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Mitchell’s WWE SmackDown Results & Report! (8/26/22)

It’s Second Chance Friday!

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SmackDown 2022

Who defies the odds to come out on top?

Toxic Attraction won, but are out due to injury! But SmackDown keeps things on track with a Second Chance Fatal 4 Way to find NEW semifinalists!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Ricochet VS Happy Corbin; wins.
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament Second Chance Fatal 4 Way: Shotzi Blackheart & Xia Li VS Natalya & Sonya Deville VS Dana Brooke & Tamina VS Nikki A.S.H. & “Doudrop” Piper Niven; win and will face Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah in the semifinals.
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament, Semifinal: Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah VS Natalya & Sonya Deville; Raquel & Aliyah win and advance to the finals.
  • Drew McIntyre VS Sami Zayn; McIntyre wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Ricochet VS Happy Corbin!

Speaking of second chances, the One and Only beat “Bum ass” Corbin when they were 1v1, and Corbin was a sore loser about it. They face off again here in Motor City, will Ricochet sweep Corbin 2-0? Or will Corbin get his revenge and force a tiebreaker?

The bell rings and Corbin rushes in! Ricochet dodges, ducks ‘n’ dodges more, then tilt-o-whirls to RANA Corbin out of the ring! Fans fire up with Ricochet while Corbin wobbles. Ricochet builds speed but Corbin runs so Ricochet handsprings and superhero lands! Ricochet grins at Corbin, Corbin rushes in but Ricochet jumps out to the apron. Ricochet shoulders into Corbin, slingshots up an dover and keeps moving, to flapjack DROPKICK! Then he dropkicks the legs out! STANDING SHOOTING STAR! Cover, ONE!! Corbin gets to a corner but fans fire up for Ricochet. Ricochet runs corner to corner, but is put on the apron!

Ricochet shoulders into Corbin again, but slingshots into a HAYMAKER! Fans boo but Corbin just soaks it all up. Corbin drags Ricochet up, puts him in the corner, but fans chant, “You Suck! You Suck!” Corbin CHOPS Ricochet down, then brings Ricochet back up to ROCK him with a forearm. Corbin CLUBS away on Ricochet’s back, then shakes his head at the booing fans. Corbin whips Ricochet, Ricochet goes up and over the back, duck sunder and handsprings, but Corbin shoves him away! Ricochet handsprings again to back elbow! Corbin tumbles out of the ring! Ricochet builds speed to slide, but Corbin dodges!

Ricochet runs at Corbin, but Corbin alley-oops him up, only for Ricochet to land safe on the corner! Ricochet SKY TWISTERS and takes Corbin down!! Fans fire up with Ricochet as SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns and Ricochet fires off forearms and KICKS on Corbin! Ricochet whips Corbin to a corner but Corbin reverses. Ricochet dodges, Corbin slides out and in into a dropkick! Ricochet goes up and out to aim from the apron, but Corbin blocks the boot to fireman’s carry! Corbin lifts and SLAMS Ricochet onto the desk! Fans boo while Corbin smirks. Corbin frowns at Pat McAfee before he TOSSES Ricochet into barriers! Corbin drags Ricochet up and ROCKS him with a right hand. Corbin pushes Ricochet into the ring, fans rally for Ricochet, but Corbin puts Ricochet in a corner. Corbin DECKS Ricochet with a right!

Corbin stands Ricochet up, whips him corner to corner hard, then lifts Ricochet on the rebound to SLAM him on the buckle! Cover, TWO! Corbin argues with the ref but the ref says his count was fair. Corbin drags Ricochet up, Ricochet throws body shots, but Corbin knees low! Corbin whips but Ricochet handsprings, into a BIG elbow! Corbin drags Ricochet up, whips him at the corner and Ricochet slides into the post! Fans boo as Ricochet flops to the floor but Corbin tells them off. Corbin hears the ring count pass 5 of 10 and waits. Ricochet gets up and in at 7, but Corbin smirks again. Corbin whips Ricochet, but Ricochet tilt-o-whirls to a DDT!

Fans rally while both men are down! Corbin sits up first and he drags Ricochet up, only to get a JAWBREAKR! Ricochet fires off hands, KICKS, and KICKS and KICKS! But Corbin shoves Ricochet, only for Ricochet to Tiger Wall Kick and ENZIGURI! Corbin ends up in a corner, Ricochet runs in, and Ricochet RAMS into Corbin! Ricochet goes to the apron, springboards but Corbin gets under! Corbin choke grips but Ricochet RANAS! Then V-TRIGGERS! Corbin rebounds but Ricochet dodges, only to run into DEEP SIX! Cover, TWO! Corbin grows frustrated but he drags Ricochet up and to the corner.

Corbin puts Ricochet up top, climbs up, but Ricochet fires off haymakers! Ricochet then KICKS Corbin down, and fans fire up! Ricochet adjusts, aims, and 450s, but has to roll through! Corbin BOOTS Ricochet, lifts him again, and just YOYO SLAMS him down! Cover, TWO!! Corbin is furious but two is two! Corbin runs to DECK Ricochet down! Fans boo but Corbin drags Ricochet up. Corbin runs, Ricochet dodges, and leaps, but no Recoil! Corbin shoves Ricochet but Ricochet V-TRIGGERS again! And SUPERKICKS! And HEEL KICKS! Corbin falls over, Ricochet goes up and Detroit fires up! SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Cover, Ricochet wins!

Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall

And that’s the sweep! McAfee mocks Corbin with the telestrator, is it all over for Corbin but the crying?

 

The Street Profits are backstage!

Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins walk the halls, but they encounter Hit Row! Ford says, “Look who it is! OOO~!” B-Fab hears they want the smoke. Ashante THEE Adonis & Top Dolla look at each other and say, “Oh we got that.” Ford & Dawkins feel it! There’s something here! About that MONEY MONEY MONEY~! To the smoke they go~! B-Fab leads the way, are the Profits and Hit Row hitting it off?

 

SmackDown looks at Drew McIntyre’s journey.

“It’s really cool to be from the UK. A long line of warriors, of scientists, of poets. The people think big, they dream big, they do incredible things. As a kid, I did imagine I would be here. I imagined it every single day since I was six years old.” It seemed unobtainable. No one from Scotland had ever been signed to the WWE before. He was the kid who said he’d be the first, and he believed it that much. Being from Scotland, with such brave and heroic figures, if you’ve got a dream, you go for it and make it happen. McIntyre is living proof of it. He rose up, reached the top in Scotland, Wales, England, and then the FCW Champion in the US.

McIntyre became the fastest superstar to go from developmental to television as “The Chosen One.” They all thought that at the time, as did he, but he doesn’t see it that way now. He thought he deserved it all, become a Hall of Famer all easy, but it didn’t work out that way. “When things weren’t going so well anymore, instead of putting my head down and working harder, instead of looking in that mirror, I was getting angry. My dream and my professional life was falling apart, and that was about the time my mom got sick.” He still sees her as a superhero, but then she passed and there was no saving him emotionally or professionally. He got fired, and it ended up being the best thing for him.

McIntyre was clueless and immature when he first came to America. But he knew he’d return to the WWE a man. And so he did! He became the leader of the locker room, and so much more. More of the McIntyre story is still to come later tonight.

 

Karrion Kross speaks.

He and Scarlett are up in the bleachers! “Wow. What a beautiful story of redemption. Congratulations, Mr. McIntyre> I mean, who knows? Maybe right now, it really is your time. Or… Maybe not. However, take this moment in. Think about it. Feel it, savor it, because in reality, at any given moment, I can put my arm through the back of your head, and all of your achievements will mean absolutely nothing. Tick-tock.” Mr. Doomsday puts McIntyre on the clock, but will the Scottish Warrior prove he can change the fate Kross sees for him?

 

WWE Women’s Championship Tournament Second Chance Fatal 4 Way: Shotzi Blackheart & Xia Li VS Natalya & Sonya Deville VS Dana Brooke & Tamina VS Nikki A.S.H. & “Doudrop” Piper Niven!

Second chance and last chance for the four teams that were eliminated in the tournament! Toxic Attraction’s misfortune is a golden opportunity, but who seizes the moment and heads for the semifinals?

SmackDown returns and Natalya & Sonya make their entrance. Dana & Tamina, as well as Nikki & Piper, are already at their corners. This type of Fatal 4 only has two teams legal at one time, so Sonya starts against Tamina. Tamina throws her jacket at former tag partner, Natty. Sonya can’t believe that, and she circles with Tamina. Natty talks some trash, and gets a SUPERKICK for it! Tamina dodges Sonya, fireman’s carries to a SAMOAN DROP! Cover, but Piper SENTONS it apart! Piper puts Sonya in her corner, Nikki tags in off Sonya, but then Xia tags off Tamina. Nikki CROSSBODIES Xia then rains down fists!

Nikki soaks up the heat as she strike a pose, then she drags Xia up. Nikki whips, Xia reverses and Nikki hits ropes hard! Xia clinches, hammerlocks, and HOTSHOTS Nikki down! Xia talks trash on Nikki not being a hero, and then she tags Shotzi. Xia’s drop toehold puts Nikki on the ropes, then Xia is the step for Shotzi to jump off off, SENTON against the ropes! Cover, Tamina breaks it! Tamina drags Shotzi over, Dana tags in off Shotzi, and the 24/7 Champion handsprings to elbow Piper down! Nikki runs in but into a BOOT! Nikki wrenches back, kicks low, TWIST ‘N’ SHOUT! Cover, TWO and Sonya KNEES Nikki down!

Tamina SUPERKKICKS Sonya! Piper CROSSBODIES Tamina! Shotzi runs in but Piper blocks the cravat to power out. Shotzi dodges Piper, Xia ROUNBDHOUSES! Xia gives Shotzi another boost, SLICED BREAD for Piper! Natty rushes in to DISCUS Xia! But Shotzi whips! Natty reverses to send Shotzi out, but Dana CLOBBERS Natty! Fans fire up and Dana goes up a corner! But Nikki intercepts with a haymaker! Nikki then climbs up to join Dana, but So does Sonya! Sonya tags in off Dana, before Nikki brings Dana up! Dana turns that around, SUPERPLEX onto the cluster! Sonya hurries to find Nikki and put her in the ring! Sonya covers Nikki, Sonya & Natty win!!

Winners: Sonya Deville & Natalya, by pinfall (advance to the semifinals)

“Cruella” is an opportunist, and she snatches this win away for her team! But that semifinal match with Aliyah & Raquel is later tonight! Will Aliyah#317 and Big Mami Cool be more than ready for this one?

 

The Brawling Brutes head to the ring!

Sheamus leads “Butch” and Ridge Holland out, ready to address his coming title match with Der Ring General! What will the Fella have to say about Gunther? We’ll find out, after the break.

SmackDown returns and Sheamus gets the mic. “Cardiff, Wales. Next weekend, the Brawling Brutes are gonna be startin’ fights and drinkin’ pints when ol’ Sheamy here celebrates becoming your NEW Intercontinental Champion!” Fans are a bit torn on that idea. Sheamus says he will become WWE’s first ever ULTIMATE Grand Slam Champion when he beats “the bleedin’ sauerkraut” out of Gunther! He won’t know what’s hit him- But wait! Here comes Imperium! Gunther leads Ludwig Kaiser out, and neither of them looks very happy. Sheamus & Ridge have Pete Dunne stand down, especially given that history.

Gunther & Ludwig join the brutes in the ring and Ludwig says, “Ladies and gentlemen… <The mat is sacred!>” Sheamus has him stop right there. He has no idea what Ludwig’s saying, nor does anyone in Detroit. So please, shut up, yeah? Good man. The truth of it is, Sheamus’ beef is with Gunther. Gunther says he’s the Ring General. But the truth is, you’re looking at a REAL ring general in Sheamus. Sheamus has faced the best of the best in this ring and beat every single one of ’em! Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and even the King o’ Kings himself, Triple H, the Game!

And nobody in this ring, nobody in this business, has had banger after banger after banger after banger, etc. The truth is, Gunther, Sheamus sees a lot of himself in Gunther. It’s been years since he’s seen anyone possess the same brutal qualities that Sheamus does. It reminds Sheamus of himself. Just like Sheamus, Gunther loves to go to war in the ring. There are a lot of similarities here. But Gunther has something Sheamus wants: the WWE Intercontinental Championship! And Sheamus makes Gunther a promise that at Clash at the Castle, Sheamus will drag that title off Gunther’s lifeless body and into the belly of the red dragon!

Fans cheer but Gunther gets the mic now. “Sheamus, you’re a man to be respected, I give you that. But you’re nothing like me! I am Der Intercontinental Champion! And to protect this title, I’m gonna teach you what violence really means. In Cardiff, not only am I gonna retain this title, but I’m gonna chop your chest into bloody bits! I’m gonna break your body, I’m gonna break your spirt! I’m gonna break the man that everybody thinks can’t be broken! Sheamus, Der Ring General will break YOU!” Gunther and Sheamus get face to face, and then Dunne DECKS Ludwig! Dunne rains down fists, Ludwig kicks him away, and Ridge can only watch!

Ridge tries to get involved but Ludwig clotheslines him out of the ring! Ridge drags Ludwig out, but Ludwig TOSSES Ridge over barriers! Dunne TACKLES Ludwig! And still, Sheamus and Gunther only focus on each other! Ludwig and Dunne brawl right beside them! They CLOBBER each other, and then drag themselves up. Gunther and Sheamus hold their men back, and fans fire up! Imperium stands down, but will this all explode in Cardiff?

 

Backstage interview with Natalya & Sonya Deville.

Megan congratulates them on the win tonight. They shocked everyone with that opportunistic victory- Uh, stop right there. What does that even mean? They had an opportunity and they won, just say that! Does Megan know who she’s talking to? This is Natalya! The BOAT! Former SmackDown Women’s Champion and former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion. Be respectful. Natty agrees, and adds that Sonya is one of the hardest hitting women in the WWE today. She really is! They are really starting to find their groove, which is why Aliyah & Raquel should be very concerned tonight. Understand this: one small mistake and these two are going to the finals!

And Morgan, Megan, whoever you are, no one likes a kill joy. Take a hike. These two are confident, but will they be able to take advantage of another opportunity? Also, Nikki and Piper were arguing in the background the whole time. Is their Celtic Connection imploding as we speak?

 

Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky are here!

The Role Model and her dynamic duo are back on SmackDown, ready to watch another Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament match! They await the winners in the finals on Monday, will they make sure to take plenty of notes?

 

Sami Zayn visits Roman Reigns’ locker room.

He knocks, and the Usos are back! Jimmy is excited to see Sami, it was great how Montreal was on fire for him last week. They saw it? Yeah, they saw it! Sami says if he didn’t get hurt, he would’ve so won that Fatal 5 Way. Yeah, he was close. Jey says it was still a loss, though. What’s Sami doing knocking on the door? Well, Sami was hoping Roman would wanna see him after last week. Y’know? That bonding, the save, you guys saw that, right? But McIntyre’s still walking around so Jey tells Sami to walk away. But then Roman calls to them. Sami says hey to the Tribal Chief! Sup, Sami. What’re you doing out there? Come on in.

Sami walks past the Usos and joins Roman. Nice room here! Yeah, it’s alright. But what’s up? Go ahead, sit down. Sami sits in the other armchair and asks Roman how things are going. Roman’s good. How’s Sami? Sami’s okay. He’s still a bit sore from last week. Right, yeah. Sami lost. Yes, he did, that is true. But sometimes, bad things happen so that they can redeem themselves. Right! That’s how Sami sees it! Roman didn’t forget. He was alone last week, he needed someone to help him out, and he appreciates what Sami did for him last week. That is something that family would do. Yes, something that family should do! Sami was happy to do it.

Sami wants Roman to know he can be counted on for anything. Well then, he needs another favor. Name it! Take McIntyre out tonight. Yeah, he has his match with McIntyre tonight! The Master Strategist gets in people’s heads, throws down blankets, does a dance, all that. McIntyre won’t know what’s what! By the time we get to Cardiff, Roman will break McIntyre in half! Sami was thinking they could all to this together as a unit. A bonding moment for the Bloodline. Well, thing is, they’re going to distract Sami. Yes, Roman does command respect. That is fine, Sami appreciates this opportunity to this on his own. Thank you, Uce!

Yes, you’re welcome., Sami has the opportunity to be the main event. One Sami doesn’t take lightly. Good luck, Uce. Not gonna need it. Jimmy gives Sami the secret handshake, but Jey just shows Sami the door. Will Sami prove himself worthy? Or is he just being used by the Tribal Chief?

 

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament, Semifinal: Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah VS Natalya & Sonya Deville!

Bayley joins commentary on this match as Ricky Desperado & the Bougie Badass make their entrance. With Kai & Sky watching so closely, will either team be able to focus on their opponents? Who will be heading to Monday Night Raw for THE WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships?

The teams sort out and Raquel fires Aliyah up as she starts against Natty. They tie up, Natty headlocks and hits a takeover. Aliyah headscissors, Natty kips free, but Aliyah kips up. They tie up, Natty headlocks again, but Aliyah powers out. Natty goes up and over in the corner, keeps moving, but Aliyah keeps up. Natty rolls, Aliyah goes Matrix and rolls Natty up! ONE, but Aliyah ghost pins, TWO! Aliyah facelocks but Natty throws hands! Natty scoops but Aliyah slips off. Aliyah tags Raquel, and she runs Natty over! Cover, Sonya breaks it! Aliyah throws Sonya out, Natty regroups with Sonya, but Aliyah leaps! She gets Sonya!

Natty drags Aliyah off Sonya to scoop and MICHINOKU DRIVER to the floor! Raquel rushes over to run Natty off and check on Aliyah while SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns as Natty & Sonya throw Raquel down together! Sonya bumps Raquel off buckles, tags Natty in, and they double whip, only for Raquel to crisscross and send them into each other! Raquel drags Sonya around, drags up Natty, and she manages to DOUBLE SUPLEX her opponents! Cover on Sonya, ONE! Raquel keeps cool and brings Sonya up for a FALL AWAY SLAM! Fans fire up, Raquel runs in to go up, but Natty stops the Vader Bomb! Raquel SMACKS Natty off the post but Sonya YANKS Raquel down! Cover, TWO! Sonya puts Raquel on ropes to CHOKE her, then lets off at 4, so Natty can get a cheap shot in!

Fans boo but Natty soaks up the heat. Sonya bumps Raquel off buckles, stomps and KICKS Raquel in the corner, and then she soaks up heat. Fans boo while Sonya stalks Raquel. Raquel throws forearms in return, but Sonya KICKS Her down! Cover, TWO! Sonya drags Raquel up, grinds forearms into her face, and taunts the fans who rally up. Sonya grinds Raquel down with a chinlock while Bayley mocks Michael Cole. Raquel fights up with Sonya as a piggyback, and then Natty runs in! But Raquel catches Natty for a POWERSLAM! Then she THROWS Sonya onto Natty! Fans fire up as Raquel gets space.

Raquel fires up with Aliyah still down, and she counters Sonya’s punches to HEADBUTT her down! Natty runs in again but Raquel DECKS her! Raquel BOOTS Sonya, fire sup, and SPLASHES Natty in a corner! Then SPLASHES Sonya in the other! Raquel goes up to TWISTING VADER on Sonya! Cover, TWO!! Raquel drags Sonya up into the TEXANA- NO, Natty trips Raquel to stop the bomb! Natty steps through but the ref says she’ snot legal! Raquel BOOTS Natty right out of the ring! But Sonya KNEES Raquel down! Cover, TWO!! Even Bayley is surprised! Sonya sits Raquel up but Raquel ducks the buzzsaw!

Raquel swings, into a spin, but she switches and lifts Sonya, TEXANA BOMB!! Cover, Raquel & Aliyah win!!

Winners: Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah, by pinfall (advance to the finals)

Bayley says it’s very convenient that Aliyah gets in the ring now. But a win is a win, and now we have our golden showdown for the Steel City! Dakota & Iyo get in the ring to stare down their opponents. Will Raquel & Aliyah bring these belts to SmackDown? Or will Kai & Sky take control and bring these titles to Raw?

 

Maximum Male Models has another photoshoot backstage.

Maçé & Mansôör pose while Max Dupri tells the photographer to pipe down so he can run this. Gentlemen, you are looking great! Maxxine, fix Mansoor’s button for him. She unbuttons the shirt, and Max likes those pecs! But what is he paying this photographer for? He’s missing the goods! But then HIT~ ROW~ blasts their theme song in their trailer. Max is furious, and Maxxine says she has an idea. She heads off, but how will she solve this issue?

SmackDown returns, MMM does its best to power through with the shoot, but then Maxxine returns. With Los Lotharios? Angel & Humberto heard they have a problem. They have a solution: spray paint! Are they going to do something to the Hit Row’s trailer?

 

The New Day are here!

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are back! And of course Woods is in a wheelchair after what the Viking Raiders did to his leg. But they do have mics as fans chant “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Woods thanks the fans for that, and he knows normally, they’re here clapping, dancing and happy. So this is a bit difficult for them. As you know, they’ve been making fun of the Viking Raiders, from how “new and vicious” they are and making fun of their intelligence, but the New Day underestimated them. There’s no way to sugarcoat this, but the past few weeks, they’ve been getting their asses beat by the Vikings.

Kofi had a 300 pound man go Air Viking and crack some of his ribs a couple weeks ago. So they have to face a harsh reality. Last week, they saw the “Viking funeral,” and saw Erik & Ivar burning boxes of Booty O’s, burning New Day shirts, and unicorn horns. They were burning the New Day’s legacy. It was done, but maybe New Day is just that. Fans say “NO! NO! NO!” Kofi appreciates the fans feeling that way. They’ve gotten a chance to do a lot of great things, but- Wait! The Viking Raiders are here! Erik & Ivar say this is pathetic. “We gave you a proper sendoff. A warrior’s rite.” “And instead of leaving with honor, you’re out here sniveling.”

Guys, c’mon. Just give them a few minutes to say what they need to say to the fans. Erik says one thing a Viking despises more than anything in the world is weakness. It makes them sick to see the New Day in their ring, groveling like some wounded animal. Ivar says sometimes, the best thing to do for a wounded animal is to put it down! Erik & Ivar storm up to the ring as Kofi wheels Woods back. Kofi says stop! Woods’ leg is still broken from what they did! They won! SURPRISE! KENDO STICKS!! Woods & Kofi suckered them in! And now they SMACK away on Erik & Ivar! The Vikings go running, and Woods THROWS the wheelchair at them!

The New Day aren’t wounded animals, they’re 100%! Will Kofi & Woods wage war against Erik & Ivar to take back that legacy they burned on the pyre?

 

MMM and Los Lotharios graffiti the Hit Row trailer!

In big blue letters, they spray, “HIT ROW SUCKS!” Max says that’s a masterpiece. But then Hit Row walks up and asks what they’re doing. If this is beef, let’s handle this in the ring next week. By the way, this wasn’t their bus. Stupids! Wait, then who…? The Profits?! MMM and Los Lotharios run away! Will Dawkins & Ford also have to handle some business?

 

The Usos talk with Sami backstage.

Jimmy says Roman doesn’t talk like that about everyone, so that was a big deal. Jey says that when Sami wears that shirt, he needs to level up. He blew it last week, so don’t blow it again. Sami asks why Jey is coming at him with all this negativity. This negative energy is what Sami was talking to Roman about last week. Yeah, Sami was talking to Roman last week, behind the Usos’ back! Don’t ever disrespect Jey to his family! Understand him? Handle your business, Sami! Jimmy gets Jey out of there, will this added pressure only hurt Sami’s chances against McIntyre?

 

Next week’s SmackDown is going to be big!

Firstly, after the brawl we saw out of them, we’ll be getting Ludwig Kaiser VS Pete Dunne! Who will win for the pride of their team? Then, Karrion Kross has been issuing warnings, but now he’ll step up and have his first match back in the WWE! Whose time is about to run out when facing the apocalypse? And after all the back and forth, and especially after tonight’s confrontation, the Viking Raiders and the New Day face off in a VIKING RULES MATCH! No disqualifications, no count outs, no telling what these two teams will do to settle the score!

 

SmackDown shares the rest of Drew McIntyre’s journey.

His dream was falling apart, and he got fired. McIntyre knew he needed to grow up to achieve his full potential. The time he was away from the WWE helped McIntyre find himself and find his confidence. He came back, and for the first time in his life, he stepped up to be the leader he knew he could be. He was NXT Champion, he was WWE World Champion, and after a life of twists and turns, he reached the destination and became the face of the industry he loves. And now he encounters Roman Reigns. “Roman is incredible, it’s as simple as that. But he is an absolute monster. This is a run in the modern era that no one has seen, and we’ll probably never see again.

“And I’m gonna take him down.” McIntyre vows that in the first stadium show in the UK in 30 years, going back to where it all began for McIntyre, his journey comes full circle. That is who Roman faces in front of 70 THOUSAND Brits and the entire world. Destiny will finally be fulfilled! At Clash of the Castle, on McIntyre’s land, in front of McIntyre’s people, Roman is on McIntyre’s island and McIntyre kicks Roman’s head right off his EFFING BODY! One, two, three. Will the Scottish Warrior be the one to finally dethrone the Tribal Chief?

 

Drew McIntyre VS Sami Zayn!

But before taking on Roman, McIntyre must deal with Roman’s newest pawn! Will the Master Strategist have a way to do more than just run away from McIntyre? Or is Sami getting another Claymore to the face like he did last week?

SmackDown returns and Sami makes his entrance. Sami takes his time getting to the ring, with fans a bit torn. The bell rings, Sami and McIntyre circle, and Sami swipes at McIntyre. Sami then bails out and fans boo. McIntyre chuckles, he’s been through this before. McIntyre goes out after Sami but Sami slides back into the ring. Sami is of course trolling McIntyre and he stomps McIntyre as he gets back in! The ref counts, Sami lets off at the ropes, but then he CLUBS McIntyre. McIntyre DECKS Sami! McIntyre scowls, drags Sami up and bumps him off buckles! McIntyre whips corner to corner hard and Sami bounces off buckles!

McIntyre drags Sami back up, CHOPS him, and Sami is stinging even with the shirt on. McIntyre whips, Sami dodges and then bails out again! McIntyre pursues again, chases Sami into the ring, but Sami kicks McIntyre away. Sami CLUBS McIntyre at commentary, but  McIntyre blocks the bump off the desk. McIntyre SMACKS Sami off the desk instead! Then he RAMS Sami into the apron! The ring count is 7 and McIntyre puts Sami in. But Sami KICKS the rope to jam up McIntyre! Sami then CHOP BLOCKS a leg, and he fires off crossface haymakers! McIntyre pushes Sami away and gets to ropes, but Sami is after him again!

Sami CHOKES McIntyre on the ropes, lets off at 4, and then Sami holds up the finger for #WeTheOnes. But McIntyre TOSSES Sami into the corner! McIntyre fires off hands and stomps, then drags Sami up to whip to ropes. McIntyre scoops Sami for a BACKBREAKER! Sami writhes while McIntyre scowls. McIntyre shakes out one of his legs, then fires off hands on Sami. McIntyre puts Sami up top, CHOPS him again, then ROCKS him with a right! McIntyre climbs up, brings Sami up to the very top, but Sami rakes the eyes! Sami CLUBS McIntyre, and CLUBS him again! Sami SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMBS!! Both men are down and fans fire up as SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns again and Sami flounders to a corner. McIntyre runs in but into a BOOT! Sami goes up the corner, reels McIntyre in, TORNADO DDT! Cover, ONE!! Sami is frustrated but he stalks McIntyre to ropes. Sami drags McIntyre up, reels him in, but McIntyre fights the lift. Sami CLUBS away on McIntyre and lifts, but McIntyre slips out to GLASGOW KISS! Both men go down from the headbutt, but McIntyre sits up with a furious look in his eyes! Fans fire up as McIntyre glares at Sami and runs in to CLOBBER him! And again! McIntyre whips, OVERHEAD Belly2Belly Suplexes, then clinches for another OVERHEAD Belly2Belly!

Sami staggers around, swings wild but McIntyre hits a NECKBREAKER! McIntyre kips up and fans fire up! McIntyre aims from a corner, starts the countdown, but here come the Usos! They distract McIntyre, Sami runs in to reel McIntyre in! BLUE THUNDER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Fans are thunderous while the Usos are furious! Sami grits his teeth and gets to his feet. Fans are dueling as Sami drags McIntyre up and fires off haymakers! McIntyre CHOPS Sami off his feet! Jimmy distracts, but McIntyre DECKS him! Jey tries but McIntyre DEKCS him, too! Sami rolls McIntyre up, TWO!! They both run, they both dodge, CLAYMORE!!! Cover, McIntyre wins!

Winner: Drew McIntyre, by pinfall

But here comes Roman!! Roman CLOBBERS McIntyre and rains down fists! Roman stomps McIntyre, shouts at McIntyre, and fans are torn but thunderous over the Tribal Chief showing up. Roman whips but McIntyre reverses and POSTS Roman! The Usos attack again! But McIntyre fires haymakers off on them both! He DECKS Jey, he ROCKS Jimmy, then McIntyre TOSSES Jimmy! Roman SPEARS McIntyre!! Jey has a chair, and so does Jimmy! They SMACK away on McIntyre! The Usos are beating McIntyre down for their Tribal Chief! Roman wants them to teach him a lesson, so they throw McIntyre out of the ring! And then over the desk!

The Usos keep on McIntyre with stomps! They throw armchairs around, then bring McIntyre back around, to RAM him into the barriers! Jimmy drags McIntyre up, Sami runs in, HELLUVA KICK!! Sami is fired up and the Usos break apart the steel steps! Sami sets McIntyre up for them to RAM him down! And again! And again! McIntyre falls over while Roman watches from the corner! Fans chant for tables but the Usos put McIntyre back in the ring for Roman. Roman says McIntyre brought this upon himself! The top of the mountain is ROMAN’S, and McIntyre will never have it until Roman’s done with it! Roman clamps on the GUILLOTINE!!

Roman drops McIntyre, and then the Usos drag McIntyre around. Roman pins McIntyre down with a chair as he takes a seat right over him! The Usos drape the WWE World and Universal Championship belts on Roman’s shoulders. Roman says as long as he wants it, this whole industry runs off of him! Sami joins The Bloodline in holding up their fingers to the sky. Are they the ones now, then, and forever?


My Thoughts:

A great episode of SmackDown for what is actually a double header in Detroit. Since they have to be in Cardiff for Saturday, September 3rd, they can’t be in the States next Friday night, so the go-home episode is being taped right now. Though, much of this was a go-home episode in itself. We got a great career retrospective for Drew McIntyre, we got great interactions between Sami and the Bloodline, and we got both an awesome main event and go-home segment to close the night out. McIntyre wins but also gets brutally beat down, so it’s hard to say where the math is on this. There might be a moment in the true go-home episode where McIntyre gets some momentum back, but I am really hoping that given the vignette, given what we saw tonight, and give there are going to be fans live, this is when McIntyre finally has his “moment” of a world title win with fans there to celebrate with him.

Great opening match out of Ricochet VS Corbin in their rematch, and great win for Ricochet. McAfee mocking Corbin with his telestrator was hilarious, and I wonder if Corbin is going to shift away from Happy Corbin to something else. I liked the interaction between Hit Row and Street Profits, as well as the related stuff with Maximum Male Models and Los Lotharios. It’s great that we’re finally seeing MMM get in the ring, it should’ve happened a month ago, but this will be good. Also expect Profits and Los Lotharios to have their own match, and we could even see some sort of 8 Man Tag, or even a Fatal 4 Way Tag, all building towards new contenders for the Usos.

Good promo from Kross, and of course he’s going to destroy whoever he faces next week to get himself going. He keeps calling out McIntyre, not Roman, so one way or another, Kross VS McIntyre is going to be the feud coming out of Clash at the Castle. We also got a great segment out of New Day and Viking Raiders. Nice bit of bait ‘n’ switch, making it sound like a good-bye/retirement promo, but then of course turning things around on Erik & Ivar. The Viking Rules Match will certainly just be a themed Street Fight, but that is still going to be great stuff from these teams, another thing I was hoping we were going to see much sooner than this.

Now, I was hoping for more out of that Women’s Fatal 4 Tag but I guess with the semifinal match still having to happen tonight, it makes sense it was chaotic and quick. Sonya & Natty winning was the logical move, they’re the Heel team from SmackDown, and they lost to Toxic Attraction, this was practically them advancing by default. Also, great Easter egg move having Nikki & Piper arguing in the background to get both stories moving in one segment. I hope part of the argument is that Nikki needs to leave the superhero gimmick completely.

Anyway, great match out of Raquel & Aliyah VS Natty & Sonya, and Bayley was good on commentary. Raquel & Aliyah winning makes sense, but they made a great point of Raquel doing it all on her own. The finals on Monday are going to be awesome, I can’t wait to see it. Honestly, I’m expecting Kai & Sky to win so that the Six Woman Tag at Clash has lots of belts. It’ll even be a big preview of coming title feuds, Bayley going after Bianca while Kai & Sky defend against Asuka & Bliss, all culminating at Extreme Rules in October.

My Score: 8.6/10


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Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (3/18/24)

Talk about a Big Time Raw!

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Will The Man be the Last Woman Standing?

Becky Lynch and Nia Jax want to finally put this to an end, so tonight on Raw, it will be a Big Time Last Woman Standing match! Will the Irresistible Force force the WrestleMania 40 match to change?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers; DIY wins and advances to WrestleMania.
  • Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance; Candice & Indi win.
  • Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet; Ricochet wins.
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher; The Awesome Truth wins and advances to WrestleMania.
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy; The New Day wins and advances to WrestleMania.
  • Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax; Becky wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Jey Uso is here!

North Carolina State University fires up and bounces along with Main Event Jey, and Pat McAfee plays a dangerous game standing on the armchairs! From Bret VS Owen to Matt VS Jeff, we’re about to get Jey VS Jimmy in the third-ever Brother VS Brother WrestleMania grudge match! Jey gets the mic as fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Jey welcomes us to Monday Night Raw, and wants us to check this out. He knows his brothers are somewhere in the building. He knows The Bloodline’s in the building. He knows how the Bloodline rolls! SO Big Brother Jimmy, where you at?! Where you at, Uce!?

Jey waits for someone to show up somewhere, and the crowd spots them first! Fans boo as Jimmy & Solo make their way from the back of the stands. Jimmy gets a mic and goes to the apron while Solo paces around the outside. Fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” again as Jey puts the sunglasses aside. The Usos stare each other down, the fans now chant “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jey wants to say something, hesitates, but then says these two would always get to it but they always knew how to shake right back to this. But now it’s different. Regardless of what happened, the bad blood between them, Jey misses his brother. He does.

Jey knows Jimmy will say what he wants, but Jey doesn’t talk to him no more, doesn’t ride with him no more, doesn’t even see him no more! Jimmy can just come back. Jimmy says he never left! He protected Jey! Jey’s so dumb, he can’t see it! Jimmy is protecting Jey! It was Jey’s idea to leave The Bloodline, but Jimmy helped because he is Jey’s brother. So yeah, Jey leaves, and what happens? Lil’ Bro becomes the BIGGEST star on the Raw roster! Lil’ Bro becomes the top merch seller! Lil’ Bro goes off to become a tag team champion without Jimmy, but with CODY RHODES!? Who left who, Uce?

Jey forgot Jimmy! Everything Jey did that was big was cuz of Big Bro Jimmy! Everything! So listen loud and clear. The biggest moment in Jey’s career, the BIGGEST moment, is because of Jimmy! Jimmy stares Jey down, but Jey says no. Jey’s biggest moment in his career is going to be his dream match at WrestleMania 40: Jey VS Jimmy, and Jey knocks the yeet out Jimmy’s ass! Jey DECKS Jimmy, DECKS Solo off the apron, but then Jimmy SUPERKICKS Jey down! The fans boo but now Solo storms in and looms over Jey. Solo drags Jey up so Jimmy can look him in the face and tell him that Jey needs to get it right! JIMMY made Jey!

But here comes Cody Rhodes! The fans fire up as Cody DECKS Jimmy, then gets in to springboard and CODY CUTTER Solo!! The American Nightmare said he was gonna be a Bloodline Hunter, and he made sure they didn’t take out Jey! Cody tells The Bloodline it is only a matter of time before they lose it all at WrestleMania! Will Jey prove that younger or older doesn’t matter when he is the BETTER brother?

 

Adam Pearce is on the phone.

He’s telling Nick Aldis to stop being a hypocrite, telling Pearce to keep his roster in check when this is happening. But then Paul Heyman walks over and Pearce says he’ll call Aldis back. Pearce then asks Heyman what was all that, and Heyman says he owes Pearce an apology. He is sorry. That was not authorized by The Final Boss nor The Tribal Chief, and certainly not by Heyman. Jimmy & Solo went into business for themselves so Heyman apologizes. But listen, Pearce knows that there have been flight delays all day. Even private jets like theirs. Heyman is barely even dressed for TV, let alone has his make-up!

Pearce says those two were ready. Yeah, well, they got in on a different flight. But Roman Reigns is a chief of his word. Those two are already gone, out of the arena, and Pearce has Roman’s word. Call his bluff, put out a search party. Pearce knows Heyman is here on official business, which Heyman will handle, and then be gone. That is it. But when Heyman does his official business… everyone will be caught off guard. “And Mr. Pearce, sir, that’s not a prediction. That’s a spoiler.” The Wise Man heads out and calls Roman, but just what is Heyman teasing?

 

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers!

Unlike SmackDown’s mini-tournament, Raw and Adam Pearce say it’s win and you’re in! Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano want one more shot at Judgment Day, but so do Julius & Brutus! Will the Sicilian Psycho & Johnny Wrestling prove that when it comes to Mania Moments, you gotta do it yourself? Or will the Creeds be bringing golden tickets to the Diamond Mine?

Raw returns as The Creeds make their entrance. The teams fist bump to show respect, then the teams sort out. Julius starts against Ciampa, they circle and tie up. They’re in a deadlock, Ciampa goes for a waistlock but Julius facelocks. Julius wrangles Ciampa to the mat, flips him over, ONE, and Ciampa keeps moving. They trade facelocks, gator roll, and Julius gets another lateral press. ONE, but Julius gator rolls Ciampa around. Ciampa fights up, puts Julius on ropes, and the ref counts. Ciampa lets off, then CHOPS! Julius shoots in for the takedown! Julius has a leg, Ciampa fights but Julius turns him for the ANKLE LOCK!

Ciampa scrambles to the ROPEBREAK, and Julius lets off cleanly. Ciampa bails out, shakes it off, and he gets back in. They go again, Julius hits a fireman’s carry takeover! Tag to Brutus, and Julius feeds Ciampa to another fireman’s carry takeover! Brutus cording holds but Ciampa endures. Ciampa fights up, but Brutus facelocks. The fans rally as Brutus switches and rolls Ciampa. Ciampa fights up, headlocks, then ROCKS Brutus! Brutus DECKS Ciampa, then whips him to ropes. Ciampa ducks ‘n’ dodges, tag to Gargano! Ciampa slides, CHOPS, Gargano LARIATS and Ciampa JAWBREAKERS! Wrench and LARIAT!

Julius runs in, Gargano kicks and Ciampa gives him the boost for SLICED BREAD! The Creeds bail out, but DIY DOUBLE PLANCHA! Down go the Creeds, and DIY applaud and pat themselves on the back. The fans fire up and Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Ciampa has Julius in a chinlock. The fans rally, Julius fights up to throw body shots, but Ciampa hits a back suplex! Julius lands out of it, but Ciampa elbows him away. Ciampa drop toeholds Julius, gets legs, but Julius BOOTS Ciampa away! Hot tags to Gargano and Brutus! Brutus rallies on DIY, TOSSES Gargano, then blocks Ciampa’s kick to get under and POWERBOMB him! Brutus sees DIY regroup, then he runs in to SPLASH them both! O’Conner on Ciampa, but Gargano runs up! NORTHERN LIGHTS! Brutus has a DOUBLE BRIDGE, TWO!! Tag to Julius and he gut wrench SLAMS Brutus on Ciampa!

Brutus helps Julius flip up and over to SPLASH onto Ciampa! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up as Julius drags Ciampa up. Ciampa throat chops! A bit dirty but Ciampa wants that win! Ciampa storms up on Julius, but Julius basement stalling suplexes!! The fans are thunderous, Gargano runs in, but Brutus intercepts! Brutus suplexes Gargano now, stalls, and then the Creeds SLAM and kip up! Then they both STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Ciampa stays in this for DIY but the Creeds keep cool. Julius stomps Ciampa, tags Brutus, and they KNEE Ciampa around! Then they DOUBLE GUTBUSTER! Ciampa sputters but Brutus tags Julius in.

Julius drags Ciampa up, tags Brutus back in, and Brutus climbs. Julius Electric Chair Lifts, but Gargano makes the save! Gargano ROCKS Julius, Brutus ROCKS Gargano! Ciampa BOOTS Brutus, Gargano swings on Julius but is sent into Ciampa! Ciampa pushes Gargano back so he can ELBOW Julius! DIY set up again but Brutus stops the Sliced Bread! Julius DECKS Ciampa, KNEE into the WIDOWMAKER! Julius scrapes Gargano out, Brutus POUNCES Ciampa over the desk! Pat fires up with Brutus and so do the fans! The Creeds say they run this now, and then Brutus drags Ciampa up while Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Julius has Ciampa in a chinlock. Ciampa fights up, and he JAWBREAKERS free! Ciampa ELBOWS Brutus down, BOOTS Julius, then runs up, only for Julius to catch him and toss him back! But then Ciampa catches Julius for a REVERSE DDT! The fans fire up while both men are down and crawling! Hot tag to Gargano! Gargano slingshots to KICK Julius, then he CLOBBERS Brutus! ENZIGIRI for Julius, then he runs to DOUBLE KNEE Brutus! BULLDOG LARIAT COMBO! The fans fire up with Gargano while Julius ends up in another corner. Gargano runs in but is put on the apron!

Gargano GAMANGIRIS Julius, SUPERKICKS Brutus, then SLINGSHOT SPEARS Julius! Cover, TWO! Julius survives but Gargano puts him in a corner. Gargano CHOPS, then hoists Julius up top. Tag to Ciampa, Ciampa CHOPS Julius while Gargano DIVES onto Brutus! Ciampa CHOPS Julius again, goes up top, and fireman’s carries! Ciampa then tucks Julius in for the SUPER AIR RAID CRASH! Cover, TWO!! Julius survives again and shocks Ciampa! The fans are just as stunned, but Ciampa and Julius sit up. Ciampa stands, and he CHOPS! And CHOPS! Julius sits back up as Ciampa puts some stank on the CHOP!

Julius brings the straps down! Julius fires a forearm, Ciampa hits back, and the fans fire up as the shots keep going! They go faster and faster, harder and harder, meaner and meaner! The fans fire up as this just turns into a brawl of haymakers and SLAPS! Ciampa then gets around, ripcord and HAYMAKER! ROLLING- TACKLE from Julius! And then the ANKLE LOCK!! Ciampa reaches out, moves around, but Gargano runs up! Julius kicks him, then gets him up with one arm to POWERBOMB! Then it’s back to the ANKLE LOCK on Ciampa! Brutus gets in to get Gargano for an ANKLE LOCK of his own!

The fans are thunderous as DIY endures! Ciampa and Gargano fight, turn things over, SICILIAN CROSSFACE and GargaNO Escape!! The fans are thunderous as The Creeds power up and lift both DIY! They fireman’s carry, then TOSS DIY into each other!! The fans are thunderous as Julius goes up to MOONSAULT onto Ciampa! Brutus MOONSAULTS, too! Cover, TWO?!?! Ciampa survives and the fans are loving this! Julius tags back in, Brutus climbs up! “This is Awesome!” as Julius Electric Chair Lifts Ciampa! But Ciampa VICTORY ROLLS to get under the Brutus Ball!! Cover, Brutus tips it! Gargano TOSSES Brutus then SUPERKICKS Julius!! Ciampa has the cover, DIY WINS!!

Winners: DIY, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)

Julius can’t believe it! He kicked out at 3.1, but a loss is a loss! And for the first time ever, DIY is going to Mania! Will Philadelphia soon be historic for a DIY championship victory?

 

Judgment Day meets backstage.

Rhea Ripley is with Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh, but also Andrade. Dom says he’s always liked Andrade’s style, but things have changed since the last time he was in the WWE. The Judgment Day runs Raw now. Rhea says yeah, and they don’t extend invitations to just anyone. Judgment Day is very exclusive. JD says very exclusive. But if Andrade continues to impress them, they’ll see about making things happen. And Finn says he just heard that Andrade has a match next week, so the Judgment Day will be watching him. Sounds good. See you next week. But then in steps Damian Priest.

The Punisher says hello to El Idolo, and El Idolo says hello to Senor Dinero. Andrade heads out, will he quite literally win his way into the club? But as for Priest, Finn asks him what he was up to. Priest was getting a closer look at that DIY VS Creeds match. DIY won, but whatever, they can handle those guys. But JD, they thought he could handle Ricochet last week, and run the gauntlet, and then go to WrestleMania to bring even more gold back to Judgment Day. JD says he did he belonged in there. But also, he battered Ricochet, who got lucky at the end there. Right, Finn? Finn hesitates, and Rhea says Priest is right on this one.

Ricochet made a fool out of JD! A fool? Yes. A fool? Yes. That’s why tonight, Dom will make it right. Right, Dom? Yeah, Mami. Let’s go talk to Pearce to make it official. Dom & JD head out, and the others are confident Dom’s got this. But does he, though? Or will the One and Only have two wins over Judgment Day in as many weeks?

 

Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance!

The Poison Pixie certainly lived up to that name last week when she bullied Maxxine Dupri as part of beating her and Ivy Nile last week. Will Candice’s toxic tongue strike again? Or will the party not be stopped by her harsh vibes?

The teams sort out and Candice starts against Kayden. Candice rushes up, Kayden gets around and O’Conner Rolls, TWO! Kayden springboards to basement dropkick! Cover, TWO! Kayden stalks Candice, Candice ELBOWS her away then tags Indi. Kayden dodges Candice to SUPERKICK, but Indi BOOTS Kayden! Cover, TWO! Indi drags Kayden up, tags Candice back in, and they mug Kayden. Candice CLUBS away on Kayden, fires off furious fists, then covers. TWO, and Candice grows frustrated already. The fans rally, Candice steps up but Kayden avoids the senton! Tags to Katana and Indi! Katana blasts past Indi, comes back and BULLDOGS!

Katana keeps moving, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then SHOTGUNS Indi to a corner! The fans fire up as Katana stomps away on Indi! Indi shoves Katana, Katana runs corner to corner to A-LIST LARIAT! Katana shoves Indi down, runs up, but into a back suplex! Katana lands out, but her leg jams! The ref and Kayden check, then the ref keeps Indi back. Indi says okay, and she stays by Candice. But Candice tags in to WRECK Kayden! And she SLAMS Katana’s leg into the post!! HALF CRAB and DEEP! Katana taps, Candice & Indi win!

Winners: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, by submission

Candice smiles and celebrates with Indi, but Indi doesn’t want to. Candice says a win is a win, but just what is going on in her toxic mind?

 

Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring.

NC State fires up again as The American Nightmare walks down the ramp, and this time the fans can sing along with the song, “WHOA~ OH~!” Cody gets his pyro then gets the mic. “In less than three weeks time, I will stand opposed for the second year in a row, in the main event, with the lights on brightest, I will challenge for the WWE Undisputed Championship, against the greatest champion in all of sports, The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. And this Friday on SmackDown, Roman and I are going to have a little conversation, if you will. But there are… complications. Factors, elements, combustible elements, namely… The Rock.”

Fans boo but Cody says The Rock took to Instagram on Friday, and followed it up with “extremely entertaining” concert. Too bad The Rock didn’t wanna be here tonight. Something Cody took from the Instagram post: The Rock referred to himself as “Our Favorite Heel.” A bit of an inside term, but we’re not dumb, we know that means he’s the “bad guy.” Cody has known Heels. Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair! Fans “WOO~” and Cody says he doesn’t think The Rock is a Heel. He’s just an assh*le. The fans go nuts hearing that!

Cody doesn’t want Rock getting upset, he doesn’t want the “seven bucks team” to get upset, he doesn’t want anyone getting emotional. Cody knows how Rock feels about emotions, he poked fun at Cody tearing up at discussing “finishing the story” with good friend, Michael Cole. There’s no crying in pro-wrestling, Jimmy Dugan, we get it. But hasn’t The Rock been crying behind the scenes this whole time? Once that hashtag came out, once fans chanted something else, The Rock cried to his buddies on the TKO board and said “Hey, this is gonna be some good PR for The Rock! I need to save WWE!” God knows, look at this house. They sure needed “saving,” huh?

The fans cheer but Cody says Rock wanted great PR. Until it wasn’t. TKO said OMG yes, put on the Gucci shirt, get those muscles looking big. It’s because they are Yes People, they are enablers, they won’t dare tell The Rock like it is, so Cody’s going to. Cody tells The Rock, “You’re a lot of things. You’re a lot of wonderful things. You are the Braham Bull, you are The Great One.” Cody still has shoes with The Rock’s logo on it! The Rock is the only guy Cody honestly feels is a Mount Rushmore wrestler. But he is also a terrible salesman, a carny succubus, and for those who don’t get what that means, The Rock is “a whiny b*tch!”

Fans lose their minds again but Cody says The Rock has been convinced otherwise. But don’t think that for two seconds this locker room needs The Rock more than The Rock needs it! That’s a rule of wrestling, nobody is bigger than the business! And sure, Cody brought up his mom, so it is fair game for The Rock to use that. But Cody knows The Rock’s mom. Here’s what Cody will tell us about The Rock’s mom. She is a wonderful lady, salt of the earth, she helped Cody chop Kevin in a dark match. Cody has nothing but respect for The Rock’s mom, something The Rock should’ve echoed back towards Cody’s mom.

But see, The Rock was talking about whipping Cody, handing a bloody weight belt to Cody’s mom, and normally someone as powerful as The Rock, Mama Rhodes would tremble. But The Rock doesn’t know Cody’s mom. Cody was more scared than she was, because she ain’t scared of nothing. This is the same woman who once jumped out of her chair at a Willie Nelson concert and beat up an undercover cop! She ain’t afraid of The Rock! Cody has been asked, April 6th, biggest tag match of all time, Rock & Roman VS Cody & Seth. Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion, a man The Rock should respect because that man has carried The Rock’s company!

How will Cody get past that match? How will April 7th look? Will it be a fair fight? Cody can tell us honestly… He doesn’t know. Cody does not know if it will be Bloodline Rules or not. Hell, he might not #FinishTheStory. “But Dwayne… What do you know? How can you be so sure of your own self, right?” The Rock hasn’t been in the ring in real action in years! April 6th, the bell is gonna ring, and what happens then? Is The Rock gonna bring The Great One, the hero we all had growing up? Is he bringing that #BigDwayneEnergy? Or is it gonna be LDS, Little D*ck Syndrome?! The fans chant “L D S! L D S!”

Cody says The Rock has referred to himself as The Final Boss. Kudos for that nickname, maybe he really is that. Maybe Cody is too naive to see it. But at WrestleMania, Cody doesn’t think The Rock will be The Final Boss. At WrestleMania, he’s just Roman’s side chick. But then ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman, and he serves as The Wise Man to Your Tribal Chief, the reigning! Defending! Undisputed! WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman… Reigns! And as Special Counsel to the Bloodline, Heyman is here to say to Cody that the ideals that Cody and Heyman share are far greater than the interests on which they conflict.

By example, don’t you hate it when someone comes out to demand an apology? Not that Cody’s done that, but Heyman is still going to do that. Heyman came out here with some “friends” of his, and he apologized. For a Wise Man, that was pretty freakin’ stupid. One: because it didn’t work. Two: because it was just dumb. And for that, Cody, to you and the fans, Heyman humbly apologizes. Cody says whoa, whoa, whoa. He didn’t ask for an apology, and he certainly knows Heyman wants permission to be in the ring. Heyman is a Hall of Famer starting this year, if he wants into the ring, be Cody’s guest.

Heyman thanks Cody for that but he’s fine on the apron. He carries with him a message from The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Talk about Heels… You may think of Heyman anything negative you want, and that might be understanding the obvious. Heyman is not trustworthy, but Roman is a chief of his word. Heyman assures that this Friday on SmackDown, Roman will be face to face with Cody. American Nightmare, Tribal Chief, challenger and champion. And when they are face to face, there will not be a single other member of The Bloodline in sight. Except for Heyman, but he is no physical threat.

Heyman holds the title belt, the beads, whispers things in Roman’s ear, such as his love and respect. But Cody has Roman’s word that if he shows up on SmackDown, Roman will show up alone. Cody says Roman shows up alone, no Bloodline outside of Heyman, it’s a deal. They good? Heyman has some jet lag, he forgot one little point. And don’t boo him, he’s talking to Cody! Cody says yes they’re booing, and he’s about to go full Homelander and rip Heyman’s throat out if he doesn’t get to the point. Fans like the reference. Heyman composes himself and says if Roman Reigns shows up alone this Friday on SmackDown, then Cody must show up to SmackDown alone, too.

Cody steps closer to Heyman and Heyman is a bit nervous. Cody tells Heyman, “Deal!” They shake hands, and Heyman smiles. The Wise Man negotiated a purely one-on-one meeting between his Tribal Chief and American Nightmare, but can we trust Heyman was telling the truth about Roman telling the truth?

 

Nia Jax speaks.

“You know what I’ve realized? Becky Lynch has never beaten me. And after tonight, she never will. Because after I break her face again, I will be taking her spot at WrestleMania. I will finish business with Rhea Ripley, and not only will I walk out the Last Woman Standing, but I will become Women’s World Champion.” The Irresistible Force is ready for the Big Time, but will she A-Nia-late her?

 

Cody Rhodes returns backstage.

And Jey says there he go! But real quick, Cody can’t be going to SmackDown alone. Cody says he gave them his word. But The Bloodline isn’t gonna play fair! They’re all gonna be there! If Cody needs Jey, Jeys’ got him. Cody hears that, but he knows what he’s dealing with. They shake hands and Jey heads out. Will Cody be able to have that fair, one-on-one meeting? Or does Jey have a point about The Bloodline?

 

Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet!

It seems Pearce agreed to the idea that Dirty Dom should try and clean up The Irish Ace’s mess. Will Dom be able to get revenge on Ricochet? Or will Ricochet be the One and Only person holding their head high tonight?

Raw returns and Dom has made his entrance. The bell rings, Dom and Ricochet circle, and they tie up. Ricochet waistlocks, Dom fights the lift and grabs ropes. The ref counts, Ricochet lets off, but Dom ELBOWS him away! Dom fires hands, soaks up the heat, then storms up, but into haymakers! Ricochet CHOPS, kicks then flexes on Dom. Ricochet whips, Dom reverses, but Ricochet goes up and over. Ricochet ducks ‘n’ dodges to then handspring back elbow! The fans fire up while Dom bails out! JD is there to coach Dom up, but Ricochet runs in! JD gets Dom to safety, but Ricochet handsprings to hero land!

The fans fire up, Ricochet then goes to ropes to TORNILLO PLANCHA! Direct hit on Dom and Ricochet tells JD to back off. Ricochet puts Dom in, Dom distracts the ref, but JD grabs Ricochet’s leg! Ricochet kicks JD away, but then Dom WRECKS Ricochet with a dropkick! Dom soaks up the heat and Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Dom has Ricochet up top. Dom climbs but Ricochet throws body shots! The fans rally behind Ricochet as he sends Dom staggering. Ricochet hops down as Dom comes running back, and Ricochet GAMANGIRIS him away! Ricochet then springboards, but Dom trips him up! Ricochet flops to the mat, then Dom kicks and FACEBUSTERS! Cover, TWO! Ricochet is still in this and JD argues the count. Dom looms over Ricochet, scuffs him around, then mockingly cheers him on. Fans boo but Dom brings Ricochet up. Dom gives some Latino Heat, then suplexes! Uno Amigo, but fans boo.

Dom gets Ricochet up but Ricochet suplexes Dom instead! And then fireman’s carry, DYNAMITE KICK! Cover, TWO! Dom is still in this and JD coaches him but the fans rally for Ricochet. Ricochet stands, storms up on Dom, but Dom shoots around to roll him up! With tights! TWO, Ricochet blocks a kick and KICKS Dom down! Ricochet hurries up top, the fans fire up, but Ricochet has to bail out of the 450 as Dom moves! Dom runs in again, but into a SUPERKICK! JD gets on the apron, so Ricochet triangle jump DROPKICKS! But then Dom DROPKICKS Ricochet onto ropes! Dom dials it up but Ricochet ducks!

Dom spins around, into the RECOIL!! Cover, Ricochet wins!

Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall

But then JD runs in! Ricochet dodges, goes up and around, BOOTS JD away, then BOOTS him again! Ricochet even flips up and out of the ring at the same time! Ricochet gets the better of Judgment Day again, just how disappointed is Mami going to be in her Latino Heat this time?

 

Sami Zayn is backstage.

He finds Chad Gable and wants to talk with him. Last week’s match, that was an honor. Sami hasn’t been pushed like that in a long time, it could’ve gone either way. Gable says yeah, it was great. Thanks. Is Gable alright? Yeah, he’s fine. Kinda feels like not… Gable says he’s fine, so leave it at that. C’mon, man, how many years have they known each other? Sami knows when something’s bothering Gable, so he should just say it. Gable says look, last week, the WrestleMania opportunity, the whole thing, it just meant more to him. Sami says he’s been hearing Gable say that for weeks, and it is really unfair.

Does Gable really think he’s the only one this title opportunity matters to? Sami has a family, too! Sami’s kid cries when Papa loses a match, too. Sami has people he’s let down and is trying to make proud. After all the years put into this, Gable can’t tell Sami what matters more because he doesn’t know Sami like that. Gable has Sami calm down, and says he knows all that. But it isn’t all about that. Then what is all this? Gable says Sami can’t beat Gunther. Gable then leaves, and Sami is at a loss for words. Is this bitter side of Gable only going to get worse as we go down this Road to WrestleMania?

 

Adam Pearce is in the ring.

Raw returns with the GM by a table, and he welcomes us to a contract signing to make official the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship for WrestleMania! The fans cheer, and Pearce introduces first, the challenger, Sami Zayn! The Great Liberator makes his entrance and the fans sing along with his song. Sami still looks troubled by what Gable said just moments ago, but he still high-fives fans and gets in the ring. Then Pearce introduces the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, Der Ring General, GUNTHER! The fans boo as Gunther walks in, having reached Day 647!

Gunther smiles as Sami watches him make his way down the ramp and into the ring. Pearce says we know how this works, but Gunther says before we proceed, let us call this what it is: the most important contract signing for the most important match in the history of this championship. And why, why, why is the challenger dressed no better than any of the bums in the audience? Fans boo but Sami just shrugs that off. Sami gets a mic to say that Gunther keeps sitting there all smug, and it’s really starting to piss Sami off. Gunther thinks this is just another day at the office, that he’ll steamroll through Sami like any other contender.

But with all respect to Gunther, he really has. He has beaten everyone that has come his way, and has done it on his own. Gunther doesn’t believe Sami can do it. A lot of people didn’t believe Sami at many points in his career. They didn’t believe he’d even make it to WWE, let alone win championships and main event a WrestleMania. And if you ask The Usos, they didn’t believe Sami would be one of the guys to end the longest tag title reign in WWE history, but he did! And one year later, he will make history again by ending the longest Intercontinental title reign in WWE history! Sami signs his part and pushes the contract over to Gunther.

The fans cheer Sami on but Gunther waits it out. Gunther tells Sami, what Sami should do is listen to his new friend, Gable. Gable doesn’t believe Sami can win. The people here cheer Sami, they probably even love Sami. But even they don’t believe Sami can win. And y’know, when Gunther looks Sami in the eyes, and if Sami was honest with himself, even Sami doesn’t believe he can win. So what Sami is doing right now is standing on Gunther’s doorstep and begging him to get the beating of a lifetime on the Grandest Stage of Them All! So whatever Sami has to do, from training to believing, just keep doing that. Because at WrestleMania, Sami’s dreams will meet reality.

Gunther grins and signs his part, and it is now official! Gunther then stands, title on his shoulder, and takes his leave. The fans boo, but then Sami tells Gunther to wait. Gunther steps back inside to hear Sami as Sami turns around. Gunther looks in Sami’s eyes and believes Sami doesn’t believe? Sami stands to get in Gunther’s face and dares him to look again. Get a good long look, because these are the eyes of the man who will take you down at Mania! The fans fire up, and now Sami leaves first. Gunther still just grins, but will Sami use a Helluva Kick to wipe that smile off his face?

We follow Sami as he storms backstage, right past DIY and The Awesome Truth. Truth asks what’s up with Sami, but The Miz says that is the mindset of WrestleMania right there. That’s what they need. DIY wishes Awesome Truth luck. Awesome Truth knows DIY is into the ladder match, and they are gonna have their own qualifier. Miz & Truth just need to beat… Indus Sher. Jinder Mahal tells Veer & Sanga to warm up for the match. They head out, and Truth says he feels sorry for whoever has to face those guys. Miz stares at Truth, and he has DIY hold off. Miz will explain. The Awesome Truth heads to gorilla, their match is next!

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher w/ Jinder Mahal!

Miz wants a remix of the theme song but Truth says to just follow his lead. NC State knows what’s up, but will the Awesome Truth finally reach the top of the tag division 13 years after they first teamed? We’ll see, after the break!

Raw returns as Indus Sher makes their entrance, the Modern Day Maharaja by their side. The teams sort out and Truth starts against Sanga. The fans echo “WHAT’S UP?!” but Sanga roars! Truth is scared now so he tags Miz. Truth fires Miz up, Miz runs up and dodges Sanga to fire off haymakers! Miz kicks, whips, but Sanga blocks! Sanga whips and CLOBBERS Miz! Jinder nods as Sanga then scoops Miz and brings him over. Veer tags in, Sanga SLAMS Miz, then Veer ELBOW DROPS! Indus Sher say “NAMASTE!” but the fans say “WHAT’S UP!?” with Truth. Veer HIP DROPS Miz, then looms over him.

Veer eggs Miz on, drags him up with shoulder claws, and then steps over Miz for the neck wrench! Miz endures as Veer still digs a claw into his shoulder. The fans rally for Miz, Miz fights up and throws body shots! Miz reaches out but Veer knees low! Veer SHOVES Miz to the corner, runs in, but Miz BOOTS! Miz ELBOWS Sanga, but Veer catches him! Veer puts Miz back int he corner, but Miz ducks the boot to tag Truth! Truth dodges Veer and starts up the shoulder tackles! Truth gets around Veer to SPIN-OUT BOMB! The fans fire up as Truth shouts out Cena with “You Can’t See Me!” Truth runs to Five Knuckle Shuffle!

Jinder is not happy now as Truth fireman’s carries! But Veer slips free! Truth drop toeholds to the STF!! The fans fire up but Sanga stomps Truth! Miz fires off kicks on Sanga, then body shots! Truth joins in, they mug and whip Sanga, to DOUBLE DROPKICK! Sanga staggers around, Veer runs up, but into a full nelson! Truth and Miz combine for a SKULL CRUSHING LIE DETECTOR!! But Sanga whips Miz away! Miz WRECKS Jinder with it, but Sanga runs up! Sanga knocks Miz down, Miz anchors Sanga, Sanga ELBOWS Truth, Truth falls onto Veer for the cover! Awesome Truth wins!!

Winners: The Awesome Truth, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)

The fans fire up, and Truth doesn’t even realize what happened! Miz celebrates with Truth and Truth puts it together! They’re now one of the six in the ladder match! Will this combination of teamwork and luck be just what they need to take those titles from Judgment Day?

 

Sami confronts Gable now.

Sami tells Gable to tell him why. Why what? Why does Gable think Sami can’t beat Gunther? Well you just saw why! With Gunther, it isn’t just physical, it is mental. Sami made his career out of being the underdog that crawls his way out of any hole he’s in, right? Just like last week! Sami found the window of opportunity to get out of a bad situation any time he can. Gunther’s on a different level! You gonna sit and wait for that window to appear? It doesn’t happen with Gunther! He’s a different beast, a different animal. If Sami doesn’t change his mentality, then he can’t beat Gunther. Gable leaves Sami with a lot to think again. Is there a way Sami can change enough to defeat Der Ring General?

 

CM Punk speaks.

“Do I plan at being in WrestleMania? WrestleMania is in Philadelphia, what’re the first four letters in Philadelphia? Phil. You can’t have WrestleMania Philadelphia without Phil. Whether I’m invited or uninvited, Punk will be there.” And next week in Chicago, Punk returns to Raw! Will the Second City Saint find a way to be part of the biggest WrestleMania ever?

 

Drew McIntyre is here!

The Scottish Terminator, or as his new shirt says, “The Savior of WrestleMania,” makes his way to the ring, NC State a bit torn about seeing him. But then Seth Rollins is here, too!? McIntyre is upset but the fans sing along, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” as The Visionary struts his way out. Rollins swaggers right past McIntyre in his green storm pattern suit, and steps into the ring first. McIntyre frowns as he follows Rollins in, and sits in a corner. The fans continue to sing, which Rollins revels in for a moment. Rollins has the mic to then say, “RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA~! Welcome to Monday Night Rollins~!

“And Drew, hah, sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I was too busy, uh, y’know, soaking up the spotlight, right?” McIntyre has a mic to say, “Alright, here we go.” Here goes what, Drew? McIntyre says no, no, get it all out of your system, he knows Rollins has more! McIntyre can stay in the back while Rollins enjoys the spotlight, because after WrestleMania, that spotlight’s all McIntyre’s. Hey, hey, c’mon. Rollins is here with an honest cause. Rollins doesn’t like McIntyre, he thinks he’s stupid, a hypocrite, has said a lot of dumb things lately, but Rollins is here to admit that one thing McIntyre said is absolutely right and he wants to say it to McIntyre’s face, right here in Raleigh, in front of the fine people.

Now, they always say the first step to recovery is the hardest, so bare with Rollins. He has been working on this all week, but… “My name is Seth Freakin’ Rollins, and I’m a spotlight junkie.” The fans chant “Spotlight Junkie!” and also sing, but McIntyre says everything is just a joke to Rollins, isn’t it? Look at Rollins! He’s a parody of himself at this point. But honestly, McIntyre doesn’t care. He tried reasoning, he gave the answers, and now he only cares about their match and the world title. And you wanna know the real punchline, funny man? “What?” McIntyre says they say that because they’re happy McIntyre sidelined Punk, thanks for remembering!

But the punchline is when McIntyre beats Rollins for that title. The fans chant for “C M PUNK!” but McIntyre says don’t be ridiculous. Punk’s waiting until next week to return because he’d never show up in a place like Raleigh. The fans boo but McIntyre says see, they’re booing Punk! Punk is only getting off his couch to be at his local arena. Rollins tells McIntyre to shut up already. Oh, seems McIntyre got Rollins’ attention. Rollins takes off the sunglasses to say yeah, McIntyre has his attention. Because this isn’t a joke! When Rollins says he is a junkie, it isn’t a joke! He’s been doing this for 20 YEARS! Just like McIntyre!

And every time Rollins comes out of the curtain, that’s his fix. And it gets better and better every single time. Rollins comes out here, lays it all on the line, and it just gets better and better! When he hears the fans sing the song so loud, Rollins can barely speak, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” That’s Rollins’ fix! That is the spotlight he craves, and y’know what? Rollins wants the spotlight as bright as it can possibly be. So yeah, McIntyre’s been busy online entertaining people with memes, so he hasn’t been listening to Rollins. So Rollins will get this through McIntyre’s thick skull: Night One, Rollins takes the biggest star in Hollywood and his side chick, and makes them his b*tches!

Then on Night Two, the biggest spotlight possible will be shined down on McIntyre and Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship! McIntyre says all hail the savior, Seth Rollins! This is what McIntyre wanted! The passion and desire, not the stupid laughing and dancing. Rollins had McIntyre all the way to the finish. Rollins has done this 20 years, just like McIntyre. They’ve given their lives to this industry, and that is what the title is about! The wrestlers’ title, the workhorse championship! Rollins had McIntyre with him until he mentioned the bigger spotlight and how Rollins pins one of the biggest stars in the world.

Why can’t it just be about Rollins’ hard work to make that title, and all of McIntyre’s hard work to get this chance? Why can’t that be the reason they’re getting the biggest spotlight!? Rollins has had his priorities all backwards, McIntyre has been giving him all the answers. McIntyre said he is over the BS, and all he cares about is Rollins making it to the ring on Night Two. And if Rollins can’t walk, then McIntyre will wheel him down. If not, McIntyre will carry Rollins down. At Mania, McIntyre doesn’t get the moment he deserves. He gets the moment he has bloody EARNED. The fans do cheer that!

Rollins smirks and says, “Ah, Drew. There it is. That’s right, you wanna call me a spotlight junkie, but you want the spotlight just as bad as I do, don’t you? You’re an addict, just like I am. And you’ve been begging for spotlight for the past four years, because you won the WrestleMania main event. You did, back in 2020, in an empty warehouse. And all we’ve been hearing from Drew McIntyre for the past four years was how that wasn’t good enough. You’ve been whining and complaining and bitching and moaning that you deserve better, that you deserve more. The problem is, Drew, when everybody came back around, and the lights got bright again, what happened? You fumbled the ball.

“And that’s the difference between you and me. When the lights are the brightest, I shine, baby. I shine bright. And at WrestleMania 40, the lights are gonna be as bright as they have ever been. And you are gonna find out you are not as good as you think you are.” Rollins drops the mic, but this time McIntyre smirks. The verbal battle continues, but who will put their money where their mouth is once this one finally happens?

 

Becky Lynch speaks.

“I’m a wanted woman, and I don’t even have the title. Yet. But we’re less than three weeks away from WrestleMania, so why would I risk it all? Because I don’t know anything else. All I know is taking risks. All I know is fighting. And all I know is tonight, I’m gonna be the Last Woman Standing.” Becky is fired up to finally do what she hasn’t done in the most extreme way possible. Will she be the immovable object to Nia’s irresistible force?

 

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy!

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods have been W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, CHAMPIONS~, but they’ve never been a part of a title match as big as this Six Pack Ladder challenge! Will they look to be part of history once again? Or will Akira Tozawa & Otis say “A THANK YEW~!” for this golden opportunity?

Raw returns as the Academy makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Woods starts against the tree trunk, Otis. The fans rally for “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Otis and Woods tie up, but Woods kicks low then headlocks. Otis powers up and out then runs Woods over! Otis storms up on Woods, GUT RAMS him back down, then brings him back up. Otis GUT RAMS Woods again, then runs to CLOBBER Woods! Otis swivels his hips, the fans echo “Oh~ yeah!” Otis tags Tozawa and the Academy mugs Woods. Tozawa brings Woods around but Woods CHOPS! Woods tags Kofi, he and Kofi double whip Tozawa but Tozawa holds ropes!

Tozawa fires hands, dodges Woods then BOOTS Woods down! Kofi kicks low, whips Tozawa to a corner, but Tozawa BOOTS Kofi away! Tozawa goes up to FLYING RANA! The fans fire up as Tozawa sees New Day regroup outside. Tozawa runs to DIVE! Direct hit on both New Day, and Otis joins in for “A THANK YEW~!” The Academy stands tall as Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Tozawa fights a chinlock. Tozawa reaches for Otis but Woods back suplexes. Tozawa lands out to then DROPKICK Woods down! The fans rally as Woods and Tozawa crawl, hot tags to Otis and Kofi! Otis CLOBBERS Kofi, CLOBBERS him again, then whips him to ropes. WRECKER ELBOW! Woods runs in, Otis dodges, to LARIAT! Otis sees Kofi leap off the corner, and catches him for a WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM! Otis rips the shirt off, winds up the hips, and then starts up the CATERPILLAR! ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Kofi survives but Otis hurries to step on him! Tag to Tozawa, and Otis goes up!

Otis VADER BOMBS but FLOPS as Kofi moves! Tozawa hurries up top while Kofi SUPERKICKS Otis! Kofi turns around into the CROSSBODY from Tozawa! Cover, TWO! Tozawa SUPERKICKS Kofi but Woods tags in! Woods GAMANGIRIS Tozawa, then steps in to TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Tozawa toughs it out but Woods grits his teeth as he goes to the corner. Woods climbs, but Tozawa rises! Tozawa throws body shots, Woods CLUBS Tozawa! Tozawa throws more hands and climbs up! The fans rally as they brawl up top! Tozawa brings Woods up but Woods fights the lift! Woods throws body shots in return!

Woods shifts position to get under Tozawa for a fireman’s carry! But then Tozawa pops up to SUPER STEINER!! Tozawa rips off his shirt, climbs back up top, SUPER SENTON!! Cover, Kofi breaks it! The fans fire up but Otis drags Kofi out! Otis whips Kofi at steps, Kofi goes up and jumps off the steps to TORNADO DDT to the floor! Kofi hurries back up to the apron but Tozawa SCREW HIGH KICKS him down! Tozawa dodges Woods, pop-up, but Woods blocks the rana to then SPINNING POWERBOMB! Woods sees the WrestleMania sign, hurries up the corner, and he tightrope walks! LIMIT BREAK ELBOW!! Cover, New Day wins!

Winners: The New Day, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)

The New Day are the ones saying A THANK YEW~ as they put their names down for the Six Pack Ladder Match! Will they once again climb to the top of the WWE Tag Team Division and bring home those championships?

 

Liv Morgan confronts Becky Lynch.

Becky asks if she’ll have to watch out for Liv as well. Well, you should always #WatchMe, but no, not tonight. Nia is all Becky’s. Liv just wants Becky to kick Nia’s ass. Liv leaves, will Becky kick ass and then some?

 

Cody walks with his dog, Pharaoh, backstage.

Rollins finds him and brings up Friday. One on one? One on one. Rollins nods and says he loves Pharaoh’s bandanna. The Visionary trusts the American Nightmare can handle himself, but will we be able to trust The Tribal Chief?

 

Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax!

From the origins of “The Man” in WWE to the aftermath of Elimination Chamber: Perth, these two have battled, but never as brutally as this! They’re able to go anywhere and do anything, but who will be the Last Woman Standing this close to WrestleMania 40?

The bell rings and the two rush in! Becky DROPKICKS Nia and Nia goes to a corner. Becky runs in but Nia puts Becky on the apron. Becky ROCKS Nia, goes up a corner, then leaps to MISSILE DROPKCIK! Nia stumbles and tumbles out of the ring, so Becky WRECKS her with another dropkick! Becky then goes to the apron for a FLYING FOREARM! Nia stays up, Becky tries again, but Nia dodges! Fireman’s carry and Nia POSTS Becky, to then SAMOAN DROP her into barriers! The ref counts as Becky is down, but she stands at 4 of 10. Nia CLOBBERS Becky and wants the count! The count climbs but Nia is impatient.

Nia clears off the desk, Becky stands at 5 of 10, and she leans against barriers. Becky comes back with body shots and haymakers, but Nia ROCKS her with a forearm! Becky staggers away as Raw goes to break!

Raw returns and Becky is bringing out a table! The fans fire up as Becky sets that up ringside. There’s been a lot of chaos during the break according to commentary, from chairs to kendo sticks to even a copy of Becky’s book, The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl! But Nia storms over to stop Becky and SMACK her off the desk! Nia puts Becky in the ring, takes that table for her own and sets it up. The table doesn’t cooperate and fans boo, but Nia goes for chairs instead. She slides those in the ring, Becky manages to stand at 7 of 10, and she grabs at those chairs. Nia ditches the table, it just doesn’t wanna work.

Nia storms in but Becky JAMS her with a chair, SMACKS her with it, then clinches! Nia fights the slam, fireman’s carries Becky, and FULL METAL SAMOAN DROPS!! Becky writhes from hitting chairs but Nia looms over her. Nia soaks up the heat as she counts along. Becky flounders to ropes and drags herself up at 7! Nia sits a chair up, fans want a table, but Nia scoops Becky. Becky slips around to a SLEEPER! Nia RAMS Becky into buckles again and again until Becky lets go. But then Becky BULLDOGS Nia off the chair! Nia is down for the count now, and Becky leans against ropes to stay up herself.

Nia stirs at 5, stands at 8, but Becky is up top! Becky leaps, into a CHAIR SHOT! Nia SMACKS Becky again and again and again! The fans boo but Nia finally stops. Nia puts that chair aside and goes out to get some kendo sticks! Nia puts those in, but Becky grabs one! Nia snatches it from her to SMACK! And SMACK! And SMACK! Becky sputters and staggers, Nia clinches and scoops! Nia SLAMS Becky onto chairs! Then Nia runs to drop the leg, brother! Nia wants the count and the count begins! Becky sputters as we reach 5 of 10. Becky grabs that kendo stick but Nia SMACKS Becky with a chair! And again!

Nia kicks Becky around, then uses the chair to take a seat on Becky’s body!! The fans boo as the count begins, but Becky SMACKS Nia with the kendo stick! And again and again and again, even in the butt! Nia stands up, into more shots! Becky stands and she fires away until Nia scurries out of the ring! Becky pursues but Nia CLOBBERS her! Nia pulls the steel steps apart now, and takes that top half to RAM Becky down! Becky flounders, Nia hauls her up and puts her in the ring. Becky’s on the apron and Nia takes aim! Nia runs up, APRN LEG DROP only gets apron! Becky avoids disaster, then has Nia by the steps! DDT onto the steel!

Nia is down again and the count begins. Nia stirs at 5 of 10, sits up at 6, but Becky SMACKS her off steps! Nia falls over again and the count resets. Becky hurries to go looking for things while Nia rises again. Becky has a new table! The fans fire up as Becky gets that in the ring. Nia stands at 7, staggers after Becky, and Raw goes back to break.

Raw returns once again and Nia mugs Becky against barriers! Nia puts Becky on a table, and surprise! There’s a ladder set up now! Nia climbs the ladder?! She also demands Pat support the ladder. But Becky gets off the table so now Nia has no reason to be up there. Nia storms after Becky, but gets a FIRE EXTINGUISHER BLAST!! The fans fire up as Becky cools Nia off, then JAMS her with the canister! Becky puts Nia in the ring, and there’s a table waiting in a corner! Becky lines up the shot, and runs in, but Nia SAMOAN DROPS Becky through the table!!! Both women are down in the wreckage and the count begins!

Nia flounders away from the wreckage but she still needs to stand. Nia is up at 5, and she isn’t satisfied with this! She drags Becky all the way to another corner and puts her in the drop zone! Nia climbs up, for the A-NIA-LATOR!! Nia shouts for the count, the count begins, and Nia storms around as she points to the Mania sign. Becky is still down at 5 of 10, only starts stirring at 7, and she slumps out of the ring to stand up! Nia is furious, goes out after Becky, and kicks things aside to keep after her. Nia asks if Becky’s vision is blurry. Nia fireman’s carries Becky up the steel steps and along the apron, aiming for that other table!

The fans freak out but Becky fights with elbows! Becky CLUBS away on Nia and the fans are thunderous! Becky then clinches, for a MANHANDLE SLAM through the table!!! Both women are down int he wreckage again, and the count begins! Becky sits up at 4 while fans are still losing their minds! We pass 5 of 10, then 7! Nia sits up at 8 and stands at 9! But then she slumps back over! The count starts again, Nia flounders around and stands at 5. Becky goes up the ladder! Becky sees Nia approaching the desk, and then SUPER MAN’S LEG DROP through the desk!!! The fans lose their minds again while both men are down in more wreckage!

The count is 5 of 10! Becky flounders and crawls, drags herself up at 9, but Nia is still down! BECKY WINS!!

Winner: Becky Lynch

The Man conquers truly one of the most intense challenges in her career! But then here comes one of the most intense champions! The fans fire up as Rhea Ripley makes her way out, Women’s World Championship in hand. She goes right to the ring and looks at Becky. Rhea “congratulates” Becky for winning, but then Becky gets in Rhea’s face! The fans fire up, and now there are no obstacles in the way of Mami VS The Man! Who will be the champion after WrestleMania 40?


My Thoughts:

A great Raw right here, though the in-ring action kinda dipped down until that awesome Last Woman Standing main event. This is one of the times I wish they’d done picture in picture so we as the TV audience could see even more action. Great win for Becky, of course, but I also like that Becky had a moment with Liv just before, and of course she had a moment with Rhea to close out the night. Great promos with Sami and Gable that also blended into the contract signing from tonight. And I suppose Gable has a point that Sami, the comeback kid, can’t do that when Gunther has an arsenal of moves that would be “finishers” given all the different ways Gunther has won over the years.

And speaking of that contract signing segment, I really liked the segue they did in following Sami so that he’d cross paths with Awesome Truth at gorilla and we’d get their segment going into their match. WWE has been doing some really creative stuff in this newest era where Vince is truly out and apparently even Kevin Dunn has moved on. Awesome Truth had a really fun but also really quick tag match with Indus Sher, and then New Day VS Alpha Academy was solid stuff, but DIY VS Creeds was such an awesome match. For a moment, I thought Creeds were gonna take this one but DIY still found a way, and I like that DIY is in. Honestly, I’m liking that the HHH favorites are getting in, because we also have New Catch Republic on the other side that can still win into the match.

Judgment Day had good stuff tonight, too. Good group promo with Andrade to tease El Idolo possibly joining, but who knows if he does. Depends on how things go for Priest. He was watching the qualifiers, he’s not worried, but maybe he should be. Granted, he still has the MITB briefcase, he could go from losing the tag titles to taking the world title, who knows how the Judgment Day’s story is going to go as we move past Mania. Dom VS Ricochet was a really good match, and Ricochet winning was the right move to keep this feud going. I think there’s going to be Ricochet VS McDonagh next week as a rematch from the gauntlet, that’ll be great stuff, too.

Candice’s Heel turn slow burn continues as she takes advantage of the “hurt” leg. Indi also does a good job of being very conflicted about this. There’s a WWE YouTube exclusive where Ivy Nile confronts Candice so that’ll be a match, and then maybe when Candice again goes too far, Indi steps in and we get a match of Candice VS Indi at some point. Good little update promo from CM Punk, he’ll have a great homecoming moment in Chicago, but also probably McIntyre coming after him. McIntyre had a great promo segment with Rollins, and with all these continued moments where the other person gets the mic drop moment, it feels like McIntyre has to win the title.

And of course, great stuff with the Bloodline story even on Raw. Jey and Jimmy have great promos in their confrontation, and of course it turns into a brawl. Good segue from that to Heyman being here, and Heyman confronting Cody during Cody’s great promo segment. Cody really went off on The Rock, that was some wild stuff. But the supposed promise of “one on one and no one else aside from Heyman” might be kept, and we get a strong promo segment on SmackDown in a foreshadowing of the fair-and-square 1v1 match. Or it is a trap and that’s more a foreshadowing of Bloodline Rules where they can do whatever they want. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

My Score: 8.9/10


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Mitchell’s NJPW New Japan Cup Results & Report! (3/18/24)

The semifinals are here!

Published

on

We’re just one step away from the Cup!

Cold Skull faces The Fierce Warrior, and Gene Blast faces The King of Darkness, and when the smoke clears, we will have our New Japan Cup finalists!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Mikey Nicholls; ZSJ & Mikey win.
  • Six Man Tag: El Desperado, Tomohiro Ishii & Togi Makabe VS Just5Guys; Just5Guys win.
  • Tanga Loa & Ryusuke Taguchi VS Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman; Loa & Taguchi win.
  • Six Man Tag: YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Hiroyoshi Tenzan VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
  • 8 Man Tag: Shota Umino, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & YOH VS The House of Torture; Shota, ELP, Leo & Yoh win.
  • Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS The United Empire; LIJ wins.
  • 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL; Tsuji wins and advances to the finals.
  • 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto; Goto wins and advances to the finals.

PLAY BY PLAY

2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL w/ Dick Togo!

The Gene Blast overcame the tricks Ren Narita tried, but that’s because the House of Torture was saving all the good stuff so they could slay the Rampaging Dragon. Will the deck be even more stacked to make sure Everything is Evil’s? Or will Yota be one step away from LIJ VS LIJ at Sakura Genesis?

Well, Dick is making his way out here, but where is Evil? Oh, there he is. No tricks just yet it seems. But then Yota DIVES onto Evil! The fans fire up but Dick attacks Yota! Dick whips, Yota stops himself, and then scoops Dick for a BACKBREAKER! The fans fire up and Yota wants the bell. The ref says yes, ring the bell, and this is on the record! Yota stomps and CLUBS Evil, then whips, but Evil reverses! Yota hits railing, and then Evil whips him into more railing! Evil CHOKES Yota against the railing, Yota fights back, but the ref gets knocked aside! Evil puts Yota in so he and Dick can stomp away!

The fans boo but here comes the rest of the House already! Narita, Yujiro, Kanemaru and Jack all stomp away on Yota, but here come Bushi & Hiromu! It’s a replay of yesterday as LIJ fights off the House, but the numbers are still against them! The ref rushes in to tell everyone to stop! Evil shoves the ref out of the ring, Yota fires off on him, but Evil CLAWS Yota’s eyes! The House CHOKES LIJ, but the ref says stop! The bell rings, but what is the decision!? NO CONTEST!?

No Contest

What does this mean!? Someone has to advance, right? The finals aren’t until the 20th, how can there be a no contest? The House started this, where’re the consequences?! Yota gets up but Evil TOSSES him back out! LIJ regroups and Yota asks for a mic. Yota tells Evil that he’s sick and tired of this! They ARE gonna finish this match! The fans like the sound of that! All the refs come out, including Red Shoes, to discuss how this will be handled. For starters, they tell all the extras to get outta here! LIJ is cool with that, and Hiromu tells the House to come along. Evil says fine, and Jack, Kanemaru, Narita, Yujiro and even Dick reluctantly exit.

The announcement is officially made, and the bell rings! Yota and Evil rush in, Evil kicks low but Yota CLUBS away on Evil! Evil CLAWS the eyes! Evil kicks, runs, RAMS, but Yota rebounds to run Evil over! Then run and SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Yota fires up and the fans are with him! Evil bails out but the fans rally for Yota. Evil wants Yota to stay back, then he slides in, only to slide right out! Yota runs out after Evil, but Evil kicks him! Evil RAMS Yota into the timekeeper! Abe-san and his table go flying! Evil gets the mic to tell Yota that this is what he gets! The fans boo but Evil tells them off, too! Evil stomps Yota then soaks up the heat.

Evil unties the blue buckle pad himself, then waits in the ring. The ref checks Yota and the fans rally up again. The Young Lions help Abe-san while Yota drags himself up. Yota slides in, the fans cheer, but Evil pulls on Yota’s hair! Evil wrenches the hair, then wrenches it again! And again! Evil CLUBS the hair! The ref reprimands but Evil just dusts off his hands. Evil covers, but the ref refuses to count! Evil is furious but he’s the one up to no good! The ref still says no, so Evil stands on Yota’s head. The fans rally up, Yota rises, and he grins as he winds up to ROCK Evil with a forearm! And ROCK him with another!

Yota ROCKS Evil again, but Evil whips him into the bare buckles! Yota falls and the ref reprimands about the missing buckle pad. Evil stomps Yota, covers, TWO! The fans cheer but Evil is annoyed. Evil scuffs Yota, taunts him, and drags him up. Evil CHOPS, Yota drops to his knees, but Evil stands him back up. Evil CHOPS again and Yota grits his teeth as he drops to his knees! Evil stands Yota up again, to fake the chop to CLAW the eyes! The ref reprimands, Evil lets off, and then Evil stands on Yota in a corner. The ref counts, Evil lets go of the ropes but that’s not the problem! Evil steps away, drags Yota up but claims he’s dead weight.

The ref checks, Evil stands Yota up and wrenches an arm. Evil whips Yota into a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Evil runs in again, blocks the boot, but Yota brings Evil in for the STOMP! The fans fire up while Yota rests on the mat. The fans rally up and Yota rises again. Evil’s in the corner, runs out, but into the BACKBREAKER! COMPLETE SHOT! STOMP! The fans fire up again as Yota stands back up. Yota runs, to CURB STOMP!! Yota roars and the fans fire up again! Evil flounders while Yota aims. Yota runs in, but the ref is used as a shield! Evil kicks Yota low, then uses the ref in MAGIC KILLER!

All three men are down while the fans rally up again. Evil stands, he brings Yota up, and the ref also rises. Evil whips Yota into the bare buckles, then clotheslines him in! Then FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, but Evil lets off?! Evil wants to torture Yota but it’s hard to say if Yota is still even in this. Yota opens his eyes, rises up, but Evil fireman’s carries! DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives, the fans fire up, but Evil is furious! Evil slashes his throat and vows to end this now! Evil drags Yota up, spins him around, but Yota fights the STO with elbows! Evil kicks low, whips again, but Yota stops from hitting buckles!

Evil runs in, Yota dodges and Evil hits the buckles! SUPERKICK!! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! We’re only ten minutes into this new match but this is on top of the madness from earlier. Evil drags Yota up, but Yota ROCKS Evil! Evil fights Yota’s fireman’s carry and CLUBS him, but both men wobble. Evil LARIATS, but Yota stays up! The fans fire up but Evil swings to LARIAT again! Yota drops to a knee, but he grins through the pain! Evil says alright, and he throws off his elbow pad. Evil runs to LARIAT! Yota grits his teeth to stay up! V-TRIGGER! Yota brings Evil in, suplexes, ORANGE CRUSH! Cover, TWO!!

Evil is still in this but the fans rally behind Yota again. Yota rises, drags Evil up, and then goes to the corner. Yota goes up and up and Evil moves the ref into the way! The ref takes the FLYING CURB STOMP!!! And now the House returns! The fans boo as Kanemaru, Dick, Yujiro, Narita & Jack all stomp away on Yota again! The fans tell them to go home, again, but these guys don’t care! They just put one out on Yota. They whip Yota to a corner, then DIck runs in to ELBOW! Kanemaru ELBOWS! Yujiro BOOTS! Jack SPLASHES! Narita ELBOWS! Then they snapmare and set Yota up! Dick climbs for the DICK CHOP!!

The fans boo but the House applauds their own dirtiness. But here come Bushi & Hiromu again! But they just get mugged again! They set Hiromu up for the DICK CHOP, while Bushi gets a JACK CHOP! The House then slithers away before a replacement ref rushes out here. Evil drags Yota up, winds up and runs, to LARIAT!! Cover, TWO!!! Yota survives and the fans are thunderous! Evil is at a loss for words, but he slashes his throat! He vows to end it for real, and he reels Yota in. EVERYTHING IS- Yota flips through!? And HEADBUTTS!! The fans fire up as Yota reels Evil in for a fireman’s carry! 70 CROSS!! Cover, TWO!!

Evil survives the swinging spinebuster and the House cheers! Yota drags himself to a corner, drags himself up with the ropes, and roars as he takes aim! Evil rises, but Yujiro distracts! Dick runs in, but gets a V-TRIGGER! The ref sees Dick, but misses the LOW BLOW! Then Evil RAMS Yota into the ref! That’s the second ref this match! Narita gets his push-up bar! The others set Yota up, but here comes SHINGO TAKAGI! The Rampaging Dragon has seen enough, and he’s still pissed from yesterday as it is! He dodges Narita to PUMPING BOMBER! Kanemaru & Yujiro kick Takagi, double whip, but he DOUBLE PUMPING BOMBERS!!

Jack gets in, but he gets ELBOW, JAB and YUKON LARIAT! Evil runs up but Takagi SWATS Evil’s lariat to JAB! Then feed to Hiromu’s SUPERKICK! Hiromu & Takagi set Evil up for Bushi’s BLACK MIST!! Evil can’t see, the PUMPING BOMBER turns him inside-out!! The fans are thunderous as LIJ helps Yota up! Red Shoes hurries out here, and Yota aims at Evil! GENE BLASTER!!! Cover, Yota wins!!!

Winner: Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (advances to the finals)

The House of Torture ran out of tricks, and now there is light at the end of the tournament! Will Yota do LIJ proud and bring home the Cup?

 

2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto!

One down, one to go. Yota Tsuji has made it through, now we see who joins him in the finals! Will the Cold Skull or Fierce Warrior be the one that steps closer to former glory?

The bell rings and the fans duel between “GO-TO-O!” and “SA-NA-DA!” Red Shoes measures the levels, and it seems to slightly favor Goto. Goto and Sanada circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. Goto gets some leverage to put Sanada against ropes, but he lets off slowly. Goto pats Sanada on the shoulders and the fans cheer. The two reset, circle again, and tie up again. It’s another deadlock, but again Goto finds a way to put Sanada on ropes. Sanada turns things around, lets off slowly, and also pats Goto on the shoulders. The fans applaud and the two reset again. They feel things out, knuckle lock, then move to a clinch.

They fight for control, Sanada starts pushing Goto towards a corner but Goto slips away. They feel things out, knuckle lock again, then break. They tie up collar ‘n’ elbow, Goto waistlocks, but Sanada wrenches to wristlock. Goto rolls, wrenches, wristlocks, but Sanada spins, wrenches, only for Goto to roll! Goto gets a leg to trip Sanada up, and he has a toehold. Sanada fights back with a chinlock but Goto pulls on the leg. Sanada uses his free leg to hook Goto into an ARMBAR, but Goto clasps hands! Goto moves around, pops free, then headlocks. Sanada fights up, Goto grinds the headlock, but Sanada throws body shots.

Sanada powers up and out, but Goto runs him over! The fans rally as things speed up, and Goto counters hip toss with hip toss! Goto runs and he clotheslines Sanada up and out! The fans fire up and Goto slides out after Sanada. Goto stomps Sanada, drags him up, then CLUBS him on the neck! Sanada staggers, Goto CHOPS him, then kicks him, then CLUBS him! Goto whips but Sanada stops himself from hitting railing! Goto runs in but Sanada drop toeholds him into the railing! Goto goes down in a heap, but Sanada opens the gate. Sanada brings Goto through, then to the crowd! PILEDRIVER to the bare floor!

The fans are stunned but Red Shoes reprimands. Sanada leaves Goto behind and slides into the ring. The fans rally for Goto as the ring count begins. Goto crawls at 5 of 20, finds his way to ringside at 10, but still hobbles and crawls. He stands at 17 to slide in! The fans cheer, but Sanada stomps Goto. Sanada drags Goto up, CLUBS him on the neck, then brings him back up to CLUB him again. Goto CHOPS! And CHOPS! Sanada eggs Goto on so Goto CHOPS again! Goto whips, Sanada reverses to RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Cover, TWO! Sanada keeps cool and sits Goto up into a chinlock. Goto endures and the fans rally again.

Goto kicks forward, reaches out, but Sanada cranks on the hold! Goto keeps fighting, and has the ROPEBREAK! Sanada lets go cleanly, but then he stomps Goto while he’s down. Sanada then stands Goto up to CLUB him on the neck. Goto CHOPS in return! And CHOPS, and CHOPS, and has Sanada in a corner! Goto CHOPS again, then whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, but Sanada BOOTS first! Sanada runs, Goto follows, and Goto LARIATS Sanada down! The fans fire up and Goto rises, clutching his neck. Goto stands Sanada up to fire off forearms, then he whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, MURAMASA!

Sanada wobbles, into the SAIDO! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up while Goto grits his teeth. Goto drags Sanada up, fireman’s carries, but Sanada fights free! Sanada waistlocks, Goto throws elbows, then runs. Sanada hurdles, hurdles, and DROPKICKS! Goto tumbles out of the ring, Sanada PLANCHAS him down! The fans fire up and Sanada encourages them to get louder. The fans get louder and Sanada appreciates it. Sanada then goes back for Goto, brings him up and puts him in the ring. Sanada fireman’s carries but Goto throws elbows! Sanada turns around into Goto’s fireman’s carry, but then slips out into the dragon sleeper!

But Goto arm-drags free! Sanada kicks low, runs, but Goto follows! Sanada dodges this time, runs again, but Goto still follows! Sanada sidesteps this time, but Goto holds ropes to avoid the hurdle! Goto runs in, but Sanada fireman’s carries! T K O! Cover, TWO! Goto is still in this and the fans rally up! Sanada goes up the corner, ROUNDING BODY- NO, Sanada has to land out as Goto moves! Sanada runs in, but into the fireman’s carry! USHIGOROSHI! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! They cheer on “GO-TO-O!” but the “SA-NA-DA!” chants are still there. Red Shoes checks them both, and both men slowly rise.

The two crawl towards each other, and Goto fires a forearm! Sanada shakes his head, eggs Goto on, so Goto throws another! Goto eggs Sanada on, so Sanada fires a forearm! Goto fires a forearm back, and the two stand. Sanada UPPERCUTS! Goto comes back to forearm! Sanada UPPERCUTS again, and Goto drops back to a knee! The fans rally, Goto stands again, and he forearms! UPPERCUT, forearm, repeat! Goto growls, fires a flurry of forearms, and he ROCKS Sanada! Sanada drops to his hand and knees but Goto powers up! Goto KICKS but Sanada blocks! Goto fires more forearms, then waistlocks, but Sandaa fights free!

Sanada runs, but Goto fireman’s carries! And he throws Sanada into the dragon sleeper! But Sanada turns around and suplexes, for MAGIC SCREW! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! Sanada roars as he rises up, and he aims from a corner. Sanada wants Goto to get up, and Goto sits up, into the SHINING WIZARD! Sanada then dragon sleepers, for the SKULL END!! Goto endures, flails, reaches out, but he’s caught in the body scissors! Goto fights around but he’s fading! The fans rally, Goto’s hand drops! Sanada lets him go to then climb! ROUNDING BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO!!

The fans fire up as Goto survives but Sanada storms around. Sanada drags Goto up, reels him in and clinches, but Goto slips free to shove Sanada away! Sanada forearms, ROLLING- HEADBUTT from Goto! The fans fire up and duel, and Goto drags Sanada up. But Sanada breaks free! Goto HEADBUTTS again! Sanada falls back down and Goto steadies himself. Goto roars, the fans are with him, and Goto sits Sanada up. Goto runs to PENALTY KICK! Shoutout to Shibata and the fans fire up more! Sanada grits his teeth as he sits back up but Goto takes aim! BUZZSAW! And then he hauls Sanada up to dragon sleeper! G T- BACKSLIDE COUNTER! TWO!!!

Sanada and Goto hurry up, Sanada dodges to O’Conner BRIDGE!! TWO?!!? Goto escapes and shocks everyone! Sanada resets, runs in, SHINING WIZARD!! The fans are thunderous as Sanada roars and drags Goto back up! Clinch and DEAD- NO, Goto slips around to ripcord and fireman’s carry! G T W!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Sanada survives but Goto is all fired up! The fans are thunderous as Goto dragon sleepers for G T R!!! Cover, GOTO WINS!!!

Winner: Hirooki Goto, by pinfall (advances to the finals)

Don’t call it a comeback, Goto’s been here for years! Sanada’s hopes of being IWGP World Heavyweight Champion again have been delayed, how long must he wait for another chance?

As for Goto, he’s going back to the New Japan Cup Finals for the first time since 2016, and his seventh overall! But before he can get the mic to speak, Yota makes his way back out here. Yota steps into the ring and he gets the mic first. Yota tells Goto, “In order to open the door to a new era, we must do this.” The fans applaud that, and Yota continues by asking Goto, “Are you ready?!” Yota drops the mic at Goto’s feet, and Goto stands up to speak. “I also have something I want to show you. As a three-time New Japan Cup Champion, I will show you my strength.” The fans like the sound of that!

The Fierce Warrior stares down with Gene Blast, a true generational showdown on the horizon! Will Goto return not juts to former glory, but finally ascend to top of NJPW? Or will Yota make it LIJ VS LIJ for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship?


My Thoughts:

A great semifinal round for this tournament, with quite a surprising main event. Sanada VS Goto was great stuff, and while I felt Sanada wasn’t winning the Cup, I didn’t think he’d be out this round. Yota VS Evil was rather creatively put together, too. I did not think the House would get so involved that at first it was a No Contest but then they restart under a ringside ban. Takagi making sure Yota won was good stuff, too, maybe we can get Takagi VS Evil for the NEVER Openweight Championship if they’re not gonna circle back to more Shota Umino VS House of Torture stuff.

Goto VS Yota is going to be great stuff, and Goto is clearly a top utility guy. He’s had so many New Japan Cup finals appearances, certainly among the most ever, but I don’t think he gets a fourth Cup win against Yota, one of the “new era Musketeers” that NJPW clearly loves. Yota VS Naito is definitely the title match for Sakura Genesis.

My Score: 8.9/10


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