Wrestlemania 36 Part 2 Review

The second night of Wrestlemania took place on Sunday 5th April at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The first night wasn't too bad so let's see how the second night goes.

The Kick Off Show featured Natalya taking on Liv Morgan. Natalya uses her experience to get the advantage. However, after a few minutes, Morgan manages to get the win. The match wasn't great.
Winner: Liv Morgan

The first match of the night is one that I was really looking forward to seeing: Charlotte Flair challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship. Charlotte taunts Ripley early on but Ripley hits the Riptide to get a 2 count. This gives her the chance to get the advantage. However, Charlotte injures the left knee and focuses her offence on it. Ripley gets back into it and almost gets Charlotte to submit with a standing cloverleaf. However, in the end, Charlotte gets Ripley to submit to the Figure 8 and become the new NXT Women's Champion, This was a really good match and I'm interested to see how they handle Charlotte on NXT. As for Ripley, she has been awesome over the last year and I'm confident that she'll bounce back.
Winner: Rhea Ripley

The next match is Aleister Black taking on Bobby Lashley. Lashley avoids a moonsault and hits an overhead belly-to-belly suplex to get the advantage. Lashley hits power moves to keep Black down. On Lana's recommendation, Lashley goes for a pear. However, that turns out to be a bad idea as he runs into a Black Mask, which gives Black the win. The match was pretty good and it looks like it's set the foundations for the break up of Lana and Lashley.
Winner: Aleister Black

We now get Otis taking on Dolph Ziggler. Otis uses his weight against Ziggler but Ziggler's quickness quickly gets him the advantage. Otis catapults Ziggler into the turnbuckle and this gives him the opportunity to make a comeback. Otis goes for the caterpillar but Sonya Deville distracts the referee and Ziggler hits a low blow. This prompts Mandy Rose to come out and bitch slap Deville and roll her into the ring. When the referee tries to get Deville out, Rose hits Ziggler with a low blow. Otis then hits the caterpillar and gets the win and the girl. The match wasn't a masterpiece but it was fun to watch.
Winner: Otis

Next is Edge's first singles match in 9 years as he takes on Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. Orton disguised himself as a cameraman and he surprises Edge with a RKO. When Edge recovers and the bell rings, Orton hits another RKO and he goes on to dominate the early going. The match goes all over the Performance Center and ends up on top of a trailer. Orton goes for the one man con-chairto but Edge puts Orton him in a choke hold then hits him with the con-chairto to get the win. Except for the beginning and the end, I found this to be a disappointment. The match is the 2nd longest match in Wrestlemania history and it was far too long. This match had a really good build and I feel like the match didn't live up to it.
Winner: Edge

After Ron Gronkowski pins Mojo Rawley to become the 24/7 Champion, we get the RAW Tag Team Championship as AOP Andrade Austin Theory(?) and Angel Garza challenge The Street Profits. After Theory throws Angelo Dawkins out of the ring, Graza super kicks him while the referee is distracted to give his team the advantage. Dawkins avoids a clothesline by Garza to get the hot tag to Montez Ford. In the end, Theory hits a TKO on Dawkins but Ford breaks up the pin by hitting a frog splash. Dawkins then pins Theory to get the win. Garza, Theory and Zelina Vega don't take the loss well and beat up The Street Profits. This prompts Bianca Belair to come out and make the save.This was a fun match to watch.
Winners: The Street Profits

The next match is a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match for the Smackdown Women's Championship as Lacey Evans, Naomi, Sasha Banks and Tamina challenge Bayley. The first woman to be eliminayed is Tamina as they all team up to pin her. Banks gets Naomi to submit to the Banks Statement but she gets eliminated thanks to a Women's Right by Evans. In the end, Banks returns and hits Evans with the back stabber. Bayley follows that up with the Rose Plant to get the win. The match was pretty decent.
Winner: Bayley

The penultimate is a Firefly House Match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt. The basic story of the match is Wyatt referencing parts of his and Cena's wrestling history such as his debut against Kurt Angle and Cena being the Doctor of Thuganomics, and Wyatt's gimmick when he debuted on the main roster. We then get a NwO reference as Cena then attacks Wyatt. Wyatt turns into a puppet and The Fiend then hits Sister Abigail and technically pins Cena to get the win...? This was batshit insane and it was fun to watch in a way. It was also quite thought provoking if you really look at it and probablyt the most unique thing that WWE have ever done. I think that this would have been a disaster if Cena wasn't involved. I don't think where both guys go on from here but I'm interested to see what happens.
Winner: Bray Wyatt

The main event is Drew McIntyre challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. McIntyre hits the Claymore Kick almost immediately to get a 2 count. Lesnar goes to hit 3 German suplexes and a F-5 but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lesnar hits 2 more F-5s but McIntyre kicks out each time. McIntyre goes on to hit 3 Claymore Kicks to get the win. This match wasn't great as it was just finishers and suplexes and it had the same format as the Strowman/Goldberg match from the night before. Having said that, McIntyre is the first Scotsman to become the WWE Champion and, as a fellow Scotsman, I'm really happy for him.
Winner: Drew McIntyre

I thought that Wrestlemania was pretty decent over the two nights. The circumstances surrounding the event did lead to some things that you couldn't do with a live crowd. However, there are some great moments in the event that are hurt because of the lack of crowd reaction. That's quite sad. As for the foreseeable future, Florida have issued a stay-at-home order (finally!) yet WWE have taped some shows and are planning to have their Money in the Bank event in May. I'm quite torn that the WWE are still doing some shows but I don't think they should be building to another PPV. Let's see how they will handle it.

Wrestlemania 36 Part 1 Review

The first night of Wrestlemania 36 took place at the Raymond James...wait, sorry. I meant the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Not only has the Coronavirus pandemic led to the event taking place in an empty arena, but the sickness of some superstars and the fucking stupidity of another has led to some matches having to be changed. To be honest, I can see this being a fucking disaster. Anyway, let's take a look.

During all this, they decided to have a Kick Off Show, which was Cesaro taking on Drew Gulak. Early on, Gulak tries to put on some submission holds and focuses on the right arm. Cesaro tries to hit the Neutraliser but his injured arm prevents him from doing so. Gulak almost runs into the referee and this gives Cesaro to hit an European Uppercut followed by an airplane spin, with no hands, to get the win. I enjoyed the technical side of the match but I generally found the story a bit weird. I'm still getting used to Gulak being a face and it was surprising to see him be so dominant only for Cesaro to seemingly get the win out of the blue. Having said that, I thought the airplane spin with no hands was pretty impressive.
Winner: Cesaro

The first match of the weekend was for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship as Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross challenge The Kabuki Warriors. Asuka and Kairi Sane are cocky towards Bliss in the beginning and they go on to get the advantage after Asuksa hits a roundhouse kick to Cross. Eventually, Bliss gets the hot tag but it doesn't last long as The Kabuki Warriors reassert their dominance. Cross gets tagged in and hits the Fisherman's Neckbreaker to Asuka but Sane breaks up the pin with an Insane Elbow. Sane and Asuka come close a couple of times but in the end, Sane gets hit with another Fisherman's Neckbreaker by Cross followed by a Twisted Bliss by Bliss and they go on to regain the Championship. I thought this was a good match and hopefully, WWE will start to give more of a fuck about the Women's Tag Team Championship.
Winners: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross

The next match is supposed to be Elias taking on King Corbin. Corbin is convinced that, after throwing him off a platform the week before, Elias won't be able to take part. However, Elias does turn up and is dominant to begin with before Corbin sends him flying to the floor. Elias sends Crobin into the corner, giving him the chance to make a comeback. Corbin tries to use the ropes while pinning Elias but the referee sees it and admonishes him. While Crobin continues to argue with her, Elias rolls him up and gets the win. I didn't think this was a great match.
Winner: Elias

We get the RAW Women's Championship match as Shayna Baszler challenges "The Man" Becky Lynch. Baszler goes for the Kirifuda Clutch early on but Lynch gets out of it. That doesn't deter Baszler as she is relentless and gets the advantage. In the end, Baszler manages to apply the Kirifuda Clutch but Becky rolls over and manages to pin her and get the win. To be honest, I didn't expect Lynch to win as I was convinced that Baszler would win. However, thy just used the same ending that Baszler had against Kairi Sane. Hopefully, they might be saving her victory for when they can host a Pay-Per-View in front of a crowd. As for the match itself, I thought it was pretty good.
Winner: Becky Lynch


The next match is for the Intercontinental Championship as Daniel Bryan challenge Sami Zayn. Zayn delays wrestling Bryan for as long as possible with help from Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Drew Gulak takes them out, giving Bryan the chance to wrestle Zayn. In the end, Nakamura and Cesaro attack Gulak and Bryan goes to help him out. Bryan then goes for a move off the turnbuckle but Zayn counters with apparently a Helluva Kick to get the win. The match was ok but I feel that they could have done better.
Winner: Sami Zayn

We now get a triple threat ladder match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Thanks to The Miz being sick, it will be Kofi Kingston from The New Day and Jimmy Uso challenging John Morrison. Highlights of the match include: Kingston vaulting through a ladder, only to be caught and thrown out of the ring; Morrison hitting a crokscrew ladder onto Uso; and Kingston hitting a hurracarrana, sending Morrison off a ladder. In the end, they are all on ladder and they manage to get the hook containing the belts, each of them having a hand on it. Kingston and Uso headbutt Morrison off the ladder. However, he had a hand on the belts and he falls to the mat with them, technically making him the winner. I thought this was a really good match and I really liked the ending.
Winner: John Morrison

Next is the Monday Night Messiah Seth Rollins taking on Kevin Owens. The match goes back and forth before Rollins reverse a powerbomb to back body drop Owens onto the apron. Rollins follows up with a falcon arrow onto the apron. Owens gets back into it and Rollins ends up hitting him with the ring bell to get himself disqualified. Owens manage to convince Rollins to return and make the match no disqualification. Owens goes on to hit Rollins with the ring bell then hits a senton from the Wrestlemania sign, sending Rollins through the announce table. Owens then rolls Rollins back into the ring and hits the Stunner to get the win. I thought this was a decent match, although it would made more sense if it started as a no disqualification match.
Winner: Kevin Owens

The penultimate match is for the Universal Championship as Braun Strowman challenges Goldberg. Goldberg hits 4 spears then goes for a Jackhammer. However, Strowman reverses it into a powerslam. He then hits 2 more powerslams then a running powerslam to get the win. Wow. Due to Roman Reigns pulling out, I thought that Goldberg would retain. I'm happy that Strowman won but the match wasn't great and I feel that Strowman will be a transitional Champion.
Winner: Braun Strowman

The main event of the night is a Boneyard Match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker. Some of the highlights include: Styles arriving in a coffin on the back of a hearse; Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows helping Styles out; Styles spearing Undertaker through a fence; and Undertaker using his parlor tricks such as teleportation and shooting columns of fire on top of a barn roof. After Undertaker takes out Gallows and Anderson, he chokeslams Styles off the barn roof. He then drags him to the empty grave prepared earlier and big boots him into it. Undertaker then uses a tractor to bury Styles and technically win...? He then rides off into the night. This was weird but quite fun to watch. Some of it was riduclous but I think that was the point. Hopefully, this will be the last of The Undertaker. As for Styles, I guess he's dead now.
Winner: The Undertaker

I thought that the first night of Wrestlemania was pretty decent. Some matches could have been better but a couple of quite good, especially the ladder match. Let's see how the second night goes.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 Review

WWE Elimination Chamber, the last PPV before Wrestlemania, took place on Sunday 8th March at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. How will Wrestlemania look after this show? Let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was The Viking Raiders taking on Zack Ryder and Kurt Hawkins. After a few minutes, The Viking Raiders hit The Viking Experience on Ryder to get the win. The match wasn't memorable.
Winners: The Viking Raiders

The first match of the event was Daniel Bryan taking on Drew Gulak. The match starts as a technical match before Gulak gets the advantage by focusing on the neck, hitting moves such as a dragon suplex. Bryan mounts a brief comeback but Gulak hits an inverted superplex then goes for the Gu-Lock. Bryan gets out of it and applies the Yes Lock to get the win by submission. This was a very good match with a lot of technical ability being displayed by both men.
Winner: Daniel Bryan (0 for 1)

The next match is for the United States Championship as Humberto Carrillo challenges Andrade. The match starts with Andrade hitting a back elbow and he goes on to press his advantage. Andrade tries to expose some concrete so that he can DDT Carrillo onto it but he gets stopped. Carrillo hits a jawbreaker to start his comeback. After a lot of pinning combinations, Andrade manages to pin Carrillo with a handful of tights to get the pin. I quite enjoyed this match, which was very physical to addition to the high flying style that we expected.
Winner: Andrade (1 for 2)

We now get our first Elimination Chamber match as The New Day, The Usos, Heavy Machinery, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, and The Lucha House Party challenge John Morrison and Hollywood Miz for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. The New Day and The Usos start the match; then after 5 minutes, The Lucha House Party join them. They are followed by The Miz and Morrison then Heavy Machinery. They hit Gran Metalik with The Compactor to eliminate The Lucha House Party then Roode and Ziggler enter the match. Roode eliminates Heavy Machinery after hitting Tucker with a Glorious DDT but they get eliminated after a Uso Splash by The Usos. Kingston misses a splash off one of the cages and Miz and Morrison take advantage to pin him and eliminate The New Day. In the end, Morrison and Miz, with some help of the ropes, pin Jimmy Uso to get the win. I thought this was a fun match to watch.
Winners: The Miz and Jim Morrison (2 for 3)

The next match is a No Disqualification match between AJ Styles and Aliester Black.  Styles' buddies, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, distract Black a few times to help Styles get the advantage and focus on the leg. Styles puts Black in the calf crusher but he uses a kendo stick to get out of it. After some back and forth, Black looks like he's about to hit the Black Mask when Gallows and Anderson gang up on him. When Styles is about to finish it, The Undertaker suddenly appears, hits Styles with a chokeslam then disappears. Black manages to recover and hits the Black Mask to get the win. This was a good match, although I feel that they could used the no disqualification stipulation a bit more.
Winner: Aliester Black (3 for 4)

We now get the RAW Tag Team Championship match as Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy challenge The Street Profits.  Angelo Dawkins doesn't see Murphy tagging Rollins, and this gives him the chance to chop block Dawkins and give his team the advantage. Dawkins sends Murphy over the top rope, and this gives him the chance to tag in Montez Ford. When AOP interfere in the match, The Viking Raiders come out and fight with them to the back. After both teams have a chance to win it, Kevin Owens appears out of the crowd and throws popcorn in Rollins' face. This gives Dawkins the chance to shoulder charge Rollins into the barrier and then take out Murphy with a frog splash by Ford to get the win. Afterwards, Owens hits Rollins with a Stunner. It was a decent match but I wasn't a fan of the ending as I feel that The Street Profits needed to win clean to establish themselves as Champions.
Winners: The Street Profits (4 for 5)

The penultimate match is for the Intercontinental Championship as Cesaro, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura challenge Braun Strowman in a handicap match. Strowman is dominant for most of the match but he constantly tries to get at Zayn. Nakamura takes advantage with a dropkick to the knee. Strowman makes a comeback and goes after Zayn. That turned out to be a bad idea as Nakamura and Cesaro hit a double suplex with a Helluva Kick by Zayn. Zayn then pins Strowman to become the new Intercontinental Champion. This turned out to be quite a good match and I liked the story of Strowman being too focused on Zayn and it leading to his downfall. I'm happy that Zayn is the Intercontinental Champion. It's a shame that Strowman will probably fuck him up at Wrestlemania.
Winner: Sami Zayn (4 for 6)

The main event is a Elimination Chamber match to determine the No 1 contender for the RAW Women's Championship with Asuka, Liv Morgan, Natalya. Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Shayna Baszler taking part. Riott and Natalya start the match followed by Logan and then Baszler. Baszler immediately gets Logan and Riott to sumbit to the Kirifuda Clutch within 60 seconds. A couple of minutes later, she gets Natalya to submit to the Kirifuda Clutch, leaving her by herself. A few minutes later, Liv Morgan enters the match but she doesn't last long as Baszler fucks her up and gets her to pass out due to another Kirifuda Clutch. Eventually, Asuka enters the match and she puts up a fight, putting Baszler in the Asuka Lock. However, it was not enough as she gets Asuka to pass out to the Kirifuda Clutch and get the win.

I wasn't a fan of the match. I feel that they made Baszler too dominant. I'm a big fan of her but I'm worried that if it really hurt her if WWE decide to book Lynch to win at Wrestlemania. Also, there was a lot of the match where Baszler was the only one in the ring and you can't have in the main event.
Winner: Shayna Baszler (5 for 7)

With the exception of the main event, I thought that Elimination Chamber was pretty good.  The Wrestlemania card did look pretty good. However, with the Coronavirus pandemic affecting it, I now worry about how it will go.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 Preview

The final PPV before Wrestlemania, Elimination Chamber, will be taking place this evening. at the Wells Fargo Center in Pittsburgh. How will the landscape change on the Road to Wrestlemania? Let's take a look at the card.

Daniel Bryan vs Drew Gulak
I'm looking forward to this one and I think that Gulak will find a way to win here
Predicted Winner: Drew Gulak

Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo
United States Championship
I think that Andrade will retain.
Predicted Winner: Andrade

Aliester Black vs AJ Styles
No Disqualification Match
I think that, despite Styles getting help from The OC, Black will get the win.
Predicted Winner: Aliester Black

The Street Profits vs Seth Rollins and Murphy
RAW Tag Team Championship
The Street Profits have only been Champions for a couple of weeks so I'll be surprised if they lose here.
Predicted Winner: The Street Profits

Braun Strowman vs Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro
Handicap Match for the Intercontinental Championship
I don't get why they've done this match. If Strowman wins, it will bury 3 talented wrestlers. If Zayn, Cesaro and Nakamura win, it will devalue the Championship. I'm going for the least worst option, which is Strowman to retain.
Predicted Winner: Braun Strowman

Hollywood Miz and John Morrison vs The New Day vs The Usos vs The Lucha House Party vs Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode vs Heavy Machinery
Elimination Chamber Match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
It should be a good match and I'm going for Miz and Morrison to retain.
Predicted Winners: The Miz and John Morrison

Ruby Riott vs Liv Morgan vs Sarah Logan vs Shayna Baszler vs Asuka vs Natalya
Elimination Chamber Match to determine the No 1 contender for the RAW Women's Championship
There is no way that Shayna is going to lose this, right?
Predicted Winner: Shayna Baszler

It will be a couple of days before I put up the review. I hope you all enjoy the show.

NXT TakeOver: Portland Review

NXT TakeOver: Portland took place last Sunday at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The card looks pretty cool so, let's take a look.

After we start with a musical performance by Poppy, we get our first match, which is Dominik Dijakovic challenging Keith Lee for the North American Championship. After a little back and forth, Dijakovic hits a cyclone kick to get a little advantage and comes close a couple of times after hitting a corkscrew moonsault and later on, an avalanche Feast Your Eyes. Lee hits 2 spirit bombs but Dijakovic just kicks out. In the end, Lee hits the Big Bang Catastrophe and gets the win. This match was a lot of fun with both guys hitting some amazing moves.
Winner: Keith Lee (1 for 6)

 The next match is a street fight between Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox. Kai doesn't fuck around and ambushes Nox during her entrance. During the match, they use a cricket bat, a trash can, a steel chair and a table against each other. Nox is about to send Kai through a table when Raquel Gonzalez comes in and sends Nox onto the table. This gives Kai the chance to pin Nox and get the win. I wasn't a fan of the finish. Nothing against Raquel Gonzalez, but she isn't well known so it threw the crowd off slightly. Despite that, it was a pretty good match.
Winner: Dakota Kai (1 for 2)

Now a match that I was really looking forward to seeing: Finn Balor taking on Johnny Gargano. After some back and forth, Gargano spears Balor off the apron taking the fight to the outside but Balor hits a sling blade to get the advantage. Later on, Balor focuses his attack on Gargano's left knee. Balor goes for the Coup de Grace but Gargano avoids it and puts Balor in the Garag-No Escape. The match goes back to the outside and Balor reverse suplexes Gargano onto the Spanish announce table and follows up with a John Woo dropkick, sending Gargano off the announce table into the barrier. Balor then throws him back into the ring and hits the Coup de Grace followed by the 1916 DDT to get the win. This was a great match and I hope they have a rematch in the near future.
Winner: Finn Balor (2 for 3)

The next match is Bianca Belair  challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship. Ripley starts off well with clotheslines and Flair chops before Belair manages to get in some offence of her own. After a while, Belair hair whips Ripley then hits a Gorilla Press Slam. Both ladies go for their finishers before Ripley tries a sunset bomb but Belair prevents it. Ripley manages to use the turnbuckle to help her hit Belair with the Riptide to get the win. Afterwards, Charlotte Flair attacks Ripley and announces that she will face her at Wrestlemania.  I thought this was a good match and I'm really looking forward to seeing Flair vs Ripley at Wrestlemania. Hopefully, they will find some way to include Belair in the match as well.
Winner: Rhea Ripley (3 for 4)

The penultimate match is for the NXT Tag Team Championship as The Broserweights challenge The Undisputed Era.  Matt Riddle leads the crowd in a sing along before Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish get pissed off and attack them on the aisle. When the match starts, Fish and O'Reilly strike Pete Dunne down to get the advantage. Dunne hits Fish with a step up enziguri, giving him the chance to tag in Riddle. Later on, O'Reilly manages to get Riddle in a knee bar but Dunne helps Riddle get out of it. In the end, the Broserweights do a GTS/kick combo to get the win and become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. This was another good match between the two teams and congratulations to Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne on becoming Champions.
Winners: The Broserweights (4 for 5)

The main event is Tommaso Ciampa challenging Adam Cole (Bay Bay!) for the NXT Championship.The match goes in and out of the ring in the early going before Cole does a wheelbarrow suplex, sending Ciampa onto the announce table. Cole goes on to focus on the neck. Later on, Ciampa gets back into it and, after powerbombing Cole through the Spanish announce table, hits the Project Ciampa for 2. After a few near falls by both guys, they start trying to get the other to submit. The Undisputed Era run in to attack Ciampa but it doesn't work. After Ciampa kicks out of another Last Shot, Cole pushes him into the referee. Johnny Gargano then comes in and hits Ciampa with the NXT Championship. The referee conveniently recovers and Cole pins Ciampa to get the win.

I thought the match was really good but I thought the ending was overbooked. We had people kicking out of multiple finishers, interference by The Undisputed Era and Johnny Gargano's heel turn. I just felt it was too much for me. As for Gargano vs Ciampa renewing their rivalry, I'm not too sure about it. The rivalry they had last time was great but I wonder if it's too early to start it up again.
Winner: Adam Cole (5 for 6)

Despite a couple of minor issues, I really enjoyed NXT TakeOver. With the recent developments and the return of The Velveteen Dream, I'm really looking forward to see how the next few weeks of NXT go.

Royal Rumble 2020 Review

The Road to Wrestlemania officially got underway at the 2020 Royal Rumble, which took place on Sunday 26th January at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Let's take a look and see how Wrestlemania will start to form.

The first match on the Kick Off Show is Sheamus taking on Shorty G. Sheamus is easily able to deal with Shorty G's offence at the beginning before he slams him into the ring post to get the advantage. Shorty G goes to make a comeback and comes close after hitting a moonsault. In the end, it wasn't enough as Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick to get the win. I thought it was a pretty decent match.
Winner: Sheamus (1 for 1)

The next is for the United States Championship as Humberto Carrillo challenges Andrade. After a fast paced beginning, Andrade pushes Carrillo off the top turnbuckle to the floor to get the advantage. Carrillo has a brief comeback starting with a cross body but Andrade shuts it down. Andrade goes for the Three Amigos but Carrillo reverses it into a suplex of his own. Carrillo tries for a harracarrana into a pin, but Andrade turns into a pin for himself to get the win. The match was pretty good between the two.
Winner: Andrade (2 for 2)

The first match of the show is a Falls Count Anywhere Match between King Corbin and Roman Reigns. During the match they go all over the place and use various things such as steel steps against each other. Corbin has a great opportunity when he choke slams Reigns through the Spanish announce table. Later on, they go to the international announcer area and go through a couple of tables there. When the match goes into the technical area, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler come out to help out Corbin and The Usos come out to even the odds. The match ends when Reigns spears Corbin on top of the away team dugout to get the win. I thought the match was ok but I feel that it went for too long.
Winner: Roman Reigns (3 for 3)

The second match is the Women's Royal Rumble Match. The first two entrants were Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair. Highlights of the match include:

• The return of Mighty Molly, Kelly Kelly (why?) and Beth Phoenix
• Lana and Liv Morgan eliminating each other so that shit will continue
• Mandy Rose being saved from elimination by Otis appearing seemingly out of thin air in probably my favourite moment of the match
• Belair eliminating 8 wrestlers and lasting over 33 minutes
• Beth Phoenix getting injured when she bangs the back of her head against the ringpost 
• Naomi, making her return from injury, almost gets eliminated but managing to jump and hang onto the barricade. She then manages to use the top of one of the announce tables to get back to the ring.
• Santina Marella makes his return. What. The. Fuck? Luckily, he doesn't last long and eliminates himself.
• Shayna Baszler coming in at number 30 and also eliminating 8 wrestlers in less than 5 minutes.

The final 4 ends up being Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler. Phoenix eliminates Natlaya and Baszler eliminates Phoenix. Charlotte goes to eliminate Baszler to get the win.

I thought the Rumble was quite fun and it was nice to see some NXT wrestlers such as Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler get a chance to shine. However, a couple of participants bothered me, especially Santina Marella. He is the personification of the low point of the women's division in WWE, and I'm not happy that, despite the ton of women that they had available, they would go with that. Despite that, it didn't overshadow the match. As for Charlotte, everyone assumed that she would go to face "The Man" Becky Lynch. However, it's looking more like she will challenge NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley instead. Whilst I think it will be a good match, I wonder if it's a step backwards and whether it's another example of doing something with the women that they would never do with the men.

Winner: Charlotte Flair (4 for 4)

We stay in the women's division as the next match is Lacey Evans challenging Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Bayley tries to cheat at the first opportunity by removing a turnbuckle but the referee stops it. She then fiegns injury to lure Lacey in and hit her with a right hand to get the advantage. Bayley goes on to miss a cross body and this gives Lacey the chance to make a comeback. In the end, Lacey does a springboard moonsault but Bayley gets her knees up and rolls her up to get the win. I didn't think it was a good match as it seemed sloppy and the ending seemed to come out of nowhere.
Winner: Bayley (4 for 5)

We now get a Strap Match for the Universal Championship as Daniel Bryan challenges "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.  Wyatt hits a power bomb early on to get the advantage and goes on to use the strap against him. Bryan gets back the upper hand and whips Wyatt with the strap at the German announce table. The match goes back into the ring and Bryan continues his assault with Yes kicks. Wyatt puts on the Mandible Claw but Bryan gets out of it and applies the LeBell Lock. In the end, Wyayy no sells being whipped by the strap and hits a Mandible Claw Slam to get the win. I thought this match was pretty decent, although I feel that they can do better.
Winner: Bray Wyatt (5 for 6)

The penultimate match is for the RAW Women's Championship as Asuka challenges "The Man" Becky Lynch.  The match goes back and forth in the beginning before Asuka bounces Lynch's neck off the ropes with a neck breaker to get the advantage. Later on, Lynch reverse suplexes Asuka onto the floor to get back the momentum. Asuka manages to apply the Asuka Lock but Lynch gets to the ropes. In the end, Lynch almost runs into the referee and this gives Asuka the chance to spray the green mist. However, Lynch avoids it by kicking Asuka in the stomach then gets her to submit to the Dis Arm-Her to get the win. I thought this was a good match and I hope they have another match on the near future.
Winner: Becky Lynch (6 for 7)

The main event is the Men's Royal Rumble Match with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar coming in at number 1 and Elias coming in at number 2.  Brock doesn't have time for Elias' song and eliminates him quite quickly then goes on to eliminate the next 12 wrestlers, including his best friend Shelton Benjamin. Eventually, Ricochet and Drew McIntyre combine to eliminate him. The only other major highlight after that is the return of Edge. Yes, you read that right. Edge returned from a career ending neck injury for the first time in almost 9 years. Thanks to Lesnar's elimination, it led to more wrestlers being in the ring. Seth Rollins comes in at number 30, and with the help of his lackeys, AOP and Buddy Murphy, eliminate Aleister Black, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. Joe and Black fight Murphy and AOP all the way to the back, leaving Rollins by himself. Rollins gets destroyed and then eliminated by McIntyre, leaving him along with Randy Orton, Edge and Roman Reigns. Edge and Orton team up before Edge eliminates Orton. Edge and Reigns end up on the apron and Reigns manages to knock Edge off to the floor. McIntyre then eliminates Reigns to win the Rumble...? Holy fucking shit!! Wow!

While there wasn't anything special that stood out, I quite enjoyed the match and the stories that they told. My mind is still blown that Edge made his return and I'm happy that he came back. As for McInytre, I'm shocked that he won but, as a fellow Scotsman, I'm so happy for him. McIntyre has the potential but I was getting worried that WWE was going to keep him in the mid card. This is McIntyre's biggest opportunity since he came back and hopefully, he grabs it with both hands.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (6 for 8)

I thought that the Royal Rumble was quite good, and I enjoyed the 2 Rumble matches.  It just sometimes I find some of the matches not particularly exciting and it's hard to be positive about them. Hopefully, they might start to look at NXT  TakeOver and see how they do their matches.

NXT Takeover: Portland Preview

NXT Takeover: Portland will be taking place this evening at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The card looks pretty good so let's take a look.

Keith Lee vs Dominik Dijakovic
North American Championship
Lee has only recently become the Champion but I'll think he'll retain.
Predicted Winner: Keith Lee

Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox
Street Fight
This should be a good one to watch and I'm going for Nox to win.
Predicted Winner: Tegan Nox

Finn Balor vs Johnny Gargano
I'm really looking forward to this one and I'm going for Balor to win.
Predicted Winner: Finn Balor

Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair
NXT Women's Championship
Whilst I like Belair, I can't see her winning this so Ripley to retain. Except to see Charlotte Flair making an appearance after the match.
Predicted Winner: Charlotte Flair

The Undisputed Era vs The Broserweights
NXT Tag Team Championship
I might be in the minority but I'm going for the Broserweights to win.
Predicted Winners: The Broserweights

Adam Cole (Bay Bay!) vs Tommaso Ciampa
NXT Championship
This should be a good match and I'm going for Cole to find some way to retain.
Predicted Winner: Adam Cole

I will watch the event during the week so helpfully, the review will be up by next weekend. I hope you all enjoy the show.

WWE Worlds Collide 2020 Review

WWE Worlds Collide took place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday 25th January. How will the NXT vs NXT UK competition with *checks notes* nothing on the line end up? Let's take a look.

The match of the Kick Off Show was Mia Yim taking on Kay Lee Ray.  Yim doesn't fuck around and hits a dropkick as soon as the bell rings. Ray manages to recover and hits a tornado DDT to get the advantage. Ray goes for a swanton bomb but misses and this gives Yim the chance to make a comeback. Yim comes close after reversing a Gory Bomb into a Code Blue. In the end, Ray manages to roll up Yim while using the ropes for leverage to get the win. This was a good match but I felt it was a bit too short.
Winner: Kay Lee Ray (1 for 1)

The first match of the show was Finn Balor taking on Ilja Dragunov. Early on, Dragunov slaps Balor and Balor returns the favour then hits a baseball slide to get the advantage. Dragunov reverses a suplex then hits a brutal clothesline to get back the advantage. After they exchange punches, both guys come close to winning but in the end, Balor manages to the Coup de Grace followed by the 1916 DDT to get the win. I thought this was a good match and a great way to start the show.
Winner: Finn Balor (2 for 2)

The next match is Angel Graza defending his NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Isiah "Swerve" Scott, Jordan Devlin and Travis Banks in a Fatal 4-Way Match. Highlights of the match include: Scott hitting a flat liner on Devlin; Banks hitting a cannonball on scott and Garza in the corner; Devlin hitting a tornado DDT on Scott; and Banks reversing a Devlin-side into a Canadian destroyer on Devlin. Garza hits the Angel Clipper on Scott but Devlin breaks up the pin then hits the Devlin-side on Scott to get the win. This was a really fun match to watch. I was surprised that Devlin won but he has been one of the most improved wrestlers on NXT UK, so I'm glad that he won.
Winner: Jordan Devlin (2 for 3)

Now is a match that I was looking forward to seeing: #DIY taking on Mustache Mountain.  After the early going, in which they show moments of respect towards each other, Ciampa hits Bate and then he and Gargano send Bate and Seven over the announce tables to get the advantage. Later on, Bate hits the Tyler Driver '97 on Ciampa but he kicks out. #DIY go for their finishing move, Meet in the Middle. but Bate and Seven avoid it and hit Ciampa with a burning hammer with a knee assist. In the end, #DIY manage to hit the Meet in the Middle on Seven to get the win. I enjoyed this match and I was sad that Mustache Mountain lot. However, I think they gave a really good performance and I hope that they continue on an upward curve.
Winners: #DIY (2 for 4)

After we get Tegan Nox attacking Dakota Kai in the crowd, we get our penultimate match is Toni Storm challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT (Women's) Championship. When Ripley sends Storm into the corner, she argues with the referee. This gives Storm the chance to hit the super kick followed by a German suplex into the corner to get the advantage. Storm goes on to focus the neck, hitting moves such as a DDT. Ripley gets back into it and applies a standing cloverleaf on Storm. In the end, Storm misses a frog splash and Ripley hits the Riptide to get the win. I thought it was a decent ,match and I feel like they have had better matches before.
Winner: Rhea Ripley (3 for 5)

The main event is a 8 man tag team match between The Undisputed Era and Imperium. Early on, Alexander Wolfe gets injured and has to withdraw, and The Undisputed Era manage to isolate Marcel Barthel and focus their attack on him. Later on, WALTER is tagged in and hits a German suplex on both Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong. Other highlights of the match include: Strong putting Fabien Aichner in the Strong Hold them later on, putting WALTER through the announcer table with an Olympic slam and Aichner hitting O'Reilly with a brainbuster. WALTER hits a powerbomb followed by a splash on Strong but Cole hits him with The Last Shot and Barthel breaks up the pin. In the end, WALTER hits Bobby Fish with a running dropkick followed by a powerbomb to get the win.

This was a really good match. I wasn't how they would work this match as they are both heel factions. However, Wolfe's legitimate injury made Imperium the underdogs, turning the crowd in their favour. A great way to end the show.
Winners: Imperium (4 for 6)

I really enjoyed Worlds Collide. All the matches were really good and the crowd were really into it. It blows my mind that all the NXT events are really good and the events on the main roster can be mind numbing and at times, illogical. WWE need to realise to focus on using wrestling to tell stories on the main roster.

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Preview

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 will be taking place at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. How will the Road to Wrestlemania start? Let's take a look at the card.

Shorty G vs Sheamus
I think that Sheamus will win this one.
Predicted Winner: Sheamus

Bayley vs Lacey Evans
Smackdown Women's Championship
I might be in the minority here but I feel that Evans might win this.
Predicted Winner: Lacey Evans

Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo
United States Championship
I feel that it's too soon for Andrade to lose this so I think that he will retain.
Predicted Winner: Andrade

Roman Reigns vs King Corbin
Falls Count Anywhere Match
Hopefully Reigns will win and end this feud.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

"The Man" Becky Lynch vs Asuka
RAW Women's Championship
I would love to see Asuka but I think that Lynch will retain.
Predicted Winner: Becky Lynch

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan
Strap Match for the Universal Championship
A tough one to call but I'm going for Wyatt to retain.
Predicted Winner: Bray Wyatt

Women's Royal Rumble Match
The only person that I can see winning is Charlotte Flair. Let's see if I'm proved wrong.
Predicted Winner: Charlotte Flair

Men's Royal Rumble Match
The interesting one in this is that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is entering at number 1. I can see him winning but I feel that Roman Reigns will win instead.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

It will be a while before I get to post my review so until then, I hope you all enjoy the show.

WWE Worlds Collide 2020 Preview

WWE Worlds Collide will be taking this evening at The Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. There are some really interesting matches on the card so, let's take a look.

Mia Yim vs Kay Lee Ray
This should be a good match between the two and I'm going for Kay Lee Ray to win.
Predicted Winner: Kay Lee Ray

#DIY vs Mustache Mountain
I'm really looking forward to this one and I'm going for Mustache Mountain to win.
Predicted Winners: Mustache Mountain

Angel Garza vs Isaiah "Swerve" Scott vs Jordan Devlin vs Travis Banks
Fatal 4-Way Match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship
A tough one to call but I think that Garza will find a way to retain.
Predicted Winner: Angel Garza

Finn Balor vs Ijla Dragunov
Finn Balor has to win this, right?
Predicted Winner: Finn Balor

Rhea Ripley vs Toni Storm
NXT Women's Championship
Ripley beating Shayna Baszler at the end of last year was the feel good moment of the year so I'll be very surprised if she loses here.
Predicted Winner: Rhea Ripley

Imperium vs The Undisputed Era
I'm really looking forward to this one and I think that Imperium will find some way to get the win.
Predicted Winners:Imperium

With the Royal Rumble on during the weekend, it will be a few days before I post the review. I hope you all enjoy the show.