Coverage
Mitchell’s ROH Results & Report! (5/11/23)
Will the Fallen Goddess fall?
Will the win streak (and mean streak) continue?
Athena has been undefeated and dominant as ROH Women’s World Champion, and she doesn’t plan on stopping just because Skye Blue wants gold!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Mark Briscoe VS Shane Taylor; Mark wins.
- Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta VS Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams; Claudio & Yuta win.
- ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe VS Blake Christian; Joe wins and retains the title.
- The Righteous VS The Infantry; The Righteous win.
- Robyn Renegade w/ Charlette Renegade VS Vertvixen; Robyn wins.
- Ninja Mack VS Willie Mack; Willie Mack wins.
- Six Man Tag: The Mogul Embassy VS Adam Priest, Lucky Ali & Victor Benjamin; The Embassy wins.
- Kyle Fletcher w/ Mark Davis VS Tony Deppen; Kyle wins.
- AR Fox VS Anthony Henry w/ JD Drake; Fox wins.
- 8 Man Tag: The Dark Order VS Josh Woods & The Trustbusters; The Dark Order wins.
- ROH Women’s World Championships: Athena VS Skye Blue; Athena wins and retains the title.
PLAY BY PLAY
Mark Briscoe VS Shane Taylor!
The Sussex County Chicken is still chasing his destiny of becoming ROH World Television Champion, but Big Shaney T has already lived that life. Will Mark make it through this former champion to head back after Samoa Joe? Or will Shane Taylor Promotions build back up?
Fans rally for ROH already as the Code of Honor is upheld. The bell rings and the two circle. They tie up, fans rally for #DemBoys as Mark headlocks. Shane powers out, then he runs Mark over! Mark gets up and says okay then. Shane tells Mark to watch himself or he’ll get whooped like Shane whooped his brother, Jay! Mark says okay, and he kicks! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Fans fire up as Mark chops away, then whips corner to corner. Shane reverses but Mark goes up and out. Shane runs in, into an UPPERCUT! Mark struts and fans fire up, but then Shane ROCKS him! Shane talks trash, slingshots Mark in, and into the LONDON TOWER! Cover, TWO!
Shane stalks Mark to a corner, digs his boots in, but the ref counts. Shane lets off at 4, talks trash to the fans, and then ROCKS Mark again! Fans rally but Shane throws body shots. Shane brings Mark around, but Mark CHOPS! And ROCKS! And CHOPS! Mark fires off, kicks and then BOOTS Shane out of the ring! Mark hurries out to the apron and fans fire up! CANNONBALL! Fans fire up and Mark brings Shane up. Mark REDNECK UPPERCUTS! And then Mongolian Chops! Mark gets a chair, and fans fire up as he sets it up in the ring. Mark builds speed, but Shane slides in! Mark ducks the lariat, but not the SOUTHPAW!
Shane snarls, the ref moves the chair aside, and fans boo as Shane looms over Mark. Shane drags Mark up, then DECKS him with a big right! Shane says he’s the man around here! Mark only got his shot because Shane wasn’t present. Mark CHOPS and CHOPS in return! Shane DECKS Mark! Shane then digs his knee in at the corner! The ref counts, Shane lets off and he brings Mark up, short arm LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Mark survives but Shane keeps on him. Fans rally, but Shane suplexes. Mark slips free, spins Shane around and ROCKS him! And ROCKS him! And again and again and again!
Mark fires up, fans fire up, but Shane ROCKS him again! Shane storms in but into an elbow! Mark BOOTS Shane, Shane stays up so Mark BOOTS again! And again! Shane roars, but Mark dodges and runs to SHOTGUN BOOT! Fans fire up again while both men are down. A standing count starts, fans rally, and Mark rises first. Mark ROCKS Shane, but Shane ROCKS Mark! Mark dodges to ROCK and CHOP on repeat in the corner. Mark runs but Shane blocks the boot. Shane shoves Mark, Mark dodges the punt to PELE! Shane bails out, Mark builds speed, and Mark WRECKS Shane with a dropkick!
Mark brings out another chair! Fans fire up as Mark resets and builds speed, to step up and FLY! Direct hit at the ramp and fans go wild! Mark puts Shane back in, climbs the corner, and he leaps to MISSILE DROPKICK! Shane staggers up, Mark fires up and runs in, but into an elbow! Shane goes up!? Mark UPPERCUTS first! Shane wobbles, Mark fireman’s carries him off the top?! ROLLING DEATH VALLEY, and Mark climbs up! FROGGY-BOW- NO! Mark bails out as Shane moves, and Shane pops Mark up! WELCOME TO THE LAND! Cover, TWO!?!? Mark shocks everyone as he survives Shane’s best!
Shane drags Mark to a drop zone, goes up the corner again, and leaps, but he FLOPS! Mark dodges disaster, CHOPS and ROCKS Shane on repeat, then dares him to hit back. Shane swings, but into the URENAGE! Cover, TWO!! Shane is hanging tough but Mark points to the sky. Fans fire up as he calls his shot and reels Shane in. Underhooks and- NO, Shane fights the lift! Shane wrenches out, and HEADBUTTS! Mark sits down, Shane RIPCORDS for an URENAGE! And a SPLASH! Cover, TWO!!! Shane is beside himself as Mark survives again! Fans rally with “MAN UP!” and Mark is feeding off that energy.
Mark rises but Shane reels him in. Shane tucks Mark in, but Mark slips out of the package! CHOP! Forearm! Shane forearms back! Mark forearms again! They keep throwing those heavy shots, Mark gets the edge and Shane staggers. Mark powers up, but Shane ROCKS him with another right hand! Shane runs, into a forearm! Mark roars, runs, ducks ‘n’ dodges, and LARIATS Shane down!! Fans fire up again as Mark calls his shot one more time! Underhooks and JAY DRILLER!!!! Cover, Mark wins!!
Winner: Mark Briscoe, by pinfall
Jay would be proud of that one! Mark topples the former ROH World TV Champion, and he tells Joe to keep that title warm. Mark’s coming for another round, will destiny become reality soon enough?
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta VS Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams!
After Double Jeopardy just last night on Dynamite, the Blackpool Combat Club now have a tag title match on the horizon with the Lucha Brothers. Will the Swiss Superman & Decoder get past former ROH World Tag Team Champions to prove they’re ready? Or will #DaThreat and Hot Sauce prove that’s not the case?
The Code of Honor is upheld, though reluctantly on the BCC’s side. The teams sort out and Yuta starts against Tracy. They circle, feel things out, and tie up. Tracy headlocks, Yuta wrenches out, and Yuta has a top wristlock. Tracy slips through, hammerlocks, spins and snapmares to headlock, but Yuta slips out to hammerlock. Tracy fights up, reaches back, and flying-mares! Yuta comes back to ROCK Tracy, and CHOP! And ROCK! And kick, but Tracy blocks to CHOP! And then shoots in for a Gotch Lift and SLAM! Tracy steps through to have a toehold! Fans cheer, but Yuta kicks from below. Tracy just catches that into an ANKLE LOCK!
Yuta endures but Claudio storms in to stomp Tracy! Fans boo but Yuta got free all the same. Claudio tells Yuta to tag out, so Yuta does as told. Claudio then steps to Tracy, shoves him, but Tracy shoves back! Claudio scoops, SLAMS and floats all over Tracy! Claudio then has the Inverted Bow ‘n’ Arrow, and he tells Yuta, “This is how it’s done! OH SH-” Tracy rolls back to a ghost pin! ONE, and Claudio CHOPS! Tracy ROCKS Claudio! Claudio ROCKS Tracy! They go back and forth, Tracy CHOPS again! Tag to Rhett and fans rally as Tracy whips. Rhett leap frogs to HIP DROP the arm! Claudio blocks it the arm-drag, to ELBOW DROP!
Claudio drags Rhett up, pushes him to the corner and tags in Yuta. Claudio whips Yuta in to back elbow! Yuta drags Rhett up as Claudio tells fans to calm down, but Rhett snap suplexes! Claudio turns around to see what happened, and Rhett tags Tracy. They double whip, then knee low, knee lift, atomic drop and LARIAT! Tracy stacks Yuta, TWO! Tracy stomps Yuta, then gets the legs! Yuta fights but Tracy still gets the TEXAS CLOVERLEAF! Claudio sighs and storms in, but Tracy blocks the kick this time! But Yuta CHOP BLOCKS! Claudio stomps Tracy on his way out, and Yuta drags Tracy over to tag Claudio back in.
Claudio stomps away on Tracy, fans boo but the ref counts and Claudio lets off. Claudio soaks up the heat, but turns around into a CHOP! Claudio scoops and SLAMS Tracy! Tag to Yuta, he steps on Tracy’s face and then stomps it! Fans rally but Yuta brings Tracy up to CHOP! Yuta whips, back drops, but Tracy sunset flips! TWO! Yuta stomps Tracy down, tags Claudio, and they bring Tracy up. Tracy throws body shots and forearms on Claudio, but Claudio roars and UPPERCUTS! Claudio scoops and SLAMS again! And then drops the elbow! Cover, TWO! Tracy gets up but he’s in enemy territory.
Claudio reels Tracy in to ROCK him in the back. Claudio whips Tracy to a corner, runs in and UPPERCUTS! Claudio seethes, he pie faces Tracy, and then CHOPS him! But Tracy CHOPS back! Claudio ROCKS Tracy, fires off body shots and another UPPERCUT! Fans rally as Claudio whips corner to corner, Claudio runs in, but Tracy dodges and Claudio POSTS himself! Claudio tumbles out and Tracy crawls for his corner. Fans rally, Claudio hurries back in, hot tag to Yuta! Yuta CLOBBERS Tracy! Yuta brings Tracy up to CHOP! Tracy goes to a corner, Yuta puts him up top and climbs up to join him. Yuta CLAWS Tracy’s back, slowly and painfully!
Fans boo but Yuta brings Tracy up. Tracy throws body shots, then DDTs Yuta on the top buckle! Hot tag to Rhett! Rhett SPLASHES Yuta in the corner, short arm LARIATS, then short arm LARIATS again! Wrench and torture rack, a spin and a SLAM! Fans fire up, Yuta goes to ropes, and Rhett runs in to RAM him! Clinch and BELLY2BELLY! Cover, TWO! Yuta survives but Rhett keeps on him. But then Claudio ROCKS Rhett! Tracy ROCKS Claudio! Claudio knees low, scoops, but Rhett DROPKICKS Claudio out of the ring! Tracy goes out to FLYING KNEE! Direct hit! Rhett aims at Yuta, runs in, and BOOTS!
Tag to Tracy, Rhett goes side to side for another BOOT! ELBOW from Tracy, DROPKICK from Rhett, LARIAT from Tracy!! Cover, but Claudio breaks it in time! Rhett RAMS into Claudio, but Claudio GUT WRENCHES Rhett out of the ring!! Tracy drags Yuta up but Claudio UPPERCUTS Rhett outside! Yuta shoves Tracy at the ref, Tracy avoids colliding, but he turns around into an EYE POKE! Tag to Claudio, UPPERCUT! Tag to Yuta, ROCKET LAUNCHER SPLASH!! Cover, the BCC wins!
Winners: Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta, by pinfall
Underhanded but coordinated, Claudio & Yuta get the win! Will this be the combo Claudio uses to take on the Lucha Brothers?
ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe VS Blake Christian!
The champions keep on coming as now, the King of Wrestling Television puts his gold back on the line. Will Joe be ready for when Mark Briscoe comes back around? Or will All Heart change all the plans they had made?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised and we see if heart is enough to survive the savagery!
The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the two circle. Fans rally up, then sing “Joe is gonna kill~ you!” Joe corners Blake but Blake slips under and gets away. Joe storms up, Blake slips to the apron, then flips away! Fans cheer and rally for “All Heart!” Joe storms up, grabs Blake by his hair, but Blake GAMANGIRIS! Blake springboard sup and over and handsprings to NEURALIZER! Joe goes to a corner as fans fire up. Blake runs in, he blocks the boot and puts the leg in the ropes. Blake runs up but Joe shoves Blake away. Blake comes back in, BASEMENT TIGER FEINT to the trapped leg!
Joe tumbles, goes to ropes, but Blake fires off shots on the leg. Blake puts that leg back in the ropes, pulls on it, but lets off as the ref counts. Blake kicks Joe, CHOP BLOCKS him, then grabs the leg again. The ref counts but Blake LEG DDTS! Joe writhes, Blake steps through, FIGURE FOUR! Joe gets the ROPEBREAK, and Blake lets go quickly. Blake stalks Joe but Joe JABS! And JABS! And JABS! But Blake dropkicks the bad leg! Blake runs, but Joe avoids the dropkick to SENTON! Fans fire up while Blake now writhes. Joe glares at Blake, stalks him, then drags him up. Joe JABS Blake, and JABS, and JABS!
Joe stomps Blake at the ropes, drags him up and snapmares, to CHOP him on the back! And PENALTY KICK him in the front! And then run to ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Joe keeps on Blake with a neck wrench. Fans rally as Blake endures, and Blake fights up. Blake throws body shots and kicks, but Joe CLUBS him down! Joe reels Blake in, and POWER- NO, Blake slips free and KICKS the bad leg! Blake runs, but into a POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Blake survives that sudden turnaround, but fans fire up again! Joe stalks Blake, waits on him to rise, and COQUINA- NO, Blake jumps to JAWBREAKER!
Joe staggers to a corner, Blake runs in, URE- NO! Blake arm-drags Joe away! Blake goes up, but Joe runs in to RAM Blake first! Joe then tucks Blake in, for the MUSCLE BUSTER!! Cover, Joe wins!
Winner: Samoa Joe, by pinfall (still ROH World Television Champion)
Blake did show heart, but Joe showed all force. But Joe also shows Blake respect with the Code of Honor handshake. Will Joe give Mark Briscoe that rematch? Or will another step in the way of destiny?
Backstage interview with Mark Sterling and his stable.
Dasha is with Smart Mark and the expanded Varsity Athletes, namely Ari Daivari, Josh Woods, and the Trustbusters, Sonny Kiss, Slim J & Jeeves Kay. They’re up against the Dark Order, and Mark says he asked for this time to address a problem in ROH. He didn’t wanna bring it up publicly but he felt it needed to be said. The problem here in ROH is The Dark Order. Their infighting about who is teaming with who, why the Righteous is bothering them where Stu Grayson has been, it is putting a strain on the athletes of this roster and Mark’s group has had enough. That is why he put together this super team!
There’s Josh “The Goods” Woods, a four-time All-American wrestler. They’ve got three of “the most prolific and rich athletes on planet Earth” in the Trustbusters. Woods has never teamed with them, but Mark promises we will see “absolute cohesion.” Daivari says that for the last month, The Dark Order has picked a fight with The Trustbusters, with The Varsity Athletes, and now each other. “Fellas, if a fight is what you want, then ask and you shall receive.” But will having a common enemy be just what The Dark Order needs to get back on the same page?
The Righteous VS The Infantry!
Speaking of Vincent & Dutch, they’re in action tonight, as well. Will they prove to Stu Grayson that he should join them? Or will Captain Shawn Dean & #Tattoos&BadNews Carlie Bravo just use them to get up in the rankings?
The Code of Honor is upheld, and The Righteous even hug the Infantry. But Dutch’s snake tongue spooks The Infantry. The teams sort out and Dean starts with Vincent. They circle as fans rally up, and the two tie up. Vincent wrenches, wristlocks, but Dean rolls and kips up to wrench back. Dean then headlocks but Vincent powers out. Dean runs Vincent over and salutes. Things speed up, Vincent hurdles but Dean arm-drags! And arm-drags again! Then DROPKICKS! Fans fire up with The Captain and Dean whips Vincent to ropes. Vincent ELBOWS in return! Cover, TWO! Vincent drags Dean up and underhooks, but Dean wrenches out.
Dean UPPERCUTS Vincent down, then tags Carlie. Dean PENALTY KICKS, Carlie runs, stops and SENTONS! Dean adds a BIG elbow drop! Carlie covers, TWO! Carlie drags Vincent up, wrenches, but Stu Grayson appears! He watches from the stage as Carlie wrenches Vincent and tags Dean. The Infantry double whip, double shoulder, and then split the wishbone on Vincent! Dean ROCKS Vincent, whips him to ropes, but Vincent reverses. Dean holds ropes to BOOT back! Vincent has the ref check him, but it’s a distraction so Dutch can CLOBBER Dean! Carlie protests but the damage is done!
Dutch hopes Stu saw that, he’s all excited. Stu is stoic but Vincent tags Dutch in. Dutch throws hands on Dean, and body shots, then reels him into an EXPLODER! Cover, TWO! Dean is still in this but Dutch’s snack tongue creeps Carlie out again. Vincent notices Stu now, and fans chant “STU! STU! STU!” Dutch tags Vincent, feeds Dean to a KNEE, then CLOBBERS him! Vincent says here comes the sandman, BASEMENT COMPLETE SHOT! Cover, TWO! Vincent drags Dean back up, cravats, but Dean shoves him into Dutch! Tag to Carlie! Carlie rallies on Vincent, Dutch runs in but Carlie dumps him out!
Vincent storms up but Carlie scoops. Vincent slips out, Carlie jukes him out to DECK him! Cover, TWO!! Vincent survives but Stu isn’t impressed. Carlie calls to Dean, runs and tags, then SCISSOR KICKS! Carlie suplexes, Vincent slips out, and Dutch returns for the SCRAPBUSTER! Dean CLUBS Dutch, fires hands, but Vincent nis on him! Dean UPPERCUTS Vincent, but Dutch UPPERCUTS Dean! AUTUMN SUNSHINE!! Cover, The Righteous win!
Winners: The Righteous, by pinfall
Dutch grins and Vincent looks to Stu. Stu has his arms crossed, but The Righteous approach. Vincent asks if Stu sees it now. Dutch says Stu is one of them. Stu seems even more confused than before. What will Stu decide when push comes to shove?
A Fight WITHOUT Honor is coming.
The Kingdom claims ROH as their own, and will not let anyone “use” it to get ahead. Respect and honor mean something to The Kingdom, but they demand respect. Action Andretti & Darius Martin see The Kingdom knows nothing about real respect, with their tactics of post match beatdowns, manager interferences and disqualifications. “Where’s the honor in that?” So forget wrestling, this is about hurting The Kingdom! This is bout making the Kingdom bleed, about making the Kingdom pay, and about making The Kingdom respect them! So that means a FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR!
Maria is pretty sure Darius & Action have no idea what those three words mean. But she knows Mike Bennett & Matt Taven do. Taven says those “Melvins” are too stupid to know that if you threaten anyone, you do NOT choose the #OGK. Darius says throw out the Code, throw out the rules, and watch The Kingdom fall apart. Mike says in the ROH locker room, in THE KINGDOM’S locker room, “respect isn’t owned, it’s rented. And rent’s due, b*tch.” This all goes down next week, who wins and who survives this Fight Without Honor tag match?
Robyn Renegade w/ Charlette Renegade VS Vertvixen!
While the Fallen Goddess defends her gold in the main event, the chase is always on. Will this Renegade turn things around and head for the top? Or will Vert throw a glitch into the system?
The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the two circle. They tie up, go around, and Robyn headlocks. Vert throws body shots, powers out, and then dodges Robyn to run her over! Fans fire up as Vert whips, but Robyn reverses. Vert goes up and over and rolls, then sweeps the legs! Vert keeps moving, BASEMENT SHOT! Cover, TWO! Fans rally and Vert brings Robyn up. Vert suplexes but Robyn slips out to waistlock and RAM into a corner. Charlette cheers but Robyn runs into a BOOT! Robyn distracts the ref, and Charlette swipes at Vert! Vert gets her to back off, but Robyn runs in to SHOTGUN Vert down!
Charlette mocks Vert’s pain as Robyn stomps away! The ref counts, Robyn lets off, and Robyn brings Vert up. Robyn CHOPS, then snapmares, and she looms over Vert to reel her into the CAMEL CLUTCH! But she fishhooks Vert so the ref reprimands. Robyn SLAMS Vert down, drags her back up, but Vert JAWBREAKERS! Vert BOOTS, goes to the apron, then ROCKS Robyn! Slingshot somersault and STUNNER! Robyn staggers to a corner, Vert powers up and hits the LEVEL UP BOOT in the corner! Vert keeps the combo going, FLATLINER! Cover, TWO!! Robyn survives but Vert keeps on her. Vert says she’s gonna finish this!
Vert fireman’s carries but Robyn fights free with elbows! Robyn ties Vert up into a COBRA TWIST, then GROUND OCTOPUS!! Vert kicks and flails, she TAPS! Robyn wins!
Winner: Robyn Renegade, by submission
Vert thought it was game over for Robyn but it was turned around on her. The Renegade sisters shake Vert’s hand in a mocking fashion, but that technically upholds the Code of Honor. Will the sisters look to take over ROH both in the singles and tag divisions?
Backstage interview with The Mogul Embassy.
Dasha is with Prince Nana, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona, and she brings up The Gates of Agony are going to take on Dalton Castle’s Boys. Are they ready? Nana laughs. The GOA? Ready for The Boys? Is there even any athletic ability in The Boys? Hello, ROH bookers, do they know? But storming in is Dalton Castle himself! He shouts about how Brent Tate is covered head to toe in bruises and in the hospital! He doesn’t know who did it, but someone in the Embassy did it! Nana says that’s lies, no one did anything to his Boy! So, are they fine? Dalton says right, okay, yeah, they’re “fine.” For now! But just know that you “silly gooses” made a big mistake!
Castle leaves and Nana says yes, they are silly gooses. HE HAS BRENT’S MASK! The Embassy got away with taking out the competition, but will The Peacock and the Tate Twins get their revenge?
Ninja Mack VS Willie Mack!
Like the McDonald’s menu, it’s a Double Mack attack! Both Macks move fast and kick ass, but who will be The Mack of Honor in this first-time-ever?
The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and fans cheer for “MACK! MACK! MACK!” The two circle, fans chant “Let’s Go, Mack!” Will and Ninja tie up, Will puts Ninja in the corner but then lets off. Ninja rushes up and ties up with Will again, but Will doesn’t budge. Will powers Ninja back to the corner, then rolls back into the crane stance! Will bows and circles with Ninja. They tie up and Ninja gets around to waistlock. Ninja rolls Will, they stand and Will switches to a BIG slam! Ninja gets up but into another BIG slam! Ninja moves around, fans want that “One More Time!” so Will obliges with a third BIG slam!
Ninja scrambles to the ropes, Will lets off and fans rally up for “MACK! MACK! MACK!” again. Ninja runs in but Will runs him over! Will runs, Ninja drops and hurdles but Will turns arm-drag into arm-drag! Fans fire up, Ninja runs in but Will dodges. Ninja handstands, handsprings, headscissors, but Willie cartwheels through! Things keep moving, Ninja hurdles, back flips over the leg sweep, and Ninja kips into the superhero pose! Ninja shakes his head and fans fire up again. Will and Ninja reset, then Will suddenly RANAS! Ninja returns, Will dodges and GAMANGIRIS! Ninja bails out and Will builds speed! Willie FLIES!
Fans fire up as Will takes Ninja out at the ramp! Fans cheer “ROH! ROH!” for giving us this Mack-tacular match! Will brings Ninja up but Ninja throws body shots. Ninja roars and PALM STRIKES! But then Will just SLAPS Ninja! Fans fire up and Will drags Ninja up and into the ring. Will storms up, gets Ninja in the right spot, and he STANDING MOONSAULTS but flops as Ninja moves! Ninja KICKS! And KICKS! And KICKS! Will stands up, Ninja kicks more then whips. Will reverses but Ninja goes up and over. Will runs, but into an UPPERCUT! Fans fire up with Ninja and he aims, ROBINSON SPECIAL! Cover, TWO!!
Another cover, TWO! Ninja covers a third time, TWO! Will is proving tougher than Ninja expected, but Ninja drags Will up. Ninja whips, Will reverses again, but Ninja stops himself to come back, SUPERKICK! Will staggers, but he SUPERKICKS back! Ninja goes to a corner, Will goes to the opposite. Will runs in, into a BOOT! Ninja UPPERCUTS, then powers up, but Will SAMOAN DROPS him! Fans rally up while both Macks are down! The standing count starts, both Macks stir, and then Will kips up! STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Ninja survives and Will can’t believe it! Fans rally and Will drags Ninja up.
Ninja kicks, kips up and wheelbarrows to a victory roll! TWO, and Ninja shoots in to roll up, TWO! Will hurries to get around and roll Ninja up with a bridge, TWO! Ghost pin, TWO!! Both Macks stand, Will dodges Ninja but Ninja leaps, into Will’s arms! Pop-up POWERBOMB! Cover, Willie Mack wins!
Winner: Willie Mack, by pinfall
Willie is the Miggity Miggity Miggity Miggity Mack, WHAT WHAT! Will Willie Mack climb up to go after a championship soon enough?
Six Man Tag: The Mogul Embassy VS Adam Priest, Lucky Ali & Victor Benjamin!
No battle with The Boys, but the ROH World Six Man Tag Team Champions still found competition to replace them. Will The Machine & The Gates of Agony crush these substitutes? Or will they find it was better to battle The Boys they know rather than the guys they don’t?
The Code of Honor is upheld, then the trios sort out. Bishop Kaun starts against Adam Priest, the fans rally up as the two circle. They tie up, go around, and Kaun KNEES low! Kaun headlocks, Priest powers out, things speed up but Kaun runs Priest over! Priest goes to a corner, Kaun runs in, but Priest elbows him! And CHOPS! And kicks! And UPPERCUTS! But Kaun CHOPS back! Priest headlocks but Kaun throws him down! Cover, ONE! Kaun facelocks, drags Priest up, and CLUBS away! Tag to Cage, the Embassy mugs Priest and Cage suplexes. Priest slips free, but Cage ELBOWS back!
Cage whips Priest to ropes to then back drop him away! Lucky tags in but now he isn’t feeling so lucky. He runs in, into a FLAPJACK! And SUPERKICK! Cage runs corner to corner to UPPERCUT, GAMANGIRI, and GERMAN SUPLEX! Lucky goes halfway across the ring, and Cage flexes. Liona wants in so Cage tags him. Lucky hurries to tag in Victor. Victor runs in, but Liona POUNCES him away! Fans fire up, and Liona drags Victor back up to CHOKE him on the ropes! The ref counts, Liona lets off at 4, and Liona roars at the ref. Nana also scolds the ref but the ref is just doing his job!
Liona scoops Victor, Priest and Lucky coach Victor, but Liona drops Victor so he can shout at them! Victor comes back to ROUNDHOUSE! Liona stays up, but Victor dodges him to DOUBLE SPIN KICK, and STEP UP KNEE! Fans fire up with Victor, but Liona comes back with a DISCUS LARIAT! Priest goes up, leaps in, and MISSILE DROPKICKS Liona! Liona staggers back, Kaun tags in. Priest gets up, ducks one lariat but not the SECOND! Lucky runs in and BOOTS Kaun! Cage gets in to pop Lucky up for a POWERBOMB! And then deadlifts for a BUCKLE BOMB! Fans fire up as The Gates drag Priest and Victor up.
Kaun and Liona stand Priest and Victor up back to back, and they high five before the DOUBLE LARIAT SANDWICH! Nana shouts, “Open the gates!” Kaun & Liona drag Priest up to DOUBLE BODY SLAM him onto Victor! Kaun covers them both, the Embassy wins!
Winners: The Mogul Embassy, by pinfall
Cage, Kaun & Liona victimized Victor and his team, and continue to roll on, undefeated since becoming champions. Will any trio ever stop these three from running ROH?
Kyle Fletcher w/ Mark Davis VS Tony Deppen!
The Aussie Arrow made his presence known last night on Dynamite when he ambushed Orange Cassidy off camera as his way of declaring for the AEW International Championship. He’s already IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team and NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion, will he simply use “The Czar of Honor” as a stepping stone to his third belt?
The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the two circle. Fans chant “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!” Kyle says they’re doing pretty good for Americans, and then ties up with Tony. They end up on the ropes, Kyle lets off slowly, and pats Tony on the shoulder. Fans cheer and the two reset. They tie up again, Kyle powers Tony back but Tony gets around to a waistlock. Kyle switches, SLAMS Tony, and facelocks. But Tony slips out and wrenches an arm to an omoplata! Fans cheer as Tony flexes on Kyle, then gets the other arm. Kyle endures, fights up, but Tony keeps on him in a cobra twist.
Kyle powers out, wrenches back, but Tony spins and wrenches and headlocks. Kyle powers out, RAMS shoulders, and Tony staggers back. Kyle applauds and Tony says hold on. Tony speeds up and RAMS Kyle again. But Tony staggers back and fans cheer. Kyle runs, but Tony kicks low! Tony headlocks, Kyle powers out, things speed up, Kyle hurdles, Tony rolls off Kyle’s back, and things keep moving. Tony RAMS Kyle and Kyle rebounds to CLOBBER Tony! Fans fire up as Kyle flexes now. “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!” Kyle CHOPS Tony in the corner! Tony flops around, Kyle brings him out and CHOPS again!
Tony falls, goes to the apron, and Kyle grins as he brings Tony up. Tony shoves Kyle back but Kyle is after him again. Tony shoves Kyle, Kyle storms up but into a HOTSHOT! Tony hits a step-in CODE BREAKER! Tony gets as leg, drags Kyle to a cover, TWO! Kyle is still in this but Tony KICKS him in the back! Tony drags Kyle up to ROCK him with a forearm! Tony has Kyle in the corner and CHOPS! Kyle just glares at him! Tony CHOPS again, but Kyle still glares. Tony knows he’s in trouble, but he SLAPS Kyle instead! Fans boo but Kyle ROCKS Tony in return with forearm after forearm! Kyle fires off in the corner!
The ref counts, Kyle lets off, but Tony BOOTS him back! The ref reprimands, but Tony KICKS Kyle in the back! Tony checks his jaw, brings Kyle up, but Kyle throws body shots. Tony knees low, and he says “Time for the greatest suplex ever invented, baby!” Fans say, “What?” Tony suplexes but Kyle blocks! Kyle suplexes but Tony fights it. Tony wrenches, but Kyle ducks the lariat to waistlock, but Tony switches. Kyle switches, Tony switches, but Kyle spins it to a BIG suplex! Fans fire up while both men are down! Kyle stands first, he ROCKS Tony again and again, then whips, Tony reverses, Kyle blasts past to CLOBBER him on the return!
Tony gets up, swings, but into a HALF ‘N’ HALF! Tony staggers into a corner, Kyle runs in to GAMANGIRI! Cover, TWO! Tony is still in this but fans rally behind Kyle. Kyle drags Tony up, scoops into a gut wrench, but Tony fights to the apron. Tony ducks Kyle’s ax handle to SLINGSHOT CUTTER! Kyle flops out, Tony builds speed to SOMERSAULT TOPE! Tony puts Kyle in, runs in, BAYONET FOREARM!! Cover, TWO!! Kyle survives and Tony grows frustrated. Fans rally up for Kyle but Tony brings Kyle up. Kyle is dead weight but Tony keeps trying. Kyle shoves Tony away, but Tony comes back with a forearm!
Kyle sits up, Tony ROCKS him again! Kyle eggs Tony on, so Tony ROCKS him again! Kyle ROCKS Tony, Tony ROCKS Kyle, repeat! Fans fire up, Kyle gets the edge, but Tony shoots around to waistlock. Kyle switches, Tony drops to victory roll! TWO!! Kyle SWATS Tony’s kick, ROCKS Tony, but Tony rebounds. Kyle avoids the jump knee to SUPERKICK! Kyle runs, into the JUMP KNEE! Tony GERMAN SUPLEXES, Kyle flops into the ring! Tony runs in, METEORA!! Tony goes up top while Kyle is in the drop zone, COUP DE GRACE!! Cover, TWO!!! Kyle survives again and Tony is beside himself!
Fans fire up as Tony aims from the corner. Kyle sits up, avoids Tony’s knee and rolls him up, TWO! Kyle goes to another corner, he dodges Tony again, but Tony JUMP KNEES again! Tony keeps moving, but he runs into the MICHINOKU DRIVER! Cover, KYLE WINS!!
Winner: Kyle Fletcher, by pinfall
Tony misses the kickout but a nanosecond! Aussie Open’s speed demon gets a big win, will he be the one that ends Orange Cassidy’s winning streak?
AR Fox VS Anthony Henry w/ JD Drake!
The Whole Fox’n Show wants to show he’s worthy of title opportunities, but the same goes for the Saint of Augusta, Georgia. Who wins big for the Spring?
The Code of Honor is upheld, JD talks some smack on the fans, and the bell rings. Fans rally for “A R FOX! A R FOX!” as he circles with Henry. They feel things out, JD takes a swipe, and Henry waistlocks Fox to SLAM him down! Henry rolls Fox around, brings him up and waistlocks, but Fox pries at the hold. Fox runs to ropes and throws Henry out! Henry staggers up, and Fox FLIES! Direct hit, then Fox hurries back in to FLY again! Another hit and fans fire up! Fox brings Henry up, puts him in, but Henry wants outta there. Henry regroups with JD, but Fox FLIES to take out both Workhorsemen!
Fans fire up more as Fox puts Henry back in. Fox rallies the fans, then hurries up the corner. Henry stands, Fox leaps but Henry gets under. Henry runs in, Fox goes Matrix to avoid the lariat, and he kips up to PELE! Henry staggers, Fox reels him in, ANARCHY SUPLEX! Cover, TWO! Henry scrambles away again but Fox keeps cool. Henry is on the apron, the ref has JD stay back, and Fox goes out after Henry. Henry POSTS Fox! But Fox BOOTS back! Fox goes up, fans fire up and Fox leaps, into a kick! Henry reels Fox in, APRON PILEDRIVER! Fans lose their minds while the ring count starts. JD says, “You got knocked the hell out!”
The ring count is 6 of 20, JD talks more trash, and the count reaches 10! Fox sits up at 13, drags himself up with the apron skirt, stands at 17, but flops back over! Fox springs up and in at 19.99! But into a NECK WRENCH! Henry PENALTY KICKS Fox, too, showing no mercy! Henry taunts Fox, eggs him on, and then reels him into a PILEDRIVER! Cover, TWO!! Fox survives and Henry is frustrated. Henry drags Fox around, fishhooks, but Fox has the ropes! The ref counts, Henry lets off and he soaks up the heat. But Fox throws body shots! Henry still toys with Fox but Fox throws forearms!
Fox cravats, Henry spins it to a backslide, TWO! PENALTY KICK! Suplex, BRAINBUSTER!! Henry wags his finger, he’s not done. Another suplex for another BRAINBUSTER! Henry says no, this still isn’t enough! Henry drags Fox back up, suplexes again, but Fox suplexes for a BRAINBUSTER! Both men are down and fans fire up! The standing count begins, the fans rally up, and both men rise. They go to corners, and Henry runs in, into an elbow! And then a BOOT! Fox then dodges to BOOT Henry! Fox brings Henry around, Henry shoves him away but Fox goes up to MULE KICK, and then STUNNER! Victory roll, TWO!
Henry swings, but Fox mule kicks the legs out! Henry is on the ropes, Fox hits the SLIDING ATTACK, and then hurries up top! SWANTON BOMB! Cover, TWO! Henry is still in this but Fox keeps his cool. Fans rally, Fox brings Henry up, but Henry fights the straitjacket! Henry arm-drags, Fox comes back but into a SNAP GERMAN! Henry hurries to hoist Fox up, SLINGSHOT ANARCHY!! Cover, TWO!??! Fox survives and Henry doesn’t understand! The fans rally behind Fox but Henry drags him up into the dragon sleeper! And inverted suplexes, but Fox slips out! Another BOOT in the corner!
Fox hoists Henry up top, then springboards up, but Henry blocks! SLEEPER!! Henry drags Fox from the corner, but Fox uses the corner to push back and cover! TWO, and Henry holds on! Fox arm-drags free, runs in, but into a BOOT! Henry goes up but Fox ROCKS him back! Fox ICONOCLASMS, and then rolls it through to the CUTTER!! Cover, TWO!?!? Henry survives now and Fox can’t believe it! Fans rally, Fox has Henry in the drop zone and Fox goes to the corner. But Henry distracts the ref and JD goes after Fox! Fox BOOTS JD away, then climbs. Fox 450s but has to bail out as Henry moves!
Henry rushes in but Fox dodges to FLY out onto JD! That’s what he gets! Fox hurries in, but into a DRAPING DDT!! Cover, TWO!?!?! Fox is inhuman with how much damage he’s taken! Fans rally as hard as ever while Henry climbs. Henry shakes his head, and COUP DE- NO, Fox dodges the stomps! Fox runs in but into a BOOT! Henry goes up but Fox pursues. Henry CLUBS and shoves Fox away, but Fox returns. Henry BOOTS, Fox returns again, ARABIAN FLY!! Fox goes right up top, for the 450 SPLASH!! Cover, Fox wins!!
Winner: AR Fox, by pinfall
Nothing was going to stop Fox from taking this one! JD gets up on the apron but he assures the ref he’s not up to anything. Henry stands, JD applauds, and Henry shows respect by shaking Fox’s hand. But then JD attacks after all! Fans boo as the Workhorsemen stomp away on Fox! They dig their heels in, but here comes Shane! Shane helps his boys beat up on Fox! But wait! Here comes FTR!! The AEW World Tag Team Champions don’t like these three bullying anybody, so they brawl with Shane and the Workhorsemen! Fans fire up for FTR, they get the better of the Workhorsemen and then whip Shane to DOUBLE LARIAT!
Chase ROCKS and CHOPS JD, whips him and Dax ROCKS him! Fox is back, FTR pinball JD around then DECK him! Fox SWANTON BOMBS JD! Fans fire up and Henry staggers up, but he sees the Big Rig coming! Henry bails out, “I’m not that stupid!” But then EDDIE KINGSTON is here?! Even FTR is shocked to see The Mad King is back so soon! Eddie scares Henry into the ring, and into the BIG RIG!! Fans cheer for “EDDIE! EDDIE!” Does this mean Eddie is ready to get that world title off Claudio?
8 Man Tag: The Dark Order VS Josh Woods & The Trustbusters w/ Mark Sterling & Ari Daivari!
Families fight, both together and with each other. But Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alex Reynolds & John Silver haven’t given up on each other yet. Will they be Dark Order four-ever? Or will The Technical Beast and the rest of Sterling’s stable destabilize the already dysfunctional family?
The Code of Honor is upheld by Uno and Woods as they start. They circle, tie up, and Woods headlocks. Uno powers out, fans rally for Uno as things speed up. Woods avoid the hurdle, fakes out Uno on the kick, then mocks the #JoinDarkOrder claw. Uno CHOPS Woods and runs, to then CLOBBER Woods! Fans fire up as Uno wrenches Woods, reaches out for Stu, but Reynolds tags in? Reynolds then tags Silver, and they double whip Woods to ropes. They double drop toehold, somersault and double basement dropkick! Fans cheer as The Meat Man stands Woods up. Woods throws hands and knees!
Woods brings Silver over, tags in Jeeves, but Silver back drops Jeeves away! Fans fire up as Silver flexes, but Sterling gets on the apron. Uno drags Sterling off the corner, but then Jeeves sucker punches Silver! Jeeves stomps, Stu protests, but Jeeves drags Silver away. Tag to Slim J and he stomps away on Silver. Slim CHOKES Silver, the ref counts, and Slim lets off at 4. Slim drags Silver up to DECK him! And then Slim drags Silver up to tag in Sonny. The Trustbusters mug Silver, Sony CLUBS Silver down, then bumps Silver off buckles. Tag back to Slim and the Trustbusters mug Silver some more.
Slim tags Jeeves, they mug Silver, then Jeeves throws more hands. The ref counts, Jeeves lets off and brings Silver around. Jeeves CHOKES Silver on the ropes, lets off, but then Sterling gets his shots in! Fans boo and the Dark Order protests, but Jeeves covers. Jeeves shouts but Silver kicks out before a count. Sterling and the others complain but it’s their own fault there. Jeeves stalks Silver to a corner but Silver throws hands. Silver throws forearms, Jeeves gives them back, and fans rally up. Silver gets the edge but Jeeves rakes the eyes! Jeeves runs, wheelbarrows, but Silver makes it a GERMAN SUPLEX!
Both men crawl, hot tag to Slim and Slim BLASTS the Dark Order! Slim and Jeeves drag Silver back, but Silver rolls to throw them both! Silver then dodges to hot tag Stu! Stu rallies on Jeeves and Slim! OVERHEAD suplex for Slim! OVERHEAD suplex for Jeeves! Woods and Sonny run in, Stu dodges them both to DOUBLE PELE! Woods tumbles out of the ring, Stu TOSSES Sonny out to join him! Stu then builds speed to FLY! Direct hit on Woods & Sonny! Fans fire up and Stu hurries back in. Stu gets Jeeves for an URENAGE! Slim runs in, but into a clinch. Slim arm-drags free but Stu dodges the haymaker to fireman’s carry! SWINGING FACEBUSTER!
Stu keeps moving, LIONSAULT! Cover, TWO!! Slim survives and Stu is shocked! Stu drags Slim up, he tags Uno, and fans fire up as the OG POUNCE Slim! Slim lands on his feet to shove Stu into Uno! Stu tumbles out of the ring, Uno ends up in a corner, and Sonny returns to WHEEL KICK Uno! Woods SHINING WIZARDS! Slim is up top for the FLYING BULLDOG! Jeeves hits a FROG SPLASH! Slim covers, Reynolds breaks it! Fans fire up, Reynolds sees Sonny coming to pop-up KNEE! Woods DECKS Reynolds! Silver GERMAN SUPLEXES Woods! Jeeves BOOTS and BACKSTABBERS Silver! But Uno CLOBBERS Jeeves!
Stu is back, Uno reaches out, and hot tags him back in! Stu then tags Reynolds, and they get Slim up. They double whip, Slim KICKS Reynolds but Stu takes the ENZIGURI for him! Reynolds whips Slim into the BEAVER BOY BLITZ!! Uno is back, he and Stu set up fast, for the FATALITY!! Reynolds shoves Stu outta the way to cover, the Dark Order wins!
Winners: The Dark Order, by pinfall
Uno, Reynolds & Silver celebrate, but Stu is literally left on the outside. Is The Dark Order’s treatment of Stu only forcing him towards The Righteous?
ROH Women’s World Championships: Athena VS Skye Blue!
The Fallen Goddess called out #ChicagoSkye all because she doesn’t think the young star should even be in an ROH ring. Athena says Skye’s only here because of her body, but Skye says she’s busted her ass every week. Words only go so far, who will win the argument with their fists?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who rises and who falls in this main event!
The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the fans rally as the two circle. Fans duel, and the two approach. Athena DECKS Skey, then celebrates and laughs. Fans cheer and jeer, but Skye blocks the whip to get around to FACE SMASH, mule kick, but Athena ducks the roundhouse! Athena waistlocks, Skye bucks the O’Conner and drops on the cover, ONE!! Athena runs in, Skye dodges and comes back to RANA, but Athena handsprings through. Athena laughs more, then dodges Skye to headscissor! Skye handsprings through now, and comes back, but into a BOOT! Athena scowls as she looms over Skye.
Skye crawls to ropes but Athena CHOKES her! The ref counts, Athena shouts at him to stop telling her what to do! Athena stomps Skye in a corner, digs her boots in, and then taunts Skye. The ref counts, but then has to pull Athena away. Athena tells him to watch himself, then she goes back to Skye. Athena drags Skye, fans start cheering for the ref, but Athena CLUBS Skye down. Athena glares at the ref, Skye rolls her up! TWO!! Skye goes to a corner, comes back, but Athena DROPKICKS her! Athena KNEES Skye in the corner, then TOSSES her out hard! Skye sputters, the ref checks on her, but Athena brings the steps over!
Athena tips the steps into their side, positions them at an angle, then goes to Skye. Skye throws hands! Athena knees low, whips Skye, but Skye reverses to send Athena into them! Fans fire up with Skye as Athena writhes! Skye slides into the ring to stop the count, then goes out to the apron. Athena ducks the penalty kick, blocks the mule kick, and she YANKS Skye to the floor! Skye sputters again but Athena scowls. Athena says it’s time to teach her a lesson! Athena DECKS Skye, then brings her up to fireman’s carry! Athena goes up the ramp to the stage, and then swings, only for Skye to arm-drag her away!
Fans fire up as Skye stands up, runs in, and she ROCKS Athena again and again! Athena stands, Skye tilt-o-whirl headscissors, but Athena stops from falling off the stage! Athena dodges Skye’s superkick, to SUPERKICK Skye off the stage! Skye flounders around, but Athena drags her back to ringside. Athena drops knees on Skye’s stomach! Athena then hauls Skye up, puts her in the ring, and she stalks her. Athena stomps Skye on the back! Athena ties up Skye’s legs and KNEES her in the side, to then bring her into a BOW ‘N’ ARROW! Skye endures the stretch, even as Athena thrashes her around! Skye pops out, covers, ONE!!
Skye gets around, roll-up, TWO! Athena swings, into another roll-up, TWO! Skye rushes in, cradles, TWO and Athena tips it! TWO, Skye has it, TWO! They roll around and around and around, and it ends with Skye on top! TWO!!! Athena escapes in time! Skye runs in to SHINING WIZARD at the ropes, then keeps moving, SHOTGUN BOOT! Skye shouts and fans fire up with her! Skye runs corner to corner, but Athena puts her on the apron! Skye ROUNDHOUSES, climbs up and CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! Skye is frustrated but she watches Athena go to ropes. Skye storms up, gets the legs, and YANKS Athena up!
Athena lands on her feet to ROLLING ELBOW!! Cover, TWO!?! Athena can’t believe that Skye survives! Fans rally up, Athena goes to a corner and she climbs up. Athena aims as Skye rises, but Skye CLUBS Athena first! Skye positions Athena, throws forearms, and climbs up. Skye fires forearms, Athena fires them back! They brawl up top, Skye gets the edge and fans fire up with her! Skye then jumps to SUPER STEINER!! Athena flounders up and Skye SUPERKICKS!! Skye hurries to bring Athena up, STANDING SLICED BREAD!! Cover, TWO!?!?! Athena survives and Skye is pulling at her hair!
Fans rally and Skye drags Athena up. Skye full nelsons but Athena fights the lift. Athena breaks free, whips Skye away, Skye leaps but into Athena’s arms! Athena pops Skye into the fireman’s carry, for the WASTELAND SLAM! Athena rolls through to pick Skye up again, WASTELAND BACKBREAKER!! Athena SLAPS Skye around, and shouts “You think this is a game?!” Athena smothers Skye, SLAPS her, SLAPS her some more, but Skye SLAPS back! Athena stumbles and Skye throws a forearm! Athena throws it back, the two go back and forth. Fans are torn as the shots keep going harder and harder.
Skye gets the edge, winds up, but she swings into a full nelson! Athena steals SKYE FALL!! Cover, TWO!!!! Athena can’t believe it but Skye survives!! Skye flounders and fans rally up. Athena aims and runs into the corner, but into a BOOT! Skye hurries up the corner, leaps, and FLYING STUNNERS!! A modified take on O-Face! Cover, TWO!!! Skye hurries, to SKYE FALL!!!! Cover, TWO!?!?!? Athena survives and Skye is furious! Fans rally as Athena bails out. Athena grabs at the steel steps and moves them as best she can. The ref reprimands, Athena goes up the apron and Skye is after her! Skye fires off forearms!
Athena pulls hair to drag Skye out! Athena CLUBS away on Skye, but Skye fights up. They brawl with forearms, but Skye catches Athena, APRON COMPLETE SHOT!! Skye puts Athena on the steps now, and then she goes up the corner! Fans freak out, anticipating the plan. But Athena sits up and anchors Skye. Athena CLUBS away on Skye, then gets under her! Skye holds onto ropes for dear life, but Athena still POWERBOMBS her onto the steps!! Athena shoves Skye into the ring, drags her back up, and Canadian Racks for the CLIFFHANGER! Cover, ONE?!?!?!? No one can believe it, least of all Athena!
Skye staggers up, Athena runs in, but into a cradle!! TWO!!!!! Athena escapes in time, rushes in, and gets the arm! CROSSFACE!!!! Skye endures, reaches out, moves around, but Athena gets that leg! Athena rolls Skye away from ropes, into a CAMEL CLUTCH!!! Skye taps, Athena wins!!
Winner: Athena, by submission (still ROH Women’s World Champion)
Skye pushed Athena as far as any woman in ROH has! But in the end, Blue has no gold, but she has Athena’s respect? Athena does offer the handshake, how genuine is it? Skye takes the handshake and the Code of Honor is upheld. Athena raises Skye’s hand in victory, only to CLOBBER her!! And then Athena SMASHES Skye off the belt!! Athena cannot be trusted, but can she be stopped?
My Thoughts:
A great episode of ROH here, but also one that was basically a full two hours, up from their recent runtimes of about 90 minutes. And since there’s no commercials, it really is two hours. And there were quite a few matches that weren’t originally advertised on the official website or official Twitter. For example, the opening match of Mark Briscoe VS Shane Taylor. Great stuff, and I kinda wish we’d gotten this match sooner, but also in the timeline where Mark was ROH World TV Champion already. And I feel like this is meant to tie in with what we saw in the other unadvertised match. Fox VS Henry was great stuff, but it seems it was all so FTR could show up and make the save.
Now, what’s interesting is, we saw Mark & Lucha Bros VS Shane & Workhorsemen before. Is this going to lead to Mark & FTR VS Shane & Workhorsemen this time around? Again, seems rather strange when Mark doesn’t have a title, this feels exactly like a build to Mark VS Shane for the TV title except oops, he doesn’t have the TV title. Samoa Joe has the TV title after winning against Blake Christian in a great match. I suppose Mark can beat Joe, and then Mark can defend it against Shane, but this all feels out of order. Though, that’s not unheard of under Tony Khan, just look at how odd Ricky Starks’ feuds with Chris Jericho and Jay White have been organized.
Another match that caught me by surprise was Claudio & Yuta VS Rhett & Tracy. Really good stuff, and it definitely acts as a tag team tune-up for the Blackpool Combat Club before they face the Lucha Brothers. I almost thought Yuta was gonna mess things up and that’d make Claudio mad and want Bryan as his partner instead. But it makes sense Yuta is Claudio’s partner going into the tag title match, because that is where Yuta can mess up and the Lucha Brothers win to retain their titles. Bryan is bigger than the tag titles, his return to an ROH ring should be for like the Pure title. Imagine Bryan VS Shibata just at all, that’d be amazing.
Good stuff out of the Dark Order and Righteous story. The Righteous get a good win off The Infantry with Stu watching, and then telling him he’s one of them clearly gets in the heads of The Dark Order. The Dark Order still wins in a good match against Sterling’s stable, but there’s a lot of passive aggressiveness from Reynolds towards Stu. I would think now we get The Righteous VS Uno & Stu, Stu betrays The Dark Order because they basically betrayed him, and then we get a Trios of Stu & The Righteous VS The Dark Order. A shame that, for as much as Jon Huber/Brodie Lee meant to AEW, they’ve let The Dark Order fall apart after his death, but at least there would be some strong story to this. Angels just left AEW and Anna Jay just defected to JAS without any real beef.
Good match from Robyn VS Vert, but Charlette being involved is a logical way for Robyn to win while keeping Vert relatively protected. Sadly, neither ROH or AEW has a Women’s Tag Division, i.e. prizes for teams to win, so it makes sense Robyn would start building up her singles momentum. Great match of Mack VS Mack, and Willie Mack winning makes sense. Ninja Mack is pretty busy in a lot of other promotions so Willie is gonna get up the ranks here in ROH. Would love if Willie Mack also got in on the Pure Division, imagine what he could do in a match with Shibata or Bryan.
Great stuff out of Kyle VS Tony, and I like that while Kyle is basically Heel for attacking Cassidy just last night, Tony played Heel because fans were responding positively to Kyle. Great win for Kyle, he and Cassidy are going to have a great match, and who knows if Kyle wins the belt. Good story in the Embassy’s segments. They beat up Brent Tate off camera so that they don’t have to worry about Castle & The Boys in the Six Man Division. And of course they win their match here tonight. I suppose they want us to see Castle & The Boys as the ones to dethrone The Embassy, but I’d rather another trio, like Dark Order or even Stu & Righteous, win those belts.
Great promo from The Kingdom and #TopFlightAction to set up their Fight Without Honor. That is going to be wild stuff, this is definitely the blowoff, and I feel like the winner should go right after the ROH Tag titles. And great stuff out of the women’s title in the main event. Skye didn’t feel like the logical choice for contender, but she did live up to the expectations here. Now, Athena winning was still the expected outcome, and I can’t be sure who dethrones her. At least, here in ROH as it stands. Mostly because they already used Willow Nightingale. As I said last week, if Willow had just been building up without ever approaching Athena, then they could’ve had an awesome match and Willow could’ve had an amazing moment when she dethrones Athena.
My Score: 8.7/10
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Will The Man be the Last Woman Standing?
Becky Lynch and Nia Jax want to finally put this to an end, so tonight on Raw, it will be a Big Time Last Woman Standing match! Will the Irresistible Force force the WrestleMania 40 match to change?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers; DIY wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance; Candice & Indi win.
- Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet; Ricochet wins.
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher; The Awesome Truth wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy; The New Day wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax; Becky wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Jey Uso is here!
North Carolina State University fires up and bounces along with Main Event Jey, and Pat McAfee plays a dangerous game standing on the armchairs! From Bret VS Owen to Matt VS Jeff, we’re about to get Jey VS Jimmy in the third-ever Brother VS Brother WrestleMania grudge match! Jey gets the mic as fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Jey welcomes us to Monday Night Raw, and wants us to check this out. He knows his brothers are somewhere in the building. He knows The Bloodline’s in the building. He knows how the Bloodline rolls! SO Big Brother Jimmy, where you at?! Where you at, Uce!?
Jey waits for someone to show up somewhere, and the crowd spots them first! Fans boo as Jimmy & Solo make their way from the back of the stands. Jimmy gets a mic and goes to the apron while Solo paces around the outside. Fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” again as Jey puts the sunglasses aside. The Usos stare each other down, the fans now chant “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jey wants to say something, hesitates, but then says these two would always get to it but they always knew how to shake right back to this. But now it’s different. Regardless of what happened, the bad blood between them, Jey misses his brother. He does.
Jey knows Jimmy will say what he wants, but Jey doesn’t talk to him no more, doesn’t ride with him no more, doesn’t even see him no more! Jimmy can just come back. Jimmy says he never left! He protected Jey! Jey’s so dumb, he can’t see it! Jimmy is protecting Jey! It was Jey’s idea to leave The Bloodline, but Jimmy helped because he is Jey’s brother. So yeah, Jey leaves, and what happens? Lil’ Bro becomes the BIGGEST star on the Raw roster! Lil’ Bro becomes the top merch seller! Lil’ Bro goes off to become a tag team champion without Jimmy, but with CODY RHODES!? Who left who, Uce?
Jey forgot Jimmy! Everything Jey did that was big was cuz of Big Bro Jimmy! Everything! So listen loud and clear. The biggest moment in Jey’s career, the BIGGEST moment, is because of Jimmy! Jimmy stares Jey down, but Jey says no. Jey’s biggest moment in his career is going to be his dream match at WrestleMania 40: Jey VS Jimmy, and Jey knocks the yeet out Jimmy’s ass! Jey DECKS Jimmy, DECKS Solo off the apron, but then Jimmy SUPERKICKS Jey down! The fans boo but now Solo storms in and looms over Jey. Solo drags Jey up so Jimmy can look him in the face and tell him that Jey needs to get it right! JIMMY made Jey!
But here comes Cody Rhodes! The fans fire up as Cody DECKS Jimmy, then gets in to springboard and CODY CUTTER Solo!! The American Nightmare said he was gonna be a Bloodline Hunter, and he made sure they didn’t take out Jey! Cody tells The Bloodline it is only a matter of time before they lose it all at WrestleMania! Will Jey prove that younger or older doesn’t matter when he is the BETTER brother?
Adam Pearce is on the phone.
He’s telling Nick Aldis to stop being a hypocrite, telling Pearce to keep his roster in check when this is happening. But then Paul Heyman walks over and Pearce says he’ll call Aldis back. Pearce then asks Heyman what was all that, and Heyman says he owes Pearce an apology. He is sorry. That was not authorized by The Final Boss nor The Tribal Chief, and certainly not by Heyman. Jimmy & Solo went into business for themselves so Heyman apologizes. But listen, Pearce knows that there have been flight delays all day. Even private jets like theirs. Heyman is barely even dressed for TV, let alone has his make-up!
Pearce says those two were ready. Yeah, well, they got in on a different flight. But Roman Reigns is a chief of his word. Those two are already gone, out of the arena, and Pearce has Roman’s word. Call his bluff, put out a search party. Pearce knows Heyman is here on official business, which Heyman will handle, and then be gone. That is it. But when Heyman does his official business… everyone will be caught off guard. “And Mr. Pearce, sir, that’s not a prediction. That’s a spoiler.” The Wise Man heads out and calls Roman, but just what is Heyman teasing?
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers!
Unlike SmackDown’s mini-tournament, Raw and Adam Pearce say it’s win and you’re in! Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano want one more shot at Judgment Day, but so do Julius & Brutus! Will the Sicilian Psycho & Johnny Wrestling prove that when it comes to Mania Moments, you gotta do it yourself? Or will the Creeds be bringing golden tickets to the Diamond Mine?
Raw returns as The Creeds make their entrance. The teams fist bump to show respect, then the teams sort out. Julius starts against Ciampa, they circle and tie up. They’re in a deadlock, Ciampa goes for a waistlock but Julius facelocks. Julius wrangles Ciampa to the mat, flips him over, ONE, and Ciampa keeps moving. They trade facelocks, gator roll, and Julius gets another lateral press. ONE, but Julius gator rolls Ciampa around. Ciampa fights up, puts Julius on ropes, and the ref counts. Ciampa lets off, then CHOPS! Julius shoots in for the takedown! Julius has a leg, Ciampa fights but Julius turns him for the ANKLE LOCK!
Ciampa scrambles to the ROPEBREAK, and Julius lets off cleanly. Ciampa bails out, shakes it off, and he gets back in. They go again, Julius hits a fireman’s carry takeover! Tag to Brutus, and Julius feeds Ciampa to another fireman’s carry takeover! Brutus cording holds but Ciampa endures. Ciampa fights up, but Brutus facelocks. The fans rally as Brutus switches and rolls Ciampa. Ciampa fights up, headlocks, then ROCKS Brutus! Brutus DECKS Ciampa, then whips him to ropes. Ciampa ducks ‘n’ dodges, tag to Gargano! Ciampa slides, CHOPS, Gargano LARIATS and Ciampa JAWBREAKERS! Wrench and LARIAT!
Julius runs in, Gargano kicks and Ciampa gives him the boost for SLICED BREAD! The Creeds bail out, but DIY DOUBLE PLANCHA! Down go the Creeds, and DIY applaud and pat themselves on the back. The fans fire up and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Ciampa has Julius in a chinlock. The fans rally, Julius fights up to throw body shots, but Ciampa hits a back suplex! Julius lands out of it, but Ciampa elbows him away. Ciampa drop toeholds Julius, gets legs, but Julius BOOTS Ciampa away! Hot tags to Gargano and Brutus! Brutus rallies on DIY, TOSSES Gargano, then blocks Ciampa’s kick to get under and POWERBOMB him! Brutus sees DIY regroup, then he runs in to SPLASH them both! O’Conner on Ciampa, but Gargano runs up! NORTHERN LIGHTS! Brutus has a DOUBLE BRIDGE, TWO!! Tag to Julius and he gut wrench SLAMS Brutus on Ciampa!
Brutus helps Julius flip up and over to SPLASH onto Ciampa! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up as Julius drags Ciampa up. Ciampa throat chops! A bit dirty but Ciampa wants that win! Ciampa storms up on Julius, but Julius basement stalling suplexes!! The fans are thunderous, Gargano runs in, but Brutus intercepts! Brutus suplexes Gargano now, stalls, and then the Creeds SLAM and kip up! Then they both STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Ciampa stays in this for DIY but the Creeds keep cool. Julius stomps Ciampa, tags Brutus, and they KNEE Ciampa around! Then they DOUBLE GUTBUSTER! Ciampa sputters but Brutus tags Julius in.
Julius drags Ciampa up, tags Brutus back in, and Brutus climbs. Julius Electric Chair Lifts, but Gargano makes the save! Gargano ROCKS Julius, Brutus ROCKS Gargano! Ciampa BOOTS Brutus, Gargano swings on Julius but is sent into Ciampa! Ciampa pushes Gargano back so he can ELBOW Julius! DIY set up again but Brutus stops the Sliced Bread! Julius DECKS Ciampa, KNEE into the WIDOWMAKER! Julius scrapes Gargano out, Brutus POUNCES Ciampa over the desk! Pat fires up with Brutus and so do the fans! The Creeds say they run this now, and then Brutus drags Ciampa up while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Julius has Ciampa in a chinlock. Ciampa fights up, and he JAWBREAKERS free! Ciampa ELBOWS Brutus down, BOOTS Julius, then runs up, only for Julius to catch him and toss him back! But then Ciampa catches Julius for a REVERSE DDT! The fans fire up while both men are down and crawling! Hot tag to Gargano! Gargano slingshots to KICK Julius, then he CLOBBERS Brutus! ENZIGIRI for Julius, then he runs to DOUBLE KNEE Brutus! BULLDOG LARIAT COMBO! The fans fire up with Gargano while Julius ends up in another corner. Gargano runs in but is put on the apron!
Gargano GAMANGIRIS Julius, SUPERKICKS Brutus, then SLINGSHOT SPEARS Julius! Cover, TWO! Julius survives but Gargano puts him in a corner. Gargano CHOPS, then hoists Julius up top. Tag to Ciampa, Ciampa CHOPS Julius while Gargano DIVES onto Brutus! Ciampa CHOPS Julius again, goes up top, and fireman’s carries! Ciampa then tucks Julius in for the SUPER AIR RAID CRASH! Cover, TWO!! Julius survives again and shocks Ciampa! The fans are just as stunned, but Ciampa and Julius sit up. Ciampa stands, and he CHOPS! And CHOPS! Julius sits back up as Ciampa puts some stank on the CHOP!
Julius brings the straps down! Julius fires a forearm, Ciampa hits back, and the fans fire up as the shots keep going! They go faster and faster, harder and harder, meaner and meaner! The fans fire up as this just turns into a brawl of haymakers and SLAPS! Ciampa then gets around, ripcord and HAYMAKER! ROLLING- TACKLE from Julius! And then the ANKLE LOCK!! Ciampa reaches out, moves around, but Gargano runs up! Julius kicks him, then gets him up with one arm to POWERBOMB! Then it’s back to the ANKLE LOCK on Ciampa! Brutus gets in to get Gargano for an ANKLE LOCK of his own!
The fans are thunderous as DIY endures! Ciampa and Gargano fight, turn things over, SICILIAN CROSSFACE and GargaNO Escape!! The fans are thunderous as The Creeds power up and lift both DIY! They fireman’s carry, then TOSS DIY into each other!! The fans are thunderous as Julius goes up to MOONSAULT onto Ciampa! Brutus MOONSAULTS, too! Cover, TWO?!?! Ciampa survives and the fans are loving this! Julius tags back in, Brutus climbs up! “This is Awesome!” as Julius Electric Chair Lifts Ciampa! But Ciampa VICTORY ROLLS to get under the Brutus Ball!! Cover, Brutus tips it! Gargano TOSSES Brutus then SUPERKICKS Julius!! Ciampa has the cover, DIY WINS!!
Winners: DIY, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
Julius can’t believe it! He kicked out at 3.1, but a loss is a loss! And for the first time ever, DIY is going to Mania! Will Philadelphia soon be historic for a DIY championship victory?
Judgment Day meets backstage.
Rhea Ripley is with Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh, but also Andrade. Dom says he’s always liked Andrade’s style, but things have changed since the last time he was in the WWE. The Judgment Day runs Raw now. Rhea says yeah, and they don’t extend invitations to just anyone. Judgment Day is very exclusive. JD says very exclusive. But if Andrade continues to impress them, they’ll see about making things happen. And Finn says he just heard that Andrade has a match next week, so the Judgment Day will be watching him. Sounds good. See you next week. But then in steps Damian Priest.
The Punisher says hello to El Idolo, and El Idolo says hello to Senor Dinero. Andrade heads out, will he quite literally win his way into the club? But as for Priest, Finn asks him what he was up to. Priest was getting a closer look at that DIY VS Creeds match. DIY won, but whatever, they can handle those guys. But JD, they thought he could handle Ricochet last week, and run the gauntlet, and then go to WrestleMania to bring even more gold back to Judgment Day. JD says he did he belonged in there. But also, he battered Ricochet, who got lucky at the end there. Right, Finn? Finn hesitates, and Rhea says Priest is right on this one.
Ricochet made a fool out of JD! A fool? Yes. A fool? Yes. That’s why tonight, Dom will make it right. Right, Dom? Yeah, Mami. Let’s go talk to Pearce to make it official. Dom & JD head out, and the others are confident Dom’s got this. But does he, though? Or will the One and Only have two wins over Judgment Day in as many weeks?
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance!
The Poison Pixie certainly lived up to that name last week when she bullied Maxxine Dupri as part of beating her and Ivy Nile last week. Will Candice’s toxic tongue strike again? Or will the party not be stopped by her harsh vibes?
The teams sort out and Candice starts against Kayden. Candice rushes up, Kayden gets around and O’Conner Rolls, TWO! Kayden springboards to basement dropkick! Cover, TWO! Kayden stalks Candice, Candice ELBOWS her away then tags Indi. Kayden dodges Candice to SUPERKICK, but Indi BOOTS Kayden! Cover, TWO! Indi drags Kayden up, tags Candice back in, and they mug Kayden. Candice CLUBS away on Kayden, fires off furious fists, then covers. TWO, and Candice grows frustrated already. The fans rally, Candice steps up but Kayden avoids the senton! Tags to Katana and Indi! Katana blasts past Indi, comes back and BULLDOGS!
Katana keeps moving, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then SHOTGUNS Indi to a corner! The fans fire up as Katana stomps away on Indi! Indi shoves Katana, Katana runs corner to corner to A-LIST LARIAT! Katana shoves Indi down, runs up, but into a back suplex! Katana lands out, but her leg jams! The ref and Kayden check, then the ref keeps Indi back. Indi says okay, and she stays by Candice. But Candice tags in to WRECK Kayden! And she SLAMS Katana’s leg into the post!! HALF CRAB and DEEP! Katana taps, Candice & Indi win!
Winners: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, by submission
Candice smiles and celebrates with Indi, but Indi doesn’t want to. Candice says a win is a win, but just what is going on in her toxic mind?
Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring.
NC State fires up again as The American Nightmare walks down the ramp, and this time the fans can sing along with the song, “WHOA~ OH~!” Cody gets his pyro then gets the mic. “In less than three weeks time, I will stand opposed for the second year in a row, in the main event, with the lights on brightest, I will challenge for the WWE Undisputed Championship, against the greatest champion in all of sports, The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. And this Friday on SmackDown, Roman and I are going to have a little conversation, if you will. But there are… complications. Factors, elements, combustible elements, namely… The Rock.”
Fans boo but Cody says The Rock took to Instagram on Friday, and followed it up with “extremely entertaining” concert. Too bad The Rock didn’t wanna be here tonight. Something Cody took from the Instagram post: The Rock referred to himself as “Our Favorite Heel.” A bit of an inside term, but we’re not dumb, we know that means he’s the “bad guy.” Cody has known Heels. Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair! Fans “WOO~” and Cody says he doesn’t think The Rock is a Heel. He’s just an assh*le. The fans go nuts hearing that!
Cody doesn’t want Rock getting upset, he doesn’t want the “seven bucks team” to get upset, he doesn’t want anyone getting emotional. Cody knows how Rock feels about emotions, he poked fun at Cody tearing up at discussing “finishing the story” with good friend, Michael Cole. There’s no crying in pro-wrestling, Jimmy Dugan, we get it. But hasn’t The Rock been crying behind the scenes this whole time? Once that hashtag came out, once fans chanted something else, The Rock cried to his buddies on the TKO board and said “Hey, this is gonna be some good PR for The Rock! I need to save WWE!” God knows, look at this house. They sure needed “saving,” huh?
The fans cheer but Cody says Rock wanted great PR. Until it wasn’t. TKO said OMG yes, put on the Gucci shirt, get those muscles looking big. It’s because they are Yes People, they are enablers, they won’t dare tell The Rock like it is, so Cody’s going to. Cody tells The Rock, “You’re a lot of things. You’re a lot of wonderful things. You are the Braham Bull, you are The Great One.” Cody still has shoes with The Rock’s logo on it! The Rock is the only guy Cody honestly feels is a Mount Rushmore wrestler. But he is also a terrible salesman, a carny succubus, and for those who don’t get what that means, The Rock is “a whiny b*tch!”
Fans lose their minds again but Cody says The Rock has been convinced otherwise. But don’t think that for two seconds this locker room needs The Rock more than The Rock needs it! That’s a rule of wrestling, nobody is bigger than the business! And sure, Cody brought up his mom, so it is fair game for The Rock to use that. But Cody knows The Rock’s mom. Here’s what Cody will tell us about The Rock’s mom. She is a wonderful lady, salt of the earth, she helped Cody chop Kevin in a dark match. Cody has nothing but respect for The Rock’s mom, something The Rock should’ve echoed back towards Cody’s mom.
But see, The Rock was talking about whipping Cody, handing a bloody weight belt to Cody’s mom, and normally someone as powerful as The Rock, Mama Rhodes would tremble. But The Rock doesn’t know Cody’s mom. Cody was more scared than she was, because she ain’t scared of nothing. This is the same woman who once jumped out of her chair at a Willie Nelson concert and beat up an undercover cop! She ain’t afraid of The Rock! Cody has been asked, April 6th, biggest tag match of all time, Rock & Roman VS Cody & Seth. Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion, a man The Rock should respect because that man has carried The Rock’s company!
How will Cody get past that match? How will April 7th look? Will it be a fair fight? Cody can tell us honestly… He doesn’t know. Cody does not know if it will be Bloodline Rules or not. Hell, he might not #FinishTheStory. “But Dwayne… What do you know? How can you be so sure of your own self, right?” The Rock hasn’t been in the ring in real action in years! April 6th, the bell is gonna ring, and what happens then? Is The Rock gonna bring The Great One, the hero we all had growing up? Is he bringing that #BigDwayneEnergy? Or is it gonna be LDS, Little D*ck Syndrome?! The fans chant “L D S! L D S!”
Cody says The Rock has referred to himself as The Final Boss. Kudos for that nickname, maybe he really is that. Maybe Cody is too naive to see it. But at WrestleMania, Cody doesn’t think The Rock will be The Final Boss. At WrestleMania, he’s just Roman’s side chick. But then ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman, and he serves as The Wise Man to Your Tribal Chief, the reigning! Defending! Undisputed! WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman… Reigns! And as Special Counsel to the Bloodline, Heyman is here to say to Cody that the ideals that Cody and Heyman share are far greater than the interests on which they conflict.
By example, don’t you hate it when someone comes out to demand an apology? Not that Cody’s done that, but Heyman is still going to do that. Heyman came out here with some “friends” of his, and he apologized. For a Wise Man, that was pretty freakin’ stupid. One: because it didn’t work. Two: because it was just dumb. And for that, Cody, to you and the fans, Heyman humbly apologizes. Cody says whoa, whoa, whoa. He didn’t ask for an apology, and he certainly knows Heyman wants permission to be in the ring. Heyman is a Hall of Famer starting this year, if he wants into the ring, be Cody’s guest.
Heyman thanks Cody for that but he’s fine on the apron. He carries with him a message from The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Talk about Heels… You may think of Heyman anything negative you want, and that might be understanding the obvious. Heyman is not trustworthy, but Roman is a chief of his word. Heyman assures that this Friday on SmackDown, Roman will be face to face with Cody. American Nightmare, Tribal Chief, challenger and champion. And when they are face to face, there will not be a single other member of The Bloodline in sight. Except for Heyman, but he is no physical threat.
Heyman holds the title belt, the beads, whispers things in Roman’s ear, such as his love and respect. But Cody has Roman’s word that if he shows up on SmackDown, Roman will show up alone. Cody says Roman shows up alone, no Bloodline outside of Heyman, it’s a deal. They good? Heyman has some jet lag, he forgot one little point. And don’t boo him, he’s talking to Cody! Cody says yes they’re booing, and he’s about to go full Homelander and rip Heyman’s throat out if he doesn’t get to the point. Fans like the reference. Heyman composes himself and says if Roman Reigns shows up alone this Friday on SmackDown, then Cody must show up to SmackDown alone, too.
Cody steps closer to Heyman and Heyman is a bit nervous. Cody tells Heyman, “Deal!” They shake hands, and Heyman smiles. The Wise Man negotiated a purely one-on-one meeting between his Tribal Chief and American Nightmare, but can we trust Heyman was telling the truth about Roman telling the truth?
Nia Jax speaks.
“You know what I’ve realized? Becky Lynch has never beaten me. And after tonight, she never will. Because after I break her face again, I will be taking her spot at WrestleMania. I will finish business with Rhea Ripley, and not only will I walk out the Last Woman Standing, but I will become Women’s World Champion.” The Irresistible Force is ready for the Big Time, but will she A-Nia-late her?
Cody Rhodes returns backstage.
And Jey says there he go! But real quick, Cody can’t be going to SmackDown alone. Cody says he gave them his word. But The Bloodline isn’t gonna play fair! They’re all gonna be there! If Cody needs Jey, Jeys’ got him. Cody hears that, but he knows what he’s dealing with. They shake hands and Jey heads out. Will Cody be able to have that fair, one-on-one meeting? Or does Jey have a point about The Bloodline?
Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet!
It seems Pearce agreed to the idea that Dirty Dom should try and clean up The Irish Ace’s mess. Will Dom be able to get revenge on Ricochet? Or will Ricochet be the One and Only person holding their head high tonight?
Raw returns and Dom has made his entrance. The bell rings, Dom and Ricochet circle, and they tie up. Ricochet waistlocks, Dom fights the lift and grabs ropes. The ref counts, Ricochet lets off, but Dom ELBOWS him away! Dom fires hands, soaks up the heat, then storms up, but into haymakers! Ricochet CHOPS, kicks then flexes on Dom. Ricochet whips, Dom reverses, but Ricochet goes up and over. Ricochet ducks ‘n’ dodges to then handspring back elbow! The fans fire up while Dom bails out! JD is there to coach Dom up, but Ricochet runs in! JD gets Dom to safety, but Ricochet handsprings to hero land!
The fans fire up, Ricochet then goes to ropes to TORNILLO PLANCHA! Direct hit on Dom and Ricochet tells JD to back off. Ricochet puts Dom in, Dom distracts the ref, but JD grabs Ricochet’s leg! Ricochet kicks JD away, but then Dom WRECKS Ricochet with a dropkick! Dom soaks up the heat and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Dom has Ricochet up top. Dom climbs but Ricochet throws body shots! The fans rally behind Ricochet as he sends Dom staggering. Ricochet hops down as Dom comes running back, and Ricochet GAMANGIRIS him away! Ricochet then springboards, but Dom trips him up! Ricochet flops to the mat, then Dom kicks and FACEBUSTERS! Cover, TWO! Ricochet is still in this and JD argues the count. Dom looms over Ricochet, scuffs him around, then mockingly cheers him on. Fans boo but Dom brings Ricochet up. Dom gives some Latino Heat, then suplexes! Uno Amigo, but fans boo.
Dom gets Ricochet up but Ricochet suplexes Dom instead! And then fireman’s carry, DYNAMITE KICK! Cover, TWO! Dom is still in this and JD coaches him but the fans rally for Ricochet. Ricochet stands, storms up on Dom, but Dom shoots around to roll him up! With tights! TWO, Ricochet blocks a kick and KICKS Dom down! Ricochet hurries up top, the fans fire up, but Ricochet has to bail out of the 450 as Dom moves! Dom runs in again, but into a SUPERKICK! JD gets on the apron, so Ricochet triangle jump DROPKICKS! But then Dom DROPKICKS Ricochet onto ropes! Dom dials it up but Ricochet ducks!
Dom spins around, into the RECOIL!! Cover, Ricochet wins!
Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall
But then JD runs in! Ricochet dodges, goes up and around, BOOTS JD away, then BOOTS him again! Ricochet even flips up and out of the ring at the same time! Ricochet gets the better of Judgment Day again, just how disappointed is Mami going to be in her Latino Heat this time?
Sami Zayn is backstage.
He finds Chad Gable and wants to talk with him. Last week’s match, that was an honor. Sami hasn’t been pushed like that in a long time, it could’ve gone either way. Gable says yeah, it was great. Thanks. Is Gable alright? Yeah, he’s fine. Kinda feels like not… Gable says he’s fine, so leave it at that. C’mon, man, how many years have they known each other? Sami knows when something’s bothering Gable, so he should just say it. Gable says look, last week, the WrestleMania opportunity, the whole thing, it just meant more to him. Sami says he’s been hearing Gable say that for weeks, and it is really unfair.
Does Gable really think he’s the only one this title opportunity matters to? Sami has a family, too! Sami’s kid cries when Papa loses a match, too. Sami has people he’s let down and is trying to make proud. After all the years put into this, Gable can’t tell Sami what matters more because he doesn’t know Sami like that. Gable has Sami calm down, and says he knows all that. But it isn’t all about that. Then what is all this? Gable says Sami can’t beat Gunther. Gable then leaves, and Sami is at a loss for words. Is this bitter side of Gable only going to get worse as we go down this Road to WrestleMania?
Adam Pearce is in the ring.
Raw returns with the GM by a table, and he welcomes us to a contract signing to make official the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship for WrestleMania! The fans cheer, and Pearce introduces first, the challenger, Sami Zayn! The Great Liberator makes his entrance and the fans sing along with his song. Sami still looks troubled by what Gable said just moments ago, but he still high-fives fans and gets in the ring. Then Pearce introduces the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, Der Ring General, GUNTHER! The fans boo as Gunther walks in, having reached Day 647!
Gunther smiles as Sami watches him make his way down the ramp and into the ring. Pearce says we know how this works, but Gunther says before we proceed, let us call this what it is: the most important contract signing for the most important match in the history of this championship. And why, why, why is the challenger dressed no better than any of the bums in the audience? Fans boo but Sami just shrugs that off. Sami gets a mic to say that Gunther keeps sitting there all smug, and it’s really starting to piss Sami off. Gunther thinks this is just another day at the office, that he’ll steamroll through Sami like any other contender.
But with all respect to Gunther, he really has. He has beaten everyone that has come his way, and has done it on his own. Gunther doesn’t believe Sami can do it. A lot of people didn’t believe Sami at many points in his career. They didn’t believe he’d even make it to WWE, let alone win championships and main event a WrestleMania. And if you ask The Usos, they didn’t believe Sami would be one of the guys to end the longest tag title reign in WWE history, but he did! And one year later, he will make history again by ending the longest Intercontinental title reign in WWE history! Sami signs his part and pushes the contract over to Gunther.
The fans cheer Sami on but Gunther waits it out. Gunther tells Sami, what Sami should do is listen to his new friend, Gable. Gable doesn’t believe Sami can win. The people here cheer Sami, they probably even love Sami. But even they don’t believe Sami can win. And y’know, when Gunther looks Sami in the eyes, and if Sami was honest with himself, even Sami doesn’t believe he can win. So what Sami is doing right now is standing on Gunther’s doorstep and begging him to get the beating of a lifetime on the Grandest Stage of Them All! So whatever Sami has to do, from training to believing, just keep doing that. Because at WrestleMania, Sami’s dreams will meet reality.
Gunther grins and signs his part, and it is now official! Gunther then stands, title on his shoulder, and takes his leave. The fans boo, but then Sami tells Gunther to wait. Gunther steps back inside to hear Sami as Sami turns around. Gunther looks in Sami’s eyes and believes Sami doesn’t believe? Sami stands to get in Gunther’s face and dares him to look again. Get a good long look, because these are the eyes of the man who will take you down at Mania! The fans fire up, and now Sami leaves first. Gunther still just grins, but will Sami use a Helluva Kick to wipe that smile off his face?
We follow Sami as he storms backstage, right past DIY and The Awesome Truth. Truth asks what’s up with Sami, but The Miz says that is the mindset of WrestleMania right there. That’s what they need. DIY wishes Awesome Truth luck. Awesome Truth knows DIY is into the ladder match, and they are gonna have their own qualifier. Miz & Truth just need to beat… Indus Sher. Jinder Mahal tells Veer & Sanga to warm up for the match. They head out, and Truth says he feels sorry for whoever has to face those guys. Miz stares at Truth, and he has DIY hold off. Miz will explain. The Awesome Truth heads to gorilla, their match is next!
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher w/ Jinder Mahal!
Miz wants a remix of the theme song but Truth says to just follow his lead. NC State knows what’s up, but will the Awesome Truth finally reach the top of the tag division 13 years after they first teamed? We’ll see, after the break!
Raw returns as Indus Sher makes their entrance, the Modern Day Maharaja by their side. The teams sort out and Truth starts against Sanga. The fans echo “WHAT’S UP?!” but Sanga roars! Truth is scared now so he tags Miz. Truth fires Miz up, Miz runs up and dodges Sanga to fire off haymakers! Miz kicks, whips, but Sanga blocks! Sanga whips and CLOBBERS Miz! Jinder nods as Sanga then scoops Miz and brings him over. Veer tags in, Sanga SLAMS Miz, then Veer ELBOW DROPS! Indus Sher say “NAMASTE!” but the fans say “WHAT’S UP!?” with Truth. Veer HIP DROPS Miz, then looms over him.
Veer eggs Miz on, drags him up with shoulder claws, and then steps over Miz for the neck wrench! Miz endures as Veer still digs a claw into his shoulder. The fans rally for Miz, Miz fights up and throws body shots! Miz reaches out but Veer knees low! Veer SHOVES Miz to the corner, runs in, but Miz BOOTS! Miz ELBOWS Sanga, but Veer catches him! Veer puts Miz back int he corner, but Miz ducks the boot to tag Truth! Truth dodges Veer and starts up the shoulder tackles! Truth gets around Veer to SPIN-OUT BOMB! The fans fire up as Truth shouts out Cena with “You Can’t See Me!” Truth runs to Five Knuckle Shuffle!
Jinder is not happy now as Truth fireman’s carries! But Veer slips free! Truth drop toeholds to the STF!! The fans fire up but Sanga stomps Truth! Miz fires off kicks on Sanga, then body shots! Truth joins in, they mug and whip Sanga, to DOUBLE DROPKICK! Sanga staggers around, Veer runs up, but into a full nelson! Truth and Miz combine for a SKULL CRUSHING LIE DETECTOR!! But Sanga whips Miz away! Miz WRECKS Jinder with it, but Sanga runs up! Sanga knocks Miz down, Miz anchors Sanga, Sanga ELBOWS Truth, Truth falls onto Veer for the cover! Awesome Truth wins!!
Winners: The Awesome Truth, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
The fans fire up, and Truth doesn’t even realize what happened! Miz celebrates with Truth and Truth puts it together! They’re now one of the six in the ladder match! Will this combination of teamwork and luck be just what they need to take those titles from Judgment Day?
Sami confronts Gable now.
Sami tells Gable to tell him why. Why what? Why does Gable think Sami can’t beat Gunther? Well you just saw why! With Gunther, it isn’t just physical, it is mental. Sami made his career out of being the underdog that crawls his way out of any hole he’s in, right? Just like last week! Sami found the window of opportunity to get out of a bad situation any time he can. Gunther’s on a different level! You gonna sit and wait for that window to appear? It doesn’t happen with Gunther! He’s a different beast, a different animal. If Sami doesn’t change his mentality, then he can’t beat Gunther. Gable leaves Sami with a lot to think again. Is there a way Sami can change enough to defeat Der Ring General?
CM Punk speaks.
“Do I plan at being in WrestleMania? WrestleMania is in Philadelphia, what’re the first four letters in Philadelphia? Phil. You can’t have WrestleMania Philadelphia without Phil. Whether I’m invited or uninvited, Punk will be there.” And next week in Chicago, Punk returns to Raw! Will the Second City Saint find a way to be part of the biggest WrestleMania ever?
Drew McIntyre is here!
The Scottish Terminator, or as his new shirt says, “The Savior of WrestleMania,” makes his way to the ring, NC State a bit torn about seeing him. But then Seth Rollins is here, too!? McIntyre is upset but the fans sing along, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” as The Visionary struts his way out. Rollins swaggers right past McIntyre in his green storm pattern suit, and steps into the ring first. McIntyre frowns as he follows Rollins in, and sits in a corner. The fans continue to sing, which Rollins revels in for a moment. Rollins has the mic to then say, “RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA~! Welcome to Monday Night Rollins~!
“And Drew, hah, sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I was too busy, uh, y’know, soaking up the spotlight, right?” McIntyre has a mic to say, “Alright, here we go.” Here goes what, Drew? McIntyre says no, no, get it all out of your system, he knows Rollins has more! McIntyre can stay in the back while Rollins enjoys the spotlight, because after WrestleMania, that spotlight’s all McIntyre’s. Hey, hey, c’mon. Rollins is here with an honest cause. Rollins doesn’t like McIntyre, he thinks he’s stupid, a hypocrite, has said a lot of dumb things lately, but Rollins is here to admit that one thing McIntyre said is absolutely right and he wants to say it to McIntyre’s face, right here in Raleigh, in front of the fine people.
Now, they always say the first step to recovery is the hardest, so bare with Rollins. He has been working on this all week, but… “My name is Seth Freakin’ Rollins, and I’m a spotlight junkie.” The fans chant “Spotlight Junkie!” and also sing, but McIntyre says everything is just a joke to Rollins, isn’t it? Look at Rollins! He’s a parody of himself at this point. But honestly, McIntyre doesn’t care. He tried reasoning, he gave the answers, and now he only cares about their match and the world title. And you wanna know the real punchline, funny man? “What?” McIntyre says they say that because they’re happy McIntyre sidelined Punk, thanks for remembering!
But the punchline is when McIntyre beats Rollins for that title. The fans chant for “C M PUNK!” but McIntyre says don’t be ridiculous. Punk’s waiting until next week to return because he’d never show up in a place like Raleigh. The fans boo but McIntyre says see, they’re booing Punk! Punk is only getting off his couch to be at his local arena. Rollins tells McIntyre to shut up already. Oh, seems McIntyre got Rollins’ attention. Rollins takes off the sunglasses to say yeah, McIntyre has his attention. Because this isn’t a joke! When Rollins says he is a junkie, it isn’t a joke! He’s been doing this for 20 YEARS! Just like McIntyre!
And every time Rollins comes out of the curtain, that’s his fix. And it gets better and better every single time. Rollins comes out here, lays it all on the line, and it just gets better and better! When he hears the fans sing the song so loud, Rollins can barely speak, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” That’s Rollins’ fix! That is the spotlight he craves, and y’know what? Rollins wants the spotlight as bright as it can possibly be. So yeah, McIntyre’s been busy online entertaining people with memes, so he hasn’t been listening to Rollins. So Rollins will get this through McIntyre’s thick skull: Night One, Rollins takes the biggest star in Hollywood and his side chick, and makes them his b*tches!
Then on Night Two, the biggest spotlight possible will be shined down on McIntyre and Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship! McIntyre says all hail the savior, Seth Rollins! This is what McIntyre wanted! The passion and desire, not the stupid laughing and dancing. Rollins had McIntyre all the way to the finish. Rollins has done this 20 years, just like McIntyre. They’ve given their lives to this industry, and that is what the title is about! The wrestlers’ title, the workhorse championship! Rollins had McIntyre with him until he mentioned the bigger spotlight and how Rollins pins one of the biggest stars in the world.
Why can’t it just be about Rollins’ hard work to make that title, and all of McIntyre’s hard work to get this chance? Why can’t that be the reason they’re getting the biggest spotlight!? Rollins has had his priorities all backwards, McIntyre has been giving him all the answers. McIntyre said he is over the BS, and all he cares about is Rollins making it to the ring on Night Two. And if Rollins can’t walk, then McIntyre will wheel him down. If not, McIntyre will carry Rollins down. At Mania, McIntyre doesn’t get the moment he deserves. He gets the moment he has bloody EARNED. The fans do cheer that!
Rollins smirks and says, “Ah, Drew. There it is. That’s right, you wanna call me a spotlight junkie, but you want the spotlight just as bad as I do, don’t you? You’re an addict, just like I am. And you’ve been begging for spotlight for the past four years, because you won the WrestleMania main event. You did, back in 2020, in an empty warehouse. And all we’ve been hearing from Drew McIntyre for the past four years was how that wasn’t good enough. You’ve been whining and complaining and bitching and moaning that you deserve better, that you deserve more. The problem is, Drew, when everybody came back around, and the lights got bright again, what happened? You fumbled the ball.
“And that’s the difference between you and me. When the lights are the brightest, I shine, baby. I shine bright. And at WrestleMania 40, the lights are gonna be as bright as they have ever been. And you are gonna find out you are not as good as you think you are.” Rollins drops the mic, but this time McIntyre smirks. The verbal battle continues, but who will put their money where their mouth is once this one finally happens?
Becky Lynch speaks.
“I’m a wanted woman, and I don’t even have the title. Yet. But we’re less than three weeks away from WrestleMania, so why would I risk it all? Because I don’t know anything else. All I know is taking risks. All I know is fighting. And all I know is tonight, I’m gonna be the Last Woman Standing.” Becky is fired up to finally do what she hasn’t done in the most extreme way possible. Will she be the immovable object to Nia’s irresistible force?
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy!
Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods have been W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, CHAMPIONS~, but they’ve never been a part of a title match as big as this Six Pack Ladder challenge! Will they look to be part of history once again? Or will Akira Tozawa & Otis say “A THANK YEW~!” for this golden opportunity?
Raw returns as the Academy makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Woods starts against the tree trunk, Otis. The fans rally for “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Otis and Woods tie up, but Woods kicks low then headlocks. Otis powers up and out then runs Woods over! Otis storms up on Woods, GUT RAMS him back down, then brings him back up. Otis GUT RAMS Woods again, then runs to CLOBBER Woods! Otis swivels his hips, the fans echo “Oh~ yeah!” Otis tags Tozawa and the Academy mugs Woods. Tozawa brings Woods around but Woods CHOPS! Woods tags Kofi, he and Kofi double whip Tozawa but Tozawa holds ropes!
Tozawa fires hands, dodges Woods then BOOTS Woods down! Kofi kicks low, whips Tozawa to a corner, but Tozawa BOOTS Kofi away! Tozawa goes up to FLYING RANA! The fans fire up as Tozawa sees New Day regroup outside. Tozawa runs to DIVE! Direct hit on both New Day, and Otis joins in for “A THANK YEW~!” The Academy stands tall as Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Tozawa fights a chinlock. Tozawa reaches for Otis but Woods back suplexes. Tozawa lands out to then DROPKICK Woods down! The fans rally as Woods and Tozawa crawl, hot tags to Otis and Kofi! Otis CLOBBERS Kofi, CLOBBERS him again, then whips him to ropes. WRECKER ELBOW! Woods runs in, Otis dodges, to LARIAT! Otis sees Kofi leap off the corner, and catches him for a WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM! Otis rips the shirt off, winds up the hips, and then starts up the CATERPILLAR! ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Kofi survives but Otis hurries to step on him! Tag to Tozawa, and Otis goes up!
Otis VADER BOMBS but FLOPS as Kofi moves! Tozawa hurries up top while Kofi SUPERKICKS Otis! Kofi turns around into the CROSSBODY from Tozawa! Cover, TWO! Tozawa SUPERKICKS Kofi but Woods tags in! Woods GAMANGIRIS Tozawa, then steps in to TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Tozawa toughs it out but Woods grits his teeth as he goes to the corner. Woods climbs, but Tozawa rises! Tozawa throws body shots, Woods CLUBS Tozawa! Tozawa throws more hands and climbs up! The fans rally as they brawl up top! Tozawa brings Woods up but Woods fights the lift! Woods throws body shots in return!
Woods shifts position to get under Tozawa for a fireman’s carry! But then Tozawa pops up to SUPER STEINER!! Tozawa rips off his shirt, climbs back up top, SUPER SENTON!! Cover, Kofi breaks it! The fans fire up but Otis drags Kofi out! Otis whips Kofi at steps, Kofi goes up and jumps off the steps to TORNADO DDT to the floor! Kofi hurries back up to the apron but Tozawa SCREW HIGH KICKS him down! Tozawa dodges Woods, pop-up, but Woods blocks the rana to then SPINNING POWERBOMB! Woods sees the WrestleMania sign, hurries up the corner, and he tightrope walks! LIMIT BREAK ELBOW!! Cover, New Day wins!
Winners: The New Day, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
The New Day are the ones saying A THANK YEW~ as they put their names down for the Six Pack Ladder Match! Will they once again climb to the top of the WWE Tag Team Division and bring home those championships?
Liv Morgan confronts Becky Lynch.
Becky asks if she’ll have to watch out for Liv as well. Well, you should always #WatchMe, but no, not tonight. Nia is all Becky’s. Liv just wants Becky to kick Nia’s ass. Liv leaves, will Becky kick ass and then some?
Cody walks with his dog, Pharaoh, backstage.
Rollins finds him and brings up Friday. One on one? One on one. Rollins nods and says he loves Pharaoh’s bandanna. The Visionary trusts the American Nightmare can handle himself, but will we be able to trust The Tribal Chief?
Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax!
From the origins of “The Man” in WWE to the aftermath of Elimination Chamber: Perth, these two have battled, but never as brutally as this! They’re able to go anywhere and do anything, but who will be the Last Woman Standing this close to WrestleMania 40?
The bell rings and the two rush in! Becky DROPKICKS Nia and Nia goes to a corner. Becky runs in but Nia puts Becky on the apron. Becky ROCKS Nia, goes up a corner, then leaps to MISSILE DROPKCIK! Nia stumbles and tumbles out of the ring, so Becky WRECKS her with another dropkick! Becky then goes to the apron for a FLYING FOREARM! Nia stays up, Becky tries again, but Nia dodges! Fireman’s carry and Nia POSTS Becky, to then SAMOAN DROP her into barriers! The ref counts as Becky is down, but she stands at 4 of 10. Nia CLOBBERS Becky and wants the count! The count climbs but Nia is impatient.
Nia clears off the desk, Becky stands at 5 of 10, and she leans against barriers. Becky comes back with body shots and haymakers, but Nia ROCKS her with a forearm! Becky staggers away as Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Becky is bringing out a table! The fans fire up as Becky sets that up ringside. There’s been a lot of chaos during the break according to commentary, from chairs to kendo sticks to even a copy of Becky’s book, The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl! But Nia storms over to stop Becky and SMACK her off the desk! Nia puts Becky in the ring, takes that table for her own and sets it up. The table doesn’t cooperate and fans boo, but Nia goes for chairs instead. She slides those in the ring, Becky manages to stand at 7 of 10, and she grabs at those chairs. Nia ditches the table, it just doesn’t wanna work.
Nia storms in but Becky JAMS her with a chair, SMACKS her with it, then clinches! Nia fights the slam, fireman’s carries Becky, and FULL METAL SAMOAN DROPS!! Becky writhes from hitting chairs but Nia looms over her. Nia soaks up the heat as she counts along. Becky flounders to ropes and drags herself up at 7! Nia sits a chair up, fans want a table, but Nia scoops Becky. Becky slips around to a SLEEPER! Nia RAMS Becky into buckles again and again until Becky lets go. But then Becky BULLDOGS Nia off the chair! Nia is down for the count now, and Becky leans against ropes to stay up herself.
Nia stirs at 5, stands at 8, but Becky is up top! Becky leaps, into a CHAIR SHOT! Nia SMACKS Becky again and again and again! The fans boo but Nia finally stops. Nia puts that chair aside and goes out to get some kendo sticks! Nia puts those in, but Becky grabs one! Nia snatches it from her to SMACK! And SMACK! And SMACK! Becky sputters and staggers, Nia clinches and scoops! Nia SLAMS Becky onto chairs! Then Nia runs to drop the leg, brother! Nia wants the count and the count begins! Becky sputters as we reach 5 of 10. Becky grabs that kendo stick but Nia SMACKS Becky with a chair! And again!
Nia kicks Becky around, then uses the chair to take a seat on Becky’s body!! The fans boo as the count begins, but Becky SMACKS Nia with the kendo stick! And again and again and again, even in the butt! Nia stands up, into more shots! Becky stands and she fires away until Nia scurries out of the ring! Becky pursues but Nia CLOBBERS her! Nia pulls the steel steps apart now, and takes that top half to RAM Becky down! Becky flounders, Nia hauls her up and puts her in the ring. Becky’s on the apron and Nia takes aim! Nia runs up, APRN LEG DROP only gets apron! Becky avoids disaster, then has Nia by the steps! DDT onto the steel!
Nia is down again and the count begins. Nia stirs at 5 of 10, sits up at 6, but Becky SMACKS her off steps! Nia falls over again and the count resets. Becky hurries to go looking for things while Nia rises again. Becky has a new table! The fans fire up as Becky gets that in the ring. Nia stands at 7, staggers after Becky, and Raw goes back to break.
Raw returns once again and Nia mugs Becky against barriers! Nia puts Becky on a table, and surprise! There’s a ladder set up now! Nia climbs the ladder?! She also demands Pat support the ladder. But Becky gets off the table so now Nia has no reason to be up there. Nia storms after Becky, but gets a FIRE EXTINGUISHER BLAST!! The fans fire up as Becky cools Nia off, then JAMS her with the canister! Becky puts Nia in the ring, and there’s a table waiting in a corner! Becky lines up the shot, and runs in, but Nia SAMOAN DROPS Becky through the table!!! Both women are down in the wreckage and the count begins!
Nia flounders away from the wreckage but she still needs to stand. Nia is up at 5, and she isn’t satisfied with this! She drags Becky all the way to another corner and puts her in the drop zone! Nia climbs up, for the A-NIA-LATOR!! Nia shouts for the count, the count begins, and Nia storms around as she points to the Mania sign. Becky is still down at 5 of 10, only starts stirring at 7, and she slumps out of the ring to stand up! Nia is furious, goes out after Becky, and kicks things aside to keep after her. Nia asks if Becky’s vision is blurry. Nia fireman’s carries Becky up the steel steps and along the apron, aiming for that other table!
The fans freak out but Becky fights with elbows! Becky CLUBS away on Nia and the fans are thunderous! Becky then clinches, for a MANHANDLE SLAM through the table!!! Both women are down int he wreckage again, and the count begins! Becky sits up at 4 while fans are still losing their minds! We pass 5 of 10, then 7! Nia sits up at 8 and stands at 9! But then she slumps back over! The count starts again, Nia flounders around and stands at 5. Becky goes up the ladder! Becky sees Nia approaching the desk, and then SUPER MAN’S LEG DROP through the desk!!! The fans lose their minds again while both men are down in more wreckage!
The count is 5 of 10! Becky flounders and crawls, drags herself up at 9, but Nia is still down! BECKY WINS!!
Winner: Becky Lynch
The Man conquers truly one of the most intense challenges in her career! But then here comes one of the most intense champions! The fans fire up as Rhea Ripley makes her way out, Women’s World Championship in hand. She goes right to the ring and looks at Becky. Rhea “congratulates” Becky for winning, but then Becky gets in Rhea’s face! The fans fire up, and now there are no obstacles in the way of Mami VS The Man! Who will be the champion after WrestleMania 40?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw right here, though the in-ring action kinda dipped down until that awesome Last Woman Standing main event. This is one of the times I wish they’d done picture in picture so we as the TV audience could see even more action. Great win for Becky, of course, but I also like that Becky had a moment with Liv just before, and of course she had a moment with Rhea to close out the night. Great promos with Sami and Gable that also blended into the contract signing from tonight. And I suppose Gable has a point that Sami, the comeback kid, can’t do that when Gunther has an arsenal of moves that would be “finishers” given all the different ways Gunther has won over the years.
And speaking of that contract signing segment, I really liked the segue they did in following Sami so that he’d cross paths with Awesome Truth at gorilla and we’d get their segment going into their match. WWE has been doing some really creative stuff in this newest era where Vince is truly out and apparently even Kevin Dunn has moved on. Awesome Truth had a really fun but also really quick tag match with Indus Sher, and then New Day VS Alpha Academy was solid stuff, but DIY VS Creeds was such an awesome match. For a moment, I thought Creeds were gonna take this one but DIY still found a way, and I like that DIY is in. Honestly, I’m liking that the HHH favorites are getting in, because we also have New Catch Republic on the other side that can still win into the match.
Judgment Day had good stuff tonight, too. Good group promo with Andrade to tease El Idolo possibly joining, but who knows if he does. Depends on how things go for Priest. He was watching the qualifiers, he’s not worried, but maybe he should be. Granted, he still has the MITB briefcase, he could go from losing the tag titles to taking the world title, who knows how the Judgment Day’s story is going to go as we move past Mania. Dom VS Ricochet was a really good match, and Ricochet winning was the right move to keep this feud going. I think there’s going to be Ricochet VS McDonagh next week as a rematch from the gauntlet, that’ll be great stuff, too.
Candice’s Heel turn slow burn continues as she takes advantage of the “hurt” leg. Indi also does a good job of being very conflicted about this. There’s a WWE YouTube exclusive where Ivy Nile confronts Candice so that’ll be a match, and then maybe when Candice again goes too far, Indi steps in and we get a match of Candice VS Indi at some point. Good little update promo from CM Punk, he’ll have a great homecoming moment in Chicago, but also probably McIntyre coming after him. McIntyre had a great promo segment with Rollins, and with all these continued moments where the other person gets the mic drop moment, it feels like McIntyre has to win the title.
And of course, great stuff with the Bloodline story even on Raw. Jey and Jimmy have great promos in their confrontation, and of course it turns into a brawl. Good segue from that to Heyman being here, and Heyman confronting Cody during Cody’s great promo segment. Cody really went off on The Rock, that was some wild stuff. But the supposed promise of “one on one and no one else aside from Heyman” might be kept, and we get a strong promo segment on SmackDown in a foreshadowing of the fair-and-square 1v1 match. Or it is a trap and that’s more a foreshadowing of Bloodline Rules where they can do whatever they want. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
My Score: 8.9/10
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We’re just one step away from the Cup!
Cold Skull faces The Fierce Warrior, and Gene Blast faces The King of Darkness, and when the smoke clears, we will have our New Japan Cup finalists!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Mikey Nicholls; ZSJ & Mikey win.
- Six Man Tag: El Desperado, Tomohiro Ishii & Togi Makabe VS Just5Guys; Just5Guys win.
- Tanga Loa & Ryusuke Taguchi VS Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman; Loa & Taguchi win.
- Six Man Tag: YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Hiroyoshi Tenzan VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
- 8 Man Tag: Shota Umino, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & YOH VS The House of Torture; Shota, ELP, Leo & Yoh win.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS The United Empire; LIJ wins.
- 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL; Tsuji wins and advances to the finals.
- 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto; Goto wins and advances to the finals.
PLAY BY PLAY
2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL w/ Dick Togo!
The Gene Blast overcame the tricks Ren Narita tried, but that’s because the House of Torture was saving all the good stuff so they could slay the Rampaging Dragon. Will the deck be even more stacked to make sure Everything is Evil’s? Or will Yota be one step away from LIJ VS LIJ at Sakura Genesis?
Well, Dick is making his way out here, but where is Evil? Oh, there he is. No tricks just yet it seems. But then Yota DIVES onto Evil! The fans fire up but Dick attacks Yota! Dick whips, Yota stops himself, and then scoops Dick for a BACKBREAKER! The fans fire up and Yota wants the bell. The ref says yes, ring the bell, and this is on the record! Yota stomps and CLUBS Evil, then whips, but Evil reverses! Yota hits railing, and then Evil whips him into more railing! Evil CHOKES Yota against the railing, Yota fights back, but the ref gets knocked aside! Evil puts Yota in so he and Dick can stomp away!
The fans boo but here comes the rest of the House already! Narita, Yujiro, Kanemaru and Jack all stomp away on Yota, but here come Bushi & Hiromu! It’s a replay of yesterday as LIJ fights off the House, but the numbers are still against them! The ref rushes in to tell everyone to stop! Evil shoves the ref out of the ring, Yota fires off on him, but Evil CLAWS Yota’s eyes! The House CHOKES LIJ, but the ref says stop! The bell rings, but what is the decision!? NO CONTEST!?
No Contest
What does this mean!? Someone has to advance, right? The finals aren’t until the 20th, how can there be a no contest? The House started this, where’re the consequences?! Yota gets up but Evil TOSSES him back out! LIJ regroups and Yota asks for a mic. Yota tells Evil that he’s sick and tired of this! They ARE gonna finish this match! The fans like the sound of that! All the refs come out, including Red Shoes, to discuss how this will be handled. For starters, they tell all the extras to get outta here! LIJ is cool with that, and Hiromu tells the House to come along. Evil says fine, and Jack, Kanemaru, Narita, Yujiro and even Dick reluctantly exit.
The announcement is officially made, and the bell rings! Yota and Evil rush in, Evil kicks low but Yota CLUBS away on Evil! Evil CLAWS the eyes! Evil kicks, runs, RAMS, but Yota rebounds to run Evil over! Then run and SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Yota fires up and the fans are with him! Evil bails out but the fans rally for Yota. Evil wants Yota to stay back, then he slides in, only to slide right out! Yota runs out after Evil, but Evil kicks him! Evil RAMS Yota into the timekeeper! Abe-san and his table go flying! Evil gets the mic to tell Yota that this is what he gets! The fans boo but Evil tells them off, too! Evil stomps Yota then soaks up the heat.
Evil unties the blue buckle pad himself, then waits in the ring. The ref checks Yota and the fans rally up again. The Young Lions help Abe-san while Yota drags himself up. Yota slides in, the fans cheer, but Evil pulls on Yota’s hair! Evil wrenches the hair, then wrenches it again! And again! Evil CLUBS the hair! The ref reprimands but Evil just dusts off his hands. Evil covers, but the ref refuses to count! Evil is furious but he’s the one up to no good! The ref still says no, so Evil stands on Yota’s head. The fans rally up, Yota rises, and he grins as he winds up to ROCK Evil with a forearm! And ROCK him with another!
Yota ROCKS Evil again, but Evil whips him into the bare buckles! Yota falls and the ref reprimands about the missing buckle pad. Evil stomps Yota, covers, TWO! The fans cheer but Evil is annoyed. Evil scuffs Yota, taunts him, and drags him up. Evil CHOPS, Yota drops to his knees, but Evil stands him back up. Evil CHOPS again and Yota grits his teeth as he drops to his knees! Evil stands Yota up again, to fake the chop to CLAW the eyes! The ref reprimands, Evil lets off, and then Evil stands on Yota in a corner. The ref counts, Evil lets go of the ropes but that’s not the problem! Evil steps away, drags Yota up but claims he’s dead weight.
The ref checks, Evil stands Yota up and wrenches an arm. Evil whips Yota into a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Evil runs in again, blocks the boot, but Yota brings Evil in for the STOMP! The fans fire up while Yota rests on the mat. The fans rally up and Yota rises again. Evil’s in the corner, runs out, but into the BACKBREAKER! COMPLETE SHOT! STOMP! The fans fire up again as Yota stands back up. Yota runs, to CURB STOMP!! Yota roars and the fans fire up again! Evil flounders while Yota aims. Yota runs in, but the ref is used as a shield! Evil kicks Yota low, then uses the ref in MAGIC KILLER!
All three men are down while the fans rally up again. Evil stands, he brings Yota up, and the ref also rises. Evil whips Yota into the bare buckles, then clotheslines him in! Then FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, but Evil lets off?! Evil wants to torture Yota but it’s hard to say if Yota is still even in this. Yota opens his eyes, rises up, but Evil fireman’s carries! DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives, the fans fire up, but Evil is furious! Evil slashes his throat and vows to end this now! Evil drags Yota up, spins him around, but Yota fights the STO with elbows! Evil kicks low, whips again, but Yota stops from hitting buckles!
Evil runs in, Yota dodges and Evil hits the buckles! SUPERKICK!! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! We’re only ten minutes into this new match but this is on top of the madness from earlier. Evil drags Yota up, but Yota ROCKS Evil! Evil fights Yota’s fireman’s carry and CLUBS him, but both men wobble. Evil LARIATS, but Yota stays up! The fans fire up but Evil swings to LARIAT again! Yota drops to a knee, but he grins through the pain! Evil says alright, and he throws off his elbow pad. Evil runs to LARIAT! Yota grits his teeth to stay up! V-TRIGGER! Yota brings Evil in, suplexes, ORANGE CRUSH! Cover, TWO!!
Evil is still in this but the fans rally behind Yota again. Yota rises, drags Evil up, and then goes to the corner. Yota goes up and up and Evil moves the ref into the way! The ref takes the FLYING CURB STOMP!!! And now the House returns! The fans boo as Kanemaru, Dick, Yujiro, Narita & Jack all stomp away on Yota again! The fans tell them to go home, again, but these guys don’t care! They just put one out on Yota. They whip Yota to a corner, then DIck runs in to ELBOW! Kanemaru ELBOWS! Yujiro BOOTS! Jack SPLASHES! Narita ELBOWS! Then they snapmare and set Yota up! Dick climbs for the DICK CHOP!!
The fans boo but the House applauds their own dirtiness. But here come Bushi & Hiromu again! But they just get mugged again! They set Hiromu up for the DICK CHOP, while Bushi gets a JACK CHOP! The House then slithers away before a replacement ref rushes out here. Evil drags Yota up, winds up and runs, to LARIAT!! Cover, TWO!!! Yota survives and the fans are thunderous! Evil is at a loss for words, but he slashes his throat! He vows to end it for real, and he reels Yota in. EVERYTHING IS- Yota flips through!? And HEADBUTTS!! The fans fire up as Yota reels Evil in for a fireman’s carry! 70 CROSS!! Cover, TWO!!
Evil survives the swinging spinebuster and the House cheers! Yota drags himself to a corner, drags himself up with the ropes, and roars as he takes aim! Evil rises, but Yujiro distracts! Dick runs in, but gets a V-TRIGGER! The ref sees Dick, but misses the LOW BLOW! Then Evil RAMS Yota into the ref! That’s the second ref this match! Narita gets his push-up bar! The others set Yota up, but here comes SHINGO TAKAGI! The Rampaging Dragon has seen enough, and he’s still pissed from yesterday as it is! He dodges Narita to PUMPING BOMBER! Kanemaru & Yujiro kick Takagi, double whip, but he DOUBLE PUMPING BOMBERS!!
Jack gets in, but he gets ELBOW, JAB and YUKON LARIAT! Evil runs up but Takagi SWATS Evil’s lariat to JAB! Then feed to Hiromu’s SUPERKICK! Hiromu & Takagi set Evil up for Bushi’s BLACK MIST!! Evil can’t see, the PUMPING BOMBER turns him inside-out!! The fans are thunderous as LIJ helps Yota up! Red Shoes hurries out here, and Yota aims at Evil! GENE BLASTER!!! Cover, Yota wins!!!
Winner: Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (advances to the finals)
The House of Torture ran out of tricks, and now there is light at the end of the tournament! Will Yota do LIJ proud and bring home the Cup?
2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto!
One down, one to go. Yota Tsuji has made it through, now we see who joins him in the finals! Will the Cold Skull or Fierce Warrior be the one that steps closer to former glory?
The bell rings and the fans duel between “GO-TO-O!” and “SA-NA-DA!” Red Shoes measures the levels, and it seems to slightly favor Goto. Goto and Sanada circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. Goto gets some leverage to put Sanada against ropes, but he lets off slowly. Goto pats Sanada on the shoulders and the fans cheer. The two reset, circle again, and tie up again. It’s another deadlock, but again Goto finds a way to put Sanada on ropes. Sanada turns things around, lets off slowly, and also pats Goto on the shoulders. The fans applaud and the two reset again. They feel things out, knuckle lock, then move to a clinch.
They fight for control, Sanada starts pushing Goto towards a corner but Goto slips away. They feel things out, knuckle lock again, then break. They tie up collar ‘n’ elbow, Goto waistlocks, but Sanada wrenches to wristlock. Goto rolls, wrenches, wristlocks, but Sanada spins, wrenches, only for Goto to roll! Goto gets a leg to trip Sanada up, and he has a toehold. Sanada fights back with a chinlock but Goto pulls on the leg. Sanada uses his free leg to hook Goto into an ARMBAR, but Goto clasps hands! Goto moves around, pops free, then headlocks. Sanada fights up, Goto grinds the headlock, but Sanada throws body shots.
Sanada powers up and out, but Goto runs him over! The fans rally as things speed up, and Goto counters hip toss with hip toss! Goto runs and he clotheslines Sanada up and out! The fans fire up and Goto slides out after Sanada. Goto stomps Sanada, drags him up, then CLUBS him on the neck! Sanada staggers, Goto CHOPS him, then kicks him, then CLUBS him! Goto whips but Sanada stops himself from hitting railing! Goto runs in but Sanada drop toeholds him into the railing! Goto goes down in a heap, but Sanada opens the gate. Sanada brings Goto through, then to the crowd! PILEDRIVER to the bare floor!
The fans are stunned but Red Shoes reprimands. Sanada leaves Goto behind and slides into the ring. The fans rally for Goto as the ring count begins. Goto crawls at 5 of 20, finds his way to ringside at 10, but still hobbles and crawls. He stands at 17 to slide in! The fans cheer, but Sanada stomps Goto. Sanada drags Goto up, CLUBS him on the neck, then brings him back up to CLUB him again. Goto CHOPS! And CHOPS! Sanada eggs Goto on so Goto CHOPS again! Goto whips, Sanada reverses to RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Cover, TWO! Sanada keeps cool and sits Goto up into a chinlock. Goto endures and the fans rally again.
Goto kicks forward, reaches out, but Sanada cranks on the hold! Goto keeps fighting, and has the ROPEBREAK! Sanada lets go cleanly, but then he stomps Goto while he’s down. Sanada then stands Goto up to CLUB him on the neck. Goto CHOPS in return! And CHOPS, and CHOPS, and has Sanada in a corner! Goto CHOPS again, then whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, but Sanada BOOTS first! Sanada runs, Goto follows, and Goto LARIATS Sanada down! The fans fire up and Goto rises, clutching his neck. Goto stands Sanada up to fire off forearms, then he whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, MURAMASA!
Sanada wobbles, into the SAIDO! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up while Goto grits his teeth. Goto drags Sanada up, fireman’s carries, but Sanada fights free! Sanada waistlocks, Goto throws elbows, then runs. Sanada hurdles, hurdles, and DROPKICKS! Goto tumbles out of the ring, Sanada PLANCHAS him down! The fans fire up and Sanada encourages them to get louder. The fans get louder and Sanada appreciates it. Sanada then goes back for Goto, brings him up and puts him in the ring. Sanada fireman’s carries but Goto throws elbows! Sanada turns around into Goto’s fireman’s carry, but then slips out into the dragon sleeper!
But Goto arm-drags free! Sanada kicks low, runs, but Goto follows! Sanada dodges this time, runs again, but Goto still follows! Sanada sidesteps this time, but Goto holds ropes to avoid the hurdle! Goto runs in, but Sanada fireman’s carries! T K O! Cover, TWO! Goto is still in this and the fans rally up! Sanada goes up the corner, ROUNDING BODY- NO, Sanada has to land out as Goto moves! Sanada runs in, but into the fireman’s carry! USHIGOROSHI! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! They cheer on “GO-TO-O!” but the “SA-NA-DA!” chants are still there. Red Shoes checks them both, and both men slowly rise.
The two crawl towards each other, and Goto fires a forearm! Sanada shakes his head, eggs Goto on, so Goto throws another! Goto eggs Sanada on, so Sanada fires a forearm! Goto fires a forearm back, and the two stand. Sanada UPPERCUTS! Goto comes back to forearm! Sanada UPPERCUTS again, and Goto drops back to a knee! The fans rally, Goto stands again, and he forearms! UPPERCUT, forearm, repeat! Goto growls, fires a flurry of forearms, and he ROCKS Sanada! Sanada drops to his hand and knees but Goto powers up! Goto KICKS but Sanada blocks! Goto fires more forearms, then waistlocks, but Sandaa fights free!
Sanada runs, but Goto fireman’s carries! And he throws Sanada into the dragon sleeper! But Sanada turns around and suplexes, for MAGIC SCREW! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! Sanada roars as he rises up, and he aims from a corner. Sanada wants Goto to get up, and Goto sits up, into the SHINING WIZARD! Sanada then dragon sleepers, for the SKULL END!! Goto endures, flails, reaches out, but he’s caught in the body scissors! Goto fights around but he’s fading! The fans rally, Goto’s hand drops! Sanada lets him go to then climb! ROUNDING BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO!!
The fans fire up as Goto survives but Sanada storms around. Sanada drags Goto up, reels him in and clinches, but Goto slips free to shove Sanada away! Sanada forearms, ROLLING- HEADBUTT from Goto! The fans fire up and duel, and Goto drags Sanada up. But Sanada breaks free! Goto HEADBUTTS again! Sanada falls back down and Goto steadies himself. Goto roars, the fans are with him, and Goto sits Sanada up. Goto runs to PENALTY KICK! Shoutout to Shibata and the fans fire up more! Sanada grits his teeth as he sits back up but Goto takes aim! BUZZSAW! And then he hauls Sanada up to dragon sleeper! G T- BACKSLIDE COUNTER! TWO!!!
Sanada and Goto hurry up, Sanada dodges to O’Conner BRIDGE!! TWO?!!? Goto escapes and shocks everyone! Sanada resets, runs in, SHINING WIZARD!! The fans are thunderous as Sanada roars and drags Goto back up! Clinch and DEAD- NO, Goto slips around to ripcord and fireman’s carry! G T W!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Sanada survives but Goto is all fired up! The fans are thunderous as Goto dragon sleepers for G T R!!! Cover, GOTO WINS!!!
Winner: Hirooki Goto, by pinfall (advances to the finals)
Don’t call it a comeback, Goto’s been here for years! Sanada’s hopes of being IWGP World Heavyweight Champion again have been delayed, how long must he wait for another chance?
As for Goto, he’s going back to the New Japan Cup Finals for the first time since 2016, and his seventh overall! But before he can get the mic to speak, Yota makes his way back out here. Yota steps into the ring and he gets the mic first. Yota tells Goto, “In order to open the door to a new era, we must do this.” The fans applaud that, and Yota continues by asking Goto, “Are you ready?!” Yota drops the mic at Goto’s feet, and Goto stands up to speak. “I also have something I want to show you. As a three-time New Japan Cup Champion, I will show you my strength.” The fans like the sound of that!
The Fierce Warrior stares down with Gene Blast, a true generational showdown on the horizon! Will Goto return not juts to former glory, but finally ascend to top of NJPW? Or will Yota make it LIJ VS LIJ for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship?
My Thoughts:
A great semifinal round for this tournament, with quite a surprising main event. Sanada VS Goto was great stuff, and while I felt Sanada wasn’t winning the Cup, I didn’t think he’d be out this round. Yota VS Evil was rather creatively put together, too. I did not think the House would get so involved that at first it was a No Contest but then they restart under a ringside ban. Takagi making sure Yota won was good stuff, too, maybe we can get Takagi VS Evil for the NEVER Openweight Championship if they’re not gonna circle back to more Shota Umino VS House of Torture stuff.
Goto VS Yota is going to be great stuff, and Goto is clearly a top utility guy. He’s had so many New Japan Cup finals appearances, certainly among the most ever, but I don’t think he gets a fourth Cup win against Yota, one of the “new era Musketeers” that NJPW clearly loves. Yota VS Naito is definitely the title match for Sakura Genesis.
My Score: 8.9/10
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