WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXXVII

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida

NIGHT 1

Attendance: 25,675

BOBBY LASHLEY vs. DREW McINTYRE (18:20): This show started with Vince welcoming the crowd while all of the wrestlers stood on the entranceway. Then some lady sang the national anthem. Then there was a 30 minute weather delay. Nice way to start the show! The rest of the show went on fine, though, but it is surprising that this is the first time that happened since they've been doing outside Wrestlemania shows for awhile. I wonder what would happen if they had to cancel the show? I also suspect they might have used some fake crowd noise...but maybe I'm just used to that so much now that I even hear it in my sleep. This show ended up being just okay. There were no great matches and two bad ones. The Takeover shows earlier this week were much better. They opened the show with the big championship match which was an odd choice. I'm guessing they did this because they decided Lashley was going to win and didn't want to end the show on a sour note. Everyone thought McIntyre would win for some reason, but considering Lashley just won the title...they made the right call. This was one of the better matches on the show. Lashley, who often looks sloppy and confused in spots, performed well. It was two guys doing big moves and the crowd seemed into it. ***

NATALYA & TAMINA vs. LIV MORGAN & RUBY RIOTT vs. CARMELLA & BILLIE KAY vs. LANA & NAOMI vs. DANA BROOKE & MANDY ROSE (14:15): This was a tag team turmoil match...meaning two teams start and then the winners face a new team and so on until there's a final winner. This match was awful. The winners face Shana Baszler and Nia Jax tomorrow night. The big problem, which was obvious and apparent in this match, is that the WWE tends to hire pretty girls instead of good wrestlers. That means that a lot of these girls are more models than athletic types, which made this a fairly atrocious in-ring match. I don't even remember them announcing this match yet alone having any sort of build. Thank God the main event reclaimed women's wrestling to its rightful place. -No Stars-

CESARO vs. SETH ROLLINS (11:35): Cesaro was, for one night anyway, a star. The crowd adored him. I'm not sure why. Wrestlemania usually gets the hardcore fans...but I'm not sure they did this year. Hardcore fans of course have always loved Cesaro. In a perfect world, this match would have been the main event for the title and went 35 minutes long. Alas, it was pretty entertaining for its 11 minutes. Cesaro did his leg swing on Rollins and also his shoulder swing. Rollins used to be this big, main event star but the last year or so he's been kind of lost at sea. **1/2

AJ STYLES & OMOS vs. THE NEW DAY (9:45): AJ wrestled most of this match and then when Omos came in he destroyed Kofi and Xavier Woods without giving them any offense and then pinned one of them with just one foot on their chest. So they pushed Omos as this unstoppable monster...yet he'll never be in an exciting wrestling match in his life because he's a bore. So this seems like a dumb decision, pushing a guy that can barely wrestle. They even won the tag titles here. Supposedly, AJ had been bugging HHH for months to get an HHH vs. AJ match on this show. I'm not the biggest HHH fan, but that match would have been lightyears better. 1/2*

BRAUN STROWMAN vs. SHANE McMAHON "CAGE MATCH" (11:25): This was disappointing. Shane is in his 50's, so I guess expecting him to do some crazy, suicidal dive off of something isn't in his best interests. But that's kind of what you expect in a Shane O'Mac match...otherwise, why have it? The big move was Braun throwing Shane off of the top of the cage and into the ring. I was kind of hoping the "big" move would have been something more spectacular. There was a unique moment when Shane was climbing out of the ring and Braun just ripped the cage open and pulled him back in. Before the match started, Shane's goons, Elias and who ever the other guy is, beat up Braun with a chair before the match started. Shane then used the chair on Braun in the ring. Shane did a coast to coast kick. I was kind of hoping this would have been another wild Shane O'Mac spectacle but unfortunately it wasn't. *1/2

BAD BUNNY & DAMIAN PRIEST vs. THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON (15:05): Is Bad Bunny a big star? I have no idea, as I never heard of him before he showed up on RAW a month or two ago. He was on Saturday Night Live last month...but that might be more because this show was on Peacock which NBC owns. Maybe he is a big star? Who knows? Either way, he did a top rope jump to the floor and a Canadian Destroyer on the floor to Morrison. Like any non-wrestler, though, he was sloppy and all over the place. The crowd seemed to like him, though, and this was fun. **1/2

BIANCA BELAIR vs. SASHA BANKS (17:15): This was a really good match. It's not shocking, as Sasha Banks has been one of the WWE's best wrestlers for years. Belair did some high flying which was nice to see. She did two 450 top rope splashes and a standing shooting star press. They kept using her long, hair braid as a weapon throughout the match culminating in Belair using it as a whip across Sasha's chest that left a huge mark. This was fast paced and back and forth and ended with Belair winning the title and the crowd happy. It was a good way to end the show. ***

NIGHT 2

Attendance: 25,675

RANDY ORTON vs. THE FIEND (5:50): I've been complaining for years that they should split 'Mania into 2 nights because it's gotten too long. They finally did it last year and, unfortunately, it feels like a diluted product. The same thing happened to New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom when they switched to 2 nights. It doesn't really feel as special or as big when it's spread out over 2 nights for whatever reason. What I wish both NJPW and WWE would do is keep it 1 night but just have the biggest matches and cut out all of the lame shit that nobody cares about. The entire Wrestlemania 37 felt a little underwhelming. Granted, a lot of it was still entertaining, and of course one of the big problems is that the WWE just isn't as good anymore. Night 2 on Sunday started with this awful match. Randy Orton burned The Fiend to death last year but he's back and apparently fine now. They did a stupid special f/x backstage gimmick where the burnt Fiend miraculously turned into his normal self. Alexa Bliss came out and wound up a giant music box by the ring and The Fiend came out of it. That was kind of a cool entrance. That's about all I can say about this match that was good. After a few minutes of monotonous wrestling under the red lights that I thought were gone for good but are back, Alexa Bliss appeared on top of the music box and she was crying black liquid. This confused The Fiend and Orton RKO'd him and won. Huh? So Alexa Bliss and The Fiend are going to feud? What the fuck is going on with this storyline? It has to go down as one of the most legendary dumb storylines in the history of wrestling. And, unfortunately, it doesn't really seem like it's over. 1/2*

NIA JAX & SHAYNA BASZLER vs. NATALYA & TAMINA (14:20): I thought Night 2 had a better card and might be the superior show. It was not. It was probably about as good as Night 1, though matches like this didn't help. We did get Nia Jax saying "shit" on live TV. That was about as memorable as this got. Shayna did a knee to Natalya's face that looked ultra dangerous. I think I noted this before but it sometimes seems like Shayna doesn't realize that pro-wrestling is fake. The big story here was Nia and Tamina facing off since they're both large. Tamina tried to pick up Nia and slam her in what was probably supposed to be a big moment but she could barely lift her and kind of just dropped her. Nia and Shayna retained the women's tag titles. *

KEVIN OWENS vs. SAMI ZAYN (9:20): This was fantastic. I could watch these 2 wrestle each other every week forever. It helps that they've been wrestling each other forever, from their youth days in Canada to their Kevin Steen and El Generico matches in ROH. They have great chemistry together, and like how Omega and Ibushi are, they trust one another enough to deliver crazy, sick moves against each other. After the match. Logan Paul, who's a Youtube star and now a celebrity boxing star, got a 'Stone Cold' Stunner from Owens. ***

SHEAMUS vs. RIDDLE (10:50): This was really good until Sheamus botched what was supposed to be a top rope slam. He couldn't hold Riddle and so the move fell apart. Riddle looked as good as he's ever looked in the WWE tonight. It's kind of sad he's not in a better promotion where he can have the epic, awesome, 30 minute matches he's capable of having. Sheamus won the U.S. title here. ***

APOLLO CREWS vs. BIG E "NIGERIAN DRUM FIGHT" (6:50): A "Nigerian Drum Fight" sounds kind of racist, doesn't it? They had drums at ringside but I don't think they ever used them. They used a drum cymbal and a Singapore cane because I guess this was just a hardcore match. Apollo Crews won the IC title after a big mystery man came in and slammed Big E. The problem was that the new mystery man looked too much like Damian Priest. I bet the people in the cheap seats thought he was Damian Priest. This match sucked. 1/2*

RHEA RIPLEY vs. ASUKA (13:30): This match was awful. Rhea Ripley looks like a star...she's tall and has that Matrix, lesbian/goth biker style going for her. But Rhea Ripley just can't put together an entertaining wrestling match for whatever reason. Did she ever have a good match in NXT? Asuka gave Ripley a DDT off of the apron which was cool. The rest of this match was boring as shit. It's too bad Charlotte wasn't at 'Mania this year, because this match really needed her. The reason Charlotte wasn't in this? Because the WWE doctors thought she was pregnant even though she wasn't. Yeah, that sounds like a bullshit excuse. I'm guessing they punished her since her boyfriend, Andrade, just asked for his WWE release and got it. 1/2*

ROMAN REIGNS vs. EDGE vs. DANIEL BRYAN (22:41): This was a really good, exciting match. The only problem was that the heel won and sent the crowd home sad. What a way to end the show! Have the bad guy win! They did this once at 'Mania when The Miz beat Cena in the main event...and that's pretty much known as the worst 'Mania ever. I can see that you want the supposed big star of the company to come out on top but you also kind of don't want to end the show on a downbeat note. I thought that Edge would win the title simply because why the hell else would you bring him back and have him win the Rumble and everything? They turned Edge heel because he was beating everyone up with chairs and was looking feral by the end of this. The crowd still cheered for Edge, though, although they seemed to adore Bryan and still did the "Yes" chant that I thought was kind dead and buried. Jey Uso was basically in this match, hitting people with chairs, attacking Edge and Bryan early. Reigns put Bryan though the announce table. Edge gave Bryan a conchairto. Edge speared Reins and was ready to win late and the crowd was loving it but Bryan pulled Edge out of the ring. That was a great, dramatic moment...but if Edge had won there the audience would have erupted and that would have been better. Reigns stacked Edge and Bryan on top of each other and pinned both. The crowd groaned. They did boo Reigns throughout, which people weren't sure they'd do. This was the first time a live audience could react to heel Reigns. They still boo him, no matter what. Some things never change. ***

NXT TAKEOVER: STAND & DELIVER

 

Orlando, Florida

NIGHT 1

ZOEY STARK vs. TONI STORM (9:52): It's Wrestlemania week...which means a plethora of wrestling shows. Not as many as usual (Ring of Honor used to put on a big PPV before 'Mania), but the WWE is having 9 straight nights of shows...which is insane. RAW, the Hall of Fame, 2 NXT Takeovers, Smackdown, 2 Wrestlemania nights, RAW, then NXT on its new Tuesday night. Granted, none of this means anything since the most memorable thing of the week already occurred when Will Ospreay beat Ibushi on Sunday to win the IWGP championship. I gotta admit...I'm rarely surprised watching wrestling...but when Ospreay won I was surprised. And while that match was fantastic, this show did have a match of the year contender. This was night 1 of their 2 night Takeover: Stand & Deliver. Tonight it was the last Wednesday NXT show on USA and so the last night of the Wednesday night wars. They're moving to Tuesdays because of the NHL. I didn't even watch this on USA, though, because it was on Peacock commercial free. The show was pretty good though tomorrow night will probably be better since it has a ladder match and an Adam Cole match. This Stark vs. Storm match was on the pre-show. It was fast paced and short at least. The women's division in NXT is not the greatest these days. **

PETE DUNNE vs. KUSHIDA (10:39): Quite the dream match, no? Who would have ever thought these two would ever be wrestling? And for a 10 minute bout, it was pretty good. Though short on time and with no buildup or story, you kind of got what you paid for. Dunne is more a ground and pound, brutal wrestler...Kushida is the fast, high flyer. Since they're both so good it still worked. These two are too good to be in a forgotten opener, though. **1/2

BRONSON REED vs. ISAIAH "SWERVE" SCOTT vs. CAMERON GRIMES vs. LA KNIGHT vs. DEXTER LUMIS vs. LEON RUFF (23:14): This was a Gauntlet match, meaning 2 guys started and then after a few minutes another entered. It was elimination style and the winner is facing Gargano tomorrow night. The one guy that might not have a good match with Gargano ended up winning, which is kind of disappointing. Bronson Reed is fat and does all of the Yokozuna type of stuff. Isaiah Scott was kind of the star with his high flying and cockiness. LA Knight is kind of the prototypical wrestler that Vince loves (tall, muscled, good looks, a bore) so I was shocked he didn't win. This was a lot of fun, actually. A ton of action. Good match. ***

WALTER vs. TOMMASO CIAMPA (16:59): This match was phenomenal...but of course it was. Walter is probably WWE's best wrestler just for the fact that he's usually the only one who ends up in my top 10 matches of the year every year. Ciampa is so great that he refuses to leave NXT for the main roster. Usually, Walter matches are squashes, but they turned it around here and had Ciampa on offense for most of it. This was brutal, which sickening chops and kicks and slams. The story had Walter's hand damaged so he couldn't deliver his patented chops. There were a ton of near falls. The end was a bit anti-climatic, with the fading Walter just winning out of the blue. It was also kind of obvious Ciampa wasn't winning the UK title because, what, he's going to go live in England and wrestle now? But this will probably end up being the WWE's best match all year. ***1/2

MSK vs. GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS vs. LEGADO DEL FANTASMA (15:24): This had a lot of action, a lot of high flying, a lot of bodies all over the place. MSK won the tag titles here. They had a tough spot here trying to follow that classic...but it was entertaining. **1/2

RAQUEL GONZALEZ vs. IO SHIRAI (12:56): Both of these wrestlers are pretty boring for whatever reason, so this was just okay. Gonzalez won the women's title here. It's funny, but Io Shirai did like ten moonsaults in this match plus jumped off the big skull on the entranceway...but she's still a bore. I think it's because she's dating New Japan's Evil...and he's boring as well. Gonzalez is tall...but doesn't have much of an arsenal. This wasn't terrible or anything but for a main event title match you kind of want something longer, more dramatic, and more awesome. **

NIGHT 2

KILLIAN DANE & DRAKE MAVERICK vs. BREEZANGO (8:38): Since it's Wrestlemania week ...remember when Fandango debuted and beat Jericho at 'Mania and then a few months later he disappeared forever? And remember the crowds would do that stupid dance to his entrance music? That seemed like it was ten years ago...and yet Fandango is still around. I'm not sure where he's been? Probably in the blackhole that's WWE Superstars, a TV show that exists but I'm not sure when it's on or what channel. It's strange, but the WWE keeps people around that just aren't on TV. Why do they still pay them? This baffles me. Well Fandango is back on TV, albeit on the Peacock app, albeit on the pre-show. This show was only on the Peacock app. The picture quality was good and they added the pause and rewind buttons. Hopefully come Saturday night the whole thing won't crash. Last night's Takeover was a better show, but this still had his moments. This forgettable match wasn't one of them. They still haven't figured out what to do with Drake Maverick and I think they've tried just about everything. 1/2*

SANTOS ESCOBAR vs. JORDAN DEVLIN "LADDER MATCH" (18:06): This was the match of the night. It was for the cruiserweight title...which I think used to be the 205Live title. There were 2 belts hanging above the ring so who the fuck knows what's going on...I'm not sure anyone watches 205Live anymore, especially considering it's not even live anymore even though it's called "live." These 2 did a bunch of crazy shit. Devlin did a moonsault off of the top of the ladder which was awesome. Escobar pushed Devlin off of the ladder and down onto another ladder and then grabbed the titles to win. Good match. ***

EMBER MOON & SHOTZI BLACKHEART vs. CANDICE LeRAE & INDI HARTWELL (10:35):

I've said it before, but Shotzi reminds me of Hiromu Takahashi. That's not entirely a good thing, as Hiromu broke his neck and is now less exciting as he once was. Shotzi did a dive through the ropes and Candice and Indi didn't even catch her and she almost landed right on her head. Alas, she's crazy and thrilling to watch, and perhaps the WWE's most exciting female wrestler now. This match wasn't very good, though, since Candice and Indi are kind of pedestrian and Ember Moon didn't do much of note. *1/2

JOHNNY GARGANO vs. BRONSON REED (16:23): They really should have had Isaiah "Swerve" Scott win the Gauntlet match last night instead of Bronson Reed. I think Reed is Samoan...so maybe he's related to The Rock or something and that's why he's been semi-pushed. Bronson is not a very good wrestler. He got really tired and slow too fast in this match and botched one particular top rope spot where he was supposed to hold on to Gargano but let him slip and fall to the mat. Gargano is awesome so at least half of this match was good. The announcers noted that this was Gargano's 16th straight Takeover show. Jesus. I guess he's never going to RAW or Smackdown. Granted, that's probably a good thing, as him and Adam Cole and Ciampa would probably die a slow death on the main roster. **1/2

KARRION KROSS vs. FINN BALOR (17:08): Kross won the title in August by defeating Keith Lee but he was injured so he had to give it up. He won the title here to make up for that. Kross is a Vince type; tall, muscular, boring. He'll never be in a good main event, so giving him the title is a mistake. By the end of this it was fairly entertaining, though nothing spectacular or anything. Kross just wrestles awkwardly whereas Balor is flawless. Maybe they'll finally kick Balor out of NXT. Why is he still there, anyway? They mentioned this was Balor's 16th Takeover show. The only great Takeover match I recall him having was that match years ago against Neville. **1/2

KYLE O'REILLY vs. ADAM COLE "UNSANCTIONED MATCH" (40:10): This was the longest WWE singles match in a really fucking long time, right? Walter had a 40 minute match in 2019 but that was in NXT:UK. This was too long, though, as some of it dragged. It was certainly memorable, and brutal, although a lot of the "hardcore" stuff didn't really work. After watching AEW doing exploding barbed wire and thumbtacks and buckets of blood...using a chain and chairs just kind of pales in comparison. They used the chain way too much and it always came across as kind of silly. They did a suplex on the announce table and it didn't break. They fell through the entrance walkway that collapsed. Cole hit O'Reilly with a tire iron and a TV. The ref was knocked out for awhile. O'Reilly wrapped a chain around his leg and jumped off the top rope to knee Cole in the head while Cole was draped over an upside down chair. Then O'Reilly pinned him for the win. I think if these two just had a regular wrestling match it would have been better. **1/2

WWE FASTLANE

Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

RIDDLE vs. MUSTAFA ALI (9:15): This was the first PPV on Peacock, NBC's streaming service. The WWE Network is gone and everything is moving to Peacock. This is good for me, as I already have Comcast and Peacock is free. It's also good for others as Peacock has a $5 tier so it's cheaper than the WWE Network. So far, Peacock is pretty much the same as the WWE Network. You can't pause or rewind a live show, but hopefully they'll change that. The picture quality was not as good as the WWE Network, but not really that noticeable. I'm guessing this was a trial run for Wrestlemania on Peacock, since, let's face it, no one but hardcore WWE fans are watching this show but a ton will be watching Wrestlemania. It worked...so far. Watch Wrestlemania crash the whole streaming service. This show had some noteworthy events (a Reigns title defense, the return of The Fiend), but was pretty forgettable. The main event was good and the longest WWE singles match in some time. This match was on the pre-show and for some random title that Matt Riddle has. Oh, wait...he's known only as Riddle now for no apparent reason. I love Riddle, but like Ricochet, the WWE is destroying him. It's kind of sad to see that when it happens. The WWE has a giant graveyard of ruined careers. Riddle is at least still somewhat fun to watch so this was decent. Ali's evil group is just about the least threatening, "evil" group ever concocted. And after this match it looks like they might be breaking up. Great, so now we'll be stuck with a bunch of singles matches with those losers. ** (out of ****)

NIA JAX & SHAYNA BASZLER vs. SASHA BANKS & BIANCA BELAIR (9:45): Banks and Belair are wrestling for the title at 'Mania...so they're going for the tag team titles tonight for...who the fuck knows? This PPV seemed to be kind of thrown together at the last second. There wasn't much to this match. Belair won the Royal Rumble but, honestly, she's not particularly great or anything. She did a 450 splash from the top rope that was cool but that was about it. I guess that wasn't too impressive considered I watched the Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi New Japan match before this show and Ospreay did a top rope 450 through Takagai on a ringside table which was awesome. You're really not supposed to watch a New Japan show before a WWE show because the WWE show is always terrible after you've witnessed greatness. Banks and Belair obviously eventually bickered by the end and lost. **

BIG E vs. APOLLO CREWS (5:45): I think Big E was primed to get pushed like Kofi did a few years ago when he won the title at 'Mania. Remember that great Kofi push that lasted maybe 6 months and is now forgotten while he clowns around backstage on every show? Well I guess that Big E push has stalled, or isn't happening, or maybe never was. He does have a title. I think it's the U.S. title but it may be the IC title. Him and Riddle have titles, that's all I know. This was actually pretty entertaining but super short and the ref botched the final count. Even the announcers were flabbergasted and confounded when the ref did like a six count while both men's shoulders were down. **1/2

BRAUN STROWMAN vs. ELIAS (3:50): Shane O'Mac was set to wrestle Braun tonight but that didn't happen so Elias wrestled Braun. Thanks, WWE, for promising a match that never happened. It was always supposed to happen at 'Mania so I'm not sure why they decided to tease and not deliver it on this show. And what happened to Elias? Vince has obviously soured on him because he's been in purgatory for awhile. His schtick doesn't work without an audience to hear his song and boo but that doesn't mean you can't have him do things...or anything, really. I mean...he could still play a song and they could just pipe in boos. He was also a good guy for awhile for no good reason but I guess he's a heel again now. Braun won quickly. I'm not entirely sure what the point of this was. 1/2*

SETH ROLLINS vs. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (12:55): It's been...what? Four years? And I'm still mad that Nakamura left NJPW. Although, I'm mad when anyone leaves New Japan. Like AJ. Like Omega. Like Ricochet. Like The Young Bucks. Like Kushida. Nakamura's last great match was his first in the WWE...him and Sami Zayn tore the fucking house down at that NXT show. I suppose this is as good as it gets for Nakamura these days: a good match in the undercard that means nothing. The first half of this was kind of boring but the final few minutes were excellent. **1/2

DREW McINTYRE vs. SHEAMUS "NO HOLDS BARRED" (19:40): These two were supposed to have a title match either at Elimination Chamber or here. That never happened because some idiot decided to give The Miz and then Bobby Lashley the title for no good reason whatsoever. So this wasn't a title match, just a fight. They brawled around the Thunderdome. McIntyre pushed Sheamus through some of those fan video screens and sparks flew up. They broke the announce table. They used Singapore canes. It was entertaining. Would've been better as a title match. **1/2

ALEXA BLISS vs. RANDY ORTON (4:45): Is this the first man vs. woman WWE match ever? Probably not...but they rarely do it. Neither one even touched the other so I guess it doesn't matter. This feud/storyline has to be one of the worst/stupidest things the WWE has ever done. And that's saying something considering what's happened in this company over the years. Bliss pointed to the ceiling and a light fixture fell down and almost hit Orton. Bliss threw a fireball at Orton. Finally The Fiend climbed out through the ring and he was in a costume that looked like he was burnt to a crisp. If you remember, he was burnt to death last year by Orton. The Fiend gave Orton the Sister Abigail finisher and Bliss pinned Orton. I guess this storyline isn't boring. That's about the highest praise I can give it. 1/2*

ROMAN REIGNS vs. DANIEL BRYAN (30:00): Ospreay and Shingo went a little over 30 minutes earlier today. Crazy that this match went almost as long. When was the last time a singles match in the WWE went that long? It's been awhile, anyway. This was good. The problem was the scriptwriters really went to hog heaven writing up the ending to this. It was way too over-written. Just have a match...these two are good enough to do it. But no...they had to have a ref bump. Then Edge, who was the "special enforcer," whatever that means, became the ref and was counting pinfalls. Then Jey Uso came in and beat up Bryan with a chair. Then Bryan tried to hit Jey with a chair but hit Edge instead. So Edge got mad and hit Bryan and Reigns with a chair then left. Yeah, it sounds as dumb and as ridiculous as it was. Reigns tapped out at one point but it was meaningless amidst the chaos. Eventually Reigns just pinned Bryan when a new ref ran in. Good match but the clusterfuck ending was too over-produced. It's funny, but these two were in the main event at the first ever Fastlane six years ago and that match was also for the main event slot at 'Mania. Crazy how six years later they're still doing the same shit. So we're getting Edge vs. Reigns at 'Mania for the title, as well as Lashley vs. McIntyre for the title, Belair vs. Sasha for the title, Braun vs. Shane, and The Fiend vs. Orton. 'Mania is 2 nights this year and they're having 25,000 fans each night at Tampa's football stadium. I suppose the card doesn't really matter since this will be first WWE show with fans since last March. That'll be a cool spectacle. I'm looking forward to it, which is a shocking thing to say since this is the WWE we're talking about. **1/2

AEW REVOLUTION

Jacksonville, FL

DR. BRITT BAKER & MAKI ITOH vs. RIHO & THUNDER ROSA (14:50): This was an entertaining, fun show, although there were two problems with it. The first problem was that, unlike most AEW PPV's, there wasn't a great match on the show. Usually there's at least one match-of-the-year type of a match. This show had some good matches but nothing great. The second problem, and the reason the show ended up being looked at as disappointing, is the terrible, anti-climatic ending. This match was the pre-show match (the pre-show started at 7:30 PM and the show ended at 11:45 PM...yep, way too long). This was fun and fast paced and we got to see the exuberant Maki Itoh debut. She's from Tokyo Joshi-Pro. I actually watched the main event of one of their shows recently and didn't like it at all. Maki Itoh is more of a sports entertainer type than a wrestler, though her charisma is ecstatic. It's kind of too bad either of these 4 weren't a part of the women's title match. **1/2

THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. CHRIS JERICHO & MJF (17:50): By the end of this it turned out to be pretty entertaining with a bunch of near-falls. The Young Bucks did all of their usual high flying, although I kind of wish Jericho was just a manager and didn't wrestle anymore. His dull in-ring ability didn't really work in this type of a match because Young Bucks matches are usually fast paced and thrilling. This wasn't a great match but it was one of the better ones on the show. **1/2

CASINO TAG TEAM ROYALE (REY FENIX) (26:45): The end of this match, with Fenix and Jungle Boy battling it out, was awesome. Maybe they should have just had a Fenix vs. Jungle Boy singles match? Other than that, it was a typical battle royale. **

HIKARU SHIDA vs. RYO MIZUNAMI (15:10): This was okay. Shida is a decent wrestler but she's never in spectacular matches and the crowd isn't really into her so I'm not sure why she's the champ. AEW hasn't really figured out the women's division yet. It's not that they don't have the stars...Riho and Thunder Rosa are both great. The other problem was that nobody even really knows who the hell Ryo Mizunami is. It seems like she just showed up in the company. The crowd, shockingly, was kind of into this match (Jacksonville let over 1,000 fans into the building). Maybe AEW will figure out the women's division one day. **

MIRO & KIP SABIAN vs. ORANGE CASSIDY & CHUCK TAYLOR (7:50): Miro and Kip beat up Cassidy and Taylor backstage before the match then dragged them out to the ring to finish them off. They slammed Chuck Taylor's head through a window backstage but I guess he put his hand up to block it or something because he cut his arm and was bleeding all over everyone during the match. That must've been real glass, which is a surprise since the barbed wire in the main event was fake. There wasn't much to this match, although Orange Cassidy was mildly entertaining even though he didn't get to do much. *1/2

"HANGMAN" ADAM PAGE vs. MATT HARDY (14:40): This wasn't bad but it was just a typical wrestling match without much pop. The Dark Order came out to save Page when he was falling out of the ring and he came back to clothesline Hardy and win. *1/2

SCORPIO SKY vs. CODY RHODES vs. PENTA EL ZERO MIEDO vs. LANCE ARCHER vs. MAX CASTER vs. ETHAN PAGE "LADDER MATCH" (23:15): This match was really good, with the usual bunch of sickening ladder bumps. Penta did a Canadian Destroyer type of a move on Cody on a ladder bridge. Scorpio Sky got tossed out of the ring onto a ladder bridge that broke in half. Cody left for awhile because he was "injured" but returned late. Lance Archer choke slammed everyone at one point. 

Scorpio Sky did a frog splash onto someone on a ladder. Maybe it was Max Caster? I don't even know who that is and I actually watch Dynamite every week. Ethan Page was the surprise 6th entrant. Who is Ethan Page? He was kind of forgettable. Scorpio grabbed the brass ring hanging from the ceiling and won and gets a TNT title shot against Darby Allin on Wednesday. ***

DARBY ALLIN & STING vs. BRIAN CAGE & RICKY STARKS "STREET FIGHT" (13:40): Before this match, Christian came out to announce that he signed an AEW contract. The Big Show is also in AEW now. So AEW is becoming the WWE Legends show now. Christian looked good in this year's Royal Rumble. Do I really want to see him wrestling in AEW, though? Not really. And do I really want to see Sting wrestling? Not really. This was a "cinematic" taped match. I'm not the biggest fan of these for whatever reason. I think the only one I ever enjoyed was that first Matt Hardy TNA Deletion match because it was funny. This was the opposite of funny. It was in an old abandoned warehouse. It was dark, gothic, creepy. It started with Sting driving in a pickup truck in a city and Darby on a skateboard holding onto the back of the truck. The one big move in this was Darby jumping out of a window and onto Brian Cage who was on a stage that collapsed down through the floor. That was kind of cool. Darby also got tossed through a standing plate glass window. Sting used his bat. They all threw each other into walls. I guess it was watchable, though just your usual "cinematic" match. **1/2

KENNY OMEGA vs. JON MOXLEY "EXPLODING BARBED WIRE DEATH MATCH" (25:15): Unfortunately, the ending to this match ruined not only the match but the entire show. First off, the exploding barbed wire ropes were a pretty cool visual. I was kind of surprised how well that looked. It did not look as cool as the exploding barbed wire in those old Onita matches, but it was pretty close (those old ones had sparks and smoke...tonight there was only the pop and the smoke). They had three sides of the ring wrapped in barbed wire around the ropes (alas, this was not a no-rope, barbed wire match...plus the barbed wire wasn't real barbed wire...it wasn't sharp and you could tell because it didn't cut anyone). They had two barbed wire boards in the ring. On the floor they had three barbed wire boards that were supposedly landmines. They only fell on one of those (Moxley gave Omega a DDT from the apron onto one of those). The landmine explosion was kind of weak. Later on, when Gallows and Anderson came out to interfere, Omega hit Moxley with an exploding, barbed wire bat. That looked awesome. Onita's been using one of those for the last few years. The bat actually produced a pop, sparks, and smoke and looked tremendous. So for awhile it was pretty cool and even though they weren't doing much wrestling moves and it wasn't Omega/Okada great or anything, it was working. I was actually kind of surprised. One particular unique move was when Omega delivered the One Winged Angel for the pin (nobody has ever kicked out of this) and Moxley touched the ropes with his foot to trigger a blast and avoid the pin fall. Omega finally pinned Moxley after Gallows and Anderson came out to interfere. The three of them then handcuffed Moxley and left him in the ring for the 30:00 exploding ring finale. There was a countdown. They did the old Onita savior gimmick and Eddie Kingston came out, tried to get Moxley out of the ring, ran out of time and so he just laid on top of Moxley to shield him from the blast. Then the countdown ended and the ring exploded...or, was supposed to explode. They had sparklers shoot out of all four ring posts which looked ultra lame and puny. And they set off the landmine explosions on the floor which were not really that big or anything, just roman candle type of fire and smoke shooting up fireworks. Moxley and Kingston played like they were dead and paramedics came out even though the crowd was booing and the exploding ring was groan-inducingly bad. Some wondered if maybe the pyro malfunctioned or something but I think in this day and age, with fire marshals and laws (unlike dangerous 1990's Japan), they probably couldn't actually do anything much more than that. Either way, the end was fucking awful and really ruined this show. If they had just done the exploding barbed wire ropes and the exploding barbed wire bat this match might've been 4 stars. Because all of that was great. It was shocking, really, to actually see them pull all of that stuff off. If you don't know, no major U.S. wrestling company has done an exploding barbed wire match. CZW did it once outside in Jersey in front of maybe 100 people. I remember ECW doing a landmine match that was super weak. So I am glad they tried it and most of it came off really well. The exploding ring matches in Japan haven't really been that impressive, either, though. Hell, even the infamous Terry Funk/Mick Foley exploding ring match ended with a dull explosion that made Mick Foley quickly come up with a new ending by pulling a ladder out from under the ring and improvising. I think the key is the smoke. You can pretend like it's a big explosion if there's a wall of smoke. Sparklers shooting out of the ring posts just came across as bush league. It was, by far, the worst thing AEW has ever done. And it's a shame because the match was visually very cool and violent and the crowd loved it before the lame duck ending. Will they ever do one of these again? Or is this type of a match forgotten? Even Japan doesn't do them anymore. I used to have a VHS tape called "The Best of Onita Vol. 1-3." I bought it online in the late 90's and loved it. Onita and Terry Funk and Hayabusa and Tarzan Goto with exploding barbed wire ropes and exploding rings and stadium crowds of 30,000 cheering them on. That was all in the early to mid 90's. Maybe it's best to leave things in the past. Or, as Faulkner famously wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." I say do it again someday and get it right. They learned their lesson. And you'll never learn anything from never failing. ***

WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER

Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

JOHN MORRISON vs. ELIAS vs. MUSTAFA ALI vs. RICOCHET (7:10): This was the pre-show match. The winner would be added to the U.S. title match. Keith Lee was supposed to be in the U.S. title match but is out for either an injury or because his fiancee had the coronavirus. The WWE keeps coronovirus infections super secret sometimes for unknown reasons. When McIntyre had it, they had to admit it because it put the Goldberg match in jeopardy. When AJ Styles had it they never said anything until months later AJ mentioned it on a podcast. As for this match...it was a typical, superfluous pre-show match. Every time I see Ricochet in a match in WWE I just cringe. He could have been a fucking mega star if they didn't have their head up their ass. I guess I'll just have to go watch old NJPW matches with him and cry myself to sleep next time I forget how great he is. Ricochet looked good, as usual, although the WWE has neutered him like they did with Keith Lee. Why do they care if he does suicidal shit? That's what made him. Eh. This was at least fairly entertaining, although Mustafa Ali's Retrobution group is the silliest thing that's supposed to be serious that I've witnessed in some time. And what happened to Elias? The coronavirus really destroyed his career...because without a live crowd to heckle his songs he's absolutely nothing. **1/2

DANIEL BRYAN vs. JEY USO vs. KEVIN OWENS vs. KING CORBIN vs. SAMI ZAYN vs. CESARO "ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH" (34:20): This show is kind of a bad remembrance of things past. The last live show I watched with a sold out crowd and people in the stands without masks was last year's Elimination Chamber in Philly in March. A week after that, the whole world was shut down and, unfortunately, things aren't much better a whole year later, even with a vaccine. I remember writing a review of that show and mentioning Japan doing pro-wrestling shows in empty buildings and hoping that it doesn't happen here. The good news is that this show was a lot better than that forgettable show. I guess I'm just used to watching sports now with no fans, fake crowd noise, or sparse crowds with masks on. The Australian Open just ended today, and the men's final had a decent size, rowdy crowd...so I guess in some corners of the Earth things are getting better. And the WWE's "Thunderdome" setup is actually pretty watchable, surprisingly. This was a really good match, very entertaining, with a bunch of good wrestlers (except Corbin) doing good work. Watching Daniel Bryan and Cesaro start out wrestling each other just made me wish this company was smarter and the main event of this show would've just been those two in a 30 minute title match. Bryan won...but winning this was punishment since you had to face Roman Reigns for the title immediately after. ***

ROMAN REIGNS vs. DANIEL BRYAN (1:32): I guess the only reason they did this was so Edge could come in and spear Reigns to set up their Wrestlemania match. Otherwise, what the fuck was the point to humiliate Bryan after delivering him a big win and some momentum? Bryan did put Reigns in a Cross Face briefly, but then Reigns just pounded him and choked him out. 1/2*

MATT RIDDLE vs. BOBBY LASHLEY vs. JOHN MORRISON (8:40): I guess I should be surprised that a genuinely great indie wrestler actually came out of NXT and is on the main roster getting a decent push. Most go to the main roster to die, but here's Matt Riddle (now only referred to as "Riddle" for some unknown, stupid reason) winning the U.S. title (he's also a pretty big mainstay star on RAW these days). I'm not that surprised, though, because I know why he hasn't been destroyed like Ricochet. Vince loves dumb comedy and Matt Riddle's low-IQ "bro" gimmick is pure, dumb comedy bliss. This match certainly would have been better if Keith Lee was in it, although Morrison, even at his old age, looked fantastic with all of his flips and dives. **1/2

NIA JAX & SHAYNA BASZLER vs. SASHA BANKS & BIANCA BELAIR (9:35): Lacey Evans was supposed to face Asuka for the title but Lacey is pregnant in real life. They gave her the great storyline on RAW of getting pregnant by Ric Flair. Okay. Hopefully she doesn't give birth to a hand. So this match seemingly was thrown on a show with, realistically, only four matches (it went 2.5 hours...though they'll make that up in April when Wrestlemania is two nights and probably 16 hours long). It didn't even make sense, really, since Banks and Belair are on Smackdown and Baszler and Jax are on RAW. Jax and Baszler retained the tag team titles. Reggie, who's another comedy character, gave Sasha Banks a champagne bottle to hit Jax over the head with but the ref saw it and Jax used that distraction to slam Banks and pin her. *1/2

DREW McINTYRE vs. AJ STYLES vs. JEFF HARDY vs. RANDY ORTON vs. SHEAMUS vs. KOFI KINGSTON "ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH" (31:10): Good match. The Elimination Chamber has always been one of my favorite WWE PPV's. I guess because it's unique and never boring. AJ looked on fire tonight. He was jumping off the top rope so many times that I was reminiscing to his glory days in New Japan. Fuck...take me back; that G1 semi-final verse Tanahashi? That Okada title match at Dominion? The Nakamura Wrestle Kingdom last match? The Suzuki G1 match of the year? Swoon. I kind of wish AJ actually tried this hard more often. The big thing in this match was when AJ's personal bodyguard ripped the plastic wall off the outside of AJ's chamber so he could escape and enter the ring before his time to enter occurred. That was dumb but I guess something new. Jeff Hardy did a Swanton and a flip off of the top of one of the pods. McIntyre pinned AJ to win and retain his title. ***

THE MIZ vs. DREW McINTYRE (0:30): After the Elimination Chamber match, Bobby Lashley came out and beat up McIntyre. Then The Miz came out and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and pinned McIntyre fairly quickly to win the title. Groan. The Miz is the champ? Really? They do know it's 2021, right? And The Miz is a joke? Not that he ever wasn't a joke...but I remember when he cashed in a MITB contract to win the title on RAW years and years ago it was pretty cool. Now it's just embarrassing. I get that there's another PPV before Wrestlemania...but you kind of don't want to change titles this close to Wrestlemania. Drew didn't have an opponent for Wrestlemania yet so I guess it's not that bad. Still...the end of this show closing with The Miz as champ just made me want to never watch the WWE again. Even worse is that The Miz cashed in his contract already at TLC in December and failed. Remember? Then on RAW is some stupid storyline he got the briefcase back. I actually watched that episode of RAW and still don't remember why he got his briefcase back. This fucking company. 1/2*

NXT VENGEANCE DAY

Orlando, Florida

DAKOTA KAI & RAQUEL GONZALEZ vs. EMBER MOON & SHOTZI BLACKHEART (17:40): Remember that great PPV during the WWF's heyday that was on Valentine's Day and so they called it St. Valentine's Day Massacre? It had a steel cage match with Vince vs. 'Stone Cold' and a Last Man Standing match with The Rock vs. Mankind for the title. Well they never used that title for a PPV ever again. I suppose tonight was the closest, as this show was also on Valentine's Day and they called this Vengeance Day. Maybe because that PPV was so awesome that I always wished they would use that title again. They probably won't, thanks to a lot of terrible things that have happened since then, most notably the Parkland school shooting that took place on Valentine's Day a few years ago. Either way, this is a NXT Takeover show and they're usually always great. The card for this show wasn't too spectacular and they're still stuck in the Performance Center without a packed crowd of fans. This was an entertaining show and was good but not great. Shockingly, this first match was probably the best of the night. This was the finals of the women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. And, no, Dusty Rhodes was not famous or well known for being in a tag team. What tag team was he even in and who was his partner? Before my time, anyway. But the winner of this match would be the first ever NXT women's tag team champion. This is a fairly ridiculous title considering NXT has either zero or very few women's tag teams. Everyone in this match was just singles wrestlers stuck together in a random team. The team that won was the weak team, though, so I'm not sure why they won. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart are much more exciting and fun to watch. Shotzi could become a huge star in the WWE if they play their cards right (they won't). She reminds me of Hiromu Takahashi, which is obviously a great thing. She's got the colored hair and does a bunch of suicidal, off-kilter dives that portend a broken neck in her future. She's a total fucking blast to watch, though. This match was a lot of fun and fast paced and exciting. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez are kind of stale, though, so I'd really rather never see them wrestle any other team. ***

JOHNNY GARGANO vs. KUSHIDA (24:51): I was kind of starting to wonder what the heck happened to Kushida because he's been in NXT for two years and I don't think he's ever been on a Takeover show. This was a dream match...if the year was 2018. Kushida was awesome but even in his last year in New Japan he had lost a step with age. Gargano is still fantastic but the match they did here was kind of odd. This was basically a submissions match. They didn't do any high flying or big moves, really. They did mat wrestling and grappling and Kushida put Gargano in his Hover Board arm lock maybe fifty times. You would think a match filled to the brim with submissions and mat work would be dull, but these two are such superior wrestlers that it was actually fast paced and watchable. I do think they could have had a better match if they decided to not to a college wrestling type of a match. Oh, well. Gargano retained the NXT North American title. Gargano has been in NXT for like five years. Will he ever be called up to the main roster? NXT used to be a developmental division but the champ is Finn Balor so who the fuck knows what's going on here. **1/2

MSK vs. GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS (18:26): This was the finals of the men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. I don't watch a lot of NXT but I do watch most of the main events on TV and at least know what's going on. With that said, I've never seen either of these teams before. Maybe that's why I didn't think there was much to this match. MSK is pretty exciting, though, and they remind me of AEW's Private Party. They do a lot of top rope flips and out of the ring dives. The last few minutes were pretty exciting but the end seemed to abruptly come out of nowhere and I think the finals of a tournament probably deserved more high drama. **

IO SHIRAI vs. TONI STORM vs. MERCEDES MARTINEZ (12:13): Io Shirai is dating NJPW's Evil. Because both are boring wrestlers, I'm just assuming they dictate to each other late at night in bed the layouts of their matches. Granted, because of the pandemic they probably only Skype these days, if they're even still a thing. I already made a Skype sex joke the last time I reviewed a Takeover so I'm not doing it again. The funny thing is that Io Shirai does a lot of high flying and yet her matches are still boring. She even climbed up the light rigging tower and jumped off of it during this match. She was a huge star in Japan...maybe she just doesn't have the talent in NXT to work with and showcase her skills. Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez are pretty forgettable. I long for the days when the NXT women's title matches were some of the best wrestling matches on TV (thank Sasha and Bayley for that). Shirai retained the title. This was just okay. **

FINN BALOR vs. PETE DUNNE (25:24): I understand why Finn Balor went back to NXT. They wanted to compete against AEW so they threw a semi-big star onto NXT. I don't understand why he's still on NXT, though. It's not like the ratings would plummet if he wasn't on the show. And why did they make him the champ? Isn't the whole point of NXT to make new stars? Well they should have given Pete Dunne the title here. He's one of the WWE's best wrestlers. I think Walter is probably #1. Gargano, Dunne, and Adam Cole could probably duke it out for #2. Ricochet would be in the mix but they've totally destroyed him. Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles would probably in the mix as well if they were in NXT, but unfortunately they're on the main roster where dreams die. This match was really good by the end but the first half was kind of methodical and so-so. Finn Balor was fantastic in New Japan when he was Prince Devitt...but that was like ten years ago. He's kind of matured into a solid, fairly decent nuts and bolts wrestler. He doesn't have that wild excitement he once contained, though. Dunne is excellent and really should quit this company and go wrestle in Japan or somewhere where his brutality would shine. Can you imagine Pete Dunne vs. Go Shiozaki? Tomohiro Ishii? Pete Dunne vs. Shibata is like my ultimate desert island fantasy match that will never happen. So this match was good but not great. Dunne worked on Balor's fingers. He broke them them stepped on them. The horror! Balor took out Dunne's mouth guard and then kicked him in the face. I guess if you like hard battering then you would have enjoyed this. After the match, Dunne's British goons came out to beat up Balor then Adam Cole and The Undisputed Era came out to save him. That didn't last long, as Adam Cole super kicked Balor and then super kicked O'Reilly for no apparent reason. I suppose this will lead to Balor and O'Reilly teaming up to fight Adam Cole and Roderick Strong...or something. The biggest letdown for me was when Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong came out. But...they were in the fucking building and so they could have wrestled on this show and they didn't? What the hell, NXT? You didn't put 3 of your top guys in matches? Instead we had to sit through matches with losers like Raquel Gonzalez and Mercedes Martinez? And where was Velvet Dream? Did the WWE finally punish him for sending dick pics to underage boys? So the next Takeover show looks to have Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole for the title. Which should be pretty good. Better than Wrestlemania, anyway, which features the legendary main event of Edge vs. Roman Reigns. Ugh. **1/2

WWE ROYAL RUMBLE

from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida

NIA JAX & SHAYNA BASZLER vs. CHARLOTTE FLAIR & ASUKA (10:30): This was the pre-show match and it went on a little after 6:30 PM and the show ended a little before 11 PM. The show was a little over 4 hours long. Thankfully, the show was entertaining and none of the matches were awful, but I'd still rather see a shorter show. It probably didn't help that 24 minutes elapsed between the end of the women's Rumble match and the Roman Reigns match when all they did was have the panel talk, the 24/7 title change hands, and a bunch of commercials aired. The big story in this match was that Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler won the tag team titles thanks to interference by Ric Flair and Lacey Evans. As stupid as that storyline is, it's probably the most entertaining RAW storyline. Plus, Ric Flair looks like he's having the time of his life getting to hang with a pretty, young blonde. Why four singles wrestlers are randomly in tag teams vying for the title is beyond me. One of the only pure women's tag team that I can think of that the WWE had was The Iconics and they broke them up. Oh, well. *1/2

DREW McINTYRE vs. GOLDBERG (2:30): This match was a bit longer than 2 and a 1/2 minutes because they did a bunch before the bell rang like Goldberg spearing McIntyre through the barrier wall thing at ringside. This was, as expected, short with all big moves. Both men kicked out of the other's finisher. Eventually McIntyre won after a Claymore kick. I'm not entirely sure what the point of this match was, especially since it wasn't the main event or co-main event, but it was entertaining. **1/2

SASHA BANKS vs. CARMELLA (10:25): Most people blame the WWE's nosedive in quality in the last twenty years to bad writing. John Cena was probably the last big star the company produced, but good writing should kind of make stars, right? But I think the one reason the WWE isn't as good anymore is because they split the brands. If they only had RAW and only one set of women's, tag team, and men's championships, I think the quality wouldn't be so diluted and the product would shine and they wouldn't be stuck having to fill airtime and thus letting losers be on TV. So instead of having this match, we'd have gotten Sasha vs. Asuka for the only women's title, which would have been a superior match. This wasn't terrible or anything, just kind of mediocre. Carmella did a through the ropes dive to the floor and pretty much went right past Sasha and landed on her face. That amused me. *1/2

WOMEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE (BIANCA BELAIR) (58:50): Bianca Belair won the Rumble. Really? I couldn't even tell you if she's on RAW or Smackdown. I vaguely remember her being on NXT. She's memorable because of her epic long pony tail braid that she swings around like a rope. I kind of think they had her win because they knew they'd get heat from having an old man, Edge, win the men's Rumble instead of properly giving that to a fresh face that needs a boost or even a regular roster dude. So now you fuckers can't complain because they gave Bianca Belair a shot in the arm. After the match she gave an interview where she legit cried and could barely talk. Jeez...is winning the Royal Rumble that emotional and that big of a deal? It's not by the way, if you were wondering. At least not these days. This match wasn't very good, although it held my interest at least. They pushed Rhea Ripley, although she got tossed out last. Charlotte laughed after getting eliminated which made little sense. There were a few older wrestlers that were surprise entrants, like Tori Wilson. At least the winner was surprising, as the whole match was just okay. **

ROMAN REIGNS vs. KEVIN OWENS "LAST MAN STANDING MATCH" (24:54): This was a good match but they botched part of the ending and the finish was poor. Both men climbed up into the stands where all the video screens of people at home are. Reigns threw Owens off of the stands and through a table. Then they went outside the Thunderdome into the baseball stadium area. This was visually very cool, as you could see the cavernous, empty stadium and it made a really interesting backdrop. There's no baseball field, it's just a black floor. I guess they just throw an astroturf rug over it when baseball starts. Reigns hit Owens with a golf cart, so I guess somebody loved the AEW Sami golf cart spot. Owens put Reigns through two tables out there in the stadium. Owens climbed up a forklift and did a Senton bomb onto Reigns and a table which was the highlight. Then came the botch. Owens handcuffed Reigns to a post and Reigns couldn't stand up to make the 10 count so Reigns pushed the ref into the post and knocked him out. The problem was that another ref came out and started to count. Paul Heyman had the keys to the handcuffs and couldn't get them uncuffed so the ref just stopped counting at 5 because the finish wasn't for Reigns to lose. Ugh. That looked terrible. I hope they try to explain that on Smackdown. Finally, Heyman got Reigns out of the handcuffs and he put Owens in a sleeper hold and Owens couldn't get up for the 10 count. Good match with a bad finish. These two are always in good hardcore matches. I'm wondering who will face Reigns for the title at 'Mania. There are still 2 PPV's before 'Mania, though, which kind of makes the winners of the Rumble matches go to 'Mania a stupid thing. Will we see another Lesnar/Reigns match? Edge/Reigns? I'm trying to think who's a babyface on Smackdown. There's Daniel Bryan. Who else? AJ's a heel. Kevin Owens already lost to Reigns like ten times. They should totally fly Walter in from Germany. He's a heel but who cares, he's the WWE's best wrestler. ***

MEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE (EDGE) (58:30): This was entertaining but not really a great Rumble or anything. Edge won which is weird considering he's an old man and not a regular. Edge entered at #1. There were some surprises like Kane, who looked fat, Hurricane Helms, Carlito, and Christian. Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman came back after both being out for awhile. #2 was Orton and so Edge and Orton battled outside the ring for awhile until Edge hit Orton's leg with a chair and Orton went to the back. So of course Orton came back out at the end to surprise Edge but Edge tossed him out to win. Rollins and Strowman were out there at the end. Matt Riddle lasted until the end, too. Ricochet was in there but didn't do too much. Mysterio and his son were both in it. The only NXT guy was Damian Priest, who looked decent. AJ's tall bodyguard guy kept helping him from being eliminated. Christian looked like a million bucks. Where the hell has he been hiding? So who will Edge face at 'Mania? 'Mania is 2 nights this year. It's going to be at Tampa's football stadium so there will be some fans. Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns are the two champions. I guess Edge vs. Reigns makes the most sense. Is that a big match? Does anyone want to see that? No and no. And so it goes. **1/2