Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (6/15/21)
It’s an NXTornado Tag Tuesday!
NXT deals with the fallout from In Your House!
NXT may not be In Your House, but there’s still in-your-face action! Will Thatcher & Ciampa tear the Grizzled Young Veterans apart in a Tornado Tag match? What is William Regal planning to do about the bedlam plaguing the brand?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Imperium VS Breezango; Breezango wins.
- NXT Cruiserweight Championship Open Challenge: KUSHIDA VS ???; Kushida wins and retains the title.
- Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai VS Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter; Gonzalez & Kai win.
- Tornado Tag: Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher VS Grizzled Young Veterans; Ciampa & Thatcher win.
PLAY BY PLAY
William Regal heads to the ring.
The NXT General Manager doesn’t even have his music as he makes his entrance. He is given a mic, and fans chant, “Please Don’t Leave!” Regal wants to get something off his chest. Regal’s been here since day one in some form of another, starting with announcing, calling the very first TakeOver… Regal gets emotional as he thinks on how he has watched NXT become “this wonderful, beautiful thing,” and seeing all the competitors coming through here. They started touring the United States, and then going to the UK and Japan and Australia. All these amazing moments, including his hometown of Blackpool where his nieces got to sit and watch with him.
There are a lot of things fans don’t know about, either. Every spare moment has been about making NXT into the place that he and HHH thought about ten years ago. This is the place they wanted to make the place to be. They’ve tried so hard to get everything so right, for the sakes of the wrestlers, the commentary, and of course the fans. The fans took them to San Jose, to Brooklyn, to Houston, to Portland and more. Regal’s finally decided that with the chaos that’s been going on, he’s given everything he can give. Because of all the fans in the audience, and all the competitors and staff and even the fans at home, he can’t give us what we deserve anymore.
Therefore, Regal feels it is time- But Karrion Kross interrupts! The NXT Champion and his femme fatale, Scarlett Bordeaux, go right to the ring in formal wear to talk with Regal directly. “Her and I always knew this day would come. We just didn’t know when. But the moment we heard all that, we had to come out here to see it and feel it for ourselves.” Is Regal crying? Regal is completely pathetic! A week ago, Kross told Regal that he lost control of the roster, and Regal knew it was true. And then at TakeOver, when Kross punched a hole through “The Mount Rushmore of NXT,” Regal knew Kross could control this place through chaos and violence.
And now we’re here. Kross wants Regal to say it! Tell the people that he’s leaving! And then he can walk his ass up the aisle and never come back. Say it! Say that KROSS was RIGHT! SAY IT!! Say KROSS CONQUERS ALL! We ain’t got all night, Mr. Regal. Tick… Tock…” Wait a minute! Is that Samoa Joe?! Fans go nuts as the Samoan Submission Specialist returns to NXT! Joe gets in the ring and stands alongside Regal to stare down Kross! Joe has a mic and he says, “Mr. Regal, I believe you wanted to speak with me.” Regal say she did, just not in this circumstance. But he’s here so why not?
Regal says because he loves NXT so much, he thinks everyone deserves a GM that can hold the position with the integrity and respect that it deserves! Regal wants Joe to be the NEW NXT GM! Fans are fired up for that as Regal says he cannot keep this up any longer. Joe tells Regal that his answer is, “Absolutely not.” He explains that while Regal is weary and worn down, what Joe sees is this: in the seven years Regal has been here, he has scoured the globe and brought the very best talent to NXT, Joe included. For those seven years, Regal transformed this brand, plucked it from obscurity and made it an international phenomenon!
So to be honest, Regal casts a long shadow and has large shoes to fill. Joe cannot accept, but he has an offer. Joe has always understand that eh made Regal’s life hell while he was here, but he always afforded Regal respect. That said, Joe would be more than happy to insure Regal gets the respect he deserves from everybody. Joe is of course staring right at Kross! Fans are fired up, and Regal says, “That’s an interesting idea.” If that is something Joe is willing to do, there are conditions. Joe cannot be a competitor, and he cannot lay a hand on anyone. Kross smirks, but Regal says, “Unless provoked.” The smirk goes away!
Joe says, “Mr. Regal, I accept your offer.” That leaves one more question: What is Kross still doing in the ring? “Tick tock, young champion.” The law has been laid down and fans chant, “Joe is gonna kill~ you!” Kross and Scarlett leave, but will it only be a matter of time before they cross the line?
The Grizzled Young Veterans speak.
“Thatcher and Ciampa, we heard what you had to say at TakeOver. We heard the insults and we felt the disrespect.” Zack Gibson is from Liverpool, James Drake is from Blackpool, working class areas in North England. They’re used to people looking down their noses at them, dragging their names through the dirt. So tonight, Tornado Tag rules! No tags, no excuses! And they will learn why these two are Grizzled Young Veterans when they get their heads kicked in! But will no one survive when there’s nothing holding these teams back?
Imperium VS Breezango!
Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner are ready to carry out the orders given to them by their Ring General, Walter! Will Prince Pretty & The Lord of the Dance find themselves merely a stepping stone as Imperium takes over the Tag Division?
The teams sort out and Barthel starts with Tyler Breeze. They tie up, go around, and Barthel puts Breeze on ropes. Barthel arm-drags, has an armlock and wrenches, but Breeze gets a headlock. Barthel chinbars and fish hooks to get a headlock on Breeze. Breeze powers out, Barthel runs him over, then things speed up. Breeze jumps into a CHOP! Barthel kicks low, CLUBS Breeze down, then kicks him to the corner. Barthel spins Breeze around for a back suplex, but Breeze lands on his feet to JAWBREAKER! Tag to Fandango, Breeze whips Barthel into Dango’s dropkick! Fandango is on Barthel but Aichner tags in. Barthel whips and Aichner arm-drags Fandango to an armlock!
Aichner wrenches and jams Fandango’s arm then grinds the shoulder. Fans rally, Dango fights up but Aichner RAMS him into buckles! Aichner CLUBS Fandango, wraps the arm around ropes, but lets off as the ref counts 3. Fandango CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS in return! Fandango whips Aichner to ropes but Aichner sunset flips! Fandango stays up, punches Aichner then drops a leg! Fandango dumps Aichner out, Barthel goes over, Breeze PLANCAHS but misses! Fandango FLIES in and takes Imperium down! Fans are fired up as Fandango gets Aichner in the ring. Fandango climbs a corner, but Barthel throws Breeze in to distract the ref! Fandango hits Barthel, Aichner trips Fandango!
Fandango falls to the mat, Barthel nods as Imperium has control. Fandango sits up to hit Barthel, then he kicks Aichner! Aichner EuroUppers, Breeze BLASTS Barthel, Fandango knees away on Aichner! Fandango whips and kitchen sink KNEES Aichner down! The fans fire up as NXT goes picture in picture.
Fandango looms over Aichner, gets him up, and snap suplexes! Cover, TWO! Aichner grits his teeth, Fandango brings him up and whips him, only for Aichner to reverse! Fandango goes up and over but Barthel tags in as Fandango sunset flips! Barthel rains down fists and stomps on Fandango then digs his boots in at the ropes! The ref counts, Barthel lets off, and he lines up a shot to KICK Fandango in the back! Barthel stomps Fandango’s hands, then drags him up to bump him off buckles. Barthel puts Fandango in the ropes, Aichner holds him but the ref reprimands Aichner. Barthel still runs side to side but Breeze KICKS Barthel down!
Barthel protests but Breeze gets away with the cheap shot. Barthel still runs at Fandango to WRECK him with a dropkick! Imperium pose at their corner while the ring count is on Fandango. Fandango stirs at about 5 of 10 but Barthel goes out to fetch him. Barthel puts Fandango on the apron and CLUBS him. Fandango crawls but Barthel stays between him and Breeze. Fandango tries to juke but Barthel CLUBS him back down. Barthel kicks Fandango to the corner, tags Aichner in, and Imperium mugs Fandango. Aichner drags Fandango up to CLUB him back down! Fandango hits back with body shots but Aichner knees him low.
Aichner whips Fandango to a corner, blocks his boot and reels him in for a LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Aichner kicks Fandango to keep him from Breeze, and dares him to try for it. Fandango gets up to throw body shots but Aichner shoves him to CLOBBER him with an elbow! Cover, ONE!! Fandango is hanging tough but Aichner clamps on claws into the shoulder nerves! Fandango endures and NXT returns to single picture. Fans rally but Aichner CLUBS Fandango down! Cover, TWO! Aichner taunts Fandango, kicks him around, but Fandango throws body shots again! Aichner CLUBS Fandango more, brings him up and whips him to ropes.
Fandango KICKS back, then runs for the corner! Aichner catches him, and pops him to a SLAP! Tag to Barthel, and Imperium keeps Fandango down to mug him with more stomps. Barthel KICKS Fandango in the back, wraps on a cobra clutch and thrashes him about. Fandango endures, fights up but Barthel ripcords him to a kitchen sink knee! Barthel toys with Fandango, drags him up and snapmares him back to the cobra clutch. Fans rally as Fandango endures all over again. Breeze coaches Fandango but Barthel grinds Fandango down. Fandango fights up, Barthel gives short headbutts, then ripcords again! Fandango makes it a schoolboy! Cover, TWO!
Barthel anchors Fandango’s legs but Fandango kicks him down! Fandango crawls, Barthel clamps on with a camel clutch! Barthel whips Fandango at the corner but Fandango uses that to DECK Aichner! Barthel runs in, Fandango dumps him out! Fandango crawls for his corner and fans fire up! But Barthel comes in from the side to intercept! Fandango BACK DROPS Barthel away! Barthel crawls now, hot tags to Breeze and Aichner! Prince Pretty dodges but hesitates, Aichner CLOBBERS him! Aichner BOOTS Fandango, hauls Breeze up, but Breeze inside cradles! BREEZANGO WINS!!
Winners: Breezango, by pinfall
But Imperium won’t let them get away! Aichner mugs Breeze, Barthel POSTS Fandango! Breeze fights back but Barthel RAMS him into a corner! And feeds him to Aichner’s BOOT! Aichner gets Breeze up, Barthel climbs, EURO BOMB!! Fans boo but this is what Imperium must do! They put their banner over Breeze and strike their pose. Will this be satisfactory for Walter?
A brawl breaks out backstage!
Regal and security keep Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole apart! Their personal animosity has not gone away! Regal through the Unsanctioned match was enough, but now they’ll have a match, straight-up singles match! That match will be at the Great American Bash! But since they’re so fired up, they can choose proxies to fight next week! Kyle’s fine with that but Cole isn’t! Cole wants to end Kyle ASAP! But Kyle gets free and fires off on Cole! Joe gets in as the enforcer and he pushes them apart. Cole pushes Joe, so Joe throws off his jacket to put the COQUINA CLUTCH on Cole!! He makes Cole pass out!
Joe lets Cole go and shouts, “When he wakes up, you tell him Mr. Regal expects his decision!” Day one on the job and Joe’s making an impact! Will Cole have someone in mind to fight on his behalf? Or will he even remember what day it is?
Something is charging.
It is at 1%. What happens when it hits 100?
Santos Escobar speaks.
“Bronson Reed. What happened at TakeOver: In Your House was a tragedy.” He had the North American Championship in his hands and saw his reflection in it. “It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life.” But then Reed had to go and do it, huh? Not just squish him, but put him through a wall! No one does that to Santos Escobar! Reed revealed a weakness. We all know that that’s all Reed could’ve done to put him down. Escobar is coming for Reed 1v1, and will pick him up, just like he did at TakeOver, and then gravity will do the rest. Escobar will snatch the title and make that reflection a reality as the next North American Champion!
NXT Cruiserweight Championship Open Challenge: KUSHIDA VS ???
The Time Splitter is still a fighting champion, and a highly sought after free agent has answered the call! Tre Baxter is all heart, proving he is the best, most innovative wrestler on the indies. This isn’t just a nickname or a catchphrase, it is a way of life, but will even #AllHeart run out of time?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see if the debut is worth the hype!
Kushida and Baxter circle, tie up, and Kushida wrenches an arm. Baxter handsprings and breaks free then dodges Kushida’s leg pick. They go again, Kushida gets the leg this time, then trips Baxter to get a toehold. Kushida twists but Baxter rolls with it, only for Kushida to facelock and gator roll. Kushida floats all over Baxter, pushes him to a cover, ONE! Baxter backs off to catch his breath and the two go again. They feel out the grapple, Kushida still goes for a leg, then he trips Baxter again. Baxter gets up, steps over and victory rolls, TWO! Kushida gets up into a headlock from Baxter!
Baxter grinds Kushida down, but Kushida fights up and powers out. Kushida drops, Baxter handsprings then ducks and feints to roll Kushida up! ONE, and Kushida gets an arm! Baxter shoves him away, goes Matrix to then get around and redirect for a RANA! Kushida gets to a corner to cool off and fans fire up. Baxter runs corner to corner but is put on the apron. Baxter GAMANGIRIS, then springboards for a FLYING ELBOW! Kushida bails out but Baxter builds speed, to fake him out and superhero land! Kushida gets in to whip but Baxter springboards to whip Kushida back. Kushida holds ropes and BOOTS Baxter. Baxter gets Kushida’s legs, Kushida kicks and rebound ax kicks!
Kushida drags Baxter to the apron, but Baxter kicks the leg! Baxter builds speed and FLIES! Direct hit with the Fosbury Flop and CWC is fired up for “NXT! NXT!” Wait, is that Kyle O’Reilly at the ramp? Is Kyle scouting for a proxy? Kushida and Baxter catch their breath and NXT goes to break.
NXT returns and Kyle paces as Baxter grinds Kushida in a chinlock. Kushida fights up as fans rally, and Kushida wrenches to an ELBOW BREAKER! Kushida stomps but Baxter blocks! Baxter kips up and steps over for a WHEEL KICK! RVD would be proud! Kushida ducks the Penalty Kick and avoids the standing moonsault to atomic drop and whip Baxter to a corner. Kushida runs in to SHOTEI! Kushida whips Baxter and hip tosses, then handspring basement dropkicks! Fans fire up with Kushida as he runs, but Baxter avoids the kick! Baxter dodges again but Kushida ENZIGURIS! Baxter wobbles and Kushida whips him, but Baxter reverses.
Kushida handsprings, Baxter dodges to then handspring and NEURALIZER! Cedric Alexander would be impressed, too! Kyle seems to like what he sees as both men are down. A standing count begins, Kushida sits up at 3 and looks for Baxter. Kushida gets up at 5, Baxter follows. Kushida throws a forearm, Baxter gives it back, and we have a brawl! Kushida KICKS away on the arm but Baxter fires off fast hands! Baxter fires up but spins into the FAST BALL! Kushida runs, into a STANDING SPANISH FLY!?! Baxter hurries to a corner, springboards and 450 SPLASHES!! Cover, TWO!! Kushida survives and Baxter can’t believe it!
Kushida gets to a corner, Baxter storms over to throw forearms. Baxter hoists Kushida up top and climbs up but Kushida is after the arm! Baxter grits his teeth but Kushida elbows him over and over! Kushida has the wristlock, for a SUPER KIMURA DDT?! PENALTY KICK to the arm! And then a takedown to the HOVERBOARD!! Baxter taps, Kushida wins!
Winner: Kushida, by submission (still NXT Cruiserweight Champion)
Baxter was indeed #AllHeart, but the arm couldn’t withstand the pain! Kushida retains and remains the champion, but has Kyle found his proxy? Kyle gets in the ring and applauds Baxter’s efforts. Kyle also tells Kushida he isn’t here to accept an Open Challenge. Instead, he’s issuing his own. Kyle wants to fight the best and so does Kushida. So what does he say? Kushida accepts! Kyle VS Kushida, non-title but surely one for the ages, next week!!
Backstage interview with Franky Monet.
Franky Monet requested this time for a huge announcement. She and Presley the Pomeranian just to make the people happy. And what the people want is more Monet. So she is so proud to announce that next week will be the “Encore Performance” of Monet’s world premiere! Who will join Monet in the must-see sequel?
But moving on from that, Monet talks with Jessi Kamea & Aliyah. She saw the special bonus match from TakeOver, in which they lost against Zoey Stark & Sarray. She thought they had it won, until Robert Stone got involved. Speaking of, Stone walks in and asks what’s up. Monet says hi and two-facedly tells him that the girls should’ve listened to him more and they would’ve had it. Great minds think alike. Okay, see you all later. She’s great, isn’t she? Yeah. But is she making a play to break up the Robert Stone Brand?
Mercedes Martinez watches TakeOver back.
Specifically, she relives Mei Ying throwing her off the ramp and into boards with one hand. Yeah, she felt the wrath of Tian Sha. But she said before that she is the wrong person to mess with it. She isn’t going anywhere. If Boa wants to step up, he’ll feel the steel again. And Xia Li made it 1-1. Any time she wants the tiebreaker, Mercedes is ready. And Mei Ying won’t have a chance to get up out of her chair, because Mercedes will knock her right out of it! Is Mean Ms. Mercedes biting off more than she can chew with Tian Sha?
Ted DeBiase is here!
The Million Dollar Man heads to the ring, the Million Dollar Championship waiting for him. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” TakeOver showed us someone worthy of being the next Million Dollar Champion. DeBiase cues up a highlight video package of LA Knight. The self-made man made himself the winner at TakeOver. Whose game is it? L A Knight’s. And Knight rolls up in a brand new Corvette, smokes a cigar as he makes his entrance both into the building and to ringside, and joins DeBiase in the ring. Knight tells, “Teddyyy~! Let me talk…” Knight stops himself and gets serious for a moment. He needs a second as he wants to actually talk to Ted DeBiase.
“It’s not often in life that we get to meet our heroes. In this business, it’s even more rare that you get to meet your heroes, and then share the ring with them.” For Knight to make it to that place, and then said hero says he could be the one to carry on the legacy, Knight can’t describe what he’s thinking or feeling. When DeBiase told him and Grimes to literally climb the ladder of success, Knight took that very seriously. Knight can’t lie, he’s all banged up, but to be standing here with DeBiase and that belt, it was 100% worth it. Knight just needed to say that. Because when Knight grew up watching wrestling with his dad, DeBiase was always on their screen.
Fans want Cameron Grimes but Knight says the kids in the neighborhood all wrestled in the backyard, and someone was always Ted DeBiase. Knight had the action figure and the championship belt. Knight wants DeBiase to understand that him as a fixture of Knight’s childhood is an understatement. Knight admits he needed DeBiase and this belt so that Knight could express his gratitude and appreciation. DeBiase and Knight shake hands and DeBiase says Knight earned this. Knight wants to be 100% serious, this is the greatest moment in his career. And it would be the greatest honor to be officially crowned Million Dollar Champion. DeBiase would be happy to.
DeBiase fetches the belt from its briefcase, brings it over to Knight, and puts it on his shoulder. They shake hands again, DeBiase pats Knight on the shoulder and officially calls him the NEW Million Dollar Champion! The Million Dollar Laugh and the pyro go off, and fans duel over Knight and Grimes. Knight understands the fans have their favorite, but having this belt on his shoulder is beyond description. Knight’s learned so much just the last few weeks. Again, DeBiase was a fixture in Knight’s life. Knight has everything that he’s ever wanted, but he’s going to drop what he doesn’t need. Knight DECKS DeBiase!!!
And then Knight BLASTS the guards, throws the podium, and snatches up the belt! Knight says what was DeBiase’s is now his! Knight is the ONE TRUE MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPION! Fans boo as Knight throws off his jacket to stomp DeBiase down! But here comes Grimes! Grimes CLOBBERS Knight and rallies on him with more clotheslines! Grimes clotheslines Knight out of the ring and throws his jacket at him! Grimes checks on DeBiase while Knight gets away with the title. Fans are fired up for the Carolina Cash Money Caveman, will Grimes get Million Dollar Revenge?
Backstage interview with Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai.
They have a tag team match coming up, but McKenzie asks, after the grueling TakeOver defense, why is Raquel competing again so soon? Raquel says that Ember Moon learned the hard way what it means to face her. But also, someone pass on the word to Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell. The Way can hold onto those titles real tight, because there’s unfinished business. Raquel’s pal, Dakota, wants gold, and Raquel isn’t satisfied with one title. Tonight, they take care of Lil’ Kacy and Lil’ Kayden, then they move on to being two-time tag champions. Big Mami Cool & Cobra Kai head out, will they show no mercy to KC Squared?
The batter continues to charge.
It is now at 11%.
NXT returns as Dakota & Raquel head for gorilla.
And there waiting are Shotzi & Ember! Regal and Samoa Joe are already holding them back to keep this from getting out of hand, and the NXT Women’s Champion and her insurance policy go to the ring.
Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai VS Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter!
Taking over one division isn’t enough for Ricky Desperado, she wants it all! Will she and Dakota crush KC and KC to go after The Way? Or will that arrogance cost them against two of the most agile and resilient superstars in NXT today?
Kayden and Kai start, tie up, and Kai puts Kayden in a corner. The ref counts, Kai lets off and Kayden comes back. Kayden waistlocks, trips Kai then handsprings over. Kai ducks the buzzsaw, guards for the mule kick, but Kayden was just faking her out. Kayden pats Kai on the head, then gets her arm! Kayden wrenches, tags to Kacy, and they whip Kai to ropes for a double drop toehold! Kai sputters as KC Square goes to the apron, for a DOUBLE BOOT SANDWICH! Cover, TWO! Kacy keeps on Kai with a facelock, Kayden tags back in, and KC Square whip to drop toehold, and Chancery to BASEMENT DROPKICK! Cover, TWO!
Kai gets away, Raquel tags in and she grins as she towers over Kayden. Kayden avoids the boot to headlock but Raquel powers out. Kayden gets around Raquel but Raquel pulls hair to reel Kayden in for a TWO HAND TOSS! Kayden dodges in the corner, then swings around the clothesline to an IRON OCTOPUS! Raquel endures and powers free, but Kayden sunset flips! Raquel drags Kayden up but Kayden hits a JAWBREAKER! Kayden dropkicks Raquel to the corner, runs in and SPLASHES! Tag to Kacy but Raquel shoves Kayden. Kacy sneaks up, Raquel grabs her first and whips her at Kayden! KC Squared dosido and Kacy slides to trip Raquel up! Kayden BOOTS, and Kacy climbs on!
Raquel turns the rana into a toss but Kacy lands, ducks, dodges, and SILLY STRINGS with Kayden! Dakota tags in but Kacy slides under the kick. Kai avoids the forward handspring but Kacy just handsprings back to headscissor! Kai bails out, Kacy aims and TORNILLOS! Raquel runs over to help Kai but Kacy tags Kayden! KC Squared work together, Kayden goes up and SUPER CROSSBODIES! Down goes Dakota and Raquel, KC Squared is fired up as NXT goes to break!
NXT returns and Raquel grinds Kacy in a backbreaker rack. Kacy endures, even as Raquel bends her way back! Raquel flips Kacy over and drags her up to whip her to a corner. Tag to Kai and she runs side to side to BOOT WASH Kacy! Kai drags Kacy to a cover, TWO! Kayden is relieved but Kai drags Kacy up to bump off buckles. Tag to Raquel, she runs in and SPLASHES Kacy! Raquel scoops Kacy for a SIDEWALK SLAM! Kacy avoids the elbow drop and hotshots from the apron! Kai tags back in and runs to BOOT Kacy off the apron! Kai goes out to get Kacy up, but Kacy whips Kai into the apron! Kacy gets in the ring, hurries over, but Kai keeps her from Kayden!
Kacy BOOTS Kai, and hot tags Kayden! The Spitfire rallies on Kai, sees Raquel get up and dropkicks her down! Kayden fires off on Kai to put her in the same corner with Raquel! Kayden runs to forearm smash them both! Kayden keeps moving, and she hits a DROPKICK SPLASH COMBO! Kayden whips, Kai reverses but Kayden wheelbarrows and victory rolls to a mule KICK! Kayden builds speed to BOOT WASH Kai in return! Cover, TWO!! Kai survives but Kayden keeps her cool. Kayden gets Kai up but Kai SCORPION KICKS! Tag to Raquel and she drags Kayden around to whip to a corner. Raquel runs in but into a boot!
Kayden climbs, leaps, but into a fireman’s carry! And a swinging SIDEWALK SLAM! Cover, TWO!! Kayden proves her resilience but Raquel is furious! Raquel dead lifts Kayden to the Canadian Rack, tag to Kai! GORY BOMB CODE BREAKER COMBO!! Cover, Kacy breaks it in time!! Kai is furious and runs in, but into Kayden’s boot! Kayden elbows and WRECKS Raquel! But Kai throws Kayden down by her hair! Kai gets Kayden up, whips her to ropes, but Kayden holds ropes to boot back. Kacy tags in, sneaks a shoulder in, they table top Kai to then wheelbarrow back suplex SPLASH! Cover, TWO!! Kai gets out of the way as Raquel runs in, but Kacy baits her into Kayden’s KICK!
Raquel still grabs Kayden, but Kacy dropkicks Raquel out of the ring! Tag, and Kayden cartwheels to mule KICK Raquel! Kacy RANAS Raquel into the apron! Kai runs into a HEEL KICK! Kayden gets Kai up, tags Kacy and Kacy climbs! KC Squared for the 450 SPLASH NECKBREAKER?!?! Cover, Raquel drags Kacy out to THROW her into barriers! Kayden runs but into a fireman’s carry! SAMOAN DROP into barriers! Raquel flounders but Kacy climbs back up. Kai KICKS Kacy first, for a DRAPING GO TO KICK!! Cover, Kai & Gonzalez win!
Winners: Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez, by pinfall
The combination of KC Squared is strong, but #CapKota and Big Mami Cool are stronger! Will they make their way to a shot at the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships?
Ever-Rise review their TakeOver Pre-Preshow.
They were trying to do something nice for the community, and Hit Row has to go and ruin things. Top Dolla and Ashante Thee Adonis are “a couple of tough guys” for beating up a little dollhouse! But what Matt Marthel wants to know if “Dollar King” was looking for a box of donuts. Chase Parker says if Hit Row wants to do that to the TakeOver Pre-Preshow, go after Ever-Rise and that’s it, NO SIR! Ever-Rise rebuilds! Look at… Well, it isn’t really good as new, but it’s here! So when you come knocking on someone’s door, be ready for an answer. Ding dong! Ever-Rise Rules! Will they get to take the fight to Hit Row soon enough?
The battery is still charging.
It is now at 21%.
The Great American Bash is back, baby!
Stars and stripes, bruises and blood, get ready for it on Tuesday, July 6th! And as already stated, O’Reilly VS Cole will happen one more time, in a straight-up singles match! But with Kyle having called out Kushida for next week’s proxy tune-up, who will Cole choose to one-up his former friend?
Io Shirai heads to the ring!
The Evil Genius is back again after making her return confronting Candice LeRae on Poppy’s behalf. Shirai gets a mic to say, “I’m back!” And she feels good. She says in Japanese that we must’ve missed her, right? And her next target is- Well, she’s on her way out! Candice interrupts and tells Shirai that a lot has changed since she’s been gone. For example and most importantly, Candice is no longer an uncrowned champion. And since Shirai is not unbeatable anymore, she’s back to the bottom. Shirai has to earn opportunities now. And there is something that hasn’t changed, actually. Candice still can’t stand her.
And unfortunately for Shirai, she picked the wrong time to mess with her. Candice takes off the belt but INDI attacks from behind! The Way mugs Shirai, but Shirai fights back! She BOOTS Candice, puts Indi on ropes, and dials it up! 619!! Candice gets up and anchors Shirai’s springboard for Indi to BOOT Shirai in return! The Way gets Shirai up to RAM her into the apron, and then Candice hammers away on Shirai while Indi clears off the desk. Candice drags Shirai up and over to put her on the desk, and then has Indi to go up for that Impressive Elbow Drop. Indi does as told, but here comes Zoey Stark! Stark tackles Indi and rains down fists!
Candice gets in, Stark rallies on both champions! BOOT for Candice, HEEL KICK for Indi! Shirai returns, she springboards to DOUBLE MISSILE DROPKICK! The Way gets away and fans fire up with Shirai! The Genius has an ally in the Rising Star(k), but will they make The Way go away?
Backstage interview with Regal and Samoa Joe.
McKenzie asks about the order being restored. How has the night panned out for them? Regal wants to tell McKenzie something, but then cameras cut away to see Ciampa & Thatcher head for gorilla. MSK has popcorn and lets them know that they’ll be watching the main event very closely. Lee & Carter have their popcorn, do you? Oh wait, Thatcher takes Carter’s bucket to have it for himself. Rude. Will things be even worse for Gibson & Drake in a matter of moments?
The Diamond Mine is coming.
Achieve success though pain. This is the key. Pressure makes diamonds, but who is going to shine next week?
Backstage interview with Regal and Samoa Joe for real now.
Continuing where they left off, Regal’s thoughts on tonight are that- The Way comes in to cheer for Joe. Gargano and Theory never knock, do they? Theory knocks and Gargano says this is great! Thanks for being here, Joe! Joe choking out Cole was great, by the way. Joe is what this brand has needed! Regal lost complete control. Gargano broke a pencil and Regal went “cuckoo bananas.” But now with Joe, this is so good Theory, tell him how great it is. Theory raises his fist and nods and Gargano tells him they’re not doing the Diesel cosplay anymore. Joe asks Gargano to do him a big favor. Anything, man! What is it? Get out. Okay, great talk. See you guys around!
Regal tells Joe this is what he was talking about. But then Pete Dunne walks in! Dunne and Joe stare down but Regal asks them to keep it civil. Will the Bruiserweight have something to say to the Samoan Submission Specialist? Or is this icy silence more than enough?
Tornado Tag: Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher VS Grizzled Young Veterans!
NXT returns and GYV make their entrance. They have mics but Ciampa and Thatcher won’t give them time to talk! The brawl is on, Old Man Ciampa and Toothless Timmy put Gibson and Drake in the ring, and now the match is on!
The brawling continues, Ciampa and Thatcher have GYV in the corners and are stomping mudholes into them! Ciampa lets off, Thatcher follows, and they whip GYV into each other! Thatcher drags Drake up, Ciampa sits Gibson up, and they hammer away with dueling forearms! Then they trade partners! Then they go for DOUBLE ARMBARS! Gibson and Drake scramble, Drake gets the ropebreak but it doesn’t matter! There’s nothing stopping this but a pin or a tap-out! GYV bail out, Ciampa & Thatcher chase after, but GYV turn the tables! GYV mug Ciampa & Thatcher, and they throw Thatcher out so they can focus on Ciampa.
Drake throws forearms, Gibson throws forearms, but Ciampa CHOPS back! Drake shoves, Ciampa ducks the double clothesline to give DOUBLE CLOTHESLINES! Ciampa runs to give endless clotheslines to GYV, but GYV drop, dropkick and basement dropkick! Thatcher returns but gets MAYHEM IN MOTION! Fans boo as GYV high-five and Ciampa bails out. GYV goes out and fire forearms on Ciampa & Thatcher., Drake bumps Ciampa off barriers, Gibson RAMS Thatcher into other barriers! Then they trade and Gibson throws EuroUppers on Ciampa while Drake clubs Thatcher. Drake puts Thatcher in the ring and brings him up for more forearms.
Thatcher whips Drake, Drake tumbles up and out but Thatcher counter punches for a SLEEPER! Drake flails, Gibson gets in and KNEES Thatcher in the back! Ciampa gets in to get Gibson in a SLEEPER! Gibson snapmares free, throat chops Ciampa, but Thatcher choke grips! Drake chop blocks a leg! Gibson BOOTS and Drake STOMPS Thatcher down! GYV trade again and Drake throws hands on Gibson while Gibson CLUBS Thatcher. Ciampa is thrown out so GYV can focus on Thatcher. Gibson gets Thatcher up, but Thatcher blocks the suplex. Drake goes out to RAM Ciampa into barriers! Then Drake joins Gibson for a BACK SUPLEX NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!!
Thatcher grits what teeth he has as Drake goes to the apron, Ciampa trips Drake up, gets i and shoves Gibson to ROCK him! Ciampa runs to clothesline Gibson and himself out of the ring! Then Ciampa goes back for Drake to give him endless clotheslines! KNEE for Gibson, then Ciampa goes out to RAM Drake into the timekeeper’s area! Ciampa gets Gibson up to throw him onto Drake! Fans are thunderous as Ciampa goes running in for a DOUBLE PSYCHO KNEE!! Ciampa puts Drake in the ring, goes for Gibson and puts him in, too, and then regroups with Thatcher. They fire each other up with SLAPS, and then Thatcher EuroUppers Drake! Ciampa forearms Gibson, and repeat!
Fans are rallying as the EuroUppers and corner clotheslines keep going! Thatcher and Ciampa are fired up as NXT goes picture in picture!
Ciampa and Thatcher stalk GYV to the ramp. Ciampa stomps Gibson’s fingers and Thatcher gets Drake up in a facelock. Ciampa ROCKS Gibson, but Drake RAMS Thatcher into steel steps! Drake helps Gibson but he just gets a CHOP for it! Gibson EuroUppers Thatcher but Thatcher pulls ears! Thatcher ROCKS Gibson, Ciampa RAMS Drake into barriers, then Thatcher TOSSES Gibson into boards! GYV are floundering around, Ciampa RAMS Drake into more barriers! Gibson forearms but Thatcher EuroUppers! Thatcher digs Gibson’s face into the steel fencing! Ciampa stomps Gibson down so Thatcher can run and RAM Drake into more barriers!
Ciampa CHOPS Gibson, Thatcher cravats Drake for a neck wrench. Gibson RAMS Ciampa into the announce desk! And then RAMS him into barriers! Drake fights free and knocks Thatcher down. Drake puts Thatcher in the ring, covers, ONE!! Thatcher snarls but Drake looms over him as Gibson RAMS Ciampa into barriers! Drake clamps onto Thatcher with a neck wrench then CLUBS Thatcher down. Gibson joins in and GYV mug Thatcher. Gibson grinds Thatcher down with an underhook so that Drake can jam his knee into Thatcher’s ribs! GYV pace around, Thatcher kicks Drake from below but Gibson CLUBS Thatcher down.
GYV taunt and mug Thatcher more while Ciampa is still down on the outside. NXT returns to single picture and Thatcher fires off EuroUppers on GYV! But Drake clinches, Gibson MISSILE DROPKICKS for the COMPLETE SHOT! Drake has a KOJI KLUTCH! Gibson taunts Thatcher but that just pisses him off. Thatcher grabs at Gibson but Gibson stomps him! Ciampa CLOBBERS Gibson from behind! Ciampa stomps Drake until he lets Thatcher go! Then he stomps him more! Fans are electric as Ciampa CLUBS and CHOPS Gibson! Gibson rakes Ciampa’s eyes! Thatcher clinches Gibson for a Belly2Belly! Thatcher gets back up but Drake runs in, only for Thatcher to ENZIGURI!
Thatcher glares at Gibson, waistlocks, but Ciampa runs in and Gibson dodges! Ciampa BOOTS Thatcher! GYV clinch and ENZIGURI Ciampa! Gibson has Ciampa in the Electric Chair, Drake goes up, but Ciampa fights! Ciampa ROCKS Drake, Thatcher gets Gibson with a knee! BUTTERFLY SUPLEX for Gibson, SUPER AIR RAID CRASH for Drake!!! Cover, TWO?!?! Thatcher keeps Gibson down with a grovit but Gibson dumps him out! Ciampa KNEES Gibson down and sees Drake going to the apron. Ciampa follows Drake out there, CHOPS him, but Drake CHOPS back! Ciampa CHOPS again, Drake CHOPS! Ciampa eggs Drake on as the CHOP fight continues!
Ciampa BOOTS Drake, fires up and fireman’s carries! Drake fights free, Gibson joins in and they have Ciampa in the Electric Chair! Drake builds speed and DIVES for the TOPE DOOMSDAY!! The ref checks on Ciampa while Drake is slow to getting up. Gibson goes after Thatcher, they both pull on each other’s ears! EuroUppers start flying back and forth, over and over! Thatcher gets the edge, Gibson wobbles, and Thatcher keeps throwing EuroUppers! Gibson gives some back, and catches Thatcher to a backslide! Thatcher rolls through to trip Gibson up! Gibson turns around to drag Thatcher down! Thatcher avoids Shankly Gates to go for the chicken wing!
Gibson moves, Thatcher wants the wristlock but Gibson puts him in a corner! GRIT YOUR TEETH!! Drake rocks Thatcher with that dropkick, and Gibson gets Thatcher up. GYV coordinate, POWERBOMB BACKSTABBER!! Cover, Ciampa breaks it up!? Ciampa returns and the CWC is volcanic! Drake and Gibson mug Ciampa against the announce desk, but Thatcher crawls his way over. Drake tells fans to shut it as he clears off the desk. The desk hood becomes a ramp, Gibson BACK SUPLEXES Ciampa through it! Drake mockingly asks Ciampa how he liked that, and Gibson gets Ciampa back up. They put Ciampa on the desk, and Drake DECKS Thatcher!
Drake goes into the ring to stomp Thatcher over and over! Drake gives Gibson the green light, but Ciampa gives Gibson an AIR RAID CRASH onto the desk! The desk didn’t break but Ciampa might’ve broken Gibson! The Psycho Killer hobbles over, but Drake needs to worry about the Professor of Pain! Thatcher turns Drake around to SLAP him! Ciampa SLAPS Drake, and they DOUBLE SLAP! ASSISTED FAIRY TALE ENDING!! And the ANKLE LOCK WITH FUJIWARA!!! Drake taps, Ciampa & Thatcher win!!
Winners: Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher, by submission
The friendship isn’t fake, and the win is just as real! Will these two takeover the tag division and make the Must See Kids into former champions?
Backstage interview with Regal and Samoa Joe, take three.
McKenzie asks Regal what his thoughts are on Joe being back in NXT. Things are going to be a little different around here. Joe says that this is simply night one of many. They head out, having reestablished the natural order. But how long will it last?
My Thoughts:
An awesome follow-up episode to TakeOver! And only four matches! But even though we opened with a promo, it was an amazing moment right from the start. Regal did great with the emotion, and in kayfabe, he was definitely considering stepping down. Kross is getting great Heel heat being a jerk to the beloved NXT GM, and then SAMOA FREAKIN’ JOE is back!! Reports said he was back at the Performance Center, aka the Capital Wrestling Center, and was going to be back in NXT, and being Regal’s enforcer is a great move. Joe settling the fighting between Kyle and Cole with the sleeper hold was awesome, as was his interactions with Gargano and Dunne.
Speaking of which, Kyle VS Cole II at Great American Bash is going to be awesome, too. I kinda wish they put “Loser Leaves NXT” on it but that’d make it obvious Cole would lose to finally move on. I also like this “pick your poison” proxy stuff, with each guy choosing who they face before then. Kushida VS Baxter was a great Cruiserweight title match, and a great way for Baxter to debut, but I wish the 205 Live roster would get more chances. Kyle choosing Kushida for his match next week was a cool choice, and I would think #CoolKyle wins. Cole could choose just about anyone at this point, and I’m not sure what he goes for. Will he try to face someone strong to prove he’s stronger than Kyle? Or will he go for someone he looks down on in an attempt to get a squash? I’m leaning towards the latter.
The charging battery is interesting. We haven’t even gotten anyone from the Diamond Mine, and we’re getting a teaser for someone or something new? This has to mean a lot of call-ups are happening through the WWE Draft, and that is going to suck for said call-ups, except for those going to SmackDown. But maybe only slightly. Babatunde became Dabba-Kato became Commander Azeez, and Piper Niven was treated like an absolute unknown. But griping about Vince not caring about continuity is for other articles. Diamond Mine is finally coming next week, NXT is getting a lot of factions to fill the gap of the Undisputed Era and that much is cool.
Imperium losing to Breezango was quite the surprise, but I suppose Walter’s orders were to eliminate Breezango, not necessarily win. Breezango might come back for revenge but maybe Imperium lurks on the outside of the tag title scene. Ever-Rise calling out Hit Row was good, that match will be a lot of fun. Escobar had a good promo to call Reed out, and of course their 1v1 is coming. I bet that will be at the Great American Bash, and it will be a great North American Championship. Franky Monet making moves on the Robert Stone Brand is interesting, and a purely female faction could be great for NXT, too.
We got a good promo from Mercedes calling out Tian Sha as a whole. Shirai, Candice, Indi and Stark had a good segment. It was a good detail that Shirai wanted to call Candice out, and for The Way to turn things around on her. Stark makes a good ally for Shirai to take on The Way on Poppy’s behalf, and that could go either way. Gonzalez & Kai VS KC Squared was an excellent tag match, especially for KC Squared to show their stuff. But in the end, it makes sense the NXT Women’s Champion and her friend/sidekick would win. They’ve still got beef with Ember & Shotzi and they want the tag titles back, we could get quite the tag team showdown at Great American Bash.
The “crowning” of Knight with DeBiase was another great segment. Knight did a great job working a shoot, because I totally believe that Knight and his group of friends grew up watching and loving the Million Dollar Man’s time in WWE and all those iconic wrestlers from then. And then I just knew Knight would turn on DeBiase right there, it felt so clear. Grimes gets to be even more Face coming to the rescue, and I hope the Great American Bash has a rematch, and whether or not Grimes wins there, that win is coming and Grimes will be vindicated. The CWC loves Grimes, they are going to love when Grimes finally gets the belt and so am I.
That Tornado Tag was an awesome main event, very much bordering on TakeOver level, and it was great for Ciampa & Thatcher to win. They surely get next against MSK with MSK showing they were watching backstage, but I wouldn’t mind Ciampa & Thatcher still having to earn a shot in another killer match, perhaps with Legado or Imperium. Great American Bash should definitely try to be pseudo-TakeOver to keep NXT going through the Summer, since there is also the return to touring for RawDown and even AEW going all out on the road to All Out 2021.
My Score: 9.3/10
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Coverage
Mitchell’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Results & Report! (5/25/25)
Round 8, all together!
The penultimate round of this round robin!
Best of the Super Juniors 32 enters round 8, and there are still a lot of moving pieces! Who will be that much closer to the finals?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: Ryusuke Taguchi VS Robbie Eagles; Eagles wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: KUSHIDA VS Yoshinobu Kanemaru; Kushida wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: YOH VS Titan; Yoh wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Dragon Dia VS Robbie X; Dia wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: MAO VS Nick Wayne; Mao wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Kosei Fujita VS Ninja Mack; Mack wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: Taiji Ishimori VS SHO; Sho wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Francesco Akira VS Clark Connors; Connors wins, by disqualification.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: El Desperado VS Kevin Knight; Desperado wins.
- Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Master Wato VS Hiromu Takahashi; Hiromu wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Here are the current A Block standings!
Master Wato: 5-2, 10 points
Clark Connors: 4-3, 8 points
Francesco Akira: 4-3, 8 points
Kosei Fujita: 4-3, 8 points
Hiromu Takahashi: 4-3, 8 points
Robbie X: 3-4, 6 points
Yoshinobu Kanemaru: 3-4, 6 points
KUSHIDA: 3-4, 6 points
Dragon Dia: 3-4, 6 points
Ninja Mack: 2-5, 4 points [ELIMINATED]
Here are the current B Block standings!
YOH: 4-3, 8 points
Nick Wayne: 4-3, 8 points
MAO: 4-3, 8 points
Taiji Ishimori: 4-3, 8 points
El Desperado: 4-3, 8 points
Ryusuke Taguchi: 3-4, 6 points
Kevin Knight: 3-4, 6 points
SHO: 3-4, 6 points
Titan: 3-4, 6 points
Robbie Eagles: 3-4, 6 points
Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: Ryusuke Taguchi VS Robbie Eagles!
The Funky Weapon fell short in last round’s main event, but he proved he’s still got it. But can he get it going again this late into the tournament? Or does the Sniper of the Skies have the kill shot waiting?
The bell rings, Eagles runs up, wheelbarrows, victory rolls and has the legs, RON MILLER SPECIAL!! Taguchi claws at the mat, drags Eagles along, and makes it to the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer, Eagles drags Taguchi back, but Taguchi kicks Eagles down to have OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Eagles scrambles to the ROPEBREAK! Taguchi lets go, Eagles bails out, and Taguchi goes to the corner, TRIANGLE- NO, Eagles moves, Taguchi lands safe on the apron, but then the leg jams! Eagles 619s the legs out! Taguchi falls to the floor, Eagles brings him around, and he KICKS the bad leg! The fans rally, Eagles taunts Taguchi, then drags Taguchi around.
Eagles SMASHES Taguchi’s knee off the floor! The fans cheer, Eagles stands Taguchi up, and he puts him in the corner. Eagles pulls Taguchi’s legs against the crossbar! The ref reprimands and counts, Eagles lets go at 4, but he sits on Taguchi! Eagles eggs Taguchi on as he hops down, then rallies the fans. Eagles aims from the apron, springboards in, but into ANTIAIR HIP ATTACK! The fans fire up while both men are down! Taguchi clutches his leg but he rolls his way to Eagles. Taguchi has Eagles on ropes and rubs it in his face! POINT BLANK HIP again and again! Taguchi then runs, to HIP ATTACK! Eagles sputters and the fans cheer!
Taguchi calls upon the powers of Strange Style, “ORYA~!” KETSU- NO, Eagles rolls up with bridge, TWO! Taguchi rolls Eagles, TWO! OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Eagles scrambles, rolls, and KICKS Taguchi down! The fans rally while Eagles shakes out the bad leg. Eagles stands, hobbles, and he shows some cheek! HIP ATTACK! And HIP ATTACK! Taguchi sputters, Eagles fires the fans up with some swivel, but Taguchi blocks the hip attack to HEADBUTT the butt! The fans cheer and Taguchi HEADBUTTS Eagles’ stomach! The forearms fly, Taguchi gets the edge, but Eagles ROUNDHOUSES! SUPERKICKS! ENZI- NO, Taguchi ducks! OH MY GAH ANKLE!
Eagles rolls and kicks free, then catches Taguchi. Taguchi shoves free to HIP ATTACK! Eagles says I’LL BE BACK, but Taguchi catches him! OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Eagles reaches out, crawls forward, and the fans rally up! Taguchi stands Eagles up, Eagles cravats, ASAI- NO, Taguchi slips free of the DDT! Drop toehold, and OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Eagles endures, the fans fire up, but Taguchi yanks Eagles back! Chicken wings, DODON- NO, Eagles victory rolls! TWO and Taguchi has it! TWO and they roll, roll, roll, roll, roll! In the end, Taguchi has it, TWO!!! Eagles escapes but both men are dizzy! Taguchi fires up, the fans are with him, but both men fall over!
The fans rally hard, and this is just the first five minutes! Taguchi ENZIGIRIS! Eagles is against ropes, but he comes back to HYPERION!!! Cover, EAGLES WINS!!
Winner: Robbie Eagles, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Taguchi earns 0)
It was a wild shootout from the start, but it is Eagles who hits the mark! Will the Sniper still take aim at the top? Or will someone else in the block block his path?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: KUSHIDA VS Yoshinobu Kanemaru!
The Time Splitter and the Heel Master are on that bubble, one loss means the end for them! Will Kushida pick up speed and make it Back to the Future? Or does Kanemaru have one last cheap trick up his sleeve?
Kushida is on the corner for his entrance, and Kanemaru attacks! And ROCKET LAUNCHES him! The bell rings and Kanemaru whips to then DROPKICK the legs! Kanemaru steps through for a FIGURE FOUR! Kushida scrambles and rolls all the way to the ROPEBREAK! The ref reprimands, Kanemaru lets go, and Kushida scrambles away to the other side. Kanemaru drags Kushida back from ropes, holds him open, then gives a foot to the ref to split the wishbone! The fans cheer, Kanemaru turns Kushida over and SMASHES the knee! Kushida writhes more but Kanemaru is on him again, to YANK the leg!
Kanemaru taunts Kushida, mockingly asking what’s wrong. Kanemaru kicks Kushida to ropes, but Kushida CHOPS! Kanemaru kicks the leg, Kushida CHOPS, then Kushida CHOPS again! Kushida KICKS Kanemaru’s arm! The fans rally, Kushida whips, but Kanemaru reverses. Kanemaru handsprings, but Kanemaru DROPKICKS the legs! FIGURE FOUR!! The fans rally for Kushida while he endures, and he fights to push the main leg! Kanemaru powers the hold back down! Kushida endures, fights over, ROPEBREAK! The fans applaud but Kanemaru holds on until the ref reprimands. Kushida hobbles to the apron, and Kanemaru runs up.
Kushida RAMS Kanemaru, HOTSHOTS him away, then hurries up the corner. Kushida leaps but Kanemaru moves! Kushida’s leg jams, and Kanemaru trips him! Step through, but Kushida cradles, TWO!! Kanemaru escapes, Kushida waistlocks, but Kanemaru switches. Kushida slips under, FLIPS Kanemaru, and has the HOVERBOARD! Kanemaru fights up, spins through, and kicks the bad leg! Kushida PELES! Kanemaru goes to a corner, Kushida runs in, but Kanemaru BOOTS Kushida! Kanemaru runs, Kushida drops then HIP TOSSES into the ARM- NO, Kanemaru stacks Kushida, TWO! Kanemaru kicks and scoops, BRITISH-
NO, Kushida wrenches through to hop on, HOVERBOARD!! Kanemaru endures as Kushida thrashes the arm, and he grabs the ref! Kanemaru sends the ref into Kushida then ENZIGIRIS! Kushida and the ref are both down, so Kanemaru takes a swig of his whiskey! Kushida stands, but he smothers Kanemaru! Then TANAKA FASTBALL sends the mist flying! Backslide, KUSHIDA WINS!
Winner: Kushida, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Kanemaru earns 0)
Another fast and furious match as this night gets going, and Kushida turns things around! Kanemaru is more than likely out of the running now, but can Kushida still make it to the finals? Or is time running out?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: YOH VS Titan!
One man is near the front but the other is near the back! Will Direct Drive kick it into gear and keep it fresh? Or will El Inmortal stay alive for a little longer?
The bell rings and the two rush in! Titan DROPKICKS Yoh and Yoh tumbles out! Titan builds speed, Yoh is back and he trips Titan! Yoh ties Titan up in the Paradise Lock! Milano Collection AT can’t believe what he’s seeing! Yoh fires the fans up, then runs to DROPKICK Titan out of Paradise! Yoh hurries to suplex, FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO! Titan stays in this but Yoh stays focused as the fans rally up. Titan stirs while Yoh tunes up! SUPER- NO, Titan ducks the kick, shoves, and then goes Matrix to dodge! CALF KICK! Yoh tumbles, Titan runs, but Yoh puts Titan on the apron. Titan GAMANGINRIS in return!
Titan then springboards and FLYING RANAS! Yoh tumbles out again and Titan FLIES! Down goes Yoh and the fans fire up again! The fans fire up, Titan puts Yoh in the ring, and then Titan springboards again! DIVING BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO! Yoh stays in this and the fans rally more. Titan waits on Yoh, pounds the mat, and the fans rally back up. Yoh stands, Titan throws off his elbow pads, and he FRAME- NO, Yoh BOOTS Titan first! Titan comes back but Yoh ducks a lariat to full nelson! Titan breaks free, switches, but Yoh elbows and runs! Titan follows to TORNADO DDT, and he brings Yoh up! But Yoh suplexes, FALCON GOROSHI!
The fans fire up while both men are down! Titan sputters, and Yoh roars as he rises up. The fans cheer and Yoh brings Titan around. Yoh underhooks but Titan fights it! The fans rally, Titan wrenches and tilt-o-whirls to DDT! Then he drags Yoh up to suplex, GOURD BUSTER! SUPERKICK! The fans fire up with Titan and he hurries to the corner! Titan skins the cat up top, aims and LA LANCER!! Yoh spasms, Titan covers, TWO!!! Yoh survives and the fans fire up again! Titan loosens his mask a bit, roars and the fans are with him! Titan drags Yoh up, reverse rack, but Yoh slips out of the yoyo! SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO!!
Titan still lives, but Yoh roars again! Yoh drags Titan up, underhooks, DIRECT DRIVE!! Cover, YOH WINS!!
Winner: Yoh, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Titan earns 0)
It’s like everyone is going for a speed record in this round! Yoh seals the deal like Ziploc, and now leads with 10 points! Is it freshness guaranteed for the finals?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Dragon Dia VS Robbie X!
The block is sorting out with every match, but both men are on the bubble! Will the Infinite Carat Diamond be greater than X? Or will the X Express stay on track?
The bell rings and the fans rally. Robbie gets fans to bark for the War Dogs, and he ties up with Dia. Robbie puts Dia on ropes, the ref counts, and Robbie lets off, to CHOP! Robbie CLUBS Dia, stomps him down, then drags him back up. Robbie ROCKS Dia, whips, but Dia ducks ‘n’ dodges then slides to tilt-o-whirl and arm-drag! Then DROPKICK! Robbie tumbles out, Dia FLIES! Down goes Robbie and the fans fire up! Dia brings Robbie back up, puts him in the ring and covers, TWO! Robbie bails back out but Dia waits. Robbie shakes out an arm, rolls back in, but bails out again. Dia rushes after Robbie, but Robbie picks him up and POSTS him!
Dia writhes but Robbie KICKS him in the back! Robbie then stands Dia up just to DECK him! Robbie tells fans to move aside, and he grabs one of the chairs. Robbie brings that over, sits Dia down and CHOPSS! Robbie wants more chairs so he takes another one from the crowd. Robbie sets that chair up, runs up, and leaps to CANNONBALL Dia down! The fans fire up with Robbie, and he goes back to Dia. Robbie drags Dia up, puts him in the ring, then pushes to a cover, TWO! Dia stays in this and the fans applaud. Robbie stomps Dia on the back, then stands him up to whip corner to corner. Dia hits buckles hard and falls to the mat!
Robbie stands on Dia’s back, shouts for the War Dogs, and the fans cheer. Robbie sits Dia up, steps over, and he BITES Dia’s fingers! The ref reprimands and counts, Robbie stops and tells the ref to shut up. Robbie drags Dia back up, but Dia CHOPS! Robbie eggs Dia on, but Dia CHOPS again! Robbie CHOPS in return! Dia goes to a corner, Robbie runs up, but Dia BOOTS then RANAS! The fans fire up as Robbie staggers away. Dia growls and rises up. The fans rally and Dia runs in, but Robbie dodges. Dia dodges in return, then goes to the apron to trip Robbie! TORNILLO SPLASH! The fans fire up again as Robbie is on the ropes!
Dia dials it up, 619! Robbie flops back, Dia STANDING MOONSAULTS! Cover, TWO! Robbie stays in this but Dia fires up more! The fans are with Dia and he goes to the corner. Dia climbs, watches Robbie rise, D D D- NO, Robbie stops the 4DT and suplexes! Robbie hangs Dia out to dry, then goes to the corner! GUILLOTINE DOUBLE STOMPS! Cover, TWO! Dia survives and the fans fire up again! Robbie is frustrated but he drags Dia back up. Robbie CLUBS Dia, suplexes, but Dia cradles! TWO!! Robbie escapes, hobbles away, but Dia runs up. Robbie BOOTS Dia, goes up, but Dia GAMANGIRIS! Dia goes up to get Robbie, ASTRO SCISSCORS!
Dia goes back up, D D D D T!! Cover, TWO!! Robbie survives going 4D but Dia just fires up more! Dia runs, rolls, REPTILI- NO, Robbie stops the rana! And makes it a SITOUT POWERBOMB!! Cover, TWO!!! Dia survives and the fans are thunderous! Robbie thinks on what he must do next, but he rises up while the fans rally again. Dia is in the corner, Robbie LARIATS! Robbie puts the leg in ropes to KICK, then he SPIN KICKS! RUNNING SHOOTING STAR! Cover, TWO! Dia stays in this but Robbie stays on him! “You’re dead, b*tch!” Robbie handsprings, Dia dodges, DOUBLE CORK!!! Cover, TWO!?!?
Robbie survives, but Dia SOBATS! ENZIGIRIS! But Robbie PELES! And DREAMCAST KICKS! Then Robbie reels Dia in, lifts, but Dia REPTILIAN RANAS!!! Cover, DIA WINS!!
Winner: Dragon Dia, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Robbie earns 0)
Both men love to go “X-treme,” but this skater boi is the one still standing! Will the Infinite Carat Diamond continue to shine until he’s holding up the trophy?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: MAO VS Nick Wayne!
DDT Pro collides with AEW/ROH, with both men just a step behind first place! But will the Strange Love Connection throw the Prodigy off his game? Or will the Idol Warrior see he just lives in Wayne’s World?
The bell rings and the two rush in! Mao BOOTS but Nick brushes that off! Nick and Mao fire forearms, Mao gets the fans to cheer him, then he kicks low! Mao whips, Nick reverses, then hurdles, then bypasses to UPPERCUT! Nick kips up and the fans fire up. Nick then covers Mao, TWO! The fans cheer while Nick flexes. Nick drags Mao up to CHOP! Mao comes back to SMACK Nick down! And then Tsukakui! The fans cheer as Mao waits on Nick. Nick rises, Mao winds up, and Mao kicks, kicks, and KICKS! Mao whips, Nick reverses, but Mao DROPKICKS! Mao kips up, and Tsukakui! The fans rally and Mao claps along.
Mao runs to BOOT Nick against ropes, then he runs again to CANNONBALL! Cover, TWO! Nick stays in this but Mao has JUST FACELOCK! Nick endures, and the fans rally as he reaches out, fights around, then finds the ROPEBREAK! The fans applaud and Mao lets go. Mao gets a Shikaku chant going, then he brings Nick up. Mao whips, Nick grabs ropes and KICKS back! Nick kicks again but Mao blocks to step over and WHEEL KICK! Mao then reels Nick in and calls his shot, but Nick suplexes first! The fans cheer all the same while both men are down. Mao goes to ropes, Nick rises up, and the fans rally again.
Mao is in a corner, Nick runs in, and Nick UPPERCUTS! Nick snapmares then runs up, spins Mao, and ASAI DDTS! Cover, TWO! The fans cheer and Nick keeps his cool. Mao sits up and checks his head. Nick stalks Mao, waistlocks, but Mao fights the nelson! Nick still powers through to have half, but Mao REAR HEADBUTTS! Mao whips, Nick reverses, then Nick avoids the knee to SHOOTING STASR! Cover, Mao goes Matrix! GEDO CLUTCH BRIDGE! TWO, and Nick has the body scissors the JAPANESE LEG ROLL! TWO, and Mao has a waistlock! This is a DOUBLE COVER, TWO!!! Both men get up and the fans fire up!
Mao says look but Nick says shut up! Nick says look, Mao says he can shut up! Mao ROCKS Nick! Nick SUPERKICKS back! Nick goes up the corner, WAYNE’S- NO, Mao ducks the cutter, keeps moving, SPIDER-MAN into the GERMAN SUPLEX! Nick handsprings to STUNNER! Bit Mao kips up to STUNNER!! The fans are thunderous while both men are down again! Mao sits up first and the fans rally. Mao and Nick crawl to each other, go forehead to forehead, then they stand to go forearm for forearm! Mao gets the Shikaku chant going again, then he ROCKS Nick! Nick comes back to ROCK Mao!
The forearms keep going and the fans rally up. Nick fires a flurry, but Mao winds up to SMACK Nick! Mao powers up, runs, OSAKA- NO, Nick BOOTS the uppercut! Mao avoids the roundhouse! Mao SLAPS, SLAPS, but Nick CROSS COUNTERS! Nick fires up and runs, but Mao uses the ref as a shield! Then LEAP FROG into the GERMAN SUPLEX!! Bridging cover, TWO!! Mao survives the turnaround but Nick fires back up! The fans rally, Nick says “IKU ZO~!” and he hooks Mao up! But Mao fights the Prodigy Plex! Mao spins Nick around and around and around, then reels him in for a POWERBOMB! Nick stands, Mao hits a DESTROYER!
Nick ends up in a corner, Mao runs up, but into a SUPERKICK! Nick goes up to FLYING CRUCIFIX DRIVER! The fans fire up with Nick as he goes up, up, and WAYNE’S WORLD, but Mao handsprings through!? To STEAL WAYNE’S WORLD!!! Cover, TWO!??! But into the JUST FACELOCK!!! Nick scrambles, Mao rolls him away, DICK KILLER!!!! NICK TAPS, MAO WINS!!
Winner: Mao, by submission (gains 2 points; Nick earns 0)
More like the Nick Killer, but the point is, Mao overtakes The Prodigy to be right behind Yoh! But Mao still shows Nick respect with a handshake. Will these two run it back one day? Will one of them be the Best of the Super Juniors when they do?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Kosei Fujita VS Ninja Mack!
The Japanese Young Punk is mighty, and he is just outside the front of this block. However, the American Ninja Warrior, for all his speed and agility, has fallen completely out of the race. Will Mack manage to spoil something for Fujita? Or will even he see that The Mighty Don’t Kneel?
The bell rings and Mack offers the handshake. The fans applaud but Fujita dismisses it. Mack and Fujita circle, feel things out, then tie up. Fujita powers Mack back but Mack breaks free. They go again. fight for control, and Fujita pushes Mack to ropes. Mack powers his way back, then shoves Fujita way. The fans cheer and both men fire up as they go again. They clinch, fight for control, and Fujita puts Mack on the ropes. The ref counts the break, Fujita lets off with pats on the shoulder, but then CHOPS! Mack CHOPS, but Fujita CHOPS again! Mack CHOPS again, but so does Fujita! The fans rally as the CHOPS keep going!
Fujita CHOPS and Mack wobbles! Fujita CHPOS, CHOPS, CHPOS, then runs, but Mack UPPERCUTS! Mack runs, leaps over the dropdown, then TOSSES Fujita out! Mack builds speed, Fujita slips in, and he catches Mack in the handspring to GERMAN SUPLEX! Mack tumbles out and the fans fire up! Fujita goes up the corner and the fans rally, SUPER CANNONBALL! Down goes Mack and the fans fire up again! Fujita puts Mack in, then aims to ROUNDHOUSE! Cover, ONE!! Mack is tougher than that and the fans rally. Fujita stomps Mack, pushes him down, then yanks his leg for a HEEL HOOK!
Mack endures as Fujita grinds the hold, but Mack SLAPS and CHOPS! Fujita CRANKS the foot, but Mack scrambles to the ROPEBREAK! Fujita DDTS the leg! The ref reprimands but Mack writhes. Fujita drags Mack around, and he SMASHES the knee! Mack writhes more but Fujita has him again. Fujita brings Mack around, turns him over, and has a HALF CRAB! Fujita pulls way back on that leg but Mack refuses to quit! Mack powers up, but Fujita brings him away from the ropes! Fujita has a deep angle on that leg, but Mack still makes the ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Fujita lets go at 4, and the fans rally again.
Fujita stomps Mack, brings him up and CHOPS! Mack calls to his “little ninja” fans but Fujita CHOPS! Mack goes along ropes, the fans rally, but Fujita whips him corner to corner. Mack goes up and over, rolls, then comes back to UPPERCUT! The fans fire up while both men are down! Mack rises, hobbles his way over, and he brings Fujita up with a waistlock. GERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, ONE, but Mack holds on! Fujita reaches for ropes, Mack GERMAN SUPLEXES again! Another bridging cover, TWO! Mack still holds on, and he GERMAN ARMBAR TAKEDOWN! The fans fire up but Fujita scrambles to the ROPEBREAK!
Mack lets go and the fans rally again. Mack brings Fujita up, bumps him off buckles, and then RAMS him in the back! And RAMS him again! Mack goes up, climbs up, and he CLUBS away on Fujita’s back. Mack drags Fujita up the corner, adjusts position, and the fans anticipate something wild already. Fujita fires body shots, he stands up, but Mack swings! Fujita ducks the punch to SUPER DUPER GERMAN!! The fans are thunderous while Mack flounders around! Fujita hurries to cover, TWO!! Mack survives but Fujita roars and the fans cheer again. Fujita brings Mack up, reels him in, and ABANDON- NO, Mack fights the suplex!
Mack wrenches through, but Fujita wrenches and drop toeholds! Fujita ties up the legs, grabs Mack’s head and has the chinlock! Mack endures, crawls, but Fujita pulls him back! Mack keeps fighting, keeps crawling, but Fujita has the arms! Mack resists against the Nemos Lock to have the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer as Fujita lets Mack go. Mack writhes but Fujita brings him up. Fujita hooks a leg, suplexes to the torture rack, but Mack fires body shots! Mack slips down, shoves Fujita, then goes Matrix to then HANDSPRING CUTTER!! Cover, TWO!! Another cover, TWO! Mack is frustrated but the fans rally back up.
Mack rises, he dares Fujita to get up, and the fans rally more. Fujita rises, but he blocks the buzzsaw! Fujita CHOPS, but Mack ducks the heel kick to leg sweep! SHURIKEN KICK!! Mack goes up, up, and NINJA BOMBS!! Cover, MACK WINS!!
Winner: Ninja Mack, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Fujita earns 0)
The underdog comes out on top as Mack still gets another win! Will Mack spoil Fujita’s chances at the finals? Or is there still hope for this Ichiban Sweet Boy?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: Taiji Ishimori VS SHO!
The Bone Soldier is building momentum in the latter half of this tournament, but now he runs into the Murder Machine, who has done his best to cheat every opponent so far. Will Sho manage to stack the deck again? Or will be #ByGrace that Taiji avoids disaster?
Taiji turns the tables on Sho by attacking first! The fans fire up as Taiji runs Sho over from behind, then drags him to ringside, so he can POST him! Taiji has fans clear out, and then he BOWLS Sho into the chairs! STRIKE! Then he SMACKS Sho with a chair! Taiji CHOKES Sho with a chair, the ref reprimands, but this isn’t even a match yet! Taiji still leaves Sho behind so that he can go for the red buckle pad! The Bullet Club Special is now in play but Sho is still down. Taiji JAMS Sho up but almost knocks the ref over! Taiji CLAWS Sho’s eyes, drags him to ringside, and then puts Sho in the ring. Now the bell rings and the fans cheer Taiji on.
Taiji CHOKES Sho but Sho scrambles to the ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Taiji stops at 4, but then he CHOKES Sho some more! The ref counts, Taiji stops, and Sho sputters. Sho then CLAWS Taiji’s eyes! Sho bails out, Taiji pursues, and Taiji has Sho at the ramp. Sho wants to retreat into the crowd but the railing won’t give. Sho goes to the entryway, Taiji pursues, but then something goes on backstage! Sho leaves Taiji behind and acts like it is all okay. But YUJIRO TAKAHASHI is choking Taiji with the pimp cane! The fans boo as this is literally happening behind the ref’s back! Yujiro throws Taiji down and Sho laughs.
Sho stomps Taiji, drags him up, and he has fans move! Sho BOWLS Taiji into chairs, STRIKE! Sho says that’s what Taiji gets! Sho then storms up on Taiji, twists his wrist, and brings him back to ringside. They go in the ring, Sho drags Taiji up, and he whips Taiji into the bare buckles! Taiji suffers his own trickery and Sho says this isn’t on him for once. Sho digs a knee into Taiji’s back while he has the chinlock, but Taiji BITES Sho’s hand! The ref reprimands, but then Sho CLAWS Taiji’s face! The ref reprimands Sho now, and Sho stops at 4. Sho drags Taiji up, TOSSES him out, then goes out to grab a chair!
The ref stops Sho, but this lets Yujiro use the chair to JAM Taiji up! The fans boo but Tokyo Pimp gets away with another one. Sho drags Taiji up, puts him back in, then covers, TWO! Taiji stays in this but Sho drags him back up. Sho TOSSES Taiji back out, distracts the ref, but the ref won’t fall for it this time! The ref stops Yujiro, but then that lest Sho JAM Taiji up! The fans boo more as the ref can’t keep up with both guys. The ref does say Yujiro needs to go, but Sho puts Taiji in the ring. Sho kicks Taiji around but Taiji CHOPS! And CHOSP! And then he CLAWS Sho’s eyes! Taiji runs, but Yujiro is still here to trip Taiji!
The fans boo as Yujiro gets in the ring while Sho is in the ref’s face! Yujiro whips Taiji, but Taiji stops from hitting buckles! Yujiro runs in, and Taiji dodges! Yujiro hits steel, Sho whips Taiji, but Taiji handsprings to NEURALIZER KICK! The fans cheer, and Taiji grins as he brings Sho up. Taiji whips Sho into the bare buckles! Sho falls and writhes but Taiji keeps on him. Taiji wrenches and POSTS Sho! The fans cheer while Sho clutches his arm. Taiji brings Sho out, hammerlocks then scoops, but Sho slips free to bend Taiji’s fingers! Taiji CLAWS Sho’s eyes! Taiji runs, the ref is used as a shield! Sho SPEARS Taiji!
The fans boo Sho while both men are down. Sho rises up, he bends Taiji’s fingers, then wrenches to kick, KICK and SUPERKICK! Cover, TWO! Taiji stays in this and Sho grows frustrated. Sho aims his bow and he drags Taiji up. Sho reels Taiji in, tucks the arms, SHOCK- NO, Taiji slips free to BLOODY- NO, Sho fights free, but Taiji JUMP KNEES first! Sho drops down, Taiji aims and runs in, LA MYSTICA! BONE LOCK!! Sho endures as Taiji pulls on the hold! Sho fights around, Taiji rolls him away to then RAM into Yujiro! Down goes Tokyo Pimp, but then Sho whips Taiji into the ref! LOW BLOW!! The fans boo but Yujiro is back to stomp Taiji!
Yujiro drags Taiji up while Sho crawls to his corner. Sho grabs for his “Torture Tool!” The fans boo as Sho takes aim, but Taiji BOOTS Sho! And LOW BLOWS Yujiro! ZIGZAG for Sho!! And then BONE LOCK!! Sho endures, but where’s the ref? Gedo gets off commentary, but here comes SANADA! Gedo helps the ref, but The Cold Blooded Sanada uses the wrench to CLOBBER Taiji!! The fans boo but Sanada stands Taiji up for the DEADFALL!! Sanada leaves Taiji for Sho, the ref is up, and Gedo is stunned! Sho covers, and SHO WINS!
Winner: Sho, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Taiji earns 0)
The House of Torture pulls out all the stops, but Sho is still only 4-4. Will Sho need to cheat one more time to finish above .500? Or was spoiling things for Taiji more than enough?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Francesco Akira VS Clark Connors!
This could be a very explosive combination as The Crown of Fire and 100 Proof are both a step behind the leader. Will Akira conquer this War Dog for the United Empire? Or will War Dogs Racing still have a chance at that final lap?
Oh, what’s this? Akira waits at the ramp for Connors? A bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for him. Connors steps out, sees Akira, and smirks. Connors likes Akira’s guts, and after he puts his things aside, Connors runs up! The two brawl on the ramp and the fans fire up! They RAM into railing, then more railing, then more railing! The railing almost falls over! Akira POSTS Connors hard and then keeps after him around the way! Akira CHOPS Connors, CHOPS again, and then again! And again! Akira is really fired up and the fans join in. But Connors UPPERCUTS Akira, SMACKS him off the apron, but Akira hits back!
Akira CHOPS, and he wants to go bowling! But Connors reverses the whip! Akira puts on the brakes, but the JEEP FLIPPER sends him into the chairs! The fans fire up and bark with Connors while he clears out space. Connors drags Akira up, brings Akira over, and puts him in the ring. But Akira is up to PLANCHA! Down goes Connors and the fans fire up with Akira! Akira drags Connors up, puts him in the ring, and this is finally a match! Akira reels Connors in, SPEEDFIRE! Akira aims, the fans rally, NOVA FIRE- NO, Connors ducks! And SPEARS!! The fans fire up and Connors has a wild look in his eyes as he wants more.
Connors puts one out, drags Akira up, and NO CHA- NO, Akira wrenches out to ROCK Connors! Connors runs up, but into a SUPERKICK! Connors comes back, Akira dodges, THE SPEAR HITS THE REF!!! The fans go nuts but Connors isn’t all that bothered. Connors hurries to aim at Akira, runs up again, but Akira dodges the lariat to CHPO, CHOP, and CHOP! The fans fire up but Connors shoves Akira, then SNAP POWERSLAMS! Connors goes out and he finds WHEEL-SAN! The fans cheer, but wait, that’s not what he wants? Connors brings out a TABLE! Table-san is put in the ring and Connors props it up in the corner.
Connors fetches Akira but Akira fires body shots. Akira CHOPS, Connors KNEES low, and then Connors SMACKS Akira off the table! Connors lines up the shot, runs in, but Akira dodge! Connors slams on the brakes, Akira comes back, and Connors LARIATS! Connors says Akira can’t get the better of him, and now he grabs Wheel-san! The fans cheer as Connors slides Wheel-san into the ring. Gedo wants Connors to kill Akira with this one, but the fans rally up. Connors drags Akira over, but Akira blocks the hubcap bump! Connors CLAWS Akira’s eyes, and he DRIBBLES Akira off the hubcap! The fans rally, and the ref is being carried away!
Connors smirks as he now can do whatever he wants. Connors puts Wheel-san over Akira’s face, and he CURB STOMPS!! Gedo loves it, but this isn’t the end! Connors brings Akira up, grins as he SLAPS the bloody forehead! But Akira CHOKES Connors! Akira is furious as he SLAPS and fires hands! Akira trips Connors and he rains down forearms!! The fans fire up as Akira brings it back to when Empire and War Dogs feuded so violently in the past! Akira takes off his belt, and he brings it over to LASH Connors! The fans fire up while Akira LASHES Connors again! Gedo does NOT like this as Akira LASHES Connors again and again and again!
Akira TOSSES his belt aside, that’s a free souvenir now. Akira won’t stop here, though, as he goes looking under the ring. Akira brings out chairs! Akira puts those in, then drag Connors over. Red Shoes is here and he says don’t do it, Akira! Akira stops himself, letting his rage subside. Akira tries to reason with Red Shoes, Red Shoes won’t let it go, so Akira SHOVES Red Shoes down! Connors has a chair, but Akira blocks the shot! Akira JAMS Connors up! Red Shoes says no, he can still stop now! Gedo says just end the match anyway! Akira SMACKS Connors with the chair again and again!! DISQUALIFICATION!
Winner: Clark Connors, by disqualification (gains 2 points; Akira earns 0)
But Akira doesn’t care, his rage has boiled up, and he SMACKS Connors again!! He gave Connors the points he wanted, was settling the grudge worth giving up a spot in the finals? Wait, Akira isn’t done, he wedges a chair in a corner, and then drags Connors up! Red Shoes reprimands, commentary all shout for Akira to stop, but Akira puts Connors against the chair. Young Lions rush in but Akira shoves them all away! The Young Lions come back, they keep Akira from running at Connors! Akira powers up and gets free, but Connors SPEARS Akira through the table!!! Both men are down in the wreckage, is nothing settled between Empire and War Dogs?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 B Block: El Desperado VS Kevin Knight!
The Rogue Luchador said at the start of this that anyone could win at any given time, no matter who they are and where they’re from. At the same time, he vowed just the other day that he would finish this off and win the whole thing! Will the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion stop The Jet from taking off? Or will Knight win that golden ticket shortcut to the top?
The bell rings and the fans rally up. Knight and Despy circle, feel things out, and Knight waistlocks. Despy wrenches free but Knight rolls, kips up, and wrenches back to waistlock. Then Knight arm-drags for a takedown, and he drops a knee on the arm! The fans cheer, Knight wristlocks, then double wristlocks, but Despy fights up to the ROPEBREAK! Knight lets go slowly, and the fans cheer as Knight flexes. Knight teases Despy’s lack of abs, and Red Shoes checks. Despy says stop, and the two reset. They tie up, Despy trips Knight, then thigs speed up. Despy avoids the hurdle, but not the BACKDROP! Despy tumbles out and the fans rally.
Knight aims to PLANCHA, but Despy blocks his kick! Despy trips Knight up and Knight hits off the apron! Despy then goes for the leg, STRETCH MUFFLER! Red Shoes reprimands, Despy lets go, but he YANKS Knight’s leg. Knight hobbles but Despy kick shim down. Despy stalks Knight around the way, brings him up, but Knight fires body shots! Despy CHOPS back and Knight staggers away. Knight returns to CHOP, so Despy UPPERCUTS! Despy puts Knight in the ring, storms up on him, and hits a BIG back suplex! The fans cheer and Despy covers, ONE!! Knight is tougher than that but Despy taunts him.
Despy stands Knight up but Knight fires body shots. Despy kicks the leg, then grabs it, SHIN BREAKER! Knight hobbles and falls, and Despy looms over him. Despy grabs a leg but Knight kicks and kicks and kicks! Despy kicks in return, then brings Knight in, only for Knight to BACKDROP again! The fans rally as Knight rallies with LARIATS! Knight whips, Despy reverses, but Knight goes up and over! Knight comes back to LARIAT again! Knight then runs corner to corner, BIG LARIAT! Knight powers up to scoop and BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! The fans cheer as Despy stays in this, and Knight says he was that close.
Knight goes to the corner and the fans rally as he takes aim. Knight springboards but Despy DECKS him! Despy goes out to the apron and stands Knight up, but Knight fires forearms first! Despy SMACKS Knight in return! Despy underhooks, but Knight holds on for dear life! The fans rally, Knight fights free, and he SUPERKICKS Despy! Then he APRON SATE- NO, Despy just shrugs Knight off! Despy laughs as Knight falls on the floor. Despy then grabs a leg and SMASHES it on the floor! Despy YANKS the leg, then has the STRETCH MUFFLER! Red Shoes reprimands as Despy thrashes Knight’s leg! Despy stops and he leaves Knight behind.
Knight writhes and Red Shoes checks him, and somehow Knight is able to continue. The ring count starts, Knight seethes as he sits up, but we already pass 10 of 20! Knight hobbles at 14, grits his teeth, and he rolls in at 17! Despy is on him with a gut wrench! GUITARRA POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Knight survives but the STRETCH MUFFLER returns! Knight endures, reaches out, but Despy rolls him from the ropes! They go around, Despy has NUMERO DOS! Knight activates the core to sit up! Knight reels Despy into an IRON OCTOPUS! Despy sits down but Knight pulls on the arm more! The fans rally as Despy fights around, and finds the ROPEBREAK!
Knight lets go in frustration but now things are even. Knight roars and rises up to bring Despy around. Despy shoves Knight, Knight comes back, but Despy ROCKS Knight! Despy fires more shots, but Knight fires back! Knight ROCKS Despy, roars, but the bad leg won’t let him jump! Despy KICKS the legs out! Despy then storms up to whip, but Knight reverses and SKY 2 HIGH! Cover, TWO!! Despy survives and the fans cheer! Knight snarls, he pushes Despy to the drop zone, and Knight climbs the corner! Bad leg or not, Knight aims, but Despy SHORYUKENS! Despy then ROCKET LAUNCHES Knight off the top!
Knight sputters, Despy goes up, but Knight rises! UPPER ROOM!! The fans fire up as Knight manages that jump, and he goes back up top! MOTHERSHIP UFO SPLASH FLOPS as Despy dodges! SPEAR!! Cover, TWO!! Knight survives, Despy is frustrated, but the fans fire up again! Despy drags Knight up, underhooks, but Knight wrenches out! Cradle, TWO!!! Despy escapes, Knight slips around, backslide! TWO!! Despy and Knight stand, Knight SUPERKICKS! Despy LOCO ELBOWS! Despy runs, into a DROPKICK!! The fans fire up as Knight still manages that jump, too! Knight then takes aim and waits on Despy.
Despy rises, Knight somersaults, and SATELLITE DDTS!! Cover, TWO?!?! Despy survives and Knight is shocked but the fans fire up again! Knight backs away to the corner and he climbs up again. The fans fire up as Knight reaches the top, but Despy rises! Despy hits the ropes to trip Knight up! A savvy move and Despy goes after Knight. Despy brings Knight up but Knight fires body shots. Despy HEADBUTTS! And HEADBUTTS! And HEADBUTTS! Knight fires more shots, but Despy ROCKS him! Despy goes to the very top, for a SUPER DUPER PLEX!! Both men writhe and the fans are thunderous! Despy crawls and covers, TWO!!!
The fans fire up again as Knight survives! Despy roars, he drags Knight up, and he underhooks for PINCHE LOCO!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Knight survives and shocks everyone! The fans love it but Despy is frustrated with Knight. Despy drags Knight up, underhooks him again, FACEBUSTER! Roll through and PINCHE- NO, Knight fights the lift! Knight reaches out, but Despy pulls that arm back! Despy underhooks again, for PINCHE LOCO!!! Cover, DESPY WINS!
Winner: El Desperado, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Knight earns 0)
Knight gave it his all but he could not bring down the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion! The Jet is now on the outside looking in, will Desperado make it to his back-to-back BOSJ wins?
Best of the Super Juniors 32 A Block: Master Wato VS Hiromu Takahashi!
The winner of BOSJ 30 now runs into the FOUR-TIME BOSJ winner, and it could all come down to this win! Will the Way of the Grandmaster continue on to the top of the block? Or will the Ticking Timebomb blow up all of Wato’s plans for the future?
The bell rings and the fans strongly rally for “HI-RO-MU!” The two circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. Wato digs in and powers Hiromu to the ropes, but Hiromu turns it around. Red Shoes calls the break, Hiromu slowly lets off, and the fans applaud. But then Hiromu takes a swing! Wato dodges, headlocks, but Hiromu powers out. Wato RUNS Hiromu over, things keep moving, and Hiromu hurdles. Wato leaps over, then keeps moving to RANA Hiromu! Hiromu tumbles out, Wato builds speed, but Hiromu is back to ELBOW Wato! Hiromu whips Wato to a corner, Wato BOOTS in return and BULLDOGS!
The fans fire up with Wato and he goes back to Hiromu. Wato wrenches but Hiromu fights Recientemente. Wato KNEES low, whips, but Hiromu grabs ropes. Hiromu BOOTS Wato and then reels him in for a HANGING HEADSCISSORS! Red Shoes counts, Hiromu lets go to then whip Wato to a corner. LARIAT and snapmare, basement DROPKICK! The fans cheer, Hiromu covers, TWO! Hiromu keeps on Wato with the headscissors squeeze! The fans rally as Wato endures and moves around. Wato reaches out, ROPEBREAK! Hiromu lets go, Wato goes to the outside, but Hiromu is after him.
Hiromu CHOPS Wato, stalks Wato around the way, and they go past commentary. Hiromu stands Wato up to CHOP again! Wato flounders but Hiromu stays after him. Hiromu stands Wato up, CHOPS him again, and Wato falls back down. Hiromu brings Wato up, fakes putting him in and CHOPS! Then snap suplexes to the floor! Wato writhes, Red Shoes insists this be in the ring, then starts a count. Hiromu goes back to Wato, brings him up at 5 of 20, and puts him in at 8. The fans applaud and Hiromu covers, TWO! Wato toughs it out but Hiromu is right on him with a CAMEL CLUTCH! Hiromu sits deep on the hold already but Wato endures!
The fans rally, Wato frees an arm, and he uses that to crawl forward! Hiromu sits back down to bend Wato, but Wato still manages the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer and Hiromu lets go. Hiromu paces while Wato writhes, and we pass five minutes. Hiromu brings Wato back up, just to CHOP him back down! Hiromu eggs Wato on, and the fans rally again. Wato rises to CHOP! And CHOP! And CHOP! Hiromu CHOPS Wato right down! The fans rally, Hiromu drags Wato up to whip, but Wato reverses and CALF KICKS! Hiromu goes to ropes, runs up, but Wato scoops to BACKBREAKER! Hiromu tumbles out and the fans rally up again.
Wato builds speed and he FLIES! Down goes Hiromu and the fans fire up again! Wato drags Hiromu up, puts him in, and goes to the apron. Wato springboards in, FLYING UPPERCUT! The fans cheer, Wato covers, TWO! The fans rally up as Wato rises, and Wato fires himself back up. Wato wrenches and hooks Hiromu up, but Hiromu fights Recientemente! Hiromu fireman’s carries, but Wato fights free! Wato SOBATS, then wrenches again, but Hiromu fireman’s carries! Wato sunset flips, into VENDEVAL! Hiromu endures as Wato pulls on the head and neck! Hiromu rocks the boat to then head for ropes! Wato lets Hiromu go so he can body scissors and roll!
VEND- NO, Hiromu makes it a cradle, TWO! VENDAVAL!! Hiromu endures all over again and the fans rally up! Hiromu leans, but he’s fading! Red Shoes checks Hiromu, but he gets that second wind! Hiromu seesaws around, but he is still fading! A third wind helps Hiromu make it to the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer and Wato lets go in frustration. Wato waistlocks but Hiromu fights the lift! Hiromu reaches out again, but Wato brings him away from ropes! Hiromu fires elbows to get free, but Wato swings through the lariat, CRUCIFIX DRIVER, then RECIENTEMENTE!! Cover, TWO!! Hiromu survives and the fans fire up!
Wato is frustrated but he just fires up more! The fans rally, Wato brings Hiromu up and chicken wings. RECIENTE- NO, Hiromu fights off The Second with an arm-drag! Wato is up but Hiromu mule kicks! Front KICKS! Hiromu SWATS the roundhouse to SUPERKICK! Hiromu runs, but Wato dodges! Wato tilt-o-whirls, schoolboys, but Hiromu rolls through to then HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER! Both men rise and the fans rally up again! Wato runs up, but Hiromu scoops to SIDEWALK SLAM! Cover, TWO! Wato is still in this and the fans still rally. Hiromu roars, the fans fire up with him, and he brings Wato into the dragon sleeper!
Wato fires knees from below, Hiromu staggers, and Wato ROUNDHOUSES! Hiromu roars, but the DREAMCAST KICK hits! Wato roars, the fans fire up, and Wato drags Hiromu up. Wato waistlocks to TSUTENKAKU!! Bridging cover, TWO!!! Hiromu survives and Wato is beside himself! The fans rally even harder as Wato rises. Wato drags Hiromu back up, chicken wings again, RECIENTE- NO, Hiromu flips through! HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER meets KOZY LARIAT!! Hiromu slumps down and Wato stands tall! The fans are thunderous and Wato roars! Wato drags Hiromu up,b ut HIromu SUPERKICKS!
Wato kicks, Hiromu ducks, and CODE BREAKAER! Then HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER!! Cover, TWO!!! Wato survives and the fans are thunderous! Hiromu hauls Wato up, fireman’s carries, and the TIMEBOMB 1.5!! But Hiromu isn’t done, he dragon sleepers and TIMEBOMB 2.0!!! Cover, HIROMU WINS!!
Winner: Hiromu Takahashi, by pinfall (gains 2 points; Wato earns 0)
To battle like this, these two truly are two of the Best of the Super Juniors! But in the end, four times beats one time, and Wato falls off the top spot. Will Wato still find his way into the finals?
As for Hiromu, he does offer a handshake of respect, but Wato refuses, too frustrated with himself to accept. Hiromu goes to the mic to tell Wato, “Where’s your belt? Aren’t you a tag champion? Take it easy, it’s okay. I figured I’d challenge. And as for my partner… Me and Kanemaru will challenge! I think! Understand, yesterday wasn’t really how Kanemaru felt. Me and him are challenging, so get ready!” The fans applaud, but is The Ticking Timebomb serious about the Heel Master coming around?
Moving on from that, Hiromu admits he’s really feeling that match now. Maybe Hiromu can’t go anymore. Hiromu thanks you for all your support, please chant for him. The fans do chant for “HI-RO-MU!” and he feels better. And it has been a little while since he’s done one, so maybe let’s do a little Hiromu survey! Don’t be shy, if this is your first time watching wrestling live, please raise your hand. Oh, a lot of you! And you didn’t even leave during this pointless promo! Thank you! The fans cheer and Hiromu wonders… Anyone planning on going to the finals in Ota? Yes, some, but not enough! Hey, Ota is near Nagoya, when you think about it.
In fact, nothing is “too far” within Japan! Everywhere is local in Japan! Everywhere is local in Japan! Right? The fans echo that, and Hiromu says, “Thank you for chanting that!” Hiromu says these are real fans here! The fans cheer that! Now, going through BOSJ, there is one thing Hiromu is sure of. He guarantees that BOSJ will be the best tour in ALL of NJPW! The fans cheer that! Hiromu vows that he will definitely win! IF he has your support! The fans cheer, and Hiromu says no really, he needs you! The fans chant his name again, and he powers up again. Hiromu thanks them, and promises that for the rest of BOSJ…
Hiromu will make it “Moto!” “Moto!” “Moto!” “Moto!” “MOTO!” “MOTO!” “MOTO!” “MOTO!” “MOTO!!” Fun for everyone!! The fans cheer as Hiromu sets down the mic, but will he get into the finals? Or could he still be one stumble away from missing out?
Here are the NEW A Block standings!
Hiromu Takahashi: 5-3, 10 points
Master Wato: 5-3, 10 points
Clark Connors: 5-3, 10 points
Francesco Akira: 4-4, 8 points
Kosei Fujita: 4-4, 8 points
KUSHIDA: 4-4, 8 points
Dragon Dia: 4-4, 8 points
Robbie X: 3-5, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
Yoshinobu Kanemaru: 3-5, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
Ninja Mack: 3-5, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
Here are the NEW B Block standings!
YOH: 5-3, 10 points
MAO: 5-3, 10 points
El Desperado: 5-3, 10 points
Nick Wayne: 4-4, 8 points
SHO: 4-4, 8 points
Taiji Ishimori: 4-4, 8 points
Robbie Eagles: 4-4, 8 points
Kevin Knight: 3-5, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
Titan: 3-5, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
Ryusuke Taguchi: 3-5, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
My Thoughts:
A great round here, but thankfully the last time all 10 tournament matches are on one card. I also appreciated that so many of those matches in the first half of the card were so fast and short. And at this point in the tournament, it makes sense a good chunk of each block goes down into mathematically eliminated territory. Mack still getting a win despite that was great for him, and he might’ve been the final nail in Fujita’s own run, depending on how the ninth round goes. The blocks still parallel each other at this point, three guys at 5-3 for 10 points, and it will really come down to who loses rather than who wins.
Wato may have lost tonight, but he could beat Kanemaru and still make it in. Hiromu has Robbie X, Connors has Fujita, one of those could end up a huge upset, but so could Kanemaru cheating Wato to then add onto this idea that Hiromu will team with him even though he isn’t going to be House of Torture. On the other side, Desperado VS Eagles, Yoh VS Taiji, and Mao VS Sho, those are also intriguing match-ups. I would think Despy makes it in as both champion and last year’s tournament winner, so the other two are going to be really tricky. And if this is where Nick Wayne’s run ends with him and Titan in a somewhat do-nothing match, it’s still a great first run, and he can be home in the USA and AEW in time for Fyter Fest.
My Score: 9/10
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Who will be the W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, CHAMPIONS~?!
Tonight on Raw, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods defend the WWE World Tag Team Championships in a Triple Threat against War Raiders and Creed Brothers!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifier Triple Threat: PENTA VS Dragon Lee VS Chad Gable; Penta wins and advances to Money in the Bank.
- Rusev VS Akira Tozawa w/ Maxxine Dupri; Rusev wins.
- WWE World Tag Team Championships Triple Threat: The New Day VS The War Raiders VS The Creed Brothers; The New Day win and retain the titles.
- Liv Morgan w/ Raquel Rodriguez VS Kairi Sane w/ Iyo Sky; Kairi wins.
- Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifier Triple Threat: Seth Rollins VS Sami Zayn VS Finn Balor; Rollins wins and advances to Money in the Bank.
PLAY BY PLAY
Seth Rollins is here!
The Visionary leads the way for The Wise Man, the Badass and the Colossal Aussie as they head down the runway. The fans sing along, “WHOA~ OH~ OHHH~!” as Rollins steps into the ring in his mint blue floral suit. Rollins revels in the singing a little longer, then the fans bark for Bron Breakker. Paul Heyman has a mic and he gives his introductions. “Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. Let’s see who the players are without even the benefit of a scorecard. First…” The fans bark as Heyman steps to his left. “A man, an attack dog, a badass, THE badass, in a true bloodline of badasses.
“And not just a badass, but the key to the future. If Skynet sent a Terminator from the future to this plane today and you asked that Terminator, ‘Who’s gonna main event WrestleManias 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 and so on?’ That terminator would tell you the answer to that question is BRON! BREAKKER!” Fans are a little torn on that but Heyman says he’ll put his reputation on the line tonight. That’s not a prediction, that is a damn spoiler! The fans chant for “CM PUNK!” but Rollins smirks. Heyman asks Rollins if the fans realize that CM Punk is not here tonight. The fans boo, but Heyman says that is all thanks to “Big Bronson Reed!”
“WWE would never put him in the ring with top tier talent. Why? Because they were afraid of him! Not just the WWE, but the top tier talent here in the WWE! Why? Cuz he’s too reckless! Why? Cuz of the Tsunami! Why? Cuz he’s a violent man in the PG Era, and he’s gonna put everyone down in front of him! So what’d Bronson Reed do? He took the initiative! He went after THE top star in WWE! He went after the legacy player, the future of this industry! Bronson Reed targeted Seth Freakin’ Rollins. In one night, Bronson Reed put a beating on Seth Rollins worse than Roman Reigns ever put on Seth Rollins in ten years.
“In ONE night, Bronson Reed put a beating worse on Seth Rollins than CM Punk was able to do in his entire career! In ONE NIGHT, Seth Rollins fought Roman Reigns and CM Punk in essentially a handicap match at WrestleMania, and they couldn’t do the damage to him that Bronson Reed did to him in ONE NIGHT! Get down on your hands and your knees and thank the Heavens above for the altruism of this man to my right. The sacrifice that Seth Rollins is willing to make for each and every single one of you so that the trajectory of this industry going into the future is bigger than ever before.
“I give to you the most generous man I have ever met in my entire life. I give to you the epitome of the epiphany. I give to you a Visionary! I give to you an Architect! I give to you the future of this entire industry! Ladies and gentlemen… ACKNOWLEDGE Seth Freakin’ Rollins!” The fans boo and Rollins smiles, but then the fans chant “O T C! O T C!” Rollins takes a moment, listens for the fans singing his song, but also hears the fans chant, “We Want Roman!” Rollins waits for that to die down, then he says, “Make no mistake about it. Tampa, this is the vision. This is MY vision. This is the way forward! This is how we secure the future of the industry!
“We do it through total control! Through total domination! Through complete POWER!” The fans chant, “You Sold Out!” Rollins asks to who? To himself? Are they outta their minds? Rollins has not changed a beat! He told us exactly what he would do at WrestleMania, and he did it! Rollins takes a moment, but the fans cuss him out. Rollins says the fans are questioning his integrity right now. They are questioning him. Need he remind them, less than five minutes ago, everyone in this building was singing HIS song! And now, NOW, you wanna chant profanity at him? You wanna question HIS integrity?
The singing does return, and Heyman conducts it, but Rollins has everyone hold on. “You people, you morons, don’t even know right from left! You don’t know what’s good for you! But you’re telling ME that I’M the bad guy here, that I don’t deserve the power. I’m the only one who does. I’m the only person capable of leading this company into the future. I’m the only person capable of wielding that power! And that power comes through championships! And I tell you, I would be standing here before you, right now, World Heavyweight Champion, if it wasn’t for Sami Zayn… And C… M… Punk.” The fans chant for Punk again and Rollins sighs.
Rollins stands with Bronson and says, “CM Punk found out on Saturday exactly what happens when you underestimate me! Sami Zayn will figure that out tonight, because ladies and gentlemen, I have found something more powerful than championships. I have found an object that allows me to control the fates of those championships.” Rollins looks up to the Money in the Bank briefcase. Heyman smiles and Rollins says, “I’m going to qualify for Money in the Bank. I am going to win the Money in the Bank contract. And I am going to cash-in the MITB contract.
“But here’s the beauty of it: I can do it whenever I want; I can do it however I want; I can cash-in on whomever I want; and there is NOBODY who can stop me! And THAT is complete domination! THAT is total power! And THAT is why I am a Visionary! I am a Revolutionary! I am SETH! FREAKIN’ ROLLINS!” The mission statement is crystal clear, but will all of the gold soon belong to Rollins and his team?
Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifier Triple Threat: PENTA VS Dragon Lee VS Chad Gable!
Speaking of MITB, this could be one of the fastest and wildest qualifiers yet! But will a luchador win their way to LA? Or will Chad Gable give himself a very busy Saturday with both a Worlds Collide AND MITB match?
Raw returns as Gable is frustrated already seeing his Worlds Collide opponent, El Hijo del Vikingo, in the crowd to watch this. The bell rings, Gable, Penta and Lee watch each other. The fans rally, Lee and Penta realize Gable is the common denominator, so they DOUBLE SUPERKICK! They take turns stomping Gable, but then they argue over who gets to do more. They shove each other, then agree to keep on Gable together. They TOSS Gable out, Gable tumbles, and now Penta rolls Lee! TWO, and Lee says okay, if that’s how it is… Lee dodges Penta, runs up, but Penta puts Lee on the apron. Lee RAMS Penta, bumps and ROUNDHOUSES him, then RANAS!
Penta ends up in a corner, Lee runs corner to corner, JUMP KCIK! Leg sweep! COMBINACION DRAGON! But Gable is back to ROCK Lee! Gable whips, Lee reverses and Lee DROPKICKS! Lee runs to DROPKICK Penta! Lee comes back for Gable, but Gable catches him for an EXPLODER! Gable dodges Lee, Penta springboards, but Gable catches him! GERMAN SUPELX! The fans boo but Lee RAMS Gable. Lee slingshots but Gable NORTHERN LIGHTS! Bridging cover, TWO! Gable snarls and he drags Lee up. Gable THROWS Lee out, goes back to Penta, but Penta fires body shots. Gable CHPOS, whips, but Penta KICKS Gable!
Penta dodges Gable, mule kicks a leg, then SLING-DOGS! Lee is back but Penta pops him up in the corner, SUPERKICK to Lee! Gable runs up, into a BACKBREAKER! Penta picks Lee up into the Gory Especial, then he reels Gable in! Underhook, TIGER DRIVER GORY BOMB COMBO!!! The ref checks Gable as he flops out of the ring, but Lee also goes out, only for Penta to FLY! Direct hit and the fans fire up while Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Gable whips Penta, but then Penta grabs ropes. Gable runs up, Penta TOSSES him, but then Lee runs up. Penta SUPERKICKS Lee, goes out, but Gable anchors his foot! Gable YANKS Penta down, then SMACKS him off the desk! Gable talks trash on Vikingo, goes back for Penta, then throws hands! Gable wants Vikingo to know what’s waiting for him on June 7th! But Lee FLIES! Gable moves, Lee lands right on Penta and they both fall off the desk!! Everyone loses their minds, even Gable! Gable sucker punches Vikingo! The fans boo and Michael Cole tells Gable to focus on the match! How dare he assault a guest?
Gable puts Penta in the ring, CHOPS him, but Penta just gets mad. The fans fire up as Penta winds up and CHOPS! Gable snarls and CHOPS! Penta CHPOS, Lee SUPERKICKS Gable! Penta SUPERKICKS Lee! Lee DRAGON TRIGGERS! And POISON-RANAS! Gable lariats, Lee slips through and lifts! LIGER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Gable survives landing on his head again, and the fans are thunderous! “This is Awesome!” and Lee rises up. Lee has Penta for a fireman’s carry, but Penta fights free with elbows! Penta spins Lee, pump handles, but Gable waistlocks! GERMAN SUPLEX PUMP HANDLE SLAM COMBO!!!
The fans are thunderous and Gable has the straps down! “A THANK YEW~!!” Gable goes up, up, and MOONSAULTS onto Penta! Cover, TWO!! Penta survives and Gable is furious! Lee runs up, but Gable THROWS him overhead! Lee hits buckles, Gable goes up, but Vikingo trips Gable! GAMANGIRI! Gable is in the Tree of Woe and Vikingo cheers on Lee! Lee climbs, aims, and WOE STOMPS Gable!! But Penta hits Lee with a DESTROYER!! Penta gives Gable the PENTA DRIVER!!! Cover, PENTA WINS!!
Winner: Penta, by pinfall (advances to Money in the Bank)
Vikingo gets even with Gable, but they’ll surely go above and beyond at Worlds Collide! As for Penta, will #CeroMiedo be the one holding the MITB contract?
Judgment Day hangs out in the clubhouse.
JD McDonagh wants to talk tag titles but Finn Balor says one thing at a time. Finn’s gonna focus on MITB first, then they get back to business. As for Carlito & Dominik, they’re too busy playing WWE 2K and the WarGames match. But Roxanne Perez is here? She has a whole platter of chicken nuggets and offers him some. And then she says his shoulders seem tense. Roxie starts massaging Dom’s arm, and then LIV MORGAN walks in! She is absolutely livid, and Dom says hey, she’s back! Roxie wants to introduce herself but Liv hushes her. What’s been going on? Well, see, the time zones and nuggets and-
Liv stops Dom there, because Raquel already filled her in. And something is about to get very interesting. Liv will address that, but not before asking Adam Pearce for an MITB qualifier. Liv tells “Sister” Raquel time to head out, and Raquel tells Dom in Espanol that he messed up. Liv & Raquel head out, Finn chuckles and Dom plays it off by saying it’s so great to have Liv back. Finn says yes it is. Carlito says stop eating Roxie’s nuggies. Is Liv feeling what it’s like to have the tables turned on her? Or will she assert her dominance soon enough?
WWE honors our armed forces on this Memorial Day.
Home of the free because of the brave. Cody Rhodes narrates by saying it is easy to speak of sacrifice and harder to live it. Some did. From Normandy to Vietnam, across the Gulf War deserts and mountains of Afghanistan. Not for praise, but for freedom, for each other, and for all of us. Today, remember the selfless who stood in harm’s way and gave their all. Because of them, we live free. Because of them, we carry on. To them, we say thank you.
Rusev VS Akira Tozawa w/ Maxxine Dupri!
The Redeemer all but demolished The Dozer, and that is why the Stamina Monster is already raging as he stands in the ring. Will Rusev continue to “fix” the Raw roster by breaking them down? Or can Tozawa stop the rampage?
The bell rings and Tozawa rips his shirt! Rusev runs up, Tozawa dodges to fire off hands! Rusev shoves Tozawa, Tozawa is back to throw more hands! Rusev shoves Tozawa to a corner, runs in, but Tozawa dodges! Tozawa runs up but Rusev puts him on the apron. Tozawa GAMANGIRIS, goes up, and leaps to MISSILE DROPKICK! Rusev tumbles, but he comes back to LARIAT! The fans are torn but Rusev roars and stomps around! MACHKA KICK!! Rusev roars, “RUSEV! MACHKA!!” And then the ACCOLADE!!! Tozawa TAPS, Rusev wins!
Winner: Rusev, by submission
Rusev makes Tozawa suffer, he bends Tozawa back! The fans are torn and the ref tries to pry that grip open! But wait! Here comes Sheamus! Rusev throws Tozawa aside, and Bulgarian Brute stares down The Celtic Warrior. They were once friends, but that was a long time ago. The fans rally behind Sheamus, and Rusev stands down. Does Rusev feel Sheamus does not need his “help?” Or is he not deserving?
Backstage interview with Burt Kreischer & Tom Segura.
Cathy Kelley tells Burt welcome back, and brings up Segura being a bit critical of the WWE in the past. What brings him by tonight? Segura knows he’s done stupid things in his life, saying that stuff was part of it. But Cody Rhodes was on their podcast recently, it was a great time, and a real eye-opener. Plus, Burt had such a blast at the show he attended, so Tom couldn’t turn it down. Cathy knows that’s true. They were interrupted last time, so maybe Burt can plug his stuff now? Burt says yes, his new special is called Lucky, on Netflix, watch now. Something has Bur’s attention and he excuses himself.
Cathy knows Tom has something coming up, too, and he says yes, his own special will be a wild sketch show and- Wait, Burt is calling for Tom. Tom says this happens every time… Tom heads over, and Burt’s got his shirt off as he’s excited to see the War Raiders in person! It’s like they could all be related! Ivar says time to fire up! Ivar CHOPS Burt on the chest, Burt is already red, and they chant “WAR! WAR! WAR!” The Raiders head out, Tom has Burt calm down cuz Erik & Ivar left. Burt asks how does he look. Very red. Tom suggests they check with a medic to check before he and Burt go to their seats.
Sami Zayn is backstage.
Sami says he can’t stand listening to those guys talk! Heyman, Rollins, running their mouths, Sami should’ve gone out there to interrupt. But for what? Jey Uso says it would’ve been 1v3. Gotta be smart, Uce. Gotta pick the right time. Rollins wants the power, but this is how they stop him! Sami goes out there, wins the qualifier, and snatch that briefcase. If anything gets messy out there, Jey has Sami’s back. Sami nods, and Jey has him bring it in for the secret handshake. Jey wishes Sami luck, but will the Underdog from the Underground be on top? Will the Visionary’s plan continue to succeed? Or will The Prince have his own golden ticket to LA?
WWE World Tag Team Championships Triple Threat: The New Day VS The War Raiders VS The Creed Brothers!
Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods certainly tried to use their opponents against each other in hopes of crossing one off the list, but now they’ll be facing them both! Will the New Day survive a night in Tampa? Will Erik & Ivar have redemption from WrestleMania? Or will Julius & Brutus make sure these titles are now American Made?
Raw returns as the titles are raised and Burt is seen chugging beer! Tom joins in, and then the War Raiders attack the New Day! The fans fire up, the ref reprimands, but the Raiders TOSS the Creeds! This has to come down to 1v1 but Erik & Ivar throw hands on Woods & Kofi! The Creeds return, but the Raiders stereo scoop and SLAM them! Then Erik scoops and SLAMS Woods! Ivar & Erik scoop Kofi to LAWN DART him out onto the rest! The fans fire up, the Raiders say “UP!” Erik scoops Ivar, and from the apron he THROWS Ivar onto everyone! The fans fire up, Ivar rises, and he puts Kofi in. The bell rings as Erik brings Kofi up.
Ivar climbs a corner, but Woods anchors Ivar’s leg! Kofi BOOTS Erik, Julius DROPKICKS Ivar to the floor! Woods & Brutus THROW Erik into barriers! Julius & Kofi do the same! The New Day and American Made have made an alliance, and they all RAM Erik together! They they go to the ring and stand tall together. The fans boo while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and the Raiders are back. Kofi has Erik but Erik fires body shots. Kofi KNEES low, facelocks, and he puts Erik in the ropes. Kofi KNEES away on Erik, then tags Woods. Woods goes up the corner to GUILLOTINE DOUBLE STOMP! The fans boo but Woods struts around. “NEW~ DAY~!” “SUCKS!” Woods talks trash on Erik, brings him up, but the fans rally. Erik shoves Woods and ROCKS him! Both men fall and the fans fire up! Woods sputters but Erik crawls, hot tag to Ivar! Julius runs in but Ivar BACKDROPS him! BOOT for Woods! Scoop and SIDEWALK SLAM for Brutus!
Kofi runs in, Ivar dodges then scoop shim, SIDEWALK SLAM onto Brutus! Ivar runs and he DOUBLE SPLASHES! Julius is up, the fans fire up with Ivar, and Ivar runs in, only for Julius to dodge. Julius comes back, into the SEATED SENTON! Ivar TOSSES Woods, dodges Brutus and LARIATS him up and out! Kofi runs up but Ivar TOSSES him out onto Woods & The Creeds! The fans fire up more as Ivar says “UP!” Ivar climbs the corner! But Kofi jumps up to GAMANGIRI! Ivar falls but Erik DECKS Kofi! Brutus ROCKS Erik! Brutus RAMS Erik, hoists him up, but Erik SMACKS Brutus! Brutus ROCKS Erik then climbs.
Erik DECKS Brutus, but Julius springs up! The fans fire up for the SUPER DUPER PLEX! Woods hits the LIMIT BREAKER ELBOW on Erik! But Ivar is up top! WAR BEARD SPLASH!! Cover, Kofi & The Creeds break it! The fans fire up while all six men are down! “This is Awesome!” as the teams regroup. Kofi runs up on Erik, but Erik ducks the kick! EriK DECKS Kofi! The Creeds CLOBBER Erik! Ivar breaks their line to handspring DOUBLE BACK ELBOW! And then HEEL KICK for Woods! Ivar helps Erik wake up, and he says it is time to end this! Erik feeds Woods to Ivar, but Julius tags in! Ivar DECKS Julius, Woods FACEBUSTERS Erik!
Kofi KICKS Ivar, he and Brutus TOSS Ivar out! Brutus springboards to BRUTUS BALL Erik! Kofi DIVES at Ivar, but Ivar catches him! And RAMS him into the LED apron! The fans fire up for Ivar, and he runs up, CROSSBODY against the LED board! Ivar goes up, up, but Julius JUMP KNEES him! Woods rolls Julius up with tights! NEW DAY WIN!!
Winners: The New Day, by pinfall (still WWE World Tag Team Champions)
Well, The New Day used their opponents against each other all over again and came away with the titles! Will no one ever stop Kofi & Woods as the W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, Champions~?
Liv & Raquel walk ‘n’ talk.
And then they spot something. It’s Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane! What is this? A DMG CTRL reunion? Isn’t that group as dead as Kairi’s chances of winning MITB? Iyo says keep walking. Oh, they will! Liv is gonna walk right into Adam Pearce’s office and get herself a qualifier. And when she wins the briefcase, she cashes in on Iyo. Something Kairi could never ever do! Kairi tells Liv, in Japanese, that Liv keeps on talking, talking, talking like an idiot. Kairi then dares Liv to have a match with her tonight! Liv says challenge accepted. Raquel says Kairi done messed up, but Iyo says good on the Pirate Princess. Will Kairi sink Liv’s ship before it even sets sail?
Jey Uso heads to the ring!
The fans are ready to YEET here in Tampa as the World Heavyweight Champion makes his way down to ringside. After Saturday Night’s Main Event, we know he and Cody Rhodes are preparing for a star-studded tag team match at MITB, what will Jey have to say about it? We find out, after the break.
Raw returns and Jey has the mic to say, “The World Heavyweight Champ, Main Event Jey Uso is now in your citaaay~!” The fans cheer, and Jey says it has been a busy week for the champ. “YEET!” Everybody’s after the champ! “YEET!” Logan Paul got YEET’D! Cena ’bout to get YEET’D! And at MITB, it is Jey and his dawg, Cody- WAIT! Gunther is here! Der Ring General interrupts as he goes right to the ring and grabs his own mic. The fans taunt Gunther with “You Tapped Out!” but Gunther shrugs that off. Gunther tells Jey, “Well first of all, I came out here…” The fans boo but Gunther says he wants to congratulate Jey.
“And this one comes from a very personal places. Congratulations on the 15 year jubilee of The Usos in the WWE.” The fans cheer that, and Gunther says, “Secondly, congratulations on your first successful defense against Logan Paul on Saturday. You are holding onto this title way longer than I expected.” The fans boo that but Gunther says he appreciates Jey is doing everything in his power to fulfill this position. He really wants to be the captain of Monday Night Raw. And Jey has his hands full. There’s the long term plan going around, some of Jey’s friends are in trouble, and when they need Jey, he is there, no questions asked.
“And those are great qualities for a human being. But they are terrible qualities for a great champion.” The fans boo, but Gunther says he doesn’t blame Jey. Jey doesn’t know any better. Unlike Gunther, this position as World Heavyweight Champion doesn’t come natural to Jey. Being a great champion doesn’t mean you’re there for everyone else, that you sort out all the problems. Just guess, how was Gunther able to be a champion for almost ay ear? Because the only person he cares about is HIMSELF! The fans boo, but Gunther says if he is fully honest, Jey doesn’t have the intellect to carry himself as a great champion.
And in two weeks, when they step into the ring one more time, Gunther will relieve Jey from his position. Gunther will make things right and choke Jey out! Gunther will take back HIS World Heavyweight Championship and put it back where it belongs: Around Gunther’s waist! The fans boo but Jey takes a moment. “You done? Are you done?” Jey says he’s done, He is done with everybody saying his days as champ are numbered. “YEET!” Jey is done with everybody using an excuse for this title to turn their back on the people who brought them up! Jey does have friends, he does have family. He a real one, Uce. He fights for them, they fight for him!
The fans cheer and Jey paces. Jey tells Gunther he runs his mouth on Jey’s life. Gunther wants to judge Jey? Go ahead! Jey gets worked up and says what Gunther is fighting for is less than what Jey is fighting for. Jey isn’t overlooking Gunther, he knows what Gunther is capable of. Jey knows Gunther in and out. So see you in Phoenix. But at the end of the day, at the end of the day… Jey is fighting for the fans. Because in Phoenix, Jey will make Gunther tap out, again! Four letters, one word, UH UH, YEET!! The fans fire up with Jey as he heads out. Will this be the Summer of YEET?
Liv Morgan w/ Raquel Rodriguez VS Kairi Sane!
The leading lady of the Judgment Day is back from her time in Japan filming for Hollywood, but now she thinks she can just call the shots for MITB. Will Liv be rolling towards a MITB qualifier? Or will the Pirate Princess prove she’s still got it?
Raw returns as Kairi makes her entrance. The bell rings, the two circle, and they tie up. They go around, Liv puts Kairi on ropes, then they go along ropes. Kairi has Liv in the corner but she lets off as the ref counts. Kairi rushes up but Liv THROWS her down by her hair! Liv KICKS Kairi, stomps away, but the ref counts. Liv stops at 4, bumps Kairi off buckles, then throws hands! The ref counts, Liv shrieks, “OKAY!” But Kairi CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Kairi CHOPS Liv again and then fires boxing elbows! Kairi backs Liv into a corner, ROCKS her, then whips corner to corner. Kairi runs up, Liv puts her on the apron, but Kairi RAMS Liv!
Kairi goes up, up, and leaps, but Liv gets under. Kairi says kiss this! The fans fire up, Liv says okay then! Liv runs up, Kairi sidesteps and drops down, then does it again. Kairi blows past, goes up and RANAS! Liv tumbles to the ropes, the fans fire up with Kairi, and she runs in, SLIDING D! Liv sputters and Kairi goes out to the apron. Kairi brings Liv up, BACKHANDS her, then gets space. Kairi runs in, but Liv dodges! Kairi boots the post, and Liv SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMBS to the floor! Raquel cheers and the fans are torn, but Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Liv suplexes Kairi! That’s Una Amiga as Liv brings her back up, for Dos Amigas! Liv brings Kairi up again, for THREE- NO, Kairi slips free, but Liv ELBOWS her! Liv runs, Kairi dodges, and then Kairi SPEARS! The fans fire up while both women are down! Raquel panics and coaches Liv but Kairi goes to a corner. Liv runs up but Kairi DECKS her! And CLOBBERS her! And CROSSBODIES her! Kairi whips, Liv reverses, but Kairi stops herself to come back, BLOCKBUSTER! The fans fire up with Kairi again and she has Liv in the corner. Kairi marches and then runs up, SLIDING D again!
Liv flounders, Kairi climbs, and FLYING KABUKI FOREARM! Cover, TWO! Liv lives and Kairi is annoyed, but she hurries to bring Liv back up. The fans rally, Liv breaks free, but Kairi ducks the enzigiri! Kairi has the legs, and she pulls Liv into the ANCHOR HOLD! Liv endures as Kairi bridges back! The fans fire up but Liv pulls hair! The ref reprimands, but Kairi DECKS Liv! Kairi roars, runs, but Liv STOMPS her down! Liv scowls, rises up, and she climbs the corner. FLYING CODE BREAKER! Cover, TWO!! Kairi survives and Liv is livid! Liv SLAPS Kairi around, kicks her, then has her on the ropes. Liv runs up, but Kairi denies ObLIVion!
URAKEN!! Liv sputters, Kairi runs, SLIDING D the third!! Cover, TWO!! The fans rally, Kairi drags Liv up, and then she Alabama Lifts! But Liv sunset flips it! TWO, and both women hurry to their feet! Liv blocks the backhand to BACKSTABBER! Kairi flounders. Liv runs in, but Kairi pops Liv up! But Liv rolls, Kairi smothers it to a jackknife bridge, TWO! Both women grab at the other but Kairi Alabama Lifts again! ALABAMA SLAM! Kairi goes up the corner and the fans fire up! Raquel distracts the ref, ROXANNE shoves Kairi! The fans boo but then Raquel and Roxie argue! Roxie says she just helped Liv, what’s the big deal?
Liv runs at Kairi, Kairi rolls her up! KAIRI WINS!!!
Winner: Kairi Sane, by pinfall
Raquel is shocked, but Liv let herself get distracted by everything! Roxie says that wasn’t on her. Will Liv get over herself to accept the new girl on the team?
Rhea Ripley speaks.
“Mami’s always on top. It wasn’t just a saying to me, but it was a way of life. Lately, that just hasn’t been our reality, now has it? But at MITB, that all changes. For the first time in my career, I’m in a ladder match, which means no one is ready for the amount of brutality that I am going to unleash. I will do absolutely anything to climb that ladder, to retrieve the briefcase, and to once again cement myself at the top of the women’s division. So Iyo Sky, Tiffany Stratton, I advise you to hold your titles really tightly. Because absolutely no one is safe from Mami in the Bank.” The Eradicator is ready, will she be ready to call her shot after June 7th?
Judgment Day regroups.
Liv still wants to know what Roxie was doing out there. Finn defends Roxie just wanting to help. Dom knows that was the plan, right? Dom stammers, but Raquel says if Roxie hadn’t gone out there, Liv would’ve won! Liv says he can’t believe she’s saying this, but no, Raquel was the veteran out there and she should’ve known better. What? Finn grins again, is this going even better than he expected?
Lyra Valkyria is here!
The fans “WHEW~!” with the song as the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion makes her way to the ring. Lyra has the mic to say, “Well what is up, Tampa? Ugh, I wish I was out here to talk to you guys about some new competition and a new challenger for this championship. But news broke today that Becky went and did what Becky does best. She groveled and she begged and she twisted the arms of the right people in the back, and she once again talked herself into a rematch at MITB.” The fans boo, but Lyra says, “Why would I accept, right? I have nothing left to prove. I’ve beaten her twice.
“Every opponent that I have ever had, I didn’t care what they said about me or what they did to me. Once I beat them between these ropes, I was the ultimate winner. But I didn’t feel any satisfaction when I beat Becky. Because she came out here after Backlash, ego still through the roof, no embarrassment, no sense of shame, even though she’d been outwrestled and beaten. And she sat there, on that top buckle, and she talked like she won the match! She was that delusional! And then she just went on to try and steal the next opportunity from the next person. She’s like a rat with a piece of cheese, and I just couldn’t let her do it.”
The fans cheer, and Lyra says, “At Backlash, all I wanted to do was pin her shoulders to the mat for three seconds. But she came out here and she go tin my fiancé’s face, and she tried to take my eye out, and she tried to break my arm! So yeah, now it’s personal!” The fans like that! Lyra says at MITB, she is going to hurt Becky. She is going to break Becky’s ego! And if that means bashing Becky’s head in, then she’ll do it! But wait! Becky is here now! Lyra frowns as The Man makes her way out to the ring, and Becky has a mic to ask, “I made this personal? I made this personal? YOU cost ME! You cost me my opportunity!
“I was done with you! I was on the bigger and better things, because okay, okay, you won a match. You won a match, I won the night! Because I went home with my hot husband, and you went off to the hospital with your weird little fiancé!” Wow, Becky’s “hot husband?” AKA, the only talented thing about her? Becky says here it goes! Lyra makes it personal! Lyra made it personal first! She could’ve let it go, but she couldn’t. Because Lyra knows Becky is the best thing that ever happened to Lyra, or to that title! Lyra says that is not the flex Becky thinks it is! Becky acts like she just graciously stepped aside and shared the spotlight.
People are talking about Lyra because Lyra beat Becky! The fans cheer that! Okay, okay, Lyra says Becky “steals” opportunities. If Lyra is so confident, how about this? MITB, if Lyra wins again, Becky will never challenge Lyra for that title ever again. Fine! No problem for Lyra. As she sees it, she beat Becky twice, and the last time was with her eyes closed. Becky frowns, but she says Lyra did not let her finish. Because there’s something Becky keeps remembering. When Lyra took the NXT Women’s Championship from Becky, it was a quick roll-up, not really decisive. When Lyra won that match, the good person Becky was, what’d she do? Becky graciously raised Lyra’s hand.
So WHEN Becky wins at MITB, and does it fair ‘n’ square, Lyra must look her in the eyes and raise Becky’s hand! The fans are torn on that, but Lyra says she has never had an issue raising the hand of the woman better than her. It just hasn’t been Becky yet. Mic drop from The Morrigan, but will The Man make her humble? Or will Lyra close this title off to Becky for as long as it is on her shoulder?
Sami Zayn walks the halls.
And Karrion Kross says, “Well, well, WELL! Here we are again, Sami! You’re still trying to claw your way to the top when you could’ve just taken the deal, went to SmackDown, and challenged for the WWE Championship. NO, you gotta do it ‘your way.'” Sami says he has no time for the games, okay? Sami walks off but Kross says Sami knows he will never win the title, right? Sami looks back at Kross and tells him he’ll deal with this later. Sami continues on, but will he be winning his way to the top? Or just falling to the bottom?
Also, in the background, New Day is talking with Grayson Waller like they were last week. Are they still trying to convince the Aussie Icon of something?
Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifier Triple Threat: Seth Rollins VS Sami Zayn VS Finn Balor!
The Visionary wants all the power, the Underdog from the Underground wants to stop that from happening, and The Prince wants to put Judgment Day back at the top with a world title. Who gets their way in this star-studded three way in Tampa?
Raw returns and Finn makes his entrance, followed by Sami. The bell rings, Sami and Rollins fire hands, and Finn watches. Sami LARIATS Rollins up and out, but Finn attacks Sami! Finn bumps Sami off buckles, throws hands, then CHOPS! The fans “WOO~” and Finn whips. Sami ducks ‘n’ dodges then DIVES onto Rollins! The fans fire up as Rollins tumbles, and Sami is after him again! Finn hurries to join in and he CLOBBERS them both! The fans cheer, Finn brings Sami around and pushes him into the ring. Finn fires hands on Sami, CHOPS him, and Heyman scowls from ringside. Sami kicks back and puts Finn in the corner.
Sami climbs up, rains down fists, and the fans count, only for Rollins to stop Sami at 5! Rollins drags Sami down to CLOBBER him! Rollins rains down fists, huffs ‘n’ puffs as he goes to Finn, but Finn trips Rollins to DOUBLE STMOP! CHOP for Sami, CHOP for Rollins! Finn CHOPS Rollins, fires body shots, then fires haymakers! Rollins fires back, but Finn slips around to dragon sleeper! Sami runs up, Finn kicks him, DOUBLE DDT COMBO! Cover on Rollins, TWO! Cover on Sami, TWO! Finn is in control and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Finn CLUBS Sami! The fans rally, Finn throws hands, but Sami eggs him on! Finn throws more hands, then reels Sami in. The fans want tables but Sami hits a suplex on Finn! The fans rally as Sami rises, but Rollins is in! Sami counter punches Rollins and backs him down! Sami climbs to rain down fists! The fans count and Sami goes to TEN, then fires a flurry to get to TWENTY! The fans fire up, Sami runs up and BLASTS Finn off the apron! Rollins runs up, Sami TOSSES him out! The fans fire up more as Sami goes to the apron! Finn grabs a foot, Sami kicks him away, then Sami kicks Rollins!
Sami goes up, ARABIAN PRESS! Direct hit on Rollins and Finn and the fans fire up with Sami! Sami rises up, gives a shoutout to the late, great Sabu, and then hurries to put Rollins in the ring. Sami waistlocks, Rollins fights the Blue Thunder to FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO! Rollins is annoyed but he storms up on Sami. Rollins puts Sami in the corner, grinds his forearm into Sami’s face, then CHOPS! Rollins puts Sami up, CHOPS him again, then climbs. The fans rally, Sam fires elbows, and he knocks Rollins down! But Finn CLUBS Sami! Finn climbs up, he and Sami fight, and Sami CLUBS Finn down! Then shoves him down!
Rollins is right up top! Sami fires body shots and then he CLUBS Rollins down! Sami then adjusts, and SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMBS!! Cover, Finn breaks it! The fans fire up while all three men are down! Finn drags Sami up to TOSS him out, then goes for Rollins. Finn dragon sleepers Rollins, drags him up, but Rollins KICKS free! Rollins then kicks low, underhooks, but Sami is back !Rollins ROLLING ELBOWS Sami first! Then Rollins underhooks Sami, only for Finn to SLINGBLADE Rollins! Finn SHOTGUNS Sami into a corner! The fans fire up, Finn fumbles in the ropes a bit, but he goes up the corner!
Sami is up and he ROCKS Finn first! Sami then climbs up after Finn, goes to the very top, SUPER DUPER PLEX!! But Rollins FROG SPLASHES Sami!! Rollins bounces off that cover, all three men are down again, and “This is Awesome!” Heyman is freaking out while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns once again, and Rollins DECKS Finn! Sami sputters towards a corner, Rollins stomps him down and then stomps a mudhole in! The fans are torn but Rollins sees Finn sit up. Rollins tells Finn they can be 1v1 if they get rid of Sami first. Rollins & Finn get Sami up top, climb up after him, but Sami fights them both off! The fans rally behind Sami as he fires fast hands! Sami DECKS Rollins, DECKS Finn, and the fans fire up! Sami stands to leap, but Finn gets under. Rollins is there to catch Sami, but Sami DUMPS Rollins out! Finn runs up, but into a clinch! Only to victory roll it! TWO!! Sami escapes, Finn stands, and Finn waistlocks.
Finn dragon sleepers, EYE OF THE HURRICANE! Cover, Rollins breaks it! The fans rally, all three men slowly rise, and Rollins watches Finn. Rollins kicks Finn, underhooks, but Finn wrenches out, rolls Rollins up, but Rollins rolls through! Underhooks and PEDIGREE!! Cover, SAMI GHOST PINS ROLLINS! TWO!! Rollins escapes, kicks Sami, PEDIGREE!! Cover, TWO!??! Sami survives and the fans fire up again! Heyman is beside himself while the fans rally for Sami. Rollins gets in Sami’s face and tells him this is it! Rollins runs from the corner, but Sami avoids the stomp! BLUE THUNDER- NO, Rollins slips free to KICK the legs!
Rollins runs, but into BLUE THUNDER!! Cover, TWO!!! Rollins barely survives and no one can believe it! Where’s Finn in all this? Rollins sputters in a daze as he goes to the apron and the fans rally. Sami huffs ‘n’ puffs, looks up to the briefcase as motivation, and he throws hands on Rollins. Rollins staggers, but then he throat chops! Sami still throws hands! Rollins JABS, CHOPS, and repeat! Rollins CLAWS Sami’s eyes, puts him in a corner, and just SLAPS away! Rollins huffs ‘n’ puffs and almost foams at the mouth! Rollins runs in, btu into a clinch! CORNER EXPLODER! Sami is feeling it and the fans are with him!
Sami aims, runs at Rollins, but FINN SLINGBLADES! Then Finn SHOTGUNS Sami into Rollins! They’re both down but Sami’s in the drop zone! Finn goes up, COUP DE- NO, Sami dodge! CURB STOMP by Rollins! HELLUVA KICK by Sami!!! Cover on Rollins, BRON BREAKKER drags Sami out!! And Bronson Reed is there to rain down fists! The fans boo, because for No Disqualifications, this is still unfair! But then JEY CROSSBODIES Bronson! Jey fires fists on Bron, SUPERKICKS Bronson, then SUPERKICKS Bron! SUPERKICKS again and again, but Rollins grabs Jey! Jey UPPERCUTS Rollins! Bron SPEARS Jey!!
The fans boo, Bronson POSTS Sami, but DOM is here with a chair!! Dom slides that into the ring, halfway between Finn and Rollins. Finn grabs the chair, Rollins FULL METAL CURB STOMPS!!! Cover, ROLLINS WINS!!!
Winner: Seth Rollins, by pinfall (advances to Money in the Bank)
Dirty Dom tried to help but that backfired in a big way. But even then, Rollins had his minions help out, so it’s all fair. Bron & Bronson go after Jey & Sami, but CM PUNK is here?!? Bron & Bronson Security now move to the ramp, but Punk sneaks in from the crowd!! Fireman’s carry for Rollins, and a GO TO SLEEP!!! Rollins is down, Punk bails out, and the fans fire up! The Best in the World gets the better of The Visionary! But even so, Rollins is still going to MITB. Will the Visionary take over using that contract once again? Or will Punk make sure that never happens?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw to not just follow up Saturday Night’s Main Event but even accelerate towards Money in the Bank Saturday. Great tie-in of Worlds Collide with Vikingo being here, and that was an awesome Triple Threat from Penta, Dragon Lee and Gable. Gable VS Vikingo for Worlds Collide will be great stuff, but I think a graphic gave away that Vikingo’s match with Alberto Del Rio El Patron for the AAA Mega Championship is going to go Vikingo’s way to then escalate the Worlds Collide match. Very good promo from Rhea to hype up her part in MITB but there are still more people to add so I’m not sure Rhea wins.
Rusev VS Tozawa was really quick but I suppose it would be given Rusev is Rusev. But Sheamus confronting Rusev was great stuff, and they’re going to have a great feud. Fun promo with Burt Kreischer & Tom Segura to hype up the tag title match, and the tag title match itself was great stuff. The finishing sequence was quick and brilliant stuff, but it also makes me think we’re getting more New Day VS American Made after this. Great promo segment from Lyra and Becky to set up their rematch, but I feel like the stakes aren’t even. Becky only wants Lyra to raise her hand in victory? I feel like Becky would be pettier than that, but maybe she beats Lyra up so bad that Lyra can’t even stand.
We got great integration of other segments through the big stories. Judgment Day’s new dysfunction is all because of Finn, and he was clearly enjoying it. Liv not liking Roxie hanging around Dom is made all the sweeter because it’s what Liv was doing with Dom while Dom was with Rhea. But then in a great twist, Roxie really did try to help Liv, only for Raquel to not like it and that cost Liv. And then Liv seeing Roxie’s point later was a great detail, too. Finn is either going to break up Liv and Dom or Liv and Raquel and he doesn’t seem to mind which one it is.
Very good promo from Gunther and Jey, not that it really adds much. I was oddly expecting more Logan Paul to show up and talk trash on Jey while putting Cena over, saying stuff like how he and Cena are going to be this unstoppable dream team. Maybe Logan will do that Friday or next Monday, given next Monday is the go-home Raw. Seth Rollins & Paul Heyman had a very good promo to open the night, though they maybe let the chants for Punk and Roman go on when they didn’t need to. Jey and Sami had a good promo and that helped plug Jey helping Sami in the main event.
That main event was also an awesome match, but it works that Rollins won. The MITB contract served him well before, can’t wait to see if he wins it and tries to use it on June 9th during Gunther VS Jey. At the same time, CM Punk either gets in MITB with a qualifier, or he just shows up to make sure Rollins doesn’t win the ladder match. He might even stalk Rollins to make sure Rollins can’t cash in successfully. But such a story would get boring over time, so I would think Rollins just doesn’t win and has one last match with Punk for Saturday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta or for SummerSlam’s night two main event.
My Score: 8.8/10
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