The show starts with a recap of the Trios title history this season, showing the former champs losing them to Rey Mysterio Jr, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. before that team lost them to PJ, Mundo, and Jack Evans. It transitions to showing Chavo winning the Gift of the Gods Title, then losing it to Cage last week and cashing in the title for a match tonight. Striker runs down tonight’s card, where the former trios champs get a rematch tonight and Matanza battles Cage in the main event.
Son of Havoc vs. Daga
They start off with a fancy series of counters to arm wringers. Havoc is sent down off a tackle, but catches him with a rana. Superkick on the floor by Daga leads to him trying a snake eyes on the post, but that’s countered and Daga is sent in. Havoc trips him mid-ring and gets 2 off a standing moonsault. Daga gets a back suplex into a facebuster for 2. Daga traps him in the corner for mounted punches and a face wash. Daga slams him down and gets 2 off a Muta-style power drive elbow. Havoc lands some standing forearms, and eats punches. Armdrag into a Tequila Sunrise by Daga!
Kobra Moon comes down as Daga hits a corner elbow. Havoc flips out of the corner and hits a series of lariats. Muta-style handspring elbow in the corner and a springboard crossbody gets 2. An apron high kick by Havoc leads to a suicide dive on the floor. Kobra comes up and grabs the ankle of Havoc, leading to Daga hitting a kick up top and then going for a superplex – but eating a gordbuster and a shooting star press. Kobra Moon comes into the ring and caresses Daga in a weird way. She caresses his leg and he kicks her off.
Winner – Son of Havoc
Backstage, Rey works on his spinning backfists while Azteca talks about finding Matanza’s cell. He wants revenge, while Rey tells him that Dragon Azteca Sr. wouldn’t have wanted that. They argue and Prince Puma comes up and says their match is next. They tell him to leave, Rey says that it doesn’t concern him, and he says that as their partnets, it does concern him. Dragon Azteca Jr. is a fairly bad actor, but everyone else was fine here.
Rey Mysterio Jr., Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Trios Champions Jack Evans, PJ Black, and Johnny Mundo
The heel team has red bandanas on now, and Rey is dominated for a bit by a PJ headlock. A shoulderblock gets 2 on Rey. Rey flips out of a schoolboy and hits a buzzsaw kick and a rana. Rey is up on his shoulders and Mundo distracts the ref so that PJ can toss him down and kick him in the nuts. A triple team neckbreaker by the heels gives them more of an edge. Jack comes in, stands on his chest and gets 2 off a standing moonsault.
Jack tells Rey “I think I can, I THINK I CAN” to mock him for trying to make a tag before attacking him. Mundo comes in and eats some punches, but a tilt a whirl takes Rey down again. Rey gets a DDT out of nowhere and tags in Puma. Puma’s headscissors and dropkick take Jack down while the northern lights brainbuster hits Mundo. Corner crossbody leads to a double kick in the corner and then a triple dropkick to PJ from the floor. Flip dive over Puma by Azteca.
Rey goes for a dive, but Jack stops it with a dropkick. Jack promises something big, and gets it as Puma hits him with a superplex off the top onto the pile on the floor. Puma goes for the 630, but Jack is pulled to the floor by his partners. Jack hits a 630 and gets 2.5. Puma hoists him up and lands a modifies GTS. Azteca and Mundo are in, and Mundo accidentally leaps into PJ in the corner. Azteca hits an around the world DDT on Mundo for 2. Azteca avoids the Moonlight Drive, and eats a kick to the nuts. Puma is pissed and kicks Mundo in the nuts – leading to a DQ so the heels retain and the faces have lost their rematch. Puma attacks Taya with a huge kick as well, while Rey tries to control Puma.
Winners – PJ Black, Jack Evans, and Johnny Mundo
After the match, we see Dragon Azteca Jr. meet Matanza. Black Lotus tells him that Dragon Azteca killed her parents, and that the truth hurts. They fight for a bit before he tells her that she knows it isn’t true. Well, they haven’t done much with that story thread for a while – so it’s good to further it slightly here. Cage comes out first carrying the title out like it’s a trash bag. As Matanza comes down, Striker runs down everything Matanza has done – including him beating nine foes in Aztec Warfare to win the title.
Cage vs. Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto
We get a staredown and they immediately go into a Frye-Takayama exchange. Cage rams him, but Matanza doesn’t move. Matanza and Cage barge into each other, which doesn’t give anyone an edge until Cage hits an uppercut. Cage sends him to the floor and hits a flip dive. Cage goes up top and hits a moonsult while Vamp talks about Cage tearing the original LU title up last year. Thank God he did – that thing looked awful.
They fight on the floor and Cage tosses his head into the barricade before pulling the covers off the concrete. Cage taking the time to do that gave Matanza time to heal, and he tosses Cage into the barricades. Matanza lands the multiple Karelin Lifts on the floor, but Cage escapes the third one and lands a forearm. Giant German suplex on the floor by Matanza. Matanza tosses him in the ring and chokes him before hammerfisting his head.
Standing SSP leads to Cage getting his knees up and getting 2 off a neckbreaker. Cage traps him in the corner for a series of lariats. Cage showboats, giving Matanza time to get under him and land an exploder for 2. Matanza picks him up for a pumphandle bridging suplex for 2. Cage jacks his jaw and then lands a basement dropkick after a schoolboy. Matanza recovers and goes for the eyes. Vamp talks about how Matanza’s hands are always covered by blood. Cage lands an X Factor for 2. They each charge into each other with lariats and take one another down with pump kicks.
Cage and Matanza exchange Germans and then no-sell them like Hawk. After three of them, Cage starts to sell and then Matanza sends him down like a basic wrestling takedown, but hoists him up high for a German that looked incredible and gets 2. Cage avoids the Wrath of the Gods, but hits a discus lariat for 2.
Cage hits the power superplex from the middle rope. Flying elbow gets 2 for Cage. Matanza grabs him and lands the Kevin Steen sidewinder back suplex for 2. Cage counters a powerbomb with an Alabama slam and a standing moonsault for 2. Cage goes for Weapon X, but Matanza counters and lands an overhead belly to belly. A sitout powerbomb gets 2 for Matanza.
Cage counters the Wrath of the Gods with a small package for 2. Cage hits a Canadian Destroyer for 2. Cage pulls down the straps and lands a series of kicks, including a superkick – but the Wrath of the Gods gives Matanza the win. This was a pretty exctiing match and definitely worth checking out – it will probably be the match from the show put on El Rey’s Youtube channel later this week.
Winner – Matanza Cueto
To see all of the screenshots taken for the show, just click here.
The Big News: One week before TakeOver, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe had a heated backstage interview.
The Medium News: In their first bit of physicality, Nia Jax laid out Asuka with a power bomb.
The Little Beaver Sized News: The Revival got punked out at the beginning of the show, lost the main event, and then got punked out by American Alpha.
The show started with the former NXT tag champs The Revival coming out for a promo. Next Wednesday at NXT TakeOver: The End ,they will challenge the current champions American Alpha.
Dash and Dawson say that they will be the first ever 2-time tag champions. Dawson called Gable & Jordan excellent amateur wrestlers, but they are great professionals. When The Revival win, Jordan & Gable can go wipe their tears away as the new champs celebrate.
This brought out Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano. Ciampa said that the entire crowd knows AA is better than them, and they can’t even beat Gargano and Ciampa. Revival laughed at this and called the interrupting duo “undersized bearded guys” and “good hands”, which was pointed out that that is a criticism about The Revival.
Dawson told them to go back to wrestling in bingo halls, while Ciampa brought up them losing in Dallas. Dash told Gargano & Ciampa to come bother them when they have actually accomplished anything. The Revival started walking away when Gargano mocked them. The #1 contenders got back in the ring…and immediately got dropkicked right out of it!
As Revival retreated, they challenged Gargano & Ciampa for tonight.
******
Shinsuke Nakamura did a promo for his match with Austin Aries at TakeOver. He said Aries will bow down to the King of Strong Style.
******
Tye Dillinger pinned Buddy Murphy
It is time for the Perfect 10, and it is also time for Murphy to get his first name back! He lost his manager and his tag team partner, but at least he is facing NXT’s most pushed jobber. Dillinger has won two tv matches as the Perfect 10 up to this point.
The fans were not into Murphy at all and it seemed the only thing they cared about in regards to Dillinger was chanting 10. Tye finished Murphy off with a Fireman’s Carry, but slamming the back of Murphy’s head on his exposed knee which looked close enough to an AA.
******
We had a sit down interview with Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, moderated by Corey Graves.
Balor said he worked for so long at becoming NXT Champion that he didn’t expect the walls to come crumbling down in Lowell, Massachusetts. Joe countered by saying he finally got what he deserved. Joe had to jump through ridiculous hoops (which to an extent he did). Balor said Joe came in with a sense of entitlement and there are 100 guys in the Performance Center who deserve a title shot ahead of him.
Joe scoffed at that and brought up everything starting last August with Finn asking Joe to be his partner in the Dusty Classic and then not saying anything when William Regal wouldn’t give him a title shot afterwards. Balor tried bringing up that they knew each other for a decade, and Joe brought that up and continued to ask why he had to do all these things to get title shots.
Balor noted this is his first ever cage match, but his first ever ladder match was TakeOver:Brooklyn when he beat Kevin Owens. Joe said he would have beaten Balor in Dallas, but they kept having doctors pull him off, giving Finn a chance to recover.
Graves brought up Balor being the future and Balor said he is living in the now, living in the present, and he wants that championship belt. Joe said this is about showing people their place and he will show Balor his place. Graves tried to wrap it up which caused champion and challenger to stand up and go face to face one last time.
This was an excellent segment.
******
Austin Aries submitted Elias Sampson
Aries is 7 days away from a match with Shinsuke Nakamura, a man who defeated The Drifter about a month ago. Sampson has been a lot more aggressive in the ring lately. It helps that he’s been doing so many house show matches with the likes of Nakamura and Balor.
Aries looked good here as well (I know, what a shock) and won with the NXT debut of the Last Chancery. After the match, Aries cut a promo saying that after next week, he will show the spotlight should shine on him.
******
The same video package as last week aired to build up the impending debut of Andrade Cien Almas, which will take place next week at TakeOver.
Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa defeated The Revival
This is the main event wrestling match. They note that The Revival is trying to become the first ever 2-time tag champs. However, Neville is a 2-time champion, teaming with Oliver Grey and then the aforementioned Graves. The announcers spent most of this match discussing the tag team title match at TakeOver.
The heels cheated to get the heat on Ciampa. Ciampa and Gargano were running wild on the #1 contenders. However, Dawson attacked Ciampa behind the referee’s back when Dash was the legal man. Dash and Dawson do an excellent job of playing defense and giving their opponents so many hope spots on getting the hot tag, so the opponents always make the tag at the best possible time.
Gargano got the hot tag and looked great until he got dropped with a DDT. The finish showed that somebody has been watching The Wrestling Classic recently. In a page right out of Randy Savage vs. Dynamite Kid, Scott Dawson gave Gargano a Superplex, but Gargano tied up Dawson for the pin!
After the match, Revival took out their frustrations on the men that beat them, including giving Gargano the Shatter Machine. They went to break Gargano’s leg, but American Alpha ran in for the save.
******
Next week is NXT TakeOver: The End, featuring…
Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor for the NXT Championship in a Steel Cage Match
Asuka vs Nia Jax for the NXT Women’s Championship
Austin Aries vs Shinsuke Nakamura
American Alpha vs The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship
Andrade Almas debuts
That is a lot of A names, eh?
******
The final segment of the show was the official contract signing for the Women’s Championship match next Wednesday.
Nia Jax spoke first, mocking Asuka because all she has done is kick a few girls in the head and while Asuka beat Bayley, Nia broke Bayley. Unlike all the other girls, Nia is the future and is not scared of Asuka.
Asuka said Nia talks too much and if she’s not afraid of Asuka, she should be. Nia pushed her away, so Asuka began throwing punches and kicks. However, Nia caught one of her kicks, lifted Asuka in the air, and planted her with a power bomb!
That is it for this week. Thank you for reading and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
John Cena wasn’t quite the miracle worker, but his return was enough to keep the Memorial Day Raw viewership numbers above the all-time seasonal low — even with the show going against the single most-watched NBA game in the history of cable television.
Raw did 3.22 million viewers, the second lowest non-football total other than a major holiday* where people don’t watch television since 1997, beating only the 4/25 show that did 3.16 million viewers.
The surprise is that the third hour stayed above 3 million viewers.
Without the advertising of Cena, it was very unlikely the show would have beaten the 4/25 record low. His return was promoted for weeks and he did media like NBC’s Today show that morning.
The seventh game of the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Western Conference semifinal did 15,996,000 viewers. The opening game of the Stanley Cup playoffs with the San Jose Sharks losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins did 4,081,000 viewers.
Raw was third for the night on cable.
The three hours were:
8 p.m. 3.28 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.32 million viewers
10 p.m 3.08 million viewers
*A note on the definition of Memorial Day not being considered a “major holiday”: Holidays that kill ratings are July 4th, Thanksgiving night, New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve. Memorial Day and Labor Day ratings are usually similar to usual levels. This past Monday, far more people were watching TV than usual, actually.
Last week on Impact, key matches for Slammiversary were made official. They announced the main event, which will be TNA World Champion Drew Galloway defending against Lashley in a match that can only end by submission or knockout. Also, Jeff Hardy defeated Rockstar Spud and Tyrus in a ladder match to ensure he’ll face Matt Hardy at Slammiversary. However, Ethan Carter III doesn’t get his Slammiversary match with The Miracle. EC3 failed on his Road to Redemption when The Miracle caused a disqualification in the EC3 vs. Matt Hardy match.
Tonight on Impact:
On tonight’s Impact, Galloway and Lashley will participate in “Pick Your Poison”, which means they get to choose each other’s opponents. Furthermore, after losing last week, one could presume that EC3 will attempt to find another way to get his match with The Miracle at Slammiversary.
Show Recap:
-We kick the night off backstage. TNA President Dixie Carter is talking to someone, but we don’t see their face. She recaps the chaos in the last several weeks. She’s desperate to regain control so she is allowing the mystery individual to run Impact tonight.
-In the arena, Mike Bennett and Maria enter the ring. Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to Impact and they wonder whom Dixie’s talking to. The Miracle wants to know who is in charge of Impact tonight and calls out the individual. Cue the catchiest music in wrestling and EC3 hits the ring. As EC3 makes his way to the ring Josh informs us that Dixie sent out a tweet just now that EC3 is in charge.
After failing on his Road to Redemption, EC3 simply made his match with The Miracle for Slammiversary. EC3 is giving The Miracle the night off from wrestling, but he’s going to be the custodian. Also, Maria is going to have a job evaluation and EC3 wil mediate the situation between Gail and Maria. EC3 sends The Miracle and Maria away.
Next, Bobby Lashley came out and said that since EC3 had stuck his nose in his business now Lashley is going to get in EC3’s business. EC3 let Lashley know that he had “regulated” his power to Drew Galloway in regards to Lashley. This of course brought out the TNA world champion.
It feels too easy that EC3 was simply put in charge for the night and he can make his match with The Miracle. Also, it seems way to easy for people to in TNA to give other people power.
-Back from commercial in the back. EC3 and The Miracle are in the washroom. The Miracle has to be the custodian and clean the toilets. EC3 had a funny line when he went into one of the stalls and pointed out that somebody had gone “number 4”. TNA is literally doing toilet humor.
King of the Mountain Champion Bram vs. “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley
TNA World Champion Drew announces KOTM Champ Bram as Lashley’s opponent. This is the first Pick Your Poison match of the night. This was a really good and very physical fight. Bram runs wild on Lashley and sends him to the outside. Lashley takes over on Bram and uses his headband to choke Bram. Lashley uses the chair for the DQ and used two spears after the match. He set up for a third but Drew ran out with a chair for the save. Drew then chased Lashley through the crowd.
Bram’s laying on his back motionless when Eli Drake comes out and cashes in his Feast or Fired KOTM title shot.
King of the Mountain Champion Bram vs. Eli Drake
Eli covers Bram who kicked out at two and a half. Eli tried to take back his briefcase, but Earl wouldn’t let him. Eli and Bram had a short match that ended with Eli scoring the pin and winning the match. Eli is the new KOTM champ.
-Earlier today, The BroMans were hanging out by the pool and recapping Raquel training them. Raquel shows up and lets them know if they want to win the gold they have to learn to focus. The music then became all adult film like and the screen became purple. She wore a bikini and told them to focus on her. Jesse got it but Robbie E. was confused. He wasn’t the only one.
-Back in the washrooms, The Miracle and EC3 are continuing the whole cleaning the toilets thing. Earl Hebner comes out of one of the stalls. Earl said The Miracle isn’t a star and called him a bad word. EC3 informed The Miracle that his next task is going to be as a referee.
-Next, we go to Matt Hardy’s home and property in North Carolina. Josh tells us that Matt is going to sign the contract for his match with Jeff at Slammiversary at his home and has invited Jeff.
-Backstage, Eli is celebrating his title win and is offering people champagne, but knocks it out of their hand each time.
-At Matt Hardy’s home, Matt walks out of the house and tells us he’s invited us and Brother Nero (Jeff Hardy) into his house for the contract signing. This was a cool little video and is very intriguing.
The BroMans (Robbie E. & Jesse Godderz w/ Raquel) vs. Rockstar Spud and Tyrus w/ guest referee Mike Bennett
Josh informs us that the winners of this match will receive a shot at the tag titles at Slammiversary. The story of this match was that The Miracle seemed uninterested and he let the heels cheat. The heels were about to put The BroMans away when Raquel distracted Tyrus by showing him some “stretches”. The BroMans mans took out Tyrus on the outside. Jesse got Spud in the Boston Crab and he tapped immediately but The Miracle didn’t call for the bell. He tried to give Spud a chance, but realized there was no point. The BroMans win the match and get a shot at the tag champions Decay at Slammiversary.
-In the back, Maria is on the phone with Bill Corgan when EC3 approaches. He lets her know that the job evaluation is next.
-Next we get shots of Jeff on his bike and on his way to see Matt at his house.
-In the ring, EC3 orders Allie and Sienna out of the ring. EC3 doesn’t think Maria is doing a very good job as the leader of the Knockouts. EC3 calls out Gail to see what she thinks. EC3 points out that because Maria put her hands on Gail it’s grounds for dismissal. Gail wants a match with Maria but she refuses because she is the leader of the Knockouts. EC3 informs her that she isn’t right now because she’s in a job evaluation. EC3 makes Gail vs. Maria official for Slammiversary. They go face to face and EC3 separates them. Everyone was really good here in particular EC3 who is having a pretty good night.
TNA Knockouts Champion Jade and Gail Kim vs. Sienna and Allie
EC3 made this match right before the commercial break. EC3 and Maria are seated at ringside. Allie was really funny here when she was screeching at EC3. Gail is in control of Allie who is still screeching. The faces use several double team moves on Sienna. Sienna uses several power moves to gain the advantage. Jade got the hot tag and ran wild on Sienna. Jade used the package piledriver on Allie to win the match.
-Back at Matt’s house, Jeff pulls up on his bike as Reby is leaving with Maxell strapped to her chest. She tells him she can’t talk to Matt and wants nothing to do with this. She leaves and Jeff enters the house.
In the house, Matt is playing the piano and Jeff enters. Jeff demands he signs the contract but Matt says they must end this where it began.
-In the ring, The Miracle was mad about the way EC3 has treated him and his wife. The Miracle says he’s not a janitor or referee, he’s a wrestler. EC3 says he lied and The Miracle in fact has a match tonight. EC3 says it’ll be a “miracle” if Bennett’s opponent showed up sober. This obviously brings out James Storm for a match with Bennett.
“The Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis vs. James Storm
Back from commercial and the match is in progress. The Miracle is wearing jeans and not his regular gear. Storm dominates the early moments but The Miracle soon takes over. Storm makes a comeback and hits almost all of his key moves. Storm sets for the Last Call when Maria hands him a beer. Storm teases spiting the beer in her face, but she slaps him which leads to The Miracle scoring the win.
Post match, EC3 confirms their match for Slammiversary. EC3 pointed out that Miracle likes to call himself God but if he’s God then EC3 is his devil. The segment ended with Storm giving The Miracle The Last call.
-In the ring, Al Snow introduced The Tribunal (Basille Baraca and Baron Dax). They cut a promo in French and English. The crowd chanted “boring” and “what” throughout the segment. Al said he beat Grado last week with a wrestling move not using weapons. They showed footage of Al using the Snow Plow to win the match. Grado and Mahabali Shera come out and tried to do comedy that bombed horribly. Grado showed the rest of the footage, which shows Al using weapons. They did some more bad comedy and Al insulted their mother. A brawl broke out with The Tribunal getting the better of the faces.
-We get a recap of the Ultimate X match from last week won by Trevor Lee.
-Next we get an interview with Braxton Sutter, formerly Pepper Parks, who discuss his journey to making it in TNA and his imminent debut.
-Back at Matt’s house, Matt takes Jeff to a room on his property. In the room is a ring, which presumably is the ring the Hardy’s used to train on.
-Drew Galloway is in the ring when Bobby Lashley comes out. Lashley announces Drew’s opponents who are TNA Tag team champs Decay. Josh and The Pope wonder who of Decay is Drew’s opponent.
TNA Champ Drew Galloway vs. Decay (Abyss, Crazy Steve & Rosemary)
Turns out Drew will be taking on all three memebers of Decay. Drew and Decay brawl around ringside to start the match. Rosemary jumps on Drew’s back which distracts him long enough for the heels to take over. Decay tried to double team Drew but he made a comeback and took them out. Drew set up for the claymore, but Rosemary got in his way. Drew teased the Future Shock DDT on Rosemary, but turned his attention to Steve. Abyss scored a near fall with a choke slam. Rosemary pulled out Janice from underneath the ring, which distracted the ref. Lashley snuck in and tried to spear Drew but he moved and Lashley speared Abyss instead. Drew hit the Future Shock DDT on Steve to win the match.
Post match, Drew flipped the bird at Lashley causing the two to have a stare down.
-Back at Matt’s house, they finally sign the contract on a circular table. Matt and Jeff face off in the ring at which point Reby enters with Maxell still strapped to her chest. She yells at Jeff and throws Maxell at him! It’s not actually Maxell it’s actually a doll. Matt hits Jeff with a glass bottle to the back of the head. Matt then gives Jeff the side effect of the apron through the circular table. The table didn’t break and they did this in slow motion. Jeff is left lying on the ground as we fade to black.
Next Time on Impact:
Next week’s Impact is the go-home show for the Slammiversary PPV.
From tonight’s Smackdown tapings in Rockford, IL, for the show airing Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.:
– The New Day opened the show with an interview. The Club then came out. The segment set up an A.J. Styles vs. Kofi Kingston main event for the show.
– Becky Lynch beat WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte via DQ in a non-title match. Dana Brooke interfered. They double-teamed Lynch and Natalya made the save. The faces cleaned house on Charlotte and Brooke.
– Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn did a backstage interview. Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio came out to interrupt to set up a tag match for later in the show.
– The Dudleys beat R-Truth & Goldust when Tyler Breeze & Fandango distracted them. This set up another R-Truth & Goldust vs. Breeze & Fandango match.
– Sami Zayn & Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio. They all brawled after the match. A ladder got in the ring. Owens went to climb up when Cesaro ran in and pulled Owens down and he grabbed the MiTB briefcase.
– U.S. Champion Rusev beat Jack Swagger via DQ on a reversed decision when Rusev wouldn’t break the Accolade. Titus O’Neil made the save.
– A.J. Styles pinned Kofi Kingston using the Styles Clash. Anderson, Gallows, Big E and Xavier Woods all brawled at ringside. Roman Reigns got involved (not sure if this was dark or not) and Reigns was strongly cheered when he confronted Styles.
More Super Junior action took place on 5/30 in Tottori as B Block matches commenced:
Will Ospreay vs. Tiger Mask
This was really good. Ospreay moved around great and Tiger Mask was the good grumpy veteran who kept things grounded. At one point, Ospreay hit what looked like an inverted phoenix splash but Tiger Mask got the knees up, took him to the corner and hit a butterfly suplex from the top rope. Ospreay kicked out of that, but eventually submitted to Tiger Mask’s scissors armbar.
Volador Jr. vs. Bobby Fish
Fish controlled a lot of the match and worked on Volador’s leg near the end. Volador went to do something on the top rope, flipped over to the floor but his leg buckled. That allowed Fish to come in and hit a falcon arrow, but Volador kicked out. Fish followed with an ankle lock and submitted him. Good match.
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ricochet
Pretty good back and forth match. Liger was very competitive and did all of his big moves, including the shotei and the running senton to the floor. Ricochet made a comeback, hit a big time brainbuster but Liger kicked out. Ricochet followed that with his cobra twist submission for the win.
There’s nothing like a new 2K trailer on Raw to get the blood pumping, is there?
On an otherwise lackluster episode of the flagship show Memorial Day evening, the eyes had to widen a bit when 2K aired a spot for the upcoming WWE 2K17 video game featuring none other than Bill Goldberg.
Video game chatter aside, this is notable for a few reasons. One is that Goldberg is going to be in a WWE video game for the first time since WWE 2K14, and was on their airwaves in a new capacity for the first time in over a decade. Two is that in recent memory, two past stars that did similar spots — Ultimate Warrior and Sting — later found their way in the McMahon fold in memorable ways.
At 49 years old and with a long list of projects, the prospect of Goldberg returning to the ring for a regular schedule is obviously slim to none. But after years of saying there was no interest in going back, perhaps there’s a chance of at least one more match on a major event?
Dave & Bryan will have more on this tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio.
After sitting on the sidelines since January recovering from shoulder surgery, the Memorial Day edition of Raw from Green Bay, WI, will feature the return of former WWE Champion and top draw John Cena to action.
Unlike the return of Seth Rollins last week, Cena’s reemergence has been hyped for weeks with vignettes and an appearance on the Today show this morning. (Also, remember that we just saw him do a run-it at Wrestlemania.) With the brand split coming up in July, it will be interesting to see if they will start the buildup to the July 11th draft show tonight, or give it time to build and wait after the Money in the Bank PPV.
If this show does a poor rating, expect blame to be placed on Game 7 of the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff series. There is also Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between San Jose and Pittsburgh that kicks off tonight — more of a regional ratings hit.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET. Join us!
**********
The Big Takeaway: A.J. Styles reunited with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in what may be the angle of the year. It happened during John Cena’s return. Styles came out to put over Cena and welcome him back to Raw. Anderson and Gallows came out to accuse Styles of kissing Cena’s ass. Just when it seemed they were gearing up for a tag team match, Styles jumped Cena, and the Club joined together for a collective beatdown. Styles repeatedly left the ring, then ran back in to beat up Cena some more. Only other news of note was Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon acknowledging Smackdown’s move to Tuesdays starting in July and the upcoming brand extension.
Shane & Steph Open The Show
They opened with a 10-bell salute in tribute to the soldiers for Memorial Day with all of the roster’s superstars lined up on the ramp. Vince, Stephanie and Shane McMahon were out there, but there was no HHH. They replayed a speech that Ronald Reagan gave on Memorial Day in 1982 with various personalities reciting the address.
Shane came out, but was cut off by Stephanie. They were more antagonistic towards each other this week. Stephanie was wearing shorts so brief, they wouldn’t have been able to wipe up a small amount of milk spilled on your kitchen floor. Shane announced that Smackdown would go live every Tuesday in July. Stephanie announced John Cena’s return, which got mostly cheers.
The New Day showed up. They all put over Smackdown going live. Then they mentioned the brand extension, showing mainstream news publications about the looming split. Kofi Kingston said he was new era, which Big E. and Xavier Woods laughed at. Woods said Kingston was his favorite wrestler in middle school. Kingston asked where is the New Era going?
Stephanie said they didn’t know yet. Kofi accused her of dodging the question. New Day asked to not be split up. Shane said nothing is off the table. Big E. was worried. Woods didn’t want Francesca the Trombone to be raised without her three fathers, and said trombones raised without a father don’t have as good a track record.
Kingston said Shane and Stephanie hadn’t decided who will run which brand, but Big E. sensed there was a sibling rivalry brewing. So Big E. called for a dance contest. Shane started dancing to the New Day’s music while Stephanie stood back in the corner and laughed at him. Stephanie acted like she was going to dance, which she did to the New Day’s music last year with HHH watching on. Before she could begin, the Vaudevillains came out for a match with the New Day. Michael Cole said going into the break that Smackdown live would return. JBL busted his chops over later.
WWE Tag Champs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E.) defeated the Vaudevillains by DQ in a non-title match (8:50)
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows came through the crowd and jumped New Day for the DQ. Gallows threw Woods into the dasherboards, then Anderson gave Kingston a Yakuza Kick. While this was going on, Simon Gotch kicked Big E. from behind. Vaudevillains left Big E laying so Gallows and Anderson could deliver the Magic Killer on him. Crowd is already dead and we’re only 35 minutes in.
Anderson and Gallows were backstage. Renee Young asked them what that was all about. Anderson said that was to show they could inflict as much damage without A.J. Styles than with him. He said they were just getting started.
Apollo Crews met with Big Show backstage. Show said he liked Crews and told him Sheamus was a bully. Show said he didn’t mind the New Era because he’s been knocking out guys since the Jurassic Era and it didn’t matter to him. Show said Sheamus is in desperation mode and he jumped Crews last week because he wanted to see if Crews would back down. Show told Crews the question is whether Crews will back down.
The Usos defeated Breezango (1:43)
Jey Uso pinned Fandango with a crucifix. Goldust and R-Truth were at ringside. Truth was all the place, calling Byron Saxton “Coach.” To which JBL shouted “Byron’s not Coach. Coach has talent!” Tyler Breeze and Fandango started jawing off to the Golden Truth and the two sides brawled. Truth threw Fandango into the barricade. Goldust gave Breeze a powerslam on the floor. The gimmick with the Golden Truth is they’ve lost both matches to Breezango so far, and JBL makes fun of them for being a babyface tag team that loses.
Roman Reigns came out before the Warriors-Thunder game could tip off.
He got his usual reception. He talked about how Seth Rollins sold out two years ago when he broke up the Shield. Rolins said he was calling himself “The Man”, but how can he be The Man when he’s running from The Guy? He challenged Rollins to come out.
Rollins came out to noticeably more cheers, even after his heel promo last week. He teased getting into the ring, came down the ramp, then went back up the ramp. He acted like he was going to speak for about a minute, but stopped before he could utter a word. He threw the mic down like he was going to fight, but then held up. He kept starting and stopping. I was getting flashbacks to the Sheamus-Reigns angle from last December. Some fans chanted “boring.” Then he picked up the microphone again, threw it down and left. Reigns music played. Rollins ran down again, but stopped when Reigns turned his back and caught his eye. Not a great segment.
The most newsworthy thing of the night happened during the commercial after this for 2K17. In an ad you can see here, Goldberg appeared walking with security to his WCW theme music, looking in great shape for a 49-year-old. The setting, scenery and placement after that abysmal Reigns-Rollins angle made him look like more of a star than anyone so far tonight.
U.S. Champion Rusev defeated Zack Ryder via submission in a non-title match (2:33)
Rusev won with the Accolade, which looks more like a rear naked choke now than a Camel Clutch. Ryder had just hit the Broski Boot and went for the Rough Ryder, but Rusev tossed him over and Ryder landed on his ass. Lana’s outfits get skimpier by the week. She’s now relegated to just introducing Rusev, but didn’t even get in the ring for his postmatch promo.
Rusev cut an anti-American interview afterwards where he called the Green Bay fans “Cheese gobbling cheese…whatever you call yourselves.” Titus O’Neal walked out and did a robotic promo about the nerve of Rusev running down America on Memorial Day. O’Neal said he comes from America, where they fight. O’Neal decked Rusev with one forearm to send him out of the ring.
Primo and Epico did another interview putting over Puerto Rico.
There was a piece reviewing the Charlotte-Ric Flair breakup from last week. Various wrestlers weighed in on Charlotte. Dean Ambrose said he felt Charlotte wanted to humiliate her father. Dolph Ziggler said he felt Charlotte kind of told the truth. What? Becky Lynch said Ric always wanted the best for him. Ambrose got another quip saying Flair may have taught Charlotte everything she knows, but not everything he knows. Cole, JBL and Saxton read off various tweets. Then they showed an angle from earlier today where Stephanie dressed down Charlotte, saying she was embarrassed to have her as champion and screamed how Charlotte was spoiled and privileged. Basically, the entire segment was to get Charlotte over as a heel. Then in the last minute of said angle, they made the entire thing moot by having Stephanie berate her and she came off as another wounded pup under the Authority’s rule.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass came out to the biggest pop of the show. Enzo said since they were in Green Bay, they reeled off a list of cheeses. Cass scrolled them off one by one while making a double entendre about you know what.
Enzo and Cass defeated The Dudley Boyz (9:16)
Third tag team match in two hours. I thought the Jim Crockett Cup had broken out. Enzo pinned Devon Dudley after the Rocket Launcher. Just a month after suffering the concussion at Payback, Enzo got the heat after falling off the top rope. Bubba Ray got slammed off the top rope by Cass, but had to wait forever for him to get up. Match had the most heat of the night.
The main event will be a six-man tag involving the known participants in the Money in the Bank match, with Ambrose, Cesaro and Sami Zayn facing Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho. Ambrose, Cesaro and Zayn talked privately backstage. Ambrose said you couldn’t trust Owens because he was a Canadian. Zayn started to point out he was a Canadian, then Cesaro said Jericho was also dangerous. Ambrose derided Jericho as also being Canadian. Zayn spoke up and asked Ambrose if he knew he was Canadian. Ambrose looked like that was a revelation and said “That explains everything.” Zayn looked confused.
John Cena Returns
John Cena returned to a nice pop. He got a short “welcome back” chant, but it was surprisingly very brief. Of course, he got his usual share of boos. He started very serious reciting the Ronald Reagan speech earlier, then said there were many brave heroes who had fallen. Memorial Day was a celebration of that sacrifice and he was very thankful to be back home. On this day, it was with the utmost respect that he honored the heroes who helped keep liberty intact. Cena said liberty was freedom, and freedom was our lifeblood. It enabled pople to dress how you want, listen to whatever music you wanted, stand on your chair and scream at the top of your lungs.
Now, the question was whether he still belonged on Monday Night Raw? Cena said a new era arrived in his absence. That means new names and new faces. All of those people had the same thought: that Cena’s best days were over. Cena said he wouldn’t go quietly into the night. And if the future is upon us, then the future must go through him.
Styles came out. Cole put over seeing Styles and Cena in the same building was something many thought we would never see. At first, the crowd seemed quiet. Then it turned into a lengthy battle of dueling chants. Styles and Cena just let the fans take over the show for a few minutes. It built and built to where it was really loud and made this potential program feel like something special.
Styles said he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Cena said, judging by this crowd, so has everyone else. Styles said Cena has kind of a bad rep. Styles said he always heard Cena was the first guy to get to the building and the last to leave. Styles said they have been in two different worlds, but he respected Cena’s hard work. Styles said he wanted to be the first one to say “Welcome back.” They shook hands.
Gallows and Anderson then walked out. Gallows told Styles they agreed to go their separate ways, and he saw what they did with the New Day. He accused Styles of sucking up to Cena. Anderson said he thought that was beneath Styles, but apparently not. Anderson said, unlike Styles, they were not there to kiss ass, but to kick it. That included Styles.
Just as Anderson and Gallows were ready to square off and an impromptu tag match was about to take place, Styles jumped Cena. Anderson and Gallows then jumped in and they all put the boots to Cena. Styles, Gallows and Anderson stood over Cena and gave each other Clique signs to some real heat. A fantastic angle to turn Styles heel. Styles ran back in to pound on Cena some more while Anderson said that’s the A.J. they love. Styles left, then ran back in again to lay the punches in some more. Crowd was incensed. After the referees came in, Styles came back in to pummel Cena some more. Styles screamed he was doing the world a favor and “You’re welcome, world.”
Dana Brooke defeated Natalya (1:20)
Brooke won after Charlotte distracted Natalya, which led to Brooke winning with a Samoan Driver. Cole called it a Michinoku Driver. Charlotte and Brooke put the boots to Natalya. Lynch ran down for the save. For someone who was supposed to be a heavy heel after last week, Charlotte got a disappointing response, probably because the star of the show stole her heat last hour.
Ziggler did a promo saying he was going to outwrestle Baron Corbin tonight. He brought up Jericho’s 1004 holds promo from 1998 Nitro. To show how badly it bombed, Ziggler bragged he had 1006 holds and starting naming them just like Jericho did 18 years ago. He listed armbar 3 times. He stopped after seven and said “He’s Dolph Ziggler and Corbin isn’t.”
Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler by DQ (:33)
The announcers built up Ziggler’s amateur record, including a school record 121 wins at Kent State University. When the bell sounded, Ziggler put on amateur wrestling headgear. So the first thing he did was kick Corbin in the balls for an immediate DQ. Ziggler announced he had been disqualified, but the loser of the match was still Corbin. JBL mentioned the original man of “1,000 holds” was Earl Caddock, who wrestled Joe Stecher in 1920 in the oldest known pro wrestling match that has footage.
Maryse introduced the Miz, who is on location shooting the Marine 5. He talked about how he’ll return soon to his adoring public to defend his Intercontinental Championship.
Jericho, Del Rio and Owens argued in the back over who should start their match tonight. Jericho finally got them to agree they should make sure Zayn, Ambrose and Cesaro don’t make it to Money in the Bank. After they left, Jericho called his teammates “idiots.”
Cesaro, Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn defeated Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio (17:51)
Good match with an excellent finishing sequence ending with Ambrose pinning Owens after Dirty Deeds. Jericho hit a codebreaker on Ambrose, but Owens made a blind tag trying to get the pin. That led to Owens and Jericho arguing, which they had done throughout the match. Zayn hit the Helluva Kick on Del Rio, moments after Del Rio caught Cesaro with the Back Stabber.
Earlier, Ambrose hit a tope as the heels bickered with each other some more. Felt like a house show match just thrown out on live TV because the company knew they were going to get creamed by the NBA Finals, but the main event slot hasn’t felt like the true main event of the show lately.
SUMMARY:
It says a lot for Cena’s presence that frequently has memorable swerve angles. Mark Henry’s career highlight was the angle in 2013 where he teased a retirement speech, but jumped Cena instead. Styles’ heel turn tonight could be every bit as memorable. It was extremely well done and the only thing worthwhile in an otherwise forgettable 3 hours.
The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues with A block matches in Osaka.
After the foreigners took center stage on Friday in Tokyo with the Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match everyone is talking about, it’s the Japanese in the main event tonight with Kushida (1-2) facing Ryusuke Taguchi (3-0). In addition, we’ve got Matt Sydal (2-1) vs. Kyle O’Reilly (3-0) in what should be a great match, plus Gedo (1-2) vs. David Finlay (0-3) and Rocky Romero (2-1) taking on Los Ingobernables de Japon member Bushi (0-3).
Given the records, you can probably figure out the results but we’ll see how they get there.
WILL OSPREAY & TRENT BARETTA & TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & VOLADOR JR. & MICHAEL ELGIN
Heated crowd tonight. Very good opener but usual rush job with all this talent. Tenzan had one of his better nights. Ospreay and Volador stole the show with some great spots. Ospreay has started to just take over and knows he’s the big deal now and the crowd already treats it like he’s something special when he tags in. The finish saw Elgin pin Baretta. Baretta went for a codebreaker but Elgin blocked it and power bombed him.
JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK &. MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA VS. KATSUYORI SHIBATA & JAY WHITE & BOBBY FISH & JUICE ROBINSON
Another very good match. Nagata and Shibata are going to tear the house down when they come back for their singles match in Osaka on the 19th. They were super hard hitting and solid with everything they did. Nakanishi actually came off the top rope twice in this match and worked surprisingly well with Robinson, who is more animiated. But it was another rush job. Nakanishi and Nagata double-teamed White with a chop off the top by Nakanish and enzuigiri by Nagata at the same time and Nagata put him way with the bridging back suplex.
DAVID FINLAY VS. GEDO
Another good match, very physical. Gedo was on fire here doing all the little things that most don’t do as far as bringing intensity and selling Finlay’s stretch muffler. Early on he used the ring bell hammer, a chair and and rammed Finlay’s head into the table a few times. Finlay’s work and comebacks were solid all the way across. Finlay got a cradle and a big crowd pop for the upset.
ROCKY ROMERO VS. BUSHI
Better match than you’d think largely due to Romero. Again solid wrestling with strong heat. Bushi did a good tope and most of his spots. Good counters and near falls at the end. Bushi blew green mist when the ref was distracted and then came off the top rope with a codebreaker and got the pin.
INTERMISSION
SATOSHI KOJIMA & YOSHITATSU & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & RICOCHET VS. BAD LUCK FALE & KENNY OMEGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & CHASE OWENS
Another match better than you’d think largely due to Ricochet, Kojima and Omega and even Captain. Omega was the star of the match. Ricochet worked great spots with him including doing a twisting dive over the top. In the end, Captain came in and got great near falls on Omega that the crowd bought including a uranage and frotn rolling cradle. But Fale squashed Captain in the corner and Omega used Hiroshi Tanahashi’s big moves, the sling blade and high fly flow for the pin. After the match Omega hit Captain over the head hard with a garbage can. Even with an object that gives they can lay off the hard head shots.
KAZUCHIKA OKADA & HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI VS. TETSUYA NAITO & SEIYA SANADA & EVIL
Great match. Real wild with super heat, paricularly Okada vs. Nito and and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Sanada. Crowd is really into the latter feud. The finish saw hard hitting action with Goto and Evil and Goto scoring the clean pin after a guillotine ino a final cut. Naito threw the belt i the air again. Naito grabbed Milano Collection A.T. after. Okada stomped the hell out of Evil. Goto wanted a singles match with Evil. Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada brawled some after the match.
MATT SYDAL VS. KYLE O’REILLY
This is quite the show. Another great match here showcasing two of the best wrstelers in the world right now. Hard hitting solid, some great moves by Sydal and great submission set ups by O’Reilly. Sydal won when he knocked O’Reilly off the top with a head-butt from superplex position and hit a double kneedrop off the top and followed with the shooting star press.
KUSHIDA VS. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI
Excellent match. I can’t even remember the last time Taguchi was in something this good. He hung wih Kushida for 16 minutes and both were drenched when it was over. What’s interesing is that the super juniors usually means a lot of high flying but this year it’s more solid wrestling for most guys and the high flying was left to Ospreay, Volador and Ricochet. Lots of near fall and submissions. Kushida once did a divoce court off the apron and a running flip dive. Kushdia kicked out of the Dodon and Taguchi escaped the hoverboard lock. The finish was a series of reversals and Kushida went for an armbar but Taguchi cradled him. But Kushida then got the armbar again and Taguchi had to tap out. Kushdia did an interview after.
Overall one of the better shows of the year. Everyone worked hard and the key matches they were building for Dominion all hot had a lot of intensity.
The first match saw Enzo and Cass taking on the Dudley Boyz. Everyone was into Enzo and Cass’ mic work and shouted along to their catchphrases. Bubba Ray got hear before the match by taking a sign from a fan but Enzo saved the day before he could rip it. Enzo and Cass went over in the end with the rocket launcher.
– Titus O’Neil defeated Viktor of the Ascension with the Clash of the Titus
– Goldust defeated Tyler Breeze
Fandango ran down to distract Goldust. R Truth ran down to even the odds and Goldust put Breeze away with the Final Cut. Afterwards Golden Truth danced to R Truth’s theme song and did some comedy work.
– Gallows and Anderson defeated the Hype Bros
Anderson and Gallows won with the Magic Killer on Mojo. Lots of Bullet Club chants and Wolfpack/Too Sweet handsigns. Okay for what it was.
– Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens
Owens got some heat especially after doing some mic work after bailing to ringside at the beginning. He even threw in a Simpsons reference by saying Shelbyville was better than Springfield. These guys click. It was more tame than previous matches the two of had because it was a house show, but these guys have such good chemistry together, that it makes even simple matches really good. Owens played such a good heel. The match was built like most of their matches with Owens beating Zayn up, Zayn getting in a few hope spots only to be cutoff by Owens again. In the end, Owens went for a pop up powerbomb, Sami turned it into a drop kick in mid air and then hit the Helluva Good Kick in the corner for the win.
– Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus
Sheamus got on the mic before the match and said he was going to defeat the New Era because it was garbage. He tried to get some heat by saying that even if Abraham Lincoln was alive today, he would be ashamed of calling Springfield his hometown. This match was just there. Lots of rest holds. In the end, Sheamus went for White Noise and Crews slipped out and rolled him up for the three.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Natalya to retain
Charlotte got heat early on by ripping up a fan’s sign in the ring that Natalya had brought in. They worked the match around both of them trying to lock in their submission moves with Charlotte getting the figure four on once and Natalya reversing it, and Nattie sinking in the sharpshooter once and Charlotte making the ropes. In the end, Natalya was thrown into the turnbuckles and Charlotte schoolboyed her from behind, placing her feet on the ropes for the win. Afterwards, the crowd gave Natalya a good ovation and chanted her name.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns defeated AJ Styles to retain
This match was pretty decent for a house show match. The crowd was actually pretty split in who they were rooting for. Reigns played a somewhat cocky heel, not fully committing to it but doing some heelish mannerisms. The match was built around both guys going for their big moves and each time falling short. At one point, Reigns went for the Superman punch only to be met with a Pele kick from AJ.
AJ went for the Phenomenal Forearm three times, each time getting countered. He even teased a Styles Clash at one point. In the end, AJ went for the forearm, Reigns countered it with a Superman Punch and then hit the spear to retain the championship.
First time taking my youngest kid to see wrestling and he really enjoyed it. The building was maybe half to three fourths full. The crowd seemed to be into mostly everything. Overall, it was an entertaining show that the people around me were entertained by including my son. I went in expecting a house show and that’s what I got which isn’t bad. The Owens-Zayn match and the main event were actually good matches and there really wasn’t any terrible matches as they all had fun elements in them.
