WWE SURVIVOR SERIES

Rosemont, Illinois

TAG TEAM BATTLE ROYAL (BOBBY ROODE & DOLPH ZIGGLER) (8:20): I suppose this was a pretty decent, entertaining show. At least compared to the usual, humdrum shit the WWE puts on these days. Because AEW Dynamite has been beating NXT every Wednesday in the ratings (until this week when NXT won thanks to packing the show with the likes of Ricochet, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, etc.), they've pushed NXT down our throats and for the first year they're in all of the elimination matches tonight. So that was something new at least. I've never been the biggest fan of this year for a lot of reasons. One: the winners get nothing. Two: seeing Smackdown wrestlers face RAW wrestlers is supposed to be this unique thing but they seem to end up on each other's shows all the time so that is never anything fresh. This match had a zillion dudes in the ring at the same time and if one member of a tag team was thrown over the top rope then both were eliminated. This was a pre-show match (the pre-show was two hours...my God) so nobody really cared and the building was half empty. This was the same building where AEW's All In happened, right? I guess I'm just pondering AEW because it's better and I seriously just watched Dynamite. *

LIO RUSH vs. AKIRA TOZAWA vs. KALISTO (8:20): This was for the 205Live title...which is kind of ridiculous since Lio defended it on NXT two week's ago and 205Live was mysteriously not on last Friday. With these three you'd think it'd be a fucking epic of pure excitement...but it wasn't. It was short, basic. *1/2

THE VIKING RAIDERS vs. THE NEW DAY vs. BOBBY FISH & KYLE O'REILLY (14:35):
This was on the pre-show. It was pretty fun but nothing special. The Viking Raiders, for whatever reason, were a hell of a lot more exciting when they wrestled as The War Raiders in ROH and NJPW. **1/2

TEAM NXT (RHEA RIPLEY, BIANCA BELAIR, CANDICE LERAE, IO SHIRAI & TONI STORM) vs. TEAM RAW (CHARLOTTE, NATALYA, ASUKA, KAIRI SANE & SARAH LOGAN) vs. TEAM SMACKDOWN (SASHA BANKS, CARMELLA, DANA BROOKE, LACEY EVANS & NIKKI CROSS) (28:00): Since NXT was added to this 5 on 5 elimination matches I thought this show would stretch on until the end of time. I think the WWE realized that this was a possibility, too, so they actually curbed them all at under 30:00 which helped. This was a good match and the fresh, hot crowd helped. Rhea Ripley was kind of the star here. I guess they're pushing her because she's really tall (Vince always seemed to favor tall people for whatever reason). Candice and Io Shirai got "injured" and had to leave the match but returned to cheer on Rhea as she pinned Sasha to win. **1/2

RODERICK STRONG vs. AJ STYLES vs. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (16:45): Strong kind of snuck in the win here. Nakamura has been at least semi-interesting lately thanks to his manager, Sami Zayn. Why Sami Zayn doesn't wrestler anymore is beyond me. Somebody go send Vince an El Generico greatest hits DVD or something. Three years ago this may have been the greatest match in the history of time. Now...it was good not great. **1/2

ADAM COLE vs. PETE DUNNE (14:10): This was perhaps the best match of the night...but unfortunately only the last five minutes or so were great. Maybe it's because Cole has a broken hand and a cast plus he leapt off the War Games cage through a table last night at NXT so he had to start slow. Either way, when this heated up it was awesome stuff. Pete Dunne is one of WWE's best wrestlers and this ended up being really good. ***

"THE FIEND" BRAY WYATT vs. DANIEL BRYAN (10:10): So this match was ruined by the stupid red lighting that every Wyatt match has now. Daniel Bryan is awesome, though, so he at least helped this being somewhat watchable. I guess Bryan is a good guy again now since he's doing the "Yes!" chants. Or is it just because he's facing Wyatt? Who the fuck knows? Get rid of the red lighting already. Wyatt retained the title. *1/2

TEAM SMACKDOWN (ROMAN REIGNS, BRAUN STROWMAN, KING CORBIN, MUSTAFA ALI & SHORTY G) vs. TEAM RAW (SETH ROLLINS, DREW MCINTYRE, KEVIN OWENS, RICOCHET & RANDY ORTON) vs. TEAM NXT (WALTER, TOMMASO CIAMPA, DAMIAN PRIEST, MATT RIDDLE & KEITH LEE) (29:25): Again with the pushing of NXT, the finale had Roman Reigns vs. Keith Lee. There was a lot of good action here and this was a fun match. Walter got a huge reaction from the crowd when the match started. The goodwill ended when McIntyre pinned him first and the crowd booed. Seriously, Walter is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world and the WWE is fucking him over. I guess they went with pushing Keith Lee because Walter is in NXT UK and not NXT Florida. Ugh. Ciampa did a top rope slam on Adam Cole through a table last night from the top of the cage. Ciampa had frigging neck surgery last Spring. Are doctors getting better or something? What the hell is going on? Maybe he's a robot now. **1/2

BROCK LESNAR vs. REY MYSTERIO, JR. (7:00): This match was good but stupid. The crowd loved it, though, and it was hilarious in a Vince Russo type of way. By the end, Rey Mysterio was hitting Lesnar with a lead pipe and Mysterio's son was giving Lesnar a low blow, then they both did a 619 on him and it was crazy and wild and ridiculous. Lesnar of course won...somehow. Cain didn't show up for whatever reason. This had the big fight feel and I'm not entirely sure why it wasn't the main event. **1/2

SHAYNA BASZLER vs. BECKY LYNCH vs. BAYLEY (16:10): Wow. They put this match on last for no good reason and the crowd was asleep and this was awful and boring. Way to end the show, idiots! Shayna Baszler is by far the worst NXT women's champ ever. I guess they think she's like Ronda Rousey because she's an MMA fighter and so they're pushing her...but Rousey was exciting. Baszler is a snore. The big problem with these three way NXT vs. Smackdown vs. RAW matches is that the winner gets nothing so they're meaningless. Oh, well. 1/2*

AEW FULL GEAR

Baltimore

BRITT BAKER vs. BEA PRIESTLEY (11:35): This match was on the pre-show. Apparently, if you watched the pre-show on YouTube, they forgot to stop the feed so the whole PPV was on there for free. Oh, well. I still watched it for free. I love AEW but even I won't pay $50 for a wrestling show on TV. I never did watch this match, thanks mostly to BRLive not showing a pre-show replay. It sounds like I didn't miss much. The AEW's women's division is not that exciting, although Britt Baker, Adam Cole's girlfriend, is cute and went to Penn State. Speaking of girlfriends...Priestly is dating Will Ospreay. This is like a tabloid gossip rag or something.

SANTANA & ORTIZ vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (21:00): I didn't even realize that Santana and Ortiz are not using their TNA Impact names, LAX. I guess that name is copyrighted. I did see a few LAX matches in Impact over the years and the one thing I learned is that they're entertaining but only when in hardcore, clusterfuck matches. This match was good because the Bucks are always good but it wasn't stellar or anything. With the Bucks and Omega losing tonight, somebody in AEW has to go tell them that just because they're part owners and management and all of that it's still okay to fucking win once in awhile. Jesus. **1/2

ADAM PAGE vs. PAC (18:30): This was like a standard New Japan match. It started slow and boring but went long enough to get the crowd into it and become hot with big, back and forth moves by the end and turn into something good. Neither guy is a superstar in my opinion. I think PAC is great but hasn't been in a great match since NXT when he faced Balor. Even his main event title matches this year in Dragon Gate were good but never great. Oh, well. **1/2

SHAWN SPEARS vs. JOEY JANELA (11:45): If Janela isn't diving off ladders and falling backwards through tables then I'm not particularly interested in him. He built his career being the crazy, hardcore nut job...so when he's just wrestling it's kind of dull. Wrestling the boring Spears didn't help. Spears' best asset is his manager, Tully Blanchard, who should really be doing more since he's the true star. This was average, forgotten stuff. *1/2

SOCAL UNCENSORED vs. PRIVATE PARTY vs. LUCHA BROTHERS (13:00): I thought that this match would be better. It was still good, but I figured it would a four star masterpiece with these three teams leaping over the top rope left and right. Fenix did steal the show during this match, though, which of course he did. SoCal Uncensored kept the titles and then Christopher Daniels returned dressed up as Pentagram for no good reason after the match to beat up the Lucha Brothers. **1/2

RIHO vs. EMI SAKURA (13:20): I think Riho is great but this match was boring. Sakura is her real life teacher so it was teacher vs. student. Sakura likes Freddie Mercury for some reason so she came to the ring wearing a fake mustache and holding a microphone and doing Freddie Mercury dance moves. Okay. Riho retained the title. 1/2*

CHRIS JERICHO vs. CODY (29:35): By the end this match was stellar...but I'm still wondering why they had to go and do the stupid stipulation that if Cody lost he would never wrestle for the title again. Even with him losing by screw job, a stip is a stip and it'll be stupid and make him look idiotic if he ever does wrestle for the title again. Cody did a dumb top rope leap onto the entrance ramp that connected to the ring and he fell head first onto the steel and cut his forehead open and separated a rib. Smart. The big finale had MJF, who was Cody's ringside "friend," throwing in the towel when Cody was in the Walls of Jericho. So of course MJF kicked Cody in the balls after the match and turned heel, which he was earlier this year in AEW anyway. By the end this was dramatic as hell but early it was kind of slow and dull. Cody's mom at ringside slapped Jericho. They had three judges at ringside who were scoring the match in case it went to a 60 minute draw (the judges were Arn Anderson, Malenko, and The Great Muta...all who looked bored as hell and didn't want to be there...except for Muta who wore a mask so you couldn't tell). So this sets up Cody vs. MJF, which should be good since MJF is a hell of a heel talker. Jericho as champ is good in that he's a good promo guy and character, unfortunately he's 49 years old and can't really be in great, fast paced matches. But this was about as good as it gets for him and it was better than most of this show. I said most. ***

JON MOXLEY vs. KENNY OMEGA "LIGHTS OUT MATCH" (38:45): Before these last two matches, I thought that this show was a little on the disappointing side. And while this match wasn't Omega/Okada great or anything, it might have been the most memorable match I've seen all year. While this wasn't as bloody or as violent as a Big Japan death match...this was one of the most gruesome, big time American wrestling matches I've seen in quite some time. It's one thing to see Big Japan guys hitting each other with light tubes, sticking skewers through their cheeks, and wrestling on a mat covered in broken glass in front of a few hundred fans. It's different to see barbed wire, blood, and broken glass in a match in front of ten thousand people in a big arena on a major American show. It reminded me of those old Onita matches in Japan in front of huge crowds during exploding, barbed wire matches. So seeing CZW at a bingo hall is one thing...but seeing Omega stuffing broken glass into Moxley's mouth then kneeing him in the face in front of an arena crowd is a totally different animal. Which made this match unique and something you don't see every day. And these two fucking did it all. Omega didn't really get to show off his hardcore side in New Japan. We got a taste with that Ladder match against Michael Elgin in NJPW a few years ago. But who knew Omega had this sadistic side in him? And why are these two huge stars doing shit like this? They don't have to. But the chains that New Japan and WWE bound them in are off and they can finally do what they want to do and they end up doing...this? It's pretty bold...also reckless. But they're true wrestling fans and wanted to do it and they fucking did it. The one bad thing about this match was that instead of getting moves and wrestling we got two guys looking under the ring, not seeing something, then walking around to the other side of the ring and looking under for what they needed. This happened maybe ten times. So what was under the ring? A board with mousetraps glued onto it. A barbed wire broom. A barbed wire bat. Trash cans. A bag of broken glass. A metal spike. A pile of chains. Jesus Christ. We also got a huge, barbed wire spider-web contraption that Moxley suplexed Omega onto by the ring entrance. When they were both stuck in the barbed wire web it took like five or six guys to help them out...giving me deja vu of when the crew had to help and cut Sabu and Terry Funk out of the barbed wire jungle in ECW during that infamous, no-rope, barbed wire match. They were both bleeding thanks to the barbed wire bat and broom used. Omega speared Moxley through a plastic, Full Gear logo/sign thing by the entrance. Omega did his over the top rope flip through Moxley and a table. After broken glass was introduced, Omega had Moxley in a crab submission hold and Moxley had to, literally, crawl across broken glass to get to the ropes (which was by far the most creative and memorable moment in wrestling this year). By the end, Moxley tore off the ring mat to expose the hard wood floor. In what was the most painful thing perhaps I've seen this year (and reminded me of how far Omega is willing to go in big matches...remember his top rope Dragon suplex to Okada that look like it broke his neck?), Omega did a Phoenix Splash from the top rope and Moxley moved and Omega crashed down right on his face on the wood floor. Omega even took his time before that to climb up to the top rope, perhaps having second thoughts on what could have paralyzed him for life. So this match had it all. It went almost forty minutes. When was the last time a big time American match went that long? Bate and Walter went longer in August but that was in the UK in NXT. Taven and Jay Lethal did a 60 minute draw but that was in ROH in front a few hundred in February. So while this wasn't a great match or anything, it was certainly noteworthy and something to talk about for years to come. And it definitely made this show...as it wasn't particularly a great AEW show until these last two matches which really felt like big, PPV worthy spectacles, especially this lights out melee. Moxley ended up winning. But all that I could really think about was that the best bout machine, who'd been mostly absent since losing to Tanahashi in January, is back. Maybe all of us fools were just idiotic to think he wasn't still around. ***

NJPW POWER STRUGGLE

Osaka

CLARK CONNORS, TJP, TITAN & VOLADOR, JR. vs. JYUSHIN THUNDER LIGER, RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, TIGER MASK & YUYA UEMURA (5:43): I only watched one match in the Jr. tag team tournament that ended on this show. That was the first night's main event, which was Robbie Eagles and Ospreay vs. Sho and Yo. I suppose if Dragon Lee had been given an invite the tournament may have been more interesting, but ever since CMLL fired him he's been persona non grata in Japan because politics. Dragon Lee was stuck in Columbus, Ohio at a Ring of Honor show in front of maybe a hundred fans. Oh, well. So that's the reason why this match had all these small, high flyer types...they're left over from that Jr. tag team tournament. But that's a good thing, as this short match was all action and a lot of fun. I still have no idea who Clark Connors or Yuya Uemura are and because I watched the Japanese language version of this show and don't speak Japanese I'll probably never know. TJP I do know. He used to be fairly entertaining in Impact. **1/2

EL PHANTASMO & TAIJI ISHIMORI vs. ROBBIE EAGLES & ROCKY ROMERO (8:42): Short, fun, entertaining match. Phantasmo is definitely the big, rookie star of 2019 in my book. And I can't wait to see him face Hiromu for the first time next year if it ever happens. **1/2

EVIL, SANADA & SHINGO TAKAGI vs. MINORU SUZUKI, LANCE ARCHER & ZACK SABRE, JR. (9:07): The big story was Shingo vs. Suzuki in this match, which means they're probably going to face each other at the Dome. Suzuki is apparently leaving the company soon, so I guess a hard-hitting, brutal final match against Shingo is a good farewell. Besides those two battling it out (and by the end of this, Suzuki was holding a guardrail and Shingo a chair while they stared each other down), there wasn't much else. **

KOTA IBUSHI & HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA & YOSHI-HASHI (10:51): This would be like a main event match if Yoshi-Hashi was unfortunately thrown into this mix for no reason. This went ten minutes and pretty much nothing of note happened besides Yoshi-Hashi working his ass off and running all over the place trying to get over. *1/2

TETSUYA NAITO vs. TAICHI (12:56): I'll just never see a good Taichi match...because it'll never exist. Dude sucks. Every time I review a match he's in I always just talk about his stupid, lip singing, Phantom of the Opera entrance. Maybe he should just do that and not wrestle. And while Dave Meltzer keeps saying after every Naito match that he's done and looks broken and is falling apart...I always watch him and he looks as great and fantastic as ever. Go figure. 1/2*

RAPPONGI 3K vs. EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU (12:56): This was the final of the Jr. tag tournament. You can tell how prestigious that tournament is...the final is in the middle of the show and only goes 12 minutes. This was pretty average and filled with the usual Desperado/Kanemaru schtick...which is throwing you into the guardrail like ten times. I did finally watch that Jun Kasai/El Desperado match from May where Desperado broke his jaw. It was a hardcore match with barbed wire and stuff so I figured he broke his jaw hitting a table or a chair or something. No, Jun Kasai just punched him in the face and hit him too hard. That crazy fucking monkey. **

KENTA vs. TOMOHIRO ISHII (20:12): I really need to go and watch some of Kenta's old NOAH matches. Back then he was apparently the best wrestler in the world. I've only seen him in the WWE as Hideo Itami and now in New Japan and he's always in lame, slow, stiff matches that put me to sleep. I can't imagine him being in four star classics all the time so I'll have to see them to believe it I suppose. Kenta beat the shit out of Ishii for the first ten minutes and it was like a typical, boring WWE match. The big Ishii comeback never really came as when it did Kenta still kept at it and then won. Hard hitting match but not too memorable. **

WILL OSPREAY vs. BUSHI (16:20): Bushi is like Taichi in that he'll never be in a good match. I've given up on that. But...the last few minutes of this were excellent. Bushi tried to spit his black mist into Ospreay's face but Ospreay swallowed the mist and spit it back at Bushi...which was crazy and very inventive. Ospreay gave Red Shoes an Oscutter by accident. The end of this was like a WWE ending with interference and a ref out and shenanigans. But I like that stuff. Ospreay is the best wrestler in the world so this was perhaps the best Bushi match you'll ever see even though it wasn't that great until the end. After the match we finally got the return of Hiromu Takahashi after Dragon Lee broke his neck in San Francisco in July 2018. Hiromu looked good and did a bunch of silly dives and falls by himself as he ran around the ring and by the entrance, I guess to show that he was okay. There have been wrestlers that broke their neck and came back. Sabu did, as did Steve Austin. Sabu still did all of his crazy stuff after, too, so Hiromu might still be a great wrestler upon his return, but I guess we'll see. I'm happy that we're going to see Ospreay/Hiromu at the Dome for the Jr. title...but, man, Hiromu was one crazy mother fucker. Do I still want to see him doing all kinds of insane shit? And if he doesn't, will he still be entertaining? Well the crowd loved his return and it was by far the highlight of this show. **1/2

JAY WHITE vs. HIROOKI GOTO (27:40): Jay White is only in good matches once a year...and he already had his this year (against Okada at the Dome). Goto is in a good match maybe once in a blue moon...and this wasn't it. This was a bore fest. Of course it was. White's a good heel but not the most exciting in the ring. The end of this match got somewhat interesting when the ref was pulled out by his leg by Kenta to prevent a Goto win. Shibata came in to make the save and Kenta kicked him right in the head (Shibata retired because of bleeding on the brain and almost dying...so it's weird to see him get kicked in the head). Everyone keeps saying Shibata is retired and isn't doing another match but it sure as hell looks like he's going to wrestle Kenta at the Dome. White eventually won and retained his IC title then called out Okada and Tanahashi to the ring but Naito came out instead to challenge him for the IC title. Then Okada and Tanahashi did come out and the four of them are all apparently going to be in a four man tournament at the two Dome shows that will culminate in the first ever dual champion, which, presumably will be Ibushi. This means that, presumably, we will be getting another Naito/Ibushi match...which a lot of people never want to see again because when they wrestle they attempt to kill each other for fun. I'd honestly just be happy seeing a one Dome show with Okada/Ibushi. But...those two have wrestled before, just recently in the G1, and while their matches are good, they're not Omega/Okada good. And considering who ever wins will have to wrestle again the next night at Dome #2...will they have to hold back? At least the Dome is intriguing this year...which, with Omega gone, it definitely had a chance not to be. 1/2*