Connect with us

Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE SmackDown Results & Report! (1/20/23)

SmackDown makes it Rumble official!

Published

on

The Tribal Chief and the Prizefighter sign on the dotted line!

Before fighting over the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens meet on SmackDown to sign the contract!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: Drew McIntyre & Sheamus VS The Viking Raiders; McIntyre & Sheamus win and advance to the second round.
  • LA Knight VS Brett Jones; Knight wins.
  • SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: Los Lotharios VS Hit Row; Hit Row wins and advance to the second round.
  • SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: The Brawling Brutes & Imperium; Imperium wins and advance to the second round.
  • SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: Legado del Fantasma VS Maximum Male Models; Legado wins and advance to the second round.

PLAY BY PLAY

The Bloodline arrives backstage.

Sami Zayn is fired up to be with his dawgs! The Usos, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman, and of course, the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Sami secret handshakes with Jimmy, has one with Jey, and offers a fist bump to Roman. Roman leaves Sami hanging, is that a bad sign?

 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: Drew McIntyre & Sheamus VS The Viking Raiders!

Friday is once again Fight Night! The Celtic Connection wanted vengeance on Erik & Ivar for their blindside attack a couple weeks ago, so Adam Pearce is taking care of two birds with one stone! Will McIntyre & Sheamus take down the Vikings? Or will the raid make its way towards the Usos and their titles?

The teams sort out, but the Vikings attack before the bell! Ivar CLOBBERS McIntyre out of the ring while Sheamus and Erik brawl in the ring! The ref reprimands, Sheamus ROCKS Erik in return and the bell rings! Sheamus fires off hands on Erik, Ivar fires off on McIntyre, but Sheamus whips Erik to a corner. Erik elbows back, throws haymakers, then he whips. Sheamus reverses but Erik holds ropes, only for Sheamus to clothesline Erik and himself out of the ring! Ivar CLUBS McIntyre, POSTS him, but Sheamus TOSSES Erik into barriers! Ivar rushes over but Sheamus fires forearms and haymakers on him!

Erik gets up, Sheamus throws hands on him, then TOSSES him into more barriers! Fans fire up, the ring count climbs, but Sheamus puts Erik in the ring. Ivar goes to the apron but Sheamus KNEES him first! Sheamus turns Ivar around, for BEATS OF THE BODHRAIN! Sheamus gest seven before Erik CLUBS him! Erik whips but Sheamus reverses to throw Erik to the apron! Sheamus drags Erik up to ROCK him, then gives him BEATS OF THE BODHRAIN! Fans fires up and count along, Sheamus goes past TEN, to hit FIFTEEN! Fans fire up while Erik flops down! Sheamus drags Erik up to a fireman’s carry!

Sheamus climbs the corner, but Erik slips free! Ivar runs in, Sheamus elbows him down, but Erik ROCKS Sheamus! Erik throws Sheamus to the floor! Tag to Ivar, and he runs to SPLASH Sheamus against barriers! Detroit boos but SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and Erik has Sheamus in a chinlock. Sheamus endures, fights up, and fans rally as he stands. But Erik turns Sheamus for a NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Fans boo Erik as he looms over Sheamus, but Erik clamps on with a chinbar and armlock. Sheamus endures but Erik throws down elbow after elbow! Erik returns to the chinbar, he grinds Sheamus down, but Detroit rallies as Sheamus endures. Sheamus fights up again, pushes Erik, and he throws body shots! Sheamus EuroUppers but Erik ROCKS him! They go forearm for forearm! Erik kicks low, CLUBS Sheamus down, then tags in Ivar.

Fans boo but Ivar CLUBS Sheamus back down. Ivar keeps Sheamus from McIntyre and gives him a crossface forearm! Tag to Erik, and he stands Sheamus up, only for Sheamus to throw body shots and forearms! Erik shoves, Sheamus KNEES Erik, then gets him for an IRISH CURSE BACKBREAKER! Detroit fires up as both men crawl! Hot tags to Ivar and McIntyre! McIntyre rallies on the War Beard! McIntyre whips, Ivar reverses and scoops, but McIntyre slips off to shove and CLOBBER Ivar! Erik rushes in but into an OVERHEAD Belly2Belly! McIntyre doges Ivar to NECKBREAKER! Then he dodges Erik to NECKBREAKER!

McIntyre kips up and Detroit fires up! McIntyre waits on Ivar, brings him in for double underhooks, but Ivar RAMS him into a corner! McIntyre ELBOWS back, Ivar knees low! Ivar runs, but into a scoop! MICHINOKU DRIVER! Cover, TWO! Ivar survives but McIntyre keeps his focus. McIntyre storms up to Ivar, fireman’s carries him, but Ivar fights free! Ivar CLUBS McIntyre, McIntyre runs in, SEATED SENTON! Tag to Erik, Ivar whips him in to clothesline McIntyre! Feed to a LARIAT from Ivar! Cover, TWO! McIntyre is hanging tough but Erik tags Ivar back in. Erik drags McIntyre up but gets a GLASGOW KISS!

McIntyre ROCKS Ivar on the top rope! And CHOPS him! And climbs up after him! Fans fire up as McIntyre brings Ivar to the very top! But Erik trips McIntyre! McIntyre ends up in a Tree of Woe! Sheamus runs in but Erik ROCKS Sheamus! But Sheamus fireman’s carries, WHITE NOISE! And McIntyre sit sup! SPIDER BELLY2BELLY!! All four behemoths are down and Detroit is fired up as SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns again and Ivar fires off back elbow after elbow on McIntyre in the corner! Ivar lets off at the ref’s count, and fans boo as Ivar storms around. Ivar storms up, whips McIntyre corner to corner, but McIntyre comes back to CLOBBER Ivar! McIntyre spins Ivar around, underhooks, and FUTURE SHOCKS! Kip up and fans fire up with McIntyre! McIntyre is calling for it, and he aims from the corner! “THREE! TWO! ONE!” But Ivar HEEL KICKS McIntyre down!! Both men fall and fans rally back up! McIntyre and Ivar crawl, hot tags to Erik and Sheamus! Sheamus and Erik brawl with fast and furious fists!

Sheamus gets the edge, but Erik kicks the legs out! Erik runs, but into a scoop! POWERSLAM! Fans fire up with Sheamus and he goes to a corner! Sheamus beats his chest and fans shout along, “BROGUE! BROGUE!” Sheamus aims, Erik stands, “FELLA~!” But Sarah Logan gets on the apron! Erik runs in but Sheamus BOOTS him! But Erik spins Sheamus around, EXPLODER! Tag to Ivar! Ivar goes up top, for a VIKING SPLASH!! Cover, TWO!!! Sheamus survives and Ivar is shocked! Detroit is thunderous but Erik tags back in. Erik then tags Ivar back in, and the Vikings stalk Sheamus. Sheamus sees the 2v1, but he just throws hands anyway!

Fans fire up but the 2v1 starts going the Vikings’ way. Erik waistlocks Sheamus, Ivar runs to the ropes, but Sheamus breaks free and KNEES Ivar down! McIntyre gives Erik a CLAYMORE!! Sheamus goes to the corner, fans fire up, and Ivar stands up for a BROGUE!!! Cover, the Celtic Connection wins!!

Winners: Sheamus & Drew McIntyre, by pinfall (advance to the second round)

Valhalla is furious that Ragnarok did not come! Sheamus & McIntyre are heading on, will they earn one more shot against Jimmy & Jey Uso?

 

Paul Heyman goes over the checklist with Roman Reigns.

Private jet, private cars, and- Before Heyman can continue, Sami Zayn walks in to ask if Roman has a second to talk. Roman says Sami can sit. Sami takes a seat, and he knows tonight is a big night, a great night, but he couldn’t help but notice the “frosty” greeting in the parking lot. Sami just wants to make sure everything is cool between them. Is everything cool? Roman tells Sami that he saw how Sami looked last week. Roman knows Sami is trying to cover up for tonight, but he should just tell the truth. What’s going on? Sami says everything is fine. No, tell him the truth.

Okay, then to be honest, Sami was disappointed last week. He felt it was a big privilege that Roman put him in the position to handle Kevin Owens on his own and he took a lot of pride in carrying his weight for the family. But then, as he was about to put Kevin away, he just didn’t realize the Usos & Solo would be coming out to the ring. He didn’t know it was all a plan. He felt a little slighted. Kevin keeps claiming Sami is being used, and he thought for a second that maybe… Well, who knows. But it’s all fine now.

Roman tells Sami to leave. What? Roman says he’s not gonna do this every single week! Roman doesn’t wanna hear “his” name every single week! Go! Get out! IT blows Roman’s mind. The Tribal Chief has to run his game plan by the Honorary Uce? When did this start? When does Roman have to ask Sami for his approval? Go, get out of here. Go find Kevin, make his own Bloodline or something. Stop using Roman. Then Roman tells Heyman to tell Sami. Sami is flabbergasted but he still leaves. Just what is going on with The Tribal Chief’s treatment of Sami Zayn?

 

Raquel Rodriguez speaks.

“Everything is bigger in my home state of Texas. And in San Antonio, at my first ever Royal Rumble, I plan on making it the biggest moment in my career. I am counting down the days, the minutes, the seconds, until I rush to that ring.” And in front of her family, friends and fellow Texans, she will earn her way to WrestleMania! Will Big Mami Cool make her homecoming a historic one?

 

LA Knight VS Brett Jones!

The Mega Star of SmackDown is preparing for something historic of his own at the Royal Rumble in the first-ever Pitch Black Match. All we know is anything goes, but will Knight show he’s ready for anything?

Before the match, Knight of course gets the mic, and he says, “Lemme talk to ya! Can someone help Bray Wyatt figure out what the hell’s going on? One week, he’s not Uncle Howdy. Next week, ‘I am Uncle Howdy! I am him!’ HUH!? Then this lunatic asks LA Knight, ‘Who are you?’ I can tell you exactly who I am! One name says it all! With everybody saying ‘L! A! KNIGHT!’ YEAH! And what that means is I’m the guy at the Royal Rumble who makes you think, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come back. Maybe I should’ve stayed away. After all, it is LA Knight’s game.

“Because while you’ve been living check to check on past glory, walk on into the LA Knight Bank and find out those checks ain’t worth trash! Because whether it’s pitch black or whether it’s broad daylight, at the Rumble. I will off your on switch just like that! And that is not an insult, that’s just a fact of life! YEAH!” Detroit boos but Knight tells them to shut up. Will Knight back up these words against one of Motor City’s own?

The bell rings, the two tie up, and Knight powers Jones to a corner. But then the White Rabbit makes itself known! Knight gets a bit wary and he lets off on Jones. Jones kicks back and fires hands! Jones whips, Knight reverses and CLOBBERS Jones! Knight waits on Jones to stagger up, then he kicks low for the B F T!! Cover, Knight wins!

Winner: LA Knight, by pinfall

But then wait! Is that the FIREFLY FUN HOUSE?! Knight TOSSES Jones while looking around. The funhouse has seen better days, but Abby the Witch is back! And Mercy the Buzzard! And Huskis the Pig Boy! And Ramblin’ Rabbit! And there’s Bray, fixing the place up! And he even has handyman butt crack showing… “I can see you. Welcome back to the Firefly Fun House! YOWIE WOWIE! Pardon the dust, it’s been awhile, and I know we’re all over the place, I’ll get on that. But I have seriously missed you so much.” “Aww…!” And Bray can’t wait to have lots of fun with his friends once again!

Ramblin’ Rabbit says, “Hey, dudes. Lemme talk to ya. LA Knight seems super cool. Can we invite him to the funhouse to be our friend?” Abby tells Ramblin’ Rabbit to STFU. Ramblin’ Rabbit says he’s worried about the Pitch Black match. LA Knight is cool by him. He’s like The Miz but with muscles. Plus, Ramblin’s just scared of the dark. Huskis says he loves dark chocolate. Bray was thinking, though. What kind of “deranged, damaged Woodstock dingdong names their kid Los Angeles Knight? I mean, he never had a chance!” But Bray will ‘Holler” at Ramblin’.

It’s normal to be afraid of the dark. In the dark, that’s where things like to hide under your bed and come out when you sleep. Things that want to EAT you! Now that Bray thinks about it, people should be scared of the dark. And then UNCLE HOWDY interrupts! He’s laughing, and says, “I told you so. I told you so. I told you so. All you needed was a little push.” Bray says, “I hope you’re satisfied. I hope you understand. You are the one that opened the door. And now, whatever comes through it is your problem. See you at the Royal Rumble. BYE~! Have a nice day!” Bray is back to his old ways, and it’s all Knight’s fault. Will Knight survive walking into the dark?

 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: Los Lotharios VS Hit Row!

With Sheamus & McIntyre waiting in the second round, we see another grudge settled in this tournament. Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo are still on the Hit Row’s Hit List, will Ashante THEE Adonis & Top Dolla finally settle up with them? Or will we see the Kiss Cam continue towards the tag titles?

The teams sort out, Humberto starts against Adonis. They tie up, Adonis wrenches an arm to a wristlock, but Carrillo rolls, handsprings and wrenches. Tag to Garza, the Lethal Lovers double whip, double leap frog, and then double hip toss into a DOUBLE FACEBUSTER and DOUBLE SUPERKICK! Cover, ONE!! Adonis is tough but Garza keeps on him. Garza pulls hair, the ref reprimands, and Adonis throws his durag at Garza before he hits the AIR-DROP! Adonis drags Garza over, tags in Dolla, and Hit Row stomps Garza. Dolla TOSSES Garza, talks trash, and Garza bails out. Dolla goes out, talks trash on Michael Cole for still talking about that botch!

Dolla dares Cole to take this, and he CHOPS Garza in the chest! Garza slides into the ring, Dolla storms after him, and brings him up for a waistlock. Garza throws elbows, reaches out to Carrillo, but Dolla holds on. Garza throws more elbows, and OFF COME THE PANTS! Hot tag to Carrillo, tag to Adonis! Adonis runs into an UPPERCUT! Carrillo forearms, springboards, sunset flips, but Adonis rolls through! Carrillo ducks the Penalty Kick but Adonis ducks the roundhouse, only for the ENZIGURI to come back! Adonis flops out of the ring, Dolla runs in but Carrillo dodges him! Carrillo comes back and gets a boost, DROPKICK sends Dolla out!

Hit Row regroups on the outside, Los Lotharios build speed and they DOUBLE DIVE! Direct hit and Hit Row hits the desk! Carrillo says that’s how you do it! Carrillo puts Adonis in, but B-Fab trips Carrillo up! Fans boo but Adonis rolls Carrillo with tights! Hit Row wins!

Winners: Hit Row, by pinfall (advance to the second round)

Fans boo but Hit Row is laughing all the way to the bank! But will they be able to do the same thing to the bangers that are Sheamus & McIntyre?

 

Cody Rhodes’ comeback continues.

Victorious at Hell in a Cell, but in a bittersweet moment. The surgery was a success, but it also meant there was a long road ahead. The American Nightmare does not heal any faster than anyone else. Two months in, it already felt like six years to Cody. Nine months is the timeline, and he wants to respect that, but only four months in, he was hitting the gym. “This is the place where I can make myself bulletproof.” Brandi confirms Cody has put in the work, and that he looks and feels better than ever. Now it isn’t a question of if, but when can Cody return? Cody has made it clear what he wants, so at the Royal Rumble, HE’S BACK!!

 

Braun Strowman speaks.

“I’ve made a career out of chucking bodies around. That being said, the Royal Rumble match is absolutely tailor made for the Monster of All Monsters. But heed my warning: anyone that stands in my way on the Road to WrestleMania, is gonna het. These. Hands!” Will Strowman outdo his personal best and win the whole thing?

 

Charlotte Flair is here!

Detroit fires up as The Queen struts her way to the ring. The SmackDown Women’s Champion gets the mic to say, “Detroit! WOOOO~!” Fans “WOO~” back and she says it is great to be in Motor City. But help her out here. We saw the recap footage, and it seems Sonya Deville has a real problem with Charlotte. She isn’t sure why. Maybe cuz Charlotte beat her two weeks ago? So now Charlotte tells Sonya that if she has a problem with Charlotte, she doesn’t need to go whine to Adam Pearce or attack her from behind. Just say so to her face, woman to woman. Charlotte waits, and she tells Sonya that Detroit would love to see her.

And speak of the Deville! Sonya makes her way out and has a mic to say, “I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time understanding this. Do you think I care what this dirty, disgusting city wants? No! No, no no no no. I care about what I want, what I deserve, and that is a title opportunity. But let me guess: You don’t think I’m worthy, do you?” Fans boo and Sonya tells them to shut up. Fans chant “YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!” Sonya gets in the ring with Charlotte to continue. “Clearly, you don’t think I’m worthy, and neither do you guys. But let me tell you something: if you’d get off your high horse, you’d all realize that every single time I walk through that curtain, I’m a star!”

Fans boo the star, but Sonya says every single time she opens her mouth and speaks, they should shut theirs and listen. Last week, it took six people to get Sonya off of Charlotte. Is Charlotte that arrogant that she doesn’t see it? Is that what it is? Fans again chant “YOU SUCK!” at Sonya, and Charlotte says Detroit’s made up their mind. But Charlotte does see that. Sonya IS a star. Charlotte has always told Sonya that. But is Sonya saying that the other women in the back aren’t stars? What is it that Sonya thinks she has that makes her more special than everyone else? She comes out demanding matches that she thinks are owed to her.

Maybe Charlotte isn’t the entitled, arrogant one here. But look, Sonya called her shot, she lost, and she tapped out! Fans chant “YOU TAPPED OUT!” So maybe Sonya should do what everyone else is doing and focus on the Rumble rather than jumping to the front of the line. But if Sonya wants a fight, Charlotte will fight her here in Detroit! Oh, Charlotte wants to fight Sonya here and now? What does Detroit say? “YES!” Sonya says “No.” Sonya smirks and asks why she’d fight when there’s nothing in it for her? No thanks. Unless… Charlotte puts the title on the line.

But here comes Adam Pearce to stop this. What is this? Is Sonya serious? Pearce made himself clear last week, but Sonya DECKS Charlotte with a sucker punch! Then she runs off! Sonya shrugs, fans boo, but Charlotte nods, giving Sonya that one. Pearce is again upset, but Sonya just walks to the back. She will do this on her time, but will Pearce make her reschedule?

 

Roman Reigns is still upset.

He asks Heyman, “Can you believe that guy?” Heyman takes a moment to think, and he then tells the Tribal Chief that he never liked Sami. But he supports Roman’s vision for the Island of Relevancy. Heyman was trying to look at this as a special Counsel, and as the Wise Man. As such, Heyman wants Roman to take into his “ruthless consideration” that it is better, on the night of this contract signing for defending the title against Kevin Owens of all people, that when it comes to Sami Zayn, maybe it’s better to have him in the castle pissing outside, rather than outside the castle, pissing in. AKA keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Will Roman accept this wisdom and bring Sami back into the fold?

 

Lacey Evans continues her training.

The narrator says, “You are the weapon, and your method of destruction is… The Cobra Clutch! Your opponents have two choices: tap out, or black out. You will break their spirits. You will capture titles. And you will make every woman in WWE tremble in fear at the name, ‘Lacey Evans.’ And that’s an order.” Operation: Cobra Clutch is set to begin, will it succeed in the Royal Rumble?

 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: The Brawling Brutes & Imperium!

Sheamus fires up Ridge Holland & Pete Dunne as they head out to represent on the other side of the bracket! Will Ridge Da Fridge and “Butch” brutalize Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser once again? Or will the Pride of Italy & the Impeccable German keep the mat sacred?

The teams sort out and Ridge starts against Vinci. They tie up, go around, Ridge headlocks but Vinci hammerlocks to a headlock. Ridge powers out, they RAM shoulders, and Ridge eggs Vinci on. Vinci kicks low, CHOPS, then whips. Ridge reverses and hip tosses! Vinci flounders, Ridge wrenches his arm and tags in Dunne. Dunne goes up to DOUBLE STOMP the arm! Dunne whips, Vinci reverses, Ludwig tags in. Vinci drops and Ludwig scoops for a GUTBUSTER! Dunne writhes but Ludwig scrapes his soles off Dunne’s face. Ludwig drags Dunne up, but Dunne fights the butterfly suplex to wrench out and isolate an arm!

Dunne wrangles Ludwig to the mat, and he STMOPS the elbow! Ludwig stands, but Dunne jumps on for a KIMURA! But Ludwig tags Vinci with his free arm! Dunne wrenches Ludwig but Vinci springboards to CROSSBODY Dunne down! Ludwig PENALTY KICKS Dunne while Vinci BLASTS Ridge! Fans boo as Imperium stands together and poses, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and Dunne reaches for Ridge, but Ludwig whips him away! Dunne BLASTS Vinci, but Ludwig gets around to back suplex! Dunne lands on his feet, ducks Ludwig, hot tag to Ridge! Fans fire up as Ludwig dodges once, but the LARIAT comes back the next time! And the third time! Ridge drags Ludwig up, scoops and spins, for SNAKE EYES! Ridge runs to SPLASH! Ridge keeps moving, another SPLASH! Ridge scoops again, fans fire up for the POWERSLAM! Ridge roars and he watches Ludwig stand. Ludwig blocks the fireman’s carry, Vinci jumps in and they mug Ridge! But Ridge lifts them both! DOUBLE BACK DROP!

Ridge tags Dunne, and Dunne MOONSAULTS onto Vinci on the outside! Dunne and Ridge coordinate, SPLASH ENZIGURI on Ludwig in the corner! Dunne goes up but Vinci RAMS Ridge into steel steps! Dunne jumps over Ludwig, comes back, but Ludwig waistlocks! O’Conner Roll, TWO and Dunne has an ANKLE LOCK! Ludwig endures, hops up to his feet, and he LCUBS Dunne! Dunne turns that into an ARMBAR TAKEDOWN! Ludwig flails, reaches out, but he has to fight up to his feet again! Dunne keeps his shoulders up, brings Ludwig down, but Ludwig rolls back to tag Vinci! Ludwig drags Dunne over, for Vinci’s TRIANGLE MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO!!

Vinci can’t believe Dunne survives, but Ludwig gets back in the ring. Ludwig goes up, Vinci brings Dunne in, but Ridge SHOVES Ludwig down! Dunne RANAS the bomb into a cover! TWO!! Vinci escapes and Dunne can’t believe it! Fans rally up, Dunne CHOPS Vinci, CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS, then forearms, but into a clinch! Vinci CHOPS, runs in, but Dunne ROCKS him! Dunne goes up, leaps, TORNADO DDT!! Both men are down and Detroit fires up! Dunne and Vinci crawl, hot tags to Ludwig and Ridge! Ridge blocks a boot but not the second! Ludwig CHOPS, hops up, leaps, but into a HEADBUTT!

Ridge clinches, OVERHEAD Belly2Belly! Fans fire up as Ridge calls to Dunne. Ridge fireman’s carries, Dunne is up top, but Vinci anchors Dunne! Dunne kicks Vinci away but Ludwig slips off to shove Ridge! Ludwig DECKS Ridge, but Dunne GAMANGIRIS Ludwig! Vinci returns but gets a BOOT from Dunne! Dunne tells Vinci off but Ludwig ENZIGURIS! Dunne falls into Vinci’s suplex! BRAINBUSTER to the floor!! Ludwig goes after Ridge but Ridge whips him away. Vinci tags in as Ludwig goes up and over! Ludwig rolls Ridge, Vinci reels Ridge in! Ludwig is up top, Vinci manages to lift Ridge! IMPERIAL BOMB!! Cover, Imperium wins!!

Winners: Imperium, by pinfall (advance to the second round)

The well-oiled machine succeeds in stopping an All Brutes Finals! But who will they face in the semifinals? We’ll find out in the last opening round match!

 

Sami sulks backstage.

Heyman finds him. Sami stands up, and Heyman says, “Your Tribal Chief would like to see you.” Sami nods, but will Roman have good news?

 

Shayna Baszler speaks.

“Imagine trying to compete in the Royal Rumble with a fractured ankle. Imagine trying to throw a body over the top rope with a dislocated shoulder, or compete against 29 other women with a broken arm. Yeah, so all those other women in the locker room better stay away. Because as far as I’m concerned, I’m not just gonna eliminate you, I’m gonna tear you apart limb by limb.” Will the Queen of Spades break the field to get her ticket to WrestleMania?

 

Karrion Kross speaks.

“Scarlett has just brought it to my attention. That in one week, I will be stepping into the ring with Rey Mysterio. Now normally, I get really, really amped up before a fight. But this time, not so much. Because El Rey can’t figure out whether he wants to be a family man or if he wants to be the Greatest Of All Time. And in this business, he can’t be both. That’s not how it works. So now, I’m gonna take him out. Following that, I’m gonna take out all other 29 superstars in the Royal Rumble, because that’s mine, too. Time is running out for everyone. Tick… Tock.” Doomsday is coming, will Mysterio survive? Or will he just be the first victim?

 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament, Opening Round: Legado del Fantasma VS Maximum Male Models!

Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde are ready to represent, but according to social medial, Maçé has been MIA for weeks! Will Mansôör have to go it alone? Or will LDF have to put up a fight to earn their spot in the semifinals?

SmackDown returns and Mace IS back! The teams sort out, Zelina Vega is on commentary, and she has three pieces of news! One: Wilde & Del Toro will win this tournament to then beat The Usos and become SmackDown Tag Team Champions. Two: Santos is going to win the Men’s Royal Rumble. And three: Vega is going to win the Women’s Royal Rumble! Anyway, in the match, Mansoor and Wilde start. They tie up, Mansoor headlocks, but Wilde powers out, only for Mansoor to run him over. Mansoor strikes a pose, Maxxine Dupri applauds, and then Mansoor runs the ropes. Wilde drops then jumps, but into an atomic drop!

Mansoor says yawn, and he whips. Wilde reverses, ELBOWS and trips Mansoor, for a TWISTING ELBOW DROP! Mansoor scrambles to ropes, Wilde storms over, but Mansoor dumps him out! Mansoor builds speed, but Cruz rushes in! Mansoor dodges Cruz’s haymaker, and Mace is in to choke grip! Mace SHOVES Cruz to ropes, he and Mansoor dump him out! The models finger boop, then build speed, just to pose! Fans boo and Vega rolls her eyes. LDF regroups with Escobar on the outside. The Emperor of Lucha tells them this tournament and those tag titles are theirs, so they gotta go get what’s theirs!

Wilde & Cruz fire up, rush in, dodge the models and dropkick! Mansoor tumbles out but Mace stays standing! Mace choke grips LDF, but they break free to ENZIGURI SUPERKICK COMBO! Mace flops out of the ring, and LDF builds speed, Wilde FLIES out onto Mansoor! Cruz has to stop as Mace goes around the way. Cruz then redirects and FLIES! Direct hit and Vega is happy to see her team on top. Wilde puts Mansoor in, tags in Cruz, and they mug Mansoor. Cruz wrenches to ELBOW BREAKER, tag to Wilde, and LDF double suplex! Then they combine, Electric Chair SPLASH! Cover, but Mace breaks it!

Mace drags Mansoor to their corner, and Vega complains about what tactics are legal. Mace tags himself in, storms up on Wilde, HEEL KCIK! BOOT for Cruz! Mace Electric Chair Lifts Wilde, Mansoor tags in, and Maxxine says this is the moment! But Wilde slips off to shove Mace into Mansoor! Mansoor lands on his catwalk! Mansoor flops down next to Mace while Wilde tags Cruz! Wilde then runs in, he jumps off Mace to DDT Mansoor! Cruz is up top, he tightrope MISSILE DROPKICKS Mace! LDF then sets Mansoor up, for the LEGADO SLICE! Cover, LDF wins!

Winners: Legado del Fantasma, by pinfall (advance to the second round)

Vega asks, “Was I wrong? Did I lie?” Vega also taunts Maxxine as we will now see Legado take on Imperium! Both teams are about tradition and legacy, but which side will make it through to the tournament finals?

 

Roman sits and waits in his room.

Heyman looks very worried as Sami walks in again. Sami sits, and takes a deep breath. Roman says, “Look. It’s no secret. I’ve got a temper. But that’s why I put people in place like The Wise Man to counsel that anger.” Heyman smiles. Roman says he wasn’t hearing Sami out. Sami just wanted communication. He wanted to be part of the plan, part of the team. Sami is a perfectionist. He’s like Roman, really. Sami says that’s right. And Roman says you don’t become The GOAT if you don’t think of all the little details. That’s what Sami does, that’s why they get along, that’s why this works! Sami agrees! And he thanks Roman for understanding.

Sami admits, he walked in expecting the worst. But it means so much to him to hear Roman say that. Roman says that is on him. But sometimes, he just expects the same amount of love, respect and loyalty that he gives. No, don’t say that. Sami and the others all love him! He’s the Tribal Chief! The Head of the Table! The one steering the ship! They’re nothing without him. They… Sami will always put what’s best for the Bloodline first. What is best for the family first. Anytime, anything, whatever Roman needs Sami to do, he can just tell Sami, and Sami will do it. Okay.

Then clear cut communication, this is what Roman needs from Sami. Sami needs to go find the Usos. Make sure the SUVs are in place. Make sure the pilots have the jet ready to go. Roman will take Heyman and Solo to the ring, he’ll sign that contract, and then they’ll get outta here. Sami says that’s done! So we’re good? Better than good! Sami thanks Roman again, and offers the fist bump. Roman says he does owe Sami that. They fist bump, Sami smiles and heads out. Heyman then says, “Thank you, my Tribal Chief.” Roman nods, but will business go smoothly with the contract signing up next?

 

Adam Pearce is in the ring.

He is ready to preside over this contract signing, and here comes the Tribal Chief! As he said, he just has Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman by his side. Heyman hands over the belts so Roman can raise them up for the pyro. They then continue to the ring, where Roman lifts the belts again for the second round of pyro. Roman takes his seat at the head of the table, putting his feet up on the table. Fans chant for “SAMI USO!” and Roman smiles. But then Kevin shows up from the crowd side!! He drags Solo out of the ring!! Pearce bails out, Kevin gets in and hits a STUNNER on Roman!!! Heyman is speechless but Detroit is thunderous!

Solo gets back up, Kevin SUPERKICKS him back out! The USOS appear, but Kevin fires off on the both of them! The Usos drag Kevin out, they brawl, and Kevin tosses Jey into barriers! SUPERKICK for Jimmy! SUPERKICK for Jey! Kevin drags Jimmy up to RAM him into the steel steps! Then Kevin goes back for Roman! Kevin drags Roman up, brings him around, whip and pop-up POWERBOMB through the table!!! Fans are loving this but Heyman is losing his mind! Pearce can’t believe Kevin did this, and then Kevin looks at Heyman. Heyman begs for mercy, but Kevin just takes the contract to sign his part!

But here comes Sami! Sami tells Kevin to get out of here, but Kevin just tosses the contract to Sami. Sami rushes in but Kevin has gotten away to the crowd! Detroit cheers, but will Kevin #StunTheWorld at the Royal Rumble? Roman comes to, and sees Sami is the only one standing. Will the trust that was just fixed between them be torn down again?


My Thoughts:

A great episode for SmackDown, and what great stuff out of the Bloodline story. Sami Zayn is being toyed with by Roman Reigns and his volitivity, and Heyman’s talk with Roman all but gave away that Roman doesn’t care about Sami, he just can’t afford Sami and Kevin to be united against them. But in the end, because Roman made Sami into his errand boy, Sami wasn’t there when Kevin got the jump on them! That was a great, and really fast, way to do a contract signing segment, and it leaves Sami stuck in a bad situation. We are getting closer and closer to that moment where Sami stands up for himself while standing by Kevin, and that’s going to be great stuff.

Of course LA Knight won a really quick tune up, but the real good stuff was Bray Wyatt reviving the Firefly Fun House! It’s technically a victory for Uncle Howdy since Bray basically “relapses” into one of his old personas, but we could also be seeing an almost Three Faces of Foley scenario for Bray, where he can call upon any of his past selves to take on his opponents. And with the Pitch Black match only being given to us as Anything Goes, but I’m still positive that the lights will be dimmed like in NXT’s Lights Out match. Also, good promos from more Royal Rumble entrants, but they didn’t sway my predictions for who wins.

Good stuff from Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville, and that sucker punch is totally grounds for a SmackDown Women’s Championship match at the Royal Rumble. And Charlotte is definitely winning, she isn’t going to lose so soon now that she’s Face and 14-time champion. Also good promo from Kross calling out Rey one last time before their match on next week’s go-home. That match could probably go either way with the Rumble just the next day, but with Rey having gotten beat up and talked down to this whole time, it just feels like he should win to prove Kross is wrong about him being over the hill and all that.

And great stuff out of the SmackDown Tag Team Tournament. While McIntyre & Sheamus VS Viking Raiders felt too early on paper, it was also a case where it’d be too easy to say “Oh, they’re going to meet up in the later rounds, these opening round matches are predictable.” Putting such a big match at the very beginning gets a lot of that sentiment out of the way. Sheamus & McIntyre winning was probably the right move, and they’re still a heavy favorite for winning the whole thing. And looking at the brackets, I would think LDF beats Imperium just so we aren’t revisiting Sheamus taking on Imperium. But honestly, between Sheamus & McIntyre, Imperium and LDF, they’re all great choices for taking on The Usos, and by extension, the Bloodline.

My Score: 8.6/10


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Coverage

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

Talk about a Big Time Raw!

Published

on

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


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Continue Reading

Coverage

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


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Continue Reading

Sports

Entertainment

Sports Entertainment

Buy A Chairshot T-Shirt!

Chairshot Radio Network

Trending

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com