WWE Monday Night Raw 2/3/2025

WWE Monday Night Raw 2/3/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwe-monday-night-raw-1272025.html

We are in Cleveland, Ohio. Pat McAfee and Michael Cole are on commentary.

We see various wrestlers arrive.

Jey Uso enters through the concourse and down the stands. He gets a long entrance. The crowd chants "one more time" and they play his theme again. Jey then gets a "you deserve it" chant. 

Jey's fighting back tears just to speak. He says he doesn't know what to say. The crowd says, "yeet" and he says, "besides that". He said he came into wrestling 15 years ago and tried to make a living with his brother. He said he went through the pandemic and The Bloodline. He says he wasn't confident in himself to be a singles guy. He said he didn't have it but he's got it now. He said he worked hard to get to the spot. He said he got it because of the crowd and thanks everyone as he cries. He says he's the Royal Rumble winner because of the fan. He says he's going to Mania in the main and says, "it's just me, uce".

Gunther comes out. He says he's disappointed. He says a possible match with Jey doesn't appeal to him. He says Jey can't even lace his boots. He says he refuses to do this with him again. He says he's building a legacy for himself and beating Jey doesn't add anything to his legacy.

He says Jey has everything to gain and he has everything to lose. Gunther says he will be forced to have something to gain if Jey chooses him. Gunther says every week will be hell and says Mania will be the most horrible display of violence this business has ever seen if Jey chooses him. Gunther says he will put him down like a diseased dog. 

He says Jey has options and he advises him to consider them. Jey says he's tired of being told what he can and can't be. He says he's gonna holla at Cody on SD. He says he will walk into Mania as the 2025 Royal Rumble winner but will walk out as the champion.

Thoughts: It was a good segment with Jey getting a mega pop here. I think they maybe got something with Jey not being able to beat Gunther, but Mania's too soon to pull that one off.

We see clips of John Cena saying he will compete in The Elimination Chamber. He says he will win and go to Mania to win his 17th title. He says he will win to shake hands someday with the person who wins 18 titles.

Ludwig Kaiser vs Penta

Penta got some fireworks for his entrance. Kaiser slaps him in the corner and stomps on him. Penta kicks him as he bends over. Penta flying headscissors him. Penta handstands in the corner and is kicked. Kaiser talks trash and says he will embarrass him. Kaiser is thrown over the top.

Penta springboards at Kaiser on the apron and gets slapped. Kaiser rolling death valley drivers him on the apron. We go to break and return. Kaiser throws him down on a flying headscissors then hits forearms to the back of the neck.  

Kaiser hits chest kicks. Penta hits chops. Penta goes up and over and hits a backcracker for 2. Penta does a handstand pendulum double knee for 2. They trade chest chops. Penta back body drops him outside then tope con hilos him. Penta top rope crossbodies him for 2.

They trade chest chops. Penta hits superkicks. Kaiser finlay rolls Penta for 2. Penta cranks back on Kaiser's arm then hits a made in japan for the win.

Thoughts: Hey Penta didn't overdo it for a change. That was nice. It was an average match for the most part. They didn't do anything too crazy here and didn't quite make the best use of their time.

Penta is interviewed in the ring after. He is immediately cut off by Pete Dunne. Kaiser nails Penta from behind. Kaiser ddt's him.

The Judgment Day talk in the back. Finn says everything fell to pieces while he was gone. He said Dom stole his tag title rematch and his partner and got him hurt. Finn says if Dom wants to call the shots while he's not around, they should call a babysitter.

Liv defends Dom and said they would have lost the title shot without doing that. Liv then says The War Raiders injured JD. Liv says Dom got Finn an Elimination Chamber Qualifier as well and Finn cools off.

Charlotte Flair comes out to talk. She said last year sucked and said it broke her mentally and physically. She said he didn't know if she was coming back after her last injury. The crowd boos her. Flair says she loves them and will embrace their boos. She says whether you love her or boo her, it doesn't change that she is the greatest star in wrestling.

Rhea Ripley interrupts. Rhea says this is her show and says they have the chance to go to war again. Rhea says she does respect her. Rhea tells her to please pick her because she beat her last time at Mania. Flair says she beat her the first time at Mania. Rhea says she was a kid then.

Flair says she was just getting things started here and Rhea jumped the gun. She says she will go see if Giulia or Tiffany Stratton inspires her. Flair says she's still just a kid and she will see her next week. Rhea says Flair doesn't respect her the same way she respects her. Rhea begs her to pick her.

Thoughts: I don't think they intended for Flair to get booed here but she covered it well. The crowd knew it too but Rhea came out and saved the segment by diverting the crowd's attention.

Sami Zayn is interviewed by Jackie. Sami said he thought The Rumble might have been his year. He says he can still get there though at Elimination Chamber and needs to beat Punk to do it. Jackie asks about Kevin Owens. Sami goes up to Jey Uso.

Jey says he wasn't aiming for him and apologizes for superkicking him. Sai said he did it and said this moment is his. Sami tells him to go all the way and Jey says good luck with Punk.

Karrion Kross comes in and asks what it's like to watch everyone live out his dreams. Sami says he's sick of seeing him all the time. He says they will have a problem if he keeps coming up to him like this. Kross says he's not here to be a problem for him but he could be.

Rhea Ripley talks to Iyo Sky in the back. Iyo says maybe she will see her at Wrestlemania. Rhea says maybe. Iyo then gets nailed by Liv Morgan and is stomped on. Rhea chases Liv away. Raquel Rodriguez then pounces Rhea over boxes. Liv then says, "see ya later" to Iyo.

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs The LWO (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee)

Lee and Woods lock up. Lee side headlocks him. Kofi trips Lee from the outside then slingshot stomps him. Lee kicks the top buckle into Kofi's face. Lee top rope crossbodies him. Lee flying headscissors him. Lee hits combinacion cabron for 2. Kofi takes a basement dropkick from Rey for 2. 

Woods stands on Rey in the corner. Rey 2nd rope twisting hurricanrana's Woods then hits corner punches. Lee superkicks Woods for 2. Kofi gets stuck in tree of woe and Lee dropkicks him as he hngs. Logan Paul then comes out.

Kofi pulls Lee off the top and Woods pushes Rey into the rails. We go to break and return. Woods superkicks Lee. Kofi sentons Lee over the 2nd rope. Kofi top rope chops Lee as Logan tells someone in the crowd "that was too far". Kofi pounds on Lee.

Woods slingshot double stomps Lee. Lee sitout powerbombs Woods. Rey is tagged in and hits shots on Kofi. Rey flying headscissors Kofi. Rey flying headscissors Kofi and Woods saves Kofi from a 619. Rey la silla's Kofi off the apron. Logan and Rey stare down. Logan pats Rey on the head and is shoved into a chair.

Kofi is sent into the post. Woods gets his leg banged off the post. Lee jumps over the top and headscissors Woods to the floor. Rey goes to get in and Logan pulls him out. Logan throws him in and Kofi corkscrew kicks Rey to win.

Thoughts: It was fine. Rey didn't have any botches here which is good as he's been botching a lot lately. They definitely set up a Logan vs Rey match which I'm sure will play a role in Logan's Elimination Chamber Qualifier.

We are told Roman Reigns will be out for the forseeable future due to Seth's curb stomp on the steps.

CM Punk is interviewed by Cathy Kelly. Punk said he didn't win the Rumble but neither did Roman or Seth. Punk says Sami won't go to the Elimination Chamber tonight, he will. Punk says the pressure is on everyone else in The Elimination Chamber as he won it before.

We get a package on Lyra Valkyria vs Bayley. We then see both in the crowd.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier - Liv Morgan vs Iyo Sky

Liv goes out to start. Iyo bangs Liv's head off the rails and apron. Iyo hits forearms and a flapjack. Liv sitdown butt drops Iyo out of the corner then clubs on her back. Liv backsplashes her in the corner then step up knees her. Liv basement dropkicks her for 2.

Liv hits kicks. Iyo cartwheels and backflips off the ropes then dropkicks Liv. Iyo is sent out Iyo running forearms Liv then forearms her over. Iyo topes Liv outside.

We go to break and return. Liv suplexes her three times. Liv misses an enzugiri and takes a running knee. Iyo hits shotei's and dropkicks her. Iyo hits a top rope dropkick on Liv. 

Iyo rolls Liv into a double stomp on the gut for 2. Liv backstabbers her then Iyo crossfaces her. Iyo kicks her in the face. Raquel distracts Iyo. Iyo avoids a sunset bomb outside. Iyo germans Liv on the floor.

Iyo asai moonsaults Liv. Iyo comes off the top and is caught with a codebreaker. Liv goes up top and Iyo hurricanrana's her down. Iyo corner meteora's her. Raquel gets on the apron. Iyo tries a top rope moonsault and Liv gets her feet up. Iyo germans Liv.

Rhea Ripley comes out and nails Raquel for attacking her earlier. Rhea nails Liv when Liv grabs her. Rhea then gets Liv DQ'd.

Thoughts: This was one of Liv's better matches. She got to be athletic here with Iyo making her fly around and take big bumps. The ending was creative here and made sense. I'm curious as to what this leads to. 

Iyo yells at Rhea after. Rhea tries to apologize and Iyo runs off.

The War Raiders are interviewed by Cathy. Ivar says JD gained their respect last week. American Made interrupt. Chad says they are pathetic and says his boys are championship material, not them. Chad says his boys can out wrestle them. Erik says they can outwrestle them but what will they do when it turns into a fight? Ivar tells them to go to war.

Chad says he has to leave American Made for a bit to conquer the dark arts of lucha libre. He says he wants to see his crew with titles when he returns. He says not to disappoint him and he says he'll be back.

Adam Pearce is interviewed by Cathy. She said she heard Adam had a massive announcement. Adam said he had a big deal to get done and says he got AJ Styles for Raw. Bron Breakker comes in. Bron tells Adam to keep AJ away from him and do him a favor. Bron asks what's next for the IC champ. He says it doesn't seem like the title matters much for Adam. Bron asks if they can talk business somewhere.

Seth Rollins talks in the ring. He says Jey won the Rumble and he's happy for him. He says CM Punk lost The Rumble. He says Punk got embarassed and dumped over the top by Logan. He says Roman lost at The Rumble and may not make it to Mania at all. He says Roman is hurt and he's the one who hurt him. He says Roman has done nothing but hurt his friends or family and would have done the same to him if he had the chance. He said Roman likes to talk about his limited schedule so he did him a favor.

Seth says there's many ways to Mania and his is through Finn Balor and to The Elimination Chamber. He says Sami Zayn needs to handle his business tonight. He then calls Sami out.

Sami comes out. Seth chants his name. He says Sami is his guy. Seth says they haven't seen eye to eye lately. He says Sami's immediate future is CM Punk. Seth says he hates CM Punk. He says the world doesn't know how much Sami hates CM Punk too. He says tonight is the night for the fight of Sami's life.

Seth said Punk told Sami he wasn't on his level. Seth tells Sami that he's a Mania main eventer and a good person. Seth says Sami is levels above Punk. He says he needs the best of Sami tonight to keep Punk out of The Chamber. Seth says it's Sami's night. He tells Sami to put Punk's Wrestlemania dream in the dirt for good.

CM Punk comes out before Seth leaves. Refs somehow stop them from beating each other up.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier - CM Punk vs Sami Zayn

Punk shoulders Sami over. Sami shoulders him over then side headlock takeovers him. Punk headscissors him and goes for the anaconda vice. They shove each other.

Sami hits shots in the corner. Punk bangs Sami's arm off his shoulder. Punk hits chops. Sami hits chops and forearms. Sami lariats Punk over. Sami hits chops then corner  punches. Punk covers up.

Punk neckbreakers him. Sami superplexes Punk. We go to break and return. Punk armbreakers Sami and bangs his shoulder into the buckles. Sami walks up the buckles and tornado ddt's Punk. 

Punk hits a corner spear then is hit with a blue thunder for 2. Punk single arm ddt's Sami. Punk misses a spear and goes into the post. Punk rolls up Sami for 2. Punk takes him over into the anaconda vice. Punk step up knees him in the corner. Punk tells Sami to look at the Wrestlemania sign. He says it's all for him (Punk) and says Sami isn't on his level. Sami misses a helluva kick. Punk goes for a go to sleep and Sami cradles Punk for 2.

They trade shots and forearm each other at the same time. Sami exploders Punk in the corner. Punk hits a GTS on Sami and wins.

Thoughts: I liked the Sami nearfall near the end. It wasn't the most exciting match as it was all armwork based and was a bit slow at times. But the logic was good. I thought they could have gotten a bit more out of Sami trying to score the upset here. It's also a shame this one didn't get more build to it as there was a good story to tell here but they had limited time to tell it.

Punk and Sami shake hands after. Kevin Owens comes out, hits Sami from behind and sends him into Punk. Owens then stomps on Sami and hits a package piledriver on Sami. 

Thoughts: I feel like I've seen Owens turn on Sami at least 4 times by now. But Owens turning on Sami is a staple of their relationship and a go-to for them when they are out of ideas. At least there's a story here with this one as Sami didn't help KO at The Rumble. KO's also out of things to do with him losing to Cody and him already having lengthy battles with Bloodline, so a change of scenery might help him out.

Overall thoughts: Nothing was bad but it wasn't one of my favorite Raw eps. It was just missing a great match. Outside of the ring though, they did a good job. They sold me on Jey vs Gunther. They set up something with Liv/Rhea/Raquel/Iyo. They turned Owens on Sami and got me hyped for Elimination Chamber. I'd give it a 6 out of 10 overall and I liked it, but you don't need to see this.

WWE Main Event 1/30/2025

WWE Main Event 1/30/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwe-main-event-1232025.html

Isla Dawn vs Natalya

Isla nails Nat before intros are over. she pounds on her outside with forearms. Isla hits knees. Nat trips her and hits mounted shots. Isla retreats out. Nat hits her from behind. Alba Fyre teases getting involved and Isla basement dropkicks Nat off the apron.

Isla knee chokes Nat against the ropes then Isla slaps Nat. Isla half-nelson slams her for 2. Isla chinlocks her. Nat rolls her up for 2. Isla knees her in the gut. Nat rolls Isla and is pushed into the buckles. Isla misses a corner hip attack. Nat cradles her for 2.

Nat spinning lariats Isla for 2. Isla slaps her then throws her down backwards by the hair. Isla running meteora's her for 2. Nat pounds on Isla over the 2nd rope. Nat avoids an enzugiri and boots her for 2. Alba gets on the apron. Nat nails her. Nat is rolled up then puts a sharpshooter on Isla. Nat then taps her out.

Thoughts: It went a little longer than it needed to at about 5 minutes or so. It wasn't anything too special but at least it wasn't a generic by the numbers match.

R-Truth vs Ludwig Kaiser

Kaiser nails Truth from behind then stomps on him. Truth flying headscissors him. Truth dances and pulls Kaiser over the top. Truth holds the ropes open for Kaiser to get back in. Kaiser then does.

Truth offers a handshake. He grabs Kaiser's hand for it and hugs him. Kaiser then hits a short arm lariat. Kaiser PK's Truth and sends him into the buckles shoulders first. Truth takes a basement dropkick as he hangs over the 2nd rope.

We go to break and return. Kaiser stomps on Truth. Truth hits shots and is thrown down backwards. Kaiser hits mounted shots then rakes his eyes with his feet. Kaiser stands on Truth's hair. Kaiser kicks the ropes into Truth's face.

Kaiser step up enzugiri's Truth. Kaiser chinlocks Truth. Truth hits shots to the gut to escape and flying shoulders Kaiser. Truth blue thunders Kaiser and does the five knuckle shuffler. Kaiser rakes Truth's eyes and armlocks him. Kaiser rolling death valley drivers Truth. Kaiser goes for a ddt and is rolled up and pinned. Truth wins!

Thoughts: Truth winning was a big upset. I'm curious as to why they booked that. This was just average and had some time wasting outside and a rest hold. It was nice to see a surprise ending though.

Overall thoughts: There were only 2 new matches as usual. Neither was that good but this was notable for Truth getting an upset win over Kaiser. I was surprised by that and wonder why they did it. It was an average show. You don't need to see this one and I wouldn't recommend this.

New Japan Pro Wrestling 2/3/2025 The Road To The New Beginning Day 6

New Japan Pro Wrestling 2/3/2025 The Road To The New Beginning Day 6

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Daiki Nagai

Nagai side headlocks him. Tana reveres it and Nagai chops him. Tana side headlocks him. Nagai pulls the hair and they trade forearms. Tana slams Nagai Tana backbreakers him then camel clutches him. Nagai dropkicks him.

Nagai chop flurries him in the corner then stomps on him. Nagai corner dropkicks him. Nagai hits a dropkick for 2. Nagai slams him then crabs him. Tana hits a twist and shout. Nagai drops him with a big slap. Tana then slaps him down a couple of times. Tana then puts him in a texas cloverleaf. Nagai taps out.

Thoughts: It was a rookie vs vet match, but I liked it. Nagai got some comeback spots here and it was nice to see him drop Tana once. Nagai got a decent bit of offense in and Tana got some good fighting spirit out of him.

Shota Umino, Master Wato and Ryuske Taguchi vs Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira and Jacob Austin Young

Wato and Akira go at it. Wato side headlocks him. Akira armdrags him then is armdragged. Akira flying headscissors him. Wato dropkicks him and chops him. Akira takes a double boot. Jake is double tripped into a double basement dropkick. Akira hits shots on Taguchi then leg lariats him.

Khan throws Shota into the rails outside. They fight in the stands and Khan chairs Shota. Jake knee drops Taguchi for 2. Akira basement dropkicks Taguchi. Khan hits mongolian chops on Taguchi and Taguchi does it back to him. Khan kancho's Taguchi then sits on his neck in the corner.

RT hip attacks Khan off the buckles.  Shota gets in and hits some offense. He then dropkicks Khan. Shota fisherman suplexes Khan. Khan double underhook suplexes Shota. Shota hits an enzugiri on Khan. Khan facekicks him. Shota exploders him.

Jake and Wato go at it. Wato spin kicks him. Wato hits a bulldog. Jake backdrops Wato for 2. Taguchi flying hip attacks Jake. Akira superkicks Shota then Shota tornado ddt's him.

Jake enzugiri's Wato. Jake blocks Wato's sunset fip for 2. Wato rolls up Jake and submits him with a head and double arm hold.

Thoughts: It was a basic trios match here. Khan and Shota's segment didn't impress in this one and I don't have high hopes for that much. This didn't get a lot of time and it was by the numbers.

Khan attacks Shota outside after and teases cutting his hair.

Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito vs Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe

HT backs up Togi on the ropes. Naito pulls Togi's hair. HT hits chops on Togi. Togi shoulders HT over. Togi shoulders Naito over. Honma hits forearms on HT. Honma back elbows him then HT hits forearms. Honma takes a double team then Togi does as well. Honma takes a double lariat over.

Naito sends Honma into the rail. Naito hits shots on Honma in the corner then cravates him. HT corner lariats Honma then basement dropkicks him. Honma ddt's Naito.

Togi shoulders over Naito then corner lariats him. Togi hits corner punches. Togi lariats Naito for 2. Naito back elbows him then baseball slides him. HT hits corner punches on Togi then Togi hits a big lariat on him.

Togi hits chops on Honma. Honma bulldogs HT. Honma misses a falling headbutt. HT kicks the ropes into Honma's face. HT takes a sandwich lariat then Honma flying headbutts HT. Togi double lariats his opponents then Honma headbutt drops HT. Honma running headbutts HT for 2. Honma headbutts him. Honma then takes an atomic drop into a lariat.

HT superkicks Honma and Honma takes a double lariat. HT death valley drivers Honma and wins.

Thoughts: It didn't look like a good idea and it wasn't. It was slower and just not that interesting. 

Just 4 Guys (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & SANADA)

All 4 go at it as soon as the four are in. Tai running facekicks Sanada. Tai is sent into the rails. Sanada and Tai fight in the stands. Sanada hits Tai with a water bottle.

Clark and Taka go at it. Taka puts him in a facelock and Sanada breaks it up. Taka then does an armbar + headlock. Clark powerslams Taka.

Sanada chokes Taka from the apron. Clark elbow drops Taka. Taka hits shots to the gut and slaps Clark. Clark then pounces him. Taka knees him in the head and running boots him in the chest. Tai russian legsweps Sanada. Tai kawada kicks Sanada then corner facekicks him. Sanada dropkicks him out then plancha's him.

Tai running lariats Sanada. Sanada goes for skull end. Tai rolls out of it and enzugiri's him. Sanada pushes the ref into Tai. Sanada pretends that Tai low blowed him and the ref DQ's Tai.

Thoughts: It was short and dumb. They focused on Sanada and Tai's feud here and we had a lame finish. Wrestlers can low blow other wrestlers in full view of the ref in this company and not get DQ'd here yet the ref didn't even see this one and called for the DQ.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Taiji Ishimori)

The heels attack before the bell. Shingo gets stomped on by Drilla and TI in the corner. Shingo fights off a double team and slams TI onto Drilla. Drilla and Shingo trade. Drilla step up enzugiri's him.

Drilla hits Shingo's punch and chop combo on him in the corner. Drilla pump kicks Shingo then Shingo shoulders him over. Drilla dropkicks Yota. Gabe corner lariats Yota and sentons him. Yota running boots him. Yota corner splashes Gabe then slams him. Yota running swantons him and splashes him for 2. 

Yota blocks Gabe's knee and they trade shots. Gabe suplexes him. Yota does like an orange crush on him. Bushi and TI go at it. Bushi wants to do a dive and Drilla trips him. Bushi does a bulldog + dropkick combo. Bushi dropkicks TI in the knee. TI drops Bushi's chest onto his knees.

Shingo comes in, gets some offense in then is double stomped by Drilla. Gabe lariats Yota over the top and goes with him. Bushi's flying headscissors is blocked by TI and TI gets the win.

Thoughts: It was a short one. Everyone got their segment in and not much else. As usual, what we got of Gabe vs Yota looked good. Shingo and Drilla are trying and we'll have to see what that ends up looking like on 2/11.

Gabe/Yota and Shingo/Drilla fight after the bell.

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOH & YOSHI-HASHI) & El Desperado vs. TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)

Despy and Kosei fight. Despy takes him down by the arm. Kosei takes him down by the arm and stomps him. They trade chops. Yoh takes a basement dropkick to the back of the head. Yoh trips Rob and baseball slides him. Yoshi and Oiwa get in. Yoshi headhunters him. Oiwa takes a double shoulderblock then a triple kick. The two trade chops and Oiwa shoulders him over.

Hart comes in and elbow drops Yoshi for 2. TMDK grab all of Yoshi's limbs at once. Hart wants in but there's no limb to grab. Hart sentons Oiwa.

Goto shoulders over Zack then suplexes Rob onto Zack. Zack twists Goto's neck with his feet. The two trade shots. Zack does a deep armbar on Goto and Goto ropebreaks. Goto rolls him up for 2. Goto goes for a move and is bridged. Goto hits a big lariat on Zack.

Hart and Ishii get in. They trade lariats. Hart dropkicks him then hits a corner splash. Hart hits a big lariat. Kosei springboard dropkicks Despy then takes a superkick from Yoh. Rob hits kicks on Yoh then Yoh superkicks him out. Hart crossbodies Yoh. Ishii hits a big german on Hart then forearms Oiwa. Oiwa double lariats Ishii and Yoshi.

Oiwa dropkicks Ishii. Oiwa backdrops him. Hart death valley drivers Ishii for 2. Hart sitout powerbombs Ishii for 2. Goto ushigoroshi's Zack. Ishii running lariats Hart for 2. Ishii brainbusters Hart and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a fun match. It was a bit rushed but we got good sections out of Zack/Goto, Yoshi/Oiwa and Hart/Ishii. This accomplished what it set out to do and made you want to see this matches on the big show. 

The wrestlers then get in each others faces after.

NJPW World Television Title Match - El Phantasmo (c) vs. Jeff Cobb

ELP dropkicks Cobb then Cobb pounces him. Cobb hits a corner spear on ELP then throws him. Cobb catches ELP off a springboard then throws him on a slam. ELP goes up and over then chops Cobb. ELP does rope tricks and hurricanrana's Cobb over the top.

ELP topes Cobb outside. ELP then throws him over the rail. ELP does a super dangerous top rope moonsault and ends up going over the rail onto young lions. Cobb suplex lifts him and walks him up the Korakuen steps. ELP tries to push Cobb down the steps.

ELP jumps off the entrance way in the stands onto Cobb. They fight in the crowd. Cobb pushes ELP into the post then backdrops him onto the apron. Cobb gets stuck on the buckles and ELP powerbombs him for 2. Cobb fallaway slams him.

Cobb hits a spin cycle backdrop for 2. ELP step up enzugiri's Cobb. Cobb flips him with a running lariat. Cobb misses a springboard splash. ELP rolls him up for 2. Cobb superkicks ELP. ELP crucifixes Cobb then superkicks him twice for 2. Cobb goes for a slam and is ddt'd by ELP.

ELP springboard crossbodies Cobb then springboard splashes him for the win.

Thoughts: They didn't get much time and had an action packed match with some highlights. It wasn't anything great and they weren't allowed to do a classic here, but I liked what we got out of it. It was a fine Korakuen main.

ELP talks on the mic after and has Jado translate for him. He says he hasn't been in the main very often. He says he doesn't want to put himself over and wants to put other people over instead. He says to make noise for the people who drove the bus 9 hours to get here. He says to make noise for the camera men, the commentators and the refs.

Overall thoughts: I liked the main, semi-main and the opener. I didn't really care for the rest. The main and semi-main didn't get a ton of time but they did a good job with what they got. I wouldn't really recommend it, but I'd give it a 6 out of 10 for the two top matches delivering. I thought it was a little better than average overall.

WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/5/1991

WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/5/1991

WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/5/1991

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/wwf-superstars-of-wrestling-9281991.html

We are in Ottawa, Canada. 

Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, and Randy Savage are on commentary. Piper talks about getting jumped by Flair last week. Piper says he's no mild-manner reporter and wants to fight Flair.

The Legion of Doom vs Jobbers

I'm not sure who the jobbers are here as there are conflicting listings. Hawk hits shots on the one jobber, who is absolutely huge. Hawk hits a nice dropkick. Animal powerslams the jobber then elbow drops him. The Natural Disasters and Jimmy Hart do an inset promo. Typhoon says their talking is done in the ring. Quake says it's not a fight for the titles, it's a fight for The LOD's life. Hawk flying shoulders the jobber then Animal powerslams the jobber. Animal hits a jumping elbow drop.

Animal boots the jobber out of the corner. Hawk fist drops the jobber then snapmares him. Animal hits a flying shoulder. Animal hits a corner lariat then the jobber takes a doomsday device. Hawk then gets the pin.

Thoughts: It was all squash as usual. I was shocked by how big the one guy was as he had several inches on Hawk. I have no idea who either guy was as the line-ups for this one floating around online are not correct.

WWF Update

Mean Gene shills WWF toys. He talks about the incident last week with Ric Flair and Piper.

Bobby Heenan and Ric Flair do a promo. Ric said when he came to the WWF, he was gonna turn the heat up. He tells Piper to do something about it as he doesn't like it. He tells Piper to call him champ until then.

The Berzerker vs Scott Taylor

We got young Scotty 2 Hotty here. Berz whips his belt around and front kicks Scott. Berz does an inset promo with Fuji. he says he's the guy who breaks bones and is the guy who will get his hands on you. Berz talks to Fuji then chops Scott over. Berz chokeslams Scott. Berz boots Scott over.

Scott is tied up in the ropes and bootz Berz. Berz hits a world's strongest slam on Scott then does it again. Berz throws him over the top and wins by countout.

Thoughts: It was the usual Berz squash with him winning with ease by countout.

WWF Event Center

Jim Duggan does a promo. He says he's the meanest man in the WWF. He says he sees big men in strange outfits in the WWF. He brings up Undertaker and calls Paul Bearer "Gomez". He says he's not a hard man to find and says the 2x4 is not hard to find. 

Big Bully Busick and Harvey Wippleman do a promo. Bully says you might think the Tornado is an unpredictable forecast and The Dragon can breathe fire. He says nobody can do what he does and says not to say a word to his friend Harvey Wippleman. Harvey says if you mess with them, you will get hurt. 

Virgil vs Mike Williams

 

They lock up. Virg uppercuts him and atomic drops him. Virg lariats Mike over the top. Virg then hits a nice plancha on him. Ted Dibiase does an inset promo with Sherri. Ted says Virgil is best at polishing and doing spit shines and says he wants his title back in its original form.

Mike hits shots Virg's gut. Virg spinning neckbreakers him. Virg slams Mike. Virg hits punches and flips Mike. Virg puts him in the million dollr dream and wins.

Thoughts: Virg looked pretty good here as he hit a nice dive and seemed motivated. Mike did a flip sell off of a punch which you don't see a lot of.

WWF Event Center

Slick and The Warlord do a promo. Slick says the first time he say War, he thought this was a man he had to sign. He says War is the future of the WWF and the future world champ. War says he works and trains hard. He says it doesn't matter who has to fight - he wants a chance at the title and will get one.

The British Bulldog does a promo on The Mountie. He says Mountie will need more than his portable electric chair/shock stick when he faces him. He says he bite Undertaker down to size. He says he has seen his tombstone and asks if he saw his powerslam. He says he will put Taker in a casket.

Irwin R. Schyster vs Jim Powers

 

IRS does a promo. He says he's been criticized for being tough on tax cheaters. He says your tax cheating opinion means nothing to him.

IRS slams Jim then hiptosses him. IRS boots him on the ropes. Jim hiptosses and slams him. Jim hits a nice dropkick and gets a pop from Macho for it. Jim's head is banged off the buckles. IRS snapmares then elbow drops him. IRS does an abdominal stretch.

Jim bangs IRS' head off the buckles. IRS boots him in the gut then hits a samoan drop for the win.

Thoughts: It was nice to get a somewhat competitive match here for a change. It has been a long time since we have seen that, sadly. Jim looked good and hit a nice dropkick here before being put down.

The Funeral Parlor

 

Paul Bearer welcomes us to The Parlor. He says his guest is about to experience the bite of the snake and it's Sid Justice. Paul says it won't be too long until Sid feels the bite of the snake and comes to his mortuary in a different way. Sid asks what that smell is. He says it's the same smell that was here last week. He says it's the same death smell of Jake Roberts. He says Jake is a low life and is a serpent. He says he's a symbol of the devil. Sid says when it's all over, they will say that justice was served.

The Nasty Boys vs Joe Milano and Martin Roy

Knobbs locks up with maybe Roy. He pounds on him and sends him chest first into the bucles. Saggs chokes him on the ropes. Joe gets in and is backdropped by Saggs. Saggs hits a pumphandle slam. Knobbs bangs Joe's head off the mat. Knobbs corner splashes Joe off an irish whip. He throws Joe down into the mat. Joe takes a powerslam then a top rope Saggs elbow drop. Joe is then pinned.

Thoughts: It was all squash here with The Nasty's getting the pin. There wasn't much to speak of here. Vince messed up The Nasty's names which isn't the first time.

We see Tito Santana in a bull ring. He's trying to become El Matador. We see him trying to stab a fake bull. He says it'll take many months before he's ready. He says with a real bull, his first mistake could be his last. He says he will become El Matador.

Thoughts: They have apparently been doing these on other episodes, but for some reason they have not been included in the versions I had. I don't really think this is going to work out that well and I'm not sure Tito needs a re-package.

Sgt. Slaughter is at Arlington National Cemetary. Sarge says solders fought and died for the country and he let all of them down. He says there's one soldier he really turned his back on here. He says he wishes he could take one of the dead soldier's graves. He says they didn't turn their back on the country like he did. He says he doesn't care if he gets into a wrestling ring again. He says he doesn't care about titles anymore. He says he's here to beg for forgiveness. He says he wants his country back.

Thoughts: Sorry Sarge. I'm still not buying it. They just went too far with the heel Sarge angle for me to go along with this.

The Dragon vs Mike Durham 

Mike looks like Jack Victory. Ricky leapfrogs him then running crossbodies him. Ricky hits an armdrag and armlock. Mike eye rakes Ricky. Ricky jumps over him off the ropes then hits armdrags. Mike slams Ricky. Ricky upkicks Mike then elbows him in the gut. Ricky backfists him.

Skinner does an inset promo. He says everyone is scared of his fire. Skinner says he will stomp the fire out with his boots then skin him alive. Ricky bangs Mike's head off the buckles and mat. Ricky punches Mike then side kicks him. Ricky hits a top rope chop to the head. Ricky top rope crossbodies Mike and wins.

Thoughts: It was all squash here. This wasn't too long and Ricky won as expected. 

WWF Event Center

 

Sean says the competition in the WWF has never been hotter. Jake Roberts does a promo with a cobra. He says you gotta make a lot of decisions in life. He says you gotta decide whether to go right or left and survive. Jake says some people feel he went over the line. He asks what will you do about it? He says when you get bit by one of these snakes, you don't see them no more. Jake says to beware as he's always waiting around the corner.

The Rockers do a promo. Marty says they have been on a roll in Europe and Japan. Marty says they were told they are now #1 contenders to the tag titles. Marty says they have wanted the titles for a long time. Shawn says you leave for a little while and who knows what happens. He says The Nasty Boys have done a lot of whining. He says they never needed belts to hold up their pants as in their wardrobe, belts are optional.

The commentators talk about next week's show. They say we will find out the main event of Survivor Series 1991.

Overall thoughts: There wasn't too much of note going on in this one. Sarge is trying to turn face. Tito's becoming a bullfighter. We had one match that wasn't a total squash and we are building to Macho vs Jake or Taker, The LOD vs The Natural Disasters and maybe Piper vs Flair instead of Piper vs Hogan. I'm surprised nobody was punished for the Piper/Flair fight from last week and Vince didn't even talk about it much. I would not recommend this one and didn't think it was that good.

WWE Speed 2/1/2025

WWE Speed 2/1/2025

The last show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwe-speed-1292025.html

WWE Speed Title - Dragon Lee (c) vs Chad Gable

They trade armdrags to start then swap headlock takeovers. Chad side headlocks him. Chad shoulders him over. Lee leapfrogs then flips him with his feet. Lee tope con hilos outside onto him.

Lee kicks the buckle into Chad's face. Lee slingshots and is caught with a northern lights suplex. Lee hits chopsLee rolls him into a suplex for 2. Chad triangles him over the top rope. Chad comes off the buckles and is caught with a pumping knee. Lee hits combinacion cabron.

Lee hits a corner dropkick for 2. Lee pumping knees him. Chad powerbombs him for 2. Chad then switches to the armbar. Lee hits superkicks and a pumping knee. Lee is belly to belly suplexed into the buckles hard. Chad to top rope moonsaults Lee for 2.

They go up top. Chad is stuck up top then Lee top rope double stomps him. Lee hits destino and wins.

Thoughts: Chad is really good at WWE Speed matches. He fits so much in such a small time frame and has had nothing but good matches here. This also follows up on the issues Chad has had with beating luchadores. I liked this and thought they did a nice job with the limited amount of time they had. I was just disappointed Chad didn't win.

Overall thoughts: There was only new match as usual. Chad Gable had another good showing and made the most of the 4:22 he had. The match wasn't must see but it felt like a full length match and I liked it.

AEW Collision 2/1/2025

AEW Collision 2/1/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/aew-collision-1252025-collision.html

This ran against Royal Rumble 2025. We got the Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting theme.

We are in Huntsville, AL.

Samoa Joe and Hook vs Kip Sabian and Nick Wayne

Christian and Mother Wayne are with their crew. Kip has some near gear with a sumo style entrance skirt. Nick backs Hook up into the corner and rubs his forearms into his face. Hook side headlock takeovers Nick. Nick shoulders him over and poses. Hook overhead throws Nick.

Joe and Kip get in. Kip gets a cheapshot in on Joe and hits various shots. Kip slips on a slingboard that Joe was going to avoid anyway. Joe sentons Kip. 

Joe back enzugiri's Kip in the corner. Nick kicks Hook from the apron. Nick trips Hook and Kip fisherman suplexes Hook for 2. Kip chokes Hook over the bottom rope. Kip legdrops Hook for 2. Kip slams Hook then hits punches on him.

Nick takes control on Hook. Kip snapmares Hook and sleepers him. Hook fights off a 2v1. Hook is atomic dropped into a flying euro for 2. Nick corner euros Nick. Kip corner sentons Hook. Hook takes a double fisherman suplex for 2.

Hook head and arm suplexes Nick. Joe comes in and throws out Nick. Joe hits chops on Kip then corner uranages him. Joe muscle busters Kip and picks up the win.

Thoughts: Joe's team won here as expected. It was average for the most part and not super exciting.

Christian attacks Joe and Hook after with his metal contract holder then stomps Joe's head into it.

Cope does a promo. He says no one knows what Mox's plan is and says he doesn't know either. He says Mox likes to shout at clouds and blame everyone else. He says he's a malcontent. He says even when he was a young gun, he respected the generation before him. He says Mox is entitled. He says Mox wants to hide his title away and it will change. Cope says he will beat up Mox and hurt him. He tells Mox to accept his challenge for the title at the next PPV.

The Beast Mortos vs Adam Priest

Mort shoulders Adam over twice. Adam boots him out of the corner and hits shots. Mort pop-up samoan drops him. Mort spinning lariats him then lifts him for a piledriver. Mort wins.

Thoughts: It was a quick squash. Mort hasn't been around that much lately and I honestly forgot about him. Mort is one of the big losers of Rampage going away.

Max Caster then comes out with new music. Max says we are looking at the best wrestler alive. Max says Mort did a good job but would never stand a chance against him. Max says this is the first in his open challenge series. Max says he doesn't know who is coming out but says we will see who can survive the best wrestler alive. Mort just leaves without fighting him.

Max Caster vs Rush

Rush has some new entrance gear with a cape and comes out with Dralistico. Max wants to do the LIJ fist bump. Rush just forearms him over. Rush stomps on Max in the corner. Rush does the "you get the horns" dropkick in the corner and wins.

Thoughts: Not sure what to make of this. It seems like they are pushing Max as a punk and they made him look like that here. Rush is back again. It seems like all he does is go away and comes back.

Rush gets on the mic after. He asks what's wrong with Mortos. He says they are family and when you mess with the bull you get the horns.

The Outrunners are interviewed by Lexy. Truth says Jericho has been campaigning for an @ss whooping. He says the votes are in and Jericho is about to get electrced. Turbo says The Outrunners will come out on top and Jericho's crew will take the total recall.

The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum) vs The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho and Bryan Keith)

CJ eye pokes Truth and Nigel says The Runners are two people with one brain. Truth chops up CJ then is eye raked again. Truth running lariats CJ. CJ takes atomic drops from both then Bryan takes a double atomic drop and goes into CJ. CJ takes a double hiptoss then Bryan is lariated over the top. CJ is then thrown over the top. Big Bill boots Truth outside.

We go to PiP break, full break and then return. Turbo comes in and beats up on the heels. He slams CJ then slams Bryan. Turbo slams Truth onto Bryan. CJ crabs Turbo.  Bryan facekicks Truth and CJ flying headscissors Turbo. The Runners hit double elbow drops.

Bill trips Truth outside and sends him into the rails. BK then cradles Turbo to win.

Thoughts: It was short and didn't get enough time to develop. This wasn't too much of note and was just average. I know why they are doing this match as it gives Jericho's crew something to do but the people who face Jericho usually do not come out looking better in the end. I wouldn't have The Runners lose here.

Big Bill beats up Truth after. Bill foot chokes him and corner splashes The Runners. The heels bring a table out. Bill goes for a double chokeslam through it then Bandido comes out. Bandido pulls Bill out then top rope tornillos CJ inside. Bandido gorilla press slams BK through the table. Bandido then spins around with Turbo after and does The Outrunners handshake.

Kyle Fletcher says they are on the road to Australia and there's a road he wants to right. Mark Briscoe says he won 3x in The Continental Classic and one of them was over Kyle. Kyle says he would have been undefeated if it wasn't for Mark. Kyle says the loss wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the time limit. Kyle says he will prove to Mark while he has no ceiling.

Kazuchika Okada is interviewed. Buddy Matthews laughs and interrupts. He says Okada is too afraid to defend his title. Okada says he doesn't deserve it and Buddy calls him a b!tch.

Harley Cameron vs Taya Valkyrie

Taya shotgun dropkicks her and boot flurries her in the corner. Taya stands on her neck in the corner. Taya chops up HC then HC armdrags her off the casadora. HC armdrags her. HC high kicks her from the apron then step up enzugiri's her.

Taya is tripped into the buckles. Taya blocks a 619. Taya sliding germans her. We go to break and return. HC shining wizards her for 2. Taya sitout powerbombs HC for 2. HC canadian destroyers her for 2. HC misses a top rope swanton. Taya spears HC. She goes to pin her then HC reverses it and pin her.

Thoughts: You could hear a pin drop at times here. The crowd was not into this one at all. The finish didn't look that good here and I thought they wasted the storyline of HC looking for her first TV win. This also further buries The Vendetta.

We see Deonna Purrazzo throw a chair in the back after. 

Renee interviews Ricochet. Ric says he was told by fans that this was where he should be. Ric says the fans turned their backs on him. He says he beat Will clean and the fans threw toilet paper at him. He said Swerve mocked him and said he drove scissors into Swerve's head for everyone. Swerve Strickland then comes in. Swerve says he could end him right now.

Swerve sits down, calls him Trevor and says let's talk. Swerve says Ric pretended to be a superhero and the fans rejected him. Swerve says he gets all the respect from people and says he will show there are levels to this. He says it will be a fight and says Ric can't win in a fight. Ric says Swerve calls himself the most dangerous man in AEW but says he hasn't felt a threat from him since Page snatched his grill. Swerve grabs him then says he will see him in Atlanta.

Thoughts: I didn't like this. Swerve should have just wrecked him if he's this stone cold gangster he is pushed as.

Toni Storm talks on the stage. She says she's been playing the role of "Toni Storm" for the last few weeks. She says the young girl in the red shorts was actually her. She said she didn't do it for the fans but for herself. She said she was embarrassed when Mariah May broke her heart and she has to run away from herself. She says she will do May's bloody womb. She says May doesn't think she's real but it doesn't get any more real than her. She says May's time is over.

We get a video on Christopher Daniels.

Renee interviews Harley Cameron in the back in front of Mercedes Mone's locker room. HC has a Mone puppet. She makes the puppet say that Mone wants to wrestle HC in Australia. HC agrees and has the puppet say she can help herself to Mone's locker room as well. HC does Mone's dance. Mone then walks in. She says this is so cute and HC is so entertaining. She says HC is hiding that she's a loser though with all of this. She says losers don't get to ride the money train.

We get a video on the three-way tonight with all 3 men getting some lines in.

AEW TNT Title - Daniel Garcia (c) vs Lee Moriarty vs Kyle O'Reilly

They all grab holds onto each other at the same time and it looks like they are getting it on with each other. they duck moves and stand off. Lee armdrags DG into a pin attempt. Kyle leglocks Lee then DG armbars Kyle. Lee then puts an armbar on DG. DG shoulders over Kyle.

Kyle and DG trade facekicks. Lee sends Kyle into the rails and back body drops Dg over the top. Lee then topes both opponents outside. We go to PiP break and return. Lee crossbodies DG for 2. Lee hits a ddt + soul foot combo for 2. Lee boots both at the same time.

DG basement dropkicks Lee. DG and Kyle trade forearms. DG backdrops Kyle. Lee germans DG. The three trade strikes and do a triple facekick spot.

DG hits corner punches on Lee then hits some on Kyle as well. DG hits a double lariat then a twist and shout on Kyle. Lee neckbreakers DG. DG does a sharpshooter variation on Lee but Kyle breaks it up with an armbar on DG. Kyle triangles DG while doing an ankle lock to Lee. Kyle and Lee high kick each other at the same time. DG backrolls Lee for 2 and gets punched by Shane. Lee then does a border city stretch to DG. DG then gets a pin out of it.

Thoughts: There wasn't much build to this and there was not a lot of reasons to really care about this. They did have a three-way match though. Everyone was in this for most of the match and we didn't have one person sitting out like they normally do. It was a different style three way than usual with so much of this being submission based.

Shane Taylor gets on the apron after. His Shane Taylor Promotions crew then surrounds Kyle and DG. Matt Menard and Angelo Parker then help out DG and Kyle. Adam Cole and Roderick Strong then come out.

We get a video on Penelope Ford vs Thunder Rosa.

We see video of someone walking the streets, likely in New York. It's Hologram and he's playing with magic electrons or something in his hand. They then cut away.

Megan Bayne vs Hyena Hera

Meg hits corner spears. She chops up Hera. Meg hits a corner splash and a belly to belly suplex. Meg boots her over. Meg pump kicks her then flying lariats her. Meg then wins with an F-5.

Thoughts: It was a squash as expected. It wasn't much more than that but at least Megan won.

Lio Rush and Action Andretti do a video outside. Lio says they weren't there last week and won't be here this week. Lio says they got better things to do. Lio says maybe he'll take Darius up on the challenge when he comes back.

Mariah May does a video about wrestling Queen Aminata. Queen tells her not to overlook her for Toni. She says she's coming for her head.

Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale are interviewed by Lexy. Kris says she's sorry and wants forgiveness. Willow says they have a lot to say to each other. Willow says it's time she focuses on her. Kris says never broke their friendship bracelet and shows it to her. 

Mid-South Tag Team Street Fight - FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. Death Riders (Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta)

The Riders get hit from behind as they enter by FTR. Yuta is lariated over the rails. Dax back rakes Mox. Mox sends Dax into the rails. Dax hits Mox with a trash can. Yuta sends Cash into the steps. Mox bites Dax's fingers. 

Yuta foot chokes Cash. Dax chairs Mox. Yuta slams Cash on a ladder. Mox sends Dax into the steps. Mox facekicks Dax while he's in a chair for 2. Dax hits Mox with a trash can lid. Mox slams Dax on a chair.

Yuta chairs Dax. Cash flying lariats Mox off the buckles and pounds on Mox and Yuta. Shafir throws Dax into the post outside. Mox uses plyers on Dax's nose as we go to PiP break. We return from break. Mox pours tacks out onto the mat.

Cash pop-up sitout powerbombs Mox on the tacks. Cash topes Yuta outside then takes a death rider ddt onto the floor. Dax fights off The Riders with punches. He hits corner punches on Yuta. Dax brainbusters Yuta. Dax grabs Mox by the nuts. Shafir then grabs Dax by the nuts. Shafir puts a sleeper on Dax. Dax rams her backwards through a table. Dax gets a 2 count on Mox then piledrivers him onto a chair. Dax sharpshooters him. Claudio comes out and attacks Dax. Dax back body drops CC then lariats him over the top. Mox cutters Dax. Mox curb stomps Dax onto a chair for 2.

Jay White and Cope come out to help FTR. Yuta takes a spike piledriver through the commentary table and is pinned.

Thoughts: The work was fine as expected with the two teams using weapons and doing some decent brawling. I liked it and it was about what I expected but nothing too memorable. I'm curious as to why it took so long for Cope and Jay to come out when Shafir was helping out The Riders.

The fighter continues after. Jay bladerunners Claudio. Mox gets surrounded by 4 faces and takes a shatter machine and a spear. Mox is in the conchairto position but Claudio saves him. 

Overall thoughts: This was really just a one match show and the match was the main event. Nothing else was really that noteworthy on this one. They had a lot of non-wrestling segments here and the show really is getting better about doing video packages, reminding people of what's going on and offering more than just classics. I would give this a 5 out of 10 as it wasn't super exciting and was just average.

WWE Royal Rumble 2025 2/1/2025

WWE Royal Rumble 2025 2/1/2025

We are in Indianapolis, IN.

We see various wrestlers arrive.

Stephanie McMahon comes out. She says WWE is where it's at because of the fans and thanks them for making this the biggest Rumble in history. We then get fireworks.

Michael Cole, Wade Barrett and Pat McAfee are on commentary.

Women's Royal Rumble

Iyo Sky is #1 and Liv Morgan is #2. Liv shoulders Iyo over and dances. Iyo flips over her back, cartwheels and backflips then odes a dropkick. Liv tries to eliminate Iyo and Iyo bangs her leg off the ropes. Liv's head is banged off the post. Roxanne Perez of NXT is #3. RP thesz presses Iyo and hits mounted shots. RP forearms Liv then hurricanrana's Iyo. RP nails both in the corner. RP does a ddt + russian legsweep combo on both.

Iyo dumps RP onto the apron with Liv. RP skins the cat and headscissors Iyo. Liv codebreakers RP. #4 is Women's IC champ Lyra Valkyria. Lyra step up enzugiri's Liv and RP. She spinning heel kicks Liv then tornado ddt's Iyo. Lyra fishermabusters Iyo.

Lyra's top is falling off and she tries to adjust it but gets pushed by Liv. The camera's do not film Lyra as they try to fix that. Lyra rejoins the fracas and Iyo hangs off the ropes outside. #5 is Chelsea Green.  Green slaps RP and backhands Liv. Green is 4v1'd. #6 is B-Fab. She high kicks Green as she gets in. Fab spinning heel kicks Lyra in the mouth. Fab slams Liv onto Lyra. Fab twisting brainbusters Iyo. #7 is Ivy Nile. Ivy spinebusters Lyra. Lyra hangs off the top rope outside then Ivy germans Iyo and Liv. Ivy then double germans RP and Green together.

Fab is double teamed. #8 is Zoey Stark, who has facepaint on. Zoey release suplexes Iyo then superkicks Fab. Zoey hits ataxia on Ivy. Zoey high kicks Green then does a corkscrew stunner off the top onto Green. Liv tries to push Green out with her feet. #9 is Lash Legend, making her first Rumble appearance. Lash hits shots on various girls and swinging backbreakers someone. Lash suplexes Lyra then kips up. Lyra flapjacks Zoey onto Lyra. Lash catches Ivy's headscissors then swings Ivy into people. Lash powerbombs Ivy. Fab and Lash square off. They try to pump kick each other at the same time and both go down. Green then throws out Fab for the first elimination. 

Green tries to eliminate Lash. #10 is Bianca Belair (BB). BB top rope crossbodies Green. RP and Lyra are thrown to the apron. BB suplexes Iyo. BB hits corner punches on Iyo then hits some on Ivy, Zoey and Lash in the same corner. BB tilt-a-whirl gustbuers Liv. BB suplexes Lash.

Iyo superkicks BB. BB gorilla presses Iyo onto the apron. #11 is Shayna Baszler (SB). SB backdrops Green then suplexes Iyo. SB knees Liv in the face. Lyra step up enzugiri's SB. Zoey tries to springboard but slips into a lariat on Lyra.

Lyra hits a top rope double dropkick. Ivy then throws out Lyra for the elimination. Ivy then motions that she wants her Women's IC title. #12 is Bayley. Bay gets rolled up by RP then knees her in the face. Bay does a swinging side slam on RP. Bay and Iyo stare down. They each get nailed before they can fight.

Zoey and SB end up on the apron. #13 is Sonya Deville, who is also wearing facepaint. Sonya drops Iyo on her butt then running knees her. Sonya spears Liv. Sonya doe like a final cut to Green. SB germans BB. Zoey rolling death valley drivers RP.

Liv is flipped into a drop on her chest. #14 is Maxxine Dupri. PFC wants Max but Ivy shoves them away and fights Max. Max misses a spinning high kicks on her then release fisherman suplexes her. Max runs into PFC then 3 girls nail PFC. Max germans Ivy and does the reverse caterpillar elbow on her. Max spinning high kicks Ivy off the apron for the elimination. PFC then triple eliminate Max over the top.

#15 is Naomi. Naomi high kicks 2 PFC members then heatseeker piledrivers Zoey on the apron. Naomi top rope diving blockbusters Green. Naomi upkicks RP then axe kicks her. BB and Naomi double burning hammer Zoey. Iyo 2nd rope moonsaults Sonya. Zoey is thrown out by Naomi and BB. Shayna and Sonya get thrown out at the same time. Zoey Stark, Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville are eliminated.

#16 is Jaida Parker of NXT. JP backhands RP then shoulders over Bayley. JP fordbusters Liv then running hip attacks her. JP step up buttpresses Green on the 2nd rope. Lash and JP shake hands. BB and Naomi want in. Green then walks in to join up and gets beaten up by all four. Lash pump kicks JP on accident. Lash is then eliminated by Green.

BB and Naomi stare down Green. #17 is Piper Niven, Green's partner. Green and Piper stare down Naomi and BB. Piper stares Naomi then throws BB down. Piper double crossbodies BB and Naomi. Piper black hole slams Bayley. Piper uranages Iyo. Green gets in trouble on the apron and Piper runs into her to eliminate her. Chelsea Green is eliminated.

#18 is Natalya. Nat spinning lariats Bay then germans Liv. Nat drops Naomi on her butt then germans BB. Iyo tries to roll Nat and ends up on the apron. RP is put on the apron by Nat. #19 is Jordynne Grace. She hits spinebusters then lariats people with RP on her back. Grace hip attacks Jaida off the apron. Jaida Parker is eliminated. Grace rolling death valley drivers Piper then hugs Naomi. BB grabs Grace by the hair and stares at Naomi for hugging her.

#20 is Michin. Mich hits a shotgun dropkick then hits kicks on another wrestler. Mich corner cannonballs Bayley and Nat. Piper sit out slams Mich. #21 is Alexa Bliss, making her return after a long time. She's still wearing Wyatt gear and has her doll with her. Bliss stares down Bayley. Bliss flying headscissors her then forearms Nat over. 

Bliss flipping sentons Bayley and poses. Bliss is put on the apron by Grace. #22 is Zelina Vega. Vega legsweeps Bay as she enters. Vega knees Iyo in the face. Vega tornado ddt's Piper. Vega 2nd rope code red's Grace. Mich takes a double hiptoss then a leg drop + standing moonsault combo from BB and Naomi. #23 is Candice LeRae (CL). CL neckbreakers Naomi and forces her to ddt Bayley.

#24 is Stephanie Vaquer (SV). SV springboard crossbodies Bayley then backdrops her. SV suplexes Nat then bangs her head off the mat with a headscissors. SV headbutts RP. Bliss takes a double suplex. #25 is Trish Stratus.

Trish goes after Nat and thesz presses her with mounted punches. Trish gets caught by Grace. Trish comes off the top and hits a diving double bulldog. Trish high kicks CL then springboard bulldogs Nat. Piper knocks Trish over.

#26 is Raquel Rodriguez (RR). Nat flying headscissors her. Nat and Liv fight on the apron. Liv codebreakers Nat on the apron. Natalya is eliminated. Bliss is then put on the apron and eliminated via codebreaker by Liv. Alexa Bliss is eliminated.

#27 is Charlotte Flair. She takes forever to get to the ring. Flair hits lariats then chops Bayley. Flair chops RP, BB and Grace. Flair kicks Mich and eliminates her. Flair hits a double crossbody off the top. Flair turns a double suplex into a double ddt. Flair throws Piper over the top. Piper Niven is eliminated.

#28 is Giulia. Giulia is tripped by Iyo. Giulia and Iyo slap each other down at the same time. Flair fights off elimination on the apron. Giulia tries to german Grace off the apron. Giulia pumping knees Grace off the apron. Jordynne Grace is eliminated.

SV stares down Giulia. They pound fists and stare down Bianca, Bayley and Flair with RP. The 6 fight. #29 is Nia Jax. Nia eliminates Zelina Vega from the outside then throws her into the rail.

Nia and Trish stare down. Trish throws out LeRae. Candice LeRae is eliminated. Trish handstands hurricanrana's Nia. Trish is on the apron fighting Nia and is forearmed down. Trish Stratus is eliminated.

#30 is Nikki Bella, making her return. Nikki stares down Nia. Then everyone surrounds Nia. Liv has now been in this 64 minutes. Nia gets group beaten and pushes everyone off. Nia takes offense from variou girls. Nikki does push-ups in the ring. RP then does push-ups at her. Nikki slaps her.

SV headscissors Iyo onto the apron. Iyo and SV hang from the bottom rope. 5 girls end up on the apron. We have a multi-girl elimination spot involving Nia and Raquel. Raquel, Bianca, Iyo, Naomi and Vaquer get eliminated together. 

Nia then knocks Liv off the apron for the elimination. Nikki spears Liv. Giulia ends up on the apron and pulls RP onto it too. Flair misses a kick and is put on the apron too. RP pushes Giulia into the post and eliminates her. Flair is crawling and looks like she may be hurt. Nikki forearms Bayley off the apron. Bayley is eliminated. Nia forearms Nikki and eliminates her. Nikki Bella is eliminated.

Flair hits chops on Nia. RP clips Flair. Nia misses a corner charge. Nia tries to eliminate RP and Nia is thrown over the top. Nia Jax is eliminated. Flair facekicks RP off the apron. Roxanne Perez is eliminated and Charlotte Flair wins The Royal Rumble.

Thoughts: It was a long match here probably going close to 70 minutes. It dragged at times. There were some sloppy moments but it was much better than prior editions. It had some good moments and it was nice to see Flair and Bliss back. I was surprised to see Perez last so long, but she was losing anyway.. It was okay overall but I would not watch this again. Becky Lynch was notably not here. Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Nikki Cross, Shotzi and Sarah Logan also weren't in this one.

We see The Godfather, Mickie James (why wasn't she in this?) and Kurt Angle watching in the crowd.

Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn are in the back.

WWE Tag Titles - 2/3 Falls - DIY (c) vs The Motor City Machine Guns

1st Fall - Alex pulls down Ciampa and Ciampa takes a sandwich kick. JG takes a double superkick. The Guns hit stereo corner lariats then throw DIY out. The Guns hit stereo baseball slides outside. Sabin then dives out onto both DIY members. Ciampa ddt's Sabin over the 2nd rope for 2. Ciampa hits elbows on Sabin. Sabin takes a jawbreaker and is whipped into a Ciampa lariat.

Sabin gamengiri's Ciampa. Alex superkicks JG. Ciampa flying knees Alex and gets the pin on him. Alex throught JG was the legal man in and didn't see he wasn't. The fake tag spot was cool. 

2nd Fall - Ciampa stomps on Alex then chinlocks him. Ciampa saves JG on a suplex. Alex takes a backdrop + spear combo. JG chops up Alex as does Ciampa. Alex hits a flatliner + ddt combo on DIY. Ciampa goes under the ring and tries to stop Sabin from tagging out. Ciampa distracts the ref and he doesn't see the tag. Alex then is double pounded on in the corner. Alex takes a shatter machine for 2.

JG slingshots in and is superkicked by Alex. Sabin hits punches on JG. Sabin flying lariats JG. Sabin PK's Ciampa and JG outside. Sabin triangle plancha's outside. Alex ddt's Ciampa on the apron. Sabin flying ddt's JG off the buckles. JG takes a neckbreaker + top rope splash combo and is pinned.

3rd Fall - Sabin step up enzugiri's Ciampa and superkicks him. JG spinning lariats Sabin. Sabin takes a superkick + sit out pedigree combo. JG topes Alex outside. Sabin hits a powerbomb backbreaker on Sabin for 2. Ciampa is on the buckles and is pushed into the post. Ciampa is in tree of woe and takes a baseball slide. JG is then belly to belly suplexed into Ciampa.

Ciampa takes a sliced bread + power bomb combo for 2. JG superkicks Ciampa on accident. JG takes a sequence ending in a baseball slide. The Street Profits interfere. Sabin is hit with a crutch. Sabin takes a meet in the middle and is pinned.

Thoughts: The ending was a surprise, especially when Pretty Deadly could have been justified to come out. We'll have to get answers on that one. I liked the match though running a 2/3 falls match on a show with 2 different hour long matches is a brave move. I really liked the fake tag spot here. Ciampa got his face busted open near the end of this.

The Street Profits then attack DIY after. DIY is hit with a crutch.

We see some highlights of Pat Mcafee.

Ron Simmons is in the crowd as is Rick Steiner and Rob Van Dam.

WWE Undisputed Title - Ladder Match - Cody Rhodes (c) vs Kevin Owens

They hockey fight and Cody drop down punches him. KO back elbows him. Ko foot chokes him in the corner. KO tips over a ladder when Cody hits him. KO slams Cody through the side connector of a ladder. KO hits Cody with the ladder connector. Cody is sent into the rail.

KO is sent over the rail. They fight in the crowd. Cody hits KO with a beer. KO bangs Cody's head off a camera. KO drops Cody gut first on the rails. KO bridges a ladder and hiptosses Cody onto it. KO hits punches on Cody. Cody stops KO from climbing the ladder then throws him into it. KO throws the commentary table top into Cody's head. Cole says KO is losing it and KO says he isn't. Cody sends KO into the steps. KO hits Cody with a small step ladder and throws it at him. KO teases jumping off the stepladder then just hits Cody.

Cody hits KO with the step ladder. Cody climbs the ladder and KO hits him with the step ladder. KO backdrops Cody on the ladder. Cody gets stuck on the ladder hanger with the title belts but gets back on the ladder. KO pulls Cody down into a powerbomb. KO foot chokes Cody. 

Cody suplexes KO on the rails. Cody uses a rung on the ladder on KO. KO superkicks Cody. KO does a bionic elbow motion then hits Cody with the ladder rung. KO throws the step ladder into Cody's face. Cody back body drops KO onto the side of a ladder. KO powerbombs Cody onto a ladder bridged in the corner.

KO punches Cody. KO fisherman busters Cody off the 2nd rope onto a bridged ladder. Nick Aldis and officals check on both wrestlers. Sami Zayn comes out to check on KO. Cody hits a cross rhodes on KO. KO's head is banged off a ladder and he is sent into the post. KO is busted open. Cody hits punches on KO.

KO low blows Cody on the commentary table. Cody alabama slams KO through a ladder from the commentary table. Cody then climbs the ladder and wins.

Thoughts: It was a bit of a long match especially following two other longer matches. I liked it and thought they did a good job with it. The refs came out and made some of the bumps feel bigger than they were and the crowd bought into it. It's a shame they couldn't find a way to get Sami more involved as that was an interesting story that didn't fully get looked into here. Both guys took some hard looking bumps here.  

KO's head is stuck in the ladder and he has to helped up.

WWE Evolve is going to be on Tubi. It premiers March 5th at 8pm and will be on every Wednesday.

Thoughts: I've been excited for this one. It will be going up against Dynamite which is not an accident. I'll definitely be watching it. It looks like it has NXT stars, NXT Level Up stars and some new stars on it. I don't expect it to be much competition for Dynamite though since it's not on a normal TV channel and will basically have d-list stars. 

We go to Big E and Jose Tessitore at a commentary booth in the stands. They talk about Cody/KO. 

Men's Royal Rumble

Rey Mysterio is #1 and Penta is #2. They shake hands and Penta does his taunt in Rey's face. Rey hits forearms and headscissors Penta onto the apron. Both get back in. Rey headstands in the corner and is superkicked. Penta blocks a diving hurricanrana off the top. Rey headscissors Penta over the top. Penta looks to have touched the floor with both feet but they ignore it.

Rey botches a springboard and falls down. #3 is Chad Gable, who can't beat luchadores. Chad and Penta chop each other. Penta superkicks him. Rey slingshot sunset flips Chad. Chad back body drops Penta then catapults Rey out. Rey hangs onto the ropes. Penta slingblade bulldogs Chad. 

Rey is popped up onto Penta's shoulders and lands hard on Chad's knee in like Rey's 3rd botch of the night so far. #4 is Carmelo Hayes. Melo la mistica drops Penta. Rey flying headscissors Penta. Melo hits a blind springboard ddt on Rey. Penta takes a german + springboard lariat combo.

Rey takes a double shoulder and double elbow from Melo and Chad. #5 is Santos Escobar. Santos tornado ddt's Chad then pumping knees Rey. Santos 619's Rey.

Penta and Santos go face to face. Penta spin kicks him and takes a canadian destroyer. Rey flying headscissors Santos then 619's him. 4 people hang from the ropes thanks to Chad and all 4 get in and superkick Chad. The four hit each other. Melo and Penta kick each other down. Rey crossbodies Santos.

#6 is Otis. Otis chokeslams Santos down. Otis does the caterpilla but Chad ankle locks him during it. They slap each other. They hockey fight and Chad germans Otis. Otis racks Chad. Penta superkicks Melo and Rey then rolls himself into a double ddt on them.

#7 is Bron Breakker. Bron spears Melo and throws him out. Carmelo Hayes is eliminated. Bron walks up the buckles and hurricanrana's Chad down. Bron overhead suplexes Otis. Bron running lariats Rey. Bron spears Santos then throws him out. Santos Escobar is eliminated.

#8 is Akira Tozawa. Melo nails Akira as he does his pose and Akira is down. Adam Pearce checks on him with some staff. Akira is helped to the back. Akira is taken to the back. Triple H asks if he's okay. Triple H says smeone has gotta replace him. Triple H tells Ishowspeed to get in the Rumble at #8 (I guess technically #9). He's a twitch guy and was at Mania.

Otis gets eliminated by Ishowspeed and Bron. Speed celebrates and does a backflip. Bron runs the ropes and spears him hard. Bron gorilla presses Speed out onto Otis. Otis catches Speed and fallway slams him on the table. Ishowspeed is eliminated.

#9 is Sheamus. Sheamus clubs on Chad's chest then Bron's chest. penta lariats Sheamus onto the apron. Sheamus then slingshot shoulderblocks Penta. Sheamus spinning backbreakers Rey. Bron overhead suplexes Sheamus. Sheamus pump kicks Bron but misses him for the most part.

Chad and Sheamus square off. #10 is Jimmy Uso. Jimmy top rope crossbodies Chad then superkicks Sheamus and Rey. Penta superkicks Jimmy then Jimmy hits a whisper in the wind on him. Jimmy facekicks Sheamus over then hits corner hip attacks.

#11 is Andrade. He springboard diving headscissors Penta. Chad is tripped into the buckles. Andrade flying forearms Sheamus. Andrade meteora's Chad in the corner then does it to Sheamus. 3 people try to throw out Bron. Penta 2nd rope suerplexes Andrade.

#12 is Jacob Fatu. Fatu superkicks Chad and pop-up samoan drops Andrade. Fatu corner hip attacks Chad. Rey springboards and is caught by Fatu. Fatu samoan drops Rey and Penta together. Fatu throws Chad out. Chad Gable is eliminated. Fatu throws Rey out. Rey Mysterio is eliminated. Fatu throws Andrade over the top. Andrade is eliminated. Bron and Fatu stare down.

#13 is Ludwig Kaiser. Kaiser runs down but then delays getting in. Kaiser gets in and is immediately thrown out by Penta. Ludwig Kaiser is eliminated. Penta and Bron stomp Sheamus in the corner. Bron hangs from the ropes outside and pulls himself in.

#14 is The Miz. Miz barks at Bron, slides between his legs and throws him to the apron. Miz pushes Sheamus into Bron. Miz hits a skull crushing finale on Jimmy. Penta flying headscissors Miz. Miz 2nd rope diving headscissors Penta. Miz gets a shot in on Fatu and is thrown to the apron. Miz springboards and is caught with a samoan drop by Fatu.

#15 is Joe Hendry of TNA, who is the current TNA champ. He comes out with the TNA belt. Joe lariats Miz, Penta and Jimy. Joe fallaway slams Miz. Joe hits a standing ovation on Miz. Fatu flying back elbows Joe. Sheamus yells at Fatu, saying he was enjoying that. 

#16 is Roman Reigns. Roman spears Miz then throws him out. Miz is eliminated. Roman spears Sheamus then lariats him over the top for the elimination. Sheamus is eliminated. Joe takes a shot on Roman and is thrown out. Joe Hendy is eliminated.

Roman and Bron stare down. Bron hits a big spear on Roman. Paul Heyman is shocked. Bron goes to eliminated Roman but Roman throws Bron out. Bron Breakker is eliminated. Jimmy helps up Roman then is superkicked by Fatu. Fatu throws Jimmy Uso out. Jimmy Uso is eliminated.

Fatu and Roman Reigns stare down. They trade punches. Fatu hits headbutts on Roman. Roman flying spears Fatu in the chest kind of. #17 is Drew McIntyre. Roman and Drew stare down. drew says he's been waiting for this moment. He says it began with Roman and ends with him. They trade punches.

Fatu nails Roman from behind and stomps him. Roman gets double teamed by them. Drew pounds on Roman. Fatu corner hip attacks Penta. #18 is Finn Balor. Finn has new music I think.

Finn and Drew stomp on Roman. Finn slingblades Penta then throws him to the apron. Finn final cuts Drew. #19 is Shinsuke Nakamura (SN). SN hits shots on Roman. SN axe kicks Penta. Penta jumps off Finn's back into a canadian destroyer on Fatu. 

Penta spin kicks Finn then is thrown over the top by him. Penta is eliminated. #20 is Jey Uso. Jey does not come down through the crowd. Jey hits punches on Finn. Jey spears Drew. Jey uppercuts Fatu then poisonrana's him. SN forearms Jey. SN spinning heel kicks Jey. Jey enzugiri's him. SN spinning back elbows Jey. SN is thrown out by Jey. Shinsuke Nakamura is eliminated.

#21 is AJ Styles, making his return from injury. AJ dropkicks Drew in the knee then sliding forearms him. AJ ushigoroshi's Finn. AJ strike combos Jey then lariats him. AJ pele kicks Fatu. Fatu back body drops AJ.

#22 is Braun Strowman. Braun and Fatu stare down then hockey fight. Braun crossbodies Fatu. Braun throws Fatu out. Jacob Fatu is eliminated. Fatu clears the commentary table and throws a chair. Braun is triple teamed.

#23 is John Cena. Cena has a towel that says, "the last time is now". Cena pulls the top rope down on Braun and eliminates him. Braun Strowman is eliminated. Cena AA's Finn onto Braun and eliminates him. Finn Balor is eliminated. Roman spears Drew then stares down Cena. 

#24 is CM Punk. Punk stares down at Roman and Cena. They stall. #25 is Seth Rollins. Punk and Roman aren't pleased. Seth spears Punk as Cena and Roman trade shots. Roman headbutts Cena. Seth and Drew trade. Seth hits lariats on Drew. Cena hits shots on AJ.

#26 is Dominik Mysterio, which is an odd choice. Dom top rope frogsplashes Cena. Dom grabs Roman and can't suplex him. Roman samoan drops Dom. Roman foot chokes Dom.

#27 is Sami Zayn. Sami corner facekicks Drew and Seth. The crowd sings his song. Sami hits punches on Punk and Punk fires back. Jey superkicks AJ. Sami foot chokes Drew. #28 is Damian Priest. DP high kicks Drew from the apron. DP walks the top rope and crossbodies Drew. DP superkicks Sami then flying back elbows Roman. 

DP ear claps AJ and corkscrew kicks him. Dom dropkicks DP from behind. DP throws out Dom. Dominik Mysterio is eliminated. #29 is LA Knight. LA double springboard elbow drops Cena. LA and Jey trade punches. LA does a backdrop type of move on Jey. Sami is thrown to the apron by Drew. Jey superkicks Sami off the apron and eliminates him. Sami Zayn is eliminated. Drew headbutts Sami.

#30 is Logan Paul. Logan hits a double buckshot lariat. DP throws out Drew. Drew McIntyre is eliminated. LA beats up on Logan on the apron. Logan jumps from the apron to the commentary table to save himself. LA lariats Priest over the top. Damian Priest is eliminated. Someone throws Logan a drink frrom the crowd. AJ throws LA over the top. LA Knight is eliminated. Logan jumps from the rail to the steps. AJ goes to springboard and LA pulls him down to the floor. AJ Styles is eliminated.

We have 6 people left. Punk hits a go to sleep on Logan. Seth pedigrees Jey. Roman superman punches Cena. Seth curbstomps Cena and Punk. Roman and Seth stare down. Seth tells him he won't get another Mania main event or a world title. They push each other and trade shots.

Seth hits shots on Roman. Seth superkicks Roman. Roman lariats Seth. Seth hangs upside down over the top on Roman. Punk then tosses Roman and Seth over the top. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are eliminated. Logan Paul then throws Punk over the top from behind. CM Punk is eliminated. 

The last 3 are Logan, Cena and Jey Uso. Punk and Roman argue. Seth curb stomps Roman on the floor. Punk and Seth fight then refs try to stop them. Seth superkicks Punk. Paul Heyman yells at Seth and asks what the hell's wrong with him. Seth then curb stomps Roman on the bottom part of the steps. Seth goes after Punk on the floor.

Logan and Jey stare down. Jey does a yeet and they trade shots. Jey spinning enzugiri's him. Jey misses a corner splash. Cena throws Logan into Jey and he back elbows both in the corner. Cena lariats Logan over the top. Logan Paul is eliminated.

Cena and Jey are the final two. They look at each other and the crowd. They trade shots. Cena headbutts him then flying shoulders him twice. Cena blue thunders Jey. Cena does the five knuckle shuffle. Jey superkicks Cena. Jey goes to toss Cena. Jey hits another superkick. Cena boots away Jey then Jey hits a big spear. Both men are down.

Jey is on the apron then Cena is pulled on the apron with him. They stop each other from getting back in and trade punches. Jey superkicks him and Cena hangs off the apron. Cena goes for the AA, Jey avoids it and pushes him off the apron to win. Jey Uso wins The Royal Rumble!

Thoughts: It was a long one and I thought it was really good. I was surprised to see Jey win. Jey's certainly popular but he was not one of the favorites going into this and this was a risky move. I have no idea who he ends up fighting at Mania or for which title and there's no real obvious matches that we can spot at this time unlike with Punk, Seth, Roman, Cena and Drew. I wouldn't even be shocked if he somehow not ends up going to the main at Mania.

I thought they did a good job of putting Fatu over here and I thought they did a good job of re-igniting Seth vs Punk and Seth vs Roman in this one. I liked the graphics that showed you how many people were in this and how long they were in this. That added a lot and was something I didn't know I needed.

There are some things I would have done differently though. I would have liked to have seen a couple of surprises. Joe Hendry and Ishowspeed were the only non-roster guys in this. Nobody from NXT made the cut which sucked and there were no legends brought back. I would have cut Santos, Penta and maybe Andrade from this. There were a lot of people missing from this one as expected including R-Truth, who would have added something to this, Tama Tonga, A-Town Down Under, Karrion Kross, New Day and others. I also didn't like that the new competitors came after eliminations and not at a set time.

Jey and Cena hug after. Jey points at the Wrestlemania sign and he gets fireworks.

Overall thoughts: It was a very long show. Starting the show off with a near 70 minute Rumble tired me out from the start. Having the tag match be a 2/3 fall match wasn't a good idea after that though the match was okay. The women's Rumble was okay but nowhere near the men's Rumble. Cody/Owens was better than I expected and I thought they did a good job. The men's Royal Rumble was really good and one of the more star-studded line-ups in a while. The show lived up to the hype, mostly for the men's Rumble. I'd give it an 8 out of 10 and I'd recommend it.