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Mitchell’s ROH Results & Report! (6/8/23)

ROH is NJPW Strong!

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ROH Wrestling 2023

The Babe with the Power is a fighting champion!

Willow Nightingale continues her win streak in ROH by once again defending her NJPW Strong Women’s Champion! Will she still be to hot to handle?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Kyle Fletcher VS Christopher Daniels; Fletcher wins.
  • Matt Sydal VS “The Reality” Zack Clayton w/ Cole Karter; Sydal wins.
  • Willie Mack VS Dralistico w/ Jose the Assistant; Dralistico wins.
  • NJPW Strong Women’s Championship: Willow Nightingale VS Rachel Ellering; Willow wins and retains the title.
  • ROH World Six Man Proving Ground Match: The Mogul Embassy VS Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Marcus Kross; The Mogul Embassy win and deny Burger, Isom & Kross a title match.
  • Mercedes Martinez VS Vertvixen; Mercedes wins.
  • Lee Moriarty VS Griff Garrison; Moriarty wins.
  • Kiera Hogan VS Robyn Renegade; Kiera wins.
  • Six Man Tag: The Dark Order VS Shane Taylor & The Workhorsemen; The Dark Order wins.
  • Six Man Tag: Action Andretti, AR Fox & Darius Martin VS The Trustbusters; Action, Fox & Darius win.
  • The Kingdom w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett VS El Cobarde & El Dragon; The Kingdom wins.
  • Rey Fenix w/ Alex Abrahantes VS Gravity; Fenix wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Kyle Fletcher VS Christopher Daniels!

The Aussie Arrow is running solo while Mark Davis is out with injury, but he’s ready to aim from the top! Will Fletcher shoot down the Fallen Angel? Or will Daniels start on his journey back to a title?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and fans rally as these two circle. Fans chant “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!” and Kyle appreciates that. The two circle, knuckle lock, but Daniels wrenches to a wristlock. Daniels then hits an ELBOW BREAKER, wrenches again, but Kyle rolls and wrenches back to ELBOW BREAKER Daniels! Kyle hammerlocks, Daniels reaches back to headlock, and he powers Kyle off the hammerlock. Daniels grinds Kyle but Kyle powers up, only for Daniels to hold tighter! Kyle fights up, fans rally, and Kyle throws body shots. Kyle powers Daniels away then runs him over!

Fans fire up as Kyle flexes, and things speed up. Kyle runs Daniels over again and keeps going, but Daniels drops to drop toehold! Daniels runs, RAMS Kyle but Kyle stays up. So Daniels kicks a leg, kicks Kyle’s gut, then runs, and RAMS Kyle again! Kyle rebounds to run Daniels over! Fans fire up and Kyle shakes out the legs. Fans start up the “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!” again as Kyle brings Daniels up. Kyle ROCKS Daniels, whips, but Daniels slides under to then arm-drag! Fans cheer as Daniels grinds Kyle’s arm, but Kyle fights up. Kyle whips, but Daniels arm-drags back! And arm-drags again!

Daniels has the armlock and he grinds Kyle down. Kyle endures, fights up, and he throws forearms! Daniels wobbles, Kyle whips and scoops to SLAM! “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!” returns again as Kyle paces around Daniels. Kyle drags Daniels up, scoops and SLAMS! Cover, TWO! Kyle keeps cool and fans rally up again. Kyle stands Daniels up to ROCK him with a forearm! The fans start to duel, “FALLEN ANGEL!” “OI OI OI!” Kyle whips corner to corner, runs in, but Daniels kicks back! Daniels runs to SWINGING NECKBREAKER! And then another SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Fans rally as Daniels stands up.

Fans cheer as Daniels goes to Kyle at the ropes. Daniels drags Kyle up, CLUBS him, then CLUBS him again! And again! Daniels cravats to crank Kyle’s neck, then he snapmares for a KNEE DROP! Daniels then sits Kyle up, to CHOP him on the back! And TWIST the neck! Daniels CHOPS Kyle on the back again! Fans rally, Daniels TWISTS Kyle’s neck again! Kyle goes to ropes but Daniels brings him up to hit a BIG back suplex! Cover, TWO! Fans rally as Daniels looms over Kyle. Daniels drags Kyle up, wrenches, hammerlocks, and then turns Kyle for a modified abdominal twist! Kyle endures a hammerlock and chinbar combo!

Fans rally, Kyle gets an arm free and elbows Daniels’ leg! Kyle then wrenches to ROCK Daniels, but Daniels ROCKS Kyle in return! Daniels stands Kyle up to CLUB away on that neck, then he runs, but into a forearm! Kyle reels Daniels in, but Daniels fights the suplex! Kyle’s neck hurts him, he staggers around, and Daniels kicks low to reel him in. But Kyle suplexes Daniels up and over! Fans rally while both men are down. Kyle clutches his neck while Daniels sits back up. They both stand, Kyle fires off forearms and he ROCKS Daniels! Kyle whips, Daniels reverses but Kyle CLOBBERS him! Fans fire up with Kyle!

Kyle runs corner to corner to forearm smash! And then a wrench and BIG back suplex! Cover, TWO! Fans rally, Daniels goes to ropes, and Kyle aims. Kyle runs, but Daniels CALF KICKS him down! Kyle goes to a corner, Daniels runs in, but Kyle goes up and over! Kyle then scoops Daniels for a MICHINOKU DRIVER! Cover, TWO! Daniels survives but Kyle keeps his cool. Fans duel, Kyle goes corner to corner, but Daniels BOOTS him! Daniels goes up, leaps, FLYING FLATLINER! Cover, TWO!! But into a KOJI KLUTCH!! Kyle endures as Daniels pulls tight! Kyle reaches out, but he’s fading!

Kyle gets a last gasp to get the ROPEBREAK! Daniels lets go in frustration as Kyle survives. Fans rally up and Daniels stalks Kyle as he sputters. Daniels drags Kyle up, reels him in, and CLUBS that neck! And again! And again! Daniels runs, but Kyle dodges! Daniels dodges, both men keep moving, DOUBLE LARIATS take both men down! The fans say “This is Awesome!” as a standing count begins. Kyle and Daniels stand at 5, and Kyle throws a forearm! Daniels throws it back! Kyle staggers, but throws another forearm! Daniels wobbles, but he JABS! Daniels shakes out his own hand, but Kyle fires another forearm!

Daniels JABS, Kyle forearms, and forearms, and forearms! Kyle swings a chop but Daniels ducks it to GERMAN SUPLEX! But Kyle roars to his feet to HALF ‘N’ HALF! But Daniels roars as he rises up, SAIDO!! Fans fire up as Kyle writhes again. Daniels says he’ll end it, and he brings Kyle up. URE- NO, arm-drag! Kyle then GAMANGIRIS in the corner! And then a gut wrench, but Daniels slips down to a victory roll, TWO! Daniels mule kicks, underhooks, but Kyle fights the lift and back drops Daniels away! Daniels is up, Kyle dodges him, hammerlock and scoop, GRIMSTONE!! Cover, Kyle wins!

Winner: Kyle Fletcher, by pinfall

The Aussie Arrow takes down an ROH Grand Slam winner! And despite the frustration, Daniels shows Kyle respect with the Code of Honor. Aussie Open is one of the best tag teams today, will Kyle Fletcher prove he’s one of the best singles wrestlers today?

 

Matt Sydal VS “The Reality” Zack Clayton w/ Cole Karter!

The Third-Eye just saw his tag partner fall in the opener, and now he steps into the ring. Will he be able to avoid defeat? Or will Clayton give him a Reality Check?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, but Clayton still talks trash on Sydal being shorter. Sydal says size doesn’t matter, but Clayton shoves him! And then shoves him again! Fans chant “Jersey Sucks!” and Sydal KICKS Clayton in the leg! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Clayton goes to a corner but Sydal KICKS him more! Sydal whips, Clayton reverses but runs into a BOOT! Sydal runs to RANA Clayton! Clayton staggers up, into a JUMP SOBAT! Cover, TWO! Sydal KICKS Clayton around, but Clayton throws an elbow! And an uppercut! Sydal SOBATS, runs, but into Clayton’s LARIAT!

Clayton runs but Sydal dodges this time to SUPERKICK! Cover, TWO! Sydal sees Karter creeping and tells him to back off. Sydal drags Clayton around to STANDING MARIPOSA! Fans fire up and Sydal goes to the corner. Karter gets on the apron, the ref tells him to back off, and Sydal leaps, into a POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO!! Sydal survives, Clayton is mad, and he rains down forearms! Fans boo but Clayton lets off to talk trash. Karter also talks trash and soaks up the heat. Fans chant “You Still Suck!” Clayton drops a knee on Sydal, puts him up top, and then climbs up after him. Clayton brings Sydal up but Sydal fights back!

Sydal pushes Clayton back, jumps up an dover, but runs into a kick! Clayton scoops, but Sydal makes it a DDT! Clayton sits up, and Sydal BUZZSAWS! Clayton is down, Sydal goes up the corner, and Sydal METEORAS!! Cover, Sydal wins!

Winner: Matt Sydal, by pinfall

The reality of that match is that size doesn’t matter, ability does! Sydal showed he has great ability, but he gets the mic to say, “How fun was that? Zack Clayton, he’s twice my size, and I cut through him like a buzzsaw! I am the best in ROH, and I wanna be your TV Champion! So Samoa Joe, if you wanna call yourself the King of Television, you’re gonna have to stop Matt Sydal first!” He is calling out the Samoan Submission Machine, will he like the response?

 

Willie Mack VS Dralistico w/ Jose the Assistant!

It’s the Return of the Mack after a loss to rival Brian Cage, will Mack get back on track with a win? Or will La Faccion Ingobernable’s Prince of Silver & Gold make him tranquilo?

Mack offers the Code of Honor handshake but Dralistico is reluctant. Dralistico’s hand shakes, and then he flips Mack off! The bell rings and Mack sighs, but Dralistico dropkicks him out of the ring! And then FLIES to take Mack out at the ramp! Dralistico whips Mack hard into the steel steps! Mack writhes, Dralistico drags him back into the ring, and he gets fans to chant for him. Dralistico then springboards to SWANTON! Cover, TWO! Dralistico argues the count but the fans rally for Mack. Mack crawls to ropes and Dralistico stomps him. Dralistico whips corner to corner, SPLASHES, then snapmares and basement dropkicks!

Fans cheer the impressive speed, and Dralistico stomps Mack. Dralistico drags Mack up, puts him in a corner, and CHOPS! Dralistico fires off forearms, sits Mack down, then runs side to side to fake Mack out, and SUPERKICK! Dralistico then tranquilos on the top rope and fans are torn. Dralistico then hops down to drag Mack up. Dralistico whips corner to corner, but Mack goes up to headstand and shake it! Dralistico is hesitant to approach, but he eventually does, and Mack goes up and over! Mack keeps moving, ducks ‘n’ dodges to LEG LARIAT! Fans fire up as Dralistico flops out and Mack builds speed! Mack FLIES and takes out Dralistico AND Jose!

Fans fire up as Mack breaks it down and brings Dralistico up. Mack puts Dralistico in, but Jose grabs at him! Mack kicks Jose away, but Dralistico kicks Mack in the ropes! Dralistico then goes to the apron, springboards and DOUBLE STOMPS! Mack falls, Dralistico covers, ROPEBREAK! Fans cheer as Mack survives. Dralistico argues with the ref but the ref says the count is fair. Dralistico drags Mack up, eggs him on, so Mack CHOPS! Dralistico says okay, and he winds up, to CHOP Mack! Mack just makes the pecs dance. Mack then CHOPS Dralistico! Dralistico roars, and he CHOPS back! And SOBATS!

Dralistico runs but Mack ROCKS him! Mack runs, but into a SCREW HIGH KICK! Dralistico runs but into a WHEEL KICK! Fans are thunderous as both men are down! They rally for “WILLIE! WILLIE!” as a standing count starts. Mack stirs, the count is 5 of 10, and Mack goes to ropes. Mack drags himself up, he stands at 7. Dralistico rises, Mack storms up to SLAP him! Mack whips Dralistico to a corner, runs in, blocks a kick but Dralistico ENZIGURIS! SOBATS! KNEE LIFTS! SUPERKICKS! And runs, into a POP-UP! Mack fireman’s carries Dralistico to a SAMOAN DROP! Fans fire up, and Mack stirs again.

Mack kips up! And STANDING MOONSAULTS! Cover, TWO! Mack is shocked but the ref says his count’s still fair. “This is Awesome!” as Mack goes to a corner. Mack climbs, FROG SPLASH but onto knees! Dralistico drags Mack up, ripcord KNEE! And then a SHINING WIZARD! Cover, TWO!! Mack survives and fans are fired up! Dralistico grits his teeth and shakes his head as he drags Mack back up. Dralistico reels Mack in, underhooks, but Mack wrenches out to shove and pop-up, HAYMAKER! Fans fire up as Dralistico sputters! Mack drags Dralistico up, says he’s finishing this, and he scoops, but Jose gets on the apron!

Fans boo, the ref reprimands, but Dralistico escapes Mack’s grip to LOW BLOW!! And INCINERATOR KNEE!! Cover, Dralistico wins!

Winner: Dralistico, by pinfall

The assist goes to the assistant, Jose made sure Dralistico got this one! Will Jose be pivotal in Dralistico also getting a title match here in ROH?

 

Tony Khan is here!

Fans cheer as the AEW & ROH owner and General Manager walks out on stage. “It’s great to be here today at Universal Studios. I’d like to confirm officially to all of you, that next week, right here at Universal Studios, Orlando, it will be Matt Sydal VS Samoa Joe for the ROH World Television Championship!” Fans like the sound of that! Tony says that here in ROH and AEW, Tony has a lot of responsibilities. He is matchmaker in both promotions, and he will continue to be so, working with the fans every week to try and produce great matches. But there is a lot going on in the back beyond just making matches.

There is a lot of talent relations, administrative work, operations work, and he decided that maybe it would be good to form an ROH Board of Directors. This group can work together and basically have carte blanche. He will still have final say, but this group will be the authority around here. Allow him to introduce the ROH Board of Directors. First, a great manager in the wrestling world, Stokely Hathaway! Fans cheer as Stokely walks out and tells Tony that he loves AEW and ROH, and he most importantly loves Tony. They hug it out, and Stokely says he also loves the beaut- Uh, well, Stokely can’t lie. But he loves these fans!

What a great start already! Secondly, it is an ROH legend, a former ROH World Champion, it is JERRY LYNN! Fans cheer as Jerry walks out and shakes everyone’s hands. He thanks Tony for this opportunity, and he will not be disappointed. Tony says this is great! It’s fantastic! Thank you, everyone. And remember, Samoa Joe VS Matt Sydal for the ROH World TV Championship! ROH is doing big things, how will the future look under new management?

 

NJPW Strong Women’s Championship: Willow Nightingale VS Rachael Ellering!

The Babe with the Power continues to be a fighting champion, but she might be meeting her match against the Queen of Strong Smile! Will Willow hold onto the gold? Or will Rachael’s smile be even stronger after tonight?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who is truly NJPW Strong!

The Code of Honor is skipped as the bell rings. The two tie up, Rachael waistlocks but Willow wrenches out to wristlock. Rachael steps through, wrenches and wristlocks back to wrangle Willow down. Willow rolls, wrenches, wristlocks, but Rachael fights her way through to wrench back. Rachael headlocks, hits a takeover, but Willow headscissors. Rachael kips free but the roles reverse as Willow headlocks for the takeover. Rachael headscissors, Willow kips free, and then roles reverse again as Rachael headlocks for another takeover. Rachael makes it a cover, TWO! Willow avoids the arm-drag! And SENTONS!

Fans rally, Willow drags Rachael up and scoops to SLAM! And then SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Fans rally and Willow brings Rachael up. Willow suplexes, Una Amiga! Willow suplexes again, Dos Amigas! And then fisherman for the PERFECT PLEX! Cover, TWO! Well, not quite perfect, but fans rally up for Willow. Willow drags Rachael up, but Rachael wrenches, ROCKS and CHOPS! Rachael throws off the armbands to CHOP again! Rachael runs, but Willow clotheslines in the corner! Willow runs but Rachael follows to clothesline! And STO! And then a double jump LEG DROP! Cover, TWO!

Fans rally as Rachael paces around Willow. Rachael brings Willow up to ROCK her, then CLUB her! Willow writhes, but Rachael brings her back up. Rachael wrenches to WRING the arm out! Willow sits up, Rachael runs to basement dropkick! And SENTON! Fans rally but Rachael shakes her head. Rachael drags Willow up but Willow throws body shots. Rachael CLUBS Willow right back down! Fans rally for Willow but Rachael shakes her head. Rachael brings Willow up, bumps her off buckles, and then CHOPS! Willow sputters, and Rachael CHOPS her again! But Willow turns things around to CHOP back! And CHOP again!

Willow CHOPS more, then whips corner to corner. Rachael reverses, Willow handsprings and ENZIGURIS! Fans fire up and Willow runs corner to corner, to back body block, and a lariat! Willow throws Rachael down, goes up, and MISSILE DROPKICKS! High stack, TWO!! Rachael survives but Willow keeps focus. Willow drags Rachael up, fireman’s carries, but Rachael fights free! Rachael fireman’s carries but Willow fights out! Willow short arm LARIATS! Then another short arm LARIAT! Willow drags Rachael up again, but Rachael gets around to shove, scoop, BIG BOSS SLAM! Cover, TWO!

Fans rally as Willow survives but Rachael grows frustrated. Rachael storms up on Willow, ROCKS her with a forearm, and ROCKS her again! Then BOOTS her! Willow sputters, Rachael runs, but Willow goes the other way to POUNCE!! Rachael ends up in a corner, Willow CANNONBALLS!! Cover, TWO and into a ghost pin! TWO!! Willow CLOBBERS Rachael! Willow roars and fans fire up with her! Willow drags Rachael up, whips, and SPINEBUSTERS! Then the CAMEL CLUTCH!! Rachael taps, Willow wins!

Winner: Willow Nightingale, by submission (still NJPW Strong Women’s Champion)

Willow busts out a new part of her arsenal and it gets her the win! Will Willow be going to Japan for the Summer’s NJPW Strong Independence Day?

 

ROH World Six Man Proving Ground Match: The Mogul Embassy VS Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Marcus Kross!

From one champion to three, Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona have been dominant in the Six Man Tag Division, and they must be getting bored to have this match. Will they maul this new take on the Shinobi Shadow Squad? Or will the trio of underdogs shock everyone tonight?

The Code of Honor is upheld, though reluctantly by The Embassy. Eli starts against The Machine, and fans rally up. Eli and Cage tie up, Cage knees low, and then he wrenches to a back suplex. Eli lands on his feet, waistlocks, but Cage elbows free. Cage whips Eli to a corner, Eli goes up and over, but Cage ELBOWS him! Cage runs up but into a BOOT! Eli runs in but is put on the apron. Eli blocks the punch to shoulder low, and then he climbs up to leap, CROSSBODY is caught! Cage curls Eli, pops him around, but Eli slips free to DROPKICK! Fans fire up as Eli runs, dodges, but into a FLAPJACK! And SUPERKICK!

Nana cheers his team on as Cage tags Liona. Liona storms up on Eli, keeps him from the corner, and HEADBUTTS him to an open corner. Liona elbows, then RAMS Eli, then RAMS in again! Liona lets off to yell at the ref, and then he drags Eli up. Liona whips corner to corner, runs in and SPLASHES, then he TOSSES Eli across the way! Fans rally, but Liona sucker punches Kross! Eli hits Liona back, but Liona shoves him. Eli sunset flips but Liona stays up. Eli avoids the fist drop, to then JAWBREAKER! Liona stays up, he runs in at Eli, but Eli sends him into buckles! Liona staggers, Eli tags in Burger!

Burger fires off forearms on Liona, but Liona shoves him away. Burger ducks one but not the SOUTHPAW lariat! Liona drags Burger, whips him to a corner, tag to Kaun. Liona whips Kaun in to SPLASH! Liona and Kaun fire each other up, and Kaun whips Liona in to back body block! Then a feed to a BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Fans rally for Burger but Kaun drags Burger up. Kaun knees Burger low then CHOPS Burger in the corner! Kaun then stands Burger up to CHOP him again! Fans are all stinging from that, and yet chant “ONE MORE TIME!” Kaun grins as he stands Burger up, but he pokes Burger in the eye!

Fans boo mostly because Kaun didn’t do what they wanted. Kaun then digs his knees in, but the ref counts. Kaun lets off at 4, drags Burger back up, and he whips Burger corner to corner. Kaun runs in but Burger sends him into buckles! Kaun grabs Burger, Burger elbows free, and hot tags Kross! Kross runs in, dodges Kaun, and FLYING SHOULDERS! Kaun stays up, Kross FLYING SHOULDERS again! And again! Then ducks ‘n’ rolls of Kaun’s back, to come back and RANA! Kaun ends up in a corner, and Kross runs in, but now Kross only gets buckles! Kaun comes back to LARIAT Kross inside out!

Fans fire up as Kaun drags Kross and hoists him up top. Kaun climbs up, Cage intercepts Eli with a POP-UP POWERBOMB! Cage then deadlifts Eli to BUCKLE BOMB him while Kaun gives Kross a TOP ROPE BACKBREAKER! Liona gives Kross an APRON SENTON! And then he CLOBBERS Burger!! Fans are going nuts as the Embassy puts Kross in the ring. They get Kross up, rock him like a baby, right into the POWERBOMB from Kaun!! Cover, The Embassy wins!

Winners: The Mogul Embassy, by pinfall (denies Burger, Eli & Kross a title match)

This isn’t an anime, so the underdog Shinobi did not win. Will any trio ever be able to stop Cage, Kaun & Liona?

 

Mercedes Martinez VS Vertvixen!

Ahead of Rampage’s Fatal 4 Way #1 contender’s match, The OG Badass is in action! Will Mercedes be cruising into Colorado Springs? Or will she simply help the Gamer #LevelUp?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the two circle. They tie up, Mercedes powers Vert back but Vert powers Mercedes back. Vert arm-drags then dropkicks! Vert handsprings, but Mercedes just BOOTS her down! Fans cheer and Mercedes storms up to CLUB Vert down. Mercedes sits Vert up to CHOP, then hooks the arms for a seated Cobra Twist! Mercedes CLUBS away on Vert, and clamps on the abdominal stretch! Vert endures, even as Mercedes grinds her forearm in her face. The ref reprimands Mercedes for that, but Mercedes powers Vert to a cover, ONE! Vert gets up but Mercedes is on her with a suplex!

Vert slips free, spins Mercedes and ROCKS her with forearms! Vert fires off but Mercedes fires palm strikes in return! But Vert knees low! Vert runs, into a FOREARM! Mercedes brings Vert around, SAIDO! Vert flounders out to the apron while fans fire up. Mercedes storms over, she drags Vert up, but Vert trips Mercedes! Vert drags Mercedes to the apron to CLUB her in the chest! And again! And again! Vert shoves Mercedes in, gets on the apron, and she slingshots in, to somersault and STUNNER! And then a BLUE THUNDER BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Mercedes survives and Vert snarls.

Vert drags Mercedes up in a facelock as fans rally. Vert says game over, fireman’s carries, but Mercedes fights free with elbows! Mercedes gets around, HALF ‘N’ HALF! Fans fire up as Vert ends up in a corner. Mercedes runs in to ROCK her with a forearm! Mercedes brings Vert up to the top rope, for a DRAPING ANARCHY!! Cover, TWO!! Vert survives and no one can believe it! Mercedes runs as Vert rises, BLINDSIDE FOREARM! And then, Mercedes hooks up the legs, gets the arms, BRASS CITY SLEEPER! Vert taps, Mercedes wins!

Winner: Mercedes Martinez, by submission

A big fight and a big win, and both women still show respect with the Code of Honor. The OG is 3-0 since her return to ROH, will she use this momentum to win that golden ticket to #ToniTime?

 

Lee Moriarty VS Griff Garrison!

#TAIGASTYLE is coming off a hard fought loss to Katsuyori Shibata, but that’s nothing to feel bad about. Will he feel much better with a rebound win? Or will the returning Ivy League MVP be the one scoring the W tonight?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and fans chant, “Welcome Back! Welcome Back!” and Griff appreciates that. Griff and Lee circle, the two tie up, and then Griff shoves Lee down. Fans cheer as Griff flexes, and Lee mockingly applauds. The two reset, the two circle, and they tie up. Lee waistlocks, trips Griff, then mocks the Heisman. Things speed up, Griff ducks, Lee hurdles and Lee mule kicks! Lee tells Griff to pump the brakes, then runs, but into a BOOT! Fans fire up for Griff and he flexes more. Griff stalks Lee, torture racks him, but Lee fights to the apron. Lee HOTSHOTS an arm!

Griff crawls away, Lee hobbles back in and wrenches the arm to hammerlock, and RAM Griff into buckles! Lee stomps away on Griff at the ropes, the ref counts, and Lee shifts to raining down forearms! Lee roars and fans are torn, but Lee stands on Griff’s hands. Lee drags Griff up, wrenches, and ELBOW BREAKERS! Lee wrenches again, wristlocks, and traps the arm to TWEAK it! Cover, TWO! Griff clutches his arm but Lee goes after it. Lee wrenches Griff, hammerlocks and RAMS him into buckles again! Fans rally, Lee goes corner to corner but Griff BOOTS him away! And BOOTS him again!

Griff runs to LARIAT! And LARIAT again! Griff scoops to SLAM Lee, and fans fire up again! Lee goes to a corner, Griff runs in to STINGER SPLASH! Griff headlocks, but to bring Lee out and LARIAT! Fans fire up more as things speed up again. Lee leaps, but into a POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Lee survives but Griff keeps his focus. Lee stands, Griff runs corner to corner, but Lee BOOTS him first! Lee spins Griff around, suplexes, but Griff slips free and shoves, to then RANA! Lee staggers up into a ROLLING ELBOW! Cover, TWO!! Lee survives and Griff can’t believe it! Fans rally as Griff shakes out the bad arm.

Lee sits up, Griff storms up and reels him in to a torture rack. But Lee fishhooks Griff’s face! Lee pushes Griff down, pump handle O’Conner Roll Bridge! Lee wins!

Winner: Lee Moriarty, by pinfall

Griff came out of the gates with fire, but Lee found a way to put it out. They still uphold the Code of Honor, but will TAIGASTYLE win by any means necessary all the way to the top?

 

Kiera Hogan VS Robyn Renegade!

Even though she lost to the Fallen Goddess, the fire has not been put out in Kiera Hogan’s heart! Will she burn even brighter as she chases another chance? Or will this Renegade stomp out the embers?

The Code of Honor is upheld, but reluctantly by Robyn. The bell rings, the two circle, and they tie up. Kiera gets around, waistlocks, headlocks, but Robyn powers out to run Kiera over! Fans boo but Robyn soaks up the heat. Robyn runs in but into a drop toehold! Robyn is on ropes, Kiera runs to HIP ATTACK her! Kiera then yanks Robyn off the ropes, runs and step-up LEG DROPS! Cover, TWO! Fans rally as Kiera runs in at Robyn to SPLASH! Kiera keeps going, but Robyn elbows her away! Robyn then POSTS Kiera, brings her around and stomps a mudhole in! The ref counts, but Robyn pulls Kiera’s arm around ropes!

The ref reprimands and counts more, but Robyn lets off at 4. Robyn drags Kiera up, whips her corner to corner, and Kiera staggers forward. Robyn wrenches the arm to WRING Kiera out! Fans boo but Robyn drops knees on the arm! Robyn mocks Kiera and the fans, but Kiera throws body shots. Robyn CLUBS Kiera, and clamps on a top wristlock. Fans rally as Kiera endures and fights up. Kiera reaches out to the ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Robyn lets off and she argues with the ref. Then Robyn KICKS the bad arm! Robyn swaggers as she soaks up the heat and Kiera goes to a corner. Robyn drags Kiera up to CHOP!

Robyn stands Kiera up to talk trash, and CHOP again! Robyn puts some stank on it, but Kiera dodges! Kiera CHOPS, but Robyn comes back to CHOP again! Both women snarl, Robyn takes a swing but Kiera catches her to spin her and fire off forearms! Fans fire up with Kiera as she runs and rallies with big forearms! Kiera then bumps Robyn off buckles, stomps away on her in the corner, and fans cheer as she goes corner to corner, for the HIP ATTACK! Kiera then goes Around the World for a BOOT WASH! Robyn flops out of the ring, and her sister Charlette appears! The Renegades try to pull sister magic, but Kiera WRECKS Charlette with a dropkick!

Fans cheer, the ref reprimands the Renegades, but Kiera brings them up for a meeting of the minds! SMACK! Charlette falls, Kiera puts Robyn in, and Kiera gets Robyn up, but Robyn fires off elbows! Robyn fireman’s carries, but Kiera fights free! Kiera says “EAT IT!” ROUNDHOUSE! And then SUPERKICK! Cover, Kiera wins!

Winner: Kiera Hogan, by pinfall

That’s all, period! Will Kiera blaze a trail back towards- OH WAIT! Athena CLOBBERS Kiera from behind! Fans are torn as Athena has a kendo stick, too! Athena swings, Kiera dodges, the stick hits ropes and comes back to SMACK Athena! Kiera gets the stick now, and she SMACKS Athena! And again! And again! Kiera fires off on Athena again and again and fans are loving it! Athena scrambles away as the kendo stick starts breaking! The Fallen Goddess tried to get the jump on Kiera, but will Kiera make her pay for it by taking that title?

 

Six Man Tag: The Dark Order VS Shane Taylor & The Workhorsemen!

Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver may not know what to make of Stu Grayson joining The Righteous, but they still have to focus on what they can control. Will they win big and move up in the Trios Division? Or will Big Shaney T and his new pals in JD Drake & Anthony Henry climb up those ranks instead?

The Code of Honor is upheld, but then Henry throws a forearm at Reynolds, so the brawl is on! Silver ROCKS Shane, then has him in a corner as he throws more forearms and even some KICKS! Fans fire up as Silver KICKS and KICKS, but Shane SWATS one, ROCKS Silver, and whips him to ropes. Silver ducks ‘n’ dodges to UPPERCUT! Shane ends up in the Dark Order corner, and the Dark Order mugs him! The ref reprimands, all three back off, but then they TRIPLE BOOT Shane! Fans fire up as Silver tags Reynolds and he fires off on Shane in another corner. Shane shoves Reynolds away, but Reynolds comes back to clothesline!

Reynolds fires off more forearms, Shane shoves him again, and Shane catches Reynolds to a choke grip! But Reynolds ROCKS Shane, DROPKICKS, then runs. Reynolds ducks ‘n’ dodges, but Shane catches the crossbody! Shane pops Reynolds around but Reynolds fights free! Reynolds BOOTS Shane, but Henry sweeps the legs! The ref missed it, and Shane KNEES Reynolds down! Shane tags Henry in, they drag Reynolds up and they mug him. Fans boo as Henry mocks the #JoinDarkOrder claw. Reynolds ROCKS Henry but Henry knees him low! Henry rains down fists, drags Reynolds up, and whips him to the corner.

Henry forearm smashes, tag to JD, NECK TWIST to slingshot SENTON! JD mocks the Dark Order claw, then gives a thumbs up. Fans rally up for Reynolds but JD stands him up. Reynolds throws body shots, JD CLUBS and CHOPS Reynolds in return. JD brings Reynolds up again but Reynolds CHOPS! And CHOPS! JD kicks low, CHOPS back, and then runs in to SPLASH in the corner! Tag to Shane, Belly2Belly and a SPLASH! Cover, Uno breaks it! Shane is furious but Uno saves the match. Reynolds fights back with big forearms, but Shane DECKS him! Shane tags JD, JD BLASTS Uno and Silver, then CANNONBALLS Reynolds!

Fans rally, Shane coordinates with the Workhorsemen. They drag Reynolds up, JD helps Shane with the assisted LONDON TOWER! Henry goes up top and tags in, to DIVING DOUBLE STOMP! Cover, TWO!! Reynolds survives and fans fire up! Henry stands on Reynolds’ leg, then he clamps on a chinlock. Reynolds endures, fights up, and fans fire up as Uno reaches out. Reynolds arm-drags free, Henry runs in but into an elbow! JD and Shane grab Reynolds, but Reynolds STUNNERS Shane! Reynolds dodges Henry, hot tag to Uno! Player One rallies on Henry & JD! CHOP and CHOP and CHOP and CHOP!

Henry kicks low, he and JD whip, but Uno comes back to BOOT JD, dodge Henry and SLAP him! Henry ends up in the corner, Uno stomps a mudhole in! The ref counts, Uno lets off at 4, but the fans fire up with him! Uno then runs corner to corner to LARIAT Henry! And then SPLASH in the corner, to a short arm LARIAT! Uno brings Henry back up, suplex, BRAINBUSTER! Cover, but Shane breaks it! Shane saves the match now, and he tags in. Uno CHOPS Shane! Shane ROCKS Uno! Uno shakes his head, CHOPS again, and eggs Shane on. Shane ROCKS Uno, Uno CHOPS Shane, repeat! Uno wags his finger!

Fans fire up as the two circle, Uno CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS! Shane JABS!! Uno stays up, spins, but into a HAYMAKER! Shane looms over Uno, tags in JD, and they coordinate. JD runs, Shane whips but Uno reverses, so the SHOTGUN BOOT hits Shane! Uno then ROLLING ELBOWS JD! Silver runs in to DIVING STOMP Shane from the apron! Uno hits a SKY HIGH on JD! Henry ENZIGURIS Uno, suplexes, but Uno wrenches out, STOMPS the hands and DECKS Henry! Tag to Reynolds, he and Uno get Henry up and Silver runs back in! PENDULUM BOMB!!

Reynolds sees JD running in, and sends him into a corner! They start up and complete the WOMBO COMBO!! Cover, Dark Order wins!!

Winners: The Dark Order, by pinfall

The fans cheer as these three stick together and win big! Will Players One, Three & Four not need Player Two to succeed?

 

Backstage interview with The Righteous & Stu Grayson.

But speaking of, Dasha is with Vincent, Dutch and the former Dark Order member. They saw that match just now, what are their thoughts? Dutch says “Their cruelty and brutality, that don’t impress me much. But y’know what? What’s been happening within The Dark Order for the past week or so, HAH! That’s my favorite sitcom!” Dutch asks what Stu thinks. Stu agrees, he wasn’t impressed by The Dark Order tonight. Stu knows how they are, and what they are. And right now, they are NOT the Dark Order who is willing to kick doors down.

And Vinnie says that what he thinks is, “What you gentlemen did was interesting, dig what I’m saying? But it wasn’t interesting enough to make me smile. And I can sense a little aggression in the Dark Order lately. But if you think what you did this week was bad. Please, please, gentlemen, please, I ask you, man… Tune in next week. Dig what I’m saying?” Is Vincent promising us that The Righteous, now with Stu by their side, will terrorize the Trios Division?

 

Six Man Tag: Action Andretti, AR Fox & Darius Martin VS The Trustbusters!

More trios hoping to climb the ranks are popping up and doing battle! The Sight to See, the Whole Fox’n Show and the Air Wolf assemble as a powerful air force, but will they be able to fly high over Sonny Kiss, Slim J & Jeeves Kay?

The trios sort out, Fox and Slim J uphold the Code of Honor, and the fans rally as the two circle. They tie up, Slim wrenches and wristlocks but Fox handsprings out, handsprings in, then arm-drags Slim away! Fox fireman’s carries but Slim arm-drags free! Things speed up, Fox RANAS but Slim handsprings through. Things keep moving, Slim blocks a hip toss to RANA Fox out of the ring! Fans rally, Fox gets back in and he shoves Slim. Slim shoves back, they tie up, and Slim monkey flips to an ARMBAR! But Fox rolls back, gets free, keeps moving, and fakes out the hurdle to BOOT Slim! Then he suplexes, ANARCHY! Cover, ONE!!

Fox tags Darius, the two get Slim up to double back suplex, but Slim lands on his feet! Tag to Jeeves and he runs in, but Fox goes Matrix and Darius ENZIGURIS! Fox PELES, Action tags in, Darius UPPERCUTS Jeeves in the corner and Action GAMANGIRIS! They snapmare Jeeves, Fox KICKS him in the back and Action basement dropkicks! Cover, TWO! Jeeves survives the string but Action brings him up. Jeeves rakes Action’s eyes! The ref reprimands, Jeeves runs in but Action dodges the boot! Action SHOTGUNS Jeeves into buckles! Fans fire up and Action jumps up, SPLIT LEG- NO, Jeeves moves, but Action lands on his feet.

Action runs back in but Sonny pulls outta the way! Action POSTS himself! Jeeves then CLOBBERS Action on the return! Jeeves CHOKES Action, drags him up and tosses him to the apron. Jeeves has Action in the ropes to HOTSHOT him down! Tag to Sonny and fans fire up as Sonny drags Action back in. Sonny CLUBS away on Action, whips him to a corner, then goes corner to corner to handspring and SLAP! Fans fire up as Sonny swaggers, and then says “LOSER!” But Action BOOTS back! Action goes up, Sonny GAMANGIRIS back! Sonny trophy lifts! Fans cheer the strength and Sonny DROPS Action! Then STANDING MOONSAULTS! Cover, TWO!

Sonny argues the count, then wraps on a chinlock. Sonny thrashes Action around, but fans rally as Action endures. Action fights up, throws body shots, but Sonny throws Action down by his hair! Sonny swaggers, runs, and SPLIT LEG DROP! Cover, TWO! Sonny argues the count again, then tags Slim. Slim CLOBBERS Action, then fires haymakers! Slim whips Action to the Trustbuster corner, then runs in, but into a BOOT! Action hits everyone with forearms, then rolls off Slim’s back to hot tag Darius! Fans fire up as Darius atomic drops Slim, fires off haymakers, then whips him to ropes.

Slim reverses but Darius CLOBBERS him in return! Darius blocks a kick, spins Slim around to pump handle FACEBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Slim survives but fans rally behind Darius. Darius suplexes Slim, Slim slips free and has an inverted cravat! Slim tags Sonny, but then Darius JAWBREAKERS free! Sonny hits a SCREW HIGH KICK! Tag to Jeeves and the Trustbusters work together. Sonny & Jeeves lift Slim, and give Slim the boost into a SLICED BREAD! Jeeves goes up, FROG SPLASH! Cover, Fox breaks it! Fans fire up, Slim goes after Fox and whips. Fox springboards to FLYING CUTTER!

Sonny runs in but Fox ducks the Penalty Kick, and gives her a CUTTER! Jeeves is in the corner, Darius runs in to UPPERCUT! Tag to Action, he runs in to RAM into Jeeves! Darius ENZIGURIS, then Darius & Action double whip Jeeves, to scoop and DOUBLE SPINEBUSTER! Cover, Action’s team wins!

Winners: Action Andretti, AR Fox & Darius Martin, by pinfall

And that’s a wrap! Will Action, Fox & Darius soon find themselves aiming at the ROH World Six Man Tag Team Champions?

 

The Kingdom w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett VS El Cobarde & El Dragon!

Matt Bennett & Matt Taven are still fighting to prove they define ROH, but they still need to prove they’re worthy of a tag title opportunity. Will they get a shot at the Lucha Brothers by defeating these lucha amigos?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the teams sort out, and Taven starts against Cobarde. They circle, the two feel things out, and then Taven knees low. Taven whips Cobarde, Cobarde reverses but Taven handsprings over. Taven runs to springboard and arm-drag! But Cobarde comes back, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then handsprings and rolls. Taven gets annoyed, things keep going, Cobarde handsprings through the hip toss to DROPKICK! Taven scrambles away to the OGK corner and he tags Mike in. Dragon tags in and shows off with a fancy entrance and handspring. Fans cheer, but Mike says NO! That stuff’s for the kiddies! Mike wants Dragon to hit him like a man!

Dragon says okay, and he CHOPS! Mike nods, CHOPS in return, and fans “WOO~!” Dragon CHOPS, Mike CHOPS, they CHOP back and forth! Then they fire off forearms back and forth! Dragon gets the edge, SOBATS, and he stalks Mike to a corner. Dragon drags Mike up, but Mike is busted open! Mike staggers, Dragon whips, but Mike uses that to BLAST Cobarde! The ref checks Mike, but Taven uses that to CLOBBER Dragon! The Kingdom drag Dragon up, whip him to ropes, but Dragon jumps the lariats, and the sweep, to DOUBLE RANA! Fans fire up as the OGK bail out! Maria freaks out as Dragon TORNILLOS!

Taven takes the hit, Mike rebounds off ropes, BOSTON BAYONET! But then Cobarde FLIES to take Mike out! Fans fire up but Maria is shocked! The luchadores get Mike back in the ring, bloody as he is, and Dragon whips. Mike reverses, Taven returns to SUPERKICK! Mike ROLLING ELBOWS, Taven PURPLE THUNDER BOMB! Cover, TWO! Dragon survives, Mike has a mask of his own with that blood, and he SUPERKICKS Cobarde down! Mike drags Dragon up, Taven climbs, BRAINBUSTER to FROG SPLASH FLOP! Dragon avoids the “Aurora Borealis” and he hot tags Cobarde!

Cobarde CFROSSBODIES Taven, DECKS Mike, and BOOTS Taven! Cobarde runs, Taven alley-oops him up and over, but Dragon tags back in! They dodge Taven, to double leap frog, drop and roll-up, into a shove and FLAPJACK CUTTER!! Cover, TWO!!! Taven survives the Tres D and Dragon can’t believe it! Maria shouts to Mike to get up as Dragon brings Taven over. Tag to Cobarde, they stomp away and whip Taven corner to corner. Dragon runs in but Taven puts him on the apron. Taven dodges Cobarde’s splash to CLOBBER Dragon! Mike fireman’s carries Cobarde, DEATH VALLEY, and JUST THE TIP!!

But the OGK isn’t done there! They get Cobarde up, coordinate, PROTON PACK! Cover, The Kingdom wins!

Winners: The Kingdom, by pinfall

Mike grins through the blood as he again says they are THE best tag team in ROH! If so, will the Kingdom get those titles off Pentagon y Rey Fenix?

 

The ROH Board of Directors walk back out.

Fans cheer as Tony, Stokely & Jerry return, and Tony says he has to say, in a matter of minutes, since first announcing this Board of Directors, things are going incredibly well. In a matter of minutes, Stokely came up with great cost saving ideas to save ROH a lot of money. Tony can’t implement most of them, such as the mass layoffs, that’s never a good idea. Stokely says those ideas are supposed to be confidential. But Tony does say there is a great idea in what he has planned for The Embassy. Could he elaborate more here?

Stokely says backstage, Andretti was popping off about how he beat Chris Jericho, as he always does. But because he is so confident, because he thinks he’s the man, next week we get Action Andretti VS The Mogul Embassy. And Stokely means ALL of them! Action VS Cage, Kaun, Liona, Nana, Nana’s cousins, what’s Tony say? Jerry whispers to Tony, and Tony says he thinks that is a great idea. But what about here next week in Orlando, it is the Embassy defending their ROH World Six Man Tag Team Champions against Action, Darius & Fox! Stokely says that was the rest of his idea! You didn’t let him finish! Of course that’s where he was going with that.

Tony says okay, but there were some other interesting ideas. Like, no more luchadores on the show ever again. Hey, man, everyone has hits and everyone has misses, okay? That was a miss. Right, right, there is a book full of other great ideas. Stokely & Jerry are already great additions to the team, and Tony is excited for what they’re doing. And speaking of luchadores, a former ROH World Champion in Bandido’s brother is here, he is GRAVITY! And his opponent for tonight in a special main event, perhaps one of the best in the world, and one of the ROH World Tag Team Champions, it’s REY FENIX!

Fans fire up as the Firebird makes his way out, will he represent for the Lucha Brothers? Or will a brother of a luchador snatch himself a great win in his ROH debut?

Rey Fenix w/ Alex Abrahantes VS Gravity!

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings and fans rally. The two circle, tie up, and Fenix wrangles Gravity right down into a Fujiwara! Then Fenix grabs the other arm, turns Gravity over for a backslide but Gravity slips free to cradle! TWO, and Fenix facelocks. Gravity fights up and trips Fenix to a cover, ONE! Fenix trips to cover, ONE! The two stand off and fans cheer. Fenix and Gravity circle, knuckle lock, and then Fenix kicks low to roll back and hook Gravity’s arms with his legs. Fenix makes Gravity do a headstand into the Humiliator Stretch, but Gravity pops free to a jackknife bridge! TWO, and Fenix sunset flips! TWO and the two stand off again!

Fans cheer as Fenix and Gravity reset. They circle, feel things out, and knuckle lock, but then Fenix trips Gravity! Things speed up, Gravity hurdles, Fenix leaps but Gravity kips up! Fenix runs in, Gravity dodges, but then goes slow-motion moon walk. Fenix runs in but Gravity dodges and arm-drags! Things keep moving, Gravity turns hip toss into RANA! Fenix flounders out of the ring while fans fire up, and Gravity builds speed. Fenix slides in to DROPKICK Gravity! Cover, TWO! Fans rally, Fenix brings Gravity up and puts him in a corner. Fenix CHOPS and Gravity sits right down! Fans cheer and want that again!

Fenix nods and he brings Gravity up. Fenix bumps him off buckles, then CHOPS Gravity again! Gravity again sits right down and Fenix basement dropkicks him! Fenix drags Gravity to center, covers, TWO! Fenix SLIDING KICKS! Cover, TWO! Fenix drags Gravity into a body scissor, a ground octopus, but Gravity rolls! Fenix sits on Gravity’s arm to trap it and Gravity’s head, and then he has an ANKLE LOCK! Gravity endures, claws at Fenix, but Fenix shifts to a wristlock! Gravity flails, fights up, and Fenix CHOPS Gravity against the ropes! Gravity flops over and fans fire up again. Fenix drags Gravity up, suplexes, but Gravity cradle counters, TWO!

Fenix SUPERKICKS Gravity to a corner! Fenix storms up on Gravity to CHOP! Fenix whips corner to corner, runs in, but blocks Gravity’s boots. Fenix puts Gravity in the ropes but Gravity slips out to the apron to BOOT Fenix after all! Fans fire up as Fenix staggers, and Gravity slingshots up and around to then arm-drag Fenix out of the ring! Fans fire up and Gravity runs, goes up the ropes, and FLIES! The crossbody hits at the ropes and fans fire up for “LUCHA! LUCHA!” Gravity and Fenix rise, Gravity puts Fenix in the ring, and then he goes up a corner. Fans rally, Gravity aims as Fenix stirs, but Fenix gets up first!

Gravity jumps up and over Fenix, Fenix comes back but into a POWERSLAM! Gravity kips up and STANDING MOONSAULTS! Cover, TWO! Fenix is still in this but Gravity keeps on him. Gravity reels Fenix in but Fenix shoves him away. Fenix wrenches, Gravity switches and torture racks, for a FACEBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Fenix survives and fans rally up. Fenix crawls to one corner, Gravity goes to the opposite. Gravity runs corner to corner, but into a BOOT! Gravity comes back but Fenix dodges and comes back to JUMP SOBAT! Fenix snapmares Gravity, runs, tilt-o-whirls, and he has an IRON OCTOPUS!

Gravity endures, Fenix shifts around, BOW ‘N’ ARROW RACK! Spin and FACEBUSTER! Into the ghost pin, TWO!! Fenix can’t believe it but the fans rally up again. Fenix goes to a corner, Gravity rises, and Fenix somersaults. Gravity catches Fenix in a waistlock! Fenix fires elbows, breaks free to switch, but Gravity fights the lift now! Gravity victory rolls, TWO! Fenix has it now, TWO! Both men get up, Fenix rolls Gravity up, TWO! Fenix keeps moving, Gravity ducks the roundhouse to roll him up! TWO! But Gravity holds on, to deadlift Fenix up, for a POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO!! Fenix survives and fans fire up again!

Gravity goes to ropes and the fans rally. Gravity goes to a corner, Fenix rolls to the other end. Gravity storms over to climb up that corner, then DIVING FLOPS! Fenix avoids disaster, then TIGHTROPE PENALTY KICKS! Cover, TWO!! Gravity survives and fans fire up again! Fenix drags Gravity up, wrenches and fireman’s carries, but Gravity CRUCIFIX DRIVERS!! Cover, TWO!??! Gravity almost had Fenix, but fans know “This is Awesome!” Gravity and Fenix rise again, and Gravity BUZZSAWS! He eggs Fenix on and BUZZSAWS again! Fenix CHOPS in return!! Fans fire up again and Fenix eggs Gravity on now.

Gravity CHOPS, but Fenix CHOPS! Gravity CHOPS, and Fenix sputters. Fenix CHOPS again! Fenix fires forearms, shouts “ANIMO!” but Gravity fires forearms in return! Gravity runs, into the SOMERSAULT CUTTER!! Fenix hurries to fireman’s carry, BLACK FIRE DRIVER!! Cover, Fenix wins!!

Winner: Rey Fenix, by pinfall

A red hot main event of luchadores, and The Immortal Firebird defied Gravity to pull off the win! Fenix sees Leon St. Giovanni in the timekeeper’s area and shakes his hand before he shakes Gravity’s hand to keep the Code of Honor. Will Gravity and his brother, Bandido, look to be another pair of lucha brothers fighting in the ROH Tag Division? Will Fenix and his brother continue to dominate?


My Thoughts:

A great ROH here, and I do appreciate that they’re managing to keep ROH at that two hour mark. Consistency is the first step to elevating ROH past Elevation. And really, we only got two matches that were just because. Willie Mack VS Dralistico was great stuff, and I was a little surprised Mack lost. But I think Dralistico won because LFI needs momentum to stay alive in AEW and ROH after their other losses, such as the Texas Tornado Tag on Dynamite last night. Moriarty VS Garrison was also a great match, especially Griff getting a good showing in his return. But Moriarty winning makes sense, he’s been doing well in ROH and deserves to keep doing well.

Good opener from Fletcher VS Daniels, good win for Fletcher. Good following match from Sydal VS Clayton and of course Sydal won. Of course Sydal called out Joe, and of course that match gets made. Joe will win, of course, to further his TV Champion VS TV Champion story with Zack Sabre Jr. Really good stuff in the Trios Division tonight. Good win from The Dark Order, and good promo from The Righteous & Stu to call them out. But this booking is already feeling like Tony Khan brand backwards, just as he’s done with Starks VS JAS and Starks VS Bullet Club Gold. But I guess that means one day, we’re getting Dark Order VS Stu & Righteous the rematch.

Meanwhile, of course the Embassy wins the Proving Ground match, and we got a great match out of Action, Fox & Darius VS Trustbusters. And I suppose it makes a lot of sense for Action, Fox & Darius to now step up and challenge The Embassy for the titles. I don’t think Action, Fox & Darius win, but it would be awesome if they did because that’d show us ROH TV matters. Titles changing hands on weekly TV shows us weekly TV matters. I mean, fans are paying to watch this on Honor Club, so technically, this is PPV programming and that should mean cool things like title changes happens.

Now, as I say that, obviously Willow wasn’t losing her title. That’s a NJPW title, it isn’t changing hands unless it’s on a NJPW show. But Rachael Ellering got a great showing tonight, maybe she’ll get a push in ROH. Good match from Mercedes and Vert, and Mercedes wins because one, she’s building momentum in her return to ROH, and two, she now has momentum going into Rampage’s Fatal 4 Way match. Mercedes isn’t winning that Fatal 4, it’s going to be Britt Baker to go after Toni Storm per the Outcasts VS Homegrown story. And Kiera got a good win over Robyn, and as made clear by Athena attacking her, we’re getting a rematch of those two. Can’t be sure Kiera wins, she touched the belt and that’s usually a jinx.

I’m a little surprised Tony Khan is taking ROH down the on-air management road, but maybe Stokely and Jerry are going to actually take ROH off Tony’s workload. They did have a funny bit in their second promo, though, with Stokely quickly being established as the greedy corporate Heel who doesn’t understand what the fans like and dislike, just what he likes and dislikes. But great matches to wrap up the show with all the lucha libre. Kingdom wins, of course, to stay strong in the tag division, but WOW did Mike get bloody. And great stuff out of Fenix and Gravity, though they had an awful cut to the crowd when Gravity hit that facebuster. That particular part of the crowd did not care, it was obvious on their face, and how did they not edit that out?

My Score: 8.6/10


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Coverage

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

Talk about a Big Time Raw!

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Will The Man be the Last Woman Standing?

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

OFFICIAL RESULTS

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

PLAY BY PLAY

Jey Uso is here!

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

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

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

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

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

 

Adam Pearce is on the phone.

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winners: DIY, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)

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

 

Judgment Day meets backstage.

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Winners: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, by submission

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

 

Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Nia Jax speaks.

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

 

Cody Rhodes returns backstage.

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

 

Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall

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

 

Sami Zayn is backstage.

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

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

 

Adam Pearce is in the ring.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Sami confronts Gable now.

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

 

CM Punk speaks.

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

 

Drew McIntyre is here!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Becky Lynch speaks.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Liv Morgan confronts Becky Lynch.

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

 

Cody walks with his dog, Pharaoh, backstage.

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

 

Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winner: Becky Lynch

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


My Thoughts:

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

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

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

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

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

My Score: 8.9/10


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

The semifinals are here!

Published

on

We’re just one step away from the Cup!

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

OFFICIAL RESULTS

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

PLAY BY PLAY

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

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

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

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

No Contest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


My Thoughts:

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

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

My Score: 8.9/10


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