1923
Kansas City, Kansas:
– World Heavyweight Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis defeated Joe “Toots” Mondt
1948
Houston, Texas:
– Sonny Myers defeated Miguel Guzman to win the Texas Heavyweight Title
1951
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Primo Carnera beat Sky Hi Lee
– Pat O’Connor drew Ivan Kameroff
– Tommy O’Toole beat Stan Mayslack
– Red Bastien beat Bobby Coleman
1958
Amarillo, Texas:
– Buddy Rogers defeated Dory Funk, Sr. to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title
1961
Charlotte, North Carolina:
– Maurice and Paul Vachon defeated Jack Curtis and Ray Villmer to win the Mid-Atlantic NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1962
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Verne Gagne beat AWA Champion Mr. M by DQ
– Yukon Eric beat Tiny Mills
– Joe Scarpello beat Maurice LaPointe
– Bob Geigel beat Don Jardine
1966
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Los Angeles, California:
– El Mongol and Gorilla Monsoon defeated Luke Graham and Moondog Lonnie Mayne to win the World Wrestling Association World Tag Team Titles
1968
Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
– Eddie Sullivan defeated Bob Kelly to win the NWA Louisiana Heavyweight Title
1973
Tampa, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Dory Funk, Jr. defeated Jerry Brisco by DQ
– Florida Title: Jack Brisco no contest Bobby Shane
– Mark Lewin & Big Bad John defeated Buddy Colt & Paul Jones
– Gorgeous George, Jr. defeated Great Malenko by DQ
– Robert Fuller defeated Jim Slade
1977
Green Bay, Wisconsin:
– Steel Cage match: Billy Francis & the Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke
– Super Destroyer beat Moose Morowski
– Pedro Morales beat Pierre Poisson
– Ray Stevens beat Blackjack Lanza
– Angelo Mosca & Roger Kirby beat Larry Hennig & Jan Nelson
1978
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Doug Gilbert beat Roger Howell
– Sonny King beat Robert Gibson
– Dennis Condrey & Phil Hickerson beat Big Red & Bearcat Brown
– North American Champ Mr. Wrestling beat Terry Sawyer
– Southern Tag Champs Bill Dundee & Norvell Austin beat The Medic & Frankie Laine
– Southern Champ Jerry Lawler no contest Jimmy Valiant in a hair vs. hair match
Sacramento, California:
– Black Gordman and Goliath defeated Karl and Kurt Von Steiger to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles
1979
Tampa, Florida:
– Lights Out Match: Jos Leduc defeated Killer Karl Kox
– Lumberjack Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated Sonny King
– Florida Tag Titles: Pak Song & Mr. Uganda defeated Louie Tillet & Rocky Johnson
– Southern Title: Thor The Viking defeated Mike Graham by DQ
– Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Mr. Saito & Mr. Sato
– Super Gladiator beat Prince Tonga
1980
Miami, Florida:
– Texas Tornado Match: Mike Graham & Dusty Rhodes & Manny Fernandez defeated Ernie Ladd & Bugsy McGraw & Leroy Brown
– $5,000 Challenge Match: Super Destroyer defeated Don Diamond
– Handicap Match: Nikolai Volkoff beat Gordon Nelson & Mike Miller
– Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Bryan St. John & Stan Lane
1981
Atlanta, Georiga:
– Steve O defeated Bobby Eaton for the NWA National Television Title
1983
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Kerry Von Erich defeated Harley Race to win the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title
Charlotte, North Carolina:
– Dory Funk, Jr. defeated Jack Brisco to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title
Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan beat AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell by DQ
– Arm Wrestling: Hulk Hogan beat Jesse Ventura
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Bobby Duncum
– Ken Patera (sub Tom Lintz) beat Baron Von Raschke
– Buck Zumhofe drew Bobby Heenan
1984
New York City:
– Tony Garea pinned Jose Luis Rivera
– The Invaders fought Mr. Fuji & Tiger Chung Lee to a 20-minute time-limit draw
– The Masked Superstar pinned Chief Jay Strongbow
– Sgt. Slaughter defeated Ivan Putski via count-out
– Paul Orndorff (w/ Roddy Piper) pinned Salvatore Bellomo
– WWF Intercontinental Champion Don Muraco and Tito Santana fought to a double-disqualification
– The Haiti Kid & Tiger Jackson defeated Dana Carpenter & Pancho Boy in a Best 2 out of 3 falls bout, 2-0
– Hulk Hogan (sub for Bob Backlund) defeated the Iron Sheik to win the WWF World Title
– Jimmy Snuka pinned Rene Goulet (sub. for Iron Mike Sharpe)
– Andre the Giant, WWF Tag Team Champions Rocky Johnson & Tony Atlas defeated Afa, Sika, & Samula
Louisville, Kentucky:
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Jerry Lawler by reverse decision
– Austin Idol beat Randy Savage by DQ
1987
– Hacksaw Jim Duggan lost a Loser Leaves UWF match to the One Man Gang and Duggan and Terry Taylor were forced to vacate the UWF World Tag Team Titles (this was done as Duggan was leaving for the WWF)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage won by disqualification over Ricky Steamboat
– Paul Orndorff and Jake Roberts were both counted out
– Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell beat Bon Orton and Don Muraco
– Butch Reed beat Tito Santana
– Ron Bass beat Corporal Kirschner
– Rick Martel and Tom Zenk beat Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake
– Pedro Morales drew Nick Kiniski
– Billy Jack Haynes beat Dino Bravo
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– North American champion Owen Hart won by disqualification over former champion Mike Shaw (Makhan Singh)
– Ben Bassarab won on a count to Gama Singh and Viet KongExpress # 1 in a Bermuda Triangle Match
– Ron Ritchie drew Cuban Assassin
– Duke Myers, Kerry Brown and Ted Arcidi beat Bill Kazmeier, Mr. Hito and Jeff Wheeler
– Dick Wellington beat Ken Johnson
1988
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Mike George defeated Dick Slater in a tournament final to become the first World Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Champion (Bob Geigel had previously sold the Central States name and rights to Jim Crockett but restarted his promotion using the World Wrestling Alliance name)
Tomah, Wisconsin:
– AWA Champion Curt Hennig beat Kevin Kelly
– Ray Stevens & Baron Von Raschke beat Nasty Boys
– Sheik Adnan beat Greg Gagne
– Tom Zenk beat Soldat Ustinov
– Nick Kiniski beat Ricky Rice
1991
San Francisco, California:
– WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger defeated Sid Vicious via count-out
– NWA & WCW World Champion Ric Flair pinned Sting with both feet on the ropes
– Barry Windham & WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson defeated WCW Tag Team Champions Butch Reed & Ron Simmons in a non-title streetfight
1993
Shenandoah, Virginia:
– Bart Batten pinned Robbie Eagle
– Killer Kyle pinned Brad Batten
– Tracy Smothers pinned the Dirty White Boy
– Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Stan Lane & Tom Prichard
– Tracy Smothers won a battle royal; other participants included: Bart & Brad Batten, the Dirty White Boy, Robbie Eagle, Robert Gibson, Killer Kyle, Stan Lane, Ricky Morton, and Tom Prichard
1994
Morristown, Tennessee:
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) defeated Ron and Don Harris for the USWA Tag Team Titles
1996
WCW Clash of Champions: Las Vegas, Nevada:
– Lord Steven Regal defeated Chris Benoit
– WCW US Champion the One Man Gang defeated Disco Inferno
– The Nasty Boys fought Public Enemy to a double disqualification
– Dean Malenko pinned Alex Wright
– Kevin Sullivan defeated Disco Inferno via forfeit
– Brian Pillman pinned Eddie Guerrero
– WCW World Tag Team Champions Sting and Lex Luger defeated The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Earl Robert Eaton)
– Ric Flair and The Giant defeated Hulk Hogan and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage
2000
WWF Royal Rumble: New York City:
– Tazz (mystery opponent) defeated Kurt Angle
– Matt & Jeff Hardy defeated the Dudley Boyz in a tables match
– WWF IC Champion Chris Jericho defeated WWF IC Champion Chyna and Hardcore Holly
– WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg defeated the Acolytes
– Triple H defeated Cactus Jack in a street fight
– The Rock won the Royal Rumble
2004
Mexico City, Mexico:
– Shocker & La Parka beat Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero to win the CMLL tag team titles
2005
Kobe, Japan:
– 2 Cold Scorpio & Doug Williams defeated Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa to win the GHC tag team titles
Tokyo, Japan:
– Takeo Omori defeated Steve Corino in a tournament final to win the AWA title
>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa is going to be out of action for an extended period of time after having neck surgery, which will be performed within the next few days according to PWTorch sources. Ciampa, the current NXT Champion, was expected to work through WrestleMania weekend and take time off for surgery after that weekend, but his neck condition worsened recently and he is going to have to have the surgery now.
[SPOILER ALERT: At the last set of NXT tapings, an angle had been shot to set up Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT Takeover special during WrestleMania weekend. The pair were in the midst of an intricate long-term feud that has been a big part of NXT programming the last several years.]
All plans regarding Ciampa in NXT’s ecosystem now have to be changed as the NXT Championship will be vacated. NXT has another set of tapings set to take place before WrestleMania weekend, so the creative team will have time to adjust the card.
Ciampa had been recently called up to the main roster and wrestled on Raw and Smackdown. He was paired with Johnny Gargano as D.I.Y., but the duo did not appear on Raw or Smackdown this week.
Sources tell PWTorch that Ciampa is expected to make a complete recovery from his surgery and be back and better than ever when he returns to action. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer originally reported Ciampa was scheduled to have neck surgery.
Radican’s Analysis:My best wishes go out to Ciampa, who has had an incredible program with Gargano that was likely going to be blown off at Takeover during WrestleMania weekend. He’s had to overcome a lot in terms of injuries in recent years, but the good news is that he’s expected to be back and better than ever once he’s able to return from neck surgery.
nxtrawsmackdowntakeovertomasso ciampawrestlemaniawwe
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>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
WWE SMACKDOWN ON-SITE REPORT
APRIL 9, 2019
BROOKLYN, N.Y. AT THE BARCLAYS CENTER
AIRED ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. EST
FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTorch Specialist
Arrival
The following takes place between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on the Tuesday after WrestleMania.
Are there any fans of the FOX show 24 that got that? I’m sorry if you didn’t, but I just always wanted to do that in a public forum. It’s one of my top five favorite shows of all time. At any rate, my eye-rolling humor and choice of shows you likely don’t care about aside, my wife Erin and I had the pleasure of attending Smackdown this past Tuesday. Typically I am previewing Raw and Smackdown for you here at PWTorch.com and it’s cool to actually be reviewing one of the shows from an in-person perspective.
We debated attending Raw, but the prospect of sitting there for three hours was a bitter potential pill to swallow especially following nearly eight hours of WrestleMania. We had previously attended Raw during the Superstar Shakeup in 2017 at the Nassau Coliseum, and that was tough to take. On top of that, I had attended the ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard and that was unnecessarily nearly five hours.
I had a few questions in mind as we arrived at the show. First of all, could we shake off the miserable drive in rain, traffic, and side streets as we got towards the Barclays Center. Anybody that lives in the boroughs of New York knows what I’m talking about. I bring that up because it could affect the crowd. Secondly, coming off the debacle of an ending to Raw we got, would the crowd be negative on the show as the event unfolded? Third, would Kofi get a strong reaction considering we got to see him on Raw as part of that main event? Coming out of WrestleMania, you had figured we wouldn’t see him until Tuesday to celebrate his championship. I felt perhaps seeing him two nights in a row would make it feel less special.
It turns out there were NO issues whatsoever. The crowd was hot and energetic from start to finish. I sensed it was a different crowd from Raw, and I tend to believe that is the case when Raw and Smackdown run in the same arena on back to back nights. I felt that way when Erin and I went to the Smackdown after SummerSlam, also in the Barclays Center. Given the Smackdown ratings Wade Keller discussed on his hotline (Go VIP to be able to listen to the Wade Keller Hotline among other great benefits by the way), I sense that Smackdown has its sustained niche audience. Raw to this day I believe still tends to be recognized as the “flagship” show and after people watch that, they have enough and can’t sit through another two hours on Tuesday night. While there may have been some international & out of town fans, I sensed it was mostly a localized crowd. I didn’t sense many families bringing their kids, especially considering it was a school night. This was one of the questions Wade & Jason Solomon had for me when I was the on-site correspondent on the post-show. In the lobby you could hear people chanting several things like “Adam Cole bay bay” and the New Day skit amongst other things.
The lines for the t-shirts were long. We decided to wait until later to buy. It turned out there wasn’t a great selection, but they did have the new Kofi shirts revealed at WrestleMania. They also had Rey Mysterio, another New Day shirt, John Cena, the Hardys, Roman Reigns (including the “we overcome”) and a few others escaping my memory.
I won’t do a play-by-play for each match, as you can find that in multiple Smackdown results reports here at PWTorch.com. I’ll just focus on the vibes and the overall experience throughout the night.
Dark Match: Harper vs. EC3 (with Drake Maverick)
Yes folks, we have another name shortening. Luke Harper joins Mustafa Ali, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Otis Dozovic, and Tucker Knight to get a trimming. He is now “Harper,” who came out first to a nice reaction. There was even a “Harper” chant before and during the match, likely due to his tweet discussing his career a few weeks ago. Next out came EC3, flanked by Drake Maverick. Apparently they have gone in the direction of Drake being his manager. I don’t know if he is still managing AOP (talk about another name shortening), but that could be a nice little stable if handled right. At any rate, EC3 got a mild reaction. There was no heat or pop either way. The match if I was to guess went about five minutes. Harper still seems to think he’s a 205Live wrestler as he did a couple of leaps through the ropes and over the top into the ring. It’s still cool to watch and considering his popularity right now, WWE ought to capitalize. Nonetheless the end of the match came when Drake was on the apron talking to EC3. As Harper charged, EC3 got out of the way and was shocked when Harper knocked him off. Harper then hit him with a variation of JBL’s Clothesline from Hell and scored the pin. If I were to guess the time it went about four to five minutes. Harper left to a nice reaction.
Show Start & Kofi Kingston Celebration
For those who didn’t check WWE’s Twitter account, you knew the Kofi Kingston celebration was going to lead off the show as they brought out the pancake toppers for the ring post and multi-colored balloon collage (geez my wife and I should hire whomever put that together and do balloons for our kids’ birthdays). The crowd already broke out into a “Kofi” chant as this was happening and thus that’s how I knew there would be no issue. They played a WrestleMania recap video of Kofi’s win over Daniel Bryan and the chants continued. Once New Day’s music hit, the place erupted. You could see people dancing. I even caught myself getting into the groove. Nonetheless, when the music stopped the “Kofi” chants continued and you could see it was appreciated by all members of the New Day, but they wanted to get on with their bit.
I didn’t mention this to Wade and Jason as it slipped my mind, but the audio absolutely stunk. I can’t tell you how many times I had to ask Erin or the guys around me “what did he say?” “What was that?” My wife would concur. Even later on when Paige came on the Titantron I had to ask what she was saying. The guy behind me had to tell me she’s bringing a tag team of her own to Smackdown next week, Nonetheless, when the Bar came out they got booed as one would expect. In 2019 I have no faith in heels getting real heat, and thus I believe the boos were as a result of what happened on Raw the previous night. It also could have been due to them interrupting New Day, but I would lean on the previous. They were getting booed as they spoke, and then of course introduced Drew McIntyre. His music was loud, and thus it was hard to tell if there were more cheers than boos. When his music hit, there was more of a “wow” than anything else.
Frank’s Takeaway: New Day is definitely over without question. You can tell people are genuinely behind Kofi. My money is his run doesn’t last long, but we’ve been fooled before. I don’t see them having issues with any crowds at least in the early stages of his championship reign.
Six-Man Tag Match: Aleister Black & Ricochet & Ali vs. Andrade & Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura
What was I talking about with name shortening earlier? I’m surprised Shinsuke Nakamura hasn’t had “Shinsuke” dropped. At any rate, Aleister Black’s music hit as all parties from the first segment made their way back. It got a none-mild reaction which is what I feared upon his promotion from NXT. They obviously went to break as the lights went out. Back from break we got Ricochet’s entrance and that got a very good reaction. Ali got the same. The best reaction oddly enough was Rusev, as the crowd broke out in a “Rusev Day” chant. Shinsuke’s music played, and I concur with one of the callers on Wade’s show as it sounded like the singing portion of the remix was removed. Then again the audio stunk so I might not have heard it.
During the match, the reaction got better for Aleister as he did a flip on (I believe) Andrade. Those that remember their feud in NXT likely responded to that. When Aleister, Ali, and Ricochet all did the flip into the cross-leg sit it got a huge reaction. Of course we got the “Rusev Day” chant mid-match. One guy behind me asked “why is Lana dressed like Santa Claus?” I’d like to know that too. Is she recording an remix of “Santa Baby” coming up? Anyway, the crowd popped for Ali hitting the 450 and celebrated the win. The crowd popped even bigger for Randy Orton hitting the RKO Out of Nowhere on Ali. We weren’t done there, as the crowd loved Kevin Owens hitting the Stunner on Rusev. Everyone made their way to the back, and they played a video for the Boys and Girls Club of America. I think I checked my phone at that point.
Frank’s Takeaway: There was real good action the crowd loved. I’m glad to see Aleister get a better reaction as the match went on. You wonder if they’ll split up he and Ricochet. A renewal of the Ali-Orton feud that briefly ran before WrestleMania could be on the horizon. Owens and Rusev has possibilities, but it all depends on the Superstar Shakeup and if they split he and Nakamura.
R-Truth & Carmella with Samoa Joe’s Interruption
The crowd got a kick out of this segment, and I think people genuinely found R-Truth funny when he said Carmella beat Andre the Giant the win the battle royal Sunday. You knew this was coming as the women’s battle royal trophy was brought out after the six-man tag. At any rate, nobody seemed to care that Carmella won the battle royal (I don’t blame them), and they did pop a little when she reminded everyone that she cashed in Money in the Bank one year ago.
When Samoa Joe’s music hit, the crowd popped in a “Joe! Joe! Joe!” chant. As much as they loved Truth, they loved the attack. As Joe was speaking of course Braun Strowman’s music hit, and I would say that was the third best reaction after Becky Lynch later on. I told Wade and Jason that the Hardys were behind Kofi and Becky, but I honestly forgot about Braun. It was an odd surprise to be honest, but one that the crowd surely loved.
Frank’s Takeaway: I would love to see Joe turn babyface, but if Braun is moving to Smackdown a feud with Joe would work real well. At some point he has to turn as you could just feel the crowd wants to cheer him.
The Iiconics vs. Brooklyn Belles
Now, everyone has to use the facilities now and then so, I got up when they came out. I felt a pretty good reaction for them by the crowd. By the time I got back they have introduced the Brooklyn Belles as their opponents. The match went quick without much fanfare as it should. Afterwards, you saw Paige on the screen saying she’ll bring a new tag team next week. There was some but not much chatter around us. I may have heard someone say Nia Jax & Tamina as a possibility, which isn’t very inspiring.
I didn’t realize until I was on with Wade and Jason later that the weird puppet vignette played. Erin said that got absolutely no reaction.
Frank’s Takeaway: For Paige to mention this, you wonder if it’s an impactful team such as Kairi Sane & Io Shirai. Sane is done in NXT and Shirai can ride along with her. They have plenty of women to challenge Shayna Baszler down in NXT including Bianca Belair. We shall see.
Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon came out to his music to not much heat, but his music suddenly stopped. Ring announcer Greg Hamilton said Shane McMahon refuses to come out unless his Best in the World trophy was in the ring. The crowd then started booing. Hamilton’s announcement didn’t make TV which makes sense as the ring was darkened. The crew then started scrambling to put the trophy in the ring likely to give the impression they were hustling for Shane. Shane then got plenty of heat as his music stopped.
As the segment went on I sensed, or maybe it was just me, that people had enough of congratulating Kofi, Becky, and Seth Rollins on their WrestleMania title wins. New Day did, R-Truth did it, and Shane doing it felt overdone. People then became annoyed with Shane constantly having Hamilton do the “Best in the World” bit. That’s when you got the very loud “CM Punk” chants. I sensed detachment from the crowd as enough was enough already, and I believe that was the root of the Punk chants.
Frank’s Takeaway: With the Miz not being there I’m guessing they wanted to keep the focus on Shane getting the heat, which for the most part they accomplished with his refusal to come out unless the trophy was there.
The crowd cheered fairly well but not crazy for the Undertaker arrival on Raw the night before.
Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos vs. The Hardys
The crowd was very into the Hardys and not so much into the Usos as both teams made their way out. I didn’t sense any heat or boos for the Usos, but I believe it was just because of the universal love for the Hardys. In the video promo the Usos cut earlier in the night, the crowd went along with “welcome to the Uso penitentiary.
There was a tell that the Hardys were going to win as Kayla Braxton was escorted through the crowd by security. Obviously later on she attempted to do a post-match interview, and thus her coming out indicated that was going to happen.
As Matt hit the Twist of Fate you could sense the crowd was anticipating the title change. When Jeff hit the Stanton and score the pin, the crowd erupted. It felt like the early 2000s all over again, or even WrestleMania 33 for that matter when they returned.
Lars Sullivan got fairly decent heat as he interrupted the post-match interview. When he did the flying headbutt, a small “CTE” chant broke out in a section near me. People around me couldn’t believe he did a flying headbutt given how many people (Daniel Bryan, Dynamite Kid, Chris Benoit, Harley Race, etc.) have suffered because of this.
Frank’s Takeaway: The Hardys are still loved, and can be useful as the gatekeeper team on Smackdown if the Usos are moving to Raw. It certainly feels like that’s the way they are going. Lars attacking the Hardys doesn’t make much sense the way him attacking Kurt Angle the night before didn’t as well. There won’t be any follow-up
Main Event
It may have been here or after the Becky Lynch segment that the “main event” for tonight would be Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn for the live crowd. I apologize that I don’t remember exactly when this happened, but it was certainly announced.
Becky Lynch
The Becky Lynch promo was as expected as the crowd was alive and popped for her arrival. It wasn’t as strong as Kofi Kingston earlier, but it was strong nonetheless. I’m sure the video was on TV, but they conveniently blacked out the pin when Ronda Rousey’s shoulders came up on the one count. You could hear “Becky! Becky! Becky!” chants strong and there may have even been “Becky Two Belts!” if my memory doesn’t escape me.
When she threw the mic down there was a bit of a pause because people weren’t sure if she was done, but then her music hit and people cheered. When she made her way back, people looked towards the Titantron as she turned around, figuring Lacey Evans would come out and attack. As sure as night follows day, that happened, and she got fairly good heat. Once she made her way back the crowd was somewhat cheering when Becky got up, hoping perhaps she would go after Lacey.
Frank’s Takeaway: I like the potential of a feud with Becky for Lacey. I’m glad Charlotte wasn’t there, and I get the sense nobody missed her. I know I need a break from Becky-Charlotte-Ronda for a little while and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m not alone.
Six-Man Tag Main Event: New Day (Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E) vs. The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) & Drew McIntyre
Everyone made their way out to the ring to abbreviated versions of their songs except for McIntyre (no aaaaaawwww Brooklyn for New Day, no siren start for Cesaro portion of the Bar music). The reaction for New Day was still strong, but not as much in the beginning as is to be expected. The heels got pedestrian heat but not non-existent. Sami Zayn got big heat for telling the crowd “you’re just not worth it.”
Now the part that didn’t make TV was McIntyre leaving the ring. Out of nowhere he flailed his hand at the Bar, as if to say I’m done and just started walking out through the crowd with security. An injury was not apparent, as something like that would stick out. He worked Xavier into the announce table, and perhaps that’s where he got hurt? The problem is it wasn’t obvious. I asked people around me what happened, and nobody knew. Even Erin who’s very observant (she notices all my mistakes around the house) didn’t see anything. Big E took a dive from Cesaro on the outside the wrong way, and suffered an injury as we have found out in the last few days. Nonetheless, when Kofi finally hit Trouble in Paradise and pinned Sheamus the crowd was into it. Again, they weren’t as rabid as they were earlier in the night, but they were into it nonetheless. People loved Kofi bringing his family into the ring.
They began to setup for 205 Live and we, along with many others, made our way out. The lobby was crowded so I can’t imagine many people stayed.
Overall
As I indicated to Wade and Jason on the post-show, it was enjoyable. I think they needed to clean up their mess after what happened on Raw. To quote one of my favorite sports talk show hosts Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, they look like a “horse’s fanny” on Monday night having the Bar interrupt Rollins and Kofi. In the end I think the crowd was satisfied and I sensed no level of frustration.
RECOMMENDED: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 4/9: Kofi celebrates with Big E and Xavier, Shane McMahon bullies Hamilton, Becky’s celebration promo, Usos vs. Hardys, Raw run-ins
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>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER
APRIL 29, 2019
LEXINGTON, KY. AT THE RUPP ARENA
AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young
Arena and Items Advertised by WWE
We think the Superstar Shakeup is complete now, as you never know given last week. Our attention is fully on Money in the Bank coming Sunday, May 19 as we get ready for the annual event which will give one man and one woman an opportunity at a world championship of their choosing at any time in any place via cashing in the briefcase. Last year saw “Team Little Big” become successful as Alexa Bliss won the woman’s MITB and cash in on Nia Jax the same night to become Raw Women’s Champion. Braun Strowman won the men’s but cashed in unsuccessfully on Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship in a Hell in a Cell match at the aforementioned named PPV last September in part to outside interference by Brock Lesnar. (Weren’t Hell in a Cell matches supposed to prevent that?)
That was then and this is now and tonight, the Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. plays host to WWE Raw. The arena is the home of the vaunted and frequent NCAA Champion, Final Four, Elite Eight, and Sweet Sixteen participant Kentucky Wildcats. WWE has had shows here going back to 1992 including Superstars of Wrestling as well as WCW with a few episodes of….sorry to remind you of this…Thunder. Raw’s last appearance was in 2010. On that show current Raw wrestlers The Miz, Alicia Fox, Zack Ryder, Natalya, The Usos, and Heath Slater were a part of that roster and participated in separate matches on the show.
Here’s what’s advertised for tonight’s show:
Matches & Segments:
A WWE Money in the Bank Edition of “A Moment of Bliss”
Storyline Follow-Up:
A phenomenal foe for the Beast Slayer
Call him Robert Roode
Cesaro and Samoa Joe become Raw superstars
Man down (but not out)
The “Firefly Fun House” is open
A Moment of Bliss: Raw Money in the Bank Participants Revealed
Last week on Raw, we found out that Alexa Bliss will have her “Moment of Bliss” to reveal the Raw participants in both the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches at the aforementioned PPV coming to us on Sunday, May 19 from the XL Center in Hartford, CT.
There are leaked photos in “local advertisements” of the possible participants on various wrestling websites and Twitter. On the men’s side it shows Drew McIntyre, Cesaro, Rey Mysterio, and Ricochet from Raw. The Smackdown participants shown are Aleister Black, Andrade, and Lars Sullivan. For the women it shows Tamina, Sasha Banks, Natalya, and Naomi from Raw. From Smackdown it shows Bayley, Carmella, Ember Moon, and Sonya Deville.
I’m not confirming any of this and will wait to find out the actual participants starting tonight.
Frank’s Analysis: While I don’t care to give credence to “leaks,” the participants do seem plausible. If Alexa is just going to announce the Raw participants, it looks like we won’t get any qualifying matches or learn the method as to how said participants got into the match. WWE does what’s convenient for them. One thing is for sure, if the announcement will be made on a Moment of Bliss, some sort of chaos will ensue as has happened time and time again on this segment. My early feelings on MITB are Andrade for the men’s and Bayley for the women’s, but I need to see more in the next few weeks to make a better prediction.
Universal Champion Seth Rollins’ Next Challenger is Phenomenal
We finally know who will challenge Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship, and that’s none other than former 2-time WWE Champion and 2-time U.S. Champion A.J. Styles. Styles won his triple threat match against frequent foe Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio to open Raw last week. Baron Corbin defeated Drew McIntyre and Miz, leading to the main event which saw Styles defeat Corbin. It was a renewal of a feud from 2017 which saw Styles drop the U.S. title to Corbin while they were on Smackdown.
Styles had been a staple of the live version of Smackdown which started in 2016 which the implementation of roster split 2.0. With this year’s shakeup, Styles looks to duplicate his success on Raw as he pursues the top championship right out of the gate. You could certainly call this a dream match of “indie darlings” as both men have history of working their way up on the independent scene. They wrestled in 2006 in the NWA Midwest promotion. Here’s that match if you want to check it out:
Both have been at TNA and Ring of Honor throughout their careers. Here’s Styles talking a little trash in a WWE.com exclusive after last week’s Raw:
Frank’s Analysis: My first inclination was that they’re going to this match too soon, and I still feel that way somewhat. The other side of me thinks this could be starting a long arching story between these two, as you could no doubt have a 3-4 match series if handled right. Styles showed some of his heel persona in that exclusive. You wonder with the move to Raw, and having an immensely popular Rollins on property, if Styles is turning heel as a result of this feud. The breadcrumbs have certainly been dropped for a turn to seem plausible. Time will tell. Look for them to start teaming over the next few weeks and having tension as WWE has typically done in situations like these in the past. This also helps to get Seth Rollins title run off to a good start instead of working with (yawn) Baron Corbin or Bobby Lashley. You probably want to hold off on Drew McIntyre as I would think he’d be next in the line for Universal Championship and you don’t want to beat him any more than you have.
That ‘Stache… How “Roode”
Any fans of Full House or Fuller House get that Stephanie Tanner reference?
Last week, Bobby Roode told us he is to be referred to as Robert Roode. He talked about shedding “150 lbs of dead weight,” referring to Chad Gable who was shipped off to Smackdown. Here’s the WWE.com exclusive from prior to Raw where Roode “reintroduced himself”:
Roode, and his mustache, would go on to defeat Ricochet in about 11 minutes. Ricochet you could say shed some weight of his own as Aleister Black, whom he had been teaming with recently and even won the NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, was shipped off to Smackdown. I doubt Ricochet would call him dead weight though. Roode looks to continue his heel singles run tonight.
Frank’s Analysis: I don’t have a lot to add here other than at least Roode is finally getting a heel run in singles competition. I can do without the mustache, the same way I didn’t need Cody Rhodes’ mustache about six years ago, but I suppose it draws heat good or bad. The defeat of Ricochet is eye-opening given how he’d been hot lately even though he was in a tag team and his overall popularity in NXT (like that means anything, right?).
Cesaro and U.S. Champion Samoa Joe Calling Raw Home
Prior to Raw last week, it was speculated that Cesaro and U.S. Champion Samoa Joe would be moving back to Raw one week after the actual Superstar Shakeup. Cesaro had previously been a member of Raw with Sheamus as The Bar and won multiple Raw Tag Team Championships. It was their best-of-seven series in 2016 ending in a tie that lead to then-Raw general manager Mick Foley putting them together as a tag team. After multiple attempts, they would end New Day’s reign of 483 days in November of that year.
(FYI: This was done after New Day conveniently broke Demolition’s 478-day record for holding any tag team championship. Demolition had become part of a class action lawsuit against WWE for failing to protect wrestlers from traumatic brain injuries just three months earlier.)
Last week, Cesaro defeated Cedric Alexander who had come over from 205 Live.
U.S. Champion Samoa Joe moves back to Raw after spending the past year on Smackdown. He frequently challenged A.J. Styles for the WWE Championship in an intense feud that lasted from SummerSlam until Crown Jewel.
Frank’s Analysis: The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) were also quietly moved to Smackdown as well as Jinder Mahal with the Singh Brothers. The announcers didn’t explain the moves. It’s been talked about until we’re blue in the face. WWE does what they want and makes up the rules as they go along. With that said, I’m cautiously optimistic Cesaro can shine as a singles wrestler although we’ve been down this road before. I’d be leery of a 50/50 booking situation with Cesaro and Cedric as that just feels like something WWE would do in their way to keep both men strong. I’d of kept Joe on Smackdown, but they should be fine now with Andrade and now turning Kevin Owens heel after a brief babyface run.
The Lady and the Man Continues
Last week, Lacey Evans and Raw & Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch were at it again. She told Becky a lady is always in control of her emotions, and will teach her how to respect a lady. Becky responded by saying fans want to see her slap the head off her shoulders, and at MITB she will go back to “collecting debts.”
Becky would go on to defeat Alicia Fox, but was treated to Lacey’s Woman’s Right immediately following the match. The next night on Smackdown, we learned Becky will not only have to defend her Raw title against Lacey at MITB, but will have to defend her Smackdown title against long-time rival Charlotte Flair. I’ll have more on that tomorrow.
MITB will be “double duty” for the man. We continue the path towards that tonight. I’ll let Twitter take it from here:
Frank’s Analysis: For me, so far so good with Lacey Evans. She has sold her character both on the mic and through social media, and the feud with Becky feels genuine and real. They’ve been wise not to put her in matches but I don’t think they can hold off on that much. She will have to get in the ring and show what she can do, and prove to be a credible threat to Becky. Look for another match with Natalya and perhaps Naomi as a result of their little Twitter exchange.
The Firefly Fun House
Last week, we found out from where those creepy buzzard and witch promos were coming. As we suspected, they were portending the return of Bray Wyatt. We had not seen Bray on TV since around last summer when he was teaming with “Woken” Matt Hardy.
What we didn’t expect was the debut of the Firefly Fun House, of which Bray is the “host.” It’s an act similar to that of Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Blue’s Clues. Bray, looking much trimmer and with his hair and facial hair significantly cut, happily said hello and introduced us to his “friends.” They were Mercy the Buzzard and Abbey the Witch, explaining the characters we’ve seen recently. Many have speculated Mercy is a callback of sorts to Waylon Mercy, a character from the mid-1990s to whom Bray has been compared. You could say Abbey the Witch references “Sister Abigail,” the sister to whom Bray has frequently discussed through the years. Nonetheless he said we would love the characters.
He talked about being a bad man, but has changed and has been barbarically punished for his sins. He cut a cardboard stand-up of his previous persona with a chainsaw, and happily said he would see everyone next week. Here’s the clip of the debut and some tweets from Bray throughout the week:
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And I love all of you!#FireFlyFunHouse #ImissRoman#Kayfabe#NFLDraft #BabyShower#ProcessOverOutcome#ABBYtheWitch#Maestro#Indiana#Pecs #Merch#JasonBaker
— Bray Wyatt (@WWEBrayWyatt) April 25, 2019
The same debut aired on Smackdown. Bray is listed as a Raw wrestler on WWE.com. Lord only knows what to expect tonight as we continue to get re-acquainted with one Mr. Wyatt.
Frank’s Analysis: Who knows what to expect from this. Many have speculated that this could be some sort of spilt personality and I would tend to agree. Listen, we wanted something different for Bray and we got it. There’s a lot of ground to mine but keep this is mind, this has to end up in the wrestling ring. We’ve seen plenty of “out there” characters that didn’t translate to much in the ring, and the previous version of Bray Wyatt is no exception.
Other Possible Items for Tonight
• Sami Zayn was at it again putting down the fans last week. He showed vacation photos from various locations but admitted he felt depressed and anxious knowing his WWE return was imminent. I’m certain he’ll have some comments for Lexington, KY., not because I think anything bad about the city, but it just feels like city into which Sami would love to tear.
Start Time & Matches Advertised on the Arena Website
The Rupp Arena’s website advertises a start time of 6:30 p.m. They advertise a six-man tag match featuring Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman & A.J. Styles vs. Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre. They incorrectly show Aleister Black appearing, as he has been moved to Smackdown.
Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!