m really not sure what else to say about it, as they had singles matches after the tag match was all but set, then they had the title match where the champions retained. These titles continue to be the opposite of interesting, which I believe is called the Natalya.

Ricochet comes up to Drew Gulak, who asks for advice. Ricochet says if he had quit, he wouldn’t have the Intercontinental Title. He tells Gulak to be his best self, so Gulak is ready for Gunther. Then Gulak runs into Gunther, who slams him into a door and breaks his chest with a chop.

Kofi Kingston vs. Butch

Xavier Woods, Ridge Holland and Sheamus are at ringside. Butch jumps him to start and hammers on the mat but Kofi sends him to the floor, allowing Woods to play some trombone. Butch gets dropped again and Kofi winds up on Woods’ shoulders (more tromboning ensues) as we take a break.

Back with Kofi fighting out of a neck crank and hammering away. The SOS gets two on Butch but he’s back with an enziguri for a breather. Kofi gets in a kick of his own and the standing double stomp gets two more. Trouble in Paradise is loaded up but everyone gets in a fight on the floor, allowing Butch to grab the Bitter End for the pin at 8:33.

Rating: C+. If WWE just has to have Dunne as….whatever Butch is supposed to be, at least they have gotten past the point of having him lose to small packages over and over. The match wasn’t a classic but it was god enough to fill in some TV time, while also letting Butch have a win for a change.

Post match Butch runs through the crowd but comes back to join his friends on the stage.

Sami Zayn wants Paul Heyman to tell Roman Reigns what he did earlier to stand up for the Bloodline. He and Reigns need to be on the same page so Heyman assures him that Reigns is appreciative. Sami is pleased.

Here is the Bloodline to address RKBro. Reigns tells Pennsylvania to acknowledge him and they’ve been doing this for a little while. They smash them on Sunday and then tell you what’s next on Friday. Well they beat Drew McIntyre and RKBro on Sunday, but what is RKBro going to do about it?

Cue RKBro, with Randy Orton saying John Cena is ten times the star that Reigns will ever be. Riddle talks about how he likes to set the mood with his laptop at night and reaches to his nightstand…..Orton: “Let me stop you right there.” Riddle: “I meant I reached for headphones.” Orton: “To be fair, I didn’t know where you were going with that.”

Riddle was watching their Wrestlemania Backlash match and now he wants the Usos even more. Orton talks about how they are going to unify the titles…and he just realized he’s a lot taller than Reigns. The Usos accept the challenge but Reigns isn’t sure about this. We’ll do it next Friday instead, with the Usos bragging about how they’re going to win. Riddle knees Reigns in the face and RKBro bails to end the show. They set up the match, but RKBro’s comedy continues to be great as it feels like they’re coming up with this stuff off of the top of their heads, which you don’t get elsewhere in WWE.

Overall Rating: B-. For a show without much to build from after the pay per view, this show was a pretty good use of two hours. RKBro vs. the Usos is finally set (though I can’t imagine a clean winner) and Rousey vs. Rodriguez was a heck of a nice surprise. I had a good time with this show and it flew by, which is always a nice feeling. They still need to come up with something for the Cell, but at least we have some time before we get that far.

Results
Riddle b. Sami Zayn – Bro Derek
Ronda Rousey b. Raquel Rodriguez – Hurricanrana
Sasha Banks/Naomi b. Natalya/Shayna Baszler – Small package to Natalya
Butch b. Kofi Kingston – Bitter End

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.